because we heart you!

It's hard to believe that schools starts here in the next couple weeks. We've been working this summer on making some updates to our TpT Store and for this week only…you can download our Basic Code Fluency Builders for FREE! If you have purchased these in the past, you'll notice the fonts have been jazzed up a bit (sorry, no more Comic Sans!)

 
We have also created additional resources to help your kiddos.

If you download them, please leave us some love and tell us what you think!

Hump-Day Freebies!

A few days ago I was preparing for a presentation with all of my pocket chart word sorts spread all over the place...In the midst of sorting through baggies and baggies of words, I wondered why I never have created a "Word Wall" around the sounds that I'm teaching my kiddos? Why do I display words by their beginning letter? (It's definitely not how I teach…)

And...Because I've been stuck in my apartment because of this…

I created a 'lil freebie. No more "Word Walls" for this girl. Say hello to "Sound Stations".  In this download, you'll have the 16 vowel headers that look something like this:

…And over 300 word cards that look something like this:

Just head on over to Katie's TpT Store to download "Sound Station: Headers and Word Cards" for FREE! 

I also have been looking for just the right vocabulary tools for my 3rd Graders…after looking and looking and finding nothing, I decided to create a special dictionary of my own! I purchased one-inch binders for each student and printed all of the pages in this download. The first few pages are "tools" that can help them (Synonyms, Antonyms, Tier Words, Parts of Speech). I'm working with the lowest 3rd Graders in my building and they NEED as many visuals as they can get...

 

I wish I had a better pic of a student binder, but again, I'm stuck in my apartment. This is a rough sketch of what a sample page might look like. Please excuse my attempt to draw a fox! 

When it's completed, it would be filed behind the "P" tab! 

I hope you find this as helpful as I have…be sure to head on over to my TpT Store to download it for free.

Stay warm, friends!

Quiz, Quiz, Pass...Freebie

A few years back I created a CVC game that I played with my firsties at the beginning of the school year...I'm pretty embarrassed about the graphics I used for it, which is why I'm hesitant to post the link on here...but I promise you, I'm in the process of revamping it! (And no, I won't use Word graphics. Bible!) If you really can't wait for the revised version, you can head on over to ReadingResource to snatch the original!

Since my reading intervention kiddos are able to read short vowel sounds, I decided it was time to step it up...Here's a long vowel version! It's a pretty simple game to play whole group (and even better for my reading intervention kids). Simply give each child a card and tell them not to let anyone see the backside of the card (the picture). They will find a buddy and have them try to read the word. Check the answer on the back of the card. Then it's the other person's turn to share their word. Once each person has "quizzed" their buddy, they switch cards and move around the room to find a new buddy. 

Below is a sample of what the pages look like...I made this black and white to have some of my colored ink! 

 

If you'd like the free copy of Quiz, Quiz, Pass (Long Vowel) head on over to my TpT Store...Please be sure to leave some love...Hope your students enjoy it as much as mine do!

Black Friday & Cyber Monday SALE!

Haven't purchased Sight Word Flip-It yet? What are you waiting for?

Purchase it on Friday for just $1.99 on iTunes!

This app works and stands alone because of the way it is organized and designed. Word lists have been carefully chosen and organized by vowel sound allowing kids to practice difficult spelling patterns for all 16 vowel sounds in a controlled and systematic way. Our graphics are kid friendly but not overly distracting and simple enough for their little fingers to use. Don't believe us? Take a look at Steve's four-year old using it!

Here's how it works: 
Once a word list is selected from the landing page, kids, teachers and parents can then choose to practice one spelling pattern or all the spelling patterns for a chosen sound. Once the spelling patterns are selected, sight words are then presented on a fun, digital flashcard. The flash card features four distinct cueing methods to help children read: Flip It, Bold It, Say It, Check It. The "Flip It" & "Bold It" features allow kids to isolate, see and hear the important vowel patterns. The "Say It" and "Check It" buttons provide important feedback and self correction.

Be sure to stop by Katie's TpT Store for 20% off EVERYTHING on Cyber Monday!

Math-O

We're back...and we've finally FINISHED our Math-O for K-1! We had such a huge response with our Read-O that we are branching out to Math-O now.

Math-O can be used in a variety of ways to keep your students practicing important skills at home during each month of the school year. Math-O is especially useful for helping parents practice important math skills (aligned to Common Core) with children and offers a fun and effective way to keep kids engaged in academic activities...especially during winter, spring, and summer breaks! 

At the first of each month send home each month’s Math-O sheet, along with the accompanying graph. Challenge your students or children to complete as many of the boxes as they can. They can complete five in a row, more than five, or try and complete the entire page. Offer incentives as you feel appropriate in your classroom to keep students engaged in important mathematical skills outside of the classroom.

Want to see even more Math-O? Head on over to Katie's TpT Store and grab yourself a copy!

Metacognition News (Freebie)

Now that I'm working with K-4 students I've been challenged by ways to pass along what we're working on each month without having to create something for each grade level....Luckily, I started a "Metacognition News" a few years ago when I was in the classroom. It's based upon my most favorite book, "Comprehension Connections," by Tanny McGregor. (If you haven't read it yet...You probably should!)

Today I sat down to make it usable for any grade. I've posted it on my TpT Store. Feel free to head on over to snag the FREE download. 

If there is any reading materials that you pass along to families, I'd love to see it!

C-Rule Poster (Freebie)

So, a while back I attended an OG two-week training. I learned a lot of helpful tips and tricks that I'm excited to use in the small-group setting this school year. And one of the tips, well...wasn't really a tip for anyone but myself. I never realized that the letter "c" makes the sound /s/ when it's followed by the letters i, e, and y. The lightbulb went off...Just a few years later than it should've! 

Anyways, head over to Katie's TpT Store to grab the one-page download for free.

TpT Sale (Up to 28% Off)

Head on over to Katie's TpT Store! Use code BTS13 @ checkout!

Phonological Awareness (K-1 Common Core Aligned)

It's been quite a task getting this up and going...I've been working on bits and pieces since spring break. {Nothing like waiting until the end of the year to get it posted. Better late than never, I guess}. I've been compiling my favorite phonological awareness activities over the past year, some of which are new and some Steve and I already have on our website. (I tried to jazz them up a bit though).

Here are some sample pics of what's in our new 58-page Phonological Awareness Activities Download. 

This is my favorite part about our new download! You'll get a 30-page phonological awareness progression for ways to help your students at the word, syllable, and sound level. Simply cut the page down the middle, punch a whole in the corner, and bind with a metal ring! It's perfect to do with your students when you a few free minutes...and it's super handy. (Scroll down to see another pic!)

You can head over to our TpT Store to purchase this download!

Read-O, Math-O, & Write-O Revised!

So, a while back I posted a sample of "Read-O" and "Write-O" that I created for my kiddos over winter break...They looked something like this:

It was a freebie that I linked to Scribd for downloading, but apparently you have to pay...Fail. I said if you e-mailed me, I'd send you the PDF. Yeh, well I'm getting tired of doing that. Today I decided to repost Read-O, Write-O, & Math-O with an updated version. That's because I heart my followers so much. I even got smarter and put them all in the same file. If you'd like the free download, click here.

Oh, and here's what it looks like:

If you want a entire year of Read-O for your class, you can head over to our store to purchase it! (It's our best seller!)

Happy Wednesday bloggers!

March Madness (Prefix & Suffix Game)

It's tourney time! Check out our new Prefix and Suffix Basketball Games aligned to the new Common Core.  A fun way to practice reading decoding and fluency with multi-syllabic words, especially in March.  The games can be used with both small and large groups.   

Included in this download are THREE games to help students hear prefixes and suffixes and games to practice reading the common prefixes and suffixes, directions included.

Game #1 BINGO: A multi-syllabic twist to the classic Bingo game. The teacher reads a word aloud and the players must determine which prefix or suffix it has. Players place a game marker over the word until someone gets a BINGO.

Game #2, GAME TIME: Divide the players into two equal teams. Each team takes turns drawing a Foul Shot (easy words), Two Pointer (more difficult words), or Three Pointer (the toughest multi-syllabic words). Players may decide which card to read so everyone experiences success. If the word is read correctly, they tally their points on the score card sheet. After the 4th Quarter, players add up their totals. The team with the most points, wins!

Game #3, HORSE: A classic head to head HORSE game.  Each player receives a “Horse Game Mat” found on page 17. The first player draws a Foul Shot, Two Pointer, or Three Pointer card. If they are able to read it correctly, the next player MUST draw from that same pile. If they are able to read it correctly, it becomes the next player’s turn...but if they do not read it correctly, they must color in a letter on their “Horse Game Mat”. The first player that has to color in all their letters loses the game!

Get into the spirit of March and practice reading those all so tough multi-syllabic words. 

To preview and/or download our game, head on over to our TpT Store! Please make sure to leave us some love and GO BUCKS! (Yes, we're from Columbus, Ohio!)

Bead Slides and CVC Word Cards

So I have the stormy weather and a new blog to thank for the arts and crafts mess I've created on my bedroom floor. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a new blog (that I heart) and eyed a phonemic awareness idea I wish I would have thought of myself! Julie over at Make, Take, & Teach has created a "bead slide" to teach phoneme segmentation. Genius. She even has a video demonstration and a word list...you should probably head over and check it out. 

I found this inexpensive beads and ribbon at Jo Ann's & will be able to have a class set of bead slides! 

A teaching buddy of mine has been working with a kid who has been reversing the first and last letters in words and I got an idea...Hopefully it will also be a tool I can use with my kindergarten students this coming school year and hopefully you will find it useful too!


Using the green, yellow, and red traffic light idea, we've created color-coded CVC words to help early literacy learners decode words using the appropriate left-to-right concepts of print. There are corresponding black-and-white copies that can be printed on the back of the colored words to help them generalize their improved decoding skills to fluent reading without the controlled colored supports.

Free Download at TpT!

Leave us some love if you download the Free "Traffic Light CVC Word" Template at TpT!

Word Detective Monkeys: Long Vowels

Last week I made a "Long A Search" for my first graders (again, I forgot to take pictures of them) and they loved it! 

We spend quite a bit of time learning the various letter combinations for the short and long vowel sounds. I wanted to mix things up a little so I posted Long A words around our classroom & school. They had to determine the letter combinations (a-e, ai, a, ei, eight, & ey) and write it on their "Word Detective Monkey" answer sheet.

We've posted a FREE DOWNLOAD for the "Long U" on TpT. There are 3-4 words for each vowel combination. We've also added Long A, Long E, Long I, and Long O!   

On Friday, all of the first graders at my school took a mini field trip over to the high school in search of Long A words. (Luckily most of the rooms we invaded were parents of students in my classroom!) Here's a pic of 75 students invading Mrs. Ladowitz's science class! 

Since my kids have been learning about nouns, I made it a little more tricky for them by having them place the words into the category of person, place, or thing. Here is the FREEBIE if you'd like it for your classroom! 

Long A Sound Search FREEBIE!

Please leave us a comment on TpT if you download our Long U Freebie...Let us know what you think! :)

20% Off TpT Birthday Sale!

We're having a sale! Katie is turning 30...Purchase any of our products from our TpT Store for 20% off! It would make Katie super happy! :)

Head Over to Our TpT Store!

Short "e" Mouse Paint Uno

It's been a while, but we've added a new product to our TpT Store! This is a great game to introduce early readers to the idea of basic code (letters that say their appropriate sounds) and advanced code (letters that are in groups of 2, 3, & 4 that represent the sounds in our language). This game contains 8 pages of words with the short "e" vowel combinations "e, ea, & ai".  

Click here to purchase "Mouse Paint Short e Uno" on TpT!