Publishing Party

This year our school has adopted Lucy Calkins' units of study for our writing instruction.  I had used them a little bit last year, but I am seeing even better results this year!  We just finished up our narrative unit and celebrated with our publishing party.  The kids were so excited!  Warning, this post is a bit picture intensive, but I have a few tips for getting your students to self edit and revise.

Students gave each other feedback to make their written pieces better as we worked on revising and publishing.  This year has been AMAZING for revision.  The past two years seemed like pulling teeth when I asked students to revise, but now they are eager to.  One difference  is that we literally cut and paste.  Instead of rewriting a piece, they cut paper and tape it into the story where they need to revise.  They LOVE this!

 

An illustrator hard at work!

 

 We glued our finished pieces into "books" made of construction paper to make them a bit fancier.

 

One thing that I changed this year about editing, is that I had them edit it themselves.  I used to look at their work, make changes, and then have them rewrite (after tons of groans, eye rolling, and protests).  Unfortunately, the corrections never stuck and they made those same mistakes in later pieces.  During our training, we learned that students really need to do the editing in order to learn, and more importantly transfer that skill to other pieces.

 When they came to me to edit their work, I handed them a colored pen and told them to underline any words they thought they misspelled, or places where they thought they had made punctuation errors. They really re-read their pieces and made changes as they found them.  So much better!  For the spelling errors, I handed them a dictionary and showed the ones who were able to type how to use spell check in Word.

 

Look at the concentration.  Remember, the one doing the heavy lifting is the one doing the learning!

 Making changes as she reads.

They were so proud of their work!

When the pieces were done, the students each read 4 pieces and gave positive feedback to the author (on the sticky notes).

 

Then I hung them on our "bulletin board" of lockers.

 

Chapters??? Are you kidding me?  Woo hoo!  Last year some of mine struggled to write a paragraph.

Specific feedback.

It says, "I liked the way you used punctuation."

And what would a publishing party be like without a "little" food.  Getting nervous about our Halloween party though!

 

And the very best part?  I got my first book dedication.  Love it!

Poppin' Place Value Freebie

 

If you are looking for a way to review place value with your students, you will love this adorable Poppin' Place Value I Have Who Has Game. I Have Who... Has? games  are a great whole group activity that can be used for review, test prep, fluency, listening skills, and mental math.

This set includes 30 cards that focus on place value with an adorable bubble gum - poppin' theme. Answer key is included. Your students will love practicing place value with this fun game! 

You can download this freebie here.

The Together Teacher Chapter 11 - Subdue the Backpack Explosion

If your students are anything like mine, you have a few that are, well, organizationally challenged, and when they open their backpacks, there may be an explosion! This chapter in our The Together Teacher book study is devoted to helping your students to become Together Students!  Love that!  Read on to see How to Subdue the Backpack Explosion!

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.

It is time for another chapter of The Together Teacher in our book study. Today it is time for chapter 11 which is all about getting your students organized.  Our hostess this week is Nicole of Southern Love of Teaching.

If you have missed my previous posts from this book study you can find them below:

                                                                 

                                                                              Chapter 10

                                                                              Chapter 9  

                                                                            Chapter 8

                                                                            Chapter 7

                                                                            Chapter 6

                                                                            Chapter 5

                                                                            Chapter 4

                                                                            Chapter 3

                                                                            Chapter 2

                                                                            Chapter 1

Maia says that she could easily devote an entire book to the topic of keeping kids organized - (ain't that the truth?).  I know that many of my own organizational challenges in my classroom comes from the collections of student learning (and not learning for that matter - you know, the notes, the pictures they draw, the little trinkets and toys they bring in). Paper lives on my desk, on their tables, in their book boxes, behind the furniture, in the hallways, busting out of their binders, it is everywhere!  Thank goodness this chapter gives us hints for getting it under control!

Contain Student Papers

Set Clear Expectations for Desks and Lockers

Maia suggests starting the year with a diagram of what student desks should look like.  In my classroom I have tables and students keep their things in book bins.  I have explained what should go in them (binders, writer's notebook, unfinished work folder) and what things should not (toys, garbage, returned work).

Avoid the Overstuffed Binder

Teach your students how to use their binders by giving explicit directions of what should be kept in them and where those things should go.

Past and Present Student Work

Students love having their work on display, but you want to make sure it is current and not just a dust collector. Maia gives several examples for displaying work including:

*Using sheet protectors to easily change out work,

* Creating a clothesline with clips strung across the room

* Dedicating a board outside the classroom for displaying work.

* Setting up student files or portfolios

How do you keep your students organized?  Link up below to share your thoughts on this chapter.  Don't forget to head over to our giveaway page to enter our current giveaway!

Next week Amy of The Core of Grade Four will be our hostess!

The Together Teacher Chapter 10 - Arranging Your Classroom to Run Like Clockwork

It is time for another chapter of "The Together Teacher" in our book study. Today it is time for chapter 10 which is all about taming your email.  Our hostess this week is Ellie from Middle School Math Moments .

If you have missed my previous posts from this book study you can find them below:

                                                                             Chapter 9  

                                                                             Chapter 8

      Chapter 7

                                                                             Chapter 6

                                                                             Chapter 5

                                                                             Chapter 4

                                                                             Chapter 3

                                                                             Chapter 2

                                                                             Chapter 1

We have all had those days when the bell rings at the end of the day, we smile at our students as we say goodbye, only to turn around to notice that our classroom looks as if a tornado has hit it!

This chapter helps us to organize all the stuff (and boy do us teachers have a ton of STUFF!) that is in our classroom for both us and our students. Maia describes various stations that can be set up around your room no matter the size of your classroom.

A few of these stations include:

Teaching Station

This is your home base where you keep all of your teaching materials for the day.  It should contain all the days handouts, supplies, etc, that you will need throughout the day.  

The Entry Way

Much like at your home where you might keep your car keys, purse, etc. this should be a place where your students can start off either picking up supplies for the day or dropping off items such as homework or notes.  Now that I teach elementary, I don't really have this set-up because my students enter the room at the same time and it would just be a mess.  However, when I taught 7th grade math, I kept my Do Now sheet at the door for the students to grab as they came in.  This made the transition to getting started seamless.

In this section, Maia mentions student mailboxes as a place where you can distribute papers to individual students.  When I taught 7th grade math, I used milk crates with hanging folders in them for this purpose (each period had their own crate).  I still use this system in my elementary class.

Having a Well Stocked Pantry

Well, not really a pantry, but you want to have all of your "ingredients" on hand as you teach.  No more searching for a dry erase marker or hunting down dice for a math game.  Have your supplies ready to go and easy to find so you don't waste time looking for them.  I keep my supplies in buckets on an easy to get to shelf.

I also keep my teaching books and small group work supplies behind my desk where I do most of my small group teaching.

Classroom Calendar

Students love knowing what day it is and what to expect.  I keep a calendar where they can see all of our upcoming assemblies, important days, birthdays etc.

Classroom Library

Students are encouraged to read when they can find books that interest them.  Maia suggests organizing your books either by level or by genre so students can find them easily.

Cleaning Supplies

Let's face it, learning is messy and sometimes you just don't have time to wait for the janitor.  Maia suggests stocking up on a few cleaning supplies for those occasions when you need to do a little tidying up.

A few of her suggestions:

*Paper towels

* Regular cleaning towels that can be laundered

*Clorox wipes

*Dry-erase board cleaner

*anti-bacterial spray

What things do you do to keep your classroom in order?  If you are following along link up below.  And don't forget to visit our hostess, Nicole of Southern Love of Teaching for chapter 11 next week. 

 

The Together Teacher Chapter 9 - Tame The Email Beast

 It is time for another chapter of "The Together Teacher" in our book study. Today it is time for chapter 9 which is all about taming your email.  Our hostess this week is  Sara from Dare to Be Different - Teach.

If you have missed my previous posts from this book study you can find them below:
   
                                                                             Chapter 8

      Chapter 7

                                                                             Chapter 6
                                                                             Chapter 5
                                                                             Chapter 4
                                                                             Chapter 3
                                                                             Chapter 2
                                                                             Chapter 1

I think this chapter of The Together Teacher was written just for me! Why do I say that?  Because at this very moment my email inbox has  3,885 emails in there!  Beastly just a bit don't you think??

According to Maia, email is not the enemy, bit it certainly can become out of control when your in-box is full of hidden to-do's that are not accounted for in your Together Teacher System, which means they are in danger of not getting done.

Many of us spend way too much time scrolling through our in-boxes, re-reading messages trying to determine what to do with them with no real system.



Intervention Time - Declare Email Bankruptcy


If you are anything like me, it is time to stage an intervention! The goal is to get our in-boxes as cleared as possible.  Maia has a few tips for getting there:

1. Limit your total number of email accounts. (I do pretty well with this, I have 2 - one for work and one for home).

2. Unsubscribe - you know all those newsletters you really don't read anyway.

3. Sync it up.  If you have a smartphone, you should sync up with emails so that you can delete when you have downtime.

4. Get friendly with the delete button  Make your life simpler by getting rid of the clutter.

5. Email Bankruptcy - Just like ripping off a band-aid, get rid of all of your emails at once, then start using the strategies for keeping it maintained.

Setting Up Your In-Box For Success


1. Create Folders for Filing- Maia provides a few folder ideas including:

* Follow Up
* Projects
* Meetings
* Administrative
*Processed
* Other - (If you have other functions such as PTA, department chair, etc.  I have a Twitter and TpT file set up)

2. Admit you have a problem - Create Better E-mail Habits - This is probably my biggest weakness.  When I don't want to get things done, I often revert to checking my email.  Maia suggests checking your email only a few times per day, and scheduling WHEN you will check it.

3. How to Check E-Mail
Use the STAR methid
S- Scan
T - Trash
A- Archive
R - Respond

How has this chapter helped you tame your email beast??

If you are following along with us, be sure to add your link to the linky below.

Don't forget to visit next week's host, Ellie from Middle School Math Moments for Chapter 10 which is all about setting up your classroom for success!

Five For Friday Sept 12, 2014

A few weeks into school and I am finally starting to feel like we are in the groove!  Time to link up for Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

This week started with a surprise for my kiddos.  They had been begging for a class pet, so I surprised them.  My class had persuaded me two years ago to get a class pet.  It became a whole unit of study and they loved the frogs we got.  Unfortunately, I moved classrooms last year, and the class I went into did not have a sink which meant it would be difficult to keep the tank cleaned.  The frogs came home with me.  Then, this summer I found these tiny tanks and we have class frogs once again!

We had to get a little math in there, so I had them choose names for the frogs and squeezed in some data work.

As you can see, their names are now Luke and Lisa.  I think it is funny that they named one of the frogs after my son!  LOL!  He was flattered!

We got to experience a little more science as we jumped into a unit on matter with a fun little experiment with water, plastic baggies, and pencils.  All of the students predicted that the water would spill out of the bag if they poked a pencil through it.  Boy were they surprised with the results!

They wondered what would happen if they poked more pencils in the bag...

We have also been learning about multiplication and division.  The students love working on the white boards.  I love that they all do the work!  

I felt like I won a prize when I found these issues of Storyworks in my mailbox today.  I have been wanting to try it for awhile, but I just couldn't justify the cost.  Luckily, I got a Donors Choose project funded and these were part of the project.  I can't wait to try them.  Have you used them before?

Speaking of winning a prize, don't forget to enter my contest to win a $25 TpT gift certificate and 70 product donations!  Contest ends soon!