All You Need to Know about Orton-Gillingham Phoneme Grapheme Cards

The three part routine is my favorite part of the phonics block. I love how flexible it is. It can take five minutes...or if we are coming back from a long weekend, and my students need some solid review, we can practice longer. I can even do parts of the routine in line. I have complete control of the phonemes/graphemes that my students are practicing. That darn 'qu' is just not automatic yet for some of my first grade readers, and so it remains in our three part routine, including our blending binder.

What is a Blending Binder?

Very simply, it is a three ring binder filled with index card sized consonant and vowel graphemes. The binder helps to keep the cards organized and easy to use for the last drill of the three part phonics routine. 

How do I Set it Up?

I think the easiest way to set up our binder is to start with two sets of phoneme/grapheme cards. The first pack is a set of flash cards to use with steps 1 (visual) and 2 (auditory/tactile) of the phonics routine. This set can be shuffled as needed, and cards can easily be taken out of the deck once they are mastered. You can read more about parts 1 and 2 HERE.
The second pack of cards, is to arrange in the three ring binder for blending practice. Having a second set exclusively for the binder will keep the cards organized based on initial, medial and final sounds, and ensure we are set to blend without needing to reorganize cards. 

What cards go in the initial, medial and final sound spots?

I get this questions a lot from teachers who have already started setting up their binder. The cards that are the "hardest" to place are the A-Z consonant cards. Most of the other cards have a distinct place in the binder.

Initial Sounds

Any letter that will create a vowel sound (like y, r, w) MUST go in the initial position. We also want to be conscious that some consonants can change the sound of our vowels (m and n). It does not mean these consonants have to go in the initial position, but only move them to a final position (or include a second copy) when your students are ready. Also having initial sounds that can be elongated into the vowel can help when it comes to blending "S-A-T >> SSSAAA-T >> SAT"

So here is MY list. This does not have to be your list, it is good to experiment.
c, l, h, j, k, ch, r, f, s, th, w, y, v, z, qu, followed by the initial consonant blends. We know the blends are initial sounds because the consonants are followed by a dash. I also know these consonants are out of order (I follow the sequence from Recipe for Reading)

Medial Sounds

This is where all of the vowel sounds go. I have chosen to print my vowels on yellow, but some people choose pink or blue. Really, you can pick any color you like, but having your vowel sounds on a special color help our students start to identify those sounds as a unit, and begin noticing patterns within words.
Some vowel sounds do not go IN the binder. They are meant solely for parts 1 and 2 of the drill. An example of this are the silent e cards. a-e should not go in the binder because it will not help our students to read silent e words (however it does have a great place in parts 1 and 2, because our students should choral response with "a silent e, says a").

Final Sounds

Much like the initial sounds, there is not a hard rule about what consonants go in the final location. I try to save some of the consonants that are used frequently in word families.
Here is MY final sounds list.
d, g, m, t, p, b, n, sh, x, th, followed by the double consonants, and final blends. We know the blends are final sounds because the consonants are preceded by a dash

How do I Use My New Blending Binder?

In the binder, real and nonsense words can be created. Eventually, I start to have my students look at these nonsense words as potential syllables in bigger words - with this, they are able to read open, closed, silent e, vowel team, diphthong, r-controlled and c+le words/syllables.

Then we follow the "I do, We do, You do" gradual release model of practice. I model how I tap each grapheme, while verbally producing the sound. Then, using the same word, we do it together, and finally the students on their own. Then I change ONE grapheme. At this time, I check to make sure the word follows correct phonics rules - for example I would not want to have the word KAT, because initial /k/ when with vowel a should be a C).

Do I Need More Than One Binder?

Having more than one binder is definitely helpful. I have a binder for each of my primary groups. This is so I can add appropriate graphemes as my students are introduced to them. Because my groups are all at different levels, each binder has different cards. 

Full disclosure: Because I will never lie to you! 
The phoneme/grapheme cards I have available in my TpT shop, do not create a low prep binder. Even with the various print options (direct to index cards or cut apart), it takes some time to prep. When I first started using a blending binder, I only had one. Then each year, I created another one, and each year, executing my phonics instruction has gotten easier. Every minute of prep work has been worth it (which is why I have created five for myself, and even more for colleagues) because the impact it has had on our students is monumental. 

What Are Other Teachers Saying?

You do not need to take my word for it, other teachers are raving about the blending binders they have created to support their phonics block instruction. Overall, teachers feel that creating this binder has had a positive impact on instruction, improved student learning, and ultimately has saved time. 

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Since using this tool with my students, they have become more successful and automatic with identifying vowel patterns in words. I hope sharing this tool will boost your students skills as well, and help to save you some time when planning your phonics instruction. 

You can also check out these related phonics post:

Using concrete objects to teach phonics

Teaching decoding using syllable types

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My #1 Classroom Organization Solution

I know how much you love classroom organization! It's a real feel good part of setting up our classrooms, once you figure it out. But before that, it can be a big source of stress. It took me several years to figure out an organization system that worked well for my small group instruction. And now...I want to share that with you! 

Book Boxes!

I have used these Storex book boxes, from Wal-Mart (5 for $9.97) for the past two years, and instantly fell in love. I'm a big fan of color coding, and my school uses the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) system, which is also rainbow color coded. These bins made for no-brainer organizational alignment. 

The bins hold materials for the small groups I see throughout the week. Each grade level gets their own bin. In each bin is a folder for each student, which contains student references (such as Fundations cards and comprehension posters), our group book, progress monitoring materials, and anything else we might need for the week. You could easily modify my color coded "grade level" bins to hold materials for the small groups you meet with, just within your classroom. 

Storex is a storage solution company based out of Montreal, QC, and they were generous enough to send me a set of their newest storage option to try out before the school year ended. 

As I said, I have been using the "Large Book Bins" for a few years, and couldn't be happier with my day to day classroom organization. However, three times a year when benchmark screening comes around, I cringe at the sight of the intervention room. It has always looked like a tornado rolled through at top speed, until this last assessment period! I was gifted the BRAND NEW "Double XL Wide Book Bins". My team and I used these super large bins to hold everything we needed for end of the year assessments (both reading and math in most cases). They housed our student packets, teacher administration packets, grade level checklists and student folders (for every student on our caseload - that needed to be "stuffed" before end of the year filing). The color coding made organizing a breeze, because my Type A teacher crazy has rubbed off a little bit on my teammates too. 

I would regret not mentioning that Storex has expanded the Wal-Mart selection for this Back to School season! In addition to the large book bins, they also have a rainbow set of 5 pencil trays, individual caddies, and cubby boxes with LIDS! The caddies and cubby boxes are available in a gorgeous turquoise color, so run fast to get them! I have not used these storage options in my classroom, but after seeing them in store, I am trying to figure out how I could - especially the cubby boxes, they are a great size and super sturdy! 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• SO STURDY! These books bins are a beast even for rough and tumble classes. 
• Variety of sizes, and options for organization in general
• Book bins have connecting edges for neat storage
• Color options (if you love the colors of the rainbow + black and turquoise)
• Coordinating colors across different "lines" of organization (my Large Book bins, perfectly match my XL Wide Book bins)
• Wal-Mart line is affordable, even if purchasing on your own, and they have had a BTS presence for at least three years (hopefully they aren't going anywhere, anytime soon).  

Cons

• Color options (missing orange, white and pink - which I think are popular classroom colors)
• Label pockets included only with the Large Book Bins
• Organization options outside of the Wal-Mart line is pricey if you are purchasing out of pocket, but would be a great option to ask your school to look into. 

What are other teachers saying?

Jenn from Reading in Room 11 says, "Year after year I would change the way I organized my reading materials because I never found a system that I loved. All of that changed when I purchased my first set of Storex bins! I loved them so much that now I use them to organize my books too! They are the perfect size, durable and lightweight! I will never use another bin!"

Kristina, a first year teacher from Utah says, "This upcoming year I will have an entirely flexible classroom. I will be using the bins for my students to store the things that they need every day. The bins will be easy for them to move around the room when they need to find the best spot for their best learning experience!"

Anna, a 3rd grade teacher, says "I love the Storex brand book boxes above all others! For years I tried different boxes in my classroom, but they never had the colors I wanted, and they never stood the test of time. These Storex boxes have lasted me many years and are well worth the investment. Pretty AND useful!!" Anna has also created beautiful labels for her Storex book bins. Check them out HERE! 

For several years, I tried different organization options for my small groups. I've used mailboxes, a rainbow cart with drawers, even magazine boxes - which got me close to happy, but they were just not sturdy enough. I spent more money than I care to admit trying to find something that worked.  Since stumbling upon Storex, and all they have to offer for classroom organization, I have not turned back! Everything just works, and with some of their sets being available at Wal-Mart, for a very affordable price, I have been able to grow my organization collection on a teacher's summer budget.

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I would love to hear if you have tried the Storex book boxes (or other sets) in your classroom, and how they have been working out for you!

Check out these related posts: 

10 Things You Need to Run Fabulous Reading Groups

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All You Need in a Teacher Survival Kit

Are you a first year teacher, or maybe looking for ways to be a little more comfortable in your classroom? Either way, our classrooms are where we will spend the majority of our weeks, months and years...so it is important that WE (too) have what we need in the classroom. 

It is time to build (or restock) your teacher survival kit. So, what do you need?

When I put my teacher comfort kit together, I considered items that would help me either day to day (must haves) or occasionally (wouldn't want to be caught without) . Then, I went room to room in my house and made a list of things that would be helpful to have at school.
Here is what I came up with...

Gum/Mints - Good to grab quick after lunch or on your way to an afternoon meeting.

Snack - I keep fruit cups because they have a longer shelf life, and are healthy.

Bowl/Mug - For the mornings I forget breakfast and quickly pack a baggie of oatmeal. I can heat up breakfast in my room before I become the hANGRY teacher all my students fear!

Fork/Spoon - I constantly forget to pack a spoon for my yogurt, or a fork for my salad. I was tired of running all the way to the cafeteria to grab one, so now I just leave one in my special drawer.

Blanket - You may be able to do without this one, but any teacher that lives in the North knows what it is like to come back from a school break on a Monday. The heat hasn't kicked in yet, and the ten layers you wore are not cutting it. A more universal alternative would be to keep an extra fleece at school. 

Medicine - Something like Advil/Tylenol for those quick on-set stress headaches. Cough Drops - This would be something you could bring in when you are sick, or something to leave in your special kit. Teacher Bandaids - I don't know about you, but my school's bandaids do not stick, so I keep a personal stash of the good ones.Feminine Products - enough said.Lotion - I have used this more than I thought I would. Not only for myself, but also with some of my littles as "Magic Boo Boo Lotion." For when they have nothing visible needing a bandaid, but have something that is distracting them, out comes the Boo Boo Lotion. Deodorant - If I have a late night event for school, and stay with out going home, I make sure I have things to give myself a quick refresh.  Floss/Mouth Wash/Travel Toothbrush - This goes along the lines of the quick refresh, or the surprise meeting after you ate onions on your salad.Mini-Makeup Kit - One more for a quick refresh. I had this in my kit the first year after my son was born, I used it more on a daily basis because I would run out of the house without doing my makeup. But, this might be another thing you can leave out of your kit and only bring in when you have a late night.Chapstick - For when I inevitably loose/run out of the one in my purse.Contact Solution - this is a must have for obvious reasons!  Bobby Pins/Hair Ties - Sometimes you just need to throw up your "Messy Hair, Don't Care!"Safety Pins/Needle/Thread - You never know when you will need to do a quick fix on something. 

Shout Wipes -  If you have you ever dribbled on yourself at lunch, or watched a marker roll off your desk and on to your pants, you know why this is a smart add. Lint Roller - I personally use a big roll of tape. But if I had a little more room in my drawer, I would add a lint roller

This is quite a lengthy list, and you probably will not have a need for everything on it. I personally do not keep EVERY single item on this list in my special kit, but I do have most of it. It really comes down to what you need, and what you have room for. I have dedicated a filing cabinet drawer to my special kit. The only thing that doesn't fit is my blanket (I keep that rolled up and stashed in the closet). I have a friend that uses a good 'ol fashion Cabodle, and another that keeps only a small clutch of things (I'm amazed at that). I also do not keep full sizes in my kit, I use travel sizes to save a little bit of room. When I run out of something (like mouthwash or Tylenol), I just replenish the travel size from my home supply.

 So, what do you include in your "Teacher Survival Kit"? How do you store your survival items? Please share them below in the comments so others can benefit from your experience! You can come back here to see what others have added, so make sure you 

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3 Things to Help You Become a Better Teacher

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Reinvent Your Prize Box Now - Reading is the Prize

I recently shared a picture on my Instagram about my prize box. I received quite a few questions about it, so I thought I would share more here! 

First let me say, that I have not always been a prize box teacher. I would start off strong with rewarding "something" whether is was good effort, reading growth, or a 'wow' moment, but I never had the follow through. I certainly was not promoting any good behaviors or growth in my students with my lack of consistency. Once I realized this was the kind of teacher I was, I moved away from the prize box. 

And that's OK! You have to do what is right for you! Your students are not going to think less of you because you do not have a prize box. You can think of others ways to praise good behavior,  strengthen positive attitudes, develop growth mindset or celebrate goals, and your students will appreciate them just the same. 

So, why did I jump back on the prize box bandwagon?

It's pretty simple. I joined a team that was PRO prize box! Maybe not the best reason, but it's the truth. I started teaching in a reading intervention room with three other teachers, and they were all about the prize box. *Sigh* 

How could I, the new girl, be the only one who didn't use a prize box? For example, we can have 16-20 second graders in our room at one time, and how can my 5 be the only ones NOT getting to go to the prize box? I had to find a way to make rewards work. 

So, I thought about what was really important to me, and my students. If I was invested, they would be invested. Then, I realized that my students LOVED when I would print a book off Reading A-Z, we would read it together, and they would get to keep it forever. It was not the sticker, star or stamp that I put on the forever book, it was the actual BOOK.  *Ah-ha*

And so, the Prize Box was born (again, but better)! My students were motivated because they loved getting books that they could take home and keep forever. I was motivated because, what teacher doesn't like giving out books and seeing their students read them. This was a prize that I could actually commit to! 

How does the Prize Book Box work?

My students K-2 have "homework". Each week, I put a sight word review sheet and a book to read (usually it is a re-read of a book we read in group the week before). My first and second graders also have a reading response question they are responsible for.  It isn't a lot of homework, but it is purposeful and encourages my struggling readers to read at home. If they are making progress on their homework each night, they earn a point on Class Dojo. When they have 25 points (or 5 weeks of doing homework), they earn a book. A real book that they can keep FOREVER! 

My 3-5 graders earn books a little differently. They do not have assigned reading homework from me, but they do have assigned reading from their classroom teacher. I piggy back on this, and offer them a some reading challenges/reading menu to encourage them to read different books. As they complete these challenges, they earn a book from the prize box. 

**You can get the cute Reading is the Prize poster from Hello Literacy's TpT Store, it is a FREEBIE

Where do the books come from?

All over! 

Primarily, I order the books from the Scholastic book flyers. I only order the $1.00 books. There is a wide range and they are appropriate for all of my students. I try to replenish the number of books that were taken from the prize box, plus one or two to keep a variety of choices available. But, I do what I can afford. It does come out of my own pocket, and that is my own choice. I'm sure if I asked to have money put away for the prize box, it wouldn't be a problem because I do not spend my budget money on stickers or other trinkets. 

I started my prize box collection at a garage sale. You can easily find gently used books at garage sales for CHEAP! If you are lucky, and you happen to mention you are a teacher, sometimes they are nice enough to just give you a bag to fill up. It has happened. 

Similarly, check consignment sales. My area has a few each year at an indoor sports facility. It is mostly clothes, and baby gear, but they have a nice selection of gently used books. You do not get the "teacher discount" here, but you can still get a big bang for your buck. I just found out the next sale is opening early for TEACHERS! If you find a consignment sale, it can't hurt to ask if you can come in early just to shop the books. 

And, don't forget to check your local library. They may occasionally have book sales too. This is great because the money you spend on books from the library sale will go back to the library so they can buy new books to fill their shelves with. And that is a win-win-win for everyone involved! 

Do you have more ideas on where to get books for cheap? Please share them below in the comments so we can all check them out!

Do your students think they are missing out?

I was asked if my students feel like they are missing out because they do not get a toy or a little notepad or a fancy pencil. And my answer was ABSOLUTELY NOT! My students brag about their new books, and the other students wide eye stare with excitement. Is there jealousy? I don't think so. My students wide eye stare at the toy cars and fancy pencils too. But no one complains about the prizes they have been given. I know my students appreciate the hand written note of praise that accompanies their book (and the parents do too). And all I can hope is that the excitement of the prize book lasts a little longer than the excitement of the toy car. 

I do want to add that I put my prize box on a bit of a pedestal. Much like you wouldn't let your students play with the toys in your prize box, my students cannot free read the books in my prize box. They are the most special books in the room! It helps to keep the appreciation of the prize box alive. If they were able to read them anytime, then what would they be working toward? 

How do I feel about the prize box now?

I'm loving my prize box! It took some time to figure out what worked for me, but I am excited when I can gift a new book to one of my students. I have finally matched the behaviors and habits I am trying to develop in my students, with the excitement of the reward. I am REWARDING READING, WITH READING! 

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IN SUMMARY:

• If you are going to have a prize box, make it one you can commit to
• Start small. You can praise the small moments, and reward the bigger milestones.
• Check garage, consignment, and library sales and/or Scholastic Dollar Books to build your "inventory"
• Reward the behavior with something that reflects the behavior. Reward reading with reading, because READING IS THE PRIZE! 

So do you use a prize box in your classroom? How do you make it work for you?

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10 Things You Need to Run Fabulous Reading Groups

Reading Groups! My whole day is made up of reading groups. I teach K-5 reading intervention, so my entire day, week and year is made up of small literacy groups. I love teaching reading, so for me, it is a good thing. However, I know setting up, managing and planning for guided reading groups can be overwhelming. My friend Jean, from Reading in Room 11, shared Ten Things that will Revolutionize Your Reading Groups, and I am here today to share 10 more things that will help you on your way to having fabulous reading groups. 

Color-Coded Group Materials
For me, this is the crux of my small group organization. I see at least 8 small groups per day, and having student supplies color coded is a must. My school uses the Fountas and Pinnell Level Literacy Intervention (LLI) system, and each kit (grade level) is color coded. So, my supplies for each grade level group matches the color of the grade level kit. This helps me as I am picking out books for each group, so I do not have to think too hard about what color LLI boxes I need to pull from. In each bin, I keep the books, and activities I need for that week. I also keep the students' color coded folders. These folders hold student progress monitoring assessments, sight word books, student reference charts (Fundations alphabet chart, RACE response and close reading mini anchor charts) and anything else my students may need to reference on a regular basis.
I took my color coding a step farther this year, by color coding our benchmark assessment materials. We copied student booklets and teacher recording sheets to follow the color coded system. This way, as we look back into student folders, we can clearly see what work has been saved from each grade. It may be a little too Type A for some, but I think anything you can do to make your job a little easier is worth doing.
You can read more about these book bins HERE

Magnetic BINGO chips and wand
I use these materials every day, and I have found so many uses for them. I initially purchased them for practice isolating and segmenting sounds in words, and blending sounds together. For example, I may provide a word like 'brush' and ask my students to identify where they hear the 'sh' sound. They would then use one of their Magnetic BINGO chips to indicate initial, medial or final sound placement on Elkonin boxes. I may also provide the students with a picture of a word like 'crib' and they would push the chips into Elkonin boxes to represent the initial, medial and final sounds, before using the Magnetic BINGO wand to swipe all the chips and blend the word together.
But like I said, I use these tools all the time. I have used them to count syllables, represent points awarded in a game and to play actual BINGO. I have also recently started using them as a behavior management tool for one of my students. He has the "blurts" and I now give him three blurt chips (we started at 5), and when he blurts, I take a chip. When he has exhausted all of his chips, he misses out on earning a point on his classroom daily sheet.

Phoneme-Grapheme Flashcards and Blending Binder
Incorporating spiral review into lessons was not a strength of mine. That is...until I introduced Orton-Gillingham strategies into my small groups. A big part of Orton-Gillingham is building upon the skills the students have already learned to help them be successful with the new skills. The Phoneme-Grapheme flashcards and Blending Binder make this "building block" like instruction not only possible, but very easy. These cards help you execute visual, tactile and blending drills into your daily whole group, or small group lessons. By showing the students a card, they can orally produce the sound the letter(s) make, or you can produce a sound and have the student produce the letter(s) in tubs of rice or sand. Additionally, for blending practice you can put these cards in a three ring binder (initial sounds in the first ring, vowel sounds in the middle ring, and final sounds in the third ring) and have the students practice applying their skills to blending words and syllables.

Coffee stirrers
Yes, I said coffee stirrers! Such a simple item has become one of the top 10 things I use during my reading groups. I was teaching my student how to decode a word using syllables, and my students were understandably using a bit of trial and error to figure out where to divide their word. I was trying to have them use their finger to to cover part of the word, but that wasn't working because they still needed to see the rest of the word. I needed something skinny that would allow them to manipulate the parts of the word, and still see the part that was currently hiding under their finger. So, I quickly ran to the cafeteria and asked for some coffee stirrers. Now my students can try different syllable patterns, and practice decoding easily.

The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo
This book should be gifted to teachers the way The First Days of School (Harry Wong) currently is! The Reading Strategies Book, is a must for all elementary teachers. This professional development text helps support step-by step strategies for skilled reading. It is not only the what to teach, but the HOW TO teach it. The book is organized into chapters focusing on engagement, early reading, comprehension (fiction and non-fiction) fluency, vocabulary and writing in response to reading. The strategies are research based and reading levels suggesting the appropriateness of the strategies are listed. Serravallo provides a guide for prompting students to use the strategies, as well as a visual that could easily be recreated. I have re-created many of her visual prompts into mini anchor charts. I use the large index cards, and introduce the visual image to help my students to understand the strategy a little more. They are great to pull out for a non-verbal reminder to prompt my students to use the strategy.

Phonics Notebooks
I was looking for a hands-on way to practice phonics skills, that would compliment my Orton-Gillingham routines. I really liked the idea of an interactive notebook, but with only seeing my groups for 30 minutes each day, I knew I could not commit time to the cutting and assembly required for many of the interactive notebooks. So I made my own. These phonics notebooks provide picture cues to help students recall the sound each focus skill makes, encoding (spelling) practice, multisyllabic word decoding practice, picture sort, sentence writing and word building using a spinner game. I started using these this year in my classroom, and my students are loving them because they are predicable (each skill has the same/similar components) and they feel successful. My colleagues are loving them because there are opportunities to practice reading phonetically regular words, encoding, decoding, phonemic awareness, and writing.

Sticky Notes
I feel like sticky notes are a must for every aspect of the day. There are just so many uses. I use sticky notes to write observations regarding my students' progress, or general notes about a teaching point I want to make at a late date. I add these notes into my planbook, or the communication log I share with classroom teachers and other providers. I write on the fly questions, like "Has ______ had an OT eval? Noticing _______" and later follow up with an email to the OT and school psychologist. I also write little "love notes" to my students praising them for something great they did or as a little take away about a strategy they should keep using in the classroom.

Technology/Apps
Two of my favorite apps to use in my small reading groups are Class Dojo and Epic! Books for Kids.
Class Dojo has been a great way to promote positive reading behaviors like persistence and stamina, as well as communicate easily with families. The format of Class Dojo is really inviting, as it mimics familiar social media, and I have found that my parents are more likely to communicate through the app, than by email. My students also like receiving an occasional surprise reading challenge, that (if they choose to accept) helps them to earn a reward.
Epic! Books for Kids is a great app that can provide unlimited access to books for your readers. My students have been greatly motivated for the opportunity to read on the iPads. They enjoy the different format, and Epic! has audiobooks they really enjoy. These audiobooks are great for assessment days because it allows me to create a listening center, which needs almost no teacher support. I have also used these digital books for a guided reading lesson. Many of our students will develop into digital readers, and I thought it was a good idea to start engaging them with digital reading opportunities.
There are many other ways to incorporate technology into your small group lessons, these two apps are just the ones that have had the greatest impact.

Plastic Canvas
This is another tool I didn't know I needed, until I discovered the great effect it had for my students. You can add this plastic canvas to the introduction of sight words, and integrate a multi-sensory approach. For your tactile learners, this method could have an impact on the way they acquire their sight words. You can read more about using this tactile approach in my blog series about sight words. The best part of using this "bumpy board" as my students call it, is that your students will leave your small group with a crayon rubbing of their new sight word that they can use for later practice and review.

Games
Encouraging your students to learn through play is one of the easiest and fun ways for them to meet your learning outcomes. I try to use games as often as possible in my small groups. Jenn has a great game called Students vs Teacher that I use all the time to warm up my students and review skills previously taught.
A big thing that I have learned about games, is to be consistent. Learning a new game takes time. Time that your students are not practicing content. So really, that means less time is being spent on meeting your objectives. To keep consistency, most often, my students play one of four games. These four games keep the novelty fresh, but also allow us to jump right into the game and have more practice. You can grab these games for FREE, and start using them right away with your students.

I hope the tips and tools I have shared will be helpful or inspiring for you. Reading groups can be difficult to establish, manage and plan for, but after some adjusting to figure out what works for you, they can become really fun to teach. If you have other things that are MUST HAVES for your small reading groups, please share them with me. I'm always looking for new and exciting things to share with my students. 

Don't forget to check out other great posts sharing more tips to improve your literacy instruction, from The Reading Crew

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Tips to Establish Meaningful Word Work Routines

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