5 Homemade Christmas Presents (with links to instructions)

Here are some more Christmas presents I have made:

Bible Verse Candle Holder

click here for my tutorial

Shirred Pillow Case Dress

(with bought leggings)

like the ones made here 

Sippy Cup/Bottle Leash/Harness

like the one made here

Crocheted Towel Holder 

crochet pattern here

T-shirt Scarves

narrow strips tutorial here (on the left)

bubble style tutorial here (on the right)

Back to School Sale

Do NOT miss out!!

Classroom Management Tips

At the end of the last school year, I felt it was time to move on to another school within our county. I had to interview for the position, and it brought forth a lot of exciting feelings and reminders about why I love being a classroom teacher! My last interview was 8 years ago, so during this recent interview, I found myself much more prepared and able to share so many things I have learned. One of those things was about a strength of mine - classroom management.

Time and time again, people have commented positively about my classroom management skills; however, I never realized this was a strength of mine, as they are things I do without really thinking about them - I guess they are automatic and just come naturally. To me, when someone mentions something I do, I just tell them that it just "makes sense." Since classroom management can make or break a teacher, I wanted to share some of the little things I do that make a BIG difference. Below, I will speak MOSTLY from an upper grades teacher perspective, but know that these same principals I have established were also used during my time as a Kindergarten teacher ;)

Building Regular Routines:

• Homeroom Arrival - model and show students what is expected as soon as they walk into your classroom; have visuals listed or a chart listed with step-by-step what should be done; once you teach and show students the routine, do not allow them to disrupt it - meaning, if they come and ask you what to do or if they forgot, simply point to the chart. If you stop to show them and not let them think and figure it out (remember you modeled it for them) then they will depend on your to do this any time. My arrival procedures are as follows: 

1. Place all notes to teacher or $ to teacher in the designated basket.
2. Sharpen pencils and prepare all items for the day.
3. Use the restroom.
4. Begin morning work.

• Final Dismissal - model and show students what is expected as soon as they walk into your classroom; have visuals listed or a chart listed with step-by-step what should be done; once you teach and show students the routine, do not allow them to disrupt it - meaning, if they come and ask you what to do or if they forgot, simply point to the chart. If you stop to show them and not let them think and figure it out (remember you modeled it for them) then they will depend on your to do this any time. My arrival procedures are as follows: 

1. Upon teacher's direction, pack your items in book bag.
2. Clean up any trash in and around your desk.
3. Stack your chair and any chairs in your pod.
4. Car riders line up (tell designated spot); Bus riders line up (tell designated spot).

• Class Changes Arrival - If you are departmentalized, you will have students coming and going from your class. In order to keep you sane, and to maximize time, you will want to list the TOOLS needed for class. That way, you can train them to look as they enter the room and have those items ready as they are getting seated. This saved TONS of time!! For example, under TOOLS, I might list one day: Reading Notebook, Pencil, Sticky Notes. OR another day I might list: Check out Chromebook, Reading Notebook (all depends on that day's lesson). 

• Class Changes Dismissal - Same is true for dismissal... if you want to save time, have a PLAN! I always have my phone set for 5 minutes before switching classes. Once this song begins playing, students will wait for my "go" and they know to do the following: pick up trash in their area, collected their materials and return my materials, stand behind chair for table dismissal. 

• Supplies - I have supplies for the class, rather than making students carry their own or having any in pods. MOST students will carry crayons or colored pencils with them, so this is the only thing I do not have. This has worked for me, and has worked well. Why change it if it works!! Due to having a class set of materials, students have the freedom to come and go to get what they need. I provide: scissors, stick glue, tape, sticky notes, highlighters, hole punch, pens, etc. The only thing they MUST sign out and back in is if they borrow a pen ;) This holds them accountable. Once I teach them this, they do it quickly and quietly, if needed. I may have 1-2 students needing to do this each class.

• Writing Utensils: I DO NOT allow students to sharpen pencils during precious class time; therefore, I do have pens in my supply area for students IF their pencil breaks and they do not have another pencil or if they misplaced theirs, they KNOW (as I model this) not to ask me for one... but they simply sign one of my pens out and back in upon dismissal. 

Gaining Attention/Sustaining Engagement:

• Eyes on Teacher - This is a biggie in any classroom. You MUST have a way to get the students' attention, especially if you have a bunch of talkers! I have used many different chants, but my favorite has to be one that I allowed the students to help me come up with... "Hold up wait a minute, let us put some Fulbright in it!" I say: Hold up wait a minute; They say: Let us put some Fulbright in it. It is fun, and they LOVE it. The alternative (very quick one) I sometimes still use is 1, 2, 3, eyes on me! Find a chant you like, and stick with it. Again, train the kids or it will NOT work ;)

• Group Work - TEACH the kids how to work in a group by setting criteria for group work - meaning, ask them what it should look like and sound like if they are working in a group. Based on their responses, create a chart. Using the words GROUP can also be a great way to set criteria. Each letter can represent something for group work. Practice and refer back to chart often. 

• Partner Work - Practice how to work in partners. Assign partners OR have random partners... either way, set criteria to ensure that BOTH people participate equally. 

• Model/Enthusiasm - To keep students engaged, model, model, model HOW and HOW NOT to do things. Show some enthusiasm and they will want to stay with you and participate. Find out about your students so you can also incorporate their interests to sustain their attention:) 

• Use Visuals - Another thing that keeps them engaged is the use of visuals, plus it will assist your ELL and Special Needs students. 

• Change it up - Change up lessons... have individual tasks, group task, tasks that involve movement from time to time, tasks that involve music, use technology, etc. SPICE IT UP ;) That way, they will always want to see what's going to happen in your class each day! 

Behaviors:

• Relationships - I consider this a management skill. Building positive relationships with students is KEY to success in the classroom. If you go out of your way to know them beyond teaching them - like knowing what their interests are, then you have MORE chances of ensuring success with each child.

• The Good - Point out when students are showing positive characteristics in the classroom: "Bobby is ready to start class, as he used the TOOLS chart as soon as he entered today!" "Sarah really shows she is following the GROUP work criteria by giving others a chance to talk." etc. These little reminders will encourage all students. REALLY try to point out a struggling child... this can go a long way.

• The Bad - You will have times where a student does not want to get started on their work, are stalling, are bothering others, perhaps. What do you do? First, DO NOT SWEAT THE LITTLE THINGS... meaning, if it is something that is not hindering their learning or the learning of others, ignoring it is always a great idea. Sometimes they just want attention - and it is good not to make it a habit of giving them that negative attention. If it is interfering with learning, send them on a short errand to refocus their thinking. These usually help me! Then, there are some times that are unavoidable... The Ugly!

• The Ugly - You may come across a stinker who may just be defiant or have some emotional issues, etc. If this is the case and you have exhausted all efforts OR if students are in danger, you need to contact the office and have the student removed. I have had to do little of this, as I believe ALL my other routines, structure, and building of relationships helps to prevent this from happening. 

Transitions:

• Proximity - ANY time you have a transition, it is MOST important to BE in the hallway during the transition. Staying in your room and thinking they will get to the next location without difficulties (or because you have something last minute you need to do) IS a HUGE mistake. They need your body in view - this is a BIG deal. Any time I have visible during a transition, there are no issues. The only time I have seen a transition issue is when an adult was still in their room when sending the kids on to their next location... so BE there!! BE visible! 

• Time Matters - Another important part of transitions is for ALL team members to synchronize their clocks (phones are great for this) to ensure all classes are ready and switching at the same time. If one is early and another is late, students waiting will get into trouble (leads back to the proximity tip;) and that will lead to one teacher having to watch over two classes (the one leaving and the one coming - NOT GOOD)! Avoid this as much as possible. 

Practice Makes Perfect (Close to Perfect):

One of my GOLDEN RULES is that nothing will work unless you are willing to invest time at the BEGINNING of the school year to practice ALL procedures and routines until they are done correctly!!!! DO NOT SKIP THIS! For lower grades (when I taught Kindergarten) it took me at least a week to establish smooth routines. For upper grades, a couple of days. DO NOT assume the teacher previous to you taught this. DO NOT assume students already know these things. THESE are BIG mistakes. If for some reason they 'get it' and do it right and later begin to slack off - be willing to STOP immediately and practice that routine. This does not happen often IF you ensure it is automatic the first few days of school ;) TRUST ME... the time you spend doing this WILL pay off in the long run and save valuable instructional time throughout the year!

MORE... 
There are SO many classroom management skills that I am sure I have not mentioned, so IF there is a specific routine that I did not cover (these were the first to come to mind), then please post a comment below and I will be happy to add any other routines!! I hope the information above will assist someone in some way! Thanks :)

Currently July - Already??

Wow! Summer sure is flying by... which means back to school. Don't get me wrong, I love my school babies, but also loving all the precious time with my family!

What am I currently doing on this raining day in Georgia? Linking up with Farley:)

I am actually in the middle of working on an awesome set that I hope to release tomorrow! I also posted my Independence Day sale in my TpT store (check it out this weekend)! In the midst of doing those things, I love to listen to light music in the background. We have a local station that plays a mixture, which I love a variety. Some new, some old, some of this, some of that...

I have spent much quality time with my family so far this summer, and I am grateful for every moment... going by way too quickly!

With creating and revamping some products, I have been staying up WAY too late and am totally off of my usually sleeping pattern - how many of you out there have a summer sleeping schedule that gets WAY off?? EEK! It always catches up with me the first few days back to work LOL.

All STAR games have been going on locally and abroad... and when thinking about what I am really good at, I think about what people have constantly told me. There are two things I hear repeatedly...

1) You are able to truly connect with your students and they respect you due to the positive relationships you form with them.

2) You are organized and manage your classroom flow very effectively.


I truly value the fact that I am good at something, especially the first one - it is very important to me and is the essence of what I do each day.

I know there are so many talented educators out there... what do you feel or are told you are amazing at doing?

Independence Day Sale

Happy Independence Day! Praying it is a safe one for everyone. I have a sale for you on select items in my TpT store. Head on over and save by clicking the image below:

I had decided to have a sale, and then saw Mrs. McClain's linky, which was PERFECT!!! Go check out some more sales;)

Pick 5 or 10 and SAVE $ {and win}

I was thinking about how to save customers $ when purchasing multiple items, so I created a PICK 5 and PICK 10 set. There are 16 items to choose from. Click each image to see details:

The first TEN people to purchase either set will be entered to win ANY item from my store!

Fulbright's Friday FREEBIE!

Once a month {on a RANDOM Friday}, I will be posting a FREEBIE to all followers on my TpT page. Please head on over, so you can begin receiving the random freebies EXCLUSIVE to TpT followers! :) Click the image to head on over and FOLLOW me!

Students take a journey through their texts

Found this post sitting here from March of 2014 that I guest posted, but never posted here:

How can we get students to review standards taught, yet continue high levels of learning? I have begun what I like to call a "Journey Through a Text," with my students. This is a great to:

1) Use when introducing a skill during mini-lessons
2) Once all mini-lessons have been taught and students have practiced the skills; it is a great way to review all skills independently on their OWN level.

First, it is important to have a plan at how to take your journey. What I want to do next year, that I didn't do this year (remember, it was my 1st year in 5th grade... still learning what works and what doesn't). My plan next year would be to introduce and model these skills with each novel we read. In doing so, they will have seen my modeling multiple times. PLUS, they would have practiced (with my guidance) multiple times. In addition, I want to make the process slow and steady. It is never a good idea to rush such deep work.

So, how do we take a journey through a text? I will show you step by step how to take the journey, which skills to focus on based on our 5th grade standards, and tell you a little about where students could go wrong with their journey, so you can be ready to get them back on track.

Here goes...

The skills/standards we will be working on are as follows:

* ELACC RL1
* ELACC RL2
* ELACC RL3
* ELACC RL4
* ELACC RL6

* ELACC RI1
* ELACC RI2
* ELACC RI4
* ELACC RI5

* Figurative Language
* Inferences
* Textual Evidence/Main Idea
* Textual Structure
* Vocabulary
* Sentence Structure
* Visualization
* Context Clues
* Summarizing
* Theme
* Character Analysis 
* Point of View


I will talk you through half of the "Journey" using the text Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.

STEP 1 - choose a text; You can choose a novel to work on together (so you can model and practice together). This is what I recommend to begin with. Once you have completed a journey together at least twice, I would allow students to use an independent reading book (their choice & their level).

STEP 2 - Students will need to fill out their cover page with the text title, author's name, and choose 6 items to work on. Again, I would start slow... introduce one concept as you get to a mini-lesson about that specific skill. 

STEP 3 - Begin the journey. I will show you 6 of the 12 5th grade skills you can dig deep with. 

VISUALIZATIONS:

With this digging deep journey activity, students are to create a visual representation outlining the major points of the text. They must find a portion they have read that they can really visualize. Just saying: "The dog ran down the road." is not enough. If it said, "The gigantic German Shepard leaped effortlessly over the fence, as globs of slobber splashed here and there." then that would be enough details in order for us to truly visualize the scene. Students want to put general sentences here, but when you have modeled similar sentences, as I have below, they have a better understanding of what types of words and sentences can really paint a picture in their minds. 

 

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

After spending a lot of quality time with each type of figurative language, students begin quickly identifying these types within the texts they are reading. With this journey skill, students must dig deep to find an example of each type of figurative language, write the meaning of the example, and then illustrate. If for some reason the text you are working on does not have one of the types, then I had my students create one that would fit in their text. See some of my samples below:

CONTEXT CLUES:

At first, my students got this page and the vocabulary page confused. With this journey page, students review using context clues in order to figure out the meaning of unknown words. After modeling & practicing multiple times, students should be able to use the text around the unknown word in order to come up with a close meaning. Another skill we practice along with this is substitution. After reading around the unknown word, students can determine a word that would be similar in meaning, reread by substituting with that new word to see if the new word makes sense. If so, that could assist in determining the meaning of this unknown word.

Students are to find a word, and then they should EXPLAIN the meaning and HOW they figured that meaning out. Many students wanted to either "quote" the sentence with the word (incorrect); write a sentence using the word (incorrect); or write the definition of the word (incorrect). What must be thought about here is the process in which they took in order to determine the meaning.

TEXT STRUCTURE:

Not all texts are structured the same way. After reviewing the different ways, students can begin to look at key words, visuals, etc. in order to decide which type of structure the text was written. Rather than just tell the structure, it is important that students are able to communicate HOW they know. They need to back their response with some type of proof. Some of the structures we have discussed are Cause/Effect, Sequence of Events, Description, Compare/Contrast, Problem/Solution, etc. See the example below:

THEME:

Although texts can have more than one theme, it is important for students to figure out which theme is the overall theme of the text by providing enough evidence to support that theme. It is not enough to say that "Perseverance" is the theme, they must say that "the turtle kept going and didn't give up" as proof for support. Prior to identifying and supporting a theme, use picture books to teach mini-lessons to show evidence for many different types of themes. With this skill, students just wanted to list all the themes they could find. The proof is what makes all the difference!

SENTENCE STRUCTURE:

Lastly, I wanted to show how we review compound and complex sentences. My students have learned so much about these types of sentences through first identifying these types within texts they read. After identifying these types, they can then combine sentences in order to create these types. Here, they can practice writing these more fluently by taking simple sentences within their text and combine them to create compound or complex sentences. Here are two simple sentences that I have modeled.

I hope that this "Journey through the Text" has shown a deep way of reviewing many 5th grade reading standards. I am sure there are many other creative ways in which to review these standards, but I found this way very rewarding for my students. I sure hope that it can be a time saver for you!!

You can purchase this resource in my TpT store by clicking the image below:

Blogging in the Classroom

Some people have asked how I use a blog in the classroom, so I wanted to tell you a little bit about how I use my Weebly Blog as a classroom tool. Boy oh boy has it been a lifesaver!

All classroom teachers have their uniques ways they utilize digital tools. I do not claim to be an expert, but only sharing what has worked for me... and I hope will work for you ;) I started using Kidblog two years ago, but really like the features Weebly offers. For this reason, I switched over last year. The site is super easy to use and manage.

In this post, I will pinpoint the following:

Why use a blog in the classroom?

There are a few reasons why I use a blog in the classroom:

1) Students are now required to complete the End of Year assessment entirely online, which consists of constructed response questions (written portions). Providing opportunities to respond in written online formats throughout the year better prepares my students.

2) Blogging saves time and paper! I can quickly check work online at home or in class without having to lug 100+ papers with me! Additionally, it is nice not to have to make so many copies. When departmentalizing, I typically have between 85-100+ students, which = A LOT of paper. I do not have many paper/pencil assignments, which helps... but this is an added BONUS :)

3) Do you have super unorganized students? Well, with blogging assignments, students cannot lose their work ;)

4) Engagement and Collaboration - students enjoy having the opportunity to discuss work during class time or even while sitting at home! Some students who typically are shy to speak out in class will run with this opportunity (NO, this does not replace class discussion - it enhances it and helps spark discussion in class even).


What do I place on the classroom blog?

When thinking about what to post on your blog, think SIMPLE. SWEET. TO THE POINT. You certainly do not want to overwhelm students, but you want to make it enjoyable. For these reasons, I include graphics, occasional polls, and activities to earn additional points.

I primarily use the blog for students to respond to nonfiction articles. My goal is to ensure they are close reading and reading complex texts. Many times, I will choose an article from Newsela as the student can adjust the reading level. Other times, I will work with the SS and SC teachers to include articles to review or preview concepts for their classes. With each article (I can embed the article and they can download OR just place a direct link), students are to respond to the constructed response question (CRQ). I use my CRQ rubric to grade their writing. On these types of posts, I make sure the post comments come directly to me, rather than it posting on the site (so I can use it for a grade).

Other times, I will ask a question for them to have conversation about. It is very important at the beginning of the year to have guidelines in place when communicating online. In some instances I will even post class book reward results in chart format. I like to change it up and keep it active, which engages students and keeps it FRESH!


How do I manage the blog and use it effectively?

Managing the use of the blog does take a little time to get used to. I always check for completed assignment comments once a week (usually Friday night), but you can play around with it and see what works best for you. I use a checklist and the rubric to quickly grade their responses. I give them two weeks to read the article and respond, as I expect THROUGH responses. I do not always print out a rubric for each child. It just depends on the depth and purpose of the assignment. Please check out my Constructed Response sheets if you would like:

Constructed Response Strategy Posters & Graphic Organizers
Close Reading CRQs for Upper Grades (this has the Rubric I mentioned)

You need to be sure you are holding the students accountable (and is why I take the response for a CRQ grade) or they will abuse the use of the blog. Additionally, you need to provide class time (maybe homeroom or some other center time) to allow ALL students the opportunity to respond. We cannot assume they will have the means to connect online at home (all depending on your school's demographics).

How can I ensure students are using the blog?

To ensure students are using the blog, give them time to use the site! Make the time each week during homeroom, during intervention time when you are working with small groups, during any center time you may have, AND allow them to work on them at home. Just remember not ALL students will have connection to the internet at home.

Another way to encourage use of the blog is to place "extra points" activities on the site. I have a Big Book Buck$ program I use to motivate reading. From time to time, I will provide them additional points for reading and responding to other literature.

Lastly, I do require written responses on the blog every two weeks. By requiring an assignment, they must go onto the site. Once there, they will see the action going on and will hopefully become a more active participant.

How do I make it safe for my students?

You have control of the students who have access to the blog through the blog controls. You will have to play around with the settings a bit. When you set your site up, be sure to go into the settings and create specific members if you wish OR set a password (as pictured below):

Once you have your settings secure, you have the control over the site. You may also want to set it up for parents to interact (be sure to get signed permission depending on your school's guidelines). I cannot STRESS enough how important it is to go over the basics with students and be sure they know your expectations for their use on the classroom blog. 

If all is done properly, this can be one of the most SUCCESSFUL tools you can ever have in your classroom. Best of luck! If you have ANY questions, please drop a line in the comments!!

Mega Mommy Mondays {Scavenger Hunt}

This summer, my daughter and I have pegged Mondays as: Mega Mommy Mondays. Each Monday, we have an activity planned. Below is our list of activities. Today, I created an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt. My daughter LOVES to draw, so it is a DOODLE it scavenger hunt. Maybe you and your child can enjoy some outdoor fun with this {FREEBIE}. Simply click the image to download:)

Mega Mommy Monday Activities:

Week 1 - Movie Time Monday
Week 2 - White Water Park
Week 3 - Sponge Target Game/Draw with Ice Chalk
Week 4 - Six Flags
Week 5 - Doodle It Scavenger Hunt
Week 6 - Geocaching
Week 7 - Giant Jenga Game
Week 8 - Geocaching
Week 9 - Geocaching
Week 10 - Water Gun Fun
Week 11 - Video Game Day

Explicitly Teaching Constructed Responses

Explicit teaching is vital when introducing new concepts for students - regardless of their age. When I heard students would be required to write constructed responses (CRs) on the End of Grade (EOG) assessment, I went into "Sherlock" mode... What is a constructed response (exactly)? What is it that I should ensure students should know and be able to do with them? How do I teach them how to write a constructed response? How can I teach this new way of answering questions so that my advanced students are challenged, yet my ELL and Special Needs students can be successful?

These are some of the many questions I began asking myself and what I decided to dig deeper into LAST summer (2014). There are two things I considered during this quest:

• Question: How can I ensure my advanced students are still being challenged? 
• Answer: When I develop constructed response questions (CRQs), I need to make certain I am asking Depth of Knowledge (DOK) questions at levels 3 & 4. This will ensure rigor. 

• Question: How can I aid my ELL and Special Needs students and still include rigor?
• Answer: I will continue to develop CRQs on all levels to ensure higher order thinking is taking place, but I will teach a strategy to aid these students in writing their responses. 

What did I find in my search to assist in both of the questions above?

Advanced Students: I read more about Webb's DOK and from what I read at the links listed below, I developed some questioning stems that I use during group discussions (to practice verbally answering CRQs). Furthermore, I used the questioning stems when developing Exit Tickets, other formative assessments, etc. 

Links:

Webb's DOK Wheel

105 DOK Question Stems ELA

105 DOK Question Stems MATH

Developing Higher Order Questions

Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Increase Rigor

ELL/Special Needs Students: I was overjoyed when I stumbled across (cannot recall the site where I first saw this) the RACE/ACE strategy. This strategy provides a step-by-step process and acronym that aids students in each step of writing the constructed response. Students are able to thoroughly construct answers and provide details with this strategy! After discovering this, I developed a set of posters and such as reminders for students. 

Now that I have the basics mentioned, how did I explicitly teach students how to write these CRs?

Model, model, model, practice, practice, practice... These are the KEY words when I think of explicitly teaching - and of course, be sure you are clear and precise. 

NOTE: Throughout this process, careful attention is always placed on the type of questions asked based upon the content area being taught - whether answering CRQs about a novel, SS time period, science/math concept, etc. Also, always have a mixture of DOK Levels 1-4 questions to reach all learners. 

Before STEP 1: Close Read the Question - This step is CRITICAL! DO NOT SKIP! Students cannot answer a question if they have NO clue what they are answering. Students need to close read the question to identify WHAT they are looking for in the text, HOW they need to answer the question, and to ensure they answer ALL parts. Many assessment questions will have multiple parts. For example, "What was the main reason the North thought it would win the Civil War?

What was the main reason the South thought it would win the Civil War?"

They need to circle/highlight words that they need to look for in the text and they need to be sure to mark the ENTIRE question. See my markings above.

STEP 1: Restating a question - Students need to be shown and need to practice how to restate the given question. When doing so, show them that they do not have to reinvent the wheel; they can simply use the words from the question!! Focus on omitting the question-type words. 

Example: 

CRQ Explain the significance of the event described in Chapter 3. Provide details to support your answer. 

Restated response One significance from the event in Chapter three is... 

CRQ Why does Bobby decide to take another path?

Restated response Bobby decides to take another path because... 

Again, it is important for you to model this often and allow them to practice often (no matter what grade level - do not assume they just know). Once you feel they are ready to move on...

STEP 2: Answer question by citing evidence - After restating the question, students will now begin answering the question. When answering, they must be able to find evidence from the text (or if inferring also include what they know) in order to thoroughly answer the question. Simply telling the answer is unacceptable. They must be able to back it up in some way. How?

They will need to dig deep into the text (close read) to find 2 or more pieces of evidence that answer the question. Again, MODEL this for students and have them practice.

Once they find their evidence, they do not need to always quote exactly - it is a great time to talk about plagiarism and teach them how to put what they read into their own words - paraphrase. Model how to do a little of both, which will enhance their response. 

Additionally, be PREPARED for students to answer CRQs about paired texts (texts that are read together, because they are related in some way). Students will need to be prepared to provide evidence from BOTH passages. Again, (yes, monotonous) model this for students and have them practice!

STEP 3: Explaining their thinking - Once students have restated and answered using evidence from the text, it is time to explain their thinking and tell why the evidence best answers the question. This is their time to put all the pieces together and show they really understand what is being asked. I have found that this step is the most difficult and will take the most modeling and practice. "Just because it is in the text" or "I found this on page 2, paragraph three" does not cut it. Have them think about: Why does this piece of evidence BEST answer the question over choosing something else? That is what they are explaining. They will have to ask this for each piece of evidence they are planning to use. Depending on the question, they may need more or less evidence. Many questions may specify: "Provide 3 examples of how the character showed courage." If it doesn't, at least 2 should be sufficient.  

STEP 4: Sentence Parts - As an ELA teacher, I ALWAYS teach that the most powerful tool for a writer is the ability to reread what they write. Students need to reread to make sure their piece is clear, answers the question, and has all parts listed above. Once they have verified these, they can check for spelling, grammar, etc. ;) The content is the MOST important first! They may lose content focusing on this throughout. Just for reading, you can click here for a FREE rubric for you and your students to use as a checklist. 

Now it is YOUR turn. You may already have a wonderful technique that works well. If not, try this out - it will take practice and patience. Best of luck!

Resources:

Paired Texts for Practice

RACE Strategy Posters

Constructed Response Questions for Upper Grades

want ALL 248 of my ELA posters?

Click image to purchase BUNDLE

Yes, 248 posters. This is My ELA POSTERS BUNDLE #1. I have priced it very reasonably for $20.00 as a promotion - will originally be $30, so get it NOW. It contains 13 of my sets. Each set sells for around $5 each, so this is a HUGE deal -- if priced as it should be, it would be around $65 - so either way, you are getting a DEAL! $20 promotional cost will ONLY last a limited time! There is a way to WIN this new bundle:

Three things to do:
#1 - Refer a friend - meaning, tag a friend in a post on my FB page asking them to join my page. https://www.facebook.com/2fulbrighthugs
#2 - Comment on the blog post about how you plan to use any items from the set. http://teachertakers.blogspot.com/2015/02/want-all-248-of-my-ela-posters.html
#3 - Send me an email with a screenshot showing you follow my TpT page (like the example below) to gamommy2chloe@gmail.com

If you follow all the rules above by Wednesday, you will be entered to win this MEGA poster BUNDLE! Best of luck and thank you for tagging along!

How Time Flies... and FREEBIE!

This year has been a CRAZY one to say the least. I have been the SACS (accreditation) chairperson for our school this year and what a massive job it has been overseeing this job! I have learned a great deal throughout the year about myself, my colleagues, about my school and district - so the rewards are good ones, it just consumed my time. When I do something, I do it with my whole heart - and is why I have been MIA on my blog this year!

I wanted to thank you all for sticking with me, so I have a FREEBIE page from my new Homograph set. Head on over to my Facebook page to find out how you can WIN the entire 90 page set today! It is a simple guessing game - good luck! And thanks, again! :)

Click the image for the FREEBIE:

NEW HOMOGRAPH set:

March 17th is our SACS visit date, so I HOPE to be on here more after then!! YAY!!! Light at the end of the tunnel! :)