Reading Strategies & the return of my portfolio

Okay, okay... I know I said I was done writing about my portfolio but I had so many great comments and ideas that I had to continue on and share another tip I learned. So I will no longer say... this is the last post as I am stuck with this thing forever and so it will just have to become my BFF and yours.

Back to the portfolio idea in a minute...

A few months back I ran across a great idea on Pinterest and it took some doing but I finally found the amazing teacher who created this:

In case you are unfamiliar with the Beanie Baby Word Attack or Reading Strategies method... this is it! It is nine ways to help a student get unstuck. Now I know, I deal with upper elementary and these are made for those just learning to read BUT all of us get stuck from time to time.

This is especially useful for our ELL and ESS students.

I have been loving the idea of  8 1/2 x 11 size posters. They are normal paper size and take up so much less space! I bought a cookbook stand and plan on having these on it in the reading area. Easy to reference and flip through. If everyone is struggling then I will simply post in on our focus board that week.

So with my mad paint and publisher skills I made the plain posters turn into this:

And now they match my class and coordinate beautifully!! Ms. Gleadall from Under the Alphabet Tree also created a letter home to parents and bookmarks that coordinate with this set. I decided not to change these as they are fine just how they are. I am going to add these to my packets to go home on the first day of school.

Wanna know the best part... they are all free!!!

You HAVE to stop by and see all the
amazing things she is doing.

You can also stop by my TpT or TN to get a free copy of my version. I recently read an updated post from Jessica where she used the originals on scrapbook paper. This is what my mentor teacher did after I used them with the fifth graders. She loved them!

Just don't tell the fifth graders that they are based off of beany babies or made for the younger grades. Even my eighth grader likes them as they are animals. Shhh! Don't giveaway my secret!

So back to the portfolio...

I was reading through the comments and other people's post on portfolios when a question struck out at me and brilliance occurred. Okay... maybe not brilliance per-say but a good idea. The question was "How do you as a teacher make a difference?" or "How are you a leader among teachers?" ... there is even a similar question on the national boards.

I was also asked it in my interview. "How will you improve the lives of your colleagues?" Pretty big question and seeing how it keeps popping up, I thought I would need to address it. So I thought...

and thought... 

and thought... 

and started to feel like Winnie-the-Pooh

And that is when I had my AH-HA moment!

Through my blog, TpT, and TN, I am networking with teachers around the globe. Not only that but the sales of my items and the massive amounts of freebies I have created that have been downloaded are proof of my skills as an instructor! 

By networking with all of you,
I become a better teacher! 

As so many of you have said, blogging is the best from of Professional Development!! Thank you to each and everyone of you who comment, blog, and share your ideas and inspirations!

This is a page from my portfolio, I hope you can see it clearly enough. 

Anyone notice the cute stationary that
matches my portfolio perfectly??

Yep... I had custom stationary made to match!

I am not OCD or perhaps I am in denial!

I have created similar pages for most of the items in my store. Some of the items I have grouped together (for example, all of the calendar items) onto one page. I have saved this as a format for my lesson plan section of my portfolio. 

In the frame you can see all the pages in this and then underneath it has information on how I use this in a classroom, how I can meet the needs of ESS and ELL students using this item, how I can differentiate instruction, and I also notated that this is an item I created based off of networking with other teachers and have created my own version available in my store as a means of further networking. 

I sent this page (my first one) to my certification advisor and mentor teacher. Both approved and love. I need to add pictures of my lesson plans in action but will add a second page to this for consistency purposes.