Scottish Highlands and Quiet Sundays

 

Books, books, books! Look at that sweet pile of books donated to our school! There are some great titles in there, and the kids were super pumped to get started reading them...you JUST have to LOVE that!

Okay ~ who is ready to hear my broken record? It has been FOREVER since I have spent a quiet Sunday blogging away. Today, I finished the third book in the series that I have been rereading (if you are like my husband, go ahead and look confused and laugh at me here - yes, I said REreading) and it was all that I could do not to pick up the fourth, again. But I pulled myself away from the Scottish highlands to join the land of the living again, sniff sniff. Josh would probably be quite pleased, but he is not even here to enjoy my return. LOL

At times I feel as if I could spend my entire day curled up in my bed reading my favorite books. Maybe a sad, nerdy thing to admit, but I think by now most of you know this of me. The sadder part is that when I am not reading them, lately, I am listening to them. I have found Audiobooks.com and let's just say that at this point, it is a pretty good thing that I have unlimited data on my plan. Jeesshhh....

Any~whoooo...I digress, as usual. Although it feels as if I have not been in the world of the living for a bit, LOL, I promise that our class is still working our little hearts out, and I have enjoyed some great time with family and friends.

Such fun cabin time with my wonderful teacher friends :)
~ super way to get re-energized and ready to conquer the world ~
I could not ask for a better group of friends or mentors!

 

Katie and I hit up our first 5K of the year. It was slow going, and can you just say SORE! Holy Cow...if you don't use it, you sure do lose it! And not in a good way...I don't understand some of the places that hurt when I move... I am so ready to get back in the swing of walking/jogging, and even more ready to lose this weight, AGAIN! :( I just have to stay motivated and get moving! (One of the reasons I found Audiobooks.com :) great listening when walking and nevermind that it feeds my book addiction hehe.)

Some of our Read Like a Scientist anchors. Such interesting reading!

 

Did I mention we have been doing a lot of work in our class? My sweet kiddos have loved our focus of "Reading like a Scientist." Who knew how cool Mars is? What I have really enjoyed is watching my kiddos pick up their own nonfiction reading, and pointing out the text structures and features we have talked about!

Just a little of the grammar we have focused on. That tricky apostrophe is giving my group a run for their money, but I have faith...we will become apostrophe experts!  And yes, I know you have seen this anchor before, but we are still working hard on sentence structures. Sometimes, not only is the apostrophe a sly and tricky punctuation mark, but the faithful, familiar period eludes my kiddos as well. Practice makes perfect though, so we will keep chugging along until we are perfectly punctuated ~ even if it kills me! It very likely will!

I have a couple of super sweet picture books to share with you tonight! I will start with the amazing Berkeley Breathed. I still love his beautifully illustrated stories as much as ever. Pete & Pickles is at the top of my just-absolutely-precious list. Such a wonderful story of kindness, friendship, empathy, and I could go on and on! I love looking at this one slowly with the kiddos and really sharing the illustrations carefully, so that they can make boundless inferences. This is a perfect example of how illustrations can really add rich detail to a story.

Since I am sharing all things cute and precious, I just have to share Cynthia Rylant's The Old Woman Who Named Things. Again, Rylant makes teaching common themes in literature a piece of cake! Kindness and courage to open your heart fill the pages so beautifully illustrated by Kathryn Brown. I have always had a soft spot for old people LOL, and this little old woman is no different. Conversations of why? and I wonder? abound as we try to decide what it would mean for her to give in and name her sweet little visitor.

Speaking of Cynthia Rylant, here is one more great read for you. Snow illustrated by Lauren Stringer is simply lyrical and seasonally fun. Packed full of figurative language, simile and personification, you cannot go wrong with this one. I just love Rylant books, and much like Bunting she has so many different illustrators that they are all so different.

Just a few more cute things for fun! It has been a while since I have posted...

We could all use a pep talk right? I hope you love this as much as my kiddos did! We had lots of conversation about the path less traveled ~ I want to be on the road that leads to awesome!

Now again, for those of you that know me well, I cannot miss a chance to share a little Jason Mraz. With all of our reading like scientists, I was excited to share with my kiddos a fun little song that just happened to have some very scientific facts in it; a moving message didn't hurt so much either.

I will let Jason say goodnight :) 

Happy Reading!

Friday fun and the boys of fall

What a busy week we have had! I cannot believe just how quickly time has flown by this year. Is it a sign of getting older that the years are speeding up? With this sweet group of kiddos, I wish I could find a pause button. We rolled picture day, book fair, Grandparent's Day celebrations, homecoming, and early out into one mad rush of a week! 

That now leaves me one very tired teacher this Friday evening, and this is my first post of the school week. I cannot say how many times this week that I have thought, oh I need to remember to blog that or don't forget to mention that. Yet, life decided that family, my own kiddos, and football needed attention; couldn't ask for better distractions though :) With an away football game that is just a little too "away" for this mama to make, I have found my first quiet moment to post some of the fun things we worked on in class this week!

I really wanted to share the sweet pics above of my kiddos dancing to "Gummy Bear" during our morning meetings this week. It was an instant hit and so darn cute to watch! Below is a very small clip of them. I will try to get more on here later.

As much fun as we tried to squeeze in this week, we did even more work! Planning, planning, and more planning! We have really discussed all the things that make an amazing narrative (we have sure read a lot of them), and we decided to be as thoughtful in our planning as possible. We are thinking small, but writing big as we narrow down our topic! Even after narrowing it down to one precise moment in time, we have tried to plan ahead in using some of the great techniques of our favorite writers. These first plan sheets we use are a bit much, and not something that I will always expect us to use in our writing. This heavy planning early on will help us form some habits and expectations in our own writing.

 

I know I posted this previously, but here is a pic of the story I am using for my narrative. The kiddos were asking about it, so I thought I would add it again. If you would like to see the original post, click here.

One very MAD Katie rescuing a puppy
 that someone threw off the cliff...
she was off the cliff, in the air before 
the puppy came out of the water.

After a lesson on writing leads, we finally started drafting! Woohoo... we are on our way to a published masterpiece!

We are still working like crazy on those
complex sentences!

We are having fun with our story Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White. As we have read, we have looked at character and story elements, but you know me; I had to throw some great picture books in to help pull it all together.

Feathers and Fools by Mem Fox is one of my absolute favorites to teach rise in action, climax, and falling action. This is an amazingly illustrated story that is very moving and without fail brings out tons of conversation in my room. This is also a very easy discussion of theme - acceptance! I love how the end shows that looking at what we have in common rather than our differences can mean so much! Mem Fox does an amazing job of bringing that message home to kids in a way that jumps right out at them. LOVE this story!

Keeping in mind story elements, we have also really looked character traits, and just how much a character can move your story. When comparing and contrasting characters, my faithful standby is Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe. Manyara and Nyasha are two beautiful sisters, but both are about as different as can be. Students easily identify the contrasting traits of these characters, and it is such a beautiful read.

Looking at setting, I shared this sad and moving narrative. Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams is remarkably illustrated by Carole Byard. I share this story to remind my students that the images of a story and the dialect and behavior of its characters are all impacted by the setting which is not just place but time as well!  

Our focus in reading this week became our guide
in helping us plan and organize our own narratives!

 Lots of great work happening around our room this week....

  

Have I mentioned how proud I am of my hardworking group? :)

Just for fun we read a couple of my favorites for this time of year. Here is another David Catrow beauty! Lu and the Swamp Ghost by James Carville. My book came with a CD narrated by Mr. Carville, but honestly most of the time I cannot bring myself to use it because that would mean giving up a chance to read to my kiddos. Besides, it is so fun to try and bring out that deep down southern girl. There are a plethora of things I could teach with this, but seems like I focus on the fun of it mostly. We giggle at the illustrations and make predictions as to just who the ghost may be. After we have our fun, I do manage to go back a discuss the theme of this story, kindess and loyalty.

Now this next favorite...well, I try to start out reading it for fun, but I must say that Tony Johnson paints such a brilliant picture with words, we often slow down, really breath in, and savor the text. When I have fourth graders oohing and ahhing at how well written something is, then you know it is noticeable! How many times is it acceptable for me to say "I LOVE this story" in one post? LOL...I don't think I could go one Halloween without sharing this, and the timing of it is perfect in that students are finding all kinds of figurative language in this fun little read, The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe.

  

That is almost it for now. I will have more to share Sunday after I do a little planning. We are gearing up for a fun time at 4H Camp, and I know the kids are so excited!

I have just a few videos to share. The first is one of my kiddos singing along with Uncle Kracker's, Smile. They have really enjoyed learning about simile with his song. The second is something I have had stuck in my head since going to Joshua's game last night. I do love the boys of fall! Kenny Chesney tells such a memorable story with his song - just had to share. Makes me think of my boys! 

Last but not least, I am linking up with Kelly and her blog, Teaching Fourth, for Fun Friday! We try to have fun everyday, but this week, I think "Gummy Bear" was a blast and a brain break all rolled into one! Be sure to click on her link above to see what other fun things teachers are doing.

Happy Reading!

In all my nerdy glory

Such a wonderful lazy Sunday morning...feels like it has been forever since I could say I have a lazy moment. Is it awfully nerdy of me that here in a rare quiet moment, I couldn't wait to put on some headphones, listen to a little Jason Mraz, surf a little Pinterest, and update my blog with the smell of the roast cooking in the crock-pot filling the room. Yum! Probably a little nerdy, but I don't care. This is my idea of a lovely morning!

Sarah, Katie Bird, and I just before our very wet run Saturday.

In all honesty, I believe a lazy moment has made an appearance this morning because I am altogether too sore to move. School started and all of my new-found fitness routines went out the window, so yesterday's 5K his left me moving a little slowly. Goodness, I hate to admit and share that, but it is what it is... I will for sure have to fit in a few more workouts before next weekend when Sarah, Katie Bird, and I try another one. 

Well on to all things school ~ the story of my life, hehe! 

So I am sure that I have mentioned, only once or twice, how much I love these next few weeks in writing workshop. Again, nerd alert ~ there is something so magical in words and phrases and how just the right word choice or phrase can move a reader. Over the years I have confessed my love of words and phrases to my students, stopping during reading (like we all do, I know) and professing how amazing it was what the author did "right there, just then, did you notice that? oh wow! I LOVED that!" Last year, anytime we used magazines to clip pictures or words from, my students would begin bringing me words and phrases that made them think of me, or they knew I would just LOVE it. I am now the proud owner of a number of Ziploc bags busting at the seams with words. Yes, thanks to my precious kiddos (my own nerdyness aside) I am a word collector. 

This week we will focus on the magic of figurative language. With all the sensory detail we used last week, we have already looked at and shared some bits here and there. OK, so the theme of the morning seems to be all of my NERDY glory, and if you had doubts, well, may I just dispel them for you now...I CANNOT wait to teach tomorrow's writing lesson. We will be looking at simile.

  

Of course you cannot go wrong with Crazy like a Fox A Simile Story by Lorren Leedy and I'm as Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. Both are amusing little mentor texts packed full of simile, and they both make the concept very easy to grasp.

We will of course be revisiting Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. You can revisit that mentor for just about everything figurative - Jane Yolen is an artist with words! 

Yes, I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do. I almost hate to admit that when I picked up this book I purchased it simply because of the cover and title - butterflies! Happily, it turned out to be a perfect purchase. Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison. Such a easy theme to pick out and amazing word choice! Great similies...Velma with her sisters that "can sing like an angel" or "run like the devil." Lots of alliteration, too. Both sisters have "miraculous math and spectacular spelling."

Red Sings from the Treetops a Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski is full of personification, metaphor, and simile! So beautifully illustrated! I cannot say enough how wonderful this book of color poems is for sharing how magical figurative language can be in our writing.

I have some videos that I will share with my class as we continue looking at simile tomorrow. I love watching as my students start singing along with each artist, and before you know it, my kiddos are sharing all they songs that they find with similes. I am sure there are about a million of them out there. The first song that I shared with my class years ago was Smile by Uncle Kracker, but my list has grown. These are not the original videos as I like for students to see the lyrics when possible. The fun part is that most of these songs not only have simile, so we will definitely give another listen after we look at idioms, alliteration, and personification.  Here are a few of them...

One of our grammar focuses these next few weeks is still types of sentences. No surprise that for some of our writers, even the concept of compound sentences needs much review. The process of writing complex sentences can be over the top, but we will be sharing some fun mentor text sentences and books to help! Fun, fun and I have to share...My name is Tina Dunn and I am a Jeff Anderson stalker enthusiast. LOVE, LOVE me some Mechanically Inclined and how he lays it out so simply for all students to see! Why didn't I think of that? (lol, I say that about everything since I haven't had an original thought in forever, and I wouldn't be the teacher I am without all the amazing teachers willing to share!) 

Okay, mentioning the book Quick as a Cricket by the team of Audrey and Don Wood has made me want to share one of my all time favorite silly, little picture books. Don Wood is such a talented artist! And this next book is over the top silly but so much fun! We will of course mention the alliteration, but one of my favorite things to teach with it is story elements. I mean...we have a very clear look at character, setting, problem, and solution - a little oversimplified, but it is there in all its bare-bottom glory anyway! Help, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and he won't get out!

I know I am rambling now, but you cannot say I did not warn you about how excited I was for tomorrow's lessons. I have just one more adorable book to share, so that I know I have shared at least one picture book a day since my last post.

A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker  is a winner of The E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Books are nominated for their universal appeal as a "terrific" book to read aloud, and this is truly a sweet read aloud! I use this often when we are talking about themes in reading. Although, we will focus much of this week on genre, from this point on with every book we share, we will most certainly discuss theme.  Here, Bear has made it very clear that NO visitors are allowed, but mouse has something else in mind. Kindness and friendship are very clear themes in this award winning read aloud.

We were sad to say goodbye to Grandma Dowdel as we finished up our read aloud A Long Way from Chicago. I even shed a few tears as the troop train rolled past in the end. Be sure to ask your kiddos what an amazing character Grandma is! We will be starting the Trumpet of the Swans by Mr. E.B. White himself tomorrow.

Happy Reading my friends!