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Goodness Gracious: A Workshop, Classity Class, & Projects Galore

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I have hit a wall.  A very large concrete wall.  I seriously need a break in the BIGGEST way, but I still have one more week of my accelerated course to go and LOTS of work to do in between now and Friday.  No pressure, right?  The good news is… I can check the workshop off of my list.  That’s one less thing haunting me in the recesses of my mind for now, but seriously, I LOVED presenting.  Last year was my very first speaking engagement, and I was a total bucket of nerves.  I don’t know what happened between now and then, but I guess you could say I’m “growing up”.  I was so much more confident, and of course it helped that I teamed up with two fabulous old colleagues of mine… from my old district.  It was so nice to work with them again and share a my love of teaching comprehension strategies with all of the participants.  Maybe that’s what the difference was!  When you love something, it just bursts out of you, and enthusiasm is contagious!  I realized that I COULD teach two sessions… and I could do them twice… and that I could do it without freaking out.  Saying yes to new things is sooooo scary sometimes, but you just never know how it will go and how much it will impact you until you take a leap of faith, and I am glad that I did.  I really hope to continue sharing my love of literacy for years and years to come! 🙂

I don’t have time to put everything into context, but if you’re interested in seeing some of the posters that littered our walls, you can check them out below.  Not all of them are mine.  About half of them were created by my fabulous “unofficial mentor” Debbie.  She’s seriously a total ROCK STAR!  Hopefully you’ll be able to find something you can use/tweak for your own kiddos!

If you have any specific questions, just ask away!  I am pretty sure we were great advertisement for Tanny McGregor.  I’m practically a groupie.  🙂  I may not have time to get to your questions right away due to my grad school projects & a baby shower this weekend (not mine).  I promise that I will try to address them as soon as I can though!  It’s a promise! 🙂  I won’t leave you hanging!

Other than the workshop, I am slowly trying to work on some projects I started for my classroom.  It took me forever to make all of the Sight Word Star Activities, but now I am in the process of trimming around them so they are ready to laminate and stick on rings once school starts.  I am also trying to add to my fluency arsenal, so I created some phrasing cards to stick in my center and use as a Vocabulary Star-esque game with a 50’s vibe that I’ve coined, “Order Up!”  I had to create three separate bundles, because they are so big and I want to be able to offer choices!  So, I have a packet with Fry Phrases from the first 100 words and the first 200 words, a packet with the first 300 words and the first 400 words, and a packet with the first 500 words and 600 words.  As always, I want a big range in my classroom, because my kiddos come to me at alllllll different places.  🙂  If you’re interested in checking out the bundles, they are on sale for 20% off through tomorrow 6/23 as my little thank you for still following me even when I stink at posting regularly!  Thanks for hanging with me!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Comments

  4. Amanda says

    I have had the Comprehension Connections book on my amazon wishlist for quite awhile now. Is this a book you have found helpful for primary grades? Looks like a fantastic workshop. I wish I had gone because all of your props and ideas look amazing!

    Amanda
    Reaching for the TOP!

    Reply

    • amanda.nickerson84@gmail.com says

      Hi Amanda! Thanks for your kind words! I absolutely think this is a great book for the primary grades. It takes the comprehension strategies and presents them in concrete, tangible ways. The lessons are highly engaging and great bridges to further learning. She also shares ideas about using music, art, and wordless books to teach the strategies. It's a great resource! 🙂

      Reply

  12. Rene Machjewski says

    I love all your anchor charts and pictures from your workshop…but what workshop is it? It looks fantastic and I am very interested in learning more!!! Is it a book or a person? Your site words are great too!!!! I wish I was clever enough to create something like that.

    rene'
    A Passion For Primary

    Reply

    • amanda.nickerson84@gmail.com says

      Thanks, Rene. My partner and I conducted two workshops. One workshop was on strategic learning… we focused a lot on how to structure mini-lessons with lots of modeling and participant interactions… and how to build community to promote and facilitate deep thinking. Our other workshop was on concrete models for comprehension… we shared a lot of ideas from Tanny McGregor's Comprehension Connections, some of our adaptations, and some of our own original ideas. I highly recommend that book! 🙂

      Reply

  14. Anonymous says

    I follow your (and a few other) postings and gather so many ideas for my teaching, despite the fact that I'm a British teacher- guess the best ideas work everywhere. I've been using the Comprehension Connections with my special educational needs class this year and what a great difference it has made. The question I want to ask all you great sharers, is how you create such fantastic resources, especially the graphics? Do you buy graphic packages because they make my pc images loom very boring. Many thanks.

    Reply

    • amanda.nickerson84@gmail.com says

      Hi! It's nice to hear that you can use my teaching ideas all the way in Great Britain! 🙂 I do buy graphic packages. If you Google clip art or check on Etsy, you should be able to find a plethora of different companies. 🙂

      Reply

  15. Jodi says

    I can't get your things on Teachers Pay Teachers to give me a 20% discount. I was going to buy the following today: Exploring Maps: Pirate Style! {The Basics} $8.00 Poetry: The Music of Our Hearts! $6.50 Wax Museum Biographies: Bringing History to Life! $6.25 Sub Tub & Substitute Binder Resources! $5.00 Landforms: For Young Globetrotters $8.00 Vocabulary on the Move! $1.50, It says that I have to enter a code to get a discount. Is it just a FEW things that are 20% off? Don't know what to do since the discount was just through today. Thanks!

    Reply

  17. Kim says

    I can tell this was a fabulous workshop! Comprehension Connections is my absolute favortie resource for reader's workshop. I love how you made an achor chart from the reading salad lesson – great idea!

    Reply

    • amanda.nickerson84@gmail.com says

      Thanks, Kim! Actually, I can't take credit for the reading salad anchor chart. I introduced the book to my old colleague Beth, and she created it a few years ago. Then, my other colleague and co-presenter, created it with her kiddos! I agree, it's a fabulous idea! 🙂

      Reply

  21. Nancy says

    Amanda,
    Oh my goodness, I just today realized who you are! I was at your workshop(s) and came away thoroughly impressed! I am just moving to third grade after 16 years in 4th and will definitely be following your blog and TPT store! I had gotten some of your "free" material previously and was impressed. Thanks for the photos of the anchor charts…I was unable to take pics that day and now here they are! I hope you can find (make) some time to relax and enjoy your summer…even with Ohio's heat right now!
    Nancy
    P.S. Looking forward to the Hall of Fame parade…love the "spin it!"

    Reply

    • amanda.nickerson84@gmail.com says

      Nancy! That is so neat! 🙂 I hope I get a chance to meet you and talk with you next time! (If there is a next time.) I'm on the county literacy team too, so if you happen to be on that team too, please come see me! I am looking forward to the HOF parade too! I was on court five years ago, and this time of year always brings back so many fond memories and so much excitement! Have a great summer!

      Reply

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