We Love Teachers TPT Sale!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of you incredible teachers! I hope that you are being spoiled by your students and school community as much as I already have been! Every single one of you deserves the utmost recognition.

Thank you for your tireless efforts!

To celebrate teachers this week, head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers tomorrow and Wednesday to take advantage of their special We Love Teachers sale!  Don't forget to use the coupon code "thankyou" to receive 28% off EVERYTHING in my store (and many others!)

I would like to take a moment to highlight my hottest item!

The Grade 1 Dolch Print & Go Assessment and Practice Pack outlines a year-long High Frequency Word protocol to ensure student success. It includes a monthly test, weekly quizzes and assignments to be completed weekly! This pack is ultra flexible and can be used in any number of ways. The activities, including rainbow writing and sight word graphing, can are engaging and provide numerous interactions with new words! Normally $6, this pack will be only $4.30!

Don't worry, I've got additional packs for the following levels:

Pre-Primer

Primer

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

I've also got a bundled set -- a complete steal at only $15.84!

But wait... there's MORE! (Haha! Do I sound like an infomercial or what?!)

Because this sale is all about celebrating you...

ANYONE who purchases my Dolch bundle will receive my End of Year Memory Book FOR FREE!! All you have to do is email me! (Mrs.LoConte@gmail.com) Make sure to include your full name!

Oh, mannnnn I know that I'm excited to knock off some of my wishlist items!

I can't wait to see what everyone gets!! :)

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Five for Friday (and a GIVEAWAY!)

It's that time again! Time for Five for Friday! This is probably my favorite linky party! I just love jumped around and checking out what you've all been up to! Plus, it's a nice "idea dump" and great way to decompress at the end of the week. Totally pushes me to reflect on all that's gone on throughout the week!

First of all... the most obvious update! MY BRAND NEW BLOG DESIGN! I am seriously obsessed with how lovely it came out! And it is all thanks to Jana over at Little Web Writing Hood! Please check out my post HERE with details on how to hook up with her for your very own design and also information about my CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!

Jana was very patient and put up with my endless questions -- you know us teachers... ask, ask, ask until we know, know, know! :)

Even after the long winter break... and the day off for Three Kings Day... and with the long MLK weekend coming up... you can just TELL that it has been a long couple of weeks! We have been assessing like mad!! Let's just list a few...

• District Performance Task
• AIMSweb math pencil and paper test
• AIMSweb Letter Sounds
• AIMSweb Nonsense Words
• AIMSweb Phoneme Segmentation
• STAR Math
• STAR Reading
• Symphony Benchmarking
• Sight Word Monthly Test
• Sight Word Weekly Quizzes

My poor kiddos have done such a good job putting up with all of it, too! We've been taking lots of stretch breaks... and Go Noodle has saved us big time!

Beginning today, our district is holding a pajama drive for needy families. So... to kick it off, we had PAJAMA DAY! It was a blast! Even though PK-1 got to wear PJs before Christmas, it was a whole lot of fun getting the entire school involved! One of our administrators wore a bathrobe for most of the day... another wearing flannel line khakis cuffed so he could sneak in some coziness during his numerous meetings for the day! HAHA! And, I wish I had taken a picture, but I've got to say... I was one popular 1st grader today in my purple Batman pajamas! :)

Anyone else out there in blogland interested in becoming friends and motivating one another to walk more? I love making new friends! As I mentioned in an earlier post, my husband got me a fitbit for Christmas and I am loving it! Lucky for us, a friend of mine from work upgraded his fitbit and offered to pass his old one along to Dave! I love working on our health together! So now, we've all joined together and have been holding mini-challenges. At first, we tried to Daily Goal... then Daily Steps Total... then the Weekend Warrior. This week, we attempted the Workweek Hustle... and it has KICKED MY BUTT trying (and succeeding) to get into first place! Yay! Seriously, if you're interested in joining us, friend me! (Mrs.LoConte@gmail.com)

We have been having such fun transitioning into reading from our anthologies! I introduced these cute disguises... Or, "attentoscopes" as I refer to them (I may or may not have borrowed the name from an old behavioral program) and the kiddos just love pushing through to earn them! You see, we work to close read our anthology. And, sometimes... we get distracted. Sometimes, we want to focus on other things in the classroom or play with erasers in our desks. Well, these attentoscopes need to be EARNED. Students need to show that they are focused on the task at hand. Some days, I only make a handful available... and that's when things get really good! I just love seeing them read through with these disguises on their faces! It always gives me a good chuckle!

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend! I know that I surely will!! :)

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New Blog Design!! (and a GIVEAWAY!!)

I am so, so happy to finally launch my brand new blog design! I was hesitant to jump to a paid design, but set a TpT goal and decided that if I met it before year's end, I would go for it! Well, on December 14th, I met my first  sales goal!! For the past couple of weeks, I have been working with the ever-so-lovely Jana at Little Web Writing Hood to develop everything you see here!
She was so patient with me and my bazillion and a half questions and ideas and her prices are super affordable!
Seriously, if you're in the market for a new design... check out her page HERE or her Etsy store HERE!
Also, in honor of my brand new design, I'd like to give away a copy of my Dolch Print & Go Assessment and Practice Pack! This pack includes approximately 350 pages of word lists, parent letters, flash cards, and student printables that may be used for morning work, centers, homework, in small groups! This pack spans Pre-Primer - Grade 3 Dolch words allowing for differentiation galore!

 Enter below!

If you're not interested in the whole pack right now, check out the individual packs!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Currently

Alright, so I might be late with this, but I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for my November Currently! Check it out below and join the link-up!

Listening: I got turned onto Parks and Recreation and couple of years ago and I am obsessed. They just posted Season 6 to Netflix and I'm one of those people who needs a little ambient noise to get through her work. So, Parks and Rec it is! Lesley Knope all the way!

Loving: Sunday mornings with my husband are my favorite time of every week, especially in the fall! We throw something in the crock pot the night before (this week was french toast) so that it's ready first thing in the morning. Then we curl up by our electric fireplace (I swear, someday it will be a real one!) with the puppy, eat our breakfast, and just enjoy each others' company. Sometimes we read together, sometimes we catch up on trashy TV, sometimes we just listen to music. There's nothing better.

Thinking: I am so, so close to the long weekend! Aside from Thanksgiving being one of my favorite holidays, I'm sure we all feel the need to take a little break from work. This has been a long stretch and I am so looking forward to turkey, football, and kicking back with family!

Wanting: I started to adapt my Sight Word Assessment Pack (available HERE) into a Dolch pack and a Fry pack. I have so many ideas swirling around about pieces that I would like to add that it is taking way longer than I anticipated. I'm looking to post it by the weekend! So, keep an eye out!

Needing: As part of my weight loss adventure, I am working on making meals ahead of time. This morning, I cooked up 3 pounds of turkey bacon for some grab and go breakfast burritos. As soon as I finish this post, I need to get up and grill some chicken for lunch for the week.

Reading: This is my 4th year teaching, all at the same school. In my time here, I have watched teacher collaboration improve and school climate go up and up and up. This year, we have experienced a number of changes and staff morale is on the decline. A co-worker of mine and I have been working desperately to pull everyone out of this funk and have turned to the internet for some help. I am working on a blog post about our efforts so far, but any ideas you may have, things that work for your staff, let me know! I would love to hear all about them!

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Wednesday Working On It!

I promise that I will post my update about Summer School shortly. I have been crazy busy testing the kiddos since this is my last week with them. :(
Currently, I am working on a few different things.
1) Blog Development: I have changed my layout a handful of times and am finally working on creating my own design. I have some other commitments (classroom setup, summer school, etc...) that are slowing my progress, but take note! My blog is officially UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Thanks again to Amber at Sweet School Moments for her recommendations. I was up all night delving into blog design, etc... Thanks to her, I have created my first blog button! Grab it to the RIGHT ---------------------> Also, I have spent some time over at I Teach. What's Your Superpower's Blog, Baby, Blog! Page! She has some AWESOME tips for personalizing your blog and making it more accessible! She breaks everything down and makes it seem so SIMPLE!! Can't wait to debut all that I have learned -- hopefully by the start of school!

2) Sight Word Pack: I have already uploaded my Sight Word Assessment Pack to TpT HERE and I have gotten some pretty good feedback so far. I am currently working on adding more components including morning work, personal goal tracking sheets for students, and much more! I'm sorry for anyone who missed out on the FLASH FREEBIE yesterday, but it is 21 pages of assessment and parent communication for only $2.50! Definitely check it out if you have a moment! And if you get in on it now, you'll be able to download all updates FOR FREE!

3) New Classroom: Today, I want to give an update on my classroom setup. As I mentioned last week, I am looping for the first time and my Principal has requested that my room change. I have gone into my room every single day this week and have done NOTHING. I haven't unpacked a box, I haven't put up any decorations, NOTHING. Each day that I have gone in, I looked around at all of the things I have sitting in boxes... and the things that the previous teacher has left behind... and gotten so overwhelmed with stress, that I've moved a single piece of paper (a banner that the child of a family friend made me) to different spots in the room, and then just walked out.

I was talking to my husband and to a colleague of mine last night and made the ultimate decision to diagram my room out. I sat down last night and made a list of everything I want/need to have in my room, sketched out a theme, made a list of materials, and got myself excited about setting up my classroom.We have the cruise next week and then summer school after that, but I can't wait to get back in there and just WORK. I'm one of those people who will procrastinate for as long as humanly possible, then bang out a 30-page paper in under an hour. I've always been that way. Apparently, I work well (better, even?) under pressure. Hopefully that will be the case after the cruise! Needless to say, I'm stressing....

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5 for Friday!

Time for a little LINKY PARTY! I just love Doodle Bugs Teaching! If you're stopping by as part of the linky, then THANKS! :) If you haven't heard of her, check out her blog! She has some pretty amazing ideas! A quick clip from the music video my colleagues and I are working on! This was from my grade partner and I goofing around in a dry-run. I can't say much right now as I have been sworn to secrecy, but I cannot wait to share the final product with you all! :)

I posted my first product on Teachers Pay Teachers and am throwing a sale this week! This Sight Word Assessment Pack has weekly assessment, complete word lists, and parent information letters. Refer to my post about this product HERE and click the photo to link to the product page. It's only $2.40 for a year's worth of assessment through Saturday! Please remember to leave me feedback or comment back here. I want to put out my best work and would love to hear any recommendations! I saw this little gem posted by a Facebook friend this week and literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD! Report card time has come once again! Our report cards are done entirely online which makes it less tedious, but there are definitely limitations! For example, we have to fill out components for all 4 marking periods, but then a SEPARATE section for the full year evaluation. Since I teach Kindergarten, a lot of the areas that I am asked to fill out don't really apply and aren't truly appropriate, developmentally speaking. This marking period, I tried to get a jump on report cards, so here's hoping that I can get them done nice and early! :) My kiddos are FINALLY embracing my crazy obsession with writing! One of my little girls shyly handed me this note. She found it in her mailbox the other day following our literacy workstations! At the end of the day, she asked for it back and told me that she wanted to write a "love note back to him". I am so lucky to be looping with this group of kiddos. They are just so unbelievably sweet to one another! And one of my favorite moments from the school year... During Family Fun Day (our school's version of Field Day), the kiddos had the opportunity to get their faces painted and my little one on the left said, "I want to be a grown up!" so they gave him this HILARIOUS goatee!! And of course his best friend followed right behind him! Many thanks to their families for letting me post! I hope you all had an exciting week and I am extremely jealous of those of you who are finished already! 9 more days! (8 if we don't count today!)

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Sight Word Studies & TpT Sale!

Good Morning, Everyone!
I am so excited to be sharing my first product on TpT with you all! As we wrap up the school year (I can't believe that we've still got 11 days!), I reflect back on our school year. Last year, my grade level team and I decided to test out a greater emphasis on sight word recognition as a method of boosting fluency and reading comprehension. We had no parameters set by our school or district and put it all together on our own. Initially, we created a list of 36 sight words and required students to successfully identify 17 words by the end of the year. Our students blew that out of the water!
This year, we decided to expand upon that idea. Last August, I sat and developed a list of 50 words. For this year, we have doubled the expectation -- students are expected to reach proficiency at 36 words. Well, this year... our students DESTROYED their goals! Through the year, I ended up creating TWO ADDITIONAL LISTS of 50 words apiece and check out these stats!!

• 23 out of 24 students in my class have COMPLETELY MASTERED at least the first 50 words taught!
• 5 students have mastered ALL 150 words!
• 12 students have mastered OVER 100 words!
• 24 out of 24 students have reached the benchmark of 36 words!
• Last year: 11/24 exceeded proficiency on the DRA2, this year? 22/24 exceeded proficiency!

I am extremely proud of my KinderSTARS for all of their hard work towards achieving mastery in sight word recognition this year! They were motivated and worked diligently on a daily basis. What amazes me most, though, is that we were so focused on the benchmark of 36 words -- just imagine what will happen when we raise the bar again next year!!

One tool that was particularly helpful was a series of weekly assessments. Every Monday, I sent a letter home to families indicating the 5 focus words of the week. I asked that parents work with their child on learning these sight words both in and out of context and help to prepare them for a Friday quiz. Students practiced these sight words during our morning meeting, through literacy workstations, during guided reading, etc... I plan to share more regarding our sight word strategies in the future! Each Friday, they took their quiz which included the current week's words as well as all past words in ensure they retained the previous words.

What was wonderful about these quizzes is that they were done QUICKLY. The goal was sight word recognition so each one-on-one quiz took 1-2 minutes per student and could be completed by myself, a paraprofessional, or our building intern!

The last step was that I would make a copy of the quizzes to keep for student records and data collection, then cut up and send home each weekly result to the parents. My families really enjoyed checking the back packs for these quizzes each week and the kiddos LOVED celebrating their successes!

For my first-ever TpT product, I have put together all of the parent letters and weekly quizzes into a master Sight Word Pack. Right now, they only cover the first 50 words, but I will add the next 2 lists soon.

Click here to grab it up while it's still on sale! :) Also, please leave feedback. Since this is my first product, I would love to hear what I can improve upon for next time!

And please comment below on how (or whether) you teach and use sight words in the classroom!

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Blizzard Nemo Productivity!

This has been a wild couple of weeks. I have not been in school since February 7th. My school happens to sit right on the water in Bridgeport, CT right in the epicenter of where the blizzard dumped over 3 feet of snow in under 12 hours. The city is still digging out and as far as I know the schools have not yet been touched. This coming week was scheduled to be our Winter Break and there was much discussion regarding possibly canceling the break to get our kiddos back to school after over a week off, but unfortunately it did not happen. I will not be seeing my KinderSTARs until February 25th! I cannot believe there will have been an entire 18 days off since last seeing them. I sure hope they've been practicing!

We were supposed to celebrate the 100th Day of School on February 12th and we missed Valentine's Day. The kids were extremely excited about both days and hopefully we'll be able to squeeze them in when we return.

I was not expecting to have school canceled on the 8th so I did not bring nearly as much work home as I would have liked. However, I got myself started on a number of projects that I have been thinking up recently. I am super excited to unleash these new projects to the kids, I have a feeling they'll love them.

Once everything is up and running in my classroom I will post pictures. However, a rundown of what I have been up to:

• Sight Word Poems
• I've been putting sight word poems on sentence strips to use for guided reading, whole group lessons, and literacy centers. I have a number of plans for exactly how I will use these with my students, but I will go into more detail with that later.
• Alphabet Anchor Charts
• I was assigned Kindergarten very late in the summer and like most, had to make due with what I had on hand. We currently have two 3 alphabet charts that we use in our class. All are very small. This week I created a rainbow alphabet to coordinate with our rainbow theme. I am currently collecting photos, labels, etc... to add to each 11" X 14" letter.
• Sight Word Star Search
• I love my KinderSTARs and I love that through our PBIS program we reward our students with Star tickets. I try my best to bring stars into our activities as often as I can. The kiddos always brighten up as they are familiar with the idea of stars and truly have a great deal of schema to go along with the idea. I found these sturdy yellow foam stars at Dollar Tree this week and bought enough to cover all of our sight words covered throughout the year. Using Crayola Slick Stix I wrote 1 sight word on each star. My plan is to hang these from the ceiling then create binoculars out of toilet paper tubes. I thought it might be a nice alternative to Write the Room placing a much heavier focus on sight words as it is a grade-level goal this year.

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On another note, my husband and I are set to embark on our, albeit delayed, honeymoon. We could not be more excited. We have chosen to take a week-long cruise to the Bahamas. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before and our excitement has kept us from getting any sleep the past few nights. Everything is packed and we're just waiting on my father to pick us up so that we can head to the city. I honestly LOVE the snow, but I am definitely eager to feel a little warm sunshine on these cheeks! :)

xoxo Tiffany

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Roll a Sight Word Freebie!

It has been awhile since my last update and for that, I apologize. I haven't yet finished my Early Finishers Pack, but I am uploading a freebie! Feel free to download the Roll a Sight Word component. This is one my kiddos' favorites. Anytime I throw in dice, they're ecstatic! 

There are 13 pages in this pack. I keep these sheets in file folders by group based on which word list each of my students has reached. With our rainbow theme, everything is easily color coordinated and makes it simple for my kiddos to find everything that they need. 

My kids typically play this game in pairs with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Once rolling a word, they must read it aloud to their partner. If correct, they write it in a box, if not... the other partner copies it into the box. Click the photo to access the files! Enjoy! And please leave feedback if you download! :)

xoxo Tiffany

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