Tried it Tuesday: Daily 5

Last summer I shared a bunch about my thoughts on the book Daily 5, and how I incorporate the concepts into my classroom.  Since I didn't know many of you back then, I figured I would write a post with the different links to make it easy.

Word Work and Work on Writing

Read to Self

Daily 5 - Organizing groups

CAFE to FACE strategies

Yes, my 4th graders use Daily 5.  No, with our schedule it isn't possible to do all 5 rotations throughout the day.  I set it up a little different than the book, it's more like a Daily 3.  We complete Read to Self at the same time (right after lunch) every day.  Many of my kiddos over the years have always needed complete quiet to really focus, so it didn't make sense to have kids reading with a partner during that time.  Everyday we also complete Work on Writing.  They have their assignment that they must do (a small portion of the main weekly project), but when they are done they get to work on their writing choices.  In my district we have to use Open Court for our reading, but I also incorporate time for students to have 20-30 minutes of their choice of Word Work, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, or Read to Someone.  So - about 3x per day it's set up in a partial Daily 5 format.  We make choices, we do mini lessons, we have that motivation that the Sisters talk about.

During one of our times of rereading the weekly OC story, I give students the opportunity to Read to Someone (partner reading) with their comprehension checkmarks, and the opportunity to Listen to Reading using the MP3 players.  My teacher time is in small groups or working with individuals during that "workshop" choice time, during silent reading, or any other moments of the day that I have time to check in.

During teacher time that first year I did try to do the Open Court lesson with the small group of students, but going through the long stories 4 times throughout the day took forever - and it wasn't a good use of my time.  Small moments with those 4 "region" groups made a bigger impact.  (I broke my students up into our state's "regions" since we learn about them at the beginning of the year - so I have a coast, valley, mountains, and desert group.)

Have no clue what I'm talking about?  I highly recommend reading the Daily 5 book - and just read it knowing that you can adjust it to fit your own classroom.  The first year I tried to do it all - and was left feeling completely overwhelmed.  When I reread it during the next summer and made it my own - I was much happier. Linking up with Holly over at Fourth Grade Flipper since this is something I've definitely tried.  :)

Happy Reading!

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ID cards and AR Reading Levels

You know when you hear something that seems so simple you wish you had thought of it yourself?

That happened yesterday afternoon.

My teammate mentioned she writes her students ZPD levels on Avery labels and puts them on the back of their ID cards.

How simple is that, and why did I never think of it? No more book marks to make. No more bookmarks for kids to lose. No more shuffling through lists of ZPD levels to find each kid as they are trying to check out their books.

Since our students must have their ID cards to check out books from the library they always have the little reminder with them of what levels they should be reading. You know... those Good Fit/ IPICK books.

I will now have an easy way of telling them what books and area of 

the library to be checking out books from.

My class retakes the STAR test every trimester to update their range and to show progress. So I will be able to update their range throughout the year on their cards. It's going to be easier just hand writing it for me, though I'm sure you could type the labels up if you want.

I love my team. She also said when she taught primary she color coded the levels on the sticker since numbers were too hard for her little kids. It made life so much easier during library time.

I've already started prepping this for Monday morning when I can 

stick them onto the back of their ID cards.

Hope this helps someone.

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Monthly Monday Made It: Self Checking Centers and Organization

Can you believe it's already October?  It seems like school just started (I know it did for some of you), but here in my district we are finishing up the first trimester.  It's not a real trimester time wise - as it's only been 8 weeks, but this Friday means a minimum day to work on report cards!  I love minimum days!
Anyhow, the first Monday of the month means linking up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics to share what we've been up to.  

When I was thinking of what to share, I kept coming back to all the hours during the weekend I spend over my laminator.  Well, it's more I turn it on, and then I have to remember to keep coming back to stick the next sheet in... just being honest... 

I love all the things I've found over at Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook.  There are so many creative teachers and bloggers out there that know what to make.  I'm very appreciative, especially since I'm not overly creative myself.  

In my classroom I like using a game or skill at the different choices for Daily 5 and MATH rotations.  Since I can't be directly over the kids' shoulders to check their work, I have been adding a little something to the different centers before I stick them through the laminator.

Self checking examples:

Sometimes I add a label on the back that tells what the answer is.

(Example - adding the rounded number or putting the 

compound word on the back of the card).  A label makes it really difficult to see the answer through the card.

Or I add a colored dot on game cards that gives insight on 

how to organize the game.

(Example - one color for cause, another for effect)

I have added letters on the back of cards with pencil so they don't see the answer through the card.

(Example - "P", "I", or "E" for Author's Purpose, or 

"C", "I", "A" for Properties of Addition)

Other ways that I've been organizing centers:

*Binder rings!  It's so easy to split up flashcards into 6-10 per ring and it allows the cards to spread out to more kids during that rotation.

*Ziploc bags - sandwich/quart for individual partner sets, and gallon size to hold an entire topic.

*Pull out drawers to sort math fact activities - since 

these are used every day during that station.  

*Sheet protectors - anything that I want the kids to have a chance to write on I stick in those wonderful creations.  I mainly use work sheets in them, though I did create a game board that looked like this to review adding and subtracting greater numbers.  

With this, they rolled a dice and just wrote their number on the lines using dry erase marker.  Then their partner had to check their answer using subtraction (this was an idea that Stephanie over at Teaching in Room 6 had for math - I just adapted it to my grade and what we're learning).  

So, like I said - I'm not super creative coming up with brand new ideas.  I couldn't find anything to help my students review Properties of Addition, so I made up this sort game.  I know - I'm sure you are fawning over it... :)

  Here it is at Google Docs if you want it.  Yes, the line of 

that one page really is there in the real one...   

  Hope school is going well for you!  Have a great day!

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Read to Self Pictures (Giveaway ends tonight!)

Good morning everyone!  

I just wanted to share a few pictures of Read to Self in my classroom.  We have made it up to 35 minutes stamina - they might be able to go longer than that, but we always have more stuff to accomplish and have to move on.  

You probably notice that all the pictures are dark - well, for Read to Self we keep the lights off.  After lunch we come in, have about 10-15 minutes of a read-aloud (at the moment we are reading Beezus and Ramona), they grab books from their book boxes, and find a spot to sit, lay, or rock.  Some kids like to sit at their desks, but most of them love to relax and read.  Hey - they are reading, that's what counts!

Here's another view of my classroom during this time.  We use carpet squares, t-shirt pillows, sweatshirt jackets (yes, they bring sweatshirts because our room is either freezing cold or really stuffy warm), or their backpacks to get comfortable.  I let them head to the computers to take AR tests during these moments too.  

Just this past week I showed them how to turn their chair upside down to make it a recliner (Thanks Pinterest!), and they really loved that idea.  Now it's a little more crazy trying to walk around to get to the kids to conference with them, but it's still manageable.  Maybe it's because it is a hassle to walk around that they really stay in one spot and focus more?  Either way, I'm loving it! 

What does your classroom look like at Read to Self time?   

I'm linking up with Amanda at Teaching Maddeness 

for her Friday Flashback Linky - maybe you would want to spice up 

Read to Self time as well - add more ways for students to relax and read.

The giveaway ends at midnight tonight!  Tomorrow it will be time to announce the winner - if it's you do you know what you want?  $10 Teachers Pay Teachers or Teacher's Notebook gift card? 

Have a great day!

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Classroom Pictures as of 12:40 This Afternoon

First things first - did you enter my giveaway?
Now onto the real reason I posted...At lunch today I wasn't feeling good.  Something is going through the staff and I just wanted to sleep during lunch - of course I didn't, but I did hide in my dark classroom to just relax (and then took pictures).  I have one of the last lunches of the day, and with an early dismissal at 1:30 I just tried to make it until the kids went home - then I clocked out before the staff meeting and went home to take a nap.  What a difference sleep makes.
So, over the past month of school some of the things that I created this past summer are working wonderfully, and others had to be changed.  Here's what's working for me.  

 My making connections poster is something that I use every Monday morning.  We preview the story and I just use post it notes to stick on my poster.  The kids write their connections in their composition book behind their vocabulary definitions.

 After reading time (which happens to be right before lunch) we have our first choice time of Daily 5.  I guess my picture didn't include the choices that I wrote on the board.  The kids took their numbers (these numbers are from the Math It Up board that someone wonderful posted - and I can't remember who it was) and make their choice.  Today their choices were Listen to Reading on the MP3 players, Computers - AR tests and Internet 4 Classrooms, Boggle (Word Work), and Work on Writing (if they hadn't finished their personal narrative from last week).  Some of my students were gone to music - so that's why I'm missing some of my 32 numbers... yes, 32...

 Kids love the Bucket Filler area.  By the end of the week it will be filled with kind notes - they collect them out on Friday afternoons.  

 In the back of my room I have 4 cabinet doors.  On this one I have Sentence Starters specifically for my ELL learners.  On our inservice day we had a presentation and one of my coworkers typed up the different responses for us to post.  

 Then I have a couple of Word Work things posted all week long - this cabinet has our Spelling patterns for them to add to the lists in their binders.  It's from Ladybug's Teacher Files.

 This cabinet has my Boggle Board.  Remember how I made a cute one this summer with alphabet flashcards?  Well it didn't work space wise in the classroom.  So I made up a grid, laminated it, and stuck it on the cabinet.  Now every Friday afternoon I change it for the next week.  This week we are reading "Escape" - part of the story of Charlotte's Web, so I chose the letters that will make up Farm Animals from that Boggle website that I posted about way back when.  In their binders they have a Boggle sheet in a sheet protector that they write on with their dry erase markers.  On Fridays we see who came up with the most amount of words.  

 Next to Boggle I have a version of Math It Up.  Same thing - not much room to display my big tri-fold.  Live and Learn... I just write numbers on the grid on Monday, and they can use the different operations to come up with as many problems as possible.  

 Here's my back wall with pictures - if you see something creative on the wall pictures that you like it's most likely from Ladybug's Teacher Files - I also added those pull out drawers on the work table.

 We finished up Unit 1 of Social Studies, so now we are onto our first unit of Science - the pocket chart changes with the different vocabulary words of the unit.

 Then here is my VOICES board that I showed you last week.  See, lots of PIES.  

 Here are our Region Maps - you can't see the cute colored paper on the backing because they take up the entire board... the entire board... I just realized that I hung one of their maps upside down on the wall, or else they painted on the wrong side of CA.  

 I love my mirror - it has also helped when I have to check my teeth for lettuce.  :)  The kids are really good at moving their magnets and taking a clothespin when they leave.  

 I decided to use post it notes on my calendar - even more of a time saver.  

 I used to have my birthday dicuts in a pocket chart, but then I couldn't see all the names... so now they are just stapled up.

Yes, lots of pictures - it was a photo dump type of day.  Hope you are having a good one!  

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Reading Assessments, Daily 5, and my Future Sanity

I did some assessments this past week - the STAR assessment through Renaissance Learning and a beginning of the year Fluency test. The results were more spanned than any I can remember of previous years. Out of the 30 kids that I tested (2 new ones came on Thursday and Friday that I haven't had a chance to get to), 21 of them are reading below grade level. The other 9 are either at grade level or advanced. Basically the range in my class is from preschool level to middle school.  Remember, I teach 4th grade.

At least I have taught primary grades before and had the materials to pull out of the garage. I knew what resources to ask to borrow from the primary teachers at my school. This weekend I need to get organized.

Daily 5 is going to be the perfect resource in my classroom this year. I see no other way to tackle all the needs other than working with individuals and small groups. So far, in the past 2 weeks we have built our stamina with Read to Self, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, and Read to Someone. This next week we are going to start Word Work activities. It's still going to be a while before I can set them free to make choices with all the areas- but this class loves being able to make choices when they have 2 or 3 options.

Read to Someone is something that I do only on Wednesdays when we reread our weekly story (with the checkmarks), and again on Friday afternoons when I give that option during Read to Self time.  I won't be giving them this option anymore than this amount of time because it gets too distracting for the other students that are doing an independent option. 

As for Listen to Reading- well the choices at present only include the mp3 players with our weekly story, or working on the computers. I haven't pulled out the Kindle Fires yet.

Work on Writing is only an option if they finish the required writing assignment - but it's motivation to get going.  This past week we were working on a Summer Sandwich story - it's a 4 paragraph essay that gets stuck together in a sandwich looking format.  I'll share more about that on another post.  Some kids just finished it yesterday, and others are only half way through.  The finishers will get to choose their own option next week.  I'm excited to show them everything they can do.  

Lastly, Read to Self is working beautifully. We started it the first day with our anchor chart and the shoe lesson (IPICK), and we are up to 20 minutes after 10 days of working hard at it.  We started at 3 minutes and add 2 minutes each time if they complete it without issue. They seem to love laying on the ground curled up with a book, relaxing with my t-shirt pillows, or lounging in the random seating that I have throughout the room. I'm giving them the option of keeping their book boxes under their desks throughout the day - so they always have a book handy to read when they have a free moment. (Thanks Book Whisperer!) Reading is the only option if they finish something early.

So what do I need to prepare this weekend? Well I have fluency stories that are 4th grade reading level, but I needed to borrow some to scan/copy material from the 2nd and 3rd grade intervention books. The kids that scored pre primer & first grade will tackle the 2nd grade passages, the 2nd will tackle the third, and the 3rd and 4th levels will start on the grade level stuff.

I also need to print out specific sight word lists, and make special folders to hold all the materials for the 4 different groups in the classroom. I'm thinking of using the names of the 4 regions in California to name the groups. Doing that mainly since we have been tackling regions for the past 2 weeks and the kids are so excited about them - we are making our Salt Dough maps this coming Friday!!  

The Desert will be my group that needs a lot of extra "water" and resources to thrive. 

Mountains still need extra assistance as well to grow though they won't need it as much as the Desert.  

The Valley group will be the group that is at grade level - it is "home" to us and are producing a lot of "crops" already.  

My Coast group will be the group that is able to relax a bit since they already know the basics.  They get to "sail" the ocean with what they have already learned.  I just need to challenge them this year.  Of course I won't tell the kids all this stuff - all these puns are just for me to have a picture of what I need to do to get them all as far to the Ocean as possible.  I really do love the Ocean.  :) 

For my advanced readers I need to pull material that will challenge them without making more work for them to do.  I'm so used to intervention that this is something a little new for me.  Any advice of activities that will get their minds working?  I know I posted the same question on Facebook - I need help please!

Yeah, I have my work cut out for me this year.  It's going to be a good year, though a challenging one.  At this point in time I'm really not worried about the spring test scores - I know I will do my best, and I will push them as much as I possibility can.  Start praying for my sanity!

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CAFE strategies turned to FACE

Just another short post today as I should be on a mini vacation.  Now I'm done reading Daily 5, I have started rereading CAFE.  The Sisters have inspired me and taught me so much through their books.  On their website The Sisters have a Literacy Menu with the different strategies - the goal that students will choose one strategy to work on during the week.  I used it last year and it was perfect to go over during our mini conferences.  I wanted to do that again, but I wanted to tweak it to work with my "FACE of a Reader" board.

  I took the strategies that are in the CAFE book and changed it up to being FACE instead.  Nothing really big, but it will help me to keep things consistent.  
Here is the document that I will give to my students.

Another project complete!

Hope you have a great day!

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Word Work and Work on Writing

As you know I've been reading Daily 5 in preparation for this coming year. Chapter 6 was about Word Work and Work on Writing. I just wanted to share what I did for these choices in my classroom last year, and what I've prepared for this coming year.  If you want to see my past Daily 5 posts, just look in the Labels area - Daily 5 is there for you to click on. 

Word Work

To be honest last year when I first read the book I didn't think my big kids were small enough to need Word Work. I changed my mind when I started realizing all the different words they encounter and learn throughout the day and week. Here are the types of activities that I did:

Vocabulary games using the glossary and thesaurus

Spelling games using our spelling words

Spelling pattern games (weekly pattern)

Vocabulary of the Day (Ladybug's idea)

Scrabble

Mad libs

Grammar games on a specific concept

Computer games- Internet 4 Classrooms

Work on Writing

On Mondays my class usually begins the weekly writing assignment.  We go through the brainstorm together on that day, and then the kids start on the rough draft themselves and go through the process the rest of the week.  I usually take my writing assignments from what we are learning in Social Studies, Science, the Reading unit, or Holidays.  For Work on Writing, my students have to work on the assigned topic, but once it's completed they have choices of topics.  

(This was my bulletin board from last year - it will be different this time around.)

I set up a VOICES board with the different skills that we learn together, and we create a "Heart Map" of their interests.  I also have used option dice and picture prompts that they choose from to write.  Then there is also the Whole Class Journals that they enjoy writing and reading with.  They also have the choice to "Fill Someone's Bucket" with an encouragement note or compliment.

  It keeps them happy and writing!

VOICES in my class equals

Voice - Author's Purpose, Point of View

Organization - Different types of writing

Ideas - Interests and Heart Maps

Conventions - Capitals, Punctuation, Indents, and Spelling

Excellent Words - Vocabulary, Adjectives, Details

Sentence Fluency - Use different ways to start sentences, does the sentence make sense?  

What I'm adding for this year?

This summer I created a Boggle Board to keep them spelling, and have printed out Word Games from Tara at 4th Grade Frolics.  She has an entire page dedicated to everything Daily 5 related.  I created a Journal Jar, but as of yet I haven't printed off any journal prompts to go inside.  I'm planning on handing out slips of paper to my students that first week back, and have them think of one or two words to write on the slips before they stick them into the jar.  Just thought that having them create the papers might make them more interested in using the jar to see what else someone thought of.  To make my Journal Jar I used a Pub Mix container from Costco.  We have quite of few of those handy since my boys are addicted to it!  It's large and with a dicut stuck on the front it was very easy to pull together.  I think washing it out took the longest amount of time.  

Here are some Pinterest finds that I'm considering starting up this year:

Click the pictures if you want to go to the source!

  

This pin didn't go to anything.  Thank you for sharing whoever you are!










Uncommon to the Core Teacher - Magic Cube

Teacher's Notebook Free Download



Ladybug's Teacher Files mentioned www.morewords.com for other words for a specific pattern


Hope this helps someone!

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