tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50206511422455769322024-03-13T07:55:58.886-04:00One Stop Teacher Shop - Teaching Resources for Upper ElementaryTeaching Resources and Ideas for Upper Elementary! Grades 3, 4, and 5!One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-47660565530510819312015-07-27T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-27T06:00:03.279-04:00Back to School Tip, Freebie, and Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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All of us over at <a href="http://www.upperelementarysnapshots.com/" target="_blank">Upper Elementary Snapshots</a> thought it would be fun to have a <b>whole week of giveaways</b> right before the new school year! That's right...a whole week!! To start off our week, we are going to be linking up all of our blogs just for you, and giving some great "Back-to-School" tips and freebies to help you start your year off right!<br />
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<b>My Back To School Tip...Don't Lose Your Students on the First Day of School!!</b><br />
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I know, I know...sounds kinda silly. On the first day of school there is SO much to think about and remember. One thing that I would always forget was to find out how my students get to school everyday, and how they get home. The end of the school day is always so hectic, so I suggest you gather this information as soon as possible. Here is a fun little <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0iCr_3JaVs3eUtUdkJISEdXMnc/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>FREEBIE </b></a>you can use to help you keep this information organized! :) It is one of many forms you can find in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Ultimate-Teacher-Binder-Editable-FREE-Updates-for-Life-1083937" target="_blank">Ultimate Teacher Binder</a> on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers</a>. I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0iCr_3JaVs3eUtUdkJISEdXMnc/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZVw6Sy1ros/Va6nDDq8ZiI/AAAAAAAACgw/OwvJHJGCurY/s640/Picture1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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For more tips and <b>FREEBIES</b>, make sure you visit all 12 of our blogs! You can use the links below to help you get there faster.<br />
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Also, don't forget to enter for a chance to <b>WIN </b>one of our AWESOME prizes in our <b>"Back to School" Giveaway!</b><br />
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That's not all!!! Watch out this whole week for ways to collect even more goodies from all of us at <a href="http://www.upperelementarysnapshots.com/" target="_blank">Upper Elementary Snapshots</a>! We are going to be doing some great giveaways through <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/1StopTeacherShop" target="_blank">Facebook </a></b>and <b><a href="https://instagram.com/onestopteachershop/" target="_blank">Instagram </a></b>too! Make sure you follow us to hear all about it!!<br />
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-91681604089441043712015-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-16T10:27:57.706-04:00How to Integrate Reading in the Math Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>I am excited to have Trisha here today as a guest blogger. She is going to share her ideas on how to integrate reading into the math classroom.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Math should be an exciting activity for all children! Incorporating children’s literature books into the math lesson can help achieve that goal. Using a great literature book to springboard a math lesson can really peak students’ interest. So, if you’re looking for a new way to add excitement and relevancy to your math classroom, look no further than your school library.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Marilyn Burns, an author and educator who began teaching mathematics in 1962, has become a leader in incorporating literature to address mathematical concepts. Mrs. Burns stated in <u>Education World</u>, “Combining math and literature in classroom activities is a great way for teachers to invite children into the world of math. Reading books that weave mathematical ideas into engaging stories helps dispel the myth that math is dry and unimaginative.” Check out more words of wisdom from Mrs. Burns on her new blog <span style="color: #000033;"><a href="http://marilynburnsmathblog.com/wordpress/"><span style="color: blue;">marilynburnsmathblog.com</span></a></span>. <span style="color: #000033;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many children’s books relate to mathematics specifically while others may require a little creative thinking. Some books involve a mathematical problem that is the integral part of the plot, such as <u>A Grain of Rice</u> (Pittman) in which the problem involves adding grains of rice to create large numbers to win the love of a princess in ancient China. In the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-the-Math-Classroom-The-100-Word-Riddle-Book-1181743">One Dollar Riddle Book</a> (Burns), a value is assigned to each letter of the alphabet to create words that equal exactly $1.00</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Sometimes, a book may set up a situation where there are natural mathematical problems that could be solved. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-the-Math-Classroom-Grandfather-Tangs-Story-Tangrams-1126467">In Grandfather Tang’s Story</a> (Tompert), grandfather tells a tale using tangrams to create some of the characters. Upon using tangrams to build the animals and objects, teachers could discuss polygons, fractional parts, area, etc… <u><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-the-Math-Classroom-How-Much-is-a-Million-Place-Value-1196579">In How Much is a Million</a></u> (Schwartz), characters try to grasp the idea of how large one million is. This book is a great springboard for lessons on place value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-Math-One-Fish-Two-Fish-Red-Fish-Blue-Fish-Random-Samples-1082321">One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish</a> (Seuss) may not have very many mathematical concepts within the context of the book; but, it can be a great introduction to creating graphs, surveys or random sampling by just buying a few packs of rainbow fish crackers. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-the-Math-Classroom-The-Button-Box-Venn-Diagrams-1151380">The Button Box</a> ( Reid) is another great book that can help teach attributes, venn diagrams, charts and graphs, etc… by just providing a bag of buttons from a local thrift store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not sure it is practical or even possible to use a literature book to introduce every math concept to students but they are a great source to liven up your math class and add a little variety to a subject that can be challenging for many children. Advice given by Marilyn Burn from <u>Education World</u> is to “just choose a book and dive in. Read aloud the book to the whole class and discuss it like you normally would and then introduce an activity.” <span style="color: #000033;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are many great products on Teachers Pay Teachers and ideas on Pinterest that unite Reading and Math! In addition, Math Solutions Publications has created two great resources, <u>Math and Literature</u> (Grades K-3) and <u>Math and</u> <u>Literature</u> (Grades 4-6) that both provide more than 20 examples of age-appropriate books that could be used to introduce mathematical concepts. One of my products, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-in-the-Math-Classroom-The-Button-Box-Venn-Diagrams-1151380">The Button Box</a> is <b>free for a limited time</b> at <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Schlachter">my TPT store</a> to help get you started!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trisha Schlachter is a 20 year veteran teacher currently teaching science at the middle school level. “My love of math began at an early age and I shared that love in my math classroom for over 15 years.” Even at the middle school level, students enjoy being read to and were excited when I brought a children’s book to Math class.</span></i></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-33688858948853016762015-07-13T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-13T06:00:01.564-04:00Using Active Review Games in the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi! My name is Rachael from <a href="http://classroomgamenook.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Classroom Game Nook Blog</a>. As you might guess based on my blog name, I'm a big fan of using games in the classroom. Games allow students to work with others to learn or review skills in a meaningful way. Plus, they're fun and kids (and teachers!) prefer them WAY more than worksheets and textbooks.<br />
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Some of the best review games are the ones that allow students to get up and move! No matter what skill you want to review or what grade level you teach, these 5 active review games are a sure to win over your kiddos!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yu20GI4fgd4/VXggfiW_oMI/AAAAAAAAE04/HCQ0HZVLwXs/s1600/cakewalk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yu20GI4fgd4/VXggfiW_oMI/AAAAAAAAE04/HCQ0HZVLwXs/s640/cakewalk.png" width="562" /></a></div>
I haven't participated in an actual cake walk since about the 5th grade, but I borrowed the idea behind the cake walk to create a fun review game for the classroom! It's so easy to create. Simply choose a skill you would like your students to review. I used this game for rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds.<br />
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To play, I had prepared ahead of time large cards with numbers on them (10, 20, 30, 40....100). I taped the cards to the floor in a large circle<i> (this game is shown only for rounding to the nearest 100s. You can also tape the cards around the perimeter of your room. You will need at least one card of the floor for each students playing, more cards is OK too.)</i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7qoAFqN_x10/VXgmBE5wdjI/AAAAAAAAE1o/gtcocUeQvNw/s1600/cakewalk2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7qoAFqN_x10/VXgmBE5wdjI/AAAAAAAAE1o/gtcocUeQvNw/s400/cakewalk2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Each student stands on a number. The teacher plays music while the students walk around the circle stepping on the numbers. When the music stops, students must land on a number. The teacher then calls out a number (ex. 56) Students decide what 56 rounds to (60) Any students standing on the number 60 gets a point! No one gets eliminated (like a regular cake walk), so game can continue for as long as you'd like. Have students keep track of their points by giving the winners a Popsicle stick to hold on to.<br />
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Of course this game can be modified for any skill. For example, you can write the products to multiplication problems on the cards and call out a multiplication problem for students to solve. The students standing on the answer gets a point. This game could also work as a vocabulary review by writing vocabulary words on the cards and calling out definitions.<br />
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If you'd like my FREE copy of the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cake-Walk-Rounding-A-Review-Game-for-Rounding-to-the-Nearest-10s-and-100s-314008" target="_blank">Rounding Cake Walk</a> shown above (already done for you!), simply click on the picture below:<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cake-Walk-Rounding-A-Review-Game-for-Rounding-to-the-Nearest-10s-and-100s-314008" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bEhavV05JR0/VXgp1Aj7CpI/AAAAAAAAE10/rzuNJs3p_PA/s640/Cake_Walk.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-DX9GGB-Cs/VXgqJmFh8_I/AAAAAAAAE18/RTTMzY1t0g8/s1600/flyingschool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-DX9GGB-Cs/VXgqJmFh8_I/AAAAAAAAE18/RTTMzY1t0g8/s640/flyingschool.png" width="568" /></a></div>
If you have a large piece of poster board, then you have everything you need to play this game (and the boys are gonna LOVE YOU for actually letting them throw a paper plane!) I saw this game originally used for an airplane-themed birthday party, but immediately thought it would work great in the classroom. This game blows Jeopardy out of the water. Instead of having students just choose a category and level for each review question like in Jeopardy, students have to throw a paper plane through the holes in the poster board hung from the ceiling. Here's how it works:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h11AOA6qEe0/VYKdb_fBaXI/AAAAAAAAA0A/OR8Pzv04eZg/s1600/flyingschool2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="612" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h11AOA6qEe0/VYKdb_fBaXI/AAAAAAAAA0A/OR8Pzv04eZg/s640/flyingschool2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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This game works great inside (as long as you have a large open space) or outside during the warmer months. Again, use this game idea for any skill and prepare your cards accordingly. The rules are the same as any memory-style game, just larger than life! :)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0uYObMEzOc/VYKbHsRRD9I/AAAAAAAAAzs/mLyc_Vdl5Sg/s1600/target_practice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0uYObMEzOc/VYKbHsRRD9I/AAAAAAAAAzs/mLyc_Vdl5Sg/s640/target_practice.png" width="550" /></a></div>
Here's another game that is sure to win over your most energetic boys (and girls!). Simply purchase a cheap nerf gun with suction darts (like<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009T45X78?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B009T45X78&linkCode=xm2&tag=theclagamnoo-20" target="_blank"> this one</a>, find suction darts <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002J0NINU?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B002J0NINU&linkCode=xm2&tag=theclagamnoo-20" target="_blank">here</a>). Then, using a white board, design a target board with several circles. Inside each circle write a skill you want your students to practice. It could be sight words, math facts, vocabulary words, synonyms/antonyms...the possibilities are endless! Using the nerf gun, students aim for a circle to practice their skill. For example, if in your circles you have written addition facts (ex. 4+3), students would shout out the answer of the math fact that they landed on.<br />
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Four corners is a great classic game for the classroom for indoor recess. Take it beyond recess and turn it into a review game with <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this freebie PowerPoint template</a>. Create an easy review game for any skill or grade level:<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ee42k3vnhlo/VYKiv01H9OI/AAAAAAAAA0k/ycfStSkVuCQ/s640/fourcorners2.png" width="558" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" border="0" height="336" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TosEDSqu3LQ/VYKiskOxmZI/AAAAAAAAA0g/3zYkVvJq-3g/s640/fourcorners3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's each student for themselves in this quick-paced game. Identify each corner of your room as a color (option: place a color card in each corner for reference) After students read the question on the PPT slide, you will display their answer choices for each corner (clicking once on the slide to reveal the answer choices one at a time. Then, with one final click, the 20 second timer will start and students make their choice and go to that corner. Download this PPT template for free <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6W0uz8zqMNnQWZEVlNzcjloWDQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> and use it all year long!</div>
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I hope that the new school year ahead finds you and your students learning and reviewing with one of these fun review games!</div>
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<a href="http://classroomgamenook.blogspot.com/" title="The Classroom Game Nook"><img alt="The Classroom Game Nook" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q5DH6TaebiM/VJBWaZdqxJI/AAAAAAAABtA/LzUs7bt4OTE/s1600/Button.png" style="border: currentColor;" /></a></div>
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<i>Rachael Parlett is the teacher-author behind the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.classroomgamenook.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Classroom Game Nook Blog</a>. She is blessed to be a stay-at-home to her 1-year old daughter while still maintaining her<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rachael-Parlett" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers store</a> and collaborating with other teachers. You can stay in touch with Rachael on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RachaelsTeachingNotebook" target="_blank">facebook</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RachaelParlett" target="_blank">twitter</a>, or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/rachteach/" target="_blank">pinterest</a>!</i></div>
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<br />One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-61094140978891602832015-07-12T17:05:00.001-04:002015-07-12T17:05:23.255-04:00What I learned in Vegas...I am sitting here in my Vegas hotel room, and it is quiet! Which is very different from the few days I just had at the Teachers Pay Teachers conference. As you might imagine, when you get 1,100 passionate people into one area, things are anything but quiet. :) In a good way, of course.<br />
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From the moment I got here on Wednesday, things were go, go, go; moving from one meet-up to the next, running into new and old faces. Plus, Vegas in general can be a pretty overwhelming place.<br />
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The conference started on Thursday, and WOW! The energy was high everywhere you went. Presenters were giving tips and tricks for taking your store, blog, or social media to the next level. I thought the first 24 hours was crazy, but this was insane.<br />
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Friday was a repeat of Thursday, but with one very important difference. We got to hear from the CEO of Teachers Pay Teachers to start our day. One thing Adam asked us to do, was to look for your "aha" moment. This got me thinking...what is my "aha" moment? Was I going to have one? Did I already have one?<br />
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Fast forward through more sessions of great learning, and happy hour with friends, and here I sit in my hotel room all alone (well, my husband is actually still snoring in bed, but you get what I mean). It took me until just now to have my "aha" moment.<br />
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Events like this don't happen every day. They are special. But what made this conference meaningful to me was the people. The friendships and connections I made over these few days, old and new, are more valuable to me than words. <b>So my big takeaway is...</b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cMmxYVTaFEo/VaKCxGJpBOI/AAAAAAAACcE/Ns_AKTUaBT4/s1600/Take%2Baway.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cMmxYVTaFEo/VaKCxGJpBOI/AAAAAAAACcE/Ns_AKTUaBT4/s400/Take%2Baway.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Being a person who is truly happy being alone, I realized from these girls that life can be a lot more meaningful when you are not. I think this idea relates to all teachers. It is easy to stay in your classroom, close the door, and focus on what you are doing. <b>However, we all become better people, better teachers, and enrich our lives when we open the door and let others in. </b><br />
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Here are some pics of myself and those of us from Upper Elementary Snapshots that were able to go to the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Vegas this year, as well as some old and new friends. I couldn't share ALL of my pictures because....what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! :)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XaWV1xICjJQ/VaKFovR8MoI/AAAAAAAACc0/4Ai1cQ6rrR0/s1600/LUNCH.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XaWV1xICjJQ/VaKFovR8MoI/AAAAAAAACc0/4Ai1cQ6rrR0/s640/LUNCH.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Left to Right: Jen Bengal (Out of This World Literacy), Deb Hanson (Crafting Connections), Jenn Larson (The Teacher Next Door), Kristin Rivera (Me: One Stop Teacher Shop), Pam Olivieri (Rocin Resources), Heather LaBlanc (2 Brainy Apples), Jodi Durgin (Clutter-Free Classroom), Meg Anderson (The Teacher Studio)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYQOCrOf3Ng/VaKEQfoynJI/AAAAAAAACcY/Aq-Eo0uO56A/s1600/Networking%2BSession%2BPic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYQOCrOf3Ng/VaKEQfoynJI/AAAAAAAACcY/Aq-Eo0uO56A/s640/Networking%2BSession%2BPic.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making Connections</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1kjuiJgrV0/VaKESBguAgI/AAAAAAAACcs/t2-AaJXVxO4/s1600/happy%2Bhour%2Bpicture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1kjuiJgrV0/VaKESBguAgI/AAAAAAAACcs/t2-AaJXVxO4/s640/happy%2Bhour%2Bpicture.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building new and old friendships</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CvPmTkmRqfM/VaKEQaxKwVI/AAAAAAAACcc/WD82HkDBy4M/s1600/Paul.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CvPmTkmRqfM/VaKEQaxKwVI/AAAAAAAACcc/WD82HkDBy4M/s640/Paul.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us with Paul Edelman, the founder of Teachers Pay Teachers!</td></tr>
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I hope you enjoyed my post! I would love to hear your thoughts and your own takeaway.</div>
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-40980318122742258222015-07-09T09:41:00.000-04:002015-07-11T02:08:54.999-04:00How to Use I CAN Math Games in the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZOIsrypZRI/VZ1atRA8iPI/AAAAAAAACZg/WLD7shbQmic/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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A teacher's time in the classroom is so limited nowadays. It is becoming more and more important to find resources that fill more than just one need. When I originally made <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank">I CAN math games</a>, I knew I wanted a multi-purpose resource that could be used in centers, as independent work, as a whole class, and even to help me with progress monitoring. Oh, and I wanted my students to actually enjoy it! <br />
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Well, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank">I CAN math games</a> do all of that and more! :) In this post, I am going to share with you ALL the ways I have used these games in my own classroom. Plus, I'll give you some tips on how to put them together so that you can easily implement these games in your classroom too! Don't miss the <b>freebies </b>at the end of this post.<br />
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NOTE: These games are currently available for grades 1-5. I have mainly pictured the 1st grade games because that is what I am using for homeschooling my daughter.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b>What in the world is an I CAN math game?</b></h3>
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Great question! ;) An I CAN math game is literally a math game in a can. Yep, a can. I'll get more into that later. Basically, I created 40 test-like questions that closely align with the common core standards for each skill. There is a separate game for each skill/concept. The questions vary greatly; computation, process questions, models, extended response questions, etc. Each question is on its own strip of paper and is placed in the can. Students can play this game by pulling a question from the can, and working out the answer. If they get the question correct, they keep the card. If they get the question wrong, another student can try to solve it correctly and steal the card. The student with the most cards at the end, WINS! <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bSCPxUd4-cY/VZ1hsu1_NjI/AAAAAAAACaE/rN57q3f7u3c/s640/DSC02418.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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One important component to these games is that they are easy to differentiate. Each of the 40 questions comes in 2 formats: multiple choice and short answer. They also come with and without QR codes. QR codes are used in place of the answer sheet so students can check their answers using technology. I'm currently using these games to homeschool my daughter. I chose to use the short answer format, with the QR codes. She LOVES the QR codes!!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DhOF0Awd6FM/VZ1c8kbTDsI/AAAAAAAACZs/Aut_M4PpLOU/s400/Slide3.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KuxtMp9IN2c/VZ1eaMu7KfI/AAAAAAAACZ4/CC-M09-rqis/s400/DSC00585.JPG" width="367" /></a></div>
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<b>Putting these games together (4 options)</b></h3>
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<b>1. Use a CAN</b> - my favorite way to use these games is with a can. All you have to do is find a can that works for you. <b> I love tennis ball cans, but you could also use Pringle Chip cans, Lysol wipe cans, Crystal Light cans, or anything that shape. </b> I always suggest emailing the staff at your school and asking for donations. That is how I have always collected the cans. Each grade level comes with 10 games, so you will need 10 cans if you are going to go this route.<br />
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Once you have your cans, just wrap a pre-made label around the can, cut the questions into strips, stick them inside, and BOOM...done. :)<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FrhMVI5Jc3k/VZ1iydDQpgI/AAAAAAAACaM/74-uYYFGPFw/s640/Can%2Bpic.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. Folders</b> - If you aren't into the "can" thing, you can easily organize these games into folders. I just glued the cover on the front, and included answer sheets, recording sheets, and questions inside.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JqUAxKMSZWI/VZ1jMC4NRvI/AAAAAAAACaU/qx7IPpjbc4s/s640/Slide2.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Binder</b> - If you are looking for a SUPER simple way to keep all of your games together, use a binder. I keep each game in its own sheet protector. Now all I have to do is find the skill I'm working on, and everything is right there for me.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDkiOF9EgRc/VZ1jwwGP2TI/AAAAAAAACac/IEp_DwMr94k/s640/Slide3.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Binder Ring</b> - If you don't have a lot of room, or plan to use these more like task cards, it is great to put these questions on a ring. Students can access them easily, and they will always stay together. Simple!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXw7JuoWFAg/VZ1kwixTTPI/AAAAAAAACak/MlGiMTf3Nr0/s640/Slide4.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>10 Different ways to use I CAN math games in the classroom.</b></h3>
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<b>1. Math Centers (2+ students) </b>- This is my favorite way to use these games. The description for this game is already explained above, so I won't go through it again. It is very simple, and once you teach your students the process, they know how to play in the future. <br />
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<b>2. Independent Practice</b> - students can work through these questions one at a time, and self-check as they go. I like to have some kind of incentive for finishing all 40 questions with at least 80% accuracy. <br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RbxFsyr8h0Y/VZ1l2Dx-9eI/AAAAAAAACas/dPAiMcnUmWo/s640/Slide8.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Progress Monitoring</b> - I have students complete the questions with me, or on their own (depending on the student). I then use the progress monitoring checklist included in each game to see which standards they are still struggling with. This helps guide my instruction for future small group lessons. It also comes in handy during parent conferences, and EIP meetings.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2EG8Ox0hM9w/VZ1m3gXIBvI/AAAAAAAACa0/Y6oDnvxW-Gw/s640/Slide7.PNG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Test-Prep </b>- These questions are perfect for test-prep time! Students can have fun while reviewing all the standards. Although, if you use these all year long, you won't need to stress so much before the BIG test!<br />
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<b>5. Whole Group Games </b>- Because there are so many questions in each game, you can use these as whole group practice. I love to split my class into groups and project these questions on the board. The teams then take turns answering the questions as a group, earning team points as they go. <br />
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<b>6. Task Cards </b>- If you aren't into playing tons of games, you can easily use these as task cards. I like to organize the questions on a ring. Now I have a simple activity for "any time" use.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DcK-AupQ-Sg/VZ1oNZv8-FI/AAAAAAAACa8/nuE0hHwM5iA/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>7. End of Unit Review</b> - I love using these at the end of a unit. You can use them any of the ways described above. Once students have learned the skills needed for the game, they are much more successful in using the resource. Also, it is a perfect review before a unit test!<br />
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<b>8. Exit Slips</b> - At the end of a math lesson, I pass out one question to each student. They then have to complete the question and turn it in before they can move to the next activity. You can give a different question to each student, or just print multiple copies of one question.<br />
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<b>9. Early Finishers</b> - I have always had students who finish early and don't know what to do. These games solve that problem perfectly!<br />
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<b>10. Math Around the Room</b> - At different points throughout the year, I loved playing Math Around the Room. I would tape up these questions all around the room. My students would move through the room with a clipboard and pencil, and solve each of the problems, rotating to the next question when given the signal. Just the idea of moving around, made this activity a total success for my students!<br />
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You can learn more about these games for your classroom by clicking on your grade level below. <br />
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/Category/1st-Grade-I-CAN-Math-Games" target="_blank">First Grade</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/Category/2nd-Grade-I-CAN-Math-Games" target="_blank">Second Grade</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/Category/3rd-Grade-I-CAN-Math-Games" target="_blank">Third Grade</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/Category/4th-Grade-I-CAN-Math-Games" target="_blank">Fourth Grade</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/Category/5th-Grade-I-CAN-Math-Games" target="_blank">Fifth Grade</a></b></div>
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Don't forget to grab the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/One-Stop-Teacher-Shop/PreK-12-Subject-Area/Math/Price-Range/Free/Type-of-Resource/Games" target="_blank"><b>FREEBIE</b></a>!! </div>
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If you are already using these in your classroom, I would love to hear how you are using them. If you would like to share a photo with me, you can email me at 1stopteachershop@gmail.com.</div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-16440107130372471052015-06-24T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-24T06:00:05.152-04:005 Ways to Make Fact Fluency Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J2_Gb-UsMOY/VYnIcZZhtGI/AAAAAAAAOhQ/_c-egeCfwTg/s1600/5%2Bways%2Bto%2Bpractice%2Bmath%2Bfacts%2Bpicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J2_Gb-UsMOY/VYnIcZZhtGI/AAAAAAAAOhQ/_c-egeCfwTg/s640/5%2Bways%2Bto%2Bpractice%2Bmath%2Bfacts%2Bpicture.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">As teachers, we know how important it is for students
to know their math facts fluently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Without this skill, it is difficult for them to learn higher level math
concepts. The best way for student to learn these facts is to practice,
practice, and practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately,
students don’t always want to do what is best for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best way that I have found to get kids to
practice their math facts is by making it fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here are five ways to make math fact fluency fun:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Fly Swatter/Flashlight Tag</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">These games are
relatively the same, but depend on your noise level tolerance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On those crazier days, I will often use the
flashlight tag version because it is played with the lights off and silent, but
still fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">To play either game, list
several numbers on the board. Divide the class into two teams (my students love
playing boys vs. girls, but I have also done the right and left side of the
room).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One player from each team comes
close to the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask a math fact
question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first person to tag the
correct answer (either with their flashlight or fly swatter) earns a point for
their team.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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2. Quiz, Quiz, Trade</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">This
game is a common Kagan style game that can be played with any set of flash
cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">You
could even create your own cards using index cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each player gets one flash card and then
walks around the room quizzing their classmates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the players both answer correctly, they
swap cards and repeat the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
either player gets the answer wrong, have the student holding that flashcard
give the correct answer before trading.</span><br />
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3. Kaboom Type Games</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="line-height: 107%;">I have made several of these types of
games for my students including the water balloon version in the picture above,
but you can make them very simply using index cards or popsicle sticks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Write math facts on the cards or sticks
(without the answers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition,
write KABOOM on two of the cards or sticks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Players choose a card or stick and if they can answer it correctly, they
get to keep it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they get it
incorrect, they put the card back in and it becomes the next player’s
turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if they draw the KABOOM
card, they have to put ALL of their cards back in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The winner is the player with the most cards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">4. Take Away Game</span></h3>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="line-height: 107%;">This game can be made with a paint stir stick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply use a sharpie to section off parts,
and number each one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture above
shows an addition version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have my
students use red/yellow disks, but you could use any manipulative that you have
two different colors of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each student
chooses a color and then lines up their pieces around the paint stick as seen
in the picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">Students then take turns rolling the dice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They find the sum (if they are using the
addition version) or product (with the multiplication version) and then take
their opponent’s piece away from that number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The object of the game is to take as many pf the other player’s pieces
as you can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they roll a number that
has already been removed, they simply lose that turn and it is the next
player’s turn.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">5. Computer Games</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">If your students are
anything like mine, they love getting a chance to be on the computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use that to your advantage by having them
play computer game that involve practicing their math facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of my favorite sites are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.funbrain.com/math/"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Baseball Math ( FunBrain.com) </span></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://xtramath.org/"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">xtramath.com</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.multiplication.com/games/all-games"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">multiplication.com</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;">Incorporate the fun factor, and your students will have
their math facts memorized in no time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQ8Qijy2CU/VYnO96iHANI/AAAAAAAAOh8/QiFnUE4jH94/s1600/the%2Bfam%2Bpinterest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQ8Qijy2CU/VYnO96iHANI/AAAAAAAAOh8/QiFnUE4jH94/s1600/the%2Bfam%2Bpinterest.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;">Kelly Malloy is a third and fourth grade looping
teacher in Northern Nevada. She is also a busy mom of 6 boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can find more resources from her at her
blog, </span><a href="http://applefortheteach.blogspot.com/"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">An
Apple for the Teacher</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">, and at her </span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kelly-Malloy"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Teachers
Pay Teachers store.</span></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span><br />
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-20674670894023762352015-06-15T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-15T06:00:10.284-04:00How to Build a Personal Learning NetworkHi everyone! I'm Princess Netherly from <a href="http://teachinglovecupcakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Teaching, Love, Cupcakes</a>. I'm excited to be a guest blogger today and share my tips for building a PLN. What's a PLN you might ask? PLN stands for personal learning network. I'm going to share five tips to help you get started with your PLN.<br />
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Summer is a perfect time to start making meaningful connections with other passionate teachers.<br />
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If you don't have Twitter and Instagram already, sign up! You can find amazing teachers for all over the country on social media. It may sound funny, but Twitter and Instagram can offer some of the best professional development around. Don't be afraid to start jumping in using hashtags, participating in Twitter chats and Insta-linkys, and sharing your ideas! Looking for a few hashtag ideas to get your started? Head over to <a href="http://www.freemake.com/blog/top-20-funny-educational-hashtags-on-twitter-and-instagram/" target="_blank">Freemake</a> Blog for a list. If you're a TpT seller, join us Sunday nights at 7 pm CST for the #tptchat on Twitter.</div>
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A couple of weeks ago, I attended my first blogger meet up! I remember having a nervous/excited (mostly nervous) energy. Everyone was so friendly that my worries quickly melted away. Connecting with local teachers in your area is another great way to add to your PLN. I once heard someone at a conference say, "Someone else has the knowledge you need." We can always learn a new tip or trick from our teacher friends; I know I certainly did at our DFW meet up!<br />
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I met new people and we all walked away with fabulous prizes! I hope we have another DFW teacher blogger meet up soon. I'm now even more excited about the conference in Vegas. I highly recommend attending a meet up before a big conference to help ease any fears you have.</div>
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One of my favorite things to do on Sunday afternoons is to catch up on reading blogs. Share what's going on in your classroom, and participate in blog hops and linky parties. I think blogging is an excellent way to stay excited about out profession. There are tons of fresh new ideas and resources shared on blogs every day. If you've found yourself with a blog but have abandoned it, pick it back up again. One of the things I love most about blogs is how each teacher brings a unique touch of their personality into their posts.<br />
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Let's face it; sometimes teaching can be stressful. We all need to vent our frustrations every once in a while. Be careful of teachers who can drain you with their negative energy. Misery loves company. Seek out other teachers who keep a positive attitude even with all the demands of our job.<br />
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Every now and then we deserve a break. It's ok to step away from emails, social media, and work. Breaks are crucial so we don't experience burn out. I returned from a wonderful Disney vacation a few days ago. At first I felt like I had to keep up with everything, but then I decided not to take on worries about things I couldn't take care of that were miles away at home. I came back home refreshed and ready to refocus.</div>
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I hope you've found these tips useful. Don't be afraid to dive in head first and start building your PLN!</div>
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Yes, Princess is my real name! I'm a second grade teacher from Texas who just wrapped up my fifth year of teaching. I LOVE to travel and am excited to attend my first TpT conference this year! Of course you can find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/PNetherly" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/teachinglovecupcakes/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Princess-Netherly" target="_blank">TpT</a>! </div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-63305779457979400552015-06-08T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-08T15:36:21.731-04:00Teaching Writing: Focused Revision<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ask any elementary writing teacher and he/she will probably tell you that getting students to successfully self-assess their writing is one of the toughest tasks out there! Give little Susie a rubric to check her work and likely she’ll return it with high marks because writing is hard, yo! Of course Susie & Johnny think their work is good because they tried… they put in the effort and they are proud of what’s been put to paper. Asking the untrained student to self-assess his/her work can feel like a pointless step. So… we as teachers often skip the difficult task of creating critical self-assessors and grab the red pen. The dreaded red pen. Marking up student work to correct spelling, punctuation, and give all manor of feedback & suggestions. Passing back bleeding, marked up papers, demoralizing and forever dashing the hopes and dreams of Susie and Johnny. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, okay, that’s a bit dramatic, but seriously… don’t do it! Step away from the red pen. There’s another way to arrive at those polished, finished drafts. We can teach our kiddos to look critically at their work and find their own mistakes and opportunities for improvement. Just not all at once. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Revision is an overwhelming task, one that is best tackled in small doses. Teach students to focus their efforts by looking at their writing for one trait at a time, an approach called “focused revision.” By teaching students how to look critically at their work one trait at a time, we make the task of revision more manageable and more objective. It’s much easier for a beginning writer to check her work for correct capitalization only, versus any and all elements and traits of writing. It’s too much! Letting students consider their work for specific elements in a structured and manageable way allows you to put down the red pen and require some accountability for correctness in your students.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds great, right? But how do you approach it logistically? I’ve got you covered. My edit and revise workshop was born out of this very need. Designed for students as young as first grade and as old as fourth or fifth grade, the workshop is flexible and can be tailored to your students’ level and needs. The basic premise of the workshop is that you set up stations for students to take a copy of their rough draft through, one station at a time, focusing on a specific writing element/trait at each. The stations are equipped with a station sign that gives students simple directions on what to look for in their piece, highlighters for marking specific examples of the writing element/trait, pencils & erasers for making revisions, and station tickets (basically a mini-rubric of the station) for students to fill out and attach to their drafts. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The workshop includes sixteen different stations from which to choose from to set up the workshop. I would recommend starting small, rotating between only 2-3 stations at first and then adding stations as students become familiar and comfortable with the process. I would NOT recommend doing all stations in a workshop! Some stations lend themselves to all types of writing (e.g. capitalization, indentation, spelling, topic sentence, etc.) while some are more suited for different types of writing (e.g. temporal words for narratives, linking words for opinion pieces, etc.). The stations you choose will also depend on your students. If your kiddos have nailed indenting paragraphs, then no need to include that station in the rotations!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Edit-Revise-Workshop-for-Elementary-Writers-956653" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--NnWtolaBs8/VXOenBtS9xI/AAAAAAAACSQ/NmeIn963Dms/s640/demoEditReviseWorkshopforElementaryWriters.png" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Edit-Revise-Workshop-for-Elementary-Writers-956653" target="_blank">Click the picture to learn more about this product!</a></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once you’ve chosen the stations for your workshop and students have made their rounds, working on their pieces and completing the tickets, you’ll have more information to use in a writing conference. Students will be bringing their self-corrected work to a conference instead of a freshly-written rough draft for you to correct old-school style with your red pen. Remember that thing? Throw it away! Once your students have had experience with this workshop, you’ll be able to have more critical and thoughtful writing conferences with your young writers. Trust me, it works. It’s one of my best sellers for a reason. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Check it out! I’ve included a <b>FREE </b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0iCr_3JaVs3b240MThBNWZlazQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">sample </a>with one station & ticket. <b>Click the picture below to download!!! </b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0iCr_3JaVs3b240MThBNWZlazQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-itjxAjyq898/VXOhUmBvaPI/AAAAAAAACSY/LYz2jSlu9qY/s400/Edit%2Band%2BRevise%2BWorkshop%2BSample_Page_1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Good luck with editing and revising! This workshop takes time and effort, but it is an effort that will pay dividends in your students for years to come!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">:) Brandy </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brandy-Owens-Shoemaker" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6FHVKLDCU4/VXOek9Znm4I/AAAAAAAACR0/QL7Gxh8hkRc/s640/blog%2Bpost%2Bpic%2B4.001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span>One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-33571604061143684042015-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-01T06:00:00.899-04:00Shared Reading Strategies for Building Language<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What do we know about kids
learning reading? First of all, we know
that they need to be read to. Parents
and teachers need to read to kids all the time.
Lots of different books, and a variety of kinds of books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdLEC7QN4vk/VWtTkAqlHoI/AAAAAAAACPk/bmPNqrPM5EU/s1600/read%2Bto%2Bkids%2Bgraphic%2Bcopy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdLEC7QN4vk/VWtTkAqlHoI/AAAAAAAACPk/bmPNqrPM5EU/s400/read%2Bto%2Bkids%2Bgraphic%2Bcopy.png" width="266" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Talking about stories as we read
them builds language and thinking skills, and can facilitate reading
comprehension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shared and guided reading are
great ways to build language skills and build engagement. Shared reading, with
an adult or older student, has been shown to be one of the best influences on
later vocabulary and reading skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reading this way is interactive.
Having interactive conversations with kids around the book being read generates
vocabulary knowledge, inferencing and predicting skills, and develops higher
order thinking when the right types of questions are asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1GzT3KydyMA/VWtTwXEgB1I/AAAAAAAACPs/QhUxHMtcHuo/s1600/questions%2Bfor%2Bshared%2Breading%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1GzT3KydyMA/VWtTwXEgB1I/AAAAAAAACPs/QhUxHMtcHuo/s400/questions%2Bfor%2Bshared%2Breading%2Bcopy.jpg" width="285" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have a tendency to read less to
students/children with disabilities, and to forget to use the same basic
structure we use when teaching their non-disabled peers. When we do read to them, we don<span lang="FR">’</span>t ask as many questions, provide as
much interaction, or prepare them for the experience. We don<span lang="FR">’</span>t set the purpose for reading, activate their
background knowledge, or provide activities related to that purpose. And we don<span lang="FR">’</span>t often give them the opportunity AND the means to get
practice in retelling the stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A good quality reading session
allows opportunities for students to participate. Ask open-ended questions. Pause for students to fill in predictable
words. Elaborate on students<span lang="FR">’ </span>responses. Point out new or interesting vocabulary. Move from asking questions whose answers are
easily visible on the page - particularly in illustrations - to questions that
compare, contrast, infer, predict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One purpose for shared reading is
to expose students to stories they may not be able to read themselves;
providing experience with richer vocabulary and syntax. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another purpose is to provide
those structured interactive experiences with specific questions and prompts
that enable the students to build language - and reading - skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I try to provide props - even if
they are just pictures - in my sequencing and retelling activities. Copy
images from the book (this is allowed if you have purchased the book and
are using the copies to provide access to a child who has difficulty accessing
print). Laminate the images (the characters, pictures of setting, events) and
staple them to popsicle sticks or tongue depressors. These can then be used for children to
respond during the story reading to a specific question, to let you know they’ve recognized a word or phrase, or to retell the
story. Who was in it, where were they,
what did they do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When possible, provide more
3-dimensional props. Dig through the toy
box, hit the 99 cent store, or check out the on-line novelty stores for small
figures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Acting out stories to retell them
is valuable practice for building children’s
language. Carol Westby has done
considerable research into how children’s story
telling and retelling builds social language and conversational skills, as well
as important literacy skills. Typical
children use multiple opportunities to retell stories to their stuffed animals
and dolls, to re-enact them with their dolls or action figures, and to “read” the stories to themselves
long before they can actually read them.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the many skills children
gain through retelling is the sense of story elements and structure. Practice
with children recognizing the Who, What happened, When, and Where elements of
the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-455KxTo-Qwc/VWtT9QKolkI/AAAAAAAACP0/sgoBik29q6o/s1600/story%2Belement%2Bdie%2Bpic%2Bcopy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-455KxTo-Qwc/VWtT9QKolkI/AAAAAAAACP0/sgoBik29q6o/s400/story%2Belement%2Bdie%2Bpic%2Bcopy.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Generally, my sequence for shared
reading activities includes describing ( a character or setting), comparing ( 2
characters or settings or other subject in the book), sequencing (the action in
the book), retelling ( with and without supporting structures and visual cues),
and some phonological awareness or other reading strategy skill. This gives me 5 days’ worth of language activities for the same story and
the same vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a free handout about
shared reading for you to keep - and share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Shared-Reading-Handout-Eliciting-and-Scaffolding-Language-1679912" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sImNeYg5SVY/VWtUL843WhI/AAAAAAAACP8/eg5_lqi5KVA/s400/free%2Bshared%2Bbook%2Breading%2Bhandout.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Susan Berkowitz has been a speech-language pathologist
working with students with significant language needs and complex communication
needs for more than 35 years. She is
currently providing staff training and consultation in a variety of school
districts in Southern California, and is the developer of the apps Question It
and SoundSwaps. Check out her <a href="http://kidzlearnlanguage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> and her <a href="http://teacherspayteachers.com/store/susan-berkowitz" target="_blank">TPT store</a>.</span>One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-13713298232408994672015-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-27T06:00:01.473-04:00How to Use Visual Prompts to Get Kids Motivated to Write<span style="font-family: inherit;">The hardest part of writing is getting started! Maybe that’s why picture prompts are such an effective tool for getting kids involved in their writing assignments. Students can think about what they see in the picture, and that can lead to ideas of what to say about it. It starts the “behind-the-scenes” process of deciding just what to write about their topic. That’s why I like to use pictures with interesting details or pictures that leave unanswered questions. Photos, artwork in picture books, and news photos all work well as visual prompts. </span><br />
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<a href="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Cranes-main-pic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Suggestions for using picture prompts for narrative, informational, and persuasive writing assignments." class="alignnone wp-image-1877 size-medium" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Cranes-main-pic-214x300.png" height="400" width="285" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>PHOTO PROMPTS</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is one example for a descriptive prompt. You could insert a short version of the prompt onto the picture, as I’ve done here, or just leave the photo as is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Cranes-pic.png"><img alt="Picture Prompts - Crane" class="alignnone wp-image-1878 size-medium" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Cranes-pic-300x167.png" height="222" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You could also insert a clue as to how to organize their writing, as I've done with this picture of a fair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/fair-5Ws.png"><img alt="Fair 5Ws" class="alignnone wp-image-1879 size-medium" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/fair-5Ws-300x190.png" height="253" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> For non-fiction narratives, students often write about themselves or their family, so you won’t have pictures for that (unless your kids all bring them in!), but I still like to keep the visuals going anyway, maybe by just using a really simple visual that goes with the season, like this fireworks photo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fireworks.png"><img alt="Fireworks" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1880" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fireworks-300x225.png" height="300" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <strong>PICTURE BOOKS</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Picture books offer great, high-quality art work that works especially well for introducing narrative fiction prompts. If you use a picture book with a story, just be sure to pick one that your kids don’t already know! One book that always worked well for me was <em>The Mysteries of Harris Burdick</em> by Chris Van Allsburg. The premise of the book is that a children’s book illustrator created fourteen pictures for a book of short stories by a mysterious author who disappeared along with his stories and was never heard from again. So what remained was these fourteen interesting pictures – with no stories! A perfect set-up for kids to write the stories. The pictures are black and white, each one stands on its own, and each one has an element of mystery. Any one of them would make a great picture prompt for a fiction story, and kids love choosing their favorite! The added bonus with using this picture book is another great, newer book, <em>The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, </em>published years after the original <em>Mysteries</em>, that contains a story by a renowned children’s author for each of the fourteen pictures. One of these stories would make an interesting follow-up lesson for another day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>NEWS PHOTOS</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For persuasive writing, photos from newspapers or news magazines work great. There are a number of good kids’ news websites where you should find some great options. Two good choices are <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/">KidsPost</a>, the Washington Post kids’ page, and <a href="http://www.timeforkids.com/">Time for Kids</a> from Time Magazine. If you are interested in more ideas for helping kids to get started with their writing assignments, here is a link to my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prewriting-Step-One-of-the-Writing-Process-161307">Prewriting PowerPoint,</a> which is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, where you will also find resources for the revising and proofreading steps of the writing process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prewriting-Step-One-of-the-Writing-Process-161307"><img alt="Prewriting Ppt" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1881" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Prewriting-Ppt-300x226.png" height="301" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Process-Sampler-746116">freebie</a> below, which introduces the prewriting, revising, and proofreading steps, will provide you with a preview.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Process-Sampler-746116"><img alt="Writing Proces Sampler" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1882" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Writing-Proces-Sampler-300x226.png" height="301" width="400" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Classroom-In-The-Middle"><img alt="me 3-8-13" class="alignnone wp-image-1883" src="http://classroominthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/me-3-8-13.jpg" height="117" width="114" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sharon Fabian, from the <a href="http://classroominthemiddle.com/">Classroom in the Middle</a> blog, has spent over 20 years teaching English, reading, and other subjects to middle school students. She loves having more time now to create and write about resources for teachers – especially materials for teaching reading, vocabulary, and writing to students in grades 4 through 8. Here is the link to her store, also called <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Classroom-In-The-Middle">Classroom in the Middle</a>.</span></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-81345459303143796542015-05-25T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-25T06:00:01.211-04:00How to Protect Your Teacher Voice<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi my name is Maureen Wilson. Not only do I write the speech therapy blog, <a href="http://www.thespeechbubbleslp.com/">The Speech Bubble SLP</a>, but I am a school Speech-Language Pathologist. May is kind of a big deal for us SLPs, it's Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM)! This is the month that we SLPs provide some extra information about how to keep your hearing and voice in tip top condition. I want to thank Kristin for letting me guest post and share some information on how you can protect your 'teacher voice'.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Slide1" class="aligncenter wp-image-5168" src="http://www.thespeechbubbleslp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Slide1.jpg" height="409" width="546" />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> As an educator, you shape young minds and inspire new thoughts everyday. You are also talking all day with little or no time to rest your voice. You're reading, lecturing, raising your voice to gain kids attention, etc. You are also 32 times more likely to report some type of vocal disorder than any other profession! If you are diagnosed with a vocal disorder, the main instruction from your health care professional would be vocal rest. This can be simply reduce your amount of talking to being put on a 'vocal lockdown'. Either way, it probably means one thing for a teacher...<em>sub plans</em>! Never fear! I am going to share with you some information and tips that you can use to protect your teacher voice before the sub plans even enter the discussion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Unknown" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5143" src="http://www.thespeechbubbleslp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Unknown.jpg" height="280" width="400" /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To learn about protecting your voice it helps to understand it and use good vocal hygiene. Vocal hygiene is simply using vocal habits to maintain and protect your voice. I'll get to these in a second. The reason we need to know about vocal hygiene is negate any damage from vocal abuse. Vocal abuse is any behavior that harms your voice. Some of these behaviors are:
- <em>Shouting</em>
<em>- Whispering ( yes, whispering )</em>
<em>- Constant throat clearing</em>
If these behaviors are performed over and over, with no healing time allowed, your voice you can develop some not so fun conditions such as:
- <strong>Vocal edma</strong> <em>aka</em> swelling of the vocal folds. When vocal folds swell you can develop a deep, hoarse vocal quality among other things. Think of the movies that had an old waitress working a the dinner who smoked for twenty years...yea. You can sound like that.
- <strong>Laryngitis</strong> <em>aka</em> your vocal folds are so swollen and inflamed that you sound hoarse and breathy, that is if you have any voice at all.
- and finally, <strong>Vocal Nodules</strong> <em>aka</em> calluses that can form on your vocal folds and alter your voice pitch and volume.</span></div>
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The good thing is, most of these issues can be treated by making some easy life changes before they get too serious. Here are some things you can do to protect voice: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #33cccc; font-size: 18pt;">1. Don't Talk So Much</span>
Excessive talking is the probably the most common type of vocal abuse. It is like a 'gateway' vocal abuse behavior. You keep talking, then start shouting because you feel your voice is going, and so on and so on. As a teacher, you can't help but talk a lot, I get it. If you feel your voice start to become strained or lower in volume, have students work in partners for a few minutes, complete some work independently, or read. If you have to touch base with a parent or colleague during the day, try sending an email or text instead of calling if you can. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #33cccc; font-size: 18pt;">2. Shhhh, Please Don't Shout</span>
Take your hands and clap them together as hard as you can about 5 or 8 times. Go ahead, I'll wait.... Did you do it? If you did, your hands probably are a little sore and tingly. When you shout, this is what you are doing to your voice! Yikes! Instead of shouting to get your classes attention, try using a bell or something other noise maker, create an all quiet sign, or flash your room lights. If you have a large room, see if you can get some type of amplification system, like a clip on microphone, so you don't have to shout to be heard. There is even an app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noise-down-sound-manager-alarm/id512411644?mt=8">Noise Down</a> that monitors the volume in your room and sounds an alarm when it gets too loud. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #33cccc; font-size: 18pt;">3. Drink Up </span>
We know how important it is to stay hydrated. So, I will probably sound like a broken record when I say 'Drink Your Water!' The tissue that makes up your vocal folds need to be moist and hydrated. This comes from drinking water. Think of them like sponges, absorbing the water they need from your body. Keeping yourself hydrated also helps your body and voice repair and heal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #33cccc; font-size: 18pt;">4. Watch Your Plate</span>
What you eat and drink can impact your voice. Things that contain menthol, like minty lozenges, can irritate your vocal folds creating more inflammation. Spicy, greasy foods can irritate your stomach and give you heartburn ( aka acid reflux, GERD, LPR ) that can irritate your vocal folds as well. Even caffeine can be a trigger! So if you notice that your throat hurts or you get heartburn after having some minty gum, coffee, or that spicy taco, maybe skip it next time.
By making these little adjustments to your day you can protect your voice and your sick days. If you have any questions about vocal hygiene you can also ask your super awesome, school SLP ( or any SLP ). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #33cccc;"><em>About Maureen</em></span>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My name is Maureen Wilson and I am an ASHA certified, school-based SLP, Certified Autism Specialist, and have a certificate in Inclusionary Teaching. I have been working in the school system for the past 6 years with students in Kindergarten-5th grade. My blog, <a href="http://www.thespeechbubbleslp.com/">The Speech Bubble SLP</a> is where you can visit to find ideas, activities, and materials for speech therapy. I adore using books in speech therapy and enjoy creating new, original materials for my students to use in speech and the classroom. Feel free to stop by <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Speech-Bubble-Slp">The Speech Bubble SLP on Teachers pay Teachers</a> </span>and see what it is all about!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p>Hi everyone! I'm Suzy from StudentSavvyonTpT.blogspot.com. I would first like to give a big thank you to Kristin for letting me guest post on her fabulous blog! I am a huge fan of the teaching resources she provides! I'm grateful for this opportunity.</o:p></span><br />
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<o:p>I love the arts and implementing creativity into the classroom, so while summer is just right around the corner, I wanted to share some creative ocean activities and ideas with readers.</o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3rtEB-o1VaM/VVESngBZoRI/AAAAAAAACGI/eN0XWjvKOSU/s1600/15oceanactivities.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3rtEB-o1VaM/VVESngBZoRI/AAAAAAAACGI/eN0XWjvKOSU/s640/15oceanactivities.png" width="368" /></a></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Here is a <b>compilation</b><b> of ideas and resources</b> to enjoy with your students while learning about life under the sea!</span></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. Deep Sea Adventures - Readers </b></span><b>Theater</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Does your class participate in Readers </span>Theater<span style="font-family: inherit;">? This takes creative learning to a whole new level! You can find collections of Readers </span>Theater<span style="font-family: inherit;"> online. Read the script with the class several times and model expressive reading. Have students take turns reading aloud. When students are ready, pair them in groups to perform their script.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0CCJiS3F7UE/VVEUjlrfxRI/AAAAAAAACGk/x2T7atpOC_M/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_42705323.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="443" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0CCJiS3F7UE/VVEUjlrfxRI/AAAAAAAACGk/x2T7atpOC_M/s640/Dollarphotoclub_42705323.png" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0CCJiS3F7UE/VVEUjlrfxRI/AAAAAAAACGk/x2T7atpOC_M/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_42705323.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a <b>Readers Theater script for an Ocean Unit </b>- <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Under-Jacques-Cousteau-Readers-Theatre/dp/1410808017" target="_blank">Under the Sea with Jacques Cousteau Reader's Theater Paperback</a> - 2003 by Alan Kramer (Author)</span><br />
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<o:p><b>2. Seashell Activities - Classifying & Sorting!</b></o:p></span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bring
in a bucket of seashells to the classroom for a science activity. Students may
use magnifying glasses to carefully view each shell and sort them by texture,
shape, and size. They can have an observation journal where they label and
classify their shell, taking notes on each one. </span></o:p><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS6gtx0Etv0/VVEUSgFKufI/AAAAAAAACGc/Xxg8OZUU594/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_72442527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS6gtx0Etv0/VVEUSgFKufI/AAAAAAAACGc/Xxg8OZUU594/s640/Dollarphotoclub_72442527.jpg" width="516" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></o:p></span>
<b>3. Ocean Animal Research Project</b><br />
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<o:p>Have students choose an ocean animal to do a research project! Depending on grade level, assign them to either create a poster or a written report on their favorite ocean animal! </o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span></o:p></span>
<b>4. Message in a Bottle Creative Writing Activity</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p>Allow students to do some creative writing. Ask them what they would write if they were to create a secret message to be tossed in the ocean. Ask students to consider who might find their message and what would be their reaction.</o:p></span><br />
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<b>5. Eggshell Art</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eggshell art is simple! Ask parents to donate 2-4 drained and cleaned eggshells (They can be cracked and placed in a plastic baggie). Use Elmer's glue (not a </span>glue stick<span style="font-family: inherit;">) and paint the glue on construction paper. Place tiny eggshells on the glue in shapes of ocean animals... It creates a unique mosaic-like design! Use watercolor paints to paint over the eggshells once the glue has dried. Here is a sample: </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OBeUui2twaw/VVEX4gA09ZI/AAAAAAAACGw/qjoOZNSDpAA/s1600/eggshellart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="459" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OBeUui2twaw/VVEX4gA09ZI/AAAAAAAACGw/qjoOZNSDpAA/s640/eggshellart.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><b>6. Virtual Tour & </b></o:p><b>Field trips</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you and your students don't have access to the beach, check out these online resources! </span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>National Geographic </b>- <a href="http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/ocean-life/">Ocean Life </a></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Google Earth </b>- <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/ocean.html">Ocean Showcase</a></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>National Marine Sanctuaries</b> - <a href="http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/tour/welcome.html">Sanctuary Tour </a></span><br />
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<u1:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></u1:p></span><b>7. Sensory boxes/bags with items from the ocean!</b></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Collect sand dollars, seashells, starfish, a bag of sand, driftwood, and tissue boxes. Fill each tissue box with an ocean item and have students feel inside without peeking! See if they can guess what it is while they write down sensory experiences.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PM2TtlfBOak/VVISh7Zh1kI/AAAAAAAACHw/ul34CIIxF70/s1600/Presentation3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PM2TtlfBOak/VVISh7Zh1kI/AAAAAAAACHw/ul34CIIxF70/s400/Presentation3.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<o:p><b>8. Ocean Sounds - Listen and discuss!</b></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Play relaxing music and sounds of the ocean before class begins and during independent work time. Discuss beach and underwater sounds. Examples: seagulls, whales, dolphins, etc. </span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><b>9. Mural Art and Discussion of Sea Life and Ecosystem</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<u1:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></u1:p>Have students work in groups with large butcher paper. Have them work together collaboratively to create an ocean scene with sea animals, plants, and ocean layers. Have students color and label their artwork. </span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><b>10. Ocean Dioramas</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<u1:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></u1:p>Have students collect shoe boxes and come up with creative ideas to design their own ocean diorama! If they want to make it completely 3-D, they can find little plastic sea creatures at a local dollar store or shape them from model magic.</span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span><b>11. Ocean in a Bottle Science Experiment - Ocean Zones</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You will need plastic water bottles, blue food coloring, & vegetable oil for this science activity. First, fill the bottle half way with water. Add about 10 to 15 drops of food coloring. Use a funnel or squeeze bottle to fill the rest of the bottles with veggie oil. Have students shake it up as hard as they can! (Make sure the lids are on tight!) When the water and oil finally settle, it creates three distinct layers. These layers resemble the three zones: sunlit, twilight, and midnight. Students can label their bottles and take the ocean home with them! </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZWkdxwr1K0/VVEjFwP1TBI/AAAAAAAACHA/bvoKRvhk-TQ/s1600/oceanzones.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZWkdxwr1K0/VVEjFwP1TBI/AAAAAAAACHA/bvoKRvhk-TQ/s640/oceanzones.png" width="568" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>12. Ocean Graphing & Math Activities</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Design ocean themed bar graphs and math problems. Bring in a jar of goldfish and have students guess how many are in the container. Students can make a bar graph of the results and educated guesses!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>13. Ocean Read Aloud Books!</b></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u1:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></u1:p></b>Assign students an ocean animal and have them collect images to cut and paste onto a blue folder! They can make it interactive by creating flaps and folds where viewers have to open or pull in order to view the information.</span></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MpoJ2CzZtPM/VVIaWjeagYI/AAAAAAAACIA/e2BHQBlU4iE/s1600/OVER_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MpoJ2CzZtPM/VVIaWjeagYI/AAAAAAAACIA/e2BHQBlU4iE/s400/OVER_COVER.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<o:p><u1:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Here are some of my favorite ocean-themed read alouds: </b></span></u1:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><b>Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef </b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">by </span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 19px;">Marianne Berkes and<span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 19px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 19px;">Jeanette Canyon</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="line-height: 16px; text-align: center;">Commotion in the Ocean</b><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"> by Giles Andreae</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #555555;">The Th</span>ree Little Fish And The Big Bad Shark </b><span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25 !important; text-align: left;">by </span><span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25 !important; text-align: left;">Will Grace and </span><span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25 !important; text-align: left;">Ken Geist </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">In the Sea</strong><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;"> by </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">David Elliott. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;"><b>Surprising Sharks </b>by Nicola Davies </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></u1:p></o:p>
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<b>14. Ocean Story Starters</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Begin your morning with fun & silly ocean story starters such as, “If I could spend an entire day as a dolphin, I would…"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></u1:p></o:p></span><b>15. Nautical Theme Craftivity Freebie!</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></u1:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Provide students with a morning message that begins an ocean story. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"If I lived in the deepest part of the ocean, I would..." Let them fill in the rest! </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a ocean themed <b>freebie </b>that will get students excited about the end of the school year! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgDUR4iZcdM/VVIdMFcsxzI/AAAAAAAACII/aQKGT-Xvx7k/s1600/Sailintosummerfreebie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgDUR4iZcdM/VVIdMFcsxzI/AAAAAAAACII/aQKGT-Xvx7k/s640/Sailintosummerfreebie.jpg" width="368" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sailing-into-Summer-Craftivity-Freebie-1850847">Click here to find this free resource! </a></span></div>
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<b style="text-align: left;">Thanks for Reading!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Find me at the <a href="http://studentsavvyontpt.blogspot.com/">StudentSavvy Blog!</a></span></div>
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<o:p><u1:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Photo Credit - <a href="https://www.dollarphotoclub.com/">https://www.dollarphotoclub.com/</a></span></u1:p></o:p><o:p style="font-family: inherit;"><u1:p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></u1:p></o:p><br />
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-5820812881717792222015-05-18T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-18T06:00:03.495-04:00Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.S - A Peer Revising ActivityWe are so excited to have this opportunity to guest blog for Kristin here at the One Stop Teacher Shop! Guest blogging is the best because of the possibility of creating new connections with amazing teachers! We can't wait to hear from you all!<br />
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WHAT ARE PUBLISHING S.Q.U.A.D.S?<br />
Today we want to share a process that Mollie and I created to support our young writers. Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.s are a collaborative revising experience that give students an opportunity to use a structure in order to have meaningful conversations about their own writing.<br />
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WHAT IS THE GOAL?<br />
The goal of Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.s is to make conversations about writing more meaningful and to help students to think critically about what they read. In addition to the featured author (more about them in a moment!) receiving feedback about their writing, the remaining group members also benefit from a conversation that is based on what makes good writing, and how you can improve portions of a piece to make it good writing.<br />
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HOW DOES IT WORK?<br />
Students are placed in groups of four. One group member is the featured author and will be sharing their work with the rest of the group. We make four copies of each piece of writing so that each student can have their own. Each member (including the author) will have a role and facilitate the various parts of the conversation about the feature author's piece of writing.<br />
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The word S.Q.U.A.D. is an acronym for each of the roles in the group.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJKm-17eW3c/VVbBVgZsXSI/AAAAAAAAAyU/hRsaERDl2ZM/s1600/Slide3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJKm-17eW3c/VVbBVgZsXSI/AAAAAAAAAyU/hRsaERDl2ZM/s400/Slide3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S = Start with a Welcome<br />
Q = Quietly Read the Piece</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The feature author is the "S" and "Q". The "S" stands for "Start with a Welcome". The feature author begins by welcoming everyone to the Publishing S.Q.U.A.D and gives a little summary of what they are going to be reading today. I love listening to my kiddos during this time! They are adorable!! They take this so seriously!<br />
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The feature author then hands out a copy of their piece to each member and asks students to quietly read the piece ("Q"). </div>
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While students are reading, they should take notes that they will use to share their thoughts with the author. This is a great opportunity for kids to practice their annotating skills. We have kids identify both strengths and areas of need. If they find a strength in the piece, they record a star. If they find an area of need, they write a question mark. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcja6AOm-xs/VVbBWCcEH5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/oAsC-5I97h4/s1600/Slide4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vcja6AOm-xs/VVbBWCcEH5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/oAsC-5I97h4/s400/Slide4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once everyone has finished reading, the person who has been assigned the "U" role, brings everyone back together and asks the rest of the group, "Who has a strength they would like to share?" It is important that everyone share! Even though each member has a specific role, the process is only effective if everyone is expected to contribute at every step along the way.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jufTtgMw2gQ/VVbBWaFjKcI/AAAAAAAAAyc/5WB1o0ns1hA/s1600/Slide5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jufTtgMw2gQ/VVbBWaFjKcI/AAAAAAAAAyc/5WB1o0ns1hA/s400/Slide5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U = Understand the Strengths </td></tr>
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After everyone has shared at least one strength, the person who has the "A" role asks the group, "Who has a need they would like to address?" This is a chance for group members to share areas they feel the author should focus on when making revisions. Again, everyone is expected to share something. Although we allow more than one strength to be shared, we ask that students only share one area of need each so that the author does not feel overwhelmed by the suggestions.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Mrq1b8AKO4/VVbBWVBZokI/AAAAAAAAAys/gJtDOg9PAqo/s1600/Slide6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Mrq1b8AKO4/VVbBWVBZokI/AAAAAAAAAys/gJtDOg9PAqo/s400/Slide6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A = Address the Needs</td></tr>
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Finally, once everyone has shared one area of need, the last group member, who has been assigned the "D" role, asks the group, "Based on what we have talked about today, what do you think will be your focus as you write today?" I have my students call on the feature author first for this part (they have been sitting quietly long enough!) but again, I require all of the students in the group to share one area of focus they will be thinking about as they are writing today. It might be that they identified something in the feature author's writing that they thought was effective and they can share that they want to incorporate that in their writing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiicTTkgrzk/VVbBW_J2ncI/AAAAAAAAAy0/pcO40tDnGRg/s1600/Slide8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiicTTkgrzk/VVbBW_J2ncI/AAAAAAAAAy0/pcO40tDnGRg/s400/Slide8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D = Determine What is Next</td></tr>
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A FEW QUICK TIPS:<br />
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We use table tents to assign a role to each student. The back of the tent includes reminders of what the student's job includes so they are able to refer to it if necessary.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMXFfO3EFwo/VVbER8IPb2I/AAAAAAAAAzY/mlgOcmv3sT0/s1600/IMG_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMXFfO3EFwo/VVbER8IPb2I/AAAAAAAAAzY/mlgOcmv3sT0/s640/IMG_0339.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We also use sentence stems to help students share the strengths and areas of need that were identified. We wanted to make sure that kids were sharing not only what was done well or what needs to be improved but also where in the text they found evidence of their point as well as how it helps the reader. We placed these sentence stems on a "talking stick" so that students have the sentence stems right in front of them while they share and it also helped to ensure that only one student is talking at a time.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XbUWiEQohAY/VVbEUoYLKfI/AAAAAAAAAzw/T_U6vWiJMQ0/s1600/IMG_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XbUWiEQohAY/VVbEUoYLKfI/AAAAAAAAAzw/T_U6vWiJMQ0/s640/IMG_0341.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G1M3E7Xcfx8/VVbEUzWG9TI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Jk2LX5QfRQQ/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G1M3E7Xcfx8/VVbEUzWG9TI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Jk2LX5QfRQQ/s640/IMG_0342.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Finally, we also give an anchor chart to each student that they have in their Literacy Binder. It is also something that you could post in the room. This anchor chart is something we add to all year long and serves as a record of all of the lessons we have done that focus on characteristics of quality writing. Each time I teach a lesson (or a series of lessons) that I think should be added to the list students get out their anchor chart and add it. They have this list open and in front of them as they work in their Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.s so they can look for specific characteristics that we have discussed.<br />
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Our kiddos have loved Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.s and we feel like our peer revising has gone to a whole new level. Students are more focused when making revisions and they are more reflective about what makes quality writing. If you are interested in trying Publishing S.Q.U.A.D.s in your classroom, you can check out a great resource in our store and/or let us know if there is anything we can do to help!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Publishing-SQUAD-A-Collaborative-Peer-Revising-Experience-1841788" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4MOqwPCSSUI/VVbKzlyc0HI/AAAAAAAAA0I/7W-28T4CNUw/s400/Slide01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Mollie and Amy are fourth grade teachers in West Michigan. They love creating challenging and engaging activities for their kiddos that embrace and develop life skills such as grit, perseverance, problem solving strategies, and collaboration. In addition to teaching together, Mollie and Amy have become business partners with their Teachers Pay Teachers store, Two Nuts Teachin' from the Same Tree, and have enjoyed connecting with teachers across the country who share the same passion they do, to facilitate a love of learning!<br />
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We LOVE sharing information about all of the fun that goes on in our classrooms. Come check us out at <a href="http://twonuttyteachers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">twonuttyteachers.blogspot.com</a>!<br />
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<br />One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-38528711634399253232015-05-13T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-13T06:00:05.544-04:00How to use Reader's Theaters to Integrate Social Studies and Language Arts<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'd like to welcome Jennifer from <a href="http://jbcreations5.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">JB Creations</a> as my guest blogger today. She is going to explain how to use leveled Reader's Theaters to integrate social studies and language arts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have always
loved history and learning about the past.
I used to watch Little House on the Prairie religiously and often
thought I missed out by being born in modern times. I loved how that little town worked together
to make life prosperous for the families and the ins and outs of daily life.
When other kids longed to go to Disney World for vacation, I looked forward to
visiting museums and historical sites.
Standing in an 1800’s era kitchen, I could almost hear the conversations
of the family who lived there. My love
of the past carried over to my years in school but, sadly, that is where my
enthusiasm began to wane. My social
studies classes seemed to consist solely of memorizing lists of dates, places,
and other seemingly trivial facts.
Looking back now, I realized what was missing. The story.
History is so much more than the facts that define it. It is our connection to our past civilization
and a key witness to the ebb and flow of time.
Without a way to connect the pieces, facts fall flat and provide such a
disservice to our students on valuable lessons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With that in mind
as I began my teaching career, I became determined to find a way to make history
come alive for students so that they, too, might experience that nostalgic
respect for our heritage. Minoring in
English gave me the opportunity to hone my writing skills and attending local
theaters provided me with a brainstorm.
What better way to have history tell a story than by becoming part of
it?! I began scouring my social studies
curriculum for key time periods, people, and events that I might bring to life
by creating scripts to give them a distinct voice. I discovered quickly that they were a
hit! My students were not only engaging
in the material, but they were seeing the connection between events and
people. By participating in actual
conversations, they were able to experience those times in a first hand
way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Those reader’s theaters became catalysts for rich, meaningful discussions and activities. They have been so successful that I try to include several in every unit that I teach. Since I write my own scripts with all of my various students in mind, I have been able to create differentiated, multi-part scripts to give all students the opportunity to participate at their individual level. Recently, I developed several sets of small group reader’s theaters to utilize during guided reading stations. Since there are fewer parts, these versions not only allow for greater engagement in the social studies content, but they also provide greater reinforcement of fluency and expression at the same time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As
a teacher, I know I appreciate learning about new activities that have proven
to be successful in the classroom. This
was my chance to share one such experience.
I encourage anyone who teaches social studies to give this method of
connecting lessons of our past. You
won’t be disappointed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A
few of my favorites:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/NEW-Readers-Theater-4-Famous-Explorer-Tales-differentiated-reading-levels-1577271" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HaZrAaHrAaI/VVE55ZljxTI/AAAAAAAACKo/NiFGaQek8Wg/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-Northwest-Ordinance-of-1787-1689943" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3HMJow8u8uk/VVE57z6wiZI/AAAAAAAACK8/ufAWpl3i_Jo/s320/5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-Branches-of-Government-intermediate-grades-1730667" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k__9J0uxN_8/VVE58BnJnxI/AAAAAAAACLA/ort5sMTiGUs/s320/6.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-Boston-Tea-Party-1132603" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z8M_NvdPd98/VVE58A4UuzI/AAAAAAAACK4/8vq3d8Dh3vQ/s320/4.png" width="248" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A
complete listing of all my Reader’s Theaters can be found at my TPT store: </span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jb-Creations" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;" target="_blank">JB Creations</a></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-90150086401026914872015-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-11T06:00:02.159-04:00How to Use Illustrated Notes in the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Hi there! I’m Lauren from Teaching is the Sweetest Thing</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">, and </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">I am beyond excited to have a chance to guest post for Kristin. Two years ago, I blogged frequently and L-O-V-E-D </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">every second of </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">it. However, the demands of my own classroom and </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">my </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">family</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;"> necessitated </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">my blog hibernat</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">ing</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> for a short time. It will definitely make it’s reappearance </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;"></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">one day, but in the meantime, I am thrilled to share with you through Kristin. A little about me… I’ve taught 2nd and 5th grade - almost both ends of the Elementary Education spectrum. I loved </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">teaching </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">both grades, </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">and </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">I am currently now in 5</span><sup>th</sup><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;"> grade</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">. I am passionate about literacy and have found my niche integrating reading into content subjects, </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">primarily</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Social Studies. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! If you want to check out more of my ideas, be sure to stop by <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Sweetest-Thing" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</span></span>One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-52892409582316648062015-05-06T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-06T06:00:08.823-04:00An End of the Year Reflection<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome
to the End.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Monica
Wentworth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Congratulations
all. You made (or almost made) it thought another school year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A
whole year of:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-kids
going to the bathroom during class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-trying
to split up friends who never stop talking to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-grading
thousands of assignments <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-teaching
kids school lessons along with life lessons<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-seeing
friendships develop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-witnessing
the beauty and innocence of students interacting with each other<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-having
breakthroughs, no matter how small, that most definitely made a difference in
that kid’s life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There
are definitely ups and downs in the realm of teaching. But, I think you all
deserve to be reminded of how important you are in the scope of the universe.
Educational content is great for kids. But, the caring, life-bringing
environment that is your classroom is what promotes true life-changing
development. Educated kids will get jobs in the corporate world, live in
suburbia, USA, and live happy lives. But cherished children will grow up to
change the world - much in the same way you are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Through
the exhilarating and rewarding rollercoaster ride of a school year, more things
happen in these kids’ lives than they can even acknowledge, let alone
comprehend. This is why I am proposing a challenge to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here
is the challenge, wonderful teachers of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reflect</b>
with your students. You have taught so much, instilled so many lessons and
values, and strengthened so many esteems. I challenge you to take another step in
order to cement in all that you have done this year. <b>Reflection</b> will help
students to become aware of everything their brains have soaked in the past
year. Introspection promotes many things for people of all ages. Each year we
look back and wonder, “Was it worth it? Did I do enough?” With hindsight and
our critical minds, we always say no. That there was one more thing we should
have done. One more thing we should have said. In reality, the answer is always
yes. With reflection we are able to realize how far we have come, how much we
have learned, how much we have grown. Reflecting breeds a confidence that comes
from deep within. Verbalizing, visualizing, and writing past accomplishments
allows those accomplishments to be proven as our reality. It becomes a proof to
ourselves that we did it, that we didn’t waste another year. End your year with
a classroom full of confident children who are ready to tackle whatever may
come their way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a
few products in my store for end of the year review and reflection. Click the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">picture
to view them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_291276692"></span><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KyidG_cjxTE/VUgU2xc-FyI/AAAAAAAACFM/K3HPzPPachU/s400/2.jpg" width="238" /><span id="goog_291276693"></span></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-the-Year-Activities-1836497"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2"
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank
you for all that you do. I don’t have kids yet; but, I know that I can trust my
future young ones in the hands of America’s teachers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once
you have done all of that, get a donut or pastry of your liking, and reflect on
the goodness of which you completely deserve!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8ifoVJLBXg/VUgVi6WqAzI/AAAAAAAACFc/EudybEPm9NU/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8ifoVJLBXg/VUgVi6WqAzI/AAAAAAAACFc/EudybEPm9NU/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank
you all for reading – I hope you received some much needed and well deserved
encouragement. My name is Monica Wentworth. I’m recently married to my best
friend, Travis Wentworth. We’re young, college graduated, enjoying this beautiful
world together. I write educational content for teacherspayteachers.com. Travis
is a soccer coach with goals of becoming a pastor. We are traveling to Europe
this summer to experience new people and experience a journey together. We are
so excited! You can follow our adventures on:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instagram
- @wentworthwisdom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter
- @wentworthwisdom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My
Store – <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wentworth-Wisdom">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wentworth-Wisdom</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-60282590497183542272015-05-04T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-04T06:00:02.209-04:00How to Teach Students to Read Closely and C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZv3PiKMQcU/VUBQ73HrS1I/AAAAAAAAAk0/iIeTlky6h4s/s1600/Read%2BClosely%2Band%2BCarefully.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZv3PiKMQcU/VUBQ73HrS1I/AAAAAAAAAk0/iIeTlky6h4s/s1600/Read%2BClosely%2Band%2BCarefully.png" height="365" width="400" /></a></div>
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Raise your hand if you're a pro at Close Reading? Raise your hand if your students are pros at Close Reading? If you're not sure about it, join the club. Since Close Reading came along as the newest buzzword in education, many of us have climbed aboard the bandwagon hoping that this is exactly what our students needed in order to fully and deeply comprehend text . The key to analyzing text is proper coding and annotation. Or so I thought. <br />
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I've <a href="http://twoboysandadadteacher.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-i-continue-to-develop-and-better.html" target="_blank">written before</a> of my <a href="http://twoboysandadadteacher.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-close-read-in-5-newly-revised.html" target="_blank">attempts to teach my students</a> to close read. In a nutshell, what I discovered was that just having them put codes for main idea or connection or an important detail, etc., was not authentic nor was it helping their comprehension in the long run. Instead they were looking for things to put codes next to without considering the whole text. So, at the time I came up with 6 steps to have my students use when close reading, which were then later revised to 5 steps.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rroCBoG_3z0/VOEwJgsHVII/AAAAAAAAAbE/rS9O4RwBmio/s1600/CloseReadingProcedure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rroCBoG_3z0/VOEwJgsHVII/AAAAAAAAAbE/rS9O4RwBmio/s1600/CloseReadingProcedure.png" height="390" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our original 6 steps to Close Read.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMbg8zTCxmQ/VPzMpdu_nkI/AAAAAAAAAek/OttBHKESGaw/s1600/chart2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMbg8zTCxmQ/VPzMpdu_nkI/AAAAAAAAAek/OttBHKESGaw/s1600/chart2.png" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later, these were revised to include text structures.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since then, We revised it <b><i>again</i></b> and we now have 4 steps (scroll below to see our new anchor chart). We no longer call it close reading, but reading <span style="color: red;">c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y</span>. Carefully, means with deliberate intention of noticing the main idea and text structures. So now the emphasis is having the students summarize what they have read in 1-3 sentences (main idea) and identify text structures.<br />
<br />
But let's back up to the first step: reading for fluency. Students need to ask themselves if they can read all the words. Also, if they understand all the words (if not, what <u>text features</u> can you use to help yourself?). An effective way to establish fluency and word definitions, is to share read the article or passage. Shared reading supports students who are reading below grade level and provides models of fluency. It also supports English Language Learners (ELL) with defining unknown vocabulary.<br />
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For the next step, if it is a passage that they can annotate on, they go ahead and write a <span style="color: red;">summary</span> at the top or at the bottom in the white spaces. This can also be done on a post-it if your using a text book. It's a good idea to have students partner share their summaries so that they can be held accountable for getting the gist. Whole group sharing is the final step to make sure they understand what the passage is mostly about.<br />
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Our next step is the really the crux or the must crucial step: <span style="color: red;"><i>identifying text structures</i></span>. There are basically 5 non-fiction text structures:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>problem/solution:</b> the author presents a problem and possible solutions</li>
<li><b>compare/contrast:</b> the author compares and contrasts on a topic or subject</li>
<li><b>cause/effect</b>: the author writes about something that happened and why it happened</li>
<li><b>sequence:</b> the author uses events, dates or time to write about what happened</li>
<li><b>description:</b> the author describes a place, thing or an idea with examples and explanations</li>
</ol>
<i>Why is this crucial?</i> When you know how the author crafted the piece of writing, then you know the author's purpose and reason for writing the passage. You also have an insight as to which paragraph or section to look for evidence when answering text dependent questions (citing evidence). But can my students now use these steps independently to read and answer text dependent questions?<br />
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Before I assessed them to see if they could, it was time to make a new anchor chart. I had the class come to the rug so that we could interactively write the steps as a chart to use in our class. The chart is a condensed version of the <i>How to Read Carefully</i> and <i>Steps to Read Carefully </i>handout I made and gave to each student. You can download a copy of the handout <a href="http://bit.ly/1DNUYYM" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rcgF6YDGv6U/VUDxuR9OwaI/AAAAAAAAAlM/Vg0OTCJWBc8/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BAnchor%2BChart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rcgF6YDGv6U/VUDxuR9OwaI/AAAAAAAAAlM/Vg0OTCJWBc8/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BAnchor%2BChart.png" height="640" width="611" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchor Chart</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-prh_nVNYtWA/VUEJaq5GJyI/AAAAAAAAAlg/l7KIx-tVMD8/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BStudent%2BHandout.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-prh_nVNYtWA/VUEJaq5GJyI/AAAAAAAAAlg/l7KIx-tVMD8/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BStudent%2BHandout.png" height="488" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Student Handout for Careful Reading</td></tr>
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Recently, we were near the tail end of our unit on the solar system. We had been practicing these steps with a one sheet passage on each planet, including the Dwarf Planet Pluto. This was now a good time to assess. By the way, these wonderful passages I was able to get from superteacherworksheets.com. Since they are copyrighted, I can only post a link to show you the passage they read:<a href="http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/space/pluto.pdf" target="_blank"> Pluto.</a> I did not use the questions provided, but made up my own text dependent questions which can be seen below:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JZtFrWnoUw/VUBHy85IniI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/xHEOsX1UNKo/s1600/Text%2BDependent%2BQuestions.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JZtFrWnoUw/VUBHy85IniI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/xHEOsX1UNKo/s1600/Text%2BDependent%2BQuestions.png" height="640" width="500" /></a></div>
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Then I sent them off to read about Pluto and answer the questions on their own. While they worked, I circulated and watched what they were doing. <b><i>Where they using the steps? What kind of annotations were they using?</i></b> Since then, I went over each student's answers and their annotated passage to see what exactly they had done. First, I checked each passage to examine the annotations. Every child did annotate the text. Some annotated by putting headings on each paragraph, while some put a sentence summary to remind them what the paragraph was about. Every single child with the exception of one, summarized the article in 1-2 sentences. Every single child annotated the text to show text structures. Though there wasn't agreement on the text structure of each paragraph, there were was only one student who seemed confused about the text structures and did not identify a text structure in each section or paragraph. <i>As a result, that student was not as successful as the others.</i></div>
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For the samples of their responses to the questions, I chose one high achieving student, one benchmark ELL student, one low benchmark student, one low benchmark ELL student and one RSP/ELL student. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHfnZl_ZZa0/VUBH0fDy_II/AAAAAAAAAkc/fImtSI39Pks/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BStudent%2BSampling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHfnZl_ZZa0/VUBH0fDy_II/AAAAAAAAAkc/fImtSI39Pks/s1600/Close%2BReading%2BStudent%2BSampling.png" height="588" width="640" /></a></div>
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I examined the answers to their questions to see if the questions were answered correctly and that text evidence was cited. Essentially, what I discovered was that the only student who could not successfully answer all the questions or at least 3 out of the 5 questions was the student who did minimal annotations about the text structures (the low benchmark ELL student). I can conclude that teaching students to pay attention to text structures does indeed improve their comprehension and their ability to deal with text. Just look at the results of the RSP/ELL student! This student normally puts down any answer to "get it over with." But this time, she annotated and even hi-lighted text which gave her the confidence to successfully get 3.5 out of 5 points! So by going deeper into the text to summarize the passage and identify text structures gave the majority of the students the necessary tools to answer questions successfully and in turn, show their comprehension of grade level material.</div>
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You can read more about my journeys through the common core standards on my <a href="http://twoboysandadadteacher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">BLOG</a>, or follow me on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/twoboysandadad" target="_blank">PINTEREST</a> and <a href="http://www.instagram.com/twoboysandadad" target="_blank">INSTAGRAM</a> or visit my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Two-Boys-And-A-Dad-Productions" target="_blank">STORE ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS</a>. I'm a 30 year veteran teacher who has taught mostly in third grade (current assignment). I'm also a certificated Bilingual Teacher, trained literacy coach and have served as a mentor teacher. When I'm not teaching, I'm a single dad raising 2 boys ages 7 and 10 (yikes, here comes Middle School!).</div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3333565132967848798%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D69292518873062241%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-PHfnZl_ZZa0%252FVUBH0fDy_II%252FAAAAAAAAAkc%252FfImtSI39Pks%252Fs1600%252FClose%25252BReading%25252BStudent%25252BSampling.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3844px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3333565132967848798%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D69292518873062241%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-PHfnZl_ZZa0%252FVUBH0fDy_II%252FAAAAAAAAAkc%252FfImtSI39Pks%252Fs1600%252FClose%25252BReading%25252BStudent%25252BSampling.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3844px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-4187160736032317422015-04-29T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-29T06:00:06.669-04:00The Importance of Communicating with Parents<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi! I’m Nikki from <a href="http://diyfarmwife.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">DIYFarmwife.com</a>. I’m so excited to be a guest blogger for Kristin! Just a little bit about myself- I am a special education teacher and autism specialist. I have 3 kids, ages 11, 8 and 4. My oldest child also has Down Syndrome so I spend a lot of time thinking and working on new ideas to get kids with special needs involved in the classroom curriculum. Writing curricular materials is my PASSION! I’m loving every minute of it and am so grateful for this opportunity! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In my years of teaching and also being a parent of a child with special needs, I know just how busy a day in the classroom can be! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a teacher, our days are incredibly busy. It’s crazy. The general public might not know that when
those memes go around about how when you are a teacher, your bladder is trained
to respond to the lunch bell and recess bell because those are the only break
you get to use the restroom, they are funny because they are so disturbingly
true. I think a great gift to a first year teacher could be coffee and a box of
antacids. The coffee is to counter the early morning meetings and the late
nights grading papers. The antacids are for the stress and the fact that you
must eat your lunch in 3.5 seconds if you plan to check your email or use the
restroom during your lunch break. It doesn't take long in a classroom to get
really good at eating lightning fast speeds.
This is a blessing at work, but eating with your family and friends is a
different story. Ever been to a dinner
party and looked up from your plate when you've finished and everyone else is
on their 3<sup>rd</sup> bite? I have. It’s a bit embarrassing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With all that happens in a day, there are some things that
are easily forgotten. There are some things, though, that if you take the time
to make sure it gets done, it will save you heartache and a LOT of time down
the road. Unfortunately, I do know this from experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of those essential things is communicating with parents.
Parents are increasingly aware of curriculum changes as the common core
descends upon us. This is great! Parents can be a teacher’s biggest ally, or
worst headache. Fortunately, the starting ground of this relationship should be
positive. The teacher and the parents both only want what is best for their
student. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wV5jdhgy40s/VTP3F01AiBI/AAAAAAAAB94/8cYjPqt0Xmg/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_51250105.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wV5jdhgy40s/VTP3F01AiBI/AAAAAAAAB94/8cYjPqt0Xmg/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_51250105.jpeg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s not difficult for this relationship to get off track,
though. Teachers are busy going about their day making sure that each child,
and it’s not unrealistic to think there are 20-30 children in the classroom,
gets what they need. I’m including all sorts of things in here, making sure
everyone had breakfast, everyone has clean clothes, weekly/ monthly/ unit
assessments have been completed and scored for each child, each child has their
medicine, doesn't have exposure to allergens, IEPs and 504 plans are being
followed, etc. Then after the assessments are scored, some students require
intervention plans, either as a general education initiative or as part of a
special education initiative. Either way, that’s more paperwork for the teacher
in addition to the grading of the papers, referrals to special programs,
inputting this information into the district servers, the list could go on and
on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Scenario #1:</b> Let’s say little Sally is in 1<sup>st</sup>
grade. There are 22 first graders in Sally’s class. Sally did kindergarten
twice and started doing well in 1<sup>st</sup> grade. By about the end of the
first semester, her scores started to drop. The energetic and on the ball
teacher assigned a peer to practice her skills with her as soon as she started
noticing this. She tried this for a few weeks and although it helped, the teacher
thought they could do better, so she asked the principal for the assistance of
a support staff member for a few minutes out of the day to help with Sally and
some of the other students that needed a little boost. They were to work on
specific skills and help students correct their papers. By the end of January,
the teacher still isn't seeing the progress she had hoped to see, so she makes
a referral to the student improvement team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then a letter goes home to the parents saying that the child
hasn't been making adequate progress and an official plan will be put in place.
If that plan is unsuccessful, there is a chance your child could qualify as
having a learning disability. Throughout this whole time, the work has been
sent home to parents, so they should be aware, right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The parents are aware that school is hard for Sally, because
she repeated kindergarten. The work that was coming home had been corrected,
and they weren't aware that it took additional help from support staff to get
the work corrected. They don’t know how all of the other students are
performing. They had never been told the seriousness of the problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This scenario is likely going to result in parents that are
shocked. Shocked and surprised parents then either blame you, the teacher, or
themselves, or both. If they blame you, you will be accused of not helping
their child adequately. Which, of course you did everything you could, but it
wasn’t enough, or wasn’t the right support. You are just trying to get their
child the adequate and appropriate levels of support. If they blame themselves,
they will be questioning their own parenting. What didn’t I do that I should
have done? Did we not practice enough at home? Have I not read to her enough at
home? What do I need to do to give her everything in my power at home? Likely,
it will be a combination of both of those and thrown in there will be this
reaction: “Well, we need to do more at home because obviously school isn’t
providing the services they should be providing.” There will be feelings of
anger, resentment and guilt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Scenario #2: </b>Sally gets the above services and every time
she gets extra help, a note is stapled to her paper explaining that it was with
help. An occasional email or phone call
was completed explaining the specific skills that were being addressed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The parents will see that their child is consistently
getting additional support and if they are still not seeing the progress, they
will be wanting to get her extra help as well. The reaction towards you will
likely be one of thanks and support because they have known from the beginning
that you have been proactive in helping their child be successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are interested in a parent communication freebie,
click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Communication-Form-1795634" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-5485498181373282522015-04-27T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-27T06:00:06.321-04:00Spring Poetry Writing and Craftivity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hi! I'm Mary Beth from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank">Brain Waves Instruction</a> and I'm so excited to be sharing a fun poetry lesson with you today. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xTLf-clZ_kM/VSkaCQCpgNI/AAAAAAAAB0c/gQrhmC3ICcs/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BPoem%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xTLf-clZ_kM/VSkaCQCpgNI/AAAAAAAAB0c/gQrhmC3ICcs/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BPoem%2B1.JPG" height="640" width="474" /></a></div>
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One of my favorite ways to celebrate spring and National Poetry Month is to combine the two. It's super easy to do...especially with this kid-tested, teacher-approved Spring Poetry Writing Lesson and Craftivity. </div>
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I love teaching this lesson! It's the perfect combination of rigor and hands-on learning. That's because during this single lesson students review parts of speech, work in cooperative groups, study and write examples of figurative language, write a first draft of a poem, revise their work, and create a fun final copy that's a perfect showcase of their learning. OK, OK, enough...about why I love it...let's get right to how you can easily teach this lesson in your classroom. <i>Oh, and don't worry, I've put together all the materials you'll need for <b>FREE</b>. You can find them <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Spring-Lesson-Spring-Poetry-Lesson-and-Craftivity-1802137" target="_blank">HERE</a> </b>or I'll have links at the end of the post.</i></div>
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So, first things first. You'll want to gather materials...</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ni59owRX-34/VR7922Ifr8I/AAAAAAAABwk/gH7DEsUT2Hw/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B2.JPG" height="512" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then, give students guided notes on nouns and verbs.</div>
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Next, have students put their learning to the test as they create verb and noun cards. Each noun will be associated with spring.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f8DT1IdlqgU/VR793k1tBDI/AAAAAAAABxg/4GLSxT6NCCU/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B4.JPG" height="542" width="640" /></a></div>
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Working in groups, students will sort the parts of speech cards they created into two separate bags.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-toj8HZJ2jxc/VR793uz_aDI/AAAAAAAABw0/FtmRNzMH2CM/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B5.JPG" height="604" width="640" /></a></div>
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Taking turns, they'll pull out a noun and verb one-at-a-time. They'll add each part of speech to their pre-writing grid on their worksheets.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dMDbch_xm0Q/VR7938wzPQI/AAAAAAAABw8/7ZgaAzjWqoY/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B6.JPG" height="568" width="640" /></a></div>
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After a quick lesson on personification, students will begin to combine the spring nouns and verbs that they pulled from the bags into poetic statements. You'll be so impressed when they combine a noun like "sunshine" and a verb like "smile" into a sentence like "the sunshine smiled upon the flowers below."</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-neXch7hYXUo/VR794Ik77rI/AAAAAAAABxA/XR3HP-YyFzA/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B7.JPG" height="528" width="640" /></a></div>
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After writing a first draft and then revising their poems using a checklist and help from peers, they'll write their final copy on a kite shape. (This is the craft part.) To assemble their kite, they'll punch a hole in the bottom of the paper and add a string.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3dkWkjywIY/VR794bzJYYI/AAAAAAAABxU/IENzO_AYyw4/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B8.JPG" height="640" width="340" /></a></div>
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Making the bows for the kite is super fun. Kids just take tissue paper rectangles, twist them into a bow and glue them to the string.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uvshBwDwLrA/VR794agrJaI/AAAAAAAABxM/e0jYhQZ6n00/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B9.JPG" height="640" width="516" /></a></div>
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The end result is a lesson filled with critical English Language Arts skills and a room decorated with the prettiest, most poetic kites you've ever seen. <br />
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They're a perfect celebration of spring AND poetry!</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cdNlkvbzA0I/VR7921bi34I/AAAAAAAABwo/KbxHazUTNhM/s1600/Blog%2B-%2BSpring%2BPoem%2B10.JPG" height="640" width="500" /></a></div>
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You can find all the resources including a lesson plan, student activity sheets, and the kite template <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Spring-Lesson-Spring-Poetry-Lesson-and-Craftivity-1802137" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Or, you might like this popular <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-Reading-Comprehension-Skills-Mini-Unit-1304265" target="_blank">Sequencing Mini-Unit</a> or my newest <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Expository-Writing-Unit-Informative-Writing-Research-News-Story-Writing-1707672" target="_blank">Expository Writing Unit</a>.<br />
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Mary Beth, from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction" target="_blank">Brain Waves Instruction</a>, is a teacher-author with years of experience in the middle school classroom. When she's not creating student-centered, teacher-approved curriculum she's busy laughing with her silly sons, finding sweet deals at estate sales, dreaming of beach vacations, and hanging out with her favorite people. </div>
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-73307666647763080592015-04-22T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-22T10:00:22.206-04:00Finding the Right Classroom Activity in 3 Easy Steps<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'd like to welcome guest blogger, Betsy
Berkebile, from <a href="http://www.seeds4teaching.com/" target="_blank">seeds4teaching</a>. She is going to be sharing some tips to help you find the right resources for your classroom.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s face it, finding the perfect activity to help students
truly master their learning objective for the day can be tricky. With so many
great resources and teacher blogs out there, it is hard to know where to begin.
However, in just a few simple steps you can find the perfectly aligned activity
that will meet the needs of all of your students!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Step 1:</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <b>Begin with the end in mind.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In order to truly meet the needs of your students you need
to start with the end first. What is it you want/need your students to
accomplish? Before you go searching for the right activity you need to know
exactly what it is your looking for. There are a lot of activities out there on
any given topic and you can spend hours searching if you don’t have your end
goal in mind. For example, Fractions is a pretty broad topic. If you know
students need to add fractions greater than one whole, then you can eliminate a
lot of activities that do not include fractions greater than one whole. Once
you have established your learning objective and the product you want your
students to produce, you can create a clear picture of the criteria your
activity will need for student mastery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Step 2: Know your students.</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that you have established the criteria your activity
should have, you need to determine the type of activity you need. Knowing your
students is key in this step. Does your class learn best doing group work? Are
they most engaged with games? What kind of assessment will you need?
Determining these things and being able to picture in your mind the type of
activity students need for success will help you find the perfect activity. I
know that in my ESL classroom, group work and games really help my students
understand a topic. Two great examples
of activities that worked great for my students are these <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hands-On-Inferencing-Games-356596">hands-on
inferencing games</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Task-Cards-for-Inferencing-371252">inferencing
task cards</a>. Both were used in a group setting where students worked in
table groups to determine the answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Step 3: Get to searching!</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are so many wonderful and talented teachers out there
creating things everyday for the classroom. Teaching blogs, Teachers Pay
Teachers and Pinterest are great places to find exactly what you need. Search
by subject matter and topic and then take advantage of previews to see if the
activity meets your criteria. Don’t be afraid to try something different or
new. Keeping it fresh and exciting is what will keep your students excited and
engaged everyday in you classroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The key to student success and activities that work is
making sure the activity you choose is aligned with the student objective.
Beyond that, the sky is the limit! So, get out there and get searching! Step
out of the box and push yourself and your students to higher levels of
achievement!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About Betsy…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Teaching is my passion! I have been blessed to be an
educator in Texas for the last 11 years. During that time I have taught
Kindergarten, Fourth and most recently been a Master Teacher supporting K-5
teachers. I love creating resources teachers can use to help their students
learn in creative and fun ways. Check out my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Seeds4teaching">TpT Store</a>, <b>seeds4teaching</b>, and follow me to be
notified of new product postings.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-7453655834645018152015-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-20T09:25:10.491-04:00How to Give Effective and Meaningful Feedback<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi there! This is <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Isla-Hearts-Teaching" target="_blank">Isla Hearts Teaching</a> and I am super excited to be blogging with Kristin from One Stop Teacher Shop!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The topic I’d like to discuss today is giving meaningful feedback. For the purpose of this post, I’m going to focus on student writing. However, I am hopeful that much of this information could be used across various subject areas, so please read on!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Many teachers know just how important feedback is to the motivation, learning and achievement of their students. I, myself, have fond memories of a great teacher named Mrs. M, who would put detailed Post-It notes in our books after every writing lesson. The notes stated what we did well, what we needed to improve and what we could aspire to do next. And I loved it. We all did. Not only did it feel like we were writing for an audience, but it also helped us to be proud of what we knew, gave us insight into what we needed to improve and pointed us in the direction of where we could go to independently extend ourselves. And, most of all, it made us pay attention and do our best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I didn’t realize it at the time, but Mrs. M was demonstrating the use of meaningful feedback – and my results and motivation showed that I was benefiting. I knew what was expected of me, I knew if I’d accomplished my learning goal and I also knew if I needed to knuckle down and improve. Indeed, this type of powerful feedback is summed up nicely by Professor John Hattie in his book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Visible Learning</i>, when he says that good feedback should minimize “discrepancies between current understandings and performances and a learning intention or goal.” Thus, because we knew what was expected of us and could set personal goals for future lessons, we were able to thrive in her classroom and discover a real love of writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing with Mrs. M is something that I’ve always carried with me as a great experience. She was someone who inspired me to become a teacher – and someone who inspired me to give great feedback during my own writing lessons. And now, after being a teacher for over ten years myself, here are some important ideas on giving meaningful feedback that I’ve gathered from colleagues, literature, my own classroom experience and, of course, from being a student in Mrs. M’s class!</span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><strong>1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></strong></span></span><!--[endif]--><strong>SET CLEAR LEARNING GOALS</strong>It may sound obvious, but it’s extremely important for my students to know from the very beginning of the lesson what their learning goals are. Sometimes what I truly want them to grasp can get lost amongst all the explanation, questioning, hands-on activities, discussion etc., so I always make a point to state and restate (and restate again) what I want them to have learned. Bottom line: If your students know exactly what they are supposed to be learning, they can self-monitor, self-assess and hopefully will be more engaged with the material.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One way I like to set clear learning goals during writing is by assigning writing goals. Writing can sometimes seem quite overwhelming for students because of all the skills involved – punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary, creativity, handwriting… to name just a few! I’ve found that writing goals enables students to really focus on one important skill at a time. The way I do this is based on their prior written work, I set them one writing goal for the lesson. (Older students or students very familiar with the format can set their own writing goal).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Then they attach their name to their corresponding writing goal poster. (It could be anything from “I will use interesting vocabulary” to “I will make sure my writing has a beginning, middle and end”.)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />By setting and sharing this clear learning goal before beginning to write, I find that my students are better able to move toward the ultimate goal of becoming effective writers through these smaller, more manageable steps.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->BE TIMELY (SOMETIMES BY UTILIZING OTHER FORMS OF FEEDBACK)<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Obviously, classroom teachers circulate as much as they can during writing lessons and give as much timely feedback as possible. However, as you know, it is not always possible to get around to everyone! This is where feedback may come in different forms in order to maintain its timeliness. Feedback may come from teachers, other adults (e.g. principal) or peers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In my class, we do a lot of peer feedback when writing. This is something that I set up early in the school year. I discuss with the students how to give peer feedback and how to receive peer feedback by discussing that:<br /><br /><em><strong>When giving feedback…</strong></em><em><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It is about the work, not about the person who did the work<o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->You must be kind and respectful<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><em>·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></em></span></span><!--[endif]--><em>A balance of positive comments and constructive criticism</em><em><strong>When receiving feedback…<o:p></o:p></strong></em></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The person giving feedback isn’t always right, but listen and be respectful of their opinions and remember they are trying to help you.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It is about the work, not about you as a person<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Mistakes are good and they show that you are trying/learning, so keep being brave enough to make mistakes!<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />After the students understand the peer feedback criteria, we participate in structured feedback sessions. Some examples are:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">TWO STARS AND A WISH</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Students tell each other two aspects of the other person’s writing that they thought deserved ‘sparkling stars’, e.g. the capital letters and full stops. They also say what they wish had been included, e.g. “I wish you had added some more adjectives to describe the sailor.”</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">THE SPECTACULAR NOW AND NEXT TIME</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Students tell each other something that the other did ‘spectacularly’ this time, e.g. use of interesting vocabulary. They also suggest something that the other person could do “next time” to improve even more, e.g. experimenting with commas.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I do this after the students are comfortable with the idea of sharing and giving feedback – and after extensive reinforcement that mistakes are to be celebrated!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Students volunteer to read aloud some of what they have written/are currently writing to the whole class. The listening students offer feedback in the form of a comment (positive or constructive criticism) or a question (“I wonder what your main character looks like?”) The student then has the opportunity to work further on their writing and re-read their next version of the draft.</span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><strong>3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></strong></span></span><!--[endif]--><strong>BE CONSCIOUS OF THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK YOU GIVE</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In his book, Professor John Hattie mentions that good feedback should not just be about saying: “Well done!” or “Good work!” Rather, to make it more meaningful, the feedback given should link to the task/performance by stating WHAT was done well, WHAT could be improved and WHERE the student could go from where they currently are. This can be done via teacher or peer conferencing with the student.<br />And again, the teacher needs to be very clear that the classroom is not a place to be perfect and faultless. The feedback should never paint mistakes as ‘bad’.<br /><br /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><strong>4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></strong></span></span><!--[endif]--><strong>ASSIST STUDENTS TO USE FEEDBACK EFFECTIVELY</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If a teacher writes: “Don’t forget to edit your work” in a student’s writing book on their last piece of work and nothing more is said about it, how effective will the feedback be? Probably not that effective. One or two students may go back and read the comment in their books at a later date, but the vast majority will just turn to a fresh page when the new writing lesson begins. Where Mrs. M differed in this regard was that part of our writing lesson was to read our Post-It note, identify what she was talking about in our previous writing and then remove the Post-It from the page. We then stuck the Post-It on our desk to remind ourselves what we needed to work on during the current writing lesson. This modeled one way to use feedback effectively – and it’s a method that I use in my classroom, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">By having the students aware of their strengths and areas needing improvement, they are able to take greater responsibility for their learning. One way I do this to make it a little more fun is to provide ‘Writing Goal Achievement Charts’.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Writing Goal Achievement Chart</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After students have identified their learning goal and have received feedback on their task/performance, they color a picture to earn certificates. It is a great way to reinforce and motivate!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading! If you would like to try writing goals with your class, please check out my writing goals products on TpT: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Goals-1321326" target="_blank">HERE</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Goals-1333476" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Feel free to visit my store <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Isla-Hearts-Teaching" target="_blank">ISLA HEARTS TEACHING</a> or connect with me via social media.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/islaheartsteaching" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/IslaHeartsTeach" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/islahart/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pinterest</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://islaheartsteaching.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blog</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-22979350951703438842015-04-15T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-15T06:00:12.330-04:00What is LanguageART?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi - I'm Laurie, from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Art-Action-Laurie-Carpenter" target="_blank">Art Action</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I recently shared my enthusiasm for my <b>Language</b><b>ART</b> approach to fun, educational art activities for the
grade level classroom with Kristin. She seemed to think you might enjoy
hearing about it, or even trying it yourself.
So, she invited me to be a guest post on her blog. I am so excited to
share my idea with you.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 48.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">LANGUAGE</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 72.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A</span></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 72.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">R</span></b><b><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 72.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">T<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 48.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
is it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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It
is an integrated learning process that I used in my art room or with classroom
teachers for years. I just never gave it an "actual name" until now. <span style="color: red;"><b>Visual arts</b></span> is a way of communicating an idea through drawing, painting,
sculpture, etc. <span style="color: red;"><b>Language arts</b> </span>is also a way of communicating an idea, but through listening, reading,
speaking, and writing. <span style="color: red;"><b>So, that's it...the goal of both is to communicate an idea, so
integrating the two of them together in your classroom, just makes sense!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>LanguageART
means:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The
subject areas of Language arts and Visual arts are combined in one lesson -
working together to provide a "valuable and fun learning experience".</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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I
am sure most of you have already taught this way to some extent already.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
difference is that now, if you try my approach, you will be intentionally
setting out to fill requirements in BOTH subject areas through one lesson.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There
are basically three directions you can take. </div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>One is to use the language arts skill as the motivation to the art
project. </li>
<li>Another is to use it as a
follow up to the visual arts. </li>
<li>Or, as in the third sample, you can do both
motivation and follow-up.</li>
</ol>
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An
example of each approach will follow. Each one integrates the two subjects into
a classroom lesson. Two lessons are free downloads from my TPT store, so you
can check out the entire process to help you get started...(or just use mine if
you do not have time in your busy schedule to write your own). the third shows
one of the printable pages of the lesson, with my comments in <i><span style="color: red; font-family: Cambria, serif;">red.<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">A
SAMPLE OF MOTIVATION APPROACH</span></b></u></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clifford-A-LanguageART-Activity-793864" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJ8EboMZYZs/VSsQhjfnAVI/AAAAAAAAB7s/AltNF5X7I1o/s1600/DSCN5693.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Everyone
loves Clifford. Just everyone! And this <b>FREE </b>lesson, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clifford-A-LanguageART-Activity-793864" target="_blank"><b>LanguageART Clifford the Big Red Dog Craftivity</b></a>, provides your students
with an experience in which art and literature work together. After the teacher and students read the story
of Clifford and discuss it , the children will then enjoy a simple cut and
paste project.<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">A
SAMPLE OF FOLLOW-UP APPROACH</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Coloring-Sheets-for-Christmas-Free-Tricky-Triangle-Tree-1546069" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JgCOI4SP46M/VSsR6nHu_yI/AAAAAAAAB74/dLhqAAc4Xa8/s1600/Free%2BFunny%2BTree%2Bsample%2B002.jpg" height="640" width="482" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Coloring-Sheets-for-Christmas-Free-Tricky-Triangle-Tree-1546069" target="_blank"><b>This FREE lesson</b></a> provides a follow-up language arts activity to the visual arts cut,
color, and paste holiday independent seat work for small muscle development and exposure to creative pattern design. Also, helps the children
realize that the special things come in all different kinds of "packaging".<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
follow-up activity challenge page is shown next; a printable to be used as
independent quiet seat work and integrating the two subjects together, once
again.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Coloring-Sheets-for-Christmas-Free-Tricky-Triangle-Tree-1546069" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7_WZQGW-s8/VSsVB0_1T_I/AAAAAAAAB8E/cmCAfyMTHfk/s1600/ColoringSheetsforChristmasFreeTrickyTriangleTree_Page_3.png" height="740" width="594" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">***This is a sample of a LanguageART challenge sheet that can be
added to any art drawing project. It
integrates art and language arts into a
fun activity for your classroom.
You can create these over and over for various seasonal art
activities. You can download this exact project for FREE <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Coloring-Sheets-for-Christmas-Free-Tricky-Triangle-Tree-1546069" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>MOTIVATION AND FOLLOW-UP APPROACH - BOTH<o:p></o:p></b></span></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></u></div>
</div>
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<br />
<br />
NAME__________________________________________</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">PUMPKIN<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
am a pumpkin, fat and round,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have a grinning mouth, but make no sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With
a light inside, I look real dandy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Welcoming
you to stop here for candy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">YOUR
DRAWING:</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">TELL
ME ABOUT YOUR DRAWING<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<span style="color: red;"><b>You</b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> can create a LanguageART lesson like the simple worksheet above...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Find a poem in a book, write one yourself like I did, or write one as a class project. You are incorporating so many skills into one activity. The children with think, speak, share ideas, discuss, draw, imagine, write, learn, and create all with one basic work sheet. Create a whole packet of poems and work sheets like I did, to use as morning activities to kick off the day in your classroom...integrating 2 subjects that both communicate ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">You
have now seen the three basic LanguageART approaches to try in your
classroom. I would like to show you one
more through a picture gallery. I call
them <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Coloring-Sheets-Questions-and-Challenge-Work-Sheet-1780247" target="_blank"><b>LanguageART Coloring Sheets</b></a> and they are very time consuming to make, but
the kids love them and learn so much for both subject areas. I want you to be aware of the idea. I have
illustrated the 4 steps and the final product that makes a colorful, dramatic
bulletin board.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Coloring-Sheets-Questions-and-Challenge-Work-Sheet-1780247" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U8tlggBmqB0/VSsYfS1xylI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/xAUcHqAuwdo/s1600/Collages11.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Draw your pattern sheets, draw your theme picture outlines,
write challenge questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1eL1g7DvP38/VSsY4lQy5HI/AAAAAAAAB8g/BURNPE7HiVI/s1600/Daytona%2Btripcaketulip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1eL1g7DvP38/VSsY4lQy5HI/AAAAAAAAB8g/BURNPE7HiVI/s1600/Daytona%2Btripcaketulip.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are creating your own original coloring sheets, follow these steps:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<ol>
<li>Create your coloring patterns on the computer(squares, stripes, etc.)</li>
<li>Draw appropriate outlines for theme selected (Spring flower, insect, etc)</li>
<li>Cut each "picture part" from one of the pattern sheets.</li>
<li>Re-design your printable coloring sheet by assembling the patterned parts.</li>
<li>Copy and add text with related questions.</li>
<li>Print copies for independent seat work.</li>
<li>If desired, make additional outline designs.</li>
<li>Optional - make a practice coloring work
sheet from assorted patterns.</li>
<li>Children
will independently color, answer questions, cut out, and mount their coloring
sheets work to be used when academic work is finished.</li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Coloring-Sheets-Questions-and-Challenge-Work-Sheet-1780247" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ezIndSVTzTg/VSsZZmCtaGI/AAAAAAAAB8o/vMB5eq5iDdg/s1600/Spring%2Btulip%2Bmounted%2Bsmall%2B001.jpg" height="632" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">IN
ADDITION...This one is another challenging approach you can try!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Read
a mystery story with your students, but STOP before the mystery is solved. Now the "thinking process", as well
as the visual arts come in, as the children draw a picture of their idea for
the ending of the story, AND, write a few sentences about it, as they complete
the follow-up challenge page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5NCoDzl5TTY/VSsZu333vfI/AAAAAAAAB8w/KmYofBdG0i0/s1600/2015-02-28%2BMystery%2BWork%2Bsheet%2Bbig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5NCoDzl5TTY/VSsZu333vfI/AAAAAAAAB8w/KmYofBdG0i0/s1600/2015-02-28%2BMystery%2BWork%2Bsheet%2Bbig.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sure hope you have enjoyed reading
about my Language</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">ART</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> approach to "easy-art" for your classroom.. Try it yourself, or if you are too busy, take a look at these
projects below or others in my <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Art-Action-Laurie-Carpenter" target="_blank">TPT store</a>,</b> and </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">my private <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lauriecarpe/my-art-action-laurie-carpenter/" target="_blank"><b>Pinterest board</b></a>.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tmK5axJ3TME/VSsaeLQRckI/AAAAAAAAB84/Yw8Ne2HEugc/s1600/Collages10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tmK5axJ3TME/VSsaeLQRckI/AAAAAAAAB84/Yw8Ne2HEugc/s1600/Collages10.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 26.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> Thanks, Laurie</b></span></span></i></h2>
</div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-65643651978793110742015-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-13T22:43:42.860-04:00How to Transform your Classroom into a Wax Museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi! I’m Jennifer from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Pages-Of-Grace" target="_blank">Pages Of Grace</a>, and I am thrilled to be a guest blogger for One Stop Teacher Shop! I
am an upper elementary teacher and mom to two young girls, so I enjoy both
early childhood and elementary education topics <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> This post is about a fun project that I do with my
4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> graders.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4uBJj3QSAg/VSsJpt8hewI/AAAAAAAAB7c/zRzLHlcCmDU/s1600/Wax%2BMus%2BPin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4uBJj3QSAg/VSsJpt8hewI/AAAAAAAAB7c/zRzLHlcCmDU/s1600/Wax%2BMus%2BPin.png" height="640" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the highlights of
our year is the wax museum! This is a fun biography research project that
incorporates history, reading, writing, art, and lots of creativity! It is also an event that brings together the
entire school and the students’ families. Students research a person who has
had a major impact on history (state, U.S., or world) and portray that person
as a “wax” figure. The classroom is transformed into a wax museum, and the
entire school and students’ families are invited to walk through the
museum. This project is sentimental to
me, because I participated in a wax museum when I was in fifth grade. It is one
of my fondest memories of fifth grade, so when I started teaching, I knew that
this was a project that I wanted to do with my students. <b>I’m excited to show you how I do the wax
museum in my class!</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PL_0JSkePpw/VSl79H97JXI/AAAAAAAAB5s/3e9Dr3HaIek/s1600/WM%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PL_0JSkePpw/VSl79H97JXI/AAAAAAAAB5s/3e9Dr3HaIek/s1600/WM%2B6.jpg" height="457" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Choosing a Date</span></b></h3>
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I like doing the wax museum
at the end of the year. It can certainly be done any other time, but the end of
the year works well for two reasons:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The students have learned about many different historical figures throughout the year, and they have lots of
ideas about which people they would like to portray.</li>
<li>Testing is over! This is a fun project to dive into and allows the students to
let loose and be creative after several busy weeks of reviewing content and
testing.</li>
</ol>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R2LBEiNPno4/VSl8hs2yTWI/AAAAAAAAB50/yJhEUG8MPP0/s1600/WM%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R2LBEiNPno4/VSl8hs2yTWI/AAAAAAAAB50/yJhEUG8MPP0/s1600/WM%2B3.jpg" height="457" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Doing the Research</span></b></h3>
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After choosing the people,
we get to work on the research. I schedule a few days in the library and the
computer lab to allow students time to collect resources. I provide my students
with a packet to take notes, which is organized by topic. This helps guide them
as they are looking through their resources by giving them specific information
to look for. We spend a few days in class going through resources and taking
notes, and then we begin writing the essay. Typically, the students write the
essays in class, and I schedule 2 days in the computer lab to type the final
copies.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Making the Display</span></b></h3>
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There are 4 elements that
make the display: the backdrop, an acrostic poem, costume and props, and the
student posing as the person.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li>For the backdrop, I give students a large piece of
white butcher paper (about 6 <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">ft long). The backdrop should either be a
setting in which the person would be </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">or
it can be something that strongly represents the person if that is more </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">appropriate.
I hang the posters around the perimeter of the room and down the </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">center
to create two aisles. </span></li>
<li>Students make an acrostic poem using words that
describe <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">the
person. The purpose of the acrostic poem is to give guests a good </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">understanding
of the person’s character. The poem is displayed next to the </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">student
at the museum.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Students put together a costume similar to something the person wore and </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">choose
props to hold or display.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Students choose 2 different poses to hold.</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Big Day</span></b></h3>
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After all of the work is
done, it’s time to show it to the guests! Students, staff, and families attend
the museum. I make invitations, sign up sheets, and confirmation notes for my
colleagues so attendance at the museum is organized and flows well. We hang a
welcome sign on the door, and if I am teaching a combination class, I hang a
poster on each aisle (one for U.S. and one for the state). We spend about half
of the day on the museum. Everyone has a great time and creates lasting
memories!<br />
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If you would like to do a
wax museum in your class, check out my<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Wax-Museum-Biography-Project-1797386" target="_blank"> Wax Museum</a> product on Teachers Pay Teachers. It has everything you need to plan and
execute a great wax museum!</div>
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Thanks for reading! Check out <a href="http://www.pages-of-grace.com/" target="_blank">my blog</a> and <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/PGraceEducation/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>page to see lots of great ideas and resources! You can also follow me on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Pages-Of-Grace" target="_blank">TeachersPay Teachers </a> to be
notified about new products and giveaways.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Jennifer</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-56241988131172010712015-04-06T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-06T06:00:02.878-04:00Star Dollars: A Classroom Management System<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi! I'm Liz from <a href="http://polkadotfirsties.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Polka Dot Firsties</a> and I'm excited to be guest posting for Kristin today! </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was thinking about what to share that would appeal to many of you, I thought about my classroom management system. It's something that that evolved over time and almost everyone in my school uses it without being told by administration to do it!</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me start from the beginning. When I first began teaching eight years ago, I knew I had to find a way to reinforce positive behavior in the classroom. I had read Harry Wong's <u>The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher</u> from cover to cover, multiple times. There weren't many teacher blogs out at the time, and Pinterest didn't exist. Gasp! ;) I looked through Mailbox books at the teacher supply store to come up with ideas, but nothing jumped out at me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stumbled across <a href="http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/behavior-management/bead-system" target="_blank">Angela's Watson site</a> and read the whole thing. She had a great idea where students collected beads on a pipe cleaner and turned in beads for a reward activity. I was babysitting a rising first grader at the time and ran the idea by her. She loved it, so I decided to do it. The system worked for me for about 3 years, but I didn't do anything about it for another 2 years. Sound familiar? <b>Sometimes we stick with things that don't work because it's too exhausting to change, you don't want to spend the money to fix something, or you think it will work again with the next group of students.</b> Since our teaching standards changed, I found that I simply didn't have the time to have a "Fun Friday" activity. Students would cry if they didn't get their choice or weren't too excited about what activities were left.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew that other teachers in the building used Star Dollars to reward positive behavior in the classroom, mainly the 2nd through 5th grade teachers. I didn't know if it would work for first grade, but I decided to give it a try. I emailed one of the teachers, and she sent me a template of the Star Dollars. Over the summer, I printed the Star Dollars on card stock, laminated and cut them out.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was an instant success! The first year I had many students who had older siblings. Their siblings had come home with Star Dollars, and my students knew all about them. They would gasp when I would pass one out, and it made them feel like "big" kids.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been using Star Dollars for the last three years in my classroom, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Other teachers at my school have been using it for 8+ years. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>How it works in my classroom:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students can earn Star Dollars for
following directions, staying quiet in the hallway, receiving a compliment from
an enrichment teacher, etc. At the beginning of the school year, I give out Star Dollars like they are going out of style.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Fridays, students turn in Star
Dollars for small rewards like pencils and erasers. I also include bigger ticket items, like Lunch With the
Teacher, Swap Seats With a Friend, and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Furry Friend (students can bring a
stuffed animal to class). This
helps me limit the amount of money I spend on </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rewards. I use A Sunny Day in First Grade's <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reward-Coupons-862228" target="_blank">reward coupons</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">To Prepare: </span><span style="color: black;">Print out templates on colored paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will want a heavy duty paper, like card stock or
construction paper. Laminate for durability and cut out.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can easily pick up a pack of Astrobrights Neon paper. I made it so the Star Dollars corresponded to the colors in the packet. I made my Star Dollars a few years ago and just used whatever card stock I had on hand, so my Star Dollar colors are a slightly different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Teacher Storage: </span><span style="color: black;">I store my Star Dollars in these containers </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found at the Dollar Spot at Target
at the beginning of the school year. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: bold;">Student Storage: </span><span style="color: black;">My students have a library pocket taped to their table spot
where they keep the Star Dollars during the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of the day, they put the Star Dollars in a pencil
pouch in their DOT binder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your students have desks, they could easily keep them in a pencil
box. Make sure to have a designated spot or else they will misplace the Star
Dollars easily.</span><span style="color: black;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Helpful Hints: </b>In the beginning, the students stored their Star Dollars in number pockets on a poster board I had hanging in the room. This was fine the first year, but the second year I had a Star Dollar </span>thief. That's when I transitioned to using the pockets on the table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students love to count their Star Dollars all day long. Seriously, they would count them five times a day even when the amount hadn't changed. This year I made a rule from the beginning - No counting your Star Dollars at school or else I will take them all! This was all said in my "I'm a very serious teacher, there will be no fun in first grade, I wear the bossy pants" voice. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will need to have more 1 Star Dollars printed than any other domination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interested in using Star Dollars in your classroom? Check out the free <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Star-Dollars-a-behavior-management-program-1797503" target="_blank">Star Dollars {a behavior management program}</a> in my TpT store. It includes the templates and information that you see here.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed reading about how I use Star Dollars in the classroom! Feel free to hop on over to my blog, <a href="http://polkadotfirsties.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Polka Dot Firsties</a>, to see more classroom ideas. When I post new products in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Polka-Dot-Firsties-Liz-Deal" target="_blank">TpT store</a>, they are 50% off for 24 hours. You can either follow me at <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Polka-Dot-Firsties-Liz-Deal" target="_blank">TpT</a> on on <a href="https://instagram.com/polkadotfirsties/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> (user name: <a href="https://instagram.com/polkadotfirsties/" target="_blank">polkadotfirsties</a>).</span></center>
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One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020651142245576932.post-18138767667320002422015-01-27T12:07:00.002-05:002015-02-01T12:34:16.937-05:00FREE Online Resources for Fiction Texts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love to have a collection of short Fiction Texts on hand. I am constantly using them in my Reading Centers. If you haven't already checked out my post on <a href="http://www.onestopteachershop.com/2014/06/no-fuss-literacy-centers.html" target="_blank"><b>"No-Fuss Literacy Centers"</b></a>, you may be wondering how I use my collection of texts...<br />
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For one of my daily centers, my students complete a <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fiction-Activity-Sheets-Literacy-Centers-Guided-Reading-1097260" target="_blank">Fiction Activity Sheet</a> </b>that is aligned with the current skill we are working on. They can choose the text of their choice, and complete the activity for the week.<br />
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Each week I put out a different<b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fiction-Activity-Sheets-Literacy-Centers-Guided-Reading-1097260" target="_blank"> Fiction Activity Sheet</a></b>, and again, my students choose their own text. The beautiful part about this center is that it is easy to differentiate, it reinforces the skill we are currently working on, and my students love it because they can choose their own text. You can check these centers out for <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Fiction-Activity-Sheets-Literacy-Centers-Guided-Reading-1241478" target="_blank">FREE in my store on Teachers Pay Teachers</a></b>.<br />
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For this particular reading center, I must have a variety of short Fiction texts in my classroom. Over the years I have collected a group of FREE websites that I am always using to add to my collection, and I am excited to share them with you.<br />
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<b>Here are my favorite FREE Online Resources for Fiction Texts...</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.apples4theteacher.com/short-stories.html" target="_blank">Apples for the Teacher</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.shortkidstories.com/" target="_blank">Short Kid Stories</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.bedtime.com/html/short_stories.html" target="_blank">Bedtime.com</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://freestoriesforkids.com/short-stories" target="_blank">Bedtime Stories</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://americanliterature.com/childrens-library" target="_blank">American Literature</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.storylineonline.net/a-to-z-book-directory/?sort=titleb" target="_blank">Storyline Online</a></b></span></div>
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I hope you can use this list of free Fiction resources. If you are looking for <a href="http://www.onestopteachershop.com/2014/12/free-resources-for-non-fiction-texts.html" target="_blank">Non-Fiction Websites, check out my other post!</a> <br />
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If you have your own favorite website, I would love to hear about it in the comments.One Stop Teacher Shophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18186709337917261115noreply@blogger.com0