Reading in the Wild {Summer Book Study}

Happy day, friends!

Today I am joining with several dozen bloggers to invite you to an awesome summer book study showcasing Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild!

An amazing reader and teacher, Miller's first book, The Book Whisperer, shares her experiences in middle grades classrooms and how she has fostered a love of reading in her students. Her classroom is INSPIRING! The book is so down-to-earth, a fast read, and filled with simple (but powerful) ways to create a culture of reading in your classroom. In The Book Whisperer, Millers leaves you with her frustration - students leaving her classroom loving reading but faced with future teachers that do not share Donalyn's enthusiasm for reading. Gradually, her students leave the practice of daily, just-because reading.

Here enters, Donalyn's second book, Reading in the Wild. This books acts as a follow-up to the first and discusses how to foster a love of reading that is lifelong and sustainable...even when a passionate teacher is not present. As a 5th grade teacher, this is powerful to me. How do I structure reading and sharing opportunities that set the foundation for life-long reading? Reading in the Wild address this question!

I would love for you to join us! You can click here or the image below to grab your copy.

So friends, are you in??



Hocus Pocus…Keep Them Focused!- Part 2

We all know teachers are magic, but it seems that this time of year, our magical powers need a little extra umph and a maybe even an ABRACADABRA to get us to that last day of school!  So, I teamed up with some amazing intermediate bloggers to create some magic of our own!  You may recall that a couple of weeks ago, we joined forces to swap some of our favorite resources, armed with the goal of putting a little extra magic in our lessons and keeping our students engaged during these final weeks of the school year.

Credit goes to these talented graphic & font artists: Krista Wallden, KG Fonts & CC Fonts.

As promised, we’re all back today with Part 2 of our blog hop giveaway – the big reveal – viola!

I am so excited to share with you the product that I used in my classroom this week.  I swapped products with Kelly Benefield from Teaching Fourth.  I used her Spring Themed Graphic Organizers to keep my students focused and help prepare them for the BIG state assessment they will take next week.

Here is a look at how I used two of the graphic organizers found in this packet with my students.  

First, we read an AMAZING story from Storyworks Magazine called Good Enough.  It is a sweet story about a girl that REALLY wants a name brand shirt, so she will fit in with the girls at her school.  Her father is out of work, so her family can not afford the expensive shirt.  However, for her birthday, she receives a "fake" or "knock off" version of the shirt.  Of course, she is embarrassed and ashamed of the shirt and does not want to wear it to school.  In the end of the story, Dori, the main character, learns that material things are not important.  :)

So, the students worked in small groups to read the story and discuss it.  I used two graphic organizers from Kelly's pack to help the students review some of the literature standards.  The students worked on identifying the characters, setting, the events that make up the plot, and the theme of the story.  Kelly's Plot Mountain graphic organizer reviewed all of these skills.

After completing the Plot Mountain, the students completed another graphic organizer to determine the character traits of the main character, Dori.  The students had to analyze the text to determine a character trait based on the character's actions and the words of the character.

Here is a look at a couple of my student samples.

I was SO pleased with the work my students did and the way they were able to take apart the text using these organizers to pinpoint key details.  The students loved the activities as well.  In fact, I teach two classes of ELA and both groups commented about much fun they had in class.  Music to a teacher's ears….the kids were engaged, learning took place, and the final products were FAB-U-LOUS!  Thanks to Kelly for an AWESOME product!

Now to our second round of magic giveaway!  We decided to switch things up a bit by having several winners this time around!   In fact, 14 classrooms will receive a little magic for their own classrooms!  Each of the blogs featured below will be giving their prize to a different winner!

So, perhaps you want to know what MY winner will collect!  Whoever is drawn as the winner from my blog will receive my Flippin' through the Common Core- Flip Flaps for Reading Interactive Notebooks.
If you would like to see how these can be used in the classroom, check out Kelly's blog post.

Here’s what you need to do for this giveaway:

Stop by each blog to read about all the magic that has been spread around classrooms near and far!

Enter to win each blogger’s resource using the raffle below.  Each blog is showcasing the same Rafflecopter, so you can just add entries as you go! 

While you are at each blog, if you’re not a blog follower already, sign on to follow!  (You can earn bonus entries for following all blogs once you unlock the additional entries.)

Again, a total of 14 winners will be named!   Each blog will award a winner.  That individual will receive the prize listed at that blog!

Here’s the list of blogs to visit: 

Swap Stop A

Swap Stop B 

Swap Stop C 

Swap Stop D 

Swap Stop E 

Swap Stop F 

Swap Stop G 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Well, friends, here’s the blogosphere sending a little magic your way this May! :)

Hocus Pocus...Keep Them Focused!

We all know that teachers have magic powers.  From eyes in the back of our heads to super-sonic hearing, we are a talented bunch, I tell you!  But this time of year, spring fever has hit, and with the end of the year in sight, we all need a little extra magic to keep us going!  So, in the next few weeks, I’m joining with my favorite intermediate teachers to put a little extra magic in our lessons and keep students engaged.

Credit goes to these talented graphic & font artists: Krista Wallden, KG Fonts & CC Fonts.

We will be swapping resources that will be just what we need to keep our students engaged during the final weeks of school.  We want to share our finds with you in a fun way – a 2-part blog hop giveaway!

Today, we present Part 1, with each blogger introducing the resource they selected to keep their friends engaged and learning in our final weeks together.  Then, over the course of the next two weeks, we will be using these resources in our classrooms.  On Sunday, May 11, we’ll be back to report on how well these resources kept our students engaged!

As we wrap of the school year and prepare for the state assessment, I will be reviewing the standards that I have taught this year.  I am excited to incorporate Kelly's Spring Themed Graphic Organizers. I know the kids are really going to enjoy using these attractive organizers as they review.  It will certainly make a daunting task a little more fun and engaging.  :)

 

 

Now to the giveaway!  Here’s what you need to do:

Stop by each blog below to check out the resources being swapped.

Enter to win the resource that is featured at each blog in the raffle below (the same raffle is at each blog, so you can just add to your entries as you go!).

While you are at each blog, if you’re not a blog follower already, sign on to follow!  (You can earn bonus entries for following all blogs once you unlock the additional entries.)

One winner will receive the entire set of resources being featured by ALL collaborating bloggers!

Here’s the list of blogs to visit: 

Swap Stop A

Swap Stop B 

Swap Stop C 

Swap Stop D 

Swap Stop E 

Swap Stop F 

Swap Stop G 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Finally, don’t forget to stop back in two weeks!   On Sunday, May 11, we’ll all be back to share with you how the magic went in our classrooms!  Oh yeah, you might want to know that that there will be a SECOND GIVEAWAY, too!  Until then, enjoy the magic and happy teaching.  :)

Spring Break….Relaxing and Creating!

I have been on Spring Break this week and have enjoyed every minute of it.  I have been reading professional books and blogs about Daily 5.  I think I am going to dive into that next year.  I tried to implement it a few years ago, but we were in the process of adopting the Common Core Standards, and I really was overwhelmed.  After teaching the CCSS for three years now, I feel much more prepared for implementing it in my classroom.  
I am still in the planning stages, but one TpT product that I know that will be perfect for the Work on Writing rotation is Joey Udovich's Interactive Writing Center.  I bought it earlier this year and have used it with my kids.  They LOVE it!  They can work independently and a writing of their choice.  So, I am SUPER excited that I already have that in place and ready to go for next year!  If you have not seen this product, I HIGHLY recommend that you check it out!  It's adorable and effective!  What more can you ask for?  If you want to read more about it, you can check out her blog post here.  

If you are a 3rd-5th grade teacher that implements Daily 5 in your classroom, I would love to know what works for you.  Do you have any great products, like Joey's, that you have purchased or created that work well with Daily 5? Have you read a valuable blog post that you think does a great job explaining Daily 5?  Please leave your comments, ideas, etc. for all of the intermediate teachers out there that are implementing or just thinking about implementing Daily 5 in the classroom.  I know we would all appreciate it!  ;)  

Okay, if you have stayed with me, I have a freebie that I have created to share with you, as well.  I have been looking for ways to motivate my students to read books other than fiction (mostly realistic fiction).  Although, realistic fiction is great, I want them to branch out and read different genres.  In order to promote reading across the genres, I created a "challenge" of sorts to motivate them.  I plan to start this once we return from the break.  

Here is how it works:  

1)   Print the bookmarks on cardstock and laminate them. Give students the bookmarks and a copy of the reading log for tracking reading. 

2)   As students read books from the different genres, they should record their books and the genres on the reading log.

3)   Once a student has read a book from each genre listed on the bookmark, he/she will give the reading log to you.  If you use Accelerated Reader or similar program, you can verify if the student took the AR tests over the books. 

4)   Reward your students with the included certificate, and you may want to offer a prize of some sort.  I will probably offer a homework pass, candy, and a little something else, as well.  Also, I have included a header for a bulletin board and little tags. The students can put their names on the tag for the bulletin board. So, my students can join the "Reading Across the Genres" Wall of Fame.  Kids love to see their names on the wall.  

5)   Repeat over and over!  The file offers all pages (with the exception of

the reading log) in both color and black and white for your printing convenience.  

If you would like to download this freebie, visit my TpT store.  

Let me know your thoughts on Daily 5 (which I think will be more like Daily 3 in my classroom) and I would love feedback on the freebie!  

Happy Thursday!

Go Big Blue!!!! C-A-T-S…CATS! CATS! CATS!

The UK Wildcats are going to the Championship game and you score!  Click here to check it out! 

While you are visiting TpT, check out Krista Wallden's 10,000 followers giveaway!  Ten days of her favorite things.  

UK heading to the Championship game, free clipart from Krista Wallden, and I'm on Spring Break!  Does it get any better than that?