Monday Made It! 5 Projects to Share!

Hello All!

My summer vacation time is ending and I return to work in exactly one week.  I am very anxious because I don’t have access to my classroom due to my floor tiles being replaced.  It was a MUCH needed repair, but I really want to get my room set up for the new school year.  Luckily, I did complete most of my bulletin boards. 

Today I am linking up with Tara from 4th GradeFrolics for her linky... Monday Made It.  This is my absolute favorite linky because I love looking at all the wonderful and creative things everyone has made. 

My first project is my new sharp and dull pencil containers.  I purchased the buckets from Dollar Tree, the jute from Target, and the denim ribbon and letters (They are stickers.) from Michael’s.  I cut the pencils out on my Cricut machine.

 

My second project are birthday treats for my students.  I have a western theme in my classroom so they will receive birthday loot bags and a card from me. 

My mother made the bags out of burlap and handmade all of the birthday cards.  She made each card different so that they are a little more personal.  She is very talented and always willing to spend part of her summer helping me with my classroom.  Here is another card and the poem that is inside of each card.

This is what the students will find inside their loot bag.  The inside of all the bags are the same with the exception of the color of the eraser and pattern on the birthday pencil.  I have written their names on the bookmark and on the outside of their birthday card.

Project number three are my two bench seats.  They were made with materials purchased at Michael’s with the exception of the wood for the top, which was purchased at Lowe’s.  I put two hinges on the top of each bench to make them easy to open and close.  I LOVE benches!!!  I have them all over my classroom.  I don’t have built in storage in my classroom, so the benches provide storage for all of my stuff.

Project number four is one that I can’t take credit for at all.  My mother found an old bench at a yard sale.  It was brown and full of stains.  She covered the bottom in dark denim and the top with denim waistbands and seams from old jeans. 

This is the miracle she worked on it!  This sitting bench was made for my home.  It is filled with sweaters.  I was able to empty one whole dresser into this bench.  The pictures don’t do it justice… it is gorgeous and very spacious! 

 

She made a smaller one for me last year for my classroom, but I really wanted one for my home, too.  It is still a nice size.  Two students can comfortably sit on it together.  I store our cleaning wipes in it.

 

This is how it looked when I bought it from a yard sale and when she was laying out the denim seams.  She is very meticulous, so it took her forever.  I LOVE you mom!

 

My last project is my 20 responding to Reading ChoiceBoards.  I used a version of them in my classroom last year and my students were very successful with them.  It was insightful for me when I read their responses and helped me guide them during conferences.  This summer I touched them up to make them more visually appealing and reworded some of the prompts that my students found confusing.    

I use choice boards with my small groups and to hold my students accountable during independent reading. The boards can be teacher or student selected. My students are given the half sheet choice boards so that they can glue them in their reading journal. I typically tell them how many choices they are required to complete and then they color in the boxes as they answer the question in their journal.  I have also included full page choice boards if you choose to have your students staple their responses to the back of their choice board and turn it in to you.

You will find the following 20 choice boards included in this resource:

5 Respond to Reading Choice Boards
Character
Setting
Plot
Nonfiction
Summarizing
Predicting – Fiction
Predicting – Nonfiction
Inferring – Fiction
Inferring – Nonfiction
Analyzing – Fiction
Analyzing – Nonfiction
Making Connections – Fiction
Making Connections – Nonfiction
Synthesizing – Fiction
Synthesizing – Nonfiction

If you would like to take a closer look at it or get a copy to use with your students… it can be found HERE.

Now it is time for you to hop on over to Tara’s blog at 4^th Grade Frolics and take a look at some more teacher creations.

Until next time,

My Read Aloud List

We all know how important it is for our students to read great literature and we also know how important it is for them to hear it being read, too.

Each year I am in search of new chapter books to read to my students.  I have my favorites but even after several years of reading them, I am ready for a change. 

Last year I had a goal to read to my students for a minimum of 15 minutes each day.  On most days I was successful, but that wasn’t good enough.  This year I am going to put it in my daily schedule.  I have an awkward 20 minutes after lunch before my students go to Specials that would be a perfect spot for read alouds.  I plan to read for 15 minutes and that leaves them 5 minutes to use the restroom and prepare to go to that day's Special. 

I made it through 6 books last year, so with a more consistent reading time I hope to make it through 8 this year.  Here are the books on my list.

What do you think about my book list?  Are there ones listed that didn’t go over well in your classrooms?  Did any of them go really well?

I will begin with Because of Mr. Terupt, which is not listed in the books above and hope to end the year with Rump - The True Story of Rumplestiltskin.  The Color of My Words will be read during writing workshop

I have class copies of The One and Only Ivan, The Bridge to Terabithia, Because of Winn Dixie, and Bud, Not Buddy.  While I am reading them the students will be able to hold their own copies.  My students and I will be listening to Bud, Not Buddy being read from a CD. 

You can read the overviews about the books below.  (The overviews are from Amazon.)

Because of Mr. Terupt

It’s the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There’s . . . Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.
 
Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn’t let them get away with much . . . until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.

Among the Hidden

In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke, an illegal third child, has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm in this start to the Shadow Children series from Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.

Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.

Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows -- does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Series

It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format — a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell.

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.

To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end.

The Great Unexpected

Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook's Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged.

Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever.

As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.

Because of Winn Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things about her long-gone mother from her preacher father. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her new hometown, Naomi, Florida. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to find her place in the world and let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment seven years earlier.

With her newly adopted, goofy pooch at her side, Opal explores her bittersweet world and learns to listen to other people's lives. This warm and winning book hosts an unforgettable cast of characters, including a librarian who fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace, an ex-con pet-store clerk who plays sweet music to his animal charges, and the neighborhood "witch," a nearly blind woman who sees with her heart. Opal brings her own unique and wonderful voice to a story of friendship, loneliness, and acceptance. Opal's down-home charm and dead-on honesty will earn her friends and fans far beyond the confines of Naomi, Florida.

The One and Only Ivan

Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller, this stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point of view of Ivan himself.

Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

The Color of My Words

Twelve-year-old Ana Rosa is a blossoming writer growing up in the Dominican Republic, a country where words are feared. Yet there is so much inspiration all around her -- watching her brother search for a future, learning to dance and to love, and finding out what it means to be part of a community -- that Ana Rosa must write it all down. As she struggles to find her own voice and a way to make it heard, Ana Rosa realizes the power of her words to transform the world around her -- and to transcend the most unthinkable of tragedies.

The Bridge to Terabithia

Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.

Bud, Not Buddy

In Flint, Michigan at the height of the Great Depression, Bud is on his own with his suitcase full of memories. After being placed and subsequently mistreated, once again in foster care, he has decided that he has had enough of the system and takes his future into his own hands. His late momma may never have told him who his father is, but she left flyers advertising the famous musician, Herman E. Calloway, and Bud sets off on a quest to find him. His journey brings him into contact with the harsh realities and struggles of the time, but Bud refuses to give in. His perseverance and positive attitude when he has no one but himself to believe in will have readers young and old rooting for him, as he seeks out knowledge, love, and a sense of belonging in a world that seems to have abandoned him. A perfect companion for any middle school history class or a stand-alone novel, Bud’s adventure is and will continue to be a classic for generations to come.

I would love to hear your suggestions and thoughts on my read aloud list.  What’s on your list for this year?

Until next time,

Prepositions, Prepositional Phrases, and Objects of the Prepositions

Hello!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  I thankful to have Monday off in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

My fourth graders and I spent some time on prepositions, prepositional phrases, and object of the prepositions.  I would like to share some of the things we did in our classroom.

I read Behind the Mask: A Book about Prepositions by Ruth Keller and The Preposition Pony Show (One of the books included in Scholastic’s Parts-Of-Speech-Tales) written by Justin McCory Martin.

I had my students help identify prepositions in the text.  We listed them on chart paper and later each student selected a word to use in a 7up sentence and included an illustration. 

We used the prepositions page from my Grammar Interactive Notebook Flaps to define prepositions, prepositional phrases, and objects of the prepositions.  The resource comes with the notebook flaps and definitions.  The students and I come up with the example sentences.  We worked together to circle the prepositions, underline the prepositional phrases, and draw an arrow from preposition to the object of the preposition.  If you are interested in having this resource, it can be found HERE.

 

 

I love the PowerPoints created by Teachers Unleashed.  I used their “The Smelly Truth about Cause and Effect” and “The Smelly Truth about Cause and Effect 2 The Stinkquel” to give my students more practice with prepositions.  They really enjoyed interacting with both resources and it helped them to gain a better understanding.  It also came with an excellent activity where students wrote sentences that included prepositions, to describe a picture. My students never get tired of playing scoot and so I try to include it in our lessons two or three times a week.  Here they are playing scoot with my prepositional phrases task cards.  They are part of my All About Prepositions, Prepositional Phrases, and Object of the Preposition resource.  You can see more from this resource HERE.

 

They can also be found in THIS discounted bundle that includes sentences, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and prepositions.

During the week, I also had my students make a list of prepositional phrases that they noticed in their independent reading books.  At the end of the week, they shared their sentences as a way to review for the assessment.

I like to change things up a bit each year and I am always in search of new activities, books, and resources to use in my classroom.  What are some of the things you do with your students while teaching prepositions?

Mentor Text - Determing Importance, Text Features and Summarizing and Linky - What Will I Do Differently Next Year

Hello All!

Today I am linking up with Collaboration Cuties for their Must Read Mentor Text Linky.  This week’s linky requires mentor text related to any language arts lessons. 

The rule is to select ONE text each week, so I am asking for forgiveness right up front.  The two books I am recommending truly go hand-in-hand.

 

“Forest Explorer: Life-sized Field Guide” and “Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close” are both written by Nic Bishop.  He writes all kinds of awesome nonfiction book for children.  Year after year, I learn something new to add to my lessons through these two books. The photographs are truly remarkable, too!

Here are the two books that I would like to share this week and their book description from Scholastic’s Book Wizard.

Explore the exciting world of the forest, where more than 125 different bugs, worms, and small critters play out the drama of life in miniature. Seven different life-size forest habitats, exploring the leaf-litter to the tree-top canopy through all four seasons, are vividly depicted in enticingly lush photographic scenes. Each scene is followed by "field notes" which identify all animals, relate intriguing facts about survival in each habitat, and share the excitement of discovery. Includes forest exploration hints, essential safety information, and a "picture index" for easy reference.

Explore the fascinating mini-wilds of your own backyard with this dramatic photographic exploration of the natural world. Award-winning photographer and natural scientist Nic Bishop has combined more than 200 detailed, stop-action images of common backyard animals into seven lush, life-size environments that are literally crawling with critters. Young nature detectives will spy more than 100 different spider, snakes, wasps, and beetles busy hiding, prowling, eating — and getting eaten. Inviting informational spreads identify all the animals in an appealing, contagiously enthusiastic text that lets readers in on neat tips and facts. With kid-friendly natural science projects and a stunning pictorial index, this fact-filled, visually exciting book invites both sharp-eyed search-and-find fun and real nature science inquiry. Bugs have never been so much fun!

I use both books as a weeklong unit that focuses on determining importance in nonfiction books, using text features, and summarizing. 

Each book has eight two page spreads with factual information followed by two page spreads of wonderful, brightly colored, life-size photo collages.  (Warning:  My students spend A LOT of time just taking in the pictures.) 

I began my lesson by introducing the books and how they are organized.  We discuss the table of contents and the picture index.  I partner the students up and each set of partners tackle a different section of the book.  They must read the text, identify the most important information, and then present it to the class.  Students use highlighters to mark the important information and then they use a graphic organizer to summarize the text. (I first model what the expectations are with one section of text before sending them to work with a partner.  If not, they tend to highlight the entire text.  Fourth graders have a difficult time identifying the main idea and essential details in a text.)

Here are two pages from “Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close”:

 

I do believe I have a few of the student made flip books and the anchor chart we made in class during this week’s lesson.  I will add them to the post tomorrow if I am able to round them up.

What are some of your favorite mentor texts to use to teach determining importance, text features, and summarizing?

Be sure to stop by Collaboration Cuties to learn about other Must Read Mentor Texts for language arts.  I have added so many books to my “to buy list”.

Next I am linking up with Kim at Finding JOY in 6th Grade.  She is hosting a linky titled "What I Will You Do Differently Next Year?"

Stop by Finding JOY in 6^th Grade to see what changes other bloggers are deciding to make for next year.

Cause and Effect Relationships and a Freebie for You!

Welcome!  For the last several days my students and I have been focusing on cause and effect.  I am going to give some details and share some pictures of the activities they enjoyed the most.  Forgive me now for the long post, but there is a goodie for you at the end!

(Click on the picture of the books to be taken

to a brief description of it.)

*After a discussion on what is cause and effect and identifying their meaning; I wrote several sentences on the SmartBoard for the students to help me identify the cause and effect of each sentence.  This was not a quick process for my students but they were definitely making progress.

*First, they made a very simple flip book and labeled one section “cause” and one “effect”.  On the back side of each flap, the students wrote their meanings.  (cause – why something happens and effect – what happens) Each student was then given two cards.  One card had a sentence stating the cause and the other stated an effect.  They needed to decide which was the cause and which was the effect.  Next, they wrote the correct sentence with its label.  Finally, they illustrated their sentences.

 

 

 

I read the book “That’s Good! That’s Bad!” written by Margery Cuyler.  This is a great book with wonderful illustrations.  (Warning:  It causes nine year olds to giggle!)  I gave them a cause and effect graphic organizer to complete as I read the story.  First I wanted them to focus on how one event can have a domino effect and many things can come from that one initial event.  After I finished, reading we went back to identify several cause and effect relationships.  I made an anchor chart of our discussion.

 



*To get them up and moving, (something that I try and do as much as possible) I gave each student a card with either a cause or effect sentence written on it.  The students had to hold up their card and find the student that was their matching partner.  We did this without speaking.  At the end, we made a big circle with students standing next to their partner and they read their cards for our approval.  We had 100%, so of course, we HAD let out a cheer!

*I read the book “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” written by Verna Aardema.   Students were asked to identify three cause and effect relationships from the text.  The students paired up to ensure that their partner’s work was accurate.

 

*It was time to get up and  moving again!  We played the game “Scoot”.  If you aren’t familiar with how to play the game, this is a quick explanation of how I play it in my classroom. 

My Directions for Scoot

1.  Each student is given a recording sheet.  Students can use notebook paper or a composition book to write their answers in, but be sure to have them number their papers with the same number of cards that you will be using.   Since I use recording sheets (which we glue in their composition books after our game as ended); I have my students use clipboards as they scoot around the room.

2.  I place one numbered card on each desk or on every other desk, depending on how many cards I am using. 

3.  Students will move from desk to desk, reading the question or problem written on the card. They will record their answers on their recording sheet or paper.  If they are at card number 5, they answer in the number 5 box.  When you say SCOOT, they move to the next desk.  So if a student is starting at card number 14, they move to the next desk with card number 15, and so on.

4.  It is beneficial to your sanity to practice moving from desk to desk before doing the actual game. Do this a couple of times. Say scoot and everyone should move to the next desk. You may go as fast as you would like.  The game is supposed to move quickly, but you can set your own pace.

5.  Then you can go over the answers with the whole class.  I like to bring my class to the carpet.  If several students were stumped on a particular card, we use this time to discuss it. 

My students and I love to play this game with all subject areas.  I make or purchase all types of task cards to use with this game.

Here are a few pictures of my students playing “Cause and Effect Scoot” in our classroom. 

 Here are some of the other picture books I use to help students identify cause and effect relationships.  It is a must that I read to my students each day.  (You will soon find that I am ADDICTED to purchasing children’s books!)  

    

       

     



WOW!! Thank you making it this far!  To show my appreciation for your visit today you can print a FREE set of the cause and effect cards that I used for the scoot game.  These cards can also be used as an independent or group practice activity or in a literacy center.  Click on the word FREE, to print your own set.  If you and your class enjoy using the cards, I would appreciate you leaving feedback.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

This set of cards are included in my “Nine Spring Literacy Activities” that can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. Click on a picture below to find them.

 

 

Both of the above graphic organizers can be found here. 

I love reading and responding to comments.  Please tell me about your favorite book to use when teaching cause and effect or share your favorite cause and effect activity.