Pinterest Words of Wisdom

I'm sure most everyone has seen this or something similar, but I thought I would share this as we get ready for a new week.

What's Working!

 

It is so nice to see things working like they are supposed to! That is how today felt. I looked up from my reading group and saw EVERYONE working in their stations. I attribute this to a few things; first, during this time of day there is a tutor working with 4 kids in the back of the room while I have a small group at the reading table...aka fewer students left to their own devices in stations. Also, I was feeling as though I needed to hold my students more accountable for their work during stations. I often use recording sheets which students turn into a colored bin according to their reading group. But it's hard to keep up with all the paper work. This week I started having students hold up their work when the timer goes off so I can glance around and spot check for productivity. If work isn't completed then they will do it at recess. This has helped keep my kids on task during their station time. Easy fix!

 

Here is my ABC station in action! This week's focus was ish/ash/ush. Here students are working on sorting their words. On Thursday/Friday they have the option of building their words either with beads and pipe cleaners, stamps, or magnetic letters. I just loved the focus I saw. They were actually reading the words while they were sorting them!!! The little guy in green was using his pencil to blend the sounds.

Below is a new activity to practice sight words that one of my team members made. There are several things students can do with these cards. As you can see from the lower picture, each set of colored words has a sight word and then a version of that sight word with some letters missing. This will help them pay attention to those sight word letters! Students can simply match the words or play memory. It kept them busy and quiet today!

 

I love teacher work days!

We finally had a teacher work day today and I feel so productive. Not only did I de-clutter, I finished grades, put up new bulletin boards and prepared for next week. Now I feel like I can relax! I think I'll let the pictures from my new iphone!!!! (which I'm OBSESSED with...how did I ever live without it?!?) do the talking in this post.

THE DRAWER is decluttered! No more stacking containers on top of one another. Everything has a happy home now.

My new "Making Words" folders. I can't wait to use these in my guided reading groups on Monday. Check out the original idea over at Teacher Bits and Bobs.

Our "Schema" and "New Learning" chart from Deanna' Jump's unit. The kids were completely enamored with penguins. We watched March of the Penguins and when it was over they asked me if we could watch it again. This is such a great high interest unit!!

Our adorable penguin books from Deanna Jump's unit. They came out great and they are some of our best writing yet.

Quick and Easy Math Station

This is going to be a quick post as I seem to have finally caught germs from the kids...surviving the ongoing attack of germs until January is pretty good if you ask me! Today we read Ten on a Sled by Kim Norman. This book incorporates backwards counting, as each animal falls off the sled. My students are working on addition and subtraction story problems, so as we read each page we discussed whether we were combining two groups, or taking part away from the whole group. This was a great way to use the vocabulary words associated with addition and subtraction. Together as a class we wrote the addition or subtraction equation for each page on a sentence strip. {If I were to do this again I may share the pen and let students write the problems.} Next, I laminated the problems and cut them apart.

Tomorrow I plan on putting this into a math work station and letting the students match the number sentence with the page. I'm also working on a recording sheet to go with this station. I like this activity because it is hard to put word problems in stations since it requires students to be able to read the problem, which can be tricky. We've read this book enough times that students are familiar with the language already. And, it took about 10 minutes to create with the kids and 5 minutes after school to laminate...quick and easy and I won't feel bad about tossing the cards when we're done!

A Little Sunday Project & My New Favorite Resource!!!

Here's a peek at my newly organized and de-cluttered math station supplies. I love the way I reorganized all of my math manipulatives and 8 station tubs; however, I found that I still had bins full of random games, file folder games, and other laminated creations that needed to be better organized. After giving it a little thought, it made most sense to me to organize these materials into 4 bins labeled by the quarter. I wish I had taken before pictures. Now at least I have it narrowed down enough to see what I have to work with. This is the first time I've had enough materials to need to organize into multiple tubs. I have a spot under my computer table where I plan on storing these. Maybe some velcro and material around the edge of the table to cover them....hmmm.

 

I managed to squeeze this in between birthday celebrations for my hubby. When my students found out it was his birthday, they wanted to make him something. We decided to make him a book about what we know about dentists (since he is in his 3rd year of dental school).  Not the cutest tooth out there, but all I could find during my 20 minute planning time. This page below was my favorite!

I also purchased Mrs. Jump's Reading 101 packet and I am LOVING it. I love planning and teaching guided reading and hate it at the same time. There are just so many ideas out there and so little time to do them in. The Reading 101 packet has really helped me focus my plans and remember that I don't need to get it all done in one 20 minute guided reading group. I'm looking forward to using it this week! Click below to check out this amazing resource (great for new-er teachers!!!).

Strega Nona Unit

This past week our comprehension strategy was retelling so we chose Tomie DePaola's Strega Nona stories. My class LOVED them. It was one of those units where they were on the edge of their seat during every story. Perfect! Here are some of the anchor charts and comprehension activities that we did throughout the week:

Day 1: Today we read Strega Nona and discussed how to retell a story telling only the most important ideas. I introduced the words first, then, next, and last as ways to anchor our retelling. We also completed this lesson as a shared writing activity. By having four separate sentence strips the students understood that we could only tell so much of the story (aka the important parts). They were so into the story they wanted to tell it all! Then I put the strips in one of our literacy work stations and let the students practice retelling the story to each other. Next year I want to make some kind of printable to hold them accountable for their retelling work.

Day 2: We reviewed Strega Nona and made this story map.

                                                                                                                                                                     

 

Day 3-5: We spent the rest of the week reading the rest of the Strega stories {Strega Nona Meets Her Match, Big Anthony & The Magic Ring}. I decided I need to do more reader's response activities, so I handed out sticky notes and had students break up into groups based on which book they liked the best. Then they wrote why they liked that book on the sticky note. Easy!

"I like when Strega Nona meets her match and when {Strega Amelia} steals her customers."

This last picture has nothing to do with Strega Nona...it's just one of those moments I had to capture. We had just finished reading a big book on animal habitats. While the rest of the class was eating snack these students stole away to check out the pictures they were so curious about. I couldn't even get mad at them about not asking because it was just what every teacher wants to see!

Getting Ready to Travel Around the World!

This week (in the midst of testing) we are going on an adventure around the world. This unit correlates with Virginia SOL 1.6 which covers how the location of a place (community, climate, phsysical surroundings) affect the way people live (including their food, clothing, shelter, transportaiton, and recreation). Yikes! That is an involved standard!

Last year we went on an adventure around the world. I choose different locations with varying climates and phsyical surroundings to show the students how these things affect they way people live. I'm sticking to three unique locations:

• Hawaii (Warm climate with water and various landforms)
• Antarctica (Cold climate with water)
• Desert (Varying climate with few landforms)

Each day we will either watch a video clip (I LOVE United Streaming!!) or read a book about each location. Then as a class we will make a table charting the kinds of transportation, recreation, shelter, animals, and clothing specific to each location. 

Last year I made a quick (a.k.a UGLY and PLAIN) passport for my students to track their adventure. This year I decided to spice it up a bit. Check it out below! I'm hoping to post some pictures of our anchor chars and student work at the end of the week. Is this a standard for you? What activities have you found work pertaining to this concept?

Day 1: Hawaii: We will watch video clips showing this tropical location including a "how to" hula segment!

Day 2: Antarctica: This is perfect timing since next week we'll be starting our penguin unit. We'll look at some pictures on the smart board and read a book on Antarctica.

Day 3: The Desert: For this location we'll be watching some video clips on United Streaming. I also plan on checking out books from the library on each of these locations to put in the classroom library for browsing during literacy work stations.

Day 4: Finally we'll return home and review about our hometown and how it's location affects us.

Here is my assessment piece; a quick survey to see what students have learned about a particular location.