Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Main Idea Testing Tip

Man, it was crazy today at school! We had class pictures, and the schedule ended up getting so far behind. I didn't even get to work with my 3rd graders, and I won't have them tomorrow because they'll be on a field trip. The good news was that it gave me more time to work on and finish my progress reports since they go home with report cards tomorrow and I may have completely ignored them over spring break.

I'm actually blogging over at Literacy Land today with a great trick for main idea questions. It's short and simple, just how I like things!


Then be sure to stop by Bex's blog (a fellow Literacy Land blogger) to celebrate her recent milestones with a giveaway! I'm in the winner's choice pack, and I think I'll be entering for a new pencil sharpener as well :-)


Monday, April 21, 2014

I'm BAAACK!!!

Wow, that was TOUGH staying away from blogging entirely (especially going into Bloglovin once a week to mark almost 200 posts as read without even glimpsing at the titles), but I can definitely say that I am refreshed and ready to go!

Today was our first day back from Spring Break, and it's crunch time for us. We have 3 1/2 weeks before SOL testing begins, and there are only 8 1/2 weeks left of school. Eek!! I have so much left to teach and review!

Right now, I'm working on context clues with my 3rd and 4th grade students. I bought this book a few years back, and it's great! The book focuses on eight different strategies to help, so I went through and made copies of the ones my students tend to struggle with the most. They have already shown some growth, but we still need to practice a LOT.

Using Context Clues To Help Kids Tackle Unfamiliar Words

In 5th grade, I began a poetry/figurative language focus before break. I bought Kathleen's (Middle Grades Maven) Poetry Analysis booklet that has been the perfect review. The kids are really enjoying the poems, which are just the right level for them. And the questions really get them to think more in-depth about what the poem is trying to say. They still can't label most of the figurative language on their own, but I'm just excited that they can usually explain what the author meant by it!

Poetry Analysis Booklet

On the blogging end, I'm going to start getting everything ready for my big giveaway (right now I'm sitting at 850 followers - wow!) and hope to post it by the weekend. I've already got some amazing blogger friends signed up to help, but if you would like to join me in the celebration, the form is here. I will, of course, list your blog and hopefully send some new followers your way!