Anyways, onto the meat of this post. I have been seeing some AH-MAZ-ING guided reading toolkits on Pinterest and other blogs, and I was inspired to put together my own! When I saw Mel D's (from Seusstastic Classroom Inspiration) pink Craftsman toolbox that she uses to hold all of her small group goodies {see hers here}, I knew I needed to get one of those toolboxes! {Now for the silly part of the story... I found that they sold those toolboxes at Kmart, BUT we don't have any Kmarts left here in Manitoba, Canada! So when my parents went on a weekend trip to the States this past summer, I asked my mom very nicely to stop at a Kmart and pick me up one. And she did! Isn't she the best??} Anywho, I put together my toolbox with all the goodies that I use during small group time, so they are all in one place! Take a peak into my toolbox...
A. Dry Erase Markers (with pom poms hot glued to lids as erasers... genius! no need for dirty socks, kleenex, or erasers!) -- we use these on mini whiteboards and laminated work pages {I'm thinking about putting some dry erase circles on my horseshoe table too... as seen in this pin}
B. Pencils and Erasers (so students don't need to waste time going back to their table for a pencil) -- we use these to write in our Guided Reading journals
C. Highlighters -- for highlighting words/sound chunks in our Guided Reading journals or for use on sight word/phonics worksheets
D. Glue Sticks -- for working in our Guided Reading journals (cut and paste/mixed up sight words or sentences)
E. Letter Boxes -- double-sided (3 letter boxes on one side, 4 letter boxes on the other), laminated cards for practicing writing CVC or CCVC/CVCC words, could also be used as phoneme boxes (use counters to push sounds)
F. Blank Index Cards -- for writing notes, cutting and mixing up sight words, etc.
G. Alphabet Charts -- half-page alphabet charts for students who need to practice to letter sounds; the reverse side has common long vowel sounds
H. Tiara -- again, I totally stole Mel D's idea of using a tiara as her "Don't Interrupt Me!" signal! I used to tell my students that I was wearing my invisible hat when I was working with a group... but a tiara is so much more fun than an invisible hat! Check out my cutie modelling it for me. Can you believe this little munchkin is almost 8 months old? Where has the time gone! She is now crawling and standing on furniture and on the verge of standing on her own! Slow down, bébé!
I. Scissors -- always important and always hard to find a pair when you need them
J. Stickers -- for rewarding hardworking students or celebrating mini successes
K. Mini Magnifying Glasses (found at a party supply store in the goodie bag toy aisle) -- use these for finding certain sight words or word endings or punctuation
L. Dice -- use with games such as "Roll A Sight Word" (awesome editable freebie from Learning With Mrs. Parker)
M. Sight Word Cards -- three different sets of sight word cards to practice and play games with (Dolch Pre-primer, Primer, and First Grade). Love the idea of sticking labels onto bright coloured cardstock {idea from Maria at Kinder Craze}
N. Glow-in-the-Dark Pointer Fingers -- novelty toy to help students track writing... love these glow-in-the-dark ones (less witchy than the green ones!)
O. Toy Cars -- can also be used to help track or to practice stretching out sounds in words {I also have these awesome sight word roads from Kristen Smith's (from A Day in First Grade) Guided Reading Made Easy For Kinders pack that kiddos can drive the car down the road and read the words it passes}
P. Reading Strategy Bookmarks -- these are the strategies we use... I love the songs from Teacher Tipster... and I have all the beanie babies to go with them. Sometimes the beanie babies sit with a student who demonstrated the strategy during the lesson.
Q. Stamps & Post-Its -- reward self-inking stamps for "marking" Guided Reading journals and post-its for... a million different things!
R. Googly Eye Rings (see photo above) -- another print tracking tool
S. Laser Finger Pointers (see photo above) -- another print tracking tool
T. Mini Slinkies (see photo above) -- perfect for s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g out sounds in words
U. Task Cards -- three sets of cards from Rachelle Smith's (from What the Teacher Wants) Guided Reading Mini-Lessons pack... fiction story questions, non-fiction story questions, and fluency practice cards
V. Writing Strips -- these awesome writing strips make for an excellent warm-up activity... they are from Tara West at Little Minds at Work {I got the Writing Strips Bundled... it covers CVC words, blends, digraphs, vowel teams, and she has some free alphabet ones!}
Well that's it for me tonight! I hope this post has inspired you to make the most of your guided reading group time! Is there anything missing from my toolbox that you would suggest? I do have some highlighter finger pointers and some sand timers for fluency that I have to dig out of a box somewhere to stick in here too! :) Until next time!!
