Wonder review and new blog!

Okay I told you I would give you my review on this book once I read it. You HAVE to read this book, especially if you work in the upper grades. I picked up the book from the library last Friday and had it finished yesterday afternoon. With a little boy who hasn't been feeling very well and doesn't want me to put him down, that's REALLY quick! Now I need to buy my own copy because this is a book I've got to have.

This link is to Amazon where the book is $8.89, which is the best price I found considering it's hardcover only right now.

Anyway, the book is about a boy, Auggie, who is terribly "deformed". He's been in and out of surgeries his entire life, but he just looks weird. His outer ears aren't existent, his eyes are out of place, and so on. Auggie has always been home-schooled, but his parents decide it's time for him to enter the "real world" as a 5th grader. The principal has three "good students" chosen to welcome Auggie into the school and take care of him, but kids are kids! There are many parts in the book where I wanted to yell at a child, but there are plenty of others where I was so proud that I wished they were my own students.

My favorite line in the book is at the very end. Auggie makes a precept that is so perfect, I may have to make a sign to post in my room. "Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world." So sweet!

Alright my other item of business today (hehe, I just wanted to say that) is that my real-life best friend has started her own blog yesterday, and I'm SOO excited! Her name is Amanda, and she teaches 1st grade, although she spent 5 years in kindergarten. We both are kind of equally obsessed with Mo Willems and the pigeon, so she cracked me up when she texted me to see if I was okay with her blog title being Teacher at the Wheel. Of course! Go show her some blogging love. She's awesome, and I know she'll have some great ideas to share!

What are you waiting for? Go read this book!!! And if you teach upper grades, please read it to your kids! Oh, and of course, go follow Teacher at the Wheel!

Product Swap with Teacher Mom of 3

It's product swap time again!

This time I had the luck of being matched with Lauren at Teacher Mom of 3. She's amazing if you haven't already visited her blog! And she's a reading specialist like me!

Anyway, I chose to review her Perfect Gift writing activity. I loved this, and it was perfect to do with my students for the beginning of the year. First, we started with a lesson where I told them that I had a gift for them, but it was something that couldn't be seen. We discussed the difference between concrete and abstract nouns, and then we read the writing prompt together.

Lauren really thought about how to help writers prepare for their assignment. She created a great system that we completed together. Students list their Form, Audience, Topic, and Purpose for writing.

We did this together and talked about how it was something they could use to prepare for a writing assignment any time. This was especially important for my 5th graders who take a writing SOL in the spring.

Once we knew what we were going to write about, it was time to brainstorm, or "Drain Your Brain". Once again, we did this together (mainly because my students are not very confident and need a little extra help). On the board, I had them help me come up with some abstract nouns (I told them to think of character traits) that they might want to work on this year to help them be a better student. My two most popular were patience and self-control, although I had some others as well (effort, kindness, etc). Students put a star by the one they felt was most important for them to work on this year.

The next day, I had them work on organizing their thoughts with a four-block page that Lauren included.

Here's a close up.

Once they finished filling that out, I had them form the block ideas into a paragraph. Since the lines on the paper were made for younger students, I had mine simply cut out their writing and glue it in the middle of the paper. Then they decorated their gift boxes (some were very artistic), and we put them up in the room to remind us throughout the year. Unfortunately I left Friday and forgot to take a picture, so I quickly put one together this morning as an example. The kids really enjoyed this, and I'm hoping they continue to think about it as the year goes on.

Lauren has many other great products, so please go check out her store and blog! And don't forget to visit Jessica's blog to see all the other great products that other bloggers are reviewing!

Oh, and in honor of the product swap, I'm hosting a giveaway. Lauren is reviewing my pumpkin writing craftivity, and one lucky blogger will have a chance to win it!


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