Martin Luther King, Jr.

This post is long overdue!  I have been busy planning a wedding and starting to live a paleo lifestyle over the last couple of months and though I've thought of sitting down to do this thousands of times I just haven't been able to until now.  It's so nice to have the day off of school to catch up on this, housework and some personal reading!  I was also able to finally finish my Introduction to the Civil Rights Movement Unit.  I created this in order to cover Common Core Standard:  Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text. 

The unit is focused on using the FQR reading strategy where students are responsible for listing Facts, Questions and their own Response to non-fiction text.  I just started using this method this year and love it!  It takes a lot of practice and coaching with the little ones but after a couple of practice rounds it's an awesome activity!  I love the fact that that it doesn't just focus on retaining historical facts but challenges students to use higher order thinking skills such as questioning and responding (writing down their reactions, opinions, connection and feelings about texts and historical events).

My class completed most of it last week and they were so interested in the subject and the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges.

If you didn't have time to fit this in before the holiday you can always have your students study it during the month of February!

Real Readers!

I cannot believe that we've already been in school for 6 weeks!  The time has flown!  We have been busy setting up routines, reviewing material and learning a lot of new things.  The thing that I am most impressed with however, is that my kiddos are already starting to become "Real Readers"!  The second week of school I taught an excellent lesson cycle on Metacognition based on Tammy McGregor's book Comprehension Connections:  Bridges to Strategic Reading. 

I also added additional lessons inspired by  Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis.  

My students recognized the difference between "fake" reading and "real" reading so fast!  The anchor chart we created (from Comprehension Connections) has been a helpful reminder but being a "Real Reader" has stuck with most of my kids!  In order to assess their level of metacognition I had the students read a Reading A-Z book that was at their level and write down their thoughts on Post-It notes and then stick it on the page where they had that thought. They were encouraged to write down any and all thoughts that had to do with their book.  They wrote down a ton!  (I think this was because they just love being able to use Post-It's!! :) 

But it was a great way to see their thought process and the different levels of thinking happening in the classroom.  I'm hoping to fit this assessment in every quarter in order to see how they change over the course of the year.  If you'd like to try this out, I've attached the rubric I used which can be altered to fit your class.  Click here to download it!

Must Have Picture Books

I've never joined a linky party before but I just knew that I had to be part of the Must Have Picture Book Linky that Lindsey at the Teacher Wife put together.  What a great idea!! It's so hard to narrow it down to only five but here are the five that I just adore and MUST read every year.

You can do so many different things with Strega Nona and I have used it to teach many different skills over the years.  My favorite thing to do however, is to make the book "interactive" by writing the words to the pasta spell on a piece of chart paper before the reading and posting it by the reading area.  When its time to say the spell in the story my students love singing the words and blowing three kisses into the "cauldron" in front of them.  I, of course, love watching them do this even more!  You can buy a copy here.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is such a fun book. It's a great way to compare and contrast versions of a story or to introduce point of view.  Grab it here.

This is a wonderful and heartwarming story thats full of imagination but that also teaches about responsibility.  The pictures in it are just beautiful.  You can read more about it by clicking here.

Thundercake is perfect for a stormy day especially if you have kiddos that are scared of thunder.  In the story the grandmother helps her granddaughter face and overcome her fear of thunder.  There's also a recipe in the back for Thundercake that my students always make me photocopy for them - so they can make it at home the next time it storms out.   Pick up your copy here.

Whoever Heard of a Fird is my favorite picture book of all time.  But I just now discovered that it is out of print :(   I was hoping to buy a new copy this year because the one from my childhood is falling apart but it doesn't look like that will be happening since collectors editions are the only ones available and $100+ dollars.  Does anyone else know this book?  Anyone have connections in the publishing world to get this printed again?  It is a wonderful adventure full of magical creatures and songs.  The book contains a number of great lessons on the following topics: individuality, determination, family, friendship and acceptance.  Read more about it here and let me know if you can get this back in book stores! :)