Must Read Mentor Text: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Did you almost fall out of your chair? I know! I can barely believe I'm actually posting two days in a row. Truth is, Keagan is taking an exceptionally long nap, and I really like Amanda and Stacia's linky but never have a chance to link up. Plus I had already gotten to a good stopping point in my book when I thought I heard Keagan over an hour ago.

This week is all about Social Studies texts, and the only one I've had a chance to use so far was already taken (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers), so I started racking my brain for ones that I may use right now. Then I remembered how Erin had shared about this being the 50th anniversary of the church bombing in Birmingham. One of my favorite books for Black History month has always been The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963.

It's funny (for the majority of the book), relatable, and just perfectly written! I fall in love with it over and over again every time I read it. If you aren't familiar with it already, the story begins in Flint, Michigan with a family who is struggling to keep their oldest son under control. He pushes one too many buttons, and mama decides it's time to go to Alabama so grandma can straighten him out. Of course, life in Birmingham is ENTIRELY different from what they have grown up knowing, and the entire family is shaken to the core.

I have used this book to model vivid details because the way the author writes makes it so easy to feel like you're there. When I had to put together a text set for college, this was actually one of my books included for Sensory Details.

I would also use this book to discuss how characters change over time. The two brothers both experience significant changes, and it would also be interesting to compare them.

If you're really interested in this book, Hallmark JUST released a movie version that aired last weekend. I haven't seen it yet because (1). I don't have cable anymore and (2). I forgot. However, I will be searching for it because it's on my must see list. It's the perfect book to bring to life!

Now, click on the image at the top to see what other books people are using. Then link up and join the fun!

Five for Fraturday again

Whew! I am officially back to teaching now, and it was tiring! I feel like I came home every night and just crashed. Eventually, I'll get back into the swing of things.

First, I FINALLY got a new phone!! My old one was terrible and had this HUGE crack in it. I seriously was a walking T-Mobile commercial.

As much as I would LOVE to join the iPhone club, we didn't want to upgrade our contract because we currently get unlimited everything for $99, which you can't beat. So I checked Ntelos's stock of refurbished phones. I'm VERY happy with my HTC One V, and after browsing Etsy, I also found a store that does personalized cases for it. So that's already on my Christmas list :-). Now I'm just impatiently stalking A Beautiful Mess for their Android app that's supposed to come out next month sometime!

My fourth graders were working on Author's Purpose this week, so I created a little evidence sheet (Don't you love the Melonheadz clipart in the corner? My score from Educents last week!) to record information from the text. I think we've focused too much on just Persuade, Inform, and Entertain in the past, but that's RARELY how it's tested. Next week, I'm going to focus on the purpose of individual sections/paragraphs.

With third and fifth grade, we have been working on character traits. We read a few different books with big characters (Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, Alice the Fairy, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Ferdinand), and I had students use my Duck Dynasty sheets I shared about last week to choose some traits and prove it with evidence from the text. 

TN or TPT

They had a lot of fun, but I noticed how limited their vocabulary is. I gave my fifth graders a list of traits and had them put stars by any they hadn't heard before. It was enlightening. Humble is going to be one of my focus words. Not a single student knew it, and they were all very interested to learn it!

On Thursday, my new linky started! I'm going to host Teacher Fitness Thursday on the third Thursday of each month, and we'll have a different topic every time. For the first month, we are sharing about healthy eating - tips, recipes, struggles, what's in your lunchbox...you choose! I would love to see a lot of you join in.

This weekend is Mommy and Keagan time, and we're really enjoying it! The weather has been great here (although it's starting to rain), so we have spent a lot of time outside. This morning, we went to a local produce stand with some friends to play in their hay maze!

Next week, we might even go apple picking! It would be nice to go when it's not so crowded. Of course, the state fair starts next Thursday, so we have to work that in at some point, too!

Okay, my goal for next week is to blog more frequently. I know it most likely won't be every day, especially because we only have one laptop for the house and Steven is teaching an online college class this semester. However, I need to take the computer anyway so I can work on finishing my Halloween Literacy Pack. We finally installed the new Microsoft Office, so I have a lot of work to do!

Five for Friday

I skipped Five for Friday last week because my first few weeks back at school are pretty boring in comparison to everyone else. Since I am Title I, students have to send back forms to receive services, and then I can start pulling students. Monday will be my first day to pull groups, and I can't wait!

Tuesday night was our Back to School night, so I was at school for a little over 12 hours (well, with the exception of a yogurt run before dinner with my preggo friend who was craving something sweet). The sad thing about Back to School night for me is that nobody really comes to see me anymore. I mean, I was able to get some work done and all, but the parents are there to meet with the classroom teachers. I get a little bored.

Fortunately (maybe) I had work to do because I had received a question from one of my TPT buyers that she could not open my flipcharts for Science because she doesn't have a Promethean board. Was I wrong to assume that the section "Smartboard Lessons and Whiteboard Activities" was for Promethean as well? Please let me know if you think so because I will remove that. Anyway, I ended up spending THREE HOURS copying and pasting all 7 science units that I no longer teacher into PowerPoint so she could use them. Let's just say that I'm not a huge fan of science and seriously considered just taking them off of TPT completely.

I've been pushing into all of the fourth grade classes already because there are SEVENTEEN kids in that grade who did not pass their Reading SOL last year. Part of this is because it was a new test and written much more difficult, but I have 2-5 students that I will be seeing in EACH class. This week, we were focusing on Context Clues, so I pulled out this book:

I wanted to do a lot of practice with the students, so I had them come to the carpet. As we came to a word that was unfamiliar or used in an unusual way, I read the text and then had them turn to a partner to discuss what it might mean. They had to talk about what clues in the pictures or text helped them understand. Then we discussed it as a group, and I made sure to repeat the word and definition a few times. It was a really good lesson! 

I've been preparing for next week, and my other two grades will be working on Character. For fifth grade, I really wanted to dig deep and challenge them. I looked on TPT and found some good resources, but nothing was quite what I wanted (or it was too much to work with in one case). So I decided to create my own resource! And why not use my Duck Dynasty clipart that I'm loving?

TPT (finally up!) or TN

I'm also trying to choose my vocabulary words for the first week with students. I found this list of Character Traits from Read*Write*Think, and then I sat with my para to decide which words the students already knew well (dangerous, bad, nice) or could figure out with ease (brainy, messy). Then I started thinking about which words students would see most frequently and need the most. I think for fifth grade, we're going to focus on considerate, eager, and strict. When I choose books for examples, I will try to find some that show these traits. I'm thinking Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Any other suggestions?

I'm loving my new design that Megan did for me this week! I chose the Modern and Fresh Build your Blog pack from A Bird in Hand Designs (very affordable), and I also got matching papers to use for giveaways, etc. Well, I have been thinking about starting a linky for teachers who are trying to lose weight/stay healthy. I made this button and will be starting the linky next Thursday. 

This will be a monthly link-up (the THIRD THURSDAY) with a different topic each month. Next week will be all about eating healthy. Spread the word, prepare your post, and I hope to see a lot of people link up! It will be neat to build a support group for each other!