Donors Choose

Donors Choose gave this classroom 20 copies of Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester Laminack. I wrote a grant for this classroom. 2 generous people filled the grant! This book combined with the Cracking Open the Author’s Craft Teaching the Art of Writing published by Scholastic is a wonderful combination for teaching writing to students. I donated the Scholastic Book teaching book to the classroom. These books will be used by two fifth grade ELA classrooms this year and continue to be used in the future. If you are not familiar with Laminack, RUN out and buy all his books. I did! He is an awesome children’s author. Saturdays and Teacakes is a great book about cooperation. Grandma and the child cooperate to make teacakes together. It is a touching story.

Love of Reading

“We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.” ~ B. F. Skinner

How long does it take to self-select a book and read it independently at home? If it only takes 2 hours approximately for many children to Hatchet (4 hours at most), then why do some classrooms take 6 weeks? Or worse 9 or 13 weeks to read Hatchet? The best way to increase reading is to increase time with text according to Dick Allington, past president of IRA (International Reading Association).

Word Wall Words Singing High Frequency Words

Songs that help teach words

Here are a few songs/chants I have added to my collection:

1. (tune-”If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If you think you know this word raise your hand(2x)
If you think you know this word that you just heard,
If you think you know this word raise your hand.
(supply a word stretching it out ex: c-a-t)

2. (“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)
Listen. listen to my word
Tell me all the sounds you heard: /Cat/ (say this slowly and wait a moment)
/c/ is one sound, /a/ is two/t/ is last in /cat/ it’s true!
(at the end sing):
Thanks for listening to my words
and telling me the sounds you heard!

3. (tune: “Jimmy Cracked Corn and I Don’t Care”)
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
Who has a /d/ word to share with us?
It must start with the /d/ sound!
(call on children to supply word and class sings this together)
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog is a word that starts with /d/
Dog starts with the /d/ sound.

4. (tune: “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”)
What’s the sound that starts these words:
Turtle, time, and teeth?
(wait for a response from the children)
/t/ is the sound that starts these words:
turtle, time, and teeth.
With a /t/, /t/ here, and a /t/, /t/ there,
Here a /t/, there a /t/, everywhere a /t/, /t/.
/t/ is the sound that starts these words: Turtle, time, and teeth!
You all did great now clap your hands!
(clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)-you can use beginning sounds, medial sounds, or final sounds

5. (“Skip to my Lou”)
Silly Willy, who should I choose? (repeat 3x)
I choose_____________________.
(Terry, berry) – continue the song using students names

6. (“Have You Ever Seen a Lassie”)
Did you ever see a cat, a cat, a cat,
Did you ever see a cat sit on a rat? r-at, c-at r-at, c-at,
Did you ever see a cat sit on a rat?
-repeat the verse using other animal rhyming words

7. (“If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If your name begins with /m/, stand up,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up and take a bow,
If your name begins with /m/, stand up.
-you can also use this with pictures
“If your picture begins with /s/, stand up”, etc.

8. (“A Hunting We Will Go”)
A searching we will go, a searching we will go,
We’ll find a /h/ and add a /orse/,And now we have a horse!

9. (chant)It begins with /t/,
And it ends with /im/.
Put them toghter,
And they say _______.
(Tim)

10. (“The Wheels on the Bus”)
The sounds in the word go /c/ /a/ /t/;
/c/ /a/ /t/; /c/ /a/ /t/.
The sounds in the word go /c/ /a/ /t/,
Can you guess the word?

Procedures Matter

Have you ever read a story on the rug and stopped to correct behaviors on the reading rug? You are sitting in your rocking chair, teaching and reading. You stop reading to say, “Please stop playing with so and so’s hair.” or “Sit up.” or “Criss cross applesauce.” or “Spoons in our bowls.” All of these nagging comments drive teachers crazy. They distract children from learning. This teacher was not only explicit in teaching these behaviors, she took pictures of the incorrect behaviors, and the children labeled the pictures. These are the expectations of showing responsibility on the rug. These students DO SHOW RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY during any and all lessons.

Of course, part of the reason this lesson was so effective was because this teaching is using something that would motivates the students. This is an ‘aha’ moment for many beginning or brand new teachers that mastery teachers have figured out. We don’t need red, or yellow or green cards to motivate children. We need to describe what the behaviors we want look like and sound like. Many times struggling teachers say, “How could I miss something so simple?” Because it is not simple to figure out how to teach procedures to children. It is not simple, but is vital. Our explicit teaching of procedures matter.

Windy Fall Day over Lake Michigan

Beautiful Windy Day Lake Michigan

The wind gusts blew up to 50 miles an hour in South Haven, Michigan today. It was cold! The waves were so powerful that were crashing over the lighthouse. As I took these pictures, I almost could not hold my camera still due to the powerful wind over Lake Michigan.

I ordered a Kindle today!

I hope I like it! I watched Oprah go on and on about her Kindle. I have been debating and thinking about buying one for several weeks. Since I am on airplanes and due to the luggage restrictions, I am struggling with the book issues for awhile now. Does anyone have a Kindle? What do you think? Like it? Love it? Dislike?

Shared Reading Links

A reader requested some specific ideas for Shared Reading. I thought I would link the ideas I have posted all over the blog here. I will post more ideas later in the week too.

link to my shared reading ideas for Little Old Lady lesson

link to my shared reading ideas for I Went Walking lesson

Here is a link to another teacher’s retelling idea:
http://msdsgarden.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-little-sister-ate-one-hare.html Her site does not have A LOT on it, but it has great ideas on it!

Phonics and Working with Words Links

Phonic Links

Fun with Letters link here

http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooeyhome.html

words and pictures link

Jack

The teacher has this chart by their rug for whole group choral reading work. The popcorn word, see, was placed by the chart, Jack. The children said, “See our chart!” The popcorn word will be moved to the window soon as in ‘see out the window.’
This is the interactive chart in the same classroom that will be used later in the week. The line, “This is Jack in pieces small.” does not have a small pumpkin YET because the teacher did not read and complete this activity with the students at the time of the picture. The teacher and the students will cut the pumpkin into little pieces together.

Read Wisely Like Petunia!

Petunia does not realize that you must open the book to become wise until the very end of the book. I think this is one of the very best books for teaching children to open books, read the words and pay attention to the message of the book. It is necessary to read the words during self selected reading or independent reading to learn the message. One of the best teachers I know is reading one of my favorite books, Petunia, to a group of students and developing a list of criteria with her students. “Don’t be a Petunia! Read Wisely!!”