tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15475365343954569532024-03-13T04:07:28.213-05:00A+ Firsties....sharing fun ideas to encourage creativity, imagination and rigor in the elementary classroom!Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-65832464160822186572020-02-06T23:31:00.000-06:002020-02-06T23:31:27.101-06:00Dear TeacherI see you.<br />
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I appreciate you.<br />
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-the early mornings, the late nights, the thoughts of...I don't know if I can do this anymore. How can I reach THAT kid? I'm overwhelmed! How will I handle "all the things"? Yes! Finally....a great day!<br />
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I see you.<br />
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I'm here for you.<br />
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You do the most important work in the world-caring for and teaching children.<br />
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And while you may believe your efforts are fruitless, please understand...the planting and the harvest don't happen simultaneously-but there is good news! Through dedication, careful nurturing and patience, the seeds you've planted will grow. THAT child will grow! It may even happen long after they've left the 4 walls of your classroom.<br />
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-BUT, in this very moment, stop...breathe, maybe even pause to appreciate your own hard work and the work of those around you.<br />
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As a teacher, I used to wonder what happened in the halls and offices outside of my classroom. If the administration, and staff weren't teaching, what could they possibly be doing?<br />
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<b>NOT. EVEN. CLOSE.</b></div>
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The school runs like a busy beehive with EVERYONE and yes, I mean everyone, working....all in support of YOU-the classroom teacher and the kids you serve.</div>
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As we head into the months of spring and all the things that come with them, know that YOU are seen. You are appreciated and loved.<br />
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Have a sweet teacher you'd like to share a little <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQpzQnUWJyQ-hFCErJp2lkSsjZvWL4Yw/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">valentine</a> love with? Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQpzQnUWJyQ-hFCErJp2lkSsjZvWL4Yw/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab this little set of cards...print, cut apart, sign and hand deliver to share a reminder, a moment of appreciation for an amazing colleague near you!<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1547536534395456953" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1547536534395456953" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1547536534395456953" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Thank YOU....for teaching from the heart!</div>
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Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-25442997696568170712020-01-21T22:05:00.000-06:002020-01-21T22:10:39.386-06:00Hello, Friend!<br />
WOW! I can hardly believe it's actually been almost 3 1/2 years since my last blog post! Way back in 2016, I finally caved to the notion that I was NOT actually Superwoman and began prioritizing and minimizing in order to best meet the needs of my family. That basically meant, my plate was overflowing and <i>something</i> had to go! I had no idea that decision would lead to crickets hanging out here.......until now, BUT......you know what? The break was needed and greatly appreciated.<br />
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I also loved first grade, but longed for more...for something different...<br />
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.....so I changed grade levels. I taught 2nd, taught fourth (and loved it too), then moved out of the classroom to impact more students through instructional coaching. That brings us to NOW! Still learning, still growing...<br />
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The kids have grown; I've earned a master's degree and nooooow, now.....I'm ready to dive back into A+ Firsties!<br />
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While I'm no longer focused solely on 1st grade, I'm still in love with all things literacy, student centered learning and a genuine love of teaching. I hope you'll visit again soon....it's good to be back and we've got a lot of catching up to do!<br />
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See you soon!<br />
<br />Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-15978333616779887832016-09-05T21:33:00.001-05:002016-09-05T21:40:59.193-05:00Hands on Place Value FunHi, there! We’re 10 days in and beginning to dive into our curriculum. We’ve been practicing and practicing and…..practicing routines some more as we get to know one another. In the midst of all of the “getting to know you”, we’ve also begun setting the foundation for lots of working with numbers! <br />
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In case you haven’t stopped by in a while (because I haven’t blogged in a while)…last year, I made the jump from 1st to 2nd! Haven taken some time to become acquainted with all things 2nd…I’m READY to share again! Yay!!! Thanks for following the fun on Instagram and Facebook! It’s going to be our #bestyearyet on the blog too! <br />
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The number of assessments we have to give this year has been reduced, PTL!!! Because of this, our procedures for unpacking our standards have moved away from being focused on a single assessment, to being focused on the learning needed to understand the standards. Our unpacking (backwards design) posters will now contain illustrations of the models and representations that we’ll use throughout each unit. This page is hung low on the board because it will be Page 1 of a wall sized flipbook. The next one we make, will be hung right over it….they’ll be left on the wall for the duration of the year for students to lift and look at as a reference tool. The needed vocabulary cards will also move to our classroom word wall, once our unit focus changes.<br />
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As we began to show numbers in different forms, students were consistently expanding numbers using only the single digit rather than the number needed to represent its value…..so, enter our handy dandy place value demo cards! <br />
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Sometimes, you have to walk a mile in a number’s shoes to truly understand it’s value! Young students need kinesthetic, whole body learning as much as possible. This lesson was just the right fit! Students actually took turns sitting on a giant place value chart (our carpet) to represent numbers in expanded form, then stood to dance along with music before aligning the cards to represent the number in standard form. <br />
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I’m usually about all things literacy, but admittedly have been inspired to have a LOT more fun with math this year. Dare I say, I AM enjoying teaching math?! I said it! And meant it…math is fun! Now that I think about it…most of the training I attended this summer was over MATH!<br />
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After getting a better grasp on number forms, we also began to play with representing numbers in more than one way using our base-10 blocks. Realizing that you can model a number more than one way and it STILL be the same number was a huge eye opener and students enjoyed manipulating the blocks over and over again to represent BIG numbers! <br />
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Concrete models….&<br />
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Pictorial models…of BIG numbers! Hands on…music…movement…drawing…equals a firm foundation for comparing and ordering to come! Want to get moving too? Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9bFpTclJHWjBCcmc/view?usp=sharing">HERE</a> to grab a set of demo cards for your classroom! <br />
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See ya soon!Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-17617557047913643012016-03-16T23:57:00.002-05:002016-03-17T00:10:15.750-05:00What TIME is it?It’s that time of year again…time to practice telling time…right down to the minute! Making the jump from only telling time to the hour and to the half hour has been FUN! Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to lately…<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fe1vdUrDVc4/Vuo4wHnwY0I/AAAAAAAAGqU/l3vySDx88m0/s1600-h/Slide1_thumb2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1_thumb2" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GV4dhbklhkw/Vuo4wuHFpRI/AAAAAAAAGqY/IVZu_ArOafM/Slide1_thumb2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1_thumb2" width="621" /></a><br />
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…because our current math unit only covers one primary standard, our unpacking chart has doubled as an anchor chart to compile learning. We began by discussing the importance of telling time and reviewed telling time to the hour and to the half hour. After having just completed fractions, we also color coded the half hour and quarter hour to help us tell time a little later.<br />
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Distinguishing between AM and PM sounds like a pretty easy concept…right up until a 7 year old has to wrap their brain around morning starting in the middle of the night! Yikes!!! LOL! This day’s lesson was a laughter filled afternoon of sorting and game playing. We named activities that we usually do each day and had to determine if those activities took place during AM hours or PM hours. Some were tricky, but they got the hang of it through lots of grins and giggles.<br />
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In our classroom, independent work often starts with a blank sheet of paper. Creativity, after all, is intelligence having fun! In order to show what they’d learned, students traced the lines of a piece of paper I had pre-folded for them. They labeled their headers for AM and PM being sure to add the 12 hour span of time both covers and illustrated the sky to show their understanding of what it may appear to look like during those times. After completing their headers, students drew four events from their day that took place during AM hours and four events that took place during PM hours. Lots of fun discussion… <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--TEo85RkSDE/Vuo4x0EebCI/AAAAAAAAGqk/LJOE583emp0/s1600-h/Slide3_thumb2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3_thumb2" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_r9vQsWzYVo/Vuo4yKO4HdI/AAAAAAAAGqo/bP8gWLZcCe0/Slide3_thumb2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3_thumb2" width="621" /></a> <br />
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On the next day, we prepared to begin telling time by skip counting by ‘fives’. Using an analog clock to tell time is a skill that’s quickly becoming obsolete, if it hasn’t already. Most 7 year olds check the time on mom or dad’s cell phone screen, but now…these smart cookies are some of the best time keepers on the planet and are keeping our daily schedule on track by reading our classroom analog clock to the exact minute! In order to make the transition from whole and half hours as smooth as possible, we pulled out our unifix cubes to “touch” the minutes as we counted them. Second graders are awesome little people! <br />
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Beginning with the cubes helped to make the minutes tangible, concrete…something they could touch before trying to get them to grasp the concept of abstract, individual minutes. Being able to use our circle tables for learning is just one more reason why we love them! After getting my Ron Clark on during our whole group lesson, students used numbers to build a clock face on their table top in small groups and then placed blocks to represent 5 minute intervals for counting. I often perceive myself to be just a bit taller than I actually am. Having a little platform up there might not be such a bad idea! Hmmmmmm…. <br />
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Now, students have an additional resource from <em>Really Good Stuff</em> to help them tell time successfully. Side note: Don’t show kids everything you’ve got at the beginning of the year. Save instructional décor until you need it to teach with…then you’ll have something new to share and kids will more likely ACTUALLY use it as a resource! <br />
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We’ve kept the clocks we made on the first day of our unit to use as tools for learning. Now, we’ve also created flaps to display the time to the ‘five’ under each number on the face of the clock. Being able to tell time to the fives will help us get to the exact minute by skip counting and then counting on<br />
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The kiddos have enjoyed having their own clock, BUT I think the final look of their tables have been their favorite thing so far. After each group assembled their table clocks, I taped the numbers down and used a sharpie to add “minute” marks to the tables. Yep, I wrote on the table with a sharpie! GASP!!! It comes off, lol! With a little hand sanitizer and time, it’ll be completely removable…..BUT hopefully, not until AFTER we’ve finished learning how to tell time.<br />
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NOW, each table group can work together to display time and write the digital format to match it. Tables will also double as clocks for math station activities when we return from spring break! =) <br />
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AND…our anchor chart has changed a LOT with each additional lesson too! It’s almost complete! As part of our final review lesson, before the BIG test, we’ll label both the analog clock and the digital clock with a specific time. <br />
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NOW, it’s time for this teacher mama to go to bed! I hear a fun filled day of spring break calling…TTYL! Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-26721102936028058382015-11-15T15:58:00.000-06:002015-11-15T17:11:16.794-06:00Freckle Juice & Freebies Too<p><font size="4">Hi, friends! How are you? Starting in a new grade level this year AND having my son start football at the same time has to say the least…..been EXHAUSTING! While the blog has had a cobweb or two form, I want to take a quick sec to say THANK YOU for following on social media! You all rock! Hopefully, this little post will be the rekindling of a lovely relationship between myself and this little blog again! </font></p> <p><font size="4">I think I’m getting the hang of teaching second grade! It really has been fun! The kid part and the teaching part have been fun. We can talk about the testing part another day…that part is not so fun. Being able to leap forward from first with a few of my friends from last year’s crew has been ooper schmooper helpful! Here’s just a tiny peek into some of what we’ve been up to! </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lT2yXJTdnKQ/Vkj_9jA38OI/AAAAAAAAGm8/hFpmkCH1n3w/s1600-h/Slide13.jpg"><img title="Slide1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide1" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wjC88et8JiE/Vkj_94R9K3I/AAAAAAAAGnA/-crFsAdMkMg/Slide1_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Teaching reading has taken on new meaning this year. The focus is no longer on teaching how to read so much as it is…teaching how to understand what we read. Because of that, our basals are collecting dust while we dive into authentic literature. At first, I was a little nervous about moving away from the structured focus of the basal….but NOW, I’m enjoying the freedom of teaching skills from real books….complete books, not just a part of a book that may be included in a textbook. </font></p> <p><font size="4">You know, I LOVE a great foldable! During the week we shared Freckle Juice, we completed a little blend of literacy and math to make some fun cross curricular connections! </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2pRzvJpJRYM/Vkj_-SYvGrI/AAAAAAAAGnI/Uw3v3DNW1a8/s1600-h/Slide23.jpg"><img title="Slide2" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide2" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D0fiyNm-yGY/Vkj__e7S9uI/AAAAAAAAGnQ/VlfI_XZGoZ8/Slide2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Just computation…in second grade…not a chance. It’s all about the story problems now….all.the.time. Reading in reading and MORE reading in math….computation and application and thinking….lots and lots of thinking…and showing processes! Here, we applied what we’d learned about identifying coins and counting collections of coins…</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0vhYdGV07cs/Vkj__97H12I/AAAAAAAAGnY/LvidkDzSd0I/s1600-h/Slide33.jpg"><img title="Slide3" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide3" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-THF3N7bVD2k/VkkAAA7fqII/AAAAAAAAGng/qD0lY9uJlRQ/Slide3_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">…and using number lines to subtract.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cJVecf8VrBg/VkkAAs3-vgI/AAAAAAAAGno/Hsywl6FlyjM/s1600-h/Slide43.jpg"><img title="Slide4" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide4" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F2Bzrf1w8gA/VkkAA0KKqPI/AAAAAAAAGnw/P_Pwdi6TJAQ/Slide4_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">During our literacy block, we practiced writing and reading contractions with simple, index card mini-foldables. After working to create contractions, we housed them in the pocket of the foldable created using a mailing envelope.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iIdDyh5tAB4/VkkABZLF_BI/AAAAAAAAGn4/Om989_JqWJE/s1600-h/Slide53.jpg"><img title="Slide5" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide5" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P9ndufU37ho/VkkAB8ShI6I/AAAAAAAAGoA/uKp3RQ-98LQ/Slide5_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">The original two words were written on one side. Once folded, on the other were the remaining letters needed to create the contraction. Write, fold, flip…two words to one word. =)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H77uLXcyEdY/VkkACP9GpFI/AAAAAAAAGoI/c92OqTMZDlk/s1600-h/Slide63.jpg"><img title="Slide6" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide6" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nw2up2OnqwM/VkkACtGWJjI/AAAAAAAAGoQ/NPMBp_EADLo/Slide6_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Students also chose their favorite character from the story to analyze traits. After illustrating the character, students used sticky notes to record something the character said and something the character did. Lots of fun discussions were had as we took a closer look at each of the kiddo’s favorite characters.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--cj-1bedCbU/VkkADIVrhDI/AAAAAAAAGoc/0k0w0msGV4M/s1600-h/Slide77.jpg"><img title="Slide7" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide7" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y47tilQ8ByQ/VkkADpakxcI/AAAAAAAAGog/EBGxjCPw8NI/Slide7_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Analyzing character traits was fun! </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XKqTbNm_Nis/VkkFglO3ScI/AAAAAAAAGpk/NyK78cBEXO0/s1600-h/frecklejuice111%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="frecklejuice111" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="frecklejuice111" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tDwvJ2qYfyM/VkkFg-dAl5I/AAAAAAAAGpo/HGULA2qnfr4/frecklejuice111_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Sneaking in a little fine motor practice to cut and glue was fun too! Like it…want to use it? Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9aEl6azVmWnRaT3c/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab it! </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mm69nhYVWCE/VkkAE-NUTiI/AAAAAAAAGo4/TmWlWH1rA1s/s1600-h/Slide103.jpg"><img title="Slide10" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide10" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y5jZYvNcEyE/VkkAFeV2DKI/AAAAAAAAGpA/GL-mZilvO9g/Slide10_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">We’ve also enjoyed WRITING class books. As our introduction to adjectives, we created this little book inspired by our cranky friend. This book easily became a class favorite because they each got to add their own "catch phrase"! </font></p><p><font size="4">It’s a little late to get cranky now, but if you’d like to add this little goodie to your files for your next year, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9TmZoX0RzamR0cms/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab it! Did you know there are other Crankenstein books too? We’ll definitely be seeing more of him this year!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HVTF0JGFvQ8/VkkAF3nQUaI/AAAAAAAAGpI/Rc3lyYENI7I/s1600-h/Slide113.jpg"><img title="Slide11" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Slide11" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PWUd9wp6m8o/VkkAGWRt9hI/AAAAAAAAGpQ/vEco3-cuf4w/Slide11_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="625" height="484"></a></p> <p><font size="4">Our walls are no longer empty; there’s lots of learning splashed everywhere! Thanks for stopping by and catching up! Now that football season is winding down, I should be back in business and have time to share more of the journey into SECOND GRADE! </font></p> <p><font size="4">I’m excited about getting this transition year under my belt….about having the opportunity to get to know new friends…and of course, sharing with YOU! See ya again soon! </font></p> Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-65966791461381151142015-08-10T23:38:00.000-05:002015-08-11T14:19:24.364-05:00Classroom Reveal: It’s going to be SUPER in SECOND!<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are you? It’s been a busy last week or so here. After getting those golden keys in my hand, I began to plan…unpack, find, move, lift, staple, purge and OBSSESS about putting my new classroom together. NOW…the foundation has been laid to set the stage to engage a new batch of kiddos! Putting my classroom together is one of those things that just makes me happy! I can get lost in there for hours….and I did! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Now that my little home away from home is ready…. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vGaiMWP0SyM/Vcl3c4J-wzI/AAAAAAAAGiA/VProVHfyehI/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bmb7TX4aEBc/Vcl3fGoqGFI/AAAAAAAAGiI/TNXjBbZaW9A/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…come on in and have a look see!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sjwXVPW85_0/Vcl3gd73PjI/AAAAAAAAGiQ/wC3aJh6hhtY/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ChUNhsvNKlc/Vcl3jYBVUqI/AAAAAAAAGiY/Mz7Hx3eH4js/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">These cabinets store our classroom stations and curriculum pieces. We also use them as command central for our transportation list, class jobs and CHAMPS expectations. The black “call to action” poster is one of ONLY two commercially made posters you’ll find in our classroom. Well, not counting the pledge posters…so I guess it’s one of only 4. Our walls and classroom surfaces are prime real estate for displaying our learning….so once, you enter our room….you’ll notice there’s LOTS of blank space for creating and displaying what we will learn together.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8_2QnVtRrsI/Vcl3myzREAI/AAAAAAAAGig/_-BqxGRHlxI/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FbP07A78Nm8/Vcl3oyEKyJI/AAAAAAAAGio/Bm2D15SkAls/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This is our little library. Last year, I used the blue bins to hold books organized by theme and the black ones to house leveled books. This year, I wanted our classroom library to more closely resemble a real library, so I organized the entire selection of books by theme. There are still a few more boxes of books to add. We will have leveled books in the classroom, BUT they’ll be stored separately and used for small group instruction. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jNZMdiRdF9c/Vcl3qSAimQI/AAAAAAAAGiw/xWIwNJl3BgA/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JgvYpb0r93I/Vcl3tUp07yI/AAAAAAAAGi4/rYMg0kHLvUU/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our Dollar Tree and IKEA book boxes are hanging out in perfect harmony! I brought this little collection of pink, orange, blue and white together with coordinating labels. Morning work journals and Daily 5 folders have been inserted too. I’ll choose books for student book boxes for the first week. Beginning in the second week, after teaching kiddos how to browse the library, they’ll get to choose their own.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fBxfX3rGAHY/Vcl3uzEb8mI/AAAAAAAAGjA/kMmK5jjUpOw/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v5hPcG9IEvs/Vcl3vW5hyqI/AAAAAAAAGjE/1S5CZwlHGPg/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This is our infamous ENTIRE….WHOLE word WALL, lol! This sucker is HUGE! We’ll be hanging our alphabet line after completing a little ABC fun on the first day of school. I want the kids to help with completing this task so they’ll take ownership of it and to develop interest in use of the word wall. The two tables you see pictured here will be the two seating choices for ‘work on writing’ when choice becomes available during our literacy block. We’re not bound to tables in our classroom, so if students opt to, they may also utilize the floor space. I’ve got a couple pretty pink pillows that will be tossed into this space too. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4ItnbFasO0/Vcl3w57DbvI/AAAAAAAAGjQ/dkh2YChjmg8/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mXJ2olKfypU/Vcl3yhw0G9I/AAAAAAAAGjY/OviDiOoHS1g/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Don’t you just love the smell of new crayons? Supplies are being organized for their big introduction in week 2! Last year, one of my class favorites was our Word Helper board. They used it so much that I had to make a new one to start this year. It’s a simple tool that has a BIG impact! When there is a frequently used word that students just aren’t quite sure yet about how to spell, they can pull the laminated white card from the appropriate pocket, bring it to me and I add the word with a sharpie. Once I’ve added a word to the card, they can no longer ask me how to spell it, but must instead use the Spell Help board as an additional resource for finding correct spellings. Simple. Effective. Loved! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LxTvShfTzYc/Vcl3zxBiLdI/AAAAAAAAGjg/I5CPZP1IQkk/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1KDv5GDz_E/Vcl30pyGY3I/AAAAAAAAGjk/UDLkGuX4r0U/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Kids ever argue over where to sit when they visit the teacher table? Slap a symbol on the back of each of the chairs. In our classroom, the symbols we use are vowels. Each time a student comes to the teacher table, they are expected to sit in the same chair, with the same vowel…each and every time. Give it a try…it works [most of the time]! =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The two small boards in the background will house standards for each of the units we’ll be working through in reading and math. When we complete a unit or ‘unpack the standards’ as a class, the poster will go on the board as a reference. When we begin the next unit, the next poster will be stapled right over it. If students need to refer back to a previous poster, they can simply walk over, give a lift and review what we previously learned. By the end of the year…there will be a stack of posters stapled one on top of the other on each board.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DbTPqYBjJPY/Vcl31eJyS1I/AAAAAAAAGjw/hlvY0MLk8Ik/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YtNGSctPGzI/Vcl32lPYwHI/AAAAAAAAGj4/A8KwqCPtdAU/Slide8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We use Wilson Fundations for word work in our district. It’s perfect for small group differentiation, so I keep their alphabet visible at the small group table for easy reference. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rYi4LlwZPxA/Vcl34PbRwYI/AAAAAAAAGkA/teByYIn2Gxs/s1600-h/Slide10%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide10" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tjnmBY5raDA/Vcl36ZFCv9I/AAAAAAAAGkI/x1yGEBZK_qw/Slide10_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide10" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The two tables closest to the teacher table are used for ‘word work’ once all literacy center choices have been introduced. Keep in mind, because we use flexible seating, when I say…tables…what I really mean is any space within the vicinity of that table. As long as students are engaged and productive, they have complete choice of where exactly they park their bottoms to get to work. Standing is an option too! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The standing shelf in the middle of the room will house math station review activities. It’s also holding a space for our media cart. We’ll get that little diddy from our librarian once we’re officially back at work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This picture is also a great example of my view from the teacher table. I HATE CLUTTER! It gives me the heebie jeebies! Despise it….so I enjoy having a clear, unobstructed view of the classroom. No matter where a student is working, I can look out across the classroom and see everyone and they can see me, to know I can see them! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zm97B9NlSpQ/Vcl38uJPP5I/AAAAAAAAGkQ/paQs0LlQ1fg/s1600-h/Slide11%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide11" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hWsGAUeP2Lo/Vcl393Ou96I/AAAAAAAAGkY/6ReE7WsvER8/Slide11_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide11" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I thought our ceiling medallions might’ve been a little too busy, but I really like the way they turned out! Usually, I use fishing line to hang them but keeping with the chalk and brights theme, I used black curling ribbon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After posting a couple sneak peeks to Facebook, a few friends asked me where I got the wall clings. They actually aren’t wall clings at all! Being the doodler that I am, I took large cuts of black butcher paper and free-hand cut out doodle frames, then added embellishments with a chalk marker…that’s it…and stapled them to the wall. What do you think?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-72ZfIygu1rk/Vcl3-namW1I/AAAAAAAAGkg/Wz9E98mjGJU/s1600-h/Slide9%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide9" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7pdCX-iIG-E/Vcl3_ynSWbI/AAAAAAAAGko/1pEUQNIKNAA/Slide9_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide9" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s one last glance from the doorway….</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">You might’ve noticed the words ‘I Can…” spread throughout our room. It’s the guiding principle of our classroom. Success comes in CANS…and I always want my students to know how much I believe in each of them. It also pays homage to one of my favorite bible verses. I CAN….do all things through Christ who strengthens me! {Philippians 4:13}</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Knowing that we can and creating an atmosphere driven by engaging students through personal choice is what makes our classroom tick! While my goal <em>this</em> week, will be to enjoy as many days as possible in pjs…once we’re officially back on Monday and preparing for students, I’ll be excited to meet my new batch! The foundation is laid; it’s similar to what I used last year and I can’t wait to use it again! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Have you ever considered utilizing alternative seating in your classroom? Here’s a great video that explains why it works. Don’t be afraid! Step outside of your comfort zone. Throw out that old “box”. Let your students make choices and watch them shine! Enjoy the video and have a great year! </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4cscJcRKYxA" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-72112739670232459642015-07-31T01:33:00.000-05:002015-08-01T00:03:03.398-05:00Digging Deeper…Our NEW Word Wall<span style="font-size: medium;">So, today I got the chance to take a quick peek inside of my classroom! Now, my creative wheels are in overdrive and I’m growing more excited by the minute! As much as I’ve enjoyed having a little down time, I’m ready to start prepping our learning space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">One of the first things that will be going up in the room this year is our word wall. The best thing about taking a look into the room is seeing the blank slate. It’s a new chance, a new opportunity to do something great…to work with a new batch of kiddos…to grow and change and become better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our word wall is going to be one of those things that changes for the better this year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iJNnaKk03FY/VbsS5-BI9vI/AAAAAAAAGfM/tFDXV2Uzp6k/s1600-h/Slide9%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide9" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6HL5rKA_mCk/VbsS6pYwQ6I/AAAAAAAAGfQ/_SxiIqh5XoM/Slide9_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide9" width="621" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">At the beginning of last year, our word wall looked like this. Each week, the class and I added 5 new words (given that I remembered to print them) to the word wall. To facilitate a little visual “pop” and to help me stay organized…I used neon Astrobrights to run copies of our sight words. I love ROY G. BIV order! I love it so much, I use it to organize things in sequential order by grading periods. Our year is divided into 6 of them. During the 1st 6 weeks, the words were added on pink, then orange in the 2nd 6 weeks, then yellow in the 3rd 6 weeks and so on. This helped me to ‘at a glance’ be able to keep track of when words were introduced throughout the year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We’ll be using neon again this year, but instead of the focus being on classroom organization…the focus will be on student learning! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8BmixroHV_U/VbsS7HoQiJI/AAAAAAAAGfY/e7o9qHr9x7E/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HPUGU8l4A8Y/VbsS711RToI/AAAAAAAAGfk/dOwzxqgfwVg/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="625" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Word wall headers have been prepped and the Astrobrights are on deck and ready! Our word wall is growing up! It’s maturing and being organized to focus on phonics! You might say….well, duh! But….wait! Let me tell you HOW! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PR9piC2QpTg/VbsS8i4NdyI/AAAAAAAAGfs/sFtfTgHMVrQ/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qlGBhRY-uCg/VbsS9urZGsI/AAAAAAAAGfw/ccC3GGtB6G8/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">There will be 3 categories of words on our word wall. The first category will be sight words that can be used to generate other words. These words will be copied onto neon cardstock. For instance….take the word <strong>drink</strong>. You can use the rime to rhyme and create other words like….link, mink, brink, pink, sink, wink, blink, or think. With <strong>before</strong>…you can use the rime of the second syllable to rhyme and create…chore, score, shore, snore, core, or bore. Get it? Of course you do…YOU rock! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Because these words will be on brightly colored paper, students can use the color, the rime, or the shape of the word to help recall them, use them, or spell them by analogy to create new words.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geXexNFrXxg/VbsS-DvxMyI/AAAAAAAAGf4/rpfJGlLyHFI/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xdKfxsn_BO8/VbsS_M4C2iI/AAAAAAAAGgA/haFM_wWf0Vw/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The second category of words will be those that are the outlaws. The naughty ones….the words that don’t always follow the [phonics] rules and can not be used to generate other words. They will be copied onto white paper. White….like glue, to help them stick in students’ memories! These words will have to be memorized by sight! After copying each of these words and cutting them from white paper, they will also be framed in black.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qMTPmHNRLw0/VbsS_r1X9dI/AAAAAAAAGgI/LsrBJFTlwMM/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vvK4HDI38qU/VbsTAZQ7UuI/AAAAAAAAGgU/fkYdI1p2TxE/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The last category of words, will be vocabulary words. These are the words that may be required in our curriculum’s specificity or words that are important to students but are not a part of traditional sight word lists. They will be copied onto tan/manila paper and cut to the shape of a rectangle…another visual reminder/distinction.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LiSqP6WtRWI/VbsTBfI_IwI/AAAAAAAAGgc/-uRf5fAcVOU/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dQ1EjScf2Bg/VbsTCAcexgI/AAAAAAAAGgg/DUlOK8jc7Sc/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our word wall will continue to be interactive in the sense that we will USE it! We’ll hang the words together, we’ll play word games, apply movement to our spelling activities…and when that age old question arises… “HOW DO I SPELL…?” We’ll make reference to words that can be manipulated to guide the spelling of others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">One other additional BIG detail…the background of the word wall will be black. LOVE! Black and white is our running class theme, so our word wall will fit right in! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The alphabet line will be hung in ABC order from A………..allllll the waaaaaaaaaay to Z, in ONE single line…so it will quite literally be a word WALL, lol! After hanging the alphabet line close to eye level, sight words will be placed in a vertical line above each letter…about 5 per week…WITH KIDS. Vocabulary will be hung below the letter and changed out according to need throughout the year. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BawJ51Ez8XY/VbsTCzL92qI/AAAAAAAAGgo/6AdassOd8PQ/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fChi3WZPv80/VbsTDV_QdDI/AAAAAAAAGg0/79CW5JWCdqQ/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Cutting the words to their shape will be another visual tool to help students remember them. The black background really creates a clean look. I love the way the neon pops! Even the outlaws stand out in their little black leather jackets! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9hNrspC4NHU/VbsTEd6ZXzI/AAAAAAAAGg8/CyK4CkgGeuU/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qnVHSmKc6PQ/VbsTFdXxBxI/AAAAAAAAGhA/qYJMv1BaN38/Slide8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve had word wall on the brain all week and will be excited to get my hands on those golden keys on Monday morning to begin prepping it in the classroom!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bsUPwrixgbw/VbsTF5wc1-I/AAAAAAAAGhM/CwZDf2W3PrQ/s1600-h/Slide10%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide10" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SDDXMKtxO6k/VbsTHOpbuOI/AAAAAAAAGhQ/7Xwoh2ANfj8/Slide10_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide10" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This is a small shot of what our much bigger word wall will look like and I have to say, I think it’s going to change the way our kids use the word wall in a great way! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">You know, one of the reasons I found this opportunity to dig deeper during word wall time so exciting is because our trainer presented it with the enthusiasm of a kid with a brand new toy! I can only hope to have a fraction of her energy and excitement once we're back at school. If you had never used a word wall before in your life…attending her training would make you want to run out and hang one up as fast as you could! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">And guess what? There will be no more having to remember to prep my words for the week because I’ve typed my entire list for the year! No lamination...just print, cut and hang! That’s one little thing that makes a big difference checked off of my list for the <em>entire</em> school year! Check out this little diddy in my TPT store to check it off of your list too!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Black-and-White-Word-Wall-2nd-Grade-1990157" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-etUpQkAoyYE/VbsTHrxhbGI/AAAAAAAAGhc/SVhw9sa84Yc/Slide1%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="625" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">First grade friends, you can click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Black-and-White-Word-Wall-1st-Grade-1993962" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab your list. =) What BIG change are YOU looking forward to this year?</span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-54987744096225585622015-06-17T23:58:00.001-05:002015-06-18T17:18:17.949-05:00TPT Challenge Accepted! {Makeover Madness}<span style="font-size: medium;">Just give a product a facelift they said. Add a little something new. Update it! It’ll be easy! Well, one product deleted and completely recreated later…..it was fun and so much more than just a little facelift! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oulXHnf8BYs/VYJPOd1_HUI/AAAAAAAAGdg/TJBBaFf-kxc/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q_KrHrASNcU/VYJPO1qS-9I/AAAAAAAAGdo/TLN2Ff-faYU/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’m so glad I jumped into the TPT Seller Challenge that started this week! At first, I wasn’t sure which product I wanted to tackle first….BUT then, I went to a two day training. In the midst of the training, my creative wheels started turning and I knew EXACTLY what I needed to change…..and quickly! The training was over writer’s workshop with a word wall component. Not just any old run of the mill word wall though…..a new {to our area} word wall system! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k366fIY2hJU/VYJPPrWTksI/AAAAAAAAGdw/034gQV4c32s/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0AQsn7oorkk/VYJPQfOY5cI/AAAAAAAAGd4/XjanirisEuA/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Like most of you, my word wall was set up like this at the beginning of the year….in two neat rows, divided between M and N. Well, once upon a time ago….in a PreK training we were advised to hang our word walls horizontally in ONE long alphabetical row from A to Z. Some of us did, space allowing….BUT most of us continued to utilize our word wall in the formation above. It’s worked…it’s been updated to be manipulative. It’s become interactive. NOW….it’s being revolutionized! Which leads me to the product that I made over! Stay with me….I promise we’re going somewhere with this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Next year, when I go in to set up my word wall…that writing goals chart will have to find a new home because letters WILL be arranged horizontally from A-Z. In addition to adopting the new structure, the background will be black. High frequency words will be posted above the alphabet strip and vocabulary words will be added below the alphabet strip. Different right? There’s more…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">With there being two types of high frequency words, differentiation will [visually] come into play. Decodable sight words will be printed on neon paper and cut to the shape of the word. Phonetically irregular words will be printed on white paper and framed in black to the shape of the word. Vocabulary words will be added onto rectangular cut manila paper…below the letter. My classroom “theme” is black and white with pops of color soooo, hearing this started my heart to leaping and gave an educational reason to the color students will be seeing on the word wall. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p3b7qc8cOrU/VYJPQyNsVfI/AAAAAAAAGeA/1ewD9IfZpO4/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jFEr6L3ywvc/VYJPRu-aFwI/AAAAAAAAGeE/3ZQG549b6RQ/Slide3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…and it inspired my makeover item! A couple years ago, I created the little book above as a resource for our writer’s workshop folders. The old one is on the left. The NEW and IMPROVED one is on the right! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Instead of it being sized to fit into one of the side pockets of the folder, its now been edited for hole punching to fit onto the prongs running down the middle of the folder…to use as a resource to record and find spellings of frequently used words. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xoSJK_1mcyc/VYJPSLCeqcI/AAAAAAAAGeQ/ZiggFFqZeMw/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fYw6KaqyRMw/VYJPSsFKt0I/AAAAAAAAGeU/ZktxhjNN8Gs/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Notice the difference on the inside?!!! HUGE! THIS will also be how our word wall will look…..so, the book students will use to record new words will be a reflection of the wall we post them on! Lines will help with organization and they will have the alphabet with accompanying symbols to assist as a formation reference. Mind blown! If you can’t tell….I’m a little excited about the upcoming change! We’ve only been out of school for a week and my head is spinning with ideas to begin preparing for the new year! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WZXswbl6YxE/VYJPTTFKBII/AAAAAAAAGeg/qoV5ASEd-as/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-giGo-CoTPJE/VYJPT__0nOI/AAAAAAAAGek/NL-q6DQCaC8/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes, friends' names can be a little hard to spell. There’s a space for those names and subject specific words at the end of the book.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Word-Wall-Booklet-1911442" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ejEFog4Wsu8/VYJPUShAZNI/AAAAAAAAGew/L99sJpjw7iw/Slide6%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Makeover…..done! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I just uploaded this cutie to my TPT store and because I’m so excited about how it turned out, I listed it as a forever FREEbie! Click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Word-Wall-Booklet-1911442" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab it! Stay tuned…inspiration is flowing. More is in the works to accompany this….</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">See ya next week, when we continue the challenge by daring to dream……..BIG! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-54334209327761491902015-06-13T01:42:00.001-05:002015-06-14T00:04:27.299-05:00Desks or Tables?<span style="font-size: medium;">Hey, Friends! How are ya? The hustle and bustle of ending the year have come and gone. Now, that I’ve had a quick second to catch my breath, I thought I’d stop by to answer a question I seem to keep getting asked over and over …….and over again! =) You know, as teachers, we celebrate ending one year while simultaneously preparing to begin the next one. One of the things I love to do is reflect on my room arrangement and how it affected our learning over the course of the year….then plan for how I’d like to change it to begin the following year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Oh…the question I keep getting asked? Which do I prefer…desks or tables? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">If I were asked this question a few years ago, I would definitely have answered desks…BUT a lot has changed from a few years ago. Beliefs have made a shift. Kids are definitely different. My space is different. My teaching style has evolved. Kiddo learning styles have been better incorporated. I’ve embraced change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s what my classroom looked like way back in August…</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y_KoSScr1wI/VXvPf3RaqCI/AAAAAAAAGbQ/587FOd3T1hU/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vs2YHKPEwq4/VXvPgkTliQI/AAAAAAAAGbY/F6yp9vK8DRo/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Was making the switch easy? Not initially. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I had read an article online about a teacher’s success without desks and wanted to give it a try. I whole heartedly believe that student choice-driven classroom environments inspire engagement and learning. Having a variation of seating so that students could work where they were most comfortable was high on my priority list for set-up last year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Even so, I was nervous about letting go of the desks completely. That’s why you see a small group of them. Keep in mind, this picture was snapped as I was preparing for kids. Wanna guess what happened when the kids showed up? The room got completely switched around! It’s a funny thing how we try to anticipate the flow, their needs, what they’ll like and often times we’re very successful….BUT no one can tell you what they’ll like better than the little people who’ll actually be using the space! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EVAJJdDQ-KY/VXvPhbvfjEI/AAAAAAAAGbg/HwN8-viSSNs/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7l8MB_sSZMQ/VXvPiHUUkGI/AAAAAAAAGbk/NSOZ84uB_mg/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">By the end of the year, our furniture arrangement looked a little more like this! See? No desks! How’d it go? Did I like it? Were my kids able to control themselves? Awesome! We LOVED it! Absolutely! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Looking at this picture, the classroom looks pretty big. I promise you, it is NOT. Our classrooms are pretty cozy {real estate synonym for <em>small</em>}. Without the desks, our classroom looked and felt bigger. We had much more room for movement activities, to work on the floor and for bringing in different types of seating. ANNNND guess what? Our classroom was cleaner! There was no place for long lost papers from Christmas past to go and hide. Everything in our classroom had a place. If we didn’t need it, it was out of there! We used our space wisely and were forced to be efficient.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Every student had a space at the table available to them. Including the guided reading table, 3 round tables and 1 rectangle table…there were exactly 22 seats, when needed. You’ll also notice that I did not have a teacher desk. Hate them! They just become a spot to throw stuff on and when <em>exactly</em> would I have time to sit at it anyway? </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HC2Odg7PMQo/VXvPijeNk8I/AAAAAAAAGbw/FjzC-uQvyKs/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tS_ExnaWMP4/VXvPjVZ7scI/AAAAAAAAGb0/UOcU7JP6pEg/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">One of our alternative seating choices was the blue trampoline chairs. EVERYONE on my campus stopped in just to bounce their bottoms out of these at some time or another. They were great for kids that needed to work and wiggle.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gr5FjGB_V64/VXvPj-jP4DI/AAAAAAAAGcA/z3O2Rx3Re0w/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tDckjKokYCY/VXvPksxjkII/AAAAAAAAGcI/I3DJN-NPjo0/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Not every kid feels comfortable sitting in a hard plastic chair. The carpet was another area made available for students to work. Wanna lay on your tummy and work…wanna sit crisscross applesauce….need space to spread out? Then the carpet is a good spot! There was also a carpet “capacity limit”. 1 kid could sit in each corner and one in the middle…that way, the WHOLE class couldn’t try sitting at the carpet to work. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kYrlZ3OmIyU/VXvPlcBB2gI/AAAAAAAAGcQ/jdZO38hbhIw/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RBDjADba2EM/VXvPl9mKpII/AAAAAAAAGcY/BYyhukXsrkg/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">See my little computer stand? Not a whole teacher desk and I loved it because it provided the perfect amount of open storage with no room for me to pile anything on it. I shared this space with the kids too which allowed for an additional computer space, when needed. We kinda shared everything! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-elNavq4pzJ8/VXvPmtGYBXI/AAAAAAAAGcg/I2xGM5De0uo/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k8CPi-jbEKc/VXvPnVJrazI/AAAAAAAAGco/VrOSB0TXKi0/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The red chair was used for sharing at the carpet and doubled as another seating option for independent work time. There was also an upholstered ottoman on top of the chevron carpet. It served as seating and storage in our classroom library.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lYxddHswppQ/VXvPoSWhq3I/AAAAAAAAGcw/CHNpgIsMnws/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PtTPtYy1w8M/VXvPpFS0NOI/AAAAAAAAGc4/4ep7Lglitvs/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">No mess. No mystery papers floating around. No place to hide things. A clear view throughout the room. Lots of floor space for work, fun and games. Lots and lots of opportunity for collaboration because the arrangement is not focused on the teacher but on kids. When we all needed to meet, it was generally done at the carpet to mimic the closeness of “lap reading”. Our classroom felt more like a comfy lounge, a collaborative setting...where kids were in control of their learning.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KjlaLZ2p_oM/VXvPp8MutzI/AAAAAAAAGdA/biblVgUzIMs/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4tAL-FTRg9I/VXvPrS-x5JI/AAAAAAAAGdI/LjxFUTBexrY/Slide8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">A few things that helped to make working with tables instead of desks successful was the use of clipboards and lap desks. If students chose to sit in a comfy chair, they knew where these were stored in the classroom and were free to grab one. This picture to the top left is the ottoman that was in our classroom library. We used it to store reading books and dictionaries. See the little silver spots on the floor? Smallest chair ever, right? Ha! Those little circles were placed on the floor around the room to designate spots for seating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">So….long story, short...We LOVED having tables over desks. Using tables along with different choices for comfortable seating allowed for my students to choose the setting that best suited their learning style. We rolled with choice.... a LOT. I gave my students the opportunity to make choices with the understanding that the choice also comes with responsibility. They were free to choose as long as they showed me they were capable of handling the choice….ONLY.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I loved using tables so much….I’m taking them with me to SECOND GRADE next year! That’s right peeps…A+ Firsties just got promoted!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’d love to hear your thoughts on using tables or desks…chime in with a comment below! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-77075278177158994012015-05-09T19:18:00.004-05:002015-05-09T19:18:54.951-05:00Filling Buckets with Class Books {Love Notes}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! Long time, no blog! We’re down to the final stretch of the school year and things are starting to clear away a little….we have exactly 18 days left! 18! That’s it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">While it’s hard to believe that we ARE actually in the days of the final countdown, we have worked hard as a little school family and are ready for some rest and relaxation! I’m linking up with my bud, Kacey for a <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/05/five-for-friday-linky-party-may-8th.html" target="_blank">Five for Friday</a> bucket filling idea! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KKQdIBfkWdA/VU6hfCoMGDI/AAAAAAAAGYM/JOgxgGPVQZg/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R9exg-8WHSY/VU6hgG5zrZI/AAAAAAAAGYU/26D3634S8u4/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As we’re winding down the final six weeks, our focus in writer’s workshop is creating class books. By doing so, we can review a number of topics in a fun way that the kids can’t wait to get their hands on. Alliteration. Rhyming. Phonics patterns. Conventions. Punctuation…..BUT, most of all….filling buckets and continuing to build our classroom community right up until the very last minute! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Like normal, I gave my littles a voice in the planning of this endeavor. We brainstormed a list of topics they’d like to write about. After compiling the list, students voted to choose their ‘Top 3’ ideas. To my surprise, their #1 choice was little ole ME! I have the best class of littles on the planet, but it can be a little scary to give them free reign to write a book about YOU! =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After a little prayer…..and prepping a cover… [Yep, they told me EXACTLY what they wanted on that too!]…the kids set to work with a starter sentence to give the book a little rhythm. The starter sentence was……Ms. Dwyer is my teacher. Beyond that, they added anything they liked to describe me as a teacher and tell what or how I taught them in 1st grade. We were reviewing adjectives that week and let me tell you, those little stinkers made me cry! Like….for REAL TEARS!!! I cried! I tried to wipe them away and play it off, but ya’ll, the things they said were so heartwarming…..and I’m a big ole softie when it comes to my kids…..melted my heart as I read every page! That little book is one I’ll treasure for a long, long time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">….and just like THAT, one idea birthed ANOTHER! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O_1oV8HYymU/VU6hhN51MlI/AAAAAAAAGYc/vWQZD5NMEUI/s1600-h/friendsFREEbie1415-TDwyer%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="friendsFREEbie1415-TDwyer" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y2s5fYII_po/VU6hhxgfmsI/AAAAAAAAGYk/qFbVFAEwqJU/friendsFREEbie1415-TDwyer_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="friendsFREEbie1415-TDwyer" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">It started with bringing adjectives to LIFE! We used one courageous friend as a living anchor chart! This brave little stood at the carpet, glowing from ear to ear as friends used adjectives to describe HER. As they provided adjectives, I jotted them down quickly and we labeled away! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vJyI9oe8f58/VU6hi9HWUJI/AAAAAAAAGYo/-dzitsoFOrA/s1600-h/Slide3-TDwyer%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3-TDwyer" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q2t1-89D5Pw/VU6hjY_NrJI/AAAAAAAAGYw/7fHR6f4oAWQ/Slide3-TDwyer_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3-TDwyer" width="364" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We couldn’t exactly leave her there standing all day, so we created a “Flat Stanley” version and placed the sticky notes on the chart. After the adjectives were added, she got to add a noun under each adjective to name what it was describing. The next day, we used the chart as a class again to review each item students described and how we use adjectives in sentences before beginning a surprise project! It was super top secret and we had a limited amount of time to get it down while our friend was out of the classroom! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Did you notice the other little book covers on the 1st picture? Well, if my bucket was filled as an adult getting such a sweet gift from my class of littles, I got to thinking about how each of them would feel getting the same thing! So, as one of my littles was out of the room, we each sat down and wrote a note to tell her exactly how terrific she is! As she returned, I projected the book on the document camera and turned the pages. Each student read the page aloud and you could just see the pride and warmth bursting from each of their pores! It was one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen as a teacher. To hear each student, one by one, tell a classmate what makes them special…..especially, during the wonky times of these last few days was uh-mazing!!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I wish I had taken pictures of the actual book, BUT I think its now under guarded lock and key because the student receiving it LOVED it just that much! Each day from then until the end of the year, we’ve decided to fill a bucket for a friend or two! Love, love, love my littles and the care they show for each other. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e6aB5WhFAQQ/VU6hkLOXwzI/AAAAAAAAGY8/etiMDnaCyPQ/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VqcYn6piF5M/VU6hkiB9qOI/AAAAAAAAGZA/ZcR4XIwIvHg/Slide4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our guided reading groups have all blended to form strategy groups. During the first 20 days of school, we worked to build routines to foster a collaborative learning environment. During the final 20 days, students are collaborating and sharing what they’ve learned throughout the year as they review comprehension skills in mixed ability groups. In short, they’re teaching each other! Again…..teacher heart melted! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5iR1XACflOM/VU6hlswN7jI/AAAAAAAAGZM/2Rvfhgj6aYM/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FeyblqiguTM/VU6hmiBgGZI/AAAAAAAAGZU/yIDlfmvA4sI/Slide5_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We’ve had a great year filled with lots of learning with great friends! While I get a little teary eyed this time of year, it’s only because I’m so proud of my kiddos. They don’t need me anymore. I’m just in the room to make sure there’s adult supervision. They know the routines because they’ve helped to create them and practiced them all year. They’re working together. They’re teaching each other…..and they’re ready, ready for all 2nd grade has to offer! And me, I’m the lucky one….because I got to be a part of <em>their </em>journey! I got the privilege to make learning fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…..and that little book that we created as a surprise? The student receiving it, proudly declared THAT day as the BEST day of her life! She felt special and was stronger than me because she was able to hold back her tears of joy! It’s the little things that make teaching so fulfilling, that remind me daily of why the extra effort to love on each kiddo in my class is the most important part of what I do. It’s what makes the learning possible.</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9bnUxLVpqUDh2ZmM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vzhw21WT3bU/VU6hodzicHI/AAAAAAAAGZg/Z_3GqtSggYM/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Think your class might like to end the year filling each other’s buckets too? Click the pic above to grab a cover and a writing page insert to use! There are options to print the cover in color or in black in white to be colored. There are also 3 different simple double-sided writing pages to choose from. Enjoy these last few days…summer will be here before you know it! </span><br />
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<a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/05/five-for-friday-linky-party-may-8th.html" target="_blank"><img alt="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WSTJ1bGIJZE/VU6hptUhUPI/AAAAAAAAGZw/L5HvoUYRy7A/fiveforfriday2_thumb%25255B3%25255D%25255B1%25255D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="175" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" width="244" /></a> <a href="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/05/freebie-friday-for-may-8th.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/05/freebie-friday-for-may-8th.html" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYXmACII7Jg/VU6ipwHrdhI/AAAAAAAAGaM/xgb1yFrNbWg/s1600/teaching-blog-addict-free-printable%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for stopping by! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-13055376829508323502015-04-12T20:17:00.000-05:002015-04-12T21:12:13.327-05:00Smart Art: A Very Grouchy {Reading & Math} Craftivity<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! Has spring fever sprung in your classroom already? I think my class had bowls and bowls of Loopy Fruits before school on Friday…but I think, I think we managed to survive it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">It also turned out to be a very grouchy day in our classroom….BUT, in a good way!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-b8pFyeKzdFE/VSsX3Cn0LyI/AAAAAAAAGVs/nf55eAWW2UA/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EOcZL5XXDMY/VSsX31dSF3I/AAAAAAAAGV0/-n-TRhZ6pmQ/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our smart art for the week was a fun connection between reading and math. Initially, my kiddos were wondering why we were doing math during our Daily 5 block, but after we got started with a fun interactive reading of Eric Carle’s <em><u>The Grouchy Ladybug</u></em> they quickly understood! Reading this book together was fun and everyone was able to participate because of the repetitive “call and respond” pattern found in the text.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jFI5XUbycOk/VSsX5AxmHMI/AAAAAAAAGV8/3pijgMF8xMM/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eTDutyqcUvU/VSsX59JVrKI/AAAAAAAAGWE/mxsoH8mLryk/Slide2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This little activity helped us to wrap up our time unit, practice retelling, review shapes and use fractions in a fun way! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Each student was given a time taken from the story to represent in 3 different ways…how they would “read” the clock in words, how it would appear on a digital clock and how it would appear on an analog clock. That bold little ladybug had quite the busy day, so there were lots of times to represent! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-73UaO0rjq7w/VSsX6jQQHpI/AAAAAAAAGWM/ZKJr7BEAgdg/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vI5KG_jOM2Q/VSsX7fDjNAI/AAAAAAAAGWU/hb6-nOyrb2c/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The clock hands were colored to match our classroom set of Judy clocks. Each student had to show their time and get a thumbs up before gluing it to the clock face. After gluing the hands to the clock or ladybug’s body…students wrote to fill in their ladybug labels, then cut and glued them to the wings. In our classroom, students have creative control…so they did not all have to create their ladybug in the exact same way….BUT they had to make sure their analog time was visible after having glued the wings on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">See the whiteboard in the background? That was my little example projected onto the board to serve as a guide for their completed project.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9BCUPFGcClY/VSsX8dPKN4I/AAAAAAAAGWc/6PilEXjnGuE/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--ITVEZN7_GA/VSsX9Iko-2I/AAAAAAAAGWk/8dr0rFu9Lv4/Slide4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We have new math standards in TX this year…the ending of the story worked very well for explaining “about time” or how we use quarter hours on the clock too. As the little ladybug flies through the story picking fights she moves from hour to hour. At the end of the story, she harasses a whale every quarter hour, which made for a great “teachable moment”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After leaving for lunch and recess to let our little ladybugs dry, we returned to the classroom to retell the story. Each student grabbed their little ladybug and we sat in the hall in front of our lockers. Our intent was to sequence the times in the order of the events of the story {and hang them on the lockers] and we DID….BUT, HOLY MOLY did it look busy once we were done! I couldn’t even look straight at our lockers without getting dizzy! LOL! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Sitting in the hallway added a little novelty to the lesson too! With spring fever in full swing, finding new spots to learn in will be definitely be on the agenda! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZymyXr7sEwM/VSsX9_OuaHI/AAAAAAAAGWs/Drg_8WB7QIk/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ik8ibcOmxl4/VSsX-jMpGgI/AAAAAAAAGW0/FvVfXinoy2s/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">See?! BIIIIII-ZZZY! Look away….scroll down, before your eyes begin to cross! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nL0fEGHJGA0/VSsX_rYxjYI/AAAAAAAAGW8/ZMeBDDbEC1I/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WEPxJxj8lm0/VSsYAHScmfI/AAAAAAAAGXE/PiGak1QoqFs/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Whew! Much better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">If you look very closely, there are two little empty spots. Smart art is serious FUN, but also serious business. Students ONLY get to participate in smart art IF they have completed the two “must do” activities from work stations during the week. If it is not completed, then they must use their smart art time to become, well……smarter…and complete the work that was required of them. NO “must-do”, no smart art.This practice prevents students from being rewarded without having earned it. In our classroom, we have a lot of fun. Students are rewarded well, but it is because we make things look easy by doing the hard work, first. =)</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9cUhVNE9YR2M0SHc/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NEso7wZ5f78/VSsYB8Tuy7I/AAAAAAAAGXU/9ZKcdEcN4lo/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Feeling grouchy? Click the pic above to grab this little activity for your class of ladybugs! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Happy reading! =)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/04/freebie-friday-for-april-10th.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/04/freebie-friday-for-april-10th.html" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJlCaAdKQaw/VSsl5yzf21I/AAAAAAAAGXk/UbKkdyu4IdI/s1600/teaching-blog-addict-free-printable%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-41898487688713834922015-03-30T23:25:00.004-05:002015-03-30T23:25:28.744-05:00Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: Strategy 7<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! This strategy is all about using manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models. We’re teaching at a time when assessment has been placed at the forefront of well, just about….everything. Often times, we rush too quickly to abstract paper and pencil tasks without allowing students adequate time to enjoy concrete experiences. By using hands-on objects that students can touch, manipulate, change, pull apart, put together to create…we help them to build a deeper understanding of concepts that will be easily remembered in order to apply the learning to real world situations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">How many students do you have that get frustrated or misbehave when a piece of paper is put in front of them or even flat out refuse to complete work? The frustration may not be with the work itself, but in being rushed to show it in a way that is uncomfortable…too soon. In the real world, no one takes away our support. No one insists that we “figure it out” and solve problems based on memory alone. We have calculators , fingers….tools and apps that we use to solve problems….all.the.time. So, why do we as teachers take away support from students because we feel they’ve grown dependent on it or have used it for too long?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RBCOmk7dhUw/VRoe8w0HrQI/AAAAAAAAGTI/ca29raDfMKs/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jkJV52OC7Oc/VRoe9khNbRI/AAAAAAAAGTQ/H5-B-MTD-6A/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Students understanding of mathematical ideas is broadened when they’re allowed to use concrete representations. In our classroom, when students visit work stations, manipulatives are provided as support. If students need them, they have assess to them. If they don’t, they’re not required to use them.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-s92lNA55f9Y/VRoe-WTemgI/AAAAAAAAGTY/biyylizsZP0/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8v-Y5UHWa6A/VRoe-3UhogI/AAAAAAAAGTg/qAo188LvBnM/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Before beginning independent work, examples of expected outcomes are projected to provide clarity…</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-mGqVTgXgdyI/VRoe_xB79uI/AAAAAAAAGTo/AeZQL_0Fp6M/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-f8OiAPww-7M/VRofAco_ShI/AAAAAAAAGTw/Rcjm7AcxAjg/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…and a quick reference {example}. Using manipulatives can also provide game-like opportunities for learning.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0eY7c03rMWw/VRofBP463VI/AAAAAAAAGT4/mzmiUfROnTM/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-8AwgGsmxMOo/VRofB5tWD6I/AAAAAAAAGT8/xd83ARR6JS0/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">In order to display our understanding of edges and vertices, students constructed models of 3-Dimensional figures using toothpicks and marshmallows. (I’m sure there were a few missing vertices, by the time this lesson was done!)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xrJofQoet2o/VRofCk8AIAI/AAAAAAAAGUI/92LZi3MxVrk/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-neZ0enZ7ghk/VRofDPttpSI/AAAAAAAAGUQ/c514AtLS6d4/Slide5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We could have read lots of books, colored pictures, looked at video clips....<em>and we did</em>, BUT none of those things could replace getting our hands dirty to plant real seeds. Planting in our classroom is definitely an experiment because growing dendrites might be a talent, but growing plants is NOT! Ha!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4qJtk07HlS0/VRofEeMc8qI/AAAAAAAAGUY/OLl35YWdG3U/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FdwB2gk2zkk/VRofE9wLudI/AAAAAAAAGUg/_LiGf7S3w3c/Slide6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When we compared living organisms to non-living objects last year, the kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on worms! Real…icky, slimy…wet, muddy worms! Yuck! Now, while I enjoyed watching them enjoying themselves….the gummy worms were more my speed! Lol! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-F2Ot3BCXTBs/VRofFgYiqTI/AAAAAAAAGUo/Y0skBouYMhI/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-E-PsmWtC0pw/VRofGY45cVI/AAAAAAAAGUw/gMuKJ6cOeMQ/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Concrete experiences like this and labs also help ELLs when focusing on new vocabulary and concepts at the same time! There’s no doubt, every student in the room knew the difference between the living worm and the non-living gummy worm…not to mention, which one tasted better! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YiHJrCrzYyc/VRofG37JjYI/AAAAAAAAGU4/QxPttgRpiYk/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lFl9Qic31ik/VRofHom4jVI/AAAAAAAAGVA/BQEaJYSjDxI/Slide8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">So, the next time you’re planning….think of tactile ways to engage students in learning! Kids remember what they experience and DO! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bA1AoEXIlag/VRofIVd60UI/AAAAAAAAGVI/TArwemwFJxM/s1600-h/Slide9%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide9" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SUOkPcwXUaU/VRofI_cJ4rI/AAAAAAAAGVM/BMUMk7BIRKk/Slide9_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide9" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I love my big take away or “aha” from this chapter. Provide students with the support they need for as long as THEY need it. It’s not up to me to decide it’s time to force them away from it. When a student is ready to show what they know independently, they’ll tell me they no longer need the aid or simply stop using it. Let them guide the learning. Let them touch, manipulate, feel, and experience as much learning as possible with their whole bodies. Paper and pencil tasks should be the very last step in learning….learning IS in the doing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Allow students to use manipulatives, conduct experiments, build models and watch them flourish! Hands-on learning is FUN!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Stop by <a href="http://mrsjumpsclass.blogspot.com/2015/03/worksheets-dont-grow-dendrites-strategy.html" target="_blank">Mrs. Jump's Class</a> to hop through the other posts about this chapter. Enjoy! </span></div>
Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-51180711138009637432015-03-18T14:14:00.003-05:002015-03-18T15:16:54.045-05:00Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites {Chapter 5 & 6ish}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are ya? I’m excited about jumping into the book study about <em><u>Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites</u></em> by Marcia L. Tate! While we’ve been enjoying lazy days around the house, I’ve had pen and highlighter in hand busily doodling over the pages as I’m reading. Hopping from post to post to read how this book is impacting other teachers has been inspiring!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When I read Michelle’s post about Strategy 5, I just had to jump in because this chapter addresses a topic that is near and dear to my heart…something we use in our classroom every.single.day. In fact, her chapter kind of incorporated every single chapter leading up to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Before I jump into Chapter 5, here’s my big “take away” or “A-Aha!” from each of the previous chapters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chapter 1:</strong> <em>Brainstor</em></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>ming and Discussion</em>….Classrooms should NOT be quiet places. There should always be a consistent hum or buzz about the room as children are working and learning together. Opening their mouths to talk allows oxygen to get to the brain which in turn allows for a greater depth of learning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chapter 2:</strong> <em>Drawing and Artwork</em>…I could write about this strategy all day, every day! Art is not fluff! Can I say that again? Art is not fluff. It’s the stuff…that you can use to your advantage to make many meaningful cross-curricular connections. Art inspires creativity. Art requires creation, problem solving and THINKING. Art inspires deeper learning by engaging all senses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chapter 3:</strong> <em>Field Trips</em>…Sadly, the decreasing of school budgets have brought a screeching halt to taking field trips. To improve in this area, we’re going to look for opportunities to learn outside of the 4 walls of our classroom on campus. I’m also going to get with my favorite techy guru to plan a virtual trip! =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chapter 4:</strong> <em>Games</em>…I need to use them more. In classrooms full of boys, games are a great strategy for learning because boys are inclined to compete in everything! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">NOW…<strong>Chapter 5</strong>…<em>Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs</em>! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Z6x4QnyQ6Jk/VQnKnB9tiZI/AAAAAAAAGQI/8JOcQUyi5kU/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-It04kR6RXw0/VQnKo0_AumI/AAAAAAAAGQM/RyyHwRZ4YbY/Slide2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><em>The best classrooms are ones where students are actively engaged in the learning-talking to one another, moving to learn content, connecting ideas together, thinking positively, and having a purpose for learning. ~Marcia L. Tate</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Creating graphic organizers incorporates all of these things! Not only are they engaging, but they’re fun! Every Monday, we create a word web together to introduce our phonics focus for the week. The kids get so excited listing words that it’s hard to get them to stop! I LOVE to doodle! Win-win! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">While you may not like to draw or are thinking you couldn’t make a stick figure with a ruler….don’t worry! Have a projector? Well, project a picture you’d like to use and trace away. Your kids will never know and they’ll think you’re an artistic genius! Even if you use your own stick figures, they’ll still think you’re an artistic genius! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MF8DZbm-m58/VQnKp5KTqkI/AAAAAAAAGQU/pH2lfuvEGtA/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nEJ7vzhHbIw/VQnKrOtSnaI/AAAAAAAAGQc/AMipCn1DWYo/Slide3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">We incorporate guided writing toward the end of every week [during guided reading]. This is how we address our comprehension skill. Graphic organizers help students to represent abstract concepts in a concrete, organized, visual format. The brain remembers images more easily than just words. When graphic organizers are used to change words into images, both left- and right-brain learners can use those images to see the big picture. (Gregory & Parry, 2006)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Each group completes a graphic organizer or responsive writing that is specific to their guided reading book. Here, after students read quietly…we discussed story structure and I wrote what they told me about the book. After I wrote to provide an example for them, students created their own story maps by copying the information in an attractive, engaging format in their guided writing journals.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3HL3PSJWINk/VQnKseL7t0I/AAAAAAAAGQo/fGgWRPm3RxQ/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZlwPwINMFWE/VQnKtsL9-FI/AAAAAAAAGQw/cX0B3r30ypM/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Same week. Same concept. Two different guided reading groups. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">If time allows, students also enjoy sharing what they’ve learned and all students get to experience the gist of each of the different guided reading books that have been used over the course of the week.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-O5bNEEn1bBk/VQnKuyNFefI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/8ZKMY1Bz4xw/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iJZQxU7GQtU/VQnKv-pitkI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/SPiwZCDyBS4/Slide5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="364" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">This is an example of something new we’ve just recently started. As we approach the final six weeks of the school year, our stories are getting harder and much longer. So that students have additional exposure to the story of the week, two of our reading books have been placed in a work station bin for students to read the story independently. After reading the story, there is an 'I Can' statement provided to guide them toward creating their own graphic organizer. Because we’ve been faithfully creating these each week in small group, they’re now ready to make them on their own! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I Can statements don’t always have to be fancy. Sometimes, they can get whipped up from a sharpie and blank sheet of typing paper. The important thing is for students to have an organized model to follow, IF they need it. =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WTyH8mT9jF0/VQnKxIbzsPI/AAAAAAAAGRI/nZn_pg_z2DA/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LfXFo-ocAbk/VQnKyHcHhoI/AAAAAAAAGRQ/tg_d7YrxwI0/Slide8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Graphic organizers can take on fun shapes too! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KStzSjpYPIY/VQnKzJv43rI/AAAAAAAAGRY/o3tXhYNcj2c/s1600-h/Slide9%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide9" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0RKbTvplT50/VQnK0Kp7dvI/AAAAAAAAGRg/tuTlHZ5fUJ0/Slide9_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide9" width="644" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">In our classroom, kids help create everything. They are much more likely to be engaged and remember what was taught if they have a hand in creating it. Just sitting and watching me have all the fun isn’t actively learning.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-B52D4SGrnag/VQnK1qcrejI/AAAAAAAAGRo/nKy8BRrCo0U/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-33NArb2sY2I/VQnK2Yj1byI/AAAAAAAAGRs/h2c7nyr3OqY/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">This year, we’ve also focused on pumping a little life into our graphic organizers! Just like they can take on shape…they can be 3D too! Using 3D graphic organizers lends itself to project based learning….yet another, brain compatible strategy to grow those dendrites! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Q8dG6U63Zho/VQnK3WBPcmI/AAAAAAAAGR4/BFMMz92X1WU/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pzOX_w6iJ1g/VQnK4dfQ9DI/AAAAAAAAGSA/PeMEocOg8go/Slide6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">They’re great for every subject area. Again, let kids help create charts! Let them color them, touch them….construct them. Let them guide the creation of them. It’s in the “doing” that they’re learning. If time is an issue, {When isn’t it?} I create the background and the kids add the content.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-r5M1uUoh1tE/VQnK5a58wDI/AAAAAAAAGSI/j-VOjuAFRok/s1600-h/Slide10%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide10" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-l7iMZ49OIg0/VQnK6XzXJaI/AAAAAAAAGSQ/sZqaz7D1hYg/Slide10_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide10" width="644" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">They’re not just for reading! We’ve adapted the Frayer model for tons of uses in math too! We fold and learn a lot! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aPQYsucOvZ0/VQnK8P1f4pI/AAAAAAAAGSY/rWZ2hcbWJV8/s1600-h/Slide11%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide11" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HTY49q7qQiU/VQnK9EU9JuI/AAAAAAAAGSc/l-DzFIgFwco/Slide11_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide11" width="364" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">We build our classroom community with them as often as possible. This little book is one of my all time favorites! I usually whip it out as we review routines to begin the second semester. One of my coworkers introduced it to me years ago and I’ve been reading it ever since! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Waq7LUxYqCo/VQnK-fBFg2I/AAAAAAAAGSo/KIM4L3r-s44/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oldIh17SflU/VQnK_lvTogI/AAAAAAAAGSs/DF-2RKaZzUg/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s my reflection on Strategy 5. I hope you’ve found a little something helpful in this post. I’m looking forward to continuing this book study. Each of the sections I’ve read so far have been a big affirmation of personal beliefs and strategies we’re enjoying in our classroom. It’s also given me a greater understanding of the brain research that supports each of these strategies. Reading this book has allowed me time to reflect over how I can improve those strategies and consider how to add more tools to the “toolbox”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Strategy 6</strong> is all about the use of <em>HUMOR</em> in the classroom. What can I say? I’m goofy. I have the attention span of a 6/7 year old. I love to laugh! It makes the kiddos and I ooper schmooper compatible. Humor is usually one of the bullets my administrators list as a strength on my yearly evaluation. I think it’s their very nice way of saying…thanks for sharing your goofiness! LOL! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">It’s important to love what you do. How else can you express joy, if you don’t enjoy the work you do every day? My BIG TAKE AWAY from Chapter 6? Sarcasm is the opposite of humor. It tears children down and can be demeaning. Don’t use it. While older students or advanced students may be able to get the humor part of it, most young children cannot and it can be damaging to them. Soooo, share a laugh. Wear a funny hat or shirt. Dance! Play! Make a funny face and LOVE what you do! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I hope you’re enjoying this book study as much as I am! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Stop by <a href="http://fabulousinfirst.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-study-worksheets-dont-grow.html" target="_blank">Fabulous in First</a> to read about Strategy 5 and hop through the links. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">S</span><span style="font-size: medium;">top by <a href="http://oneextradegree.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-study-worksheets-dont-grow.html" target="_blank">One Extra Degree</a> to read about Strategy 6 and hop through the links. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Later, gators! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-6758745301931600902015-03-17T13:54:00.004-05:002015-03-17T20:44:08.738-05:00What kind of pet would YOU like to have? {Research FREEbie}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi Friends! How are ya? Today started out a little wonky with a dead car battery and will end with a visit to the torture chamber a.k.a the dentist….so in between all the randomness of the day, I thought I’d stop in to share a little research fun.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hGB73qrd2tU/VQh2a8fqtBI/AAAAAAAAGN8/gl6lUMZZNtY/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-F4J_ki7khWo/VQh2bSrbQNI/AAAAAAAAGOE/O5PqotqwVnE/Slide1_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="556" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="465" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Conducting simple research is an on-going topic for us and my little class of curious firsties is LOVIN’ it! After completing research using biographies, we tackled pets/animals next. The little chart above was created to document partner discussions at the carpet. Kiddos shared 1 target question about an animal they would like to have as a pet. After lively discussions with partners, we listed the questions to share and give each other ideas before recording the pet/animal on one sticky note and the 1 question on another.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-V5s4cPwOoW4/VQh2cRTEniI/AAAAAAAAGOM/G9yucPrW2wc/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JzknxxNG6zM/VQh2dD3N4II/AAAAAAAAGOU/W0RpNmKPqDI/Slide3_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="396" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="658" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We visit the computer lab once each week. During our computer lab time, students worked with helping partners to take notes. Each student was responsible for finding 3 facts that were connected to answer their guiding question.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">What’s a helping partner? Glad you asked! I allow students to choose who they will work with when its time for partner activities. There’s only 1 rule. You must choose a partner that is NOT in your reading group. Reading groups contain friends with like abilities right now. Whole group and partner activities involve mixed ability groupings, sooooo when we work with a partner, it’s part of our classroom culture for stronger readers to be paired with a friend that may need a little more help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I alternate, how they choose…sometimes the friends who need a little more help get to choose a partner. Sometimes, the strong readers choose. It’s created an environment of empathy and compassion that I’m very proud of. BFFs make for great pals at recess or during free time, but they can be very distracting when it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JgNSklvY1-A/VQh2d_6ajkI/AAAAAAAAGOc/cAX9newAjHM/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-diyfMT4bRvk/VQh2emn6rVI/AAAAAAAAGOk/X0pbhzpsVv0/Slide2_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="577" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="482" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Over the course of the week, students worked together during writer’s workshop to complete their writing and illustrations. This little research project was also an extension of our story for the week, <em><u>Whistle for Willie</u></em> by Ezra Jack Keats. It made for a lot of connections between reading and writing and even science! In order to take care of a pet, you have to know what a living thing needs to survive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As we enjoyed stories by Ezra Jack Keats and about real animals online, students were also exposed to elements of media literacy. It was a wonderful week of all the little pieces we’ve been learning over the past few weeks coming together in lots of teachable moments. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When I complimented the class on doing such an amazing job with their second research project, the “Teacher Jrs” came up with a great idea! The trouble with giving a class of kiddos creative control is that once they’re used to it, they’ll exercise that right…lol! So, next….they put me to work! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AoD1eZFgTGA/VQh2fgb8oNI/AAAAAAAAGOs/kIWyavbmpaM/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-30RiJZNMg0o/VQh2ge9O-PI/AAAAAAAAGO0/DJLwJG23QnQ/Slide4_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="374" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I was asked to create a cover, so we could compile our writings into a class book! Here’s a look at how it turned out…</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-n6jsRz3emfU/VQh2hShS44I/AAAAAAAAGO8/229I4zCZV0E/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LID_xVOWYkk/VQh2iQi6XaI/AAAAAAAAGPE/aH3zuViquGQ/Slide5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="340" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…and now we have a brand new book full of facts about pets…and a class of firsties excited about research! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-N_cf3Dx3SLw/VQh2i6WqzQI/AAAAAAAAGPM/wc8QP0owfVg/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-liQkEFd5g1Y/VQh2jlpENhI/AAAAAAAAGPU/JbKaW4HptNE/Slide6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Just like little Peter enjoyed learning how to do something new, it’s been a joy to watch my kiddos grow as readers and writers and now…..researchers.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--rbLld42PIg/VQh2kuNhlQI/AAAAAAAAGPc/8MihF1wLmn4/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-W5LOXnR1Cgc/VQh2lvbk63I/AAAAAAAAGPk/f7RzXk9KxcQ/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">With research complete and open house done, smart art was on the agenda for Friday. Researchers can be artists too! Willie jumped right out of the pages of the book onto the streets of our little city! When Peter’s mom sent him to the store, it looks like he whistled all the way to HEB and back! Just in case you don’t live in TX, HEB is our local grocery store. It’s the ONLY grocery store in a lot of areas! =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9RHRBNlpjR1NLaEE/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9RHRBNlpjR1NLaEE/view?usp=sharing" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-U_eR7qphrDg/VQh2nbQMH_I/AAAAAAAAGP0/2392siIwplc/petresearchFREEBIE_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="petresearchFREEBIE" width="644" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Click the pic above to grab this little FREEBIE to get your research on too! Either I really like having choices or I’m indecisive….either way {lol} there are two choices of note taking pages and two choices of writing paper for your student’s final drafts, including a “back of the page” sheet and a cover if you’d like to make a class book too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Enjoy and happy researching!</span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-86247584319871797562015-03-14T13:03:00.001-05:002015-03-14T13:03:04.209-05:005 Things Ms. Dwyer Says…<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are ya? In an effort to make myself blog on a more regular basis, I’m jumping back into Five for Friday with Kacey at Doodlebugs Teaching! This week, I’m sharing 5 things that I find myself saying daily. You know, those little things that are a spoken language between you and your littles. The language of love that develops and binds you together as a little family.</span><br />
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<span><strong>Number 1…</strong></span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-beVPMtBMyiI/VQR2R7QIWUI/AAAAAAAAGMY/pR4ZMnbo7J4/s1600-h/IMG_6767%25255B5%25255D.png"><img alt="IMG_6767" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3ObzqwHwTMM/VQR2S2ECORI/AAAAAAAAGMg/XaOwxC-jGJ4/IMG_6767_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6767" width="484" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We sing this little diddy. When I notice a friend has forgotten to begin a sentence with a capital letter, I start singing “<em>Every sentence</em>….and because we do this every.single.day…the class joins in and finishes the sentence….<em>begins with a CAPITAL letter</em>! Fun! And the guilty party or parties usually go back, erase and write their capital letter in!</span><br />
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<span><strong>Number 2…</strong></span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YA9T4mY7Jz0/VQR2T-eMSjI/AAAAAAAAGMo/kW8hjFDI4-o/s1600-h/IMG_6768%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="IMG_6768" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8apYgcB51i8/VQR2UuHQBqI/AAAAAAAAGMs/JQK1ZH2dUdY/IMG_6768_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6768" width="484" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">{Self explanatory!}</span><br />
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<span><strong>Number 3…</strong></span><br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2oleBFlJa00/VQR2VU6sE4I/AAAAAAAAGM4/u4t8m_nlyVc/s1600-h/IMG_6769%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="IMG_6769" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OufbWRgF8Mo/VQR2WYmvJJI/AAAAAAAAGNA/Iv16HYAt7-4/IMG_6769_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6769" width="484" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">My one expectation for the completion of student work is that they always give their absolute best! There’s no slackin’ in Room 171; we make stuff happen! Knowing that, not everyone’s work will look exactly the same. Each student brings to the table a different personality, a different perspective on the world. I want them to understand their work is a reflection of them. How they complete it is how they present themselves to others that might see it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Soooo, when we complete projects you will rarely find any copied patterns in our classroom. You’ll rarely find a color sheet. More often than not, what you will find is students beginning with a blank sheet of paper. A blank sheet of paper is a representation of endless possibilities. It’s a representation of them having the freedom to be creative. It’s a representation of them being able to uniquely express themselves. It’s me trusting them to show what they know in an organized way because I’ve taught them how. So, when I’m asked…do I have to use this color? Can I draw with a pencil or crayon? My response is…..you have creative control. </span><br />
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<span><strong>Number 4…</strong></span><br />
<strong><span><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dz5GnkNf204/VQR2XVrDqrI/AAAAAAAAGNI/dqMkq-ihlGg/s1600-h/IMG_6772%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="IMG_6772" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kwuHRNQGJN0/VQR2YeLTw3I/AAAAAAAAGNQ/IWGqWNym6p4/IMG_6772_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6772" width="484" /></a></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We use this phrase during writer’s workshop A LOT! One sentence does not a story make! =P It usually leads to other questions too, like what is the problem in your story? How do the characters feel? How did they solve it? What details in your picture help to tell the story? Which leads to….</span><br />
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<span><strong>Number 5…</strong></span><br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-62F0PDoiGKA/VQR2ZUGEB9I/AAAAAAAAGNY/RLMwAb-hNxw/s1600-h/IMG_6773%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="IMG_6773" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-REW0AVKDMGs/VQR2aO3oKXI/AAAAAAAAGNg/291nR9r5n3M/IMG_6773_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6773" width="484" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Writing is rarely ever complete. There’s always more than can be added to tell a great story! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">What are some of <em>your </em>favorite phrases? </span><br />
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<a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/five-for-friday-linky-party-march-13th.html"><img alt="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6QKN8SJ6Z8U/VQR2avuErzI/AAAAAAAAGNk/Qk8feP0FkNM/fiveforfriday2_thumb%25255B3%25255D%25255B1%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="175" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" width="244" /></a>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-38940081610364884752015-03-13T00:07:00.000-05:002015-03-13T00:21:25.686-05:00Biographical Research…So Proud!!!<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi Friends! How are ya? I’m tired, but still floating somewhere around cloud nine…too excited to sleep…soooooo I thought I’d shoo the crickets away from the blog by sharing with YOU! This evening we held our spring open house. While it made for a long day, it was definitely a great one! Watching most of my students bounce in the door ready to tell their parents all about what we’ve been learning made for a filled teacher heart!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">There are times when you wonder if your students actually hear anything you’re saying….(like over the course of 2 straight weeks of bad weather and NO RECESS). Tonight proved they’re listening. They’re always listening! The kids did an amazing job of walking their parents through the classroom and explaining how and why we use the things we do. The ONE thing they all had in common was being excited about the research we recently completed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When the first parent walked in the door asking about Pocahontas, I just smiled. Then the next one walked in wanting to know about Sacagawea and the next one and the next one…..came in asking about the person their kiddo had been researching. I quickly realized my kids had been going home sharing what they’d learned at school. My heart was filled with pride! The smiles on each kid’s face proved they were too! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PJ0pC-NzbtA/VQJtq6jtrXI/AAAAAAAAGKU/ATToHF4u_Dg/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NZAibJwT7RM/VQJtrhCMCAI/AAAAAAAAGKc/Jzdfk_fLePI/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We have a required list of biographies that we must cover over the course of the year. I address those in whole group. When it comes to “kid work”…I’m a firm believer that choice equals engagement…..so for their small group {biographical} research projects, each student got to explore our online database to choose a person they were interested in. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2PLr-yXnvUE/VQJtsRWtMuI/AAAAAAAAGKk/XEXW3rYDCo8/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oumePae0Ju0/VQJts9fUiqI/AAAAAAAAGKs/XbwI2x5h4xw/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We worked on this over the course of the last 4 weeks. I guess you really do grow to love something that takes you a whole month to complete! I precut the foldable. We completed 1 section each week during visits to the computer lab and during writer’s workshop. Students were split into 9 small groups of no more than 3. Each group was guided by a student leader.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Q1AT_rCCj_M/VQJttT9AjWI/AAAAAAAAGK0/GTx4-OhiWvg/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_IYflI2Hw4k/VQJtuB2AXqI/AAAAAAAAGK8/HjIpTveqnZs/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Students took notes on a plain sheet of printer paper. From their notes, they recorded 3 facts they learned….</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-h31Dos7HncY/VQJtu3Qx6LI/AAAAAAAAGLE/ZGE7NYtGRrg/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0tSqqOfH4Go/VQJtvipwd2I/AAAAAAAAGLM/3ta0ZSLNl6U/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…then recorded life span dates and created a timeline of 4 important life events in sequential order.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cymMdJcTi2s/VQJtwb2rV0I/AAAAAAAAGLU/RyzZcUKPyx8/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-phz0NTGZSwU/VQJtw7kMY2I/AAAAAAAAGLc/V1QlDK1nQCM/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After illustrating the 4 important life events, students wrote a short booklet [using the events on the timeline] to write about the person’s life.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nJI4xaA1lQg/VQJtx1D6WEI/AAAAAAAAGLk/jal4YIxphQw/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XdB_td0NSvE/VQJtyWTvaNI/AAAAAAAAGLo/3-50Gww5WBw/Slide6_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="401" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Cite our sources? Yep! 1st graders can do that! Luckily, our research database has an option for students to click and the correct format for the citation pops right up on the screen! Students click it and its immediately available for them to copy neatly. We use <a href="http://www.pebblego.com/">www.pebblego.com</a> for online research. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8GlGhhJN6ds/VQJtyzzIVhI/AAAAAAAAGL0/rY1-1blwC8s/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-d5TO-MHWb6c/VQJtzZsUMKI/AAAAAAAAGL4/LYQdZWLECJA/Slide7_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Have you ever seen kiddos so engaged in the computer lab…..away from the computers?!!! They absolutely loved learning about real people! This afternoon bottoms were bouncing into the share chair ready teach friends. Those that came to open house had a second opportunity by sharing with their parents!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Seeing parents just as excited as the kids about what we’d been learning was an added plus!!! My littles amaze me a little more every day! Have I mentioned how much I love my class?</span><br />
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<a href="https://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Biographical-Research-Fold-Learn-1425786305/large-1722995-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="BiographyResearch1415" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jsGG9cr1hm8/VQJt0O5UseI/AAAAAAAAGME/Wv02uLdRI00/BiographyResearch1415%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="BiographyResearch1415" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Click the pic above to get a closer look at our little project! After having some giveaway fun on Facebook, a sweet friend suggested creating a second version for older kiddos without primary lines, so this product has grown and now includes two versions. One with primary lines for firsties and one with wide-ruled lines for older kiddos. Check it out and happy researching!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">I think I can head to bed now. There’s more fun to be had tomorrow and THEN…….we’re off for spring break! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-77269144069724705642015-02-26T23:13:00.001-06:002015-02-26T23:19:38.201-06:00Not all heroes wear capes…<span style="font-size: medium;">…some wear pots on their head! Isn’t she just the cutest?! It’s a blessing to work with someone with such a wonderful spirit. Her joy for teaching shines through in a big way! I’ve never left her presence without feeling better or happier than I was before seeing her. It’s obvious that she loves what she does and does what she loves! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gySNxw47NXk/VO_8479scuI/AAAAAAAAGIc/QD166zlYLgE/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-f5pFhciKs7o/VO_86MQqbcI/AAAAAAAAGIk/f6jhS1TZQkk/Slide1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="358" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="477" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Some heroes enjoy school celebrations! I always look forward to special days at school because I know this team will go all IN! You can guess what day it was when this pic was snapped! You got it…the 100th day!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GkDaiU3pxLk/VO_87L0T7RI/AAAAAAAAGIs/8hSfkBzrX-o/s1600-h/IMG_6362%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_6362" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-srhb8iUMLKw/VO_88f1iZ3I/AAAAAAAAGI0/D5mBl261hLE/IMG_6362_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="482" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6362" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Some heroes inspire with their friendship and genuine collaborative spirits. Brainstorming with these two is the best!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lW-5AVtvfE0/VO_89ccO7kI/AAAAAAAAGI8/FANQakndLyQ/s1600-h/IMG_5317%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_5317" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1J1ixII7Gig/VO_8-X8RjeI/AAAAAAAAGJE/boF2uEkkwMg/IMG_5317_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_5317" width="364" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Some of the best teachers I’ve ever had the joy of working with and that inspire me the most are only 6 years old! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-e2Qqg-SFqjs/VO_8_bC2UXI/AAAAAAAAGJM/w6QiRj3BHMU/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-x4NmcI0jbEU/VO_9Ac16OeI/AAAAAAAAGJU/YzZXUujJ1Dw/Slide2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Not all heroes wear capes….some are willing to engage students with a funny hat. Some enjoy special days. Some share their genuine love for teaching or a simple smile as you pass them in the hall. I appreciate my personal teacher heroes. Each of them bravely give the best of themselves without hesitation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Thank YOU for being one of my heroes too! As you’ve enjoyed the TPT sale today and yesterday, I hope you’ve taken a few minutes to reflect on the invisible cape you wear everyday or thanked a teacher hero in your life. Enjoy the new goodies you’ve picked up during the sale to continue inspiring our next generation of super heroes! And if you’re a night owl like me…you’ve still got a little time left to pick up a couple more goodies! =)</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tanya-Dwyer" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ovhemNkY6mY/VO_9BOorvkI/AAAAAAAAGJc/pfM0qFjrLtk/Slide3%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="257" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="342" /></a></div>
Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-68884414938971255252015-02-21T09:00:00.000-06:002015-02-21T10:29:05.047-06:00Bright Idea {Data Doors}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are you? This time of the month always brings me joy because it’s time to collabo on great ideas for the classroom….ready for another ‘bright idea’?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cNVEpkVaflQ/VOgKPZ8X9pI/AAAAAAAAGHA/pqB9Q8SkItU/s1600-h/BrightIdeasButton1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="BrightIdeasButton1" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AC9ah5CBlmA/VOgKSQqWHuI/AAAAAAAAGHI/eU8QrtK2alE/BrightIdeasButton1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="264" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="BrightIdeasButton1" width="264" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">My idea for this month is a little one that packs a LOT of punch! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KPHwi9q6H9M/VOgKWKv_xFI/AAAAAAAAGHQ/ZXlEhMX-TwI/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B12%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GWxKKLtuits/VOgKZoPitII/AAAAAAAAGHY/DnUXkOv_XEg/Slide1_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="640" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="390" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Organizing data is an ongoing topic that can be incorporated into any subject area. Answering questions, taking surveys, documenting responses….all lends itself to being organized onto bar-type or picture graphs. Rather than going to the workroom to grab that giant sheet of butcher paper each time, just use your classroom door! (Hopefully, most of your students won’t all make the same choice as mine did on this one, lol!)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gJhILUL8h6Y/VOgKaVR3nLI/AAAAAAAAGHg/gNKrOx1Ncoc/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EumYK6Ap9jI/VOgKbQOT_II/AAAAAAAAGHo/QkgZZmcp46Q/Slide2_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Create a basic set up that can be changed out quickly.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ql8Qoy6o0d4/VOgKdm2WDrI/AAAAAAAAGHw/AO9j5IA1UEs/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-aijPZbnf0ZE/VOgKgozrlPI/AAAAAAAAGH4/46d-DrGjJPc/Slide3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Holidays and monthly themes can be incorporated easily. By this time of year, students can also record information after analyzing the data.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RvfWA2T5V1I/VOgKjfVENiI/AAAAAAAAGIA/J8OuiX2NqOs/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4pGLDsg4y88/VOgKm3ktabI/AAAAAAAAGII/jispZDo9Lv4/Slide4_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="518" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="386" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">…and you have a larger area to work with than you might generally have using butcher paper. When you’re ready to change it out, just take down the items you used to represent each student’s choice for that graph and replace it with a new title or question to create the next one! Sticky notes are a fantastic choice for creating bar graphs! Easy peasy and you have a large data display for students to see each time you enter and exit the classroom! Want your students to transfer the graph to paper? It’s big enough for everyone to see in order to do so! =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for more great ideas. I update these sites {almost} daily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">For more bright ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks again, for stopping by! Happy blog hopping!</span><br />
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-44862392721171723592015-01-17T09:00:00.000-06:002015-01-17T09:00:03.523-06:00Bright Idea {Sit, stand...what's YOUR plan?}<span style="font-size: medium;">Welcome to the very 1st Bright Idea Hop of the new year! How are ya?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VnSc-3QHcwc/VLniTpR15KI/AAAAAAAAGFs/2POh3JrrklE/s1600-h/BrightIdeasButton1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="BrightIdeasButton1" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PLapR2xCZr0/VLniUe_tPyI/AAAAAAAAGFw/gsuRZ8e-GIw/BrightIdeasButton1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="267" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="BrightIdeasButton1" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We returned to school from Christmas break just two short weeks ago. The first thing we did was review routines and procedures, so I thought I’d share a quick classroom management tip! </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Have kids that struggle to sit in their chairs? Ants in their pants? Just can’t sit still….need to move? Then this is the bright idea for YOU! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hGqL0hEIKec/VLniU7Ny4VI/AAAAAAAAGF8/wsrksr8GIkI/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-qI1ACP1Y38w/VLniVnZWB1I/AAAAAAAAGGA/Si4HIN9-dos/Slide1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Ever get that question from any of your students? I do….all.the.time! My answer? YES!!! If standing is more comfortable for you, then by all means…..help yourself! Not every kid is comfortable sitting in a hard chair or even wants to sit at all, lol! Rather than fight kid energy, I try to incorporate it into learning as much as humanly possible. My kids have a great deal of choice in their learning and being able to decide how they can best work comfortably is one of them. Sit, stand, lay on your tummy….as long as you’re being productive and not infringing upon another friend’s space, you’re free to decide how you’ll position your body for independent learning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Side note: Adults entering the classroom should be forewarned to watch their step, there will be kids hard at work…..EVERYWHERE! LOL! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jWPOAP6gEEs/VLniWebXg2I/AAAAAAAAGGM/cwfRQO3fckc/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kfAf_Q_bO8s/VLniXLZ5yWI/AAAAAAAAGGU/JbFWkOA1L4E/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Having more than one type of seating also offers options. W</span><span style="font-size: medium;">e have several different types of seating in our classroom too! Our ‘Read to Self’ chairs are GREAT for students who need to bounce and move while learning! I’ll take them bouncing and learning anytime over interrupting the lesson because of behavior. When we need to spread out, I split the class between the tables and the floor. Students understand that working away from a traditional seat does not equal play time. It’s designed to provide comfort in order to do quality work. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-G-K1EwDwUCg/VLniX7bMqyI/AAAAAAAAGGc/opqrdvj6uFg/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ctyt4LUQ9EM/VLniYl-hsMI/AAAAAAAAGGk/RZZ79Me5vVI/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">…and if you were to walk into our classroom and actually find us working at tables, students also have the freedom to choose where they will sit, depending upon what we’re working on. The choice gives them the feeling of being in control of their learning. It also makes for a happy teacher, because they’re busily going about the business of becoming independent learners in the way they’re most comfortable. Win. Win!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Students need to stand? Let them! Need to wiggle? Consider novelty chairs that will allow them to do so. Love the cool of the floor? Enjoy! Choice leads to engagement. Comfort leads to focus….=)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">If you liked this bright idea consider following here, on the blog, or join me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Instagram</a> for more ideas to spark creativity and imagination. For more bright ideas from a variety of awesome bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!</span><br />
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Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-52852234220283248982015-01-11T01:34:00.002-06:002015-01-11T23:56:39.699-06:00Five for Friday {First Week Back}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi Friends! How are ya? Did you have a great first week back at school? My kiddos and I had a busy week of review and catch up! We were all a hot.sick.mess during the weeks leading up to Christmas…..so we had to use our first week back to review.review.review and CATCH UP! And by golly, I think we’ve done it!</span><br />
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<a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/01/five-for-friday-linky-party-january-9.html" target="_blank"><img alt="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-B349AkM0IzI/VLIiXm1RnEI/AAAAAAAAGD0/GTGQ-ybQERo/fiveforfriday2_thumb%25255B3%25255D%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="199" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="fiveforfriday2_thumb[3][1]" width="277" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’m linking up with Kacey at <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/01/five-for-friday-linky-party-january-9.html" target="_blank">Doodle Bugs Teaching</a> to share our faves from this past week.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jr6uvGjfER0/VLIibf9Xj9I/AAAAAAAAGD8/ac283E1uGuY/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B12%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iP9k3WXP6NY/VLIidMFBusI/AAAAAAAAGEE/34f_yG7mkP8/Slide1_thumb%25255B10%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="514" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="391" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We skip counted through the week in math! Notice the typo on the 5’s chart? Ugh! Not sure what we were thinking…thank goodness for my eagle-eyed team mate! It’s all <strike>fixed </strike>scribbled over to say <em>in</em> instead of <em>is</em> now. When you teach syllabication in the morning, and skip counting in the afternoon…..BEWARE….you may end up with big words on your math anchor chart! =)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-z3IsHOgXKDU/VLIigAiw4qI/AAAAAAAAGEM/YoO7fG1YEzY/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B7%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tKmRiIuRXfQ/VLIihzy8BcI/AAAAAAAAGEU/yQBAL3fk2ns/Slide2_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="521" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="389" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Simply [rote] skip counting is of days past. Now, our standards call for skip counting sets of objects….the day we worked on counting by 5’s we each traced our hands and lined them up across the carpet to count sets of 5 little fingers! Kiddos loved how long the line was and were utterly amazed when they discovered how many fingers there are in our classroom! After we counted them, 3 students worked together to label each of the hands in order beginning with 5 before I hung them up to use as a reference.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2w6rl5sy99I/VLIiltF2JiI/AAAAAAAAGEc/hwMwP0aopXE/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UkXKe7SdH-0/VLIinYbwb9I/AAAAAAAAGEk/9b46Fboqyh0/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This week, Smart Art began on Thursday. What we were going to do, would take some time….so it just couldn’t wait all the way until Friday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I absolutely LOVE using the book <em><u>The Apple Pie Tree</u></em> by Zoe Hall to teach how the changing seasons effect plants. After reading it and discussing what happened to the apple pie tree during each season, we worked to illustrate what we had learned. As much as I love sharing an awesome book, I love tying in art even more…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">On Thursday we worked to cut, glue, and draw details to illustrate winter and spring. On Friday, we flipped our little foldable over to illustrate summer and autumn. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Mb192FW2r3E/VLIirFbjkPI/AAAAAAAAGEs/IrOxFy-KQxo/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-p0tBB70_38k/VLIis6NErVI/AAAAAAAAGE0/P3dC8Fc5hd0/Slide4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The wonkiness of kids’ work adds character. No patterns were provided. I like seeing their personalities shine through their work. Each kiddo started with a blank sheet of paper and a model projected on the whiteboard as a guide to get started. Though we were all illustrating the seasons, each and every tree, leaf, and apple are unique because they were given creative control of the work they’d produce. Lots of happy smiles were seen among the mess of clips and snips of paper all over the room!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fBve1OjzjcI/VLIiwk_fC_I/AAAAAAAAGE8/vkHKmKg0RXM/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BDptyHmdoCs/VLIiyfJG4bI/AAAAAAAAGFE/lBZEjg9yOWY/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Wanna peek inside? After giving summer and autumn a little time to dry, we opened them up to prep for next week. One of our performance assessments is to observe and record the weather over the course of a week. Last week….seasons. Next week….weather. We’ll use our little foldable to record the weather and relative temperature each morning. On Thursday, during our normal science lesson, we’ll read Gail Gibbons’ <em><u>Weather Words </u></em>and illustrate the vocabulary. Lastly, students will illustrate their favorite type of weather! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Creating a display type foldable added a little novelty to our work. Foldables shouldn’t have to always be flat! I love using them, BUT I don’t want my kiddos to get bored with them by continuously using the same kind all the time. They watched me prep this one for them and absolutely couldn’t wait to get their hands on it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Will your little meteorologists be making observations about the weather soon? Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4jdVQT2GqP9SHlrb3M0Um1KVjQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a> to grab the mini-pages we’ll be using. Check out some of the books and resources we’ll be using below!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Happy weather watching! </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/01/january-9th-freebie-friday.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2015/01/january-9th-freebie-friday.html" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RLUoh3QbvjM/VLIq-EtlhrI/AAAAAAAAGFY/-sswIiqchTw/s1600/teaching-blog-addict-free-printable%5B1%5D.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-50852276455129691482014-12-30T16:02:00.003-06:002014-12-30T16:05:50.162-06:00Holiday Flashback {I should be planning…}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are ya? It’s a c-c-c-c-cold, rainy day in our neck of the woods, so I THOUGHT I’d sit down to get a jump on planning for the first week back at school. Notice…I said, I THOUGHT……I’ve been staring at a blank screen for over an hour. If I look at it long enough, I’m sure plans will just jump onto the page, right? Mmmmm…wrong, so maybe a little happy flashbacking will get me in the mood to move forward. Wanna join me?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FrH1SmAq9z0/VKMeuGUO7lI/AAAAAAAAGBY/Vx8fX4e57ls/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vGG5oHmQ4xI/VKMeutJWkEI/AAAAAAAAGBc/1WmUZOXj4-c/Slide1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As we moved into the holiday season, all I could think of was having the time to enjoy working with my kiddos in a little more of a relaxed fashion. Music, fun, crafts and lots of memory making. This little project was one of our Thanksgiving favorites…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Anytime a craft is planned, I try to think of what I can do to help my kiddos be successful. In order to get these placemats made, I used a ruler to pre-draw the lines for them to cut through so they’d just have to concentrate on cutting and weaving the mats. Snip, snip, snip…..stop (at the line). Snip, snip, snip…..stop (at the line). Weaving the mats took quite a bit of concentration! The best part of making these mats and memories was having our AP’s come in to make one with us too. At our school, we have 2 and they’re both pretty awesome!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VSTO-kBtxYM/VKMevDMM0SI/AAAAAAAAGBo/IJnDVv-oC-8/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-C4E2sMcnDO0/VKMev3zq2BI/AAAAAAAAGBs/_kGyLIDFb28/Slide2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After reading to learn about the very first Thanksgiving, students wrote to share facts…..listened and followed directions to draw Squanto. Didn’t they do a great job?</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-csBuxK3dGko/VKMewbe9gqI/AAAAAAAAGB4/3pA2XYZ56dU/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GUn8QJl2skY/VKMewy_HDJI/AAAAAAAAGB8/cdv6jg9iOP4/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Just as quickly as Thanksgiving, came….it went. And THEN?! Then, it was time for the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. This year, we spread lots of gingerbread love throughout the entire 3 weeks leading up to the break. These activities were included in my little <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Gingerbread-Literacy-Stations-1585905" target="_blank">Gingerbread Literacy</a> packet. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hXxk481SWkw/VKMexgsGtCI/AAAAAAAAGCI/EgkyeDDGCos/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--X12FQ49uMk/VKMeyCI5qPI/AAAAAAAAGCM/4Aj9p96cq2s/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Homophones were a hit! I don’t know what it is about learning about them….my son talked about homophones for years after he completed 1st grade! Long after this lesson was done, my kiddos were still identifying homophones in stories and activities!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Vwham1IRWIE/VKMezIvvw4I/AAAAAAAAGCY/fa_juEqjCUY/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TXmtHhhPMKo/VKMezynkwqI/AAAAAAAAGCc/o-KooeLf-Xc/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Parent gifts left our whole hallway smelling yummy! We used equal parts of cinnamon and apple sauce to create quick, simple dough ornaments for our parents. It was a LOT of fun to watch kiddos create these as a culmination of our gingerbread story week. It didn’t require any big measurements, just two plastic cups filled to the same point….mix, kneed, and cut. That’s it! Oh, and let them dry for a few days…. =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XZnzU_2jr5o/VKMe0cxmtuI/AAAAAAAAGCk/FWnybXgKSdM/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KiOOSndeQjE/VKMe0yIeTZI/AAAAAAAAGCs/zvFgVkfW2gM/Slide6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Love is in the details…..so, we added a little touch of love by sending them home packaged in a bag decorated to look like Rudolph. When we ran out of bags, unexpectedly, we folded a sheet of brown construction paper into a cone, flattened it and stapled it together to package the remaining ornaments….love my creative kiddos! Necessity is the mother of invention, right? =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yM6gOHMwmqM/VKMe1QXt6_I/AAAAAAAAGC4/f2Td5UjsxZE/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-aBGLiF80ulc/VKMe2CGPLNI/AAAAAAAAGC8/rGKrh-bhutA/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Week 2 brought about a little positive behavior incentive…..On Monday of that week, students completed an Elf Application. Our friendly, classroom Elf on the Shelf took them to the North Pole that night. As he returned each day, he posted 3 or 4 of them on our classroom door <em>that Santa had picked to be elves</em>. Students were selected to be an “elf” for the day to spread Christmas cheer by helping in the classroom and delivering Christmas RAKS to friends around our school. They absolutely LOVED it and couldn’t wait to see who would be selected as the Elves of the Day each morning as they entered the classroom. It was a GREAT behavior incentive that helped to control the chaos of those last two weeks! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VjGzSF_A9qg/VKMe2rZOjbI/AAAAAAAAGDI/SCrSLQ5fd9M/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pzAiFFakO5w/VKMe3a8F8oI/AAAAAAAAGDM/0AkLt3xohhM/Slide8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Gingerbread Day was just too sweet! What’s to say….they had a great time making their houses! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-leSz_BWIExE/VKMe3zS4y_I/AAAAAAAAGDY/r-NQRwZEgao/s1600-h/Slide9-TDwyer%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide9-TDwyer" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-I122n6U_Z_8/VKMe4sZUUCI/AAAAAAAAGDc/s-VUTYfzVNM/Slide9-TDwyer_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide9-TDwyer" width="644" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for taking this quick trip down Memory Lane with me…I think I’m ready to get to planning now. I’ve really enjoyed the break! I wonder what my kiddos are doing? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Interested in seeing more of what we did leading up to the break? How about our elf shenanigans? You can find more fun in pictures on <a href="http://instagram.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. While you're there...follow! I share more pictures there that may not always make it onto the blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Alright, alright....I'm gone...back to planning {maybe}. =)</span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-86107944028134275732014-12-26T23:51:00.000-06:002014-12-27T00:01:41.789-06:00UNFROZEN Writing…<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, Friends! How are ya? Did you enjoy your Christmas? It was a loud, crazy, fun-filled day here. Of our family Christmas traditions…I think relaxing in our pjs all of Christmas day is probably my favorite! My daughter, Deja, is a total movie buff…..she loves all things Marvel, action and Avengers….BUT when it was my sister’s and my turn to pick the movie we’d watch….{two women both in their 30’s}…we picked……FROZEN! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Ha! Yep….you read that right, FROZEN! It’s fun to be a kid at heart and we hadn’t watched it in a while. In fact, my kids have kinda all out refused to watch it anymore at all. Sooooo, having belted out <em>Let it Go</em> at the top of our lungs and laughing alongside our favorite little summer-lovin’ snowman, I thought I’d share a little writer’s workshop inspiration with you that we used before the break.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-72YlQdA8Zdo/VJ5GY7wwgpI/AAAAAAAAF_w/WDt4G_mEePA/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-raJMDvsNgHw/VJ5GZ9CawFI/AAAAAAAAF_4/l9F4C48W8rs/Slide1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’m a visual learner…SUPER-DUPER visual <em>& kinesthetic</em>. Gotta wiggle. So when we began a Lucy Calkins lesson on unfreezing our characters, my wheels got to turning! Often times, students will write and illustrate their work in the same old, stiff, forward facing way….welll, insert pictures pulled up from google image search to illustrate how characters have expressions and move and communicate and talk…and, and….to help drive home the point to kids that when we write our characters shouldn’t be frozen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">On Day 1, we completed a quick image search for expressive pictures. We had previously discussed using speech or thought bubbles to help bring our characters to life through thought and conversation. By looking at the images online, it helped us to see that when we’re illustrating our work, characters should move and talk to express themselves too….they should be UNFROZEN. =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">On Day 2 & beyond, we added typed labels to spell characters names correctly and added a word bank of student requested words. The characters were used as inspiration for writing a story, but were not required to be used in the story. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2uTlppLm3Dg/VJ5Ga7qLIgI/AAAAAAAAGAA/upIsAS4cI18/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9SZHRQLPEy0/VJ5Gb7f09WI/AAAAAAAAGAI/MzNZlaZ97MM/Slide2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We absolutely couldn’t get started without a little mood music. Illustrating. Writing. Singing. Focused. Focused. Focused. Most students began with illustrations and even my moncho little men were engaged….(though they may not want to openly admit it). </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--ynhMqT-g14/VJ5Gc-kScsI/AAAAAAAAGAQ/J-uyoy5LDJU/s1600-h/Slide3-TDwyer%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3-TDwyer" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-O5xHKvXVz-Y/VJ5GduK50aI/AAAAAAAAGAY/WBrZEL7CmGk/Slide3-TDwyer_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3-TDwyer" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Notice how Elsa is leaning back to unleash her powers? Olaf is “dancing” as he comes to life…</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7b35LLXfMmY/VJ5Gem30Y7I/AAAAAAAAGAg/POovHPaAMkc/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-k3ZNoSyVKzI/VJ5GfdUfk5I/AAAAAAAAGAo/VGRGU7Gr8Ns/Slide4_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="539" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="481" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This friend chose to write across 3 pages to create a story about gingerbread ornaments that came to life! Not only is the gingerbread man riding into the story on a skateboard, but by the time the writer got to the third page, he added himself into the story too! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We’re growing as writers and are developing a real love of writing. My kiddos know what days we’re going to hold writer’s workshop and if I go over by a minute without getting started, I get a swift talking to! By incorporating characters they know and love, music that’s dramatic….{who doesn’t need a little dramatic inspiration}, calm lighting, and visual representations of what I want them to be able to do…writer’s workshop has easily become one of the most enjoyable parts of our day.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4SR023lfXLg/VJ5GgpdjQXI/AAAAAAAAGAw/VEubqfs-IqI/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B12%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-7Xq6guQMpPM/VJ5GhX7cbVI/AAAAAAAAGA4/YPBwigm_hVY/Slide5_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="546" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="427" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our ‘unfrozen’ characters even inspired our holiday door décor! Frosty met a new friend and the two quickly introduced themselves. Can you imagine how funny it would be if Frosty actually did meet Olaf? I bet he’d be able to explain to him what REALLY happens to snowmen in summer! Ha!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Every year, our campus holds a door decorating contest as part of our Christmas festivities. Guess who’s class won for Most Festive?!!! Yay!!! My girlies decided that it was their awesome snowflakes that tipped the scales in our favor, lol! </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2MIOG4srvcs/VJ5GieEOPPI/AAAAAAAAGBA/QpqnQsVwMuU/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4FwwNWV_eJs/VJ5GjGEcbHI/AAAAAAAAGBI/tts9h0sQeRM/Slide6_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Feeling like you’ve hit a slump in writer’s workshop? Just want a fun way to jazz it up a bit in the new year? Bring those characters to life by providing visual examples for your students and using their favorite characters as inspiration. They’ll love it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">What do you like to do to keep the ideas flowing during writing time?</span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-84908345934976490992014-12-23T01:42:00.003-06:002014-12-23T10:58:19.237-06:00Sweet Fold & Learn Fun<span style="font-size: medium;">Hey, Friends! How are ya? I’m stopping in to share a little peek at our weeks that led up to Christmas. While we ended up having a great time spreading Christmas cheer, it didn’t come without a struggle. One friend shared a cough and achoooo and our whole class was through! Even me! It’s no fun being sick at Christmas time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When we’re all well, we like using fold and learn activities to make the rigor of math a little more fun! With Christmas just around the corner, we baked up a little gingerbread fun to explore number foundations. Can I share a secret with you? We’re friends, right? Wellllll, I tried my hand at interactive notebooking at the beginning of the year and guess what?! I didn’t like it! {Gasp!} I know……shhhhhhhhh….don’t tell anybody! Those notebooks have collected nothing but dust since Septemberish…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I love all of the awesome products I’ve seen for interactive notebooking…..and I tried! We tried! We REALLY tried! BUT….glueing, cutting and pasting with firsties…in a notebook...nearly drove me bananas! It just didn’t work for me. Now….what did work for my little class of mathematicians is foldables…crafts, 3D graphic organizers….so, we’re getting our interactive learning on <em>this way</em>!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sweet-Numbers-to-99-Fold-Learn-1615181" target="_blank"><img alt="Numbersto99FoldandLearn2_1415" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YRv63tGw7mY/VJkb_duVMzI/AAAAAAAAF98/wcyLODub6kY/Numbersto99FoldandLearn2_1415%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Numbersto99FoldandLearn2_1415" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Check out our latest interactive adventure!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-O0UlNyz2fi8/VJkcABczBhI/AAAAAAAAF-E/_mRTrP3HkQQ/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Hlv0Dn-AXYQ/VJkcA2n-2RI/AAAAAAAAF-I/cMwm1cHgzuk/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I always prep the basics, the bones. Doing this, allows for us to focus on the content of what we’re learning and on following directions to prep the inserts. Here, students reflected on counting forward and backwards by increments of 1. I thought this would be a snap because the numbers are the same, but as students completed this little task…you could almost see steam coming from their ears as they really followed directions to start from the right and move backwards. Counting backwards isn’t as easy as you think…especially, when you’re 6! They absolutely LOVED the novelty of the accordian fold. Did it make ‘em a little wonky? Just a few….my crew of Dwyer Jr’s (the little teachers to-be) stepped right up to help friends that needed a little assistance.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-89-q8nHAxIA/VJkcBtzPFGI/AAAAAAAAF-U/toh_OSS46Uw/s1600-h/Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AWBf0UH3bis/VJkcCBJBvaI/AAAAAAAAF-c/ypmgINrKvP8/Slide1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Do you have dice in dice? If not, go get some! They’re a lot of fun and students don’t need two dice to play games…just one. To make numbers, students rolled their dice and used the number of pips on the outside for the digit in the tens place and the number of pips on top of the inside dice for the ones place. Students worked in pairs to roll a number, record it, then used comparative language to describe it as greater than, less than or equal to. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-otFkUiTVgGk/VJkcDMczgsI/AAAAAAAAF-k/KKtO2PrKCZg/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dxhDK4mkU5o/VJkcD7TBCQI/AAAAAAAAF-s/-5beLNz9dWg/Slide3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Color coding ALWAYS comes in handy when you’re working with firsties! The first thing we did as we prepared to do a little mental math, was to color code the place for each digit. The tens place was outlined in red and the ones place was outlined in yellow. By doing this, when students were given a specific number, we could check to see if it was put in the correct place according to its value. After recording our numbers, we then practiced naming numbers that were 1 less and 1 more. Easy peasy, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We cut the graphic organizer down the middle and placed glue under the ten less strip to glue it down. Then, we placed glue under the ten more strip and glued it down. With one quick snip, we cut each of the horizontal “tens” or red lines….followed by one quick snip to cut the horizontal “ones” or yellow lines. Under the tens digit, students recorded the number that was ten less. Under the ones digit students recorded the number that was ten more than the number named on the outside. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FsVxB-jkbnE/VJkcEhl4saI/AAAAAAAAF-0/P-dWFVd0Lbw/s1600-h/Slide4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide4" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-etiilUgvDlM/VJkcFvpQzTI/AAAAAAAAF-4/2smGbIYkJ2o/Slide4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide4" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We did the first two numbers together and then they were off and running to practice independently to complete the rest.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HGRwb-h8uss/VJkcGDMtW0I/AAAAAAAAF_E/93bruaZnedg/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9RhHGymRPJE/VJkcGwTU_-I/AAAAAAAAF_I/IIgOFljgU6U/Slide5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We try to focus on solving story problems every Thursday. Here, each student had a single story problem to read and draw a picture to solve. If you look verrrry closely, you’ll notice that because we used a mailing envelope, under the area for the story problem is also a storage pocket. This comes in handy for friends that work at a slower pace that may need to store extra pieces or materials if we have to stop working or have to move on to something else before they’re completely ready.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7ye1SFJMhN4/VJkcHtAT5bI/AAAAAAAAF_U/tMYMUGhAzRw/s1600-h/Slide6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Slide6" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-C_HD1hfS8Xs/VJkcIbKNqnI/AAAAAAAAF_c/dCG0g3ErvHk/Slide6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="360" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide6" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">On the back, we prepared for working with greater numbers. We’ll be working on these same skills when we return in the new year….to 120. Here, students cut and glued to compare numbers to 100 using the math symbols for < and >. This is a picture of the cover…front and back! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Last summer, 2 of my creative co-workers led a training on using mailing envelopes to create graphic organizers. I left so inspired and excited to try them, but knew I’d have to wait until my firsties were ready to handle them. Well, folks…..they handled creating this little gem like champs! Second semester is gonna be so much MORE fun as we bring lots of concepts to life using these interactive, fold and learn activities! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly, the flu bug took a huge chunk out of my sanity during the hustle and bustle leading up to the break. Bad for me….GOOD for you! I’ve listed this little activity in my TPT store for F-R-E-E, BUT just until Friday! Sooooooo, grab it while you can to add to your files for next year. On Friday, it will be priced for sale. Check it out….there will definitely be more to come! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for stopping by! Have a sweet Christmas! </span>Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-12621090628500898382014-12-20T20:01:00.000-06:002014-12-23T01:43:04.927-06:00The PERFECT Christmas Gift!<span style="font-size: medium;">Hey y’all! How are ya? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet…..or are you like me and work best <strike>at the last minute</strike>, ahem, I mean…..under pressure? Have a teacher friend to shop for or searching for a personal pick me up to prep for returning in the new year? I’ve got the PERFECT solution for you! …….a TPT gift certificate! </span><br />
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<a href="http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.com/2014/12/tptgiftcertificate.html" target="_blank"><img alt="1965049_10205567974782628_5562465798615607051_n[1]" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FEhuWO3iFQo/VJYknJs7a3I/AAAAAAAAF9c/79EeYPlSu3g/1965049_10205567974782628_5562465798615607051_n%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="1965049_10205567974782628_5562465798615607051_n[1]" width="353" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I’m teaming up with a group of blogging buds to host a giveaway of nothing but $10 <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers</a> gift certificates! Not only is it the perfect gift, but you’ll have the opportunity to win more than ONE! Each blogger’s giveaway may vary a little, so be sure to read the rules as you hop from blog to blog. The giveaway will run until December 23rd. You can enter using the rafflecopter below. </span><br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="e7548abc5" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e7548abc5/" id="rcwidget_j66puevm" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Let’s stay connected! Join me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/aplusfirsties" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for more firstie fun and teaching ideas to come. I’m looking forward to catching up and sharing all that we’ve been up to now that I’ll have some time to relax! If you’ve never used any of my resources, stop by my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tanya-Dwyer" target="_blank">TPT store</a> to check them out! While you’re there, download a freebie to check out the quality of my work. I enjoy creating rigorous work station activities that are simple enough to be kid-friendly, yet challenging enough to meet the rigor of our required standards.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Gift-Certificate" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Gift-Certificate" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GJ4Mq66fLyM/VJY2iN_hLkI/AAAAAAAAF9s/VkxlWt1EqTc/s1600/gcscreenshot%5B1%5D.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Be sure to visit the link-up below. Enjoy your holiday break and if someone asks what you’d like for Christmas…..remember to tell them....a TPT gift certificate makes the <em>PERFECT</em> GIFT! Merry Christmas and don’t forget to check your email on Christmas Eve to see if you've won! =)</span><br />
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<a href="http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=478582" rel="nofollow" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up</a></div>
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1547536534395456953.post-24694524982599150052014-11-25T10:54:00.004-06:002014-11-25T10:56:16.298-06:00Count Your Blessings {Giveaway}<span style="font-size: medium;">Hey, friends! How are ya? It’s such an awesome feeling to be enjoying a relaxing morning at home connecting with YOU! Settling in to relax for a week’s break couldn’t have come at a better time! There are so many things that I’m thankful for….as I count my blessings each day, you are definitely among them. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">We’ll go into that a little more later in the week….BUT today….today, I wanted to stop in to share a fun opportunity with you!</span><br />
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<a href="http://enchantedkindergarden.blogspot.com/2014/11/its-my-30th-birthday.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Slide1" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-43cMoChpisk/VHSyfstPqbI/AAAAAAAAF7I/xYu2U6Z43fY/Slide1_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="326" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide1" width="504" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">My bloggy bud, Keri, is celebrating her 30th birthday with an awesome <a href="http://enchantedkindergarden.blogspot.com/2014/11/its-my-30th-birthday.html" target="_blank">giveaway</a>!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-bzFqcl_1GQk/VHSyhD9ecHI/AAAAAAAAF7Q/K1kUqAEfl5Y/s1600-h/Slide2%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide2" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-p_XOzIqFp6M/VHSyimLnj-I/AAAAAAAAF7Y/MbxavT4kgqo/Slide2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide2" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Check out what you can enter to WIN!!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Clc6LXqCl7A/VHSykJvk9dI/AAAAAAAAF7g/iXTw8B53BYM/s1600-h/Slide3%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide3" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iE1v7HWQQNY/VHSylb13X6I/AAAAAAAAF7o/os-eQLxU7o4/Slide3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide3" width="644" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PH37ZZQXrLo/VHSyqN560NI/AAAAAAAAF8A/7lRrh9Mbk7U/s1600-h/Slide5%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide5" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-z7d8YSkczV0/VHSyrr-MuVI/AAAAAAAAF8I/Sgxw9skQxDg/Slide5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide5" width="644" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gNeZcPt7l0A/VHSywHhKwuI/AAAAAAAAF8g/tdtFbbfa2H4/s1600-h/Slide7%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide7" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DM0HMCW0h8E/VHSyxu9wZuI/AAAAAAAAF8o/IAM-M66KvhA/Slide7_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide7" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Getting excited yet?!!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9snpQczdodY/VHSyy-JzQ6I/AAAAAAAAF8w/P5qPi-Thny8/s1600-h/Slide8%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="Slide8" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-o8jcZOMdgfc/VHSy0NSF2rI/AAAAAAAAF84/pG_RKJVUh8Q/Slide8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Slide8" width="644" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Two giveaways in ONE, be sure to note which one you’re most interested in on rafflecopter. So many great prizes from so many talented teacher-authors! Enjoy and have a very Happy Thanksgiving! </span><br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/30a74d6b8/" id="rc-30a74d6b8" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Tanya Dwyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586958462789138546noreply@blogger.com0