Learning About the Middle Ages

Last week we began our Castle Project.  It is all part of our Middle Ages Unit.  Kids come into 4th grade asking when we will build castles, and now, finally, the time has come.  Our school teaches a Core Knowledge curriculum, in addition to our district curriculum, so our students learn about ancient Egypt in first grade, China in second, and the Roman Empire in 3rd grade.  It is a well planned, and natural progression in studying world history.  You can learn more about Core Knowledge by visiting the Core Knowledge Foundation website.

I have written about our Castle Project before, but I thought I would take a few moments to highlight some of the steps I take to build background, as well as the resources I use. To lay the groundwork for our unit, I like to expose my students to lots of literature, both non-fiction and historical fiction.   In reading groups we spend time reading and discussing "If You Lived In the Days of Knights" by Ann McGovern, Medieval Life, and Knights and Castles by Will Osborn and Mary Pope Osborn.  I love the "If You Lived. . ." series.  Each chapter or section is titled with a question.  The text that follows answers that question.  It is a great way to help students understand how people lived at that point in history.

As a read aloud we read and discuss The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleishman.  This Newbery Award winning book is historical fiction.  I like using historical fiction to build background in a way that students can connect.  Along with the historical information, I continue to use the literature to build reading skills. You can read a summary of the book at Scholastic.

Another favorite book that I use as a read aloud is "The Door In the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli.  This is also a Newbery Award winner and is one of my favorite books ever.  I love the theme of this novel, that life always provides us with opportunities if we are willing to look for them. Here is a link to the Goodreads review.

To get the unit going, I have several Smartboard presentations that I have put together with information I have collected from various sources.  Much of it has come from  The Middle Ages Independent Learning Unit.  This book includes many great resources and activities about people of the middle ages, knights and armor, weaponry, the parts of castles, etc.  I have had this book for several years. It is published by Good Apple Publications.

The actual construction of the castle is completed as homework.  At school we learn the reasons why people built and lived in castles, what life was like in as castle, and the parts of castles.

I assemble these activities in manilla folders along with a step by step schedule for how we will proceed.

After learning about the parts and reasons for castles, students make a list of supplies needed and sketch out a plan.  Our project is completed over a three week period.

Some nights students have a written assignment to do.  Other nights they are just asked to work on their castle. We also do lots of writing about castles throughout the project.

Another excellent resource for this unit is Europe in the Middle Ages, by E. D. Hirsch.  I use sections of this book for read aloud, and to present lessons.  We also use it and sections of the Middle Ages Independent Learn Unit for close reading.  It provides excellent opportunities to identify and clarify the most important ideas and supporting information. 

You can see our castles from last year right here.  In a later post, I will write more about some of the other aspects of our unit and castle study.  The kids get so excited about this unit, and that makes it even more fun to teach it.

Grand View Universty TeachMeet

Yesterday was a day of learning and inspiration.  I spent the day at the Jacobson Visiting Scholar Symposium at Grand View University.  Last year was the the initial year for this event.   I attended then and I enjoyed it.  This year was even better.

The morning started out with a delicious breakfast provided by the university.  We started the day with a keynote address by visiting scholar, Dr. Erica Boling from Rutgers University.  Dr. Boling talked about Transforming Education through Multimedia and Technology.

Following the keynote, we chose between three breakout sessions, presented by Dr. Boling, Alex Kitchen of the Bondurant Schools, and Steven Hopper from Heartland AEA.  I sat in on Dr. Boling's presentation about using screencasting.  She talked about the power of  using video, particularly video created by students, to learn.  Some of the examples she showed us using tools like Animoto carried that powerful message forward.

I used to use Animoto a lot, but during the past couple years I haven't.  Dr. Boling showed us a video that she has used to introduce herself to students, which is something I used to do, but for some reason stopped.  I also used to use Animoto as a communication tool with parents to show some of the great work kids were doing, and I am going to get back to doing that.

The afternoon was devoted to fifteen minute TeachMeet Sessions, including one presented by yours truly.  I came away with lots of new things to explore, as well as reminders to return to some things I have tried in the past.

Some of the things I want to explore are:

• The communities on Google +.  I didn't have any idea how many there were.  
• Photopeach, which works like Animoto
• For screencasting I have used Jing.  I want to check out Screenr and Screencastomatic.
• Popplet for mind mapping.  This was a session presented by Christine Smith.
• Oh, yes!  The Too Noisy App for the iPad, which totally cracked me up.  I am afraid my kids might enjoy setting it off, but it was funny.  That was presented by Jen Wells, who also talked about other Classroom Management Technology like Class Dojo.

I presented a session on Digital Story Telling.  I showed the group the things my students have created using Bitstrips for Schools, Voki, Kidblog, and Storybird.  You can see the things we talked about by visiting our class Wibki.  The links are on the writing page.

I was really excited to see one of my colleagues from school there.  It was nice to share the day with one of my coworkers.  This was time well spent, and it reminded me how powerful some of these tools are,  not to mention the energy and ideas shared by fellow educators.

More About Using Bitstrips for Schools

In an earlier post I talked about my Digital Story Telling class.  One of the tools we were using for that class was Bitstrips for Schools.  You may already be familiar with Bitstrips through Facebook or by using www.bitstrips.com.  For my students, I use Bitstrips for School.  There is a charge for this website, but it is worth it to me to be able to monitor what they are doing.  Bitstrips for Schools lets you make assignments.  As students create their avatars, they are added to a class picture, which I think is hilarious.  There are lots of instructional ideas on the website that you can use for assignments. There is also a 30 day free trial, if you want to check it out before making a financial commitment.   

Here is a little more information about Bitstrips for Schools.


Since that time I have introduced the rest of my class to this website.  During the month of February we used it to create an avatar and an introductory comic strip introducing ourselves.  Now we are using it in connection with health.  We have been learning about the digestive system and good nutrition.  Students were to create a comic strip about healthy eating.  I am pretty impressed with what they have come up with.

You can check out our class gallery and see my students Bitstrips by clicking here.  

Math Cootie Catchers

I have always hated Cootie Catchers, but my students love them.  A Cootie Catcher is a folded paper toy, which originally was intended to be a fortune teller, but we use them to practice math. They make a great interactive tool that we use to practice place value, rounding, basic facts, and most recently fractions.

I found this great book, Math Cootie Catchers, 20 Standards Based Cootie Catchers,  published by Creative Teaching Press.  It includes step by step directions on how to fold them.  It has Cootie Catchers to practice number and operations, fractions and decimals, algebraic concepts, geometry, time, money, and measurement.

You don't have to have a book to make Cootie Catchers.  Here is a great link that I found on Pinterest for making your own. It's on the I (Heart) Teaching blog.

If you need a refresher course on how to fold them, check out this video.

Creative Teaching has cootie catchers for other subjects and grade levels. You can check them out here on the Creative Teaching Website.

A Free Resource for Printable Paper

I use a lot of technology with my students, but I believe in pencil and paper work as well.  In fact sometimes I am very old school.  I still teach spelling and I still teach cursive handwriting.  I do not want this generation of students to leave my classroom knowing less than those that have come before them.

I ran onto this great resource on Pinterest.  Whether it's paper for penmanship, graph paper, or a form to plan your budget, you can find it on Free Printable Paper at http://readyteacher.com/free-printable-paper/. Check it out!

Edmodo

The Information Highway!  Our school is celebrating our centennial this year. Everyone in the school has created a tile that will be part of a centennial mosaic.  This is mine.  I was inspired by a graphic on my Printshop Deluxe program. 

During the month of January, I was doing so well with my blogging.  Then I hit February with parent/teacher conferences, report cards, and more and more testing, and I lost my momentum.  I said in an earlier post that it might take me two months to do the 20 Day Blogging Challenge, and it turns out it's more like three months, but I'm not giving up.  Here goes day 20!

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 20:  What is a website that you can't live without?

What looks like Facebook, but is safe for kids to use, and is actually a great educational tool?  Edmodo!  That's what!

I have used Edmodo occasionally for about three years now, but I have been very inconsistant with it, and I have barely tapped the possibilities.  Last summer I participated in an on-line conference to learn more about it called Edmodocon.  I wrote about it here.

I am working to increase my use of Edmodo for reading discussion.  Earlier this month I created an on-line quiz.  We had a few snags, but it will go easier the next time.  I’m also trying to learn how to create assignments.

In the past we have used Edmodo for research.  I decided to try more of a flipped classroom approach, with students viewing videos, and reading information involving the weather unit we are working on for Science.  For homework, students were to spend 20 to 30 minutes visiting the websites that I posted links for.  They were to comment about at least three things they learned.

When I checked around nine o'clock that night, I could see that 20 of my 29 students had spent time reading and commenting.  Five more students got on Edmodo during my before school computer lab time.

When we started science class, we could launch right into the next step of our learning, so I felt that it was a great success.

Edmodo is also a great collaboration tool for both teachers and students..  Earlier this school year my class participated in the Global Read Aloud. I joined a teacher group and got some great instructional ideas.  My students joined a group where they could discuss the book Out of My Mind with other students from around the world, and all from the comfort of our own classroom.

If you are unfamiliar with Edmodo, check out this video by Klista Rader.  It gives a good overview of how to set it up and some of the possibilities.

On-line Learning

I am still working on the 20 Day Blogging Challenge by Kelly Hines.  I am still on Phase 1 and this is Day 19:  Share a topic/idea from class this week.  What is one thing you did with students that you will/will not do again?

During the past three weeks I have been enrolled in an on-line class about teaching on-line.  This is the first in a series of classes that I plan to take through our state Area Education Association.  This class is titled "Introduction to the On-line Learner"  Here is a link to the series of classes being offered.

I have had an interest in technology for some time now.  It began in 2009 with another on-line class called Using Technology in the Classroom.  Prompted by that class, I created a class website and blog, and began building a PLN (Personal Learning Network) via Twitter.  Since then my use of technology with my students has grown.  This on-line class has made me think about how I use technology now, and how I might increase the effectiveness of what I do with my fourth graders. 

The needs of elementary students is a lot different than that of older students.  People assume that kids are comfortable with technology, but that isn’t true for everyone.  Some of my kids have ready access to computers and the internet, but some do not.  The majority of my students have used computers to play games, but utilizing it to research and write is new to them.  Key for me is using technology to create, not just consume.  So far this year my students have used a wiki to do a webquest, they have their own blogs on Kidblog, and they regularly utilize TenMarks, Spelling City, and Xtrmath for math and spelling practice.

I decided that for the month of February I would experiment with doing all of our homework on-line.  Up until now they have had a choice on the nights that I gave an on-line option.   I created a homework calendar.  We do homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings.  This month my students are using Spelling City, XtraMath, TenMarks, and Bitstrips for Schools for homework.  They are familiar with the first three, but Bitstrips is new to most of them.  I had already introduced it to the students in my Digital Story Telling Class, and they helped to teach their classmates.  They have two weeks to complete the assignments for weeks one and two.  

So that all students can be successful I am opening my classroom 30 minutes early for a Computer Lab on Tuesday and Friday mornings.  Students may complete their homework at home or at school. Normally our doors open at 8:00 a.m. and our day begins at 8:15.  Friday morning I had one child arrive before I got there at 7:30, but that's okay.  She was eager to begin.

This week I started conferencing with students to check on their progress.  We have had a few problems with passwords, but have been able to iron out most of those problems. We had a few issues this week with students being able to access XtraMath from home.  So we may try something different next week.  

Some kids will need some guidance with organizing their time to complete the tasks.  Most are pretty excited about using Bitstrips and have spent extra time creating their avatar and first comic strip.  At this point only one student has not completed her avatar.  One of my students was out sick almost all week, but was able to go on line and create her BitStrip.

At the end of the month, I plan to survey the kids and parents to see how they feel about doing homework this way.  I know that I have a few parents that prefer pencil and paper for their students.  I have parent/teacher conferences on February 19 and 26, and that will become part of our conference.

Do you use on-line homework?  If so, what are your favorite websites?

The World of Harry Potter

All month I have been participating in the 20 Day Blogging Challenge created by Kelly Hines.  My 20 days aren't going to be within the same month, but it has been great to have these prompts to write from, as well as being able to read how others are responding to the challenge.  Kelly has created another month of challenges.  You can read about phase 2 on her blog, In the Trenches.  Also, if you are on Twitter, you can read what others are doing by following the hashtag #BC20.   It's been a busy week, so I am still on phase one.

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day Eighteen:  Tell about a favorite book to share and teach. Tell about at least one example of an extension or a cross curricular lesson.

I love the Harry Potter books!  I always have.  Years ago a friend gave me a copy of Sorcerers Stone not long after it first came out.  I was a little lukewarm about it, and then I started reading.  Then I couldn't stop reading.  I will always remember the first year I read it aloud to kids.  All I had to do was reach for the book, and kids would hush each other with, "Shhh!  She's going to read!"  It had that kind of effect, and it still does.  Now I have Sorcerer's Stone on tape, and it is our current read aloud.  I have a classroom set of the books, so students can follow along.

This book accomplishes exactly what I want to accomplish with a read aloud.  It gets kids hooked!  If you come into our classroom right now, you will see lots of Harry Potter books sitting on desks.  Many of my students are now reading Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire, or other books in the series.  Last week one of my reading groups asked if we could read Prisoner of Azkaban as our reading group book.  I had four copies and between the library and copies students brought from home, we managed to acquire enough copies for everyone.

This is my group of strongest readers, and I always have difficulty with this group because some of the group are such prolific readers that they shoot through whatever book we are reading, while others plod along slowly, and never seem to finish.  This time I am trying a new approach to address this issue and keep everyone focused and on track.  I am not going to tell kids not to read ahead when they are loving a book, but I also want to hold discussions to build skills and increase comprehension.

One of the dilemmas I run into is that my school district uses Houghton Mifflin Journeys for reading. I am supposed to teach the Common Core Standards through the use of the small readers that are part of this reading system.  By the time we spend one or two of our reading group days each week on the readers, it is very difficult to move a group through a chapter book in a timely manner while students still have enthusiasm for the book.  Not to mention the fact that these little readers are BORING  and definitely not quality literature.  This has also been complicated by time lost to district testing and because of weather.  I have mostly abandoned the readers for my on grade level students and am teaching the standards using real chapter books.  That makes it all the more important to keep everyone on track, so everyone benefits from those lessons.

One way I am trying to accomplish that is with a Blended Classroom approach, using Edmodo.  We have conducted some of our reading group discussion using Edmodo in the past, but I am trying to do it more consistently.  There are some great resources out there to add to student understanding and to build interest, including Scholastic's Prisoner of Azkaban page, and  J. K. Rowlings website.

Edmodo is a great way to provide links to resources, as well as encourage student discussion and sharing.  For the first time I am using Edmodo to create and conduct a quiz.  It was easy to use, and very similar to creating a Google Form.  It also connects with the Edmodo grade book.

Along with the group reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I am using Edmodo with two other groups.  For each group we set a weekly reading goal.  When students finish their reading for the week, they will log onto Edmodo to add to the discussion and take quizzes.  Hopefully this will keep kids interacting with the text when they are ready, and not hold anyone back.  Of course this will only work if I can stay on top of things, respond to the conversation and add resources for my speedy readers.  With 29 students and 5 reading groups that will be a challenge.

Help!!!

How do you handle reading discussion when students read at different rates?  I can use any advice that you can offer.

Follow Me! (Or Friend Me.)

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 16:  Have you ever earned a grant?  What was it for?  Who was it from?  What tips can you offer?

If I go with that, it will make for a really short blog post. The answer is "no".  Next year will be my last year in the regular classroom, so it is probably not something I will pursue, so let's move on to Day 17.

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 17:  Share all of your professional social media contact information and links.  How do you engage in social media for professional learning?

Now this is something I can get into, because I am an avid social networker.

Facebook

It all started when I read an editorial in the newspaper about what a time waster Facebook is.  I knew I had to check that out right away. Within minutes I had signed up, and it was just a few more minutes before I had reconnected with a cousin and a friend who had moved across the country.  Initially I was connected only to friends and family on Facebook, and did not use it professionally.  More recently I am connecting to other educators and have joined groups like Educators Lounge and Technology and Learning.  I am Barbara Willits Day on Facebook.

Twitter

I first joined Twitter on April 20, 2009, and at first I just didn't get this following thing.  It seemed kind of like stalking.  Several months later, I took an on-line class about using technology in the classroom.  With the encouragement of my instructor, I began exploring Twitter again.  

I am not exaggerating when I say that Twitter has changed my life.  I have learned vast amounts, improved my teaching, made friends, many of whom I have since met face to face, and acquired a dog, all because of Twitter. I have participated in on-line conferences and gone to Edcamp, because of Twitter.

 I am not on Twitter as much as I used to be, but I participate in #4thchat every Monday evening from 7 to 8 pm central time.  This is an on-line discussion made up mostly of 4th grade teachers.  Each week focuses on a different topic.  If you are not into Twitter, check out some of the chats, because it is one of the easiest ways to connect with other educators.  Check out @Cybraryman's page for Twitter Chats, to find one that might be of interest to you.

I am @BarbaraDay on Twitter.

Plurk

I was very dedicated to Twitter, and then I became a Plurker.  I was introduced to Plurk by Lori Feldman.  I met Lori at Edcamp Omaha.  Plurk is part of my daily ritual.  The first thing I do each morning, and the last thing I do each night is touch base with my Plurk friends.  My friends on Plurk are educators, and we talk about education issues, but I find it much more personal than most of my Twitter connections.  I worry about them when they are sick or going through difficult times.  I rejoice with them when they experience happy times. They offer advice when I need it. 

I am BarbaraLN on Plurk.

Pinterest

I learn lots of things on Pinterest and just recently I wrote about how much I depend on this website.  

I am Barbara Day on Pinterest and here is a link to my 2,576 Pins.

Instagram

For four years I did a photo a day project.  Every day I took a photo, and posted it to my photo blog.  I haven't done much of that since I got started on Instagram.

I am BarbaraLN on Instagram.

Flickr

I use Flickr both personally and professionally.

I am BarbaraLN on Flickr.

Google+

I am Barbara Day on Google+ but I don't go there very often.

So let's connect! Follow me or friend me, and I would like to do the same.  Where can I find you?

Classroom Wishlist

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 15:  What would be one or two items on your classroom wishlist?  Why?  How might you get this item?

Our students take the SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) and SMI (Scholastic Math Inventory) three times per year.  All students, grades 3 through 5 took the SRI during the week of January 6th.  When that happens, all classroom laptops are pulled from the classrooms and loaded onto a cart.  Then they are moved from room to room as each classroom takes this online test.

Last week we were between tests, and my principal let me keep the cart in my room all week.  That meant we were one to one with laptops.  We all loved it!  It was so nice to let everyone work on Spelling City or a blog post at the same time.  I wish we had enough laptops for everyone every week.  So that would be my wish: to be one to one with laptops.

Students are taking the SMI this week, so we are without even our usual laptops.  I shouldn't complain though, because my class has more equipment than any other room in the building.  We have  9 laptops and 11 iPads for 29 students. My principal has been very supportive of my interest in using technology with my kids.  That's just one more reason that I am so sad she is leaving next year.

There isn't really anything I can do to acquire a classroom set of laptops, but I could, from time to time, borrow iPads and laptops from other classrooms so we can all work on a project at the same time.  I need to do this once in a while.

Andrew Clements Author Study

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 13:  Tell about a favorite book to share or teach.

Andrew Clements is one of my favorite authors, so I like to get my students hooked on his books.  His books are mostly realistic fiction, and he is a master of character development.  I like the way his characters grow and change.   The way I get my students hooked is to start with a read aloud.  We did that earlier with A Week in the Woods.  Then we use several of his other books in reading groups.  Currently I have a group reading The Report Card, another reading The Landry News, and a third reading Frindle, which was his first book.

Of all his books, A Week in the Woods is my favorite.  In this book, Mr. Maxwell has a long tradition of taking students for a week long camping trip.  It is a trip that all students look forward to, except the new student, Mark.   Our fifth graders spend two days at Y Camp each year, and it is something fourth graders are excited about, so my students can really connect with this book.

This book provides a great opportunity to talk about character traits.  The two main characters, Mark and Mr. Maxwell, go through a lot of changes throughout the book, so periodically I like to have my students examine the ways they have changed.  It is an excellent opportunity to work on compare/contrast, because our perception of characters is very different at various points in the story.

There is a lot of action in this book and Mark makes a risky and unexpected choice to set off on his own in the New Hampshire mountains.  We have lots of discussion about the decisions made by the characters and predict the possible outcomes.  I like to use Edmodo to carry on some of these discussions.  I used to live in New Hampshire, so I like to share information about that part of the country with my students.

Andrew Clements has a great website with downloadable study guide ideas.  Check it out at  http://www.andrewclements.com/

Also, here is a lesson plan from Scholastic for an Andrew Clements authors study.

At some point, I always line up the books and have the kids compare and contrast the art on the cover.  The kids love seeing the way that all the covers are alike.

Our Digital Story Telling Class

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 14:  Share an idea from class this week.  Will you do it again?

School is dismissed at 3:00 but on Thursday afternoons until 3:45, you can find sixteen fourth graders in my room, working hard on their writing.  Eight of the kids are from my class, and eight are from the other fourth grade.  It is completely voluntary, and it was supposed to be for just six sessions in November and December.  They are so eager and engaged, that I have extended our sessions until the end of January.

The first website I introduced them to was Voki.  I did it by creating this one.


The kids have a ball creating the Avatar.  The writing comes into the picture when they want to make it talk.  If they don't write their message correctly, it won't say what they want it to say.  Our first assignment was to tell about themselves.  The second assignment was to create a character and have it tell its story in first person.  This one was created by Maya.




You can use Voki for free, but there is a small fee for the Voki Classroom.  Learn more about Voki here.

Next we learned how to create a Storybird.  Storybird.com allows you to create a digital book.  You begin by selecting a collection of art that you would like to use.  Then you write a story.  These books can be printed into a paper book for a fee, but we are not doing that.

If you are interested in learning more about Storybird, here is a great tutorial by Mike Fisher.




Two of my girls figured out that they could collaborate on a story from separate computers.  One student works on a page.  When they are finished, they send it back to the other student, who writes the next page.  This would be a great way for classrooms to collaborate on a project.  Once again, kids became the teachers, because I had no idea you could even do this.

Here is a Storybird written by Margo.



Now we are telling stories by using Bitstrips.  With Bitstrips you tell your story through cartooning.  There is a fee for Bitstrips for School, but I like the way I can make assignments, and see what the kids are doing.  We just started on these.  So far, Margo is the only one that has one finished.




My plan is to embed our finished projects into a wiki, so the kids and their parents can see each other's work.  I'm not doing real well with that yet and all the Vokis that I embedded previously seem to have disappeared.  I guess we will share them in some other way.

This class has been a joy.  Everyone is there because they want to be, and I just like watching them work.  I will definitely do this again.  Watching that enthusiasm is an inspiration for any teacher.

Homework: On-line vs. Paper and Pencil

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 12:  Talk about homeowrk. Do you give it?  What types do you give it. How do you balance it with other demands?

My school is a public school that is also a school of choice.  We are a traditional school.  That means we have a dress code, we have strong parent support, and we have mandatory homework three nights a week. A few times each year we do a homework project that is completed over a few weeks.  Our castle project is one of these projects.  Sometimes we use some of our homework time to prepare for book talks.  Most weeks I assign spelling work on Monday, reading or writing on Tuesday, and math on Thursday.  Many nights I offer the choice of completing homework on-line.  Since some of my children do not have internet access at home, I always offer a pencil and paper option as well..

In my last post, I wrote about Spelling City.  On Monday evenings, students may use Spelling City or they may choose one of these Fun Ideas for Spelling Practice.  They need to have a parent sign their planner indicating how they studied.

Tuesday night is often writing or reading.  This month I am having them read, and then we are doing a status of the class the following morning.  I also talked about this in an earlier post.  Some nights I have students write a blog post.  We use Kidblog, and you can see some of our posts here.  We welcome your comments.  Again, I provide a paper and pencil option.  Students may write their post in their writer's notebook and blog from school.

Thursday night is math night.  Sometimes I assign a worksheet, but other nights students may work on XtraMath, which is basic fact practice or they may go to TenMarks.  For TenMarks, the teacher selects the skills that need to be practiced.  If I assign XtraMath or TenMarks, I also make a worksheet available for those without internet.

With all these websites, I have a classroom version, so I can monitor who is on-line, and in some cases, how much time they spent on line.  I have our Kidblog account set so nothing publishes until I okay it.  With TenMarks I can see how they are doing with the various skills.

Most of my kids like to do the on-line assignments.  I expect them to work for 20 to 30 minutes.  I would like to begin using Edmodo  for homework as well.  We currently use it for book discussion and social studies and science research.

Beginning in February, I am going to begin running a before school computer lab so those without internet or computer access can come in to do on-line homework.  It would be on a voluntary basis.  I did this last year, and I had some kids that came in all the time even though they had internet at home.  They just liked using the websites.

If for some reason I do not assign homework, I send a note home explaining why.  Our parents are supportive and many will call to check if there is no homework.  On the flip side, I am flexible.  Sometimes things come up, and kids forget supplies or for some reason cannot complete an assignment.  I do not want homework time to extend beyond a half hour.  Kids need time to just be kids.

I am always looking for new ideas.  Do you assign homework?  If so, what works for your students?

Spelling City Makes Word Work Fun

20 Day Blogging Challenge,  Day 11:  What is a website that you cannot live without?  Tell about your favorite features and how you use it in your teaching and learning.

We are between testing weeks, so my class has had an entire cart of laptops in our room all week.  That means we have been one to one this week, and we have loved it!  Most weeks I have to rotate students through the nine computers that we usually have, so it was nice to have everyone working at the same time.

One of my favorite websites is Spelling City.  You can find it at www.spellingcity.com.  Learning how to spell correctly is an important skill for reading and writing, but we are usually limited in the time we can devote to it.  Using Spelling City gives kids additional opportunities to practice, and they are enthusiastic about using it. There are activities for both spelling and vocabulary.

It also makes it easy to customize lists and activities to meet the needs of individual students.  I currently have students divided into three spelling groups, with varying numbers of words and difficulty levels.  All lists emphasize the same skill.  For example, this week all our words end with a long e sound.  We spend time learning about the different spelling patterns that make that sound.  I still do classroom lessons, but the games and activities on the website are great reinforcement.

You can use Spelling City for free, but I willingly pay for the classroom version.  Then I can monitor what students are doing.  Most Mondays, I assign Spelling City as a homework option.  The next morning I can check to see who practiced using Spelling City, and who chose a written option.

Most weeks we take our spelling test on line, using Spelling City.  There are some great advantages.  Students work at their own pace, they get immediate feedback, and the tests are graded for me.  You can view and/or print their completed test, so you can see exactly where they were successful or need additional work.  Lists I set up for this year, can continue to be accessed and used in following years, but it is also easy to make changes whenever needed. Students can also create their own lists, and you have the option of using lists that have been created by other teachers.

If you have never used Spelling City, check it out.  Then let me know how it worked for you. 

Reading Homework for Tonight: Read!

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 9:  Share a topic or idea from class this week. Will you do it again?

Our homework for tonight is to read.  That's it!  Just read.  There are lots of nights that I ask students to read for homework, but usually there is some type of written response that they have to do as well.  The thing is, if they know they have to do a written assignment that will take ten to fifteen minutes more, how much actual time will they spend reading?

I've been thinking a lot about the ideas from The Book Whisperer and Reading In the Wild by Donalyn Miller.  She makes a good point that so often, kids don't get much time to read.  We are always teaching reading strategies and skills.  We have them responding to literature, so we can be sure they are reading, and understanding what they are reading.  I've done book logs to keep them accountable, but how much actual time do we let them choose what they want to read and just read?

So tonight they are supposed to read, and tomorrow morning I will ask them to record their progress on the Status of the Class form that we added to their reading notebooks today.  We practiced today.  Along with the student form, which I took from the Reading In the Wild, I created a record sheet for me.  I will record just their book title and page number.  I am also interviewing them about the genre.  Rather than going through the entire class each day, I will interview about 1/3 of the class. I did that today, and will touch base with a different group tomorrow.  This is a great time for students to hear about books their friends are reading.  I have 29 students, and trying to get through everyone every time will be too time consuming.  I think kids will lose interest if it takes too long.

The only thing that students have to do besides read, is to have their parents sign the assignment note.  This way parents know what the homework assignment is.  It's a school policy to do homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday night.  I plan to make this same assignment once a week for the next few weeks.  Then I will have a better idea whether it's working, and the kids are really reading.

As far as the Status of the Class is concerned, I don't plan to do it every day, but we will give it a try at least two or three times each week, sometimes in whole group, sometimes in small group.

Do you use reading logs or some sort of written response for reading?  What works for you?

Puzzle Break

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 10:  Share ideas that your classroom uses for brain breaks and/or indoor recess.  (I skipped Day 9, but I will come back to it soon.)

Last week was an entire week of inside recess.  I was hoping the kids would be able to get outside on Friday, but it didn't get as warm as the forecast predicted, and we had freezing rain which turned our playground into an ice skating rink.  Top that off with no specials on Friday, so we took a brain break and got out the jigsaw puzzles.  It fit with our math as well, since we are working on geometry.  Solving jigsaw puzzles is a great time to talk about flips, turns and slides.

My puzzle collection is made up of inexpensive hundred piece puzzles.  It's always interesting to see which kids have experience with solving jigsaw puzzles.  We talk about possible problem solving strategies, like sorting according to color, finding the outside edge first, using the photo on the box to identify key parts of the picture.  Then we work in teams to solve our puzzles.

Some groups had each member work on one section of the puzzle and then they put the sections together. That worked well for the Sponge Bob group.  Poor Patrick Star is missing a piece, as are many of my puzzles.

This time I let the kids pick their puzzle and pick their partners.  It's relaxing, fun, and we are still learning.

Helping Students Become Lifelong Readers

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day 8:  Tell about a professional book that has had an impact on you.

Thanks to a Christmas gift from one of my students, I was able to pick up Donalyn Miller's new book, Reading in the Wild.  I am just fifty pages into it, but already I am finding inspiration.  I wrote in an earlier post about her first book, The Book Whisperer.  I have been trying to provide my students with lots of real reading time, but in dealing with school district mandates, I frequently lose focus and stray from what I know kids really need.

I know that I can teach all common core standards using quality literature, but I'm required to use Houghton Mifflin, Journeys, and I am expected to teach the small readers that go with each story in the anthology.  These readers are not quality literature, and they are BORING!  So I keep trying to balance meeting district requirements, and having my students read real books.  Most of the time, I feel like I'm not doing either very well.

Donalyn reminds us that

Research indicates that time spent reading correlates positively with students' performance on standardized reading tests (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998)

When I was a kid, I read all the time.  The literature I read has been an important foundation for the person I have become.  As an adult, I rarely read just for fun.  I want to renew that love of reading, and I want to develop it in my students.  Already I'm feeling inspired to recommit to the reading workshop model, and make sure my kids are reading engaging literature that they want to read.  Donalyn articulates many of the things I am feeling.

"Our zealous national focus on standardized test performance, often at the expense of meaningful reading instruction and support, has caused us to lose sight of our true obligations regarding children's literacy:  fostering their capacity to lead literate lives."

. . . . . "Clearly, developing life-long reading habits matters not only to the individual but to society in general.  We all benefit when more people read."

Even though I am only fifty pages into this book, I've already found a few ideas that I plan to implement right away.  We have written reading response letters in our reading notebooks, but I love the idea of posting these entries to Edmodo.  My kids already have Edmodo accounts.  We have used them to discuss books, as well as do research.  They are enthusiastic about using Edmodo, so I know they would be eager to post their reading response there.   It's easier for me to access than 29 reading notebooks, and they have a much wider audience.

She also has a form that I'm going to use.  Instead of a reading log, she starts each class with a Status of the Class roll call.  This idea comes from Nancie Atwell's, The Reading Zone.  Students record the title of the book they are reading, the page number they are on, and a one-sentence summary of what is happening in the book.  I really like this idea.

I will write more about Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild as I get farther into it.  January is a month that we do lots of testing.  This book is just the shot in the arm that I need.

Book Shopping Day

My classroom library used to be the favorite hang-out spot in our room.  Unfortunately there was very little reading or even selection of books going on.  Every year I had students who spent large blocks of their independent work time talking while they pretended to be searching for a new book to read.  Not only did they waste their work time, but they disrupted those who were trying to work.  The other issue was that the library was always a mess.

One night, I complained about this problem during a discussion on #4thchat.  If you aren't familiar with #4tchat, it is an online meeting and discussion held every Monday evening on Twitter.  It is made up mostly of fourth grade teachers, and each week has a different topic for discussion.  It takes place 8:00 eastern/7:00 central time.  A few people in my PLN talked about limiting visits to the library and having book shopping times.  I was somewhat skeptical, but I decided to give it a try.

I've been teaching for 27 years, and over the years, I have accumulated a large collection of books.  I used to have them organized in tubs by genre.  The problem was that students had trouble getting them returned to the correct tub, and it had become very disorganized.  I also did not have space for all the tubs.  Instead, I reorganized the books according to fiction and non-fiction, and with the exception of the tubs on the top of the bookcases. I got rid of the tubs and placed the books upright on the shelves.  I also made curtains for the front of the bookcases. The curtains  have a a simple rod pocket on top, and I hang them with an inexpensive tension rod.

When it's time for book shopping, I remove the curtains.  Groups of students have 5 to 10 minutes to look for books they are interested in reading.  We use a pocket chart for our check out system.  Each student has a pocket labeled with their name.  They write down the titles of the books they are borrowing on a 3 x 5 card, and place it in their pocket.

This has worked amazingly well. We have book shopping twice each week, and now when it is their turn to shop, they look for books instead of just hanging out talking.  Not only that, but independent work time is much more productive.  I thank my PLN for this excellent idea.

Confessions of a Clutter Queen

My Christmas gift from my best friend.

It's official!  I will be retiring from the classroom at the end of the next school year.  My application for Early Retirement was voted on and accepted by the school board last night.  I have been teaching at the same school for the past 24 years, and I have been teaching 4th grade for the past 16.  It may take 517 days for me to clean out my classroom.

Clutter is an issue for me.  Take a look at my desk.  I rarely sit here, so it ends up being a dumping ground for all the papers and other junk that I use throughout the day.  Managing the paperwork, whether it is student papers or district reports can be overwhelming. To be honest though, grading and completing reports in a timely manner has always been an issue for me.  I would so much rather be  planning and creating something new, that I often procrastinate on dealing with paperwork.  I am also slow when it comes to checking papers.  While I see others whip through a stack of papers, it takes me a lot longer to read and think about student work.

What are your secrets for dealing with classroom clutter and paper work?

This is Day 6 of the 20 Day Blogging Challenge:  What is one thing you wish you were better at?

Rubrics for Writing Assessment

One of my favorite tools for assessing writing is a rubric.  The above writing check list hangs in our classroom, and students have a smaller copy in their Writer's Notebooks.  I use this as the framework for our writing rubrics, making adjustments depending on the project.  This checklist covers all the points that I feel are most important.

This week I am holding writing conferences and students are using a rubric to self assess their writing on our December Writing project.  Our writing project is a collection of the pieces we wrote during the month.  While rubrics work well for me, I like them even better when students are using them to think about their own work.  Students are usually much tougher on themselves than I am.   More important, it nudges them to really study their writing.

It may seem wordy and sometimes I do simplify them to just cover the main chategories, Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, Spelling, Sentence Structure.  Other times kids need to have things spelled out explicitly.

I am always on the lookout for a better tool. How do you assess student writing?  What is your favorite assessment tool?

Talking About Books

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day #4:  What's one thing you did with your students that you will or will not do again?

We started back to school on Thursday and Friday, but we are home again today.  It is freezing out there!  It is -12F this morning with a feels like temperature of -37F.  Brrrr!  We are all safer and better off at home.  During the two days we did have back at school, we did some "Book Shopping" in our classroom library, and I held reading conferences with students during small group reading time.  I wanted to find out what reading, students were doing over vacation.  I had students give impromptu book talks to tell others about the books they were reading.  It's a good way for me to assess what kids are doing, and as an added benefit, it lets kids hear about new books they may wish to read in the future.

During the month of December I had students present a more formal book talk to the whole class.  I have been trying to offer my students more choices when possible, so they could choose between three options for presenting their book talk.  They could write a blog post on their Kidblog, and present that to the class.  They could use Keynote on the iPads to create a presentation, or they could make a poster and present that to the class.  I just started using Keynote myself recently, so I modeled it's use by creating slides for math as well as reading activities.  I did that as part of the instruction, and talked about how it worked as I went.

I was very curious to see how many students would choose technology over pencil and paper, or in this case, crayons, markers, and poster board.  As it turned out, the largest group chose the poster, but the second largest group were those who chose Keynote.

Whichever presentation method they chose, they all were required to talk about the basic story elements of characters, plot, conflict, resolution, and theme.  Our first step was to use this form, to organize our thinking. Over the course of the month, 2-3 students presented their book talks each day.  Let me just say, they were awesome!  I was particularly impressed with their use of Keynote.  Students used the iPad camera to add photos of the book cover, photos from the book, and in some cases, drawings they had created from the book.  I had a couple kids, who are often reluctant to share during class discussions, that really took off with this.  It was a great way to hear more about the books the kids are reading.  Since that time I have seen other students reading some of the books that were shared through those book talks. This is a project I will definitely try again.

How do you get kids to talk about the books they are reading?

Favorite Geometry Activities, and I Found Them on Pinterest

Whatever would I do without Pinterest?  It is such a great resource, as well as a great place to organize information.  That is never more true than it is with our Geometry unit.  We do not have an up-to-date math book that reflects the Common Core, so I am constantly looking for resources to utilize when teaching a unit.  I have found so many wonderful ideas on Pinterest, including the one above.

Right before winter vacation my math groups reviewed lines, angles, plain figures and geometric solids using marshmallows, toothpicks and pretzels. Needless to say, the kids loved it, and they got to eat their math when they were done.  It was the first day that kids would rather be in my math small group than working with the iPads. I found the idea here.  We discovered that the toothpicks worked a lot better than the pretzel sticks, but they are not as tasty.

Another idea I found was this art activity for symmetry.  It was also a good opportunity to talk about how to hold the ruler to draw a straight line, as well as using it for measurement.  I find that fourth graders do not always know how to do this well.  You can see the original idea here.

There is so much new vocabulary connected with Geometry, so anchor charts are very useful.  I also have my students create foldables to keep in their math notebooks.  I have found many great ideas for both on Pinterest.  I created a Geometry board on Pinterest, which makes it easy for me to share these resources with my colleagues.  All I have to do is send them the link to my board.  Here is a link to my Geometry Board.



 We started back to school on Thursday, and now we are working on area and perimeter.  No matter how much we practice, the kids still get confused about which formula they need to use.  This video has a catchy tune that helps them keep it straight.

Next week we will get another chance to eat our math, when we use Cheese Its for area and perimeter. Another clever idea that I found on Pinterest!

Using Wibki to Organize Shortcuts

People often tease me about all the shortcuts I have sitting out on my desktop.  I found a solution to that problem recently when I started using www.wibki.com.  Wibki is a great way to organize shortcuts to the websites you use most often.  You can sort them according to subject by setting up multiple pages.  The real advantage is that is very easy to set up.  Now I can easily access websites I need from any computer, whether it is at home or at work.  No more wasted time trying to find the shortcut among all the ones I have saved on delicious.


It has worked so well for me personally, that I have now set up a separate account for my students. We have 9 laptops in our classroom. In the past I either set up shortcuts on the desktop of each computer, or on one of the wikis we use.    Now instead of running around to each computer to set up multiple shortcuts, I only need one for Wibki.  When I want to add shortcuts, I just do it once, and it shows up for everyone.  This lets my students have much easier access to the websites that I want them to use.

Meeting the Challenge

Every school year I make a vow to blog on a more regular basis.  I usually start out the year well, but before long I am posting less than once a month.  That's why I was excited when I saw the "20 Day Blogging Challenge" on Kelly Hines' blog, In The Trenches.  Even if it takes me two months to accomplish, I will be way ahead of where I am now.  So here I am on New Year's Day, hanging out at Caribou Coffee, writing my first post.

Day One:  Tell about a favorite book to share or teach.  Provide at least one example of an extension or cross curricular lesson.

We start back to school tomorrow.  Right before winter vacation we finished reading The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Spear.  This is definitely one of my favorite books.  Tomorrow we will begin reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I love these books, but I only do the first one with the class.  When I choose a book for read aloud, I usually look for books that are part of a series or by a great writer.  When I am sharing a book with the class, students look for additional copies and other books by the author in our classroom or school library.  It is one of the best ways to hook a child into wanting to read.

Key for me is great character development, and a well crafted plot.  The Harry Potter books definitely have this going for it.  The first time I ever read this to a class, I remember that when I would reach for the book, students would hush each other with "Sssshhh!  She's going to read."  I had one little guy in my class who asked his grandma to buy him the second book in the series,  "The Chamber of Secrets".  I know this boy had never asked for a book in his life, but he loved these books.  All year he kept that book on the corner of his desk, pulling it out to read when he had time.  The Harry Potter books are magic!  What teacher wouldn't like that?

One problem I do have when I read the Harry Potter books is that I often have a student who is not allowed to hear them, due to religious reasons.  When that happens I just pull out one of my other books on tape for them to listen to in the hall.

I like to focus on the character development.  It is a great opportunity to discuss character traits and how we can identify those traits by the the things the character does and says.  Sometimes I have students take notes as we go.  Here is a document I may use.  Feel free to use it if you wish.

I love the way J. K. Rowling uses language.  Character names reveal a lot about them.  I always like to do a lesson about how the author names some of the characters and the text books that the students use. We talk about meaningful parts of words.   A perfect example is the villain Voldemort.  My high school French helped me to identify that "mort" means death.  I point out words in English like mortuary and mortgage.  We used the dictionary to look up vol and found volition which can mean power.  Voldemort = power of death.  Is that how Rowling came up with the name?  I don't know, but I find it very interesting.

l have these books on tape.  I love hearing them read by this wonderful actor and reader.  If you have never read the Harry Potter books, give them a try.  The movies do not do it justice.