Bear Says Thanks

November is such a great time of the year. Good food, family and most importantly.... THANKSGIVING BREAK! I'm here to talk about my "Step Into Stories," series and hopefully this little unit makes your November a little easier. If you'd prefer the video explanation, then scroll down to find the video ;)

This series comes with everything you need to have a successful and stress free week of teaching. You'll get: 

Lesson Plans

There is a two page spread for you weekly plans which include the TEKS and CCSS standards.

5 Days of Scripted Lessons

These scripts are great for teachers that want more close reading guidance. These scripts also include which support materials to pull from the the unit. These plans have all the support you need for all your learners. It has real-life connections, support materials for ESL learners, academic vocabulary support, visuals for story elements, opportunity for student-centered discussions, independent practice, and closures for each lesson. 

Anchor Chart Pieces

Use all of them for beautiful anchor charts or just what you need. I also outline examples of how to put the anchor charts together.

Posters/ESL Support

These visuals are great for both SPEd students and ESL's as well as your regular ed student. They list the academic vocabulary and a picture example of the word to deepen their understanding.

             

Vocabulary

Each week has four pictured vocabulary words to focus on and differentiated worksheets to practice applying the vocabulary words. If four is too many there is an option for just two words.

Worksheets

You have worksheets for independent practice for every day of the week. There are also a few extra worksheets not included in the daily plans for fast finishers or more differentiation.

Exit Tickets

These are put in the "small group" portion of the lesson plans. That is because this is used as a transition to small group and you can quickly assess the need for reteaching in small group. For example, you pull your guided reading group and do the "setting" exit ticket. Four out of five kids get it wrong. This lets you know that when you read in small group, you need to focus on the setting of the story and gives you the opportunity to reteach the academic vocabulary in small group!

Craft

The weekly lesson wraps up each week with a fun craft. There is an option writing sheet that can be added to the craft to turn this into a "writing" activity.

Writing

The wrap up of the week includes writing sentences. This can be done on the craft or on a separate writing sheet that is included. There are option mentor sentence that are Kinder-friendly to use.

Assessment

This quick 4 question, 1-page assessment is Kinder-friendly and meant to be done whole group. It will test on vocabulary, story elements, details, and BME. 

Directed drawing

This is another fun way to end the week! The directed drawing has verbal instructions if you want to do a listening activity or step by step visual instructions. Let them use water-colors for added fun at the end!  If you made it through this post then you're in luck. I decided to list my bear directed drawing as a freebie for you!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bear-Says-Thanks-Directed-Drawing-Freebie-4188744

It really is all-inclusive. I have included a video outlining everything you get if you want a more in-depth look at the weekly unit. Ignore the "uh's"... it's my first video so I apologize :) 

Bear Says Thanks from Michelle LeBlanc on Vimeo.

I'd love to know what other Read-Alouds you would be interested in adding to this series. Leave a comment below!

Center Storage Ideas

Whew! Back to school is in full force and I'm here to share some ideas for how to store centers. I've been playing around with how to use all my left over HP instant ink boxes so I decided to make a post regarding ideas on different storage options.

Option 1:
Gallon Bags

This oldie but goodie is my go-to for storing my centers. I find that asking for these on the school supply list is an easy way to ensure I have storage for the year. Centers that have visual explanations are a bonus. I'm in the process of adding those to my previous packs so old ones should get revamped eventually but all my new packs will include these.


Option 2
Brown Envelopes

These are available at some Dollar Tree's and some schools have them in the office for free... so that's a bonus! You can laminate these for durability if you school as a big laminater but it's a bit time consuming so this isn't my go to option but it does make filing them in a filing cabinet much easier so that's a plus!

Option 3
Photo Storage Cases

These have been all the rage the last year. They are super cute but from personal experience, I find that the kids have a hard time opening some of them so even though I bought them for different center options, I will be using them as storage for small group activities that I have to open.

Option 4
Instant Ink Boxes

If you have wondered what to do with these then center storage is a great option. You will mostly likely have to scale down your centers and print multiple to a page in order to get them to fit in the box but has a double bonus, it saves ink and paper! Kid friendly? Well it has the appeal of being a box game so that makes the kids engaged but will they hold up through a year? That remains to be unseen and I'll let you know after some more use!

Hope you enjoyed these quick ideas on storing centers. I'll be added and updating pictures soon. If you have any great ideas, please leave them in the comments! I'd love to know!