We all know how insane and busy it gets the last 1-2 weeks, sometimes 3, of the school year. This one was no exception...in fact, to me, it felt like the last month was all about trying to corral my students and keep them entertained. Thank goodness we get the time off to always revamp ourselves!
Our district actually had benchmark testing the 2nd to the last week of school, so we had to make sure we still fit in some skills. Of course, this meant, I had to come up with ways to not only teach my students but keep them completely and utterly busy in a higher-level thinking way. At this time of year, it felt like quite the feat for me!
I pulled out my Plot Elements Choice Menu, which I did not get to use at the beginning of the year like I usually do. But since they were being tested on plot elements, I KNEW this would be the perfect way to give them time to review, push themselves, and stay busy as well. We did a museum walk around the room so students could view and read everyone's products they created.
Maps showing change in setting and Award/Achievement Certificates showing theme
You can see part of an interview/broadcast script students wrote to demonstrate parts of the plot using the point of view of the story characters.
I was super happy to introduce a new product, an interview/broadcast script, I added to the menu when I created the version for TPT...and...my students who chose it did a really great job actually! I was afraid it would be too difficult for them or they would not be interested, but quite a few kids chose it and kicked tail on it. Thankfully, one set of partners accepted the extra challenge of recording it as a radio interview (ignore the video and just enjoy the audio).
Several students made movies-in-a-box to show changes in settings
Once the benchmark testing was over and done with, it was time to "celebrate" and do activities that would still challenge them but yet keep them busy enough so they weren't getting into trouble. One of my favorite things to do (for the past couple years) is the All About Me Choice Menu. I found it on Teachers Pay Teachers HERE a couple years back and have since slightly revamped it to fit my teaching style in my classroom.
This group spent their entire time during the museum walk playing another students' board game. They were crazy into it. Even as they argued their way through the trivia cards, they all learned a lot of new information about their classmate. Score!
They got to make menus of their favorite foods and shields.
Included were also Me Bags and candy bars that matched their personality
And last but not least, was the awesomely action-packed End-Of-Year Math Project from the talented TPT seller, Teaching With a Mountain View. It was all about planning a party through the CCSS math standards. My students rose to the occasion despite being over doing school work. So, it was definitely worth it!
Are you out of school yet? What do you like to do with your students during those last days and weeks of the school year?
Okay, so I just HAVE to share my newest discovery!
Perhaps you've heard of JustFab shoes? Well...Fabletics is their version of a monthly membership for workout clothes co-founded by Kate Hudson! If you're like me, you truly love wearing workout clothes that are comfortable but make you look good too. After all, we all like going to the gym or working out to feel better...so looking good helps us feel even greater right?! Fabletics gives me all of this!
It is a lot like Stitch Fix if you've seen my other blog posts about my monthly fashion fixes. You get to take a style quiz to let them know what kind of workouts you prefer, where you work out, and what you like to show off (legs, arms, stomach, etc.). I myself am looking for more yoga gear, so I filled my quiz out to accommodate my own needs. You also include your measurements so they take the guess work right out of deciding which sizes to choose once you pick outfits or pieces. Easy peesy!!
Most of my workout clothes are from Target's active wear line and it is great for Zumba and all, but they don't have much of a selection. It is good quality and I do like the way their fitted capris feel. But somehow Fabletics provides so much more!
Kate co-founded Fabletics because she wanted to have well-designed and nice workout clothes to take her from the gym, to pick up her son from school, and run errands. Thank yoooooooooou Kate!!
Once you take the quiz, their stylists put together their outfit picks for you to match your wants and needs. Your first 2-3 piece outfit is 50% off so you can get an entire set for $25! Or you can pick separates. I decided to pick a 3-piece since it would mean more for my initial $25 VIP membership price. I chose...
This is actually regularly $59.95 as a VIP...so it was quite the deal! I had been looking for a pair of capris almost exactly like this and a longer-sleeved top to wear to the gym when it is cold out or when I first walk in, so it was pretty nifty to also get a sports bra all wrapped up in a well-thought out outfit.
Here is what the three pieces look like on. Even sitting down in seated pose, these capris moved easily and weren't pulling against my knees or hip flexor area. There is also a seam running above the rear-end, making them ultra-flattering as well. I really love the sports bra because of the fun strap design. But it is uber comfortable and also quite flattering for a light-support sports bra. Perfect for yoga!!
I am definitely hooked! The Fabletics stylists put together looks for you on the first of each month. Yet, you don't have to buy what they pick for you. They show you other pieces outside of the personalized picks as well. You have until the 5th to either decline or purchase an outfit or separate pieces...as much or as little as you'd like with no obligation. No matter what, as a VIP member, you get a discount even on separate pieces.
Sadly, I wasn't paying attention and ordered a medium pair of capris instead of small. But their return/exchanges are super easy. They send you the prepaid label via email and put the size you need (if exchanging and if it is still available) on hold to send to you once they get the return. Thank goodness! Great service, user-friendly, and absolutely wonderful items to buy?! Say nothing more...this is why I am obsessed.
If you're interested, click HERE! If you refer friends to sign up you also can earn reward points towards free outfits. Plus? If you review your pieces, you get points as well. It's worth it no matter what. And believe me...I am not just blogging about this to gain referral points. I am THAT impressed with the selection, quality, and fit of my first outfit! And please...if you sign up, post it on your own blog, Facebook, or Instagram and tag me/message me. I would absolutely love to see what you choose!
Today I am joining with several dozen bloggers to invite you to an awesome summer book study showcasing Donalyn
Miller's Reading in the Wild!
An amazing reader and teacher, Miller's first book, The Book Whisperer, shares her experiences in middle
grades classrooms and how she has fostered a love of reading in her students. Her classroom is INSPIRING! The book
is so down-to-earth, a fast read, and filled with simple (but powerful) ways to create a culture of reading in your
classroom. In The Book Whisperer, Millers leaves you with her frustration - students leaving her classroom
loving reading but faced with future teachers that do not share Donalyn's enthusiasm for reading. Gradually, her
students leave the practice of daily, just-because reading.
Here enters, Donalyn's second book, Reading in the Wild. This books acts as a follow-up to the first and
discusses how to foster a love of reading that is lifelong and sustainable...even when a passionate teacher is not present.
As a 5th grade teacher, this is powerful to me. How do I structure reading and sharing opportunities that set the
foundation for life-long reading? Reading in the Wild address this question! I would love for you to join us! You can click here or the image below to grab your copy.
It has been way too long since I have been able to sit and blog away on my little keyboard. I've been wanting to come back for awhile now, but time was most definitely against me. Around the time I disappeared from the blog world, our district was hunkering down for state testing (AIMS here in Arizona) and then the due date for my National Boards retake was approaching very very quickly. Then, when I thought I'd have a chance to sit down and put a post together...the end of the school year sprang up. So, everything just drained me in general. Have you ever had one of those school years, weeks, or even days when you just need to come home and do mindless things to keep from collapsing from exhaustion (mental, emotional, and physical)? Me too!!!
So, I've been simmering over several blog posts I wanted to put together to jump feet first back in to blogging. Then, this linky party popped up over on Hands-On Teacher in First (Marie's blog) and it is just perfect! Now that I have some time on my hands I have a growing summer reading list with both personal and professional books I've been hankering over. Please join up with us and share what you plan or hope to read!
Professional Reads
Normally, I try to only pick one professional read...or I end up overwhelmed and try too many things at the beginning of the year. But I ended up discovering a new book by Michael Linsin who wrote Dream Class, which I read last year and just loved. So, the list became 2 deep. Then, came an invite from The Brownbag Teacher to join in for a book talk for The Book Whisperer's Reading in the Wild...which I also didn't get to read this past summer.
Teach like a Pirate by Dave Burgess | This particular text has been on my to-read list since last summer. But I had to worry more about the two books I had set aside to help me prepare and study for my Assessment Center exercises. I have only heard wonderful and fantastic things about this book and can't wait to dive into it! It is most likely the best book to read to make a comeback from such a rough year like mine. In case you haven't heard of this one, here is a peek into some of the topics: Part I - Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Transformation, & Enthusiasm; Part II - "I Like to Move It, Move It," Long Live the Arts, Stand and Deliver, etc.; Part III - called Building a Better Pirate. Sounds intriguing no? In case that didn't convince you, here is the synopsis from Goodreads: "Based on Dave Burgess's popular "Outrageous Teaching" and "Teach Like a PIRATE" seminars, this book offers inspiration, practical techniques, and innovative ideas that will help you to increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. You'll learn how to: Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students This groundbreaking inspirational manifesto contains over 30 hooks specially designed to captivate your class and 170 brainstorming questions that will skyrocket your creativity. Once you learn the Teach Like a PIRATE system, you'll never look at your role as an educator the same again."
The Classroom Management Secret by Michael Linsin | I didn't plan on reading this one, but I get Linsin's monthly newsletter emails and one of them caught my eye. It closely related to the issues I was going through with my students this year, so I actually took the time to read it closely. Come to find out...he had also released this new book. I enjoyed his personable and user-friendly process to create a Dream Class (which I wasn't fully able to do because of how thrown off I was by my group this past year). I decided, despite management being my strongest ability as a teacher, I needed to rethink my system and make improvements. This way, no matter what kind of group I get next year, I will be ready! Before I bought it for my Kindle, I checked the Table of Contents and was immediately intrigued by the first several chapter titles: Why You Should Smile on the First Day of School, 7 Keys to the First Day of School, The Biggest First Day of School Mistake You Can Make, Why Coming on Too Strong Will Force a Mutiny in Your Classroom, and more. Here is the description from Goodreads: "In The Classroom Management Secret, you will learn how pursuing just two simple principles will allow you to grab ahold of the rewarding and meaningful teaching career you've always dreamed of. Based on the popular blog, Smart Classroom Management, the book progresses step-by-step through 46 keys, showing you how to manage your classroom in a way that inspires your students to want to behave. By the end, you will have the knowledge to take over any K-8 classroom and create the kind of peaceful buy joyous learning experience your students will always remember."
Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller | I was, and still am, a HUGE fan of The Book Whisperer. It changed how I saw and taught students how to love reading. It also changed the reading lives of so many of my students. They still thank me to this day for how I helped them become a self-selected reader who enjoys reading for what it should be. So, when I found out Donalyn was releasing a 2nd book long before it came out...I added it to my wish and to-read list. Sadly, I wasn't able to get to this one last summer either. But I just found out The Brownbag Teacher is having a book talk on it and had to join in. So...bring it on! Here is the synopsis from Goodreads: Teaching students to become lifelong readers A companion to the bestselling The Book Whisperer, Reading in the Wild explores whether or not we are truly instilling lifelong reading habits in our students and provides practical strategies for teaching "wild" reading. Based on survey responses from over 900 adult readers and classroom feedback, Reading in the Wild offers solid advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage and assess key lifelong reading habits, including dedicating time for reading, planning for future reading, and defining oneself as a reader.Includes advice for supporting the love of reading by explicitly teaching lifelong reading habits. Contains accessible strategies, ideas, tips, lesson plans and management tools along with lists of recommended books co-published with Editorial Projects in Education, publisher of "Education Week" and "Teacher Magazine" Packed with ideas for helping students choose their own reading material, respond to text, and build capacity for lifelong reading."
For Fun Reads
I usually have a HUGE list planned a couple weeks before my summer starts, so I can get to the library and start grabbing up books. But, alas, that just didn't happen this time around. However, I did come home this past Friday (our last day of school) ready to find a juicy and fun chic lit read from my long to-read list on Goodreads. My book club of lady friends is reading The Monuments Men this month as well...so these two are givens. As for the rest of what I'm going to be reading this summer? Perhaps I should read the 3rd book in V.C. Andrew's Dollanganger series. I'm hoping I get off the wait list for Emily Giffin's new book soon, since I've been on it for the last month already. I also have some Jodi Piccoult books I've been hoarding. So many choices and so little time!!!
How about you? What is on your summer to-read list? I hope you take the time for yourself to relax and enjoy some good reads...whether they are for work or play!
Being on Spring Break sure does have its upsides doesn't it?! One being the fact I am able to sit down and finally blog...AKA relax on my own terms. I have a Lifetime movie playing in the background called The Grim Sleeper. Did you get to watch it? What can I say? I'm obsessed with watching their newest 2 hour TV movies. Reading my book here and there when I want, going to the bathroom whenever I want, and snacking on whatever I want is definitely the bee's knees. It makes me look forward to summer break that much more!
As we all know (it's what nightmares are made of)...it's that time of the season. Testing is just around the corner and the pressure is on! With trying to fit everything on our district benchmark testing and the state test in to such a tiny time frame, it is that much more important I push that rigor and multiple opportunities for practice with my students. So, bring on differentiation!
By first having my students complete a multi-level exit ticket (which ended up becoming more like a post test) I was able to figure out which levels of area and perimeter each student met in or what they needed more practice in. As a gifted-cluster teacher, I try to do as many tiered differentiation lessons as possible. In this case, it means I have 9 gifted learners while the rest of my students are mainstreamed. It can get pretty hard when I don't have as much time as I want to plan them out, but each year I end up with more and more.
Below you can see part of a screen shot of the flipchart I had up on our ActivBoard during the day's lesson. Every time we tackle a tiered lesson, I go over the Owl's assignment first so those students can get straight to work on their extension. But I need my other students to sit and take it in because if they complete their activity and show mastery, they are able to move on. That's why I love tiered lessons!!
Extension/Tier 3 Group
**Always works solo/independently**
My group of about 6-7 Owls worked in the library on their own and had quite a time with their activity. They were doing so well I only had to check on them a couple different times to make sure they were measuring the area and perimeter correctly, since this was something we didn't do with irregular polygons as a whole class (we only had to use grid paper).
Extra Practice/Tier 2 Group
**Always works with 1-2 other students**
My Eagles were able to gather in the back of our classroom on the strip of tile we have in order to practice identifying the perimeter and area using square units. I found this idea for regular polygons on Pinterest, but needed to use it for the irregular aspect. Many of my students were having trouble with larger figures where they had to count and solve for the formulas when there were upwards of 20 or so square units and multiple "irregular" corners. By making it a bit more hands on for them and on a smaller (although larger...LOLOLOL) scale, that group of kids grasped on to the application of the formulas we had already discovered and practiced a lot easier.
Please ignore our dirty floor...the kids tend to bring in everything off our wet grassy field when they come in in the morning. Sigh.
Reteach/Tier 1 Group
**Always works with the teacher and/or small group**
For this group of kids, it was a bit tricky. Each set of students needed additional reteaching and practice with a different aspect of perimeter and area (i.e. area of triangles and parallelograms versus perimeter of squares and rectangles or even irregular polygons)
I decided to have them make flashcards for each formula, since many of the students in this group kept getting them mixed up between the different figures themselves or area versus perimeter. Then, we went from there with some extra practice on identifying perimeter and area using those formulas.
My students crave tiered lessons because they truly appreciate being able to have the chance to not only move on if they are ready, instead of sitting through another reteach lesson, but they appreciate being able to jump to the next level when they are done working with me during the reteach. Everything is very fluid and depending on the tiered lesson, kids are not always in the same group to start with. I use exit tickets every time to determine which group students will be in. Sometimes, I even find I have to reteach as a whole class. All students are a lot more invested in the outcome of their learning and they enjoy some of the hands on and project-based opportunities to show their learning. Sure, the planning can take a bit more time than regular lessons...but in the end, it is soooooooo worth it!
This summer, I plan on trying to put as many of my tiered lessons and choice/extension menus in my TPT store. But if you would like to check one of them out now, I have had my Plot Elements Choice Menu pack up HERE for a couple months (all based on Bloom's Taxonomy). It is starting to sell like hotcakes and that makes me so excited to know other students are able to partake in choices and extensions to show their learning! Yay!
Prepare yourself for one seriously picture-heavy post! I had way too much fun with this lesson and so did my students. Not only did they enjoy it, but they did phenomenally well on their post test. I would say that is a big, huge, GIGANTIC thumbs up to it all. Oh and also? Read all the way through because I'm finally sharing a bit of fun info from AAGT (local Arizona Gifted Education conference) that I attended a couple weeks back.
And I would like to thank Miss Nannini at YoungTeacherLove for posting her lesson on this exact skill because I was able to be inspired and applied pieces of her well-taught lesson and added elements to it that I knew would be successful for my group of kids. Since I'm especially lacking in my creative side for anchor chart creating, I used hers to help me out. We used a different book to practice mood and tone though so maybe others will get a kick out of it and like to use the mentor text I chose. Enjoy!
I've mentioned before on the blog about how our district is still sticking with state standards for now. So, while Miss Nannini quoted the CCSS version, our Arizona version is more focused on intended effect (AKA mood and tone). This is why I love Common Core...the language of our standards will be the same! Now if only we could go ahead and jump in. In the meantime, I'm trying to be patient. No matter what, it was a whole lot easier to get my students to grasp onto intended effect by teaching them mood and tone.
Okay so...we always want to reel in our students' with a BIG hook whenever possible right? Well, in this case, my team and I used music! Thanks to one of my teammates and what I learned at the AAGT conference, I used YouTube to bring in lyrics and music to my classroom to help students get a feel for mood and tone.
After we put together the left side of the anchor chart you see above and chatted all about the difference between feelings and attitudes we jumped right in to the juicy stuff...the music! Before I explain how I used three songs for the hook, let me give you a little heads up, especially if you decide to try this out in your own classroom...
While at the AAGT conference, I attended a session called, "Pop Culture in the Classroom," presented by DJ Graham. Due to a huge need for differentiation in a Gifted classroom (a bit different than other populations) and the importance of pulling in the upper 2 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, he decided to tie it all together with how pop culture helps to make a connection between the students and teacher as well as making the material directly coincide with what is most relevant to our students today.
You MUST know, we as educators are allowed to use copyrighted video clips and music in our classroom under a fair use guideline, "Movies: 10% or 3 minutes (whichever is less)," and "Music: 10% or 30 seconds (whichever is least)" (from U.S. Copyright Office, 2009); (Harper, 2007). Also, if you want to use music in your classroom for teaching purposes, you should definitely search You Tube first. It is chock full of lyric videos...meaning only the lyrics play across the screen. There is no music video to worry about or content kids shouldn't see. Sure, you can print up the lyrics and have kids just read along as they listen to songs, but this is so much bigger for them! Just do a search for any song and add "lyrics" to your search and you'll get exactly what you need. As always, make sure you view the full video for content.
How did I bring this into my classroom for a lesson on mood and tone? Like I said, one of my awesome teammates had the idea to play Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri, Happy by Pharrell Williams, and Phantom of the Opera (from Broadway or the movie version). Each one covers a super specific and obvious mood and tone. I went straight to YouTube to find the lyric videos for these as soon as she mentioned she had played the songs for her kids...I wanted to step it up a notch!
My kids and I discussed how the lyrics truly set the mood (kind of like pictures in a picture book) and the actual background music sets the tone.
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
"...from the ice inside your soul," from Jar of Hearts
And here (below) is my favorite moment! I danced around the room as this one was playing here and there. But this student of mine couldn't help sitting in his seat any longer . He jumped up and started dancing right as I was taking this picture. So, I of course danced over to him and we did a little bit of the "Carlton" and sung the song at each other. Basically? My kids immediately identified and felt the mood and tone so overwhelmingly, there was no question about it!
"...clap along if you feel happiness is the truth," from Happy
As I played the 30 second clips, students jotted down certain words or phrases they caught under a T-chart with mood and tone written at the top. At the end of each clip, they did some quick Rally Robin style discussing, and we came back together as a class to share what we saw and heard. It went swimmingly and they absolutely loooooooved it!
Once my kids felt confident identifying mood and tone within music and lyrics, we read The Dark by Lemony Snicket, together. Through modeling, I made sure to inform them authors tend to repeat the same adjectives or phrases in order to make the audience feel and understand the mood and tone.
I was ecstatic to find my kids not only identified those key words, but they also figured out some really good ways to describe the mood and tone according to what they felt and were thinking exactly. I recorded them on our anchor chart. They realized that not only was the dark meant to be creepy but they also felt surprised and relief at the ending. Yessssss!!!
Pulling from Miss Nannini's lesson, she used the Aesop Fable, "The Ant and the Grasshopper" to assess her students and compare the mood and tone they read to what they saw in the Disney Silly Symphony version. But, I decided to use this as their independent practice. We watched a short clip near the end of the Disney video (downloaded from YouTube), meanwhile they jotted down any key words or phrases they noticed on a T-chart in their notebooks.
They used Close Reading strategies as they read "The Ant and the Grasshopper" text in order to locate those special key words and phrases that show mood and tone.
I decided to have them write a descriptive paragraph with text-based evidence for that day's exit ticket to let me know the mood and tone (intended effect) of the fable.
Have you taught mood and tone to your students yet? What sort of ideas or strategies have worked well for them?
Sure, I'm supposed to be working hard on my National Boards Entry 3 right now, since I'm at a Coaching Saturday event. But I really wanted to get this up first! Sooooooo...this is a bit of a Boards themed Currently.
Listening
I am at a Coaching Saturday event in order to work on my National Boards entry 3. There are a ton of people here getting coaching and work done, so there's a ton of talking around me and amazing conversations about collaborating, reflecting, and imagining. For me, I'm just supposed to be sitting here planning my next several Science lessons because I need to make sure I am using Math to move the Science learning forward.
Loving
It rained this morning. For about 3 minutes. Seriously Arizona? I despise you right now.
Thinking
I'm here working till 3 and the celebration starts at 5:30. Soooooooo...this is all about concentrating on my HUGE task at hand. You know? After I'm done with this blog post of course. LOLOLOL
Wanting
Did I mention this rainy weather didn't last long? I suppose I should at least be happy that the cloud is still full of dark clouds. So there's that.
Needing
I had really hoped to have videotaped my entry lesson by now. But it is testing season and so this hasn't happened. So, planning these lessons today will definitely help! Next step, figuring out who is going to tape me. My hubby did it last year but his new job is during the day...soooooooo I am in quite the conundrum.
?????
These are the items I really NEED whenever I am at these coaching events! Mountain Dew is especially essential after lunch when I hit a wall.
Have any of my readers achieved National Board certification or are in the process? I am a retake candidate and am working on 1 entry and 1 assessment exercise this year.
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