Teaching Tools

Spelling Practice Activities-Set 1

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
This set of 4 activities can be copied, laminated, and cut apart. Place the activities in the Spelling Center or send home for homework and let children choose the activity they want to do for practice. Choice is an intrinsic motivator, so get ready for your students to start practicing on their own!

Tier 2 Intervention Log

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
A Tier 2 Intervention Log should be kept on all students who are identified for Tier 2 interventions. I suggest updating the log every 2-4 weeks, usually a few days prior to Tier 2 data meetings. Documentation should be included in the student's Tier 2 data binder or folder to show specific interventions used and the progress made. This information is critical to consider as data teams make important decisions about services needed by students not making progress.

5 Ways to Help Your Child Develop Writing Skills

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
Writing for authentic purposes is critical to developing proficient writing skills. This document offers ways parents can provide opportunities and praise for a young writer's efforts to develop proficient writing skills.

Text Feature Bingo

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
In order to play, you will first need to teach the features that are commonly found in a nonfiction text: photographs, captions, drawings, tables/charts, graphs, maps, table of contents, titles, and bold/italicized words. Bring in "mentor texts" that have good examples of each of these. Go on searches as a class to see how many you can find in a textbook or encyclopedia. Use the bingo sheet to have your readers find all of the text features in a non-fiction text.

Tier 3 Intervention Log

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
Students who are identified for Tier 3 interventions need specific, intensive interventions in groups of 3 or less. Use this log to document intervention strategies and progress made. This log should be updated weekly as students in Tier 3 should receive 30-60 minutes of Tier 3 interventions 4-5 days per week. These intervention logs should be discussed during Tier 3 data meetings and when considering a referral to special education.

Tier 1 Intervention Log

  • April 29, 2011, 7 p.m.
Classroom instruction is the first line of interventions that should be provided and documented. Use this log as a tool for summarizing interventions that take place in the regular classroom. I suggest the log be updated every 2-4 weeks and added to at-risk student files to show recent interventions and progress. Remember, students need more than just 30-60 minutes of interventions each day. Every learning activity is an intervention if the activity is purposeful and planned.

Finger and Eye Pointing Leads to Poor Fluency

  • April 29, 2011, 11:06 a.m.
A quick tip for helping students read fluently.

A Week of Shared Reading

  • April 28, 2011, 10:09 p.m.
Shared reading is a quick instructional delivery technique that is used to teach and reinforce fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This tip sheet provides a 5 day schedule for shared reading, as well as a rubric for learning partners to use for assessing fluent reading behaviors.

Running Reading Record

  • April 6, 2011, 10:09 p.m.
A running record form should have a space for recording at least 100 words read aloud. Correct word reading is marked with a check. Any deviation from the text is recorded and analyzed for strategy use. Does the student use meaning, syntax, and visual cues to decode unfamiliar words? If a student reads with 95-100% accuracy, the text is considered an independent level text. 90-94% accuracy indicates a need for scaffolding. Below 90% indicates the text is too difficult.

Data Meeting Notes Chart

  • April 6, 2011, 7 p.m.
Data teams need to record notes, ideas, and the resulting action plan during meetings. Use this chart to guide your reflections on student data and make action plans for using the data to accelerate student achievement.