My First Month of mTurk

Now that I have learned the ropes and gotten the hang of MTurk, here is an update on my earnings, some lessons I learned, and some tips and tricks for those of you that want to get started.

Patience and Determination are a must

You must have patience and some determination, so setting some goals along the way is going to be helpful. My first goal was to achieve 100 HITS and make at least 50.00 my first month. I accomplished this by working diligently on HITS every day. The more HITS I got approved, the more HITS opened up for me. I made 66.87 this first month and have 125 HITS approved.

My mistake starting out was submitting HITS by mistake before I had completed them. I got 3 HITS rejected the first week because of this mistake which hurt my approval rating. I rating is at 97% and for most of the higher paying HITS you need 100 approved HITS and 98% approval rate. I am working back up to this my second month.

Saving Money on Car Insurance

BEWARE: SWITCHING INSURANCE COMPANIES IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS!!!

Call a Competitor and get a Quote

I am constantly getting emails from other insurance companies offering me lower rates and incentives to switch companies. Well, today I took the plunge and called one of these other companies. I was indeed offered a lower rate off the bat. To entice me even further, I was offered a deeper discount if I install and use a mobile tracking device to obtain data about my driving habits. I am always excited about saving money so I was on the brink of accepting when......

Call Your Current Insurance Carrier

I decided to call my current insurance company first. I have been a loyal customer since 2000 and I am very happy with the service they have provided for me. But, as a divorced mom of two teenagers living on a teacher salary, saving money is top priority.

Consent for a Bluetooth Tracker to Gather Your Driving Data

After speaking to a customer service agent on the phone, I found out that my insurance company will offer me a 5% discount off the bat, for using a free app and a Bluetooth device in my glove box that tracks my driving behaviors. After the data is collected I will be given a deeper discount- up to 50%! Now I drive like a grandma and have never had an accident that was my fault or a speeding ticket... EVER, so I know I will get some sort of additional discount. No matter what, I am not penalized for using the tracking device... my rate will not go up.

Contact Your Local Insurance Office

The customer service representative also sent communication to my home insurance office so that they can reach out to me Monday morning with any additional discounts the local office can offer me. I could not be happier with State Farm! I don't get any affiliate income or referral bonuses for this post. This is simply a post to give you some information. Call your insurance company today! (Get a quote from a competitor first, but be wary of switching- the quote is often an introductory quote and will increase when you are no longer a new customer.)

Who doesn't love to save money???

My Favorite Ways to Earn Extra Cash

I am going to talk about 2 ways I have been consistently earning a little extra money from home. Neither way will make you rich or enable you to quit your day job, but both are a fairly easy way to earn 50.00-100.00 each month.

Amazon mturk

I am having so much fun with Amazon mturk . The best part is, I can complete the HITS (tasks) while I am doing other things... like eating breakfast or watching TV.

The tasks I enjoy most on Amazon mturk are they surveys. For the most part, the surveys are created by individuals conducting research projects and most of the surveys are a lot of fun. I have averaged about 20.00 per week completing HITS in the morning while I eat breakfast and in the evening when I am watching TV.

If you look at the payout vs. the time, I am not making much per hour, but since I am doing it while I am doing other things, I really don't feel like I am investing time. Simply making some money while doing things I normally do.

Inbox Dollars

*This post contains an affiliate link to Inbox Dollars and I earn 10% of any referral earnings. This however, does not influence my opinion about Inbox Dollars. I only recommend sites that I use and love and my opinions are always honest.

My favorite survey site is Inbox Dollars . The surveys are some of the higher paying surveys I have seen. They are fairly quick and easy. You also get a sign up bonus of 5.00 and 1.00 each for completing lists on your profile. So far this week, I have earned 15.00 from Inbox Dollars and I have spent minimal time on the site.

I like Inbox Dollars better than other survey sites I have tried because they match you with surveys. I am not spending a bunch of time answering questions only to be told I don't qualify for the survey. Also, when I match for a survey, they send me an email so it very efficient for me.

Again, you aren't going to get rich using this site, but 50.00 per month that I can earn while I am doing other day to day things is good with me! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Get Paid for Completing Small Tasks: Amazon mturk

What is Amazon mturk?

Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace site where you can sign up as a worker (for free) and earn money for doing small tasks . Basically, perform tasks that computers can not yet do and are paid a very small fee for doing so.

How I found Amazon mturk

I was looking for a way to save up for a laptop without cutting into my budget. My budget is very tight and there just wasn't any extra money for me to put aside for the laptop. To make things worse, a laptop wasn't even an expense I planned on, but my desktop MAC that I have had for years and years decided to quit on me. Well, I'm no quitter, so I started searching and pinning different blog posts about extra ways to make some money. Since I wasn't looking for full time income, when I read about Amazon mturk it sounded perfect for what I needed.

What kind of tasks I complete on Amazon mturk

Some of the tasks are long and boring.... STAY AWAY FROM THOSE!

I have been completing surveys, enter information from receipts, and evaluating search engines while I watch TV. I have actually found it sort of fun and considering I would normally be vegging out on a Netflix binge, the fact that I only make 5-10 cents per task really didn't matter... it adds up!

I was even pleasantly surprised with a 1.00 survey I completed that then turned into a 3 survey a day gig for 2 weeks and the payout was 30.00... YES PLEASE!

I am definitely enjoying the short and easy tasks and every penny is adding up!

How much money can I make and how do I get paid?

I have set a goal for myself to earn 5.00 per day so I just sit in the evenings while I watch TV and complete HITS until I earn that much. I have read other blogs where people make much more than that. It all depends on the time you spend. Now, as a newbie, the tasks are lower paying but the more HITS you complete, the more you will qualify for higher paying HITS. A little patience pays off....

You can cash out and get paid as soon as you have 1.00 in your account. If you are just starting, you have to wait 10 days before you can cash out. You can have the money directly deposited into your amazon account that is linked to your bank account or you can have the money applied to your amazon gift cards.

Definitely a simple way to make some pocket change while you are watching TV! HA! I guess in some ways it really does pay to be a couch potato!

Free Coffee on Wawa Day- April 12, 2018

Wow, y'all, what a Monday! You could definitely tell it was the first Monday back after Spring Break! I am exhausted!

A perfect week for Wawa to be giving away free coffee. That's right, FREE! You need to download the Wawa App and your free reward will pop up. I simply love the Wawa App and here is why:

Wawa will periodically give away free coffee on certain days or even every Friday of certain months. This is ANY size ANY flavor! All you need to do is open the reward from your Wawa App and scan at the register!

There are other benefits to using the Wawa App as well. If you load a gift card and use that to pay for your purchases, you receive additional bonuses for FREE salads, sandwiches, drinks, etc.

Get the Wawa App today and enjoy free coffee on Thursday, April 12, 2018!

Engaging Test Prep Passages

Well Spring Break is winding down and we are headed back to school with less than 2 months to prepare students for the VA SOL exams. Keep calm and keep it as fun as possible for the kiddos.

Students will have less stress if they feel prepared and know that they can do well. Up until now, I have focused heavily on teaching my struggling readers in grades 3-5 how to decode those tricky words... the ones that they skip over or give up on reading when they encounter. We work diligently and explicitly on word parts and chunking the word into those word parts until the students are doing it with automaticity.

My students even start telling me that decoding is FUN! Every year, never fails. Once they realize they can actually read those words they think they can't, they think reading is fun!

Now, my next hurdle this time of year... teaching my struggling students testing strategies and using test passages to do this. Most of the test passages are so boring it is an uphill battle, so I was so excited to come across a completely free resource this year! I have used many of the test passages with my students and they have enjoyed each one.

I have been strategic with how I have introduced each text and made sure that I introduced it the day before we started it so that the students couldn't wait to start the next day...

I have also been strategic as to when we stop for the day and make sure kids are left with a cliff hanger and can't wait to keep reading the next day to find out what happens. I have even had fourth grade struggling readers beg me to pick them up at a different time just so they didn't miss a day reading because of early release!

Anyway, you can check out these passages for yourself here . After signing up for a free account, you gain access to tons of passages for every grade level. Each passage is about 3 pages long and comes complete with 20 comprehension questions.

Want to help your struggling readers articulate their understanding of text, deepen their comprehension, and keep them actively engaged in their reading? I have created an anchor chart and graphic organizer that I use with all of my struggling readers with consistent success on state testing every year.

You can purchase it in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store . Want to try the anchor chart and graphic organizer for free? Just follow me here and comment with your email!

Using Swagbucks to get FREE Netflix

Who doesn't love Netflix? Sooooo many binge worthy series that bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "Netflix and Chill."

Some of the series I have binged watched are Orange is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, Grace and Frankie, The Ranch, Nailed It, and Santa Clarita Diet.

But I am on a tight budget, being a divorced mom of TWO teenage boys. I had cancelled my Netflix subscription for some time in order to save money.... But, my Friday nights just weren't the same. There is nothing better than coming home after a long week and plopping down on the couch and binge watching a Netflix show until I fall asleep.

So, I went on a mission to figure out how I could make just enough "extra" money each month to pay for my Netflix subscription. Yes, I have read all about those survey sites over and over and over and over and over and over and over and I will tell you why I HATE them and REFUSE to use them.

1. Your inbox is flooded with emails- to the point where it is ridiculous and annoying.
2. Most of the time, I don't even qualify to take the surveys.
3. If I do qualify for a survey, I am usually "unqualified" after I answer several questions.

So for those reasons, I also stayed away from Swagbucks . I had done it in the past and the payout was just too small for the amount of time I was spending on the site.

But.....

I have since taken another look at Swagbucks and come across a few tips and tricks that have made it well worth my while and easily paid for my Netflix subscription.....

I am super excited to share what I have learned with you!

First, if you don't already have a Swagbucks account, sign up here . (I do earn 10% of the earnings of anyone that uses my referral link, but my opinions about Swagbucks are honest.)

Next, figure out your goals with Swagbucks and make a plan. My goal was to be able to pay for my Netflix subscription without cutting into my budget. Therefore, I needed to make 132.00 per year with Swagbucks and since the Paypal payouts are in increments of 25.00, I rounded that amount up to 150.00.

Finally, I calculated how many SB points I would need to earn each week, which was 312 points. (1SB point = 1cent). It is VERY easy to earn 312 SB a week and not spend a lot of wasted time doing so.

Keep reading......

There are many ways to earn SB points, so keep in mind I am sharing what works for me. It is very possible to earn more SB points per month and get bigger payouts, but this system works for me and the goal that I had.

Every night while I am cooking dinner, I answer the SB daily poll and watch the recommended videos. This earns me 3SB per day. Not a lot, but it adds up throughout the month and I can mindlessly do it while completing other daily tasks.

Next, while I am working out or watching TV every night, I take that time to see if I qualify for any surveys. I rarely qualify for surveys, but by just attempting to qualify I earn 1SB each time. Again, this adds up throughout the month. Bigger payouts of course if I qualify and complete a survey.

But... wait for it... the best thing ever...

using Swagbucks to support lazy grocery shopping! (I think there will eventually be a support group for this...

I shop for groceries at Walmart. I hate grocery shopping and Walmart has a free delivery service. How can you beat FREE grocery delivery service to your door?????
Believe it or not, YOU CAN!!!!
Right now, Swagbucks and spend at least 25.00 online shopping (Who doesn't spend at least 25.00 per month grocery shopping??) you get a FREE 10.00 bonus from Swagbucks

Have I convinced you yet that you are missing out on grocery shopping rewards from Swagbucks ? There is more...

You can print coupons from Swagbucks and earn 2SB per coupon printed. (It takes 1 business day for your account to be credited.) Then, when you redeem your coupons, you earn 10SB per coupon redeemed. (This can take up to 12 weeks before it is credited to your account. Typically I save my coupons for Harris Teeter triple coupon or super doubles weeks.

If the grocery aspect alone doesn't convince you, I don't know what will, but there is still more.....

You can add Swagbucks to your chrome browser and earn points just from searching the internet.

Swagbucks also gives out secret codes that you can enter to earn bonus SB points. I use a facebook group to get those codes. The tricky part here is that the codes are only valid for a short period of time so I am only able to collect codes at night or on the weekends, but they do quickly add up....

Swagbucks can definitely be time consuming with little rewards if you don't take advantage of the hacks the site has to offer. With the right game plan in place, though, Swagbucks is a nice little way to pay for your Netflix subscription!

What are you waiting for???? Go NOW and sign up for Swagbucks and NETFLIX!!!!!! Your binge worthy shows and your wallet (and your sanity) will thank you!

How To Save Money By Filing Taxes with Ebates

Sometimes, just sometimes, procrastination actually pays off!

I hate to procrastinate... but sometimes it is inevitable. This year, for the first time ever, I owe taxes and so hitting that submit button has been a painful.

But hey, at least I didn't give the government a zero percent interest loan this year! (That doesn't make me feel much better, but the glass is always half full, right?)

Well, thankfully I did procrastinate because last night I logged into ebates and guess what??? If you file with Turbo Tax and click on Turbo Tax through ebates you earn 7.5% cash back!

I wish I could say that ebates is my new best friend, but truthfully I have used ebates for a while! It is so simple to use. You just create an account and then anytime you shop online, you click through to amazon, kohls, target, walmart, or wherever you are doing your online shopping. Then, you shop like you normally would and cash back is automatically added to your ebates account. When you cash out your money it goes directly to your paypal account. I have earned $82.56 so far with ebates .

When you join ebates and spend 25.00 you automatically get a 10.00 cash bonus. If you use my referral link and spend 25.00 not only do you get your 10.00 bonus, but I get a 25.00 bonus. You too can refer friends and receive the same bonus- there is no limit!

So, go file your taxes now and even if you already have filed your taxes, use your refund for a little online shopping through ebates . Your wallet will thank you!

Ibotta Hacks: Saving Money on Groceries

Wednesdays are Grocery Days
I am a divorced mom, living on a teacher salary and I feed 2 wild animals every day. Ok, maybe they aren't wild animals, but my teen boys definitely eat meat like they are wild animals. Therefore, I try to meal plan and grocery shop around weekly sales. Saving money is a necessity and I simply do not have the budget to buy all the food my boys without saving as much money as possible.

Harris Teeter and Walmart
I am full-time teacher, I tutor after school, my boys are in full-time sports and time is limited. Therefore, I only shop at Harris Teeter and Walmart and use coupons and ibotta regularly.

Back in the day, when I was a married, stay at home mom I would lug both boys around to every grocery store around with my big 'ole binder of coupons and probably spend hours shopping just for the best deals and biggest stockpiles. (Oh, the piles of free toilet paper, toothpaste, and shampoo!) Once at Kroger, I purchased 100.00 worth of groceries and my bill was FREE. I was very proud of that accomplishment, but so glad those days are over! Stockpiling is a fad of the past. I can save just as much money shopping week by week and it is so much easier!

Time is precious. I can get all the deals I need at Harris Teeter and Walmart. The trick is to watch Harris Teeter's weekly specials and use coupons stacked with ibotta .

I do all of my meat and fruits and veggie shopping there and any other buy2get3 sales they are offering that week. Everything else I go to Walmart for and typically stick to Great Value brands.

Using Coupons and Ibotta

There are so many grocery apps out there and I know many people use multiple apps. I have tried a lot of them but I love ibotta the best. It is the only app I use because I find it too time consuming to use more than one.

Simply download the ibotta app here , add your offers, shop, scan receipts into the app, and collect money! Once you have 20.00 in your account you can transfer the money directly to your PayPal account!

My favorite savings are the recurring .25 off any item and of course any item that I can also stack with a coupon. (These items generally end up being free or nearly free!)

***HOT TIP: Save your receipts for a week. The .25 rebate from any item is recurring and a lot of times items will be added and you can still use your receipt up to a week later.***

Ibotta also runs bonuses so you can earn extra money. You get a 10.00 bonus right now just for signing up and if you have found my blog post useful in any way and use my referral link I get a 5.00 cash bonus for everyone that signs up! (You will get your own referral link to refer friends and get the bonus when you sign up too.) Who doesn't love free money or helping others earn free money??

See my blog post here about how I also book free airfare with Southwest .

VIP KID Interview

I just love VIP KID.

If you are interested in interviewing for VIP KID, purchase a headphone/microphone set, an external computer camera, and check out Nancy Taylor, a VIP KID Teacher, here.

She is by far my favorite teacher to watch for tips, suggestions, and sample lessons! So energetic, fun, and friendly! I have been watching her YouTube Videos for months trying to get tips and ideas to pass my interview process.

I think the perfectionist in me is ready... FINALLY!

If you are a teacher and you haven't heard of VIP KID, oh let me tell you, you are missing out on a fun, work from home opportunity! Average pay is 20.00 and you teach English, from home, to students in Beijing! VIP KID provides all of the slides for the lessons.

The hours are a bit tough because they are set from Beijing time, so popular booking hours are 4am-6am! Also, steady bookings rely on positive parent feedback and an engaging introduction video.

What I have learned so far is that TPR is very important, wearing an orange shirt is a bonus, and makeup enhances your appearance on camera and the parents notice! Also, teaching in front of a camera takes some practice!

I created a simple background with some dollar store supplies, purchased a headphone/mic piece, and added an external camera to my laptop.

I have practiced my interview lesson multiple times and created some easy props to enhance my lesson. The key is to be animated and keep the interviewers attention.

Wish me luck! I will post more information about VIP KID and the whole process after I am hired!

Better and Cheaper Than Shakeology

Ok y'all. I'm not going to lie. I am a divorced teacher with 2 teenage boys... enough said. I live on a tight budget, don't spend a lot of money, and cut costs as much as I can. I have learned a few divorced girl hacks for surviving on a spending budget of nothing that have been lifesavers for me.

You can read about how I booked a summer vacation for three to Niagra Falls for FREE here.... YES, completely free and what is better, the deal I got on our hotel was cheaper than other sites and I am going to receive another 6,000 Southwest points that I can start using towards another vacation.<

I really love flying Southwest too. You can use the app to check in early and the flight crew is always so friendly.

But anyway, I digress because I am procrastinating... Don't judge! I know you are too because after all Spring Break is not meant to tackle that to do list of let's say taxes, spring cleaning, and everything else we promise ourselves we will do and don't! (Well, do the taxes, you have a deadline approaching).

So while you are putting off the to do list, let's focus on something else I really love to help me get ready for summer.
I have many friends that use Shakeology but I really hate pyramid schemes because, well, they are EXPENSIVE!
For that reason I started looking for something else and have used The Vitamin Shoppe Swiss Chocolate Meal Replacement Shakes for a few years now! I absolutely love the shakes and here is why.

1. The shakes are relatively inexpensive and definitely cheaper than anything else I have seen or tried.
2. The shakes are so delicious! I hated the taste of Shakeology and well, I am lazy so I really don't want to have to get out the blender and mix other ingredients. I like to shake and go!
3. They WORK! I drink one on my way to work and I have zero cravings and do not feel hungry until lunch!
4. They have a great chocolate taste and if I want to switch it up, all I have to do is add a little bit of peppermint essential oils and it's like having a peppermint patty for breakfast!

Bottom line is, the meal replacement shakes are delicious, easy, and work!

* Totalteachaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com but I only endorse products on by blog that I personally use and love and my opinion is always honest.*

How I Lost 10 pounds in One Week

* Totalteachaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I only share products that I have personally used and have seen amazing results with. My opinion is always honest.*

Holidays are so much fun and the food so delicious, but with Spring Break upon us, so is bathing suit season. Time to step on that scale and assess the winter damage. Then throw that dang scale across the room, because after all, it is LYING! It isn't possible that you gained THAT much weight over winter right?

BUT WAIT! There is an amazing product called The Cleaner Detox that helps me shed those pounds quickly. Of course I also exercise for 30-60 minutes every day. I prefer the treadmill on an incline, but any cardio will do. It is hard to get jump started back in this routine, but once I start The Cleaner Detox, my energy level increases and I feel so much better.

Now keep in mind I am not a doctor and I do not have any health conditions. Whenever I want to jump start my weight loss and increase my energy I start with a cleanse. I was terrified to do a cleanse at first but I have used this cleanse several times. It works! Now, you will feel some stomach cramping 10 to 15 minutes before you need to head to the restroom, but the cramping is not terrible and you have plenty of warning- my biggest fear of using a cleanse. I never use the cleanse for the 7 days, but rather 5 as I find all of the toxins in my body are pretty well cleaned out after 5 days.

You can purchase this cleanse by clicking The Cleaner 7 Day Detox Formula for Women .

Happy Spring Break: How to Travel for Free By Summer

Well with beautiful weather upon us for spring break this year, so many people are getting ready to travel this week. Traveling can be so expensive and living on a single income teacher salary I have had to find creative ways to travel.

Southwest Chase Credit Card has been a lifesaver!

I signed up for a Southwest Chase Credit Card last summer. All I had to do was spend $2,000 within the first three months and I received 30,000 points. In order to do this without creating a credit card debt for myself, I began paying all of my regular monthly bills using my Southwest Chase Credit Card. Then, I would turn around and pay off the bill before any interest accumulated. It was very easy to spend the $2000 and receive my 30,000 points.

I have since used the Southwest Hotels Link to book all of my hotels. Not only have I found the price to be cheaper than on other sites, but Southwest gives you bonus points when you book a hotel. For example, I just booked a hotel in Niagra Falls for August. The cost for three nights was $435.00 and I will receive 6,000 Southwest points. The same hotel cost $444.00 for three nights on a different website and no bonus points.

Right now, Southwest is running a promotion where anyone that signs up for a new Southwest Credit Card and spends $2,000 within the first three months will receive 50,000 Southwest points. This is a great promotion! I have been able to purchase three round trip tickets to Niagra Falls for free, just by using the points I have accumulated.

Every year on your anniversary with Chase, you receive a bonus 3,000 points. Even better, for everyone that uses my referral link and receives their 50,000 points, I earn 10,000 free points!

Who doesn't love to travel for FREE?
Use my referral link here What are you waiting for? Go NOW! Free vacation awaits you this summer!

Stop, Think, and Summarize!

Totalteachaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Do we really need to teach kids how to summarize?

YES! Summarizing is such an invaluable tool IF students are taught to do it correctly!

Summarizing helps students remember what they have read for longer amounts of time and integrate new information more effectively. If students can understand what they are reading, then they will be able to discuss and answer any question about the text.

An excellent resource for more information about the effectiveness of summarizing is a book written by Emily Kissner.

Purchase this book by clicking here.

But how do we teach students to summarize effectively?

We all have those students that highlight or underline the entire text and have absolutely no idea what they have read!

I have created an anchor chart and graphic organizer that helps students learn the text structure of fictional text and what important information should be included in a summary. Once students are familiar with text structure and the graphic organizer, I teach them how to make their own graphic organizer on notebook paper. This is what I then expect them to do during our state testing! My Tier 3 struggling readers have had much success with this graphic organizer and anchor chart and we have increased our overall state testing pass rate from 76% to 84% including making our annual goals with our SPED students.

You can purchase my anchor chart and graphic organizers in my TpT store by clicking here .

Want it for FREE? Comment below with your email address and follow me and I will send you the anchor chart and graphic organizer for free!!!

Engaging Test Prep and Summarization

It is officially spring break and once we get back to school, we will be in full test prep mode. I think it is fair to say it is the most dreaded time of year for teachers and students. For the past three years, I have worked with Tier 3 students as a reading interventionist. Most of these students absolutely hate reading and they always tell me it is because they don't know how to read the words. I teach them explicit decoding and syllable strategies until they are automatically decoding multisyllabic words independently. Then we focus on summarization and how to write a good summary. You can visit my TpT store and purchase the anchor charts and graphic organizers I use with my students. All of my students are successful and all of my students begin to enjoy reading! Why Writing an Effective Summary is Important Summarization is such an important, yet difficult skill for students. When students are able to effectively summarize, they retain information for longer. I tell my students all the time that if they can really understand what they are reading, they can answer any test question that is thrown their way. Engaging Test Prep Passages Now, in order to effectively teach students how to summarize, they must be engaged with the text they are reading. This is a little more challenging when they are reading test prep passages, but I am so excited to have found some awesome passages this year! My students absolutely love the stories and literally beg to stay and finish if we run out of time. The key to success is getting them hooked on reading! This is a free resource and all you have to do is create an account. After that, you are able to access a variety of test prep passages on a variety of different levels. The passages are typically three pages long and have 20 questions. Some of my students favorite passages are The Great Bake Off, The Ocean Adventure, and The Dare. I always give my students a little bit of background about the story before they begin reading and I always make sure we stop on Day 1 at a cliffhanger portion of the story. How I Teach my Tier 3 Struggling Readers to Summarize After I have my students excited about the story, we start reading. I always have predetermined stopping points and we always discuss the text at each stopping point. Students have a summary anchor chart that is displayed in my room to help them and we always glue a smaller copy of the anchor chart into our reading notebooks. At stopping points, we discuss the different story elements such as Who is this story mostly about? Where and when does this story take place? What does the main character want to do or accomplish? What is the problem? How does the character try to solve the problem? How is the problem solved? How does the story end? We also dig deeper into the text and talk about how the characters are feeling and what words and phrases the author uses to show this. Usually during these discussions, the students will ask what certain words or phrases mean and we get into context clues and figurative language. After we have orally discussed the text and what was read, students orally summarize that section. For example, This story is mostly about a family of Silkworms that travel every weekend in a magical cocoon. This weekend, the Silkworms want to travel to an underwater coral reef. They are amazed at the things they see when they get there, but they encounter a Great White shark! The shark is coming after them and they are scared. Dad tries to get the magical cocoon home but it won't work because some fish have destroyed it. They hide in a cave and just as the shark is about to attack them, the cocoon whisks them away back home. After they get home they relax and beginning unpacking and fixing their magical cocoon for their next adventure. Finally, after we have orally summarized in complete sentences, students use a graphic organizer to write their summary. Once students are familiar with the summary process, they use notebook paper to summarize and they are expected to summarize each selection they read during test taking. Visit my TpT Store where you can purchase the anchor charts and graphic organizers I use with my students. Tier 3 Struggling Readers State Test Results Every year, my school makes full accreditation. I have been using my summarization instruction and strategies for the past 2 years. Last year, we were able to meet our targets with our SPED population for the first time. Students that had not previously passed state exams were successful! Most importantly, students feel confident about their reading and are engaged in their reading!