June 18, 2012

Guided Reading Folders with Freebie and Tracking Learning Poster



Today, I'm just another blogger linking up with Tara, over at 4th Grade Frolics, for her Monday Made It.  It's my first time linking up with her, so I'm excited.


As y'all know, I joined Pinterest last week and YOU WERE ALL RIGHT!  I'm obsessed!  I've seen so many cute project ideas.  I check my phone constantly and it was the perfect way to entertain myself while my husband watched all 4 days and all 72 holes of the U.S. Golf Open.  That's being said, both of my Monday Made-It projects are Pinterest inspired.

My first project was inspired by something I saw on What the Teacher Wants! She has a great post on guided reading, including free printables, so if you haven't checked it out, go for it.  This is what I loved:


Now, they do teach younger kids who move through their GR levels a little bit faster than 4th graders (due to excellent teaching, of course), but I loved the idea of having a folder to show the movement and growth of my students.  Right now, I typically only benchmark twice a year, but I will be benchmarking my lower readers mid-year as well.

I tweaked the folder a bit and made it my own and braved Walmart for the needed supplies.

The folders were only $1 and there are 3 totally cute folders in the pack.  Total cost...$2.00!

Here is the inside of the folder.  I had to cover one side with some white paper because it had these weird lines for notes.  Very strange. Anyway, since I teach 4th grade, I started with GR level J and only went through W.  I know I will have students reading below J, but a majority of my class will sit somewhere on these letters.  The GR level to grade level correlation varies depending on which scale you look at, but most seem to consider R-S end of the year 4th grade and T the beginning of 5th.  Once students make it to the blue part of the folder, we are good to go!  :)

I'm not much of a velcro kid.  I'm a post-it kid.  I use post-its for everything, so instead of attaching velcro and creating matching velcro pieces with student names, I just use post-its.  This is also easier when you have a high mobility rate and students are constantly filtering in and out of your room. 

I have always used folders to form my reading groups (yes, with the post-its), and I had two other cute folders so I created a new group folder and a folder for my notes.
The groups folder will be used to identify my reading groups. Very basic, but works great for quickly regrouping kids and remembering who is in what group.  The  post-its really help them stay flexible.

The notes folder will be used to hold my guided reading checklists for all my groups. You can get my guided reading checklist for free in my TN store, just click here!.  I did not come up with this idea.  I just retyped it and tweaked it to meet my needs. Let me know if you find it useful.

 So...that's my first completed project.  All I have to do now is... lllaaammiinnnaatteee!

My second project was another quick and easy poster for keeping track of exit tickets. I'm sure y'all have seen this floating around on Pinterest. The students complete their exit ticket (short response, math problem, etc.) on their post it and put their post-it on their number.  How could I not use something that involves Post-its?!?

Originally from Cheryl's Classroom Tips

 As soon as I saw this, I thought...exit tickets are like tracks of thinking, which led me to this...


Each paw print has a student number.  Students will leave their learning tracks post-it on their number.


I'm so excited to laminate it for next year.  It's going to be a great tool for both myself and my students.  The opportunities to use this are endless.  Ideas?  Please post a comment below.

So, those are the things I've made for my classroom this week.  Hopefully, once we get moved I will be able to get into some more crafty things.  I'm going crazy with everything in boxes.  My classroom is in boxes, my house in boxes, my life is basically in boxes right now. Ugh!

But, enough about that.  Before I go, I wanted to quickly tell y'all about another great 4th grade blog: Smiles and Sunshine.  She is newer to the blog world and is having a little end of year giveaway - $25 giftcard to Amazon.  Woot! Woot!  Go check out Kaitlyn at Smiles and Sunshine and show her blog a little love.

As for me?  I'm going to continue packing.  Time to tackle my closet, and believe me, that's a scary place. I might need to check out more great ideas from the Monday Made-It Linky first.  Um...pinning!

38 comments:

  1. I love the name of your blog! I am your newest follower.

    Jessica
    My Different Worlds

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    1. Thanks Jessica! Don't forget to link up on my More Teaching Blogs page.

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  2. I love the tracking learning idea! Super cute and I agree - so many possible uses.

    ~April @ ideabackpack.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks April. I'm still thinking about adding a black border to my poster, so it acts as a stand alone bulletin board. Thoughts?

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  3. Those are both awesome ideas Amanda! So glad you linked up today:) Hope you come back once you've found your way out of your boxes...lol:) Too funny you said "braved Walmart"....I'm the same way....I hate to go there unless it's 5 in the morning and no one else is there:)

    4th Grade Frolics

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    1. Thanks for providing a reason to avoid packing! I'm really enjoying Made-It Mondays... so fun!

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  4. I love the exit slip idea!! Your chart came out great :)

    Katie
    Dirty Hands and Lesson Plans

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    1. Thanks Katie! As I mentioned above, I am considering adding a border to make it more like a small bulletin board. We shall see. :)

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  5. Love your blog name. I don't know how I haven't found you before, but I'm now following!
    Journey of a Substitute Teacher
    Endless Pinabilities!

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  6. I love both of your creations! I really love your take on your tracking board!! I might just have to borrow this idea and use polka dots!!! ;) Thank you for sharing!
    Audrey
    The Sweet Life of Third Grade ~ We're having a SWEET giveaway!

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    1. Oh, polka-dots would be cute. Holla at me if you create. :)

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  7. I loved those ideas! Definitely on my to-do list this summer. :) Thanks for the shout-out!

    :) Kaitlyn
    Smiles and Sunshine

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  8. Love the Tracking Comments! I may have to add it to my to-do list! Thanks for sharing!


    Jennifer
    Lifelong Learning

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  9. Love the tracking thinking! I will definitely be doing this one. Such a good idea!!!

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  11. Ahhh, I love your exit slip board! May need to recreate. I'll add it to the list of hundreds of ideas I've gotten from Make It Monday! [[sorry-- annoying typo in my previous comment-- had to delete!]]

    Meg
    Third Grade in the First State

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  12. Okay, I LOVE your tracking exit slip board. Definitely pinning it. What a fantastic spin on the pinterest pin! Looks like you accomplished a lot with all your folders. Really impressive! :) Definitely following you to keep up with your fabulous ideas! :)

    Amanda
    Reaching for the TOP!

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  13. I love the tracks poster how appealing. Thanks for sharing.

    Jill
    Bubbalulu.blogspot.com

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  14. I just pinned the tracking poster...cute!
    Beth
    Thinking of Teaching

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  15. Wow, I love both of these ideas! Especially the tracking poster---I've always struggled with exit tickets because it feels wasteful to just throw away the papers after they turned them in. Putting them on a poster so you can refer to them later is brilliant! PS-Love the name of your blog. I too am a teaching thief!

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  16. Love the paws! Where did you get them?

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    1. I bought the paws at Lakeshore, but I think you can find them at just about any teacher supply store. Good luck!

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  17. I love the tracking learning poster. That is amazing. I will be pinning that! Thanks for sharing.

    ✰Becca
    Fun is Found in Fourth

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    1. Oh, I'm so glad. Enjoy and let me know if you make your own. :)

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  18. I started making a different velcro file folder thingy last summer and I never finished...... maybe that can be one of my Monday Made Its!!

    Your exit slip poster interpretation is incredibly cute. Great work!! :)

    Marvelous Multiagers!

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    1. Thanks Jill! I can't wait to see what you are working on with your velcro folder.

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  19. I just made a guided reading file folder! Thank you so much for the inspiration. I am a first year teacher trying to figure out how to keep track of things and this is going to be perfect! I also love love love the exit ticket tracker, I adjusted it to match my sports theme in my classroom and it has helped so much. Thanks!

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    1. Yay! That is awesome and completely makes my day. Good luck with your first year of teaching. It's an amazing, exhausting, and sometimes trying experience, but you'll do great!

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  20. You found some great pins to make! I'm your newest follower.

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  21. Can you give me some ideas on how to use the tracking poster? It sounds like a great idea! Wanda

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    1. Hi Wanda! There are lots of ways to use the tracking poster. Mostly, I plan to use it for my exit tickets after a lesson. My exit tickets tasks vary depending on my lesson and my objective. Sometimes I just have kids solve a math problem. Sometimes they write their own word problem to show conceptual understanding. Sometimes I have them define a math term in their own words. Sometimes I have them write down one question they are still wondering about on the topic we discussed. Sometimes they just write down one new thing they learned. Exit tickets can be used hundreds of different ways. I try to mix it up, so we (kids and myself) don't get bored. Plus, I always try to remember that an exit ticket should be quick (hence the post-it). It is a way for me to glance at my students and quickly assess their understanding to know where to go the next day. It's very informal so it can take whatever shape you want. If you have more questions or would like more ideas, I'd love to continue chatting with you. Please feel free to email me by clicking the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. I love your tracking poster! I saw the same idea on Pinterest and am excited about your twist. Can't wait to do something similar in my room.

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  23. I love your tracking poster, too! I don't use exit slips, but am seriously considering it for this upcoming year. I am your newest follower.

    I am having a giveaway on my blog...come check it out if you have a moment :)

    Teach~Play~Smile 200 Follower Giveaway!

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  24. http://thatnewcrayonsmell.blogspot.com/2012/08/get-organized-make-to-do-list.html

    I posted a link to your awesome poster on my "to do list".

    Come check out my blog.

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  25. Thanks for the amazing post! I'm cheap, and velcro is not, so I've been putting off making my own GR level folder. DUH! Post-its! Thanks for using your brain for me!

    dede
    A Series of First Grade Events

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  26. Nice work, If you need a typeface for banners or posters making then you should try this;

    Royalty Free Fonts

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