It’s no secret that I have an author-crush on Ralph Fletcher. I was lucky enough to see him in person (twice! woohoo!), and I could hardly contain my joy. I threw my hand up like an excitable fourth grader when he asked for volunteers. I asked questions - so I could pretend he was talking just to me. And at the break, I got him to sign two books for me (I always thought it was ridiculous to stand in line to have an author sign books…until I became a bonafide Ralph groupie.). I love the way he writes. I love the way he speaks. And I love the way he looks. Okay, I know the last one was a little bit more information than I needed to share – but it’s true. So what sparked this author crush? His crazy-good, life-changing Writer’s Notebook books. Book Love A Writer's Notebook Ralph Fletcher has written a lot of books about teaching kids to write the way real authors write (and each one is filled with ah-ha moments and practical tips), but the one that sparked my insatiable desire to learn more was A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. I’m not kidding when I say that once I applied the techniques in this book, I started looking forward to the ELA writing block – every single day. Why? Because my students loved it! Not only did Writers’ Notebooks change the way I taught writing, but they turned even my most reluctant writers into writing machines - who actually wanted to share what they wrote. Be. Still. My. Heart. Writer's Notebook Defined So what exactly is a Writer's Notebook? Ralph Fletcher describes it this way: “A Writer’s Notebook is a blank book where a writer can engage in the fun, often messy job of being a writer – practicing, listening, playing with language, gathering images and insights and ideas. The purpose of such a notebook is to nourish the writer. It is one of the most essential tools of the trade.” Yep. It’s just a simple, blank notebook where writers collect ideas (lists), free write (fluency), and practice targeted skills (figurative language/word choice/sentence structure). Essentially, it’s the place where ideas for future writings (i.e. pre-writing and drafting gems) are stored. That’s it. Nothing else. No full-length pieces. No final drafts. But believe me, if you want to see dramatic improvements in your students’ writing it’ll be more than enough. Writer's Notebook in Practice There are many ways to use Writers' Notebooks, but I either use them as stand-alone exercises to build writing confidence or as warm-up exercises during the mini-lesson portion of Writer’s Workshop. Sometimes students generate lists (e.g. annoying personality traits, character names, substitutes for overused words). Not only do student-generated lists serve as great pre-writing tools and year-long reference pages, but students feel a sense of ownership as they create and share these lists in pairs and small groups. Writer's Notebook Collections and Quick Writes Sometimes they'll draft free writes about something that's on their minds or about something I suggest (e.g. recounting an event that happened over the weekend, taking a stand on a controversial issue, writing a character description). Free writes (10-12 minutes drafts) help students experiment with different writing styles. Since free writes are non-threatening by design, students find it easy to develop a style that feels natural and conversational. ***An extra free write bonus is that many of these short pieces will become part of longer assignments later in the year. Character Snapshots And sometimes students fool around with language to help them develop a unique writing style (e.g. playing with punctuation, practicing sentence-building techniques, experimenting with word choice). I can't think of a more entertaining way to teach grammar and mechanics than to have students create visually-rich pages which will be repurposed as valuable guides for the editing and revising stages of the writing process. Visual Writer's Notebook Although Ralph Fletcher emphasizes that a pure Writer’s Notebook should be filled only with pieces dreamed up by each student, I have found that many students need to have a suggested topic to fall back on in case they're not inspired to come up with their own on any given day. There are also times when I require students to write about a pre-determined topic (Shhh…don't tell Ralph.) in order to make the scary process of writing a five-paragraph essay or a full-length narrative fun, easy, and achievable for inexperienced writers. I'll talk more about that in a future post. If you'd like to view more sample pages you'll find them under the Visual Writer's Notebook tab above this blog or by clicking the button below. In my next Writer's Notebook post, I'll be sharing a short video on how to set up notebooks and I'll be including a downloadable Writer's Notebook cheat sheet. Until next time…stay committed…teach with passion…and inspire students with who you are.
We’re sharing all the best things to do in Dahab, including plenty of hidden gems you won’t find anywhere else. With everything from world class diving and snorkelling, to epic slot canyons, ancient rock art, and a lake you can float in just like the Dead Sea, Dahab should definitely have a place on
My Mind-Blowing Red Lentil Tofu will rock your world! It is soy-free, high protein, super-easy, versatile, and made with 1 ingredient (plus water, & optional salt).A reminder about not republishing: Do not republish this, my original recipe, on other websites or outlets. This was developed, entirely, in my kitchen (i.e., it is not a variation of another red lentil tofu recipe and the process is unique). Please see my recipe sharing policy for details. ? If you ADAPT my recipe, please give proper credit and provide a link to this, the original recipe.
Can you believe it's already close to the end of the 1st nine weeks? I mean seriously?! We have been in school for almost a full quarter already! My kiddos got their interim report about two weeks ago now, and my grades are due for report cards in only about two weeks! This is absolutely crazy! So, needless to say, I thought it was about time for a check-in on what we've been up to. This is my first year teaching only one subject, and I have to say, it's fabulous! My schedule begins with planning until about ten in the morning. Then I have an Algebra and PreAlgebra class for an hour each, before lunch, followed by my Academy class, and ending the day with another PreAlgebra and Algebra class again for an hour a piece. My days fly by! I mean it's October for goodness sake! Currently in Algebra we have moved into our actual Algebra curriculum. No more review for these kiddos! We have done the overview of function families; everything from linear, quadratic, exponential, and absolute value functions, and are now moving into really analyzing and understanding linear functions. To begin the overall unit, we started our lessons by reviewing scatter plots and what it takes to make a scatter plot. One of my colleagues, Allison Stanford, who recently moved back to the Clover area from a brief year in Mississippi, shared her idea for reviewing scatterplots. Students each get a shoe to color and decorate as their representation on a classroom graph. I gave students their shoe template on a Friday after they finished their last review test. Over the weekend students were to color and decorate their shoe, find out their shoe size, and their height. All students were told to measure their shoe size in men's sizes, and get their heights in inches. The graph after students established the independent and dependent quantities. On Monday students came in, and in their groups, created a quick sketch of a scatterplot to represent their small group of three or four. Students had to decide the independent and dependent variable, their quantities, and then plot themselves, as dots, on their sketch. After all groups had sketched their group graph, we began plotting the points on a larger classroom graph that I had created on the wall before beginning class. Students plotting their shoes on the classroom sized graph. After the graph was complete, and all students had plotted their shoes, we analyzed the graph in terms of it's characteristics. We reviewed the terms surrounding graphs such as independent and dependent variables (and why they were those quantities), outliers, increasing or decreasing trends, and associations. This lesson then lead into the discussion of lines of best fit to represent the data. This was a great lesson to use to get students thinking about, if we were to draw a line through the shoe plots, how would we represent all the data that was presented. Students really understood how to analyze lines of best fit as we began writing the equations for the lines later in the week! The final graph after 3rd period plotted their points. For my PreAlgebra crew we are beginning our lessons into functions as well. However, instead of beginning with scatterplots and lines of best fit, we begin our overall unit with sequences and patterns. The idea is to relate functions as ongoing patterns and that sequences will fit into the equations that we can write for linear functions. Students were also seated in groups to begin, and were given two sequences from our Carnegie text. Students were given manipulatives that they could work with to demonstrate and continue the given sequence. Sequences ranged from building toothpick houses, to building block stairs, beaded necklaces, and penny pyramids. After students created their sequence using their manipulatives, they could then answer the questions in their text about the term numbers, patterns, and overlying question. Students working together, with their manipulatives and iPads to determine their sequences. After students finished their sequences, they took pictures and uploaded their patterns to our My Big Campus group in order to present their findings to their classmates. Students really enjoyed being able to work with their hands, create their sequences using manipulatives, and then present their unique versions of sequences to their peers. We have had a great, wonderful, fantastic, amazing start to the year and I could not be more impressed with how hard my students are working. They are doing a great job! They come into class everyday ready to learn, enjoy math, and learn new skills. We are off to a great start and I can't wait to see, and share, what our year has in store! Until next time... :)
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company. Thank you for supporting our work here at Food Heaven! Here at Food Heaven, we love a good flatbread. It’s the perfect combination of soft, savory, and tender. I used to think flatbreads were difficult to make, and would reserve enjoying them at a good […]
One box I can always count on being checked on the needs assessment is ☑WORRY. Our students are coming to school with worries about friendships, home life, their school performance and so much more. Researchers estimate that nearly 32% of adolescents (ages 13-18) experience an anxiety disorder. Additionally, in a survey of children aged 10-11 in England
Pangaea - Introduction and Evidence Map Lab activity Introduce students to Pangaea, the Earth's supercontinent, in this activity. Page1- Introduction to Pangaea and Alfred Wegener's "Ground Breaking" continental drift theory. Includes reading information and a set of "fill-Ins" questions. Page2- Evidence of Pangaea map activity. Students color code different rock and fossils groups found around the world on ancient Pangaea map. Page 3-4 Answer Keys. Great for teacher directed, individual or science center activity. Please look at Thumbnails and Previews :-) This item available in the Geology 10 Pack in the GES store: Geology 10 Pack Please see my Plate Tectonic Activity: Plate Tectonics
What? Your church doesn’t focus children’s lessons on the stoning of people?!! =:0 Well, there is persecution and all you need to do is look at the world we are living in right now. Chr…
Border Collies rule you, not the other way around. If you truly love them, these are the rules you should never break.
Social media is ruling the world. In the professional aspect, you either have a LinkedIn profile or you don’t exist. Here are 8 steps to help you rock!
This famous Italian-American pasta will rock your world! In Chicken Riggies, a thick tomato cream sauce smothers marinated chicken and veggie-rich rigatoni.
What a busy life we lead in and outside of the classroom! Follow Mrs. Lochel and take a sneak peek into the life of a public school Kindergarten Teacher during the summer months and her Kindergarten students during the school year.
Maryland, also known as “Old Line State”, “Free State”, “Little America” and “America in Miniature”, is state where you can spend a lot of time of exploring and discovering. The ... Read more
Set of FREE printable world map choices with blank maps and labeled options for learning geography, countries, capitals, famous landmarks
What a CrAzY week month it has been so far! (Notice the lack of posts!) This week along with the 100th day of school, I had my yearly pr...
We have been talking second grade science! Specifically, we'll chat about the Next Gen standards on landforms and how to implement hands on activities,
This Rock N Roll Cutting Practice is great for World Music Day and is so much fun for musical kids. They'll love working on their scissor skills!
This year my district is going from a largely whole group direct instruction reading program to a largely centers/small group instruction model. There are centers for English Language Development, reading and math. It's a good change, but it's going to take a lot of work and organization to make all those transitions and activities run efficiently. Instinctively I am not such a great organizer. Boo! Thank goodness there are hundreds upon hundreds of brilliantly organized teachers sharing all their ideas on Pinterest. I could read teaching blogs all day and not get all the ideas a quick ten minute browsing of Pinterest provides. This idea., though, knocked my socks off. Source: newmanagement.com via Nicole on Pinterest The little white thing highlighted here is a plastic stand that makes any binder into a flip chart! They only cost $2 and look like they would be a good investment. I immediately began to search for them on Amazon. No luck. It seems that they are only available here. Here en-lies the rub. I am super cheap to begin with and have already spent a ton of money and time on my classroom this summer. We have potentially five furlough days again this year so it's really important to stay within our budget. And, the site above charges $7 dollars to ship 5 of those little plastic things. So I made my own. First gather up two large binder clips and a short piece of ribbon-about 5" long. Clip the clips to the binder covers and tie the two closest metal thingies together. Done. Dear Ms. Plastic Binder Holder Maker, I love your holder. Really I do. I would buy 5 for my classroom. I would. But you see, I have free Amazon Prime and I have become spoiled. Paying 70% of the product cost for shipping is just too steep. If your product shows up on Amazon, I will be the first to buy it. Promise. In the meantime, Yankee ingenuity all the way. Love, Mrs. L
Ever thought about visiting Turin? Here are 10 reasons why you won't regret such an adventure!
Learn Paganini's Fifth Caprice in A minor from the one and only Yngwie Malmsteen.
Learn About the 7 Continents! Exploring the 7 Continents has never been more exciting! It’s a Small World Continent Study is filled with over 35 activities to help your students gain a greater understanding of the seven continents. This 130+ page unit is filled with great resources, posters, printables, activities, and projects that will open […]
I know this is a strong statement but this is the best alfredo sauce in the world. The secret ingredient? Gruyere cheese! Gruyere takes a little longer to melt than parmesan but it’s worth the patience; it adds a nutty flavor and ultra creamy, luscious texture to this sauce. I think we can all agree …
These Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tabs are going to rock your cleaning world. They are made right in your house, so your kiddos can help too.
Being in a marriage means choosing to love that person every day. Here are eighteen ways for men to be better husbands and show their wives more love.
The Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park is a beautiful area just outside of Denver. Read my post to see how you could spend a half day here!
Rock gardens come in all shapes and sizes. From Japanese inspired river beds to small rock fountains among bright greenery we have a design
Kindness is contagious! Use these kindness quotes to spread kindness to everyone you know. Quotes for inspiration, kindness painted rocks or to message a friend.
World's first free digital magazine, dedicated to empowering kids around the world, with global contributors.
Connect music and geography with this fun musical game that encourages kids to learn about songs from around the world!
how to teach kids where in the world they live by using simple circles to show the planet, continent, country, state, city, street, home! free printable.
