Top 5 Must Haves for Reading Teachers! Or any elementary teacher really and especially if you are teaching reading. These top 5 plus a few honorable mentions are going to help you whether you are teaching in a classroom, teaching distance learning or even a mix of the two. The items I have chosen will make your reading life more organized and save you time for teaching! We all need that!
#1-Magnetic Letters & Organization Box
Most of you probably have magnetic letters, right? But part of the must have for this item is the organizational box that the letters come in. Each small partitioned spot is labeled so letters always have their proper place. Now you aren’t wasting time hunting down letters and students can put away the letters correctly now too.
#2-ESGI Software
ESGI could be my number 1 every single year! I do a lot of assessing for universal screening and progress monitoring. ESGI makes all of that possible without me spending HOURS copying assessments, grading the assessments and writing reports for parents.
It is truly one of the main tools that has helped me over the years! You can use assessments from other teachers that ESGI has preloaded for you or you can quickly input your own. And now you can even personalize learning with Bingo!
I gave sight word tests and a lot of them. ESGI can take the words a student missed and print them on flashcards to send home for at home work or distance learning. It honestly takes no time at all because the software keeps track of words missed. You just click that you want to print the flashcards. Simple, easy and done! If you would like to start your FREE trial just click here!
#3-iPhone & iPad Device Holder
I know a lot of teachers are unsure how things will look this school year. Some of you even know already that you are either doing a mix of in class and virtual or all virtual distance learning for the first few months. You may need a device holder to hold your iPhone or iPad if you have to record lessons ahead of time or if you are suddenly finding out you are now a virtual teacher!
#4-Mini Pocket Chart Stand
A miniature pocket chart stand is something I used everyday. Sight words, phonics sorting cards, picture sounds, etc…made it hard to keep up if I wasn’t using the pocket chart. If you get one, be sure to choose one that is double sided so you can use the chart for more than one group without having to switch out cards each time. Just turn the chart around!
#5-Organization Cart on Wheels
If you are going to be dragging a bunch of teaching materials home for distance learning, you are going to need a way to keep it all organized. A utility cart on wheels can help with that. You definitely don’t want to use even more of your time trying to find your materials when it is time to teach.
Honorable Mentions:
I have two honorable mentions! One item often overlooked is a power strip. Get everything plugged into one area. Enough said, right?
I am really thinking this year may be the year teachers have to spend even more time on their laptops or computers. Be sure you are protecting your eyes with blue light blocking glasses. No need to cause more headaches!
Two new resources have been posted to help you teach students about multisyllabic words. These intervention binders will help students strengthen and build their decoding and fluency skills. Both the Closed Syllables and Open Syllables binders are packed with effective and engaging activities!
You can find the Closed Syllables Multisyllabic Binder here and the Open Syllables Multisyllabic Binder here.
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