Extra Support for Your Edmark Users

I have found over the years that there is a love/hate relationship with Edmark for some people. Edmark is a direct instruction approach to sight word acquisition. I get it, it's not using authentic literature to teach sight words... it needs the commitment of one staff member teaching one student, so it can be time consuming.... and I'm sure others have heard many other reasons (or may even be passionate about why you don't like it!) as to why it should not be used in the classroom. I'm a reading specialist and Edmark was NOT even mentioned in my program. But, I just can't deny success! I have seen amazing results with students who are still struggling with mastering 5 out of 26 uppercase letters, yet they are consistently reading the words learned through Edmark lessons during weekly probes. I am a huge proponent of Edmark, specifically in younger elementary special education classrooms.

I have tried to approach letter/number identification in the same visual layout as Edmark, with some success, but I kind of have to do my own version.

For years, I had used the old (copyrighted 1987, possibly?) outdated Edmark. About two years ago, I was able to get a new version of the kit. It is amazing. No more of the nondescript, yellow labrador dog....there is an Airdale Terrier, a Great Dane, a Bulldog! Little kiddos in my class would struggle with generalizing dog into that one yellow dog, now the kit provides 8-10 different images of a dog! A few of the different images that are seen in the kit include: cars, horses, balls, boats, and much more.

I have been able to use Edmark with kiddos with typical language development, kiddos with articulation issues, kiddos who sign and even AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) users!

I use the comprehension sheets that go along with the updated version as well. They are proving to be  perfect for ESY (Extended School Year) support this summer. It provides students with the possibility to complete worksheets successfully that included WORDS.THEY.KNOW. Perfection!

I found that I needed additional activities to supplement their sight word acquisition. I created worksheets that students can find and color the sight word, perfect for kiddos with fine motor needs! I'm hoping to create more activities that include the words that my kiddos are mastering through Edmark. Keep an eye out!

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

We got to use mirrors yesterday to read sight words (flipped text) and the kids LOVED it! I bought Dollar Store mirrors that had bendable stands. I reviewed expectations on safety and how we can use them with the kids before I gave them out. I differentiated the sheets, some kiddos could Smart Copy the word from the mirror, others needed to color the word (already written on worksheet) to match. A few of the kids figured out on their own that they could see the word (with the text unflipped) on the back side of the paper. This helped if they couldn't Smart Copy and look at the mirror at the same time. One kiddo had a blast just looking at himself as he stuck his tongue out in between words! This can actually an appropriate Speech strengthening activity, I was okay with it and he was on-task as soon as he got a new word:)
Click on one of the pictures below to link to the activity pack these came from.

Number Words

This has been a fun center for my kiddos lately. To practice spelling number words, I have them use letter beads. I got plastic pencil boxes (the ones that open up like a drawer) at the Dollar Store and put a foam number on the front. I placed the beads they would need inside with a pipe cleaner. A few kids have needed a sheet with the number and the word written to check their spelling. I could even differentiate it further by just having the foam letter stickers spell out the number on the front and they can match letters. I think I might make some more with the first 20 Edmark words, too!

I just want to play with this!

We recently finished our unit on matter. We used the FOSS kit and got additional beans for the soup mix activity. We had small group centers that we rotated through and we wanted each kid to get really hands on. I had some of the beans left over and put them in one of my Sterilite Target containers. Today I added some of my letter stringing beads (two of each letter). Tomorrow I will just introduce it to the kids, but I will work on some type of recording sheet for them to use during centers.

IKEA in the Classroom

Over this past summer, I finally purchased some IKEA shelving units for my classroom. I went with the Trofast ones, planning on using them for centers and organizing manipulatives and some leveled texts. If you happen to be thinking about if it would be worth it to make the investment of buying the units, it is so worth it! I love mine:) My kids are able to be independent with getting the bins and they hold all of the materials needed for each center. The only thing that is still on my to-do list for these shelves is to change the Reading center bins to be labeled A through E, keeping the Math ones numbered.

Another fabulous find was this under-bed storage bin decorated with numbers. It holds my 3D Touch Numerals perfectly and slides right under the SMARTboard so the kids can access it during center time.

There are also wonderful storage nets (6 compartments) that hang on the wall. I used command strips to hang mine. I have one behind my kitchen area and two on the back of the bathroom door holding random teaching tools. They come in an orange/red set as well.

It was a lot of hauling out of my car this summer, but I'm done with it now and will reap the benefits of it each year! So worth it!

Letter Sorting Trays

Love Dollar Store purchases that make a center easier!
I got veggie trays from the Dollar store and put foam letter stickers on each well. I purchased letter beads from Amazon (I like the shape of them), but you could use any small letter manipulatives that you already have.

This works best for my kiddos on the floor, I spread the letters out on the floor and make sure the letter trays are spaced out well so the kiddos have a lot of room to move. It is a great independent activity!

Ugly Sweater Party!

Primary Graffiti posted a fun Tacky Sweater Unit on her TPT page! I can't wait to print this one out!

Personal Laminators

An essential classroom tool for me:

My personal laminator (Duck brand)

I purchase the 50 pack Scotch thermal laminating sheets and whatever I laminate through this machine is so much more durable than the big laminator, especially when I use construction paper or cardstock. It is perfect for centers materials!

I also decided to use it to laminate my Fundations large sound cards. They get so much daily use and I want to prevent wear and tear.

Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs!

Downloaded some great centers from TPT for these next few weeks!
I found these at the Dollar Store a month ago: they are perfect for my kiddos to learn about dinos!

Centers Storage

I started using the plastic shoe box size bins with lids for centers storage this year. I found that I had a lot more space in each one than needed and the worksheets/instructions rolled. I found shallow bins with clips from Target (Room Essentials) that are working perfectly. I can stack more that with the shoe box size ones and they fit papers well. I have been buying myself 3-4 a week to build up my supply. No pictures were available on the website, but I found a blogger who used them as well, she included a picture on a post.
Anyone have suggestions for a great way to store and use your centers?
http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2010/08/muffin-tin-meal-supplies-storage-and.html