High Frequency to High Fluency

Once upon a time in a faraway land lived a child. This was not an ordinary child who could read and understand anything his teacher put in front of him. No, this child actually had to sound out each word he read. His teacher sat in disbelief as she listened to him read. What was wrong with this boy? Would he ever be able to read fluently? Would she end up pulling out all of her hair by the end of the year over him?

We all know that this is a fictional story and could NEVER happen in real life, right? Actually, it happens all of the time. I wish that someone from the DOE was in my room to watch my children sounding out the word 'it' while I am trying to teach them the higher level skills they need to know to pass the state mandated test. 

How can you help your struggling reader? The answer is to start with high frequency words. Yes, those words that the kindergarten and first grade teachers spend so much time drilling into their students' brains. If a child automatically recognizes a word, they won't have to waste time trying to decode it. Thus, their reading will sound more fluent and they will begin to have better comprehension. So how can you get your students to learn high frequency words? That's simple, make them fun!

Before you begin, you must find out what your children know and what they don't know. I realize that we assess the boogers out of them, but this time it's really useful. There are millions of high frequency word tests available on the Internet. Once you know which words your students don't know, you can get started with the fun.

Here are a few games and activities that my students love:

High Frequency Word BINGO

This game is pretty simple, but who doesn't love BINGO?! The key is for the teacher to make individual cards that contain the words that each child struggles with. Each card should also contain a few words that the student knows so they do not become overwhelmed. 

Word Twister

I wish that I had a picture for this one; it sure does get crazy! Ask for parents or other teachers to donate an old twister mat. If you can't get one, you can section off the floor into a 4x6 grid using masking tape. Make a spinner using cardstock and a brad (left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand). Split the mat in half and tape high frequency word cards to each spot on the mat (place the same words on each of the two sides). The words can be changed out anytime you want to play according to the needs of the students.  Place corresponding word cards in bucket. Spin the spinner to find out which body part you need to use and pull a card to see which word to put it on. I always try to model it first for them so that they can get a good laugh. Traditional Twister rules apply, once a student falls or takes a body part off without being told to, they are out of the game.

Word Checkers

This requires that the students know how to play Checkers. Sometimes that can be a mini-lesson just in itself, but hey, it's an important life skill, right? Once they understand the game, you will have to modify the board. Cut out black construction paper squares that are the same size as the squares on the board. Using chalk or a white crayon, write common words on each square that the students who are playing the game together struggle with. They play the same way as they would with regular checkers, but before they can move to a square, they must first read that square. If they read it wrong, they lose a turn. These squares can be frequently changed out according to the needs of the students. 

Bubble Wrap Words

This one might officially be my favorite. I may be in my thirties, but whenever I see bubble wrap, I still have a burning urge to pop it! Write the words that the student is struggling with on the bubble wrap. I like to use the kind with the smaller bubbles because it means more more bubbles to pop. 

Each time the student correctly reads a word, they get to pop that bubble. Longer words require more bubbles so the children try to read the harder ones first! Once they have read all of their words, they get to pop any of the extra bubbles to celebrate. 

Do you have any fun ways to help your students learn high frequency words?

Using Your 'Whole Brain' to Teach the Rules

I'm going to tell you a secret, but please don't tell my students. Here goes, I don't know everything. The truth is I'm really good at faking it. Once my beloved class walked in my room this year, I knew it was going to be an interesting year, to say the least. I have a lot of very strong personalities who think that they could run my class. Sure I have been teaching for like a decade or something, but after having two "perfect" classes for the past two years, my behavior management skills had gotten a little rusty.

That's when I turned to my trusted friend, The Internet. I'm not quite sure what I was searching for that day in August, all I know is that it felt like I won the lottery when I ran into Whole Brain Teaching. I don't think I went to bed at all that night because I was so busy trying to take in all the videos and resources. If you have never heard of Whole Brain Teaching, then please go visit their website (right after you finish reading this post, of course!) http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/. Basically, Whole Brain is a method that really engages the students and actually brings back the fun in teaching. The best thing about it is that everything on the website is totally free!

I'll admit it though, the first time I saw the videos with all of the chanting, mirroring and movements, I thought it was a little too juvenile for my "way too cool" second graders. Boy, was I completely wrong! I went in the next day and really pumped it up. We started with a brand new set of Whole Brain Rules. I hung up my rule posters and taught them the movements for each rule. They were so excited and actually asked to say them several times that day. It actually gave them a sense of ownership - ownership of a unique brand new set of rules. (I didn't have the heart to tell them that Whole Brain classrooms all over the country share these same rules!)

So what are these totally awesome rules?

Rule # 1 Follow Directions Quickly and Quietly (children put their hands together and move them around like a swimming fish)

Rule # 2 Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak (children raise their hand then pull it down and put it next to their mouth and make a talking motion)

Rule # 3 Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat (children raise their hand then pull it down and make a walking motion with their index and middle finger on their other hand)

Rule # 4 Make Smart Choices (children tap their head with one finger as they say each word)

Rule # 5  Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy (children make an L's with their index fingers and thumbs, hold them up to their cheeks, smile really big and bob their head back and forth while they say it)

I wondered about rule # 5 at first. Then I thought about something that my own mama always said. "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" It's true in the classroom too. As teachers, we have the humongous responsibility of teaching all of our students lists and lists of standards. It is virtually impossible to teach to our fullest if we aren't happy. If they expect me to teach like my "hair is on fire" then they better keep me happy!

So, two months later, how is it going? Well, we start everyday off with reciting the rules. If I notice someone is breaking a rule during the day (rule # 2 is the most widely broken), I just have to say, "Rule # 2" and the class will recite that rule. The person breaking the rule will quickly fix it. They are not called out and embarrassed, they are just given a gentle reminder. If they continue to break it, I will walk over to them and show the number rule they are breaking on my fingers. For example, if they are talking out, I will put up two fingers. They are not getting any unnecessary attention and they are not wasting any of my precious time. 

I truly think that I have found the first puzzle piece to the makings of a stress-free classroom. Now I'm off to go search for some more pieces!

Using Google Forms to Create Conference Notes

I wish I could find the magic button to press to make everything go smoothly. If you find it, please press it for me. I have battled year after year to find the perfect method for conference notes. Each year I come up with the "best idea ever" and by December I have reverted back to writing my notes on random slips of papers. Unfortunately, God never gave me the gift of organization. 

So here is my "best idea ever" for this year. It's week 7 and I'm still using it on a daily basis for three different subjects, so maybe this one has hope to making it to least January.

Google Docs is pretty useful. You can create and share documents, forms, presentations and other fun things via the World Wide Web. For my conference notes, I created a form. You must have a Google account in order to use Google Docs. If you haven't got a Google account yet, please come out from the rock you are living under and sign up for one now!

Now you are ready to start creating your form. Go to https://docs.google.com/ and click on 'Create'. Then choose 'Form' from the drop-down menu. This will bring you to a screen where you can customize your new form. To get started you should enter a title such as "Reading Conference Notes" or something similar. 

I always start off with the first question type being a 'choose from a list' and I put in all of their names so that I can quickly click on their names when I begin. I make this a required question so it won't let me submit it unless I pick a child. 

After that I get to pick the "questions". I use check boxes for these. I make a group of strengths and goals for each standard or strategy I would like them to work toward. I also always leave a 'text' spot on the bottom for my personal notes or observations that aren't included in the check boxes.

You can add as many "questions" as you need. When you are done with one, just click on 'Done' and click 'Add Item' in the top left corner. You will get to start over and add another option. Don't worry about saving, Google Docs automatically saves everything as you go. 

Once you are done, check out your published page. The link will be at the bottom of your page in blue. This is the document that you will go to when you need to input your notes. I saved the link to my desktop so that I have easy access to it.

 

I sort of stink at giving directions (please don't ask me how to get to my house, unless of course, you like driving in circles). So if you are lost with how to create a Google Form, please don't give up. There are several websites and YouTube videos dedicated to just describing how to build a form that do a much better job than I ever could. Just search for "Creating A Google Form."

Each time you fill out the form, all of your data will be put into a simple spreadsheet, which you can find by logging into Google Docs. You can organize (and reorganize) the spreadsheet using any category, which really helps when you are forming small groups. For instance, I can click on my 'Comprehension Goals' category and it will sort it by the children who have all the same comprehension needs. If I want to get a snapshot of a particular child, I can sort by name.

Someone recently asked me if I bring my laptop around with me to conferences. I wish I could say I did. I consider myself a drive-by conferencer. (I'm pretty sure that's not illegal in the state of Florida, but if it is, please don't report me!) I find my most valuable information walking around and talking to children unplanned. Being short, I have child-sized arms that do not hold a laptop very well. Most times I am still carrying around my clipboard and writing on random sheets of paper. When I get a free chance (ha ha, yeah I know that's pretty funny), I input my data into the forms. It makes me happy to look at my organized spreadsheets filled with some pretty awesome data. Now if only I could get around to organizing my desk drawers . . .