What a busy last few weeks!
Let me dive on into the skills we've been working on! We finished out our Author's Purpose week and moved right on into Problem and Solution!!! Problem and Solution is always so much fun! I love it when students create their own problems and solutions... it makes me remember how simple children really are. Wouldn't ya just love it if your biggest problem was "If my XboX is going to work after school?" I know I sure would :)
Everyday, we work in our Guided Reading Binders. Our binders are divided up into 5 parts: Guided Reading, Skills, Word Work, Reading Response and Vocabulary. In our skills section, we record our answers for the centers we've worked on for the week. This week, we worked on Problem and Solution. We used Problem and Solution match up activity and recording the answers in our binders.
Click the picture below for the this recording sheet FREEBIE that you can use with ANY book or passage!
We are also using my Fall-Literacy-Centers-for-Big-Kids packet. I am still able to use some of my materials from 1st and 2nd grade, but have really had to dig and create for most of my resources for 4th grade! With this packet, we are practicing Main Idea, Synonyms, Antonyms, Parts of Speech and Author's Purpose. I am using these centers in the weeks AFTER we teach a topic for spiral review. As I am teaching them, I am using only skill based centers. I like this packet because even though it's a skill they've previously learned, the fact that it's fall themed, makes them think they are practicing something new! The kids are loving the graphics and colors! 
In Math, we are gearing up for our Guided Math routine. Have you tried Guided Math yet? Or looked into it? It's basically the same plan as Guided Reading! We are doing a 30 minute mini guided math plan where we are pulling students who had trouble with the skill we are teaching that week. This is in ADDITION to our math schedule, and is first
thing in the morning. I LOVE teaching in small groups, so it's perfect for me. Here is how we set up our groups for our mini math session:
1. Meet with Teacher-Assisstant
2. Hands On Math
3. Literacy Math Activities
4. Skill Based Math Centers
*Pull remediation students for Meet With Teacher*
For the 4th group, we are using previously taught material and providing students a chance to review those skills. The one students who need remediation, can then be pulled from their groups to work with their teacher.
I am creating different math read alongs so that we can use during our Math Literacy Activities, while I work on them, I am just using a few titles our library had. Here is a great link of Math Literature: http://www.bookworm4kids.com/MathAndLiterature/MathLit4-6.html
All of the skill based centers are activities that students can do independently and are skills that have been previously been taught. You cannot give them a skill based center on fractions if you haven't taught the skill. So, this year we've worked on place value, rounding and addition and subtraction. I am using these work station cards for rounding.
I created the same type of activities for Place Value, Addition and Subtraction. When I created these, I had my non ink people in mind! I am now in the position where ink is like liquid gold! Before, I never had to worry about ink. So I created both colorful versions and black and white. My problem is, "Plain Jane" stuff is boring to me..so I printed it on bright paper to make it colorful! Each station is being printed on a different color! You can use these cards in so many ways. I am using each skill as one center, but you could easily mix up the skills and combine them into one center. Whatever the needs are for your classroom and what works for you!!
You can check out this product HERE and I'm putting on sale for a little bit for ya!
