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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Incorporating Reading Into The Content Areas

Hey friends! I hope that you are finding yourself well rested :) Probably not likely, considering it's the beginning of the school year!! I hope that you all are finding some down time and are not too stressed!!

One way to help you de-stress, is to go download this Free-Parent-Communication-Binder-Forms-Slate-Gray-!!


One of the hardest things as teacher is to teach ALL the subjects in a short time frame. With all of the things that can sometimes be thrown at us, sometimes it's hard to fit in Science and Social Studies. Now, don't get me wrong Science should be taught using hands on and engaging activities! However, we can also incorporate our science lessons to into our reading and have a successful day! It's a balance, students still need the ever so important vocabulary, why not use Science or Social Studies vocabulary during our reading instruction??

One way to do this is by using Vocabulary Cards during your reading stations or center work. The pictures show different Science Vocabulary Cards that I created and use during my station or center time. 




You can use these cards in so many ways! You can print multiple sets and have students play "Memory". My students love to play a version of "around the world" with them! What we do is have one student read the definition, then they go around in the circle until someone can correctly identify the vocabulary card.

Or you can secure them on a binder ring and use as a reference, or  use them during read to a buddy time. 




I also created this science reader and placed it in my library. Along with Reading A-Z Books, I place these in a basket during "Read to Self" time. Two to Three days a week, during "Read To Self", we are reading in the content area. The other days I let the students chose a book that fits their personality and reading style. This helps with our content area vocabulary and knowledge base. It ties the subjects together and the students are not only practicing their reading skills, but they are also gaining valuable information from other content areas. Again, this is NOT the ONLY way I teach the content areas, just extra steps I take to ensure my students are receiving a balanced instructional plan.
I also use printable read aloud to introduce each standard of learning. Once I've exposed them to the topic, the book goes into our library so they can explore it on their own! 





All of these activities came from my Science-Center-and-Vocabulary-Resource-Packet- Which contains topics & centers from Seasons, Earth Resources, Recycling, Sound, Parts of a Plant, Magnets and tons of Vocabulary Cards!!






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Monday, August 26, 2013

Crusade for Safety 2013


Hey friends! It's that time of year again! My annual "Crusade For Safety"!! You might wonder, what is that? 

It's just a specific time of year that I like to remind everyone (even myself) about the dangers of distracted driving.  As adults, we get in a hurry, we rush around and sometimes we just don't pay attention. We allllll do it! No matter our backgrounds, it always happens at some point. Now, imagine our *teenagers* doing this. Inexperience is such a dangerous idea when a teen is behind the wheel of the car. 

The US Government has a great web page with all kinds of information and stats on the subject Distracted Driving! I love this resource!!! 


Fox News just put out this article on the 6 causes of distracted driving! I encourage you to read it and see if you are guilty. This is a great article and you might surprise yourself. A lot of us already do these things.

If you are a parent of a teenager, please read all of these links with your children and lay down some ground rules for the car. I'm sure you've already done this, but I encourage you do to this AGAIN. 

Did you know that teens between 16-19 are THREE times more likely to have an accident than those above 20? 

Look at this from the CDC-
"Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are:
  • Males: In 2010, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was almost two times that of their female counterparts.1
  • Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.4
  • Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.5,6" SOURCE

My reasons for doing this are very personal.  Tomorrow, marks the anniversary that I experienced this first hand.  I was in a head on collision. My accident has all three of the risk factors mentioned above. 


 You can read more about that right HERE!




 I lost a great friend, and have an everyday reminder of this. My face was badly damaged, but I am alive and singing the song of Jesus! I know God spared us that day..I will never understand why he took Jimmy from us, but I know that Jimmy saved me that day. He wouldn't leave until we were all "buckled in", which saved our lives.  This accident wasn't a car full of drunk kids, or anything like that. It was just a result of of distracted driving. We were just a bunch of kids (4 of us) driving to school for our annual "Blue and Gold Day". I make it my mission, to tell people about my story.  To tell parents, that teens need passenger limit rules, TEXTING rules, and radio rules. We all need the reminder, even myself. 




In Loving Memory of Jimmy<3 br="" nbsp="">

Isaiah 41:10
'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'



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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Word Family Fun



I know a lot of teachers, who are not teachers at home! I understand this when we work 10 hour days and then drive back and forth to little league, soccer practices or other after school activities. I get it. I remember. But summer time is a great time to work with our own little ones..and this year that's just what I did! 

First off,  I have a little one starting Kindergarten this year (SO SAD!) 
My oldest is starting second grade!! Can't believe how big they are!!

Here are a few things we worked on!!

I know I've talked a lot about CVC words this summer, but that's what we spent a lot of time on!!

CVC Word Activities:




CVC Word Tic Tac Toe! The kiddos LOVED this!!


You can check out this packet right here

I have tons of different center ideas in this packet! From ABC Order, Words Sorts, Tic Tac Toe! It's loads of fun!!! 

Word Family Literacy Centers 

For oldest one, we worked on Word Families a lot!

I made two "Word Family Binders". One has, word family charts in it that we would visit and talk about each word and it's meaning. 



The other binder, has fill in the blank word family cards. They used a visa vie marker and made new words on them! 



You could organize this binder in so many ways! You could put the matching word family chart and the fill in the blank cards together! I like to keep them separate so I can use the visual aides during my small group instruction.
All of these activities come from my Word-Family-Cards-Literacy-Centers



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Monday, August 19, 2013

CVC Words Practice


Hey friends! I wanted to share with you some resources for teaching CVC Words!!




Interactive Flip Charts are a great resource when teaching CVC Words!

I use these in my small groups. I give the students a word, and ask them to make it. You can also start with the picture, have them sound out the  word and build it. Once students are familiar with CVC words, you could also use these at a center as writing prompts. I included blank picture cards for “nonsense” words. You do not have to attach all the picture cards at once. I sometimes just use certain vowel sounds.







 CVC Word Sort- (Two Sets included, one with pictures and one without pictures )                               

                                    

This packet includes several centers, but my favorite, is the CVC Word Sort! 
This airplane and hot air balloon themed center mini packet is perfect for any time of the year! It's great to get those reluctant readers engaged in the reading process. My boys LOVE this packet! 

Included:

CVC Word Sort- (Two Sets included, one with pictures and one without pictures )
Soaring Sight Words (A Sight Word Game)
Hot Air Balloon Fun (Synonym Matching Game)
Rainbow Rhyming Fun (2 Levels)
Flying High With Word Families (Word Sort)
Soaring Through Parts of Speech
Soaring Double Facts
Flying Time (A time telling center)



This rhyming activity is also included!

*Great TpT CVC Word Packets*

I also use magnetic letters and scrabble tiles to have students build CVC Words.  For more CVC Word Ideas--follow my CVC Word Pinterest Board!!! 


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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Back To School Work Stations and Centers


Hey friends! In case you haven't heard...TpT is having a HUGE sale!!! 


Shop in my my store and receive 28% off!! ALSO, If you purchase 3 items, you receive one item for free! Just e-mail me at Benoitcreated@gmail.com with your TpT User name and the item you wish!!



This is a great time to load up on some of my  best sellers--like my Making Words Packet! This packet is great for literacy centers or 
independent work!! 



This packet includes 10 printables for making words. Students cut letters out and arrange them together to make words. Several different levels included to meet the needs of all your students.

Happy Shopping Friends! I am headed over to empty my wish list NOW!! 


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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

CVC Words and Legos..Endless Possibilities!

I know you are all probably so exhausted from getting your rooms ready and the beginning of the year frenzy! It is SUCH a rush! But I tell ya what..I'd give anything to be feeling that right now! I miss it so much!

One thing about me is that I LOVE Legos! I love using them at home and in the classroom! They promote higher order thinking and creativity, and those are skills that are very hard to teach!

I wanted to share a few of my favorite things and resources with you all!

This next trick as been around for a while.. but I wanted to tell you how I use it!
 Magnet tape and a cookie sheet!!! I bought my cookie sheets at Wal Mart for a STEAL of .92 cents!

I am working with my little guy on sight words! We are always working on these I feel like. But  I need to change it up.  So I used my Sight Word cards from my Ultimate Literacy Center Packet and good ole fashioned Legos! My kiddos LOVE Legos...what kid doesn't??!?! 






 We used two different color Legos as our game pieces :) 



We just played a good ole fashioned Tic Tac Toe...only with reading..and Legos! This really got my kiddo excited about reading! That is a VERY hard thing to do! I was so proud of my little one, after a few different levels of this, the little one was breezing through the sight words! The Legos really helped because it got the little one to WANT to play the game! That's a hard thing to do! 

Once we got the sight words down pat, we moved on to ABC Order


The card arranged nicely onto the cookie sheet! It's amazing how a little magnetic tape makes a difference with kiddos! I wanted to shout, we've done this activity before and you could care less!! Haha, but I kept those thoughts to myself :) 

I just thought I'd share an easy way to spruce up your literacy centers...it's an old trick..but boy is it a good one!!! 

All of these activities came from my Ultimate-Literacy-Center-Packet-20-Centers




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Monday, August 12, 2013

Let's Talk About ME Monday



Hey everyone! I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin for Let's Talk About Me Monday! I'm not sure if I can come up with 10 things about myself...but I will try!!









10 Things About Me:


1) I got married at the young age of 20 years old to the hotttest sailor in  the entire US Navy! We met when I was just 19 years old!! We've now been married for 8 1/2 years!  He really is an amazing man. He loves me for me and handles my  *sorta* dramatic self! Poor thing even watches my ever so addicting Young and The Restless...guess that could have been a different number! LOL!




Yessss that is a Texas Flag Vest :) That's a whole other Oprah Show..but it turned out nice :) He stuck true to his Texas roots :) 

2) I am *kinda* a gym rat!  Last October, I started on my fitness journey! I was overweight and so unhappy about myself! I *had* to do something!!! So, now you can find me in the gym 6 days a week. I love doing a cross fit type work out. but do not limit myself to just that. The other day, I was outside pushing sleds. There was a tire in the way, and without paying attention, I just went over and picked it up. Well, it happened to be the heaviest tire out there, that I've never flipped before. I got under it and realized uhhhh ohhh  you goof ball! You can't flip this tire! Just then, I notice three dudes starring at me like "This chick will never flip that tire"....somewhere I got the motivation and wouldn't ya know I flipped that huge thing! When I was done, the dude looked at me and said "I never thought you would even get that tire passed your knees, let alone flip it"! Ha! I guess I proved myself! 
You can read more about my journey on my Fitness Blog


3) I'm a country music nutso! I ****LOVE**** My music! More than that, I love LIVE Music! Concerts are my thing! I'm tellin' ya..everyone needs a little GEORGE Strait in their lives!! 




4) We move around a lot because of the Navy, and that sometimes is not that fun. I really, really miss my family! I grew up in central Florida, and most of my family is there. Some of them reside in the Mountains in NC, so when we all get together..it's tons of fun! We don't get to do that often, but when we do....watch out ;) 








LOVE These people :) They make me smile, laugh, cry and angry sometimes :) But we are FAMILY and NOTHING will ever change that! 

5) I want to go on a missions trip so BAD! My grandfather often goes on mission trips...and always has the most rewarding stories to tell. I SO want to go! That's my goal in the next year, to go on a trip. I want to tell people about Jesus, and what he's done in my  life. 

6) Brings me to my next thing..my faith.  One day..probably soon..I develop the courage to share with you all my testimony. It's pretty powerful. It goes back to a time when I was so lost. So hurt and so confused. You can read a little bit about that here! Our God is a merciful. Just in the last few months, I  have witness God working in ways that I never thought he would. I've witnessed an event that really hit me hard with God's Word . It woke me up....which brings me to #7...

7) This sweet girl...

This is a friend of mine, Ashley. She passed away in June, during our Sunday School class. I only knew her for a short time, but I'm telling you, the impact she had on our lives, will live with me FOREVER.  She was the example of living with grace. She used every opportunity she could to tell someone about Jesus. And this is my new mission, I want to #livelikeAshley and #lovejesus. If you are the praying type, say a prayer for her sweet family. 


8) Teaching is my passion. Since we've moved, I haven't found a full time position. I know God is in control..but I'm ready. Be thankful for your jobs, they are hard to come by. People ask me "What are you going to do if you don't get a position"...I just answer..what else? Volunteer, Sub, whatever I can do to get into the schools. It doesn't pay the bills by no means, but I don't know anything else. Teaching is all I've ever wanted to do.....
9) Since I was a little kid. I've been fortunate to experience amazing teachers in my life. They should me compassion, went above and beyond, and did it all for me. Not because their boss told them to, but because they CARED. 


10) I am a very blessed woman. To sum it up, I don't have a fancy car or an over the top house. But my house is filled with love, laughter, and caring people. We have fun...we are active...we enjoy each other. So many people in this country are suffering, so I am so very thankful for everything I have. I want to live a legacy, I want to help people. 


I hope I didn't bore you with all these details of my life..but that's me..in a nutshell :)

OH...and Congrats to...
AMY! Check your e-mail! You won the giveaway! 








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