Yeah...we're going to lose.

One of the adorable traditions at my school is the fall decorating of pumpkins for the library.

We get a bunch of pumpkins donated and each class gets to decorate the pumpkin based on a book character.  I tried to slap a post-it on our class pumpkin and say "this is a gourd, we read informational text" but was vetoed.  The pumpkins have to be based on a book character (not a recent movie character).

The pumpkins also can't be punctured in any way because we want them on display in the library for a few weeks.

The primary classes usually produce the most adorable pumpkins because parent helpers or the teachers spend hours crafting very adorable and very complex designs.

Mine however, is completely student driven...and it shows.  

Volunteers stay after school and armed with paint and big ideas, they navigate working together to create this work of art that will be on display for the rest of the school.

I'd love to do this:

However, we haven't read any books on mummies and my students are very excited about all their ideas.  We have an online poll going, but then will turn that into a survey (embedding that technology folks!)

The current winning idea is...

The Minotaur.

From Greek Mythology.

Something tells me we're not going to win the cutest pumpkin contest, but if my students have fun making it, that's all that matters.

Motivation Monday: Minute to Win It

My fifth graders get bored with repetition, so I am always looking for new ways to  motivate them. 

Our school does Reading Rangers, which is a program to inspire students to read independently and move up through badges and ranger level graduations.  While it's in no way perfect because no program is and not every strategy works for every student, I found that in my first year of using this program my students were extremely motivated to read and talk about their books with each other, which is a welcome change.  Last year, even with all my high readers, I still struggled to get them to complete their assignments.  This year, a much higher percentage of my students were motivated to independently read, which is fantastic.

However, it's also the end of the school year and many of them need an additional push.  So, with the help of pinterest ideas, I came up with mystery motivators (minute to win it challenges).

I used a random number generator to make five student groups and they were competing for:
-highest overall percentage correct
-most number of quizzes passed (with failing quizzes counting for negative points)
-most engagement from the whole team

They had a week to complete their goals and I did daily points updates.

After a week of competition, I revealed the winning teams.  The top 3 teams in each category got to participate in minute to win it games.

I chose the following games:
1) Cookie to mouth, using oreos.  Students had a minute to get the oreo from their foreheads into their mouths without using their hands.

2) 100 cup stack challenge.  Goal: create the highest cup structure in a minute.

3) Balancing act.  Using a tongue depressor and linking cubes, they had to stack the cubes on top of the tongue depressors and hold their structure for sixty seconds.


Here is a snapshot of the challenges:

My favorite part? The total cost to me was under ten dollars and they were so motivated to read and win!

How do you motivate your students?

Thankful catch ups!

Ah, the weekend.  It's time to catch up on blogging and class updates.  But first, time to pause and reflect upon the things that I'm thankful for:

-My students are so incredibly excited about everything we're doing.  Their immediate buy-in makes my job easier.  Their zest for learning is contagious.  Their desire for reading, especially anything by Rick Riordan, is insatiable.

-Many of my students are bilingual.  I have a new-to-country student who is just learning English. It's an incredibly tough struggle, but he's a sweetheart. He's from Mexico and about half my class speaks Spanish.  I've got him on English-learning programs, reading bilingual books, and he's very excited about math.  I'm so thankful he's got many partners who can translate and are so eager to help him acclimate to our classroom and feel successful.

-I'm thankful for the flexibility I'm allowed at my new school.  Math runs a few minutes over because I'm working with a small group? Ok. It happens. I'm not in trouble for it.  I decide to take my small groups outside to read because we are having gorgeous 80 degree weather in November? Sounds good, provided I let the office know.  It's great to be treated like a professional and not have every decision I make scrutinized. 

-I'm thankful for Rick Riordan.  In his latest books, he reveals one of the male characters has feelings for Percy and is struggling to admit these feelings to others.  The books are in no way sexualized because they're written for children, but I appreciate that Riordan made a gay hero for students to look up to.  Plus he's an amazing author anyway, so this just added one more reason to the why he's great list!

-I'm thankful my school cares about me as a person first and a teacher second.  I have yet to take a sick/personal day but am trying to coordinate schedules with B to see when we can sneak in a 3 day weekend.  I doubt I'll have to explain myself and I'm sure a mental health day will be encouraged, provided I leave sub plans.

-I'm thankful for the numerous potlucks at work!  Seriously, there are several each month and they are all themed. It's great!

-I'm thankful the post office had both Batman and Harry Potter stamps.  Mailing out Jamberry samples just got a whole lot more fun!

-I'm thankful for my (assuming) future parents in law for gifting Olive Garden gift cards.  We had a spontaneous mid-week dinner date and it was fabulous.


What are you thankful for on this fine Saturday morning?

Umm...that's special?

My new school's ID badge has my first and last name on it, which normally isn't a big deal.

Except now my students know my first name.

Which lead some of them to make me a character in their most recent narratives.  It's a little weird to keep seeing my name pop up in their stories, but at least I'm wearing pink and not the villain?!

I'm going to choose to see this as a flattering thing...as strange as it is.

Aww

I'm loving the fact that my new school is open dress because I get to see their cute personalities reflected in their cheetah print leggings and sport shirts.

While they can't wear them inside, there's also been a surplus of hats.  Now some of my boys are rocking football ones (naturally) and then we get to tease one another about football teams and scores.  One of my students wore a 49ers one after they'd lost to the Cardinals (my team), so naturally I asked him if he loved the game as much as I did.

I like that my classroom is such a positive place where we can  joke about things and feel comfortable with one another.

Recently, two of my boys have shown up in coordinating Batman hats.

Now, to say I love Batman would be an understatement.  I have a Batman class sign and hundreds of comics at my house.  So the fact that my students noticed and then made the effort to wear the hats so I'd notice is simply adorable.

I'm also being gifted quite frequently by my students.  I've received a half dozen bracelets, drawings, and flowers (picked from someone's yard).

It's nice to be at a school where I am appreciated. It's nice to be surrounded by happy students.

Um...what did you say?

Fifth graders say the weirdest things sometimes.

They're researching Native American Indians in reading/writing and learning how to create multimedia presentations.  Today we were working in the classroom and in the pod (on the computers) when one group of (rather giggly) girls called me over.

This same group had confused "Pablo" with "Pueblo" last week, so I was concerned about their question.

I was asked "what's a butt skin?"

Yes, butt skin.

Struggling to keep a straight face, I racked my brain to figure out what on earth they were talking about.  Luckily, it dawned on me: buck skin.

So, I asked if she meant buck skin.

She said yes because that's what she'd said.  I went on to clarify that buck and butt are two different words and that a buck is an animal.  That seemed to please her but I had to struggle to keep a straight face.

Naturally, I immediately told the rest of my grade level.  There are no butt skins during our project.

Oh fifth graders.

Getting to Know My Munchkins

Since I'm starting at a new school, I'm coming in at a disadvantage.  I don't know these kids or their families.

So I pushed myself to try to learn as much as I could about my new bunch of munchkins.  I gave them several "about me" surveys and this year, actually took the time to read them.  I mean between all their beginning of the year forms, we're looking at five hundred pages or so...good thing it was a three day weekend!

It took a few hours, but I'm glad I did it.  I learned a lot about my new students (and their families).  I can easily name off ten fun facts about each kiddo, which is impressive considering I've known them for five days.  I also made notes about what I saw during their games of 20 wins and various first week sorts.

Here's a top ten list of things I've learned:

1) I've got some pretty eclectic kids.  Some told me they love Mean Girls, others are in Tae Kwon Do, some learned the difference between debit & credit cards this summer.

2) Almost every single one said they struggle with spelling and reading multisyllabic words, which only justifies my decision to spend 10 minutes a day doing phonics during whole group reading.

3) A few of them live around the block from me.  I've never had students live so close. I will probably see them out riding their bikes or have them visit on Halloween.

4) They are pretty vocal about their feelings on reading.  Some love Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, others hate the series with a passion...and weren't afraid to show it!

5) I've got supportive families.  Some filled me in on situations at home, some voiced their concerns about where their kids fall academically, but most want to be involved which is a welcome change.

6) Some already listed me as their favorite teacher, which is adorable. It also makes me worry about their previous teachers...but we'll have a great year.

7) Quite a few want to learn how to use the dictionary.  I don't know if their third grade teachers skipped that standard, but we'll be sure to cover both traditional and electronic dictionaries this year. (Ninjawords.com is my favorite!)

8) They're really good at coaching one another.  I don't know if I should give their previous teachers credit for this (or perhaps their parents), but during our math games they were helping one another.  Yes, there was friendly competition but they were genuinely wanting one another to grasp the concept at hand.

9) They work well together.  Some of them said their best friends are in the class.  I've only had to move one child in the first week.  Very few needed a gentle nudge about participating with the group and I'm thinking it was because they already knew the answers and didn't want to give it away. I'm pleased they want to talk to one another.

10)  They are full of joy.  They're inquisitive.  They want to learn.  This is the best possible scenario I could ask for as a teacher.

It's going to be a great year. 

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!

Facebook

I have a teacher facebook.  It's completely separate from my personal account and it's a great way to connect with families and students.  Every so often, I'll get messages like this: 

This will possibly be one of the hardest things about moving to a new school.  My old students can't just come visit me unless their parents are willing to make a twenty minute drive across town.  

At least I'll be able to keep in contact with them online!  I do love hearing about the books they're reading :)

Thank You's

One of my students brought me this:

The gesture is sweet but I think she's secretly trying to bribe me into letting her read Tuck Everlasting. Her group just started Number the Stars and she's convinced it's the best book, ever.  She's on chapter three but has already proclaimed this book as her favorite...ever.

These are my students.

Battle of the Books

On Friday afternoon, I took my enthusiastic team of four students to the district semi-finals.  Clad in our matching navy shirts, they were eager to win.

They participated in the first two rounds, but didn't earn enough combined points to advance.

I stayed with them for both rounds, one round acting as a time keeper and the other as the host.  Both our principal and librarian showed up, which was wonderful for my kiddos to feel supported.

My students lost gracefully and displayed wonderful sportsmen-like conduct, which was heartwarming to see.  I congratulated the winning team and had the audience clap for the effort of both teams.  There were some disrespectful parents, which was a tad frustrating.  Of course each school and family goes in wanting their child to be successful.  But not every team can win.  Every team, however, can conduct themselves with dignity and grace.

I wish those parents were more focused on the true purpose of the event: building enthusiasm for reading.  

My team did their best but most importantly, they had fun. They did the competition completely on their own but were supported the whole time.  They read some great books, strengthened friendships, and enjoyed quizzing each other about the novels.

One of the boys was inexplicably thrilled when I told him that there isn't just one sequel to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, but four.  I know what his summer plans will be--reading.  Lots of reading.

That's a wonderful thing.

Dear Lemony Snicket...

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!

Sassy Hermione

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.

Aww

I have a teacher facebook. I'm very careful of what I post and use this social media platform as a way to connect with my students and their families, both former and current.  It's completely separate from my personal account. There's nothing I put on my page I wouldn't share with my principal or superintendent.

When I discovered there was a third in the Al Capone... series, I took to facebook to let my students know.  Here was the almost immediate reaction:

Yes, my student responded almost immediately with giddy excitement.  These moments make my job worthwhile.  I won't have to tell the rest of the group, this student will do it for me and most likely today or tomorrow morning at recess.

These are my students.  

What a glorious problem to have...

Insatiable. 

Slowly but surely over the school year, my small reading groups have transformed from good readers to avid, insatiable readers.  They try to sneak books (usually sequels) off my bookshelf and read ahead of their group.  They try to check books out of the library early and will sneak in during their lunch time because they think I won't find out.  

They gasp at certain parts which is normally fine...expect when they're reading after their CRTs (standardized tests) and are supposed to be quiet.  

They've set their own reading goals, which tend to be far more ambitious than I would give.  They argue over which group meets with me first (I meet with two groups per period).  They diligently watch the timer to ensure that the other group does not get additional time.  I've made literature-hungry little monsters.

They will recommend a book to anyone, anywhere...whether or not they're asked.  

I couldn't be more proud.

Awww

So I'm cleaning out/up my classroom because standardized testing is literally right around the corner...it's tomorrow morning.  

So instead of covering up the posters with more paper, I just took them down.  Instead of recycling them, I sent them home with students after CRT boot camp.

I came home to find a message on my teacher facebook from one of my students.  Attached was a picture of her bedroom wall where she'd proudly hung up those anchor charts.  Yes, that was the decor she wanted in her room.

These are my students.

Plenty of Polygons

With our standardized testing right around the corner, we've been doing test prep.  Many of our students are struggling with the geometrical hierarchy of polygons, so we created some sorts and matching activities for them.

They had such a great time figuring out which polygon was being described and I loved that some of my high kids still learned new vocabulary terms (like kite).  Most students are pretty good with matching the polygon to the definition, but when it comes to the classification of quadrilaterals...they get a little stumped.

But these centers really helped them understand not only the individual polygons, but how they interact with each other within the geometrical hierarchy.

I've bundled these centers and they are now available here on TpT!

(On a completely adorable side note, several of them went off on a tangent about how this hierarchy was like the Greek mythology family trees we made in small groups.  Two groups got into it about who would be at the top of the tree: Zeus?  Jupiter? The Titans? Kronos?  They were rather reluctantly wheeled back into the math conversation.  At least they're making connections!)

Grading Fun

We had an assessment today on conjunctions and interjections.  I was pleased to see some awesome growth on their test but I was more pleased with their comments.

For my students who finish early, I have them write me a note on the back of their tests.  It could be about their clicks and clunks, it could be about the book they're reading, it could be about their spring break plans.  It's a simple way for them to communicate with me privately about their learning, share information and not disturb others who are still testing (a solid win-win).

While I was grading, I found these gems:

(Her task was to write a sentence with correlative conjunctions.  I'd say she nailed it!)

Yes, she wrote about shoes and shopping.  I think I'm proud?  Maybe I talk about my love of shoe shopping too often?

Second gem:

Yes, he gets it.  I understand that sometimes, you simply can't put a book down.  Our rule is not to spoil the reading for others.

Third:

Sometimes you can't pick a book to talk about...so you pick two.

Lastly:

I love that they love reading.  I love that their little notes to me are a glimpse for me to see what's going on inside their brains.  I love that reading is occupying most of their thoughts!

These are my students, round 3

Our awesome counselor started an after school peer support system with our fifth graders.  Her goal is to have some of the higher students help the struggling students with organizational skills and academics.  The program is a few weeks old but our counselor is receiving lots of positive feedback from the students.  Having a peer assist them privately after school is ideal because one, it's not a teacher so they feel they can connect better without feeling frustrated and two, it's a private support system where no one has to know.  As far as the rest of the grade level is concerned, it's a homework club...which is partially true.

One of my students from my small groups was assisting another student with his fluency.  He was giving him productive feedback as we've practiced, but then privately asked our counselor this:

"Should I model first, so he can hear what good fluency is like? I've been working on my phrasing."

I love that it's ingrained in them to model a skill or strategy first so that students know what is expected.  Considering I model different skills daily, I'm glad the importance of this explicit instruction is sinking in with my students.

Another one of my girls not only made her peer mentee a homework folder to keep himself organized, but she also assigned him homework.  Yes, she found her old fluency practice passages and instructed him to read them nightly and keep track of his errors.  Furthermore, she created a survey for him about his strengths and weaknesses so she could better assist him.  She also wouldn't accept "reading" as his answer for what he was struggling with.  Oh no, she flat out told him to "be more specific". I'm not sure he appreciated it, but I sure did!

This must be what mothers feel like.  

My students are verbatim, echoing things I say on a nearly daily basis.  They are internalizing the need, as a teacher/mentor, to provide positive, concise feedback, model strategies, help with organizational structure and be reflective about one's own learning.

I've created little minions.  I couldn't be more proud that not only are they willing to help their peers, but they have productive strategies to do so.  I love that they're willing to help their peers succeed as well.  High fives for team work.

These are my students, round 2

As I wrote yesterday, my students are

I found two more:

Yes, grammar is tricky.  At least my students have not only grasped, but internalized the growth mindset.  He'll get there!

And here is just a heartwarming one about the importance of college and perseverance.

Good job fifth graders, you made me proud.