character charts

As we're finishing up our novels, we're posting our character and setting charts on the wall:

 I think I'm running out of space! I think I'll take them down, put them on a book ring:

And create a flipchart.

Plus, that'd free up valuable wall space!  Based on one of my fabulous neighbor's suggestions, I'm going to make a "shout out" board where I can post good examples of their "must do's" and work.

I had a major problem last week with a very small percentage of my classes not doing the must do correctly and on time.

Part of it was my fault for not explicitly modeling, but part of it was due to their desires to rush to do centers. 

So, as always in teaching, I'll make adjustments for next time.

I think having the positive motivator of being on the display board will definitely help! Stay tuned :)

Upcoming Products

I'm in the process of reformatting some centers based on my students' feedback and they should be available on TpT by the end of the year!

Chronological Order Sorts:
The Miserable Mill (#4 in the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket)
Gossamer by Lois Lowry (posted 12/08)
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordian (posted 12/10)
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordian (posted 12/10)
Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby

Novel Units:
Harry Potter novels (1-6)

Quote Sorts:
Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games trilogy

Other various stations:
Tuck Everlasting character analysis 

Be sure to follow me on TpT to see the latest products and check out sales!

Number the Stars chronological order sort

#74 is up on TpT!

I've created a chronological order sort for Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. In this center, students put the 22 events back in order and can check themselves with the provided answer key.

A must have for small groups and literature stations!  Since this center contains spoilers for the end of the novel, I'd recommend having students complete the novel prior to doing this activity!  Grab yours here now!  Answer key is included.

Happy reading!

new stations

New stations are posted on TpT!

The first one is a survival sort. 

I created this one to go along with multiple novels that have survival as a theme.  I created this to go along with Lois Lowry's The Giver and Number the Stars; Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay novels as well as Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, Brian's Winter, Brian's Return, The River and Brian's Return. Students work together to sort descriptions into various categories: emotions, shelter, dangers, etc.  My students love playing this center and as an extension, coming up with new cards to add to our sort.  I love when they are invested in our activities.

The second one is responses to literature for Lois Lowry's Gossamer.

In this station, students draw from over 20 different response to literature cards based on the novel.  Students will respond to the literature, then discuss their answers with their partner or small group.

This supports the CCSS RL 5.1 (quoting accurately) and W 5.9a (response to literature) standards.

Centers one and two are available NOW!

I'm currently working on the next two, which should be available by Sunday.

The third station is based on the Harry Potter novels.  

Students will have to sort descriptions into the characters that are being described.  The center includes descriptions for all the novels and has an "I don't know this yet" section so students can use this sort for any of the seven novels.

This epic sort comes in at thirty five pages and is quite the steal!

The fourth station is also based on Harry Potter, but has students sort descriptions for the houses of Hogwarts.  

Enjoy!

All of these stations are available on my TpT store.  Again, the first two are up now and the second two will be available by Sunday night :)

 If you purchase the products, thank you!  Please consider rating them as well :)

New product: novel study for the Giver

I first read the Giver in elementary school, then again as a junior in high school.  I enjoyed it in elementary school but my teacher didn't necessarily have the necessary discussions with our group.  Back in that time, it was simply enough to hand students a book and give them a test at the end.  There were no discussions.  

I think the lack of discussions does a disservice to students.

Obviously I wouldn't have the same discussion with fifth graders and I would with high school students, but that doesn't mean elementary students can't handle this book in a very structured, scaffolded setting.

I've made my teacher notes available here.

Hope your students enjoy this book as much as mine do!  I've used it both as a whole class read aloud and in small groups.

New TpT products: Gossamer and Holes Novel Units

With the start of the school year fast approaching in Nevada, I'm trying to put my teacher guides on TpT quickly to save you the work :)

My teacher guides include vocabulary and spelling word suggestions, comprehension questions with answers, pre and post reading discussion questions and extension project activities.  They are aligned to RL 5.1 and 5.3 in the Common Core.  There are responses to literature for each chapter, which require students to go back into the text to find textual support.

I just posted two new novel units: Holes and Gossamer

 

Holes was one of my favorite novels growing up and I love doing it with my students every year in small groups.  It lends itself quite well to inferences and most students have seen the movie version.  They are shocked that the book contains more detail (I'm not sure why that is still surprising), but that lends itself to discussing the differences between text and film (RL 5.7).

Gossamer I read for the first time a few years ago, but love Lois Lowry and once again, she doesn't disappoint.  This novel is wonderful for examining parallel story lines and character development.

Hope you enjoy!  You can download yours here.

Happy reading!

New TpT Product: Novel Unit for Number the Stars

When I was at my mother's house recently, I was charged with the daunting task of going through my childhood books to determine which I wanted to keep for my future kids, which were going to my classroom and which ones would go to Goodwill.  I stumbled upon my childhood copy of Number the Stars and fell in love with this novel all over again.

It never fails to make me and my students cry.  I've done it as a read aloud for the past two years in my fifth grade classroom.

I revised my teacher unit to reflect the more rigorous Common Core state standards and posted the packet on my TpT store.  There are suggested vocabulary words, pre and post reading reflection questions, comprehension questions, suggested extension activities and numerous compare/contrast activities (RL 5.3).  

Happy reading!