tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49654253076975690332024-03-13T11:42:59.841-04:00The Polka Dot Owl BlogReillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-47851849249015062682013-09-18T19:10:00.000-04:002013-09-18T19:10:05.894-04:00Taking a Break<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am sure it comes as no surprise that I will be taking a break from blogging. Our county has begun to implement a new curriculum that is taking up a great deal of time to figure out and manage. No more reading workshop for me, which is most unfortunate for my new crop of students. In addition, pregnancy is taking it's toll and between longer hours at work and real life, I just don't have the time or energy. I appreciate all of you for following my blog and caring about my ideas so much. Blogging has helped connect me to so many great teachers, and last year was my best year in teaching thanks to the encouragement I found in jumping into reading and writing workshop. Thank you for the support! I will hopefully get back into the blogging game after my leave is up. Until then, continue to spread the love of reading to your students!</span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-24830942901035190412013-08-16T20:12:00.002-04:002013-08-16T20:14:29.980-04:00I Got One!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am so glad to say I can enter into this next school year knowing that I passed on a love of reading to at least ONE student. And, as any teacher will tell you, even if she is the only one, I will retire happily knowing I did my part. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As I opened up my email to search for the dreaded "Welcome Back" email and schedule (you know what I am talking about...teaching is great, but summer is sweet), I found an email written to me from one of my students from the past school year. It made me smile, and it took away the sting that accompanies the end of yet another restful summer break. She wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"Hey,
Mrs.Posey it is _________ ________! I was wondering how u have been. I
hope u r doing well. I also wanted to tell u that I have continued to
read Harry Potter. I am on book number 5! I now have all the books, plus
Hermonie's replica wand. My room is filled up with Harry potter posters
everywhere. I even have a Hedwig stuffed<span class="text_exposed_show">
animal. I also wanted to say I really miss u. You know how I told you
my mom would never read Harry Potter, well guess what I got my mom
hooked now.Since I got her so hooked she even got me all the movies!
Well hope u had an awesome summer! <br /> Bye!"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">This is the power of Reader's Workshop. This is the power of allowing students to have choice in their reading <i><b>and </b></i>education. This is a power that I fear is going to be taken away in the upcoming school years with curriculum changes...but that's for another post. For now, I am going to hang on to the fact that all of my research, hard work, and stress of the past school year really did pay off :)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">Tell me about a time you knew you had made an impact on a student in the comments below!</span></span></span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-54584766330618313152013-06-16T20:12:00.000-04:002013-06-16T20:13:39.404-04:00Little Owl on the Way!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Since my last post, I have been wrapped up with a very exciting life event...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm going to be a mommy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My husband and I are so excited. Unfortunately, I really struggled with "morning" (should be called "all day") sickness. This made it difficult to do much else besides go to work and make it through the day. Now that I am WELL into my second trimester, I am feeling much better with more energy, so hopefully I'll be around a bit more. I have some great posts lined up of things I did during the second half of the year that I didn't get to share due to the little one in my tummy making things a bit difficult. Thank you to those of you who have stuck with me. I'll also keep you posted on the baby!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Baby P.!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrSmYgG3DhyvGNnxXksXw2UAbYUjyupTlda_2L7NKsTMrM3r9iJlq7k9QVBfWXjs4UdRlGMxvOQvh8DNCIVTbDME9400SmrzyO-sJW9F1TVu6MAtaeqMKcA9JO2alK4bgsdp0GN34VmHX/s1600/Baby+Boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrSmYgG3DhyvGNnxXksXw2UAbYUjyupTlda_2L7NKsTMrM3r9iJlq7k9QVBfWXjs4UdRlGMxvOQvh8DNCIVTbDME9400SmrzyO-sJW9F1TVu6MAtaeqMKcA9JO2alK4bgsdp0GN34VmHX/s320/Baby+Boy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a boy!!!</td></tr>
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Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-86493027415257812332013-02-15T20:41:00.002-05:002013-02-15T20:45:54.371-05:00Grading Gripes<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Whenever I tell people of my adventure into Reader's Workshop, I often feel like I am defending my choices rather than just sharing teaching strategies and techniques. The most common question (and usually one of the first three) that makes me feel like I am justifying my methods is: "But, what do you GRADE?" Never mind how much my students are growing and learning as readers and writers...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It makes me sad that education has been reduced to the first five letters of the alphabet (six if your district gives out "Fs"). I am more concerned about giving my kids meaningful feedback, rather than assigning their work points based on my own opinion. I recently started having my students grade some of their own writing, specifically their writing journals. After I gave them the power, I began noticing improvements. Students weren't comfortable giving themselves full credit when they knew they hadn't put in the effort to edit and "flex their writing muscles." I love this new method so much, that I am going to use it more often for class work, specifically with assignments that are of a subjective nature (writing pieces, response journal entries, written responses to reading, etc.). This way, we can have a discussion about their work, with them putting forth enough effort to prove they deserve they grade they have given themselves. I may be so bold as to have students create a portfolio of their best work and come up with their quarterly grades, as suggested by Joe Bower on his blog (click <a href="http://www.joebower.org/p/abolishing-grading.html" target="_blank">here </a>for a list of his blog posts related to abolishing grades.). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The only question is: will this be supported or seen and too radical? I am not a parent, so I can't speak for those who have children. However, logic tells me that most parents would rather a teacher spend his or her time guiding students, planning quality lessons, and providing feedback kids can use to actually improve upon their learning (a percentage and a smiley face do not good feedback make). But when I spend hours per evening as an intermediate reading and writing teacher grading close to 50 written responses multiple times a week, it's hard to do all three of those things and feel like I am doing them all <i>well</i>. If more teachers opposed the idea of grades and embraced the idea of feedback, would that help bring about the change we are anxiously awaiting for in education? What do you think?</span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-56856897109972092072013-02-10T10:33:00.005-05:002013-02-10T10:33:55.126-05:00Spreading the Word About Reader's Workshop<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckxMUYivqkW89fkjGkBijLytmkfHm0c8jFPSsW09ZogGDK4Pz5J6Oo82tlg2GhMxYoiLqnRwmqfpWoest3Fa3eL4-NUxRtPwilY_tSv7YDBb6PMIDUdKP1a-K2VzfIUKodA2BBMJEobXD/s1600/Red+Pillow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckxMUYivqkW89fkjGkBijLytmkfHm0c8jFPSsW09ZogGDK4Pz5J6Oo82tlg2GhMxYoiLqnRwmqfpWoest3Fa3eL4-NUxRtPwilY_tSv7YDBb6PMIDUdKP1a-K2VzfIUKodA2BBMJEobXD/s200/Red+Pillow.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This week I had the great fortune (I can say that now that it's done) to host a "fishbowl" observation for two days in my reading and writing classroom. Several teachers from another school in the county were interested in seeing how I implement Reader's Workshop in a county that has been using the same anthology for over a decade (that's a whole other blog post). Although I was hesitant (who likes being watched all day for two days straight?), I obliged for the good of the children. I figured, the more educators who embrace this individualized style of teaching, the better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It all started when a handful of teachers from my school, along with myself, went to <i>their </i>school to see Debbie Miller teach a model reading lesson (side note: I was in teacher heaven). During our debriefing session with Debbie, we discussed why she did what she did and where she would go next. Many of the teachers seemed to have a hard time understanding how they could apply this very foreign teaching style and still meet the requirements set forth by our district. When one of my colleagues chimed in that I was already implementing reading workshop, the questions began to be directed at me. "So, your kids are all reading different books?" and "How do you know they understand what they are reading?" were just a couple of inquiries. And thus, the idea to come to our school and see it all in the flesh was born. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am by no means an expert. I am continually refining my strategies in reading workshop to align with my personal teaching beliefs. My students are used to this, and they know that at any given moment, Mrs. P. could (and probably will) change her mind if something "just isn't working." I am so thankful to have the flexibility to do this, and that privilege comes from having a supportive administration that allows me to do what I know is best for my students. And this is exactly what I told my visitors. Reading workshop is a work in progress, but I was happy to model and answer questions because I wish I had had someone in either my building or my district to go to when I began Reader's Workshop this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I began by pointing my visitors in the direction of great resources to begin gathering ideas and information (I don't know if I could have done it without the inspiration of Donalyn Miller, Debbie Miller, Fountas and Pinnell, "The Two Sisters," and Franki Sibberson). I told them about Twitter and blogging. We chatted about the power of <i>quality </i>graphic novels (I got some sideways looks on that one at first) and staying current with the latest and greatest in children's literature. I showed them how I record my observations and assess my students <i>daily</i>. We talked about what gets graded, what doesn't, and why. I explained how we practice skills repeatedly before I assess whether or not they have been "mastered," and even when they have they are revisited constantly. I showed them my binder that I would be lost without, my students' notebooks, and that you really can teach a lot in 15 minutes. The listened in on our read aloud, one-on-one conferences, guided reading groups, and reteach lessons. And when they reluctantly walked up to me to ask a question (or 12), I smiled and told them I was there to help and give as much support as I could in my own rookie way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When all was said and done, my principal and fellow coworkers told me what they had heard through the grapevine: those visiting teachers were excited about potentially starting reading workshop at their own school. As soon as I heard that, all the stress, all the anxiety of being center stage, all the questioning about why I had to put myself through it was worth it. If even one teacher in another school begins teaching Reader's Workshop, I will feel like I had a <i>real </i>impact. I sincerely hope that the power students making choices about what they read and how they learn spreads (and FAST) through our district. The kids need it.</span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-89115471189384135822013-02-09T08:46:00.002-05:002013-02-09T08:49:18.803-05:00Loving Our "Nooks"!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some of you may know that last year I created a project on DonorsChoose to get "nooks" (aka cushions, pillows, etc.) for my kids to use during Reading Workshop. My project was successful thanks to family, friends, and Twitter followers! Here are some pictures of my students getting lost in the world of reading:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> The kids look forward to this time every day. It is the one thing I keep consistent no matter what unexpected schedule changes may arise. Thanks to my supporters I really feel like I am doing my part to create lifelong readers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How do you encourage your students to get lost int heir reading in YOUR classrooms?</span><br />
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Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-30101499964173639602012-12-06T06:00:00.000-05:002012-12-06T06:00:12.095-05:00Writing with Focus<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Have you ever noticed that sometimes your brain is so full of ideas, that once you sit down to put them on paper they come flooding out and the focus becomes muddy? For a lot of students (especially mine), the answer to that question is a big, fat, Y-E-S! Through the years, I have noticed that my students have great ideas, but difficulty sticking to those ideas in their writing. Or, they try to write too big, and the interesting fall by the wayside in an effort to get down the events that happened on a particular day. That's why I had to share the awesome writing project we did earlier this year. I would LOVE to take all of the credit for this one, but I actually got this idea from a coworker who had been struggling with the same issue with her students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMJ2BBWcwrIzU8zs-2gunN0UYYlrNfC5LigMDPSvAS744P5LLNE0MulCCpd4KmRU2_YOdj-TyuPmGJ7AWGkkP8yDWWiYQA2cgp6i2kkvUCS857RDqB74RY379ZCtMDdicJQPgWnJOKNA/s1600/zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMJ2BBWcwrIzU8zs-2gunN0UYYlrNfC5LigMDPSvAS744P5LLNE0MulCCpd4KmRU2_YOdj-TyuPmGJ7AWGkkP8yDWWiYQA2cgp6i2kkvUCS857RDqB74RY379ZCtMDdicJQPgWnJOKNA/s200/zoom.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="200" /></a>We wanted our kids to be able to pick an interesting topic, but then narrow the focus of their writing so that they could add great details and be more descriptive. Often times, when students pick a topic that they have a lot to say about, the writing becomes too general and jumps around. We wanted the students to "linger" in a specific moment in time with their audience. To do that, they had to focus their writing from broad to specific. To help my students understand this idea, we first viewed the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140557741/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0140557741&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">Zoom </a>by Istvan Banyai. The students and I discussed that the more we "zoomed in" on each picture, the more details we were able to discover. I then related this to a microscope. As you zoom in on a microscope, you obtain more information about your subject than you would have gleaned by simply using your eyes. This visual reminder helped immensely as the students began their writing projects. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Image courtesy of http://msmcclure.com/?page_id=6313</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We started by picking events that we remembered very clearly. But, instead of writing about the entire experience, we "focused in" on a moment. It was challenging for the kids to not write about an entire trip or an entire day, but with some help they got there. I gave them a graphic organizer (see right) that was an upside-down triangle. I modeled the process of narrowing our writing focus with my own trip to the zoo during summer vacation. Rather than write generally about the whole day, I decided to write about watching the new baby gorilla playing in the pool of her enclosure. The narrowing of my topic went like this: Summer Vacation> Trip to Washington, D.C.> Zoo> Gorilla Enclosure> Watching the baby play in the pool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Rather than have the students take off and start writing, we spent time developing good leads and then choosing the most interesting one. We discussed how to incorporate sensory language into our writing to help the reader feel as though they, too, we a part of our experience. We ended with how to write a conclusion, or "wrap," that tied back to our lead and brought our writing to a satisfying end. Below are some pictures of our final writing display, as well as examples of student work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOjqqejRHaz0e9fPSJOe6jSqo6hL8AweY9VyQ-KLHo5Jsrjo1Uy18NVbtHSGmeoqmphQzOVU1NPQQDd65jI34WY1q5u1BbT9b-8xZnSb4we7E2jh-Ty8DEGg70Cv5w9cIFSn8Nehpo0bO/s1600/Focused+Writing+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOjqqejRHaz0e9fPSJOe6jSqo6hL8AweY9VyQ-KLHo5Jsrjo1Uy18NVbtHSGmeoqmphQzOVU1NPQQDd65jI34WY1q5u1BbT9b-8xZnSb4we7E2jh-Ty8DEGg70Cv5w9cIFSn8Nehpo0bO/s1600/Focused+Writing+4.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I hope you find this post helpful and try it out with your students. Have you done any interesting writing projects this year?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-67280729339635177462012-12-02T10:44:00.001-05:002012-12-02T10:44:37.886-05:00Life's Been Great in 228!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If I could sum up the school year so far in one word, it would be...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">BUSY!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This year I have committed to teaching reading and writing workshop and not using our county anthology. I am so fortunate to be able to have the freedom to make this decision, as I truly believe it is what is best for students. However, it is new territory for me (and many of my colleagues), so I have been up to my eyeballs in work. I know that many say reading and writing workshop seems like it would be easier to plan, but if you are doing it correctly it's really a lot more challenging (in my humble opinion). Although there are not as many worksheets/dittos/busy work, planning is based on the needs of the students and therefore requires frequent assessment and careful analysis of student work. So, not only am I grading my students' work but I am also frequently taking notes on it and comparing it to previous work. Despite the heavier workload for myself, I do love it. And the best part is...so do they.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, what exactly have we been up to? Keep on reading to find out!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf-2ddk3WRdzMMmgAz05BjC30ntwTBPGpDe5Y4xvvKI9xv8IGkVGQXpYyP-ro81bdp5AinfEgC1YIUeNZOhYKGaPZAnJxT9YOx-ZtKJnEEMTpbRdnL8Gvi-QwbIFFNAR5OO3GyJKleZCT/s1600/Response+Letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf-2ddk3WRdzMMmgAz05BjC30ntwTBPGpDe5Y4xvvKI9xv8IGkVGQXpYyP-ro81bdp5AinfEgC1YIUeNZOhYKGaPZAnJxT9YOx-ZtKJnEEMTpbRdnL8Gvi-QwbIFFNAR5OO3GyJKleZCT/s1600/Response+Letter.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One thing I did differently this year is change how I use my response journals. The way they are set up is the same (click <a href="http://thepolkadotowl.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-in-review-22411.html">here </a>to see blog post about setup), but instead of the students writing about their independent reading, they write me letters about our read aloud. This year, I found a great idea on <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/193443746465836539/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>to help me model how a well-written letter should look. As a class, we read <u>The Junkyard Wonders</u> by Patricia Polacco. (This was a great lead into R.J. Palacio's <u>Wonder</u>, by the way!) I wrote a letter to the students on chart paper, and then together we identified the components of the letter and discussed the expectations. This letter now hangs in the classroom as an example that they can refer to throughout the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also gave the students "Thinking Stems" that I found in a <a href="http://teachingmyfriends.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-reading-notebooks.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> by Nancy at Teaching My Friends. to help them discuss their thoughts about our reading. These are glued onto the very first two sheets of their notebooks. In addition, the students take notes in the back half of their notebooks that they then refer to as they write their letters. Not only is the note taking helpful to their writing, but they also use their notes to drive discussion about what we have read. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Character Study Anchor Chart</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">During the first part of the year, the students and I have been focusing on characters in our reading. I have taught many minilessons about the complexities of characters, beyond just character traits, feelings, and relationships. We have kept an anchor chart about all of the thinking we have done about characters so that the students may refer to it during their reading workshop time. It has been so amazing to hear their conversation about characters and see their thinking deepen in their work. I am so proud of how far they have come! The best part is now they are making tons of text-to-text connections because they have been studying their characters so closely across texts. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5Ena8cVmjjkncBQKGweZZDaYNbFtsW9ASetjv0Zuobb1tBhsHOcLu0yvBAMecjUcsQUGFFSTnLarahfu_bosnZBKvzPqiwECb_MTm6T8H9qF5ACeDdJ06GQtpg4FjzcOPPOWug5Qv5zo/s1600/Traits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5Ena8cVmjjkncBQKGweZZDaYNbFtsW9ASetjv0Zuobb1tBhsHOcLu0yvBAMecjUcsQUGFFSTnLarahfu_bosnZBKvzPqiwECb_MTm6T8H9qF5ACeDdJ06GQtpg4FjzcOPPOWug5Qv5zo/s1600/Traits.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our growing list of character trait words!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A favorite activity of mine that we did was coming up with more precise language to describe characters. For this lesson, I started out by discussing the common words I see students use when discussing character traits (e.g. mean, nice, caring, kind, etc.) Then, I gave them new words and in groups they came up with synonyms, examples of character actions that would fit with each trait, and names of characters from books we have read that fit each trait. Then, as a class we grouped each trait into one of three categories: Positive Connotation, Negative Connotation, or Neutral. Now my students have access to words that are much more meaningful when they write and discuss their thinking about characters. And, as we come across new "precise language" about character, we add to our list!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> What has been going well in your classrooms so far this year? I would love to hear from you!</span>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-42840064865317298482012-10-09T06:00:00.000-04:002012-10-14T16:40:24.591-04:00#WONDERSchools Blog Tour Part 2<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So clearly I am a HUGE advocate for <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375869026/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375869026&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">Wonder </a></i>by R.J. Palacio...and here are two more reasons why:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(FYI: I got a little Natalie Merchant happy...but the song has a major tie-in to the book, so oh well!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>#1</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Etkin (@DavidAEtkin), Sherry Gick (@LibraryFanatic), and I all cooked up a little scheme to further spread the power of this amazing novel. We called it "1-2-3 Wonder." Basically, we asked our students to answer some questions about the book using only one, two, or three words. We met via a Google Doc (which was a completely new and fascinating experience for me) to brainstorm some possible questions. As a group, we also decided to put all of our students' answers together in one final video. The next day, we met with our kids and told them about the idea. My students were stoked, especially when I told them that R.J. Palacio herself might see it! I had them write their answers on dry erase boards, and I photographed them with their responses. It was really cool to see them tailor their words to be more precise so that they could fit their ideas into the limited space they were given. Here is my group's finished product:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Isn't that cool???</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please check out Sherry's finished product <a href="http://www.thelibraryfanatic.com/2012/10/1-2-3-wonder.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See David's video <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/wonderblogtour-project/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is the compilation of all of our classes together:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed collaborating with both David and Sherry. Good things always result from passionate teachers putting their heads together to come up with something fantastic for their students to do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>#2</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wonder</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is because I believe it has the power to bring kids together and set aside their differences. As part of the #WONDERSchools blog tour, I read a <a href="http://www.ccakidsblog.org/2012/10/every-kid-needs-hero.html" target="_blank">post written by the mother</a> of a little boy with a craniofacial condition. What really touched me was how many similarities he had to Auggie. One difference, though, was this little boy (Peter) had never been given a standing ovation. I knew once I shared Peter's story with my kids, they'd want to do something about that! Here was their response to Peter's mom's blog post:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As son as the school day ended, I hopped on Twitter and sent our video to Peter's mom so that she could share it with him. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard back from her not long after I "tweeted" her the link to our video. She said that Peter was "speechless," and she had been moved to tears...all from one simple act of kindness inspired by </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wonder</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />I implore you, share this book with as many children as you can. Just imagine: if every child in the world read this book and felt its impact, what kind of tomorrow they would work together to create? </span></div>
Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-40250714540787198752012-10-06T06:00:00.000-04:002012-10-07T17:54:52.266-04:00#WONDERschools Blog Tour<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you heard of it? Better yet, have you read it? Do <b>you </b>know the wonder that is <i>Wonder </i>by R.J. Palacio?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Wonder</i> is one of 2012's hottest novels by first-time author R.J. Palacio. Teachers, students, librarians, and kid's lit lovers alike are singing the praises of this WONDERful book. Don't believe me? Try following some of the many hashtags that have popped up all over <a href="https://twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter </a>(# WonderofWONDER, #WONDERschools, to name a few) and you will find hundreds of people chatting about this powerful book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I first read <i>Wonder</i> as an Advanced Reader's Copy that I obtained form <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/" target="_blank">NetGalley</a>. I was hooked. I read it in two days, barely able to pull myself away from the computer screen on which I was reading it. As soon as I read the last sentence on the last page, I knew that this book HAD to be shared with as many children as I could reach. It was the last novel I read to both of my reading and language arts classes last year. It was the perfect way to end the year before I sent them out into the world beyond elementary school. We made wonderful memories as we discussed the book using a mixture of the questions my students came up with, some of my own, and the ones provided on R.J. Palacio's <a href="http://rjpalacio.com/for-teachers.html" target="_blank">website</a>. We wrote about it. We cried over it. We loved it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(**Spoiler Alert** Below is the "flipchart" I used with my students. Some of the questions reveal key events in the story and may spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet...which you need to!)</span></div>
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/109142420/Wonder-Questions" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Wonder Questions on Scribd">Wonder Questions</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.772727272727273" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_72490" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/109142420/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-1s4f93jy7kigo2i9ltei" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year, I decided to read <i>Wonder</i> with my kids at the beginning of the year. My hope was that it would help build up our classroom community. I decided that by reading it at the beginning of the year, the impact would not only carry into their lives outside of school, but inside as well. Typically I allow my students to vote for their read aloud, but this year I decided this one was too important to potentially pass up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every day my students eagerly enter the classroom after specials, grab their response journals, and form a circle on the carpet. I decided to sit with my students on the floor, not above them on my "teacher chair," this year. I can see them, hear them, and look at what they are writing/sketching in their notebooks. We reserved the back half of the students' journals for notes. After previewing <i>Wonder </i>(using the front and back covers, inside flap, and first chapter), the kids thought about what they wanted to focus on as we read. Some chose how the song quotes connected to each character's part, others were interested in tracking how August (the main character) dealt with being in school for the first time. The students then designed their own note-taking sheets, which they use and refer to when writing letters to me about our read aloud. I have been so amazed at my students' honesty and empathy as I read their entries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love sharing this book with my students. It brings us together as a community and helps them understand the effect their actions, both good and bad, can have on others. They see connections between the characters we are reading about, and characters in their independent reading. <i>Wonder </i>is a great tool for teaching empathy, but it is also great literature. I use it to model skills and strategies I want my students to use in their own reading and writing. I am so grateful to R.j. Palacio for giving me such an invaluable resource to use in my classroom. I know Auggie will stay with all of us forever.</span><br />
<br />Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-72490185735061343622012-09-22T14:33:00.003-04:002012-09-22T19:27:29.066-04:00What a Year So Far!<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hi followers! It's been a long time! This school year is off to a great start so far...but it has been busy busy busy! I am currently in the throws of a full fledged reading and writing workshop. I have been doing a lot of reading and research to help guide me, but I am still trying to figure out so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am enjoying tailoring my teaching to my students' needs based on what I am seeing in their work, and I have found that this new model for teaching is giving me a lot more time for conferring with students. In the past four weeks, I have gotten to know my students' strengths and weaknesses and am already planning on how to better meet their needs through small groups and one-on-one teaching. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The best part is that I have the full support of my principal, who is very excited about me trying out this new teaching style. I am the first person in my school to completely abandon the anthology. It's sort of scary to not have the assurance of a pre-planned curriculum, but I feel like I have found a lot of support via Twitter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last school year, I implemented some pieces of the reading and writing workshop and saw so much growth in my students. I can only imagine what I will see by the end of this school year. For those of you who are interested in looking into the reading and writing workshop, here are some resources I have found the most helpful:<br /><br /><a href="http://www3.alibris-static.com/isbn/9780325003108.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" id="il_fi" src="http://www3.alibris-static.com/isbn/9780325003108.gif" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="143" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0325003106/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0325003106&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">Guiding Readers and Writers </a>by Fountas and Pinnell has a ton of information about implementing the reading and writing workshop. The book includes mini-lessons to help guide beginners in launching the workshop, along with images of anchor charts that I have found very helpful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/102650000/102650482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" id="il_fi" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/102650000/102650482.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="159" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0439821320/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0439821320&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop</a> by Franki Sibberson helped ease many of my fears when deciding to venture into the world of reading and writing workshop. Franki explains how to use student work, class discussions, and conferences to drive instruction. Reading this book helped me see all the different methods I could use to assess my students and gather data. There are student work samples and forms to help get you started, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.heinemann.com/shared/covers/9780325043104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" id="content_coverImage" src="http://www.heinemann.com/shared/covers/9780325043104.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; width: 178px;" width="125" /></a>I also downloaded a digital book by Lucy Calkins called <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E04310.aspx" target="_blank">A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop</a> from the Heinemann website. This is a great tool to help provide a scope and sequence for the year. One of the most intimidating factors for making the switch to reading workshop was not knowing what units to teach and how to teach them. Let's face it, that's what makes anthologies so convenient. They tell you what stories to teach, and what skills to teach with them. This book Gives you a month by month sequence you can use to plan instruction. Calkins also provides teaching points to cover within each unit of study. There are not any actual "lesson plans," but I like that. It is up to me to figure out what is best for my students, but I like having a resource that will help provide some structure. Heinemann also has the same type of resource for writing workshop, and both resources can be found for any grade level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, that's all for now. I am still fine tuning and researching. This is going to be quite a big year for me, but I am feeling very excited and energized about this new adventure. I can't wait to see my students grow and thrive in an environment that is catered to each of their individual needs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Who else is using this structure for teaching language arts? What are some of your favorite resources that you use? I can't wait to hear from you all!</span><br />
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Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-73753226590813369972012-08-18T11:48:00.005-04:002012-08-18T11:49:54.618-04:002012-2013, Here We Come!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am heading back to school this Monday for the teachers' week back. As I stated in my last post, I have not and do not plan on purchasing a lot of new materials for my room this year. I am going to make a few things (one of which includes a neat Boggle bulletin board) and change up my set up a bit, but other than that not much room decorating going on this year...at leas that's the plan for now! My real focus during the next week is going to be planning the first week back and making some changes to the way my classroom will be run.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am tired of giving my students a bunch of busy work on the first day/during the first week. I know this time should be spent teaching routines and such, but I know there has to be a more enjoyable and productive way. I want to hook them in the first week! I have a found a few ideas, but I am looking for more and I am sure that other teachers out there are, too! So...let's share! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some things I found that I may want to try during the first week:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. <a href="http://greatsolutions.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/pasta-master.html" target="_blank">Team Challenges</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This site is GREAT! There are tons of activities that you can use to help build team spirit in your classroom. What better way to start off the year than to challenge kids to work together and get to know one another in a positive way. I really like the idea of our classroom becoming a family, and I think activities like these are the ticket! </span></div>
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170707271l/69402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170707271l/69402.jpg" width="126" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. R-E-S-P-E-C-T</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last year, our school implemented a school-wide "respect project." I would not describe our school as one with a great deal of behavior challenges, but there is always room for improvement, right? We felt that by encouraging our kids to be more respectful, we were setting them up for life-long success. I think talking about respect and creating an anchor chart like <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGAk19LmkEMhM2Uk_VSwrvpyF8E6PurjM3UzaW6qMAgw7ne9UPUvcO7ZdkaIaSmK3q5OkUnnFiKZ2sHoo9yx3HNyyTeLJIvXlocqGrQNM6xHu0_BN6cG1_TVZVlBWyCUEHG3se7rN5/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-05-07+at+5.32.53+PM.png" target="_blank">this one</a> will help set the tone for the year. Some of the ideas we covered as a school last year came from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786888164/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0786888164&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">The Essential 55</a> by Ron Clark. These are basically behaviors that should be expected of all students. We did not do all 55, but selected 10 that we felt were the most important. I found a shortened version of these expectations <a href="http://teacherweb.com/LA/FontainebleauHighSchool/Zimmer/55rules.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Find out THEIR expectations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I like the ideas I found on <a href="http://mrsrobinsonsclassroomblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/meaningful-first-week-activities.html" target="_blank">Mrs. Robinson's Classroom Blog</a>, specifically her activity that asked students to think about their ides to help their classroom run smoothly. I love the charts she created with her students in this team activity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's all I have so far. Please let us all know what you are doing for the first week back by linking your blog below, or just leave a comment! The more ideas the better! </span></div>
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Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-6804373231679633052012-08-13T16:57:00.000-04:002012-08-13T22:01:57.088-04:00Summer in a Nutshell<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow! This has been a busy summer for yours truly. I am officially on my last week of <strike>freedom</strike> summer vacation. I cannot believe how fast it always goes. I am happy to say that I did make a dent in <a href="http://thepolkadotowl.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-summer-bucket-list.html" target="_blank">My Summer Bucket List</a>, though. Here is one of the crocheted creations I made (for my husband):</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVDndB1qUCWD56cldjT4hGv36fLjAiL1DZoZ-VymrE1Bjp0dNkJvj6m227u6n0mTpFaXGNarvGaQ3snlNQGeAgrjxYQmcKU415IbA6zYqBYhaH-asNjoG0t_oepTh6-wy8Go6Ibpj2rqF/s1600/Narrwhal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVDndB1qUCWD56cldjT4hGv36fLjAiL1DZoZ-VymrE1Bjp0dNkJvj6m227u6n0mTpFaXGNarvGaQ3snlNQGeAgrjxYQmcKU415IbA6zYqBYhaH-asNjoG0t_oepTh6-wy8Go6Ibpj2rqF/s1600/Narrwhal.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a Narwhal!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWEtaarr2SHOQZ_CVTNHBUUDh1fkeWWpIH90h8klxlwxY7iol5RnvqdDKs8_Z-rWvGlAsY56i7Au4ha4iWo_ViOmx8ogLvncp6LP6tlQQAN58IyASld1xzYG0IBPdTOzrBA7z8qBhidYK/s1600/Scott+Desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWEtaarr2SHOQZ_CVTNHBUUDh1fkeWWpIH90h8klxlwxY7iol5RnvqdDKs8_Z-rWvGlAsY56i7Au4ha4iWo_ViOmx8ogLvncp6LP6tlQQAN58IyASld1xzYG0IBPdTOzrBA7z8qBhidYK/s320/Scott+Desk.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My husband is quite the collector of random things. <br />Mr. Narwhal got a prime spot, though!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't do as much reading as I wanted to, but I did read a few books. My students,on the other hand, did a great job with the online book club. Or course I did not get 100% participation, but the fact that a good handful frequently posted and kept me up-to-date on their reading is more than I could have asked for. Hopefully if I hype it up more at the end of this school year it will be even more successful! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My husband and I took a fun trip to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I simply LOVE that zoo. We had a blast! And...I found some friends to create a book display for one of my favorite books from last year, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061992259/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061992259&linkCode=as2&tag=thpodoow-20" target="_blank">The One and Only Ivan</a> by Katherine Applegate (the author we <a href="http://thepolkadotowl.blogspot.com/2012/04/world-read-aloud-day-2012.html" target="_blank">skyped </a>with!).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NLDtjA0wXi39BQPa8v3HGwcKAOvaB4acwO6nE_ee6MGuwXgipUEEcPv8AOhShisfbLugolA3n1Y-c1pAce8oLpSqZYXApGXfKUVolrS5DbezY-Th61Yc3qpGti-u8Pk2pzwGBjupGhSx/s1600/Ivan+and+RUby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NLDtjA0wXi39BQPa8v3HGwcKAOvaB4acwO6nE_ee6MGuwXgipUEEcPv8AOhShisfbLugolA3n1Y-c1pAce8oLpSqZYXApGXfKUVolrS5DbezY-Th61Yc3qpGti-u8Pk2pzwGBjupGhSx/s320/Ivan+and+RUby.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's Ivan and Ruby!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tried a lot of new recipes, but here are some favorites that will work their way into the school year, too:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/3363706-Southwestern-Stuffed-Chicken" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Southwestern Stuffed Chicken</span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sweettoothsweetlife.com/2011/04/25/sensational-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stuffed Spaghetti Squash</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Both were SUPER easy and pretty healthy. Bonus: My husband liked them! That is not an easy thing to accomplish!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I spent a lot of time with friends, and am actually having one last "hurrah" before going back to school. What are we doing, you ask? We're having a Pinterest dinner party! Each of us is bringing a dish we found on our beloved Pinterest. I encouraged the girls to bring things that they wanted to try, but knew hubbies might not like. Mine is <span style="line-height: 1.364em;"><a href="http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/mac-and-cheese-roasted-chicken-and-goat-cheese/" style="line-height: 1.364em;" target="_blank">Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Rosemary</a>. I cannot wait!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 1.364em;">Now that summer has come to an end, I promise you will see more of me. I had a hard time thinking of what to blog about when I didn't do anything teacher related. Speaking of which, what are some things you would like to see more posts about? Knowing what you like reading will help me make my blog more of a valuable resource to you, my readers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 1.364em;">By the way...I have officially been a blogger for one year! Woo-hoo!!! Bring on the 2012-2013 school year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 1.364em;">Stay tuned for a post about first week of school ideas!</span></div>
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Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-79135010289252210672012-07-21T00:46:00.000-04:002012-07-22T12:42:43.608-04:00PinAnon<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
Hello. My name is Mrs. P and I am...a Pinterest addict. <br />
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*phew* I am glad that is off my chest! I have a feeling there are a lot more like me out there, though! Am I right?!?</div>
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This summer, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time pinning everything from hair and makeup tips that will hopefully speed up my morning routine, to bento box ideas for lunches (because who doesn't want a more enjoyable lunch?!?). Along with the insane amount of use<strike>less</strike>ful home and lifestyle ideas I have pinned, I have gone absolutely bonkers with school ideas. These range from decor inspiration to actual lessons and teaching methods I want to try out.</div>
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And while I have come across a TON of wonderful ideas, I am at the point of feeling extremely overwhelmed! How on EARTH am I going to implement all of these fantastic ideas in one school year without pulling my hair out (and thus, defeating the purpose of the hair care pins)??? If you are anything like me, you have probably come to the realization that it's just not possible. And, if we are really kindred spirits, your feeling a little bit anxious about it. </div>
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But don't fret, where there is a will there is a way!</div>
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Here is my plan: I am going to pick five ideas (out of the 300 plus I have pinned) to focus on. If they go smoothly, I may add more. Now the tricky part is narrowing all of those ideas down to five...</div>
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You all will be the FIRST ones to know when I make my choices, so stay tuned!</div>
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Now your turn:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tell me at least one idea you have found (on Pinterest or elsewhere) that you will definitely be trying out in your classroom this year. Please provide the link if possible...just in case we would like to pin it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">P.S. I just HAD to share this yummy dinner I made with you (recipe courtesy of...you guessed it...PINTEREST!) It was so easy and SO delicious! <a href="http://www.sweettoothsweetlife.com/2011/04/25/sensational-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to hop over to the blog that it was originally pinned from to try it out for yourself!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stuffed Spaghetti Squash...very low carb and VERY yummy!</span></span></td></tr>
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<br />Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-62414614303898561142012-06-20T22:08:00.001-04:002012-06-20T22:09:05.293-04:00Brain Breaks<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Brain breaks will help kids recharge and refocus!</span></td></tr>
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I was chatting with a good friend (and colleague) of mine about the things we want to try next year. One idea of hers was to periodically give her students a "brain break" throughout class time when she sees they are dragging, or if they have been working diligently for extended periods of time and just need a quick breather. I think this is a great idea for all children, but I also know it will greatly benefit those with attention disorders such as ADD or ADHD. Not only will it let them get rid of some of their energy that they struggle with during lessons and work time, but it will also give their brains a mini-vacation from school (which we all know they desperately need from time to time).</div>
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It might also be a good tool for classroom management. If one were to come up with enough break ideas, they could be written down and placed in a jar. Perhaps a student who stands out as doing an excellent job could pick the next break from the jar and lead it. Or, perhaps they could just name a favorite. With the idea of taking several a day, it's a great way to recognize more than one student as well as provide them with something that isn't gimmicky (like candy, prize box items, etc.). ]</div>
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Here are some break ideas we talked about so far:</div>
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<li>Yoga- do a quick pose or two to help students refocus</li>
<li>1 or 2 minute dance party- throw on some kid friendly music and jam</li>
<li>Silent ball- spend a few minutes playing a quick game where students sit on desks and pass a foam ball around the room. As the name suggests, students don't talk during this game or they are out. </li>
<li>Doodle- Kids love to draw, so let them! Give them 5 minutes to whip out some paper and doodle like crazy. </li>
<li>Simon Says- Play simon says and practice those listening skills! Even though they won't admit it, I am pretty sure the older ones will enjoy this.</li>
<li>Play a game on the white board- not sure what games could incorporate the entire class, but I am sure we'll come up with a few. </li>
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That's all we thought of so far. It's a good start, but I would like a lot of ideas to choose from to keep it interesting. </div>
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Please share any ideas you have, and I will compile them into a list and share it with you at the end of the summer for you to try in your classrooms. If you know anyone who is a creative thinker, or already uses this strategy in their room, please pass along a link to this post...I would love to hear form as many people as possible!</div>
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</div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-17027872068834796512012-06-18T23:14:00.003-04:002012-06-18T23:14:38.448-04:00It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/18/12<br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz1w7jeVOnG" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXbtRIrKudmvkg4GVt2Vria2NYjaf_TTVaIyMkGbLp-J3WscquNpZWqyl3H9kQoFWB2_BHAFwGjdSYT9uLyg4UfWY2mIFxDHqyql8KVyr3Jcp26okBzPMHioNmgrcS5kSbXkuTfQrZ4nt/s1600/Insurgent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXbtRIrKudmvkg4GVt2Vria2NYjaf_TTVaIyMkGbLp-J3WscquNpZWqyl3H9kQoFWB2_BHAFwGjdSYT9uLyg4UfWY2mIFxDHqyql8KVyr3Jcp26okBzPMHioNmgrcS5kSbXkuTfQrZ4nt/s320/Insurgent.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
This week I finished reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth. This was the second book of the DIvergent Trilogy. I feel like Roth really hit her stride with the second book. While the first one was very good, this one was, in my opinion, much better. The only downside is the cliffhanger ending...because now I have to wait with bated breath for the third book to hit shelves. I highly recommend this series if you enjoyed The Hunger Games Trilogy (the BOOKS, not just the movie). However, I think it is more appropriate for an older crowd as it is definitely YA and above in terms of content.<br />
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<a href="http://robynfraser.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/the-lost-hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" id="il_fi" src="http://robynfraser.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/the-lost-hero.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="320" /></a>This week I am going to start working on The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. This book is the first of the Heroes of Olympus series. I am told that although there are new characters, Riordan refers back to the Percy Jackson series and ties it into the new series. I did not finish reading all of those books, so I may have to abandon it if I feel lost...we'll see! What great books are you reading?<br />
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<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JsquP0gehj4?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></center>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-66595250098643256282012-06-12T10:43:00.001-04:002012-06-18T23:05:08.983-04:00It's Monday! What Are You Reading?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtnzPcTTWnYLqX7g5pen9G_0u7aawMcyq5YeDun9_vqp7Fo_eex7wmUc4_JPRrT0pQB5YLJ-GKyPNrU6i97YkE0uEgbFOMee0kUVWNvCUsz5dc7g4G0ZRx9ET_mBLLdx7Pg3lpZbgQUgG/s1600/Mon+Reading+Button+PB+to+YA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtnzPcTTWnYLqX7g5pen9G_0u7aawMcyq5YeDun9_vqp7Fo_eex7wmUc4_JPRrT0pQB5YLJ-GKyPNrU6i97YkE0uEgbFOMee0kUVWNvCUsz5dc7g4G0ZRx9ET_mBLLdx7Pg3lpZbgQUgG/s1600/Mon+Reading+Button+PB+to+YA.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz1w7jeVOnG" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh1p6UEIALHlMk-4ypMuwG89wqZNo5YEQb6BrWrgeOHeWg4_qtA10dTraFQyBoWX0tA6zTP9ketHSa3JR2oi5LLKzRDtVt3iwShkHvT0VfLykehweE0gI8MJF_YD4fJ-qlgbX_qlTDoW1/s1600/out+of+my+mind+jacket_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh1p6UEIALHlMk-4ypMuwG89wqZNo5YEQb6BrWrgeOHeWg4_qtA10dTraFQyBoWX0tA6zTP9ketHSa3JR2oi5LLKzRDtVt3iwShkHvT0VfLykehweE0gI8MJF_YD4fJ-qlgbX_qlTDoW1/s200/out+of+my+mind+jacket_2.jpg" width="150" /></a>Last week marked the end of the school year, which meant I was VERY busy. Cleaning, packing, working on report cards, etc. Needless to say, my reading life took a hit. However, this weekend we threw in a day trip to NYC, so I got a lot of reading done on the bus. I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416971718/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thpodoow-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416971718" target="_blank">Out of My Mind</a> by Sharon Draper. I really enjoyed this book. I saw a lot of similarities between this and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375869026/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thpodoow-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375869026" target="_blank">Wonder </a>by R. J. Palacio.I appreciated the novel's take on students with disabilities, and how much we as educators may underestimate their true abilities. I also enjoyed the realness. Overall, a great read. </div>
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<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MttiM-wzacU?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></center>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-70582816312032451692012-06-11T17:20:00.000-04:002012-06-11T17:20:36.308-04:00Summer Treat for My Bookworms<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
Just wanted to write a quick post to share what I gave my students as their goodbye treat. I sort of tweaked and combined ideas from Pinterest. Each student got a bog of "bookworms" (a.k.a. gummy worms), two freeze pops, and a <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Bookmarks-FREE" target="_blank">bookmark</a>. My parent helper made up the labels for the bookworms which read "Have a cool summer, bookworms! Love, Mrs. P."She also assembled all of the little goodies, and I think they turned out great! I usually don't give "goodbye gifts," but this was a particularly special year for me, so I did. I will definitely be doing this again next year!<br />
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<a href="http://www.somewhatsimple.com/otter-pop-gift/" target="_blank"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Original freeze pop idea</span></a></div>
<a href="http://sweetserendipity23.blogspot.com/2011/03/reading-treats.html" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" target="_blank">Original bookworm idea</a></td></tr>
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Do you have a summer gift you typically give students? I'd love to read about it!</div>
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</div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-29784131579527827832012-06-05T21:32:00.000-04:002012-06-11T17:26:54.812-04:00Summer Reading<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
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It is so hard to say goodbye to our students. We spend so much of our waking hours with them for so many months that they become like family. This year, I decided my teaching wasn't going to end at the sound of the dismissal bell on the last day of school. After chatting with some of my Twitter faves, I decided to facilitate an online Summer Book Club through <a href="http://www.edmodo.com/" target="_blank">Edmodo</a>, a popular educational site than can be likened to Facebook for the classroom. </div>
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I launched the book club by first talking to my kids about how much they can benefit from reading just a few books over the summer. I started cautiously by recommending two to three. Their response was "We can probably read more than that!" Then, I shared a book list that I compiled for them. This list is made up of books I have enjoyed, books I have watched some of them enjoy, and recommendations from my fellow educators. I tried to stray from "classics" because, let's face it, those don't always get kids excited about reading. I wanted books they could relate to and really enjoy.</div>
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Here's my list:</div>
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<a title="View Book List _1 on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/96750021/Book-List-1" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Book List _1</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/96750021/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-ii6qjlkm535zmedwr1x" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="1.2938689217759" scrolling="no" id="doc_62484" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>
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Next, we talked about how to find out more about the books on the list. I showed the students two great sites for book reviews written for kids: <a href="http://www.spaghettibookclub.org/title.php" target="_blank">Spaghetti Book Club</a> and <a href="http://www.kidsreads.com/" target="_blank">KidsReads</a>. I had them look up a few and start making some plans for their summer reading.</div>
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After that, we logged into Edmodo and set up our student accounts. This is really easy for both the teacher and student to do. They were so excited! We made sure to go over some guidelines, first, and then I set them loose! Here are the results so far:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTspQiYX-DinXKqOnaf49yBhsOfZPLAdrYAr_oyLDxCopzv5SiSQzlYRmmt001f7XAS-XGK9ZDsz0VgbL1sePJaEX8sm0osQMnzFenF0JSogAfFN7S14_l9Mn8lRHzKH5_DfrdJf75NuU/s1600/Edmodo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTspQiYX-DinXKqOnaf49yBhsOfZPLAdrYAr_oyLDxCopzv5SiSQzlYRmmt001f7XAS-XGK9ZDsz0VgbL1sePJaEX8sm0osQMnzFenF0JSogAfFN7S14_l9Mn8lRHzKH5_DfrdJf75NuU/s400/Edmodo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I can't wait to chat with them over the summer about their books. Turns out the last day doesn't mean goodbye forever! </div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-989915133170859322012-06-03T12:48:00.000-04:002012-06-03T19:31:06.907-04:00To Fail, Or Not to Fail...<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItwqvXDA1yuVQFhKih_gyURmhBScdVGJ9MBPwRCc0suKGlqfvkR_kgv_W-_Coytngr2h6MpptUpJ0hyphenhyphenJzfRys5Ekx8ePJwZhxXRFGj2PPv1W1Y7ZDt6DwowJkBCh1PyfQTrvJeUYq_StT/s1600/Fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItwqvXDA1yuVQFhKih_gyURmhBScdVGJ9MBPwRCc0suKGlqfvkR_kgv_W-_Coytngr2h6MpptUpJ0hyphenhyphenJzfRys5Ekx8ePJwZhxXRFGj2PPv1W1Y7ZDt6DwowJkBCh1PyfQTrvJeUYq_StT/s200/Fail.jpg" width="159" /></a>Ever since my first year as a teacher, I have been assigning students grades for their class work, homework, tests and quizzes. It is logical to do so, right? After all, I received grades for <b>my </b>work growing up. However, as I do more and more professional reading and networking, my views on the traditional grading system are beginning to shift. This is not a small shift, but an epic, monumental, cosmic shift. One in which I feel like beating my head against a wall and exclaiming "What have I been doing to these poor children for all of these years?!?!?!?"</div>
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If you follow some of the same people as I do on Twitter, or have joined many educational blogs, you may have had the same seed planted in your own brain. The two questions that are battling it out in my brain are these: Are the grades I assign truly providing feedback and inspiring students to learn, grow, and improve? OR Am I simply punishing them?</div>
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These are difficult questions to not only think about, but to try and find answers to. Many teachers that I have spoken with have a very hard time understanding why I am questioning this system. Not only that, but something I often hear is: "But if you don't give grades, how will parents know what their children are struggling with?" What I wonder is this: Do the grades we give really provide parents with accurate information about their child's learning? Not only that, but am I alone in feeling like my time would be better spent giving written or verbal feedback about content of work instead of busying myself with trying to assign a numerical value to it? Not to mention the hours spent entering grades!</div>
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I am not saying this system is "wrong." I am just wondering if it is what is "best" for our children. I dread passing back papers, handing out progress reports and report cards. The look on the faces of some of my students is devastating. If I feel this way, how do THEY feel? </div>
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I don't have the answers when it comes to solving this "problem." However, I do have the desire to think more about it find out as much as I can from others. I encourage you to do the same. If you haven't thought about the way you grade before now, just spend some time reflecting. I am not criticizing anyone. In fact, as my principal often says, "teaching is one of the hardest jobs...to do well." But in order to make sure we are doing the best we can for our students, I think this topic deserves some attention and careful consideration.</div>
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Resources I have found helpful:<br />
<a href="http://schools.esu13.org/bannercounty/Documents/caseagainstzero.pdf" target="_blank">The Case Against the Zero</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.joebower.org/" target="_blank">Teacher Joe Bower's blog</a></div>
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<a href="http://thescamdog.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/school-isnt-like-a-job/" target="_blank">"School Isn't a Job"</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.memory-key.com/improving/strategies/children/homework" target="_blank">"Homework: Is It Worth It?"</a><br />
<a href="http://figuringitouted.blogspot.com/2011/08/grading-practices-that-inhibit-learning.html#" target="_blank">"Grading Practices the Inhibit Learning" </a></div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-89283774589101245182012-05-29T06:30:00.000-04:002012-06-03T19:29:28.233-04:00Guest Blog Post from David Etkin<div>
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<b>I am SUPER excited about today's post. My new Twitter buddy, David Etkin (@davidaetkin), generously agreed to share a post about Reading Partnerships and Clubs once I hit 100 followers.</b></div>
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<b style="color: #38761d;">This is a fantastic idea for making reading in the classroom feel more authentic, as well as making it much more motivating for students than your traditional whole-class novel set up. Thank you, David, for sharing this WONDERful idea and inspiring me to break out of the box and try new things in my own classroom. This is definitely something I will be implementing in the 2012-2013 school year!</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
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<u><b>The Case for Reading
Partnerships and Clubs</b></u></div>
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Forming
reading partnerships and book clubs with young students is challenging. How do
I partner the students—By interest? Reading level? Friend requests? And once
they are in these groups, how do I help them to set reasonable goals? How can I
keep their conversations moving forward? What do I do about the student who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">doesn’t</i> do his reading?</div>
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Surely, there
are many questions. But I’m persevering in my book clubs plan because this I
believe: Some of the most powerful reading we do is partner reading.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(These pictures are the students reading on the first day after they
choose their books. After this first day, reading and preparation is done
independently.)</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I read for
myself all the time. Oftentimes my reading is to find that next great book I
can recommend to a student at just the right time. (And with the <a href="http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Nerdy Book Club</a>,
there are so many options.) But the books that are most memorable to me are the
books I’ve had the opportunity to discuss.</span><br />
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My colleague,
Brent Peterson, and I read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dead End in
Norvelt</i> in partnership. We kept a simple goal of about 100 pages a week (we
were doing other reading, of course) and got together during a free period to
discuss. These were awesome discussions.
[You can follow these links to see our conversations… if you’re <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really </i>interested. <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/dead-end-in-norvelt-conversation-1/">Talk
1</a>. <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/dead-end-in-norvelt-conversation-2-2/">Talk
2</a>. <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/dead-end-in-norvelt-conversation-iii/">Talk
3</a>.] We came prepared with some Post-it notes and lists of things we wanted
to talk about and off we went. The half hour was barely enough time. It was
great how we each brought different ideas and insights to the conversation.
Brent saw things that I never would have on my own. Discussing a book brought
it to life and made it more interesting than it would have been had either of
us read it independently. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Norvelt</i> conversation #3</b></div>
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(Who else would have laughed with me about paraffin wax hands
and deterring deer with bodily functions?)
I think these conversations are why, though the public response to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Norvelt</i> has been lukewarm, Brent and I
liked it so much. You can get more of a summary of our conversation on our <a href="http://wp.me/p21t9O-k6">Nerdy Book Club Blog post</a>.</div>
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Brent and I
also read and discussed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wonder</i> a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lot</i>. And then we started passing it
along to others to read. My mom read it. Then my dad. Then my sister. Then her
book club. Then other reading teachers at my school. Students and their
parents. And we read it aloud to our students. (And finally my wife is reading
it.) And it was like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wonder</i> became
part of the social fabric of my life. It was something I could talk about with
anyone around me. Family dinners were filled with conversation of Auggie and
Daisy and Via. Being able to then <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/skyping-with-wonder-author-rj-palacio/">talk
with the Maker</a> of these characters and this WONDERworld was awesome.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And
this---THIS---is why I want to persist in pushing my students into </span><a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/its-spring-and-were-growing-partnerships/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">partnerships
and clubs</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">. As I’ve told them, book clubs are social opportunities wrapped
around a book. (Hmmm… good pearl analogy there.) I want my students to
experience the joy of a book coming to life. Of understanding a book better </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">together</i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> because they talked about and
cleared up confusions and saw things from different points of view. I want my
students to know the richness of literature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I’m
willing to spend an afternoon with the book partnership/club letters they’ve
written to me (Name; why I would be a good partner to someone else; my
approximate reading level [GRL]; five classmates who would be good partners for
me and why) spread out all over the living room floor or dining room table.
(“Dad, what are you </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">doing</i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">?”)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvw8uz3a36AC0vUhAS0NjdmXQn4_u6KOOCAEmRHjWu4Idac1jlC6oOxlqhKTAnReqDdXW92frIWr1bNKRU2tmrT6vkg9Q4qHBkc_BnEJb5N0nKhfoi1n93C22b8CFnxJhRB1-og0rKdE2B/s1600/organizing+student+letters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvw8uz3a36AC0vUhAS0NjdmXQn4_u6KOOCAEmRHjWu4Idac1jlC6oOxlqhKTAnReqDdXW92frIWr1bNKRU2tmrT6vkg9Q4qHBkc_BnEJb5N0nKhfoi1n93C22b8CFnxJhRB1-og0rKdE2B/s200/organizing+student+letters.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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I’m willing to deal
with a slacker reader/partner who doesn’t come prepared with the reading
complete or Post-it notes ready to discuss. Because I see so many other
students benefiting from rich conversations and thought building that they
wouldn’t have if they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> read
independently.</div>
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I’m looking
forward to next year and getting these partnerships and clubs underway earlier
in the year. We are already discussing how to scaffold them—giving students
smaller texts with which to practice before diving into a novel. I can’t wait
to see my students blossom in their book discussions.</div>
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We have a
great year of book conversations behind us, a better one ahead—and the state of
Book Clubs is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Strong</b>.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your turn:</b></div>
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Have you experienced reading as part of a partnership or
club? How did it add to your reading experience?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">{resources}</b></div>
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Planning bookmark for clubs:</div>
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Evaluation form:</div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Thanks again to David for his great post. Maybe if we leave him lots of comments, he'll do it again for my blogiversary! *crosses fingers* Be sure to check out David's blog, <a href="http://mretome.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Words Read & Words Written</a>, for more great posts like this one!</span></b></div>
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</div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-17867097459069974002012-05-28T00:16:00.000-04:002012-05-28T21:29:52.190-04:00It's Monday. What Are You Reading? 5/28/12<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtnzPcTTWnYLqX7g5pen9G_0u7aawMcyq5YeDun9_vqp7Fo_eex7wmUc4_JPRrT0pQB5YLJ-GKyPNrU6i97YkE0uEgbFOMee0kUVWNvCUsz5dc7g4G0ZRx9ET_mBLLdx7Pg3lpZbgQUgG/s1600/Mon+Reading+Button+PB+to+YA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJtnzPcTTWnYLqX7g5pen9G_0u7aawMcyq5YeDun9_vqp7Fo_eex7wmUc4_JPRrT0pQB5YLJ-GKyPNrU6i97YkE0uEgbFOMee0kUVWNvCUsz5dc7g4G0ZRx9ET_mBLLdx7Pg3lpZbgQUgG/s1600/Mon+Reading+Button+PB+to+YA.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz1w7jeVOnG" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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It has been so long since I have participated in "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?"! It's not because I haven't been reading, but because school is so crazy! Now that things are winding down, I have been able to devote some more time to my blog.</div>
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Anyway, here is what I have read since the last time I posted:</div>
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<u> The Picture Books</u><br />
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Several of these can be found on <a href="http://www.wegivebooks.org/" target="_blank">We Give Books</a>. The others were just random grabs from the library. </div>
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<u> </u></div>
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<u>The Novels</u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweD71Ux6_jAw4SuMyN4Bj3syp3hCVFW1j7UWZB-B4VdlewGvKQSFt56llNFaoNH2IPYf4ulU07DqZ-H1VdFkyC064AyNLj_hlf149-3M6W99xnuwxyktxT4cFzlyTen5gFLWuU190zCHa/s1600/Divergent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweD71Ux6_jAw4SuMyN4Bj3syp3hCVFW1j7UWZB-B4VdlewGvKQSFt56llNFaoNH2IPYf4ulU07DqZ-H1VdFkyC064AyNLj_hlf149-3M6W99xnuwxyktxT4cFzlyTen5gFLWuU190zCHa/s320/Divergent.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy, you should read this trilogy. So good!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWaD2vl6tlti1WIlsSuNOWaxHzpdHjFQq7DlD4yoU7b8GwZhAADZGMHki3q-jHRRf6N-hNrAA_S8Vx8VFxWdWSx3cN2Kgf0QWZs5NOD64ZuznFHtQYtjJVDRvjmX2FFWpRc6B0WnOaPNk/s1600/Matched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWaD2vl6tlti1WIlsSuNOWaxHzpdHjFQq7DlD4yoU7b8GwZhAADZGMHki3q-jHRRf6N-hNrAA_S8Vx8VFxWdWSx3cN2Kgf0QWZs5NOD64ZuznFHtQYtjJVDRvjmX2FFWpRc6B0WnOaPNk/s320/Matched.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another book that was very Hunger Games-esque. Notice a trend in my genre preference as of late?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgdj2MYQbaZfWAJgSugpUGtMMQOZXZ0O3Yuj3RcBrZdxsSeJed0FZc739P4lq2J_A8xKlW68n9UhhCJIPJKVX54WCDqMFGec-PfuokYGx4xuJkEbr4LFMaGY88PfSBfsqb9WoEqDwIwxj/s1600/May.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgdj2MYQbaZfWAJgSugpUGtMMQOZXZ0O3Yuj3RcBrZdxsSeJed0FZc739P4lq2J_A8xKlW68n9UhhCJIPJKVX54WCDqMFGec-PfuokYGx4xuJkEbr4LFMaGY88PfSBfsqb9WoEqDwIwxj/s320/May.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I originally read the sequel first. Both this and <u>The Trouble with May Amelia</u> were great.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqIO6Q9kbY8PGjcChn7MGHXVypEBEOyoAMDvLAU6VtrmZXsgYcLU1u-jWLYOtKeiiBd-lJ8kJTa8lg01lht-UXOx-qLlnCpUJfVGhdQ2ta-RN2ebQgATraH3evNFEDCGHov9aL6m_g2mB/s1600/Reptile+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqIO6Q9kbY8PGjcChn7MGHXVypEBEOyoAMDvLAU6VtrmZXsgYcLU1u-jWLYOtKeiiBd-lJ8kJTa8lg01lht-UXOx-qLlnCpUJfVGhdQ2ta-RN2ebQgATraH3evNFEDCGHov9aL6m_g2mB/s320/Reptile+Room.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I listened to these on CD. Tim Curry did a marvelous job with #1 and #2. I was not as impressed by the author's performances. I am anxious to get to the book where Mr. Curry takes over again.</td></tr>
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<u>Reading This Week</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXbtRIrKudmvkg4GVt2Vria2NYjaf_TTVaIyMkGbLp-J3WscquNpZWqyl3H9kQoFWB2_BHAFwGjdSYT9uLyg4UfWY2mIFxDHqyql8KVyr3Jcp26okBzPMHioNmgrcS5kSbXkuTfQrZ4nt/s1600/Insurgent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXbtRIrKudmvkg4GVt2Vria2NYjaf_TTVaIyMkGbLp-J3WscquNpZWqyl3H9kQoFWB2_BHAFwGjdSYT9uLyg4UfWY2mIFxDHqyql8KVyr3Jcp26okBzPMHioNmgrcS5kSbXkuTfQrZ4nt/s320/Insurgent.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sequel to <u>Divergent</u>. I am reading this one slowly as it will be a long wait for the third and final installment. Check out the book trailer below.</td></tr>
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</div>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-92071417981996541522012-05-26T22:14:00.002-04:002012-06-03T19:29:57.133-04:00My Summer Bucket List<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
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Nine more school days. Wow. I can't believe how fast this year flew by! Although I will be sad to see my lovely fifth graders leave me, I am excited about having time to devote to my family, my friends, and myself. What better way to prepare than to create a Summer Bucket List? I saw this idea on <a href="http://thinkingofteaching.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Thinking of Teaching </a>and decided to join in on the fun.</div>
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So, here are some things I plan on doing this summer:</div>
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have book stacks galore!</td></tr>
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1. Catch up on reading. My "T.B.R." pile on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5769142-reilly?format=html&shelf=to-read" target="_blank">Goodreads </a>is insane. I plan on making a sizable dent in my list. From picture books, chapter books, YA, and even grown up books I will be book-worming it for sure this summer.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginnings of a crocheted version of my dog...so cute!</td></tr>
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2. Crochet. I really enjoyed learning how to crochet over spring break. It is a relaxing way to pass the time, and I was becoming pretty well-versed by the end of break if I do say so myself. I have mostly stuck to amigurumi (translation: crochet animals) like the one above, so I think it would be fun to branch out and try some new, more challenging patterns.</div>
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3.Run a digital book club for my students. As a reading teacher, I am so worried about my kids succumbing to the dastardly "summer slide." To help combat that, I have signed them all up for <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/summer/" target="_blank">Scholastic's Summer Challenge. </a>I am not a huge proponent of tracking how many minutes kids spend reading, BUT if it helps some of them stay on track with their reading progress I am all for it. In addition, I have created a Summer Book Club on <a href="http://www.edmodo.com/" target="_blank">Edmodo</a>. It is my hope that the students will log in to talk to each other (an me!) about what they have been reading, books they recommend, etc. I'll let you know how it goes once we have been underway for a while. </div>
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4. Spend time with my friends. Oh how I miss them during the school year. I am very much looking forward to some quality girl time that doesn't feel rushed because I have to "get up early tomorrow for school."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am a pinning addict!</span></td></tr>
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5. Revamp my classroom. I know it's summer, but when else will I have this much uninterrupted time to make my classroom look amazing??? So, I am going to do a lot of prep ahead of time this year to make my owl theme really pop and come together this year. I have already started pinning...</div>
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6. Work on my book. You may remember that after New Year's I <a href="http://thepolkadotowl.blogspot.com/2012/01/reading-and-writing-resolution.html" target="_blank">posted </a>about my resolutions for 2012. One of those was to begin working on a novel. I have done as I said, but am only on chapter three. I plan to make a lot of headway this summer. I may even work on more than one story as I have a plethora of ideas constantly running through my brain!</div>
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7. Learn how to use Photoshop. You know all of those cute things you see on Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook? I recently found out that a great deal of it can be created on Photoshop. I plan on teaching myself how to create clip art and graphics so that I can make cute things, too! Also, I am dying for a blog makeover and this may be the first step.</div>
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8. Try new recipes. Thanks to Pinterest, I am determined to become a Kitchen Maven. We'll see how it works out... </div>
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That's one tall order, I know, but I have the time to make some headway on all of these exciting things. What are some of your "bucket list" ideas for summer?</div>
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<center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center>Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-21464457099890189292012-05-22T18:46:00.000-04:002012-06-03T19:30:52.374-04:00Thinking Ahead<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, it's that time of year again! Summer is just around the corner and OF COURSE I am already thinking ahead to next year! At the end of every school year, I always reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what I wish I had done over the past ten months. At present, my "Ideas for 2012-2013" list is THREE PAGES LONG! In the past, I have found this list to be so helpful. It helps me to be a better, and less stressed out, teacher. Here are five of the things I am abolishing from my current teaching practices:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. Spelling homework. I hate checking it, my students hate doing it, and it is (in my opinion) completely inauthentic. I would much rather focus on patterns and rules without a set list to memorize, and then assess their ability to apply those skills in their real, every day writing. Bye bye, spelling words...you will NOT be missed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. Fluency Homework. I'm sorry, but do we really want to encourage our kids to race through a piece of reading, completely disregarding its meaning? I don't think this is helping the students become better readers, so sayonara! I will replace it with something more meaningful and interesting, like practicing how to be an interpretive and sharing a read aloud section with the class. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3. Name tags. I know they are cute, but by December they look revolting. They are picked at, peeling off, and collecting eraser scraps underneath of them. Ew. Besides, I have two classes, so the desks aren't really the students' anyway. I will also really not miss how long it took to laminate, label, and adhere them to the desks with contact paper at the beginning of the year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4. Preset consequences.Currently my clip chart (which I would get rid of completely if it wasn't school-wide) has labels indicating a 5 minute loss of recess for "Warning," and all recess lost, plus filling out a reflection sheet, for "Consequence." This is nonsense. Losing recess a few hours after committing a "classroom crime," is not effective. Students nees immediate logical consequences that align with their infraction. Instead, there will be no more consequences for being on "Warning" (after all...it IS a warning) and it will be "Teacher's Choice" when once earns a consequence. To me, this just makes more sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5. A while back, I posted about our current "<a href="http://thepolkadotowl.blogspot.com/2011/10/shoot-for-three.html" target="_blank">Shoot for Three</a>" system for BCRs. In theory, I guess it is a good idea. However, it becomes a hassle to keep up with and creates more competition than it improves BCRs. As promised, this blog is about what works and what doesn't...and I am letting you know that for me and my classroom, this idea is no longer working. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And because I don't feel bad about getting rid of these things (and because I love the 80s!), this is my official goodbye to the stuff I won't be missing much!<br /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There are a ton more, considering I am by no means a perfect teacher. But this is what I love about my job! I am constantly learning and striving to improve. More posts to come about what I will be adding and revamping, so stay tuned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, what things are you planning on canning for the 2012-2013 school year?</span><br />
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<br />Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965425307697569033.post-88019442345048226422012-05-12T08:00:00.000-04:002012-05-28T21:30:27.822-04:00Happy Bloggy Birthday, Jen and Kellee!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am so excited to be a part of Jen and Kellee's blog birthday celebration! <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/" target="_blank">Teach Mentor Texts</a> is a great blog for sharing books for both personal enjoyment and classroom use. I got to know both Jen and Kellee through Twitter (and if you don't already follow them, you should!). We have had lots of great "chats" about great books and reading/writing workshop. So, when I was invited to help them celebrate their blog's second birthday, I readily accepted the invitation!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My book choice is actually a newer book that I have found a lot of uses for this year. That book is (my new favorite!) The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061992259/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thpodoow-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061992259" target="_blank">One and Only Ivan</a> by Katherine Applegate. If you have been on Twitter since the book was released, you know if has been getting a lot of love from teachers and students across the country. I used it as a read aloud in my class, but also to teach various skills in both reading and writing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First of all, this book totally hooked my kids. They loved the idea that it would be a quick read (there is a great deal of white space on the pages since it is a novel written verse). Also, the main characters are animals, which meant that almost every child could connect to the book. Finally, the language Katherine Applegate uses to tell Ivan's story is simply beautiful. She creates pictures with her words that are so vivid and detailed. That being said, it was a great book to revisit the important strategy of visualizing. My students were allowed to doodle what they pictured in their minds as they read. One student then took it a step further and added colors to her picture of Ivan's "domain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We also spent a lot of time talking about figurative language like similes and metaphors. This was a great way to discuss how interpret such language (we paraphrased the author's meaning into our own words), as well as how to use it in our own writing (we referred back to Ivan as we worked on poems in our poetry unit). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another great use for this book is discussing static and dynamic characters as there are examples of both in the story. This lead us to also discuss types on conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, etc.). Further more, we spent time identifying how the author shifted from the present to the past and the importance of using the past to help explain the story. Lots of great opportunities for digging deeper into story structure (beyond your basic characters, stetting, plot, blah blah blah...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We also spent some time talking about author's viewpoint (or opinion). It is not difficult to figure out how Katherine Applegate feels about animals held in captivity, or how she feels about humans who mistreat animals. She uses her characters words and actions to make that clear. The students did such a great job pinpointing character words, actions, and story events that were examples of the author expressing her feelings without directly stating them to the reader. A lot of them began emulating this in their own opinion pieces about whether or not bubblegum should be allowed in school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What I found most fascinating was how the students were able to write about the story and recall information without even having the text directly in front of them. This was a great way for the students to practice summarizing and paraphrasing without them even knowing it! It also helped improve their listening comprehension. There were just TONS of different mini lessons that were easily tied into this wonderful story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There are not words to describe how much I enjoyed Ivan, but I loved it even more after sharing it with my students and seeing them gain so much from it. We had rich discussions about human nature, society, animal rights, and character traits. I know this is a story that will stay with my students as they often refer back to it. In response journals about independent reading, I often come across sentences such as "This reminds of when ____ happened in The One and Only Ivan", or "I think ______ is a lot like Stella because..." It is fantastic to see the students hold on to a book and carry it with them long after our work with it is done. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you have not already shared this wonderful book with your students, I hope you decide to. I am more than happy to add some ideas for more uses in both reading and writing as I am STILL thinking of some that I would like to add in next year.</span><br />Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12978515359993285402noreply@blogger.com0