Wow! I have completely been MIA.  The month of October has been crazy... football, county fairs, and fall festivities.  We have also been super busy in class.  A week or so ago we worked on making connections.  I fully believe that good readers think while they are reading and actively make connections to help with their comprehension process.  Most of my students were making connections already, but didn't know how it was helping them understand what they were reading better.  When we were done with the lesson, I could see all kinds of light bulbs lighting up above their heads and I LOVE when that happens.  This as a strategy that will continuously be used through the school year.  All of the documents that I used for this lesson will be in my Teacher's Notebook store for free download.  I will add the link as soon as they are uploaded!

 

Making Connections with the Bullseye of Connections - From Comprehension Connections By: Tanny McGregor

A Closer look... 

We also talked about schema and I read a short story for them to make a connection with in their spiral.  Also from  Comprehension Connections By: Tanny McGregor

 

If you have any "Making Connections" lessons or ideas, please share!

 

Hope everyone has a fantastic Sunday!! I will enjoy watching RGIII playing (I'm also a Baylor Alumni) and enjoy not having to stress over my Houston Texans!! :)

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Sandy

I have decided to join Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade for her linky party.  I think it is an awesomely positive way to start this week!  So head on over and join in...

 

 

 

Something good at school:  I am really excited with how our reading spirals are working out this year.  The students have really used it as a resource as it was intended.  Next year, I hope to make it a little more interactive with the right side/left side concept.  If you want to check it out, here are several blog entries covering it:

 

Author's Point of View

Homophones/graphs

Real Reading

There are severalmore posts, so head over and check them out!

 

Something good at home:  I have been spending a lot more time with my family.  I moved schools 3 years ago to be closer to them and am really taking advantage of it.

 

I have also been going to the gym 3 times a week and cooking healthy dinners for myself.  Trying to be a healthier me before I turn 30 in July! 

 

 



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Sandy

Yesterday and today we have been learning how to use our resources and what the purpose of each one is.  We made a foldable yesterday.  The students had an example of each resource so as we were talking about what they were used for they decided which belonged to which.  Here are several pictures of our foldables in our spiral. (I will add the foldable to my Teacher's Notebook Store.)

 

Today I gave the students a poem with certain words bolded.  They were to use their resources to find synonyms that would take the place of the word.  They also had to make sure that the replacement word was the correct part of speech and that it made sense. Here a some pictures of the students working in groups...  (I will also add the worksheet to my Teacher's Notebook Store.)

 

 

If you have any additional ideas that I could add to the lesson in the future, please let me know! 

 

 I can't wait... we start our novel study tomorrow and I will be sharing that with you all!!

 

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Sandy

This week we had a fun day and reviewed homophones and homographs.  The students had so much fun with the activities that I gave them a little time the next day to add to the spiral.  We filled out a chart and made several foldables.  The students were also able to look through magazines and newspapers to find examples... we had a blast!  I got all of the ideas from Dinah Zike's Vocabulary foldables book, so all I can share is pictures and there are plenty! Here we go...

 

 

 

Thanks for making it through the picture overload!! 

Next week we will be discussing Using our Resources (dictionaries, thesauruses, & glossaries) and we will also be starting our novel study. 

Check back!

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Sandy

I know, I know... 2 posts in a day but.... Its currently time again!!! Farley is so amazing that she has even made a currently you can use for your classroom... you go girl!  So head on over and link up.  Don't forget the rule of three! :)

 

 

 

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Sandy

These last few weeks we have been focusing and reviewing author's point of view.  In 5th grade, this is quite a concept to grasp especially 3rd person limited & omniscient.  I must say that everything I did with my students was borrowed or purchased except for one thing, which I will put up in my store as a freebie.

 

 

We started off the week taking notes in our Reading Spirals.  I purchased the Literary Elements Resource from the fabulous Jen Runde and used the chart to help with the note taking.  There are tons of other resources in this purchase that I will be using through out the year to review author's point of view.  Amazing resource... she is such a talented lady!

 

 

We also glued in our Author's POV chart. (freebie)  We have been reading several books and filling it in.  Sorry, I am missing a few entries in mine, but you get the gist. It is VERY hard to find books written in 2nd POV and I found one... Cow by: Malachy Doyle. 

 

We also watched the Brainpop video to go with POV.  It is located under writing, but it has very good examples and Tim and Moby are just a hoot!

 

Tomorrow we will be discussing homophones and homographs... I know you can't wait for that!

 

(If you have any extra info or resources for author's point of view, please share!)

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Sandy