Week Four Reflections

20 days… I still can’t believe it’s already September. 

Highlights of this last week!

1. My students started a Silent Reading Book Club this week.  I learned last week that they hadn't read Island of the Blue Dolphins (regular 4th grade class novel) due to distance learning, so I highly encouraged them to check out a copy from our school library. They are SO excited to read it. The deal with the book club is that when they are done, we will watch the movie.  About half my class chose to check it out, and now I’m hearing (and seeing) them react to the big moments in those first chapters. 

2. Since it's been 3 weeks, we started our week having a class chat about what we've noticed that we are doing well as a class, and what goals we want to work on.  I wrote it on the board.  I used to do this weekly, and I guess it's another thing that I forgot over the last year of craziness.  

3.  We started researching our Native American Tribes.  Groups are learning about common consistencies between tribes in certain regions, so we are working on learning specifics about how the Native Americans before the European Settlers arrived lived - diet, location, shelter, tools, jobs, etc.  I like to use this project by Teaching in Room 6. 

As for tri-fold boards - every year we clean out the Dollar Tree.  It's a great price when you are buying 8 per class (32 total).

4.  We changed desks on Tuesday, the last day of the month.  It's a tradition in my classroom.  Every last day of the month we are switching seats, unless it's the weekend and then it's always the Friday before.  In the past the kids would just take out their items and move everything to the new seat, but this year with everything going on, they had to haul their entire desk across the room. It just took longer.  :)  To make it easy, I have a powerpoint template on my computer that I always print. This year it's 8 groups of 4... we are a little squishy, but we're making it work. I just make 1 table of 2x2, and then copy and paste it over and over.  Tables in a ppt. make it easy to type the names in.

5.  Speaking of the end of the month... I really LOVE my calendar this year.  Every Back to School I always buy one of these desk calendars for our information wall. So far this year, everyday I ask the kids for one highlight.  What is something they want to remember?  Then I write it on the calendar.  Usually it's a satisfying rip and toss at the end of the month, but this year I'm going to hold onto them for the end of the year so we can see all our memories. 

6. First day of the new month also meant that we were changing out our class jobs. I have my job chart on the side of my file cabinet. On the base of the laminated numbers I have velcro holding it on. It’s really easy to attach. I use this product.

*Paper Checkers - they are filling up our class mailboxes with practice papers. I personally take care of graded work.

*Teacher Assistants- they are helping me pass out papers and materials in class to get it to all the groups quickly.

*Book Helpers- they are keeping our classroom library organized.

*Lunch- they are in charge of bringing the basket in and out every day. 

*Future leaders- they are in charge of randomness- writing team points on the boards, choosing the class game, etc.

*Errand runners- they are my go to kids when something or someone needs to go some where.

*Kindness Club- they are the ones I’m sending to read kindness books to younger grades, and they are writing encouragement notes to the kids in class.

*Room Monitors- they are my extra set of hands and eyes, reminding kids about cleaning up their areas.

Everyone always has a job, because it’s our classroom and belongs to all of us.

7. We had a Math Fact Snowball Fight this week.  Yep, it's really easy, and the kids LOVE it.  One piece of copy paper each, then they write a math fact on the paper. They write their name, and on my "Toss!" they toss it into the air. The papers fall, and the kids grab one from the ground. They open it up, solve the math fact, write their initials, and then make a new math fact.  They don't toss until it's time.  It goes super fast. We continue on until the paper is full or falling apart.  I've learned we really need to practice our math facts. 

8. I had to print out sight word lists. Yep. 5th grade. Some kids are starting with the basics. I still use my sight word lists from when I taught 2nd grade, lists go to 5th grade as well... but it's mainly for my beginning readers. I’ve been doing book talks every day during independent workshop, so now I’m also pulling my special friends to do sight word practice at the same time. I can't wait to see growth.  :) 

9. We had our first taste of Rainbow Editing this week as well. I love Rainbow Editing.  I've been doing this for years, and it really works! 

Red - capitals

Orange - punctuation

Yellow - indents

Green - topic sentence and/or key words

Blue - details or reasons

Purple - spelling to check

Every paragraph should be a rainbow... and if it's not, then add to it!

10. We had Spirit Week this week! It was fun. :) PJ Day, Sports Day, Monochrome Day, Tourist Day, and Extreme School Spirit. Having a staff meeting in PJs is always welcome.  Ha!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I'm so thankful for the extra day.  :) 

(Disclaimer - these are things that I have found that works for my classroom.  Not sponsored in any way, I just like to share.)

Week 3 Reflections

This week seemed to be slightly easier because we are now in a routine. 

Highlights!

1. We started our new novel - Indian in the Cupboard. I love how this ties into our SS unit, and gives them a taste to learn about different Native Tribes, and then how that information connects to nowadays. We start our research team projects next week... 

2. I read Totem Tales to them, and then they created their own totem poles and tales. I used the clipart from here to make a small sheet to give them as ideas. 

3. We had a moment and did I wish my teacher knew… it’s sweet and heart breaking all at the same time. Man, I love these kids. Have you ever done "I wish my teacher knew...?" Basically I give them an index card, and they finish the sentence, then turn in.  I told them that it can be anonymous or they can put their names on it if they want.  They tell me information that means something to them.

4. We also tackled our Context Clue Travel Adventure! The foam flyers worked wonderfully as a mini STEM project to build, then sort the kids to mix them up a bit from their normal team groups before they hit the stations to review context clues.  

5. The kids got to attend music class for the first time in years. It was amazing and they absolutely loved it. And I loved the extra prep. :) It's amazing how much one can get done in a short amount of time... It feels good to tackle the to do list and actually get something accomplished.  

6. I read Noteable Notebooks. It's a great story to show pictures of real scientist notebooks.  

7. We also worked on our science observation note booking skills- working on those A,B,C,D’s. 

*Accurate

*Big

*Colorful

*Detailed 

This week we closely observed shells.  Last week we observed classroom objects, and the first week we observed rocks.  Our drawings are getting more accurate, bigger, colorful, and definitely more detailed. 

8. I ordered a bulk pack of ear buds for our class set of laptops.  This is the link I used, so far they are working great. It's helping now that I'm letting them use the computers more for Code.org, Scratch, and for Prodigy as a May Do.

9. We tackled a Growth Mindset Escape Room on Friday afternoon. This is the product I used.

It kept them moving and they needed to use that growth mindset because it was tricky! I ended up taking the 4 included puzzles and putting all 4 on a single page before I made copies for my class, it saved on paper. Then each table group had a specific task and code, and the kids rotated around to complete it all.

10. I taught them the game "Hello Mr. President". 

Hello Mr. President is a listening game, and it's quiet. Key word - silence... A kid stands in the front, eyes closed.  Silently, pick a second student to stand in the back of the room and say "Hello, Mr. President" - in whatever voice they want to use... kids get into the disguise. The "President" with their eyes closed has to guess the owner of the voice. For some reason the kids LOVE this game. 

11. The kids are reading!!! Silent Reading seems to be our favorite time of the day.  Kids are stretching out all over the room, in chairs, under desks, on the rug... I'm over in my chair also reading (currently Poison in the Colony), and there's a groan when we get to the point we HAVE to move onto workshop.  They love to read, and I'm getting to hear all about their books during our Book Talks.  Book Talks, with the 40 Book Challenge, and Book Beads are filling my time during Workshop.  It makes my day!

And now I'm ready to go curl up with my own home book... Have a great weekend!

Disclaimer - These are not sponsored links, just things that I LOVE and that I'm currently using in my classroom. I love to share ideas.  :)  

Practicing States and Capitals...

Okay... Since I'm trying to share everything I've been doing since moving to 5th grade, I figured I would share about the orange folder in my file cabinet.  When I first moved to 5th - four years ago, I had no clue what I was getting into.  

Seriously.  

I mean I knew the 5th grade teachers always looked like they were on the brink of a little crazy... but they seemed like they were always having so much fun too.  

I then jumped head first into the craziness and am absolutely loving it.  

I love the hands on projects, the community service, and the teamwork that comes from being part of an amazing team.  Even if it's a bit extra.  :)  

I also learned about States and Capitals. There are many ways for kids to practice identifying their states and capitals.  I have also learned over the years that thrift stores usually carry a lot of ways to practice the states for super cheap.  My room is full of flash cards, erasable maps, floor puzzles, and even a huge rug that I was gifted through Donors Choose.  

Well not this year... the rug and all that stuff are tucked away because the kids can't use them... :( 

But we are watching the Tour the States video from Youtube.  If you haven't watch it yet, then do it.  That's your homework today.  The song may drive you a little batty when you've listened to it a million times, but it's so catchy that you probably won't care.

Now for the tests, in our grade level, we have an organization of 10 weeks of states with approx. 5 states each week. We have the Western States for the first 1-24. Then we have the Eastern States with the last 26. Each week these specific numbers are matched onto a blank map of the USA. Those maps are what's tucked inside that orange folder...  We also do a cumulative quiz after the Western, the Eastern, and a full 50 at the end.  

We give them a week or two to practice the specific list.  Just the 5 to focus on.  This year I'm adding them to our Weekly Breakdown. Usually the kids write them in their planners. 

We usually start at the beginning of the year and alternate a set of states for 2 weeks, and a spelling list for the alternating 2 weeks.  I liked that system a lot.  

Then this year started and there was no way we could add that into the plan right away.  Too much other stuff.  So I waited until we were in our Colonial American unit and started the states with identifying the 13 colonies.  

Yep - it felt super weird starting on the other side of the country since my brain is engrained Western States first, but the kids were able to identify the colonies as we were already comparing and contrasting between New England, Middle, and Southern. 3 weeks. That was in December.  

Then in January my class started with the Western set, and this week started on the Eastern.  We took a couple of weeks off with the end of the trimester.  Life has been kind of crazy.  

How are we doing this online?  I'm still using those same map tests each week.  I add an assignment into our TEAM with the list of the states, and then I post the map in our Friday meeting.  I snap at picture of the map with my phone, and upload it into our meeting conversation using the phone app.  The kids identify the states/numbers from the map and put it next to the specific state in the assignment page.

I know kids can easily cheat on this online platform, so I have added in another layer.

To get full credit they also have to submit a screenshot of their clicks over from this website. Each week their goal is to improve their number of clicks.  If they improve each week over there, then they get that extra point to bump their final state quiz to the top level.  

Most of my class is now at 50 clicks for 50 states.  And they love to practice. So much so that I sent messages to my 50/50 kids to give them a week off, and they wanted to keep practicing.  

Hope you had a great day!

Wearing Many Different Hats

A few summers ago I went to Colonial Williamsburg for their week long teacher institute and saw firsthand how a hat or an outfit can transform a person into another character. Those historians and actors are really good at their jobs.  I thought I was in the presence of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  They knew their stuff and made history come alive.  

After that I started adding in some different hats and outfits to my lessons and playing different roles.  The kids totally get into it. Here are the many personas I try to capture during the year...

Mrs. Granger from Frindle.  She is a very sour teacher that absolutely loves the dictionary. This is the first character that my students meet - usually the 3rd week of school as we are wrapping up the novel.  She leads our lesson for the day, gives the students dictionary drills... and somehow always has a British accent... I don't know how that happens.  :)  In a normal year, she usually appears right after recess or PE - when there is time to change clothes and throw on the wig. This year it was kind of weird with the virtual classroom.  I just had to turn on my camera to get the reactions.  

It always gets me how every year there are students that really believe Mrs. Granger was in the classroom... like truly believe it still in May when we are reflecting over our year. :) 

Miss Liberty makes her appearance on Election Day. She leads the students in the Great Cookie Election.  In a normal year the students taste test Chips Ahoy vs. Oreo and we vote.  We do put a spin on it, as we are fifth graders learning about our states... Each student becomes a representative for a specific state (they have to find it on the map), and their vote counts for that state's electoral votes. They see how the system works and where those numbers come from.  It's very simplistic, but it gives a general overview.  And since it's a competition there is buy in.  This year with virtual we still did it, but I was the one holding the cookies. It’s amazing how many of them loved pulling out cookies to join me online at 9am. :) 

In January (this year December) we host a Colonial Day where the teachers dress up in colonial garb and the kids experience different trades and learn about life back then.  I have a list of 18th century phrases that I use all day.  Usually my room has kids practicing script, using foil to be a silversmith, folding a shoe pattern to be a cobbler, and practicing tin smithing using a push pin and cardstock (on the floor). This year with virtual we focused more on things that they all had at home. I highly recommend the Teacher Resource Library over at the Colonial Williamsburg website.  They have so many short videos that really show how life was back then.  

This is where I'm currently at in the American Revolution.  I'm either King George or I switch to a tricorn hat and become a Patriot.  Queen Emily playing the part of King George III. It's fun and the kids get so into it, even though I wear it a lot during SS.  This was taken on a day that we played the Tax Game...My class, aka the colonists, were not happy they were going into debt. 

I do have other hats and wigs as well - just no pictures. I have a chef hat that I use for Book Tastings, and a hamburger hat that I use for details. Then there is my electric blue wig that I use for crazy hair days.  Do you dress up to? I can't be the only one being silly.  Hope you have a great day!

March Madness: Famous Patriots - The Great Debate

When I bumped to 5th, my new team taught me about March Madness in the classroom.  It's pretty cool.  The kids that love basketball are automatically engaged because of the title, and the others join in the excitement because of the competition of it all.  

We are in the midst of our Opinion unit.  These kids have to have an opinion about everything these days, and they have to be able to back up why they feel each way using specific information.  In Social Studies we are in the middle of our American Revolution unit, it's always fun to combine units and rank the Famous Patriots that we come in contact with... 

Here's how I set it up...

I have a stack of short biographies... like super short biographies about patriots.  They were left in the file cabinet when I moved in. They look like they have been copied from a workbook and put in sheet protectors.  That's beside the point, the main thing is that there is at least 16 of them.  You only need 16.  

In a normal year I have 32 students.  Partner groups make it 16... it's pretty perfect.  

Each group of kids are given a patriot to learn more about.  They research them using the short biographies and then they need to do some extra research because my papers only give them a taste of information, not enough to come up with a Top Ten Facts poster.  

Basically they are looking for interesting information about why the person is famous, what was their early life and career, and any other information that would possibly make their person stand out from the pack. They work on it with a partner, but they have to use the information they find and write their own persuasive speech as to what to say during the Great Debate.  Between the two they then decide which speech to use.  

I give them a week to research and create a poster.  This year with doing this virtually, they are turning their facts into me so I can share my screen during The Great Debates.  

During the Great Debate we start the bracket.  2 Patriot groups face off from each other and state their convincing speeches by identifying key information.  This year I will share my screen with their top facts.  Then after both patriots are duly recognized, the audience (aka the rest of the class) will vote for the patriot that should move forward in the competition. I randomly place on our bracket board, as I don't want them to know exactly who will have to face off with their opponent until it's actually time.  

We will go through the first round with the 16 patriots, then will start the second round with the elite 8, then will move to the final 4, and then the finals with the top 2.  Then we crown the winner of the Great Debate.  It goes pretty fast.  

Usually in the classroom the kids listen to the speeches, and then move to either side of the room - example George Washington on this side and Thomas Jefferson on this side... then no one can possibly change their hand based on what their friends are doing. This year we will still be virtual during March Madness, so I'll use a poll app so it will be a little more secretive. 

Do you do anything like March Madness in your classroom? Hope you had a great day!

Virtual Puppet Shows Anyone?

Let me first tell you the B.C. (before covid) version of this activity...

In a normal year, during the end of the Causes of the American Revolution unit, my grade level usually has students get into groups to act them out. The idea of students teaching it meaning they really understand it. We have a total of 12 teams - 3 groups per class, about 10 kids per group - where students creat a backdrop for their cause, and a short skit to act it out. They would come to school dressed up and with props.  It would be like a wax museum.  On show day, parents would line up outside my door, and they would walk through the 4 connected classrooms to view all 12 scenes - scenes being in the correct timeline. 

A narrator would lead each group from one to another. The scene would start frozen, then would come to life for about a minute, then freeze again. Families would stand in the middle of the room and turn to view all 3 scenes before moving on to the next room.

Last year the world shut down before we got to do it.

This year has been kind of hard... it's understandable.

But I wanted to still have the kids do something that required them to act it out.  We need to have some fun. They need to have group time. I need to see their creativity and how they work in a group situation, 

We have gotten used to using specific channels in TEAMS for our group projects.  I have 28 students, so the kids formed 7 teams. They chose their groups - we combined some of the causes to cover more ground.  For a week they discussed, chatted, and I started meetings in their skit groups - about 15 minutes per day.

I gave them these directions and showed them these screenshots of puppet ideas.  I just did a quick google search of puppet ideas.  

I added their specific article over in the channel for them to reference. I highly recommend the articles from Collaboration Cuties: Cutesy Clickables.

It was simple - talk with your group about your specific cause.  How can your group teach the class about that cause?  Create a character using a puppet - sock or stick - and during your skit have your puppet act and speak as part of the scene. How would your character feel?

I stuck popsicle sticks into our class’ office crate in case they were needed.  They were so creative. Lots of sock puppets! They went from brainstorming, to creating a script, to choosing parts, to practicing and performing in 5 days. Each person had to participate. 

On Show Day, I called a specific group.  Everyone turned to large gallery option and had cameras off.  The 4 actors turned on their cameras and pointed them up a little high so we could only see the puppets on the screen.  They taught us about the cause (which was really review for the entire class) by acting it out, and had their characters speak and show emotion. 

Then as we always do, each actor was able to call on an audience member to hear a compliment. I was so proud of them. Not only did the actors do a great job but the audience came up with specific feedback to show they were paying attention.  :)  Now onto the next group project... 

 

I Graduated from GLAD!

Have you heard of GLAD training?  I just finished 10 days of training this year.  The last 4 days we have been in a model classroom in the mornings, watching the trainers go through an American Revolution unit with the kids.  

Three reasons why I LOVED this week:

1) I learned something new.

2) I was able to see my kiddos from last year.

3) There were 4 days of prep time in the afternoons, complete with free color printing, posters, and lamination.  

Today I wanted to share some of my pictures from the week.  So many interactive charts, the butcher paper was literally falling off the walls.  Not everything, just the things I really wanted to remember.  

On the last day, the trainer met with small groups.  The first two groups were on level kids, so they read informational passages and did a jigsaw activity.  The third group was an ELD group, which went through a narrative (lots of pictures on a chart, the story on the back) and then each student had to add a sentence after the topic sentence prompt.  

These inquiry charts were added to every day for 4 days.  The kids asked a question, and the trainer didn't answer them, but had them add it to the chart.  There was an opportunity every night for students to choose a question from the chart and do research to find out the answers.  LOVE it!

I want to remember that poems/chants are NOT just for the primary grades.  Back when I taught 2nd grade, I would always have a Poem of the Week to practice for fluency.  Well I learned that poems can be used to teach vocabulary in the upper grades.  The chart started off nice and BW.  Then the kids had an activity to stand up and shout it out.  Afterward, the trainer asked kids what words they thought were important and highlighted them, then added some illustrations and picture file cards to help bring the poem/chant alive.

The kids created this timeline, and it expanded over two days.  The first day was only the last half of it, just the words, the second day the kids reviewed it, added pictures and vocabulary words, and then found more information to add more events to the front of it.  I've always had a CA timeline, but never thought to add pictures as we walk through the story.

There is so much more that I'm still pondering how I can add it to my classroom, and honestly there are tons of units out there for almost every part of my Social Studies and Science standards (just google GLAD units 4th grade), but here's what I came up with at this point in time.  Check out the links to grab them from Google Docs.  :)

Home/School Connection - The kids take a sheet home, talk to their parents about what they learned, and write about it on the back.  They get a parent signature and can earn some points for their team if they choose to do the assignment.  The real GLAD units usually have specific questions to talk about, but I wanted some I could use anytime to review.  These are for Fourth Grade California Social Studies and NGSS units.   

      

Caught You Cards - These are inspired by GLAD's literacy awards.  Basically during direct instruction a teacher is busy teaching :), so you choose two helpers that are your scouts.  You tell them to pay attention to the other student's behavior, something specific like active listening, eye contact, participation, etc.  After the lesson you ask the scouts which kids demonstrated those qualities, and they can give an award to them.  The kids are recognized for doing a great job, and then they have a choice to do an extra activity for a reward.  Those rewards don't have to entail anything more than giving some team points, or a spot on the raffle.  These Caught You Cards are for Social Studies and Science - research options and STEM.  :)  

Oh, Research!  How I love thee... Well, with all the research options they had, the kids need a little help with organizing their thoughts.  The focus with research is that it is taking a question from the unit, and learning how to cite a source. Here's a little sheet. 

Okay - last one for the moment...  There are tons of anchor charts that the trainers used, but I was drawn to something similar to this... It's called a Mind Map.  Students record information on it from all the many informational passages, timeline, narratives, pictures, etc. that they learned from the week.  I love the fact that it's a way to culminate everything.  

I hope these help you.  There are still tons more that I want to recreate for my classroom.  I'll check back in another time.  Hope you are having a great day! 

Color those California State Symbols!

I absolutely love the addition of art projects in my classroom.  Everything has a purpose though... practice following directions, a tie in to our unit, something that motivates kids to do their best.  I'm a California teacher through and through, and learning about our California State Symbols is a big deal in my fourth grade classroom.  I wanted to show you this coloring book I made for my class that we will work through during the school year.  My plan is to have them color one symbol per month August through April, to be ready to put the books together for Open House in May.  There are facts that are also included on each paper for reference.  

I know not everyone teaches in California, but I want to highly encourage you to use your own state symbols as Fun Facts for your students.  They are so interested in these little odd pieces of information and to find out the backstory how these symbols came to be important.  :)  

If you are a California teacher and want to see my coloring book up close, here's the link to it over on TPT.  I hope it helps someone!  

Social Studies Timelines

We are wrapping up the year!  I can't believe it how fast time has flown.  I wanted to share our Social Studies timelines.  I LOVE how they came out.

  

First up, we took a 12 x 18 piece of white paper, and folded it in half (hot dog), and placed it on our desks with the fold at the top.  We took a ruler (it was a scary moment), and starting with one end we measured and marked every 3 inches to form 6 sections.  We drew 5 lines to separate them out.  

The kids started to decorate the outside of their flip flaps:

Section 1: Regions

2: Native American

3: Explorers

4: Missions

5: Gold Rush

6: Statehood

After all the illustrating was done, we got to work writing inside.  They cut only the top portion, and wrote directly under the flap about that specific area.  Here's what I made them write about:

Regions: Favorite region and why

Native American: Interesting facts they learned

Explorer: Favorite explorer and why

Mission: Interesting facts they learned

Gold Rush: Interesting facts they learned

Statehood: Why they love living in CA

Hope this helps someone.