Anchor chart of the week Volume 2

We have taken a dive into the next year's math curriculum and to help my students grasp subtraction of integers we created the following anchor charts.

In teams, students had to make an anchor chart that would help a peer understand the concept of subtracting integers. The following were the requirements:
Upper left hand section: Students had to make up 5 problems that their peers would need to solve

Upper right hand section: students solve 5 of the problems using tiles (red for negative and blue for positive)

Bottom left hand section: students solve 5 of the problems using a number line

Bottom right hand section: students had to come up with a physical gesture to help them remember the rules for subtracting integers Keep Change Change. They had a fun time acting these out.

Here's one more example!

Students did have some trouble with the concept at first, but I do feel that doing the anchor charts was a great way for them to review.

-TWHM

Anchor charts are an excellent way to introduce concepts, review and offer help to students. Here are a couple of ways I've been using anchor charts in reading class.

F is for Fiction 

I like to use the chart above about once a week to continue spiraling important concepts we have learned that deal with fiction.
     First off, I find a picture that I hope will engage the students and will allow them to tell a story. I then come up with sentences using 2 new vocabulary words and require students to use context clues to determine the meaning of the words. In the example above, I will be using "The lady felt melancholy when she returned home and found her home had been burglarized" and "She felt forlorn when she realized the thieves had taken all her possessions." Students will need to provide me with 3 predictions for what they think the words mean.
     Then, we will move on to reviewing character traits as justify them with text evidence (in this case their "text' is the picture). Next, we review inferencing skills and story elements. I require that students use the sentence stem "The reader can conclude that.." so that they practice the language of state assessments. We then continue making inferences about events in our story as we fill out a story map. Lastly, we develop a summary (beginning, middle, end). Doing on a weekly basis this has truly helped my struggling readers and has helped them transition these important reading skills to text.

Now for Non-Fiction 

My 4th and 5th graders are still struggling with text features so we start off with a picture and analyze it to write a caption that would describe the picture. In this case we could write something like "The flu virus affects over 2 million people each year"(just an example). Then once again I provide sentences so students can practice their context clues. Then, we think... If this picture was an article what would be some possible subheadings and text features. Students may suggest Flu symptoms and Preventing the flu as possible subheadings and for text features perhaps a chart or graph to show how many people are affected by the flu each year. The possibilities are endless and I've seen students get very creative! Next we discuss organizational pattern: how the author could take different paths such as describing the flu illness, comparing the flu to the common cold, showing the cause/effect of vaccinations, or maybe a sequence of how flu vaccines are made. I usually ask students to fill out each text structure and explain their thinking. Lastly, we work together to write a logical summary.

Our class will be working on these 2 charts this week to spiral concepts.

I'll be posting one anchor chart idea per week.

-TWHM

Scientist, inventor, historial figure

 This week my students had such a fun time researching scientists and inventors to lead us into our annual school science fair in a few weeks. I required that they use a print source as well as information from creditable online sources to gather information. We started off by reading a short blurb on the inventor/scientist they chose from Science A-Z (if your school isn't already using this site you MUST look into it. I use it on a weekly basis for guided reading material, science ideas, etc..). Then I explained the requirements for the assignment and the kids set off to work.

Here's what the finish product looked like and a little tutorial on how to make the person template.

The kids learned so much both from becoming experts on one individual and from listening to their peers present on other famous figures. They also used their creativity to decorate using construction paper and other materials.

I think this template would also lend itself nicely to a project on a particular book character, historical figures, a beginning of the year get to know you project, and so much more! Next month we will be creating this yet again, this time dressed in a cap and gown for graduation (for college week).

How would you use this in your classroom?

-TWHM

Countdown to STAAR: How I'm reviewing for math STAAR in my classroom

STAAR is coming fast!!! This is the time of the school year where I begin to feel an incredible amount of stress as I enter panic mode, but somehow this year I still feel stress, but I also feel more prepared. I want to share with you how I am reviewing for the math STAAR test in my classroom. (All concepts have been taught, so now I am reviewing and fine tuning any misconceptions).

First, below you will find my 'plan' for reviewing (I already know I will need to be flexible).
Feb. 10-14 Reporting Category 2
Feb. 18-21 RC 3
Feb. 24-28 RC 4
Mar. 3-7 RC 5
Mar. 17-21 RC 1
(I am purposefully leaving RC1 and RC5 until the end (well technically I never stop RC because my PODs are always RC1) because of the # of questions STAAR has from those RC-29). I like to leave those until the end so that they are fresh.

I waited until this week to post my plan because I wanted to see how things went with the first week of review. This is what I did:
I pulled problems for all the S.E.s in RC 2 from various resources that I have (Kamico, Mentoring Minds, STAAR Ready) and created a packet for my students (20-25 problems). For this RC I focused heavily on 5.5A because it is the readiness standard in the RC.

Everyday (I have 70 minutes for math) I started class with a quick 1-Minute-Mad-Minute to practice our facts, then I moved on to our Problem of the Day (POD) that I use to spiral RC1 S.E.s (I ALWAYS spiral RC1 because 18 test questions come from it and I feel my students have a great chance of passing if they can get the majority of RC1 questions correct).
After that, I jumped right into RC2. For the week we focused on function machines and writing the relationship between sets of data. I posted a picture of a function machine with a # for the input and a # for the output and we worked together to write the relationship for the function in 2 ways so that they would have lots of practice with finding patterns and describing relationships.
After doing that, I set a timer and moved on to the "We do, You do" portion. I set the timer for 4 minutes and I modeled a problem-I modeled determining the concept and starting point, ask myself what I need to find, asked the kids questions, did a think aloud of strategies I could do, used grid paper to solve, etc.. Then I set the timer again for 4 minutes and now the students practiced a problem on their own. I found that this kept them engaged more than just me solving all problems or them working independently all the time. Now, my students are keeping a tally of the problems they are getting correct on their own. I challenged them to get 80% of the problems correct and I did notice that adding some competition has helped motivate them.
***My students have been trained to think of the concept and starting point when they are solving a problem, so this helps them at least have an idea of how to attack a problem. ( I could elaborate more on this if you guys need me to).

On Friday, I did pull all the questions that belong to RC2 from the released STAAR (old-fashion cut and paste) and allowed students to work in pairs to solve. At this time, I pulled in a group and worked with them. I did notice that all the week's practice did help them and they had an easier time with the released items. (If any of the students finished, they worked on their math centers).

I do plan on following the same format for all the RC (and I also plan on spiraling the RC I have already reviewed so that they continue to practice and concepts stay fresh). I have noticed that doing the Daily Math Reviews has helped them retain concepts so I will also continue that. I should also mention that I am pulling small groups and doing lots and lots of review whenever possible (I use my math station cards for this).

If at any time I see the kids are becoming bored or need a small break, I pull a Marilyn Burns 'Guess my Number' to provide a short 2-minute break and then we jump right back into STAAR mode.

To keep kids organized during these hectic weeks, we are using a pocket folder where they are keeping all their math packet reviews and using them to study at home (parents have really liked this).


I am still working on how I will review the week of Mar. 24-28 (Review all tested S.E.s). I know I will have stations, but I haven't completely planned it all out.

Please let me know if this is helpful and also what tips you may have as we get closer and closer to STAAR.

*Next week, I will be posting how I am reviewing for reading.

Have a blessed day!
 

Sale! Sale! Sale!

It's that time of year- the TPT back to school sale will soon be here! TpT is holding their annual back to school sale from August 18-19th!!! Run and get those items you've had your eye on!! I will be taking advantage and getting some bundles I've been eyeing!

My entire store (yes!!!! Bundles too) will be on sale!! Don't forget to use the BTS13 promo code for additional savings!!

P.S. my store will be having a sale from August 18-20th!!

Happy, happy shopping, everyone!!!

My new favorite poem

Ever since I was little I have always been fascinated by dragons! (My favorite animated movie is How to train your dragon!!!)
Tonight, while my Baby was watching Disney Jr. they ran their 'A poem is..' segment and I heard the most amazing poem EVER!
'Once they all believed in dragons' by Jack Prelutsky. It is narrated by Doctor Who and Downtown Abbey actor Matt Smith. It has a beautiful animation to go with it. Watch it here. I am definitely adding this little treasure to my list of poems to teach :)

 Just wanted to share! 

Begin with goals in mind!

August already?! :(
I've had a great time staying home this summer and even though I love teaching, I'm not ready to go back! I think that setting some goals will steer me in the right direction. Here I go!
I am linking up with I Heart Recess to share my Back to School Goals.

 

 Personal: I will be leaving work no later than 4:00 PM! I don't want to miss moments with my family at home anymore, therefore I have to learn to prioritize to get things done! I plan to do this by running my copies for lessons a week ahead, filing paper as I go, and utilizing EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE of my planning time to get work done!

Organization: Ok, so I've created my DIY teacher binder with dividers to help me stay organized- this will help me not waste time looking for stuff in a pile of paper! I am also using binders to store my lessons for each subject so that I have them to refer back to and they are not just piled behind my desk. I'm going to use a crate with hanging file folders to keep my students' work, documentation, etc so that I have it handy when I need to speak to a parent, admin, refer for interventions, or any other need that may arise.

Planning: I've done some planning this summer, specially in science and language arts and I plan to stay at least 2 weeks ahead of the game. I'm revamping my math this year so I'll be learning as I go- I'm going full on with Math Workshop this year. I've done bits and pieces in the past, but this year it is on!

Professional: I'm going to attempt to integrate technology into at least one subject I teach on a daily basis. We have access to ipads and computers and I want to ensure that my students are exposed to technology constantly. I want to go beyond apps- it's a lot to take on, but I'm up for the challenge!

Students: I will consider it a huge success if I can teach my kids to collaborate with and respect others. That is my main goal going into my classroom this year. I want every kid in my class to feel empowered, safe, respected, and to be thoughtful of others.

Motto: "If you think your teacher is tough, wait til you get a boss." Well said, Mr. Gates. I do love my students and I by no means want to be Mrs. Mean, but I do aim to make them problem-solving-working-doers (too much Mickey!!!). They will become self-sufficient and will need to make decisions to empower themselves as learners. Responsibility will bea repeated often.