DIBELS and DAZE

This Monday, we had our DIBELS benchmarks for second and third grades.  We have been working REALLY hard to ensure the kids are ready to show what they know.  We've been working on retell and comprehension.  We've also been working on cloze and DAZE passages.

DAZE exercises are on the third grade DIBELS assessments.  If you have never seen a DAZE passage before, it may be a little intimidating.  So, I took some second grade standards (mostly scientists) and turned them into DAZE passages with a little comprehension sprinkled in.  Our second grade teachers started using them this quarter and, hopefully, this group will be comfortable when they see the DAZE passages on next year's DIBELS assessments.  Plus, the passages are all non-fiction (bonus) so we are reading across the curriculum.

Right now, you can try out my latest creation by downloading it through Educents.  Please tell me you have heard of Educents.  They have everything a teacher wants at a discount price.  I just bought some awesome books from Educents.  The books were shipped quickly and they were cheaper than Amazon.  I was thrilled!

Learn all about Alexander Graham Bell with this {FREEBIE}.  It's only available for a limited time, so head over there now, and save it for later!

Makeover Time

Do you ever look back on your week and wonder what you accomplished?  Sometimes, I swear, the little things just add up and take up all of my time.  I've been doing a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and just trying to stay afloat.

We had our big "Muffins with Mom" shindig this past week.  It takes up SO MUCH TIME getting prepped, but I know the kids and the moms love it.  It's so worth it to see the kinders cuddled up with their moms, eating some muffins, and enjoying some special time together.  Then, the kids sing four songs and everyone is on their way.  I'll have to remember to take photos next year, when I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

In my (little) free time, I have updated two different products.  My favorite has to be the "Getting Ready for Kindergarten" pack.  We e-mail this to incoming parents so they can work with their kids over the summer.  Our parents are notified electronically of their teacher assignments, so this pack is sent as an attachment along with the supply list.  We don't have to copy or staple anything!  Hallelujah!  Plus, parents can print as many copies as they want without having to ask us for extras.  Again... hallelujah!  Click the picture below to see what is included.  I check the links in order to make sure they are still active, and I add links when I find something cool.  If you own this pack, make sure to download the updated file.

The second product that I have revised is the Nicky Noun and Vicky Verb pack.  This was near and dear to my heart because it was the first paid product I uploaded to Teachers Pay Teachers.  My computer skills have obviously improved in the past 18 months, so an update was needed.  I actually added three new activities to go with this concept.  When I first uploaded this product, I only had the anchor charts and the first activity.  Now, this pack is top notch and a smokin' deal! 

Click here to check it out!

Have a fantastic week!