Responding to our Reading and Much more...

Our week was very successful! The kids are enjoying Daily Math. I have to say that it was extremely easy to introduce the routines because they understand what is expected of them right away! The I-Charts were done very quickly and the kids used the same language from the previous I - Charts we created. While creating the Math with Someone I - Chart our math teacher was in the classroom and needless to say, he was very impressed. After modeling and talking about the I-Chart, each day one game was introduced and the kids played for two rounds. The math lessons and the lesson activity book are still being done in a whole class setting. This will change as the kids learn more of the Daily Math choices. As for “Math with Someone” here is a quick overview of the games introduced:

Fact Fluency: Before playing the games students should decide if they will be playing using addition, subtraction, or multiplication. This game is played very similarly to the card game war. The deck is spilt amongst two players (or however many players are playing). Each player has their cards facing down and at the same time they flip over two cards from their piles. Both players figure out the sum, difference, or product of the two cards. Whoever has the highest number takes both sets of cards. This continues until one player has no more cards in their hands. The player in the end who has the most cards wins the game. However, I always tell my kids that they are all winners by learning their math facts J Note: My students take out the kings. Jokers remain and are used as a zero, Jacks are 11 and Queens are 12.

Go Fish: This game is played just like the original Go Fish game. Only a few things have been changed. Each player receives 9 cards and the object of the game is to get pairs that equal the sum of 10. When it is a players’ turn they ask the other player if they have…. If the other player has the card they must give it to them and then pick one card from the pile in the middle. If the player does not have the card that was asked for, they say “Go Fish”. “Go Fish”, means to take a card from the middle pile. The first player to have all sums of ten in their hand, wins the game. Note: Jacks, queens, and kings are taken out. Jokers can be used as zeros again.

Sums of Ten: Sums of Ten is our version of the memory game. 20 cards are laid out on the floor, face down, in 5 rows and 4 columns. The object of the game is to flip over two cards that equal a sum of ten. If the cards equal a sum of ten the player takes the match, if not the cards are flipped back over and it is the other players turn. When all cards are taken, both players count their pairs. The player with the most sums of ten, wins the game. Note: Jacks, Queens, and Kings are taken out.

 

Bingo: We have a multiplication bingo game. Enough said, haha!

 

Guess my Number: 3 players are needed for this game. The deck is faced down in the middle of two players. Both players pick one card and hold the card facing out against their forehead. The third player says the sum, difference, or product of the two numbers (this should be determined beforehand). After knowing the sum, product or difference and the other player’s card, each player guesses what they think their card is. For example if the product is 22 and Player A sees that Player B has 11 on their forehead, they should guess 2. Whoever correctly guesses their card first, gets both cards. The player with the most cards in the end wins the game.

 

For this next week we will continue to practice playing the games during two rounds. However, I will start taking groups this week. So the kids will Meet with the Teacher during one round, and play games for the other two rounds. I can’t wait to see how it works out!!!!!

Daily Five and CAFÉ….

We are moving along very well in both Daily Five and CAFÉ. Our strategy for this past week continued to be “listening to your inner voice” and “leave tracks of your thinking”. The students were asked this week to write letters to me. The first paragraph needed to be a summary, second paragraph was important information about the story, and the third paragraph was their thinking. I got a wide variety of letters! Some blew me away with how wonderful they were, while others need some work. The letters gave me great information though. I was able to see many different strategy needs and strengths. I plan to utilize these letters during my conferences. For example a few kids showed me in their letter that they have great difficulty with writing summaries (they told me every detail), while other students may have made connections but not connections that further enhanced their comprehension of the story. Also, I had many kids who transferred their thinking on the Post-Its straight to their letter. I used these letters as great models during my mini-lessons. I plan on having the kids write one type of response every week. As I said I get great insight into their reading and thinking. Responding to reading is a wonderful assessment tool.

I decided not to abandon the “Flat Stanley” book. After writing my blog last Sunday night I went into school the next day and told my kids I was thinking about abandoning the “Flat Stanley” book. Some kids asked why, while others said they thought I should. I explained to the kids that I wasn’t enjoying the book because it didn’t match up to the Secret Garden. I explained that this happens a lot in my personal reading life. Many times I will read a fabulous intense book that it is so hard to find a book to read right after. Or at times I will read an intense book (Jodi Piccoult) and then want an easy read afterwards. I wish I could have taken a picture of them looking at me during this conversation, their faces were so serious! They loved hearing about myself as a reader. After sharing these experiences with them I said that I felt if I abandoned the book, I might miss out on a great read. I also told them that sometimes they might have to read books (Guided Reading) that they are not thrilled with but need to stick with them, so it wouldn’t be a good example if I abandoned “Flat Stanley”. By the end of the week we finished the book and had some great discussions. Was it my all time favorite read aloud, definitely not, but every book has something to offer and this was a great lesson for my kids on sticking with books. Next up Edward Tulane.

My goal and strategy for this week will be Expanding Vocabulary and what to do with all of those interesting words we are finding. I will be discussing and teaching a lot about context clues. Edward Tulane is a perfect book for this. It is a book that has a plethora of vocabulary words that we can use to really get to know the characters. I want my kids paying attention to the new vocabulary, using context clues, and also utilizing the words in their daily language. While reading “The Promise World” I took note of new and interesting words. After finishing the book I had a list of six new words. While looking over the list after closing the book, I was not able to define these words, although I understood them while reading the book because I used the context clues. I hope to teach my children many different context clues strategies this week, all of which I will put under the Expanding Vocabulary section.

 

Along with Expanding our Vocabulary, another goal will be comprehension, with the strategy being “Get to know the Characters”. The students will learn how to relate to the characters and get inside of their heads. Again, I will be using Edward Tulane. We will discuss our connections to the story and how they enhance our comprehension. We will also watch the growth of Edward Tulane and the other characters in the books. I love the book, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” and I can’t wait to incorporate it into my CAFÉ strategy lessons this week!

 

Both professional development books I mentioned in my last blog are very good. These books are “Still Learning to Read” and “Notebook Connections”. I am enjoying the practical lessons and information presented in both books and I look forward to implementing it into my classroom. More to come on my use of these books in future blogs…

 

This past weekend was the Teacher’s College Reunion. I feel a little guilty that I didn’t go, but my reasoning was good. Quite honestly, I felt if I went my brain might have gone into overload!!!!!! As you know, I am in the process of introducing many new things into my classroom (Daily Five, CAFÉ, Words their Way, a new ELA curriculum, and now Daily Math), along with read a ton of Professional Development books. At times I feel that I need to give myself the space and time to grow on my own. Use one or two resources and then blossom in those, with my own tweaks in the process. Every time I open a new book or attend another conference, I am like a kid in a candy store. I want everything introduced into my classroom and I want it all now! Obviously this is not practical, so in thinking about going to the TC reunion I felt I needed to take a step back and continue with what I am currently doing, right now, in my classroom.

Words of Advice:

Try tuning into your inner voice while reading. It is truly eye opening when you try to do the strategies that you ask of the kids. During the last few weeks I have been tuning into my inner voice, making mental images and keeping track of interesting words. I plan to use a Reader’s Notebook to track my thinking and share it with my students. I’ve been sharing my thinking, but I think it will be more meaningful if they see it written down, in a notebook or on post-its. It is also very helpful for me to see which strategies I use as a reader and which strategies I almost need to force upon myself.

 

Have a great week!