Finally Inspired! Back to School :)

So, this week is flying by and next week will be my LAST WEEK of summer break :( Today, I finally got inspired to start working on some products and now my mind is spinning with lots of ideas and that "OH MY GAHHHH, I HAVE SO LITTLE TIME" panic. But, that's usually when I do my best work, so here's hoping I can stayed fueled and going today and tomorrow to get a lot done before the weekend begins.

One quick thing I did today was update my Back to School logo for the 2013-2014 year. If you click on the logo above, you will find all of my posts that I have labeled as "Beginning of Year." Check it out to see if I have written about any new ideas you can incorporate this year.

In addition, I have a pinterest board for back to school called "Get Ready!". Come follow me there as I will be pinning important ideas and products that are worthy of beginning of the year time or year-long usage. I will also pin all of my future "Back to School" posts there.

Hope you are having a FANTASTIC summer! I know I am :)

New Series: 1-1...with Class-Getting Started in Reader's Workshop!

In a few weeks, I will be a 5th grade teacher with a 1-1 classroom. Wow! That sounds like a lot of responsibility and a lot of change. But, I am SOOOOOOOOO ready for it. Well, ready, but not exactly prepared I guess. As I was planning over spring break, I couldn't help but think how this or that lesson or unit would be so much better (or different) if I had easy access to laptops in my classroom. (We have a computer lab and a few classroom computers, but the ability to differentiate is just not the same as it will be with EVERY child having access to a computer within seconds.)

So, I'm going to start blogging about my journey through the 1-1 classroom initiative. Sometimes I will talk about how I see things changing (like how reader's workshop will look in my 1-1 classroom), while other times I will highlight a website or resource that I have found. (For example, in upcoming posts, I will share and evaluate websites that I will consider foundations in my 1-1 classroom.)

FIRST UP....Online Conferring Notes and Student Reading Logs

In my 1-1 Reader's Workshop, my students will complete their reading logs in a google spreadsheet and I will log my conferences with them on a separate tab in the same document. In the above pic, I will use the list of reading areas (highlighted in mint) to note the student's main reading goal(s). Moving these documents to an online format will be fantastic for collaboration (the AIG teacher comes in to confer with some of my students) and for sharing conversations around books with parents. My student reading logs tend to drop after first quarter, and I'm fine with that as long as I know students are reading, but with an online spreadsheet, students will be required to either complete it at night or in the morning before the bell rings.

Benefits of an online conferring form and student reading log:
* Increase collaboration and documentation of AIG/inclusion teachers' work with students
* Given that students have completed their reading log, you can take a quick scan of what they have read before starting the conference (make observations like range of reading choices, progress through books, how much time is being set aside for reading at home, and compare pgs the child is able to read at home with their school stamina)
* Students now have access to your confering notes and ideas that you expect them to continue thinking about (this also means that you have to make sure you write all of your comments in a kid-friendly, positive tone)
* The document can easily be shared with parents so that they stay in the loop
* How about upping the ante on your informal record keeping--you have documentation for report cards
* You have access to your "conferring binder" everywhere that you have internet access WITHOUT having to carry around a chunky binder (WIN-WIN-awesome!)
****I can already envision myself adding a tab for documentation of a student's progress towards a specific goal (I use CAFE-ish goal setting in my reader's workshop). How easy to chart some fluency or words per minute progress in one of these files :) ****

If you like this google spreadsheet, you can go to file, make a copy, and have it for your own students. When the year begins next year, I will share the spreadsheet with students, teach them how to make a copy, and then have them include their first name in the title. I also have a classroom laptop, so when we confer, I will be typing notes instead of handwriting.

If you kind of know your way around google docs, here's how I plan to organize these files. I will have a "Reading Conferences" folder in my google drive that I share with the AIG teacher and any other staff members who work with my students in reading. Next, I will place the spreadsheet that I have already made in the "Reading Conferences" folder. Then, I will copy the spreadsheet and add student names until I have made a spreadsheet doc for all students. Last, I will share each individual spreadsheet with the student it belongs to (they have google drive accounts!).

Is your school 1-1 yet? What are you thinking about? How did your implementation go? What "must have" sites have you found? 

 

Fabulous Feedback Linky

I'm linking up with Christina at Bainbridge Class for her Fabulous Feedback on the 2nd Friday's of the month. (I know, it isn't Friday! :) In this post, I get to share two great feedback comments I received on two different products. We TPT'ers especially love thoughtful feedback and as you will see below, good feedback doesn't always have to say that our product was perfect to make us smile. I especially like feedback that is more than "great," "thanks," and " :)" and I always try to provide at least one specific sentence when I leave feedback for products I purchase. 

1st up...

I love this feedback and really appreciate that mccaigwright took the time to leave a comment that was so specific. I am so glad that my Classroom Timeline has helped her pull together historical topics and concepts for her students. I love how she mentions exactly what my goal for my timeline products is--to anchor what happened and when--to begin to understand the order of important historical events in US History. I also made a flub when I created the student sheets for the timeline overview and left out the Revolutionary Era. Today, I worked on updating this product AND came up with another version of the student overview sheets.

I love this new option so much, it might be exactly the revision I need this year for my students' US History Timeline binder projects.

Here's what our finished timeline looked like this year:

 Next up...

Now, I said that I often appreciate feedback that does not say my product is perfect (when presented in a helpful, respectful way, of course :)). I totally agree with barb19's feedback that it would be nice if all of my "Theme Bulletin Board Labels" included a definition/description, although I was thinking about myself when I designed this and only thought I needed to define the words that might be new to my students. Given this great feedback, I decided to update this product with two sets of the labels--one clean, no definitions, and the other with all theme words having a definition below.

As part of my participation in the Fabulous Feedback Linky, mccaigwright and barb19 get a FREE product from my store when you see this post (no deadline!:). Just comment below or shoot me an email of what you would like at lifeloveliteracy@gmail.com.

Happy summer relaxation!

Credits: Backgrounds from Zip-a-dee-doo-dah-Designs

Favorite Classroom Read Alouds

 

1. Wonder by RJ Palacio: Wonder is so "hot of the presses" new. It's the first summer read that I finished (in just a few days and I am a SLOW reader). I am so excited to share this book with students as my first read aloud this year. Auggie was born with a craniofacial disorder. He was born with droopy eyes, a cleft pallet, and missing part of his jaw. He is used to people looking at him and quickly changing their gaze or looking down. His parents chose to homeschool him until 5th grade. The book chronicles his 5th grade year in a middle school setting. As you would predict, he experiences bullies, fake friendships, and hurt feelings, but he also experiences true friendship, triumph, and finally--acceptance. I had to fight off the urge to sob the entire time I was reading this book. I truly think it's a wonderful way to start the year, bring together a group of students, and teach compassion. I also feel that this book challenges every reader (young and old) to see through how superficially we live our lives and to challenge how critical we are of our own looks. I can't say enough amazing things about this book (but I can promise you will hear more about it as I use it with my students!) Other key highlights:

* The inspiration for the name of the book, Natalie Merchant's "Wonder" is icing on the cake and will provide opportunities for text-text connections. ("I must be one of the wonders, God's own creation!")
* The story is told by a number of characters, mostly chronological, but sometimes overlapping the previous teller's section (opportunity for multiple-perspectives)
* A number of mantras are shared throughout the book through Auggie's English teacher
* RJ Palacio quotes a song at the beginning of each characters' section
* Many references to pop culture--Elephant Man, Star Wars, the Ugly Duckling, Beauty and the Beast (just to name a few)

2-3. Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne AND Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli: I must confess that these two were not read alouds this year, but book club books. However, through my minilessons on themes, symbolism, re-reading to catch things you might have missed originally, etc. I pulled excerpts of each of these books into my lessons. And, students were so into discussing their books and making connections during minilessons that I felt like every student got a good sense of the books no matter what they were reading individually. This year was the first time I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Milkweed myself, and after sharing the experience with my 5th graders, and knowing that we referred to and repeated lines from these books ALL the YEAR LONG, these books top my FAVORITE books of ALL time list. The symbolism of angels throughout Milkweed is so strong that I now believe in "everyday" angels. The Holocaust is a sensitive topic for 5th graders, but we got so much out of the unit last year that we plan to do this unit again. I created a parent letter to inform them of our plans to learn about the Holocaust. (You can download it for free and change to fit your needs.) For more about my Holocaust lessons...

 

4. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: Stargirl almost always makes itself into my year as a book club, but this year,  I used it as a read aloud to target the theme of "conformity."  I hope you are already familiar with Stargirl, but basically Mica Area High School is the "hotbed of conformity." Everyone, even the unpopular kids, seems to follow along with Hilary Kimball and Wayne Parr. Until, Stargirl, a homeschooled, unique, march-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum, girl comes along. Leo, the narrator, eventually falls in love with Stargirl, but soon realizes that he is being ostracized because of his friendship with her. The critical conflict in the book is the choice Leo feels he must make between being accepted by his peers and continuing a friendship with Stargirl. Regret, "being caught between a rock and a hard place," and accepting others for their uniqueness (rather than expecting them to conform) are huge themes in Stargirl.

5. Firegirl by Tony Abbott: I have used Firegirl as a read aloud once and in a book club this year. If you want a read aloud that gets at some of the same themes as Stargirl and Wonder but that is a shorter, less complex read, Firegirl is the one for you. Jessica comes to Tom's school mid year because she is receiving burn treatments at a local hospital. Jessica was badly burned when a gas tank exploded while her mom was pumping gas. As you can imagine, the environment in the classroom totally changes when Jessica joins the class. Although she is not able to come to class all of the time because of her medical treatments, when she does, no one speaks to her or wants to touch her. Mid-book, Tom begins a friendship with Jessica when his teacher asks him to drop off some of her school work at her house. When Jessica returns to her regular home, Tom has major regrets about not reaching out to Jessica and befriending her sooner. This book again gives you the opportunity to teach compassion and regrets, but also lends itself to discussing with students how to be a leader rather than a bystander.

5. The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo: The Tiger Rising is CAPTIVATING for students, but I love it because it has so much to teach us about dealing with our demons. The amazon.com description does not do this book justice, "Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger—a real-life, very large tiger—pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things—like memories, and heartache, and tigers—can’t be locked up forever." During my reading aloud of this novel, I taught students to walk in the characters' shoes, have compassion, and deal with their own "suitcase" of emotions. I seriously felt like I was teaching guidance lessons at the same time that I was teaching reading skills. To me, the tiger is the LEAST of importance in this book, but it keeps the kids wanting more and is a symbol of Rob and Sistine's own imprisonment by their emotions. Sistine's father is out of the picture and Rob's mother has recently died. Rob's father moved them to another town to get away from the pain, never talks about his mother, and has a hard time showing love towards Rob. Rob stuffs his feelings inside a metaphorical suitcase. On the otherhand, Sistine is always ready to let her feelings explode and often lets them out by beating on the bullies at the school. If you have not read this book, you MUST put it on your "to read" list. It took me all of an hour to finish and I did not want to put it down!!!!

From the looks of this list, it's safe to say that I like to choose read alouds that help teach my students how to treat one another with tolerance and compassion, how to face life, and how to become better people. I think each of these read alouds stick with students forever.

Hop on over to Mr. Hughes blog, Created by Mr. Hughes to check out this growing list of suggested read alouds. Although I suggested read alouds for 5th grade, the linky list ranges from 3rd through 8th and is divided by grade level. If you are a blogger, you can link up too!

Happy reading!

Green Chevron Background in first picture by

Peek at My Week (this week and last!)

Hello all,
I missed Peek at My Week last week. I had all intentions of getting things shared before the week was up but I spent a lot of time on my Thinking through Reading Tests product and even revised it a little the day after I originally posted it.

If you missed my lessons on sorting question types, check it out. It's three days at least of meaningful test-prep plans with strategies that kids can use forever for all reading-type tests and even for open-ended questions. Heck, I think I will teach my QAR lessons from the beginning of the year next year.

I even had time last week to finish up a new product, Multiplying and Dividing with Decimals Task Cards. These questions are exactly like my Multiplying and Dividing Fractions task cards with the house plans theme, but the kids won't really care, will they? I teach those concepts so far apart, it will be nice for them to see the connections between decimals and fractions with these questions.

What did we do last week? You know, we worked on a lot of questions from released packets in math and used our questioning strategies on a passage a day during reading.

In science, we learned about Gregor Mendel and genetics. I had some good freebie resources I wanted to share with you in case you teach that too.
Peas in a Pod: Mendelian Genetics from Mensa for Kids. It looks like they have A LOT of other good resources that fit my science curriculum, so I will definitely be checking them out for more stuff later.
I made questions to go with the first two lessons from the Mensa for Kids Genetics lessons. You can grab it from my google docs to use with your students.

Finally, peek at my week, visually!
Morning Meeting:
Inspiring Kindness Video (song in video is GREAT!)

Hope you enjoyed peeking at my two weeks. What do you have going on?

Reading Tests: Questioning Lessons

Earlier this week, I shared my Thinking Through Reading Tests materials, including Reading Question Sorts for Grades 3-8th based on the NC ELA Released Test. (Since the test questions are Common Core aligned, I believe the sorts will be useful to many other states as well).

What’s the purpose of having students sort questions independent of reading the text?
Allowing students to closely analyze questions helps them to make generalizations about the types of questions they can predict will be on the test and that they can expect for specific genres. Yes, you can do the sort for them and hand them a list of questions, but allowing them to come up with generalizations about the test questions takes your “test prep” from teacher-centered to student centered and considers testing a “genre” or “type of text” rather than an unpredictable “test.”

Today I wanted to share how our questioning lessons are going.
Day 1:  I had students work in partners to sort the questions into categories that made sense to them. It was interesting (and telling) to see what kind of categories students came up with on their own. I went around from group to group listening to their ideas and pushing them to reconsider some of the questions they had placed in different categories. (We completed this sort prior to the kids reading the text--based on my experience, you can decide what kind of question MOST of them are without reading the text yet.)

Day 2: I gave students a copy of my Question-Answer-Relationship handout. I went through each type of question (which was review from last year) and then had them meet with their partner again to sort the questions into these four categories. Now, not having read the text, there are a few questions that fall between two of the types of questions.

Day 3: During minilesson,  I gave each student two of the question cards and decided to start the lesson with the ones I had leftover. (Totally random, no strategic planning here). I called out one of my questions and we discussed where we would place it~"Right There/There and There," "Inferencing," "Overalls," or "Apply Prior Knowledge." Then, I asked students to raise their hands and share if they had a question like the one we had just categorized. Students read their questions one-by-one and we decided as a class if it fit the category. We continued until we had grouped and classified all questions. You can see our findings in the picture below. Each of these categories helps students tap into what skills and strategies they should use to answer the questions given. For example, if I have an overall question, I am going to pull from the beginning, middle, and end of the text (or a specific paragraph).

Here's how our questions fell into the categories:
"Right There/There and There"
* Literal Questions-We can go right back to the text and put our fingers on these.
Example: "Based on the selection, how did Roberto get to see the game?"
* Compare/Contrast Questions (need us to use information in two different places in the text)
Example: "How are butterflies and mosquitoes different?"; "Which statement shows a way some insects are similar to spiders?"

"Inferencing"
* Interpreting Figurative Language questions, using context clues for unknown words, and comprehension questions that go beyond the literal
Examples: "In paragraph 19, what is meant by 'Roberto's heart was in his stomach"?; "In the selection, what can be inferred about how the people viewed the old man?"; "What does the word shabbily mean as it is used in the text?"

"Overalls"
* Main idea, summary, theme, generalizing, author's point of view, etc.
Examples: "Which statement summarizes the theme of the selection?"; "What main ideas are supported by the selection?"

"Apply Prior Knowledge"
NONE!
***We talked about how none of the questions on our test would be true "prior knowledge" questions and that all of the questions were text-dependent. Now, when we take our SCIENCE EOG, ALLLLLLLLLLLL of the questions will fall under "prior knowledge." Interesting findings!

What are some ways I can use the questions for sorting?
• I think all sorts should be completed with partners or in small groups to encourage students to discuss what they are noticing and negotiate the categories.
• Allow students to sort the questions into any categories they see and then discuss as a group. (This would work well before you have introduced any of your Question-Answer-Relationship lessons and your “how to answer questions” lessons)
•After teaching your QAR lesson, have students re-sort the questions into the 4 categories (“Right There/There and There,” “Inferencing,” “Overall,” and “Apply Prior Knowledge.”) Within the 4 categories for QAR, see if you can come up with different types of each category. For example, “overall” questions include main idea, summarizing, theme, etc. while “inferencing” questions also include context clue questions because you use the text and your mind to infer word meaning.

My full Thinking Through Reading Questions Bulletin Board/Minilesson/Questioning Strategy Materials can be found here! 

~Multiplying and Dividing Decimals: House Plans Themed Task Cards~

Do you use my Themed Task Cards in your math classroom? I just made a set of DECIMAL multiplication and division task cards based off of my Multiplying and Dividing FRACTIONS: House Plan themed task cards. Get students to work on accuracy with multiplying and dividing decimals as the work to solve area problems and recreate the given house plan.

Check out the answer key to see the types of problems students will solve.

Teacher Appreciation 2013

Today I received 18 Resee Cups and a bag of the unwrapped small ones. I received a bouquet of flowers, cupcakes, truffles, and brownies. This can only mean one thing....
                                                   ~Teacher
                                                                 Appreciation
                                                                                        Week!~
This is my favorite week of the year. Our PTA makes each day themed: Monday--treat day, Tuesday-Teacher Tools Day Wednesday-Catered Lunch with raffles (always a favorite day!), Thursday--Thank You Notes, Friday-Flowers! Honestly, Thank you Notes Thursday is my F~A~VOR~ite day! I love handmade cards with thoughtful notes from my students. They know the year is winding down and they will soon leave, so I love to hear what they are thankful for.

And...it must mean....a TPT Teacher Appreciation Sale! To show appreciation for all of my wonderful followers (bloggy and store) and my die-hard customers, all of my products will be 20%. Add that to the 10% from TPT and everything is 28% off.

Thanks to Zip a Dee Doo Dah Designs for making this great TPT Appreciation Sale Logo!

Thinking through Reading Tests~FINALLY!

 My test prep product is finally ready to share. I have created a "Test-Prep" Minilessons Bulletin Board that I use to review strategies for reading comprehension that I have taught students all year long. This board allows me to move from what students KNOW about reading in general to how that applies to reading for a reading test.

This method considers “test prep passages” as another reading genre that students develop an understanding of how the test/passages are designed. (I’m sure you have done this all year with poetry, nonfiction, realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, opinion-based articles, etc.) Together, you and your students discover how a test is put together AND how what you have taught them to do all year as intelligent readers still applies in the setting of “test reading.”

My version of Question-Answer-Relationship is based off of the types of questions on our Reading EOG. All questions can be classified as "Right There"/"There and There," "Inferencing," "Overalls," and "Apply Prior Knowledge." Once studnets realize what question type they are working with, they can then go about the appropriate steps to figure out the right answer. I love these four types because it helps me remind my students that there are questions that ARE NOT directly answered by the text. The test will require them to THINK (at least a little) for themselves and use the knowledge they have learned.

I use a 4 step method to help students when they are finally answering questions. (WE do ALOT of work before we ever touch the questions!) I guide them through learning how to reword the questions (when necessary), mark out the obviously wrong answer (or 2), collect clues for the other answer choices, then make an educated decision (not a guess!) based on the information they have collected. Students are also required to write evidence (for or against) for each of the 4 answer choices. By the time they do this, they have typically figured out the right answer. You may decide to only use one of these questioning strategies (as I have in the past).

We are still in the beginning stages of our test prep because I know what my kiddos were capable of last year. We are still reading our independent books and I am conferring with students during our independent time. I'm sure we will dabble in reading and answering some of the passages this week, but I didn't want to get them started to soon (as 5th graders) and then have them burn out closer and closer to the test. Our first few lessons this week will be analyzing the types of questions they will be asked and talking about how we should think to answer those types of questions. I have typed up all of the Reading EOG questions from 3rd-8th grades for a student sorting lesson. This is included in the test prep download, but I have also uploaded it as a freebie (since I didn't write the questions myself, but made the sort so that we could use the questions in a different way). You may want to check out the grade levels before and after you as you work with students. I was uber surprised that 5th grade had no text-based features types of questions (we have NO NO NO graphics in our released set at all), but looking at 3rd or 4th (can't remember), they did have some text-feature based questions. Of course, I don't want my kiddos to be surprised by anything.

Although I am preparing my students for testing (3 weeks away), I have lived by this ALL (of-my-teaching-career) YEAR!

Sorry if this post is choppy or less-than-explained! But, I spent almost~the~whole~day trying to get this product together (and ready for me to use this week!) so I really wanted to get it shared with you all!

May Currently

Listening: Hall of Fame is going to be one of our 5th Grade Recognition performance songs. I used it this morning in Morning Meeting to start introducing the kids to it. (What am I talking about? They already know the words because they are sooooooooooo hip!)

 

Loving: I just upgraded my 2 year old HTC. And, wowzer! I love love love my new one. Best of all, it only cost a dollar with a $50 gift card promotion and $120 from the buy back program at Best Buy. I used the giftcards to prepay for my phone insurance. (Didn't I kind-of just pay for the phone? But man, I sure did love that insurance when I busted my phone last year!)

Thinking: Finally F~R~I~D~A~Y!!~~!! Okay, I am NOT typically one to countdown to the weekend. (Have you realized that just makes the week, month, year fly by faster?...which correlates to me getting older and older...)So, I tend to not pray or wish for the weekend or for tomorrow or for summer or for next month. I like to take things one day at a time and try to enjoy what it is. HOWEVER, this week has been a tough one for me and I have just been hoping for the weekend. (Maybe it is this cold front that is plaguing NC and making everyday overcast and indoor recess-worthy...I guess my "needing" should really say "Some dag-own SUNSHINE, please please please please!")

Wanting: To go along with my dagone tough week and need for sunshine, I stopped by Chick-Fil-A today. This is not part of my normal eating habits and to tell the truth ~I am not one of those crazy Chick-Fil-A people. But, I hit up some waffle fries and a chicken sandwhich with cheese. Why do I want to take it back? Those handy dandy nutrition facts on the menu now let me know that the combo would hit me at about 1000 calories. AWESOME, especially since I had already polished off the carrot cake in my fridge. (So, seriously need some sunshine to help me get out and run this off tomorrow!)

Needing: To rest and work on some TpT/classroom products! (Wow, that sounds like an oxymoron--needing to rest and work). I should just stick with asking for SUNSHINE!

Summer Bucket List: I have been stalking the Governor's Ball in NYC that is in about a month. The tickets are crazy-costly, but some of my favorite bands--Lumineers, Avett Brothers, Kings of Leon, Feist, Of Monsters and Men, Erykah Badu, and some other noteworthy musicians like GUNS-N-ROSES! and Kanye West--will be there. Just waiting for a few things to fall into place before I secure those tickets. Crossing my fingers for this bucket list fun.

PS--One more day for my 300 Followers Appreciation Sale! Hope you can check it out!