This Made My Day!

I recently received a b-day card from one of my students that absolutly made my day.

I'm a  Math Superhero!

  

How awesome is it that this 10 year old spent their time making me a card, and said I was their hero!  

My students know I love math, I am always giving them math puzzles and riddles.

So I especially love the math facts that are shooting like lightning bolts out of my hands!

I think I have an idea for next years Halloween costume......

American Revolution- Student Engagement and Note-Taking

Right now in social studies I am teaching about the many events that led up to the American Revolution.  In previous years my class has always loved learning American History, but this year....not so much. I had to do something extra to get them hooked.

As an introduction, and to grab the kids attention, I asked them to brainstorm things their parents have asked them to do.  They responded with typical things like "be quiet", "clean your room", "eat your vegetables"... We talked  about why parents give directions, and they all agreed that parents are trying to help their kids, teach them important lessons, show them the right way to do things. We talked about how as kids get older and show they are responsible parents usually give them more freedom.  I compared this to the colonists and Britain.

Ok...now they are getting interested.  My next scenario asked them how they would feel if they were 20 or 25, had a job, and living on their own and their parents were giving them the same directions.  This got a major response!  The kids were outraged by this fictional scenario and even the thought of it happening to them.

Perfect!  I got them hooked!

I moved into the content covering the French and Indian War, the Proclamation of 1763, the stamp act, the quartering act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable/Coercive Acts.  I kept relating the events to the kids lives and made connections between the colonists wanting freedom and not needing/wanting Britain's rule and guidance anymore.  I think this series of lessons finally got them interested in learning more about history!

As I planned this series of lessons I realized that this was a perfect example of cause and effect, and also a great opportunity to teach my kids some note-taking skills.
I created this cause and effect note-taking sheet for the kids and it really helped my class organize their learning and make connections between the events and the growing frustration of the colonists.

Events Leading to the American Revolution Note-taking

You can download a copy of this note-taking sheet by clicking the link above.

How do you get your kids excited to learn about history?

Non-Fiction Reading

Last week I started a new unit on reading non-fiction. My students love listening to me read nonfiction to them, but I rarely see them pick up a nonfiction book and read it themselves.

I am hoping that  exposing them to many different topics and types of nonfiction will pique their interest and encourage them to pick up a nonfiction book.

We started by charting the characteristics of both fiction and nonfiction.  At first they were kind of stuck on real/non real, so it took a bit of prompting to get them to think beyond that.  Once they got going they were able to come up with many characteristics.

The following day we brainstormed different forms of non-fiction texts.  Again, they got stuck on the basics, and kept naming different types of books (a book about whales, a book about Texas....) .  It took some prompting to get them to realize that nonfiction writing is found in so many things we see everyday, not just books.  

We made this chart listing different types of nonfiction texts, and I added some visuals so they could see examples of the different items we brainstormed.

My class is now more excited to read nonfiction, after seeing all the different types of nonfiction there is.

Next we will be talking about nonfiction text features and then moving into main idea and details.

Do you have any favorite resources for teaching nonfiction reading?

Sunday Scoop

Today I am linking up with Teaching Trio for their "Sunday Scoop".

Here is the scoop on my week:

Laundry- does it ever end?  As soon as I think I have it all done another basket full magical appears.  

Greek and Latin-  I created a Greek and Latin spelling and vocabulary program to use with my 5th graders and this week I am going to give them a review quiz.  Which I haven't created yet.....  The quiz will cover the last 5 weeks of word roots and spelling/vocab words.  I have really seen awesome improvement in my kids abilities to figure out word meanings using word roots since I started focusing on Greek and Latin roots.  If you care interested, you can check out all of my Greek and Latin materials in my TpT shop.

Vacuum-  with a dog and a cat vacuuming is constant.  Add on top of that the fact that my dog loves to play with this puzzle toy filled with treats, that he crushes into little bits (all over the carpet) and I am really in need of a good vacuuming today!

I am reading the book Without You There is No Us by Suki Kim.  It is about a journalist who joins a group of missionaries to teach at a university in North Korea.  Getting an inside glimpse of North Korea and part of its education system is eerie.

Orange is the New Black- Just started season 1 this week and I am almost done. I love finding new shows I have not seen and binge watching them on DVD.

Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend!?!?  We have school off tomorrow so I am happy to have an extra day to relax!

Have a great week!

15 Favorite Read Aloud Books for 5th Grade

There are so many great books available, how do you decide which ones to use as your class read aloud books?  Here is a list of 15 of my favorite read aloud books that my class has loved!

1. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson-  This book brings together a little fantasy, some mystery and just the right amount of spookiness. Henry discovers a wall full of odd cupboards hidden behind the plaster in his bedroom.  As he uncovers them he discovers hidden worlds, good and bad, and meets many interesting characters, good and bad, along the way.  Everything is fine until his cousin Henrietta goes missing.

2. The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis- this is a wonderful piece of historical/current event fiction.  11 year old Parvana is a girl living in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.  To help her family survive, and do things as basic as going to the market to buy food, she has to dress like a boy so she is allowed out on the streets without an escort.  The kids really love this book and are surprised and furious about how Parvana has to live her day to day life.

3. The Candymakers by Wendy Maas- this is a fun book told from four different perspectives.  Four children gather together to prepare for a candymaking competition and they all have their secrets.  An important candy secret is stolen and bit by bit each of the four characters reveal a little more about themselves.  I like how this book tells the story from four perspectives.  It shows how different people experience and perceive the same situation differently.

4. The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull- a fantasy/suspense book that follows four kids as they discover the good and bad sides of local candy and ice cream makers.  Magic candy, and a little danger draw the kids into this story.  There is now a second book “The Candy Shop War-  Arcade Catastrophe” that your kids will want to read once you finish!

5. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book for historical fiction when we are studying the American Revolution.  The book follows Isabel who thought she was about to get freedom only to be sold off to a horrible family.  My kiddos beg me to keep reading every day!  I especially like that each chapter starts with a snippet from a primary source from that time period that somehow connects to the events in the chapter.  It is a fun way for kids to hear pieces of real letters and documents from that time. Continue Isabels story in the book Forge.

6. Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher- The teacher is sick, the sub is sick, and no one knows there is no teacher in the 6th grade classroom.  The book rotates being told from several classmates perspectives and includes a well rounded group of students (characters) that the kids in your class will be able to connect with. 

7. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Maas- When Jeremy’s dad died he left a box for him to open on his 13th birthday.  But…they keys have been lost.  Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy go on an adventure around town trying to find the missing keys and learning a lot about life in the process.

8. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper- great book for students to see life through the eyes of a student with a disability, but also many abilities that they have not noticed because they only see she is a wheelchair and cannot talk.  Melody is the main character whose story teaches kids to have empathy for others and to not judge people based on what you see. The boys and giirls enjoyed this book.

9. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart- this is a long book, but it doesn’t seem long as you read it.  4 intelligent kids are sent on an adventure that takes all of their personal strengths to complete. 

10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – classic fantasy book that encourages kids to see the fun in life and that you can make your own adventure in life.

11. Rules by Cynthia Lord- this is another book that helps students see life through the eyes of a family that includes 12 year old Catherine and her younger brother David who has autism.

12. Skinnybones by Barbara Park-  I love to read this at the beginning of the year.  This is a short book packed with humor and relatable characters. 

13. Stolen Children by Peg Kehret-  If your class is in the mood for a book with suspense and a little fear, they will enjoy this book.  Babysitter Amy, and 3 year old Kendra are kidnapped and brought to a cabin in the woods.  This book does a good job of portraying the kidnapping without being too scary. 

14. A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup- SO funny!  This book includes so many memorable characters and such a fantastic story line your class will not want you to stop reading.  There are 2 or 3 books that continue the adventures of the Cheeseman family that your students are sure to be eager to read.

15. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle- another classis book that is always a favorite with the kids.  Has a strong female protagonist in Meg and is part of a five book series.

What are your favorite read aloud books?

Informational Text Online Resources

This week I started a unit on non-fiction (informational) reading and writing. 

I was searching for articles for my students to read and came across some great (free) online resources that I wanted to share!

newsela.org

This site is a jackpot of wonderful articles on a wide variety of topics.  I especially love that this site allows you to change the Lexile level of the article so you are able to differentiate for students at different reading levels.  I like that I can have all kids working on the same topic/article together and am also able to adjust the reading level to challenge all my kiddos!

timeforkids.com

Time for Kids always has great, current, informational articles.  The categories of news articles on TFK are similar to those found in a newspaper:  world, nation, science, entertainment, health...)

eyewitnesstohistory.com

this is a great site to find articles about historical events.  Many of the articles that I have found/used include quotes or excerpts from primary sources, which the kids love!  They also have a "Photo of the Week" that I like to use when analyzing historical images.  Sometimes I just show the image and have the kids look for clues in the picture to try to determine when/where the photo was taken and what is taking place in the photo.

readworks.org

Readworks has a collection of articles on many topics.  You will need to sign up for a free account to access the articles.  I like that you can search by topic and then narrow your search by grade level, Lexile level, text type and skill or strategy if needed.

thinkcerca.com

You will need to sign up for a free account, but once you do this site has a lot of great resources.  Once signed up you can assign articles for students to read online or you can print materials out.  What I really like is that there is a vocabulary section for each article and a set of comprehension questions.  I have only explored this site a bit, so I am sure there are many great features I haven't even discovered yet.

I hope you find these resources to be useful when teaching informational text in your classroom.

Do you have any other online resources to share?

Sunday Scoop

Today I am linking up with the Teaching Trio for their weekly Sunday Scoop!

Here is the scoop on my week:

I have an observation this week, so I have to finish planning my lesson and typing up answers to the many reflection questions that go along with the observation.  I am excited for the activity/lesson I will be doing.  The kids will be creating an Angle City where they have to draw a city map and include a variety of different angles and place buildings at specific angle locations.  It should be fun!

I am starting to focus non-fiction reading tomorrow, and I don't really have any specific plans yet....  I have some great articles for the kids to read, but I need to plan out exactly what I am going to do with each article.

Over winter break I got the first season DVD set of Orange is the New Black.  I keep running out of time to watch it!  I hope to watch the first episode tonight!

I love to cook, but sometimes find it so much easier to just grab a bowl of cereal, especially after a long day at school.  I hope that this week I can actually take the time to make some real meals.

I am happy that it was nice outside today (a whopping 11 degrees, but nice compared to the -15 it has been!).  I was able to get outside and play with my dog a lot today.  He loves to get outside and run around and play in the snow.  

Have a great week!