Friday, 26 June 2015
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!
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
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).
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:
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:
Monday, 22 June 2015
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):
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
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
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
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:
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!
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