What makes us different...

Well, looky here, looky here, folks! Southside is the proud new owner of one Cabot Spring Fling 5K Staff Team Champions trophy! Now if that's not a mouth full, I don't know what is!

So proud of our staff and kiddos! Whoo hoo!

We had a very busy day today! First days back always are...so much to catch up on. Our morning meetings always run over on first days back. We greeted each other with "What's the News?" Whoo...did my kiddos have tons to share! We sure missed each other! Katie Byrd left our morning message for us. Looks like we had lots of reading over our break...it was too cold to do much else. ;)

I know it is quite unusual these days for me to post two days in a row, but I have to keep it fresh, right? LOL..

Really, I just want to share a fun writing activity we did today.

If you teach upper elementary and you do not have Barry Lane's Hooked on Meaning, run out and get it now! This is one of my favorite resources for teaching writing. I could not live without it in my classroom. We watched a short video in which Mr. Lane pretty much demonstrates his true feelings regarding state mandated writing prompts and tests. Although I could not agree more, there is not much to be done about it but to do your very best!

After watching the clip, we sat down and brainstormed all of the things we can do that might make us different from so many other students taking the same test.

 

Sorry the first one is a bit on the fuzzy side, and they are both horrendously messy....but goodness was I writing as fast as I could to get down all of their ideas about their own writing.

We continued discussing all of the things that make them the strong writers I know they can be....then we had a little fun. We illustrated those poor test graders that had to read all of those boring papers...paper after paper after paper. We didn't know who to feel sorrier for: us for having to respond to a "prompt" or them for  having to grade everyone else's boring paper...(because ours would NEVER be boring ;)

Here are a few of their ideas...

~after...."I wish more papers were like this!"

~after....."I just adore this figurative language..."

~after...."Finally, A+"

~after..."Happiness is reading this wonderful paper!"

Some of their before graders (before reading one of our papers) and the after graders (after reading one of our masterpieces) totally cracked me up.

Tomorrow we continue putting it all together as we work on jazzing up those amazingly boring prompts! We've got this covered!!!

I have just one picture book for you tonight. This is one of my new titles from spring break, and much like my new Sarah Stewart book, I was so happy to find this one.

Searching for Oliver K. Woodman is written by Arkansas writer Darcy Pattison. I was very excited to see Darcy speak during a professional development workshop a couple of summers back, but I was so disappointed when the books she brought sold out before I could get my hands on one. Well....I finally have my copy of this great little travel story...so many fun Social Studies lessons to be had in this one as we help Imogene search for her friend, Oliver K. Woodman. I am sure that I will be sharing this one with Mrs. Whitt. 

All right friends....with that I must say goodnight!

Happy reading!