Thursday, May 31, 2012
On the Border
I've made my very first attempt at borders tonight. I am distracting myself from all the end of the year nonsense called paperwork and packing it all up! Click the link for these to be yours!
Summer redecoration time
I am loving! the color combination of turquoise, red and green (with hints of black). This is where I am going with my color scheme in my room next year. I can't wait to get started on all my summer projects. I'm still not satisfied with the fabrics and pictures below. I have something in my mind but can't seem to find it...don't you hate when that happens?! I also don't want to do a theme like carnival more of an overall color scheme. I think the bird fabric is pretty darn cute though! What new and exciting changes are you making for next year?
I probably won't get on this until June. Still have next week of school and 3 weeks of the Summer Reading Academy to go!
Monday, May 21, 2012
O-FISH-ally swimming on to bigger waters
My kids have only 12 days left and I only get to spend 10 with them :( I am on the team to take the Core Curriculum standards and make them into a curriculum for our county....it's quite the job but another interesting facet to our teaching world.
Since my days are numbered and we aren't allowed to print anything (!) I created a one page document for the kids to remember each month that we spent together this year. I made one for K, 1, and 2.
It's quick and easy! I was also going to get some goldfish and swedish fish for them to snack on during this activity. I hope you enjoy this time of reflection and are able to relax knowing you have a whole summer to refresh!!
Since my days are numbered and we aren't allowed to print anything (!) I created a one page document for the kids to remember each month that we spent together this year. I made one for K, 1, and 2.
It's quick and easy! I was also going to get some goldfish and swedish fish for them to snack on during this activity. I hope you enjoy this time of reflection and are able to relax knowing you have a whole summer to refresh!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Using Research to Write Fictional Stories
My reading coach handed this book off to me with the intent of encouraging our students to write their own books based off their inquiry circle research. I read it to the kids and told them what the thought was. They reacted by saying, "We can't do that. How do we tell a story and use our research? It's too hard!" I let them off the hook that day and said maybe we can think of another way to share what they've learned. In reality I had a sneaky little plan to show them how to write a fictional book based off their research I just didn't tell them what I was up to!
While in our inquiry circles I have been researching octopuses to model my thinking and to work through the process with them. We have been tracking our thinking all along. Last week, I told them I wanted all our octopus tracks on one chart. So we wrote fact after fact. They were so proud of our research. The next day we delved into write a story but I eased them in slowly by prompting them with questions. It naturally flowed after that. I was amazed by the research they included! Now they are doing their own within their inquiry circle...it's so exciting!!
Here is a document I made to help them along the way, Using Research to Write Fiction (Borders are by From the Pond; Fonts by Fonts for Peas).
The story, Octopus in Trouble, was the story that my class wrote...just genius!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
New learning with 20 days left
I have been trying to tie in more reflection and questioning with our inquiry circles. It's been fantastic. Although I'm not as good as Sue Kempton with the questioning.....yet! Here's what we have been working on:
The other day I wrote this...
3. Right now I am in the process of reorganizing my mentor texts. I decided that there should be 7 bins, one for each of the comprehension strategies. I also decided that keeping them in a cabinet, using them and then putting them back wasn't fair to the kids. I want them to enjoy them whenever they please!! So I am going to make it accessible to them. A typed label will be on the outside of the book to tell which strategy (s) I use it for. (Look for pictures and labels to come!)
Now I'm in the process. I have 7 bins and the books are sitting in them. Now onto the labels...7 comp. strategy labels
In the first picture, we discovered that Belugas are carnivores because we saw their sharp teeth. Then we went on to talk about omnivores and herbivores. We also read and tracked our thinking in a section of the book Octopuses. We also read about their bodies and created a labeled picture to explain our learning.
Each student shared their learning about their sea life inquiry. It was something that they felt their classmates would be eager to learn. I also used this opportunity to practice my questioning. My favorite part was when the students debated on whether they thought it was fair that some places use nets to keep sharks away but in the process some get killed.
3. Right now I am in the process of reorganizing my mentor texts. I decided that there should be 7 bins, one for each of the comprehension strategies. I also decided that keeping them in a cabinet, using them and then putting them back wasn't fair to the kids. I want them to enjoy them whenever they please!! So I am going to make it accessible to them. A typed label will be on the outside of the book to tell which strategy (s) I use it for. (Look for pictures and labels to come!)
Now I'm in the process. I have 7 bins and the books are sitting in them. Now onto the labels...7 comp. strategy labels
Grab them for your own! Pictures to come on the completed project.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Teaching to STRIVE for
My post today is to talk about the most amazing thing I saw in Sue Kempton's class! It was her ability to pull vocabulary and thought through questioning. Seems simple, right? Not like she does it...read on!
Every morning the children enter her classroom and read. After 25 minutes she calls them to the Oval. If they read something they want to share then they bring their book with them to an opened page. She calls on several children. With each child she ask a harem of questions to get their thought process on target with the thinking strategy or understanding. I'm talkin' about a minimum of 15 focused questions with response time. I have tried since I got back and I don't have it down yet. She continued to do this with text and student written pieces throughout her literacy morning.
The picture above is of a book she had a {fragile} child read on the ELMO (document camera). It was to show students how they infer when they are reading self selected text. This was not the first introduction to inferring but still a very powerful one. The cover of her text was slightly different but this is the book. You will see that she asks a multitude of questions in only 4 pages of text. My goal is to really dig in deep and study her pattern. I only wrote her questions and not the child's response because my purpose is the line of questioning and how it progresses.
Cover- Tell me what's happening on this picture. Think about what you know about mommy hens and daddy roosters. What do we call the babies? What is the chick doing? Think about what you know. The hen has a small sized waddle and cone. Who has the big, gigantic waddle and cone? Look at your picture clue. How do the mommy and daddy feel? You are inferring that. How do you know? What are their faces doing? What do you notice about this chicken? (Student begins to read.)
After page 1 is read- What is this picture of? Who is this? What was this? Reread. Who is this? How do you know this is the hen? How did you figure that out? You inferred that, but how? Reread it. How is the hen feeling? Why? What tells you in the picture that she is scared? What is her face doing? Look at the picture. What words tell you? Does that part tell you she is scared? Find the part. How does she say that? What other words tell you that she is scared? How is she feeling? You inferred that with picture clues and words.
Pages 2 and 3 are read with no questions.
After reading page 4- Who is this again? How do you know it's a rooster? Show me a waddle and a cone. How do you know the waddle and cone? Read it to show the clue. How does he feel? How does the picture show you he's scared? How is the rooster feeling? Why would the rooster be so upset? Who is Little Chick to rooster? What do you know about hens and roosters? Why is the hen upset? Why is rooster upset? Whose chick is it? There both what? What do you see here? We can infer that the chick belongs to both of them.
My noticings: Sue scaffolds her readers by supporting them with more detail in her questioning to guide the reader to their conclusion. She uses their schema in such a smart way. Sue never gave the child the answer outright...she made the child do the work. Her work is setting the student up for success through her use of exposure to real things.....they are waiting for their own chicks to hatch right now! She has them read about it, act it out, write about it and soooo much more.
My challenge for you is to try and ask questions of your students tomorrow. Notice, did it come naturally? Did you feel that you supported them through built schema? Where the questions flowing or did you really have to dig? Did the child get it right away or did you help them build conclusions? Sue taught like this all day!
Read her book, its so worth it!
Every morning the children enter her classroom and read. After 25 minutes she calls them to the Oval. If they read something they want to share then they bring their book with them to an opened page. She calls on several children. With each child she ask a harem of questions to get their thought process on target with the thinking strategy or understanding. I'm talkin' about a minimum of 15 focused questions with response time. I have tried since I got back and I don't have it down yet. She continued to do this with text and student written pieces throughout her literacy morning.
The picture above is of a book she had a {fragile} child read on the ELMO (document camera). It was to show students how they infer when they are reading self selected text. This was not the first introduction to inferring but still a very powerful one. The cover of her text was slightly different but this is the book. You will see that she asks a multitude of questions in only 4 pages of text. My goal is to really dig in deep and study her pattern. I only wrote her questions and not the child's response because my purpose is the line of questioning and how it progresses.
Cover- Tell me what's happening on this picture. Think about what you know about mommy hens and daddy roosters. What do we call the babies? What is the chick doing? Think about what you know. The hen has a small sized waddle and cone. Who has the big, gigantic waddle and cone? Look at your picture clue. How do the mommy and daddy feel? You are inferring that. How do you know? What are their faces doing? What do you notice about this chicken? (Student begins to read.)
After page 1 is read- What is this picture of? Who is this? What was this? Reread. Who is this? How do you know this is the hen? How did you figure that out? You inferred that, but how? Reread it. How is the hen feeling? Why? What tells you in the picture that she is scared? What is her face doing? Look at the picture. What words tell you? Does that part tell you she is scared? Find the part. How does she say that? What other words tell you that she is scared? How is she feeling? You inferred that with picture clues and words.
Pages 2 and 3 are read with no questions.
After reading page 4- Who is this again? How do you know it's a rooster? Show me a waddle and a cone. How do you know the waddle and cone? Read it to show the clue. How does he feel? How does the picture show you he's scared? How is the rooster feeling? Why would the rooster be so upset? Who is Little Chick to rooster? What do you know about hens and roosters? Why is the hen upset? Why is rooster upset? Whose chick is it? There both what? What do you see here? We can infer that the chick belongs to both of them.
My noticings: Sue scaffolds her readers by supporting them with more detail in her questioning to guide the reader to their conclusion. She uses their schema in such a smart way. Sue never gave the child the answer outright...she made the child do the work. Her work is setting the student up for success through her use of exposure to real things.....they are waiting for their own chicks to hatch right now! She has them read about it, act it out, write about it and soooo much more.
My challenge for you is to try and ask questions of your students tomorrow. Notice, did it come naturally? Did you feel that you supported them through built schema? Where the questions flowing or did you really have to dig? Did the child get it right away or did you help them build conclusions? Sue taught like this all day!
Read her book, its so worth it!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Things to improve on for next year (part one)...
As the year goes by you tend to see things that make a lot of sense and you wish you had implemented them to begin with. So here is my list of things that I hope I can prepare for next school year...well part of my list!
1. I love the way Kelli from Tales from a Traveling Teacher uses her journals. You have got to check them out. She currently has 21 posts dedicated to them called everydayPORTFOLIO.
I tend to have high hopes at the beginning of the year and then just fail all together. BUT with the organization Kelli has shared, I'm sure to do better!
2. Over at Dishing It Out all things K and 1 there is a post about cutting composition books in half. It's such a great idea! I tried it with spirals and it has been working just fine for our research in inquiry...but I hope to make use of it for the whole year.
3. Right now I am in the process of reorganizing my mentor texts. I decided that there should be 7 bins, one for each of the comprehension strategies. I also decided that keeping them in a cabinet, using them and then putting them back wasn't fair to the kids. I want them to enjoy them whenever they please!! So I am going to make it accessible to them. A typed label will be on the outside of the book to tell which strategy (s) I use it for. (Look for pictures and labels to come!)
4. I'm going to give up centers. When I visited Sue Kempton's {A Literate Kindergarten} class, she did not use centers. Each child had a stack of books that were just right for them and they read them quietly while she pulled groups. All of her class could read and write like nobodys business! Read her book, its worth it. She was just amazing and I hope to become the quality literacy instructor that she is.
5. More relfection time is another piece that I gained from being in Sue's classroom. They way she asked questions during reading reflection was beyond. She pulled vocabulary and understanding through question after question. I will post about this again but one child showing one picture would prompt at least 15 questions from her (not in rapid order but patiently).
1. I love the way Kelli from Tales from a Traveling Teacher uses her journals. You have got to check them out. She currently has 21 posts dedicated to them called everydayPORTFOLIO.
2. Over at Dishing It Out all things K and 1 there is a post about cutting composition books in half. It's such a great idea! I tried it with spirals and it has been working just fine for our research in inquiry...but I hope to make use of it for the whole year.
3. Right now I am in the process of reorganizing my mentor texts. I decided that there should be 7 bins, one for each of the comprehension strategies. I also decided that keeping them in a cabinet, using them and then putting them back wasn't fair to the kids. I want them to enjoy them whenever they please!! So I am going to make it accessible to them. A typed label will be on the outside of the book to tell which strategy (s) I use it for. (Look for pictures and labels to come!)
4. I'm going to give up centers. When I visited Sue Kempton's {A Literate Kindergarten} class, she did not use centers. Each child had a stack of books that were just right for them and they read them quietly while she pulled groups. All of her class could read and write like nobodys business! Read her book, its worth it. She was just amazing and I hope to become the quality literacy instructor that she is.
Student book stacks
5. More relfection time is another piece that I gained from being in Sue's classroom. They way she asked questions during reading reflection was beyond. She pulled vocabulary and understanding through question after question. I will post about this again but one child showing one picture would prompt at least 15 questions from her (not in rapid order but patiently).
Me and Sue
Sue's classroom with tons of science based materials
6. My intern began using math workshop in our class. It developed over time and became two groups of students. One group starts out on an activity for 30 minutes, while the other group is learning small group with me. Then they switch. It has made it so I can really help and understand my students. I will definitely keep this for next year! Thanks Emily :)
7. I want my room to be as cute as the rooms I have posted on my Pinterest board called Classroom Decor! I need some school girl style, pronto!! But I plan on still using blue, red, and black because I have so much already. Now I just need to think of how to incorporate it all :) I'm thinking less western, more polka dots.
I'm sure this list will continue, hence the part one. I just can't seem to get it all down tonight. It might be that I have a hot date ;)
I'd like to hear your ideas about next year too. I'm always up for better ways of doing things!
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