ReadyGen Literacy Program

ReadyGEN might not have been ready this year...but I sure was!!

ReadyGEN™ is a comprehensive ELA curriculum that is supposed to help teachers and their students meet the expectations set by the Common Core State Standards. 

Personally, I found it difficult to navigate the program (especially since I didn't have any training). However, as the school year progressed, I began to create lesson plans, powerpoints, and graphic organizers that would help me to implement the program with ease.

What I discovered...

I discovered that the ReadyGEN program could be very easy to navigate if you understand the layout of the program and find ways to manage the time. Obviously, lesson plans are a must! so I started there. Next, I found that the powerpoints kept me focused and on track! It worked so well, that when I was absent, the substitute teacher was able to complete my lessons exactly the way I would have...even the students became very familiar with the routine and knew what came next. From there, I created graphic organizers for the guided and independent work. This was a TIME SAVER!! Gone are the days of trying to get kids to write the correct information in the correct box on the organizers provided by ReadyGEN. It was a lot less confusing for students, and literally gave me back about 15-20 minutes worth of time. 

Here is a sample of student work for my 4th grade ReadyGEN graphic organizers:

You can check out all of my ReadyGEN products by visiting my TpT store or clicking below:

Click the links below to see ALL of my 2nd Grade ReadyGEN Products.

LESSON PLANS/ WORD WALL CARDS/TRACKING SHEETS
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 4 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 4 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 5 Module A

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module A
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module B
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module A
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module B

Click the links below to see ALL of my 3rd Grade ReadyGEN Products.

POWERPOINTS
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module A
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module B
Powerpoint: Unit 3 Module A
Powerpoint: Unit 3 Module B

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module A
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module B
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module A
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module B

LESSON PLANS
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module A
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module B
Lesson Plans: Unit 4 Module A

Click the links below to see ALL of my 4th Grade ReadyGEN Products.

POWERPOINTS
Powerpoint: Unit 1 Module A
Powerpoint: Unit 1 Module B 
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module A
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module B 
Powerpoint: Unit 3 Module A 
Powerpoint: Unit 3 Module B 
Powerpoint: Unit 4 Module A

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic Organizers: Unit 1 Module B
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module A 
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module B 
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module A 
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module B 

LESSON PLANS AND WORD WALL CARDS
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 4 Module A

Click the links below to see ALL of my 5th Grade ReadyGEN Products.

POWERPOINTS
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module A
Powerpoint: Unit 2 Module B 
Powerpoint: Unit 3 Module A 

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module A
Graphic Organizers: Unit 2 Module B 
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module A 
Graphic Organizers: Unit 3 Module B 

LESSON PLANS AND WORD WALL CARDS
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 1 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 2 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module A 
Lesson Plans: Unit 3 Module B 
Lesson Plans: Unit 4 Module A 

Teaching Nonfiction Text Structures

With the new Common Core ELA Standards, non-fiction is becoming the primary focus, as students are expected to be proficient in reading complex informational texts. State assessments are also becoming more non-fiction focused, to evaluate student abilities in navigating these complex texts.

So what can we do to prepare our children?

Have them read more nonfictional texts!
In my Nonfiction Text Structure Bundle I used excerpts from larger texts in order to keep students motivated, interested, and allow for "close reading" of shorter passages. Well, enough of my rambling, take a look see for yourself...



Each nonfiction passage contains a definition of the structure and a 

graphic organizer for students to complete.

I didn't just stop at worksheets! 

In addition to the 10 passages and organizers, I also included a powerpoint mini-lesson presentation. 

You can model for your students as they follow along with their own copy (as an independent assignment) OR you might choose to do the activities as a "whole class" and have students come up to the board to locate information from the passages!

Download a FREE preview here: Nonfiction Text Structures Reading Bundle

Literature Board Game

My daughter had to create a board game based off of the book Among the Hidden.

She made "Hidden Pursuit." The story takes place in the house, garden, and attic, so she created 'Question Cards' for those 3 settings. She colored the spaces the colors of the question cards, so whatever color you land on - that's the card you read. She used colored index cards to write her questions on and placed them on the coordinating spot. For the game pieces, she printed out clipart that matched scenes from the story and used pieces from an old board game to hold up the clipart. 

She used two pieces of wood for the board itself and painted it white. Then, taped the two pieces together on the back with contact paper. This made it easier for her to fold the board in half when storing it away (and putting it in her school bag to carry to school.)