Sifting and Sorting Through the 4-Blocks Literacy Model

The 4-Blocks Goodies Page

Browse through these files to see what some of our 4 Blocks Community members have created. They graciously offered to have them collected here to share with you.

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Here is a copy of the portable word wall template I use in my classroom. I've attached a "blank" copy for teachers to be able to download and use and a "sample" of how mine looks when I make it for my students. I update my portable list every other week. Lennette Holden AKA....Lennette/2/IL	Kids Word Wall List2.xls (right click [PC] click and hold [Mac] to select to save to local disk	Excel
	Kids Word Wall List2.pdf	Acrobat
	Kids Word Wall List BLANK.xls (right click [PC] click and hold [Mac] to select to save to local disk	Excel
	Kids Word Wall List BLANK.pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are the NFT word cards with prefixes in red and suffixes in green. There are also monthly plan cards that I laminated and put on a ring for easy access.	Nifty Thrifty Fifty monthly - zipped	Zipped File
	The above file unzipped below
	Nifty Thrifty Fifty - doc	Word
	Nifty Thrifty Fifty - pdf	Acrobat
	Nifty Thrifty Fifty monthly plan - doc	Word
	Nifty Thrifty Fifty monthly plan - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are the Brand Name Phonics word cards and lesson cards that I also laminated and put on a ring.	Brand Name Lesson - zipped	Zipped File
	The above file unzipped below
	Brand Name Lessons - doc	Word
	Brand Name Lessons - pdf	Acrobat
	Brand Name Word List - doc	Word
	Brand Name Word List - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are *What Looks Right?* lesson cards I laminated and put on a ring.	What Looks Right - doc	Word
	What Looks Right - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are the 90 most common misspelled words for Upper Grade. They are in a large font, ready to print and mount on the word wall.	Ninety Most Commonly Misspelled Words - zipped	Zipped File
	The above file unzipped below
	Ninety Most Commonly Misspelled Words List - doc	Word
	Ninety Most Commonly Misspelled Words List - pdf	Acrobat
	Ninety Most Commonly Misspelled Words - doc	Word
	Ninety Most Commonly Misspelled Words - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are word wall activities I've collected, both chanting/cheering and writing.	The Word Wall - doc	Word
	The Word Wall - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade These are some SSR materials I created after reading *Modifying Four Blocks for Upper Grades*. There is a poster for choosing books, bookmarks for students to use to reserve books and a genre bingo grid.	IS THIS THE RIGHT BOOK FOR YOU - ZIP	Zipped File
	The above file unzipped below
	IS THIS THE RIGHT BOOK FOR YOU - doc	Word
	IS THIS THE RIGHT BOOK FOR YOU - pdf	Acrobat
	Reserve bookmarks - doc	Word
	Reserve bookmarks - pdf	Acrobat
	SSR Genre Bingo Grid - doc	Word
	SSR Genre Bingo Grid - pdf	Acrobat
From Ella Frazier 4th Grade This is a take home reading log I used as homework each week.	Take-home Reading Log - doc	Word
	Take-home Reading Log - pdf	Acrobat
Because we only teach half day kindergarten, another teacher and I designed the lesson plans and put them into a table in a Word document. We incorporated the ideas from the Building Blocks plan book. We designed one set for the shared reading and one for the predictable charts which we rotated on a weekly basis. I definitely do not like spending time writing the same thing over and over so did it this way. Kayleen	Building Blocks lesson plan First Round Predictable Chart in Word	MS Word
	Building Blocks lesson plan First Round Predictable Chart in pdf	Adobe Acrobat
	Building Blocks lesson plan Second Round Names Predictable Charts in Word	MS Word
	Building Blocks lesson plan Second Round Names Predictable Charts in pdf	Adobe Acrobat
	Building Blocks lesson plan Second Round Names Shared Reading in Word	MS Word
	Building Blocks lesson plan Second Round Names Shared Reading in pdf	Adobe Acrobat
The Power of Retelling Chart developed by Jean in AZ	Overview Chart in MS Word	MS Word
The Power of Retelling Chart developed by Jean in AZ	Overview Chart in pdf	Adobe Acrobat
From Lennette/2/IL; Here is a *Making Words Take Home Sheet* I have put together. I set it up so I just have to type in the letters needed for the "mystery word" and then print off the page.	Making Words Homework Sheet	MS Word
	Making Words Homework Sheet in pdf for those who do not have Word	Adobe Acrobat
Lennette Holden aka...Lennette/2/IL says, "I took the *Writing Block Conference Log* that Tenia Mason shared (What a great form!) and made a couple of changes (portrait layout, shaded boxes, comment area)." Also "I have a *Word Wall paper* I use with my 2nd graders. I place the *On the Back paper* on the backside of the *Word Wall paper*. I find it easier for my kiddos to use than using the flimsy handwriting paper I used in the past.	Writing Block Conference Log	Adobe Acrobat
	Word Wall Paper	Adobe Acrobat
	On The Back Paper	Adobe Acrobat
Peg Orzel who teaches Second Grade in New York State, has shared her *Reading Conference Form* "I use to keep track of individual reading progress." and her *Writing Conference Form*	Reading Conference Form	Adobe Acrobat
"I like it because it gives a concise record for individual students and allows me to target various writing skills during the conference."	Writing Conference Form	Adobe Acrobat
From: Kelley Kennedy For the *On the Back Form*, the line to the left (on each day) is to write which on the back activity will be done. Write what you will say out loud on numbers 1-5.	On the Back Form	Adobe Acrobat
I made *early second grade silly rhyme paper* to emphasize handwriting.	Early Second Grade Silly Rhyme Paper	Adobe Acrobat
	Silly Rhyme	Adobe Acrobat
I am going to put the *Word Wall Chants* list in the front my plan book as an easy reference. I got the list from a few different places on the web.	Word Wall Chants	Adobe Acrobat
I have added some words to the *word wall list* from Month by Month Phonics for Second Grade for my word wall list file. I will make a copy and highlight the words as I use them each	Word Wall List	Adobe Acrobat
The activities on the Working With Words Checklist are from Month by Month Phonics, readinglady.com, teachers.net, and the book Word Matters.	Working With Words Checklist	Adobe Acrobat
Kelley also shares these files.	Guided Reading Checklist	Adobe Acrobat
	Wordo Form (9)
	Wordo Form #2 (9)
	Making Words Homework Page
Angela Miller offers an extensive amount of information concerning *Assessment.*	Assessment	All are in Adobe Acrobat
	Peer Evaluation
	Print Concepts
	SSR Conference Form
	Self-Selected Reading Conference Record
	Editing - Self-Evaluation
	Writing Assessment Record
	Writing Rubric
Karen Harris/2nd/WA is sharing almost 500 pages of Goodies with us. Karen offers files of "word wall words from the *Month by Month* books for second and third grade. The words are not in alphabetical order, so printing on color is easy. For each page, choose a different color of cardstock. Be sure to set your printing orientation to landscape and your margins as small as possible." In addition to these, she has included "some files containing "Making Words Lessons To Go". Some of the files may look like duplicates, but they are actually in different fonts. These sets include the pocket chart words for each lesson, as well as the BIG teacher letters. I print them on white cardstock and have a parent cut them apart. We put them in manilla envelopes, and glue a copy of the lesson on the front of the envelope. Several of us share one set of the letters. We sign the back of the envelope with the date we used the lesson to make sure we don't duplicate. Some of these lessons are from Pat's books, and others have just been made up by myself or others. The word cards are large enough to be seen from the back of the room. They also have small numbers on each card to keep the words in order. I have used different colors and fonts to make it interesting for the kids, and to aid in organization--it is a lot easier to find a stray card's envelope if you are looking for a certain color or font! I have included the BIG letter cards for each lesson. I find that it is much easier to have everything ready to go, rather than sifting and sorting through a master stack of letters. I have used some standard and some fun fonts on these files." She has also included the words Easter Bunny, along with the lesson she uses them with. "It is kind of a variation on MW, but the kids just loved it! One file has the teacher's pocket chart letters; the other contains the letters for the kids to cut out, along with a fill-in sheet for the kids." "When I have a cute font that matches the theme of the secret word, I sometimes make an extra card that uses the font. I don't use it on the whole word, because it would give it away! In a couple of the files, the "secret" word is listed twice--once in the font that was used for the rest of the words, and another time if I had a font that happened to match the theme of the word. The same thing is also true for baseball. When I print the BIG letter cards that are at the end of the document, if there is a capital letter used, I glue it to the back of the corresponding lowercase letter." She has also included "some templates for the Making Words letters for students. The only difference between the files is the font used. Mine are essentially identical to the ones Pat gave out at her seminar, but I have justified them to the left--that allows for the letter cards to "overlap" a bit, making the letters flow into words nicely. I think that when they are in the centers of the cards, the letter spaces are a little too far away." Karen is also sharing "some files containing large Teacher Pocket chart letters for Making Words activities. There are several files--same content, different fonts! The letters are justified to the left so that the letters will overlap nicely in the pocket chart. Print the pages and then run them on cardstock--front-to-back. You will then have CAPS on the back of the lowercase letters. Run the consonants on white and the vowels on pink."	Karen's Word Wall - 2nd - Modern Primary	All are in Adobe Acrobat
	Karen's Word Wall - 2nd - National First Font
	Karen's Word Wall Words - 3rd - Arial
	Karen's Word Wall Words - 3rd - Modern Primary
	Karen's Word Wall Words - 3rd - National First Font
	Karen's Making Words 01
	Karen's Making Words 02
	Karen's Making Words 03
	Karen's Making Words 04
	Karen's Making Words 05
	Karen's Student Letters
	Karen's Big Letters
	Note: To save on server space and to avoid problems with fonts used in these documents they have been converted to Adobe Acrobat. To maneuver quickly through the documents, browse each with its Bookmarks in the Navigation Pane. For help in using the Bookmarks see the *Reader Guide* in the Help menu of *Adobe Acrobat Reader*.
Kelley Kennedy's Writing Mini-Lesson Outline for Second Grade "Because of the way my brain works, I needed some way to organize all of the ideas for mini-lessons I have seen. Even if you don't teach the same topics, maybe you can change some things to better fit you. I hope if you need some more organization this helps you get organized too. Now I plan to do the same for guided reading mini-lessons. . ." Kelley :) Craft lesson means that it is from the book Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher. (3 page landscape layout)	Writing Mini-Lesson Outline for Second Grade	Adobe Acrobat
Tenia Mason has developed a set of *Bookmarks for First Graders.* "I designed bookmarks for the story elements we talked about in first grade. "This collection includes one each for "Characters", "Setting", "Problem", "Solution", and "Main Idea." The document is a one page landscape layout in Adobe PDF.	Bookmarks For First Graders	Adobe Acrobat
	Bookmarks For First Graders	MS Word
Tenia Mason - "I received a copy similar to this at a workshop I attended. It was a poor copy, so I retyped it in word. It is meant to be used a checklist for student writing. I thought you might be interested in it. I can't take the credit for it though."	Writing Block Conference Log	Adobe Acrobat
DeGee Brown has developed a *Balanced Reading Lesson Planner.* This is very handy to use when writing those plans.	Balanced Reading Lesson Planner	Adobe Acrobat
This first file is my *Working With Words Reference Cards.* They are meant to be printed out and then laminated. Then you punch a hole in the upper corner and put a metal ring through them. Makes a handy reference in the classroom or when planning. Marie Rice/2nd Grade/NY	Working With Words Reference Cards is offered here in both MS Word and Adobe Acrobat (formatted for legal size paper)	MS Word Adobe Acrobat
These were poems that were shared on the ring that I turned into small posters. Then I took them to the local Teacher's Center and had them blown up. They look great in a Writing Center. Marie Rice/2nd Grade/NY	Inside a Pencil Poem Plant a Little Story Poster	Adobe Acrobat Adobe Acrobat
This one is a small version of the 3-ring circus. I also had this one enlarged and used my students' names on clothes pins to assign reading choice. Marie Rice/2nd Grade/NY	3 Ring Circus (small)	Adobe Acrobat
Linda Gallipoli - "I print these files & laminate them. Then, I leave them in my sub folder. That way, a sub can have a reference when doing *"Be a Mind Reader"* or *"Using Words You Know"* with my class. The *Word Wall Chant* is one I got from the ring last year. I keep it posted on the chalkboard." It was submitted by Marie Rice/NY/2nd.	Be a Mind Reader	Adobe Acrobat
	Using Words You Know	Adobe Acrobat
	Word Wall Chant	Adobe Acrobat
*The Four Blocks Model Workshop Notes* by Sandy/2/OH & Bridget/OH	Workshop Notes	HTML
Be sure to check out the *SSR Reading Log for Teachers* shared with us by Cheryl Sigmon and recreated with a few enhancements by Sandy/2/OH	SSR Reading Log for Teachers	Adobe Acrobat
Linda Gallipoli a.k.a. Linda/2/NJ has developed forms for SSR Student Reading Conferences which address the literary elements of; Character Setting Problem/Solution Plot/Main Idea Author/Style Expository Text	There are two sets of forms, one long and the other short. Both sets include cheery graphics and are rather large files. They will take a while to load.	Adobe Acrobat
For a bit more about *Story Bits*, see Marti Plumtree's	Souvenir Bits Form.	HTML
Enjoy these SSR Block materials put together by Ella Frazier/4th based upon an idea shared by Connie Privette during a Charles England School seminar in Lexington, North Carolina. "I am attaching bookmarks for narrative texts and expository texts, question cards that are ready to laminate and use at conferencing, and a Self Selected reading log. I want to say thank you to SaraGail. I added her questions to my cards." "My colleague, Kathy Conte, gave me 117 Mystery Word Matches. I asked she said that I may share them. I know it will save a lot of work for some. Kathy works at Charles England Intermediate in NC." Ella	Narrative Bookmarks	Adobe Acrobat
	Expository Bookmarks	Adobe Acrobat
	Conferencing Question Cards	Adobe Acrobat
	Reading Log for Self Selected Reading	Adobe Acrobat
	Mystery Word Match	Adobe Acrobat

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Examples of Lesson Plan Layouts

The following are some examples of 4 Blocks Lesson Plans submitted by members of the Teachers.Net 4 Blocks Mailring. If you have not yet joined this Mailring and would like to, go to The Teacher Mailring Center, locate the "4-Blocks Model" and follow the instructions.
Creator	Notes	Format	Download	Alternative
Jennifer Poe	I wanted to share this lesson plan sheet...It includes all 4 Blocks in a one-day format.	Adobe Acrobat	Lesson Plan	None
Rosalind Younger	Roz/2nd/IN has developed a 4-Blocks Weekly Plan Sheet in Microsoft Works and Excel.	Microsoft Works & Excel	4-Blocks Weekly Plan Sheet - Works 4-Blocks Weekly Plan Sheet - Excel	Adobe Acrobat view use your "Back Button" to return to this page
Marie Rice	This file comes in two formats, both are in a two page portrait layout.	Excel 97 Adobe Acrobat	Excel	Adobe Acrobat
Angela Miller	This is a two page layout.	MS Works DB	Zipped Works File	Word 97 Adobe Acrobat
Patience Bertana	This is a two page spread in portrait layout.	Excel 97	Zipped File	View a JPG use your "Back Button" to return to this page
Mary Greene Thomasson	This is a Guided Reading Plan in Landscape layout with margins set to .5" on each side.	Microsoft Word 97	All 3 of theses files are in one Zipped File.	Web page view use your "Back Button" to return to this page
Mary Greene Thomasson	This is a Word Block Plan in Landscape layout with margins set to .5" on each side.	Microsoft Word 97	Included in the above file	Web page view use your "Back Button" to return to this page
Mary Greene Thomasson	This is a Writing and Self Selected Reading Plan in Landscape layout with margins set to .5" on each side.	Microsoft Word 97	Included in the above file	Web page view use your "Back Button" to return to this page
Cynthia Ahrens	This plan is a 4 page Landscape layout with margins set to .5" on all sides.	Microsoft Works 4 or Excel 97	Works Zipped File Excel Zipped File	View a JPG use your "Back Button" to return to this page

Oklahoma 4 Blockers met on July 10, 2000.
Here is a picture of the group.
It is kind of fuzzy, the waitress took the pic.
LeeAnne/1st/OK Marti Plumtree invites you to view a few pics from the So Cal gathering. "We had about 12 people. As a result of the gathering, the group wants to meet again for a study group."
Marti 2nd CA

4 Blocks Goodies