Hey y’all! First of all, let’s talk about these folders. Do you know how much it KILLS me to have folders that don’t all match. Ohmiword… I can hardly handle it. I like for all math spirals to be one color, ELA spirals another, so on and so forth.
Well, when an idea pops in your head at 2 am for reading folders, you don’t have time to purchase 23 matching folders because you need to tackle that task ASAP! And, that’s exactly what happened to me. Each week I send home a reading folder in my book bags for my students. Normally it’s just a place for students to record their reading, and keep sight words. Well, I decided I wanted to make it more purposeful and a little house for our fluency practice.
So, the very next day I got to work and started putting my reading folders together. I’m going to label these, “Fluency Folders”… clever, right?! 😉 First and foremost, I made everything on my school computer where I don’t have cute fonts 🙁 and I don’t have anything to “share” with you except for the idea. Sorry! And, I’m sure my grammar and whatnot is all kinds of messed up. Hopefully I don’t disappoint too badly 😉
When you open up our fluency folders you will see our reading chain challenge from the Teacher Wife. This year I’m going to do the 50 book challenge because we will start something new in the second semester.
Also, stapled to the front is a little sheet that I write our DRA levels on. This helps parents know their child’s progress! My students will take out their 50 book challenge and keep those home until they are completed, so this will be the first thing that you see.
Here’s a little look at their 50 Book challenge packet. I literally just made the copies straight from the Teacher Wife’s cute freebie!!!
Next up is our Study Log. This year I am holding my students responsible for initialing what they do at home each night. I will check these every Friday and give out stickers, or small treats for students who have done at least 3 things throughout the week! I expect my kiddos to read, study spelling words, and practice their fluency.
I will put their fluency homework in the page protector every Friday so that I don’t have to open brads each week 🙂
Sight Words are next!
I put the three lists from my Sticking to the Sight Words unit in the folder so my students can move at their own pace.
And, last but not least, is Poetry!
I retyped these poems YEARS ago from a poetry booklet that I bought. For some reason I thought each poem needed cute fonts and clipart. Fast forward 7 years and they aren’t so cute anymore, ha! Oh, comic sans… how you live on through my laziness 🙂 I chose 16 poems to keep in our folders for the first semester. I will change these out after Christmas Break so my students have new poems to read!
I will put these folders along with books on their specific reading level in their Book Buddies on Fridays. That gives my kiddos 7 nights to read and practice before turning them in for the week! You can read how I set up my Book Bags last year HERE. The changes aren’t HUGE, I just wanted to make them a little more user-friendly 🙂 So, in our folder we have:
1. DRA reading level
2. Study Log
3. Fluency Homework
4. Sight Words
5. Poetry
and our Reading Challenge!
Hopefully this will be fun for the kiddos and help keep my sanity in tact for the year 🙂
Hi, I'm Amy
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
You inspire me every time, Mrs. Lemons!! Thank you for this idea.
🙂
Thanks for sharing, Amy! You are so inspiring!
Kayla Top Dog Teaching
I would love to hear more about what the fluency homework looks like!
I am an AVID follower of your blog and FB account. Thank you for helping ME keep my school life so much easier!!!! I have purchased MANY items on TpT.com and LOVE them!!!
Thank you, Thank you!! Erin
Would like to see more on what the fluency homework looks like.
Oh Amy, you continue to not disappoint! I read this post before rolling out of bed this morning and immediately woke up and sent out this blog post link to my 2nd grade teaching team. My mind is already racing on how we can make something like this work for our students. THANK YOU for your continued dedication and amazing ability to inspire me (comic sans font or not)!!! Mrs. Olson’s Lucky Little Learners
I would LOVE a copy of those poems!!! We do fluency folders too! We use Second Story Windows! We also use their morning work AND homework. Love them!
Love! Love! Love! Can you tell me the name of the poetry book you used?
I would also love the name of the poetry book that you used. I use one in first grade, but need some different ones for the second grade year of my loop.
yes please! I need helping finding Fluence practice for homework and I would love a copy of Poetry for folders as well. Can these purchased?
You are so darn cute and so are those poetry folders!!!
I just love you! You inspire me so much! I'm taking on the fluency folder idea starting next week. I'm trying to get it together! Could you please please share your poems?!?!
I must say you are such an inspiration!
Working on my fluency folders. Do you have the poems on TPT? Blog? I would love to get a hold of them. Also, is their a unit with the direction pages. Can't wait to get mine up and running! Thanks so much!
This comment has been removed by the author.
This is truly amazing! Do you have the cover sheets for each section posted by chance? I am a fairly new teacher and I still have a lot to learn, but I love this folder and want to build the same thing for my students. Please let me know where to find your cover sheets that you use for each section. Thank you
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I would love to see the poems you are using. I will be looping with with first grade next year into second. So I sadly can't use my poems with this group. Do you have your poetry in the TPT store? Also same goes for your fluency. I want to learn more. You're very inspiring and extremely helpful with all the wonderful things you have created.
I would LOVE to know what is written on the back of your Fluency Homework cover page with the directions to parents! Can you share this with me?
I can’t find these documents anywhere, they are fairly old… so sorry!
I LOVE this!! This is a fabulous idea.
I’m currently working with a six-year-old student who is struggling to learn sight words. I see you have sight word lists in your folders. Do you have any ideas for teaching a struggling reader sight words? Thanks!
23 Responses
I LOVE THIS.
You inspire me every time, Mrs. Lemons!! Thank you for this idea.
🙂
Thanks for sharing, Amy! You are so inspiring!
Kayla
Top Dog Teaching
I would love to hear more about what the fluency homework looks like!
I am an AVID follower of your blog and FB account.
Thank you for helping ME keep my school life so much easier!!!!
I have purchased MANY items on TpT.com and LOVE them!!!
Thank you, Thank you!!
Erin
Would like to see more on what the fluency homework looks like.
Such a good idea, I'm trying to get my class back into reading every night. Fifty night challenge might be an idea.
Sheri
http://earlyyearswithsheri.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/halloween.html?m=1
Oh Amy, you continue to not disappoint! I read this post before rolling out of bed this morning and immediately woke up and sent out this blog post link to my 2nd grade teaching team. My mind is already racing on how we can make something like this work for our students. THANK YOU for your continued dedication and amazing ability to inspire me (comic sans font or not)!!!
Mrs. Olson’s Lucky Little Learners
I would LOVE a copy of those poems!!! We do fluency folders too! We use Second Story Windows! We also use their morning work AND homework. Love them!
Love! Love! Love! Can you tell me the name of the poetry book you used?
I would also love the name of the poetry book that you used. I use one in first grade, but need some different ones for the second grade year of my loop.
yes please! I need helping finding Fluence practice for homework and I would love a copy of Poetry for folders as well. Can these purchased?
You are so darn cute and so are those poetry folders!!!
I just love you! You inspire me so much! I'm taking on the fluency folder idea starting next week. I'm trying to get it together! Could you please please share your poems?!?!
I must say you are such an inspiration!
Working on my fluency folders. Do you have the poems on TPT? Blog?
I would love to get a hold of them.
Also, is their a unit with the direction pages.
Can't wait to get mine up and running!
Thanks so much!
This comment has been removed by the author.
This is truly amazing! Do you have the cover sheets for each section posted by chance? I am a fairly new teacher and I still have a lot to learn, but I love this folder and want to build the same thing for my students. Please let me know where to find your cover sheets that you use for each section. Thank you
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LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I would love to see the poems you are using. I will be looping with with first grade next year into second. So I sadly can't use my poems with this group. Do you have your poetry in the TPT store? Also same goes for your fluency. I want to learn more. You're very inspiring and extremely helpful with all the wonderful things you have created.
I would LOVE to know what is written on the back of your Fluency Homework cover page with the directions to parents! Can you share this with me?
I can’t find these documents anywhere, they are fairly old… so sorry!
I LOVE this!! This is a fabulous idea.
I’m currently working with a six-year-old student who is struggling to learn sight words. I see you have sight word lists in your folders. Do you have any ideas for teaching a struggling reader sight words? Thanks!