Compare and Contrast

So... last April I was very fortunate and got to attend a teacher conference at The Ron Clark Academy. I was inspired in soooooo many ways of all the exciting things that were happening at the Ron Clark school. I was so anxious to take a few ideas back to my classroom to help keep students engaged and make learning so MUCH fun. However, when I returned from Ron Clark at 9 months pregnant, I figured it probably wasn't the smartest, nor safest thing, to teach while standing on a table! So this was the week I started.... and let me tell you the kids LOVED it.... well after they looked at me kinda crazy and asked why I was standing on a table. Anyway, sorry for that quick tangent.

Another week of October has come and gone with a blink of an eye. This week we learned a lot about comparing and contrasting, and with Halloween quickly approaching we tied in a favorite book by everyone, Stellaluna.

After learning all about bats last week, students did a great job comparing and contrasting bats and birds. In the beginning of the week, I asked my kiddos how the two animals were different and there were maybe only one or two responses. However, at the of the week each student was able to recall several ways that they are similar and different.

Here is our Venn-diagram that showed how bats and birds were similar and different:

Then each student had to fill out their own chart of how bats and birds were different in specific categories: 

Bats and birds were not the only thing students had to compare and contrast this week. Students also had to compare and contrast their Halloween costume with a friend's Halloween costume. They then wrote a narrative piece on their Halloween costume. We learned how to use a graphic organizer to help get our thoughts down for our writing. Here is a picture of our graphic organizer that we used:

Lastly, in the spirit of Halloween and nonfiction  we did a little reading about spiders!! Scholastic had a great article this month on spiders where we learned some creepy facts and all about their different body parts.

Today, we did a little creative project where students were able to create a spider and then write 8 "th" words (spelling pattern for the week) on each of their spider's legs. 

Thanks for tuning in to this blog post and look back again soon for another week of great learning! 

Bats

Meet my co-author for this blog post: Ansleigh Marie!

October is such a fun month in our classroom for many reasons. One of my favorite reasons is our connection with reading and Halloween. Over the month of October we do a big study on nonfiction texts.

We started out our month-long nonfiction study on bats. At the beginning of the week our class used our "schema" to make an anchor chart on our prior knowledge of bats. As the week went on we looked at various nonfiction sources to learn more about bats. As we looked at every different source we added to our anchor chart. Throughout the week we focused on 3 vocabulary words:
echolocation

 wingspan

and nocturnal

Some of the sources we used are:

1. Books

2. Scholastic News Article

3. Bat reading passage and questions

4. And a kid favorite video on Echolocation. Be sure to check it out, but one warning it is quite catchy. I caught myself singing it a few times around the house this week!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-Y2Tt8gFE

As the week conclude our anchor chart became quite full. During this week students jotted down their own facts they had been learning about bats and created their own "All About Bats" fact sheet. On Friday they each LOVED creating their own bat book! It was a fun week full of bats.

Here are a few examples of our first grade hall full of bats!

Tune in next week for another update on our classroom learning!

Fall Weather

I'm not sure about you but after this past weekend of crisp Georgia temperatures, I am ready for fall weather! Unfortunately, looking at the weather this week, these cool temperatures are not planning on staying with us quite yet. Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons. One of the big reasons is football, but others include:  crockpot dinners, crinkling leaves, pumpkin patches, and hot flavored coffee drinks, oh yes and don't let me forget BOOTS! Even Ansleigh was ready for fall this weekend with her attire! :)

Confession: I am writing this part of the blog a weekend later and the cool fall temps have left us.With September passing by quickly our class dove right into a fall unit. This past week we did a mini unit on Johnny Appleseed. We started out with tasting three types of apples: red, green, and yellow. Then we created a class graph based on our favorite type of Apples. The next day we watched a Brainpop Jr video on Johnny, where we learned many tall tales about him. After that we created an anchor chart with facts about Johnny. Last, each student wrote their own facts and created their own Johnny Appleseed! All in all it was a big hit and the kids loved tasting, learning and writing about Johnny Appleseed!

 

If you are interested in having your class complete the apple graph check out my TPT site for a copy of the activity! MY TPT Website

 

 

Summer Blues Turned Into Guided Reading

I don't know if any of you have seen the recent article on Facebook entitled "If you send a girl to Target," but it is hysterical and so true in my life. It is modeled after the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and talks about how if you send a girl into Target with one or two things to buy, she is going to come out purchasing several other things that weren't on her list. Here is the link to the article so you can enjoy it for yourself.

http://totalsororitymove.com/if-you-send-a-girl-to-target/

Anyways, earlier this week I ventured into Target to get one thing.. reusable swimmy diapers for Ansleigh (because she is not big enough for the disposable kind, and she loves to be in the pool). However, I was really bummed to find out that they were all out of size small and that I would have to order them online. I didn't want to let this finding upset me so instead I decided  to walk around Target and look at other things that weren't on my list. Along the way I ended up in the back corner of the store that typically carries seasonal items. That is when I saw  it...the dreadful, huge sign on a big, yellow pencil... BACK TO SCHOOL! How is this seasonal? It is only the beginning of July and school doesn't start for a whole month. Although this realization that summer would be ending soon enough upset me, it took everything in me not to go into the section and start buying my favorite pens, or some cute folders, because let me tell you if you didn't already know... TEACHERS LOVE SCHOOL SUPPLIES!! Instead I was proud of myself and walked away, but not before snapping a picture!



That afternoon when I got home and put Ansleigh down for a nap, I took my school laptop out from its bag, wiped off the dust, and turned it on for the first time this summer. Each year I have had a few goals of things to focus on and grow in as an educator in my own classroom. The past few years some of my goals have been math work stations, meaningful literacy work stations, integrating technology more, and raising money for 2 iPads. This year one of my goals is to focus more on my guided reading. As I started envisioning what I could do in my classroom to improve guided reading with my students, my brain just kept turning and turning with ideas and wouldn't shut off. Here are some of the resources I have come up with, I hope you enjoy them.

Each day I reference my guided reading data binder. This binder is a life saver for me. I use it to help  plan lessons as well as keep data on each individual student. Not to mention its a great tool to show administration when they ask to see data. Below is what the cover of the binder looks like:

The first few pages of the binder consists of tools that help my students with their reading. The first page has different strategies that my little ones use to become good readers. I teach these strategies to them throughout the year according to their individual reading level. The next page is a good reference page that I use to help me determine what type of word studies each reader should be completing based on their reading level. The last two pages have some methods I can help readers when they are struggling with certain tasks. As I mentioned earlier these resources are at the beginning of the data binder. In the following pages, I have a tab for each reading group. Within each group, each student has their own data sheet where I record their running record scores each week as well as any observations I have made from students during their guided reading group. I use these data pages to help me plan further guided reading lessons.

 

If you are interested in these resources for your own data notebook please visit my TPT store or click on this link to get your data binder resources: Guided Reading Data Binder

 

 

The next resource is one that my students all LOVE! During guided reading, my students rotate in literacy centers or complete seat work. As they rotate to different centers or come to me for guided reading, they carry with them their green literacy center folder. This is where they keep their center work for the week as well as any projects/book group questions. In this folder they keep their own copy of their level tracker. As stated earlier, I take running records on my students about every other week in reading group. When a student has shown that they have mastered a given reading level and are ready to move up to the next reading level they get to mark it on their level tracker... and trust me they LOVE doing this, and become VERY motivated. They also enjoy looking back and seeing their progress throughout the year. If you would like the level tracker to use in your classroom click on this link: Reading Level Tracker 

 



 

Well that's it for now! I hope this was useful or gave you some ideas for your classroom. Happy last few weeks of summer, but before I go here is a picture of my cute little firecracker!

Summer Reading

As I sit down to write this I realize we are already in the month of July, which means summer is already half way over….WHAT?!?!  As many of you know my husband and I had our baby girl in early May, so this summer has been quite hectic around our house. I’ll be honest not every day has been easy, but every day has been such a blessing being Ansleigh’s mom and seeing her grow these past 2 months.

I mean look at this picture… how could you not eat up those cheeks and do just about anything to get this girl to smile! She is the love of our life!

 

Even with having a newborn I have still been able to do one of my favorite things during the summer… read. I thought I would share with you my readings so far and maybe encourage you to pick up one of these great books.

I don’t know about you but when I go to Barnes and Nobles I always like browsing the discounted tables to look for some good reads without creating a hole in my pocket. On one of my recent trips to Barnes and Noble, I found an author whom I have fallen in love with, Elin Hilderbrand. Conveniently several of her books were on the table.

Beautiful Day was a quick read for me. It takes place on the picturesque island of Nantucket and is centered around a wedding. Could you ask for a better summer read?? I definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a quick, light summer read.

The Island, another one of Elin’s books was also a very quick read for me. It too takes place on Nantucket and is centered around a wedding and a scandal, which makes you want to turn each page faster and faster. I highly recommend this one for a vacation to the beach or just a rainy afternoon on the couch at home.

 

One Summer by David Baldacci is by far my favorite book I have read all summer. I have never read any of David’s books in the past, but I wasn’t able to put this book down from the day I started it. This book is centered around a family who is learning to love again after heartbreak and loss. I HIGHLY recommend this book and look forward to reading some other books of David’s.

 

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman was given to me from one of my high school girls. This book is a hilarious book written by an American woman who moved to France with her husband where they began to raise their family. In this book Pamela talks about her discoveries of the wisdom of French parenting. If you know anyone who is pregnant or just had a baby this would be a great gift for them aside from the traditional parenting books. It is hilarious but at the same time full of great advice and tips!

 

Well that is all of my readings so far this summer. If you ever come across a good book feel free to share it with me, I always like finding new authors and getting caught deep in the pages of literature.

A Big Announcement and Fall Learning

I cannot believe that as I write this, Thanksgiving is only 11 days away and Christmas is only 39 days away... where has the time gone this year?? As we approach my favorite season of the year and I know time will slip away from me very quickly I want to reflect and share some of the exciting things and learning that has been happening in my classroom the last few weeks.

Just about 4 weeks ago, I had the joy to share with my class that Elliot and I will be expecting a little baby in May. The kids responses were priceless and so compassionate for 6 and 7 year olds. Each and every day since then they ask questions such as, "Has your baby grown today?", "Can you tell me again when your baby will be born?", "How many more days till we find out if its a boy or girl?", and  "When will your tummy start to get big". Each question comes with so much love and curiosity.

 After I announced our pregnancy to my class they each filled out one of these sheets. I am saving them and will create a little book with them. I wanted to share two of them:

After each child finished drawing what they think Baby Nolan will look like and writing a note to Baby Nolan I took some suggestions for baby names. I was surprised to see most names were normal names until we got to "Ariana Grande".

 

 

This fall in our class we have been doing a lot of nonfiction studies and learning. In October, we read a variety of nonfiction books, watched some video clips, and even did some research of our own to learn new facts about pumpkins, bats, and spiders. For each topic we created a class chart of information we already knew about the given topic and as we studied and learned more we added to our charts each day. Here is what our finished charts looked like:



 

The last bit of fall learning that I want to share about was our study on Benjamin Franklin. This year while studying Benjamin Franklin I created an interactive folder/book for students to fill out and create as we learn a variety of facts and information about Benjamin Franklins life. Here is an example of the book. In this book students were able to decorate the front cover. Inside the folder as we did our learning and conversations about Ben Franklin students filled out a KWL chart, compared and contrasted themselves to Ben, filled in new vocabulary words, and recorded inventions that Ben created.

 

If you are interested in doing this interactive book/folder with your class please click on the link:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Benjamin-Franklin-Interactive-Book-1462363



 

That is all for now!!! Look back soon for more updates about our classroom fun and learning! :)