tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68042585043585149242024-03-13T10:08:00.514-04:00Miss McTeacherA Blog for Intermediate TeachersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-84564539889241328802014-08-07T16:57:00.001-04:002014-08-07T16:59:55.381-04:00Classroom Management Tip: Silent SignalsBack to school is upon us, and if you're anything like me you've already had the infamous dreams about the unruly class of 50 that has you pulling your hair out within 5 minutes of the first day. Stress not, teacher friends! Here's a quick management tip to help keep you sane and to keep interruptions like "Miss, can I use the bathroom?" to a minimum.<br />
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Many of us use silent signals in our classrooms to alleviate questions like that in the middle of a lesson, sometimes even mid sentence when we're giving directions *sigh*. This year I'll be incorporating ASL into my silent signals for my classroom and made a freebie for you to use as well! I'll be teaching these signals starting day one!<br />
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Get the printable <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/missmcteacher/class%20hand%20signals.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1">here</a> for your classroom! </div>
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Hope your first day is wonderful! Happy teaching!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-28042830346548116942014-07-01T09:20:00.000-04:002014-07-01T09:20:01.818-04:00July CurrentlyI'm linking up with <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2014/06/july-currently.html">Farley</a> for her July Currently.<br />
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Listening to the fan blow and trying to keep the house cool. That's Florida in the summertime for you!</div>
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Loving having all of this time to work on my blog. There are so many things I want to post about, but don't want to over-do it! Starting with anchor charts and getting organized. Plus a little face-lift for the blog was well over-due!</div>
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Thinking today is the day the dogs get a bath. Might help cool them off too!</div>
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Wanting something cold to drink from Starbucks. I've recently discovered their secret recipes and am having so much fun trying new flavors! Have you tried the Orange Creamsicle frappuccino? Order the strawberries and cream frap, but sub orange mango juice for the strawberry. AH-mazing!</div>
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Needing a fun July 4th manicure. I'm seeing so many cute ones on Instagram and Pinterest! Red, white, & blue mani here I come!</div>
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4th plans include fishing at the pier, packing a picnic, and watching the fireworks downtown with my honey. Can't ask for anything better! </div>
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Now head over to Farley's page and link up with your own July Currently! </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-31565046524696354252014-07-01T08:54:00.001-04:002014-07-01T09:38:38.353-04:00Anchor Charts: Character AnalysisYesterday I posted some anchor charts for you in regards to starting out the school year with narratives. So, I'm sticking with that theme today in getting into one particular aspect of narrative elements: characters.<br />
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Across grade levels readers are responsible for getting to know their characters deeply, to walk in their shoes. As intermediate readers, our students need to be able to grow ideas about the characters in their stories. To be able to predict what the characters will think/do later in the story, and to notice when their characters are acting out of the ordinary. They need to be able to understand and explain why their characters are behaving in a certain manner and what causes characters to change.<br />
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Here are some ideas to get you started with analyzing characters:<br />
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This lesson was built around the mentor text <u>Every Living Thing,</u> by Cynthia Rylant. We study the character of Magda in the short story "A Bad Road for Cats" to understand character traits and determining evidence of character. </div>
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This short story "Shells" is also from <u>Every Living Thing.</u> We study Michael to understand that characters change throughout a story and to understand why they change. </div>
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My students keep a few handouts in their reader's notebooks with lists of character traits to help jumpstart their thinking about what a character is like, otherwise I often get surface level traits like "angry" or "happy". Providing my friends with these lists helps give them ideas to go from and think about the text evidence they have that supports the trait(s) they're naming for the characters. You can find one of handouts I use <a href="http://blogs.scholastic.com/files/character-traits-1.pdf">here</a>, from Beth Newingham. </div>
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And who's watching the game today?! USA USA I believe we can win! </div>
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-Lindsay</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-5095672340271433982014-06-30T09:14:00.001-04:002014-07-01T08:20:25.053-04:00Anchor Charts: Narrative ElementsBetween your trips to the beach or the movies, I'm sure you're spending parts your summer vacation thinking about going back to school in the Fall. During Reader's Workshop at the start of the year my friends learn about stamina, choosing Just Right Books, and we spend lots and lots of time in narratives. We learn about narrative elements and getting to know our characters. These anchor charts may help you in planning where to start in August or September with your readers.<br />
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-Lindsay</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-64080585632599150282014-06-30T08:55:00.000-04:002014-06-30T08:55:19.954-04:00Times, they are a'changinWell friends, it is past due for a little updating. Not only does the blog have a new look thanks to <a href="http://blogaholicdesigns.com/">Blogaholics Designs</a>, but it has been FOREVER since a true blog post (my apologies!!). Life has been super busy down in the Sunshine State as I've recently moved to a new city which means also finding a new school to call home. I'm happy to announce I'll be joining the ranks as a fourth grade teacher after spending several years with my fifth grade friends.<br />
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With the move of course comes packing up the classroom. While packing up, I snapped pictures of all of my anchor charts. I figured I'd save my sanity by recreating my favorites and tweak them for my new fourth grade friends.<br />
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I'll be sharing a few of my favorites by content area or skill. Feel free to use and tweak to fit your needs!<br />
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-Lindsay</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-45358194514520969882014-04-14T20:41:00.001-04:002014-04-14T20:41:24.934-04:00Test Treat day 2<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bg3dKkUSTHI/U0x_RzBWiNI/AAAAAAAAAik/2yq0xpW8xsk/s1600/bunny+fcat+treat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bg3dKkUSTHI/U0x_RzBWiNI/AAAAAAAAAik/2yq0xpW8xsk/s1600/bunny+fcat+treat.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>Day 2 of testing is upon us, so here's another treat idea for your kiddos and their hard work! Since Easter is right around the corner, and it's hard to walk into any store these days without getting slapped in the face with Peeps, chocolate bunnies, Easter baskets, and plastic eggs, here's a holiday themed treat to encourage that hard work your students are putting into their state tests. Click the template below to download the file. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Original idea from Pinterest)</span><br />
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Good luck on day 2! </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-9058850719423724862014-04-13T21:20:00.005-04:002014-04-13T21:20:47.687-04:00Testing Treats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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FCAT starts tomorrow for my kiddos, and if you're anything like me you're hoping to give your students one more little boost before they start testing their little hearts out. Here's an idea you can try!<br />
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I made this printable for you to use if you'd like something to share with your kids during testing season. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Original idea from Pinterest, unknown source) </span><br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/missmcteacher/snicker%20fcat.pptx?attredirects=0&d=1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t67AsYilfGE/U0s3fr97qjI/AAAAAAAAAiE/VJuo4FuJ4G8/s1600/Slide1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Best wishes to your students!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-47834655821530243102013-07-12T12:12:00.003-04:002013-07-12T12:12:31.921-04:00Favorite Pins Friday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Friday y'all! I'm linking up with <a href="http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2013/07/favorite-pins-friday_12.html">The First Grade Parade</a> for our favorite pins! Check out my favorites from this week, then link up and share yours!<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><u>Favorite <b>TEACH-Y</b> pins</u></span></div>
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A back to school idea for my teammates. Love the chalkboard paint, and the cute insert.</div>
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Back to school night stations for parents</div>
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I wish I could be this organized! </div>
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Similar vs congruent. Made me laugh out loud!</div>
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<u>Favorite <b>STYLE </b>Pins</u></div>
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Coach obsessed!</div>
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How adorbs is this?! </div>
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Pretty and delicate <3</div>
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<u>And my <b>ABSOLUTE FAVORITE </b> pin of the week</u></div>
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am I right..?!?! I DIED when I saw this! </div>
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What were your favorites this week? Go link up now!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-55548513293824830222013-07-12T10:36:00.001-04:002013-07-12T10:36:59.633-04:00Data on the Brain! *FREEBIE*<br />
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Good morning everyone! I don't know about you, but I'm already having my "teacher" dreams. You know the ones, it's open house or the first day of school and you feel lost. Still have a month of summer left, but that doesn't mean my mind isn't prepping for it already.<br />
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One of the things I've been thinking a lot about is data. We recently had a meeting at school with the Leadership Team analyzing our FCAT scores from this year. It made me start thinking about the ways I collect data in my classroom, and how to keep it organized and useful.<br />
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An expectation at my school is that we DRA our students once per quarter. Well, in upper grades there isn't much change in DRA levels. They {should} start the year at a 50 fiction and end the year at a 50 nonfiction. So, in addition to quarterly DRAs, I plan on using the assessments provided by the <a href="http://readingandwritingproject.com/resources/assessments/reading-assessments">Teachers College Reading & Writing Project</a> that aligns with the Fountas & Pinnell system for leveling books. Check out their site for more info and download the assessments for your classroom! These assessments are used with text in hand. TCRWP provides a list of texts you'll need, or you can use the typed text that is included in the download.<br />
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I'm going to use the form above as a way to organize my kiddos' reading levels by DRA as well as Guided Reading level. I've color coded the GR levels by DRA level. For example, the green boxes are a DRA 50, where my kiddos should be during the year. There is a correlation chart on page 2 of the attachment when you download. In addition, I've included {for 5th grade} the CCSS lexile ranges for the band of complexity they are expected to master. The form is editable for your convenience to tweak to your grade's expectations.<br />
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What are some ways you collect reading data in your classroom?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-63817188815220526122013-07-11T17:54:00.003-04:002013-07-11T17:56:59.190-04:00Reader's Notebooks & *FREEBIE*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been thinking about school already! I have seen so many wonderful posts from all of you about the projects you're working on, and I guess you've inspired me. I'm starting with rethinking my Reader's Notebooks.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>If you haven't checked out the awesome resources on Reader's Notebooks from Beth Newingham, where have you been?! But seriously, her post about notebooks is incredible {check it out <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2009/11/readers-notebook">here</a>}. I use some of her handouts for my kiddos' notebooks.<br />
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I use binders for my Reader's Notebooks, as I like to keep all of their handouts in one spot. Here's what I'm thinking for this year:<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/missmcteacher/Classroom%20Reading%20Log.docx?attredirects=0&d=1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-khjnaOrpjRE/Ud8jkcjlW6I/AAAAAAAAAc0/6QQ83nsbZr0/s320/Classroom+Reading+Log.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah, my nemesis. The reading log. I have tried SOOOO many formats, and still have yet to find one that I love. Ultimately, I want my kiddos to keep track of the books they're reading by level, genre, title & author. I'd also like to keep track of how much they're reading during our independent reading each day. And I want a place to keep track of their conferring goals from our 1:1 conferences. I made this one a few days ago, and still am not loving it, but it's a start and it's a *FREEBIE* for you to try too. Click the image to download the editable version. I've listed the thinking strategies on the bottom as a reminder. I'm thinking about making a separate organizer for conference notes and goals for their notebooks as well, maybe to include in the next section...<br />
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Such as people who set New Year's resolutions, I tend to forget about revisiting and tracking the progress of our reading goals. One {ahem} goal I have this year is to be better about this for my kiddos! Ideally, I'd like to revisit our goals every 4-6 weeks. Some things I'm going to include here are their DRA scores (to be done once per quarter), Guided Reading level progress chart, standards for each unit as a checklist or I Can statements, and an organizer for conferring goals and notes.<br />
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This section starts with a table of contents I use from Beth Newingham that we add to as we go.<br />
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In the beginning of the year, handouts include topics such as choosing a Just Right book and the genre overview {also from Beth}. </div>
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I'm planning another post soon all about word work. This section will hold their weekly spelling pattern work, the Nifty 50 Thrifty, commonly misspelled words, and a mini-word wall. Still wrapping my head around word work for next year, so I'll keep you up to date!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Thqmyf-ufEg/Ud8oeu3yx2I/AAAAAAAAAdA/XgW6UAmaEyw/s1600/IMG_2238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Thqmyf-ufEg/Ud8oeu3yx2I/AAAAAAAAAdA/XgW6UAmaEyw/s320/IMG_2238.jpg" width="320" /></a>And here's what I'm thinking for responding to reading. Last year this was also housed in their binders, but I hated it. This year I'll have their responses kept in a composition notebook. This is something I'm still trying to work out, but here are some thoughts I have so far. {BTW, how FUN are those mustache sticky notes!?} How do you manage your readers' responses? I'm open to any and all suggestions! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-13184033867406107592013-06-10T20:47:00.002-04:002013-06-10T20:47:50.126-04:00Big Lots Lots2Give <div style="text-align: center;">
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Oneco needs to play, Playground!</div>
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Please help my school by voting for our video to help us win a new playground! As you can see, playing in the dirt is no fun! <a href="http://www.biglots.com/lots2give/vote?state=FL&y=7&x=50">Click here to vote!</a> You can vote 3 times each day through July 7th. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-19710403285183455552013-04-28T22:24:00.001-04:002013-04-28T22:26:37.887-04:00Back to Normal!Well, it's officially over...FCAT that is! I am so ready to get my kiddos back on a normal schedule and back to routine! It's exhausting being off from our regular day for so long. A few things I'm looking forward to...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland<br />
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We're doing a book study on this Lewis Carroll classic. I could not be more thrilled that this text is in the band of complexity for CCSS for 5th grade. We've done some prep work talking about our schema from the movies, but none of my kiddos have read the book {shocking, huh?}. I'm so excited to get into the craft of this text and really explore all of the beautiful use of figurative language. We're also examining character traits by analyzing actions, words, thoughts, and feelings evidenced by the main characters. {more on all of this to come, I promise!}</div>
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2. Ringling Brothers' Circus Museum</div>
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My favorite trip of the year is quickly approaching! Per tradition, we take our fifth graders on a field trip to the Ringling Museum of Art. We have a such a blast, trying to fit into the clown cars, walking the tightropes, checking out the Ringling's travel train car, and wowing over the Ca d'Zan (House of John). Seriously, if you ever have the opportunity to go, it's incredible. </div>
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3. Carrabba's Luncheon</div>
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Following the Ringling Musem, we treat our kiddos to lunch at Carrabba's Italian Grill. This is a HUGE deal for our students and is a truly wonderful experience. Carrabba's has treated us so well over the years to help us continue this amazing tradition. {kuddos to you!} </div>
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4. Promotion Ceremony, Awards, Field Day, & Cookout</div>
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Since this is our kiddos' last year in elementary school, we really try to do something over the top for them as many of them have been with us since Pre-K! We have a special surprise planned for them after the awards ceremony {hint, it has to do with this latest craze}</div>
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What are some things you're looking forward to?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-4590268460949580782013-02-26T20:36:00.000-05:002013-02-26T20:36:19.257-05:00Synthesis Part Deux: Next Steps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here they are, my lovely ladies! They have been working synthesis magic in my classroom over the last week. We've been really digging in to what it means to synthesize by using our schema and questioning to examine our changes in thinking. {See my last <a href="http://mcteach5.blogspot.com/2013/02/synthesis-and-freebie.html">post</a> if you missed it!} I've been brainstorming where to go next in this inquiry into synthesis, and after talking with a teammate today I think I've got it mapped out. But you know how it goes..best laid plans of mice and men and whatnot...<br />
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So this is a look at where we've been. As I mentioned, we're reading <u>Sharks</u> by Seymour Simon and focusing on the thinking strategies of schema and questioning to synthesize important ideas. {Sorry it's a little blurry!} I modeled the beginning pieces during a think aloud to show how readers use schema to ask questions about the text. Then, further down the road gave over control to my kiddos and recorded their thinking on our anchor chart. As you can see, they were very curious about the number of gills sharks have versus their fish counterparts! {Lots of inferring going on here, too!}<br />
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After finishing the interactive read aloud, I had my students reflect on their thinking by looking back over our text and response charts (ours and their own) to look for changes in their thinking. Then, I brought out our synthesis thinking stems and modeled how my own thinking changed based on information I gathered from the text. The kiddos wrote their own synthesis responses by choosing a thinking stem shown here and explaining a change in their thinking and justifying the reason why it changed based on evidence {oh common core how I love thee}.<br />
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And cue the next scene. One of the goals in this unit of study is for my students to be able to synthesize across texts and determine common main ideas and themes in expository texts while citing evidence to justify their thinking {whew!}. So, after brainstorming with my teammate over lunch today {when else do you get to collaborate?! pass the salt please} I had an ah-ha moment!<br />
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We've delved in to Determining Importance in expository texts already in this unit, but it bears repeating {white stripes anyone?}. Tomorrow we are going to go back to the parts of the text we read in <u>Sharks</u> with the eye of determining importance to evaluate details and decide if they are truly important, or simply details the author gave to keep our interest. We'll focus on the use of our thinking stems for determining importance, which will lead us to discover the...<br />
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MAIN IDEA!!<br />
I found an anchor chart on pinterest that I loved for main idea, and tweaked it to fit my needs. {If it's your original idea, thank you!!}<br />
I added a few key ideas for after reading, including determining the text structure as well as the author's purpose and perspective.<br />
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By examining the text structure and author's perspective, examining important key details, and synthesizing information from various sources in and around the text, we'll be able to determine the text's main idea. {See my post about text structure <a href="http://mcteach5.blogspot.com/2013/01/expository-text-structures.html">here</a>}<br />
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Next steps...<br />
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<ul>
<li>determine main idea in one text using synthesis of ideas and evidence</li>
<li>determine theme in expository text based upon main idea and author's perspective</li>
<li>compare main idea and themes across texts </li>
<li>determine a common main idea and theme across texts</li>
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[Synthesis] is about valuing the process of our thinking, becoming reflective thinkers, remembering where we came from and where we're going. It's about keeping the change. </div>
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- Tanny McGregor, <u>Comprehension Connections</u></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-70833250068597182352013-02-25T19:14:00.002-05:002013-02-26T19:56:17.053-05:00Synthesis and a *freebie*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been tackling the tricky thinking strategy of synthesis this month. I say "tricky" because it always seemed like too abstract of an idea for my kiddos to understand. How would I teach them to understand how their thinking changed over time and texts?<br />
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<a href="http://www.heinemann.com/shared/covers/9780325008875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.heinemann.com/shared/covers/9780325008875.jpg" width="159" /></a>Enter nesting dolls. While wandering around admiring the chachkies at the annual Greek Festival in town a few weekends back, I spotted them. The most beautiful sets of nesting dolls I'd ever seen. And there were hundreds of them! That's when it hit me. I must have these! I had been reading up on synthesis preparing for teaching the unit, and remembered a great concrete lesson in my copy of Comprehension Connections. {I remember thinking "Where in the world do you get nesting dolls?!" and put that lesson on the back burner.}<br />
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I must have spent 30 minutes at that booth, turning them over in my hands trying to pick the best set for the best price. Should I get a set with 3 dolls? 5 dolls? A set with Star Wars characters, or the more traditional matryoshka? I walked away with a beautiful set of matryoshka to share with my kiddos in our synthesis unit of thinking.<br />
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To introduce synthesis on the first day I displayed the nesting dolls at our reading workshop spot and asked my kiddos "How do these nesting dolls represent your thinking?" I gave them plenty of time to think before asking them to turn and talk with their partners.<br />
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<li>"It's like the little one is a beginning thinker, like a baby, and the big one is an advanced thinker" </li>
<li>"My thinking grows bigger and better as I read" </li>
<li>"Our schema helps our thinking grow" </li>
<li>"As we get older our thinking gets more advanced" </li>
<li>"My thinking grows like a seed"</li>
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Then, I asked the kiddos to watch silently and think about how putting the dolls together represents their thinking. {The silent part was hard for them! They wanted to share their ideas!}<br />
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<li>"All of the thinking ties together into one by adding more to get a big idea"</li>
<li>"We combine all of our learning to gain knowledge"</li>
<li>"We start with small thinking about the text, then to a big idea about the whole text"</li>
<li>"Putting it all together to get new thinking"</li>
<li>"Our old thinking is always there"</li>
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<a href="http://i43.tower.com/images/mm101703558/sharks-seymour-simon-hardcover-cover-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i43.tower.com/images/mm101703558/sharks-seymour-simon-hardcover-cover-art.jpg" /></a>I've been using the dolls to refer back to our thinking as we dig into the unit of synthesis. On the second day we began a close read of Seymour Simon's <u>Sharks</u>. I showed my kiddos just the cover of the text as we discussed how readers use their schema and questioning to synthesize ideas. Hollywood's portrayal of sharks through movies like Jaws and Shark Week are a huge influence on our schema. We linked our schema to questions about sharks.<br />
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-<u>Schema</u>: People are so terrified of sharks that some even refuse to get in the water at the beach in fear of being attacked.<br />
-<u>Question</u>: How many shark attacks <i>really</i> occur each year worldwide, and is it enough to justify these fears?<br />
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As we continued to read, we focused on how our schema led to questions about the information about the text, as well as realizing we had misconceptions about sharks and had to adjust our thinking.<i> Hello synthesis!</i><br />
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Our next moves:<br />
- read another text by Seymour Simon and begin to synthesize ideas about the author<br />
- synthesis of themes in expository texts<br />
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Also, here's a freebie for you and your students as you embark on this journey of synthesis! There's also a graphic organizer for your students to use to track their change in thinking. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/missmcteacher/synthesis%20thinking%20stems.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-le_nCplED9Q/USvs_UE1MqI/AAAAAAAAAVg/vVjpPFif_uI/s320/synthesis.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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And for your viewing pleasure, a lesson on close reading that I used to help plan my unit of synthesis. Check out the amazing use of artifacts for students to use to synthesize ideas about gorillas! </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/55965891" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/55965891">Bringing Close Reading and Accountable Talk into an Interactive Read Aloud of Gorillas (3-5)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/tcrwp">TC Reading and Writing Project</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-55166222432074054852013-01-07T20:26:00.001-05:002013-01-07T20:44:22.381-05:00Expository Text Structures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was the first day back, but without the kiddos. My team and I spent most of the morning planning common assessments for our next reading unit - nonfiction expository texts. This is honestly the first time we've ever had the opportunity to sit down and plan out all of our concept assessments for a unit, and it was great! Here's a peek into what we'll be learning next:<br />
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Expository texts tend to be a trickier read for my kiddos. When it comes to narratives, they've got it down pat. They know there will be characters to analyze, a predictable plot to follow, and themes or lessons to be learned. But put an expository text in front of them, and they flounder. They are genuinely interested {usually} in the topic being addressed by the text, but they have a difficult time navigating the text itself.<br />
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Here's where text structure comes in to play. Nonfiction texts are not created equally, but they do have a few predictable patterns. Teaching my kiddos what to look for in how a nonfiction text is organized helps them tackle these complex texts. If you haven't had a chance to check out <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2011/03/my-march-top-ten-list-nonfiction-reading-resources" target="_blank">Beth Newingham's</a> post about text structure, do it now! She has some great resources and tips, including these awesome structure posters!<br />
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The <a href="http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/PDF/G4-5/45CPartTwo.pdf" target="_blank">Florida Center for Reading Research</a> also has a ton of resources for text structures. There are numerous graphic organizers, a sort, and even a cheat sheet for your kiddos!<br />
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So here's the plan. By the end of this concept, my kiddos should be able to read a self-selected expository text, determine the text's structure, and choose an appropriate graphic organizer to track their reading and thinking. And for your planning pleasure, an editable <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/missmcteacher/unit%203%20concept%20assessment%20features.docx?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">rubric</a> my team and I created during our productive day! Also included on the rubric is understanding of text features and why an author chooses to present information in this way.<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-87593879792664133462012-12-29T20:01:00.003-05:002012-12-29T20:01:54.040-05:00What's Ahead in 2013 {linky}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm linking up with Michelle at <a href="http://www.makingitteacher.com/2012/12/Making-It-As-A-Middle-School-Teacher.Whats-Ahead-2013-Linky.html" target="_blank">Making it as a Middle School Teacher</a> for a 2013 New Years Linky. Here's what I'm looking forward to in 2013 {now let's see if I can do it all!}. Head over and link up too!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-55159601693022184002012-12-29T18:38:00.001-05:002012-12-29T18:38:16.715-05:00Science Fair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before leaving for break, my kiddos turned in their science fair projects {yes it's that time already!}. I must admit, there are SO many things I will do differently next year. This was the first year I've dealt with science fair projects on my own. We used to have a full time science lab teacher {I KNOW!!} who would take care of all of our science fair needs.<br />
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So, this year as the 5th grade team leader and Science Committee Chair, I was given the duty of handling the science fair. Luckily, I have an AMAZING co-worker who volunteered to head the Science Fair, and I just had to help her out with planning.<br />
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The kiddos did a great job on their projects! We took some time in class to research, write questions & hypotheses, analyze data, and write conclusions. We also took a day in class to make the boards.<br />
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On the day their projects were due, the kiddos did what I called a Gallery Crawl. They went to each board individually and read each of the projects. They provided feedback for each experiment, including something they learned from their board as well as something the experimenter could work on (like remembering to repeat the experiment 3 times). They were so enthralled with reading each other's projects and gave really meaningful feedback!<br />
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After the Gallery Crawl, the kiddos presented their projects. Audience members took notes in their Inquiry Journals in a t-chart {Learned...Wonder} and asked questions they had about the experiments.<br />
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Now, to finish grading all of those projects and choose 3 to go to the Fair! YIKES!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-54303862724199448552012-11-10T08:15:00.000-05:002012-11-10T08:19:15.574-05:00Miss McDonald had some CHICKS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With a peep peep here, and a chirp chirp there!<br />
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Last month our fifth graders incubated 12 eggs as part of an inquiry into animal life cycles. We studied and researched the incubation process and the life cycle of chickens. We checked for heartbeats, monitored their temperature, and tracked their growth and development.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Nugget, our class's chick. </td></tr>
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21 days later, only <i>one</i> of our eggs hatched. This prompted further research into why this happens during the incubation process. But, we couldn't just have one chick of course! So, we decided to purchase a few newly hatched chicks so ours could have a brood.<br />
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We've been observing and monitoring our brood for 2 weeks and have learned so much about their behaviors! Recently the chicks have been molting and we've observed them helping each other keep clean during this process. The kiddos were worried at first when we saw one of the chicks pecking at another, until we realized it was like chimps who help clean each other.<br />
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As part of our inquiry process, we took our knowledge public and visited kindergarten and first grade classes. We read a poem about chicks hatching and talked to the classes about incubating eggs and taking care of hatchlings.<br />
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The classes we visited were very curious about our chicks, and asked tons of great questions. Thanks to our research, we were able to answer most of them.<br />
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My pup Jasper also really enjoyed the chicks! He has been so intrigued by them when I bring them home over the weekend. I think he'll miss them when they go to the barn today.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-61694358778152578032012-08-19T20:58:00.002-04:002012-08-19T20:58:29.594-04:00Back to school, Back to school<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Back to school! It's that time of year again, when bulletin boards are freshly decorated, supplies are brand new, and desks are neatly organized (the teachers' and students'!). Anyone else getting First Day Jitters!? Best wishes for a new school year to all of you!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-50650584443237092592012-08-08T16:07:00.003-04:002012-08-08T16:18:17.457-04:00Linky: Must Haves for Reading Workshop<br />
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<span id="goog_1116215619"></span>I'm linking up with another Lindsay from <a href="http://msnoren.blogspot.com/2012/08/linky-party-must-have-materials-for.html" target="_blank">My Life as a Third Grade Teacher</a> to share my Must Haves for Reader's Workshop. She's asking us to share what items we cannot live without for our Reading and/or Writing Workshops. These are items that either you or your students use on a daily basis.<span id="goog_1116215620"></span></div>
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Here are my Must Haves:</div>
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-My number one must have, simply cannot live without, is my classroom library. It's stocked with TONS of texts on various levels and include a variety of genres. The books on the shelves to the left are all of our fiction texts, grouped by genre. A majority of my books are leveled according to Fountas & Pinnell guided reading levels. This comes in handy when introducing Just Right books. The top shelves house my book club texts, including titles like <u>Bud, Not Buddy</u> and <u>Found</u>. (See my post about book clubs <a href="http://mcteach5.blogspot.com/2012/05/book-clubs-inquiry-circles.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) The shelves on the right are all non-fiction texts, grouped by topic. These come in handy when studying non-fiction text features and for our inquiry circles. Top shelf here holds my mentor texts-which I'd like to group by strategy. I have a few beach chairs for the kiddos to use during Independent Reading, and am adding a few new pillows. </div>
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- Another must have- ANCHOR CHARTS! These "anchor" our learning so we can always go back and refer to them. Typically they relate to strategy work, but also include topics like book club expectations and how to choose a just right book. I've seen where teachers have taken pictures of their anchor charts and combined them in a binder. Any other ideas on storing and referring to your anchor charts??</div>
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- These Book Bins are from <a href="http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-whisperer-and-daily-5where-have.html" target="_blank">4th Grade Frolics</a>. I just bought some baskets like these from the Dollar Tree (don't you just LOVE that place!?) and am in the process of making bins for my kiddos. These will hold their Just Right books, sticky notes, bookmarks, writer's notebook, and a pencil. Don't worry, I'll post pix as soon as I get them ready! :)</div>
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-And speaking of sticky notes, I wish I had invented them! We must go through thousands of them in a school year! Students track their thinking as they read and place the sticky note in their text. After a chunk of text, they select a few samples of their best thinking, and record in their writer's notebooks. They push the thought more, synthesizing new ideas. I also use them to model a strategy with think aloud or as a starting point in an individual conference.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">What are your top Must Haves? Go link up with </span><a href="http://msnoren.blogspot.com/2012/08/linky-party-must-have-materials-for.html" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Lindsay</a><span style="text-align: center;"> and share your list!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-11957483058973952242012-05-23T07:56:00.005-04:002012-05-23T07:56:40.930-04:00Math Inquiry<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DV7PxJ48Ze8/T7zNRRre-XI/AAAAAAAAANw/TXqxQCCZNjs/s1600/IMG_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DV7PxJ48Ze8/T7zNRRre-XI/AAAAAAAAANw/TXqxQCCZNjs/s200/IMG_0044.jpg" width="149" /></a>So, I've been trying something new in my math block lately. Used to, I'd start off with introducing the Essential Question (How do you multiply fractions? for example) then get right in to modeling the strategies and procedures, followed by guided practice and independent work based on what I showed them. Sounds like a typical math lesson, right?</div>
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When I visited Lori Conrad's 5th grade in Denver, CO I saw her using inquiry strategies within her content areas, specifically social studies. I thought, 'Oh wow, I can totally do that!'. It seemed to just make sense.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iz2kcmTpFMo/T7qh6w01YgI/AAAAAAAAANc/ajX-AiDq84M/s1600/IMG_0038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iz2kcmTpFMo/T7qh6w01YgI/AAAAAAAAANc/ajX-AiDq84M/s200/IMG_0038.jpg" width="149" /></a>I've been starting out with posing the Essential Question still, and providing an example problem. My kiddos then have to brainstorm using their schema on ways they think we <i>may</i> be able to solve the problem. For example, last week we learned strategies for multiplying and dividing with fractions. They turned and talked to a partner about strategies they could try. Many of them suggested repeated addition and arrays, strategies we had learned for multiplying and dividing whole numbers.<br />
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We put their plans into action and tested out each idea. We discussed how we should set up the numberline, and what benchmarks to include. They decided to use 25s as our benchmarks, because it's like counting quarters. They knew that 25s were also fourths because there are 4 quarters in a dollar, so we labeled them as fourths since we were working with fractions. We then used repeated addition on the numberlines to solve multiplying fractions, or repeated subtraction to solve dividing with fractions. We also looked closely at how to set up an array for multiplying fractions, which surprisingly went pretty well! We took what we know about how to draw fractions in rods, and simply "squished" them together! For example, drawing 3/5 as a row of 5 blocks with 3 colored in, then repeating that however many times you're multiplying. (See anchor chart pic if this isn't making sense lol).<br />
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The best Ah-Ha! moment was during lunch last week. We were eating outside since the weather was so nice, and I overheard some girls from another table talking about our math lesson. "I love the way Ms. McDonald is teaching math-it just makes so much sense! She doesn't just <i>tell</i> us how to figure it out like the other teachers did, she lets us try it together and we get to work out a bunch of ways to get the answer!" Best. Moment. Ever.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-14315895410151312052012-05-20T18:22:00.000-04:002012-05-21T16:13:00.199-04:00Book Clubs & Inquiry Circles<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aXXNnhFHATE/T7qgxDRVvcI/AAAAAAAAAM0/MsfL2HX_mug/s1600/IMG_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aXXNnhFHATE/T7qgxDRVvcI/AAAAAAAAAM0/MsfL2HX_mug/s200/IMG_0034.jpg" width="149" /></a>So let me preface this by saying this <i>is</i> my first time at the rodeo! I'm trying my hand at book clubs with my kiddos, and I cannot be happier with how things are turning out! If only I'd done this earlier in the year, it's so much fun and they're learning SO much!<br />
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We started out a few weeks ago with a Book Pass. My reading coach and I selected about 8 books at various levels for the kiddos to preview. They had 5 minutes to read the back cover and the first chapter, then reflect on the reading. They wrote their thinking, predictions, questions, decided if it was a good "fit" and whether or not they were interested in it and why. Then they passed the book on to the next reader and started all over again with the next book.<br />
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From their Book Passes, I compiled 4 groups based on interest and semi-reading level. We watched some book clubs "in action"(Lucy Calkins' A Guide to Reading Workshop videos) to research what a good book club looks like and sounds like. We came up with guidelines and expectations for our book clubs. We discussed and brainstormed ways to talk to our clubs (anchor chart pix coming soon!).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RSX0L_3PUU/T7qhhr6JLYI/AAAAAAAAANM/bsJju4PjwUc/s1600/IMG_0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RSX0L_3PUU/T7qhhr6JLYI/AAAAAAAAANM/bsJju4PjwUc/s200/IMG_0036.jpg" width="149" /></a>With clubs in full swing, I'm able to make my rounds of conferences as well as meet with clubs to listen in and guide discussions. The clubs have all developed an Essential Question based on what they're wondering about the big ideas in their texts. For my <u>Maniac Magee</u> club that means looking into the topic of racism and how it is effecting the characters in the text. <u>Bud, Not Buddy</u> is trying to understand the Great Depression, a time in history they don't know much about. Group members for each club are responsible for collecting evidence about their Essential Question and must be prepared to discuss their thinking and the evidence they've found (they came up with this, I'm not kidding!).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MY7rnrudFXA/T7qhis9PtoI/AAAAAAAAANU/xGsK9UO15po/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MY7rnrudFXA/T7qhis9PtoI/AAAAAAAAANU/xGsK9UO15po/s200/IMG_0037.jpg" width="149" /></a>So, now we're getting close to the end of the text for each club and they're planning where they're going to go next. Enter Inquiry Circles! I'm challenging my kiddos to go beyond their text with their Essential Question and dig deeper into understanding the big ideas and themes in their texts. Several groups are planning on reading books with a similar theme to compare and contrast how the theme comes about in various texts and how characters react to similar hardships. Some groups are leaning more toward a research topic-for example, The Great Depression for <u>Bud, Not Buddy</u> and racism activists throughout history for my <u>Maniac Magee</u> group.<br />
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I can't wait to see where they go next with their ideas and topics!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-89717796183111988302012-05-09T16:16:00.000-04:002012-05-09T16:16:47.747-04:00Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer's right around the corner for most of us in teacher land. Dreaming of far away places, warm sand, and no students! But...if you're anything like me, it also means you're thinking back about this year with your kiddos and reflecting on what went well, and what you can improve for next year. Like many (or probably <i>all</i>) of you, I have a Professional Development Plan, or PDP, that I've been focusing on this year in regards to my personal goals as a teacher. My most essential goal was to add rigor to my 90-minute reading block by focusing on Thinking Strategies, aka "The Big 7". You've heard me talk a lot about these in previous posts. Coming from a Reading First background, I didn't know much about The Big 7. We focused on the 5 reading components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) within basal texts and scripted programs. I had never heard of <i>schema</i>, or <i>inferring... </i><br />
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Fast forward 2 years and I'm among the teachers on my staff who are training others on The Big 7 by means of our Literacy Team, professional development, seminars, and book studies. This knowledge has had a <i>tremendous</i> impact on my reading instruction. I now understand what it means to help students become proficient readers through metacognition. I think one of the greatest changes in my instruction has been the implementation of Reader's Workshop Model, which facilitates Gradual Release of Responsibility. Typically my 90-minute block includes one anchor lesson per week in which I introduce the strategy or skill within a mentor text. I model the skill/strategy for the students through think aloud and will typically record my thinking on an anchor chart. Then, I continue the reading while students become responsible for the thinking- focusing on what I modeled for them and applying that skill or strategy with their own thinking. Finally, students become responsible for reading within the shared text <i>and</i> also are responsible for the thinking. In addition to the anchor lesson, I plan mini-lessons that are driven by student feedback, observations, conferring, and data from various sources (DRA, SuccessMaker, FAIR...the list goes on and on). The same structure applies in a mini-lesson (model, guide, independent) just in a shorter amount of time.<br />
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Another significant change in my instruction revolves around conferring within daily independent reading. This is a big, scary beast for a lot of us-including me! We all think <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“I don’t have time. I don’t know what questions to ask, It’s too hard, I don’t know what to write in my notes, I don’t even take notes, I've never read that book, I don’t know how to go that deep. . .”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span>I speak from experience, <b>IT IS WORTH IT!</b> Conferring has proven to be <i>the</i> most essential part of my reading block. It allows me to see exactly what the student is able to do within an appropriate text, as well as what they are <i>almost</i> doing. As the students are reading in their Just Right books, I am meeting with students one-on-one, side-by-side. I pull up next to them and get them talking about their books, "How is it going?" "What are you working on?" "Take me to that confusing part" "Walk me through your thinking". By listening intently to what they're telling me, I'm able to:<br />
1. Determine the student's strength right now and give a compliment.<br />
2. Notice what they're almost doing and decide on my teaching point.<br />
3. Model within their text, or my "under arm book" (mentor text-typically a previous shared text)<br />
4. Guide them to show me how they can apply this in their text.<br />
5. Hold them accountable- "I'll come back by to see how you're doing with..."<br />
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As I begin to look ahead for next year, I'm looking forward to attempting to incorporate the Big 7 and the workshop model in other content areas. I think it is important for myself and the students to understand that the Big 7 are not reading strategies, they are <i>thinking </i>strategies that we use to help us understand. I plan on expanding conferring across content as well, as it has proven to be such a useful tool as an assessment and planning guide.<br />
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I hope you are finding that your reflections on this year yield many more positives than "I should haves". As teachers, I think we can be our own worst critics and we need to be able to reflect on our practice in a way that moves us forward.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-65004638854580145012012-04-27T17:37:00.002-04:002012-04-27T17:37:50.330-04:00Denver, Here I Come!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This weekend I'm taking off with a couple of colleagues for a week in Denver, Colorado to attend the Spring Thinking Strategies Institute. I am beyond ecstatic at this opportunity to learn more about the thinking strategies our Literacy Team has been so focused on over the last two years. Coming from a Reading First background, this was all new to me upon my move to Florida. I must say I welcomed it with open arms! It has been an eye-opening experience to learn and understand what strong readers do, and being able to pass this information on to my kiddos is so rewarding.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>At the institute, we will have the pleasure of meeting Ellin Oliver Keene, author of <u>Mosaic of Thought</u> and <u>To Understand,</u> the crux of our Literacy Team's vision. We will have the opportunity to observe a PEBC Lab classroom where teachers emphasize comprehension learning and focus on the thinking strategies we've been introducing in our own classrooms. We'll come away with a deeper understanding of comprehension strategies and instruction as well as how comprehension is related to other essential elements of a literacy block.<br />
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I am as kiddy as a school girl thinking about all that I will learn next week along side fellow teachers who value the work we've been doing within our Literacy Team. I am looking forward to sharing the insights from the week with you and my colleagues. Stay tuned, because I'm sure all of my following posts will be Denver related!<br />
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Are any of you also attending?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804258504358514924.post-68965015663286799642012-04-07T09:08:00.002-04:002012-04-07T09:08:21.422-04:00Currently...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't know about you, but I am LOVING this long weekend. It started off kinda rocky for me--thought I had the flu on Thursday and spent the day sick on the couch. Turns out to be a bad sinus infection (yuck!) and not the flu (yay)! Now that I'm back among the living, I'm putting off chores to catch up with you all!<br />
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This is my first "currently" link up! I'm starting to feel like a "real" blogger, ha! Now if only I could be better about posting more often...<br />
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A few things on my mind today:<br />
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<li>There's only 4 school days until my kiddos prove to the state they're ready for 6th grade.</li>
<li>Our Title One director is giving each teacher at my school a new iPad next month- are you serious?! This has got to be a late April Fool's joke. </li>
<li>Starting book clubs with my kiddos is proving to be an adventure! I think they can handle it, but can<i> I</i>?! Any suggestions?</li>
<li>I really need to figure out that darn lawn mower; the yard is starting to look like a jungle!!</li>
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I hope you all are getting to relax and spend time with your friends and families this weekend. Enjoy your time off! Now go link up your own Currently with <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2012/04/fb-currently-april-nautical-yummy.html" target="_blank">Oh Boy, 4th Grade</a>!</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2