CREATING GOOD GROUP HABITS

Hey Book Club Kids!

      Today is Monday, January 24, 2011.  Last week two rotations sat down after a TRIBES activity and wrote out these ideas for what we need for a great book club.  I'm going to mention this a few times so everyone understands this: I DID NOT SAY ANY OF THESE!!!  I want you all to understand that these anchor charts were created by 5th graders.  Your teachers had nothing to do with it.  This tells me that you all know how to treat each other in a group.  This tells me that all of you, as 5th grade readers, know what it will take to make our BOOK CLUBS successful. 

      Today in your groups you will be setting up your own good habits and ground rules.  You have four jobs to put in writing.  First, you need to talk about and write down 4 rules/agreements your book club will have to follow (BIG PAPER).  Second, each group will have to decide what would be appropriate action if a member isn't following a particular guideline (BIG PAPER).  How do you get someone to change their behavior?  What will you ask people to change if they aren't contributing what the group needs?  Third, post your 4 rules/agreements on the blog for me to approve.  Each group will also have to post the actions steps for a member that does not follow the guidelines.  And finally, respond to another group's agreements.  Give one other book club in the class your thoughts on the rules/agreements they came up with.

1. Make the agreements.

2. Make the consequences for poor choices.

3. Post on the blog. (Include your book club names.)

4. Respond to another book club.

Have fun with your groups.  You will be with them for the next few weeks. 

Sincerely,

C

P.S. Take your time.  Do your best and forget the rest!

ASKING Beyond the Book Questions...

Hello Couragious Questioners,

      Today is Wednesday, January 19, 2011.  Today is the last day we will be spending on BEYOND THE BOOK questions.  I'm hoping by now you all are beginning to understand what a BEYOND THE BOOK question is.  Remember, good questions lead to more questions. 

      To wrap this type of questioning up we will be using another type of graphic organizer.  It is a Q-A-S.  It stands for Question-Answer-Strategy.  Not only do we have to think about the types of questions we are asking, but we also have to think about what type of thinking is going to answer the questions.  These are our strategies.  Good readers have to stop and think when their questions are answered.  Good readers have to recognize that not all questions are answered when we read. 

      Think back to our anchor chart on QUESTIONS... 

The strategies we thought about as a class are on this chart.  These are the items that go in the "S" column of our new graphic organizer. 

Also remember, good questions lead to inquiry.  Questions give us a purpose for reading.  You may ask questions any time in the process of reading (PRE, DURING, POST)








Sincerely,
C
P.S.  Getting things done is not always what is most important. There is value in allowing others to learn, even if the task is not accomplished as quickly, efficiently or effectively." - R.D. Clyde

Take your time. Do your best and forget the rest.

TEXT CODES... No, not that kind of texting!

Hola mis alumnos!

      Today is Thursday, January 13, 2011.  You have heard me say before that good readers INTERACT WITH TEXT.  Good readers interact with text just like having a conversation with the author.  As we interact with text, we need to leave tracks of thinking.  This makes our thinking visible.  It brings it to real life. 

       Think about the tracks animals leave in the snow or the mud.  You can't see the animal.  You can't even touch the animal, but you know it has been there from the tracks it's left.  Readers need to leave tracks so that other readers and teachers can see the thinking.  Thoughts are invisible unless you leave tracks that they have been there. 

      Here is how we are going to start to leave tracks...

L          Q or ?         !        

That's it.  Have fun! 

Wait, I haven't told you what those tracks mean.  Silly Mr. C! 
L   new learning(At times this will be the answer to our questions.)
Q or ?  questions we have(These are the things that go on our Q and A forms.)
!  exciting or surprising information(These are very similar to the L, but they could be just random facts that surprised us.)

Tracks like these hold our thinking so we can come back later to see it.  If you are reading an article that is yours you can write these TEXT CODES right on it.  If you are reading a book that isn't yours feel free to use a post-it.  Have fun interacting with text and leaving tracks. 

Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest!

     

QUESTION WEBS??

Howdy Crafty Kids!!

      Since we have come back from winter break we have been thinking deeply about QUESTIONS.  We have found there are many kinds of questions.  Some questions ask for facts in the story.  Some questions require you to use your SCHEMA(background knowledge).  The questions that we are really trying hard to learn are the DISCUSSION DIRECTOR questions.  DIVERGENT QUESTIONS.

      DIVERGENT QUESTIONS ask for feelings and opinions.  Discussion Director Questions use words like...

What do you think about...?                                                                     
How would you feel if...?
What would you do if you...?
"mean to you..."
"Why do you think...?"

      There is a graphic organizer good readers sometimes use to show thinking about a question.  It's called a question web.  Here is a picture of one. 

Take a look at this!

What are some things you notice?

Where is the question?

What do you see all around that thing in the middle?


Let's try doing some of these today as we read.  I looked over some of the questions in your 3-2-1's from Wednesday.  You also have questions on your discussion director sheets, your blog posts, and on post-its.  Let's see if we can use some of those questions to make an INQUIRY CIRCLE QUESTION WEB.  Have fun collaborating with your group and reading. 

Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the REST!!







    

"BOOK CLUB CHOICES"

Hey Kiddies,

      Here is where you post all your choices for the Book Clubs.  Remember, you need two other people to choose the same book you want.  There must be at least three kids in order to make a Book Club.  See ya tomorrow.

Here is the list so far...
Narnia
Harry Potter
The Fighting Ground
Goosebumps
Chocolate Touch
Fablehaven
The Ranger's Apprentice
Dear Dumb Diary
Maniac Magee
The Hobbit
Warriors (The original series)
Percy Jackson Series
Alex Rider
Scat
Artemis Fowl
Ga'Hoole Series
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Fudge
Animal Ark
Inkheart, Inkspell
The Lost Hero
The Red Pyramid
39 Clues
(ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS)

Yours Truly,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand. 
Do your best and forget the rest. 

Thursday! Thursday! Thursday!

Hello everyone!

      Today is Thursday, January 6, 2011.  We will be jumping on the blog today to share some of our DISCUSSION DIRECTOR QUESTIONS.  Your homework the past few nights was to read and think about questions.  The questions you have written will be your blog post for the day/week.  Let's check out this Brainpop on BLOGS.

 http://www.brainpop.com/technology/computersandinternet/blogs/

      Questions are sometimes hard for 5th graders.  Sometimes questions come right from the book.  Answers to those questions can be found right in the text.  Questions that ask you for feelings and opinions take a little more thinking.  These are DISCUSSION DIRECTOR QUESTIONS that get people talking. 

      We will be starting Book Clubs soon, and this is why we are spending so much time talking and thinking about questions.  Book Clubs are kind of like literature circles except everyone is reading the same book in Book Clubs.  We will be discussing some choices to wrap up our class today.  Let me know what you think of these choices:
Narnia
Harry Potter
The Fighting Ground
Goosebumps
Chocolate Touch
Fablehaven
The Ranger's Apprentice
Dear Dumb Diary
Maniac Magee
The Hobbit
Warriors (The original series)
Percy Jackson Series
Alex Rider
Scat
Artemis Fowl
Ga'Hoole Series
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Fudge
Animal Ark
Inkheart, Inkspell
The Lost Hero
The Red Pyramid
39 Clues
(ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS)

Sincerely,
C
P.S. You know what to say...

Flingers!!!

Hello loquacious learners!!

      Today is Wednesday, January 5, 2011.  How many of you remember what a KWL is?  K is for Know: what you already know, SCHEMA.  W is for Want: what you want to know or questions you have, CURIOUSITY.  L is for learned: what you learned after reading, watching, listening, or sharing information.  Well, today we are going to do something similar.  It is called a 3-2-1.

      A 3-2-1 focuses our attention on things WE as good readers want to hang on to and remember.  It increases our schema(background knowledge).  A 3-2-1 can also help you expand your vocabulary if you include words you come across that you don't recognize. 

      As we read today you will be showing your thinking.  Record things that stand out to you.  At the end of class we will wrap up with a 3-2-1, and send you on your way. Think back to our TEACHING POINT when our parents visited...
TEACHING POINT #3  Good readers don't need end-of-the-chapter questions or worksheets.  Good readers ask their own questions and take their own notes (graphic organizers).

Homework: I gave you quite a bit the last two days.  You have a break tonight.  No homework other than reading.   
Have fun reading and watching.  Check this out!!
http://www.brainpop.com/technology/simplemachines/levers/

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=E61D6841-5202-4E92-91FB-397F3EA70B99
Sincerely,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand. 
Do your best and forget the rest!!

What do you mean "So What?" I thought this was something important!!

Howdy do to all of you!

      Today is Friday, December 17, 2010.  What is "So what?" thinking.  Well, it's a PROCESS.  Oh no there is one of those evil twins again.  We will never escape their grasp!  Epic!  Where have you seen the words "so what" before?  It's on our extended DED's, and it does just that.  "So what" thinking extends and builds our understanding of what we read.

      The past few weeks that we have been reading text like Wolf Girls we have been practicing our "so what" thinking.  Now it's time for the end folks.  We will look at a rubric today that will bring all of our thinking and hard work together.  Use it as a checklist so that you know you completed everything.   

A TEACHING POINT is something a teacher (like me) thinks about when planning learning experiences for students (like you).  I have four today that I thought a lot about to see if they were something I believed as a teacher.  I also asked the question: "Are these teaching points something my 5th graders need to know for their future?" 

TEACHING POINT #1  Good readers use reading, writing, talk, and technology to deepen their understanding of information.
TEACHING POINT #2  Good readers use a variety of ways to think about text.  (Connections, inferences, visualizations, sift and sort, questions)
TEACHING POINT #3  Good readers don't need end-of-the-chapter questions or worksheets.  Good readers ask their own questions and take their own notes (graphic organizers).
TEACHING POINT #4  Good readers reread and return to text to build and extend their knowledge.  This enhances their enjoyment of texts they have read before.

Have fun reading, writing, talking, and using technology today.  You are all good readers. Share your good reading habits with others today.  

Paz Afuera,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.  
DO your best and forget the rest! 

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Howdy do!

      Today is Thursday, December 16, 2010.  It was great to see so many parents and families here to visit.  Today as we revisit wolf girls one of your tasks is to take a third look at your INFERENCES/THEORIES/and HYPOTHESES.  It is your time to reread, self-correct, or clarify confusion you may have.  We have already seen and read the text Wolf Girls.  We have already read other pieces of text that are connected to Wolf Girls as well.  You are always able to revise your inferences based on new information you come across.  I have a great piece of text I was reading last night and this morning that shows what its like to make an educated guess. 
      
Let's look at our learning targets again to give us purpose:
        2c Use comprehension strategies to guide thinking within the text, and beyond the text (schema, connections, questioning, mental images, inferring, determining importance, synthesizing)
        2d Monitor reading by rereading, self-correcting, and clarifying confusion
      The other task I would like you to complete is to go to the blog yourself.  I would like you to read the comments of other 5th graders in the class to see what they are thinking.  After you have found one you would like to respond to, post a comment to that 5th grader.  LEARNING IS SHARED.  Our 5th grade blog is an unbelieveable tool to share thinking, even when we aren't in school.  Have fun reading today, and remember to support your INFERENCES/THEORIES/HYPOTHESES with proof.  

Paz afuera,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest! 

Welcome Parents!

Hey Gnarly Newbies!

      Today is Wednesday, December 15, 2010.  For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at a type of text called EXPOSITORY TEXT.  It's non-fiction text that we use to learn from as we read.  You are going to get a chance to try some out on your own today. 

Our learning targets as we read today are as follows:
          2b I can preview text before reading to set a purpose for reading, generate questions, and locate specific information.
        2c I can use comprehension strategies to guide thinking within the text, and beyond the text (schema, connections, questioning, mental images, inferring, determining importance, synthesizing)
        
      That word in red should be a familiar word by now.  You watched a short video clip during your science rotation yesterday in Mrs. Lamberts rotation.  The video was about AIRPLANE DYNAMICS.  Anything you remember from that video is part of your SCHEMA now.  It is your memory.  Your background knowledge.  We will start today by watching a similar Brainpop video to access that SCHEMA you have stored in your memory. 

      After the Brainpop we will INTERACT WITH TEXT today through the use of a KWL graphic organizer.  I will be coming around with my observation checklist to see the thinking that is going on during your PRE-reading and DURING-reading.  Make sure you are asking questions and checking your understanding.  At the end of our rotation today I hope we save some time for a neat Tribes activity to check our understanding as a class.  Have fun practicing your comprehension strategies.

http://www.brainpop.com/science/motionsforcesandtime/flight/


Yours Truly,
C
P.S. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Do your best and forget the rest!