Chocolate Roots

I hope many of you took advantage of the big Back to School TpT sale!  I know that I spent WAY TOO MUCH!  In fact, I didn't just shop once, not twice, but three different times!  I just kept finding products that I wanted and couldn't quit.  I think I need a TpT intervention!  LOL!  Oh well, I will definitely be putting all that great material to good use. :) 

Speaking of great products, there is a teacher-created program called The Reading Olympians that I purchased this summer and have started using in my classroom this week.  This program was created by Julie Kiss and Krista Miller.  When I first saw this program, I was definitely intrigued!  With the new Common Core Standards, students are expected to learn Greek and Latin roots to determine the meanings of words.  I really had no idea how to even begin to approach this concept until I discovered The Reading Olympians program.  When I saw it, I KNEW this was an approach that I could easily use in the classroom and make learning Greek and Latin roots fun. 

This week, I started with an introduction to the program with a resource that Julie and Krista offer in their store called Chocolate Roots.  The students use the word chocolate and a list of common roots to make new (made up) words using the roots and chocolate.  Here are some of the pictures of my students in action.  They had SO much fun!  :)

I loved this one!  Gravchocolate- heavy chocolate 

I had one of those "proud teacher" moments today.  My students were in the Computer Lab taking their MAP test for Reading today.  As I stood by one student, I saw that his question was asking something where he was having to choose the definition of centennial.  He looked up at me, laughed, and clicked 100.  He whispered, "I knew that because it was on our root list today."  I was definitely doing a silent happy dance and in my mind thanking Julie and Krista. 

Tomorrow, I will be explaining in more detail The Reading Olympian Program and giving the students the materials from the Nike set.  You can check out this set because it is offered as a freebie on Julie and Krista's store.  I am excited about what this program is going to offer my kids.  I feel confident that it is not only going to help students unlock the meanings of unknown words to increase their vocabulary, but improve their comprehension and fluency as well.  I believe in this program and will be blogging about it periodically throughout the school year. 

If you are interested in more information about the program, you can visit The Reading Olympians website.  They have a program to meet the needs of both primary and intermediate students.  Also, if you have questions, I know Julie and Krista would be more than willing to answer them.  Believe me, I have done my sharing of pestering them.  LOL! 

If you are a 3rd-5th grade teacher in a state that has adopted the Common Core Standards, how do you plan to address the Reading Foundation Standard 3?  I would to hear your ideas.  If you were kind of at a loss like me....this program might be workable for you. 

Happy Tuesday!