Blog Award!

Teacher Mom of 3 passed on her Lovely Blog award to me and 14 other fantabulous blogs.  I now have the honor of passing it on to 15 more.

It was super sweet of you to think of me Teacher Mom of 3!  Thank you!

Once you receive the award, you must follow 3 rules:
 1.  Follow the person that gave you the award
2.  Link back to the person that gave you the award
3.  Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers

Here are the amazing bloggers I am passing the award to.  Some of them don't appear to be brand spankin' new, but they're all new to me!  :)  I hope they haven't already received this award!!  Click on their badges to visit their blogs!

 

Kickin' It in Kinder

 

Fanatically First Grade

What book made you fall in love with reading?

So I realize that I'm breaking bloggin' rules by posting twice in one day, but the post from this morning was really from yesterday.  It just happened to take a kazillion hours to finish it.  :(

I realize now that I probably should've spread that post about Read for Writing over 2 days...so sorries!!  It was a little very long, huh?  I'll remember this next time...

And look what I finally learned to do:

It's so exciting!!!  I can upload a download button.  Woot!  Now if I can just figure out the Google Docs thingee...

One more thing --I couldn't believe it when Scholastic Teaching tweeted the following question today:

"Think back...What book made you fall in love with reading?"

Well of course I had to tweet about Sr. Juanita, Free Reading, and Beverly Cleary because all 3 played a huge role in my reading life.  

So if there's anyone reading this, how about sharing your answer on here?  I'd love to read what book/person/habits made you become a life-long reader.

And now I'll end with a few pics from when I taught 3rd grade.



Fiction Library in a back corner
I loved those reading tires!




Non-Fiction Library in a front corner
The fish tank was so very awesome...until it sprung a leak over Spring Break and made a huge, stanky mess!!



Gutter Library



Meeting Area



Get Your Groove On--Read for Writing Style!

How do you begin your  day at school?   I typically begin my day by visiting Sonic for a much needed Route 44 Coke with extra ice, checking emails and blogs I follow, maybe even Pinterest.  And then I get to the important part - visiting!  My assisstant, Kasey, and I had our chat time each morning before students came into the room.  I often told Kasey that the only *bad* thing about us working together was that we had too much important stuff to talk about.  Ha!

So true!  Found this on Pinterest!

Oh yes!!



Once upon a time, my third graders completed "morning work" when they arrived, but  years ago I decided to try something different.  I thought maybe students would like to ease into their days just like I did. 

Free Reading
Perhaps my fondest memory from elementary school is of Free Reading (FR) in Sister Juanita's 4th grade class.  Each day we had 20 minutes to read a book of our choice (while eating snack, might I add).  Oh, how I lived for those 20 minutes!!  (The only drawback was the smacking coming from the girl sitting next to me as she devoured  snack.  Gross!)    I began my love affair with books during FR, so why not try it with third graders?  So one day I gathered them on the rug and we created an anchor chart for Fe procedures.  Basically, students could read anything of their choosing either independently or with a friend.  I made sure students understood their conversations had to be centered around their reading.  After practicing, I turned them lose to enjoy FR.  It was a hit! 

Fast Forward
Last summer, I had the opportunity to attend a day long workshop by Ann Marie Corgill, author of Of Primary Importance.  (BTW, she's fantastic!!!)



She talked about her Read for Writing (RfW) time which is similar to Free Reading.  Ann Marie set aside books her students would use as Mentor Texts in upcoming Writing Units, and they read them in place of morning work.  This prepared them for the genre of writing they'd soon be immersed in.  I tried this with my Firsties, and we all loved it!  At first, I strictly held them to the procedures on our RfW Anchor Chart stating only two students reading together at a time.  But as the year went on they just seemed to gravitate towards one another in groups of 4 or 5.  At times the noise level could get to be too much and I'd glance across the room in search of guilty Firsties.  What I'd find gave me goose bumps almost every dang time!  Despite the noise level, all I could see was 18 Firsties gathered in groups and totally caught up in either reading or discussing a text.  Did I say anything?  Nope!  No way!!

 Lil' cuties!!

Benefits
Gracious, where do I begin?  My students bonded with one another during RfW time.  They didn't always stick with the same friend(s) either.  Groups seemed to form mostly on book interest, despite reading abilities.  The students especially devoured non-fiction books.  They learned multiple strategies for organizing books, how to care for books and share them, how to work together to read a book, and to recommend books to one another.  And did I mention what it did for their fluency?  Ah-mazing!  R4W time played a huge role in fostering a love for reading in my students. 



A Read for Writing shelf for CCSS Unit 6...along with a few other student favorites



By the last grading term, I had Firsties approaching me during the morning and throughout the day to share interesting facts from their non-fiction reading.  In fiction reading they were making text-to-text connections, recognize story elements, and beginning to notice character traits.  This is when I was able to direct students to graphic organziers they were already familiar with from previous lessons.  I'd say, "Grab a fact sheet and record interesting facts from your book.  Then you can share it with the class!" or "Grab a story comparison sheet and complete it with your friend.  Then you can share it with the class!"  We called this work "projects" for lack of a better word.  The fact sheets became so popular we could barely keep up with sharing!  They were added to a class book (binder) and became a part of our Classroom Library.  It's important to remember that students should have had ample practice with any graphic organizer before being turned lose with it for independent or partner work.  (I follow the gradual release of responsibility model which preps the students for being able to complete assignments independently.)

If you're wondering what I'm doing during RfW time, you only have to look to the door.  I {love} greeting my Firsties one-by-one at the door every single morning -- while sipping my Sonic Coke, of course! 

Interested?
If you'd like to try Free Reading or Read for Writing, take time to think through your expectations of student behavior.  I firmly believe that we must be specific with our students if we're going to hold them accountable when they get it wrong.  Create an anchor chart with your Littles and post it on the wall.  Role play --Who can show me what RfW doesen't look like?  Who can show what RfW does look like? 

Questions for Reflection:
*What is your tolerance for noise level? and How will you hold them accountable?  (One of our favorite things to say was,"First Grade is Fun-tastic!"  I would count them off 1-2-3 in my quiet voice and we'd repeat that phrase in our quite voices.  Worked like a charm...usually!  Ha!)

*Where will books RfW books be housed? 

*Do you want to limit the reading to upcoming Mentor Texts?  Or do you prefer to open up reading to anything?

*Where will students be allowed to read?

*What will be the consequences for individual students who continue to do their own lil' sweet thing?  (I simply "grounded" these students from Read for Writing, and for x number of days they had worksheets waiting on them at their seats.  Believe you me, this very rarely happens!!!)

*How will my RfW time grow with my students if I'm teaching a lower grade growth is huge?? (Be using those graphic organizers and/or thinking maps throughout the year so they'll be ready to use them on their own.  I found lots and lots of resources on TpT!  The fact sheet and compare/contrast organizer I mentioned came from Michelle Oaks of Fabulous in First.  You can find it here.)

*How will you get the class' attention when it's time for Morning Meeting or whatever you'll do next?  I used several of these attention getters I found on here on Pinterest.  While we repeated the "getter" students moved their arms in a sunburst motion and had their hands clasped in front of them by the end.  No exceptions!  I didn't give my instructions for what to do next until all were in this "listening" position.

And finally, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out how to share the cover of our Fascinating Facts.  That's why you see the purple bubble border below but nothing else.  Ugh!!!!!!  Anyway, you can find the cover as a free download here on TpT (hopefully)! 

My next post will be about Morning Meeting.  Yay!



Getting Started and Classroom Pics

Hello all!  Or no one!  Because as of right now I have one follower.  That's okay, though!  :)  I'm excited to just get started!

I originally created this blog {last}summer!!  It's now one year later.  I've survived (and loved) my first year teaching Firsties, had a blog make-over, and transferred to a new school. 

I follow lots of teacher blogs and love them all.  The first blog I came across a couple of years ago was The First Grade Parade -- Thanks, Megan!!  So last summer, feeling inspired from everyone else's amazing blogs, I thought, "What a great way to  document my year in first grade."  I have a lot of sharin' to do before the new year begins!!

About me...

Professional: I taught third grade for 11 years before moving down to first last year.  I totally fell in love with my Firsties and will be teaching first again this year.  It breaks my heart to think about not seeing my past students since I've moved, but I'm beyond excited about my new school!!  :)

Personal: I've been married for 13 years and have two girls.  Ainslee is almost 6 and Bella is 4.  Our lives are crazy for the typical reasons - full time jobs, ball, gymnastics, Pinterest addictions, blog stalking, etc. - but also because my Bella is a Type 1 Diabetic.  She was diagnosed on Christmas Eve at age 2.  Our lives revolve around checking blood sugar and monitoring carbs.  It's very tiring, frustrating, heartbreaking, and so on, but I'm so thankful she's still here for us to take care of.  :)

Blogging - I know just about nothing when it comes to blogging.  I'm a "baby blogger" and hope I don't break too many blogging rules as I learn the ropes.

For my first official post I thought I'd just post pics of last year's classroom.  Here goes.

 2011-2012 Classroom Pictures



View from the door

View from my assisstant's corner...and might I add...the best assisstant and friend ever!  Miss you, Kasey!





 

View from the Classroom Library

The Classroom Library - one of my top three fave spots in the classroom.  Arranging books in baskets with covers face-out by genre, author, and/or series makes it easier for the children to browse.  I also believe this  supports children in discovering and/or developing their reading interests.  The chair and couch add to the homey feeling of our classroom.  I just love it!  :)

Another pic of the classroom library.  On top of the black shelf are book tubs.  Students shop for books each week by following a schedule which hangs on the wall.  When I taught third grade, students book shopped first thing in the morning in place of Free Reading.  This past year, my Firsties were able to shop during their Finished Early time throughout the day.  I just loved watching them browse and help each other find particular books.  They knew our library inside-out.  I.  Love. That.

Book shopping schedule can be seen above the chair in the corner.



This spot is in my top 3!  I have such fond memories of my Firsties gathered around this table reading and writing together and working on special projects.  It's so satisfying as a teacher to see students work so well together learning from one another.  And without me leading them!!!

A non-fiction shelf



Another non-fiction shelf.  I've never had a group of students read so much non-fiction!!!

And here it is!  Perhaps my absolute most treasured classroom area.  No!  Wait!!  It has to be a tie with the Classroom Library.  I can't help it!  Anyway, this is where we began each day together during Morning Meeting.  This is where I met with small groups.  This is where Quinton displayed his magnificent break-dancing skills and students read together and played together and wrote together and applied math skills together.  And yes, this is where the baby goat peed on the state of New Jersery.  Sorry, but it's true!!

The red shelf to the left of the easel housed more non-fiction books. White shelves under the Promethean housed more book tubs.  This year I tried to spread out book tubs and writing and math supplies so that retrieving them wouldn't be so time consuming. 

Above the book tubs in this picture are the Word Wall pockets.  Words are moved into appropriate letter pockets after being displayed for a while on the Wonderific Words chart.  I'll write more about this in a future post.

The Rockin' Guitar behavior clip chart was developed by Abby of The Inspired Apple.  You can read more about it here. 

Writing folder on top and supplies
 on shelves

My genius assisstant turned a cubby on its side to create more storage.  The purple (girls) and red (boys) trays hold unfinished work.

The crate on the left held extra handouts and copies of the Gumball timed tests from Made For 1st Grade.  You can read more about that here on TpT.

The crate on the right held Finished Early activities, such as Read and Write the Room sheets and graphic organizers.  I'll write more about this in a future post.  :)



Gracious!  That took a while to get through because every time I tried to delete a picture, several disappeared.  I'll be back tomorrow (actually, later today since it's after midnight) to share more.