Monday Made It-- July 4th

     Today I am linking up with Fourth Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  It is my first time linking up this summer.  I have been busy working on things, but really haven't created a ton from start to finish! This past week, I made my back to school to do list and I realized I need to get crafting.  In the meantime, I have been working a little more so on some of my TpT products that I thought I would share!

      I don't know about you, but my students are LOVING the I Survived series.  I really didn't know a whole lot about the books until this year.  My kids get so engrossed in these books and are actually engaged in their independent reading.  So, I figured it was time to start reading them myself!  So far this summer, I've read I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 and I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic and I could instantly see why my kids were pulled in. The characters are easily relatable for elementary students and the plots are constantly changing, keeping the readers on their toes.  I recently finished my novel study for I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005.  You can grab a copy at my TpT store!  I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic will be coming soon!  This product has an answer key and is set up to be used as a novel study, guided reading group book, or as a read aloud!

      This product is one that I am SO excited to share.  I am being honest when I say that this product is NOT fancy and doesn't have any frills.  In fact, it is just a simple set of questions for each text.  However, what makes this product so great is that it was developed in my classroom as a result of a need I saw.  We had recently switched from DRA's to Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessments. I immediately noticed that our students were not used to the style of prompting or questioning.  Initially, I created these products to use so that my students became familiar with the style of questioning.  I then realized that these short assessments would be GREAT to use after a guided reading book discussion.  I ended up using these a TON in this way.  We would slowly read and analyze a text, having many discussions about it.  Then, when we would finish completely, I would ask the students to write their answers as a form of assessment/ way to monitor their progress with the text.  I used their responses when going to RTI meetings, etc.   I have also used these in the place of a running record, as a form of a formative assessment.  I would have the student read the text independently and respond to the questions.  This product has 11 different short assessments, but I am in the works of getting each file uploaded separately as well.  The bundle though, is the best deal.  It will be a GROWING bundle.  As I design new assessments, they will be added and you can re-download it for free!  So check it out here!

      I have been working on this slowly, line by line, for a few weeks, but I finally finished it! I found a bunch of inspiration on Pinterst that helped me.  This will be at the park for my wedding next summer!  I bought a piece of Oak and stained it.  Then I used a paint marker for the writing.  It does need one coat of clear polyurethane, but that's it! :) 

Happy Monday and happy Fourth of July!