Writing Interventions, Guided Reading, Behavior, & Vocabulary (with Freebies!)

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking to some of the most wonderful teachers in the world...my Texas teachers!!! Okay, so I'm a little biased ;) Honestly though...it was such a GREAT day in Austin. SO much to cover!! Writing interventions, guided reading, behavior management, and vocabulary! This is how I typically feel after a day full of talking...

Hahaha!! I absolutely love it! The exhaustion is most definitely worth it!
I promised my Texas teachers I'd pop-in today and leave a few goodies to download :) If you attended my Writing Intervention session, you might remember me talking about the visual resources my kids keep in their desks. They're used specifically for writers workshop. These checklists are great for keeping kids on task and helping them self correct/self monitor when writing independently. The checklist on the very bottom of the graphic below is great to keep them on track during the writing process. The first visual on that checklist is a light bulb. I have the kids place a counter on top of that light bulb when they're thinking about what they're going to write. Then they move to the little drawing girl when they're sketching, the boy with paper when they're writing, the boy reading when they're editing/rereading their work, and then finally the teacher/students when they're ready to share their writing with me. I can walk around and quickly assess where everyone is in each stage of their writing and help where needed.
The writing checklist is laminated and kept in their desk as well. I have them take these out when they think they're finished with their writing. I want them to check for capitals, spacing, punctuation, etc. and this checklist has really helped them through the editing process. Some of my kids will even keep this checklist visible as they're writing to self monitor as they go along. The WWW.WHAT.HOW is just a mnemonic device I like for them to keep handy as a reminder to add all of those elements to their story. If they can go through the list and check them all off when they reread their story, then it's probably time to share it with me. If they can only check off a few, they need to write a little longer and add a bit more to their story.
You can download these HERE.

If you're interested in reading more about how I run Writer's Workshop....and some different things I do for writing in my classroom...you can check it out HERE

And how about Guided Reading?! I feel like I should dedicate an entire post to this, so I'll be back soon with more info on Guided Reading and a few best practices I've picked up the last 14ish years ;) I'm no expert, but hopefully some of the things I was able to share was helpful for you and maybe gave you a better understanding of how guided reading works!
I chatted about sight words and sight word mastery in this session and promised I'd come back and link to the sight word list I use. Here's the downloadable version of that list. Click HERE to grab your copy.

You can grab more FREE downloads and ideas by clicking through THIS POST below.

And don't forget about this INVALUABLE resource I mentioned yesterday!!! LOVE this book!

The Next Step in Guided Reading: Focused Assessments and Targeted Lessons for Helping Every Student Become a Better Reader

We also chatted about different ideas and activities to target various skills during the "warm-up" block of your guided reading instruction. Here are a few we use in my classroom.

Read about the activities in this resource HERE.

Guided Reading Phonics Activities Volume One

And you can read about the guided reading activities in this resource HERE.

Guided Reading Phonics Activities Volume 2

In the meantime, happy reading!!! Check back soon for more guided reading activities, ideas, and freebies!!!!!!


If you were in my session on behavior management, we talked about these fabulous punch cards from Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants. Head on over to her blog to grab this great freebie!!!

I also mentioned wearable rewards and reward coupons that Amy Lemons at Step into Second Grade has available on her blog for FREE!!!!! Love them!!!

Lastly, if you were in my vocabulary session, don't forget to grab this FREE vocabulary mini booklet. These are perfect for word work or small group work...even that "peanut butter & jelly" time we talked about :)

We finished with an explanation of this activity and because it was the end of a LONG day, I wanted to leave this here in case you forgot about it or needed a visual to remember the details!

You can read more about that activity HERE.

Whew!!! Hope this is helpful!!! Thank you so much for coming out! It was such a pleasure meeting each and every one of you!!! God bless Texas!!! :)