Friday, October 24, 2014

Readers Toolboxes

Hello my fellow teachers! I'm Kristen blogging from Loving Teaching Inspiring.

I'm so excited to be a part of this fabulous group of bloggers on The Primary Pack. I will be blogging and sharing all about my Kindergarten classroom on the 25th of every month!

This month I am sharing with you how we use Reader's Toolboxes in our classroom. I learned a variation of this in a district training from a fabulous teacher who should be a blogger for sure!! I tweaked it and added to make it work for my kiddos and I really hope it works for yours!
I don't know about you but sticky notes are a BIG DEAL in my classroom. The kids love them. I love them. It's truly a win-win. We use sticky notes for a lot of things in the classroom but these toolboxes are a favorite!

Let me show you how it works. I start with a plain file folder and chop it in half.
Then I add a variety of bright covers.
Who doesn't love Astrobrights??? I'm kind of obsessed. Then I print out the sticky notes. This is the best part because they look sooooooooo perfect!!!!
I got these codes from this adorable poster that my fellow Primary Pack"er" Amy from Learning Lessons with Mrs. Labrasciano made! You can snag your copy by clicking the picture below!
Next up I added the sticky notes to the file folder and laminated it. This helps the students to easily match their sticky notes and keep track of them.
Ta-da! Super cute right?

Okay so now for how to actually use these toolboxes! While my students are independently reading during "Read to Self" they are tracking their thoughts by sticking these notes into the books. Then later in the week or even that day when they choose "Work on Writing" they simply open a book, find the sticky note and respond. We have reader's response journals that they just glue the matching response sheet into.

At this point in Kindergarten we have only introduced the heart and the smiley face. However, I have a group who LOVES non-fiction. So I'm very excited to introduce that exclamation mark next week!!! If you'd like to snag the full product you can click here. The best part is I've put it on sale for today to celebrate my first post on the Primary Pack!
Thanks for stopping by, I hope this helps to give your kiddos lots of tools for reading!!! I'll see you all again next month on the 25th! 


9 comments:

  1. This is awesome, Kristen! What a smart idea. Especially for young readers. The fact that they are forced to go back to what they read and write about it....ooo I love it! :) Thank you for the idea!

    Meredith

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  2. Thanks Meredith! It's truly a sneaky way to have them use the text to write and respond! They just think they get to use sticky notes!! Lol.

    Kristen

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  3. I LOVE this Kristen! I cannot tell you how much I respect and admire you. The way you break down these difficult tasks for your kinders to master is amazing. When I get one of your students, I just know that they will be amazing. Keep up the great work!!!!
    xoxo, Amy

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    1. Amy you just filled my bucket to the rim! Thanks so much :)

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  4. I love everything about this post, Kristen! I was dying to hear more about your readers' toolboxes when you mentioned them awhile back! I can only imagine how much the students enjoy using the sticky notes! What a clever way to get them thinking about the text?!?!

    Ashley
    One Sharp Bunch

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    1. Ashley I thought about you the entire time I wrote this post! Thanks for the inspiration of what to share :) I hope your class likes it as much as mine!

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  5. Great idea and post Kristen! I'd love to try something like this in my class. The kids must love using the stickies too...and how it helps them organize their thinking.
    Elyse :)

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    1. Thanks Elyse! They really do love those stickies! We are working hard on remembering to take them out of our books before we exchange our books for the week! Lol.

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  6. Love everything about this post! I love stickies just like you! I am so in love with the way you use the sticky notes with the Reader's Toolbox. Wonderful! I've read this post through a few times, because there is so much useful information here. Thank you!
    Laura

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