Prepping for Reader Response and Word Work

Happy Tuesday my friends!  I'm linking up again with Chalk One Up for the Teacher to share some of my favorite products for reading and word work.  Even though I'm heading to Vegas, I have several things lined up on my desktop to make sure I am prepped and ready for Back to School. I'm planning to get into full school mode when I return.  I have just a few weeks of summer break left. These ELA products really help me out because I can use them over and over and over again.  They get a lot of mileage in my room!  They are 50% today through Sunday when I get home from Vegas, and there is a freebie at the bottom, so be sure to read through!

#1:  Reader Response Rectangles
I use these critical thinking stems with the very first story I teach!  We start with picture books like The Stranger  by Chris Van Allsburg, or with short articles from our Scholastic Storyworks.  I always use high quality upper level picture books to get started.  Chris Van Allsburg is an amazing author and I love the variety of his work.  We use the WORK MAT version in groups to get conversation started.  They are a great formative assessment to see how students interact with each other and text.  I learn who my loud leaders are, and who can lead quietly pretty quickly using the work mat version.  As we progress we use the stems in our Readers Notebooks with other articles or novels.  I have also included a booklet version if you don't keep Reader's Notebooks.  There are a variety of questions that cover  the Common Core Standards.  Some questions are easier than others so I can differentiate the rings as I need to.  It starts to give everyone a common language.

 I've updated the frames on the work mats to allow for more writing space, so if you already own this set, please redownload it.  

This work mat example focuses on the emotions of characters.  As my year progresses I use the work mats version again when groups have novel studies.  The work mat becomes my spring board for group discussion.  For example, with this work mat, I would discuss how the author uses the emotions the character is having to enhance a scene or chapter.  That's CCSS standard: CCSS.RL.5, then we can make a comparision to other topics with other novels. (CCSS.RL.9)

#2: Word Work Vocabulary Analogies

I love these cards for my word work center.  My students always need to work on vocabulary skills, but more important, they need to work on making connections between the words.  I use these in both my centers and in my interactive notebooks.  They are a quick and easy way for your students to interact with vocabulary, then expand and have them write about the connections!
I also loved how Erin from I'm Lovin Lit used these in her classroom.  You can go {HERE} and read her post.

Finally, I'm also going to be getting my Book Raffles organized.

This is one of the best ways to get students hooked on reading right when the school year starts.  You can read about how I use book raffles {HERE} and you can pick up the FREE book raffle tickets I made {HERE}

I hope to see you in Vegas!  If you are going please introduce yourself!  I'm a shy gal, but I would love to meet you and expand my teaching PLN!