http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/search/label/christmas
doesn't have to be holiday colors
Showing posts with label Primary Grades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Primary Grades. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
How to blow a bubble
This would be a great lesson after how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich.
How to Blow a Bubble!
I first must say this was not my original idea; it was floating around Proteacher and I thought I'd give it a try. Prior to this assignment, I modeled "how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" emphasizing "how to" words like first, next, then, finally. While I was modeling this, I was actually making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so when the kids told me to put the bread together, I put it together facing the wrong way at first and they learned that they need to give specific directions :) The next day I gave all my kiddos a piece of Double Bubble bubble gum. Then I had them draft a "how to blow a bubble" step by step guide. After I checked it over, I gave them fancy final draft paper. The kids made their heads using small paper plates and construction paper for hair. I then let them choose a balloon and I blew them up a little bit (too hard for the kids to do and exhausting for me!) then taped them onto their paper plates (a lot of tape). I'm hoping when I go back to school on Monday the taped held up :D
P.S. I just realized that I have 2 white balloon near each other and I'm so OCD about things like that, so I'll have to move one of them on Monday. LOL
How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Today we analyzed the winter district writing assessment with the students. This is a lesson that helps with writing in logical order and including transitions. Might be perfect for the beginning of the year.
Thanks to http://msdurning.blogspot.com/search/label/writing
In January I focus on procedural writing. The best way to learn is by doing, I think, anyways :) Last week each student wrote a "how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" guide, which can be found here. Today the students were given somebody elses guide and had to follow the directions to make the sandwich. Can I just say they LOVED this?! They also learned that it's important to be very precise when you are giving somebody directions!
Thanks to http://msdurning.blogspot.com/search/label/writing
In January I focus on procedural writing. The best way to learn is by doing, I think, anyways :) Last week each student wrote a "how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" guide, which can be found here. Today the students were given somebody elses guide and had to follow the directions to make the sandwich. Can I just say they LOVED this?! They also learned that it's important to be very precise when you are giving somebody directions!
I gave each student a dixie cup with peanut butter and jelly to make it easy.
Following the steps...
As the students were following the steps they made comments on ways the writer could have been more specific. What a great way to provide feedback!
And.... the best part... EATING it!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
applesauce
Criss-cross applesauce,
Give a little clap. (clap hands)
Criss-cross applesauce, Put them in my lap. (put hands in lap)
Criss-cross applesauce, Quiet as can be.
Criss-cross applesauce, Eyes on me. (point to self)
Criss-cross applesauce, Put them in my lap. (put hands in lap)
Criss-cross applesauce, Quiet as can be.
Criss-cross applesauce, Eyes on me. (point to self)
The Rainbow Fish
-Beginning of the year they read “The Rainbow Fish”, and make a cut out of a giant rainbow fish. Hand out a blank scale and tell the children to decorate it. When they finish put it on the fish cut-out. finish and hang in the room
. They talk about how they may all be different, but they still go together to make a whole fish and classroom
Guess how many?
Put Legos or favorite candy, and then the students get to estimate how much might be in the jar!
Have the a student count and put it in there
Speaking Stone/Stick
- Speaking stone/object
o In the circle time, the only person who can talk is the person with the speaking stone/object
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Inferring for meaning with poetry
Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky by Georgia Heard
Choose 6 poems that could lend themselves best to dramatic interpretation and copy them onto chart paper.
Together as a class read them several times.
"Think carefully about the poems we just read. Which one is the most interesting to you? Which one makes you think? Hmm.... what is the poem really about? Choose one you'd like to understand better"
"Once you've decided, go to the peom you want to learn more about. Take it with you and find a place in the room you can work well. You'll have about fifteen minutes to build on each other's ideas and figure out how your group can best interpret the peom you've chosen."
Figure 8.6 what the worksheet could look like
*Integrate Writing*
Children saw this activity as a way to construct riddles. They decided to write a poem together and send it home to see if their parents could figure out what they were describing.
*Integrate into the community*
Have each child write a riddle. Post it in the hallway allowing other students to try and infer what the poems are about. After a week or so, children wrote their titles of the poems.
Reading With Meaning chapter 8
Choose 6 poems that could lend themselves best to dramatic interpretation and copy them onto chart paper.
Together as a class read them several times.
"Think carefully about the poems we just read. Which one is the most interesting to you? Which one makes you think? Hmm.... what is the poem really about? Choose one you'd like to understand better"
"Once you've decided, go to the peom you want to learn more about. Take it with you and find a place in the room you can work well. You'll have about fifteen minutes to build on each other's ideas and figure out how your group can best interpret the peom you've chosen."
Figure 8.6 what the worksheet could look like
*Integrate Writing*
Children saw this activity as a way to construct riddles. They decided to write a poem together and send it home to see if their parents could figure out what they were describing.
*Integrate into the community*
Have each child write a riddle. Post it in the hallway allowing other students to try and infer what the poems are about. After a week or so, children wrote their titles of the poems.
Reading With Meaning chapter 8
Friday, September 30, 2011
Colorful Book Tubs
In the past I have seen teachers organize their book tubs by color. So all the kids in the green reading group have a green folder and they shop from the green book tubs which are marked with a green sticker.
My first reaction to that was that's organized.... but what happens when they move up or down in a reading group? Do you change out the folder?? Does that get messy and how much time does that take?
Also, if the kids know what book tubs they can choose out of based on the color of their folder do they every get to find a 'just right book' on their own?
My first reaction to that was that's organized.... but what happens when they move up or down in a reading group? Do you change out the folder?? Does that get messy and how much time does that take?
Also, if the kids know what book tubs they can choose out of based on the color of their folder do they every get to find a 'just right book' on their own?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Think aloud. Text-to-Text Connections
Day 1
After they understand text-to-self connection introduce text-to-text connections.
Read Oliver Button by Tomie dePaola
Talk through the text together, making connections about teasing, bullies, talent shows, and moms and dads.
Day 2
Read Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
When you get to the part where Raj tells Grace she can't be Peter Pan because she isn't a boy... stop reading and put the book down and think aloud.
Connect it to Oliver Button Is a Sissy
The boys made fun of him because he loved to dance. I'm thinking Grace and Oliver are alike in some ways.
Neither one of the charaters gav up
Explain when readers do what you do and make a connection form a book they are reading to a book they have read before they are making a text-to-text connection.
You use connections from one book to help you understand the new story and making predictions about what may happen based on what you know from the other story
When it gets to the part where the class meets for audtions, put the book down.
Make the prediction that Grace will be Peter Pan in the play, because I remember Oliver Button practiced and practice just like Grace did.
After the book is read, ask the class what they noticed me doing when I stopped to make text-to-text connections
Create a Venn Diagram to compate features (characters) between the text.
*Debbie Miller, Reading with Meaning.
After they understand text-to-self connection introduce text-to-text connections.
Read Oliver Button by Tomie dePaola
Talk through the text together, making connections about teasing, bullies, talent shows, and moms and dads.
Day 2
Read Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
When you get to the part where Raj tells Grace she can't be Peter Pan because she isn't a boy... stop reading and put the book down and think aloud.
Connect it to Oliver Button Is a Sissy
The boys made fun of him because he loved to dance. I'm thinking Grace and Oliver are alike in some ways.
Neither one of the charaters gav up
Explain when readers do what you do and make a connection form a book they are reading to a book they have read before they are making a text-to-text connection.
You use connections from one book to help you understand the new story and making predictions about what may happen based on what you know from the other story
When it gets to the part where the class meets for audtions, put the book down.
Make the prediction that Grace will be Peter Pan in the play, because I remember Oliver Button practiced and practice just like Grace did.
After the book is read, ask the class what they noticed me doing when I stopped to make text-to-text connections
Create a Venn Diagram to compate features (characters) between the text.
*Debbie Miller, Reading with Meaning.
Think aloud. Text-to-self connections
Day 1
What is schema?
Thinking about what you already know- using background knowledge- stuff that is already inside your head, like places you have been, things you have done, books you have read--> All the experiences you have had that make up who you are and what you know and believe to be true
Many ways readers use schema, today we are going to talk about using schema to make connectoins from our reading, or the text, to ourselves-- text-to-self connection. When you make connections when you read, it's kind of like having a conversation in going on in your head.
Read The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, and tell the students you'll stop and think out loud to show you how I use my schema, or what I already know to make connections from my life to the story. I'm going to let you know what is going on insdie my head while I'm reading the story out loud to you.
Model
"What did you notice?"
Day 2- 6
Model text-to-self connections
Julie Brinkloe's Fireflies
Gloria Houston's My GreatAunt Arizona
Share your connections and allow children to start to share theirs.
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Start to script and chart their responses and allow them to put their name by it.
Start to explain how some connections help us better understand the text than others before irrelevent responses get to be the norm.
Day 7
Difference between connections that help us with our reading and the ones that don't.
Do a read aloud and you'll write down connections in a notebook, and after school you'll put them on chart paper, and we'll work with them tomorrow. Tomorrow We'll figure out which ones help us the most.
Read Hazal's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells
Day 8
Ask the class how we are going to mark the ones that were helpful, and the responses that did not help us make connectins?
Examine the charted responses. If a child thinks a response should be helpful ask them to explain their thinking.
"What can we learn from all the thinking we just did?"
Day 9
Before reading aloud Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber, tell the kids to keep their connections inside their heads.
Once the story is over they will get into groups, share their connections, and decide on which one helped them make the most connection. They'll use butcher paper on the floor to draw and/or write that connection.
informally assess- Are children makking real connections to the story? Do they understand how these connections help them? What kind of language do they use when they talk to each other in small groups?
30ish minutes later have the students form a circle on the carpet and put the butcher paper in the middle the one on top explains their connections.
Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller
What is schema?
Thinking about what you already know- using background knowledge- stuff that is already inside your head, like places you have been, things you have done, books you have read--> All the experiences you have had that make up who you are and what you know and believe to be true
Many ways readers use schema, today we are going to talk about using schema to make connectoins from our reading, or the text, to ourselves-- text-to-self connection. When you make connections when you read, it's kind of like having a conversation in going on in your head.
Read The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, and tell the students you'll stop and think out loud to show you how I use my schema, or what I already know to make connections from my life to the story. I'm going to let you know what is going on insdie my head while I'm reading the story out loud to you.
Model
"What did you notice?"
Day 2- 6
Model text-to-self connections
Julie Brinkloe's Fireflies
Gloria Houston's My GreatAunt Arizona
Share your connections and allow children to start to share theirs.
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Start to script and chart their responses and allow them to put their name by it.
Start to explain how some connections help us better understand the text than others before irrelevent responses get to be the norm.
Day 7
Difference between connections that help us with our reading and the ones that don't.
Do a read aloud and you'll write down connections in a notebook, and after school you'll put them on chart paper, and we'll work with them tomorrow. Tomorrow We'll figure out which ones help us the most.
Read Hazal's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells
Day 8
Ask the class how we are going to mark the ones that were helpful, and the responses that did not help us make connectins?
Examine the charted responses. If a child thinks a response should be helpful ask them to explain their thinking.
"What can we learn from all the thinking we just did?"
Day 9
Before reading aloud Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber, tell the kids to keep their connections inside their heads.
Once the story is over they will get into groups, share their connections, and decide on which one helped them make the most connection. They'll use butcher paper on the floor to draw and/or write that connection.
informally assess- Are children makking real connections to the story? Do they understand how these connections help them? What kind of language do they use when they talk to each other in small groups?
30ish minutes later have the students form a circle on the carpet and put the butcher paper in the middle the one on top explains their connections.
Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller
Friday, September 23, 2011
Farmer Brown, developing a character
Thanks one extra degree!
Then, I had the kiddos re-read previously read books from my classroom library to get reacquainted with characters. They were armed with Post-It notes to jot down what they noticed about the characters' actions and character traits. I gave them ten minutes to think and jot... then I asked them to find a partner. The partners shared what they found about their characters, decided which character would help them create the most descriptive character description, and then worked together to practice writing one. Each student was responsible for recording the description in their Writer's Notebook to refer back to in the future. Dare I say it? Even though I am missing UofS right now, I actually enjoyed the lesson!
Then, I had the kiddos re-read previously read books from my classroom library to get reacquainted with characters. They were armed with Post-It notes to jot down what they noticed about the characters' actions and character traits. I gave them ten minutes to think and jot... then I asked them to find a partner. The partners shared what they found about their characters, decided which character would help them create the most descriptive character description, and then worked together to practice writing one. Each student was responsible for recording the description in their Writer's Notebook to refer back to in the future. Dare I say it? Even though I am missing UofS right now, I actually enjoyed the lesson!
Writing with 5 senses
Thank you Create*Teach*Share
Read
Bring pancakes to school. Before they eat brainstorm adjectives to describe how they looked, smelled, and sounded. Then I let them eat them with their fingers. While they ate they called out adjectives that described how the pancakes felt and tasted. I kept a chart on the board with the 5 senses and the adjectives that my students came up with.
Shopping Bookmarks!
Several of the teachers use bookmarks similar to these to keep track of where their books are.
At the begining of the year each child gets two of these. The kids are taught that when they go shopping for books they use these bookmarks to remember what book goes in what bin. It also helps the teacher see who has a book out. When the kids go back to put their books up they will be able to read the label or picture, decide which of their two books would fit that category and they stick it back in there and take their bookmark out.
Fun Things!
That is a plastic red balloon. Underneath the red balloon there sits a basket. The kids were always asking, "Where do I turn this in?" so now she says turn your papers/folders in under the red balloon.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Book Tubs
I have seen some teachers take photos of the students on back to school night or the first day of school. They will then laminate them and cut them out (6 pictures to a piece of paper- smaler). They then tape them to the book tubs so students can identify their box.
When I came into 2nd grade the 3rd week of school her book tubs were pictureless with only an index card taped conservativly on the book tub. The index cards contained one name of a student that the teacher wrote.
My thoughts were well... maybe she didn't have time or didn't like the picture idea.
But then... I saw that she had a purpose for only having index cards there written in her hand writing.
Come to find out once a week she randomly does a book tub check.
Prior to the book tub check she goes over how to handle the books and what a book tub should look like.
During her weekly book tub check she'll take note of anybody whose book tubs look neat and organized and follow the norms they have set for the book tub boxes.
If the students have passed two book tub checks she allows them to write their name on an index card and stick it on there replacing the teacher made one. (I would also let them use one or two stickers to decorate the index card)
Then if they pass two more book tub checks after they have written their index card they get to take a picture have it laminated and it goes on their book tub boxes.
I thought this was a great reward system (although I don't typically like reward systems) it also allows them to take ownership in their book tub boxes and in return they'll take better care of the books.
When I came into 2nd grade the 3rd week of school her book tubs were pictureless with only an index card taped conservativly on the book tub. The index cards contained one name of a student that the teacher wrote.
My thoughts were well... maybe she didn't have time or didn't like the picture idea.
But then... I saw that she had a purpose for only having index cards there written in her hand writing.
Come to find out once a week she randomly does a book tub check.
Prior to the book tub check she goes over how to handle the books and what a book tub should look like.
During her weekly book tub check she'll take note of anybody whose book tubs look neat and organized and follow the norms they have set for the book tub boxes.
If the students have passed two book tub checks she allows them to write their name on an index card and stick it on there replacing the teacher made one. (I would also let them use one or two stickers to decorate the index card)
Then if they pass two more book tub checks after they have written their index card they get to take a picture have it laminated and it goes on their book tub boxes.
I thought this was a great reward system (although I don't typically like reward systems) it also allows them to take ownership in their book tub boxes and in return they'll take better care of the books.
Work Stations
Each work station must have their own table spot! Every day when it is work stations time the magnetic letters will always go to the same place.
*might consider labeling the spot with a picture of the work station
*might consider labeling the spot with a picture of the work station
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Writing Folders
I also like it when all the students writing folders are the same color.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)