Card Storage Update

So after being dissapointed I couldn't find more of the little storage containers, I checked out Dollar Tree's website.  SCORE!  You can order a case (36 sets of 2 containers) and shipping is free to a Dollar Tree store near you!  My teaching buddy and I are splitting a case and wondering if that will be enough!  : )

Click the picture to order them from Dollar Tree.

*Disclaimer - I get absolutely nothing for telling you about them.  I just am so thrilled with them I have to share!

Card Storage

While I was at Dollar Tree the other day I saw these little containers.  They were really sturdy and colorful.   And 2 for $1 is not too shabby.

I thought they would be perfect for storing my Primary Number Cards from our Investigations series.  I currently have them in ziploc baggies that the kids always poke holes in every year.

They fit perfectly!  I may or may not have bought extras to use with all the other card sets I end up with for different games.

So what have you found lately to use in your classroom?

Thinking, Drawing, Writing - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - One Teacher, One Classroom

This chapter took a look at how a teacher would teach the same topic in different ways on multiple days.

My big takeaway from this is to be sure to use the same terms on all of the days.  You can present it in different ways but have that common language to tie it all together.

I know...not much...but it was the main thing I got from that chapter!

Hope you enjoyed hearing about the book.  It was a great read!

Hop over to Teaching with Grace to hear what everyone else has to say!

Thinking, Drawing, Writing Book Study - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Moving Writers Forward

This chapter provides examples of lessons that usually occur but not the only ones you will include:

*Making Sure the Story Makes Sense (Consistency in Clothing, Setting, Characters from Book to Book, and Physical Features)

*Writing About What's Important (can tell a whole story about something that happens in just a little bit of time; pick most exciting part to detail out; include only important parts of illustrations that really emphasize what is being said on the page)

*Time and Place (Revealing Daytime - doesn't have to be blue sky and sun; Showing Nighttime - lights on, darkened sky, etc.)

*Being Specific (Actions of Characters, Feelings, Thoughts)

*Revision (it is reseeing; not whether not it is right) (Adding page to include more parts, taking out blank pages, taking out pages that you no longer want in, moving pages to help it make sense) (Using Caret to Insert a Missing Word)

*Topics (it needs to be something that matters to them, something they know) (Use a page to jot down ideas for topics so we don't forget them) (Teach them to pay attention to ideas that come from things they tell others, books they read, and others stories)

*Proofreading (start with checking for procedural things such as name, title, and date so they can learn what proofreading is) (use a student example to practice this and talk about what to do if missing something)

*Conventions (spaces, capitalizing I, punctuation, lowercase letters, capitals at beginning) 

*Beginnings, Endings, and Titles (different kinds of endings - one really important piece or information, a good feeling, a surprise)

*Making Characters Come Alive (Using Exact Words People Say, Speech Bubbles, Dialogue between Two People)

I love that the authors really use student work to show how to do things or how the students did things rather than their own work most of the time.  They also mention that you need to present the same mini-lesson topic in different ways on multiple ways to help it stick!

Be sure to head over and link up at Teaching with Grace!

Next up Chapter 9!

Thinking, Drawing, Writing Book Study - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Introducing Booklets

*Booklets are used when you have a lot to say about something!

*Booklets have at least 5 pages (3 says beginning, middle, end and doesn't encourage enough middle)

*Can introduce using booklets to the whole class using a students work that needed more space, individual students as they are ready for it, or using your teacher journal to show needing more space

*Mini-lesson on asking what happens next to keep the story focus and getting all the details

*Remember to encourage students to use whichever medium is best for their story

*Model, model, model procedures when introducing new materials

Check out others comments over at Teaching with Grace!

Next up: Chapter 8 - Moving Writers Forward

Alphabet Letter Exchange

I just wanted to pop in and share this with you!  I participated in this awesome exchange last year.  Everyone makes one letter of the alphabet and sends it to everyone else that is participating.  In the end you get one letter from different places.  My kids loved learning about where the letters came from and who made them.  If you want to join in, click the button above and join us!

Talking, Drawing, Writing Book Study - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Assessment

This chapter spent some time providing samples of student work to use to discuss how to look at what they are already doing and where they need more guidance.

*Find time to really look at your students work outside of student conference time

*Look at what they can do in the domain of the craft of writing, not just mechanics

*Know what the student already does and pick one or two goals for them to work on

*Decide the best time to work on those goals (mini-lessons, interactive writing, conference, read aloud, conversation, morning meeting, word study)

*Like the recording sheets they use for both individual and whole group tracking 

*Use a group to study each week as a snapshot of what lessons the students need

Head over to Teaching with Grace to check others comments on Chapter 6!

Next up:  Chapter 7 - Introducing Booklets

Talking, Drawing, Writing Book Study - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Writing Words

With a million things on my to do list and not much time before school starts, these are going to be very concise notes on the chapter!!

* Includes lessons on Listening for Sounds in Words, Writing a Whole Sentence, Looking at the Illustration When You Can't Read the Text, Going Back and Touching, Valuing Differences in How We Write Words, Some Words You Don't Have to Sounds Out, and Writing Big Words We Use in Telling Our Stories

*Sequence of writing:

- Think of what you want to say

- Say the word slowly

- Listen to the sounds in the word

- Think about what letters makes those sounds

- Think about how to make those letters

- Write the letters for the sounds you hear

*If you can say the word, you can write it!

*Awesome lesson on what to do when the kids forget how to stay focused an work quietly; model how to do writing like a kid only with thinking aloud; when they start to shout out ideas and letters to use, talk about how noisy it is and move to another spot; work for a while and they should get the idea  and get quiet; then move back to finish; lesson=we need to be able to focus on our own work

Check over at Teaching with Grace to see other bloggers notes!

Up next, Chapter 6 - Assessment