Winter Wonders Blog Hop

Welcome to my humble little blog! One year ago today, a group of teacher-bloggers launched the website Adventures in Literacy Land to share tips and tools for effective literacy instruction. I am so excited that I have been able to be a part of this amazing group of ladies!

In honor of reaching our first full year of blogging together we are hosting a Winter Wonders Blog Hop and Birthday Celebration. Join us, if you will, to read a short post by each author, download a free literacy resource, and enter a raffle for a chance to win a Barnes and Nobles gift certificate at the very end!

As an upper grades reading teacher, one of my students' biggest struggles is finding the main idea and supporting details. There are SO many ways to review this skill, so I just wanted to highlight a few of my favorites.

• Have students fill out main idea and details graphic organizers for writing. I like teach this for basic 5 paragraph essays anyway, and then you can expand it to where they come up with three details to support each original detail. They get to practice the skill on their own and also learn a great way to organize their writing.
• Create short "headings" for paragraphs. This is one of my test-taking strategies, but I think it's very beneficial for the students. I emphasize SHORT headings and even explain to my students that it doesn't always have to be a complete sentence. I just want them to understand what key words are important in each section.
• Highlight key words that appear frequently and/or use tally marks for most common words/ideas. This really helps students visualize what the author continues to discuss, and it can also help with multiple choice questions to narrow it down to the best option.
• Let students come up with the main idea or detail when given the opposite. I begin the year giving them the main idea because it's easier to create details about a topic. But about halfway through the year, I switch it up. Then it's great practice for students to focus on key words and ideas to come up with a main idea that really matches all of the details. They really struggle with this one, but it's so important.
• Give students main idea and details to sort into the correct pairs. This is actually the freebie that I prepared for you! I use this a lot in my independent centers, but I like to make sure that each set is similar enough that it's a bit of a challenge to the students. Some of the cards require students to really pay attention and decide what fits best.

Click on the graphic below, but be sure to download soon because it will only be free for 24 hours! Sorry, the time has now expired on the freebie, but you can still purchase it for $2 in my shop!

Hope you enjoy my freebie and the rest of your journey through our blog hop!

Five for Friday with a Thanksgiving FLASH FREEBIE

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted! Sorry for the absence. As usual, things have been very busy lately. I can't wait until Thanksgiving break so I can sit and catch my breath...at least for a day or two!

This weekend was really nice, so we actually headed down to the beach on Sunday after church. Keagan didn't understand that the water would still be cold, so he kept pulling me closer trying to get in. We did let him sit and throw sand for a while! 

I made a new Thanksgiving craft to go with my door theme:

Right now, the kids are still working on their writing (we're having a hard time focusing on one topic), but I hope to share them soon! This craft is FREE in my store until later tonight as a thank you to all of my wonderful friends and readers. I have guests coming for dinner, and I will be changing it to paid after they leave, so be sure to grab it. AND PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!!

Click on the image QUICK for your freebie!

I'm LOVING Erin's creations, especially with my 5th grade students! We are working on context clues right now, and I was thrilled to be able to use this freebie with them. Here's a sample of what's inside. It really is great for helping them realize the types of context clues, and there's another great activity that goes along with that.

She also has an awesome pack for Thanksgiving related activities that I may be purchasing to use next week. 

Last night, I was SO excited to finally meet two wonderful VA bloggers that I have become "virtual friends" with over the past year. Andrea (right) from Reading Toward the Stars has become a good friend of mine after I found her two summers ago when doing a "reading specialist" search on blogger. She lives across the state, and we've been trying to get together for over a year now. She and a co-worker (I can't remember her name, but she was SO sweet) came to Richmond for a conference yesterday, and we decided it was time! We also met up with Nikki (left) from Teaching in Progress. Nikki's a hoot, and we had a blast at Cheesecake Factory talking and hanging out! I think we could have stayed there all night if Andrea and her friend hadn't had a 3 hour ride back that night to get to school this morning. I just barely missed Courtney from Polka Dot Lesson Plans who made the SIX hour drive to Richmond, but she had to leave after the conference to see her sister. Next time, Courtney!

And finally, just a reminder that next Thursday is my monthly Teacher Fitness linky party! This month, we're going to share yummy "skinny" recipes that we can make during the holiday season. I know this is the toughest time to eat right, so I'm looking forward to some great options that won't bust my calorie goal for each day!