2 Types of Readers

When I reflect on my years as a classroom teacher, I think about my students as individual learners. I spent a lot of time reflecting about teaching and learning this summer. It became clear to me that 2 types of readers have passed through my life.

The 2 types include those who get lost in books and those who read until the timer goes off.  In fact, the two different types of readers are represented in my own house as well.

My daughter read over 100 books in 6th grade last year.  Big books.  She has her nose in a book while she walks around the house.  I frequently find her reading under the covers with a flashlight long after her bedtime.  She has stacks and stacks of books waiting to be read in her room and frequently runs out of things to read.

My 9 year old son is a good reader, but he reads approximately 25 - 30 pages a day with a timer in his hand. When the timer goes off, he happily drops the book.  He won't pick up another book until I remind him about what research says about summer lag the next day.

This summer, I'm collaborating with some of our 5th and 6th grade teachers and our Instructional Support Team to re-read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  I have read this book six times and each time it leaves me reflecting on different ways to reach our young readers.

The first step for me (although I'll admit that it is painful) is accepting the fact that not all readers are born with a natural love for books.  The second step as a teacher (and a mom) is to let what we know about the reader and the books they choose "whisper" (as Donalyn Miller says) to us so we can support them as readers.  The third step is to never give up hope.

I'm hopeful that my son will soon fall in love with a series or genre so much so that he no longer feels the need to read for only 20 or 30 minutes. Until then, I'll keep modeling a love for reading.  I'll keep exposing him to different authors, genres and series.  Most importantly, I'll let the choices he makes whisper to me so I can support him even if it is for only 25 - 30 pages a day (for now).

Zoohoo

Zoohoo!  Doesn't that sound like a good name for an app or a game or a book?  It's really just a combination of "zoo" and "boohoo"...because it's taken me a whole month to get to this post about the activities we did to prepare for the zoo trip in my classroom.  Better late than never...

We finished our animal research projects the week prior to all this zoo themed business.  I like the students to wrap those up just in case we need to consult an "expert" during our zoo themed activities.  You can read my previous post about our animal research books here. My students design their own covers, but we use my Animal Research Book format.

We started out the week by reading Animal Action by Karen Pandell and Art Wolfe.  This book is a great way to review verbs.  It also served as a mentor text for our writer's workshop mini lessons.

At the writing workstation, my students listened to a book called How to Ride a Giraffe.  I recorded the story on one of our iPads and put the link on our classroom Edmodo account.  That makes it easy for my students to find the link to the story and the directions for their writing work all in one place (without disturbing me while I work with small groups for reading instruction).  Their assigned task for this particular week was to write their own how to story after listening to the story.

We also read Giraffe's Can't Dance and the children created their own giraffe.  

I do this art project every year and I absolutely love how their giraffes turn out.  I call it a "get a frame for this one" project!

During writer's workshop, we worked on a sentence expansion activity.  Toward the end of the year, my students began to suffer from "I'm done syndrome"  during writer's workshop.  I decided it might help if we worked on editing and revising another writer's work, rather than our own for a bit.

My school subscribes to Reading A to Z.  I used one of the level AA books as a springboard for this project.  The book we used is called The Zoo.  I explained to the children that the author wrote the simple repetitive text in this book with the specific purpose of helping beginning readers build confidence, practice the sight word "the" and use the picture clues to help them identify the unknown word on each page.  The text on each page follows the pattern "The lion.", "The tiger.", "The elephant." and so on.

Using a book with a simple repetitive text pattern allowed us to practice different skills throughout the week.

Day 1 - adding a verb on each page (using the Animal Action book as a model for choosing interesting verbs)
*example:  The lion stalks

Day 2 - adding an adjective on each page to describe the animal
*example:  The sneaky lion stalks

Day 3 -  expanding each sentence to add details to answer the questions who, where and when
*example:  At sunrise, the sneaky lion stalks his prey at the edge of the woods.

Day 4 - add an introduction to the story

Day 5 - add a conclusion to the story

Day 6 - change the title to make your reader want to read the story

When they were done with each of these steps, they were ready to write a final draft of their story so it could be published in time to be on display with their animal research books for our Ice Cream Social/Showcase.

And...if you follow me on Instagram you already saw how excited I was for school to be out for the summer!  No sad goodbyes for me this year, because I'm looping to 2nd grade with my class!

School's out for summer!

pictured in this photo: my teaching BFF's

FYI - I'm sitting on the couch to write this post!  I.NEVER.SIT.ON.THE.COUCH from when school starts all the way to June.  PEOPLE - I'm sitting on the couch with my feet up!!!  Oh happy day!

Summer is in Sight!

It's the time of the year when things are wrappin' up...

We went on our zoo field trip last week.  On Thursday, my students hosted a Grandparent Tea Party!  I'll be posting about that soon.  It was adorable!  Next, we're gearin' up for field day and our ice cream social.  In between all that, I need to keep these kiddos on task!

My students are working on writing activities from my Get Ready for Summer Writing and Drawing Activities.  Everyone loves to make plans for summer vacation, right?

My friend, Emily, is a retired teacher.  She volunteers in my classroom on a regular basis and I am incredibly grateful that she has gifted so much time to me and my students over the years.  You can read a previous post about her here.  I am truly lucky!

Emily visited yesterday and she helped me prepare my summer packets for the children.  I always send summer work home.  Luckily, most of my students usually do it (and stop by to show me when they head of to 2nd grade). This year, I'll be their 2nd grade teacher since I'm looping with my class.  So, I'm planning a surprise to celebrate the completion of their summer work.

If you need a summer packet to send home with your students or to use for tutoring this summer, you can check out my pack by clicking on the image below.

Our Sharing My Writing Books are also bound and ready to be on display for our Ice Cream Social!  The Sharing My Writing Book pages are completed at home (but they can be used in the classroom).  My students are motivated to write about different topics each month and then they share their work with the class. For my students, this is a good opportunity to practice writing at home.  It's also an eye opener for many parents about encouraging their child to write using good sentences, punctuation, interesting words and details in their illustrations.

This weekend, I need to focus on my end of year gifts for students and volunteers.  I'll do that in between baseball, bike rides, the Memorial Day parade and report cards.

Photos from Camp Read a Lot

My students went to Camp Read a Lot again this year!  

I'm packing this post with photos.

If you want to read more about Camp Read a Lot, you can visit my previous posts (which can be found in my sidebar under Camp Read a Lot).  I host Camp Read a Lot in March, but it also makes a fun end of the year activity.

Welcome to Camp Read a Lot!

Parent volunteers work at the registration desk on the first day of camp.

one of our teepees and one of our campfires (outside the room)

Keepin' it simple with 3 rules.

I only have 3 for my classroom as well (be kind, work hard, have fun).

The campfire in our meeting area.

Camping Graph (pieces included in my Camp Read a Lot pack)

Campfire Stories

one of our camp crafts

Each day of camp we had lots of letters (from parents and staff).

Campfire cupcakes

Seriously, how cute are these? 

My parents ROCK!

Read Under the Stars (one of the daily themes for camp)

The resources I use for Camp Read a Lot and more ideas about the crafts, daily themes, literacy activities and a list of books that I use are included in my Camp Read a Lot pack.

Camp Read a Lot was a huge success again this year!

And...this camp director is glad she pulled off another week at camp.

It was so worth it!

Pen Pal Letters

A few days ago, I mentioned that I would be posting about my summer pen pals.

At the end of each school year, I give each student an envelope and invite them to be my pen pal over the summer. The envelope is for their first letter to me. I put a label on it with my address and attach a little note to explain this writing opportunity to their parents.

Last summer, I received 27 letters from my students. Not every student wrote to me, but many of the ones who wrote sent more than one letter over the summer. I promise the children that I will write back to them each time they write to me (and I send stickers for them with every letter). Some children use a letter writing form that I included in their summer packet. 

 We just finished school on June 7. So far, I've received 5 letters from my class. This one made me cry...so sweet!

Emma moved to our school (from another state) on my birthday. We immediately decided she was my "birthday present" and what an amazing little birthday present she turned out to be! I miss seeing her face each morning too. 

 I am enjoying these summer days though. I woke up early and went for a quiet run (hooray for me). Then my family started the day at our swim club with trampoline lessons for both kids and swimming lessons for our little guy. Then we had a picnic and I took a nap. Then it was off to dance class for my daughter. This evening, we squeezed in a family bike ride and a long dog walk. The weather is beautiful here this week. I am so grateful for this time to be with my family. Life is good! 

 Happy summer to all of you!
 

Krazy Kool Summer (freebie)

I'm just now finding time to share about the last couple days of school. I'm not sure why, but I've had kind of a hard time "winding down" so far this summer. Believe me, we've been enjoying riding around town with the top off the new Jeep, get togethers with friends and days by the pool...but it just has not really settled in yet. 

 During the craziness of the last few days with my super nice class, I finished the class slideshow (500+ pictures) and burned a CD for each student.

To encourage writing practice over the summer, I give each student an envelope with my address and invite them to write to me. I will be doing another post about my pen pal experiences in the next few days, but here is a pic of the envelopes.  I make sure I give them at least one envelope with my address already on it and a note that tells their parents about being my pen pal.

I also give my students a summer packet of work to do over the summer months. Each student takes home their packet in one of these large envelopes. 

 If you wish to checkout my summer packet, please click on the image below.  It includes a variety of summer reading and writing practice activities (summer reading log, nouns, verbs, adjectives, writing prompts, summer poetry, informational text,etc).  I send my packet home with students, but you could use this packet for tutoring as well.  I also include some math work in the envelopes for my students, but the pages I give them are from one of our math programs.

And just for fun, I gave my students a fancy straw and a package of Koolaid.  I was surprised to learn that most of my students had not tried Koolaid before (and alarmed when one of them tore open the package and tried to eat the powder like candy).  Oops.

There are several versions of a label to go with these floating around out there, but you can click on the image below to grab a copy of  my version if you need one for the future.

Death Row Brownies

I probably should have titled this post "GOODBYE Death Row Brownies"! For some reason, my husband and I had a conversation a few years ago about what our last meal would be if we were on death row. To be clear, neither of us has plans to be on death row...ever. But, we have our final meal menus ready just in case. 

My menu only has two items...

Yum!  I call them gas station brownies, because you can buy them at almost any gas station in America (you just have to check for freshness).  When the news broke that Hostess was going out of business, I nearly had a heart attack...until I remembered that my death row brownies were made by Little Debbie.  I've talked about my love of Dt. Dew so many times before that I'm sure you are not surprised that it made my menu.

Today, on a regular Wednesday...I must throw away my Death Row Brownies. 
 Yes, I will. 
 I can do it. 
 During the school year, my fitness plan is more like a survival plan. It includes random 2 mile runs (every few months), daily dog walks (which don't seem to be very helpful in terms of weight control for me) and an abnormal amount of death row brownies (and Swedish Fish and maybe some other stuff). 

I'm turning 40 this year. I'm on an upward slope - on the scale. This can not go on. Now that I finally finished school, I'm back on my summer workout plan (which includes 3 mile runs at least 3 times a week and lots of dog walks and bike rides in between. Still, I must say goodbye to my Death Row Brownies. Booo! 

 Off to run. Then tomorrow (when the detox sets in) I will follow this plan (thank you, Pinterest) for my "off days".   I linked it to the blog that Pinterest links it to, but I can't seem to find it on her blog.

I will survive without brownies and Swedish Fish in my life, right? Please don't suggest that I should give up the Dt. Dew too. I only drink one a day (unless we have a staff meeting) and I just can't do without that for now. Pathetic, but true? 

Just in case you are wondering, my husbands menu includes only one item (in mass quantities).  If he had to choose a last meal his meal would consist of Bezeau ribs (no need to google it, they are ribs made by our friends).  Wouldn't it be a nice compliment if someone chose your cooking for their last meal?  Considering my cooking skills, it would be a miracle.

Anyone else working on a fitness plan this summer?  I might need a support group.

Kitchen Makeover and Money Clipart

On day 2 of our summer vacation, my husband (also a teacher) and I decided to remodel our kitchen. I guess he was bored already and I jumped at the chance to freshen up our not so lovely kitchen. We just moved into this house in March and we planned to wait a few years to redo the kitchen...but patience is not a strength for either of us.

As promised, I thought I'd share some pictures. Here is the before...

We decided not to spend a lot of money on this kitchen (like we did at the last house), because painting our "older" cabinets would save us enough for 3 family vacations.  We are pretty simple people.  We usually prefer neutral decor, but we went "wild" and painted the cabinets blue (which we affectionately refer to as Smurf blue...it's really an antique blue). We did all of the work, except the granite installation ourselves.  My husband is the king of bargain shopping when it comes to appliances and house stuff.  I've always wanted a farmhouse sink, but didn't want to break my budget with one item.  Luck for me, Mr. Bargain Shopper found a farmhouse sink for me on craigs list.  We are waiting on some drawer pulls that are on back order and I bought fabric to make curtains (but have not started that yet).

I've also always wanted a big farm table for our kitchen.  Our new house has a really long skinny spot (in front of a fireplace) for the kitchen table.  As soon as I saw the spot, I knew it was perfect for a farm house table.  I thought I'd have to wait 5 years to save up enough money to buy one (remember, we're both teachers).  :)  Lucky for me...my handy husband rocks!  I love him...see below.

One more picture...  Last night, a few of my best teacher friends came over to see our new house.  It was so much fun to just talk, laugh and visit.  I think I forgot to ask them for permission to post this picture...but since we're close friends I'm sure they assumed that I would.  It was dark outside by the time we got around to having my daughter take this pic.

Don't we look happy and relaxed?  (from left)

Jenny (2nd grade teacher who teaches next door - famous for her love of beagles, running mileage and patriotic concert)
me (so grateful for the time with these friends)
Emily (retired teacher who comes 1 time a week and spends the WHOLE day helping me - Thank you, Emily!)
Cari (retired teacher who donated an entire Jeep Commander full of prized teaching possessions to me when she retired)
Kathy (BTF best teaching friend - famous for loving power tools, collecting antiques and her decorating talents)
black fur ball - Kalli our youngest goldendoodle (famous for needing attention 24/7)
golden fur ball - Daisy our oldest goldendoodle  (famous for her doodle hugs)

One more thing for this random post...  money clipart.  I'm looking for money clipart that has realistic pictures of the coins.  It would have to be clipart that I could use to make freebies and products to sell in my online stores.  I can't seem to find any that look real.  Anyone know of a good resource?

Tomorrow...my progress on the craft room clean up project will be revealed.

Get Ready for Summer Reading and Writing

It's time to get ready for summer! In my classroom, we are working on our memory books and I'm keeping the little rascals motivated to keep working with some end of the year writing activities. I am so proud of their ability to stay focused (while I dream of sleeping in and taking long bike rides with my family).

Here is the link to my memory book. You can find it in my Tpt store by clicking on the image below. It is also in my Teachers Notebook shop.

I also made a packet last year which is specifically designed to help me keep my students writing (busy) during the last few weeks of school. Most of the activities could also be used as summer writing/drawing activities. You can click on the image below if you'd like to check it out.

And...if you need a packet to send home for kids to work on over the summer. I also have Summer Reading and Writing for Home pack in both shops. It includes a summer reading log, lots of reading response pages and writing activities that will (hopefully) motivate your students to keep writing during the summer months. You can click on the image below to check it out.