The Infamous Mr. Washington

This last summer I got the WONDERFUL opportunity to get to attend the Mount Vernon Teacher Institute. While at this institute, I got to spend an entire week at Mount Vernon learning about our first President. To say I came back with many ideas is an understatement. I came back with more ideas then I will EVER be able to have time to teach.

I start teaching about Washington during the French and Indian War. We then continue to learn more about him as a leader during the American Revolution. We also compare him to King George III as the Revolution draws to a close. Finally, we talk about him as President under the new Constitution. These discussions of George Washington are done through the lens of other events. This year after testing, I decided to teach a unit just on George Washington.

George Washington Leads the Way

At my teacher institute, I got the opportunity to meet Bentley Boyd, the author of this fabulous comic about George Washington. George Washington Leads the Way tells the story of Washington's life while tying his life to seven leadership traits. This comic is great, and my students loved it!

I broke my students into groups of three or four and each group read about one leadership trait of G.W. They then reported back to the whole class what they had read and at least three examples of how Washington displayed that trait during their reading. All the students wrote down at least one example for each word. I changed the directions slightly from what the worksheet below asks.

We then took a few minutes to discuss our School Creed and the things they vow to do every day as a student. They then used our School Creed as a guide to write a creed for George Washington. They were required to use all seven of the qualities we read about. I'm actually pretty proud of how these turned out.

 

Lessons Learned: I really only planned one class period to do this lesson, but it took two. We didn't have much time for them to be able to read them to each other. Next year, I will allow more time so we can share. Also, I would have loved to have enough copies of the book so each student could have their own. The seven words would have also made a great vocabulary lesson. Maybe instead of doing it all in one lesson, to do seven smaller lessons. Introduce the word, read the comic, summarize how he showed that word, and maybe do a vocabulary card for each word.

 

 



Marveling at Main Idea

I just found this post that I wrote back in September and only saved as a draft, I think I hoped to include some pics, but I think it's time to post it. Better late than never?

Main Idea

This week my major reading focus was on Main Idea. After deciding that what I did last year would simply not do, I went on a search for new ideas. I came across the best idea at the Little Literacy Learners blog. This wonderful gem gives you the instructions to do the lesson and the worksheet she used with it. I used this lesson to "introduce" main idea to my fifth graders. By fifth grade most students have a clue what main idea is, but have a terrible time identifying it in their reading. We did the lunch bag activity as a class. I also had several other bags made up. They then worked with partners to examine two other bags. After that I took it a step further and had the kids use their bag organizer to write a paragraph about the bag. Most students simply used the main idea as their topic sentence and the supporting details to create their other sentences. However, I had some who really got into the creative writing side. These students took the same main idea and supporting details and created a story about the day the bag was used. I was pleasantly surprised how creative some of their stories were.

The second Main Idea lesson I did was based off an idea I got from an anchor chart on Sub Hub. I designed a Main Idea House worksheet. The students then read a biography from our Social Studies textbook and had to complete the house. For the first house, I gave the students the main idea. They then had to read the text to find details that would support that main idea. This took some trial and error, but I think most of them caught on pretty fast. For the other three houses I gave the students the person's name and page number. My thought was that they would create their own main idea, and then list their details that support it. I quickly realized that they were nowhere near ready for this step. I will definitely do this activity again next year, but I will make sure to give them the main idea or use shorter passages so there is less information to sort through. Even though the lesson didn't quite go the way I wanted it to, I do feel like the kids are starting to grasp the concept. This looks like a topic I will need to revisit several times throughout the year.

Missing in Action

Can I get a redo?

It's Snow Day, which means I am sitting in my pajamas instead of teaching. As much as I love having some time off, it really gets me thinking about this year. My beautiful blog that I started this last summer completely got left and neglected way back in September. I meant to come back to it, I really did, but like laundry you decided not to do, it began to pile up on me and then it was too late. Well not anymore, with only a month left of school, I am going to catch myself back up and make a blog I can be proud of. (Or at least not cringe when I think about my blog.)

So let's start at the beginning: Why I left my blog. (Also known as my excuses.)

As I had mentioned in one of my blog posts this year we got a new principal and a new Teacher Evaluation System. While I knew it was going to be a challenge for me, I had no idea the stress of figuring out this new system would have on me. I spent hours and hours combing through documents, emails, and pictures to try to "prove" what a good teacher I am. Looking back I really should have just relaxed because I know that I'm a good teacher, and my new principal, who I love, also saw that. My evaluation turned out great, but I feel silly for the amount of stress and worry I put myself through.

In addition to my stress over my evaluation, I also got "the class." As in the class that made me scratch my head, brainstorm, rebrainstorm, ask every teacher/mother I knew, plan, make different plans, and start again. While I don't like to complain, I'll just say a combination of factors from parents not caring, no work ethic, severe behavior issues, low motivation, even lower math and reading scores, and an apathy for learning from a large chunk of my seventy five students, led me to constantly try to figure out how to get through and truly teach this group of kids. While I wish I could say that I worked miracles and now have the BEST group of students, I will have to settle for saying that I truly tried everything I could think of and then some. I would be lying if I didn't say that my students improved, because they have. ALOT! But I still don't feel like they are where I want them to be. I'll keep saying my prayers and keep at it and hopefully by the end of the year...

And my last and most happy reason for neglecting my blog... I got engaged!!! My wonderful boyfriend of three years, proposed to me the day before Thanksgiving. Like all engaged women, I have completely been consumed by wedding planning. While the wedding planning is far from being done, we are getting married next January, I am recommitted to getting my blog going.

So with my excuses in the open for all to see, I am back and will do my best to get my blog back to a happy place!

Organization, my biggest enemy!

Every year I say that next year I will be more organized. This year I actually created some new tools to help me. (See post on Back to School Crafting.) So far I am LOVING my "NO Name" board. I used to have the no name papers hanging up all over my chalk board, which drove me CRAZY! Now they have their own space off my chalk board.

 I have been using my Monday through Friday sorter and red desk organizer, but feel that I am not using them enough. I still find myself with several small piles on my desk throughout the day. I wonder if I need to move them to the front of my desk instead of the side so I will use them immediately. I saw a post where the teacher totally got rid of her desk and just had her stuff organized on shelves. I would LOVE to do that, but have miles to go before I could take that organizational jump!

I have also been working on my Teacher Binder. I found really cute page dividers on teachers pay teachers. However, I put so much in my binder that I keep adding more and more dividers. At some point my binder may become too organized. Is that even possible?

This week after our In Service on Oklahoma's new teacher evaluation system, I also started a Teacher Leader Effectiveness binder. I was surprised that TPT doesn't have any cute stuff on it for TLE. Maybe I'll have to find my creative side and make some to share in my overflowing amount of free time.

Wish me luck as I continue to strive for organization bliss!

 

First Twelve Days of 5th Grade Fun

I've been so swamped with all things school related that I was too exhausted to even think about posting about what's going on. Time to play catch up!

Time flew the first full week with our Fifth Grade Parent Meeting that Tuesday. We didn't have as many parents as we have some years, but the parents who came seemed great. This was our chance to go over our expectations for each of our subject areas. We all prepare handouts about our classes for the parents to take. I then sent home a copy of the handouts with the parents who couldn't make it.

The other thing I do to help with parent communication is my Fifth Grade email blasts. The parents sign up and I add their email to a group in outlook so I can quickly let them know what's going on. Tip: Be sure to send the emails to the parents as BCC so the parents don't see everyone's email. I did see an awesome idea the other day to have parents email me instead if they want to be added. That would keep me from typing in all the emails. I'm so doing that next year!

When it comes to reading we started with some basic nonfiction text skills. The first week I did a great activity called Text Mapping that I saw on Pinterest. I did it using my Social Studies text so it was able to teach an important skill and help them get used to their book. I also did a glossary versus dictionary lesson using their math and science book. The students had to pick a word from each and look it up in the dictionary and glossary. We then compared each glossary to the dictionary, and the students voted which they felt was most useful.

We also started our "Novel" spiral. This year I decided to have the students make a Table of Contents in the front of their spiral. I can already tell they have a much deeper understanding of a Table of Contents. On Monday, we started our first novel of the year.

We are reading "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key." I love starting the year off with this novel. It helps kids see that even though kids are different, we are all fabulous in our own way! As part of our Reading Rotations we started this week, I got to sit down with each small group and work on journaling. Journaling with the groups about Joey Pigza was my favorite part of the week!

In Social Studies we began the year with the American Colonies. This is a first as our standards just changed this year. In the past we started with the exploration of North America and then moved to the colonies. While I was excited to have more time to go more in depth for each topic, I now realize that I have to build a lot of background knowledge I didn't have to in previous years. 

This is my sixth year teaching 5th grade social studies, yet I still find that every year I make huge changes to how I teach. My state requires that students have certain facts memorized for their OCCT test. While I don't agree with the memorization, I would be negligent to not help my students learn them.

 To help my students learn these facts I have developed a three prong approach to the rote. To learn the basic facts for each colony we start by reading about it using several sources. I then use a fill in the blanks notes sheet to assess how much they remembered from the reading. We then cover the notes with a sheet of paper to make a flip book. On the outside is the name of the colony. On the inside cover we create a mind map of the important things they need to remember. In an effort to try to grab one more type of learner, I teach the students a song or poem about the colony. All three are aimed at helping them learn what the state wants them to know. Then we get to have fun mapping, doing reader's theatres, seeing pictures from the colonies, playing games, and experiencing the colonies.

It has been a super busy first few weeks! I am looking forward to the long weekend and a chance to recharge so I can hit the ground running next week!

First Day, Horray!

All the preparation of the last few weeks was so worth it when I started class today. It was nice to have my desk so organized. Now I just have to keep making myself use my new organization tools so I stay that way.

The first day can be a long day of rules and procedures, but I know how important it is to practice those things these first few days. I read an article by Harry Wong last night. I got so reenergized by it that I pulled out my old copy of First Days of School. After flipping through it I realized how many of the ideas in there I use in my classroom. It also reminded me of a few things I had forgotten which could really make my life easier. If you are a new teacher, it is a must read!

My kids seem like a great group of kids. For the most part, they were happy to be there and attentive. I was surprised when I got home tonight and started looking through their Handle with Care survey, that I already know most of the names of my homeroom students. This is amazing to me because I am HORRIBLE with names. One of the smartest things I started a few years ago is to make my seating charts using their pictures. I got a copy of these from the students' records and last year's yearbook. This helps me learn the names faster of my three classes and is a great trick to help my substitutes.

Last year I was very exhausted by the end of the year from dealing with bullying issues. This year I am going to work really hard on developing the feeling of community and mutual trust early. I started this today with my "Brownie Points" system inspired by Pinterest. While I don't like the idea of focusing on external rewards, I want my students to learn to work as a team toward team goals. Tomorrow I'm going to have my students do a "Peacemakers vs Peacebreakers" activity to help my students set their own expectations for each other.

This week has seemed like a whirlwind, but I think it's a great start to what will hopefully be a fabulous school year!

Back to School Crafting

With school starting in a few days, I wanted to take a few moments to post some of the projects I have been working on. I haven't finished all I wanted to, but here are the ones that are ready.

 

No Name Board

I was super inspired by the No Name boards I saw on Pinterest and decided to make one of my own. It turned out really cute. I did learn that I need to try not to be such a perfectionist.  I used a cardboard header board from a craft store and cut the board to a size that would fit in the correct spot in my classroom. I covered the edges in cute ribbon. I painted the letters, clothespins, and decorative stars. Then all I had to do was hot glue everything on. Overall it was super easy with the painting taking the most amount of time.

 

 

 

Weekly Organizer

I loved the idea to have an organizer for each day that I could put my copies in as well as any supplies I would need to teach the lesson. However, after looking at the prices I decided I could make my own. I looked everywhere for cute baskets that would be the right size. Of course they had to be in my classroom colors. After searching and not finding what I wanted, I decided to buy boxes instead. The boxes I used were 12x4x4. I painted and decorated them with cute paper to match my classroom. Then I added tags for each day of the week.

 

Who's Out Boards

I made these using picture frames, cute paper, and stickers. The students will sign out using a dry erase marker when they leave helping me better keep track of everyone.  I will hang the hall passes below the frames.

 

Desk Organizer 

 One of my major goals this year is to get more organized. I bought a simple desk organizer, added ribbon, and labeled the files with the items that land on my desk everyday. There is plenty of space left for me to put my lesson plan book and grade book.