Marshmallows or Whipped Cream?

This post is just one picture and a quick link. As 2nd quarter ended and Winter Break neared, we were enjoying the chapter book Who’s Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? by Martha Freeman (like I have in previous years with 4th-5th graders). There’s a part of the book where we just HAVE to enjoy some hot cocoa along with the characters, so we did on the Wednesday of our last week. I just LOVE this picture of Briannia with her hot chocolate! And for the record, she chose BOTH marshmallows and whipped cream! YUM! Isn’t she the cutest? 🙂

Check out the original post about this fun activity from a couple of years ago here and learn more about what we did. 🙂

Read Aloud Timeline: First Grade Version

If you’ve been here a while, then you know about how big of a deal read aloud is in my room, and you have probably read the rationale of the read aloud timeline, too.

Well…then you can understand how dismayed I was related to this topic when I first heard of my move back to primary. I had spent 10 years collecting some of my favorite upper-grade chapter books, reading some of them over and over, year after year because of their impact and enjoyment.

Don’t get me wrong, there are read alouds in first grade, too. TONS of them. I mean sometimes we read 4-5 picture books in one day. But I was sad that I’d be missing my chapter book time, kids all gathered around my feet hanging on every word, yelling “don’t stop” when I closed the book because the chapter was over and the story was just too good to not keep going. What I found out is that that scene can happen in first grade, too–it’s just with different books and different kids.

I have been a collector of books for a while, and spend much of my summer reading piles and piles of them. Now the piles I get when I come home from the library are just as tall, but there are more books in them. So actually all of the things I love about the read aloud timeline are still happening, just in a little bit of a different way.

I chose the first book we’d read this year, after recommendations from two fabulous first grade teachers I know, Leah and Christy. When I asked my colleagues to share favorite primary chapter books, they separately suggested the My Father’s Dragon series by Ruth Stiles Gannett. I was kind of shocked that in all the years I’ve been both reading and teaching, I’d never heard of them. I tried the first book out with my own kids at home this summer and it was a hit, so I figured I’d follow their advice and try it out.

When we got to the end of this book, and it was time to draw the images for our timeline, I was a little unsure if they could actually do it. I know, that’s probably not fair, but again–I had established the whole idea with older readers and was only partly sure that beginning readers (or listeners in this case) would be able to process the story in a way that would allow them to create a detailed visual.

But what I got instead was a great collection of detailed, colorful pictures of my students’ favorite images from the book. After two tries of voting for our favorite image (I did learn that it’s REALLY hard to vote on the best picture unless that picture is yours….), we were able to pic one that reminds us of the main idea of the story. Since then we’ve voted to read Clementine, the first in the Babymouse series and now The Lemonade War. I am SO excited with how this is going, and my kiddos love it, too! They love read aloud, and it’s helping them learn to love books–which I hope will stay with them for a long time to come!

Check out what this year’s portion of the timeline looks like:

Bummer…I just hung up the latest one today, but didn’t get a picture of it. See how great those look up there? The best part is that we’re already on book 4 and we’ve only been in school for 6 weeks! We’re on track to fill up the whole wall with timeline images!

Another view. Oh, and there’s the title I finally got up to go with our self-portraits. Things have been busy in Rm. 202!

First Days of First Grade!–Part 1

Wow! What a week we’ve had! Is anyone else tired? I might have been ready for bed by 7 pm on Thursday night–but no, I didn’t actually do it. Lasted until 9. Man–these little ones keep you on your toes!

I’ve been working really hard to figure out how best to tell our first week story, as I didn’t want to just make it a big long list ‘o things we did. But we DID have a big long list of things I want to share!! So, I think I’ve decided that for this first post, I’m going to organize the info around the goals we had for our first days together, and explain some of the rationale for why we did them. Ok? Well, then get ready–this one might be long! Get your coffee. Settle in. Read on. And thank you–I so appreciate your time and your interest. 🙂

During the first week of school in first grade (well in any grade, really), there are some key goals that I work towards. This week those goals were:

Students will learn each others’ names (and mine, too!), as well as learn one thing that a friend likes to do outside of school.
Students will learn–and then practice–the expectations for how our room will run.
Students will be guided through discoveries of some key materials in our classroom that they will be using on a regular basis later on.
Students will present their work to the class (in a whole group, small group and partner setting).
Students will begin the year having fun and seeing our classroom as a positive, happy place to learn and grow!

All that being said, there were MANY things we did this week, and honestly I do not have pictures or videos of them all. (As a side note, I’ll add in a quick observation here: first graders do so many more things in the first week than fifth graders do! The number of activities and directions you prepare for each hour of the day with 6YOs is SO MANY MORE than when you have big kids. That’s probably an obvious statement, and even one I knew going in, but I was definitely reminded of it very quickly this week. Like by lunchtime on Tuesday. 🙂 ).

Getting to Know Each Other

As we began the week, we worked to get to know each other, and did activities together like finding friends who like certain activities (soccer, swimming, reading, etc.); being a name detective and finding friends whose names start with different letters of the alphabet; playing name bingo; and playing together. During our first Morning Meeting, we introduced ourselves and shared our favorite colors. And while I don’t have any pics of it (sorry!), we also started sharing our Brag Bags, which they filled at home with 5 things that tell about them. Kind of like the 3 Things project I’ve done in 5th grade. 🙂

Working on Procedures and Routines

Much of our days are spent learning about where things are, how move around the room, how we sit on the rug, how we each take a turn during conversations, how we come into the room in the morning and get started, how we walk in line–you get the idea. These kiddos have been doing a super job of showing what they know from kindergarten and then adding in the “first grade version” of the routines. We’ll keep working this week as we continue to add new things/places to our repertoire.

Lunch count

Supply caddies are kept on the windowsill when we’re not using them.

Picture to remember what caddies are supposed to look like!

Everybody has a hook with their class number on it so they know where to find their things, as well as a special spot on the bulletin board with their number, too!

Special signs hang on our door to remind us of what to do in the line.

Mailboxes

Sign-out board

Morning Routine

Lunch menu and specials rotation on the side of the mailboxes

Reminders of the hallway routine

Hall passes are on magnets and hang next to the door and sign-out board (thanks for the idea, Mrs. Appelbaum!).

How Do We Get Home?

We got started on a chart to remind us of carpet rules. We’ll add to this in upcoming days.

Guided Discoveries

One way I introduce kiddos to the materials in our room is through guided discoveries (which is an idea put forth in the book The First Six Weeks of School, full of SUPER ideas to start the school year). So far, we’ve investigated Power Polygons (which will be used in a variety of ways in Math), colored pencils (which will be utilized on almost a daily basis, and are organized in a special way), scissors and glue (because you know that could be a trip to CRAZYTOWN if we didn’t learn to use those appropriately!).

With Power Polygons, kiddos were given a pile of polygons and given the task to make a creation. They could make it on the table (and we’d take a picture) or they could trace their creation on paper and color it in with crayons. I was AMAZED (but not surprised! ) by what they made! Check it out:

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For our guided discovery with colored pencils, we spent a good chunk of time upfront talking about what they noticed about HOW the pencils are organized, WHY they are like that, and WHY it is a must that we keep them that way. I was really proud that once we were finished, all the pencils were back in the right cups! Way to go, first grade! For the guidance on this discovery, they were asked to create a picture of their favorite place to be, using as many details as they can–so that someone else could imagine being there, too.

Friends work together to find the pencils they want.

Friends at Table 4 get started thinking about the place they will create during their discovery.

Lots of friends at Table 3 chose Six Flags as their favorite place to be. I saw lots of roller coasters and a huge Ferris wheel, too!

The challenge to some friends was to keep adding details when they thought they were “done.”

See the Giant Ketchup bottle on that paper? 🙂

The last discovery this week was with glue (we did briefly talk about scissors, too). We read the book Too Much Glue, and practiced the sayings “Just a dot, not a lot” and “glue raindrops” instead of glue puddles that turn into muddles. Then they got busy creating a flower to represent the many ways they will grow this year. We’ll go back and add their pictures to the middle later, as well as a goal for a way they want to grow. This was an activity for fine-motor development as well as art, as they crinkled the tissue and put it just where they wanted it on the glue dots.

Sharing Our Work

This week we had many opportunities to share our work and start developing the skills needed to be effective speakers and listeners. We did this in whole group, small group and partner situations. I’m already impressed with how these kiddos can turn-and-talk to their partners (we call it EEKK, eye-to-eye-knee-to-knee) and keep their conversations going.

We read this book together on the second day of school, and reflected on our first day.

Students completed a sheet to remember important parts of their first day…

then got EEKK with their partner….

and shared what they had written.

After our colored pencil guided discovery, kiddos had to share with their small group at their table and tell about the place they chose and why they chose it. Then, after an activity based on a book we read called David’s Drawings, we shared whole group. Kiddos also took a few minutes to share their first creation with Power Polygons. They answered the question “What do you like best about your work?” It’s great to see the skills that these friends are coming in with from kindergarten, and how proud they are to share what they’ve created. Can’t wait to see them continue to grow in this area!

Having Fun!

Ok, one last video. It’s related to that last goal of having fun and seeing our classroom as a great place to be. While I hope that everything we do makes them feel that way, I know that when I first told them we’d have a dance party there was definitely a BUZZ in the room! Check us out as we move and groove. And while you can’t quite see it yet in this video, we are working on moving our bodies in responsible, controlled ways. We have 4 rules for when we dance: 1) Keep your feet on the floor, 2) Move your body the whole time, 3) Keep your body movements to yourself, and 4) Keep your voice at a level 1 or 2 so we don’t disturb others’ learning. I should also mention that besides just being fun, dancing allows us to release energy, work on self-control, and will also help us make sure we’re working on gross-motor movements that then lend themselves to other skills (like crossing the mid-line). We are definitely very purposeful in all that we do in Rm. 202!

Ok….so I guess it did kinda turn into a big long list ‘o things, but I’m not sure that could be helped. The first week is always like that–I want to make sure you know all about the great stuff happening in our room! After this one, I’ll be better able to highlight certain things, focus in on the methodology behind it and the ways that our work influences our growth as learners. I hope you’ll be along for the ride!

#IMWAYR….on a Thursday :)

I haven’t done it often, but at least a couple of times, I’ve written about what I read, both during the summer and the school year (and in case I missed anything, check out the reading tag on the right side of the page). And since it’s summer, and I have TIME to read again, I thought I’d add the titles from by TBR pile that I’ve gotten through so far. At this point it’s almost a book a day! (Oh, and the #IMWAYR is a Twitter thing–It’s Monday, What Are You Reading–if you didn’t recognize it. 🙂 )

So…at the beginning of the summer (I think it was probably after our first official library visit of the season), this was my pile:

Now, it looks like this (and yes, you’ll see that I did cross a lot of those original ones off my list, but then found TONS more that were interesting):

I’m not kidding, I could read the whole library!! I make up for all the time I don’t read during the school year by WAY OVER DOING it once I am out for summer. But hey, when you have time, go for it, right??

Ok…here’s what I’ve read so far. Not quite sure if this will end up being reviews, summaries or just pictures, but it will be a list for sure:

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

Remember last summer when I read Close to Famous and Hope was Here by Joan Bauer? Well, for some reason, I found out that she wrote TONS more books than I had seen, and I had to check them out! This one I bought at Barnes and Noble, and finished it that same evening! This one had a similar vibe to the others of hers I had read: the main character was a young girl with family troubles, mainly on her own, and who is forced to learn a life lesson she didn’t really expect. There was not, however, food involved in Almost Home, as I remember—Close to Famous was all about cupcakes, and Hope was Here was set in a diner. That must have been a theme for Mark Twain nominees last year, because they were all about the same thing!

Peeled by Joan Bauer

After I finished Almost Home, I went to the library to find some other Joan Bauer books. I think I read Peeled first, but honestly I finished the next three titles in about a day and a half so I don’t really remember the order! The main character of this one was again a strong female, and the setting included a high school newspaper. I mentioned it to my husband, and he actually mentioned that he’d read it as a read-aloud, but that his class was a little bored by the details related to how to write a paper; maybe I’m biased already to Bauer as a writer, but I didn’t really notice. Enjoyed the whole thing from beginning to end!

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer

This title was refreshing, as it included a male lead character (aptly named Tree), rather than a female lead, as her others had. There were themes of finding yourself, learning an important life lesson and overcoming adversity–like in the others–but I’m beginning to think that that’s probably what I like about her writing, so it’s ok with me!

Squashed by Joan Bauer

The premise of this book made me laugh out loud at first–it’s a girl who raises a prize pumpkin for the festival and is dealing with some villains who don’t want to see her win! Sounds a little silly, but in a weird way, the pumpkin becomes as much a character as the girl, and you are quickly rooting them both on to win against the “bad guys.” As with other Bauer books, I liked the way she develops characters, realistically sharing what they would go through and including believable dialogue. Liked it even more than I thought I would!

Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer

Told you I was on a roll with Joan Bauer books, huh? It’s what I talk to my kids about with “trusting an author.” I figured (just like with Jerry Spinelli, Sharon Creech, Ralph Fletcher and the like) that if I liked one of her books, I’d like the rest of them. So far, that rings true! Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward are actually related to each other–I found out as I began the second one–and have the same main character. As with other Bauer books, the main character is a strong, independent female, and similarly there is a theme of a teenaged person trying to find themselves and figure out their place in the world. In this case it’s Jenna, who is hired as a driver for an older woman for the summer, and who learns alot about herself and others along the journey she takes (literally and figuratively). The setting of both books is split between Chicago and Texas, and the focus is on a major shoe company that Jenna works for (the lady she’s driving is the owner). It seems a little silly at first (just like the pumpkin idea in Squashed), but it doesn’t take long to start to care so much for the characters and their plots, that the shoe part just makes sense.

Backwater by Joan Bauer

I had to get one more Bauer title in, since I had found it in the library, and the timing of it was a little funny–I read it while I was on a cruise (Get it? BackWATER? I was on the water? Ok, I’ll laugh by myself. 🙂 ). The title seemed a little confusing considering there was a cabin in the woods on the cover, but you quickly find out the connection and it makes sense. This one had similar traits to others I’ve read, but the main character had a stronger involvement with family than in most of the others; she wasn’t as alone and on her own this time. Instead, she helped someone else find their place in the world (and in the family) and in turn learned some valuable life lessons along the way. Another great book!

Recipe for Adventure Series by Giada De Laurentiis

I have to admit that I was a wee bit skeptical to see Giada’s name on a book. I mean, sure, she might be a fine writer, but she’s not known for that. She’s known as an expert on food, not on words. I must also add that I’m not entirely sure that she even wrote these (man, sorry, I guess I’m extra cynical today!). BUT then I read them, and for the audience for which these books are written, I am sure they are lovely. I did enjoy the melded aspect of food, family and time travel (sorry for that spoiler), and for the most part I was entertained. I mean, I did read all three, after all. Were they the best books I’ve ever read? No. But they were quick fun reads, and spoke to my love of food and culture, even including words from other languages as well as recipe cards that you (or your kiddo) could make at home once you’re finished. For someone, they may be just the thing to get them into books and into reading, and for that I say–go for it!

Marty McGuire Has Too Many Pets by Kate Messner

I read this one pretty soon after school was out, mainly because I have read the other two Marty McGuire books and loved them, but also because I was researching possibilities for read alouds for my littles for next year. Since I’m moving back to primary, the list of favorites I’ve been sticking to for the last decade will no longer work! This was as good as I thought it would be–the characters are funny, believable and often surprise me. I did honestly laugh out loud with this one, too, when I found out what one of the pets were; I had to Tweet @KateMessner and tell her how pleased I was with that part of the story! I knew it would be one I could read at home, too, to my own kiddos. Well done, Ms. Messner! Another great one. I have Waking Up Missing in my TBR pile, now, which is a Messner book I didn’t discover until just last week. Excited to read it!

The Lemonade War Series by Jacqueline Davies

I remember reading somewhere on Twitter last year about a whole school that reads The Lemonade War as a read aloud. Yes, every classroom! Kinda liked the idea, and so tried that first book in the series last summer. Haven’t gotten around to suggesting that idea to my boss (but hey, @grrprincipal, if you’re reading this and want to try it, I’m totally game!), but still might read it to my own class. When I asked my “tweep” about why they read it, they mentioned the family themes in the book, as well as the lessons kids can learn about being an entrepreneur–they have competing lemonade stands, after all. In these subsequent titles, the main characters are the same, but are solving different problems: in one there are mysterious candies that show up around Valentine’s Day, as well as a missing bell on their grandmother’s property on New Year’s Eve. I enjoyed these as much as the first, which is nice since sometimes sequels don’t fare as well as the original.

Picture Books

It’s funny that for my summer reading challenge (which is self-imposed really, and is just to read as much as I can), picture books seem like a cop out. I know, picture books are books as much as 500 page novels, but maybe it’s that they’re so short. Or maybe I’m just vain. It’s probably just a personal problem, but I guess when I say, “I’ve read 25 books so far this summer,” it means more if those 25 books are novels, chapter books, rather than picture books. Phooey. Who cares. They’re good, too, and they’re going to become much more important in my life again, now that I’m teaching 1st grade again. So, that being said, I’ve read these 3 so far, and have some others laying around to try soon:

I have to laugh as I look at this picture again, because of the continued influence that both The Quiet Place and Rapunzel have had on my kiddos. Allison is 3, and is in a princess phase (I think this may be genetically imprinted in little girls!), so got Rapunzel from the library, but was really disappointed that it was different than the Disney version she knows. And ironically, my children have built their own Quiet Place just today with the boxes that our two big living chairs came in. Inspiration is everywhere! The other one, I Want My Hat Back, is an favorite we had to reread. I believe it’s nominated for the ShowMe Reader in Missouri this year. Yay!

Clementine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker

I have been a fan of Clementine for many years, and even in my 5th grade class, a year didn’t go by without sharing at least one of her books. Even big kids can appreciate silliness, and laughing together is a great way to connect and also learn to love books! I have already read Clementine’s Letter and Clementine and the Spring Trip, and was sure I had read all of her adventures. Somehow I’d missed this one until now! And just like all the other silly tales, I laughed out loud and enjoyed every minute of Clementine’s antics. 🙂

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Just when I think I am a knowledgable teacher in terms of good books, I find something I’ve never heard of, in this case My Father’s Dragon (and the series that follows). As I was polling my friends for suggestions for 1st grade read alouds, more than one person mentioned this one. Again, I’d never heard of it–and I’ve even taught primary grades before! Glad that Leah and Christy suggested it, though, because it was great, and I can totally see how a class of younger readers would love it! My kids at home did. 🙂

Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax

It was bound to happen. I had read almost 20 books that were works of fiction before I got to a professional book. For me, this was a big deal. This one is actually a choice from school, and we’re going to have book clubs on it (and some other titles also related to educating boys) this fall. I was interested in this book both because I have a son, and because of what’s happening lately in regards to gaps between girls and boys, how boys are getting left behind. I also chose this title from among the choices because of the “why” nature of it; many choices were related to what to do to help boy learners, but I needed to understand the nature of the problem first. I am so interested to discuss this with the really smart people I work with, as we brainstorm how to address what these needs look like in our school population. Using what we’ve learned, we will make changes and we will help the boys (and girls, too!) in our school succeed!

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

This was the debut novel from Lynda Hunt. It was also the debut of my reading anything off of the Truman Award nominees list. I’ve always read Mark Twain nominees, because these were what my 4th-5th graders read, but the Truman ones were for middle school. Who cares, right? I know. Dumb reason. Well, I found this one at the library and MAN am I glad I picked it up. At first it reminded me of Almost Home (remember my Joan Bauer binge?), because of the girl with mom problems who has to live in foster care. This one took a little different turn, which I really loved, and was especially touched at the end. I cried!! I am pretty certain this was the first time I’ve had that much emotion in a story that actual tears have come. Sounds like a great book! The only thing that is frustrating about it is that she doesn’t have anything else for me to read yet! 😦

Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica

This book was totally a case of read-what’s-lying-around. Grant had checked it out–not sure why or how he found it–but it sounded interesting, so I threw it in the car for our LOOONNNGGG drive to Disney. Now, while I found it really interesting, I was a little bit bothered by the language and some of the topics discussed (so reader beware: this is not for youngsters!). I have never worked in the restaurant industry, and while I’m not sure how true-to-life it is, Dublanica makes it sounds CRAZY! Some of the things that happen in the kitchens are a little surprising. Anyhow, the book is actually based on a blog that he used to write (of the same name), and that was cool. Plus he’s a great writer, so it was definitely a page-turner. Thanks for leaving this lying around, Grant. Found a good read really easily. 🙂

French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

Last year I was given a BIG pile of books (mainly about fashion) from my sweet friend Lisa. One of them was Lessons From Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris by Jennifer Scott. I devoured it in pretty much a day (and this was DURING the school year, which was weird. Must have been the weekend…). I have never visited Europe, but I would have to say that France is a place I’d love to go someday. I don’t know what it was about the book, but it made me so enamored by French culture. I loved the “secrets” she shared, which really just seemed like sensible ways to live your life and be a lady. So…when I saw the cookbook version of this book, I was reminded of the original and had to find it to read it. This one–French Women Don’t Get Fat–was just as great! This one was written by an actual French woman (Jennifer Scott had just spent time with a French family), and who better to explain how I can be French and fabulous? LOVED this one. Again I am inspired to change some things based on the Parisian way. And to find more books like this to read. 🙂

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

If you know me, it’s no secret that Ralph Fletcher is one of my favorite authors (and hey, I even mentioned him somewhere in this post, I think), and I am always on the look out for a good book written by him. I ordered Guy-Write earlier this year, but hadn’t had a chance to pick it up til the other day (I think I’m about a 1/4 of the way through so far). I mention it because I actually found this text in that Fletcher book. I was inspired to read both of them, actually, because of the Boys Adrift book by Dr. Sax. For years I have been interested in helping boy writers find their voices, but now more than ever I am hoping to sharpen my skills and add to my knowledge. In Guy-Write, Fletcher does an interview with Jon Scieszka (of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man fame), and it was hilarious!! This book was there, and it sounded so interesting and it did not disappoint. So funny and real and written in a way that made it a really quick read. Grant even said he might try it as a read aloud with his class this year, which I thought was a great idea, too. Plus, I thought it was doubly cool that Scieszka was named the First National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, which is an amazing honor (I think I’d kinda want to be one)! He has a goal to help boy readers and writers, too, and with such a great platform on which to do his work, I know he’ll help make changes for boys everywhere!

So there it is. My list so far. I’m pretty proud of it and am reminded of how great it is to get lost in a good book. The places you go, the people you meet and the things you learn are amazing. I can’t wait to continue to add to my list! After all, summer’s only about halfway over, right? 🙂

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things (To Read To My Students!)

Remember how I told you about EdCampStl? One of the great people I met (or was actually reintroduced to) was Ms. Ferguson, who had done some work in my school several years ago. We found out we both teach 5th grade and are both named Jen, which was a funny coincidence.

Well, since we are both 5th grade teachers, the conversations we shared were mostly around comparing what we do and how. So when she asked about my favorite read-alouds, I figured that both for her and for me (and for you!), I’d write a whole post about it! Here are a few of my favorite things to read to my students!

I have written about read aloud before here and here, and you can probably tell it’s a big deal in our classroom. I am so excited to share a good book with a group of kids who have never heard of it before, and even more excited when they love it as much as me! Let me tell you about some of my go-to reads:

1. There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar (When I taught 4th grade, I always started our year together with this one.)

2. Crash by Jerry Spinelli (One of my all-time favorites that I read EVERY YEAR! Well except this one, because they heard it last year. 😦 )

3. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (Even big kids love the antics of Clementine! It’s a great end-of-the-year fast read, too.)

4. Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher (See that note about Crash? DITTO on this one. Read it EVERY YEAR and it’s a classic, for sure!)

5. Who’s Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? by Marsha Freeman

6. Who’s Stealing Halloween? by Marsha Freeman (These are great, easy mysteries that my kiddos always love.)

7. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White (As a child, I have fond memories of my 3rd grade teacher reading this one aloud to me, and so I had to return the favor to my students!)

8. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (I did this one totally backwards and saw the movie first, but once I read the book, I was really sold!)

9. Pleasing the Ghost by Sharon Creech

10. Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

11. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (This is another one of my EVERY YEAR reads. Oh, and can you tell I’m a Sharon Creech fan?)

12. Frindle by Andrew Clements (I’m not usually an Andrew Clements fan (I know–gasp!!), but this is a great first book because it’s fun and easy for everyone to dig into.)

13. Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs (I found this book because it was nominated for the Mark Twain award a couple of years ago and it’s on my “good” list now.)

14. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Also a Mark Twain nominee–what a twisty story! We were on the edge of our seats the whole time with this one.)

15. I Am David by Anne Holm (This was another saw-the-movie-first one, but I am now so in love with David’s story that this is an EVERY YEAR book now!)

16. The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Great beginning of the year read aloud–everyone loves it!)

17. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson (I found this one last year after a recommendation from my husband, who is also a teacher. It’s a little graphic, but is an interesting non-fiction read aloud that kept my students riveted!)

18. Marshfield Dreams by Ralph Fletcher (Also a recommendation from my husband, this is Ralph Fletcher’s memoir and is the PERFECT companion to read with Fig Pudding. Perfect picture of how your writer’s notebook informs your writing!)

19. Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (This is a brand new one, but will become an EVERY YEAR book next year when I read it again! What a great beginning-of-the-year read to set the tone for the year. We learned a lot about how to treat each other well with this one!)

20. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (WE LOVE AUGGIE! This is one of the most heartfelt, meaningful reads I’ve come across in a long time. Another EVERY YEAR read!)

21. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

22. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (Yet another recommendation from my hubby–man does he know good books!–that will become an EVERY YEAR read for me. Great, moving story with amazing vocabulary.)

23. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (Just started this one with my class, but I KNOW they’re going to LOVE it! This one just won the Newbery, which confirms that it’s a great book, but I as already in love. Moving and life changing.)

Whew! That’s a lot longer list than I thought it’d be! There are just so many good ones!

What are your favorite read alouds? Are any the same as mine? Share your favorites here–maybe I’ll have to add them to my list! 🙂

Read Aloud = Another Learning Time

Read aloud is kind of a big deal in my room. I wrote about it briefly here last year. Hopefully here’s more to the story. 🙂

I think that reading is important. Reading is making meaning, understanding both what the words say and what they mean. Understanding text as you hear it is an important skill, in addition to being able to comprehend the text you read for yourself. Time is also important, and the time we have during our school day is precious. So being able to get extra bang for your learning buck is really great.

Read aloud–or “chapter book” time–is that time for me. I use this time to expose my students to great literature, books that they may not otherwise have heard of, as well as to discuss topics that we need to delve into (bullies, families, respect, etc.) and introduce and then practice reading strategies that I want students to use in their independent reading.

The first RA of the year is also a fun, easy one, that everyone can easily relate to and begin to make connections around. This year (as well as last), I started with The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It’s a great story about kids who play practical jokes on each other, who come from interesting families and who just do typical “kid stuff” as they go through their days. This fun, joyful story gets my students in the mood for fun as readers, and helps me set the stage for harder work I’ll have them do as the year goes on. During this first book is also when I introduce the partner and thinking structures we’ll use throughout our time in RA. The first one is called “say something,” and is really just what it sounds like: I stop at certain points in the story–where there is probably something that the students can react or relate to–and have them “say something” to their partner. In the beginning there are no rules for these conversations, but eventually we structure the conversations to include thinking that good readers do, like making connections, making predictions, inferring something, reacting to something funny, telling a part that they really liked, summarizing, etc. At the end of the first chapter book, we begin our Read Aloud Timeline. Well, actually we start the current year’s section of the timeline, which dates back a few years with past classes. It hangs on the wall around our room like this:

Hopefully you can see it up there–up near the ceiling. Images taken from each book we read during our year together, chosen by the class as a whole.

The beginning of this year’s section looked like this:

Devan’s image of a water fight that breaks out while the characters are supposed to be washing the windows was chosen to grace our wall as the first picture this year!

Our second book this year was Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea. This one is nominated for the Mark Twain Award, which we choose for the state of Missouri. I usually read at least one or two nominated books from the published list, so that my kiddos have more of chance of having read (or had read to them) the minimum of 4 that they need in order to vote. This one was a little more intense than the first one, and is a story of a 5th grade class and their fabulous teacher. Because of some decisions along the way (which many deem as bad ones), an accident occurs and they are without their beloved teacher for most of the year. I’m happy to say that the ending is a happy one, but it’s not easy going along the way. The topics in this story allow my students to continue to connect and relate, but also helps them to reach outside themselves and think about what they’d do in difficult situations; these decisions can be made, however, within the safety of a good story. During this second book, I add to their RA toolbox, and turn “say something” into “write something.” Again, it’s just like it sounds–at certain times we stop and write something about the story. This also allows me to introduce the place where they will collect this thinking. Everyone is given a Read Aloud Journal:

What? It looks like our cubs? You betcha! Those half-sized notebooks get a work out in our class. I don’t remember who first gave me the idea of hacking a spiral notebook in half, but I love them! You should try it!

The image for BOMT on our wall was drawn by Owen. It looks like this:

Sorry–I have a curse of blurry pictures I think–but hopefully you can see that it’s a picture of the hospital room where Mr. Terupt spends much of the story and plays a big role in the book.

In our RA Journals, we’ll collect our thoughts about books we share together this year. Some of it they share with others in our class, and some entries I use for assessment, as well. See? More bang for our learning buck. 🙂

Right now we’re in the middle of another FABULOUS book called Wonder by R. J. Palacio. I found it this summer and was beyond amazed at how great it was. A whole movement has been started around this story to help children learn to “choose kind” rather than bully or mistreat others. This one has the same setting (5th grade in a school), the same structure as the other two (chapters and sections that alternate between different characters to show varying points-of-view) as well as themes of respect and valuing people for who they are rather than what they look like. During this book we started another strategy for showing our thinking: a behavior-over-time graph. With this organizer, students can show what they’ve discovered about how the characters are feeling throughout the story, using evidence from the text to support their thinking. It’s a Systems Thinking strategy that you can learn more about here. As with the other strategies we use in RA, this is one I hope students add to the independent reading arsenal, as well.

So, as you can see, Read Aloud is work time in our room. It’s no rest-and-quiet-down-after-recess-time in Room 202. Read aloud = another learning time in our world. And we learn alot here!

What suggestions do you have for read alouds? Have you read any of the books we’ve shared so far this year? Leave us a comment and tell us what you’re thinking. 🙂

I Love Jerry Spinelli!

…but don’t worry, my husband’s totally ok with it. 🙂

Remember when I told you about me as a reader? And as a writer? Well, as #10 on both lists (which is a strange coincidence!), I mentioned that Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite mentor authors.

I was introduced to Jerry Spinelli’s work via my good friend Michelle Simmons, and her love of his book Crash. We taught together many years ago, and she introduced me to it as one of the first read-alouds of the year. But not only did we read it to enjoy it as readers, we incorporated it into our writing unit on Reading Like a Writer. We’d reread parts of the text that we’d already heard, this time digging for nuggets and craft moves we could use in our own writing, teaching our students to do the same things. You can find amazing things in that book if you pay attention. And because Crash is such an amazing book on so many levels, it is a must-read every year in my class now.

The reason I write about this today, though, comes from inspiration of another colleague of mine. I have a new teammate, Bridget, who shares my love for Spinelli and his many great stories. We were talking about some of our favorites, and I had to sheepishly admit that while I was aware of, and even own most of his books, I have only ever actually read Crash. I know–that’s just silly. So they became the majority of my to-be-read pile this last month. Only makes sense, right? On so many levels.

First I read Eggs–one I’d actually started at the time I first bought it, but never finished. Just today I finished Maniac Magee. I know–how could I have never read that one? It’s a classic. And it won the Newberry Medal. Sorry! I’m lame. But I’ve made up for that now, right?

I have Loser and Wringer here in my pile, still waiting for their turn. I hope to get to them soon, as well. And while now my list of Spinellis-I’ve-read is only 3, my initial opinion on his writing holds true.

I know–you wonder, “What is it that love so much about his writing?” It’s many things, really. I love the way his writing sounds. I know that’s hard to explain, but I’ve heard it many more times out loud than in my head, since I read it to my students, and every word just has such a great ring to it. Like he chooses each and every one specifically to be there together. I like that he seems to break every established rule of grammar and mechanics and still ends up with an amazing story that makes sense. He writes sentences that have only one word, chapters and paragraphs with only one sentence. But because he does it on purpose, it works. I like how the characters in his stories have real conversations. They actually sound the way that kind of person would sound in real-life–not some sweet, idealized, sugar-coated way because they’re in a book for kids. Raw and real. Sometimes saying things that shock you, because that makes sense for the character. I like that he writes about things that matter, things that both kids and adults can relate to. Bullies. Friends. Racism. Families. Things that aren’t so pretty.

So like I said when I started, I love Jerry Spinelli! I learn from him every time I pick up a book he’s written, and he’s a mentor even though I’ve never met him. That’s pretty cool, I think.

How ’bout you? Who are your favorite authors? Who do you have as mentors for your writing? What books are your favorite to read? Share with me. 🙂

The Cat’s Away

So I’m home with a sick baby again today. I HATE to be gone, but sometimes I just have to be a mom, you know?

So today’s absence reminded me of an idea I learned about recently. I was out a couple of weeks ago, and I used a great idea from a couple of teachers I met when I attended an EdCamp St. Louis conference earlier this month. They both teach middle school, and are out of the classroom periodically for activities with their school, and so need to leave plans for a substitute. Rather than just leaving written ones, they record videos to leave for their classes, often teaching the lesson from their couch and giving directions for what they want their students to do.

Last time I was out, I knew ahead of time, since her fever popped up in teh evening. So with my MacBook, my plans and my couch, I set to work putting together what I hoped would be a great day of learning for my kiddos, even in my absence. Here’s what I left as a welcome to the day, along with our normal morning routine screen on the ActivBoard:

After they went off to specials, it was time for Writer’s Workshop in our room:

That big blue button sent them here to this video:

Next in our day was Math Workshop. This video was a little different, but hopefully just as helpful.

Off to lunch and recess they went, and then back into the room for Read Aloud and then Reader’s Workshop. Again, a flipchart welcomed them with directions:

Ok, well at least it had a place to send them for directions. Those were here:

And here:

Social Studies followed Reader’s Workshop, as it normally does, and the lesson that they worked on that day was about the Natural Features of Europe:

Unfortunately this was the last day of the week, since we had a Professional Development Day the following day on Friday. We were also going to be out on Monday, too, since it was President’s Day! That meant I wouldn’t see them for what seemed like FOREVER, so I sent them off to their long weekend with this Goodbye and Good Weekend video:

Ok, so if you’re a frequent visitor to our blog, you know that I can’t write anything without ending with my thoughts and reflections. And of course the topic of this post means that those thoughts and reflections are definitely doosies! (Is that how you spell that? There was no choice for it in the dictionary. 🙂 )

(Now would be a great time to take a break and grab a snack if you want one! I know I didn’t warn you that last part would take so long. Sorry. It’s ok, I’ll wait for you.)

Thoughts and reflections from using video sub plans:

Ease: The only reason I tried this whole thing originally is because I knew at around 6:00 the night before that I would be gone. Since that was the case, I had lots of prep time to get it all ready. This would not have been possible had I woken up and been surprised with an absence (like today, for example!). Also, this was for an absence for a sick kid, not a sick teacher. Had I been the one that was ill, this would have been almost an impossibility. I hope, though, that since I’ve done it once now, and figured out all the logistics, the next time it won’t take me quite so long to put it all together. And no, I don’t really want to admit how long it took me. Ask your kiddo if you want. I told them. 🙂 The other idea I had just now, though, is to prepare a generic “sub plan video” that could be used at any time if I had to suddenly be out. It could then be added to my normal sub folder or uploaded to the portal that we use online to secure our subs. Who knows, maybe I’ll start working on that one.

Logistics: I know this is partly related to the “ease” subject I just mentioned, but what I mean with this one is that there are a lot of logistical things on the school end that have to happen in order for my video plans to work like I had hoped they would. The substitute has to know how to use the ActivBoard flipcharts I made, they have to know how to log on to my YouTube channel so the videos all play, and they have to be willing to follow the directions I gave in my videos. So, in a perfect world, this would have been a great way for me to be at school with my students even though I wasn’t able to be there in person.

Impact: While the original reason I decided to try it was because it sounded like a great idea, incorporated technology and was something I hadn’t done before (which is often very motivating for me), I decided as I went through my planning, that maybe just seeing my face would be a subconscious reminder to follow the rules. You know, unfortunately some kiddos tend to move into a different state of mind when they see a substitute at the front of the room instead of their normal teacher. I was also hoping that having me “teach” the normal lesson they were going to have for that day would help as they tried to keep the learning day as predictable and productive as possible. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck. I know that the day is never the same without me as when I’m there, but this was my way of trying to do what I could to help make it as normal as possible.

What experience do you have with using video sub plans? What suggestions do you have for me? If you’re a parent, what do you think? If you’re a substitute, have you used video sub plans in a classroom you’ve been in? I’d love to know your thoughts! Leave a comment for me. 🙂

What We’re Reading 2.0

“There Are Two Kinds of People in the World…”

“…people who like marshmallows in their hot chocolate and people who like whipped cream.”

I’ve decided that there’s actually another: the kind who likes BOTH!

Are you confused? Or maybe you’re just thirsty now. Let me explain. 🙂

Of course you already know about how much I LOVE read-aloud, and how it’s such a big deal in our classroom. I tell you all the time. But I’m going to tell you again, because yesterday we had another great read-aloud experience together.

We’ve been reading Who’s Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas by Martha Freeman. I’ve been a fan of hers for a while, and this is actually the second of her books that we’ve read this year (in October we read Who Stole Halloween?)

So there’s a part in the story where the characters (who are trying to figure out who’s been stealing the birds from their neighborhood’s holiday yard displays) are chatting with old Mr. Stone. He is making cocoa for them, and starts to tell them about how “there are two kinds of people in the world: people who like marshmallows in their hot chocolate and people who like whipped cream.” What else could we do but see which one of those people we were?

I conveniently got some hot chocolate for my birthday (thanks, Archie!), so we were already a step ahead. Then I made sure to bring the rest of the fixins’ with me that morning:

For most of the morning, the cocoa warmed in the big ‘ole Crock Pot as we waited for read-aloud after lunch.

When my kids came back from recess (on a rather chilly day), this is what they saw:

I had already gotten marshmallows ready in half of the class, because I guess I figured that there would be an equal amount people who wanted each kind of topping. Just for the record, I believe our class was 9 Team Marshmallow and 16 Team Whipped Cream. Oh, and then there was me–I can never decide, so I took both. 🙂

Then we sat down to read.

Ok, so I know there are some of you who are yelling at me about how this isn’t really related to read-aloud as a teaching time, which I am always making such a big deal about. But I disagree. No, the lesson today wasn’t about word choice, fluency or inferences, but there was learning happening. We were learning about each other, and we were sharing an experience. We were building our community and having fun while we were doing something we’d normally do anyway. We were loving a story and making a connection with the characters in the book. And in some ways, I think those lessons can be even more important than just the reading parts. We’re enjoying a good book together and enjoying each other, too.

20somethingkids and 1kookyteacher

Starting a 3rd Grade Journey

Category Archives: Read Aloud