Reading for Pleasure

I have learned a lot from fellow, more experienced, teachers and last week I saw something I knew I HAD to "steal" for my classroom. 

My mom came to visit me today from Ventura and we put together this Reading for Pleasure board in no time! The teacher I got this idea from had each of her student's names on each string. I attempted this, but realized I would need to buy four more bags of alphabet beads in order to have enough As, so I chose to put a colorful star on the end and labeled the strings with student numbers above each pushpin. 

Okay so here's how this works...

Every time a student chooses a new book to read, he or she fills out a "book card" (index card) with the following information:

• First and Last Name
• Title of Book
• Author of Book
• Number of Pages

The student gives this card to the teacher and begins reading. When they are finished, they take an Accelerated Reader (AR) quiz and get at least an 80% score. Students get either their parent or teacher's signature on their original Book Card they filled out, depending on if they read primarily at school or at home. Then they get to choose from a box of beads and add one bead to their string for every 100 pages they read. Example: If the book is 434 pages, the student would add four beads to their string. I purchased some sport beads (soccer balls and baseballs), animal beads, glow-in-the-dark beads, and some regular colorful beads from Michaels to have a nice variety. 

This system is going to replace my current Reading Log system where I stamp entries of reading at home each day. I have been noticing that students are fibbing about reading each night and there isn't a way I can really hold them accountable for reading outside of class. They will still be asked to read at least 30 minutes for homework each night, but they will be reading for pleasure and to add to their string. I am very hopeful for a positive change in attitudes toward reading in my class and will keep you updated! :-)

Freebie: Here are two resources to use in implementing this routine in your classroom!

Prepositions "Blindfolded"

Last week we studied prepositions with a couple of hands-on activities:

Pencil & Paper
I had students hold a piece of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other and then read cue cards with prepositions on them. Some examples include: behind, beneath, on, over, through, and near. I had students manipulate the pencil to represent the appropriate location in relationship with their piece of paper. "Through" was their favorite, as they got to put their pencil through one of the three holes, or make a fourth by stabbing their paper (this was what most of the students did).

Draw it!
Another activity involved students working with a partner to describe an image that their partner had to draw to the best of their ability. The speaker used prepositions to describe the shapes in the image, as well as other descriptive words related to size and location (half the page, right top corner, pointing left, etc.). Students paired up and turned their chairs so one student had their back directly to the screen. This made it easier to resist the temptation to peek!

Here is the image the first partner was describing:

Here are some pictures of students' attempts to draw what was being described: 

After about 4 minutes I called time and counted to three. The students flipped their clipboards and laughed at the outcomes. As you can see, the location (left and right) was a challenge a majority of students faced. Students answered the question, "What you would do next time to be more successful?" and then we switched partners. The original drawer was now looking at the screen waiting to see the second image. Here is that image:

It is similar to the first, with the same shapes, but they have different relationships with each other. I didn't take pictures of the second drawing round, but the results were similar with sizing and location being off. Students shared that they learned how important it was to be specific with describing locations of the different shapes. We practiced using the language, "The orange pentagon is behind the green oval and inside the black rectangle" and "The gray cloud is in front of the purple heart."

My students loved this activity and (hopefully) they learned about the importance of using specific language when describing something to someone else!

Tasting the Ratio Rainbow

Our last ratio lesson was a yummy one! I used Skittles to give students a hands-on lab experience working with ratios. Each pair of students organized their Skittles and filled out a table recording the number of each color they had. Then they found and reduced ratios depending on the amount of each color they had. Each group's ratios were different, but they all reduced their ratios into simplest form when necessary. 

Students also worked on ratio explanations, such as, "For every 2 purple Skittles there are 3 yellow Skittles," and, "3 out of every 10 Skittles are orange." The second explanation wording is more challenging for my students, as they are comparing part-to-total instead of part-to-part. It is something we will be working on more during this upcoming week! 

Lastly, students modeled bar diagrams with their Skittles on the paper towel and then drew them on their paper to visualize breaking an amount of Skittles into two groups according to a given ratio (2:3 or 3:5). 

For the downloadable template I created to go with this lab, click here! :-) 

Duct Tape as a Time Saver

So far this year, my students have three composition books each. One is a writing journal, decorated with magazine clippings in a collage style. There is a prompt checklist glued in the front of the notebook that students can choose from if they don't want to write about the given prompt. I am very flexible when it comes to what topic students are writing on, as long as they are writing in response to something that interests them. For now, the goal is to write continuously for ten minutes. Students aren't "done" until the timer rings, and even then they are able to continue in their journal entry until they are finished. After each journaling session, the students read their entries to their seat partner. I tell them to read exactly what they have written and to stop when something doesn't make sense. I tell them to erase and make corrections when they need to. I really want my students to be able to spot their own mistakes so in future writings they can edit their own and each others' work. 

The other two composition books are interactive notebooks. These "live" in table group bins because space inside our desks is limited. There are eight students at each table group, so in order to make finding the appropriate notebook more efficient, I have come up with the idea to use duct tape on the bindings to color-code the notebooks. Here is an image of a science notebook. The duct tape doesn't have to be this long; it just have to be visible from the top of the bin. 

This method has been very helpful for table leaders to pass out notebooks when the time comes and I think I'll do it year after year! 

The math notebook has a red tape binding and soon we will have an ELA interactive notebook as well with a purple binding. I demonstrated the tape on one notebook and then was able to tear strips for the kids to put on their own notebooks. They all did this without any trouble which saved me the hassle of marking each notebook myself...yay! Looking forward to filling these notebooks with learning, foldables, and graphic organizers this year!

9 x 3 = ?

This week I have begun teaching our newly adopted math curriculum, California Math. Right from the start, I could tell many of my students were struggling with basic multiplication facts. I myself struggled to think of ways I could help build fluency, while maintaining a Common Core mindset of inquiry, and teach how to find the Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple of two or more whole numbers.

I have spent countless hours thinking and have come to the conclusion that time is the main factor. My roommate, a third grade teacher in Santa Maria, gave me advice to extend my math block. I tried this out yesterday and today with positive results. I now spend the first half hour in the morning on drilling multiplication facts and re-teaching simplifying fractions (next week will be long division). After we get back from a 15 minute movement session ("brain break") we dive into the curriculum. Yesterday I taught LCM (Least Common Multiple) to the entire class. After four examples with discussion on multiple ways of finding the LCM and discussing vocabulary (what a multiple is), I dismissed a majority of the students to complete the independent assignment. Those who were struggling (a 1 or 2 in our "Fist to Five" comprehension check...more on this later) stayed with me on the rug for more examples at a slower pace. This worked so well and I felt like a "good teacher" afterward...much better than I did on Tuesday after attempting Math Centers without success. I'll try centers again next week, with some slight adjustments. For now, I'm going to try to get some rest and fight the cold I've caught. Good night!


P.S. Here are some fun & free resources for multiplication drills:
www.multiplication.com
www.freerice.com

Balloon Tower Challenge

On Friday my students participated in the Balloon Tower Challenge! They were randomly grouped with three peers, given a pack of balloons and a yard of tape, and challenged to make the tallest AND most cost-effective tower. I told them each balloon cost $2 and each yard of tape cost $3. They could get more tape, but they would have to "pay." I set the timer for 15 minutes and the kids were off! I noticed quickly that one group didn't have anyone who knew how to tie balloons so I gave them a quick tutorial and one of them became the tier. 

This group was reminded that the tower had to be "free-standing," so they quickly changed their design.

This group had one of the tallest towers, but they also spent a lot of "money" on balloons and tape. 

Over all, the class had a really fun time participating in this challenge and I had a fun time watching them collaborate during this first Friday of the school year! Talk about a way to build community...

Click here for the teacher directions the student reflection form. 

Enjoy!

Can You Save Fred?

Let me begin by saying today was an exceptional first day. I will never truly have another "first day." I know every year will bring new feelings and challenges but this really was my FIRST day. The first challenge was my projector over-heating after the first three slides of my procedures presentation. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was able to be more active and energetic during the explanation. The students seemed to appreciate this :) 

The highlight lesson of the day was an engineering activity called "Save Fred." The kids LOVED this partner activity. One pair solved the problem in less than two minutes, while others took a bit longer (15 minutes at the longest). I highly suggest doing this activity with your kids during the first week of school. I saw students working together and communicating beautifully. Granted, my kids are sixth graders and many of them have known each other since kindergarten, but even my new students were participating, laughing, and saving Fred! 

I used a blue sheet of paper to act as "water" to emphasize the fact that they couldn't drop Fred on the table because he would "drown." Click here to download the free activity pack on Teachers Pay Teachers!

LATSS - Day 1

I am truly blessed to be working for an exceptional district that supports their new teachers immensely. Today I attended my first informational meeting and got to meet a bunch of new people who I can call my colleagues. We watched an inspirational TED Talk by Rita Pierson and I highly recommend all teachers watch it, especially those who have been in the classroom several years. 

  

What do you think about Rita's message? Type a "Golden Line" below! 

Finally a Little Help!

Today was filled with joy, humor, rainbow boarders, and sweat. I've been setting up solo this past week but today I had a wonderful assistant with me...my big sis! She drove up to lend a hand and words can't express how thankful I am for all she did. Maddy not only made a beautiful 3-D sun for a bulletin board and helped organize and put up my main student-work display center, she also kept me laughing along the way. We covered three of my bookcases with happy green fabric ($2/yd. at Beverly's in Santa Maria...go on a Wednesday!) to hide the clutter and keep dust away as well as move around some heavy furniture pieces. 

Here is my beautiful and talented sis showing off all our hard work. This is the main student-work display for writing projects. Each 9x12" paper has two paperclips slipped on the top, ready to accept essays and poetry slid underneath. 

These are two of the bookcases covered with my "happy green" fabric. We used velcro squares. The loops side is on the fabric with a little extra super glue. To get the hooks side matched up we simply placed them on the loops squares after they were attached to the fabric and pressed both squares onto the bookcase at the appropriate places. Four velcro pairs are on each piece of fabric. I still have no idea what I'll end up putting here but it's a cute space for back to school!

I got this great border that has key words like trustworthiness, citizenship, responsibility, and fairness on it. I decided it would make a nice window frame and am happy with how it came out. Unfortunately I don't have enough boarder to do my two other windows. I'll have to pick one or change it up and have different boarders on each one. There's a lot of social pressure in sixth grade so I like this boarder as a reminder for students to be kind and courteous to their peers (and me). The poster to the left is for birthdays. 

I am so pleased with how everything is turning out and each day I become more and more excited for school to start! Thanks for reading and feel free to leave questions and/or comments below :) 

Classroom Set-Up (AFTER)

Today I worked in my room for about six hours and am quite pleased with all I was able to accomplish! Here is a view of my room from the door...

(BEFORE)

(AFTER)

As you can see, I got rid of the rows and made nice table groupings. I technically have five table groups (4 of six and 1 of eight) but I broke up the eight-student group into 2 fours. I created a nice whole-group meeting area on the rug for Morning Meeting and other purposes. Yippee! 

I also got my cursive alphabet letters up along with a couple bulletin boards...

The first board is to the right of my chalkboard (yes...I have a chalkboard) and will display academic language. Table cubbies are resting on the bookshelf below to keep the desks clear for meetings  taking place in my room this week. The second board is to the left of my whiteboard. I'm not quite sure what I will display here yet. My intent was to have a place to display student work (specifically, writing), but do not have enough space for all students. I'll have to use another wall for that! P.S. Can you guess my theme? ;-)

I moved my teacher desk to the back corner and created an "about me" space on the wall. I have my days of the week organizer from Lakeshore on the counter to help me plan out my week. This is a MUST-HAVE in my opinion. The folders that come in the set are plastic and extremely durable to last multiple years. This system helps you avoid the dreadful, "Where are my copies?!?" in the middle of a lesson. 

I am planning on getting some fabric to cover all of my bookshelves. I really like the "no clutter" look. On the left I have my "teacher books" as well as some privacy folders. My mentor teacher who taught second grade asked a parent to cut the boards in half (from Lakeshore). You get double the boards and can still see students' faces. In sixth grade I may have to improvise, as my students will be much taller and likely able to see right over the boards. I plan on doing a lot of project-based  assessments, however, so we will see! 

On the right side of the bookcase I have things for the "Student Store." I will be handing out tickets for displaying character, bringing Box Tops, and going "above and beyond." The students will trade in these tickets for small prizes. The tickets will go into the giant pink crayon bank I got at Target in the dollar section ($3.00). So far there are pencils, pencil cases, erasers, stickers, mini notebooks, and jumping frogs for prizes. Of course, each will have a different cost! (Something like this.)

Although I'm exhausted and ready to watch some Netflix, I'm happy with the progress I made and look forward to a couple days off as my room is used for administrative meetings! :-)

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to write them below! 

Classroom Set-Up (BEFORE)

Yesterday I got the keys to my room...well the sub keys anyway...and took a few pictures to be used as "before" images. After I do a little more work today I'll post some update pics. My journey through UCSB's Teacher Education Program has made me a strong believer in table groups. So that's the plan! I'll have 32 sixth graders whom I want to be able to easily collaborate on a daily basis. I think that students teaching and learning from each other is key to long-term retention of material and more meaningful understandings. I'll also have a rug space for whole-group lessons and Morning Meetings.