Chat about "The Hat"

My kiddos just finished "The Hat" last week.  Here are my thoughts on that story:

1. I hate how short and predictable this story is.  Kids have it memorized so fast.  Every year, I get a little show-off who proves that they can "read" it with their eyes shut.  It is great for building confidence in kids who are not yet readers.  This is why it is great to supplement with other books.  My kiddos have 8-10 good-fit books in their desks each week.
2. I just started introducing the reading stations this week.  My kids worked on "Connect 4 Fluency", Handwriting Practice, and Roll and Write Spelling.  We practiced "Read to Self" and "Read to Someone" the first week of school.  Next week, we will use all of these stations and I will add Word Power and Comprehension Clips.  I always have better luck taking my time introducing stations.  I like them to know what I expect from each station.  At this point in the year, they are such babies.  I don't want to frustrate them or overwhelm them with too much information all at once.
3. Is it just me or does Holly Keller REALLY look like Nanny McPhee?

 

What are your thoughts about this story?  Do you have any ideas, comments, or questions?  Post them in the comments below!  Have a great week and hold on to your hats!

 

 

 

Puppet Shows to Improve Reading!

We often use the "Character Cut-Outs" to make puppets.  We work with a partner to act out the story.  One student will hide behind a privacy folder while the other reads the story aloud.  When they are finished, they switch roles.  This is great for listening and following directions (the puppets have to do what the reader says), reading fluency and reading with expression, working on setting and characters.  It is also really fun to record one of the groups and then play the video on the board.  They get so excited to see themselves and their friends!

Spelling Hats!

When we read The Hat, my kiddos always make fun visors out of paper plates.  These are SUPER easy to make and the kids love them!  I just cut the plates into a kind of moon shape then attach string to both sides.  Sometimes my kids write words in the -at word family and sometimes we do our spelling words.  After the kids have written their words, I give them foam stickers to decorate them.  The kids really love making these, they are practicing writing and spelling, and they go home lookin' cute!  What more can you ask for?

The WHOLE Enchilada!!!

Holy Guacamole!  It is the WHOLE ENCHILADA!  I have been working on literacy stations for the series for almost a year now.  It is FINALLY finished!  Teach the centers once and use them all year!  This set is HUGE!  It has over 1,000 pages!  Over 400 files!  It includes:

• Reading with Expression
• Comprehension Clips
• Connect Four Fluency Boards
• Read-to-Learn Game Boards
• I Have, Who Has Cards
• Word Power
• Handwriting
• Alphabetizing Sight Words
• Fingerspelling
• Roll and Write Spelling
• Number Bonds

This set contains all of these activities for EVERY SINGLE STORY!  You are set from The Hat to Baboon!  I am so excited to have all these resources ready to go.  Reading groups run so smoothly and I see such an improvement in reading skills when I use these stations with my first graders.  These do not result in cute projects.  They were designed to improve reading skills focusing on fluency, comprehension, and using the text to support answers.  Stop by my TpT store to check it out!