A Letter From A Student

Because we had some scheduling issues during this first week of school, I ended up with a lot more time in my afternoon class than my morning.  Not wanting to get one class ahead of the other, I decided to have my afternoon class write me letters about the first three days of school.  I wanted them to tell me what they liked and didn't like, and what they would change, if anything.  I got the usual letters:  "I love everything!" and "I would ask for more recess!" and "I would have no homework."  (Which, by the way, they haven't had any!)  But I also got this letter.  I thought all you Daily 5/CAFE and Book Whisperer believers would appreciate it.  


Dear Mrs. Owens, 


You really have changed my mind a lot about reading.  I used to not like to read but now I love to read and I hope that does not change ever.  Thank you for being my reading teacher.  I love when we get to read to self and I do thank you.  You are a good 4th grade teacher!!


How absolutely sweet is that?  The first three days of school!  This student, by the way, has already read two chapter books this week.  I am just so thrilled with how this school year has started.  I am LOVING teaching reading this year.  Without the interruptions of AR and Study Island, I have never had so much time before!  And my students are reading-A LOT!  If you didn't do The Book Whisperer read along this summer, I highly suggest you check it out!  It really will revitalize the way you think about teaching reading!  

Book Talk Thursday!

This is another new-to-me book, but I'm sure not new to some of you.  My friend/co-worker brought And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss into me this morning when she saw that I was going to be launching Work on Writing today for Daily 5.  Always looking for a new read aloud, I peeked at it and used it immediately!  This is a book about a boy whose father always asks him what he saw on his way to and from school.  The boy is quite the storyteller, who comes up with some outlandish tales.  The boy was determined to find something true to tell his father about, but just couldn't help letting his imagination run away from him.  What he really saw on Mulberry Street was a horse pulling a wagon, which he thought was too boring.  He changed it to a zebra pulling a wagon.  Then the wagon becomes a chariot.  Throughout the story, the boy changes the story of what he saw in order to make his story more interesting.  This is a great book for introducing Work on Writing, or when discussing the ideas trait.  It can also be used when you're teaching how to add more descriptive details to stories.  I hope that some of you are able to use this book in your classrooms as well!

First Day Success!

As I walked down the hall after lunch duty today, I overheard a first grade teacher saying, "I hate the first day of school!"  No doubt, first grade is definitely harder than fourth.  By the time I get them, they already know the rules and how to walk in the hall (they just forget after the second week...)  But, I honestly had the best first day of school that I can recall!  I have one of the brightest (if not THE brightest) class I've ever had.  If you're a frequent reader, then you know that I am teaching reading & writing all day this year to two classes. By the end of the day, I had seen both classes, gone over procedures, did our getting-to-know-you activities, and -I kid you not- my students were asking, "Can we read now?"  


O-M-G!  


Some facts about this group of kids, and you can make a judgment about whether or not things are correlated:  
1.  This class was our district's first group of all-day kindergarteners.  
2.  Last year, our entire building taught Daily 5/CAFE.  
3.  All but one of my students attended our school last year.  


I am just so excited about where things are going to head this year!  My hubby reminded me tonight when we were talking that I say this every year, but I am not only saying it, I am feeling it this year!  


And in case you are wondering, I did allow my students to pick out books and read, even though we ran out of time to talk about good-fit books and the 5-finger rule.  That will come tomorrow, along with the official launch of Daily 5.  

Getting Ready...

I have been very busy this weekend preparing for my brand new fourth graders to arrive on Monday.  My co-teacher and I went to lunch Friday to start planning.  She is an intervention specialist and we have been waiting for at least three years to be able to have a true co-teaching classroom.  We are so excited to be able to work together this year in a full inclusion classroom.  


This weekend I'm working on some preparations for our Daily 5 launch, deciding on some picture book read-alouds, and working on literacy notebook contents.  I have "borrowed" many of my ideas from Beth Newingham, at least for reading section.  My students will have the 40 book requirement, as discussed in The Book Whisperer.  They will also have a genre requirement.  My students will log the books they have read, keep a tally of the genres, and keep a log of books they would like to read.  


The literacy notebooks will also have a response section, notes section, writing section, and word study section.  These are all still in progress, but I will definitely be posting more as it is developed.  For those of you who don't know, I had a Donor's Choose project funded to create these literacy binders.  Since it was funded so close to the end of the school year last year, Donor's Choose did not ship the materials.  I have learned they will not ship the materials until next week.  This was disappointing to me, because I would've like to have started the year off developing these binders from day one.  Please do not mistake that disappointment for ungratefulness.  I am so grateful that so many complete strangers donated money to my classroom!  


What last minute plans do you have to prepare for your students to start the school year?  

Classroom Pictures Before & After!

O-M-G!  Let me just tell you that this week has been long and tiring!!!  I apologize to all my loyal followers who haven't forgotten about me!  I actually wrote my BTT post from yesterday a couple of weeks ago, knowing that I was going to be super busy this week.  This was my first week back, and my students start on Monday.  Yes, we work four full days before our students start.  One of those days is considered a work-day in our classrooms.  That means three remaining days for meetings.  Long, sitting-all-day meetings.  


Here is what my classroom looked like before:  

Since I was able to stay in my room, I was able to leave my bulletin board fabric up.  That did save some time getting set up. 

I decided to work on my library first. 

Now for the after photos: 

The view of my classroom from the door 

The view of my classroom from the front corner

My desk & my co-teacher's desk (against the board)

Here are some close-ups of my bulletin boards:  

My Jobs Board.  Paper is recycled newspaper.  I created the bulletin board set, and it can be purchased in my Teacher's Notebook shop!  (Everything 20% off until Monday!) 

One of my reading recommendation boards.  Student's names are on the different sports balls.  The other recommendation board for my other class is titled "Reading is a Hit With Us" and each student has a baseball cap they will place their recommendations under.  

My CAFE Board.  I just realized I didn't get a picture of the whole thing.  You can see the sports-theme CAFE posters and the Daily 5 posters above the board.  Both available in my Teacher's Notebook  shop!

And to celebrate the first day of school (and to thank you for sticking around to the end of this extremely long blog post), I am giving away a freebie!  I am going to give my students gifts on the first day of school.  They will get an eraser, pencil, a penny, and a pack of smarties.  I will put them in a lunch sack and attach this to it.  

Click to Download

All I ask is that you please rate my shop!  I have had a lot of sales and not one is leaving feedback!  

Book Talk Thursday-The Witches

For this week's Book Talk Thursday, I have decided to spotlight a book that is new to me.  The Witches by Roald Dahl is another entertaining fantasy in true Roald Dahl-fashion.  A young boy is sent to live with his grandmother, who tells him the story of witches.  They are not ordinary witches-they look human and they hate children.  Away on holiday, the boy finds himself stuck in a room full of witches at their annual meeting.  While the witches, led by the Grand High Witch, plot to rid England of all the children, the boy and his grandmother have decided to turn the tables on them and plot to rid England of all the witches.  


While the characters are likeable, and the story is entertaining, the fact remains that the story revolves around witches.  You would definitely want to know your students before reading or recommending this book.  It was #22 on ALA's Most Challenged list of the '90s.  I enjoyed this book very much, and it will remain in my classroom library.  


Happy Reading!

PD & ProgressBook

Sorry I've been MIA lately.  Like most of us, I've been very busy preparing to go back to school.  The teacher's official first day back is Tuesday. We have four days of PD before school starts on Monday.  As the new Technology Coordinator in our building, I am in charge of the PD for our staff regarding our new ProgressBook program.  Yes, prior to this school year, we have all been handwriting our interims and report cards!  A few of my colleagues and I have been using digital grade books on our own, but we have done nothing school-wide.  Our entire district has moved to ProgressBook starting this year.  I've been very busy creating an agenda and watching tutorial videos.  Since I am new to the Tech position, I never actually received ProgressBook training.  I am learning just a few days ahead of everyone else!  I am pretty tech-saavy, and I feel comfortable using and teaching about the system, but if anyone uses ProgressBook and would like to offer me any tips, tricks, or hints, I would gladly welcome them!  

Thanks!

Also, attaching a freebie for anyone else who might have use for a "Tech" binder.  

(Click here for the freebie!)