Wonder, Point of View(Freebie), Magnets

I am currently reading "Wonder" as our read aloud to my class.  They are LOVING it!!!  It has prompted some great questions, thoughts and discussions.  I started a "Wonder Wall",  where each day I pick 4-5 children to write down their thoughts.  We are also working on points of view and this book uses character's perspectives.

We have been learning about the differences of writing in first and third person.  We charted out clue words that help us to identify. We then continued that author's can also write from different points of view.  We read two versions of "Little Red Riding Hood".  One is told in first person and the other is told in third person.  It also demonstrates Red's version and the Wolf's version.  I wanted to do a mini-lesson in writing from different points of view.  I had the kids brainstorm things that they love and hate about spring.  They wrote two paragraphs practicing the author's craft of "Show Don't Tell".   My camera was acting weird and I was in a hurry Friday…I will add more examples.

Spring Hate It and Love It

Magnet Madness (Check out an older post)

I set up several stations on Friday that included:

magnetic fields

magnetite
different types of magnets
magnetic needles
compass
repel and attract
objects sort

A Little Bit of This and That

We just finished Round One of our state testing which was ELA and Long Composition.  During our test prep sessions, the children used answer sticks when going over their multiple choices.  I used tongue depressors and simply marked A, B, C or D.  It made it a little fun and I could quickly assess the room.

 This was a project that I did last year with the book Many Luscious Lollipops, to teach adjectives.  I did not wrap in cellophane this year…love the tye-die coloring!

 These are a few sample of the kid's opinion essay on Dr. Seuss.  It was their first piece.  I will share our newest pieces soon.  They have made some great gains.

Here are some water bottle wraps wishing each other good luck.  I cover with packing tape and we have used them several days.

I read the book "Under, Over, By the Clover" and had the kids go on a preposition hunt.  I did this lesson using ghosts but tweaked it for the spring.

Free Printable

We Love Dr. Seuss! (and Freebie)

We celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday every year at my school.  We have middle schoolers come read one of their favorite books to the elementary classes.  I was very lucky to have a former student come to my room.  The Librarian took pictures of classes all week.  

We have been working on "Opinion" pieces in writing.  As a class, we brainstormed reasons that make  Dr. Seuss a popular children's author.  They wrote essays with their thesis statements, reasons and evidence.  I created a sheet for their published writing.  I can't wait to hang them up!

Free Printable

Love That Dog

I love "Love That Dog"!!!  It is a great book, written by Sharon Creech, that is creatively set up in a narrative poetry journal format. (it sounds crazy) It is a story about a boy who reluctantly learns to love poetry and expresses his love for his dog.  As the story, unfolds the teacher introduces her class to several authentic authors, types of poems and poetry terms.  The story will also bring a few students to tears.  Sharon also published "Hate That Cat."

A sample of a poem in the book.  My children loved creating shape poems.

Free Down load on teacher vision

I bought a unit on TPT that I highly recommend.  It has great response questions and is easy to implement with the whold class or guided reading groups.  The students also write a few poems of their own.  I will be publishing those next week.  (Pictures to follow)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Love-That-Dog-Novel-Study-and-Poetry-Unit-561763

Raining Cats & Dogs Writing

My fourth graders have been studying all types of figurative language this year. My students just love idioms!  During the year we completed many activities using idioms and I decided to take it to the next step and incorporate one in their writing.  My students had to use suspense and the idiom "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" in a narrative piece.  I gathered stuffed cats and dogs and pinned on an umbrella.  I took photos to add to their final writing piece.

A few of the books that we read:

Raining Cats and Dogs Download

My favorite photo!!! 

Here are a few completed pieces:

The student teacher across the hall was hanging up this bright and cheery adverb board and I had to take a picture to share…Sunny Skies and Rainbows are coming soon!!!  Great Job Meghan Foden!!!

Great Leads and Endings Posters

I have been missing in action for a while.  I have no excuses other than taking care of me for a change! My house is empty for the first time(both girls at college) and I have been getting healthy, both mentally and physically.  I thought I would have more time for blogging but that has taken a back seat.  I hope to get motivated and get back into this…I have missed it tremendously!!!

We are having a snow day and will be on vacation next week.  Just finished up parent conferences(last ones for the year) last night and feel a little relieved.  Today I opened up my computer and created two posters for writing narratives.  I hope you enjoy them!

Great Leads 

Extended Endings