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  • Ideas by Jivey

    Jivey shares ideas and lessons to make literacy accessible for all.

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    Uncategorized

    The Importance of Differentiation in Reading

    September 25, 2016

    If you’ve been a teacher within the last decade, you know the word “DIFFERENTIATION” isn’t just the latest and greatest buzzword. It’s crucial across all subjects to be able to meet the needs of the different learners in your class.



    For a teacher just starting to differentiate, the idea of it can sometimes seem overwhelming. It does require more planning, but once you get to know your students, it becomes easier. This post is going to focus on differentiation in reading instruction, but the ideas can apply to many subjects!

    WHAT DIFFERENTIATION LOOKS LIKE

    • Teaching the standards with a variety of levels of texts to meet different levels
    • Teaching the standards in tiered levels (providing access to all learners for the standard)
    • Giving students choice on how they demonstrate their knowledge based on learning styles
    • LOTS of formative assessments to determine who understands and who needs more support

    WHAT DIFFERENTIATION DOES NOT LOOK LIKE

    • Teaching the same lesson to every small group
    • Gifted students always teaching low learners
    • Ability-grouped classrooms
    Why should you differentiate instruction in reading? And why AREN'T you differentiating reading assessments? Ideas by Jivey lays it all out for you and helps you head in the right direction!
    I will go ahead and tell you upfront, I am NOT a fan of basal programs. They don’t allow for in-depth teaching of reading comprehension and, of course, many students either cannot read the story on their own or should be reading material at a much higher level.


    For this reason, I believe in using a reading workshop model. I start with a mini-lesson to teach a standard using a mentor text then I pull small groups of students. While I pull small groups, students are reading independently (from a text on their instructional level). The small groups I pull are generally based on reading level, but sometimes based on skill need.


    Ideas by Jivey reminds you to stop leaving students out teaching only whole-group. Teach students in small groups to differentiate for levels of learners.
    In my small groups, I generally expand on the mini-lesson skill using a leveled text appropriate for the readers in the group. Depending on where we are in a chapter book, this isn’t always possible, so sometimes it is a review of previously learned skills. The students are learning grade-level standards, but not necessarily with grade level appropriate texts: some are lower, some are higher.


    Activities in reading also look different, based on my students. They are STILL working on the same grade-level standard as everyone in the class, but with modifications. I might provide a sentence stem, partially filled graphic organizer, or word bank for students who are below level. Students who are above level will have more open-ended opportunities to complete the activity. (This is called tiered-level learning.)


    Why are we differentiating instruction, but not differentiating assessments?
    Reading assessments should also look different! After all, are you assessing whether they understand the skill, or assessing whether they can read the text? I believe if you are determining whether students have mastered a comprehension standard, the student should be able to read the assessment passage on their instructional level.


    Using differentiated reading assessments has only recently become a common practice. For this reason, there aren’t many resources out there with grade-level appropriate questions with differentiated passages… which is when I come to the rescue. 🙂


    I have created assessments for grades 3-5 that you can mix and match based on what your students need. The passages are written on four levels (2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th) so that you can assess on your grade level, but provide instructional level texts.


    There are six fiction and six nonfiction passages for each strand: key ideas and details, craft and structure, integration of ideas, and all standards combined.


    There are also a variety of ways to mix and match the assessments to create long and short assessments on different standards! I didn’t number the questions so that you can use as many passages as you’d like in your test. You might also consider assessing on just one standard with a few texts, or assessing multiple standards with just one text. You can even assess a standard with fiction and nonfiction! The possibilities to mix and match are endless!


    Get your assessments from my TPT store by clicking here!

    Why should you differentiate instruction in reading? And why AREN'T you differentiating reading assessments? Ideas by Jivey lays it all out for you and helps you head in the right direction!

     

    by Jessica Ivey 
    Uncategorized

    Look who has been featured!

    June 28, 2016

    I am so excited to share that one of my favorite blog posts has been featured on the TPT blog! Check it out!

    by Jessica Ivey 
    Uncategorized

    Finish the Year with a BANG (and a SPLAT!)

    May 15, 2016

    At the end of the year, once testing is over and kids have lost their minds are ready for summer, it’s the perfect time to pull out the messy science experiments to review all the fun skills you’ve learned this year!

    One of my favorite activities to do with kiddos of ALL ages is to make OOBLECK! If you’ve never made oobleck, you are in for a treat. It can get a little messy, but it is the BEST sensory experience! Oobleck has properties of a solid and a liquid (great review of matter!) and it’s easy to make (measuring skills review!) and actually easy to clean up- if it gets on the carpet, let it dry completely and then it can be vacuumed up easily, as it turns into a dry powder.

    To start the lesson, read the book by Dr. Seuss, Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

    Then, allow students to make the oobleck! (If you want to make it ahead of time yourself as one big batch, that is okay, too! Remember, it is two parts cornstarch to one part water. One year I accidentally flipped that conversion and OOPS- we did not have oobleck that day.)

    You can download this free directions page to help your students make oobleck on their own:

    As I mentioned above, oobleck has properties of a solid and a liquid: it will take the shape of its container like a liquid, but with force (like a hit, poke, or squeeze) it acts like a solid! It can be rolled into a ball, but it can also flow and drip like a liquid. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid.
    And make sure to show them this awesome video of people walking, and even DANCING, on a pool of oobleck!!
    Your kids will LOVE all the oobleck excitement! It’s a great way to finish the year with a bang- and a splat! 🙂 Have fun!

     

    by Jessica Ivey 
    Uncategorized

    Balloon Pop Countdown {FREEBIE}

    April 24, 2016

    How did the last week of April get here so fast?! For many of you (some with less than five weeks left of school), you are beginning to think about how to wind down the year with some fun activities. But if the majority of you are like I was… you want to plan fun things, but your to-do list is sooo long and you are just so worn out! There were lots of things I would have done if only it had already been pretty much created for me. And that doesn’t mean you are a bad teacher… it means you are a busy, tired teacher.

    You’ve probably seen the fun balloon pop countdowns before- perfect for ANY grade! But as mentioned above, sitting down to think of all the activities that could go in the balloons and typing them out might be one of those things that keeps getting moved to the bottom of the list… and then suddenly it’s the last day of school… so I’m here to help you cross that one off!! But sorry, I can’t come to your room and blow the balloons up for you.

    Ideas By Jivey helps you organize a balloon pop countdown for the end of the school year with free pre-made slips of activities for the inside of the balloons as well as several ideas on how to manage the countdown in your classroom.
    In this free download, I have provided MORE ideas than you could use to give you plenty to choose from. Most of what I’ve listed are “free” things to do. Some require students to wear or bring something from home. Don’t want to do any kind of food? Skip that page! Do as many as you want- you can make it a twenty-day-countdown or even a five-day-countdown! Make it work for you!
    Cut apart the slips you want to use and roll them up, then stick each rolled up slip into a balloon before blowing it up.
    One of the struggles you might have is actually managing the balloons. Here are a few suggestions of ways to have your countdown:
    1. Print off two copies of the activity slips. One will be used inside the balloons, but the other will be for your records- number this page with the “days” you are doing each one, and number the balloons to match. NO SURPRISES with this method – well, not for you anyway. 🙂 This one is especially important if you want to use the food slips, for example. You’ll want to know when you need the supplies for them, and can ask parents ahead of time to send in goodies, too. (No one wants a note home the afternoon before an ice cream party that they need to send in two quarts of chocolate syrup.)
    2. Maybe you DO like surprises! I suggest choosing activity slips that don’t require a lot of planning ahead, then stuff those balloons! You could let a student choose which one to pop in this case.

    3. Use it as a behavior incentive. At the end of the day, if everyone has had a “good day,” pop a balloon to see what special activity will be the next day.

    4. Hang the balloons from the board, a piece of string, or even from ribbons attached to the ceiling! Here are some ideas:

    http://firstwithfranklin.blogspot.com/2012/05/10-day-countdown-baby.html
    http://classroomcompulsion.blogspot.com/2012/05/making-end-of-year-pop.html
    http://kinderfriendly.blogspot.com/2013/05/catching-up.html

    5. The actual popping can be done with a pin or thumbtack, or by sitting on the balloon, or in the upper grades- (if you’re super daring) letting a student throw a dart! This could also be a great behavior incentive- let a student who had an AWESOME behavior day pop the balloon.

    This idea is just one of many from the bloggers of The Primary Peach!

     

    by Jessica Ivey 
    Uncategorized

    Cut Up Test Anxiety!

    April 10, 2016

    I’m blogging over at the Primary Peach today! Come join me to see how to help get rid of some of that test anxiety in your classroom!

    by Jessica Ivey 
    Uncategorized

    Sharing Sunday: April – Poetry Month!

    March 20, 2016

    April is approaching, and teachers know that means one word: POETRY! Except, I always made it have two more words, as well… FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE! Although I always taught figurative language all year long, April was a great time to review it before “THE TEST” and you’ll often find figurative language in poetry = win/win!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!
    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    I’m linking up with some of the authors of The Primary Peach to make your April poetry planning life easier! Click on any of the images below to download the PDF. Once you are on the PDF, click around on all of the images to visit the resources!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    Head over to The Primary Peach for more Sharing Sunday posts!

    Check out this collection of poetry and figurative language resources gathered by Ideas by Jivey - most of them free ideas and activities!

    by Jessica Ivey 
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    Ideas By Jivey
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