Seating Charts

Click here and scroll to Post # 2 to view my thoughts on seating charts


Happy teaching!








Do you leave a seating chart? 
Please share your thoughts, I want to know :)
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The Importance of Sequencing


The sequencing example used comes from the Skills and Strategies packet I created for the book Friends by Helme Heine. If you like what you see, visit my TpT and Teachers Notebook store to purchase it. 

Sequencing seems like such an easy skill to teach and learn that some may not spend as much time on it as they should. However, it is a skill that crosses over into other curriculum areas and really should be a skill that is mastered. Understanding what sequencing is, the key words used with sequencing, and why it is so important will not only help students academically, but in their everyday life as well.

Simply put, sequencing puts events in order from first to last. This order is what makes a story make sense. It allows the listener/reader to chronologically visualize what is happening in the story.

In math, problems are solved in the correct sequence, or order of operation. In writing, knowing the right words to convey sequential, chronological, or time order makes a better story. In Social Studies, understanding order helps students with timelines. In our daily lives, sequencing helps us follow a recipe so our food tastes good, or follow directions so we can build or put something together. 

When talking about sequencing it is important to look for time order and spatial order words. These words, again, will help in not only our comprehension but also our writing and daily lives as well.

Because sequencing is best visualized, the use of a flow map really helps students see the order and comprehend the information.

Here are a few sites that offer free graphic organizers:

It is important to note that when teaching sequencing, you don’t have to just focus on sequencing the story. For your lower level students it might be beneficial to sequence something with not as many events, like places characters went, the moods of the characters, the things they tried to help solve their problem, etc.  As you can see, this skill makes it easy to differentiate for your students needs.

Some key time order words:
First, next, then, after, after that, soon, soon after, in the _____, last, finally, as _____, before, later, at the end, during, meanwhile, in a while, as soon as, second, in addition, furthermore, final.

Some key spatial order words:
Above, in front, beneath, below, on top, under, next to, to the left, to the right, beside.

When teaching sequencing, it is important to ask sequencing types of questions. These questions make the students have to think about the order of the story to be able to answer. They need to understand where to look or “think” when the question is asking about before, or during, or in addition to. With the help of time order words and their visualization of the story, students should be able to answer these questions. For those visual learners putting this into a flow map is very helpful.

Sequencing is such a fun skill to teach. There are so many ways for your students to practice this skill. Below are just a few:

Using pictures
  • Photocopy or draw pictures from the book.
  • Use big pictures in a pocket chart.
Big pictures in a pocket chart. Students work together to put them in the correct order.
  • Use small pictures for practice at your desk.
Working in pairs, students used the big pictures at their desk to sequence the story.
 
  • Glue small pictures onto sentence strips or into flow map.
These pictures were printed small so the students could put them into a flow map for the story.


These small pictures were used to just glue onto a sentence strip.




 

 Using words
  • Before the lesson come up with the key events that can be sequenced. Remember it doesn't have to be the whole story, choose sequencing that fits your different levels.
  • Put these on sentence strips to use in a pocket chart.

As a class we came up with the four places the friends rode their bike. These were later used as a center activity to practice using time order words to retell the events.


These events were printed and used in the same was as the above sentence strips.


  • Make them small for students to cut and paste in order on a piece of paper.
  • Make a flow map with your key events for the students to cut and paste in the correct order.
Sequencing worksheet for the students to cut and paste into the correct order.

The same cut and paste sentences only this time glued on a sentence strip.
 

  •  Have students match the picture with the sentence.


Matching picture with sentence.

  **In all examples the students verbally retold the story to me or their partner using time order words. 



Using time, order, spatial words


  • Make a circle map of all the time order words used in the story.
  • On the flow map, have the students write the time order words used in the story for that event.
  • When student verbally tell the story with the pictures make sure they use time order words.


These are the time order and spacial words the kids heard as I read the story.
 

We put the the time order, spacial words into a flow map so they could see how the story flowed.


Questions and answers
  • Make sure there are sequencing questions to go with whatever activity you do.
  • Help students use the correct linguistic pattern when answering questions to get used to time order words.
Sequencing question stems:
What happened ________? What was the _______ thing that happened? What is the ______ thing (character) does? What happened next? What happened before/after _____? When did (event) happen? What were the first (two, three) things that happened? What happened right after? According to the timeline… In order, describe the events that happened… What are three consecutive events that led to the final event? Approximately how much time elapses in this story?

Linguistic patterns to use when answering sequence questions:
First ____. Next _____. Second _____. Then ____. In the beginning ____. First, ____, and then ____. In the middle ____. Then there were _____. Now there are ____. After a long time ____. A long time ago ____. In the end ____. Finally ____.

*Questions asked for sequencing are in the knowledge level of Bloom’s. These questions simply have students recalling facts of the story using time order words.



Do you like teaching sequencing? What book do you use to teach this skill? What is your favorite skill or strategy to teach? Was there anything here that was useful to you?
Let me know! :0)

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New posts to share with you

  1. Giveaway
  2. Fun Friday Turkey snack (scroll to Post # 1)
These are posts on pages that don't send out an email, so this will keep you updated.

Enjoy!
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Differentiating


What does it mean to differentiate?

Simply put, differentiating instruction means that you must teach in a variety of ways to meet the levels and learning styles of all of your students.

What this means for the teacher is more work. One worksheet, thinking map, lesson, center activity or game, may not be what all your students need.

What this means for your student is SUCCESS. When they have a worksheet, thinking map, lesson, center activity or game that fits them and their needs, they have fun, take their time and do the activity correctly. The extra time and attention on your part makes for successful students!

As a teacher, you need to look at your plans, lessons, activities and centers to see how you can modify it for your different level students. After all, isn’t the day much nicer when all your students are engaged and on task. This doesn’t happen when something is too hard, or confusing.  

For your low students it is important to level your questions (which I am sure you do without even thinking about it). These students may just be at the knowledge or comprehension level. You may even need to give choices of answers for some of these kids. Doing this will help these students feel confident and smart, this in turn keeps them engaged and happy.

The thinking on your feet as to what type of question to ask your different students is pretty easy, especially for the seasoned teacher, but the looking at worksheets, centers, games and activities requires a bit more planning on your part.

Again, for your low students they may need questions to guide them through filling out a worksheet or graphic organizer. They may need to have one or two of the pieces and then they fill in the rest, or it might simply be that they get all of the answers and they just have to pick and choose where to put them

For your higher kids, digging deeper into Bloom’s and asking application, analysis, and or synthesizing types of questions will help these students become strong thinkers. When you ask these questions make sure answers are at the same level as the question being asked. For example, if you ask, “What is the relationship between Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn?” you can’t just accept the answer of “they are friends”. They need to dig deeper and give evidence or examples of that friendship and explain what kind of friends they are, hi-bye friends, classmate friends, playground friends, best friends, etc.

When it comes to the worksheet, graphic organizers, centers, games and activities you need to make sure these are not too easy for them and or they will be speeding through them, not really learning, and then worse, disrupting others. For these types of students, you need to add something extra, a deep level question for them to answer, have them come up with their own examples to add to the paper. They can sort the info on the paper into a thinking map, or maybe the come up with their own deep level question to ask another classmate. There are so many ways to have these students go further, think deeper, and learn more.

Don’t forget to look at your centers and games, these need to be differentiated too. This is where I think we forget to differentiate. It is very easy to get a new game or activity, place it in the center and leave it at that. We as teachers have to remember that one activity plus all students does not equal differentiating. In my opinion, differentiating your centers is critical to an effective center time and successful student. This is where the students are truly working independently and if the center is too easy or too hard then there is more of a chance for students to be off task and loud. These activities and games need to be at their level and this means you must differentiate.

If you have a group of kids that knows their sight words or Dolch words then they shouldn’t be just practicing these words, they should be using these words. Have them sort the words into rhymes, or blends, or verbs, nouns, etc. If they are passing their math facts then they don’t need to practice their addition facts at center time they should use these math facts in another way. Can the write word problems or explain how to do the problem, etc. Now is your chance to be creative and to get your kids thinking deeper and working smarter.

Some things that you can do:
  • Come up with a leveled question list for the book, activity, or lesson you are working on. This way you don’t have to think on your feet, you will have questions right there to guide you if need be.
A list of leveled questions I used for the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni


 

  • Have the same center activity or game for all the students but each group is required to play/use it differently. Some say it, some match it, some put it in sentences, and some write a question for it, some look for the answers, some are given the answers, etc.
A Rhyme Time Fishing game I would have my low to medium students play as is.
The same Rhyme Time Fishing Game but for my medium to high kids I would have them record their words plus add one more.

This word find center activity would be for my low to medium students. I have given them the words they just need to find them in the word find.

Same word find activity, but the synonym words for small are missing. They need to do a word hunt through the story and add them to the list. After they find the words they can find them in the word find.
 

  • Before you photocopy worksheets or thinking maps decide how each level is going to work on it. Are you going to give some students the answers so they just have to choose what goes where, or do they have to fill out the whole thing on their own? Are you going to add a question onto the paper so when they are done they will have to use the information they just filled in to answer it. 
This sequencing paper went to my low group. I gave them to of the answers and they had to cut and past the remaining 4 into the correct place.
For my low to medium students I have them the sequence of events, they just had to put them in the correct sequence.
For my medium to high students, they had to come up with the 6 main events on their own and then answer some questions based on the information in the sequencing map.

 What are some of the ways you differentiate? How do you make your centers and games effective for all of your students? Please let me know :)


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Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie



by Laura Rankin


Ruthie is a quiet, happy little girl that enjoys her teeny, tiny treasures. One day at school, she finds a teeny, tiny camera. Ruthie spends her recess enjoying her new find, until Martin, one of her classmates tells her that the camera is his. Ruthie panics; she loves this new camera and doesn't want to give it up, so she does the first thing that comes to her mind...she lies. She tells Martin that the camera is hers! Martin is so upset that he goes running in to tell the teacher, but Ruthie sticks to her story, that the camera is hers. As the day wears on she is finding it harder and harder to concentrate and by the time she gets home, she is feeling miserable and very unhappy. What will Ruthie do? Will she tell her parents what she did? Will she tell her teacher and Martin that she lied? Enjoy reading this story with your students and discovering if Ruthie will do the right thing.


Reading level: 2.0 to 2.5

Theme: Honesty, friendship, feelings

Genre: Realistic fiction

Vocabulary: imaginable, treasures, twirling, startled, mumbled, and guilty (I have added “guilty” not because it is a word in the story but because it is a feeling that Ruthie experiences.)

Reading skills and strategies: strong thought, cause and effect, sequencing, beginning, middle, end, plot, problem & solution, story elements, connections, characterization, compare & contrast, and leveled questions using Bloom’s.

Grammar: synonyms, dialogue activity using quotation marks

Writing: letter writing, personal narrative using dialogue, journal entry

Below is a compare and contrast activity to go along with this book.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Compare-and-Contrast-for-Ruthie-and-the-Not-So-Teeny-Tiny-Lie
IT'S FREE!!

A preview of the goodies included in the skills and strategies teaching packet.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Skills-and-Strategies-Packet-inspired-by-Ruthie-and-the-Not-So-Teeny-Tiny-Lie-173169
$ PACKET $


Do you have this book in your library? Tell me how YOU have used this book in your teaching. 

Happy Reading!

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