New Blog- Follow Me There

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you!

I'm Back!

Well after custom domain problems and a new baby, I am finally back on! Yeah!  I am looking forward to sharing new ideas with all of my teacher friends!

OG Lesson Flow/Behavior Chart

We are on the next two last day of our 2012 Orton Gillingham Associate Level Training.  Almost done!  It has been a great week, and what an awesome group of trainees!  The thing I love about training is the friendships, networking, and extended learning communities that are developed.

If you don't know about the Orton Gillingham Approach or Trainings you should definitely check it out.  Ask any of the trainees.....well maybe wait a week or two until their brains have had a break and their opinions not so frazzled (just kidding).

So for all of you new trainees or Orton tutors, trainer, teachers, parents, etc. here is a schedule/checklist I created for my little friends who need a visual reminder of the flow of the lesson.  It also has a component where you or the student can monitor how they feel they are doing in each of the portions of the lesson.  ++ = Giving my best work  + =Just ok   triangle= needs work.  I have also built in Brain Breaks (stretching, yoga moves, joke, settle your thoughts jar, etc.) where I felt were natural breaks in the lesson.  This is based on a 30-45 minute lesson and you may want to extend the length of the brain break.

You can download the freebie here!   
Hope it is helpful!

Candi : )

Check Yourself	My Very Best	Just Ok	Work on It
Warm Up
Visual Drill
Auditory Drill
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
Words to Read
Words to Spell
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
New Info-
Words to Read
Words to Spell
BRAIN BREAK!!!!!!! -30 Seconds
Reading
Writing/Grammar
Recap

Subtract All and a freebie!

Wow! It's been a few weeks since I have posted.  But what a fun, but busy, month it has been.  I recently finished my first OG training as on-site director.  It was a blast!  Thank you to Jane Childers and all of the wonderful teachers from The Learning Center at The Lexington School who participated!     You ladies made it a truly wonderful experience and I hope to continue working with you!

So as I prepare for Math camp, I put together a quick resource on Subtracting All (or none).  I think we sometimes forget how important it is to directly and explicitly teach the vocabulary of the content.  I know I am guilty of getting caught up in what I am teaching and assuming they know more than they do.  So here is the freebie.

For those of you in the Lexington area you should check out this wonderful school:
The Lexington School

I hope you all have a safe and Happy 4th!  - Candi : )


                                                  A funny from Pinterest to leave you with:

Do you need to FLOSS (Z) ?

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

No I am not working on a unit having to do with teeth.  Instead we are reviewing on of the spelling patterns we have learned this year.  We have rules that we group as "short vowel flags."  Well the FLOSS(Z) rule is one of them.  If you are unfamiliar with the rule (which I was until I started my OG training) here it is:
If there is a-

1 syllable word with
1 short vowel
ending in F, L, S, or Z
you DOUBLE the FINAL consonant!!!

Enjoy!
Candi : )

Compound Words & a Freebie!

So we are down to 12 school days...I think.  It's the time of year when I get sentimental about my sweet firsties and try to talk them into staying with me next year.  I tell my husband I am sad to let them move up to which he replies, "you say this every year."  But it's true- you become very invested in their little lives and the daily routine is now at the point where it is fun and easier.  But next year will bring new little inquiring minds.

As the year is winding down and end of year assessments are being completed, I am able to see what areas need just that little bit of extra review before my sweet kiddos go to 2nd grade.  We work a lot on combining syllables, specifically focusing on syllable types- ie- combining closed and closed or closed and silent e, etc.  But after reviewing some informal assessments, I realized we needed a little more explicit instruction on plain ol' compound words.  I saw this cute Easter egg activity at The Lesson Plan Diva's site to create compound words.

I also included a freebie that I created.  You can download it here!

I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful end to your school year!  Summer is coming!
Candi : )

Blends-Again!

Please feel free to repost- but would you please link back to me : )

http://www.memosfromamultisensoryteacher.com/

Wow- it has been awhile since I have posted.  There has been a lot going on and I could not find time to get my posts up.  But I have been taking pictures and videos of the happenings in class to share with my blog friends.   So as we are winding the school year, we have been doing a lot of review.  Blends (initial and final) are still bugaboos for some of my kiddos.  

For those of you familiar with Orton-Gillingham, you have probably seen the "blending drill pack."  Well this was my little addition to the process.  I had posted earlier about adding small sticky notes in order to create a "button" for each sound that the student could "push" as they said the sound.  The above video is an example of how I would complete this activity.

For Parents- This is a GREAT review tool for the summer and easy to make on notecards.  

For Teachers- this is a GREAT and quick warm-up for a lesson.

For OG Tutors- I complete this right after my Visual and Auditory Drills.

I hope this is helpful.  I promise more to come-more often.  Thanks for your patience!

Candi : )

For a Sweet Little Girl

I came across a blog today about a sweet little girl named Avery.  She suffers from a rare genetic disorder.  It is such a moving story, and so courageous for her parents to choose to celebrate her in this way.  As I look towards the years in my life where my husband and I hope to become parents, I am so grateful for families like this who share their stories to educate and help other hopeful parents.  Please support Avery and her parents, and get the word out about SMA.

Canahuati Family thank you for your bravery and sharing your journey.  May God bless you and keep you all.  You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Here is the link to the blog:
http://averycan.blogspot.com/

I'm thinking BEACH!

Hello  friends,
It has been quite a busy few days and I have not been able to write you!  I don't know about you but I often find my mind wondering to the beach these days.  With the 80 degree weather, sunshine, and the fact my husband put my hammock up for the season....it is really hard not to go on mental vacays!

Anyways- in keeping with the beach idea I found some treasures at the Target dollar section....you know the one my husband says, "it's not a dollar section when you spend 50 dollars."  Yep that one!  So during my language lesson we use phoneme drill cards/flash cards and have the students trace the letter three times in cursive while saying the sound.  Well to spice it up a bit I took a math beach ball idea and made it into a language idea.  On the ball I put all of the sounds they had learned this year.  Then we take turns tossing, shooting, etc. the beach ball and whatever two graphemes/letters your thumbs land on you have to give that sound.  If it has multiple sounds, for example y that says /y/, /e/, and /i/, they have to give all three sounds.  Of course you then have those times when the thumb isn't exactly on a letter.....just choose the closest one.  Here is what it looks like:

Also in the dollar section, I found a set of plastic horseshoes.  I set these up and have the kiddos break into teams.  I quiz them on a spelling pattern, rule, etc.  If they answer correctly they get to throw their horseshoe.  Pretty cheap ways to have fun and chances to get OUTSIDE!!!! Here is a picture of them:

Anyways hope you enjoy!

Candi : )

Back in the routine....

Well last week and today was Spring Break.  I actually held to the promise to myself of doing absolutely nothing work related. So instead I was able to organize my house, ok I'll be honest parts of my house. My 3 year anniversary was this week too, so as one of his presents I organized what my husband calls the "knife drawer."  You see I hate having stuff sitting out on the counters.  He has tried to buy cutesy little utensil holders for the countertop, but I just can't do it.  Instead I put (he says cram) all of them in one drawer.  It drove him crazy.  I went to Target and bought the ridiculously overpriced drawer organizers and went to work.  When he came off I proudly showed off the new and improved utensil and knife drawer to which he was amazed and thrilled.  You see my husband and I can be both CDO (you know the saying-like OCD except the letters are in order as they should be) and complete slobs and we never seem to be on the same schedule with it.  But who knew organizing a few knives would make his day.  Anniversary gift = check.  Lame I know- but I also got him a new tie and a Woolrich jacket.

Now that I am working on getting back in the routine....yikes....tomorrow may be harder than I thought, I found a couple of photos I wanted to share...and no it's not the knife drawer.

Just as I have my students track with a pencil or finger as they are reading text, I also have them use the tracking strategy for mathematics.  This brings their attention to the numerals, helps them read the numerals from left to right, and also helps in determining which numeral is in what place.  If the student is able to read the numeral correctly...for example- "fifty-four" ....they can hear themselves say "fifty" and know there are 5 tens.  

Just a tip from my classroom to yours.

Have a great week!

Candi : )

Easter = Love

 God showing his unconditional love towards mankind. What a wonderful gift! I invite you to come or watch via internet to one of these great places of worship:

http://newspring.cc/

http://mudcreekchurch.org/

God's greatest blessings to you all!  Happy Easter!

Candi : )

Celebrate Calm

Last night Carolina Day hosted Kirk and Casey the father-son team from  Celebrate Calm.  I'll be honest, I was not exactly excited about going to a workshop on a Monday evening.  I must say I am so glad I went.  Not only did they give GREAT advice, they were very entertaining.  They were able to use humor and honesty to approach some tough scenarios that we as teachers, parents, etc. face each day.  It challenged me to do some self reflection on my own personal management.

Kirk offered excellent suggestions for breaking the (unsuccessful) cycles we sometimes fall into with kids who are oppositional, have difficulty managing energy, or have difficulty with social situations.  Casey offered the perspective of the child who has these struggles and what did and did not work for him growing up.  

They have a series of videos which I highly recommend- but if you get the chance to see them live take advantage of it.

Here is their website: http://celebratecalm.com/

Check it out!

Candi : )

Tick-Tock!

Hi Everyone-
I saw this really cute and helpful clock idea from the Learning Ideas Grade K-8.  I like that it has the hour listed but also the kiddos can really see the five minute increments.  You should check it out!

We do a similar clock created by our 3rd grade teacher.  Hopefully I can get pics of that up soon!

Candi : )

One more use for Painter's Tape

I know.... I know.....last post today I promise!  I was browsing through my photos (for a slideshow for school) and my husband spotted this one, and said I should post it. So here is one other way I use painter's tape.  For those of you using Singapore Math or Math in Focus you are working with number bonds.  We use Math in Focus as supplemental materials.  So I built number bonds on white boards using the tape so that my kids could use them while they needed the frame, but I would still have my mini-white boards still intact.

Parents- this would be an easy review tool for homework.  Tutors this is an easily transported manipulative.

PS- I got the boards in the Target Dollar Section (my fave!!!)

-Candi : )

Framing Your Thoughts

So I know I am breaking the "more than one post in a day" rule....but I have to have something to distract me while I fret over the Carolina game. (Go Heels!)  I have already loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, laundry is in progress, and lesson plans finished. As usual my husband is yelling out the score from the other room.  You see my Pa and I have this crazy idea that we can be bad luck charms to the Heels...so we only watch a few minutes periodically.    Here is my sweet Pa:

Anyways.... enough Madness here is something else- Project Read has an approach to Grammar and Sentence Structure called Framing Your Thoughts. I have been using it since the beginning of the year and I have seen quite a difference with my student's writing skills.  I like their idea of a "Bare-Bones" sentence- where the student develops just a noun and a verb.  From this point you build using parts of speech to create a complete sentence.  I like the sequential approach to it.  Plus it uses grammar for its intended and most useful purpose- Writing!

Here are some pics from my class:

Here's to a Tarheel win!  Candi : )

Painter's Tape

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend.  I just wanted to share a quick tip that you may already know- but just in case you don't.  A co-worker of mine introduced me to the idea of using blue painter's tape on a magnetic board (or any white board) in order to create handwriting lines.  I have also created a place value chart on my second board.  I have used electrical tape before- but it leaves a sticky residue.  The painter's tape pulls right off with no residue.  As my student's handwriting has improved I have made the space between the lines more narrow.  It has been great for handwriting practice, spelling, and sentence construction.

Hope this is helpful.  Have a great week!  Candi : )

Test Post

So we are switching email accounts as a school so I had to change over my blog email.  If you have ever tried to change the primary email on a blog it can be confusing at first.  But our faithful tech extraordinaire  (Thanks Bo!) figured it out without me throwing my computer or accidentally deleting everything.  Anyways- in doing so my profile has now changed and maybe a few other things that I may have not noticed yet...so give me a few days and I will have everything back to semi-normal again.

Grandparent's and Grand-Friends Day is tomorrow, so I am off to clean up for company and finish solar system dioramas.  Pics to come soon!

Happy Thursday!

Candi : )

It's Ridiculously Long Lasting.... Gum

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! So as I was walking into class this morning I heard one of my friends say, "Here want to try my new gum it's ridiculously long lasting."  Now that is some great marketing if you can get a firstie to recall your catch-phrase. 

We do let our kiddos chew gum only in our classes (not lunch, recess, etc.) as a way to increase focus.  We also try to have gum be peppermint in flavor, because of the research behind peppermint being a flavor/smell that wakes up your brain.

Anyways- I found it humorous and thought of all the reasons for him to offer to share his gum....I really think he just wanted to say "ridiculously long lasting."

A freebie for you:
We are working on the multiple spellings of long e.  I teach it as e by itself (most of the time at the end of short words and open syllables), e-e (most of the time at the end of a word following the e-consonant e/silent e pattern), and ee in the middle (most of the time) of a word.  We will move into ea (most of the time in the middle of the word- also words you eat....eat, meat, treat) and y (at the end of a 2 + syllable word).

Download it here!

Happy Wednesday!

Candi : )

Blends....urgh!!!

 Hi Everyone!

I have migrated to my new website www.theinstructionhub.com.

I hope you will join me there and follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @theinstructionhub

Thank you! In first grade we are learning to decode new words, building new reading and writing skills, and everything is going along smoothly until....you add initial and final blends.  The bug-a boo of many firsties! 

For my Orton tutors, teachers, parents, and friends I use the blending drill pack that you may have seen in training, at school, or for homework.

Those of you who are not familiar with the blending drill pack you can of course make these with colored notecards. Prior to practicing with students, place colored sticky tabs on the blend cards- one for each sound in the blend.

1. Pull a vowel and have the student say the long and short sound.
2. Pull a consonant and place it following the vowel.  Remind students the vowel will now be short    because it is "closed in" by a consonant (closed syllable).
3. Then have students "push the button" (sticky) for each consonant sound followed by the vowel and final consonant.
4.  Then have students slide two fingers underneath blending the whole syllable/word together a second time for a smooth read.
5.  Flip the blend card for a new word.
*Double check possible word combinations beforehand....sometimes a word combination might surprise you.*

You can do the same thing with final blends. You can also change the syllable type and vowel sound.
I have found this really helps students see the two (or more) sounds in the blend, and aids them in pulling them apart and putting them together again.  It is also helpful when they are reading a word in text with a blend....I will place a small dash under each consonant and they "push the button" with their pencil.

This exercise will also help when they go to spell words with blends.  Below is a picture of how I do this exercise in class.
(We label the vowels with dots, and consonants with c.) They always have to "swoop" back under the word to blend and read smoothly.
Happy Blending!  : ) Candi

Road Trip and a Freebie

Well I have made it to Lexington to visit some of my favorite teacher friends the ladies from The Learning Center at The Lexington School.  I get to spend the day visiting with them tomorrow and then it is off to Indianapolis for the AOGPE conference.  A whirlwind of a trip, but I am looking forward to it!

So as I was looking for a document today for my grad class, I happened upon an oldie from my first year of teaching in fourth grade.  My kiddos at the time were very musically inclined and came up with a catchy tune to remember the steps of double digit multiplication.  So although I would not use it with my firsties, I thought those of you who teach older kids might find it useful.  If you are not into catchy jingles this is not for you!  Our fifth grade teacher sometimes cringes (with a smile) at the math jingles I use.  Hey- it's great to be in first grade!

Anyways- long story short download the doc here!

Candi : )