Currently Making Love Bugs: It's all about kindness

Happy February + Super Bowl Sunday!  

I'm busy prepping my Love Bugs for our kindness writing assignment!  Fruit cups were on sale this week, so I went ahead and stocked up so I'm ready to go.  This is one of my favorite activities all year.  I'm toying with the idea of having the kids make their own "you've been bit" cards to hand to someone when they do a good deed.  Then that person could pass it on when they do a good deed, and it would be like the butterfly effect.  I don't know yet.  Then again, I could just print off more of the labels I put on the fruit cups, but what's the fun in that?  

I already grabbed white bags and made my Cricut cut a bunch of hearts for decorating.  Maybe I'll make more using the die-cuts at school.  Our window clings are up.  I'm ready.  I'm a couple weeks early for the party, but still, I'm ready.  

So now that I'm getting all prepped for month number TWO this year, here's what I'm currently up to...

I actually filled this out right now {Saturday evening}, but it's technically February on the East Coast so it's all good.  I'm super excited about some itty bitty additions to my blog (see above tabs!).  I am forcing myself to figure all this blog building stuff out on my own (that's why it doesn't look QUITE as professional as all the others!) because it's making me learn something new.  I could probably learn more if I took a class or something, but oh well.  So... check out my fancy new tabs!  Woohoo!

Lots of productivity happening this weekend.  Most of it occurring on the computer via TeachersPayTeachers and The Blog, but I went to the grocery store, too.  

I should get some things prepped before I head to watch the Super Bowl!  It's on my list of to-dos.  

...and I'll be honest, I am not a pageant type of lady and had no idea what a "pageant title" would be, so instead I took this quiz and it told me I was "Most Talented".  It told me that.  I didn't make it up.

See what all the other teacher bloggers are up to over on Farley's link up!  Happy Sunday!  Go Hawks!

            

Follow RTL On 

Seahawks Friday

Our student 12s were out in full force on Friday, and we had a ton of fun but boy was I exhausted by the end of the day!

I certainly anticipated the excitement for the day.  It was a Seahawks spirit day for students (and teachers!).  Then we received an email that the Washington governor issued a proclamation for a "moment of loudness" at noon, and obviously we would be taking part.  So at noon, in the lunchroom, my students were yelling their loudest to cheer on the Hawks for 30 seconds.  The teacher next door was playing Seahawks music so staying focused was out the window.  I just opened our door so we could take part in the party music.

Basically, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  We had a day of fun.

We started by changing up our morning lunch count screen to be Seahawks themed.  Then we completed a Seahawks word search (on blue and green paper, of course!).  We created a "Seattle Pride" alphabet book as a class.  Then we went to lunch and screamed because the governor said so.

We put post-its on our window so the rest of the school could see our pride on their way out the door. (Making letters backwards was a lesson in and of itself!)

We did a math review, read The Royal Bee and did some inferring (fantastic story, btw- recommended!), and spent time completing our social studies explorers posters and trading cards.  So we did squeeze SOME academic goodness into the day.

Later we met up with our 1st grade buddies and created Seahawks hats and posters, and one student created the Century Link Field, which was adorable.

Super Bowl Blue Friday in Seattle... it lived up to the craziness I was expecting.

Go Hawks!

            

Follow RTL On 

Reading Logs | BiblioNasium Website

Do you do reading logs?

I did them for about two years and then found it to be terribly ineffective for both students and myself as the teacher.  Maybe it was the way I did them, maybe it was because I, myself, didn't see a lot of value in them, or maybe it just plain wasn't working.  I gave up.  My students kept reading.  Those that would have logged tons of minutes still read all the time.  Those that would have logged nothing, still read minimally.  Those that lied to me about it still lied to me about it.

When I did a weekly reading log, I felt like students felt like they had to lie on it in order to turn it in on time and get the "grade".  It was so frustrating.

So I have a love-hate with reading logs.

Then I moved schools and my new school does reading logs.  So I jumped back on the reading log train.  You know what?  I still don't like them.

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.  How do I keep track of what they are reading while still keeping them motivated to read?

So in true Miss B fashion I set out to find some resources to back up my stance on reading logs, or completely discredit my idea that reading logs are ineffective.  I'm open to whatever.  Here's what I found...

The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Children's Motivation to Read

Journal of  Education Research (Princeton University) 

Students without mandatory nightly reading actually enjoy reading more.  

My Journey with Reading Logs

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 2005

Reading logs ARE EFFECTIVE when combined with ORAL SHARING.  Also, more effective with college students than middle school or high school students.  Go figure.  But I like the oral sharing part, and I'm going to start implementing that in my classroom.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Designing Effective Reading Programs

Sacramento State

Reading program ideas and ways to keep it relevant.  Short and sweet but some good stuff here.

So basically, students don't get anything out of just writing down their minutes each week.  However, they DO get something out of sharing their reading experiences.  We already knew that...right??

In my push to get out of reading logs and into AUTHENTIC reading sharing (no book reports!), I discovered a new website to get students interacting with their reading.

BiblioNasium and why it's awesome

*all opinions are my own and no one is giving me anything because this website is free anyway.

BiblioNasium is a way for students to log minutes, create personal bookshelves, share recommendations, and talk about books... in a safe and school friendly environment.  I'd say the best website to compare it to is Shelfari.

Once your students all have profiles, they can choose an avatar and get started.  You can set up weekly challenges for them based on books read or minutes read (I go with minutes)- and they can log their minutes and see how close they are getting to the weekly goal.  When they log their minutes, they are also logging the book they are reading and how much is read.  At the end of the week or month, you can run a report that shows you all student reading for the selected time.  

That's... no paperwork!  Minutes are already added!  Goals are either met or not met and I can see it at a glance!  Waaahooooo!

Students then have the opportunity to write recommendations and recommend books to friends (other classmates).  These show up in your live newsfeed on the front page.  The newsfeed usually shows a post from BiblioNasium- it could be a book recommendation or an article about reading or just a picture and caption for reading fun.  There is typically a new BiblioNasium post every day or so.  It's not overkill.  You can choose to delete anything in your feed after you read it (yay!).  

When you log in, you see your news feed and this tool bar- 

When students log in they see their news feed and this tool bar-

Students can earn awards when they log in, make a recommendation, etc.  Depending on your settings, they can share recommendations (I keep it to my class only).  They can log their minutes and books, create their own bookshelf of books they have read or want to read, and interact with their classmates for reading purposes.  

A badge on the right will keep track of their books and minutes read since they started logging.

This means students are not just logging their reading, but they are interacting with it as well!  I love when students walk in the room saying things like "I recommended a book to you last night!".  

Sometimes I'll log in during class time just so we can see some of the book recommendations that our classmates have posted.  It's a great motivator.

I didn't discover this website until late in our first trimester, so I only made it an optional way of logging our reading.  Plus, my students still have to write a weekly response so the original reading log still gets sent home every day.  I hope to revamp this for next year to slowly wean the written reading log and migrate to this more applicable version.  Since it's optional this year, I still have a good chunk of kiddos who don't use it because their routine is still with the paper ones.  Hopefully next year we will be using it more in and out of the classroom.  

Teachers can sign up.  Parents can sign up.  Students can log in.  It's good stuff.  Check it out.

I can't just use BiblioNasium and pretend it isn't just an online reading log.  It is.  But it does jump start the authentic reading interaction that I'm looking for.  I'm hoping to do more to provide authentic conversations and oral sharing in my classroom regarding books (not in book report form!).  If you have ideas, I'd LOVE to hear them!  Let's start chatting...about books! 

            

Follow RTL On 

MLK Day | Your Day Off Work

It's MLK Day, and teachers are off of school.  Happy No School Day!  I'm busy being school-productive, so it's more like working from home.  I love working from home.

I'm sure you have done or are going to do a bunch of school activities to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.   I love that this day gives me the opportunity to revisit peace and student gifts/talents, as well as the life of MLK.  About half way through the year is when a few more friend issues begin to pop up, am-I-right?  At least, that's how I feel in 4th grade.  It's nice to be able to revisit the strength that we have together as a class.

This week, our school is beginning a kindness kick with the Be Kind Like Josh Foundation.  The teachers have shirts and bracelets to hand out when a student is caught being "genuinely kind".  I think it will tie in great with out MLK discussions as well.  Love when that happens!

            

Follow RTL On 

Create (or clean up) your PLN

It's a new year, so you should probably check out your PLN and clean up your professional learning game.  Or possibly make one, if you haven't already.  Maybe you have one and didn't even know it.  Maybe you have carefully curated it and it's time to take a quick glance to be sure it's all up to date.  

I set a goal for myself this year with my own PLN... and it's simply to keep up with it.  I restructured my website to help me develop my personal/professional learning network.  I added my Bloglovin', Instagram, and Twitter buttons to the left, and while that may appear to be a nice shameless plug for my own blog, it's really more of a way to connect to each of you.  While followers are nice (virtual hugs!), I also really want to connect with you and learn from other professionals to enhance my own learning.  

I've been slowly curating (I read somewhere that the word curate is SO 2014, but I can't help it, I still love it) my own PLN for a little while, but made a goal to clean it up and up my game this year.

PLNs have been around for awhile, but it's a good idea to continually be in touch with your network.  Now, more than ever, it's important for teachers to be connected.  Here's a few helpful tips for developing your own Personalize Learning Network...or Professional Learning Network.  Whatever you want to call it is totally cool with me.  

First...What is a PLN?
A PLN is your Personal/Professional Learning Network.  It's the contacts you keep, blogs you read, accounts you follow, and general community you choose to be a part of to help enhance your professional learning.  The important thing is to stay connected and keep learning.

What's the difference between a PLE and a PLN?

Photo Credit: Credit: ssprintshop.com

A PLN is your network- the people, websites, bloggers, and feeds you follow to stay professionally updated, continue learning, and/or provide support.

A PLE is a Personal/Professional Learning Environment- these are the tools, apps, and locations where you store or organize your network.  For example, my tech environment includes Blogger, Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, and Google+.

Both a PLE and PLN are developed by you to create a successful and supportive learning neighborhood for your professional career.  Although these are slightly different from each other, I use the term PLN to mean both my PLE and PLN community.


How do I start a PLN?
If you're reading this blog, then you have probably already started developing a network for yourself. I unintentionally started mine a few years ago, but have become more mindful, specifically with social media and technology, about how I keep updated.

How you cultivate your network is completely up to you.  The important part is to build up a network that provides enthusiasm, information, and encourages you to learn more.  Personally, my network includes former and current teaching coworkers, past and present administrators, fellow bloggers, websites, and news resources.  I enjoy the "nitty gritty" information and studies, so I follow a lot of educational news accounts, websites, and I receive a bunch of weekly emails.

Teachers use a TON of difference resources for this purpose.  You can organize your PLN with various websites.  Here's a few that are helpful:

Bloglovin', Feedly, or any blog feed

Twitter

Instagram

Google+

Moodle, Edmodo, or other teacher media sites

Sophia.org

websites such as Delicious or LiveBinders where you can store websites and ideas

Pinterest

email newsletters from websites you enjoy

What if I'm not a tech guru and don't know what I'm doing?
Start with just one.  Maybe start a Twitter account and start following a few education Twitter accounts.  Joining Twitter doesn't mean you have to start tweeting!  You can begin by just following a few accounts and go from there.  Same with a feed site like Bloglovin' or Feedly- you can start an account and follow a few blogs to start.

You get the most out of a PLN when you are able to contribute and share ideas as well, but start at the beginning and add more as you feel comfortable.

Although technology is a great way to keep your learning up to date, don't forget about those important education people that you already know!  Real relationships are always a motivating way to continue your own professional development.

What do you mean "clean up" your PLN?
It's important to keep your PLN inspirational and productive.  I'm taking some time to clean up my accounts to keep them up to date.  Are you following a blog that isn't inspiring you anymore, isn't active, or has gone private?  Stop following it!  Be sure your PLN is keeping you feeling professionally motivated, otherwise it isn't working anymore!

I want some more information...
You're in luck!  As usual, I've gathered a few helpful resources to give more information and resources regarding PLNs and PLEs on a Pinterest Board.  Lots of articles, infographics, and resources for gathering your own collection of network-worthy material.

Follow Miss's board PLN on Pinterest.

Of course, you can add me to your network- I'm likely on whatever resource you may be using (except Facebook...my updates go out via Twitter instead so that everyone who follows me can see them!) - so click below to follow and get the follow-back so we can collaborate together!

            

Follow RTL On 

New Year's Student Activities

Back to school in the new year!  Our day was busy with reminders about routines, lesson and concept "refreshers", and battling mid-afternoon hunger.  Did you start back today, too?

Before we left for winter break, we completed our "one word" challenge, and the minute the kids walked out the door I hung them up in the hallway so that when I waltzed in with my coffee this morning it was already done.  That was a good choice.

Our class had the computer lab first thing this morning, so I was racking my brain for something productive to do during that time.  I opted for a computer time to practice creativity, so we walked by our wall display to remind ourselves of our word and then hit the lab to make a one word display card for our desks.

(Don't mind those few "soccer" words... some of us grasped the idea better than others, but who am I to judge student's personal goals?)

I loved how different they turned out!  I gave general directions and then let them have at it.  This evening I'm printing them out to attach to their desks tomorrow as a reminder for the rest of the school year.

I have the regular and {faith version} of the New Years "What's Your Word?" activity and writing prompt available on TpT.  The computer stuff was just done on a whim today.  It can be your whim, too, if you want it to be.

In the afternoon, we did a "friendly review" of our prime and composite numbers using this color-by-number page that I created last night.  I had a few "is this a prime number?" questions once they got started so I'm glad we took the time to look back at some older concepts.  

Grab a copy if you want it!  

If you started back today, I hope your first day back after break went smoothly.  If you haven't started back yet, then good luck when you do!  

            

Follow RTL On