Literature Circles | Kick Off Week

Snow, snow and more snow!  I am happy to report though that we did get to kick off our literature circles this week (even with 2 delays and a snow day).  Every year I get super excited to start literature circles.  It's a great time of the year because the classroom is running like clockwork, there is amazing classroom community and the kids LOVE to read!  This year I am doing mixed groups with the classroom across the hallway.  This teacher and I have been doing a lot together this year, especially in Science and it's great for the kids to work with other classrooms to get ready for the big move to middle school.

In the past I have focused on an author study literature circle and last year I did Kate DiCamillo (which was great!).  This year I have added a little bit of a twist.  We are going to do a genre study (Fantasy) with the authors Kate DiCamillo and Roald Dahl.  Very excited!!

This week during the kick off, on Tuesday, we had the students come into my room and sit in a large circle.  One of my rules for literature circle meetings, is that students sit knee to knee so everyone can hear and see each other.  I have a great poster that we discuss that goes over the "How, What, Why, etc".  and we discuss the "rules".  The rules are read every time a group meets by the Discussion Leader.  This is a document that I created for the packet.

The packet I use for literature circles in from superteacherworksheets.com.  A long time ago, I started using the sheets from the site for this particular unit.  Unfortunately, that was when the site was free. Now you have to pay.  Luckily, I saved them as a pdf!

So how did we practice?....Well, we listened to the first 15 chapters of James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, a little each day.  (I have all the books we are doing in class on CD for a coordinating listening center).
The great thing about this, (James and the Giant Peach) is that this will continue to be our Tier 1 read aloud novel and it will also be my Tier 2 group novel.  So these students will get a double dose of fluency and comprehension.  (it's all in the planning).

Every day we met (Tuesday-Friday) we practiced one of the jobs.  One day we did 2 jobs (illustrator and Story Connector).  I would have the students know what they were responsible for before we started listening.  I also had a book for all the students (lots of borrowing).  I feel that this is really important when you are listening to a book on tape.  I wish I could post the job pages.  They are great because they tell the students "What your job is" and "What your job is when you meet with your group".  They know both objectives which is very important.  I also have a Literature Circle bulletin board so the students can refer to it for help.

We ended the week with meeting our group teacher and our group members.  I am going to do another post talking about the behind the scenes planning that went into this unit.  Have fun!

Blizzard Bags and Online Learning

Last year our district implemented Blizzard Bags and Online Learning, a way for students and teachers to continue valuable school work during snow storms and to avoid making up many days at the end of the year.  Last year we had 3 Blizzard Bag days which cut down our make up days.  This year we have had 1 day so far and our planning on a few more.  I highly recommend reading information from my classroom site if you have questions regarding these days.  They have worked out well for our students and staff.

Blizzard Bags and Online Learning

Classroom Website | The Link to Communication

I find that having a classroom site to post dates, homework, printables, etc. is such a great resource and communication for parents and other teachers.  I use teacherweb.  It does cost money, but it's really easy to use, reliable, and I love that I can upload files, make background changes and other things, with ease.  One great feature is the "newsflash".  Parents can sign up their cell phone number and/or other numbers along with emails to receive important and timely news.  I usually use this as a reminders for important events or when the district has announced a "Blizzard Bag/Online Learning Day".  It takes out the confusion of what is going on.

I also link my website through our district webpages to make communication easier and less frustrating for everyone.

We LOVE Words Wednesdays!

In our district this year, we are focusing on vocabulary and vocabulary development.  I wanted to incorporate this in a few different ways in the classroom.  One activity that the students and I are doing are reading different Andrew Clements books in book group and focusing on just vocabulary in each of the chapters.  We are also using comprehension strategies and doing fluency work in small group instruction  but when the students work independently they are just working on vocabulary (definitions, usage, etc.).  Students are also taking part in a listening center two days a week.  Each book has been carefully chosen and the groups have been carefully developed.  The books we are reading are:  The School Story, No Talking, Troublemaker and Lost and Found.

On to the next idea!  How can I do a more intense focus of vocabulary?  I found these wonderful vocabulary packs (Jargon Journals).  I decided to do a book a month depending on the focus in Reading Workshop for that month.  What was I going to call this great idea:  "We LOVE Words Wednesday".

On the first Wednesday of every month I introduce and read the new book during our morning meeting time.  This month it was the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  Then during the first few minutes of our Writing Workshop time, they create a word hat.  I would love to find some really inexpensive baseball caps that the kids could hand write words on so we could add to it every month (maybe next year?).  We used paper hats instead (that we already made and in my closet).  Then we discuss the definition for each word.

The second Wednesday of every month, we focus on the definition and what the word means to us.  The students made a section in their Writer's notebooks for "We LOVE Words Wednedays".  I also pulled out four other words from the story that were "extra" words.  We wrote these words into this section of our notebooks and then cut and glued the other word cards in.

The third Wednesday of the month, we will be working on parts of speech and syllable work.

The fourth Wednesday of the month, we will be taking the quick word assessment (and finishing up anything that needs to be completed from the other weeks).  Then the cycle starts over again!

This easy integration allows me the ability to integrate new vocabulary and more intensely without getting way over my head.  I am really excited!

Reading Workshop | Getting into the Groove

The past few weeks have been wonderful;  getting to know my students, enjoying the classroom and school days and teaching!  After assessing each student, I am now ready to officially start my Reading Workshop model.  The past few weeks, I've kicked of workshop with "What is Reading Workshop" and "What is a Good Reader?" and also started some classroom work (I am using my "I do, we do, you do" model for my first book report which is approaching on September 25th.

At home I have forming my groups with my notes and we are ready!  Let me explain.....

This is my Reading Workshop schedule for the kiddos.  I've planned it so they all meet with me at least once a week and/or with another teacher.  I currently have one other teacher that supports the students during this specific time.  I have a daily group (my 2:15 group).  When not in a teacher group two things are either happening.  They are using the computers or listening center or working independently.  The little chart is how they know when to do that.  I've worked it out so everyone gets on the computer/listening center and meets with me.  It's all very timed.

This week we have been modeling/practicing for our upcoming book report.  I've created mini anchor charts on my focus wall so the students can keep track of their learning.  I can not take the credit for some of the items that I am utilizing.  The book report is my own idea (modeled after a dodecahedron) but the anchor charts are from:
Anchor Charts; Reading Skills and Strategies; Settings