My Earth Day Birthday

...Not to be confused with the Earth's birthday, because it isn't the Earth's birthday.  It's my birthday.  On Earth Day.

I have one gift to add to my list of favorite gifts from students.  She's a mop top or whatever my students are calling them... and now they are popping up all over my classroom right now!

I love having an Earth Day birthday celebration since it's my birthday (any excuse for a party, really), but we got all excited about our reading lesson today and almost ran out of time!

So I threw in my Earth Day go-to... The Lorax.  You just can't have an Earth Day celebration without this guy!  The story fit PERFECTLY with our economics and ecosystem units that we are working on right now, so it was a great high interest lesson.

After our story, we did some reflecting with this prompt page and my kiddos were working really hard on providing evidence for their opinions and responses.

This lesson ended up hitting every topic we are working on right now, so it was a huge teacher WIN.

If you're looking to add some fun activities for your Earth Day celebration next year, I rounded up a few of my favorites (per usual RTL fashion).  I'm not a huge printable person when it comes to Earth Day activities because I feel like it kind of defeats the purpose...right?  Head on over to Pinterest to find Earth related resources, websites, and activities that are fun for the classroom (Project WET and Project WILD are really neat if you ever get a chance to complete a workshop with them!).

Follow Miss B.'s board Earth Day on Pinterest.

I hope you have a wonderful Earth Day... I'm hoping to gift myself a small lemon tree this year, but who knows.  

            

Follow RTL On 

Guiding Reading during Guided Reading (Part 1)

Since I've upgraded my personal computer, I've had the extreme privilege of moving all of my pictures from one computer to the next, and as a result, have spent much of my time reorganizing them.  This also gave me a chance to see all the pictures I've taken for posts I haven't posted.

Let's get right to it then.

Guided reading.  This year I'm doing a guided reading and conferring combo meal plan.  For me, it looks like this (in a perfect world where time is no barrier and schedules are perfect):
1-2 weeks: Guided reading groups
1-2 weeks: Teacher/Student conferring

I take some quick notes on my students during/after meeting with guided reading groups and I will also take a week (usually two) in between re-grouping to meet with each student to confer about the book he/she is currently reading "for fun" (or in our case, for "stamina practice").  I can share more about conferring some time, but I'm focusing on Guided Reading for now...

I like to keep my guided reading time as simple as possible, meaning as little prep as possible for me. I do this by doing a few things:

1. Having the tools available every time
2. Keeping the same activity/skill for each group regardless of text level
3. Go-to skill lessons for last minute or early finishing groups (AKA The Binder) {More on this in PART 2- coming soon}
4. Documentation...dun dun dunnnn {PART 3...coming later than soon}

If I have all these things set up at the beginning of the year (and I do), then the only thing to plan/prep for guided reading groups is choosing books and choosing a skill/end result or activity.


The Tools

First, whisper phones.  I know I teach fourth grade, but I still love them- and so do the kids!  When students are back meeting with me, they are required to read in their "soft voice"- just above a whisper so that I can take turns listening in to each of them throughout the reading.  Most of the time, they don't find this distracting at all, but a few can be self conscious about it (it is odd, after all), so I hand them a whisper phone so that they can hear themselves more clearly.  Some of the kids like to use them for their independent reading at other times throughout the day as well.

Watch for them to go on sale- these were on sale for $2 each at the beginning of the year, so I stocked up while I could, and it saved me from taping piping together to make my own.

Teacher Note: Wash these.  We wipe them down often because there's a lot of heavy breathing going on when the kids are talking in them!  ...that sounds weird, but you know what I mean!

Up next, colored guided reading strips.  These are awesome tools for those kiddos with dyslexia or dysgraphia.  I also like to use them with my lower readers or ADHD to help stay focused.  I have all different colors to use at the guided reading table, or if a student needs/wants one to use on their own, I have a bunch of extra blue strips.

As you can see, I stock up on these as well, and they can get a bit pricey.  I picked these up at the USToy (Oriental Trading) at a tent sale, and they were $.50/dozen (yesss)...so I bought them all.  I have a lot.

Activity/Skills

I like to keep my prep to a minimum, so things are pretty simple in guided reading groups.  My school has a leveled book library, so I lucked out there- books are easy to get and levels are a breeze to locate.  I try to know the skill we are working on before I choose book so that I can cater to our needs in the classroom with book choice.

Generally, I keep the actual activity the same for each group.  The books are leveled, and I can level my instruction, so I stick to one overall goal or assignment regardless of group.

For example, we were working on summarizing, so over the course of a few weeks I broke down our problem/solution and story map and put together summaries in each group.  Everyone had the same physical product, but was working with text at their own level.

For these particular summarizing lessons, we did the problem and solution on gold paper (those were separate days), and then three steps taken to solve the problem (also all different days), to put together in one five sentence(ish) summery.

Finally, sticky notes.  I am completely addicted to them for a lot of reasons.  1) they are cross curricular, 2) kids love using them, 3) they are easy to use and quick to reference, 4) they can be reposted or pulled out of books to put other learning tools- posters, summaries, etc. together.

I could go on, but I won't.

Almost every time we sit down as a small group, we have our whisper phones, reading strips, and post it note guides ready and available to begin reading.  A lot of teachers use post it notes, and for good reason- they are great for focusing reading and reading with a purpose.  For this purpose, I made my own Good Readers Guided Reading Sticky Note Cards- I have different cards depending on which skill we are working on.  For example, if we are doing text features, then I pull the text feature sticky note cards out, plaster some sticky notes to the bottom and let the kids know which features we are focusing on- sometimes it's just a couple and sometimes it's all of them- depending on skill level and student ability.  I pair this with my Good Readers Flip Chart and we are off and running.

I love this system!  It is so easy for me to pull and focus our reading for the day.  Some of my students even grab sticky notes to use during other parts of the day in order to focus their reading.  Love that!!!

Now that I've written all this I'm thinking "gosh I really should pull some GR books so that when I come back from spring break I'm reading to rock and roll."  Add it to the list...

            

Follow RTL On 

Week'o'Fun! | NAEP Testing + Author Visit + Read Across America

This week is scheduled to the brim- staff meeting, teacher leadership meeting, student club meeting, math curriculum meeting (new curriculum texts...do you use something you love?)...and those are just the before/after school activities.

Once school starts we have a couple big things happening this week!

First, Monday we get to do the NAEP test.  I completed my little teacher questionnaire, and of course I requested to see the results of the teacher feedback once it was all in because I'm nerdy like that and wanted to see how I compared with teachers nationally...  Anywho!  I don't actual proctor the test- our state education department has people coming in to do that, so I just do work around the classroom for awhile.  

Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably get some work ready to do around the classroom.  

So.  That should be exciting.

On to more thrilling school events.  This week, our school has author Seymour Simon coming to visit!  We have book signing and assemblies lined up for the day.  He has written a ton of non-fiction books and will be sharing his writing craft with our students.  We have done a lot of prep in the classroom using his books.   

Plus, this week is Read Across America and although my school hasn't done any real build up for it (besides an author coming...so I guess that is kind of huge), I'm planning a few classroom activities to sprinkle throughout the week.  First up, we are going to use this great (and free!) reading on Dr. Seuss to learn about him as a person/author.  I love it because it is geared toward the "big kids" and a lot of the Read Across America resources are more for K-2 graders.  I'm planning a few more little things to do throughout the week, plus ample reading/stamina time for students.  For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Read Across America board.

Follow Miss B.'s board Read Across America on Pinterest.

Lots of good stuff happening this week!  Mostly I'm spending my time getting everything ready so that I can have my act together!  Sometimes the prep is more work than the week's activities...

Link up with Farley @ Oh Boy 4th Grade to see what other teacher bloggers are up to!

I thought it would be fun to bring a few fun Dr. Seuss themed treats for the teachers tomorrow...because who doesn't love workroom treats on a Monday???  Sometimes the ideas in my head become more work than I expected... I'm off to prepare some Yertle's Turtles, apples, and goldfish, plus some bookmarks for the kiddos.  Lots to get ready!

            

Follow RTL On 

Vocabulary Instruction | Flocabulary

**Just sharing, not getting paid for it, per usual.  Opinions are my own.

Oh vocabulary.  I do love you.  I often think about how I should really work on expanding my own vocabulary.  Or maybe just using more of the words I know instead of the same old, same old.  I should get one of those word of the day calendars or apps or something.

Our district tells us we are to spend 5-10 minutes on spelling/vocabulary a day.  That's...not a lot.  We don't have any set vocabulary instruction, so it's basically up to us.  I love that.  So I set out to see what I can do that is low maintenance, but highly effective for our time in class.  

So this year I started with Flocabulary.  I wasn't quite sold on it because it's $99/year, but I signed up for the free subscription and then I couldn't NOT pay the $$ because I loved it too much.  Flocabulary vocabulary words are based on words that are most seen on student testing.  I was a little skeptical on how often these words actually show up but my students can't stop pointing them out to me, so now I know they see them all the time.

Then I introduced it to my students and OHMYGOSH.  We have to watch our video every day.  They love it.  They do have a few favorites, but they have yet to completely dislike or be unengaged during a unit video.  They sing and do their actions and memorize the lines.  They also have their homework done every time.

It always surprises me when I think students know what a word means, but they still don't use it correctly.  They can read a word and tell me the meaning, but they try to use the word in their own writing or speaking and it doesn't make sense.  So although there aren't a ton of words that the kids have never heard of, they still don't grasp the meanings well enough to use them properly all the time.    I think that's why I'm still drawn to the words that Flocabulary has chosen.  Plus, there are 10 words each unit, so it isn't overkill and I don't feel like I'm pushing words into their brain just to have them spit them back out at me.  

I can't just throw a video on the board and tell the kids to do some worksheets (well I CAN, but that's not really great teaching) so here's how I set up my Flocabulary lessons for the Word Up Project.  

I do put the "exercises" together into a unit packet for each unit.  We use it almost every day in class for lyrics and meanings, and the exercises are used as homework in my classroom.  They aren't hugely time consuming and the kids find them pretty painless.

During class, we watch the video every day.  At the beginning of the unit we make up hand signals or motions to help us remember the meaning.  The kids do our signals when they get to the word in the video.  Lots of the kids also do the signal any time they hear the word during the day, which really keeps me on my toes.

Flocabulary does offer two timeline approaches to unit instruction.  There are only about 15 units included for each level, so I don't do "weekly" vocabulary.  Instead I just teach by unit and when we are ready to quiz, we do.  It's around a week and a half per unit in my classroom.  

I teach fourth grade, so I use Level Orange.  My units look something like this:

*parenthesis "section" is corresponding to the printable exercises for each unit

Day 1: 

Hand out packet.  Introduce Words.  Watch the video.  Possibly answer the comprehension questions for the video as a class.  Done.

Day 2:

Highlight meanings in the song lyrics (section B), looking for synonyms/antonyms/text clues for the meanings.  Watch the video. 

Day 3:

Make hand symbols/actions for the first 5 words (section C).  Students make up the hand signals, I do not- I have no idea what they will come up with.  Watch video.

Homework- Unit _section D/E

Day 4: 

Make hand symbols/actions for last 5 words (Section C).  Check homework (no talking allowed, they show me the answers with our motions).  Watch video.

Homework- Unit_section F/G

Day 5: 

Review hand motions and meanings.  Check homework (again, motions only).  Watch video.

Homework- Unit_section H

Day 6: 

Review.  Check homework.  Watch video.

Homework- Unit_Bonus crossword

Day 7: 

Collect packet (all checked, yay!).  Watch video.  Take quiz.

Now my students walk up to me every time they see a vocabulary word in their reading to show me the word.  It's... well, it's a lot.  Almost to the level of distraction but it's so great that they are noticing them, and pointing them out, and doing the actions, and using them, that I just can't stop them!  Instead, once I said "We should keep track of each time we see each word!" and suddenly the "students" thought of the idea of putting all the words up and keeping track.  So now we have... this.

I can't stop laughing at "Happy Word Finding!"- obviously they are my students!  It's bright (it's all I had at the time).  But they tally themselves and we add our new words after each unit.  Now we can see just how often we are seeing these words.

Then we have special guests in our classroom teaching (guidance counselor, parent art docents, etc) and my students are interrupting them to tell them they saw a vocabulary word!  I can't help but smile and be embarrassed at the same time...then teach a lesson on how to keep track of those words without yelling it out and scaring our presenters.

Most criticism I've read about Flocabulary is criticism of the project as a stand alone way of instruction.  But since I've added motions, class discussion, plus our own keeping track of the words we are seeing and using, I feel like our class goes well beyond just watching the video and hoping the kids get it.  We take it to using the words in our daily lives, which is the point.

I would recommend viewing each video before you show it, particularly with older students, since it is "rap" there are some lyrics that you may not feel comfortable showing in your classroom depending on where you are teaching.  I haven't run into any problems myself, but it's always good to be prepared.

I like throwing in a bonus video for some of our other class units as well, since Flocabulary is more than just vocabulary raps, so when we did out unit on the solar system, we watched this video about the moon phases.  Most videos have activity pages that go with them as well.

If you want to check it out a bit more, here's some information (that isn't from the Flocabulary website!):

Review from Graphite|Teachers

Case Study: How to Reinvent a Failing Start Up (Flocabulary)

            

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