Another giveaway!!

Apparently this is the summer of giveaways....which is good for us!  More giveaways equals more chances to win amazing resources!

The newest giveaway is sponsored by 3rd Grade Theatrics and runs from July 1st to July 6th.  Click on the picture below to enter. :)  It doesn't start until tomorrow...but I figured I might as well blog about it now.

Katie

Thank You!

I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who participated and entered my 100 follower giveaway!  I cannot believe the amount of donations and support I received  from TPT sellers while hosting the giveaway.  AND--during the giveaway I gained a ton of amazing new followers.  Well....I am going to consider that giveaway a rap.  A successful rap at that....

Speaking of giveaways....there is another one going on over at 180 Days and Counting's facebook page.  If you have some time (its summer---we all should, right?!?!) open a new tab in your browswer and enter! :)

 Enjoy your weekend!

Katie

100 Follower Giveaway!!

Thank you for stopping by!  My 100 follower giveaway starts today.....so look for the prize pack you want  to enter (maybe it's all of them.) and enter away!  Best of luck to all that enter!!  Winner will be announced Saturday June 29th!

Katie Orr's Prize Pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway

K-2 Prize Pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

3-5 Prize Pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway Middle/ High School Prize Pack

=a Rafflecopter giveaway Clip Art Prize Pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway

I am sooooooo pumped to announce my very first giveaway!!  Recently I have reached over 100 followers on my blog and TPT!!!  I can't put into words how thrilled I am to have reached this milestone.....Let's just say I haven't stopped smiling since I logged on and saw 100 followers on both websites!  WAAAA HOOOO!!!!

So, to celebrate I am having a giveaway.  There are 5 prizes to win----but only if you enter!!  The five prizes are:

• 1 K-2 prize pack (over 30 products to win! Valued at $120!!)
• 1 3-5 prize pack (over 20 products to win!! Valued at $100)
• 1 Middle/School prize pack ( 8 AWESOME prizes to win!)
• Clip art prize pack (3 super prizes)
• Katie Orr's prize pack (20 products of your choice from my TPT store!!!)

The giveaway will start tomorrow (Tuesday June 25th) and last until  Friday (June 28th).   

There literally is something for everyone....so make sure you come back by tomorrow for this awesome giveaway!!!

Katie

100 Follower giveaway (looking for donations)!!!

Happy Monday to all of you!!  I hope everyone of you had a great weekend and were able to celebrate all of the dads in your life.  Our little family did some grilling, played some cards games and hit the links  for some putt-putt at our local mini-golf course. Despite the sweltering heat (It felt like 140 degrees yesterday...ugh!)...we had a pretty good time!!

In addition to having a great weekend, I also have some exciting news to share.....I have reached 100 followers on TPT AND on my blog!  I am beyond thrilled about reaching 100 followers, and a little perplexed.  Who would want to follow me ?!?! haha  Nonetheless....I am pumped about it!!  So, to celebrate I am going to host a giveaway.  :)  This is my first giveaway...so please bare with me. :)

If you are interested in donating, fill out the form below!  Thanks guys! :)

Collaborative Groups Freebie

Happy weekend Y'all!!  I hope everyone made it through the week stress free :)  In light of it being the weekend, I thought I share a recent freebie (App Friends) I posted on TPT!  Click on the picture below to take you to TPT where you can get this fabulous free way to collaboratively group your students.

As we all know, that studies have shown that allowing students to work in collaborative groups has many positive benefits. Some of these benefits are teaching students how to cooperate, increasing academic gains and encouraging a family dynamic in your classroom.

There are two purposes to selecting students in collaborative groups--- intentional or unintentional selecting.  Intentional grouping usually involves looking at data (reading level, formative tests, exit slips, etc).  Unintentional grouping usually happens when you need students to quickly pair up to review a study guide, work on a project, share journal writing, etc.

I often found myself saying “Pick a partner,” and kids inevitably chose the same person (their best friend), and then there would always be the kids that no one picked.  My heart breaks for those kids.  :(  I couldn't take it any longer, and I knew I needed to find other quick ways to pair students up---and I knew they had to be fast and easily organized. Sooooo…..I came up with App Friends.  Click the picture below to download it for free on TPT!!!

If you are looking for other ways to collaboratively group students check out my Collaborative Groups Mega Pack!

This pack has over 30 unique ways to pair (and group) your students…..so you never have to say “Pick a partner,” again!

The 30 ways include:
Speed Dialers
Clock Pals
App Friends
Color Buddies
States
Regions (dual purpose---students are working in groups but also reviewing regions of the US!)
Famous Couples
Odd/Even Numbers
Colors (in Spanish---great exposure for dual-language!)
And many, many more!!!

Teacher Feature Tuesday (Thank you Rock Stars in the Classroom)

My friends, Steph and Manda, over at Rockstars in the Classroom have started a fabulous segment on their blog called "Teacher Feature Tuesday."  Every Tuesday, these wonderful ladies are going to feature a different teacher .....how great is that!?!? 

I was honored when they chose me as their first feature!  They asked me some questions, I sent them a picture...and then viola....they had an amazing blog post.  They made me sound waaaaaaay better than I really am.....so thank you Steph and Manda!!

Click the picture below to read my feature....and contact them by email, or leave a blog post comment if you would like to be featured. :)

Tried it Tuesday

Today  I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper's Tried it Tuesday linky party.  I love blog hopping, and reading all the tips and techniques teachers have tried.  It always gives me some GREAT ideas!!

This past year I knew I wanted to incorporate spelling/word work into the daily routines of my students.  Since, I am the reading specialist...I have a unique situation in where I only have students for 30 to 45 minutes a day.  That time with my kiddos is PRECIOUS...and very limited, but I felt word work was important.  Soooo...I came up with "spelling contracts."  

I must confess it wasn't my original idea.  In fact---when I was in fourth grade my teacher had us do contracts for our spelling words--and I loved it!  I adored the fact we were able to choose what WE wanted to do as long as we met the point requirement. :)

I know there is a lot of controversy with spelling words, spelling lists and spelling instruction, however I personally feel spelling is very important.  On the flip side---memorizing a random list of words isn't the most effective way to teach spelling.  Instead of giving my students a list of "hard words," I wanted to give them a list that they were developmentally ready for, and I wanted to teach them spelling patterns.  This way when students came to a unfamiliar word they would have another strategy to attack the word.

So, I first had my students take a spelling inventory assessment.  I used Words Their Way, which has a quick spelling test that you give all students. Once the assessment is given, you analyze the students spelling patterns and place them based upon their spelling development.  Not all kids will be on the same list, it just depends on what level of spelling they are at.  In some of my classes I had all 5 students on the same list, and  in others I had 5 students on 5 different lists.  Seems crazy right!?!  

After you know where your students are, you then provide them with a developmentally appropriate list, which is what my kiddos would use to complete their spelling contracts.  I gave my kids 2 weeks to finish their contract because I had them for a limited time.  The students were in charge of picking what tasks they wanted to do---as long as they had 30 points by the end of the two weeks.

All in all my kids really enjoyed having the freedom to choose what they wanted to do. Some weeks we struggled to get finished, so I would lower the point requirement...but as a whole...my kids really enjoyed it--and I got them to do word work.  If you are looking for a way to spice up your spelling instruction then spelling contracts are a Win-Win! 

I created a variety of spelling contracts that you can download for FREE on my TPT store.  Click the picture above to visit my store and download today!!   

Katie

Giveaway x 2

I am excited to announce two giveaways that you all should enter!!  Who doesn't love winning something?!?!

The first one is sponsored by Teacher Gems.  This fabulous educator decided she would host a giveaway in honor of turning 30....and she has some fabulous prizes she is giving away.  One prize is  for grades k-3, the second is for grades 4-8, and a third prize for TPT sellers.  Teacher Gem's has got it all in this giveaway.  The entries start TODAY and go until June 9th.  Winner will be announced June 10th!  Click the picture below to take you to her blog, where you can enter. :)

The second giveaway is sponsored by my fellow blogger Second Grade Stories.  She is celebrating 100 followers for her TPT store, and is offering up some super prizes!!  Her prizes are bundled in a K-1, 2-4, and clipart and graphics.  Her giveaway also goes until June 9th---so don't wait...go enter now!  Click the picture below to take you to her blog, where you can enter.

If you don't enter....you can't win....so get click happy and hop on over to these great blogs for your chance to win it all!  If your are really lucky, you may win both!

Katie