More Inferencing Goodies!

When I wrote about my super big love for Babbling Abby's inferencing unit many of you commented that you were also having a tough time teaching the skill. So today I'm going to share some of the other resources I added to the week to really drive that skill home.  After we spent time as Inferencing Investigators, I wanted to give them some more targeted practice, so we used a combination of task cards and a great game posted on the Florida Center for Reading Research website. (Keep reading for links to all of this free awesomeness)
The game from FCRR is fantastic. The kids read cards and infer something about where the person is or what they are doing. Above is a close up of some of the cards and half of the game board and below you see some kids playing. I upped the fun-factor with some Smarties. I had them start by placing a candy on each circle and letting them eat that piece if they got the right answer. Here is the game in action:
Click {HERE} to download the game and click {HERE} to visit FCRR for more great content.

Next up were the task cards. I placed each set in these adorable paper boxes from the Target Dollar Spot. In each box I also added a small plastic container with 4 sets of 10 centimeter cubes.
Each student took a pile of same colored cubes and then if they answered a card correctly, they put one of their cubes back in the empty container. The first one to use all of their cubes was the winner. I wrote the answers on the back of each card to make them self checking.
I did not create the task cards below. They were created by some amazingly talented generous soul over at ProTeacher. She didn't include her name on the file, but if it's yours please tell me so I can give you proper credit and a super big THANK YOU! I highly encourage you to check out the forums there if you haven't already. The teachers there are amazing! Click on the pix below to download each set.

Now I'm going to leave you with something that's been on my mind a bit. I have been given the incredible opportunity to do reviews and giveaways from some outstanding companies lately, like Really Good Stuff, Scholastic News and Spelling City. I also have three great tech products to share with you from Learning Resources staring this week. One of the primary reasons I accept these offers is because I really, truly believe in the products. The other is because I feel great about offering the same product to one of you guys to use in your classrooms. I've been feeling so torn lately because it seems like all of these great opportunities seemed to happen at once! I really don't want my blog to be a constant giveaway stream. You'll notice I don't even have ads on my blog because I really want the focus to be the content. So, I guess what I'm asking is - How do you all feel about the reviews and giveaways? I don't want them to be something that makes you roll your eyes and think, "Geez, another giveaway!?" So, leave me a comment below and let me know what you think. (I hope I'm just over-thinking this. I have a tendency to do that!)

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46 comments

  1. I'm sure the companies would like to see their products out there now, since it' requisition time at my school.

    I'd say one drawing every two weeks would not be overkill.

    Pat

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    1. Thanks Pat! I really do love all the products or I wouldn't even consider it :)

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  2. I don't mind as long as you still include great teaching ideas on your blog, too! I also like to hear real teacher reviews of products.

    Thanks for sharing some terrific resources!

    Jenny
    www.luckeyfrogslilypad.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for the feedback :)
      I always want the main focus of my blog to be sharing great content, so I'm with you on that!

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  3. Wow, Denise, where do you find this great stuff?

    Thanks for sharing!

    Sally from ElementaryMatters

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    1. I may or may not be a little addicted to Google and blogstalking (oh and lets not forget Pinterest!) lol!

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  4. Hi Denise! Thanks for sharing so many wonderful ideas and resources! I love your blog and your newsletter! I just wanted to say that I don't think the giveaways are overkill. I think you space them out appropriately and it's a great opportunity for us to learn about new products and for some lucky people to get them for free!

    Kideducator@comcast.net

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  5. The task cards are great! Thanks for sharing the good finds! :)

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    1. You are so welcome! I wish I knew who to give proper credit for them. We use task cards a lot in my room.

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  6. Thanks Jennifer! Happy Sunday :)

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  7. Hi Denise,

    I find your reviews helpful! My librarian asked a few weeks ago if I wanted Scholstic News for next year. I said no but after reading your review and seeing all the cool interactive online stuff they now have, I changed my mind and ordered it for next year. I can't wait to start using it and wish I had it for this year! That blog post was just as helpful to me as your other blog posts, so I don't feel the reviews and giveaways take away from your blog at all! Thanks for all your great ideas! Your blog is one of my favorites to check!

    Jennifer
    delightedinsecond.blogspot.com

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    1. Jennifer -you have no idea how happy your comment makes me!! I'm so glad I could show you some great stuff about Scholastic News. I was guilty of not taking advantage of all of it myself for a while, but now that I've been using it consistently, I'd be lost without it.

      Thanks for the kind words about my blog too :)

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  8. I love using FCRR! I used them all the time in 3rd, now I have to revisit everything to see what they have for 2nd..lol!

    ♥ Jen
    The Teacher's Cauldron

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    1. I think they actually have the 2/3 stuff lumped together :/
      There's a lot of great stuff there. I need to remind myself to check it out more!

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  9. Thank you so much! Being a first year teacher, I can use all of the freebies to build my curriculum that I can get. =]

    Have a great Sunday!

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    1. You are so welcome Tiffany! I love knowing that I'm helping out new teachers. Welcome to a great profession :)

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  10. Hi Tiffany!
    You are so welcome! I don't know how I made it through my first years of teaching without blogs & Pinterest!

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  11. I love to find the newest things going on/available here on your blog. It's such a great resource. It's still just your opinion so I have to decide for myself. When you have a giveaway it just allows us to see its worth and a lucky person gets to try it out for free. Don't stop doing what you're doing. It's working!

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    1. Thanks Leslie!
      I was hoping that's what most people thought.
      Happy Sunday :)

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  12. Thank you for this post! I am a student teacher and needed some great inferencing ideas for my student teaching assessment. These are great ideas!

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    1. You are so welcome! I'm so happy to be helping out a student teacher. I wish blogs were around when I was just starting out. How the heck did I manage? Google wasn't even around then! (Man, I'm old!)

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  13. Denise,
    The fact that you are torn about the reviews/giveaways says a lot about your wonderful values. Thank you for being you! I agree with the other commenters that some reviews/giveaways are fine ... but we don't want to lose the chance to get wonderful ideas from you. Two different ideas come to mind: 1) You could have a day designated as Review Day - I know you will think of a catchy title (I am finishing my report cards and have no creativity in this moment) for now let's call it Friday's Review. When we see that title we will know that it is one of your review / giveaways and we can either read it or skip it. 2) Since you have so many possibilities now - you could have a review week and just let us know that each day in that week, you will be reviewing a new product and offering a giveaway. I like the first idea more.
    Camille
    An Open Door

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    1. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment Camille! I really like your idea of offering a review day. I have about 5 more lined up, so that would work for the next little while. I do try to always include the word giveaway in the title of those posts and you make a good point, if someone is not interested, they can choose not to read it.

      I really appreciate you taking the time to chime in :)

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  14. Oooohhhhhh, I like Camille's post ;) I always enjoy the fantabulous ideas and creative learning lessons you share Denise. I also follow your TPT account for even more goodies. I have noticed the stream of reviews and resulting give aways. I think it's very generous of you to share the resources, but I must admit that I prefer hearing those daily funnies that connect us all as teachers and human beings. Maybe a specific day, like the previous post stated, would be a happy-go-lucky medium. Just my personal opinion....and I'll keep tabs on you and yours regardless because you are such a talented and interesting teacher to follow!!

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    1. I like Camille's idea too. I'm thinking of Giveaway Monday :)

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  15. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are working on inferencing this week and these will be great reinforcers! Thanks so much for sharing! I love your blog!!!!

    Tara

    harpleysuperstars.blogspot.com

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    1. You're welcome! So glad you can put them to good use :)

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  16. Hi Denise!

    I just found your fabulous blog! You have so many wonderful ideas to share and I just love your beach theme!

    Because it's so lovely, I nominated you for an award! I see you have many already but I didn't see the one I have for you! Stop by to see the post when you have a minute!

    I am your newest follower!

    Jeannine

    First Grade Gallery~Lessons for Little Learners

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    1. Aww thanks for the award Jeannine! I'm your newest follower :)

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  17. This is wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Thank you for the inference handout/game. My son is online school and they had the definition of inferences and applied it to one long book. This activity is short and sweet(no pun intended). I printed it out and will be using it tomorrow. Thank you so much- I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog.

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    1. Online school sounds interesting. I'm so glad you'll be able to use this with your son to help reinforce the concept - it's a tricky one!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Congratulations - that is truly quite a compliment from such companies! The mere fact that you even gave such thought to your 'followers' is admirable. As an administrator, I often refer to your page when seeking ideas to reinforce a specific skill weakness. You are to be comendeded on your willingness to share your ideas and creativity with so many of your educational peers. Good luck and best wishes on your new endeavor.

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    3. Thank you so much for the kind words. I've said it before, but blogging has truly saved me as an educator. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects (which can be all too easy) I now find myself surrounded by the most amazing, inspiring educators.
      So glad I can be a part of that :)

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  20. Thank you so much for these excellent resources!!

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  21. I absolutely love how simply you set up the task cards for student use...I am so glad I came across this because I have so many sets of task cards saved and printed but haven't been so good at having the kids use them because I haven't found a management system that I loved before today...so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! =)

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  22. I want to thank you for posting these activities! I used some of them for a teach off part of an interview process and landed the job!! The other teachers and principal loved how interactive and hands on they were, so thank you so much for sharing these engaging activities :)

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  23. Wow! What great ideas! Thank you for sharing.

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  24. Thank you for such a wonderful freebie! This will be such a helpful activity to help teach such a challenging subject!

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  25. I am your newest follower! I just started a blog myself! I love connecting with passionate and dedicated teachers and look forward to see more of your wonderful blog!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Layla
    Fancy Free in Fourth

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  26. Nice blog to reading thanks for sharing such useful information this is very helpful for person who needs Assignments Online Help and keep continue to sharing useful information.

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