Friday, November 9, 2012

Sticky Comprehension (main idea freebie)

Today is my birthday.  I'm almost over the hill, but I don't really care about that.  What I do care about is that I love cupcakes and the only thing I want for my birthday is time to snuggle with my own two kids.  

I did get a new student today (birthday present from my principal).  I also woke up with a migraine.  They did not arrive together.  I'm assuming the migraine is the result of the two math meetings we had this week.  The new student is darling and I'm excited to have her in our class! 

During reader's workshop time in our room, we are working on summarizing, describing our favorite part of the story in pictures/words and identifying the main idea. Earlier this week, we read The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown.  It might be illegal to read a scarecrow book after Halloween, but I don't follow that rule (or the blogging only 1 time a day rule or the white shoes/pants/Labor Day old lady rule thing).


After we read the story, each student wrote about their favorite part on a sticky note.  We shared our "sticky thoughts" with a partner and then added them to our "Reading is Thinking" chart for the whole class to read and enjoy.



The next day, we reread the same book to work on the main idea of the story.  I have a big fat file of main idea graphic organizers, but the one below is one that I made a while ago to encourage my students to think, write and talk about the things we read.  You can click on the image below if you'd like to download a copy.  

I'm off to eat something yummy (and horrible for me).  Happy Birthday, to me!  

10 comments:

  1. Happy birthday, hope your day is wonderful.
    Jill

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  2. Happy Birthday!!! Enjoy your yummy foods!
    I got a new student, too. She is a cutie! She came for one day and hasn't been back. Was it something I said???
    I hope your migraine goes away!
    Thanks for sharing!!!

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  3. Happy birthday bloggy friend!!!! I hope it was as wonderful as you are.

    Hope you ate something devilishly scrumptious!

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  4. Happy Birthday Erin! They are so fun. . . but not with a head ache,. . . and not with a new student. . . unless that new student is a great one! ha ha! Hope the rest of your day got happier!
    Patty
    Second In Line

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  5. Hauoli la hanau! Thanks for sharing your fun ideas on your birthday:) I am going to check out that book:)

    Aloha,
    Corinna
    Surfin' Through Second

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  6. Happy birthday and that hill is worth climbing.

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  7. Happy birthday! I just moved farther down the hill on Tues. Told my kids I was 39 again. They made me cards, Happy 39th Birthday:)Love your blog and ideas!

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  8. Hope you had a great birthday, Kimberly! I got a little 8 year old gift from my principal last week, too! Only, it's not my birthday... just a spontaneous present!

    Kate
    EduKate and Inspire

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  9. I love your reading is thinking board...my principal would, too! I have been using sheets such as your main idea form in my listening center. A different story element each week. It is working out great. Thanks for the freebie!

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