Amazon Favorites: Make your Amazon Teacher Wishlist with my classroom tested favorites

It's back to school time and that means you are making a wishlist that hopefully parents and your community will fulfill! Teachers need a lot of "stuff" to make the most of our time with our students. Schools only buy the basics. I buy things that make my teaching life easier, to keep my students engaged, and to better demonstrate what I want students to learn. And...sometimes things that are just FUN! Here are my favorites! Click on the picture to see where I bought the item.  

These are the BEST baskets. They come in several sizes and are nearly indestructable. As you can see, I have used them in many different ways. The one size I like for centers because they perfectly fit a sheet of paper. I have had some of them for over 10 years and they are still going strong. 

I like to label the baskets for easy clean up. These are badge holders that I ziptied on. I can change out the labels if I want. The circle one I check off the table color that has used the basket so I know which center group to give it to next.  

I have wanted these lights for awhile. I just put them up and I love how they look. They have a remote and I can change the colors. They plug in so no batteries. 

My new classroom didn't have enough bulletin boards. The big ones are really expensive so I decided to try these squares. The are AWESOME! It has been really humid and they aren't budging. I have several that I made into different configurations. This one I'm using as display for student work. I decided not to put paper/fabric on this one so they could see their "square," but the other ones I did. 

There are tons of computer carts on Amazon. The one I linked isn't this one, just one kind of like it. I'm not sure if I got it somewhere else (possibly Walmart?). I like it because you can adjust the heights of both surfaces. You can also make them the same height to make a bigger surface. I put my computer on the top part. I use my document camera constantly and the fact that I can adjust the height makes it so I can get the angle just right to show on my screen. 

We all know that expo markers are the best. I prefer the skinny ones because they have a rounded tip. 

The erasers are makeup removers from Dollar Tree. I couldn't find them on their website, but in the store they are always hanging off the shelves in the beauty care aisle.

I have just a couple types of whiteboard 🤦‍♀️. I like the clipboard/whiteboard combo. 

These paddle ones are great for the carpet. 

If I bought anymore, they would be these. 

These flip notebooks are from dollar tree. I got the idea from Amy McMahon @smilesamy70. Basically, when kids are trying to spell, they can "try it" in their notebook and then get help from you. If the word is 2+ syllables, I will just write the word in there for them. 

I have literally all the sizes of Sterilite drawers they sell. They are so perfect for organizing!

These are perfect for sheets of paper.

These are wider, the size of a squaure scrapbook paper.

I use these for storing student supplies for each table. 

A friend gave me this magnetic pocket. I use it during phonics instruction for word building.  

I have these smaller ones that I use for sentence building with sentence strips cut into individual words. 

I use this shoe holder to store water bottles. I just wrote the numbers with a sharpee.  

My home computer has the mini usb port, and my school computer has the regular size, so this flashdrive is usable on both! 

I use this number line pocket chart to teach number sense. Each month, I change to the next decade (30s and 40s to 50s and 60s).

I use this visual timer for the class and for individual students.

I no longer keep paper files of papers, but file cabinets are great for storing all those centers you make. I use these expandable file folders. They work much better than hanging file folders. 

I had carpet in one classroom so I used sit spots for lining up. 

This is a small magnetic white board. I used my cricut to make the 10 frames, but I also have some magnetic ten frames on one also. 

These are the magnets.

I have had this pencil sharpener for several years, and it is still going strong. Of course the kids are not allowed to touch it. 

Lots of sellers have these flip calendars. I have also used the magnetic curtain rods to hold anchor charts.

The rainbow cart is narrower, and the clear one is wider. If I purchased again, I'd get a wide one in rainbow. They can be hard to find. Michaels is a good place to look. 

My husband makes fun of me for all the pocket charts I have, but I use them all for different purposes! I've used this size for a weather chart, my schedule, and pictionary word and sentence starter cards.

I have 100 and 120 versions of this chart. 

This clock has different colors for each hour. It has half past, quarter past, and quarter to labels. And....there's another pocket chart. 

These are privacy shields. I call them offices. They really are really good stuff. 😉

These are TakeAlong storage containers from Rubbermaid. Perfect for storing a jar or two of Playdoh. They can screw on the lids easily unlike the Playdoh jars. 

These are part of my early finisher choices. I love these boxes. Perfect size for one student and the lid snaps back down. I used to put labels on them, but they can see what is in them. Menards is the only place I have found them. 

I use magnet letters for phonics instruction several times a week. The letters on the left are from Really Good Stuff, but they are pretty expensive. The link goes to a cheaper site. 

The trays are from the Dollar Tree.

These trays are from Dollar General. They usually have them in the summer in the outdoor dishes area. They are not very sturdy, so I've had to replace them a few times, but they are bigger than the more expensive ones that I linked next. 

These are more like cafeteria style trays. Very thick and sturdy. They have puzzles on them, mostly 24 piece puzzles from Dollar Tree.

These trays are smaller, but a little more sturdy than the Dollar General ones. 

I use these  magnetic sticker sheets to hang up things on my whiteboard and, in this case, to hang up locker tags. My whiteboard is magnetic so it has become an interactive bulletin board with things with these magnets. You can use the whole sheet or cut it into any size you want. 

I use these mini mirrors to help with phonics instruction. 

I love this school bag because of all the pockets. It stays clean being black. 

I use these to make flashcards and to make classbooks (small ones). 

I made these for birthday gifts for my students and for the kids from other classes who bring me their extra birthday treats. 

Here's the free labels: straw labels

Our school laminator is useless. I go through A LOT of these laminating pouches. Cheaper than Walmart. I wish I could recommend a laminator, but I have burned out several of them. The silver one I've had for years, but Scotch doesn't make it anymore. Click the picture for my favorite pouches. 

I like to sit on my stool and still be able to tap a key on the keyboard now and then. This laptop stand makes that possible. 

I spray painted paint sticks and put these labels on for library dividers.

I like these dice because when they throw them, they don't hurt. Also they don't get lost as much as the little ones. And they are quiet.

This is my favorite cardstock on Amazon. 

I use these magnetic hooks on my whiteboard, to hang things from my drop ceiling, on my file cabinet... 

There are many TPT resources that use spinners. 

A couple years ago, I had two students who chewed their shirts into rags. These necklaces helped a lot. 

These zipper pouches I've had for 2 years and I'll be using them this year too. 

I use the large ones to hold floor puzzles. 

I use the smaller ones to hold books we've read in reading groups. They have them at their desks to practice, and I send them home for "homework." I just used a sharpie to write the kids' numbers on them.

These are great for displaying on the whiteboard.

magnetic base 10 blocks 

I use these for sounding out words. They pop a circle for each sound.

These are easier to punch than the traditional silver ones, but they still practice hand strength. 

These are nice for math games. I've had the foam ones for about 5 years and they are showing some wear but I'll keep them for another year. The dice in dice and the 10 sided dice are nice for variations. All came from Amazon. The link is for the 10 sided ones. 

Since my computer has to be attached to the Smartboard, I got this keyboard and mouse so I can sit at my desk and work. 

Behavior logging is now a part of every teachers job. This counter helps me log certain behaviors easily. 

I have a lot of games but the cardboard boxes have gone by the wayside. These clear game boxes help them stay neat and accessible. 

I love my little fridge to store my lunch and a cold drink or two. 

These magnet whiteboard erasers are great! 

 

Here are some professional books that have really helped me: 

ELA

These two books go together. The spiral books has materials that the other book describes. 

This is her latest book and it refers to some of the things in 7 Mighty Moves, so I would recommend reading that one first. All are truly excellent!

This one provides a basic understanding of the Science of Reading.

This one is getting some age on it, but if you are a teaching who was trained in Balanced Literacy, it is a good way to start your mindset shift to the principles of the Science of Reading.

MATH

As a Math Interventionist, I learned a lot about Math Talks. This one gave great ideas on what teachers should say to elicit mathematical thinking. 

This is another good book about Math Talks. Number Talks and Math Talks are the same thing. 

I made slides that go with the lessons in the book above and the book below. You can see them here: 

This one is particularly good for the younger grades. I love the routine idea. If you are just starting out in changing to a more problem-solving approach, this is a good read. 

Math fact fluency is NOT memorizing facts. Read more about that here: 

Math Talks: Practical Information to Get You Started NOW!

This book helps gamify fact practice. 

Counting Collections is one of the number sense routines that helps student build number sense. Here is a resource I made on building number sense. 

And this book.......is THE BEST math book I've ever read. The first part helps you understand the why and the second part gives you the how. Real, simple to prep, powerful lessons you can incorporate into any math curriculum. 

Parts of a Phonics Lesson - SOR Aligned with 3 freebies!

The Science of Reading is the collection of extensive research that tell us the most effective way to teach reading. (Read more here: The Reading League). In kindergarten and first grade, a main part of this is PHONICS instruction. In this post, I will teach you the recommended parts of a daily phonics lesson.

Researchers recommend that you allot 30-45 minutes daily to phonics instruction. In this block, you are teaching foundational skills for decoding words. Decoding is breaking the code of the English language, also known as sounding out words. Balanced Literacy (now a bad word in the world of literacy instruction) pushed the thought that we could use the pictures and the context clues to essentially guess what unknown words are. This is called the 3-cueing system (anyone remember the Beanie Baby reading strategies?--read more about that here: The Reading League.) This 3-cueing system should be eliminated from beginning reading instruction for good. The only cue we need to give a stuck reader is: SOUND OUT THE WORD!

Since most educators did not learn all of this in college (shame on our teacher prep programs), my goal is to educate and make it as simple as possible to follow the research in your explicit phonics instruction. 

Below I have given you a peek into my SOR aligned kindergarten phonics lesson slides. HERE IS A FREE WEEK TO TRY IT OUT! The slide examples are not all from the same lesson. This is a project that I am working on and will be adding to as I complete and tweak the lessons as I teach them this year.

The first part of a phonics lesson should be telling the students the goal of the lesson.

This introduction to the lesson follows the good teaching practice of stating the objective of the lesson.

Next up is phonological awareness. To learn more about what this it, click here: phonological awareness. The most recent research says that the main focus of phonological awareness should be on blending and segmenting, and that it should be a relatively short chunk of time. A curriculum like Heggerty is probably overkill. I have used and am a fan of Tools 4 Learning by Mary E. Dahlgren, Ed.D. This program was acquired by 95 Percent Group. Click below to see it on their website.

Spiral review has been a long-used, highly effective practice to review previous learning before adding to it. The is also sometimes called interleaved practice. In phonics lessons, this can be done through drills like using flashcards. My review slides are like digital flashcards.

This includes reviewing sight words or heart words.

After reviewing previous learning, it is time to add new learning. One of the most important parts of explicit phonics instruction is using a logical scope and sequence. Here is what I use: 

 Click to download the freebie.

As you can see, it is very scripted which is what makes it explicit. Students need to be taught these skills. We tried learning through exposure with Balanced Literacy. It didn't work. Explict phonics instruction does work! 

Of course the reason for reading is to understand. We can teach and expand the vocabulary included in the other parts of the lesson. Using real pictures is the best way to help students make mental images of what words mean. The sentence we will be reading together is 'We went to the shop.'

The guided practice can look different depending on the objective of the lesson and how many days students have been exposed to the concept. My scope and sequence allows 2-5 days for each concept. This guided practice is showing students that in plural words that have t and p, the s says /s/ and in words that have g, n, and b, the s says /z/. 

Here is another type of guided practice from a later lesson in the year on /sh/.

Phonics lessons need many opportunities for students to decode and encode words with the new concept. Decoding is reading and encoding is spelling. 

Using manipulative letters like magnet letters are another way for extended practice. The teacher talk is alternating between having the student decode and encode for practice on both.

These trays are dollar store cookie sheets. I wrote the alphabet on them with sharpie. The letters came from here: Abecedarian ABC, LLC

When students are just learning letter sounds, the dictation can simply be individual letters like this:

Click to see this resource in my store.

Later, you can dictate words. I like to use Elkonin boxes for dictation. Here is a sound mapping mat I use: 

Click to get it for free.

Here is another example of dictation of heart words: 

This girl loved to pretend her name was Barbie! :)

As students learn more, you can dictate sentences. 
Here is a dictation paper freebie with different sizes of lines to accommodate different skill levels:

Reading text is the final part of a phonics lesson. Some experts recommend reading multiple sentences and passages as soon as students know enough letter sounds and heart words to make sentences. As a classroom teacher, I have tried this, and it was very frustrating for my students. I also struggle with pushing kids too much too fast. So, I have chosen to delay this until the second half of kindergarten and only for those who are ready. There are many decodables becoming available. Here are some that I have used successfully.

UFLI

My Nerdy Teacher

Deedee Wills


This part of the lesson is for practice of all the skills new readers are learning. PLEASE use decodables instead of leveled readers in kindergarten and first grade. Leveled readers are part of Balanced Literacy and are not helpful to beginning readers who are learning to decode. 

Comprehension should not be taught using decodables. These simple texts are not challenging enough to improve comprehension skills. Use read-alouds to teach comprehension. I will address this in a future blog post. 

I hope this helps you along your SOR journey!