Feature Friday

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

A Piece of Crystal

I love the book The DreamKeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings. It is a powerful read on improving the academics of African American students. The book discusses the notion of culturally relevant teaching and its inherent conceptions of the teacher and others.

One of the most powerful quotes in the book(and there are many!)comes from Ann Lewis, an Italian American woman in her mid-forties, who was in her 7th year teaching fifth and sixth graders. One of Ann's star students was a boy named Larry. Larry had had a troubling history. He was the oldest student in the class. He had been retained several times and was 13 years old in a class of 11 year olds. He had been traumatized by a drive-by shooting of a favorite aunt. Other teachers referred to him as "an accident waiting to happen." No one wanted him in their classroom.

Ann referred to Larry as a "piece of crystal".

"He's strong and beautiful but fragile. I have to build a safe and secure place for him and let him know that we - the class and I - will be here for him. The school has been placing him in the kitchen junk drawer. I want him to be up there in the china cabinet where everyone can see him."

By the end of the year, Larry had been elected class president, was involved in peer-conflict mediation, and was making A's and B's.

Do you have students in the junk drawer or in the china cabinet for everyone to see? With something to think about, this is Mrs. Morris reminding you ....

Math Workshop Activity: Candy Corn Math

Candy Corn Math

Counting is fun, counting candy is even more fun!  This is a great thanksgiving themed math activity that promotes  "Checking your work” something that not only encourages kids to slow down but it also builds independence and confidence. 

1. Gather your materials: a cheap cookie sheet with raised edges to keep the candy corn contained, some brown and green construction paper, scissors, tape and a marker. Oh and of course some candy corn. If you are not a fan of using candy for activities you can easily substitute pom poms.
2.  Start by cutting out the green husks. Then cut out the ear of corn from brown construction paper.

3.  Place on cookie sheet. (You can tape to the cookie sheet if you do not want it to move.)
4.  Add numbers to the husks. Try to add some easy and some more challenging. 

5.  Add the corn!

This activity can be extended for addition and subtraction, greater than/less than, place value, etc. 

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2011/11/candy-corn-counting.html

Guided Reading Book Study

Guided Reading - On-Line Book Study

Chapters 1 - 3

The first three chapters provide an overview of  literacy learning. Guided Reading is one component of a Balanced Literacy Model - it is NOT an isolated process. All components must work together.   The first chapter provides a quick overview of guided reading purposes and procedures. On page 2, the authors define guided reading: "Guided reading is a context in which a teacher supports each reader's development of effective strategies for processing novel texts at increasingly challenging levels of difficulty." Further along on this page they state, "The ultimate goal in guided reading is to help children learn how to use independent reading strategies successfully." What words or phrases jump out as you read those statements. I noticed "teachers support", "effective strategies" and "increasingly challenging levels".

One strong connection for me occurred on page 4 - "Teachers have found that the most effective ways to approach letter learning is to begin with children's own names ..."  This reminded me of an activity I did once with a group of teachers. I asked the teachers to write the first names of their students. Then I had them go through and see how many of the 26 letters could be taught by only teaching letters through the students'first names. It was AMAZING!! Try it! See if you could teach all 26 letters simply by using the children's first names. Names are important to children, so they will be eager to learn the letters and sounds. Much more so than isolating a letter a week.(plus it will take less time). Another aha moment happened in that same paragraph. There is no need to delay reading of texts because children do not know letters. They will learn more about letters as they encounter them in real texts. Okay, you know I have to slip in some theory. This connects with Roger Brown's theory of "form follows function." According to Roger Brown, we use literature for real purposes and within the context of those experiences we help children understand form. We talk "function" first, then we learn "form". This is why we don't teach letter of the week. We want to put letters in a meaningful context first such as words in a text or their names. This is function, then we talk about individual letters and sounds (form). I LOVE theory. We must be able to articulate why we do what we do. Okay off my soapbox.

Pages 22 - 24 (Figure 3-1) provides a detailed framework for balanced literacy. The organization chart defines the elements of balanced literacy, the value of each element, and the research that supports the element. The elements are not fixed and separate, however, they do require a different level of support. Figure 3-3 (Page 27) is a great visual that explains the components of reading and the level of teacher support. I LOVE how it shows scaffolding in action. During read aloud the teacher is in full control of the reading. With shared reading, the student shares the control (hence the title shared reading). During guided reading the child is mostly in control as they read the text. However, the teacher is right there to provide needed support. And finally, the student is in full control for independent reading,  The same applies to writing instruction.

The balanced literacy framework is a conceptual tool for planning and organizing instruction. Just as our students are at different levels of learning so are we. Each one of you must find your own entry to the framework. Some of you may have all element of the framework in your schedule. Others may have 3 of the 4 reading elements. And then some of you may be starting at the beginning. Regardless of where you are in your journey, each element is worth studying, trying out with students, and reflecting on the results. As the authors stated, "It is not the elements themselves but the teaching decisions within them that lead to new learning."

For reflection:

1. In your reflection journal, analyze your schedule to determine how much time you allow each day for reading instruction. Which reading elements are your students participating?  Are they doing enough reading? Do you have uninterrupted time for guided reading?

2. Reflect on your own personal learning journey. Where are you in implementing the balanced literacy framework.

Onset and Rime Activities

Similar to teaching beginning readers about rhyme, teaching children about onset and rime helps them recognize common chunks within words. This can help students decode new words when reading and spell words when writing.

The "onset" is the initial phonological unit of any word (e.g. c in cat) and the term "rime" refers to the string of letters that follow, usually a vowel and final consonants (e.g. at in cat). Not all words have onsets.

Why teach about onset and rimes?

• They help children learn about word families, which can lay the foundation for future spelling strategies
• Teaching children to attend to onset and rime will have a positive effect on their literacy skills
• Learning these components of phonological awareness is strongly predictive of reading and spelling acquisition

Examples

From the Florida Center for Reading Research, download and print these activities:

• Onset and Rime Slide
• Rime House
• Rime Closed Sort
• Speedy Rime Words

These articles offer suggestions for how to use simple onset and rime activities to help students develop phonological awareness.

• Tuning In to the Sounds of Words
• How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities

Construct-a-word: "ig" in Pig. The link below outlines a strategy that can be adapted to teach different onset and rime word patterns. This activity helps teachers isolate and teach the rime "ig" using the book If you Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff. There is an instructional plan that accompanies the activity and extension ideas included to advance the learning process.
See example >

Download blank templates

There are several downloadable pages on the links below for building word families using onset and rimes.

• Word family builders
• Onset and rime tiles

Differentiated instruction for second language learners, students of varying reading skill, and for younger learners

• Have students create and write word sorts of the target word pattern
• Use pictures instead of words in activities for younger and lower level readers

Taken from Reading Rockets

Teaching Stones

Stones are a great concrete manipulative that are a must for some learners and a nice novelty for others. They are a great sensory material, as they are smooth to the touch. Stones can be purchased at the dollar store or craft store.

You can create many learning activities using stones. You can match upper and lower case letters, count, make words, etc. Today I am going to share a Spelling Activity.

Materials
stones ( dollar store or craft store)
multi-surface paint
a fine paint brush
clear sealer (optional)
basket or container for holding stones
clipboard, paper, and pencil (if recording)


Directions for Making Teaching Stones
1. Paint your stones if you wish. Let dry for at least an hour.
2. Then paint your letters, numbers, etc. on each stone. Let dry another 45 minutes - 1 hour.
3. Spray or paint with clear sealer if desired.
4. Place stones in basket.

Taken from No Time for Flashcards

Thanksgiving Spelling Stones

Lay out the stones to spell the word Thanksgiving. Explain the challenge. How many words can be made with the letters in this word. Take the stones and make a word. After making a word with the stones, write the word on the recording sheet. Put those stones back and make another word using the stones. Continue until all words have been exhausted.

Feature Friday: Word Family Activities

This week I want to feature a website with some fabulous ideas - The Differentiated Kindergarten.

I found this website as I was searching for word family activities. The author explains how she introduces word families to how students independently practice word families. Great resource so check it out.