Back to School with Oriental Trading

This school year I have taken a new position as instructional coach.  This means that I am no longer a classroom teacher and instead working with teachers from kindergarten to fifth grade.

Part of my role is helping teachers implement guided reading.  As a result, I am moving from one grade to another throughout my day.  This means I needed a "Guided Reading Basket" to take with me.

Thank goodness for Oriental Trading because I was able to stock it so easily.


I have pencils, markers, dry erase boards, and erasers all in my basket.  Here are some of my favorite items though:

With my primary students, I LOVE using magnetic letters.  I have two different kinds of letters from Oriental Trading:  foam letters and plastic letters.  They both work great for making words.



My students LOVE using these Read to Self Phones.  They make whisper reading during our small groups so much more fun!  I use these with both my primary and intermediate students.


When working with my intermediate students, sometimes they have a hard time keeping their place in the book.  Whenever that happens I pull out these Highlight Reading Strips to help them keep their place.

Check out Oriental Trading's Learn 365 website to find these and other great back to school finds!  Leave a comment below and let me know what you always keep handy in your guided reading basket!

*Disclaimer:  I was sent products of my choice in exchange for writing this post, but all opinions expressed are 100% my own!
6