Reading and Handwriting Fluency for First Grade

As I was looking through some older files last night, I found these gems.

Reading and Handwriting Fluency for First Grade.

We used these every day my last few years of teaching.

The growth in both reading fluency and handwriting was unreal all across the board.

With an added bonus of vocabulary development and introduction to non-fiction short passage reading, these little 5-10 minute blocks of time each day became one of those things I refused to sacrifice on shortened schedule days.

My little firsties loved them.

And so did the 2nd graders down the hall.

I uploaded my files today to TPT.

There are some FREE packs...

First Grade

Water and Seasons

Introduction to Reading and Handwriting Fluency

And some that are only $1.50.

October

November

December

January

February

March

That's a screaming deal for a month of no-prep practice!

Hop on over and take a look!

Maybe they'll become one of your go-to daily activities too.

[back in the saddle again...with a super great preschool resource]

Whew. This preschool thing has been a whirlwind of activity, hard work, tears, smiles, frustration, accomplishment, and joy.

After not finding a curriculum that I loved, I started creating my own. Week after week, I wrote, edited, rewrote, edited, experimented, rewrote, and finally found a system that I am super pleased with.

Not all components are complete. But they're close. :)

Today I want to share with you a favorite from my Fireflies class (4-5 year olds). They're in that early stage of discovering how letters work together to make words. They are writing phonetically and asking me how to write all sorts of words. It's so fun!! Early on, I decided that my 4s were going to leave preschool with a foundation of letter understanding [correct formation, sounds], beginning spelling skills, knowledge of reading [title, words in a sentence, tracking], and a base of early sight words.

We've been using these foldable mini books for a few months now, and it's been magical! ;) 

Every day my littles beg for reading time. They can correctly identify the sight words from these books [is, for, I, see, a, the] in other passages and in environmental print. I get frequent texts from parents with their littles pointing to one of these words in the newspaper, in books, and on signs. My heart smiles a little bigger with each text. 

We use the first book on Mondays [class meets M/W/F]. First they highlight each time the focus letter appears in the book. Together we identify the pictures and discuss any unfamiliar pictures [umpire for example] so they "know" what the last word on each page is. Then we read together the whole book. I watch carefully for correct tracking and correct as necessary. Each student circles the word "is" on each page and checks with their partner for accuracy. Each student then draws a line under the word "for" and checks for accuracy. Next, they whisper read to themselves. Again, I'm watching for tracking. Finally, as they color, I go to each student and have them read at least one page from the book to me. This book goes home to read and keep.

The second book we use on Wednesdays and Fridays [I just keep their copies on Wednesdays and send the books home on Fridays]. Because the books use both "a" and "the," they're a little more challenging. We go through the books in a similar fashion as before. We simply focus on the word "a" on Wednesday and the word "the" on Friday. "I" and "see" are reviewed each day.










Our complete ABC curriculum includes these mini books, an upper/lowercase sort [Mondays], an initial sound sort [Wednesdays], and a tracing/alphabet activity page [daily]. 

You can find the foldable mini books here [Teachers Notebook] and here [Teachers Pay Teachers]. 

The sorts and activity pages will be finished and listed soon.

I love the print and go ease of these books. I love that my littles beg to read them. I love how quickly they're giving my Fireflies a base of high frequency sight words. But mostly, I LOVE teaching preschool!!

Emergency Sub Plans - BATS!!!

Emergency Sub Plans (or last week of school plans!!!).  All about BATS!  My littles have LOVED this set!  So much fun exploring bats, learning new vocabulary, reading, writing, and practicing their math skills! 

Also included is a list of art discovery links!

There are at least 3 hours of instructional material included in this pack!  We spent all week with BATS a couple of weeks ago, just using this material to fill in the gaps between long recesses, activities, parties, assemblies, etc.

You can find this great little set HERE.

[Emergency Sub Plans] [CureSearch]

A giant thanks heading out to those of you that have purchased items from my Teacher's Notebook shop over the past week!

Our family sincerely appreciates your support!

 

Today's item took a LOT longer than I had planned for it to take.

However, the finished product is exactly what I'd hoped!

 

There have been a few times in my career that I've seriously been too ill to go to school to make detailed sub plans.

I've sent e-mails to my colleagues asking them to print off my plans and copies and get everything ready for me.

They willingly ablige, but I feel guilty for the entire day (and most of the next week) knowing that I added stress to their morning.

 

And now, with everything that's going on with Kenton, I've felt for a while that I needed to have something that was sub ready just in case.

 

Introducing my first set of EMERGENCY SUB PLANS!  :)

 

This set is focused around the book My Friend is Sad, and Elephant and Piggie book by
Mo Willems.

 

  Emergency Sub Plans feature activities in math, fact discovery and recording, writing (with a rubric!), spelling, reading comprehension, and PE.

22 pages that you just need to print off, make copies for your class, purchase the book, and BAM! Sub Plans for the day ready to go.

$5.00 at Teacher's Notebook.

On sale at a 25% discount through November 15.

 

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Steve and Debbie at Teacher's Notebook, who in their own time of need dealing with Superstorm Sandy, generously offered to match all purchases made in my shop with a donation to CureSearch in Kenton's name.

 

THANK YOU for sticking with me and my sporadic postings.

I'd promise to do better, but well, that's just a promise I am not able to make.

I'll be here when I can with new and fun stuff.

Have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend!!

[CureSearch] [Teacher's Notebook] [November Reading_Handwriting Fluency]

November 2.

Day 2 of the Pediatric Cancer Awareness Sale in my shop.

 

Up today. . .the November Reading_Handwriting Fluency Pack.

I love using these in my classroom.

I'm amazed as I see the progress in my students' handwriting and their willingness and ability to read difficult passages.

 

The November Pack is only $2 at Teacher's Notebook.

 

But. . .it's on sale at a 25% discount through November 15.

So you can get the 4 passage pack (enough passages to use one a week for the month of November) for only $1.50!!

 

But, that's not even the best part!

For me, the very best part is what Steve and Debbie at Teacher's Notebook are going to do with every purchase made in my shop from November 1 - November 15!

They have offered to donate MATCHING FUNDS of every sale in my shop over those 14 days to CureSearch - the leading pediatric cancer research foundation - in Kenton's name.

Do you realize what this means for children suffering through pediatric cancer?!

CureSearch uses 97 cents of every dollar donated directly in research of pediatric cancer.

NINETY-SEVEN CENTS!!!

I genuinely appreciate every single sale, not only because your purchases will be providing Christmas for my children this year, but because for the next 14 days, your purchases will be providing funding for the one thing that has been our family's heartbreak over the past 4 months.

My heartfelt appreciation goes out to Steve and Debbie for their willingness to spread the word about pediatric cancer and to donate to CureSearch!

Please join us.

Be part of the cure.

Thank you!

[October] reading_handwriting fluency pack

Looking for an easy way to boost your students' reading and handwriting fluency?

Give this method a try and see what you think.

 

Available through Teacher's Notebook.

 

October reading_handwriting fluency pack.

4 weeks of reading_handwriting fluency.

 

 

We do this every week.

There are other packs available in my Teacher's Notebook Shop.

 

Have a great week!

 



[Alphabet Recognition] LRC game

I discovered something incredibly interesting today during phonics.

My phonics time is in the afternoon.

After specials.

Today's special was PE.

My littles were exhausted.

Timed out.

I kept trying to engage them.

It wasn't working.

So. . .I asked them to follow the alphabet cards as I pointed and say the letters.

I started at "z" and worked backward.

Well, they were engaged.

But clueless.

The majority of my littles were unable to tell me the names of the letters when we were "reading" them in reverse order.

WHAT?!

Crazy talk.

Interesting.

I KNOW many of my littles are great readers.

But. . .there is a gap somewhere.

We'll be using this little game to help FILL that gap.

Letter Recognition Left Right Center.

Easy to play.

Perfect practice/review.

2 FULL sets of alphabet (upper and lower case in 2 different fonts) are included in the download.

It's free through Wednesday night only.

Then it's going in the shop.  :)

If you're in the same predicament I found myself in today, please consider giving this game a try in your home or in your class.  Let me know how it works for you.

Tomorrow is Wednesday.

Middle of the week.

Anyone else absolutely worn right out?!

[Back to School] Reading_Handwriting Fluency Pack

It's almost Monday.

First Monday of my school year.

Some of my friends have their very first day on Monday.

I'm really glad we have 2 days under our belts!

My new littles are AWESOME!

Don't get me wrong, I totally miss my littles from last year (and every other year, lol).

But. . .my new littles are lots of fun and really listen well (for the most part!).

We start formal reading groups the Tuesday after Labor Day.

I want to get a jump start on reading before then.

So this week, we'll be using one of these fluency pages to practice our reading and handwriting fluency.

There are 5 in this pack, enough to get us through September.

They're a fairly simple read.

Perfect for the start of the year.

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to practice reading and handwriting fluency, give these a shot.

Have a great week!

{Teacher Tuesday at Latter-Day Crafters}

Hop on over to Latter-Day Crafters today and pick up the FRY'S FOURTH 100 WORDS bump game boards.

See you tomorrow back here with another great activity!

[FRY 201-300] FREE game boards

Welcome to another Monday!

I'm kind of excited because this is actually my FIRST real day of summer vacation.

Well, kind of, I have summer piano students starting today, but that will be so much LESS stress than the 2 week math class I just finished!

With so much going on, I'm not going to stay and chat.  :)

Head on over to the Latter-Day Crafters Blog to pick up game boards for the FRY words 201-300.

I made this set of game boards as BUMP.

It will be good math AND reading practice for those littles that are ready for words 201-300.

I'm sneaky that way.  Wrapping 2 kinds of practice into one game.  lol.

Font is Pea Missy from Kevin and Amanda.  Number Graphics are from Dandelion Dust Designs.  Links are on the pdf files.

Have a great week!

[May_June_July] reading and handwriting fluency freebie **EDITED**

Just a reminder (since I was soooo slow yesterday!) that FRY words 101-200 (the entire set of FIVE games!!) is only available at the Latter-Day Crafters blog!  BONUS - if you "follow" me here AND "follow" Latter-Day Crafters, leave a comment saying you do WITH an e-mail address on both blogs, I'll send you a super fun math fact fluency game set as a thank you!  Some exclusive resources will be posted at Latter-Day Crafters this summer that you won't want to miss.  ;)

Summer is here.

Kind of.

I'm in math class for 2 weeks and THEN summer can start.

This morning we were all up and dressed by 6:14 am.

I think we missed the "summer break" memo.

My own kids will be doing some school work each day.

I expect the same out of my school littles.

I even sent them home with summer work packets.

I'm such a nice teacher.  Ha, ha.

**There was an error on the July page!!  Please delete the first download and take this one instead!!!  Sorry for the trouble!**

These reading/handwriting fluency exercises are perfect to help your kiddo avoid the summer reading slide.  These are geared for 2nd graders (end of first grade, start of second) or for struggling third graders, although the practice would benefit children of all ages provided they could read the passage with limited assistance.

These passages are non-fiction.  The whole practice session takes less than 5 minutes!

Definitely worth the 5 minutes!! 

The download comes with THREE reading fluency pages (May, June, and July), the handwriting fluency page, and instructions.

Each passage is used for one full week, so with this download you get THREE weeks of reading/handwriting fluency practice!

And. . .it's FREE!

Remember to stop by Latter-Day Crafters to pick up the FRY 101-200 games (they're geared for K-2).

If you're lucky enough to actually be on summer "break," - have a fabulous day!

[FRY words 101-200] game

Well, it's far from morning, but here I am.

Was up most of the night with a sick little girl.

Up early and off to math class.

Finally home and have a minute to update.  Whew!

So far summer doesn't feel much like a break. . .

Anyway!  As promised, the FULL file for the games for Fry words 101-200 is available over at the Latter-Day Crafters Blog!

Please make sure to "follow" the Latter-Day Crafters blog while you're there!  I'll be adding many exclusive resources this summer available only through there and won't always post that information here.  :)

There *might* be a fun surprise for you if you leave a comment of thanks here AND there (don't forget an e-mail address!!) noting that you do, indeed follow both blogs.

I hope you're having a great summer that actually feels like a break!

Happy Monday!

[Sneak Peek] FRY words 101-200

Guess what?!

The ENTIRE SET (all 5 games!!) for words 101-200 will be available in a SINGLE FILE DOWNLOAD tomorrow exclusively at the Latter-Day Crafters blog!  :)

I'll post the link in the morning. . .make sure you head over and "follow" the Latter-Day Crafters blog so you don't miss any of the awesomeness.

[FRY 61-80] gameboard_cards_FREE

Yesterday was a rough day.

At least we didn't have to call the Sheriff.

That was the bright side.

I feel so bad for my 20 littles that are being so awesome.

They (and I) are dealing with the choices of one student being less than awesome.

It's emotionally draining.

Whatevs.

We'll survive.

I hope.

Here's the Fry Words 61-80 set.

Don't know if anyone even is interested in these.

I'll be using them with some of my new littles next fall.

They'll be especially useful with a few of them that are struggling with reading.

Thursday (today). Friday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. 1/2 day Friday.

We will survive.

On a funny note, the boy has to run 2 miles today at school.

It's required.

He's not a runner.

It's called the 2 Mile Fun Run.

To quote the boy, "Seriously?!  The words '2 MILE' and 'FUN RUN' should NEVER be combined in the same sentence!"

Ha, ha, ha, I agree, son, I agree.

Tonight the boy has a baseball game.

At 6:45.

In the next town over.

Games last a minimum of 1 hour 20 minutes.

Another late night.

Sooooooooo grateful for the boy's coach.

He's amazing.

So calm.

I should take lessons.

Or at least buy him a treat.

I'd probably be more successful at buying him a treat.

5.5 days.

I think I miscounted yesterday.

It's been quite the year.

[FRY 41-60] game

Last day to vote.

Then I won't bug you about it anymore.  :)

I hope you're loving these FRY game boards.  I realized that for this time of the year, they aren't super effective for most of us.  However, looking forward to August/September, they're going to be incredibly useful.

Here is the link for words 41-60 game board, rules, and cards.

It's my very last Monday with this group of littles.

To say it's been a rough year would be a bit of an understatement.

I certainly do love all of my littles.  This year there have been a few that have been extra tough behavior problems and have worn me right out.

This week is our math week - we divide all of our first graders into 4 groups and for 45 minutes each day, play math games by academic achievement level for 4 days and then as whole classes on Friday.  Lots of parents come in to help and the kids have a great time!  Our End of Level Assessment is due on Friday, so this gives us a good solid review and some sweet math fact fluency practice.  It's a great way to spend our last full week together.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

See you tomorrow!  ;)

[FRY 21-40] freebie

One day left to vote. . .if you'd like to help, please click the badge.

Thanks!

If you'd like to add your vote (which I'd super much appreciate!), follow this link: http://www.accelerated-degree.com/2012-fascination-awards-elementary-teacher-blogs/ , scroll down to where it says "Click Here" in blue lettering, click on that, click on the blue lettering "159 comments" and scroll through the blogs until you find mine (MrsReynoldsFirstGradeAdventures). Click on the G+1 button next to my blog name.

Here's a fun freebie for FRY words 21-40.

2 options to play.

Same directions and game board as words 1-20.

Using the same game boards decreases teaching time and increases learning time.  :)

Be watching for sets for all of the first grade words, 20 at a time.

These will be easy to use for differentiation.

I'm excited to get them done!

Image is linked.

Have a great week!!

[Facebook Friday] Fry Words 1-20 FREE GAME!

I have a couple of littles in my class that are struggling with reading fluency.

Their automaticity with basic words is less than automatic.

They're frustrated.  I'm frustrated.  They need practice in a fun way.

This little game uses only words 1-20 from the FRY list.

Perfect place to start!

(I'll be adding card sets over the next few weeks until I have sets for ALL of the FRY words).

If you're interested in this game (2 different ways to play, game board, and playing cards) - hop over to Facebook to find the link.

I'd appreciate if you'd LIKE my FB page while you're there.

Have a great Friday!

[Reading and Handwriting Fluency] FREE passage

After attending a professional development day with Anita Archer and reading a book by E.D. Hirsch, I realized that I was neglecting 2 very important things in my everyday teaching! Daily handwriting fluency practice and scaffolding/building background knowledge with my children!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I'm offering a FREE non-fiction reading fluency passage and handwriting fluency practice worksheet.  Using these daily in my classroom has been one of the smartest things I've ever done!

This FREEBIE contains 1 passage geared for first graders in the spring. This passage may be very easy for some students and very challenging for others. Many of the words are decodable or sight words. Other words are easily taught within the short framework of the passage.

Students read the passage daily together with the teacher to build reading fluency (speed, accuracy, expression). The first day of reading, the class works together to identify new vocabulary (and the meanings of those words!) along with 3 new facts they learned through the reading. Days 2-5 are spent reading the passage and then copying as much of it as they can onto a handwriting fluency page.

This stuff really works!  I have seen handwriting improvement in 100% of my students! Their goal is to write "just like Mrs. Reynolds." They LOVE the challenge, and yes, that improvement does transfer to other academic areas as well!

If you're interested in other passages, please check my Teacher's Notebook Shop where everything is 25% off this week!  :)

[reading and handwriting fluency] pack 2_water and seasons

Remember THIS post?

The one about reading and handwriting fluency?
My littles LOVE LOVE LOVE the chicken page!  It's so funny to hear them speaking about chickens as if they are professional chicken farmers, lol.
They're already asking what we'll be reading about next week!
I figured I'd better get ready - so now, with pack 1 (chickens, rabbits, ducks) and pack 2 (2 passages about water and 2 passages about seasons), I'm set for almost the rest of the year!  :)

Looking for non-fiction reading fluency practice and/or handwriting fluency practice?
Here's set 2!

Water.

Seasons.

2 passages for each.

That's FOUR WEEKS WORTH of reading and handwriting fluency.

All yours for 2 bucks at Teacher's Notebook!

Honestly this takes just about 5 minutes per day and that INCLUDES the correcting of the handwriting pages!

Give it a shot - I think you'll like it!  :)

[reading and handwriting fluency] non-fiction pack for spring

After attending a professional development day with Anita Archer and reading a book by E.D. Hirsch, I realized that I was neglecting 2 very important things in my everyday teaching! Daily handwriting fluency practice and scaffolding/building background knowledge with my children!

This pack, available exclusively at Teacher's Notebook, contains 3 passages geared for first graders in the spring. All are non-fiction.  This pack contains passages about rabbits, ducks, and chickens.  Information for the passages was gathered through various sources.  Passages may be very easy for some students and very challenging for others.  However, with daily reading, students will develop fluency with most (if not all) of the words.  Most of the words are either decodable or sight words. Other words are easily taught within the short framework of the passage.

Students read the passage daily together with the teacher to build reading fluency (speed, accuracy, expression). The first day of reading, the class works together to identify new vocabulary (and the meanings of those words!) along with 3 new facts they learned through the reading. Days 2-5 are spent reading the passage and then copying as much of it as they can onto a handwriting fluency page.

This stuff really works! After only 4 days of practice within my classroom, I have seen handwriting improvement in 100% of my students! Their goal is to write "just like Mrs. Reynolds." They LOVE the challenge, and yes, that improvement does transfer to other academic areas as well!

Whether you're simply looking for a few fun non-fiction passages about animals, or if you want to improve reading and handwriting fluency within your classroom , this pack will work for you!

The handwriting fluency page can be used with any reading passage!

Here's the download for that, free for my awesome blog readers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!!