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Lynn - Is anyone doing Guided Reading in their schools?
AT/2/NY - I am
Anna/NY - They don't really call it guided reading..just reading groups..I call it Guided reading and they think I am different
Lynn - this is our third year with it I like it do you?
AT/2/NY - same here! I have to "group" with another section of 2nd
Anna/NY - I do it a little different than what they say to do
Lynn - Anna- what kind of phonics are you using?
AT/2/NY - me too. I have had to make changes to meet our needs
Lynn - we use something called Making Words and Month to Month Phonics
Anna/NY - We actually just bought a program from Steck Vaugn this year..we were using a homemade program that didn't work
Anna/NY - I just bought that book Making Words..I am going to do it this year
AT/2/NY - we're into "homemade" too. 1st grades use Wright Group
Karen - I'm using "Word Walls", but am looking for activities to usewith the wall. Any ideas?
Lynn - our program is great. It reinforces skills without lots of worksheets etc
Anna/NY - I tell u though...these homemade programs aren't helping these kids to read
AT/2/NY - I'm going to use word wall for the first time this year.
Lynn - Hi Karen I use the word wall everyday
AT/2/NY - we also have to use Houghton Mifflin
Anna/NY - There are many different books on what to do with word walls..check scholastic
Lynn - Houghton Mifflin is BORING
AT/2/NY - I've been following the message boards here on word walls - lots of guidance and help
AT/2/NY - I use HM for "shared reading"
Lynn - Karen: You need to get a book called Month By Month Phonics It isgreat for the Word Wall and other stuff
Anna/NY - I always get nervous the beg of a new school year..do u? I have been teaching for 6 years and I still get butterflies
Lynn - I love the beginning of the year It's exciting and it is my 14th year!
Anna/NY - Lynn....is that book appropriate for high second graders??
AT/2/NY - guess what, the butterflies never go away even after 23 years. I can never sleep the night before
Karen - We do guided reading; we read with the class or group and ask questions as we go. Is that what you do?
Lynn - yes you can adjust the activities for all levels
AT/2/NY - same here Karen
Lynn - Our program are groups that meet based on abilities and we do whole class shared reading books
Anna/NY - are you asking me Karen?
Anna/NY - My groups are ability based but we do shared reading and read alouds as a whole
AT/2/NY - we also do that Lynn
Lynn - do you like it?
Lynn - Anna -That sounds like my district too
Anna/NY - I am always looking for new good literature to start the year..any ideas?
AT/2/NY - yes, it works well given our scheduling hassles
Karen - This is my first chat room. Please bear with me!
Anna/NY - Did you get a blank screen Karen? I did
Lynn - I have a good book to read for back to School night it is called Weird Parents by Audrey Wood
AT/2/NY - I have a set from wright group I use. Then I have also collected novel appropiate for 2nd
Lynn - Karen- Mine too
Anna/NY - Do the kids come to back to school night?
Lynn - No I read it aloud to the parents
Karen - I use a bear theme at the beginning of the year and with the first short week I do Berlioz the Bear and go the Jan Brett's home page for activities.
AT/2/NY - Our kids do anna
AT/2/NY - you're doing great karen
Anna/NY - I don't know the book, but I know the type of district I am in...very affluent..you have to be careful what you do and say
Lynn - I read it to the kids and they draw and write about why their parents are weird and I hang them up for bts night
Lynn - it's a cute story nothing bad
Anna/NY - I have to look into it...I love don and audrey wood
Lynn - all the 2nd grades have different companies for guided reading books we do have the wright group
AT/2/NY - I use Jan Brett as my theme in January
Lynn - I have Celebration Press books
Anna/NY - Lynn...I really don't like the Wright Group...I used them and I felt that the kids didn't do well with them
Lynn - Jan Brett is a great author
Karen - I have to go (only 1 phone line!). I'll have to try this again soon. Great chatting. Thanks for the book idea.
Lynn - Anyone have a good first day of school book?
AT/2/NY - I use the "black logoon" books for the first few days
AT/2/NY - I also use Miss Nelson books
Lynn - Me too. The kids love them
Lynn - There's also a cute poem book called Lunch Money
AT/2/NY - plus, butterfly books - Monarch butterflies are my first theme
Lynn - Miss Nelson is great too.
Lynn - That's a good theme to start with
AT/2/NY - I also do Johnny Appleseed in Sept.
Lynn - Our shared reading books become our so called theme and I usually begin the year with Amelia Bedelia books and Frog and Toad books
AT/2/NY - those books are used in our groups :-)
AT/2/NY - I could easily use the themes from Houghton Mifflin - but. . .
Lynn - we used to do whole language so our whole language books became our shared reading books
AT/2/NY - I use the basal and Big Books from HM for shared reading
Lynn - for the lower guided reading groups I use the Celebration Press books and for the higher levels I have Literaure Circles using novels
Lynn - it's funny but our second grades don't use big books. K &1st do
AT/2/NY - I use novels for the higher groups too. I'm not familiar with Celebration Press - will have to look into it
AT/2/NY - What novels do you use?
AT/2/NY - I use Magic School Bus and Bailey School Kids the most. They love the adventure and
Lynn - We use the Box Car Children, Beverly Cleary Books, Scott Corbett books, Wayside school books. That's what I can remember off the top of my head
Lynn - MSB are great and my kids love the Bailey school kids too
AT/2/NY - 2nd graders really get into the novels
Lynn - They love chapter books
AT/2/NY - I collect my bookorder points and give novels for Christmas presents\
Lynn - I love writing little messages in the books too
AT/2/NY - do you give homework?
Lynn - Oh! My students also love Cam Jansen books
Lynn - I only give hw mon-thurs. I believe they need a break on the weekend
Lynn - What do you do?
AT/2/NY - We "have" to give homework. . . so I give it on tues. and thurs
MIMI - I give MAth, Spelling and reading Mon -Thurs
AT/2/NY - last year I tried a "calendar" with neat ideas - parents only wanted worksheets - yuck
Lynn - I know I gave up on cute homework and give worksheets too I do the cute projects in the classroom
AT/2/NY - I spent a lot of time on those calendars too
Lynn - Parents do not realize how time consuming things we do are
AT/2/NY - oh well, there's lot of worksheets available
AT/2/NY - if that's what they (parents) want
Lynn - Isn't that the truth. Although there are at least better worksheets available these days.
AT/2/NY - What Math program do you use?
Lynn - how long have you been in 2nd grade?
AT/2/NY - we use a combination of Math Their Way and Addison Wessley
MIMI - I have a question about testing... We have our first faculty meeeting in 2 weeks and we have to bring ideas about how we are going to raise ITBS scores.. What do you do??
AT/2/NY - This is my 11th year is 2nd - 23rd year teaching
Lynn - We are using Silver Burdett Ginn
AT/2/NY - What is ITBS
Kat2ndMS - I am using silver burdett as a pilot program this year
MIMI - My Math program is Math in My World and the kids and parents love it
AT/2/NY - Is it "hands on" approach Mimi?
Dee - does anyone use scholastic for gr. 2 Literacy place
MIMI - I am starting my 4th year in 2nd. But I went back after I raised my family. ITBS are the standardized tests we give in March, they are the Iowa achievement tests
Lynn - Silver Burdett is very hands on if you make it that way they have good activites
Dee - is math in my world a series or your own program
Lynn - we do the Stanford Achievement tests
Lynn - We order a series called Scoring High they really help the stuents with standardized testing
AT/2/NY - We ordered the Terra Nova test from McGraw Hill - its format matches the 4th grade ELA test.
MIMI - I like the program for Math as it is very hands on. Each child has a math journal and 3 mornings a week we do a [problem of the day. There are many activities and support materials to use with it.
Lynn - Dee -We do Guided Reading with Celebration Press books and novels
Lynn - Terra Novas are hard. In NJ we have to worry about the 4th grade ESPA tests
AT/2/NY - Math journals are very important - 4th grade Math test shows that
MIMI - Is Terra Nove an achievemant test. I have never heard of it.
AT/2/NY - It sounds like we ALL "have to" teach to the test
AT/2/NY - Yes Mimi, we give it in May
Lynn - that's the name of the game I hate those tests
MIMI - Hi Dee, I think the publisher for Math in My Workd is Mcmillan
Lynn - Does anyone do McCracken for Spelling?
AT/2/NY - Mimi - our K-4 staff sat down and did and item analysis of the 4th grade ELA and then went through the items and decided which items to (introduce, and master) at which grade level.
AT/2/NY - yucky job - keeps the state happy
Lynn - Mimi our district has done that too
AT/2/NY - Houghton Mifflin Reading theme tests are very close in format to ELA too
Lynn - what are the latest trends in Ohio we were talking about Guided Reading before
RG - The state has given several grants for OhioReads. The schools in our county are doing 4 blocks with the grant money.
AT/2/NY - RG, how will you use 4 blocks according to your grant?
RG - My school did not get the grant money. The two schools in my district that received the money are purchasing books and materials.
AT/2/NY - how long have you taught 2nd
RG - This is my 28th year
AT/2/NY - have you always taught 2nd RG?
RG - Yes in fact I have been in the same school and taught with the same two teachers until this year.
kellyppr - Are either of you teaching using literacy place?
kellyppr - Last year I used the word block of 4 blocks but am ready to add the last 3 this year.
AT/2/NY - how long have you taught 2nd
WA - I've taught 2nd a total of ten, but I've taught 2nd through 8 for 25 years
WA - You?
AT/2/NY - this is my 11th year in 2nd - I also taught 5th and 1st to make 23 years
WA - are you in a rural setting?
WA - have you started back yet, we start sept 5
AT/2/NY - oh yes, very rural. Dairy farming is the chief industry. I teach in a k-12 school - 400 kids in whole school. and you?
AT/2/NY - We go back sept.6
WA - our school is k-8, 177 kids
AT/2/NY - rural?
WA - yes some don't have running water, others live on waterfront
AT/2/NY - ocean or lake?
WA - I'll have 16 kids. we have 2 large lakes many small and also saltwater with some island homes
AT/2/NY - wow - we have have some "woodchucks" but running water is such a political issue (New York City watershed)
AT/2/NY - Department of Environmental Protection has been to every home in this watershed - all have running water
AT/2/NY - I'll bet the ones without running water have satelite dishes though
WA - some people escape the city with their$$$ others are here just to escape
AT/2/NY - I'll only have 13 kids this year
WA - they do manage to have Nintendo even if they don't have a phone
AT/2/NY - What reading series do you use?
WA - open court, this is my third year with it, you?
AT/2/NY - I use our Houghton Mifflin for shared reading and we ability group for guided reading
WA - how much time do you spend onreading/literacy
AT/2/NY - When I first went to this school, they were using Open court. I hated it - but they they never trained me in it.
AT/2/NY - We get a "block" of Language Arts time.
WA - I have found parts that I have to alter to fit my kids
AT/2/NY - It's about an hour and a half
WA - do you find thats enough time?
AT/2/NY - yes
WA - do you have any state assessments for 2nd grade
AT/2/NY - no state tests until 4th grade... but we are "getting them ready"
ztw - No state tests for 2nd they begin in third grade
AT/2/NY - WA, we use the Terra Nova by McGraw Hill as achievement tests
AT/2/NY - Terra Novas closely resemble our 4th grade English Language Arts test
ztw - does anyone have any good ideas for place value lessons
WA - ny is that for 2nd or is it for all grades. wa state
AT/2/NY - We did an item analysis of the recent 4th grade test to decide which concepts to teach at which grade level - so yes, we do teach to the test
AT/2/NY - we use the Terra Novas for achievement testing in grades 1 - 3.
WA - skips some grades we have a stte create tes fo 4,7,and10 plus the iowa fo 3&6 and 2nd is a state variation of running record style
AT/2/NY - New York has Literacy test of its own - but it's not "required"
WA - ztw which math sseries do you use?
AT/2/NY - We have state tests at 4th, 5th, and 8th. Then we have subject specific state tests for all high schoolers
ztw - right now we don't have one the text books will be in by september but school started two weeks ago
jr - I need some great sites on word walls?
AT/2/NY - jr, check the chatboards here on Tnet
AT/2/NY - jr, there's lots of posts about word walls or you could post a question. Use the Primary one
jr - I used word walls last year in second grade. A new teacher just called me and said her principal is telling her she MUST put up all h.f words as the beginning of the year . I'm trying to get resources for her.
AT/2/NY - jr, I hang up alphabet cards and add words as the year goes along
jr - what activities do you use to "teach" the words?
educ8tr - what type of words? vocab. or sight words
jr - sight words
AT/2/NY - there are great books - I recommend you get a Pat Cunningham one - can't remember the title
jr - Yes, I have the P. Cunningham books... Classrooms that work and Phonics they use. I was just looking for additional resources for a friend.
