Reading is Thinking

       In the beginning of October, our Daily Five was finally up and running smoothly.  I only give my students two choices during our Daily Five block: read to self and read to someone (independent reading and partner reading).  We do word work during a separate time of day and also during centers time when I am doing interventions.  So, to get my students on the path of understanding that reading is thinking, I used a series of lessons from the book Comprehension Connections.  You can click on the picture below to check it out.

       So, first we made a "real reading salad."  We used green paper for lettuce to represent the thinking and red paper for tomatoes to represent the text.  As I read aloud, I would point to the book when reading the text and point to my head when thinking aloud.  I had two student volunteers add a piece of "lettuce" each time I pointed to my head to share my thinking and a "tomato" each time I read more text.

Our salad part of the way through the book.

      I used the book Amazing Grace for this lesson.  It is a wonderful story about a little girl who is told she can't do something because she's a girl and she's black.  She shows everyone that she can do it!

       

     After the read aloud, I showed kids the reading salad and asked them what they noticed.  They noticed, "There's more thinking than text!"  Ding ding ding!  They got it.

     The next day, we made the following anchor chart to show what we learned from the real reading salad.

      The third day of thinking about "real reading," I let students practice thinking aloud with a huge thought bubble.  They loved this!  I posted an anchor chart with the following (sorry forgot to take a pic):

Thinking sounds like...

I'm noticing...

I'm thinking...

I'm wondering...

    As I continued reading aloud from Amazing Grace, I would stop every few sentences and ask the student with the thought bubble to share his/her thinking.  

     All of these concrete models really helped solidify for kids that reading is thinking!  For more details on the lessons, please check out Comprehension Connections by clicking on the picture at the top of this post.  It is a great resources with lots of practical ideas.

    Please comment with what you think and feel free to follow me for future ideas. :)

We Scare Hunger and SMART board freebies

      Yesterday we went on our We Scare Hunger walk to collect food for our local food shelter.  The kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we went "trick or treating" for canned goods.  They had such a blast!  My class just had once block to collect from and we came back with a heaping wagon full of food to donate.  They felt so proud that we were able to help others.

      Unfortunately, my camera battery died almost as soon as we left so I only got a few pics of their costumes before we ventured out.

Our "nice smiles" before we left.  Look at my wonderful aide in her cute red riding hood costume!

Our silly faces

        As a school, we collected over 600 cans/food items to donate to our local food bank!  Please leave a comment if you participated in We Scare Hunger and let me know how it went.

        Before I go, I wanted to share a few freebies with you.  As I've mentioned before, my school uses the Words Their Way program for word study.  See my previous post for more info.   Each week, I introduce our new word sort/word study focus for the week on the SMART board.  I have not been able to find any Words Their Way resources for the SMART board, so I started creating the sorts myself in the Notebook software.  You can click on any of the pictures below to download the files for free to use with your class.

This sort helps students notice the difference in long and short a words (how they sound and how they look)

Long/short i sort

Long/short o sort 

Long/short u sort

    To introduce a new sort, first we read each word together and discuss meanings when necessary.  This is important and allows all students to be actively involved even if they wouldn't have been able to read some of the words on their own.  I usually point out homophones and have students practice using those words correctly in sentences.  Then, I model thinking aloud about the first few words and how I decide where they go.  I say the word slowly and then say the picture heading slowly to see if the middle sounds match (i.e. job, sock....job, bone.  I hear o in job like on sock).  After modeling the first few words, I invite students to help sort the rest, making sure they explain why they put a word where they do.

    Finally, we read each word in a column to double check and make sure they sound right.  Then we check to see if they look right (all follow the same pattern like CVCe).  

   After using the SMART board sort for an introduction, the following day I give students a paper copy of the sort, and they cut it out and sort it on their desk.  We store them in envelopes to re-use throughout the week.

   I hope you can use these sorts, too!  Happy Friday tomorrow!

  Feel free to follow me so you don't miss out on future freebies and products.

Word Work Centers and a Halloween Game

      The last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about word work in my classroom.  With the Common Core Standards for English-Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) out in the last year or so, I need to revamp my word work curriculum and activities to correlate with the new standards.  This will be a process, I know, but I've been wanting to get started.  Also, my school has a half hour intervention block each day where I am meeting students one on one or in a small group to do an intervention.  I wanted to incorporate some word work centers during this time.

      A couple of weeks ago I came across an old blog post by Beth Newingham on her Scholastic Top Teaching blog.  It describes in detail the word study program she created based on Words Their Way, Fountas and Pinnell phonics, and sight words.  I really like how she used assessments to guide instruction and created centers for students to practice the skills being learned each week.  This is a lot of work in the beginning and seems a little overwhelming.  So, I thought I'd take some of her ideas that I could begin with and build more things in as I go along.

     My school already uses Words Their Way and we also have the Fountas and Pinnell phonics program for each grade.  You can check them out by clicking on the pics below.

This is the program overview book with lots of printables, games, etc.

This book is one of the word sort books available.  Typical second graders work on these sorts.

       Since I have these resources and already do the assessment and word sorts that are part of the Words Their Way program, I decided an "easy" next step would be to make some games and activities that I could use as centers during the intervention block.

        I decided to have four centers:

1. Smart board
2. Sight Word Work
3. Games
4. Word Hunt

Smart Board
       For the Smart board center, I created a version of Roll a Word for kids to practice the idea.  I got the idea from Learning with Mrs. Parker.  Follow the link to her blogpost where you can download the powerpoint file for free.  I just copied and pasted it into the Notebook software for the Smart board and added an interactive die for the kids to roll.  Each week I change the sight words to match our words for the week.
 
Sight Word Work
      At this center, I put a paper copy of Roll a Word with a die.

     Another choice at this center is rainbow writing.  I did not create this but found it a few years ago online and it was created by Ms. Ross.  Click on the picture below to go to the google doc.

The actual sheet is much higher quality than this picture.

 

Games
       I also will create games each week that go along with whatever sort we are doing.  Last week I created a short and long i racetrack game with a Halloween theme because we were learning about short i words and long i words with the CVCe pattern.  Click on the first picture below to check out the game and get your copy.

    

Here's one of the games before I added the title on the right side or laminated it.  But, you get the idea. :)
I don't know why the picture won't center, either.

So far the kids have loved the games center and the adorable candy corn Halloween characters in the short and long i game.

Word Hunt     

      The word hunt center is done in their word work notebooks.  Whatever patterns we are studying for the week are the focus.  For example, last week the headers for our word sort were "pig" for short i, "kite" for long i, and "oddball" (words that don't sound right or don't follow the pattern).  Students write the headers at the top of each column in their notebooks and read from their bag of books (or book box).  When they find a word with the right sound and pattern, they write it down under the correct header.  Simple.  They love it.

     So, that's where I'm at with word work centers.  I still have a separate word work time each morning when I introduce the sort, teach sight words, other word work topics, etc.  I would love to hear how you teach word work or organize your word work centers.

       Please leave me a comment and feel free to follow my blog.  :)  Happy hump day!

We Scare Hunger!!

      So, ever since I worked in the central city and fell in love with children who came to school hungry each day because they didn't have any dinner the night before, I have made it a point to be sure I teach my new students each year about a world that some of them can't imagine.  The truth is that one in six children in our country (that's right, in America!) go hungry each and every day.  To do something meaningful during all of the Halloween hype, last year I organized a school wide campaign called Halloween for Hunger.  It wasn't my idea...the wonderful people at Free the Children started this international campaign.  This year they changed the name to We Scare Hunger!  It's such a fantastic idea and really is pretty simple to organize.  Click on the picture and then scroll down to go to an introduction video.

     The basic idea of We Scare Hunger is that instead of going trick or treating for candy (which we want but don't need) we can go trick or treating for nonperishables and donate them to a local food bank/shelter.  How genius is that!  No. child. should. go. home. and. worry. about. if. they'll. get. to. eat. or. not.

     Does your school have a Halloween dance/party?  That would be a great time to hold a We Scare Hunger food drive.  And, it's not too late to whip up a flyer to send home, either!  The PTO at my school hosts a Halloween Dance and so to benefit the cause, I asked them to request people bring a can or other nonperishable to get into the dance.  We were able to get a lot of food this way and will be doing it again this year, too.

    Also, we actually went trick or treating on Halloween during school to neighborhood homes.  The week before, we walked our route and left flyers at each home letting them know we would be back on Halloween between certain times to collect their nonperishables.  With my second graders, our area was about two blocks long, and it took us about an hour to walk there and back. We knocked at each house, and people were very receptive to seeing kids out for a good cause.  I also included in the flyer that if people would not be home, they could leave food in a bag out on the front steps/porch and we would pick it up.  This worked well, too.  Here's a few pictures of the fun last year.

     This year I'm feeling a little more adventurous and am letting my students put on costumes for our walk.  After all, they are supposed to be trick or treating to make hunger disappear!

     I'll be sure to post pics from this year next week!  Feel free to follow me so you don't miss them.  :)

     Please leave a comment and let me know if you also participate or plan to this year!  Have a great week!

Beginning of the Year Writer's Workshop

      One day this week about mid-way through our writer's workshop as I sat and watched a table of kids work between writing conferences, it hit me.  Quiet.  Focused.  Everyone was writing.  All I could hear was our quiet work music (classical for kids).  It was blissful.  Finally, the first four weeks of work building routines, stamina, and identities as writers had paid off.

     So I thought now would be a good time to talk about launching a writer's workshop and building a community of writers in your classroom.  Beginning on day one of school, we discuss that every single day we will have a special time in our class called writer's workshop where all of us get to be authors.  I teach them that every day we will start together on the carpet and learn (mini-lesson).  Then they'll go off and be authors on their own.  Finally, we'll come back and share about what we learned as writers.

    Beginning the year with some kind of project instead of jumping right into the first unit of Lucy Calkin's writing curriculum has worked really well for me.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  First, it is a fun and non-threatening way for even the most reluctant writers to jump into writing time.  Second, it gives us something cute to display right off the bat! :)

   This year, I used Steppin into a New Year from The Bubbly Blonde to launch our writer's workshop.  You can see more details about my first week plans for workshop at this post.  However, I set up the activity by reading letters from last year's second graders to my students to give them an idea of what second grade will be like.

      After hearing the letters, we made a list of things that second graders can do.  

        Finally, students wrote about what they wanted to do as they were "Steppin into Second Grade."

"I want to lern about bees.  I want to solve equations in math.  I want to tell time.  I want to plant flowers.
I want to lern about cutture (culture).  I wnat to make patterns.  I want to writ poems."

      I was careful to be sure the craft to go along with the activity was done at a separate time of day so students began to understand that at writer's workshop we write the whole time.

     After students all got to feel successful with a writing activity that I intentionally scaffolded quite a bit ahead of time, they were ready to jump into writer's workshop.  Again, before officially launching the units of writing for the year I spent a day thinking about what writer's workshop looks like/sounds like.  

     Nothing fancy...just functional.  The visual is a great way to help kids know exactly what's expected of them at writer's workshop and is great to revisit each day until it becomes automatic for them.

    Finally, I would just like to share a few quick tips that I have learned about making writer's workshop as successful as possible:

• Play quiet, instrumental music -  Students love having that one special time during the day when they get to relax and concentrate on their own writing.  I have a few different c.ds that we rotate- classical music for kids, a concentration music c.d. from Target, etc.
• Celebrate! - The first month of workshop in the primary grades is all about celebrating your students as writers.  Make a huge deal out of kids who get pictures and words on their paper and who write the whole time.  Emphasize the hard work...not the correct conventions.
• Quiet teacher voice = quiet student voices 
• Don't hover! - Students learn how to be independent when they are given the chance.  Walking around as students are working just to re-direct or correct makes it harder for students to practice being independent writers.  Resist the urge!  Pull up a chair to a table/group of desks and observe from there for a few minutes before beginning conferring.
• Let students write on their papers, not you! -  Resist the urge to correct things on students' papers with your pen/pencil.  Carry a white board slate with you for modeling/student practice instead!
• Watch for positive student behaviors-  By emphasizing the things you see students doing the right way, you will encourage others to join.

    Writer's workshop can truly be a magical time during your school day.  If you haven't started yet or have never tried, it's not too late in the year to start!  Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

    Please leave a comment with how you successfully launch a writer's workshop!

Classroom Photo Tour

    Wow, time flies when you're having fun (or when you're super busy getting ready for a new school year) ;).  Today was the 10th day of school for me, and I finally have some time to share some pics of our classroom so far.  I had to switch classrooms this school year so I started from scratch putting the room together.  It's amazing how I spent so many hours in there and still didn't feel ready to start.  How does that always happen??

Anyways, here's a quick photo tour of a lot of my classroom...

View from the door

       As you can tell from the above picture, I like to start the year with things pretty bare and build the classroom along with my students.  The walls and bulletin boards only have headings and are waiting for anchor charts and student work.  When students are involved in creating what goes up on the walls and on the shelves, it is much more meaningful to them.  They really do refer to anchor charts created together because they have a connection to them.  Here are most of the bulletin boards and the word wall.

This board is our writing VOICES board.  I  haven't used it before but am excited to try it as a strategy resource for writer's workshop.  

Close-up of the first three columns of the VOICES board.

Close-up of the last three columns of the VOICES board.

    If you like the VOICES board headings, you can pick them up in my Teacher's Notebook store.  To see the idea behind this board and how to use it, check out one of my other blog posts HERE.

    Okay, more classroom boards...

Calendar board- This houses are daily schedule, calendar, days in school pocket chart, etc.
This is also where I will put the sight words and word family we are learning for the week.

CAFE Menu board to use with Daily Five

Close-up of CAFE Menu board

   

Word Wall

Close-up of table supply bins

     The alphabet is on top of the word wall, and the word wall is empty to start the year.  On the lower right section of the board is the stoplight I use for behavior management.  Each student has a piece of white foam with their name written on it to move up and down the stoplight.  The star on top is for "shining stars" who do their jobs without reminders. :)  The shelves below the word wall house our writer's workshop paper baskets, supply bins (markers, scissors, glue sticks) with supplies we don't use all the time, and our word work materials.  Each table (group of desks) has its own color with corresponding bins and baskets.

        One more board...

Bucket Filler board- more to come on how we use this.

Classroom library

Classroom library

     The first few weeks of school we work together to label the bins in our library.  I give each table a bin and they look through it quietly on their own first to figure out how the books are the same. Then, they have a few minutes to talk and decide on a label for their bin.

   On with the tour...

Math manipulatives

    I have 31 students for math.  So, we need a lot of manipulatives. ;)

Our classroom door 

     The owls are Pinterest inspired, of course.  I hope you enjoyed the tour of my classroom.  Please comment and let me know what you think. :)

      I'm linking up to Swimming into Second and the Show Off Your School Space party.