Book Leveling Labels {Made Easy}

Recently our district book leveling chart changed!!!!  And it happened after my kids had already book shopped, had their personal book shopping list and a bag full of leveled books...of course!  I needed to make new book labels, and it had to be done quickly!  I just so happened to have a package of Avery Color Coding Labels in my drawer that are suitable for printing!  It was easy to find the template in Word using the product code, 5472.

I would love to share the documents I made, however, Google Docs will not let me save it as a label document.  It just spreads out all of the typing all over the page.  : (

If you missed my post this summer about book shopping lists {and would enjoy a freebie} click HERE.

Book Shopping Lists....another freebie

I scheduled this post to come out while I am on a vacation (minus Internet) so that I didn't leave my favorite people (YOU) hanging for too long.  I also just realized that I have been in a pretty giving mode lately...I get all excited when I can grab something for free, and I'm hoping you do, too!  So...here is another piece of free from me to you!  (Yes, I do have a TPT and a Teachers Notebook store...feel free to shop around...my store links are just to your right...) 

Click on the picture below to download a pdf file of Book Shopping Lists.  (The document will open in Google Docs, two shopping lists per page.)  I use these book shopping cards for my kids when they shop for Readers Workshop independent books out of my classroom library.  I print them on card stock, put their names on the backside with a label, laminate them and use a Sharpie to write their lists.  When the child's level changes, you can use a Magic Eraser to erase the Sharpie (as long as it is on the lamination and not under it!) and write in their new levels.  For example, if Luke was independently reading at a level 6, I would fill out his shopping list like this:  

2 books from level 4  (easy)

5 books from level 6 (just right)

1 book from level 8 (challenge)

1 Look Book

The look book is just an extra fun book or magazine for the kids' bags that they may or may not be able to read.  Once I can get back into my classroom, I will take pictures and post about my library.  I am a book addict...my district Reading Coach told me I seriously have to stop buying books or I am going to run out of nooks and crannies to store them!

I am going to print only the bees for my class.  If you want, you could print a little of each so everyone in your class had one to pick from to make them a little more personal.  All clip art is from the one and only, Scrappin Doodles.  Love them!!!

Enjoy!

Vistaprint...Free and Fun! Plus a freebie!

As I was cleaning and packing after our last day with kids today, I came across some things I made using Vistaprint for the beginning of the year.  If you have not discovered Vistaprint yet, you are missing the boat!  Vistaprint has thousands of templates to make tons of free and fun "business" type items like labels, postcards, magnets, etc.  Teachers have gotten creative and started using the company to make things for the classroom.  When you make a free item, you only have to pay for shipping!  Shipping is a little crazy high, but totally worth every penny.  Here are a few things I have made:



  These are small business card magnets that I pass out to the parents on Curriculum Night.

 Next, my kiddos' book shopping lists.  I made these using a postcard template.  I laminate them so I can use permanent marker to write the child's level and amount of books I would like them to take.  Using a magic eraser, (someone is genius who invented those!) I change their level each time the kids are retested.  The kids keep these cards in their reading bags.  Below is a picture of the back of the card.  I just added each child's name with a label.

This is the front and back of a post card my kids and parents fill out at our Meet and Greet sessions before school starts.  (I tried and tried rotating that pic. and had no such luck.  I even took the picture straight, but blogger liked to rotate it for some reason.  Don't you hate when that happens?)

One more thing for today...and a freebie.

I explained to my kids that the kindergartners coming next year will want to know all about their new teacher, me!  So, my kids filled out a form about me and their first grade classroom.  I plan on putting them out at our Meet and Greet in the summer for the new families to read.

Click here for the free generic download!