Homework Motivation

I am anxiously awaiting my order from Really Good Stuff! In case you missed it, Really Good Stuff recently hit over 20,000 followers on facebook and offered teachers a 10% off coupon code...woo hoo! I only placed a small order but I know my third graders are going to love what I got!

Check out these punch cards!


Last year I ordered two sets of them and I still have some left over to start the year off. I gave each student one punch card to keep in their Friday folders. Every Friday, if students had returned all of their homework for the entire week I gave them a punch on their punch card. When the card was filled, they got to choose something from my treasure box. I loved this because it wasn't a weekly reward, but something they had to work for. They were very popular the first trimester of school but I was able to phase them out the last trimester. I had very few kids who repeatedly turned in late work this past year and I think that the punch card was a good way to get the whole "bring homework back on time" line engrained in them!

Also, if you love blog stalking you may be surprised to learn that there are a ton of educational blogs on facebook as well. Many of your favorite blogs have a "like" button on their sidebars. If you click the "like" button you will receive updates on your home page every time your favorite blogs update a post!

Exposing Kids to Great Authors

Happy Tuesday blogging buddies, sorry it has been so long since my last post. I've been consumed with summer fun and I just didn't have anything great to write about...until this morning. Must be the cup of joe I actually got to drink in its entirety before one of my kiddos needed me.

I just finished chapter four of The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. This book was at the top of everyones summer reading lists this year so I'm probably way behind writing a post about ch. 4, but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway. Hopefully you'll find it useful.

One statement that Donalyn Miller made in chapter 4 that really resonated with me is that one reason teachers should choose read alouds carefully is to expose young readers to great authors. I assumed she was talking directly to me, a third grade teacher as I go back and forth about which chapter books to read to my class every year. I have a few staples that I use because they lend themselves so well to reading strategies. For example, I always start the year off with How to Be Cool in the Third Grade by Betsy Duffy. Obviously all kids want to start the year off being super cool so this book always sparks personal connections for my kids...but is it a quality author that I would like to see my kids read more of independently.... Yes! This is the new question that I plan to ask myself before I really commit to sharing a chapter book read aloud with my class this year. I plan on getting my hands on some more books by Betsy Duffy so that I can guide students who enjoyed How to Be Cool in the Third Grade to more of her books with a familiar writing style. Hopefully this will increase their comfort level when starting to stray from their old favorites.

I've noticed the trend that third graders tend to feel comfortable reading the Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House series at the start of the year. It is not always easy to guide them to other incredible series and authors. Two authors that I am partial to are Avi and Kate DiCamillo. I always share Avi's Poppy in January. I think that his style of writing engages kids, especially this book. My class can't get enough, even going so far as to snag my bookmark while I am reading so I just have to continue reading. My class last year got together at recess and made up a chant so that the second I started to close the book, I would be forced to reopen it and read just one more chapter! Now that is what I call engagment! I share this book in January because my third graders are that much more mature and their reading comprehension skills are that much stronger. The Poppy series is a highly sought after series in my room after I share this adventurous story.

I also share the Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. Most kids are slightly familiar with this story as it was a made into a movie a few years back but I am finding that less and less kids have seen it over the years. I love that it is written in such a way that makes you worry and care about the characters. Kate DiCamillo has a plethora of outstanding books that students can dive into after they are introduced to one of her stories.

I've started thinking about my chapter book read alouds as mini author studies where once we share the writers craft together, kids can determine if this is a genre or author they are interested in reading more of.

Those are my nuggets of wisdom this fine Tuesday morning. I would love to hear some of your favorite authors, intermediate or primary. Thanks for sharing!

Also, look at this adorable stick family sticker that my hubby and I ordered for my back windshield. We were able to personalize each family member right down to the color of their shoes. Notice me, I'm the teacher. I love it!

Woops! Fall Book Linky Party

I'm not sure how I could have missed this (must be my lack of a whole cup of coffee the other day) but Mrs. Parker has already started a Fabulous Fall Book Linky Party. There are so many awesome blog links already so I'm going to repost my favorite picks and link up with her. Thanks to everyone who linked up. I just placed an amazon order for a few new books I can't wait to share with my new third graders this Fall.

Click on over to check out or link up with Mrs. Parker.



Here are the titles I share the first few days of school as well as how I use them:

1.

I love this picture book by Mark Teague to get kids talking about their own summer vacations. The main character in this story tends to embellish his story just a tad and this does not go unnoticed by kids.

2.

I picked this book up on a whim as it was wrapped and I couldn't preview it but I just had to have it because of the illustrations. They are so super cute. It turned out to be a fabulous book about teamwork and never giving up on your dreams. Great way to inspire kids in the Fall.

3.


I use these two while I am introducing independent reading procedures in my classroom. They open up the door for discussions on what types of reading environment we want to have in our classroom.

4.


If you are familiar with Bucket Filling, then I'm sure these books are a staple in your classroom already. Click here to view my website page about Bucket Filling to learn more.

Lastly, because I teach an intermediate grade I incorporate chapter book read alouds in my reading program as I teach reading strategies. Rather than listing them all as part of my linky party, I thought I would direct you to my class website page where I have a summary of each book that I read and the months that I read them throughout the school year. Click here to view my chapter book picks.

Back to School Books-Linky Party

The last time I popped into my classroom (last Friday) I finally unpacked my last behemoth tupperware of picture books from my big move. As I was sorting through them, I came across all of my back to school books that I read to my kiddos the first few days of school. I layed them out on my easel ledge so they would be ready in August and I got to thinking that I would love to add some new titles to my back to school collection.

Here are the titles I share the first few days of school as well as how I use them:

1.

I love this picture book by Mark Teague to get kids talking about their own summer vacations. The main character in this story tends to embellish his story just a tad and this does not go unnoticed by kids.

2.

I picked this book up on a whim as it was wrapped and I couldn't preview it but I just had to have it because of the illustrations. They are so super cute. It turned out to be a fabulous book about teamwork and never giving up on your dreams. Great way to inspire kids in the Fall.

3.


I use these two while I am introducing independent reading procedures in my classroom. They open up the door for discussions on what types of reading environment we want to have in our classroom.

4.


If you are familiar with Bucket Filling, then I'm sure these books are a staple in your classroom already. Click here to view my website page about Bucket Filling to learn more.

Lastly, because I teach an intermediate grade I incorporate chapter book read alouds in my reading program as I teach reading strategies. Rather than listing them all as part of my linky party, I thought I would direct you to my class website page where I have a summary of each book that I read and the months that I read them throughout the school year. Click here to view my chapter book picks.

I would love to see what your favorite back to school books are. Please link up if you want to share.

Don't forget to vote

Hi everyone, just a reminder to click on over to Really Good Stuff to vote for your favorite classroom blogs. Use the link of the right sidebar please. Thanks again to the super sweetie who nominated my blog as a favorite!



On a sidenote, I always start to really miss my kiddos from last year about this time. As an end of the year gift I gave each student in my class a chapter book to read over the summer. I am setting up a book club play date at the park at our school to briefly chat about the book and spend a little time together to catch up before they move on to be big fourth graders. I emailed parents about this idea prior to school ending and they were all on board. After the fourth of July, I'll send out an evite to my kids via their parent's emails to attend our summer book club. I'll provide some snacks and drinks to make it extra special. I think it will be a blast! Has anyone ever tried this before? This will be my first time hosting a summer book club for my kids so I would love any tips you have to offer. Have a great weekend!

Classroom Photos...its coming along!

I popped into my classroom today just to scout out where I wanted to put my new math station tubs. Since space is limited in my mobile, they ended up on top of my taller book cases. I think third graders will be able to reach them pretty easily still. Take a look...I have cute labels that I printed out but I forgot to bring them today. As you can see from the picture, I have settled on having 6 math strand tubs rather than the 10 or so that Debbie Diller suggested in her book, Math Work Stations. I decided to do the 6 strands because I am going to be doing a standards based grading study this upcoming year and these are the math strands from which major grades are taken.

I love how the tubs I found for my math work stations (Target Dollar Spot) totally match my book tubs! My only gripe is that they don't have lids because I liked the idea of posting "I Can" statements to the inside lid. I will be easily able to fit math materials and laminated math talk cards in these tubs though.

This next photo is of my self created storage space. Being in a mobile, I realized I really needed some storage space for my unit tubs and strategy lesson materials. I purchased this tall chrome shelf from Target for approximately $35.00. I have to say that yes, I have spent too much money on storage for this move into a mobile and I'm not thrilled about it. On the flip side, the chrome shelving is extremely sturdy and will look lovely in my garage when I am able to move back into my school building. On these shelves you will see my green unit storage tubs (where I store materials by unit). I only have about half of them here at school. I plan to tote the other ones to school as the unit approaches due to space limitations. You will also see two clear storage totes on the top shelf. I house my files here by month. I have the first four months of school files at school currently, two months per tote. The wicker basket on top is empty but I thought it was pretty. I'm sure I'll find a use for it. The black magazine holders are extra large. I got them from Walmart years ago. They are perfect for organizing my mentor text collection by writing trait. I also have some extras for content/supplemental texts. I had a parent go through and take a book inventory of each mentor text and content text tub for me. The inventory is in clear plastic sheet protectors which I tucked in a binder. You won't even believe how easy it is for me to locate texts I need for a lesson! I love this system and wasn't willing to give it up this year due to space. I made it happen! My only gripe with this area is that the chrome shelf is pretty wide and there isn't much space between my desk and the shelf which means I need a desk chair without big bulky arms on it so I can slide in and out easily. You can't see it in this photo but my desk is right in front of the chrome shelf. After looking at this shelf in the photo, I think it looks kind of industrial but in person the shiny chrome looks somewhat modern...its not so bad.

You might notice the photos of my boys and the extra ribbon laying around on the shelf. I am going to thread that ribbon through each shelf. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. The ribbon has various sports themes on it to correlate with my team theme. I'm going to get two plain white frames to replace the current ones and hang them on the small patch of wall next to the shelf and window. Oh, I forgot to mention that metal filing system on the shelf. That houses my most often used multiple copies such as spelling papers (link to past post and spelling printables), Super Book Project rubrics and calendars (another link for some printables), field trip info., etc. I am going to make a nice sign for the front of it.

Well, it certainly is coming along! My next step is to hang my curtains and shop for new fadeless paper and borders-always a favorite thing of mine! I can't wait to see all of your rooms this Fall!

I've got this idea...what do ya think?

I've had an idea floating around in my head for about a year and I've finally done something about it. I am looking for some thoughtful feedback about my idea before I present this information to my administrator. Thanks for your time blogging buddies!

Here goes...

I wanted to create a blog for the teachers in my school to use as a tool for teaching students how to write about text. I created a prototype blog that I would like to present to my administrator and hopefully the staff at my school. Obviously I'm not too attached to the title, etc. but its a start.

I called the blog Meridian Book Bits (my school name is Meridian Elementary). I chose "book bits" because the summaries or recommendations will be "bits of info. about books". Too corny?

I wrote a sample introduction and created static pages along the sidebar defining the various genres. I also included a page for teachers, listing some possible ways to use the blog with their classes. I think that at this point, teachers will have to be the only ones with login access, meaning students may post from school only. They will be able to comment from home though. I thought parents would like to be able to comment as well. I envision primary kids creating a written recommendation or summary as a class and then having the teacher post it. Intermediate students can post on behalf of their class, small group, or as individuals. Teachers can then use the posts as formative learning or use a grade level rubric if they desire. I wouldn't want this to replace any required classroom work, just be an additional publishing format with an authentic audience.

I created this by myself but if this sounds like a good idea, I'd like to present it to my admin. and then go from there. Hopefully, if I can get teachers on board, they will have their own amazing ideas to lend to the blog. Please let me know what you think. I really could use some feedback so I don't embarrass myself. Is this something you could see your self using, regardless of grade level? Do you think teachers would view this as a neat tool or just something tedious? Any suggestions? Thanks so much!


Here is the link to the blog prototype:

Meridian Book Bits Blog