Flipping for Fall Blog Hop

I'm so excited that fall is finally here (although a little bummed that it has rained basically every day of it so far)! There are so many fun activities that I love - apple picking, decorating pumpkins, state fair, football, hot chocolate, etc - and there are also a TON of great books that I love to read with my kids! When our group started talking about doing a mentor text hop, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. The only problem was selecting a book.

As you click through this hop, be sure to grab all of our freebies. They are forever freebies, so you can always mark them and download whenever you're ready. We will also each have a mystery word in orange somewhere on our page. Find those to enter our big giveaway at the end. The winner will receive a copy of ALL the books mentioned! Can you imagine? I wish I could enter!

Before we begin, I want to share one of my son's current favorite jokes since it at least somewhat relates to monsters and scary things:

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Boo.

Boo who?

Why are you crying?

I'm sure most of you at this point have read or at least heard of I Need My Monster. This has become one of my favorite books, especially because it works for so many ages. My 3-year-old loves the book, but I can also read it to a group of 5th graders without insulting them.

One thing I noticed about this book right off the bat was the rich vocabulary. Shortly after reading the book, I read Bringing Words to Life, Second Edition: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (and even did an entire book study that you can find here), and I knew I wanted to create a vocabulary lesson for this book. Of course, then I got pregnant and did a lot of nothing extra at all. Fast forward a little over a year, and I finally finished it!

Lesson Introduction

The great thing about this lesson is that you really don't need any special introduction. You could begin by simply reading the book or even doing a mini-lesson on another skill. I like to do a lot of activating schema (prior knowledge) at the beginning of the year, so I would just start a conversation about ideas behind monsters under the bed. As you read, there is no need to draw extra attention to the words you will work on, although you could have students take note of words that were unfamiliar to them.

Working with the Text

Day 1: Read the book, and then give students the monster vocabulary sheet to discuss each word as a class. I would recommend asking students to help you come up with simple definitions (not from a dictionary), but only IF you think they will be able to guess it. If they start getting off track, cut it off quickly and tell them what it means. This is important because you don't want to confuse students with an inaccurate definition.

Days 2-4: I have provided three activities for students to work on independently or with a partner or group. These activities all help students apply the words to their life, which is important for ownership of the words. I avoid matching and looking up definitions because they are not as meaningful

Day 5: Give the short assessment to check for student assessment. Notice that it includes some fill-in-the-blank, but it also has application questions. These will prompt the students to use the words as they apply to their own experiences.

Next step options...

If you haven't already read this book, I highly recommend checking it out! I know vocabulary is one of the major issues with my students, and this book has SO many recommendations for expanding their vocabulary. I also recommend checking out my book study. I plan on creating more lessons like this one, so be sure to follow me on Facebook, Bloglovin, and TPT for more updates.

If you missed it earlier, my mystery word is boo. Download the chart below to help you keep track of all the words as you hop through, then go on over to Andrea's blog for more freebies. Don't forget, there is a HUGE giveaway at the end that you don't want to miss!

Happy fall!

     
     

Upper Elementary (3rd - 6th Grades) Blog Hop

     

Currently December with a Mentor Text

It's December 1, and I'm actually on the ball and one of the first few to share my currently with Farley (we'll see what number I end up with by the time I'm finished though).

Listening: Steven and Keagan both take Sunday naps, so I call it "mommy time". Steven likes to pick on me about it because I get very grumpy when they don't take their naps. I need my peace and quiet once a week to just do what I want (blog usually) without any interruptions!

Loving: We actually started decorating for Christmas about 2 weeks ago (don't judge), and it has been so much fun to watch Keagan interact with everything. Seeing his eyes light up as we turned on the Christmas tree for the first time, watching him rearrange our village people, giving him his first nativity...it's just so much fun! Tonight he gets to see Santa come through on a fire truck, so I'll be sure to get some pictures. I know this is his third Christmas, but it still feels like the first one. I'm sure I'll say the same thing next year as he is even more aware!

Thinking: With all the excitement of Thanksgiving (and some late night Christmas shopping online), I've been going to bed much later and sleeping in a little late as well. Today the alarm went off at 7:00, and I struggled to pull myself out. Tomorrow's going to be tough...

Wanting: I love chocolate, and Steven has a great, simple recipe for fudge. He doesn't like to make it much, though, because he knows I'll devour the entire thing and then complain when I gain weight. Maybe since I'm at my goal weight, it won't be as big of a deal this year!

Needing: Like I said earlier, my sleep routine is messed up right now. But I was getting bad about not getting up early enough to do my workouts before break. Hopefully I can get back into that routine as well. We'll see if I make it tomorrow at 5 though. Positive thoughts, right? If I do my workout, I can eat more of that yummy fudge!

Favorite Tradition:  I really struggled with this one because I seriously wanted to put everything! I love Christmas - shopping, food, movies, books, time with family, lights...all of it! So I decided to put one that was a little more unique to my family. I grew up in south Mississippi, near New Orleans, and there was a book that the local news would read on Christmas Eve every year called The Cajun Night Before Christmas.

It's so much fun - Santa is pulled on a skiff by a team of alligators with awesome French-inspired names. My dad bought the book and began to read it to the family once we moved to GA. Then I try and share it with my kids for a great comparison lesson now that I'm teaching. I also have The Irish Night Before Christmas, but nothing can quite top the Cajun version in my eyes! Do you have any favorite versions of the Night Before Christmas? There are tons!

***I realized after posting that this book would also be perfect to link up with Collaboration Cuties today also!

Science Mentor Text: Nightsong

I've been waiting to link up with this book for TWO weeks now, and I'm so excited to share it! Last year, someone posted about this book, and I had to check it out because it just looked adorable.

So when I got some money to spend at the end of the school year, I added this one to my cart (along with Stellaluna, which I also love). This one is all about a little bat, Chiro, who is scared to venture into the darkness on his own. His mother tells him to use his "good sense" and his special song will light the way. Not only is the language in this story beautiful (and I may be using it with my 5th grade to talk about the author's craft), but the pictures are equally lovely!

I chose this book for science because it is a GREAT way to teach younger students about how echolocation helps bats "see" at night. Obviously their voice doesn't actually work as a flashlight, but students can picture it helping the little bat find food as he "sings his song".

I think Stellaluna may still by my favorite bat book, but this one definitely wins a spot on my list! I'm very glad I made the purchase and can use it this year.

Also, don't forget to check back by Friday for our big Super Sleuth Blog Hop! There will be tons of great reading freebies that you won't want to miss. Speaking of, I need to get to work finishing mine...

Halloween Must Read Mentor Text: The Widow's Broom

I was so excited to see that the topic for today's must read was Halloween/Fall because there are SO many fantastic books! I saw that Amanda and Stacia already wrote about Stellaluna, one of my favorites, but fortunately I had already planned on a different one for this week.

I have become a big fan of Chris Van Allsburg in the past few years because his books are great for older kids, and they usually haven't already heard them when they come to me.

This particular story is about a witch's broom that loses its magic and falls from the sky. A widow finds the broom and begins to use it, but one day she wakes up to learn it is no ordinary broom. They begin to keep each other company, and she trains the broom to help her with everyday chores. When the neighbors learn of the broom's unusual powers, they get scared and demand that it be burned.

I think this book is a neat way to remind students that "different" doesn't necessarily mean bad. Allsburg did a fantastic job of portraying a difficult subject that has been repeated multiple times in history. This could lead into a comparison lesson for older students with other "misunderstood" groups who were persecuted in various ways. However, it's also a great story for the younger ones to lead discussions in how to treat others fairly.

I also used this book to work on predicting last year. We would change our predictions as we read and learned more information. It has been almost a year since I did this, but I also believe that we practiced questioning with this book. There are SO many questions that they students will have as they read, so I will be doing that this year for sure!

One quick word of caution: please read the book ahead of time, especially if you teach early elementary. The story is a little scary, and you need to make sure it's one that you and your students will be comfortable reading. As an upper grades teacher, my students and I love it. However, I've seen mixed reviews on whether it should be read to K and 1.

Now I can't wait for Keagan to wake up. We're headed to the state fair! It will be his first trip, and I can't wait to see how much he enjoys it!

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!

Must Read Mentor Texts - Blood on the River

Yay! I'm finally linking up with Amanda and Stacia!

I love this link up idea, but so many times I don't feel like I can really participate since I only teach reading now. However, I realized I use a TON of Social Studies texts when I read with my kids (they're probably some of my favorite books), so I decided to go ahead and join in at least for those. I still don't have many math or science, but I can participate when I feel it works for me!

One of my favorite Social Studies texts to use when I was teaching fourth grade was a book called Blood on the River. 

Sounds gross, right? But I've already hooked my boys from the beginning! See, in Virginia we teach VA History in 4th and/or 5th grade. Blood on the River is a mostly factual book about the Jamestown settlement, which is a HUGE part of VA history. It is told from the point of view of John Smith's 12-year-old apprentice. Warning (and you may have already guessed this): this book is NOT for the faint of heart. It doesn't wrap things up in a nice little box. It's VERY up front and honest from describing the slop buckets they used on the ships to discussing how some settlers dug up dead bodies during the starving time (although that's only mentioned in the epilogue). But I love it because it paints a real picture of how things were when the settlers came to Jamestown. It wasn't all pretty and easy, and the book really stuck with my kids every year! I even recommend the read for yourself if you just want to learn more about Jamestown. It's fascinating!

I struggled to choose a word, but the reason I chose control is because Samuel (the boy) had to learn to control his temper, much like John Smith. Also, there's a constant battle over control within the settlement (gentlemen vs. John Smith) and the land (Chief Powhatan vs. English). You literally won't be able to put the book down!

Now, have a fantastic Memorial Day! I can't wait to pig out and have fun with friends later this evening. Then we only have 14 more days of school left until summer break is officially here!