It's overwhelming to try to teach procedures to the students and assess them at the same time. Definitely use the first few days to focus on procedures because without them you'll be lost.
But when it comes time to assessing the students, you need something that they can do independently and takes a long time.
Here are three things I use to keep the class busy while I'm pulling individual students.
Students have to color each group of words a different color, then cut and glue the letters to make a word. It goes along with short a words which I start the second week of school. It's a freebie and a lifesaver!
Last year was the first year I used interactive notebooks. I had always done a poetry notebook but seeing the interactive notebooks on Pinterest and blogs made me want to jump on the bandwagon. (Hint: Check out my post on glue sponges. I was afraid on how many glue sticks interactive notebooks would use, but glue sponges solved my problem.)
Over the summer, I copied each part of the phonics notebook on colored copy paper. If the students were missing a piece it would be easy to find.
I didn't give everything to the students at once. The first day the students glue the personal alphabet chart on the inside cover. They color the vowels with a red crayon. Next, I pass out the title cards. We do A-C together so they can understand the process. The next day we do the word lists before moving on to the category section. I usually do the phonics portion as we learn about each skill.
Make sure to double check the students work! These notebooks are something we use all year long so if something's off it will be off for the entire year. Most of my students do really well with this but you always have a few slow cutters. Have the early finishers help with cutting or picking up trash.
Most of my students come in knowing how to read number words, but the teens numbers always seem to get a few of my students. I have a number line in the back of my room that I see a lot of students refer to for reading the number words.
I also need the students to practice ten frames. It's a simple skill, but it's one that can be easily forgotten over the summer.
Within the Neat Numbers Booklet, students practice forming the numbers correctly, writing the number words, coloring and filling in a ten frame for each number. I won't accept sloppiness so if the students finish too quickly, I will hand it back.
Right now, it's only in D'Nealian, but I am working on making a print option. It should be finished by the weekend! Be sure to follow my store to be notified!
What to you use in your classroom to keep students busy while you're assessing? I'm always looking out for new ideas and tips too!
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