Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The materials keep on coming!

Hi Everyone,

We are working frantically to get all our materials up on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

  • So far, all the short vowel materials are up and the long a materials are up. 
  • The long a materials are up and I am hoping to have the rest of the long vowels up tomorrow.
  • The blend and digraph flip cards and picture cards are up. They are a huge help for interventions!
  • I've also reorganized the materials if you are not ready to purchase the whole system. 




If you are a Kindergarten or First Grade Teacher...take a look. The materials are really helpful and supportive of your curriculum and the Common Core.

These materials are also great for Special Education Services and ELL. Easy to use, easy for students to understand.

You will never have to give directions again...they will know what to do.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Everything You Need for Short Vowels is now up on TpT!

Hi everyone! Just to let you know...all of the short vowel materials for Phonics Workshop are now available on Teachers Pay Teachers at our store Phenomenal First Grade Phonics and Reading. 

The Progress monitoring Tools Folder has a cumulative dictation of all the vowels taught. There are also alternate dictations if needed. There are also several versions of our Fluency Word Grids; a list of 56 words according to patterns being worked on. They are great to practice as well as use as a quick 1 minute assessment. You can see immediately who has embedded the patterns and who is still not confident in those abilities.


We have put up the first three word patterns of short a for free so you can take a look and practice. Take a look, print out the freebies, and practice...you will not regret the purchase...I promise!
Christine


Saturday, July 28, 2012

New Materials Added for Phonics Workshop!

Hi Everyone! Just wanted you to know we are adding materials as fast as we can. Today we added a few more.


  • Alphabet Flip Cards - (8 pages of cards!) We use these at the beginning of the year as a refresher in letter picture sound during our Morning Meeting. We print the cards on card stock and laminate them. We group them with a binder ring and flip through the cards each morning. It helps revive and rebuild that Letter Sound Fluency at the beginning of First Grade...BUT these cards can be used in Pre K and Kindergarten as well.

  • Blend and Digraph Flip Cards -  (7 pages of cards!) When we get into the short o word patterns in Phonics Workshop, we begin implicitly teaching blends and digraphs. We notice them in words, we highlight them green in poems and short pieces of text, but most of all we use the flip cards during a Phonics Meeting or a Morning Meeting. (sometimes we even do it during snack time!---we know it's hard to find those minutes...BUT---it is totally worth the time spent. It takes less than 2 minutes to do and since we've been using these cards we don't have to explicitly teach blends and digraphs anymore! 

  • Blend and Digraph Picture Cards---(36 pages/files!!!) Because our data collection is so specific, we can tell who may be struggling with the embedding of those blends and digraphs in reading and writing. We also have a complete set of picture cards to help with this type of struggle. We have picture sorting cards, or practice cards, to go along with 18 of the most common blends and digraphs. They come with header cards to help with the sorting. We have used them in small group and one on one interventions. We have also used them for a differentiated station to add extra practice for those in need. We have also been known to send them home for practice as well!


What is really important to remember about us, is that we are always looking to get the biggest bang for our buck...all of our materials are very versatile...they can be used throughout your day in many different forms of practice. The students learn to use these materials as tools for success and they are able to use them independently. It builds their confidence and their independent abilities. 

WE UNDERSTAND! 
WE ARE TEACHERS...
WE NEED THINGS THAT ARE PURPOSEFUL, USEFUL, AND TRULY HELP US BE MORE EFFECTIVE FOR OUR STUDENTS...
We are not about fluff...
We are about teaching children to read..

:)Christine

Friday, July 27, 2012

Are you ready for Short o?

Short o has just been added to our Teachers Pay Teachers Store for only $9.95!



In this large pack, you receive 35 short o files. There are materials to go along with ot, op, og, and ock. There are word wheels for each. There are word sorts that discriminate between ending sounds, (ot, op, og, ock) and word sorts that discriminate between medial sound (at/ot, ag/og, ap/op, and ack/ock). Also included are the Smart Board files for each short o pattern. There are also writing papers for each short o pattern. The progress monitoring tools included are also varied. There are several different versions of the fluency word grids that can be used for assessment and/or fluency practice in class, in stations, or at home for homework. There is also two different versions of the dictation task. One with blends/digraphs, and one without. There is also an excel file to track your student growth already formatted to the assessments and ready to use. This is a great pack! Don't forget to purchase our 'blanks' for additional practice! Contact us with ANY questions!

The Rest of Short A is now Posted to Teachers Pay Teachers!

Good Morning Everyone!

I have just uploaded the rest of the short a materials to Teachers Pay Teachers! 

In this packet, you get the rest of the short a materials for Phonics Workshop. It comes after the freebies we put up already...the at, an, and ap patterns and the lesson plans! The sequence is included. You get more than 20 files. You get all the Picture Cards, Word Wheels, Word Sorts, Smart Board files, Writing Papers, and Progress Monitoring Tools. In the Progress Monitoring Tools you even receive an Excel Spreadsheet that you can use to compare data with other teachers to help target needs and identify strengths. Best of all---you have us. We are here to help make it all easier for you. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We are teachers, just like you...




Here is the link: 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Phonics-Workshop-The-Rest-of-Short-a

Check it out!

Soon to come! Short o!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

TpT is finally back up! Yay!

Hi Everyone!

I'm so happy to tell you that Teachers Pay Teachers is finally back up and our store is now there. Please visit us at:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Phenomenal-First-Grade-Phonics-And-Reading. Our free stuff is there and more will be loaded tomorrow! 


Welcome to Phenomenal First Grade Phonics And Reading with Phonics Workshop! We are first grade teachers that understand what it's like to get so many materials together...Our phonics is organized and systematic. Check out our first two blog sessions to see why we created our own phonics system. 


What kinds of materials can you expect with Phonics Workshop?


We have created the following materials:

  • 48 different types of word wheels for short vowel and long vowel word patterns
  • 48 corresponding writing papers to reinforce the writing and embedding of phonics patterns
  • 48 sets of corresponding picture cards that can be printed and/or reproduced as many times as you'd like  
    • They can be used for the large class word web on chart paper
    • They can be used for picture sorts in a Word Work Station.
    • They can be used for home practice as well.
    • The possibilities of these picture cards are endless and they can be reprinted over and over again!
  • 48 corresponding Smart Board Files for each word pattern. You can make your class word web on your interactive white board and print it for your classroom. 
  • 57 different Word Sorts. All of the patterns have some type of cumulative Word Sort created. Some are discriminated by ending sound, i.e. at, an, and ap and some are discriminated by vowel as you move further into the patterns. (i.e. at, ot, it, ut, and et) You can use the Word Sorts more than once also. They can be used as the follow up to the Day 2 Word Sort Mini-lesson and used in Word Work Stations. They can also be used as morning work or homework for extra practice. You can print these off again and again!
  • 7 different types of 'blanks' or organizers that students can use independently or with a partner to practice writing skills. We actually use these blanks for many other things in our curriculum. Sometimes we use them for Math, Writing, Sight Words, Reader's Workshop, homework, etc...they are not just for phonics!
  • Alphabet and Blend/Digraph flip cards for a quick sound review.
  • The scope and sequence we use for our system.
  • an entire set of Progress Monitoring Tools. Each pattern comes with a cumulative fluency word grid. We have found these to be exceptionally helpful. We time how many word each student can read in a minute and create our own norms. We use them in work stations and for extra reading practice at home. There are also cumulative phonics dictations to go along with each vowel study. We also have spreadsheet files set up to tally and total your data. As a grade level, we put the whole grade on and sort by score to target weaknesses and identify strengths. You can finally track your results efficiently and effectively. You can plan specific phonetic interventions. You will know which students are struggling with what sound and how to target it and address it in small group and one to one.
I know this sounds like a lot of materials! Well, it is! BUT, they will be sold in an organized fashion. We will sort it all out by vowel and files for you. After you use it for a while, the students take ownership over it and it drives itself. The students know what they are doing it, why they are doing it, and why it's important.

We've put up the materials for at, ap, and an. The first three word patterns. Print them, try them out and let us know what you think. The rest of the materials are coming soon. They just need to be uploaded to Teachers Pay Teachers into our store- Phenomenal First Grade Phonics and Reading.

TpT still isn't right!

Well, our store still isn't up correctly. :( I'm a little disappointed, but our materials are there...just not our store.The links I created still aren't working correctly either. They say it should be all worked out in the next few days though.


Our lesson plans and our materials for at, ap, and an are all there. (Which are all free, by the way!) Our 'phonics workshop blanks' are also there at a minimal cost. They can be used for a multitude of practice at a multitude of grade levels throughout your school day...not just for phonics.


If you'd like to take a look, go to Teachers Pay Teachers.com and search Phenomenal Phonics and they all come up. I'm going to wait to upload more materials until the site is fixed. 


Let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Christine

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Our TPT store still not up!

I waited all day for the site to come back up! The site itself is working, but I am unable to log in and add my materials...oh well...I'll keep you posted about it tomorrow! Hopefully our store will be back online tomorrow.

Christine

Teachers Pay Teachers is still down!

Hi All! Thanks for all of the comments and emails about our new phonics materials! We are very excited and plan to upload the rest of the Phonics Workshop Materials very soon! Unfortunately, Teachers Pay Teachers is under maintenance until around 12:00. As soon as it's back up, I'll make sure all of my links work correctly! Anyone on Pinterest can also link to our materials by following me on Pinterest...Christine DiOrio...

Look forward to working with you all soon!
Christine

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Lesson Plans for implementation of Phonics Workshop! -- Everything you need to teach phonics in first grade!


Just loaded some beginning freebies on our Teachers Pay Teachers Website.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Phenomenal-First-Grade-Phonics-And-Reading

Here are some lesson plans to go along with implementation. These are the lesson plans that go along with our freebies on our Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Lesson Plans for Implementation of Phonics Workshop



-at Pattern: The lessons are split up into different days. When introducing the at pattern, you are also teaching the students the process of Phonics Workshop. The model works on a basic 3 day process. (Day 1 is picture cards, word web creation, and word wheel, Day 2 is a word sort, Day 3 is a word ladder and application to text.) Once students learn the process, all the future content is filtered through the process. You are teaching them to blend all words and sounds together through the use of word patterns. You get the best of both philosophies! Rime and onset decoding and sound by sound decoding. When instructed in both, students are able to utilize the strategy that works best for them.




These beginning lessons are slow. You teach the pattern, but you also teach how to use our 'blanks' as instructional tools. It gives them a format to process and organize information. They can be used throughout all of your phonics and reading instruction in many different ways. They are also included in our store. Look for our word web, flip book, word book, and word chunk search forms. They are easy to use and the kids love using them to show their understanding.

Day 1a:

Minilesson : Introduction to the short a word pattern -at (this is the phonemic awareness piece) We know that phonemic awareness is typically done in kindergarten, but when we ask them to blend sounds together it makes a new sound for them to hear, say, and write.  

Objectives: The students will be able to hear and identify the –at word pattern. They will be able to count the number of sounds in words. They will be able to identify what position (beginning, middle, end)  makes what sound.  They will be able to generate other words that contain the "at" sound.  

Materials:
For Minilesson

  1. Smartboard file for –at picture cards or hardcopy of picture cards
If using the hardcopy of the picture cards you will need chart paper to tape the pictures while they are introduced.  
2.  Oral chant done at the end of the mini lesson
I know a word that has the "at" sound, I know a word that has the "at"  sound, I know a word that has the "at"  sound, it must have the "at" sound.  "Cat"  is a word that has the "at"  sound.  "Cat" is a word that has the "at"  sound.  "Cat" is a word that has the "at" sound, it must have the "at" sound.  

Strategies:
  1. Students gather on the carpet in front of the smartboard. Introduction to Phonics Meeting. Show –at pictures one at a time.  Teacher says the word and the students repeat the word.  Ask students to identify the ‘heard’ pattern.  
  2. Go through each picture card and count the sounds.  Model using your fingers to count the sounds and the students repeat.  
  3. Model blending C-V-C and C-VC.   
  4. Go through a few of the picture cards and ask the students to identify the beginning sound, middle sound, or ending sound.  
  5. Oral chant, first modeling, then the students offer responses.  

Practice:  Oral practice for today while the process is being taught, in the future written practice is done.  
Send the students back to their seats with a partner.  Ask the students to think of as many "at" words as they can with their partner.  One person says the word and the other person counts the sounds.  Continue until time is up.  

Closure:  Have a few partners share the at words that they came up with.  

_________________________________________________________________________________


Day 1b:  This is taking the phonemic part into the phonics part.  (Students taking the sound pattern heard and identifying the actual corresponding letters.)

Objectives:  The students will be able to identify the -at pattern within words.  They will be able to write the letters that correspond to the sounds in given CVC words.  They will be able to read -at words and they will be able to write them.  

Materials:  
For Mini lesson:  
1.  Smartboard file for –at picture cards or hardcopy of picture cards

If using the hardcopy of the picture cards you will need chart paper to tape the pictures while they are introduced.
2.  Smartboard file for the word wheel (only done for the "at" pattern to teach the manipulation of the first sound)  This can also be done on the overhead if no smartboard is available.  
3.  Student whiteboards, markers, and erasers

For Practice:  
1.  Student word wheels
2.  Fasteners
3.  Word Journals (any book can be used)  
4.  Pencils
5.  Yellow crayons

Strategies:  
1.  Students come to the carpet for the Phonics Meeting mini lesson.  (Have the students bring their whiteboards, markers, and erasers)
2.  Reveal the -at pictures and review the chant that was done yesterday.  Keep it brief.  
3.  As you review the pictures, ask the students if they can tie the sounds to the letters.  Ask the students to identify the chunk and write it on the top of their whiteboards.  
4.  Reveal the targeted pattern.  
5.  If you can spell the pattern –at then you can spell _______. Pick one of the picture cards. Students write the word on their whiteboards.
6.  Pick someone to spell the word for you. Write it under the picture card, circle it, and tie it to the chunk.
7.  Continue until all pictures have written words.
8.  Add any other words that may belong to this pattern.
9.  Ask for responses for any that the students may think belong. Make sure you discuss any responses that may not fit.
10.  Display -at chart in  your classroom for students to reference.  

Practice:  
1.  “Make it, Read it, Write it”. Students repeat direction of ‘make it, read it, write it.’ They must give a word with the targeted pattern to go back to their seat.
2.  Students return to seat to make the word wheel. They read it two times and once to a partner. They write the words in their word journal.  Have the students highlight the chunk with a yellow crayon.  

Closure:
Students close the lesson by finishing their word journals. The finishing is staggered and sometimes students may need to finish at a later time.  

_________________________________________________________________

Day 2:  Word Sort

Because this is the first word pattern there are no chunks to sort.  Day 2 will be taught in the -ap pattern.  


_________________________________________________________________

Day 3:  Word Ladder

Objective:  The students will be able to manipulate sounds to create new words with the -at chunk.  They will be able to identify which sound and letter is changing:  the initial, medial, or ending sound.  

Materials:  

For Mini Lesson:  

  • smartboard with fridge magnets (whiteboard if you don't have one)
  • student whiteboards, markers, and erasers

For Practice:  

  • various blanks of your choice

Strategies:  

  1. Students come with their whiteboard to the meeting area.
  2. Dictate the word cat to them write it on the center of their whiteboard. It needs to be big enough so that they will be able to change 1 letter at a time. Have them make the sounds individually, and as onset and rime.
  3. Tell them to change one sound to change the word to mat. Have someone identify which sound changed. (the first, the middle, or the end.) Ask them what sound changed. Target the sound... The /c/ changed to an /m/. Show them on your whiteboard. (use the sound and letter interchangeably)
  4. Continue for about 5 - 10 words.  (For -at we are only changing the first sound, but at this stage we are teaching the process of identifying which position is changing and how)  

Practice:  
For their practice they can write words from this pattern using the blanks.  At this point you will need to instruct the students on how to use the blank as a tool.  

Closure:  
The students will share their work with a partner and read the words they wrote.

____________________________________________________________________________


-ap Pattern:  Let's talk about –ap; -ap is the second word pattern.

The lesson planning for -ap is the same as -at because they are still learning the process.  It takes instruction of several word patterns before the students start to own the process.  There are only minor modifications to the lesson plan we are going to tell you what is different about -ap.  

Day 1a:  The only difference is that you are using new picture cards and you are singing about -ap instead of -at.  

Day 1b:  The only difference is that you are making a different word web and making a different word wheel.  

Practice:  The only difference is that you are using a new chunk in the writing paper.  This should be done outside of the phonics time.



___________________________________________________________________________


Day 2:  Word Sort
At this point the students are highlighting the chunk, cutting and pasting it into the correct column.  As you progress through the patterns the students will no longer cut and paste, but will write the words instead.  

Objectives: The students will be able to hear and identify patterns in words. They will be able to write words using the given targeted pattern. They will be able to sort words by pattern. They will be able to read given words.

Materials:
For Minilesson

1.  Smartboard file with a two way sort. (or chart paper)
                                2.  Student white boards, markers, and erasers. 

For Practice

  1. 1. Student Word Sorts.

  1. 2. Yellow, green crayons.

  1. 3. pencils

  1. 4. scissors

  1. 5. glue

Strategies:

1.  Students gather on the carpet in front of the smartboard (or chart paper) for the introduction to phonics meeting.  Have the students bring their whiteboards, erasers, and markers to the carpet.  Put chunks on the top of the blank word sort on the smartboard. (-at and -ap)

2.  Review each of the patterns listed. Count each sound in each of the patterns.  
3.  Students prepare whiteboards to look like the sort on the smartboard.
4.  Dictate a word belonging to one of the patterns. Students write word under appropriate column on their white board. Ask a student to tell where they put the given word. Have them spell it and you write it on the smartboard under the correct column. Continue until there are at least 3-4 words for each column. (time permitting)
5.  Once chart is completed, read words going down the column and then across the columns.
6.  Students return to seats to complete the word sort. The columns are identified by yellow and green highlighting.
7.  After students finish they must read it to a partner down the columns and across the columns.

Closure:
Students close the lesson by reading the word sort to a partner.


_________________________________________________________________

Day 3:  The difference here is that you will be manipulating more than just the beginning sound.  You will manipulate both the beginning and ending sounds. 



_________________________________________________________________ 



The Rest of Short a Word Patterns

  • The order of the rest of short a word patterns are: -ag, -ack, -an, -all. It is important to use the sequence provided. The word sorts are cumulative.

  • The process of instructional lessons is the same format as the lesson plans from -at and -ap:

  • Day 1 – Class Word Web on Smart Board or Chart Paper; during the short a word patterns, Day 1 may still need to be broken up into Day 1a and Day 1b as shown in the –at pattern.
  • Day 2 – Word Sort
  • Day 3 – Word Ladder
    • At this point in the process, it may be necessary to add additional lessons to reinstruct using the ‘blanks’.

*Remember, at this point, the students are still learning the process of instructional practices...We need to slow down now to speed up later on.

  • Each lesson for each day is taught in the Workshop Model;
    • Mini-lesson
    • Interactive Practice
    • Student Practice




Check out some beginning freebies for Phonics Workshop on our Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Phenomenal-First-Grade-Phonics-And-Reading

Let's start talking about phonics!

As a first grade teacher, I understand the stress of putting all of the pieces together to create a balanced literacy program. The phonics piece is definitely an important one. In my experience, I have found it difficult to manage all of the pieces of phonics lessons. First, I had to use many different sources for each lesson. Second, I had to spend a great deal of time cutting, pasting, copying, etc. Third, it always felt...haphazard...isolated skills that may not always apply to what children were reading. It seemed I was spending way too much time preparing for this piece of the literacy block...

The games were cute. The centers were cute. But was what I was doing purposeful to teach readers to decode? Honestly...I wasn't sure. We also did not have effective data tracking methods for phonics skills and strategies. Sure, we could do running records to see who could read what, but how did we target those deficiencies? We could use book levels to help determine skills and strategies needed to read at that level. It just didn't seem effective enough.

We came up with a working solution. We refers to myself and two wonderful teachers: Meghan Chase and Kristin Lopa. Together, we took what I had created and blended it into a systematic explicit system for teaching phonics. Not only are we able to teach phonics in a workshop model in only ten minutes per lesson, but we are able to collect and use data to target strengths and weaknesses for instruction.

I had been creating phonics pieces for more than 8 years. The pieces were helpful, but again, it seemed a little much like haphazard 'word families' and not skill and strategy instruction. That's when the research began. We used our collective experience as first grade teachers and combined it with current research and methodologies. We started to focus more on the blending of sounds to recode and decode words. We also followed NRP research that stated that children learn to read more efficiently and effectively when the instruction is systematic and explicit. "The summary of these studies, led to a definite conclusion that systematic phonics instruction gave children a faster start in learning to read than responsive instruction...or no phonics instruction. Phonics instruction improved Kindergarten and First Grade children's word recognition and spelling skills and had a positive impact on their reading comprehension" (The National Reading Panel Report: Practical Advice for Teachers, pg. 12)

Monday, July 23, 2012

Phonics Workshop!

Are you a first grade teacher? Are you tired of gathering phonics materials from a ton of sources to teach a 10 minute lesson? Well, we may be your answer. Stay tuned for Phonics Workshop....A systematic process approach to teaching phonics and blending using word patterns...not just word families...but word patterns and the actual blending of sounds...It supports all reading instruction...materials are all electronic....they are all organized and at your fingertips! We are first grade teachers who were tired of running around all of the time! We created all our own materials. It's teacher friendly and students love it!
More to come!
Christine