July goals revisited

Apparently July is ending soon, so I thought I'd revisit my July goals post.  The original post is in italics while my updated thoughts are in bold.

So let's set some goals for July:
1) I will keep my wedding prep talk to a minimum.  B's brother and fiance are getting married next month and we're both in the wedding party.  I don't want to steal their thunder.  

Yeah....I got a little carried away with the planning.  Sorry readers...I'll refrain from posting more for a bit.  I've tried to keep it to the blog and with my mom.  I did get my dress for their wedding and am helping with some craft project on Thursday morning. 

2) Finish The Blood of Olympus. I'm on chapter 14 and don't plan on doing much more the rest of the day.  Plus this will be my plane reading.

So my plane reading became napping.  I'm on chapter 32 (of 50?).  I plan to knock out a few more chapters tomorrow.  I'd be farther along if I didn't have my helper...

We've been doing lots of belly rubs!  Waffles has been amazingly helpful at blogging, reading, and crafting.  Her fur sisters have been equally helpful at aggressively smelling things and knocking sharpies to the ground for Waffles to play with.

My goal is to finish it before I go back to school...and before his next novel comes out!  The main character shares a last name with Annabeth and this is based on Norse gods.  My heart is happy.

 

3) Learn, a lot.  I'm off to DENSI 2015 tomorrow evening and super excited to reconnect with others.  I'm the only representative from my whole state...so no pressure there!

I learned so much! Now I just need to stop being a slacker and share what I learned.

4) Help a friend earn some great rewards with her online Jamberry party.  We are having lots of fun with our nail wraps and I love that I can have gorgeous nails without a trip to the salon for way cheaper! It's a win-win all around!  I previously posted, I'm currently rocking a Shark Week themed jamicure.
Favorite Jamicures:

Oh yeah, I did that glittery pink and silver ombre look at home in 20 minutes flat while watching television.  Bam!
 

Her party is finishing up on Wednesday.  We've had fun and I've learned a few things. I don't think the next online party will go as long because there isn't the sense of urgency when it's open for three weeks.  Now I know better. 
 
5) Finish watching season 2 of Arrow.  We've got just a few episodes left, but it's Shark Week and that obviously takes priority!

DONE!  We've got a new season of Ink Master to enjoy next.

6) Catch up with family and old friends.  We're seeing one of my oldest friends and his girlfriend tomorrow for dinner.  I get to spend next weekend in DC with my bestie.  I'll get to talk to my mom soon (she's gallivanting in Europe and having the time of her life!)

DONE!  I've had some recent painful moments where I've realized that the friendships I treasured just aren't the same because people change.  That's been a rough lesson to learn this month.  I feel like this is a lesson I keep learning over and over again because I have a hard time giving up on people.  But I've also had some great times with the wonderful people in my life, many of them my new friends  from my new school.  Thanks tribe for being awesome.

7) Finish up some minor craft projects that I've started.  I donated a bunch of old items to a friend for her church's garage sale, so it's nice to purge items that I no longer need.  I'm in the process of organizing the garage and cleaning out our guest room (since it will quickly be taken over by wedding prep craft projects).

Done...ish.  One paint project is currently drying.  Others are being finalized this evening (I am binge watching Netflix without shame) or tomorrow after my eye doctor check up.  Our guest room has three distinct piles: work, Jamberry, and wedding.  The school pile is the largest. 


August will be consumed with their wedding, math training, and returning to work to conquer year seven in the classroom.

I've got five or six small wedding projects (mostly for the engagement party) to work on next month.  I'm excited about my math training.  

I'm also excited for this free learning opportunity: 

It's an online PD on August 4th and I'll get teaching materials in the mail after completing the course.  I didn't have the opportunity to attend this at DENSI, so I'm pleased it's offered again.  To clarify, I'm not excited about the content.  I think the content is beyond important and I am excited to learn strategies for discussing this dark period in history with my students.  I plan to use Number the Stars as one of our grade level read alouds and want to do a better job front loading the novel with the historical context.

Last year we read Esperanza Rising and building in the historical context about the Dust Bowl made a world of difference with my students.  

What are your goals?  Did you achieve them? If not, (no judgment) what's your revised plan for success?

Digging into History

One of my favorite eras in history is the American Revolution...which so nicely ties itself with some of our informational text standards (RI 5.6 and RI 5.8).  These standards examine multiple perspectives, author bias, reasons, and evidence--perfect for looking at this era! 

Over a week and a half, students analyzed many different accounts, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Paul Revere's account (available here), and multiple accounts of the Boston Massacre.

I gave each table team a different combination of the primary source documents from Colonial Williamsburg (here) to closely read and annotate.  

From there, students did a gallery walk to see how other groups analyzed the documents.

What is great to see is the different ways students dive into the text.  Some make meaning by drawing pictures to narrate what is occurring in the text.  Some highlight reasons and evidence.  My job is to teach them multiple strategies, then let them take ownership over their own learning. 

How do your students dive into history?

Simplicity, part 2

As I blogged about last week, I'm excited to try some new, simple tricks in my classroom.  Last week I chronicled ideas 1-3, so today you can find the next four gems! I'm all for small, simple tweaks to make my classroom run a little more efficiently.

Idea Four: "Partners" Poster

In the past, I've used a handmade version of this poster for groups to set norms:

This groups one works pretty well.  I found this "partners" one earlier this week and can't wait to use it as well!

I like that this poster goes more in depth with expectations.  I also like the "explain your answer" part because students need frequent reminders to do so!


Idea Five: The Ten Commandments of Math

I may need to tweak this idea so it's not so overtly religious, but I like this anchor chart:

I think laying down some ground rules for math would be a great thing! It might be cute to make it like a constitution and have my students all sign our declaration of math.

Idea Six: Additional Rewards for the Mystery Walker

I already implemented the mystery walker idea last year but I like this extension idea.  All I'd need to do is recreate this with my favorite fonts (we don't have time for cutesy clip art in fifth grade!) and dedicate a bucket to collect raffle tickets.

Idea Seven: Color Coding Notebooks

In a perfectly coordinated, OCD controlled world, all my students would have the same color notebooks for each subject.  I'm aware that won't happen.  But this could be a good back up plan:

The original pin was about text books, but we don't really use those in my classroom.  When we set up our notebooks at the beginning of the year, I could have each subject be a different color.  Having students search for their blue math notebook would definitely help with the desk organization and help struggling students with staying focused.  I know that it's tough for fifth graders to use a different notebook for each subject, but it's definitely necessary for middle school!  I'd rather they struggle with me and enter middle school prepared to switch classes and stay organized.

I'm committing to small, simple steps toward a better, more organized and positive classroom!  Who is with me?

What? You've Never Seen This?

Now that it's summer break, I have time to reflect upon yet another year in the classroom.  This year was my most challenging yet and for that, I am grateful. 

I have some definite face-palm moments in my classroom.

Sometimes I forget that things I assume are common knowledge just...aren't.

The first of many, many moments was when I had to clarify that kings and queens do actually exist.  We were reading informational text on the American Revolution, which naturally included a discussion on King George III.  This was our mentor text:

They really enjoyed reading and analyzing this passage, although the language and vocabulary did provide some stumbling blocks.  However, through discussion, I realized that many of them were confused.  They knew the passage we were reading was true and based on facts because it's informational text (hallelujah they've got that down), but were "clunking" on the king label.  They didn't realize that kings and queens were real.  So after a quick discussion that included yes, kings are real and no, dragons aren't, they seemed to be more okay with the topic.  

Apparently they then all went out to recess and informed the other fifth graders, thus ending their confusion as well.  Kings did (and do) exist.  Glad that's cleared up.

Second, some didn't realize World War Two actually occurred at all, much less (potentially) within their grandparents' lifetime.  We were reading Number the Stars and I set the necessary historical background.  We looked at some maps (okay Google Earth...it's much more interactive) and took a virtual field trip of Copenhagen.

Then some of my higher students, who have read Number the Stars earlier in the year made the connection that wait, this was based on true events.  Another made the connection to some video game, which sparked a class-wide discussion.  Next time, I think I'll start with the video game reference since that made a lot more sense to many of them.

Live, learn, and teach on!

Narrative Informational Writing

In whole group reading, we've been working on narrative informational texts.  This concept was a tad difficult for our students to wrap their brains around.

The text is informational and designed to provide facts to the readers.  However, the text is also written as a story.  These texts aren't literature because the characters and settings are real people.

We used historical passages from the American Revolutionary Era to help students with this concept.  We chose this because students were already familiar with some of the key historical players and we could incorporate social studies content.

When students were reading, they also had to analyze the text to determine the text structure.  They made organizers in their notebook and I used the social studies readers. 

 I split the class into groups and gave them different sections to read.  

After giving them time to struggle with the text, they met with another group to compare answers.  For the most part, both groups came up with the same answers.

They did really well with this concept! 

Historical Assembly

Our fifth graders had an awesome opportunity today!  In partnership with the Mount Vernon teacher's association, we had a special presentation.  A historian pretended to be William Lee, man servant to General George Washington.

For an hour, our fifth graders were completely engaged in learning about history.

It was a wonderful sight to see.  

Adding joy

I can't take credit for this gem, but I love this, a lot:

I can't wait to share it with my munchkins!

I also showed them this today to start off our landforms & space science unit:

Can't beat that selfie!

That's What He Said

I'm an advocate of integrating technology into the classroom.  I'm a "technology native" (as opposed to an immigrant) and whole-heartedly believe students must learn how to use different types of tech to be competitive later in life.  However, they've still got to learn critical thinking skills and I don't believe technology can replace teachers.

I earned my technology endorsement from Nevada State College and love using tools like kidblog, prezi, voki and more in the classroom!

I just stumbled upon this idea:

Naturally, my mind went to "that's what he said" comments...but here it could actually work in an academically appropriate way!

Simply insert speech bubbles in word over an image and tada!  Great group activity with minimal technology (for those who are hesistant about using tech).

This could be great to talk about multiple perspectives and as a culminating activity.  Easily differentiated and can be used with lots of academic subject areas.  What a fun way to add some joy back into the classroom :)

Enjoy!  Happy teaching :)

Mentor Text Ideas

I love using picture books in my classroom. Yes, I know my fifth graders might seem a little old for picture books, but I only pick books with an academic purpose.  Sometimes the purpose is to introduce a concept, other times it is for a mini-lesson.

Here are some of my favorites :)

(Historical Texts)

  

This is great for discussing historical myths and the American Revolution.  The book talks about John Adams, Paul Revere, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  My students really like the story line and the book provides lots of factual information.  This book is highly recommended :)

This is out of date, but still good to review some of the older presidents:

Just make sure you mention President Barack Obama as well!

This is another great book by one of my favorite authors.

This book addresses the issue of slavery.

(Science Texts)

This is great to review the concepts of force and motion.  I had students follow along with toy cars at their table teams and discuss what would happen next.  We reviewed friction, inertia and Newton's Laws of motions.  Not bad for a picture book!

Bonus: here is the story on you tube :)

This goes great for environments and food chains.

The book lends itself well to discussions and the creation of food webs.

(Writing Texts)

Students not only loved the plot of this story,  but that they could interact with the text by editing for punctuation. After reading this, I displayed the image under the ELMO and my students worked in table teams to return the missing punctuation to the story to add meaning.  They got super excited about editing, which is always a  plus!

This one is great for persuasive writing and students can really relate to the premise!

This cute picture book is great for homophones!

This book looks at the importance of word choice which helps all writers improve!  

This can also work for vocabulary and shades of meaning, both of which are concepts that many students struggle with in the upper grades.

Reading Texts

I used these books to discuss alternative points of view and how the narrator's perspective shifts the story (aligning with RL5.6).  These books were highly amusing and prompted my students to want to re-write their own versions of their small group novels.  For example, one group rewrote part of Harry Potter from Draco Malfoy's perspective.  I also loved that there were four different books providing a different mentor text for almost the entire week.  Repeated exposure really helps solidify the concepts!

For helping students make inferences, I'd recommend this book:

Students have some great discussions on this book :)  Bonus, you can review the seasons!

This book serves two purposes, which is great because time is always limited.

You can use this picture book to review text structure as well as punctuation.  I love when reading and writing align!

The next books are great for vocabulary acquisition, which is part of the Common Core State Standards:

The importance of vocabulary in a fun way :)

This book is sure to inspire your class (or school) to have their own vocabulary parade!  For more information, visit the author's website here.

To review the importance of using reference materials, I'd recommend:

Just make sure your students know not to eat books :)

This gem is self explanatory

but still works as a great review for genres.

Math

Place Value:

This book nicely combines science visuals of the universe and math concepts of place value.  I use this at the beginning of the year to build background knowledge and as a formative assessment to see students' understanding of number sense.

Beginning of the Year Classics

Ms. Nelson is always a classic!

I read this book in the first few days of school (while wearing a black dress of course!) and discuss classroom rules.  It's a great introduction to classroom norms and community building.

I love this author and this book does a great job of addressing different student learning styles.

We discuss that learning is a journey and some students just need more time than others.

To help students deal with their emotions appropriately, I always read

during the first week of school.  Students then brainstorm ways that they can deal with their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.  I took the concept of an Alexander day one step further by making Australian flags.  If students are having one of those days, they simply place a flag on their desk to indicate to others that they are feeling sensitive.  My students really responded well to the idea and didn't abuse the flags.  Here is another example of a teacher using the flag concept:

We also read

and discuss the importance of individuality.  Plus it's a great way to apologize to students for accidentally mispronouncing their names!

Another great read for social responsibility and classroom rules is:

I'd highly recommend this book because it forces students to look at their own behavior and accept responsibility...a social skill that often needs fostering :)

This is slightly juvenile, but does a great job at stressing the difference between tattling and informing.

We all want safe classrooms, but students also need to learn to solve some of their own problems.

I love this book not only to briefly review land forms, but also to reinforce norms for listening and speaking:

Students often have volcano-like mouths but this book helps highlight the importance of taking turns.

What suggestions would you add?

-Ms. Vice