Charts N Chit Chat: Best Practices 4 Teaching

Chit Chat With Heidi!!

2013-06-18T17:48:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone. I am Heidi from My (Not So) Elementary Life.

I was so excited when Jennifer asked me to be a guest blogger for her this week. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to post about. I have a million things happening right now that I thought I could share. One thing I have realized though: It is never to early to start thinking about the beginning of the school year.

And with that said, I thought I would share some of my favorite go to read aloud stories for back to school.

A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue is a great book to have on hand to help teach your student’s about the difference between reporting and tattling. I start out the year with making a chart to figure out the difference between the two and then reference the chart and this book any time tattling starts to become a problem.

I love these books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague and the kids find the pictures in How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? hilarious!!!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a great story to read to introduce the alphabet to your students. The kids will start to chant along. It is a great interactive book.

Chrysanthemum is a must read book that helps teach students that it is okay to be “different.” We all come from different families and different backgrounds and no two people are the same. If we help students learn this at the beginning of the year and at an early age, then as they grow up they will learn to accept those who are “different'” than themselves.

and my favorite (if I had to choose just one)

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten is a MUST read book in kindergarten. The kids just eat this book up

Now this list is not my entire list, but these are some of my favorites and the ones my kids have loved the most or I have found the most useful in my classroom.

I created a freebie that can be used with any book.

This freebie is a page from my new book response pack.

Click on the picture or HERE to take you to the pack where you can download the preview file and grab the freebie.

Thanks Jennifer, for the opportunity to post on your blog

Easy Vocabulary Centers!

2013-06-16T15:14:00.000-04:00

Today I redid my Vocabulary Center Graphic Organizer and took the old one down. The new file is soooo much better than my old one. Now everything is in color and just beautiful. This is what they look like.

I made 32 graphic organizers this morning at 5 A.M.!! Sixteen of them are in color and 16 of them are black lined for copying. I plan to use the colored versions on my Promethean Board and annotate over them.

The thing I like most about graphic organizers like this is that they almost teach for you. Once your students learn what to do the first time, they can pretty much roll with it.

I recommend creating a Vocabulary booklet to document the vocabulary learned throughout whatever book you are teaching. Plus, it is a really nifty study guide when it comes time for a vocabulary test!! Just click on a thumb nail to go to TpT to grab it.

Hope you enjoy this!!

I've Been Squirrel-Napped!!!

2013-06-13T12:53:00.001-04:00

Hi Diddly-Ho, Neighbors! Not your usual greeting when you arrive? It's because this blog has been hijacked!!!! By a squirrel!!!
Yep, Squirrels here. I told our pal Jenn to take a break and relax, to put her feet up, to eat loads of chocolate, to take a nap, to enjoy an adult frothy beverage and VEGE OUT! And all of this can be done "guilt free" because IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!!! YEAH! All of those things (and many more) can happen WITH NO GUILT- I mean, none- at all. Naps don't count against you. There aren't any calories or fat in ANY of the food you eat. Chores get done while you are kicked back in the lazyboy. I swear.

****Disclaimer- The owner of this blog and author of this post claim no liability for any stunts pulled while indulging or any tummy aches acquired from too much eating.

**** Jenn told me, she said, "Squirrels- please, please, please make sure you tell EVERYONE how old I am!" I was all like, "What? Really?" She insisted!!! So, we can all wish Jenn a very happy ---- birthday! (Man, I WISH I was sitting next to her while she read that part..... ha ha! I'm a stinker)

So anyway, thinking about Jenn's "summer" birthday, made me think of all the sweeties in my room this year who have June and July birthdays. Each time a mommy would come in with a dozen or two cupcakes, they would come up to me and remind me that "My birthday is when we are outta school, so I can't bring cupcakes". Insert sad face here. -----------> I mean, we all know the truth, right people? We got into this gig for some pretty big reasons:

#1 Only working 8-3
# 2 No Weekends Ever
#3 Summers and Holidays off
#4 A potential for having cupcakes on at least 20 out of your 180 day schedule

(I totally cracked up writing 1-3... I hate it when people say those things!!!) But I am NOT joking about #4!!! When I get my roster on those first few days of school, the first thing I do is look a their birthdays. All of the June and July babies are immediately singled out....those are the children who will not be bringing me Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Icing from Publix. I won't lie. This a like a "demerit", sort of like "strike one"!! They have a lot of making up to do and they haven't even met me yet!!! Just kidding (maybe). I tell the sweeties that mommy can always bring them in before school is out and we can celebrate with them AND they will have their summer celebration, too! It's a win- win (for me).

Before I took over Jenn's blog for the day, I thought it would be super cool to post about how we all celebrate with our sweeties on their special day- maybe even link up. But after some looking around, I saw that two of our blogging buds have already done this and there are some FANTASTIC ideas on here!!!

Follow the links to check out each of their linkys.

Stephanie from Falling into First

Stephanie's Linky

Denise from Sunny Days in Second

Denise's Linky

All joking aside, I realized that I was going to miss the birthdays of my summer babies too late in the game my first year of teaching. It was after I had dropped the ball that I started letting mom's know about the option of bringing in treats early and I make sure that we acknowledge their special day coming up during those last couple of weeks. For now I am going to wish our Summer Sweetie, Jenn, a very Happy ----Birthday. Here's to hoping she had a very relaxing, indulgent day! And a thank you to her for letting me "take over" for the day!!

Jenn and I would love for you to tell us what you do for those "Summer Sweeties" in your class each year!~

Reading Without Limits Book Study, Week 2

2013-06-12T11:25:00.001-04:00

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to participate in this GREAT book study again today!

I want to again point out the schedule we are going to be following.

Feel Free to Pin This!

If you haven't purchased the book you can find it at Amazon! Just click on the link below and you can go straight to the book to purchase it.

Just click here to purchase!

Last week, OUR FIRST QUESTION was

WHAT WILL I GAIN FROM TAKING PART IN THIS BOOK STUDY?

Personally, I hope to gain some new techniques to use and possibly refine some of my old techniques so that I can be more effective!

Remember we have this WONDERFUL BLOG that we can explore. You can get lost in it and best of all.....it goes with the book! Also, here is the website for the book and the Facebook page that goes with it, too!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

Here are some questions to think about and to respond to in the comments section later on:

Now to get started looking at

Chapter 1--Finding Students Reading Levels

You can see that there are 4 focus points for chapter 1 <they are found on pg 25 of the book>: Figure out the best levels for students by using running records, do group inventories to save time, match students with their correct reading level, and increase peer support.

Page 27 and 28 refers to Vygostsky, and I have to tell you that all I could remember about him before opening this book was that he was an atheist. I had never connected him to the Zone of Proximal Development or differentiation in the classroom. I have to admit to a tiny bit of an increase in admiration for him now!

1. How would you define the "Zone of Proximal Development"?

2. Have you ever given a running record? What is your experience with them?

3. What is the difference between a self-correction and a miscue?

4. Why are tiered questions and retellings so important?

5. Using the table on page 34, what correlations do you see?

6. What is a QRI-5 and how can it be used as a group inventory?

7. What is the difference in the type of texts that are used for choice reading, guided reading, and shared reading? Where might we put Independent reading? <CHALLENGE: The first person that emails me a graphic of a table explaining this visually so that I can post it next week can go to my Teacher's Pay Teacher's store and choose an item that will be emailed to him or her as a thank you!>

8. Read page 43. Here is that Mild, Medium, and Spicy thing again!!! <Create an example of an Anchor Chart that could be used in the classroom in graphic form or take a picture of it and email it in for us to look at next week. The first person to email an example in will also get to choose an item from my store!>

Chapter 2--Teaching Students to Understand What They Read

You can see that there are 4 focus points for chapter 1 <they are found on pg 25 of the book>: the importance of read alouds and think alouds, checking for understanding, avoiding pitfalls, choosing a 'just right' text for a think aloud, strategies like 'figuring it out' and paraphrasing, teaching strategies that cultivate lifelong readers.

9. Pg. 52: Who is James Lee and what did he figure out?

10. What is strategic reading and why is it important? How does it work? What does it look like? <Hint: Look for a video to leave in the comment section that shows what strategic reading looks like>

11. What does a dependent reader look like/sound like/work like? <In the comment section tell us about a dependent reader you had and what you did to help him/her>

12. What is paraphrasing? How does it work?

13. Page 57: What is the gradual release of responsibility? What would it look like in your classroom?

14. What does it mean to 'check for understanding'?

15. What are some strategies that can be used to move passive learners into becoming direct learners? <Hint: Choose 2 strategies and describe them in the comment section....you never know if I might choose someone to win something. =)>

16. Just for fun--what is a rotten tomato???

17. What is a good think aloud made of? How do you choose a think aloud?

18. Highlight, tag, dog-ear, paper clip <or sumpin'> pages 68-78. How can you go wrong with these pages??? These are the BEST PAGES EVER!!!

Resources:

An example of a Five Finger Test Poster by my friend Lyndsey Kuster...she has some of the cutest stuff!!!

Guided Reading Growth Chart

Fry Graph for Estimating Readability

Suggestions on how to set up a leveled library

Here is a button for you to use on your blog if you would like to incorporate your thoughts into a post:

GIVEAWAY RE-RUN--IT'S FIXED! Are you Eco-Literate? What DOES That Even Mean?

2013-06-11T20:17:00.000-04:00

NOTE: THE LINK FOR THE GIVEAWAY DID NOT WORK THE FIRST GO AROUND SO I AM RESENDING IT OUT NOW THAT I HAVE FIXED IT. SO SORRY!

It's time for another giveaway! Take a look at this book by Daniel Goeman, Lisa Bennett, an Zenobia Barlow.

Click to see this book at Amazon!

Educators today face a tough audience...one of the biggest challenges is to balance emotional, social, and ecological ideas of life. The book gives educators an idea of how to do this and how to nurture our students so that they have empathy for every living thing on our planet. Want your students to be global learners? Then this is the book for you! And guess what??? You get to win it! No, I'm not kidding! Just click on some things in the Rafflecopter box and enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chit Chat With Jayne

2013-06-11T09:41:00.000-04:00

Hi! I'm Jayne and you could say I'm a bit of a "drama queen." When my friend Jennifer asked me to be a guest blogger, I knew right away what I wanted to share with all the fun teachers out there in blogging land—Arts Integration! When I got my master's degree in arts integration I was teaching second grade and busy, busy learning about comprehension strategies. So I decided to put two things I love together...the arts and reading. Here's a little explanation...

There are six reading comprehension strategies, right?

Making connections, visualizing, inferring, asking questions,

determining importance, and synthesizing.

There are also six arts modalities. They are visual art, music,

creative movement, poetry, storytelling, drama.

Why put the two together? The arts enhance the process of

learning. The arts develop creative and critical thinking skills.

The arts involve the multiple intelligences—linguistic, spatial,

kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, musical, interpersonal,

intrapersonal, and naturalist. The arts help you reach

children with special needs. The arts are FUN!

Want to learn more? Here are some great sites and blogs

that I recommend. Just click to explore.

I also hope you'll stop by my blog. You'll find ideas for using

children's books to teach the comprehension strategies.

Each idea gives the focus reading strategy and the

integrated art modality.

Hope you enjoyed chatting with Jayne....leave some comments below and feel free to engage in some chit chat!!!

DNA and Summer Bridges

2013-06-09T12:08:00.001-04:00

Hi ya'll! I have lots of new followers <which I hope actually read blogs and don't just scan them for the freebies> and so I decided to share something VERY Important!

A few months ago I had my DNA tested because I have some very strange autoimmune health problems. Did you know that 80% of teachers in America have some sort of autoimmune health problems? Autoimmune health problems come about because they are hidden in our genes and aren't supposed to be a problem....but stress <i.e. teaching> can wake them up and WALLAH...you have a horrible health problem that you can never get rid of.

An added benefit was that some cousins and I are trying to solve an old family story about an adoption and a 'lost' last name which means the one we use isn't the one we are supposed to be using! Since genealogy is my hobby, I was eager to through my genes into the 'bag'!

When I got my reports back, I learned a lot of information that has turned out to be very important. I only have a 1% chance of having Parkinson's or Altzeimers, I have a 40% chance of having Macular Degeneration, and I should be careful if I am ever put on a blood thinner because I have a huge chance of my blood becoming too thin. Well...this past week my mom was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration and we found out that she has lost all of her 'right before your eyes' vision but still has some of her peripheral vision. So...the chances of me having the same problems are only 40%, but are OH SO Real after realizing that there are no glasses or surgeries that will help my mom see again. I now have a plan in place...special vitamins that are created just for the eyes...and the hope that I won't go blind as early as my 71 year old mother. I encourage you to have your DNA tested so you know what might be lurking in the future. To me, this DNA test is better than any insurance plan I could ever purchase.

The best test on the market can be found at 23andme and they are $99, but the benefits are well worth it. Think about it.

Now on to the torture I am putting my children through this summer....actually my son and godchildren think it is torture and my daughter loves it. I got each of them workbooks from Summer Bridge so that they don't lose any of the learning from this past year. I have a set time for 'playing school' each day and then check their work afterwards. I HIGHLY recommend these for kids that you have at home or even to have on for skill work during the year. All you have to do is click on a pic to fly through the Internet to Amazon and order!

Since several of you may be new to reading my blog, I am figuring you may be new to my freebies, also. So, be sure to visit my store at Teacher's Pay Teachers to download my freebies! Be sure to follow, also, so you can find out when I add something. Just between you and me, I have a HUGE word sort packet that is about to be added to the store and I will be updating it A BUNCH. So, be on the lookout for it and grab it early because as I add things the price will likely have to go up because of the amount of time this packet is taking.

Now, be sure to come back this week to pick up some of the freebies that will be shared. And, you can even join in with our book study!! Can you tell I do all my shopping through Amazon??!! Until the next time...

Book Giveaway Winner and all sorts of other stuff!!

2013-06-08T21:08:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Stacy B. She won The Transparent Teacher Giveaway! If you aren't Stacy, but you still want the book, just click below and go to Amazon and put your order in!

Also, I wanted to let you know that I got my Easy-to-Fix-and-Get-Ready Summer Sanity packet finished. So, if you are still in school or you have kids at home that you need to entertain, this is a great packet for you. Just print it off and give it to your kids to fix if you are at home <only if you like living on the edge!>. My group here at home are patiently <for now> waiting on me to get some more color ink to print off the flip flop antonym matching game. You'd think that they haven't seen flip flops before!!!

Here is what the cover looks like:

You can check it out on Teachers Pay Teachers and have your kids review antonyms, dictionary drills, sentence work, and ABC order. Or.....you can go and enter this summer giveaway and get this same pack <because everyone wins!!>. I vote for the cheap route so you just have to enter the giveaway and follow all of the blogs that are listed.

Another remind: This Wednesday I will have a blog up for Chapter 1 of Reading Without Limits

and will be including some freebies, so you won't want to miss that. I'm pretty excited about it because the author of the book has already been by to offer support, so if we have any questions, we will defer to her! It isn't often that we get an offer like that!!! So....grab a book and study along with us. It is pretty easy...all you have to do is answer a question or two <or chit chat--that's why we are converting over to the website www.chartsnchitchat.com....I'm all about the chit chat these days!!> in the comment section of the blog. If you haven't left a comment yet, PLEASE LEAVE ONE!!!

Have a great weekend! I'll be looking for you to come by!

Swimming into Summer Giveaway

2013-06-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is one of the bet giveaways of the summer! It's not just a giveaway where only one or two people get something-- every single person will receive the items!!!!! We wanted a fun and different way to thank our followers. So here it is!

You can receive ALL of this!

To receive the Swimming into Summer items, all you need to do is follow ALL of our blogs and come back and fill out our form. That's it! You can enter now through Sunday, June 9th. We'll start sending them out on Monday, June 10th. You can go to each blog, by clicking on each button below.

Remember, all you need to do to get all of these is just follow each blog and enter using this form. Even if you're already out of school, you can use these next year! :)
Hurry up though! The giveaway will only run through Sunday, June 9th. So sign up now and we will begin sending out the products next Monday!

Reading Without Limits Book Study--Week 1

2013-06-05T08:10:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to participate in this GREAT book study! Today's post is going to start with an introduction and some housekeeping. First, I want to let you know that I have ADDED a new title to the blog and we are now officially Charts 'N' Chit Chat. We have a new address on the web: http://www.chartsnchitchat.com and a new website on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/chartsnchitchat.

Here is the schedule we are going to be following. You will see that today that we are just getting started and we are going to become familiar with some outside resources that may assist us with the book study. But first, here is our schedule:

Feel Free to Pin This!

If you haven't purchased the book you can find it at Amazon! Just click on the link below and you can go straight to the book to purchase it.

Just click here to purchase!

OUR FIRST QUESTION

WHAT WILL I GAIN FROM TAKING PART IN THIS BOOK STUDY?

First of all, you will gain some resources (those are call freebies in a blogger's world!!!), lots of knowledge, a large base of 'internet friends' that have the same struggles as you, and tools for your reading toolbox!!!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

Here are some questions to think about and to respond to in the comments section later on:

1. What are the limits your students face when learning to read. How did these limits get placed on them? What do you plan to do about these limits?

2. Who is Maddie Witter and why did she write this book?

3. Go to this WONDERFUL BLOG and explore. Tell us about it!

4. Did you know that there is a website for the book with resources? Tell us about it!

5. Did you know that there is a Facebook page just about the book? Go like it! What is being said on the FB page?

6. In the preface of the book, we learn the purpose of the book. What is the purpose of the book?

7. What do you think of the terms 'mild, medium, and spicy'? How are they used?

8. In the preface, we learn what we need to do to help struggling readers. Choose one to discuss. How do you or how do you plan to make this happen in your classroom?

9. What is the Reading Without Limits mission and how can it apply to you, your children, or your students? Why is it important?

10. In the introduction we learn about the components of a strong reading program. What are they? Which one are you struggling with? Do you have a plan to improve it? Can we help you come up with a plan to improve it?

11. Take a look at the Reading Checklist for Part I. Can you check those items off? Do you have plan ready that will make you and your students stronger?

12. Why was this book chosen for this summer's book study?

Here is a button for you to use on your blog if you would like to incorporate your thoughts into a post:

Thanks for dropping by...don't forget to pick a question or 2 and discuss them in the comment section! I can't wait until next week when we really get to delve into the book even more! Also, for next week, read Chapters 1 and 2 and look for some great freebies!!! Also, thanks to 3AM Teacher for the use of the cool orange shell background.

Classroom Library Check Out

2013-06-01T01:33:00.000-04:00

I hear the angels in the background. I am wanting to belt out the chorus of Handel's Hallelujah.....I am.....complete.

Every year I loose close to 30-50 books because my students find some way to sneak them out and never return them. I beg for their return, but don't make too big of a deal for them because my hope is that they are still being read when they go home.

But now.....NOW, I have found a solution! BookSource's Classroom Organizer.

Using an app on your phone, you scan ISBN numbers to put books into your classroom library. You input your students names. Then, they can use the computer to type in the ISBN number or key words of the book's title and check them out. There is also a way to return the books.

Problem Solved: I know how to attach lost books with a face!!!

You have GOT to go look at this. I have used my own kids as Guinea pigs and it works!!! I could just dance a jig!!!

The Transparent Teacher--Win It!

2013-05-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Click here to view the book on Amazon!

I received a wonderful book from the one of the largest publishers in the United States, Jossey-Bass, to review. The book is called The Transparent Teacher by Dr. Trent Kaufman and Emily Graham. The book is all about taking charge of instruction in your own classroom and having others collect data about how you teach. It encourages the 'lone wolf teacher' to be brave and bring other teachers into the classroom instead of relying on administrators' advice. In this type of scenario, the administrator is no longer making decisions about tenure independently or assigning grade level placement for the next year depending on just those one or two snapshots of the classroom during random visitation or that wonderful 'dog and pony show' that we have all put together before to impress our bosses. Once the data is collected, your team meets to discus the teaching methods and strategies used to teach the lesson that was observed. The book is set up to teach you how to direct your own observations and then choose the professional development that is best for you, rather than depend on the one size fits all approach to professional development that most school systems offer.

I found one of the quotes by one of the authors, Dr. Kaufman, interesting. He said, "When professional learning opportunities exist outside of the teacher's own classroom, the teacher encounters the challenge of transferring learning from a training session to the classroom." I hadn't really thought about that being a challenge...but it is...how often have we all been in training that we never used because we were overwhelmed in the classroom. I think these 2 authors have a great idea. If this is something you would like to learn more about, just enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next Year's Plans and This Summer's Book Study

2013-05-28T07:58:00.001-04:00

If you look up at the top, you will notice that I have a slightly different banner, courtesy of my friend Tessa <her info is down at the bottom if you need her to tweak something for you>. No, I'm not going through an identity crisis....I'm just switching things up and in just a few weeks you will be able to find me at a new .com address. I'd tell you what it is now, but can't remember. For Real! Maybe I am having an identity crisis!!! By the way, if you are getting a pop up that requests you to sign in and put in a passcode, just cancel it and keep on reading. You are in no danger of being hacked. Something is up with the html code as we change things around on here. Never fear....Tessa is on the job!

I've already started a new Pinterest account, so if you want to start following me there, I will be grateful. My address there is http://pinterest.com/chartsnchitchat and you can see all of the same things I had pinned under Best Practices 4 Teaching with some new organization. I'll be working on that allllllll summer long! If you have some specific boards that you would like to see, leave me a comment or 2 and I'll see what I can do!

I saw this cute little linky part hosted by

and decided to add in my thoughts. So here is what I said....

And don't forget....I have a book study coming up, so you need to order your book now if you want to participate. More details will be coming this week. I also have LOTS of guest posters lined up for the summer to keep good info coming your way, so be sure to share all of this with your teacher friends. Here is the info. Right now the book is on sale and they are saying that it may take an extra couple of days for delivery, so order it as soon as possible! Just click on the pic of the book below and you can go to Amazon to purchase it! Get ready for good incite, great ideas, and maybe a freebie or 2 here and there!

If you click below, the link will take you straight to Amazon where you can purchase the book and be ready to rock and roll when the book study begins.

Just click and go!

Bye for now!

Out of School !!!

2013-05-23T21:53:00.000-04:00

Finito!

Chow!

Alveeterzane !

Areevadirtcheap!!

Adios!

School is OUT!!!!

And me, well....I am a teacher that is just getting stuck with a lot of professional development days through the summer.

But, never mind that. It is time to celebrate!

Click here to go to shop at Teacher's Notebook!

Click here to go shop at Teachers Pay Teachers!

Enjoy your browsing time....but most importantly, enjoy your summer!

Blogging Made EASY!!!

2013-05-20T19:02:00.001-04:00

Here I am....blogging....on my phone.....with Dragon! I'm just talking away....to myself. That may see odd, but I'll just email it to myself and WALLAH! a blog post will be done. All I have to do is copy and paste it into blogger and add a pic or too and I am good to go!

The fantastic thing is that once you email it to yourself, you can copy and paste it into any document and be ready to go!!! You can click on the icon below and download it onto your iPhone or iPad in a jiffy. Did I mention that it is free?

I also wanted to remind all of my readers that starting in June, I will be doing a book study on the book Reading Without Limits by Maddie Witter. It is an EXCEPTIONAL book with lots of great info that can be easily implemented into the classroom! If you click below, the link will take you straight to Amazon where you can purchase the book and be ready to rock and roll when the book study begins.

You WILL want to be a part of this book study! There will be lots of freebies!!! Order your copy of the book NOW!!! You will want to keep the book around, not only for the study, but to refer to later on as your new school year starts!

Elements of a Writing Conference

2013-05-16T13:29:00.001-04:00

An effective writing conference can reinforce a mini-lesson or previous teaching point and always moves the student forward as a writer by teaching him/her the current piece of writing.

Research

Make sure you thoroughly look over the student's writing before making comments. Check previous conference records to see what other comments, corrections, etc. have been made. Ask the student "What are we working on today? What are you trying to do as a writer?

Compliment/Give Support

Make sure you find something to complement the writer on. You want to follow a 'know and grow' mentality. Tell the student what he or she 'knows' <is doing well> and the student will rise to the occasion!

Decide and Teach/Reteach

Choose one area that you would like to reinforce. Use language like "Let me teach you something else that good writer's do..." or "I saw this in a book one time. The author _________. Let's see if you can do something like this." Another way to introduce a teaching point is to say, "Today I'd like to show you how to ________ your writing."

Guided Practice

Guide the student and give support. Do not abandon your writer! Help the writer find a place in the writing to incorporate the new skill. At this point, it is OK to leave the writer and let him or her work independently.

Link

Give a reminder to the student that he/she is to try this during all writer's workshops.

**This was based on the Writer's Workshop Framework that was developed at the national Reading and Writing Institute at the Teacher's College of Columbia University

Below is my Know or Grow Writer's Conference From that helps me make sure that I cover all of the parts of a good writing conference. Feel free to click on the pic and download it for FREE!!

I also wanted to let all of my readers know that starting in June, I will be doing a book study on the book Reading Without Limits by Maddie Witter. It is an EXCEPTIONAL book with lots of great info that can be easily implemented into the classroom! If you click below, the link will take you straight to Amazon where you can purchase the book and be ready to rock and roll when the book study begins.

Have a great Friday!

Anchor Charts vs. Public Records

2013-05-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Do you know the difference between an anchor chart and a public record? Bring together a room full of teachers and I am sure no two will give the same answer. So, when my clever team mate posed the question to me I gave her my always witty southern remark of “Well duh of course I do”. The truth is there is no set definition for what an anchor chart and public record actually is. Educational resources vary upon criteria’s of each and it seems examples never seem to look the same. As one gets into researching both it becomes a swirl of confusion and so overwhelming most give up the effort. In simple but direct terms my definition for both is an anchor chart is teacher created and a public record is student created. I decided to tackle both this year head on after a 4 day training of Best Practices in Math provided by our school system. In order to give myself a starting point I came up with key factors each should have.

Anchor Charts:

· Teacher Created

· Students can add to one

· Must highlight key points only

· DON’T make is busy try to be clutter free

· Make them student friendly

· Remember they are used as tools so display in an easily accessible way

Anchor charts are a great teaching tool for students and are part of the learning process. However, they can sometimes become more of a distraction if they are busy, contain too much fluff, and cannot be used easily. To avoid making it busy I use dark colors to address key ideas and light colors as an accent piece, this helps students differentiate between each. Lose the fluff! Anchor charts should only highlight key teaching points, especially in lower grades. Provide pictures or drawings if the vocabulary is a struggle for students so that they can make connections between the word and picture. Last, make sure the anchor charts are easily accessible. Once an anchor chart is completed I hang it on my front board and it will stay there for the remainder of the nine week period. At the end of nine week period I take pictures of each chart and place them in a Math Anchor Charts binder. Inside the binder each topic is broken into dividers (i.e. Addition, Subtraction, Numbers, Money, and Clocks). Just because you have moved onto a new topic does not mean that the old chart is not needed.

Public Records:

· Student Created

· Displays students mastery of a skill

· Try to make connections with several skills

· Remember to teach them “how” to make one

· Praise, Praise, Praise, and Praise their effort no matter how big or small!

Public records have become a regular for my classroom during assessments. Instead of students simply taking a test a public record gives them the opportunity to actually show mastery of the skill (And honestly they are very excited to make their own poster). With my students public records I focused mainly on Best Practices strategies by using the four square mats/posters. In each of the four boxes a student or students had to complete a different skill using one given problem. The student below was given the number sentence 23 – 9 and was told to create a word problem, write the number sentence, show it in a picture, and show how to regroup. Although she was given one problem I managed to asses her on several different skills. Another example is using it with one given number by showing it in longs/cubes, expanded form, place value house, and odd/even. After using them quite a bit students would expect them and ask to do them more then I required! Ownership is by far the best attribute for a 2^nd grader to have! Now, I by no means think that my definition, examples, or opinions are how anchor charts and public records must be done. However a teacher wants to do them is fine as long as it is used a successful tool.

Jennifer Brown

Jennifer Brown is my partner in crime....the 'other' part of my brain and my 2nd grade teammate. She is currently working on her Master's degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Mother's Day Fun and a Play

2013-05-08T19:57:00.001-04:00

Have you ever read this story? A small RTI group performed it for my class today. They did a great job and looked darling in their masks from Masketeers!

It was the best production of the year!! The crowd went wild with excitement at the end!

We also used tissue paper <see the pile on the left> to make some quick Mother's Day gift's and flowers. But then, we learned that our flowers could be re-styled and turned into hair accessories! Even the boys got into it by using 'chenille stems' to create antennae and adding tissue paper to the ends. Hillarious!! What a day.

Don't forget that tonight is the last night for the Teachers Appreciation Sale at Teachers Pay Teachers!

Just click here to head to my store!

Teacher Appreciation Sale May 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th

2013-05-06T20:28:00.001-04:00

Well...It is that time of year again....Feel free to go visit my store and shop til your fingers can't poke those keys anymore!!! Think ahead....grab that curriculum map out and see what you need to make next year better, and shop SMART!!!

You can go through the linky below that has links to the stores of Teacher's Pay Teacher's top sellers! The links will take you right to their stores, too! Enjoy your time browsing!!!

50% Off Teacher's Notebook Teacher's Appreciation Sale

2013-05-04T15:57:00.001-04:00

My Teacher Appreciation Sale at Teachers Notebook May 4th - May 10th!

Posted: 03 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT

Best sale in a while! I'm not one to 'hawk my wears' much but this is a pretty good sale. A long one, too! Enjoy it!

Kidspiration Review by a Mystery Blogger!!!

2013-04-30T20:04:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone,

Nicole here, from Today, in Second Grade! Jenn has so graciously invited me to guest blog and I couldn't be happier! I am also beyond excited to share some great resources with you. My school just recently purchased Kidspiration and I have been having a blast playing around with it and discovering all the wonderful things it has to offer.

If you are not familiar with the software, it is a program that is geared towards grades K-5 and serves as a great visual tool for those students who may need a little extra something, but can also be used with all students. My kiddies looooooooove it!

It is mostly known for its great story/idea mapping but you can also create all kinds of fun and engaging activities for language arts, math, science, and even social studies!

Many students can map out their ideas for a story and then click on “outline mode." This drafts out their story for them.

Then, they simply copy and paste to a word document, remove the headings if they so wish, and VOILA! An instant story for them to share. This is great for those reluctant writers and even those who feel overwhelmed by a blank page. Once they map out their ideas and copy them to a document, they get to see how much they actually have to say about a topic. It’s a great tool!

I decided to try out the math component with my students last week. We are working on Data Management and I was looking to create a meaningful, fun, and engaging lesson on Venn Diagrams.

I figured, it’s never too soon to try out Kidspiration and took a go at it. It was extremely user friendly and saved me quite a lot of time.

This is our completed diagram. My students really enjoyed sorting all the objects in the correct place. Some of the graphics are even animated! They got a real kick out of that. For an added challenge, I asked one of my enriched students to create a Venn Diagram problem for us on the computer (while others reviewed the concept again) and then we completed it on the SmartBoard.

Once we returned to our seats, the students were expected to complete a Venn Diagram of their own. I created a small package with various Venn Diagram activities.

First, they sorted the object cards on a Venn Diagram. Then, they drew the objects on their own diagram and finally, they colored it.

They learned a lot and had great fun doing it. The amazing thing about Kidspiration is that you can try it out for FREE! Check out their website and download a free trial. If you like it, you might want to ask your school to purchase the full program.

It’s well worth it!

Click HERE to learn more about Kidspiration.

Click on the picture below to grab yourself a free copy of my Venn Diagram Fun.

Have fun exploring!

Nicole

Hope you enjoyed Nicole's visit!!

Survival Suggestions (When Testing)

2013-04-29T20:52:00.001-04:00

It is that time of the year.....testing begins for us tomorrow. I'm just going to count down the days! But, I thought I would share some of the things that we will be doing in order to survive! To be honest....Amazon is my biggest survival technique because I HATE SHOPPING because I always get things I don't need. So, I actually save money by paying a little shipping. Everything that you see below is linked to Amazon to make this shopping expedition (if you want some of this wonderful stuff) is even faster for you!

First on the list is

because everyone needs a little fun in a pouch! Besides that, it is my favorite candy. Plus, everyone wants to be in on the fun.

Next on my list is

This helps them work away their fidgets during the test and reminds them to bubble in those circles the right way!

Next, there is

I didn't really buy this but thought it was funny that you could get it on Amazon!!! =)

I read this to my kids to prepare them for the big test

and I read

And since there is a lot of walking around, I needed some slippers that were appropriate for the classroom, so I got these. Only 1 is in the picture, but I swear I got 2 of them when I ordered them. =)

And of course, every day I will deserve a treat.....just need a little salt and lime.

What the hey....I may even use this sucker with the kids (without the salt and lime)!!! I may have to go looking for some of those nifty umbrellas for our drinks!!

And I am SERIOUSLY thinking about getting this (I can get 2 day shipping you know) for Friday when the test is all over....

So now you have it....these are my survival suggestions for surviving THE TEST. And...since this test is 35% of my evaluation (thank you State Board of Education), some of these survival techniques will be used more than others!!

For those of you that are finished testing, I am so happy for you. For those of you that are testing now, good luck!!

End of the Year Tool Box Items: Outpost by Auroric Dreams

2013-04-28T15:12:00.001-04:00

Every year, as the end approaches, I look for items or tricks of the trade that will help me keep my kids excited about learning and on the less rowdy. So...this year.....here is something from my toolbox that I am REALLY excited about!

This weekend I talked with my cousin Tony Gerber, on Facebook. He and I have spent years working on our family's genealogy together and love to trade stories. He lives in Nashville, so he is very involved in the music scene there. But, you won't connect Tony with the Grand Ole Opry....he has his own brand of music!

This is what allmusic.com says about him:
Musician, visual artist, and record-label entrepreneur -- Tony Gerber has proven to be the Renaissance man of Nashville's music underground. Prolifically creative, Gerber has helped broaden Music City's artistic palette. As a member of the trailblazing electronic music band Spacecraft and as the owner of the Internet-based Space for Music record label, Gerber has helped popularize space music both across the United States and in Europe.

When we were talking, he filled me in on one of his latest musical adventures, Outpost. All of his music is VERY relaxing, so I grabbed it to use in my classroom while my kids are working. Tony uses electronic equipment and has a variety of friends with different talents and they all work together to create 'space music'. I'm not sure what the definition of 'space music' is, but I love the soothing tones and rhythms of the music!!

You can click on the link under the album cover/button to find out more about Tony's music and even download it from iTunes. I HIGHLY recommend it <not just because Tony and I are family> but because it is such a good classroom management tool at this time of the year!

Outpost - Auroric Dreams

Kaleidoscope App Reduces Stress!

2013-04-25T08:30:00.000-04:00

I found this awesome app for iPads and iPhones and had to share it with you. It is one of the most relaxing apps I have found and I have to admit, the child in me made me buy it!! It didn't cost much and it is great entertainment for kids <and teachers> that are stressed and need a break, waiting at the doctor's office, or wherever there is a lapse in activity. I have to admit....it has me feeling pretty good about myself because I have produced some pretty fantastic designs! Thumbs up for the Kaleidoscope App!

Heads Up: I even use this with my behavior kids because it calms them right down and have written it into SEVERAL behavior plans!! These were created on my phone!! I have many more stored on my iPad, too!

Pin-o-vating Mother's Day Craft

2013-04-24T20:18:00.001-04:00

This week we have been working on adjectives again as we are getting ready for our BIG test next week. So, we decided to go ahead and work on a Mother's Day Activity that we adapted from Pinterest. We did this same activity last year, also.

I have included the poem that we will be putting on the cone of the ice cream so that you can use it if you want to do the same activity.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of one of our ice cream cone! All we have left to do is cut out the triangle poem and glue it on the cone!