Theme Day - Book Buffet

If you're looking for a fun theme day dedicated to the LOVE of reading in your classroom, a book buffet day may be the perfect fit.  This was another one of our end of the year theme days this year, but a day dedicated to the love of reading ... happy sigh ... well, it would be perfect at any time during the year.

To get things started, I asked the students to pick their favorite book from independent reading this year.  It could be any genre, and read at any time over the school year.  I was surprised by some of their choices, but when I saw all the books altogether, it just made me happy.

And here they are - my grade 4/5 students' favorite independent reads from the year:

Once we had our faves collected, I told the students they would be writing a Book Love Note - a little sticky note explaining why they love the book they picked.  We started our notes "To the next person that reads this book ..." and then they filled in the rest.  They stuck the notes in the fronts of the books, and then we took a moment to let each student read their note to the class.  I LOVE the idea that my class next year will find all these little love note treasures when they're searching through my classroom library next year.  

In fact ... I LOVED their little notes so much, I just made a little "Book Love Note Nook" to keep on top of my bookshelves next year so I can keep the love going.  I even found some fun little heart-shaped sticky notes to use for it.  We won't limit our love notes to one day next year; students can write a book love note whenever they feel they need to "share the love".  I made this little "Book Love Notes" graphic and uploaded it took google drive in case you'd like to grab a copy for your own class.  You can download it HERE.

After writing and talking about how much we love books, well ... we had to READ!  I told students they could bring in blankets and pillows for the day, if they wished, and I let them make up comfy little nests to read in ... which soon turned into comfy little forts.  Some brought in flashlights, too.  So, all curled up, we started to read.  We read for 1/2 an hour ... and did this 3 times throughout the day (once during each of our 100 minute blocks of our day).  It was awesome!

Next up in our big book buffet, was a fun book raffle.  I had a big box of books discarded from the library, and students brought in some of their old books to trade, too.  We put all the books in the middle of the room, and then I started to draw names.  When their name was drawn, they could pick a book.  After each round, I gave them 15 seconds to make a trade with something left in the middle.  We were able to go through about 3-4 rounds of books, and everyone went home with some "new to them" books.

To finish up our book loving buffet, we did a drama circle I've been working on ... with a theme none other than READING, of course.  I LOVE watching my students perform drama circles - it always brings us closer together.  You can take a peek at my newest drama circle by clicking HERE or on the picture to the right.  What an awesome day of celebrating our love of reading.  And I know my students enjoyed it just as much as I did!

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Reading Response Activities for Wonder

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that we have just finished Wonder by RJ Palacio as our read aloud ... but not wanting to give up Auggie just yet, we're reading The Julian Chapter from Auggie and Me.  A few people have asked me about what we did during our reading of the novel, so I decided to put together a blog post with some of our favorite activities.

For our daily read aloud, I usually read for about 10 - 15 minutes a day.  I don't do a reading response for our read aloud every day - usually about 2 to 3 a week, though (through our independent and shared reading, they have a lot comprehension and response minilessons so we have other avenues for practice).  I also like to switch up our format a bit - bored learners are not engaged learners.  We do have a reading response notebook where we do a lot of our responses, but we like to use other formats as well.

We completed one of our first favorites early on in the novel, and was a great tie-in to teaching empathy.  Perhaps you've seen images from an anti-bullying lesson and crumpled paper - that one stuck with me from the minute I saw it.  (There are many examples all over the web, but you can read a little more about it HERE.)  I knew it would be a great lesson to go along with Wonder.  We talked about how it would feel to be Auggie - to have people stare and call names.  I then handed out a small piece of paper to each student.  I told the students to call the paper names and say mean things to it - the kinds of things Auggie may have overheard.  They were to crumple the paper in a ball as they were doing this, being responsible for the paper getting smaller and smaller and more destroyed.  I then had them apologize to the paper, over and over, as they tried to smooth it out and make it "better".  We talked about how the paper never went back to the way it was before - even when they tried to make it better, the marks and scars were still visible.  They thought this was pretty powerful.  I then had them use this paper to do their reader response on.  I asked them three questions to respond to on the paper:

• What did we do?
• What did you learn?
• How can you connect this activity to Auggie in Wonder?

Sometimes I just changed up the way we answered questions, instead of having them answer in their notebooks.  I would write a quote on the whiteboard and they could respond right on the whiteboard, or use sticky notes to take notes while I was reading and post them after, and I also used a lot of printables from my Building Better Reading Responses and Stick-It-Together editable templates because they reinforced the reading response goals we were working on.  I didn't have a set list of questions from the novel to choose from, instead, I came up with a question after our reading each day, thinking about the parts that really seemed to stick with the students or became great discussion starters.  (You'll see color coding on some of our reading responses - this comes from our Reading Response Goals from my Building Better Reading Responses resource.)

I have a Stick-It-Together Novel resource full of comprehension questions for Wonder that cover a variety of reading skills.  These collaborative reading responses are my absolute favorite group work activity.  Each student is first accountable for writing their own answer on a sticky note, and then they work to "stick together" their answers to build the best collaborative answer containing parts of their own original answers.  Using these pages on a regular basis really helps your students reading responses improve - the more the students worked collaboratively to revise their best answers, the more they included these kinds of revisions in their own answers.  Click HERE or on the picture to take a peek at this resource.

For our summative activity for the book, our last reading response, I knew I wanted to do something special.  We started by doing directed drawings of the face shape on the cover of the book.  I gave each student a piece of white paper, and just told them what to draw from looking at the image.  For example, I said, start out by drawing a large oval in the middle of the page, with the top being a little flatter than the bottom.  For the hair, make an upside down V about an inch from the top of the oval, a little to the right of the middle.  I was also drawing the same picture on the board as I was giving the instructions, so they had something to follow along.  When we were done we cut out the face shapes and glued them to a piece of blue paper. We loved how these turned out!

Our last reader response question was based on a event from Auggie's graduation.  I wrote this on the board:

  -  At the end of Wonder, Mr. Tushman said, "Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right using of strength.  he is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts ...".  Auggie won the Beecher medal because this quote applies to him.  Explain, using evidence from the text, what this quote means and how it applies to Auggie.  How did he use his greatness to make others great?  It was a pretty deep question for my grade 4/5 class, but we've had many deep conversations throughout the novel, and they ROCKED it.  Super proud teacher moment.

When they were done the rough drafts of their responses, they wrote their good copies right on the faces (they drew lines in pencil to write on).  These turned out so wonderful!  They made a great celebration and evidence of learning bulletin board, appropriately entitled, Choose Kind.  :)  

When you're reading a book that has so many great lessons, you just feel inspired to come up with some great lessons of your own.  :)

And lastly, a fabulous way to wrap up the unit is having your students perform this super fun Wonder Drama Circle.  Your students will LOVE getting to act out small parts of the novel, and they get to work on their oral fluency skills at the same time.  Win.

I'd love to hear about some of your must-do lessons to go along with Wonder.  Leave a comment below about something you do in your room.

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Learn Like a Pirate - Improvement Focus

Chapter 4 of Learn Like a Pirate is all about Improvement Focus versus Grade Focus.  "On-going descriptive feedback" is a phrase that is as common as reading and writing in my area, so I knew as soon as I read the chapter title that this would be a natural fit.

Early in the chapter, Paul states that his students don't take many tests or quizzes.  Instead, they spend the time working and learning more.  In my classroom, that ongoing descriptive feedback happens daily through our classroom work and formative assessments.  We regularly go back and improve work, and students engage in meaningful discussions and reflections on how to take their work to the next level.  However, summative assessments still happen - and are required to happen through data walls, evidence pieces required for PLC meetings, porfolio pieces ... the list goes on.   The formative work is where the learning happens, but the summative is where the learning is proven.  And in my opinion, there is too much focus on the summative which detracts from all the work and effort done through the formative ... but I'm not sure how to get admin and parents on board with that shift.

One of the things that I LOVE about this book is the QR codes Paul includes to further your understanding of the concepts he includes.  In this chapter he goes into depth discussing how he and his students use eportfolios - which I was very interested in learning more about.  And just as I was thinking about what they actually look like / include ... BAM ... a QR code that takes me to his blog where he has full examples and samples and links to more information.  I really LOVE the idea of eportfolios and want to dig a little deeper into this (and I love even more the fact that Paul says it eliminates all those homework excuses).  Last week I had a fabulous opportunity to visit my daughers' school where my middle daughter (in grade 3) led me through her student led conference.  Independently, she went through her portfolio and told me about her strengths, areas of need, and things she was most proud of.  I LOVED every single second of it.  (I will be writing more about it in an upcoming blog post).  I left there knowing this was definitely something I was going to do with my own students next year ... and now I'm thinking about how I can add eportfolios to this (just have to check up on our current technology situation / schedule for the year).  And it IS a tangible resource for showing student learning and mastery of goals (and embraces and celebrates student reflection which I already find invaluable).

My other favorite part of this chapter was his discussion about critical peer feedback (and yes, that's a positive thing).  ;)  We do A LOT of peer conferencing and peer feedback in my classroom - especially during writing.  And I, like Paul, see the value in it, but struggle when I don't a lot of value in the peer feedback.  I have done things like "two stars and a wish" which has evolved into  "SWAP Conferences" (where they swap writing pieces for feedback to provide: a  star, wonder (3 questions), advice for the writer, and plans for revision, but I often found that the advice was lacking from their peers.  I think my students' worried a lot about hurting their peers' feelings, instead of looking at it as an opportunity to improve.  Paul writes about a "Quality Booster" lesson he now does with his students to improve feedback - and this is DEFINITELY going to happen in my class next year.  (If you'd like a copy of this SWAP conference sheet I made, you can grab one by clicking HERE or on the picture.)

One chapter ... so many ideas ... so perfect.  :)  Happy Thursday!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Learn Like a Pirate - Peer Collaboration

Peer Collaboration

We're a pirate-loving family.  :)

Today's first lesson is an easy one ... the "P" in pirate stands for Peer Collaboration.  And if you've ever stepped foot in my classroom (or I hope you have gleaned from my blog and fb posts), you will know how much I already embrace this concept.

Let's face it - I teach chatty kids.  It comes with the territory when you teach the older kids (and I'm quite sure the same holds true for the younger kids, too).  And I'm OK with that (although, it did take a few years before I could say that).  Chat away, my dears.  The secret is in making sure that talk is purposeful.  And the opportunities are plentiful.  But, the key to successful collaboration happens in the very first minutes and days of the year - the students need to see themselves as part of a community - a collaborative community - where they all feel respected, safe, and valued.

Right away I read something I knew I was going to use in my classroom.  You know those little "attention getters" we use as teachers (such as "give me five" or clapping, or whatever you use) ... well, imagine the empowerment students will feel if you hand over that tool to them, as well.  I get goosebumps just thinking about this.  I clap a rhythm pattern when I want my students to focus, and they clap it back to me (a very small way of integrating a little music theory here and there).  And the time I use this most often is when the students are collaborating with their peers and I think I have something important or relevant to tell them.  Can you imagine how cool it would be for students to do this?  They come up with so many wonderful and insightful ideas during their collaborations, that it only seems fair that they should be able to use the attention getters to share their thoughts, too.  I used to wait until the end of the lesson to let students share with the class, but in a student-led classroom, the students should have the power to decide when they want to share (and they will learn the best times to do this through feedback from you).  Seriously awesome.  Paul also gives other suggestions for the student-led attention getters - reminding the class when it's time to transition to another subject, improving tasks or solving problems, asking questions they can't find an answer to, or demonstrating skills they are learning.  With students taking on these little leadership roles, the teacher remains free to continue working with other students or providing feedback.

Paul continues by explaining how to teach students to use this power properly - because I know some of you may be thinking, this would get SO out of control in the classroom.  But it won't.  Not if the time is taken to set it up correctly, and consistent feedback is provided to students who misuse it, and who use it correctly.  And a little chaos during the beginning days is well worth the benefits the rest of the year will provide.  And that chaos can be turned into teachable moments - reminding students why it's important to work TOGETHER to find the best way that works for them - and teaching them the difference between active and passive leadership.

The chapter goes on to discuss learning spaces and classroom set-up, student partnerships (one thing that stood out here is that Paul almost never lets his students choose their own partners - I already do this, but when I started this book I was certain I would have to lose this - not so - he uses popsicle sticks and I can keep my name jar), responsibility partners (which are accountability partners), strategies to dealing with conflict, classroom meetings (includes suggestions for topics - and I will definitely use The Marble Theory meeting at the beginning of the year), and so much more.

And THEN ... he goes on to explain how he uses the novel, Wonder, to really get his collaborative community working ... and I just knew this was perfect.  I was already planning to use Wonder as my first read aloud / shared reading ... so the pieces are falling into place all around me.  Happy, happy, happy.

This is definitely a chapter I will go back and reread in the days before school begins, and probably a few more times during the year.  It is packed full of goodness and leaves my mind spinning (in a good way).

*** Edit:  I told you my mind was spinning - lol.  Not 5 minutes after I finished this post I started to write a new blog post because I thought of a great idea of how to use one of the team-building activities I do at the beginning of the year to introduce the whole idea of a student-led classroom to my students on the first day of school.  Check back in tomorrow to read all about it.  ***

An InLinkz Link-up

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Learn Like a Pirate Book Study

Ahoy!  Arrrrre you ready?  It's another summer book study!

I have fallen in love with Paul Solarz' book, Learn Like a Pirate.  THIS is the classroom I want to have next year.  So, I'm joining up with The Primary Gal and other bloggers for a fabulous book study starting June 4th.

If you don't have a copy of the book already, you've got to pick one up and join in on the fun.  We'll be posting every Thursday until the end of July.  Read along with us and join in on the comments with your own thoughts and ideas.

So, batten down the hatches and get ready to set sail.  This is going to be a great book study!!!  See you Thursday!

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Be Truly Present and Look for the Light Bulb Moments

While reading through my chapter of Angela Watson's Unshakeable:  20 Ways to Enjoy Teaching ... No Matter What, I thought about how I chose this particular chapter for the book study because the title spoke to me - I always want to be present so I don't miss those light bulb moments in my students.  But it didn't take more than a paragraph for me to realize the chapter is so much more than that - being truly present allows you to celebrate those moments with your students and realize them in yourself.

I recognized myself right there in the first paragraph of chapter 18.  Right away.  That busy, stressed, multi-tasking teacher barraged by interruptions and getting annoyed.  Yep, me.  Me as a teacher and me as a parent.  Those times when I slow down and let the "interruptions" take over and become teachable moments are so important - and I even recognize them when they happen.  The problem is, I don't let them happen nearly enough.

While reading this chapter I was reminded about the one little (BIG) area I still need to work on after 15 years teaching - control.  Or rather, letting go of the control.  I know I could feel so much better about every day if I just shook a little more of it off.  When I'm not concerned about deadlines, data collections, standardized testing, that's when I'm more present with my students.  And when I'm more present, the magic happens.  Angela writes, "The end goal for a day of teaching can't be to "cover" a certain amount of curriculum; to cover means to obscure, and our goal is to illuminate.  We must stay focused on illuminating the curriculum for students, and that can only be done by making a connection with them."  And that's it - that's exactly it.  I already know it ... but how do I get there?

And then this - Do you smile when you're teaching?  Smile?  Yes.  All.the.time.  I greet them with a smile first thing in the morning and send them off with a smile at the end of the day.  And I teach with a smile ... because I love what I do.  I love being "present".  So then, if I'm smiling, and I'm enjoying the moment present with my students, why is it so easy to flip over to the busy, hectic teacher on a schedule.  Angela's advice is to consciously practice being present.  Remind yourself of it.  "Practice being present in the moment, and create productive habits that make hectic and mundane moments feel worth savoring."  You can do this by:

• celebrating small moments of accomplishment
• look for the light bulb moments and focus on a child you can really help
• reframe your work to recognize and appreciate the magnitude of what you do

Being truly present allows you to see what YOU are doing - what YOU have accomplished.  Really, truly, see it.  So, smile, be present, and remember that you enjoy teaching every day ... no matter what.

You can read a little bit more about Unshakesable and the messages behind the chapters in the book at Angela Watson's blog:  The Cornerstone.  It was EXACTLY what I needed to read at this time in the year.

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Five for Friday - Olympics, 100 Days, Valentine's Day

I never seem to have the time to get one of these finished on a Friday, so Five for Saturday it is ... :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Olympics - I've said many times this week that there should be national holidays during the Olympics so we have the time to sit back, relax (OK - maybe not relax) and cheer on our favourite athletes.  But ... bringing it into the classroom is the next best thing.  We're having a classroom Olympics during the big event.  On Monday, I arranged my students into 5 mixed grade, mixed academic abilities, and mixed athletic abilities for this time.  Each group came up with a country name, and they are also responsible for following that country's accomplishments for the Olympics.  The groups are also earning medals during this time.  They can earn medals for showing great team work, great character, working quietly or efficiently, earning compliments from other staff members ... anything positive.  LOVING the effect it's having on my students ... they are literally falling over each other to show that great character (and they were a pretty wonderful group to begin with).  I made up a quick chart on my smartboard to track our medal progress.  This is what our chart looked like after the first day.  

Tuesday was our 100th Day Celebration.  SO MUCH FUN!  I wrote a blog post earlier this week about all our activites (you can view it HERE - you can also grab a copy of the graphic organizer we used for the writing piece), so I'll just share a few pics from our day.  We integrated our celebration into science, writing, and math.  We came up with 100 ways to conserve energy, aged ourselves and wrote a reflection of our lives at 100, and explored the number 100 through measurement and geometry in math.

We've been taking on close reading in the classroom.  It's not something that's required in our school board yet, but I started reading Notice and Note a couple of weeks ago, and I was hooked.  It takes the comprehension strategies I already use in the classroom, and just bumps it up a notch.  I love the way it ties it all together, and the connections the students were making with their thinking and reading.  We've started reading the second book in the Shadow Children series, Among the Imposters, and we've been doing a little close reading with some excerpts from the chapters.  My students are LOVING this series!  I made a Close Reading Poster set for my students to use during this process.  

You can read a little bit more about my Close Reading Concept Posters HERE.

We've also been doing some fun word study activities inspired by another great read I picked up, Word Nerds.  This book has so many great word study activities you can take right to your classroom.  My students are really enjoying these activities.  We're focusing on new words and word choice with our close reading, so this has tied in perfectly.  For one activity, students had to identify a new word in their reading, define it, and then colour their card with the colour the definition made them think of.  On the back of the card they made, they had to explain why they chose that particular colour.  For another activity, students had to pick out a character trait in their reading, and then illustrate the actual letters of the word to show the meaning of the word.  Some of these word illustrations were fantastic!

Last, but never least, Friday brought Valentine's Day (and a full moon).  ;)  I was up far too late on Thursday, finishing Valentines for my daughters' classmates.  I found these ridiculously cute Valentine's cards on I Heart Nap Time.  My own kiddos LOVED them.  

I only had half a day with my students on Friday because I had a meeting in the morning, but I wanted to sweeten our learning with a few treats.  :)  We've been studying angles in math, so I gave each of them some Conversation Hearts.  They had to copy the messages from their candies on the hearts they had drawn on their papers, and then measure all the angles in the letters.  They then added up the total number of degrees in each message, and it quickly became a contest to see who had the highest scoring message.  :)  We've also been looking at apostrophe use this week (SO needed in my class right now).  So, I had them write an announcement they could read over the PA system, explaining what would happen on their dream Valentine's Day.  I asked them to include at least 10 apostrophes in their writing.  While they were out for recess, I went around and added candy hearts over all their correct apostrophes in their writing.  

And that brings me to today ... all done the girls' activities for the day, and looking forward to a day spent watching the Olympics.  Happy Saturday!  I'm linking up to Doodle Bugs Teaching Five For Friday.  Grab a coffee and hop on over.

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