Week 2 is Almost Through!

Hey guys!! I am rounding out the end of week two, and can I just say that I am LOVING everything about this school year? My kids are amazing, parents are super-supportive, and it certainly helps that I'm back in the same school and actually know what I'm doing a little better this year.

We have hit the ground running, and I wanted to share some of the fun things we have been working on.

Our first project has been creating Biopoems complete with a design challenge. Students had to make a realistic version of their face complete with a 3D nose and hair, a moving mouth, and a quote that expresses them in some way. These always turn out so cute, and it's a great way to learn a little about each child right off the bat!

We also have been busy reviewing genres and dabbling in some Scholastic News. The kids have proved that they are going to be hard-workers.

And possibly the most exciting thing we have begun is blogging with the 100 Word Challenge! If you haven't heard of it (I hadn't until the end of last year), please go check out their website. The jist of it is that students read the weekly prompt and then respond in EXACTLY 100 words. This seemed like a great opportunity for my kids to practice their writing, have a different audience (the program reaches a wide range of schools from countries all over the world), AND learn how to blog. We did our first one today (no pictures yet), and I can't wait to read them all!

Anyway, I'm tired and will probably look back at this later and realize I sound like a bumbling idiot, but I wanted to share a little about what was happening. I'm excited about the year and also hoping to share more about what we're doing here. We did a lot of cool things last year, but honestly I was just too overwhelmed with all the newness of everything to even try to keep up.

Goodnight, and remember that tomorrow is FRIYAY!

Writing Tips: Part 2

I'm blogging over at Adventures in Literacy Land today about the second part of my sentence fluency lesson. If you're looking for tips on teaching writing, you won't want to miss this!

Workshop Wednesday: Writing Tips

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've been able to link up with Jivey (which is sad because she has SO many great ideas and has become one of my go-to people), but I really wanted to make sure I joined in this week for some writing tips.

I'm not sure about you, but writing is something I've always struggled to teach. I love doing it and actually wanted to be an author growing up (still do), but it's SO scary to teach. Plus, when I was in 4th grade and we didn't have a writing SOL, it was one of the first things that I cut ::hangs head in shame:: because of time. Now that I'm the reading specialist, I don't get as much of a chance to do writing. HOWEVER, I now work with 5th grade students who DO have a writing SOL, and it's coming up quickly. Eeek!! So I have been working writing practice in to help them get there, especially since we've lost a lot of days because of snow.

Long story short, I want to share a quick little tip that I will be going more in depth with next week, so stay tuned! We had this FABULOUS speaker, Fred Wolff, come to our school over the summer and again last week to share some great ideas and lessons for Six Traits Writing that we just implemented in our school. When he came last week, he actually taught a lesson in each grade level, and the teachers observed the lessons. I got to see the 5th grade lesson on sentence fluency, and it was FANTASTIC! So simple, but the students were engaged the entire time.

Like I said, though, I will share more next week. Today I want to give my quick tip. Fred read one page from Harris and Me (the scene with the pancakes, if you're familiar with the book).

Students just listened the first time. It's a GREAT excerpt to teach "exploding the moment" as well, and he did that with us over the summer. It made me want to read the book (but I haven't had a chance yet). Anyway, after we heard it once, he read it again and had us stop him after the first word in each sentence. One student wrote them on the board. We discussed how his beginnings were varied and circled some words that students didn't usually use for beginnings (with, in, etc). Then he gave the kids 5 "power" words to start sentences. I don't remember them exactly, but these are the five that I've been using with my kids:

He suggested as young as 1st grade having a "When Week", where students create tons of sentences starting with "when". Then go through each word doing the same thing. Already, I've noticed that my students are beginning to think outside of the box instead of starting every sentence with "I" or "The"!

What's your writing tip?

Tried-It Tuesday: Writing

I'm actually linking up with Holly again for Tried-It Tuesday (as I dump some pictures from my phone)! Today was my last day before Thanksgiving break, and I know a lot of you have been off since Friday, but I still wanted to share this particular activity. Maybe you can add it to your list of things for next year!

Obviously I've done writing in my class before, but I will admit that I'm not very good at teaching it. Now that I'm in a Title I reading room, we do even less because we focus more on reading. However, I really wanted to get my kids to do my Turkeys on Strike craft to go with my door. Let me say that it has been a mess, but I'm fairly pleased with the final products overall.

Here's my journey:

I originally figured this would be something fun for my 3rd grade students, so I showed them my door and we talked about what it meant to go on strike. Then we brainstormed a few examples, and I let them choose the one they liked most. Surely that was enough to write five focused sentences, right?

Umm...no. The writing was atrocious! And not only was it bad for my third grade students, it was terrible all the way up to 5th. So I tried to meet with the kids and discuss how they could stay focused on one topic. It just wasn't coming with my third grade kids, at all. We ended up switching to "My favorite food for Thanksgiving", where they mostly saw success and could give me five sentences on one topic.

For my fourth graders, I had them write it in a main idea graphic organizer. They chose their topic and then gave three examples. Then I showed them how easy it was to convert those into sentences. It was basically all done except for their closing sentence, and they were very excited!

With fifth grade, we stepped it up a notch. They had the same Main idea/Detail graphic organizer (just a simple big box with three columns underneath), but then they had to give three details under each detail. For instance, if they said that turkey was disgusting, they had to come up with three things proving how disgusting turkey was. I didn't make them write a whole introductory paragraph this time, so they just wrote a topic sentence and three paragraphs. But the writing was leaps and bounds better than the first! And once again, the kids felt successful and were excited that all of the work was done. A few mentioned that they wanted to use my format for essays in class.

We just finished today, so they won't get to stay on the wall for long. Still I'm proud of where they are. Could they be better? Absolutely! But these are kids who are terrified of writing, and this is a step in the right direction. I'll take it! Here are some pics of the final products (sorry for the poor quality):

What have you tried recently?

Writer's Workshop - My Favorite Minilesson

I'm participating in my first Workshop Wednesday to talk about my favorite mini-lesson for writer's workshop. I have made attempts to start writer's workshop before, but I could never quite devote enough time to make it work. However, I have a great writing mini-lesson that I really enjoyed!

I had to buy this book when I was doing my Master's, and it's become a go-to book for writing. TONS of great ideas. You really do HAVE to have this book!

Anyway, one of the ideas in there is to show students this poem "Love Song for a Jellyfish" by Sandra Hochman (I found a link to it here, but it's also in the book. I typed it up in a flipchart to show the kids). After we read the poem, we discuss how strange it was that the author chose to write a love song to a jellyfish. Then we use the poem as a model to create our own "love song". I challenge the students to pick an object (I'm very firm that they cannot pick a person, and I prefer that they avoid pets as well), something that cannot love them back. Then I model brainstorming using a web and listing descriptions, characteristics, uses, etc. that show why or how I love this item so much (i.e. my favorite book has many dog-eared pages and discoloration. If I wrote about an eraser, I would write that it fixes my mistakes.) I spend a lot of time walking around and helping students brainstorm because that's the BIGGEST part of this. I stress that if they can't come up with anything, they should probably choose another item that they feel more strongly about.

After students have enough ideas to move forward, I don't give them rules for how to organize the writing. Most follow the model of the Jellyfish poem, but some have made acrostics. I even had a child one year change it up and write an apology to a jack-o-lantern. I WISH I had a copy of it to share with you. Actually I wish I had any to share, but we did this about two months ago in one of the classes I push into. The students never cease to amaze me with how creative they can be and what interesting poems they make. It's a very fun lesson, and I've done it with 3rd and 4th grade.

Follow the link to Jessica's blog to check out more ideas for writing minilessons!

Lucky Seven AND another mystery packet!

I mentioned yesterday that I was working on a craftivity that was inspired by my newest linky party, and I was able to put the finishing touches on it this morning! I had to change the hair for the girl option so it would work with the leprechaun hat. Then I was having some trouble with sizing, so I had to keep printing and putting it together to make sure it fit and looked right.

Then I had my helping otter put one together as an example for my students. I need to run out and get some construction paper for them to do it, though, because I have learned that I have some slow and/or lazy colorers. Have you found this to be true in your class? When they did my Valentine craft, I actually had some 1st graders walk by and say, "Those are really ugly! They can't color." That's pretty bad. I teach the oldest kids, and 1st graders think their work looks bad. It did, though. I was a little embarrassed to hang it up, and I only left it up there for a few days. So I think I'm going to make it easier for them to complete this time. I'll take pictures (if they turn out right), but here's my helping otter's example (isn't it cute?):

I posted the craftivity on TN and TPT. Please feel free to pin away! I love finding my items on Pinterest!

TN or TPT

Don't forget to go link up if you haven't already!

Then I decided to make another drawing conclusions mystery after reading a request for more like my Case of the Secret Admirer. This one is a St. Patrick's Day theme as well, and I changed it up a little. This one includes a map of Ireland, and students have to use directional sense to help them solve the crime.

TN or TPT

I bought my clipart to start working on spring literacy centers soon, but those usually take a few days to finish, so I won't have them up until sometime next week. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, so I think I'm going to head on to bed. I haven't had a full work day since Monday with my meetings and a delay this morning!

Snow, linky with matching writing activity, and a giveaway

Who else got a lot of snow today? I was working on a committee with the state and we HAD to continue today, so I was watching it very closely. They offered lodging to anyone who felt unsafe driving home, but I only live about 15 minutes from the meeting area. It's a mess here, though. Slushy and gross. My school had an early dismissal because of it, and I'm still hoping we at least get a delay tomorrow. Instead, we got a call letting us know that "due to incliment weather, schools MIGHT be closed" and to "please stand by for more updates". Fantastic. As if I couldn't look outside and know that schools might delay. Those calls are such a let down.

***Uh oh! Power just flickered 3 times!! I hate wet, nasty snow!***

I will say that after this snow, I'm ready for spring to come in full force! This cold weather is getting old, and I'm ready to pull out my dresses. I even bought a new swimsuit Monday!

Anyway, if you haven't already joined in on my linky party, follow this link! It's going to be open all month, and I've had fun reading what everyone is blessed with! It's a great way to get to know you a little more.

I'm also working on a writing activity to go along with it, and I hope to have that finished tomorrow. I just need to make new girl hair that will work with my cute little leprechaun hat I have. The high ponytail that I've been using doesn't work, so I was thinking low pigtails instead. I need the scanner at school, though. So it will be up by Monday at the latest!

Finally, Donna from Hokie Teach is a 5th grade teacher here in Virginia who I've met. She's SUPER sweet, and she just reached 100 followers! Go enter her giveaway for a chance to win one of 2 prizes.

Oh, and one of the prizes includes my St. Patty's Day Literacy Centers!

New products (I was on a roll!) and a giveaway

Teacher workdays have come to a close, and I feel like I got a lot accomplished - at least for my TpT store. On Tuesday, my sweet hubby called at lunch to say he was going to pick me up and take the family to the Williamsburg Outlets since the weather was PERFECT yesterday. He brought Keagan to the school a little early, and I got to show him off. I'll have to post the picture I took later. He found my rocking chair and loved it!

In contrast, we had those storms move through last night (a few power outages, but nothing major). Well, our school is REALLY old (well, not REALLY old, but in that time where construction must have sucked. Our school needs to be bulldozed and rebuilt) and has a flat roof. Since we've had all this precipitation recently (oh, and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow as well) and last night we had high winds as well, two of the classrooms flooded! Apparently there was about an inch of water sitting, and the kids are in the computer labs for the day because of it. Such a mess! Yet all the other schools in our county are state of the art...

Anyway, about those TpT items:

First, I made a quick writing craftivity for President's Day. It's similar to my craft for Valentine's Day and MLK, but I changed the writing part to a hat. Students write what they would do if they were President. Cute. Simple. Love it!

My next project was much more in depth. I said I was going to make something to go with John, Paul, George, and Ben. I was thrilled that so many of you love the book as much as I do!

Here's the packet. Don't you just love the name?

I ended up creating a plan that's really a BDA (before, during, and after) on accident. I guess my grad school program rubbed off on me more than I thought. Before reading, I thought it was important to activate their schema (which a big thing with me this year. All of the students who see me at least once a week know that word) about each of the founding fathers. So they will split into groups and list everything they know about each person on a word splash sheet. If they don't know anything, they can do a little research ahead of time to build their schema.

Then they will read the book, and I would have them differentiate fact from exaggeration. After reading, each student will do a biography sheet on one of the founding fathers. This sheet is a little different though. They will focus on the reputation each person had and how they earned that reputation. I thought that was a fun way of looking at it and still have them write what the person was known for. I also think I'll have the students fill out a bio sheet on themselves and do the same. It would be great for making them reflect on what kind of reputation they're building for themselves.

Finally, I included a "Create your own story" sheet. For this, they will choose a different person in history and think about what they're known for. They have to choose a reputation and then imagine what kind of trouble they might have gotten into as a child because of their reputation (for instance, maybe bossy John Smith got in trouble for telling his teachers what to do, or maybe he had trouble making friends because he always told them something like, "If you don't help, you can't play!"). I may add more to it later, but I'm in love with it already. Enjoy! 

And before you go, Lisa from Growing Firsties is having a fabulous 400 follower giveaway where you could win a $25 Erin Condren gift card. Have you seen the adorable stuff over there? I could spend $100 EASY. Go check it out!

Valentine freebie

I have been procrastinating racking my brain trying to think of the perfect freebie as a thank you to all of my wonderful followers that helped me reach the 200 mark so quickly! I wanted it to be something that would be useful for upper and lower grades, so I thought a craftivity would be perfect. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, that was the most logical theme. I have a confession though (please don't unfollow me!): I don't really care for Valentine's Day. There. I said it! Maybe it's the fact that I was single for every one of them until I met Steven in college. Or maybe it's that my parents never did any of the sending flowers or chocolates like my friends' parents in elementary/middle school. Or maybe it's that my heart is two sizes too small. Anyway, I'm not much for the whole cheese factor. But I finally came up with a craft that I could get on board with that was still related to Valentine's Day. Plus it's a little different since I'm sure there are MILLIONS of heart crafts already out there.

So this craft has students think about ways that they can show love to others. Yay for thinking about others and not what their favorite candy is or who has a crush on who! Sorry, Negative Nilly had to poke her head again. I stopped her, though! My helping otter (that's our 5th grade helpers - isn't it cute?) did this one for me to show as an example. I love it!

I'm putting this on TpT as a freebie UNTIL SUNDAY or until I remember to change the price! But I'm also giving my special readers a link here to the Google drive that will always work. (But that's our little secret).

And even though I'm not much of a sap, I really do LOVE y'all and am very grateful for all of your comments and ideas. You've made my short time on this blog great!

While you're downloading my freebie, go check out All Things Upper Elementary for their very first Friday Free 4 All linky party!

Daily 5 a little late

We're almost halfway through the year, and I'm just getting started on Daily 5. Since I'm the Title I reading specialist now, I wasn't quite sure of the best way to do this. Actually, I didn't think I could. I've been doing lessons and activities that are for the entire group and working that way. Now that I've been at this job for a few months, though, I decided it was time to try it out. 

So today I had my students come in and find books that were on their reading level (or one above or below). They grabbed 1-3 since I don't have them for long, and most of them were really excited to put together a book bag. We don't have any nice bags or baskets yet, but I (well, actually my wonderful para) just labeled gallon size Ziploc bags and put them in containers based on their group. Then I can pull out each container at the beginning and let them find their bag.

My plan is that I'll do read to self, work on writing, and word work as my centers (since my classes are so small and time is limited), and I'll try them 2 or 3 times a day. Then I want to do whole group lessons to review the new skills they're working on or to work on test-taking strategies. I'm about to lose my para for a few weeks because she's having surgery, so I'll be on my own for a little while. I think this system will help with that, though. Then when she comes back, I'm going to have her help me either pull kids or help with the word work station.

What do you do for word work with the upper grade students? I have kids ranging from level I-Q that I see, and they are from grades 3-5. I was thinking prefixes and suffixes for my higher 4th and 5th grade students. Then for my lower ones, I want them to practice a LOT of decoding strategies. Any recommendations?

MLK Craftivity, more main idea, and squirrels

Today was back to school for me. Boo! Actually it wasn't bad at all. I just love my time at home with my bed Steven and Keagan!

I did some more main idea practice with my 4th and 5th graders today. No 3rd grade because they needed more time to readjust after break (especially since one of the teachers was out the two weeks before break after she fell and had surgery on her arm AT SCHOOL), but that gave me some extra time to finally make my writing craftivity for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It's so cute, and I love that I finally have my own template for kids to use with other crafts later.

Here's a bigger picture of how the craft looks:

I didn't use colored paper to make mine, but I separated parts where you could print on colored paper for more ease. Since we don't get to do many crafts in my classroom (and I have NO money this year), I only have pink construction paper. But it works to color it just as well if you're broke like me.

*** Okay, hold on! SQUIRREL!! (as Farley would say) ***

I'm watching Mobbed, and the teacher they hired for the kid actors/dancers just screwed up BIG TIME! Is anybody else watching this? A wife is trying to tell her hubby that she's expecting. So right now he's sitting at a table with this "random" girl (child actor) who's mom had to run and check on her son. The wife left him to sign some papers, and they were JUST ABOUT to start this whole dance sequence where they would eventually reveal the sonogram picture. This teacher walks over to talk to the girl and is explaining how she's her welfare worker and she was hired to teach her. 

Whew! Finally back from commercial break. Fortunately the kid listened and has pulled her away. So cute! He's very confused standing in the middle of dancers with baby carriages! I might cry...

*** Sorry, I'm back. I know that's not normal for me, but I couldn't think while watching that and I HAVE to know if anyone else saw it. ***

Anyway, I also made a snowman main idea packet, but my computer at school apparently decided it was time for a break. So it's ready, but I'll have to post it on TpT when I get to school in the morning. It's really cute though, and I'll blog about it this weekend. I plan on using it with my 5th grade class I push into tomorrow, so I'll be sure to bring my camera.

Now it's time to finish watching Mobbed and go to bed!

Guide word epiphany and VA Writing SOL help

We still have a full week of school left, so it's been business as usual here (with a few more stories and fun crafts thrown in for the regular classroom teachers...not me...boo!). This morning, I was working with 2 fourth grade students on guide words because they just aren't getting it. I tried a few different strategies that I use to put the words in order, but none of it seemed to help.

Then it hit me!

Why not put ALL of the words in order, underline (or circle) the guide words, and see what fits in the middle? So stinking easy! Most of the kids can put the words in alphabetical order. It's finding the word that fits on the page that gets them. So we tried it, and one of the two walked away excited and confident. The other still needs some practice, but he only did it for the last problem. We'll try again tomorrow.

Here's an example of what I mean for those who need a visual like me(or just like pictures):

I would have them underline the guide words (like I showed) and then circle the word in the middle. The nice thing about this is that if there's more than one word in the middle and shouldn't be, they can check the order and correct their own mistakes (this happened today also). I then had them cross out the wrong words and label if it came before or after (more practice!) before they chose the correct answer. I hope this helps!

I also wanted to pass along a FANTASTIC resource I found for those friends of mine who are taking the 5th grade VA Writing SOL. Sally from Fun with Reading and Writing went to the DOE website and looked at all 44 writing prompts that a VA 5th grader may receive. She then broke them down into categories based on the kind of writing they require. I HIGHLY recommend checking it out! I wanted to pin it from her site, but there were no graphics. So click on the picture below to check out her information. I promise it's worth  your time:

Let's talk turkey and I've been featured!!

About a month ago, I heard from the wonderful Dana at Fun in 1st Grade asking if I would like to be featured on her blog, and of course I said yes! What a great opportunity to get my name out, and I was so flattered! Please go check it out, and if you're not already following her, please do!

And now, on to another linky I know...another one? But it's the last full week before Thanksgiving break, and I'm fried. Plus I have a really cute book  that I want to share! This linky is hosted by Gina at Beach Sand and Lesson Plans (I love that name!).

My favorite Thanksgiving book to use with the kids is one I just discovered this year: Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson.

If you're not already familiar with this book, it's about Sarah Hale, the woman responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday. She wrote letters to politicians and 5 consecutive presidents asking them to make it a holiday - waiting over 30 years - before becoming successful finally with Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The book is very funny and engaging for students of many ages.

I loved this book so much that I created a letter-writing unit to go along with it. I've been using that this week with grades 3-5. So far, the kids love it! You can click on the link below to get the unit for yourself!

Thank you, Sarah - Thankgiving writing unit

Have you ever read this book?

I had not until this week when I was looking for good books about Thanksgiving to create my units for next  month. I almost passed this one up, but my librarian highly recommended it, so I actually opened the book. I am ashamed to say that I was not aware of the story of Sarah Hale. As a self-proclaimed "history buff", this is especially embarrassing. She is a fascinating woman (although I have to admit she would really annoy me if she were still alive today - I'm not a huge fan of complainers overachievers).

Anyway, as I was reading the book, I felt like it lent itself PERFECTLY to a great writing assignment, and I can't wait to begin it with my 5th graders! On the last page of the book, it says "Pick up your pen. Change the world." Our students always seem to struggle with writing, and they could also benefit from some extra practice on persuasion. Why not have them learn about Sarah Hale's story AND look at the actual letter she wrote to Abraham Lincoln (who is "only" the FIFTH president she wrote a letter to asking for Thanksgiving to become a nationally recognized holiday). Then they can come up with a list of things they would like to change and write their own letters to someone important. 

So here it is. My new "baby". I guess it's a good thing when I get so excited after I create the product. It includes 2 graphic organizers, a brainstorming sheet, a link to Sarah's letter, a character word splash, sequencing page, and a letter template (that's 10 pages!). I hope you love it as much as I do!

Pumpkin writing craftivity

I'm SO excited about my newest product on TpT! This has been a plan I've been thinking about and wanting to create since the summer, and it's finally here.

Ever since I started teaching 4th grade, I have always done this writing activity with them for Halloween, and it's so much fun every year! Students pretend to be pumpkins in my pumpkin patch, and I am searching for a pumpkin to make my jack-o-lantern. They have to convince me why I should NOT choose them. I have to remind them to not write anything that they wouldn't want the principal to read, but they are usually pretty good about it. I've gotten the entire spectrum from just completely disgusting (one was a poopy baby pumpkin) to stalker-creepy.

After they finish writing, I make a big deal out of reading each one (without sharing names). Then I let the students help me choose the best - as in the ones we would be LEAST likely to pick. I narrow it down to the number one choice, and then I would always publish that one in the class newsletter on the week of Halloween. The kids loved it!

In the past, I've just given students a pumpkin shape and had them color it completely on their own, but I wanted to jazz it up. So I created this activity! The craft includes three sets of eyes and mouths for students to choose from and paste onto their pumpkin shape. Then there is a separate page for their writing. It's kind of similar to my Turtle Writing Craftivity I created for the beginning of the school year. Btw, I need to post pictures of that!

Please check it out by clicking on the picture below! And if you'd like to pin it, I'm not stopping you. Just sayin'.

I'm having to schedule this post because tonight is our first home football game, and I'm coaching the color guard at the high school. Silly me. Like I needed to add one more thing to my plate. I won't be posting on here over the weekend because we're going to be enjoying the beach, so have a relaxing weekend!