Super Easy Review Activity!

So many times, we'll read something one day,

and then I want to do a quick recap the next day.

I wanted to get my kids engaged in our review from the previous day,

so I came up with this SUPER EASY review activity. 

I asked them to take out the reading from the day before.

They had to write down 4 words that they

thought were important from the reading.

Then, on the board, I made a list of all their words.

The kids came up and put a tally mark under

the four words they had written down.

Was it CRAZY up at the board?

Yes!

But they loved getting up and marking their choices.

Finally, we looked at the results and circled the top 4 choices.

It was fast, easy and we were able to review what we read the day before.

What are some other ways you do quick reviews in your classroom?

FREE Reading and Math Resource Sites

I recently found two sites that have tons of reading and math resources.  

The best part... they're free!  

The first one is 

teacher.depaul.edu

It's one of those sites that you need to take some time to explore.  

There's lessons and ideas for all the main subjects 

we have to teach.

One section has quickly become my favorite...

I'm always looking for reading passages to use with my kids.

I need them for small groups, homework or mini-lessons.

This site has a ton to choose from and you can just print and use.

The second site is

http://illuminations.nctm.org/

This site only has math lessons,

but it's loaded with ideas.

My favorite part is the lessons page.

You can search for lessons by grade level

or even specific standards.

Are there other websites you use for

free reading passages or math lessons?

Compare and Contrast Literature

The past two weeks we've been working on 

Comparing and Contrasting Literature.

It was one of my favorite units so far this year.

We started by comparing and contrasting two purple pens.

Then, it was time for a pen and a pencil.

Our next activity was looking at photographs

and comparing/contrasting them.

I put the pictures around the room 

and numbered them with sticky notes.

The kids used a recording sheet

to list two things that were similar 

and two things that were different in each picture.

Then, we spent four days reading books in small groups.

Each group read two books by the same author and 

the books had the same characters.

I was able to differentiate based on reading levels.

Check out these pics of the kids reading.

I wish you could see their faces,

because they were so into the books!

Finally, each group filled in their recording sheets

to compare/contrast characters, theme, setting and endings 

of the two books.

The kids had fun and I enjoyed listening to the discussions about the books.

All the resources I used are available in my store.

I'd love to hear activities you have used for comparing and contrasting literature.

Have a great week!