A Teacher's Notebook

Mysteries, Martin Luther King Jr. and Report Cards

2012-01-16T21:21:00.001-05:00

It is the new 9 weeks! Report Cards will be sent home on Friday. You may keep the report card, but please sign and return the envelope. The fourth grade teachers will include a conference notice if we feel that we need a conference at this time. Of course you are always more than welcome to request a conference...just send in a note or call the office to be placed on the conference night schedule.

Our mystery unit continues and we are really enjoying reading the mysteries at http://kids.mysterynet.com/.

Next week we will begin writing our own mini-mysteries. This is not an easy task, but I know the kids will do a great job!

Our spelling words this week are focused on the theme of Civil Rights and Martin Luther King Jr. Everyone has 12 words to learn, and words are chosen on Monday. The kids are very honest about choosing challenging words that are right for them. Then the words are written in their planners in the Spelling section for the week. The other 4th grade teachers have allowed me to steal a few minutes of homeroom time for the kids to complete this work!

Speaking of Martin Luther King Jr...WOW! We had a great discussion on Friday, and the classes seemed very interested in the Civil Right movement. This is one the the reasons that I love teaching Language Arts. I have the freedom to go along with the student's interests while still covering the state standards!

Flocabulary: Five Things

2012-01-11T07:04:00.001-05:00

Mystery Unit Unfolds!

2012-01-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

The mystery is just beginning!
We are reading From the Mixed-Up File of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
I found the BEST WEBSITE! http://picturebookreport.com/category/from-the-mixed-up-files-of-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler/
As the creator Meg Hunt states on the site,
Picture Book Report is an extended love-song to books. Fifteen illustrators will reach out to their favorite books and create wonderful pieces of art in response to the text that has moved them, shaped them, or excited them. From sci-fi to children’s books to fantasy to serious novels, we’ll cover them all. For three weeks out of every month there will be a new illustration every day from one of us along with our thoughts, process, anything we can come up with. Together we will try to excite readers both new and old and capture some of that magic of storytelling.
I love these illustrations and can't wait to show the kids. They are going to flip. Hope the site isn't blocked.

Each student has picked 12 spelling words from the following list:

scene

mystery

spy

disguise

detective

red herring

clue

solve

suspicious

suspects

hunch

investigate

question

case

crime

wrong doing

solution

alibi

sleuth

witness

victim

evidence

proof

treasure

innocent

guilty

reason

explain

decide

evidence

footprints

fingerprints

gumshoe

Can't wait to show the kids this site too! They will have a chance to explore the site with the net books this week.
http://www.metmuseum.org/

Happy 2012!

2012-01-02T17:24:00.001-05:00

What a fun way to start the new school year... a linky party!

Mor over at A Teacher's Treasure is having a 2012 resolution link. I thought I would join in!

directions:

1. copy and paste this image to your post & link it to this party!

2. Make sure you include both personal & professional goals.

3. No more then 3-5 goals for each.

Here are mine!

Personal:

1. Goodbye to fast food.

2. Goodbye to Diet Coke.

3. Hello to Zumba 3 times a week: Monday, Tuesday...Saturday?.

Professional

1. Lesson plans posted every week, on time!!!

2. Read 1 new children's lit book a week.

3. Take 2-3 pics of the classroom and student work and post to website.

*******************************

The first half of the school year is almost over...and I honestly think it was great. The break is a nice time to reflect and revamp some of the lesson plans and learning expectations for the class. We have covered several different genres and I am excited to begin a Mystery Unit!

Here are some mystery book recommendations:

Encyclopedia Brown

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Polar Express

2011-12-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

Chris Van Allsburg

2011-12-11T08:49:00.000-05:00

javascript:void(0)

ZooWeeMama!

2011-11-28T17:45:00.001-05:00

The Book Parade was great! Thanks to Mrs. Gorby, Mrs. McClish, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Huber and Mrs. Buzzard for announcing. I was able to get some video clips and have uploaded them to YouTube. Thanks to Miss Daley for letting me borrow an iPad! Thanks to Mr. Covert for bringing Arthur to the parade! I promise to work on my camera skills.
The classes have been working on earning a movie reward...Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They are almost there so we will probably be seeing it soon. Many kids have read the first book, so it will be interesting to compare the different versions.
Winter break and Christmas will be here before we know it!
Over the next 3 weeks, we will be reading and writing non-fiction. The focus of most of our reading will be centered around holiday traditions that we celebrate. Mrs. McClish and I are working together to cover Social Studies and Language Arts standards together.
Spelling:
This week: antonyms and holiday words
Dec. 5-9 homophones and Countries
Dec. 11-16 homographs and holiday words

Synonyms

2011-11-15T20:17:00.001-05:00

source unknown

This week our focus lessons are about different categories of words starting with a sampling of each: synonyms, antonyms, homophones and homographs.
We will be using activities from Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. I thought this information from the Brain Pop Jr. site was worth sharing...

"Explain to your children that they use synonyms and antonyms everyday without even knowing it. Synonyms are words that have the same or similar definitions. For example, a few synonyms forsmart are intelligent, brilliant, clever, or genius. Encourage your children to think of other synonyms.

Synonyms can make writing more powerful and bring words to life. Children should always look for ways to bolster their sentences by using strong verbs and vivid adjectives. We recommend watching the Similes movie together as a review. They can read what they have written and find synonyms for lackluster words. A thesaurus is a book that lists words and their synonyms. Explain that a thesaurus is different from a dictionary, which lists words and their definitions. Some thesauruses also provide antonyms for words.

An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning of another word. For example, a few antonyms for bored are excited, thrilled, energized, and wound up. Some words have only one antonym, such as black and white. Other words have many antonyms.

Brainstorming and using synonyms and antonyms are great ways to increase your children’s vocabulary and expose them to different words that are above their grade level. Reading also exposes your children to new words. Students should read actively and write down new words in their notebooks or have a dictionary handy to look up difficult words."

In addition, here are some other sites to use to at home for vocabulary building:

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/synonyms/

2nd Annual Joshua Dixon Reading Parade

2011-11-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

2nd Annual Joshua Dixon Reading Parade

Second Nine Weeks!

2011-10-24T18:02:00.000-04:00

After several weeks of reading fantasy books highlighting the works of Chris Van Allsburg and Roald Dahl, we are starting a new focus!
Jerry Spinelli"s Fourth Grade Rats

Reminders!

*It is Red Ribbon Week.
Monday: Animal Shirt
Tuesday: 70's, Tie-Dye
Wednesday: Blue jeans & denim
Thursday: CrAZy HaiR
Friday: PJ's

School pictures are in. I will send them home Tuesday.
*Report cards will be sent home on Friday! Please sign and return the envelope.
*Fall Fun Day is NEXT MONDAY! Please send costumes to school and we will get ready about 2:00 or so.

Effective Teaching Articles: Using A Multi-Sensory Approach For Students Who are Experiencing Trouble In Learning Sight Words

2011-10-13T07:26:00.000-04:00

Effective Teaching Articles: Using A Multi-Sensory Approach For Students Who are Experiencing Trouble In Learning Sight Words

2011-10-10T18:49:00.001-04:00

We finally finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was such a wonderful book and I think many kids are convinced that the book is better than either of the movies!

We will spend the next week or so reading many books by Chris Van Allsburg. He is the author of Jumanji and Zathura. He is both an amazing author and artist.

I found the book images from http://a-b-c-delicious.blogspot.com/, along with this GREAT description of his work. "Chris Van Allsburg is an AMAZING artist and storyteller. His picture books are full of mystery, suspense and science fiction. They are not best suited for little ones, however you could read Z was Zapped and a few others to younger readers. Although he is best known for his beloved Christmas book, The Polar Express, most of Van Allsburg's books are perfect for reading in October, with the mystery and eeriness that his books are full of. Welcome the autumn season in by reading The Widow's Broom and The Stranger. His illustrations are so incredible, you really have to spend more time looking at the pictures than reading the words. He captures so many emotions and leaves the reader thinking all the time. When you pick up these books for your child, make sure you read them together and discuss what happened in the book. Read it more than once and reinforce what you discussed. He leaves a lot of clues and children have to use inferencing to figure out exactly what went on. Inference is a sophisticated and important comprehension skill that good readers need to develop. Chris Van Allsburg is a great way to practice that skill with your child. His books are so fun! I promise you'll enjoy them as much as your child."
We spent time pre-testing over the Ninety Most Common Misspelled Words. We covered 40 of the words. The kids added the words they misspelled to their spelling list, and included social studies and science words if they needed extra to make a list of ten words. This spelling test will be on Friday.

On Friday, I will be presenting at the Mahoning County Educational Center’s Technology Conference!

Book of Spells Assignment

2011-10-04T21:29:00.001-04:00

Book of Spells

Oct. 3

2011-10-03T16:43:00.001-04:00

Well the weather this week is definitely screaming, "It is October!"
This past month we spent much time establishing our classroom routines and expectations. We are in full swing with our Reader's Workshop. Kids are reading, sharing, answering questioning and making connections daily. We have started Writer'sWorkshop, and will continue to work on the daily routines of writing.

We had over $300 in book orders! WOW! That means that we will get a TON of free books for the room. It is so exciting when the books come. They should be in some time this week.

Yes, more information about Spelling!
But after this, there probably won't be as many posts about it, so I wanted to make a few points.
I selected a list of words that the students might be spelling over the next month.
We went through list of words together: they tried to spell the word, I then put the correct spelling on the smart board.
If they spelled the word wrong, they circled it and it was then put onto their spelling list for the week. We tried to make sure everyone had words that they really needed to learn.
Every student has a highlighted list at school which stays in their Writing Folder. AND... Everyone wrote their words in their planner under the section Spelling Words for this week.
There is a test on spelling every Friday, unless we have a really short week or no school. In cases like Thanksgiving break for example, we will have words for two weeks. We will continue to move to having the students put words that they are misspelling in their writing onto the lists.

A few important dates:
NO early release Oct. 14
End of the 9 weeks...Oct. 21
Our Fall Fun Day is Monday, Oct. 31st!

One other note...The other day I was asked,
Why would I teach my students 3 Ways to Read a Book when so many of them are reading chapter books?

I really thought about this and actually found this online, which I believe, gives a great answer.

"Most of us have a wide spectrum of readers in our rooms. Intermediate teachers will tell you that the gap doesn't get smaller, but only increases in the later grades. By modeling three different ways to read, we meet the needs of our emergent readers by providing them with a way to successfully read a book. Validating these forms of reading helps create a climate where our students can honor and support each other. This culture is critical if our older emergent readers are going to honor where they are so they can grow and develop, instead of waste countless hours pretending to read books that help them save face, but fail to create real progress.

Three ways to read comes in handy for all students. Modeling reading the pictures provides them with a useful tool for reading non-fiction, (e.g., textbooks, charts, graphs). By modeling retelling, we are providing an approach to comprehending text used by many proficient readers. Because of these reasons, we find Three Ways to Read a Book to be a valuable lesson which benefits all students grades K -6."

Source: The Daily Café

Spelling Sept. 26

2011-09-26T16:29:00.000-04:00

More Spelling Info.
(I need to post about something other than spelling!)
Good news though...We are on our way to our individualized lists. The goal is to have each student learning words that they have misspelled in their writing notebooks. This is a slow process with 75+ students, but we are getting there!
This week every student has different words which came from a master list of words. The master list of words were words associated with autumn. Every student highlighted 12 words on the master list and will keep that list at school. They each copied their word list into their planner on p. 25.
Please study the words at home. Ideas: Write them once a night. Write them three times each. Have a practice spelling test. Go to Spelling City and play games with the words. There are lots of ways to practice.
If you are concerned about a low spelling test grade, you will be happy to know that I will drop the lowest spelling test grade for each nine weeks.

Vocabulary Site for Word Play Friday!

2011-09-22T19:03:00.001-04:00

This is a seriously addicting site. I am hoping to set a goal with the class of how many grains we want to reach together!

Free Rice http://www.freerice.com/
"Welcome to a secret weapon for encouraging vocabulary development and caring children families! Free Rice was originally developed as a method for helping vocabulary development, but now it also can be used for multiplication fact drill, chemistry, and second language practice. The site offers a word, then gives multiple choices for the meaning. A correct choice earns 10 grains of rice that show up in a wooden bowl on the side. Grains of rice are accumulated until 100 grains fill the bowl. The bowl is emptied and a running total is listed under the ever filling wooden bowl. As correct answers are given, the difficulty increases. An incorrect response adjusts the acceleration rate of difficulty and the incorrect word is added back into the rotation to be seen again. Groups can be set up to increase the rate of rice earned. The World Food Programme heads up the distribution of the rice earned by playing this game. To date, over 91 billion grains of rice have helped feed the hungry in our world."

Disclaimer: I did write the above blurb. I copied it from the OCTELA Newsletter Fall 2011.

Sept. 19-23

2011-09-19T18:16:00.001-04:00

Originally by Danielle Mahoney

This week we are concentrating on the reading and writing strategy of EXTENDING VOCABULARY.
As part of this strategy, we are focusing on using words other than “said” in our writing. We are also paying attention to those words in our reading and noticing how word choice helps readers create pictures in their minds to better understand what they are reading.
For spelling this week, we will focus on the following words that are commonly used instead of “said”. PLEASE study at home. Spelling City is a free website that allows students to put in the words and then practice spelling through various games.

1. answered

2. argued

3. asked

4. bragged

5. cried

6. laughed

7. muttered

8. replied

9. screamed

10. shouted

11. snapped

12. whispered

Book Projects!

2011-09-05T17:31:00.002-04:00

37 Book Project Ideas

These project ideas have been compiled fromdifferent teaching websites. I hope there are no repeats! Choose a project thatyou will enjoy working on and sharing with the class.

1. Write a letter to a main character inthe book or the author of the book. You can even mail it to the author, and youmay be surprised to see how many authors actually reply!

2. Pretendyour child is a radio broadcaster, and have him make an informative advertisement for the book. Record him on MP3 player.This is fantastic for informational books.

3. Chapter X- If your child wisheshis book had never ended or that the ending was different, this may be for him!Write an additional chapter.

4. Createa comic book of all the main events inthe book. This is terrific for children who like to draw.

5. Makea diorama. This is a timeless classic. A diorama is usually made inside asmall box, such as a shoebox. The background is drawn, painted, or pastedinside the box. The diorama shows a favorite scene of a story. Nurture yourchild’s creativity.

6. Createa television commercial for the book. Tell the audience why the book should bepurchased. Be persuasive and include props. Be careful not to give the endingaway. Videotape your child, so he can watch himself on television. Let him be astar!

7. Createa test or quiz about the book. Your child may write true and false, multiplechoice, matching, and essay questions. Make sure to include an answer key. Letyour child be the teacher, and you take the test. I hope you pass!

8. Make a puppetof a main character, put on a puppet show, and write a character sketch thathighlights several important characteristics or personality traits.

9. Give a “Book-Talk”dressed as a main character in the book. Tell the audience specific reasons to read thebook. Make it sound so good that everyone will want to read it. Do not forgetthe video camera!

10. Makea timeline of the major events pertaining to the main character or the mainevents in the book. This is excellent for biographies.

11. Createa puzzle by drawing on construction paper or poster board a favoritescene or the setting from the book. Cut the illustration into at least fivepuzzle pieces. Put the pieces into a plastic bag, and have someone put ittogether.

12. Book in aBox Decoratea box to represent the book and fill it with objects that symbolize differentaspects of the story.

13. Book Mobile Create a mobile using the four storyelements (setting, character, plot, theme).

14. Book Collage Create a collage on posterb board usingpictures that represent different parts of the book.

15. Movie Poster Pretend the book is going to be made into amovie and create a poster to promote the movie.

16. Main Character Make a3-D model of the main character and write an interview with that character.

17. Scrapbook Makea scrapbokwith items and pictures athat are important to the life of the main characterand to the story.

18. Take and print out REAL photos to make a photopresentation that captures the main events of the novel.

19. Create a soundtrack that couldbe used if the novel were ever produced as a movie. Burn the songs on to a CDand bring to class.

20. Create a diary as if you were the main characterof the novel. Have several entries to show that you really know the character.

21. Create the e-mail directory of allthe people you can imagine your character keeping in touch with on e-mail.Explain why you selected the people you did and what it shows about yourcharacter. Then construct several exchanges between your character and some ofthe people in your character's directory.

22.To showyour understanding of a character, go through several magazines and newspaperslooking for advertisements of goods youthink your character would like. Cut out the pictures, mount them on a posterboard, and under each picture write a few lines about why this product wouldappeal to your character.

23.Create a sculpture of a character. Useany combination of soap, wood, clay, sticks, wire, stones, old toy pieces, orany other object. An explanation of how this character fits into the bookshould accompany the sculpture.

24. Interview a character fromyour book. Write at least ten questions that will give the character theopportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in thestory. However you choose to present your interview is up to you.

25.Preparean oral report of 5 minutes. Give abrief summary of the plot and describe the personality of one of the maincharacters. Be prepared for questions from the class.

26.Give a sales talk,pretending the students in the class are clerks in a bookstore and you wantthem to push this book.

27. Make several sketches of some of the scenesin the book and label them.

28. If thestory of your book takes place in another country, prepare a travel brochure using pictures you have found or drawn.

29.Afterreading a book of history or historical fiction, make an illustrated timeline showing events of the story.

30. Read twobooks on the same subject and compare and contrast them using a Venn Diagram.

31. Create a mini-comic book relating a chapter ofthe book.

32.Make one to three posters about the bookusing two or more of the following media: paint, crayons, chalk, paper, ink,real materials.

33.Write a diary thatone of the story’s main characters might have kept before, during, or after thebook’s events. Remember that the character’s thoughts and feelings are veryimportant in a diary.

34. Build a miniature stage setting of a scene inthe book. Include a written explanation of the scene.

35.Make a newspaper aboutthe book, with all a newspaper’s parts–comics, ads, weather, letter to theeditor,etc.

36.Plan a party for oneor all of the characters involved. Choose birthday gifts for one of thecharacters involved. Tell why you chose them.

37. MakeUp Your Own Idea.

First Week of Spelling

2011-09-02T12:53:00.000-04:00

As part of Word Play Friday, we will be working on spelling. Word lists will come home on Fridays and tests will be given the following Friday.This week everyone has the same words. We chose words that we will use in fourth grade. These words will be easy for some, and difficult for others. As we go forward, the spelling lists will be more individualized.
1. Mrs. Strohecker
2. Mrs. Gorby
3. Mrs. McClish
4. Joshua Dixon
5. Columbiana
6. fourth
7. Science
8. Social Studies
9. Math
10. Reading
11. Writing
12. friends

2011-08-24T20:44:00.001-04:00

Wow! This has been a really great start to the school year. Yes, the books still need to be unpacked and organized, but it IS happening. The kids seem to enjoy opening up boxes and digging out the books.

I have started reading aloud Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald Dahl is one of my favorites and his books cover many reading levels. Friday is Word Play Friday. We will work on vocabulary and spelling in more depth during that time.Reading Logs will be sent home Friday.I can't wait to get back the media release forms so I can start posted pics. Looking for a few volunteers to take small groups over the library once a week!Off to check papers, more later...

Angela Bunyi Teacher Advisor | Top Teaching

2011-08-20T22:46:00.000-04:00

Angela Bunyi Teacher Advisor | Top Teaching

Explorer's Advice

2011-08-20T21:45:00.001-04:00

Explorer's Advice, a photo by jrjorgens on Flickr.

The Inspired Apple: Organizational Binder & Behavior Management Clip C...

2011-08-17T13:18:00.001-04:00

My Pinterest find of the day was this link to an organization binder for the students from The Inspired Apple. With the fourth graders changing classes this year, organization is definitely going to need to be taught. I didn't think to put a binder on the supply list, but thankfully Staples has them for just a quarter this week. Last night I was able to get 16 which is a great start. Love these ideas:
The Inspired Apple: Organizational Binder & Behavior Management Clip C...: " Omiword, y’all. I have to be honest. I had *no* idea how much work goes into putting together an organizational binder for my kiddos..."

Teaching

2011-08-15T22:57:00.001-04:00

Teaching
This is my Pinterest board. I need to stop pinning and start DOING.

Classroom Sign: The Mess

2011-08-15T13:34:00.001-04:00

Classroom Sign: The Mess, a photo by KTVee on Flickr.

love it.

Free Work board Icons

2011-08-11T21:35:00.001-04:00

Feel free to copy and use. I made these a year ago.

Target gift card give-away!

2011-08-11T11:26:00.002-04:00

Love the chance to win a Target gift card1
To enter go here!
http://gonnasetthiscircusdown.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-my-party-and-i-can.html#comment-form

10 ways to think about your learning space...

2011-08-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

10 ways to think about your learning space...

NCEF Resource List: Classroom Design

2011-08-11T08:28:00.001-04:00

NCEF Resource List: Classroom Design

Lots of research based articles. Love the study of plants on student achievement...good reason to buy new plants today, as if I needed one!

We are making lots of changes at school due to the new renovations. I am looking to this research to back how I design the room and our learning environment.

Free Fonts

2011-08-09T17:38:00.001-04:00

Love, love, love the free fonts here! I just downloaded 7-8 new fonts. They have a great selection and lots on sale too.

Google Tools for School

2011-08-09T17:22:00.003-04:00

Google Tools For Schools

View more presentations from Jennifer Dorman

to theme or not to theme?

2011-08-09T09:04:00.003-04:00

Many teachers are very busy putting together classrooms this month. Due to renovations, we are not able to get in our rooms yet, so I am working away at home. I have been browsing lots of teacher websites and blogs getting new ideas. I am stuck on whether or not to have a classroom theme. My own 4th grader and his two friends who slept over last night are all saying YES!. So now...which theme do I go with. I like the room to have a calm, home-like atmosphere. I have lots of (fake) plants, small lamps and tablecloths.

Hmmmm...
I have pinned some ideas at pinterest.
I am thinking:
globes. all kinds
yellow red lime aqua orange
reading adventures
tickets
and...
snoopy/peanuts. I have this amazing collection of peanuts stuff all boxed up. Several boxes. The boys agree this would be cool. The seal of approval I needed!

Classic!

2011-08-08T16:10:00.003-04:00

Creating Readers: Part II

2011-08-08T15:59:00.000-04:00

Creating Readers: Part II

Creating Readers: Part I

2011-08-08T15:56:00.001-04:00

Creating Readers: Part I

Angela Bunyi: The Reader's Notebook: Grades 3–12 | Top Teaching

2011-08-08T12:02:00.000-04:00

Angela Bunyi: The Reader's Notebook: Grades 3–12 | Top Teaching

Congratulations

2011-07-23T15:39:00.001-04:00

Beth Newingham: Reading Workshop: What It Looks Like in My Classroom | Top Teaching

2011-07-13T07:54:00.000-04:00

Beth Newingham: Reading Workshop: What It Looks Like in My Classroom | Top Teaching

Magic Tree House: Introduction

2011-07-12T14:21:00.001-04:00

Magic Tree House: Introduction

Beth Newingham: Assessment in My Reading Workshop | Top Teaching

2011-07-09T22:49:00.001-04:00

Beth Newingham: Assessment in My Reading Workshop | Top Teaching

Reading Rockets: 10 Reasons to Do an Author Study

2011-07-08T23:08:00.000-04:00

another great find! LOVE it!

Reading Rockets: 10 Reasons to Do an Author Study

Reading Rockets: Children's Books and Authors

2011-07-08T23:06:00.001-04:00

Love all the great resources Reading Rockets has, including author interviews. I am planning on highlighting a different author each month. But who to highlight? And when? Lots of planning to do this summer!

Reading Rockets: Children's Books and Authors

Classroom Jobs

2011-07-07T11:57:00.002-04:00

http://seusstastic.blogspot.com/ is having a link party that is all about classroom jobs! Branching out in the blog world to join!. Here is my tried and true ideas:

Class Counter.
Yes, this is a job all about counting for the kids, and behavior management for the teacher. I had a Kind. boy in class once who had a very difficult time whenever we had to transition to leaving the room for anything. So he got the job of counting everyone in line as we were leaving so that we could be sure everyone was with us. Counting the people in line kept him busy and focused!

Secretary.
This is the perfect job for the teacher-to-be in the class. You know the student who always wants to help? They will love this simple idea. The student keeps a notepad, or scrap piece of paper at their desk. Throughout the day if things come up that I don't want to forget, I will tell them to jot it down. At the end of the day I have a nice reminder/to-do list and the student has done a REAL job with meaning (and did a bit of writing as well!)

More great ideas are at Mel D.'s blog here!

Always Looking Ahead.

2011-07-06T00:11:00.000-04:00

Always enjoy Angela Watson's site...The Cornerstone for Teachers.

How to Create Class Rules

Fun2TeachAndLearn

2011-06-29T13:49:00.002-04:00

http://sites.google.com/site/fun2teachandlearn/literacy&language

Last find of the day...need to rest a bit before a long night at swim team meet.

Another find...4th grade curriculum plan!

2011-06-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

Overview of the Grade 4

Reading Curriculum Calendar
From The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Southington Reading Curriculum

Unit 1 - Authoring an Independent Reading Life, and Becoming Lost in Stories

•Readers readjust to a reading life within fourth grade, making wise book choices, and setting goals.

•Readers play an active role in comprehending what they read.

•Active Readers use a variety of strategies to build deeper understanding of text.

•Readers develop partnerships to allow us to talk about our reading.

Unit 2- Reading with Minds on Fire - Readers Infer and Grow Ideas about Characters

•Readers respond to the text in order to relate to our characters and become invested in their journeys.

•Readers synthesize into a summary that contains the important elements of a story: characters' traits and motivations, main events of the plot told in sequence, the big problem and how that problem is eventually resolved.

•readers respond to our characters, actions and behaviors to form deeper understandings of their journeys and the text as a whole.

•Readers examine our characters' journeys and respond by reflecting on the journeys we embarked on in our lives.

Unit 3- Nonfiction Reading and Independence in Reading Fiction

•Readers read expository texts to learn what the author is trying to teach us about the topic.

•Readers recognize text structure within expository texts.

•Readers use their notes and materials to present information.

•Readers read narrative nonfiction texts.

Unit 4- Testing Unit

Unit 5 - Maintaining a Varied and Independent Reading Life, and Reading with Close Comprehension: Genre-Based Clubs

•Readers work within a book club with 2-5 other students to read a common text, set expectations for the group, contribute to the book club, hold conversations with each other, help each other us strategies, and push each other to read more.

•Students will explore their interest in the genre of adventure.

•Readers react to text in order to form a personal response that will allow them to discuss the strong emotions evoked by adventure genre.

•Readers use the strategies to predict and envision the character's challenges and options.

Unit 6 - Personal Response to Book Clubs

•Readers linger over their thoughts about books and let themselves become emotionally affected.

•Readers have reading friendships which help them to make deeper meaningful connections and understand the texts they read.

•Readers look closely at the connections they have made with a text. They use these connections to expand and explore their thinking and come to new realizations about the text.

Unit 7 Content Book Club

•Readers research, read and learn about an unfamiliar topic/topic of interest. They skim, scan, and read a wide range of texts in order to learn about a new topic. They use important information from a variety of sources and synthesize ideas within and across books.

•Readers who read like a Scientist/Social Scientist read with interest and intent. They ask questions about what they are learning and begin to predict or hypothesize about the answers to their questions. They activate their prior knowledge, they infer, and grow new ideas and questions about the topic.

•Readers read and learn about their topics by using everything they remember about strong nonfiction reading (determining the main ideas, figuring out new vocabulary, reading to learn, and visualizing).

•Readers read a variety of genre to learn new information about their topics.

•Readers who get ready to teach others about their topic return to their variety of texts to read like a writer.

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

2011-06-29T13:15:00.000-04:00

http://www.insidewritingworkshop.org/

WOW mini-lessons GALORE!

2011-06-29T12:56:00.000-04:00

Elementary Four Blocks Lesson Plans

http://www.margb.com/RISD_web2/Other%20Elementary/elementary_four_blocks_lesson_pl.htm

30 Ideas for Teaching Writing - National Writing Project

2011-06-29T12:34:00.001-04:00

Need to print all of these articles out! Great find!
30 Ideas for Teaching Writing - National Writing Project

Summer Workshop

2011-06-16T09:13:00.002-04:00

Thank you Meg Silver for the invite to attend the MCESC Workshop Support Group. Getting a lot done!

BULLETIN BOARD: Reading Gives Flight to Imagination (revisited)

2011-05-31T22:56:00.001-04:00

BULLETIN BOARD: Reading Gives Flight to Imagination (revisited), a set by Enokson on Flickr.

This flickr poster has the BEST library/reading displays. Thyea re all so gorgeous and inviting!

road to knowledge

2011-05-31T22:51:00.001-04:00

road to knowledge, a photo by jen lamar on Flickr.

love this photostream! thank you jen lamar whoever you are!

Classroom Library

2011-05-31T22:50:00.001-04:00

Classroom Library, a photo by jen lamar on Flickr.

WOW! love this...

Reflections and Connections

2011-05-31T13:17:00.001-04:00

Think Pinker!, a photo by Treewhimsy on Flickr.

yes, it is the first official day of summer and i am looking up room decor ideas! it is hard to find something that is passing my fourth grade son's test of coolness!
loved these birds, thinking about having a variety of objects in the room to help spark writing ideas and images. made me think about my middle school social studies teacher's room...Mr. Merz filled it with vintage license plates, protest posters and other historical memoriablia. he used an old railroad spike as a paper weight. when you walked in, you could tell what was valued...you could see his passion for both history and teaching it to us. i want the literacy classroom i have next year to have the same kind of environment. glad i can find a good variety of images on flickr and quickly post them here.

More straw creations

2011-05-25T11:01:00.001-04:00

Hard at work!!!!!

Straw Creations

2011-05-25T10:59:00.001-04:00

I gave them about 30 straws, a big strip of tape, and a styrofoam plate. They could work alone or with a partner. We had a blast!

Pigs and pizza day...and the muppets too..

2011-05-24T12:05:00.001-04:00

2011-05-24T12:04:00.001-04:00

2011-05-24T12:03:00.001-04:00

A fun reading cake

2011-05-16T06:48:00.001-04:00

2011-05-16T06:45:00.001-04:00

Star wars craft book

2011-05-13T20:38:00.001-04:00

How much fun would this be?

Royal Wedding Cakes

2011-05-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

May 9-13

2011-05-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

Spelling. Homophones and habitat words.
Please return the two worksheets and moon chart by Friday. Also, please return tthe field day and class picnic sheets asap so we can plan accordingly.
We are still hard at work, but starting to count down the days!

2011-05-09T17:29:00.001-04:00

2011-05-09T17:28:00.003-04:00

2011-05-09T17:28:00.001-04:00

2011-05-06T11:04:00.001-04:00

April 25

2011-04-26T19:16:00.001-04:00

Reminder: Early release on Friday, April 29th
Field Trip next Friday,
May 6th

This week we will be practicing for the diagonstic assessments that will
be given next week. I want the students to be familiar with the format.
There are three parts to the diagonstics: reading, writing and math.
These will be given next Tues., Wed., and Thurs. You can find sample
questions and more information at the Ohio Department of Education's
website:
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&
TopicRelationID=236&ContentID=8698&Content=89333
I know this is a crazy long link!

In Math, we continue to problem solve and learn about fractions. We are
also working on making change up to $1.00. We go over this every morning
with our Morning Math activities.
We will be reviewing concepts from the year over the next few weeks, and
continuing to add and subtract two digit numbers. The students need to
be able to show their work in at least two ways. We count on and count
back using number lines. We break down the numbers with expanded
notation (58 is the same as 50+8). We use and record with base ten
blocks. All of these activities build the foundation needed to really
understand the standard US algorithm for adding and subtracting...the
"carrying" and "borrowing" that we are all used to.

Keep track of the moon each night! Please see the attached pages. This
is not due until May 13th.

Please save

2011-03-26T14:40:00.001-04:00

If you happen to have any plastic containers like these, I would love to have them for the classroom. You can send them in anytime. Thanks.

The Importance of a Classroom Library | Edutopia

2011-03-23T23:12:00.000-04:00

The Importance of a Classroom Library | Edutopia

Just for parents and friends...

2011-03-23T22:59:00.001-04:00

I enjoy this site and so I thought I would share it...
Simple Mom – Life hacks for home managers.

2011-03-22T16:26:00.001-04:00

2011-03-22T12:44:00.001-04:00

2011-03-22T11:40:00.005-04:00

2011-03-22T11:40:00.003-04:00

2011-03-22T11:40:00.001-04:00

2011-03-22T11:39:00.005-04:00

2011-03-22T11:39:00.003-04:00

2011-03-22T11:39:00.001-04:00

Library visit

2011-03-22T11:38:00.001-04:00

We had a great time and want to go back next week.

Great Job DI Team

2011-03-19T17:12:00.001-04:00

DI 2011

2011-03-19T17:00:00.001-04:00

Here are the Rising Stars of DI. They did great today!

2011-03-18T14:50:00.005-04:00

2011-03-18T14:50:00.003-04:00

2011-03-18T14:50:00.001-04:00

2011-03-18T14:37:00.003-04:00

2011-03-18T14:37:00.001-04:00

2011-03-18T14:23:00.001-04:00

2011-03-18T14:19:00.001-04:00

2011-03-18T14:09:00.001-04:00

2011-03-15T06:58:00.001-04:00

ShelSilverstein.com - the Official Site for Kids - Choose Speed

March 7th

2011-03-08T02:16:00.001-05:00

We are reading lots/of biographies and taking notes in our learning logs. Spelling this week are words that include a in the pattern: ame, ate, ack, ate, and more.
I will be out Tuesday having a root canal. Wish me luck!

Dr.Seuss is in the house!

2011-03-02T09:25:00.001-05:00

Week of February 28

2011-02-28T18:13:00.001-05:00

Let's hope for a regular week!
Spelling work is the same pattern (2 vowels, first one makes the sound). There are ten words. Please complete two spelling activities from the assignment sheet.
Math paper over comparing prices using a chart.
Read or write each night.
I will try to post some new links to some interesting websites soon. A few of the kids have mentioned that they have gone on to the math sites. Woo-hoo!

What 'Star Wars' Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement

2011-02-25T02:33:00.000-05:00

What 'Star Wars' Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement

Hello

2011-02-23T22:55:00.001-05:00

I am posting to the site from my phone. Just seeing if it works. Will also try from school tomorrow it would be fun to post pictures during the day!

Feb. 21-25

2011-02-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

Quick update
This week we will be starting to read biographies of famous Americans.
We are still practicing telling time to the nearest five minutes.

Thanks to all who contributed money to the Jump for Heart program.

Reader's Theater Resources, Scripts, and more....

2011-02-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

Reader's Theater Resources, Scripts, and more....

A Teacher's Notebook

Mysteries, Martin Luther King Jr. and Report Cards

Flocabulary: Five Things

Mystery Unit Unfolds!

Happy 2012!

Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg

ZooWeeMama!

Synonyms

2nd Annual Joshua Dixon Reading Parade

Second Nine Weeks!

Effective Teaching Articles: Using A Multi-Sensory Approach For Students Who are Experiencing Trouble In Learning Sight Words

Book of Spells Assignment

Oct. 3

Spelling Sept. 26

Vocabulary Site for Word Play Friday!

Sept. 19-23

Book Projects!

First Week of Spelling

Angela Bunyi Teacher Advisor | Top Teaching

Explorer's Advice

The Inspired Apple: Organizational Binder & Behavior Management Clip C...

Teaching

Classroom Sign: The Mess

Free Work board Icons

Target gift card give-away!

10 ways to think about your learning space...

NCEF Resource List: Classroom Design

Free Fonts

Google Tools for School

to theme or not to theme?

Classic!

Creating Readers: Part II

Creating Readers: Part I

Angela Bunyi: The Reader's Notebook: Grades 3–12 | Top Teaching

Congratulations

Beth Newingham: Reading Workshop: What It Looks Like in My Classroom | Top Teaching

Magic Tree House: Introduction

Beth Newingham: Assessment in My Reading Workshop | Top Teaching

Reading Rockets: 10 Reasons to Do an Author Study

Reading Rockets: Children's Books and Authors

More Linky Fun! FONTS I LOVE

Classroom Jobs

Always Looking Ahead.

Fun2TeachAndLearn

Another find...4th grade curriculum plan!

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

WOW mini-lessons GALORE!

30 Ideas for Teaching Writing - National Writing Project

Summer Workshop

BULLETIN BOARD: Reading Gives Flight to Imagination (revisited)

road to knowledge

Classroom Library

Reflections and Connections

More straw creations

Straw Creations

Pigs and pizza day...and the muppets too..

A fun reading cake

Star wars craft book

Royal Wedding Cakes

May 9-13

April 25

Please save

The Importance of a Classroom Library | Edutopia

Just for parents and friends...

Library visit

Great Job DI Team

DI 2011

March 7th

Dr.Seuss is in the house!

Week of February 28

What 'Star Wars' Can Teach Educators About Parent Engagement

Hello

Feb. 21-25

Reader's Theater Resources, Scripts, and more....