As I {shared} last week, I had a time crunch to finish The Dark Prophecy by well, yesterday.
I met my goal, but barely. I walked into open library with sixteen pages left. Luckily my former student was understanding. He turned on all the computers for me so I could finish the book in peace.
Now that the novel is read, the rest of my work begins.
When I read these novels, I pick out important tier 2 and 3 vocabulary words for each chapter. I pick out comprehension questions and jot down suggested answers, relying on textual support. I look for opportunities to highlight figurative language, author's word choice, and making inferences. I think what homework questions I'd want my students to answer and jot down what type of answers I'd want from my students.
My next steps are to take the 64 pages of hand written notes and turn it into a word document. I estimate it will be around 50 typed pages when I'm done.
After the novel is done, I'll make the chronological order sort and a student question guide (worksheet format with a few comprehension questions for each chapter). I'll post all of these products separately on my {store}, as well as bundle them together. My goal for finishing all of this is next Friday.
Good thing I'm powered by caffeine and Netflix marathons (for background noise of course!).
I've been working on The Hidden Oracle, which is the first in The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
(This is the UK cover. I like it much better than the US cover.)
Like all his other works, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I got angry at plot twists.
However, it's hard to keep all the specific details of a book in my head so I take copious notes while reading. I turn these notes into novel guides and my newest is now available {here} on TpT. Coming in at over 40 pages, it looks like I'm going to need a big binder for all my novel guides for next year!
The accompanying chronological order sort will be available in the next few days!
With the exception of the final Harry Potter novel, I don't think I've ever been more nervous to finish a book.
Earlier this week I finished The Blood of Olympus, which was the tenth adventure involving Percy Jackson and friends. I was really pleased with how everything was wrapped up emotionally at the end. I was also very proud of how Rick Riordan handled one of his main characters dealing with his homosexual feelings as well as feelings of isolation and depression due to feeling like an outsider. (I mean, his dad is Hades after all. It's not like he's the most well-liked god of Olympus.) This book did an amazing job of tackling some tough topics in such a gentle way.
My 59 page teacher guide is now available {here}. I have vocabulary suggestions for each chapter, comprehension questions (with suggested student answers) and homework/responses to literature. I've also imbedded extension activities and project ideas for students.
My chronological order sort should be available tomorrow! I had plans of finishing it while at the DMV this morning, but it was far too loud.
I'm sad to see my literary friends go, but know it's only a few short months until the next series is unveiled!
I love reading Diane's blog posts on {Fifth in the Middle} and {Fancy Free in Fourth}.
This week's blog challenge is about curriculum must-haves.
Our district, perhaps like most, is in a state of turmoil. We've adopted the Common Core State Standards without curriculum to match, expect teachers to make due with out dated text books (seriously, the books are older than my students), and expect teachers to do more with less...including less money. Yup, we took a pay cut and an insurance hike, so double whammy to the bank account! To make matters worse, new to state teachers are given a several thousand dollar hiring bonus and to make up for the teacher shortage, retired teachers are invited back. I have no issue with (qualified) retired teachers returning to the district, but I do have a problem that they receive both a salary and their retirement accounts. Yup, they're allowed to double dip into funds, yet current teachers all took a pay cut.
We also adopted the standards (which I have no problem with), but then rebranded them the Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS). Why? To deal with the critics who are outspoken against the Common Core.
From what I've read of the Common Core (which is not the whole thing, just the elementary portion), I don't really see a problem. Are the standards perfect? No, of course not. But the depth of what is expected of our students is much deeper then previous standards, Seeing how Nevada is consistently at the bottom in terms of educational testing for a wide variety of reasons, I think challenging our students is a good thing. When you're close to the bottom, you can only go up!
Long story short, we have no provided curriculum and have to rely on collaboration to create our lesson plans. There are lots of inconsistencies across the district, but at least everyone in my grade level (and school) are pretty much on the same page.
So let's dive into this week's blog challenge and look at some curriculum must haves:
I can't say enough good things about this book. We start each math lesson with a warm up that focuses on building number sense.
We've tweaked it a little to roughly follow this format:
Mental Math Monday: The focus is on decomposing and composing numbers for computation.
Ten Minute Tuesday: The focus is on logic puzzles and brain teasers.
Word Problem Wednesday: The focus is on multi-step word problems and making sense of the problems.
Thinking Thursday: More logic puzzles and "tricky" problems.
Fast Facts Friday: Timed tests to focus on multiplication and division facts mastery.
Must haves:
Teachers pay Teachers products!
My novel guides are a life saver! I'm trying to keep track of several different novels at once with my small groups, so it's nice to have all my notes and homework questions in a nice, organized fashion.
I've also founds tons of free stations that are great for independent and partner practice during RTI time!
As an added bonus, most stores are having their back to school sale right now! I know everything in my store is currently 20% off! Go get inspired.
This book was truly a life saver. I struggled with knowing how to teach phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency. I felt pretty good about my comprehension strategies but struggled with foundation skills. This had great strategies and graphic organizers. My copy is well loved:
Finally, one of my go to websites: FCRR (Florida Center for Reading Research)
This site has graphic organizers, centers, and games broken into grade level bands (K-1, 2-3, and 4-5). They've recently added the Common Core State Standards to the center activities so it makes it even easier to find what your students need.
What would you add? Join the conversation!
I'm pleased to announce my teacher guide for The House of Hades is now available here!
I've been working on this novel for a while now (considering it's 63 pages!). I also finalized the corresponding chronological order sort!
I really enjoyed Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda when I read it last year for the Battle of the Books.
I utilized Scholastic's book orders to snag myself the sequels at a very discounted rate. The books will make their way into my classroom library as soon as I'm done reading them :)
The first book I found while organizing my library was The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee so I tackled this one first.
However, a few pages in I realized I was reading the series out of chronological order, which is a huge literary faux pas. However since I can't find Darth Paper Strikes Back, I am coping with my literary betrayal (sorry Tom Angleberger!).
This was a quick read at under two hundred pages. My 24 page teacher guide and chronological order sort for this novel are available now on TpT. Once I've finished Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet, and Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue I will create a character sort center as well. I just don't feel I know these characters well enough to make a quality sort for my fifth graders.
Happy reading and may the Force be with you!
I love technology but sometimes it fails. Last summer I had a hard drive crash and lost a lot of teaching materials. I tried every possible rescue option, but it simply was lost. Many of the materials weren't backed up elsewhere (like dropbox) and I've painfully learned my lesson.
However, there is a silver lining.
I did find paper copies of nine different teacher guides while sorting through my teacher materials. I'm retyping them and revising to ensure that they're up to my standards. Teacher guides that I made a few years ago need some revision, plain and simple. As I've learned more, I've taken this knowledge and poured it back into my products.
The upcoming teacher guides are:
The Bad Beginning (#1 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Reptile Room (#2 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Wide Window (#3 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Miserable Mill (#4 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Austere Academy (#5 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Vile Village (#7 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Hostile Hospital (#8 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
The Carnivorous Carnival (#9 in the Series of Unfortunate Events)
Brian's Winter (a sequel to Hatchet)
The River (a sequel to Hatchet)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2)
All guides will be available within the coming weeks on TpT! You can follow my store and get emails from TpT as soon as I upload products.
Happy reading!
This year is the first year I actually have to organize my classroom library. I'm excited and a little terrified about this daunting task.
My expected end result is something like this:
But on a larger scale (and with a polka dot rug of course!)
I want to see what books are at my school and in my classroom before I begin hauling over boxes. I want to meet my students and learn their book levels before stocking my shelves so I know what books to bring for which students.
I did revise my checkout list:
Which you can snag for free here! (Just please give feedback)
I will be organizing my library by AR level using this super helpful website. To make my life easier, I am putting sticky labels on the inside cover with the AR quiz number, AR level, and a helpful return to Ms. Vice sticker (just in case).
I have some super cute striped bins that I'll be using to sort by AR level (and author).
Some other ideas for your classroom library:
1) Using plastic bins, color code for informational and literature.
You can find bins at dollar stores, then use spray paint to make them match :)
2) You can also use these plastic bins to color code by AR, DRA, or lexile level. That way students know which books are "just right" for them!
3) You can also organize thematically:
4) Use stickers on the spine labels to color code your books with your management system. I'll be using AR levels but you can do DRA, lexile, author, etc.
Of course, you'll want to make your classroom library an interactive place where students want to be.
One of my favorite ways to do this is with a quote wall:
Black butcher paper (or poster board), cute border, and metallic sharpies = perfect place for students to record their favorite quotes from their books. In doing so, they're encouraging others to read that book as well!
I also want to make this print:
Because who doesn't love a Harry Potter reference?
Good luck!
When I was younger, I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt. From mummies to scarabs to Nefertiti, I simply couldn't get enough. I was giddy with excitement when I discovered that one of my favorite authors, Rick Riordan, has a trilogy based on ancient Egypt.
I was fortunate enough to get to read The Red Pyramid with a small group in May but we ran out of time for the sequels...which naturally found their way onto my summer reading list!
I am pleased to announce two new teacher guides with matching chronological order sorts are now available on TpT!
The first is The Throne of Fire, the second in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.
In this much anticipated sequel, Carter and Sadie Kane are off to save the world again before ancient Egyptian gods and monsters destroy it. By blending witty commentary with a fast paced story line and amusing characters, Riordan doesn't disappoint! I can't wait to dive into The Serpent's Shadow next!
This novel guide is 31 pages and includes vocabulary, homework ideas, and comprehension questions (with answers) for each chapter! Extension ideas are also included.
To accompany this novel, I created a chronological order sort where students must put 26 events from the novel in order. This helps students analyze how events build upon one another in the novel and how the author reveals the plot via characters. (RL 5.5) An answer key is included to alleviate arguments and this can be used as a summative assessment for comprehension or a collaborative center for students while the teacher pulls small groups.
Since I loved The Throne of Fire so much, The Serpent's Shadow was a natural next choice.
Things are worse than ever for the Kanes, with Apophis rising and a crafty magician to keep track of! Rick Riordan does a wonderful job at wrapping up this trilogy while imbedding subtle hints at the world of Greek mythology.
Snag the teacher's guide and the chronological order sort now!
I also created a "who am I" game with 25 characters from the trilogy. Students guess the character based on the given clues. I also included an answer key.
I was on such a role with analyzing characters that I also made this sort:
Students can independently or collaboratively sort the terms (smaller cards) into the characters that are being described (larger cards). Snag it here!
Happy reading :)
I am really trying to be productive during summer, but I seem to have encountered this slightly furry problem:
Yes, she's laying on the notebook where I'm taking notes for my next teacher guide for The Throne of Fire. Apparently I missed the memo about it being kitten cuddling time when I'm trying to read...but oh well!
Rick Riordan is my new favorite author. I just finished reading The Son of Neptune and absolutely loved this book. Rick Riordan's writing is drenched with sassy commentary from the characters and provokes many literal laughing out loud moments.
My boyfriend made the mistake of asking what the book was about...he got a fifteen minute synopsis of the Rick Riordan universe instead of a brief retelling. Sorry babe...but don't ask about a book if you don't want a long explanation!
My teacher guide is available here and corresponding centers will be up soon!
Lucky for me, there are sequels:
Even luckier? They were buy one, get one free at our Scholastic book fair this week!
Even though summer break is days away, I will still be reading books and prepping materials for my students next year. I love that I get time to read :)
Somehow in all the craziness of the end of the year, which is extra hectic this time, I managed to finish another novel. My students are halfway through this book and will finish before the end of the school year, so I just wanted to make sure I did as well.
While reading and discussing the novel with my youngsters, I created a teacher guide to go along with Lemony Snicket's second prequel to The Series of Unfortunate Events. In this novel, the narrator Lemony is challenged with another mysterious case of finding the missing brilliant chemist Cleo Knight.
In true Snicket fashion, the book left me frustrated with a whole new set of unanswered questions. The third prequel, Shouldn't You Be In School? isn't scheduled for release until October of this year. Oh Lemony, why do you do this to me?
The 20 page teacher guide is available here on TpT!
Many of my small groups absolutely love The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
One group is reading the prequels but is quite upset only two of the four have been released.
I told them this is how I felt growing up waiting for Harry Potter sequels and to deal with it. (Perhaps not the best teacher response but they need realize not everything in life is handed to them immediately. Sometimes they have to wait for what they want.)
For one of our must do activities, they were instructed to write a letter to an author, sharing their feelings about the book.
Here are some of the responses to Lemony:
Quite the sassy remark!
I love their passion.
Happy reading!
I clearly love books. But more importantly, I love when my students love books.
For one of our must do activities, my students had to describe which character changed the most in their novels.
This student absolutely loved the sassy changes in Hermione Granger. His specific evidence is when she slaps Draco Malfoy in the face and argues with Ron on a frequent basis.
Another student also loved that sassy moment from Hermione.
This activity challenged students to take their favorite portion of the book and create an eight panel graphic novel. I like letting them be a little creative and draw, but still with a purpose. This lends itself to having students apply their quotation skills and summarize their favorite parts.
I love seeing how much fun they have with their must do's.
One of my parents came to me today with a very pressing issue.
She had a doctor's appointment later that day and needed a book to read. Naturally, I came to mind as someone to recommend a new book.
This makes my heart so incredibly happy that I'm immediately thought of as a credible person to recommend books.
I know she's read Number the Stars, Tuck Everlasting, the Bad Beginning, and Who Could That Be At This Hour? with her daughter this year. So I recommended one of my new favorites:
I gave her a quick synopsis and she was sold! If you haven't checked out this book, I highly recommend it!
I read this novel with one of my small groups for the first time this year:
As I previously stated, I was really impressed with how well my students handled the complexity of the characters. I really enjoyed the story and I'm glad my students did as well!
They are just finishing the first novel, so I read the second ahead of them so I'd be prepared for our discussions.
My teacher guide is available here on TpT and a bundle guide of both novels will be available soon!
I was pleased with the ending of both books, but then discovered this:
Ah yes, a third book! Time to write a grant proposal :)
Happy reading!
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