Playing Catch-Up

Sometimes I feel like playing catch up is the story of my life!  Seriously, I had some plans ... on several days last week to blog ... and then life happened.  I applaud all of the bloggers out there that manage to get their posts in multiple times a week, while working full time, and tending to their family!  After getting up at 5ish (I use ish very lightly as it is usually more like 5:20-30 before I actually roll out of bed) ... getting ready, B ready, lunch packed, car packed, and on the road by about 6:25... Arriving at daycare by 6:50, school by 7:00... working the day away .. and trying to leave to pick B back up by no later than 5... Oh yeah and then to go home and cook dinner, clean, play with B, & continue to work. Bleh.... I know I'm totally preaching to the choir!

Now that I'm off of that rant, I plan to have a 2nd post to you this week by Friday, that's my goal!  I've also made a new goal to try not and pull out my computer until B goes to bed... something else that hinders my ability to blog as much!  I just have to soak up all the time I can now that summer is over.

Last week we began working on our STAMINA!! The golden word, we began building stamina for independent reading last week.  This week we will continue that, but also add working on stamina for buddy reading!

One of my biggest goals this year is to make my kiddos reader's notebook more interactive & useful!  We began by adding the definition of STAMINA in their notebook! I bought several packages of colored pens before school started and let my kids use them for their anchor charts, they LOVE this!

Of course before we began discussing and working on our stamina, we talked about choosing a good fit book! 

While I don't do full fledged Daily 5 in my classroom {click here to read why}, we do components of it & I used a great FREE resource by Lyndsey over at A Year of Many Firsts.  I also snagged her new unit about Character Traits recently!

With interactive reader's notebooks being a goal of mine, when I ran across a new Interactive Reader's Notebook unit from Deanna Jump, I literally JUMPed on it!  I actually just bought it last night and let's just say, I'm IN. LOVE!

 Last week in one of my FAVORITE subjects to teach, writing, we began filling our Writer's Notebook with our "seeds."  We made 2 lists last week, our "sunshine," things we like, and our "lightening," things we don't like.  Forgot to take a picture of mine, I will snag one this week, or well try to... for now here are a few examples from my kiddos as they were working on their lists!

I sure do love these sweet peas already! :)  I plan to update and share more of our writer's notebook ideas as time goes on, so be sure to check back soon for more ideas!

To end our week, my co-worker Sam & I took our Love-Bugs to good ole' Chuck-E-Cheese!  The girls had a BLAST! :)

I love watching these two play together, so sweet!  Plus chatting until my hearts content with my sweet friend, Sam, is just as wonderful!  Back before summer, I shared some cute things Sam was creating.  I finally convinced her to take the TPT plunge & she launched a shot this summer!  Forgive me because I've been meaning to share about it for a while & then always ended up side tracked! :)   You can check out her shop by {clicking here!}  She has some great freebies available too!

OHHH & One more HUGE thing before I go!! Just last week, I created my FIRST Donors Choose project (instead of blogging one night).

I am super excited about the possibility of having some of these balls for my kids.  I have some kids that would benefit HUGELY from this!!!!   Anything donated within the first 7 days, regardless of how small the donation will be doubled when the code INSPIRE is used!  I would greatly appreciate any support, no matter how small it is!  :)

That is about all I have for you tonight, but I think I promised a freebie last week?!?!  It's nothing too special, but if one person can use it, I'm doing you a favor, right?!?! ;)  We added this stamina graph to our Reader's Notebook so they can track our progress, too! You can get it by {clicking here} or on the picture below! :)

Here's to another great week & a lot of changes (will share soon)! :)

Throwback Thursday

Tonight I'm linking up with Cara Carroll with her amazing Throwback Thursday Linky!  LOVE!  When you think about how many new readers you've gained over time, it's a fun catch-up post for those readers especially! :)

After reading Ashley Sanderson's TBT post, this one IMMEDIATELY came to mind!  I wrote it on my birthday last year, enjoy! :)

*****************************Originally Posted August 9, 2012 *****************************

I have planned for almost 2 months now to blog about the AMAZING writer's workshop that I went to in June!  Melissa Leach is by far one of the most amazing presenters I have EVER had the opportunity to listen and interact with!  In June, two of my co-workers and I went to a writer's workshop where she was the presenter!  Basically, we all left there shocked and thinking... "YOU MEAN, TEACHING WRITING IS THAT EASY!!?!?!?!"  Well, my amazing friend and co-worker, Diana, had another workshop over Balanced Literacy with her these past two days!! I don't know what it is that Melissa does, but the manner in which she presents and teaches makes it seem SO very simple and easy for us to take it back to our classroom and implement it effectively!  YEEESHH, I can't wait for school to start!

Before I babble on, I have to share one of my teacher nerd moments with you!
Today is my birthday and Diana, showed up this morning with the BEST gift ever!! I was squealing with excitement!! :)

Some people might wonder what these little gems are..... Yes, they are PVC pipe... what makes them so special you ask?  Well, they are constructed in a way that students can use them as a phone... We call them phonics phones, but the purpose of them is for students to be able to whisper read/read quietly and be able to ear themselves nice and clear!! These are a wonderful tool to help students, especially the low babies!  My plan is to add duct tape on all of them like the ones in the bottom right corner before school starts!! I just need to find some super cute duct tape to use!  BEST GIFT EVER!


OK, OK... Writer's Workshop & Notebooks... Here I come!!

I don't know about you, but for me, writing was always the one subject that I hated, dreaded, was not entirely comfortable teaching.... I now know it is more so because I didn't know how to effectively teach it.   The ways in which I had taught it in the past did not get all of my students actively engaged in writing!!

The idea behind Writer's Workshop is starting off with a mini-lesson.  How does a mini lesson compare to that of a regular lesson, well... a mini lesson for writing should be a short 5-10 minute lesson with a specific focus.  You then instruct students to think about or apply what it was that was taught in the mini lesson in their independent writing...

For example: You are teaching a lesson about verbs.  You then have the students get out their writer's notebook or folder with their writing drafts, you have them select one piece of writing, and then instruct them to circle all of the verbs.  Once they have completed this, they go on with their independent writing.

What is independent writing though?!  Independent writing is when students have the opportunity to write about anything of their choice.  Now, this could be structured in a manner to where ALL students are writing a letter, but they get to choose who they are writing it to and WHY they are writing to that person.  This would obviously be something that you do after SEVERAL mini-lessons over letter writing though.  Ideally, after building the stamina, students will write for about 20 minutes on their own.

What am I, as the teacher, doing during independent writing?  Well, it is simple, this is when you are doing your conferences with students.  This doesn't mean that you are pulling students over to your table and marking up their page.  These conferences are guided in a way that you help them to realize what they need to add, change, clarify, however it is done in a manner and a way of which you ask the students questions guiding them to identify these things on their own.  You have the students make the corrections, giving them the power!

Once students have been writing independently for their 20ish minutes, it is imperative to give students the opportunity to SHARE their writing with one another.  Sharing is such a powerful tool and gives students so much confidence, something we really need to continually make a priority in our classrooms!

If you do not go through all of these steps, it is NOT considered writer's workshop! This may seem like a lot, but seriously, this is the SHORT and SWEET, condensed, no fluffs, no frills, version! 

With all of that being said, let me get into the Writer's Notebook!  

EEK, I LOVE the idea of the writer's notebook!

 So this is my writer's notebook, I have my cover, you can't see too many details because of the glare, but it just says "Ms.Pepper."  Then the other side of the note book is my "TWIN."  I didn't realize until yesterday that TWIN was an acronym for Teacher's Writing Interactive Notebook... Anyways... I will keep going...

The purpose of the writer's notebook is for students to have a place to write down their IDEAS.... only their IDEAS!! Melissa called them their "seeds" for writing.  Totally makes sense though, it gives them a place to reflect on when they are struggling to find a topic to write about.  The writer's notebook isn't something that will just be used in the beginning of the year, it will be used all throughout the year.  We will be constantly adding to the book.  Above are a few of the pages we did when we were in our workshop!  Sunshine = things that make me happy, Thunder = things I DO NOT LIKE!!

The top left is another one that we did about things that people call me!  I then googled and pinterested (is that  a word) for more ideas on the writer's notebook!! I have a lots of ideas, but have only done a handful of pages more than we did in our workshop!  There is a "things I wonder about", a quotes section, and an "I am a..." page!  My all time favorite though it "My Life's Playlist."

This one brought back so many memories as I was creating it, eeeek, I love!  The most awesome part about the writer's notebook to me is that none of these are finished products, none of these are extensive pieces of writing, and they are ALL something that I can continuously add to throughout this summer, year, and next few hours! 

The other side of MY notebook is my TWIN, this is my place to write notes, ideas, make anchor charts, reminders about writer's workshop, etc!  For my students though, I have decided after the Balanced Literacy Institute, the flip side will be their word study book, they will keep their personal word wall and different word study activities on this side!

I am not going to lie, I can't wait to teach writing!! :)

*********************************************************

I definitely hope you enjoyed! :)  I have thought of a bunch of new lists & idea pages to add over the year, I can't wait to share those later this summer! :)

Five for Friday Freebie!

Whew, this week flew by, probably because it was only a 4 day work week for me!! I hope you all had a marvelous week! I'm doing my usual link up with Kacey over at Doodle Bug's for Five for Friday! I am also linking up with Teacher's Blogger Addict for Friday FREEBIE!! :)

1.  This week we dug a little deeper into expository text.  I don't know who enjoyed it more, me or the kids!  Their pieces of writing are REALLY coming along!  Following the format of the writer's workshop, we of course did our mini lesson first.  We had to discuss the difference between telling all about something or someone and telling a story about something or someone.  Once I shared two pieces of my writing about the same topic (of course I forgot to take a picture of it... errrr!) they seemed to really get it!  On our first day of independent writing students simply added a list of things or people they know all about, of course I modeled this first!! On day two we began the brainstorming piece.  Oh. my. word.  These kids love anything to do with sticky notes and when they find out they get to use them to brainstorm (this was not the first time we've done this) their writing is SO much more detailed!! I swear some of my Lovies go through like 15 sticky notes for their brainstorming piece.  When picking my topic during my lesson I chose Mo Willems to write about.  First I wrote all the things I knew about him down on sticky notes, each thing on a different note.  Then, with the help of my kids we put them in the order we thought the information should be shared. 

The next day we spend some time talking about a good beginning and turning the sticky notes into sentences.

 

I then explained that IF they were to get done with their writing before the end of independent writing that they could begin their illustrations, so of course I had to QUICKLY model that!  Now, there is just one more thing we must do before we finish this piece of writing next week, the conclusion!!  Like I said above, their writings are really coming along, I love reading their work! :)

 These resources are available as a freebie on in my TPT store!  Click the picture below to check it out! :)

 2. Last weekend I spent some major time beginning my centers for the end of the year.  I've worked a little bit each night on them, I'm hoping to be done this weekend!! Check back soon to check them out!! For today I will leave you with a sneak peak of the craftivity that will be included in the literacy centers!   Ekk, I love these little baseball players! :)

3. Most all of my kids finished up their "What do they eat?" activity for Charlotte and Wilbur!  We should be finishing the book this next week or the beginning of the week after!! My kids are so hooked on this book! I love it! :)  Here are a few of my favorites that were created!

4. In our "Charlotte's Web" center this week, my kids had the task to write a persuasive article for the Weekly Chronicle to persuade readers to come out and visit Wilbur at the Zuckerman's Farm.  While there were some better than others, as with everything that is done in the classroom, I was in love with the creativity of some of their writings!

This is also my FREEBIE for this week!  Click this link to download the template from Google Docs! 

5.  While I spent quite a bit of time this week working on stuff for my classroom, I didn't sacrifice any time with my sweet girl, I try to wait until she goes to bed to begin working!  Tuesday after my workout, I decided I was a little too lazy to cook, SO we went to Jason's Deli!!  Let's just say my sweet girl thoroughly enjoyed herself! After eating a good bit of her mac and cheese, she decided she was ready for the frozen yogurt!! However when it came time to eat it, B decided it was a better idea to go back and forth between the froyo and her mac and cheese.  One bite of froyo, one bite of mac and cheese.  This went of for quite a while.  She was happy none the less!  :) 

It is our nightly routine to read before prayers and bed each night.  It is a rare occasion that I get away with reading only 2 books.  This little girls love for books makes my heart melt!  :)  Last night B was "reading" Goodnight Moon and telling everything "nite" and "bye" as she flipped through the pages!  Then this morning she decided to stuff her bag with AS MANY BOOKS AS POSSIBLE!  I think she managed to get about 10 books inside her bag before she became TOO frustrated with not being able to shove anymore in! 

Since yesterday was our Friday, we got to sleep in and enjoy the morning, even watch a little bit of her favorites Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First! :)  Tonight we will be getting ready for our yearly garage sale in the morning!!

Before I go though, I need some help!!! Our science fair is coming up soon.  I'm still STUCK on what to do.  Any suggestions of fun things you've done with your kiddos?!?

Have a great weekend! :)

I admit it, I am a teacher nerd....

I have planned for almost 2 months now to blog about the AMAZING writer's workshop that I went to in June!  Melissa Leach is by far one of the most amazing presenters I have EVER had the opportunity to listen and interact with!  In June, two of my co-workers and I went to a writer's workshop where she was the presenter!  Basically, we all left there shocked and thinking... "YOU MEAN, TEACHING WRITING IS THAT EASY!!?!?!?!"  Well, my amazing friend and co-worker, Diana, had another workshop over Balanced Literacy with her these past two days!! I don't know what it is that Melissa does, but the manner in which she presents and teaches makes it seem SO very simple and easy for us to take it back to our classroom and implement it effectively!  YEEESHH, I can't wait for school to start!

Before I babble on, I have to share one of my teacher nerd moments with you!
Today is my birthday and Diana, showed up this morning with the BEST gift ever!! I was squealing with excitement!! :)

Some people might wonder what these little gems are..... Yes, they are PVC pipe... what makes them so special you ask?  Well, they are constructed in a way that students can use them as a phone... We call them phonics phones, but the purpose of them is for students to be able to whisper read/read quietly and be able to ear themselves nice and clear!! These are a wonderful tool to help students, especially the low babies!  My plan is to add duct tape on all of them like the ones in the bottom right corner before school starts!! I just need to find some super cute duct tape to use!  BEST GIFT EVER!





OK, OK... Writer's Workshop & Notebooks... Here I come!!

I don't know about you, but for me, writing was always the one subject that I hated, dreaded, was not entirely comfortable teaching.... I now know it is more so because I didn't know how to effectively teach it.   The ways in which I had taught it in the past did not get all of my students actively engaged in writing!!

The idea behind Writer's Workshop is starting off with a mini-lesson.  How does a mini lesson compare to that of a regular lesson, well... a mini lesson for writing should be a short 5-10 minute lesson with a specific focus.  You then instruct students to think about or apply what it was that was taught in the mini lesson in their independent writing...

For example: You are teaching a lesson about verbs.  You then have the students get out their writer's notebook or folder with their writing drafts, you have them select one piece of writing, and then instruct them to circle all of the verbs.  Once they have completed this, they go on with their independent writing.

What is independent writing though?!  Independent writing is when students have the opportunity to write about anything of their choice.  Now, this could be structured in a manner to where ALL students are writing a letter, but they get to choose who they are writing it to and WHY they are writing to that person.  This would obviously be something that you do after SEVERAL mini-lessons over letter writing though.  Ideally, after building the stamina, students will write for about 20 minutes on their own.

What am I, as the teacher, doing during independent writing?  Well, it is simple, this is when you are doing your conferences with students.  This doesn't mean that you are pulling students over to your table and marking up their page.  These conferences are guided in a way that you help them to realize what they need to add, change, clarify, however it is done in a manner and a way of which you ask the students questions guiding them to identify these things on their own.  You have the students make the corrections, giving them the power!

Once students have been writing independently for their 20ish minutes, it is imperative to give students the opportunity to SHARE their writing with one another.  Sharing is such a powerful tool and gives students so much confidence, something we really need to continually make a priority in our classrooms!

If you do not go through all of these steps, it is NOT considered writer's workshop! This may seem like a lot, but seriously, this is the SHORT and SWEET, condensed, no fluffs, no frills, version! 

With all of that being said, let me get into the Writer's Notebook!  

EEK, I LOVE the idea of the writer's notebook!

 So this is my writer's notebook, I have my cover, you can't see too many details because of the glare, but it just says "Ms.Pepper."  Then the other side of the note book is my "TWIN."  I didn't realize until yesterday that TWIN was an acronym for Teacher's Writing Interactive Notebook... Anyways... I will keep going...

The purpose of the writer's notebook is for students to have a place to write down their IDEAS.... only their IDEAS!! Melissa called them their "seeds" for writing.  Totally makes sense though, it gives them a place to reflect on when they are struggling to find a topic to write about.  The writer's notebook isn't something that will just be used in the beginning of the year, it will be used all throughout the year.  We will be constantly adding to the book.  Above are a few of the pages we did when we were in our workshop!  Sunshine = things that make me happy, Thunder = things I DO NOT LIKE!!

The top left is another one that we did about things that people call me!  I then googled and pinterested (is that  a word) for more ideas on the writer's notebook!! I have a lots of ideas, but have only done a handful of pages more than we did in our workshop!  There is a "things I wonder about", a quotes section, and an "I am a..." page!  My all time favorite though it "My Life's Playlist."

This one brought back so many memories as I was creating it, eeeek, I love!  The most awesome part about the writer's notebook to me is that none of these are finished products, none of these are extensive pieces of writing, and they are ALL something that I can continuously add to throughout this summer, year, and next few hours! 

The other side of MY notebook is my TWIN, this is my place to write notes, ideas, make anchor charts, reminders about writer's workshop, etc!  For my students though, I have decided after the Balanced Literacy Institute, the flip side will be their word study book, they will keep their personal word wall and different word study activities on this side!

I am not going to lie, I can't wait to teach writing!! :)

Kelli Ann