Non-Fiction Reading Skills

I am teaching non-fiction reading more than I ever have before. My students enjoy learning about real problems, animals, disasters, historic events, and facts. Curriculum that taught how to read non-fiction lacks skill practice. Therefore I have created skill practice activities and assessments!

The first skill I teach is how to identify the types of text structure. I created a simple video to introduce this to my students. I relate it both to reading and writing. Check it out HERE. 

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The next skill we work on is main idea and supporting details. We work on locating the main idea first and then we hunt for details to match the main idea. After that We do a few activities to practice this skill too!

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The last skill we work on is how to make inferences using non-fiction text. We read several passages together first and then practice independently with a game of scoot. 

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Non-Fiction Text Structure

STEM gifts for Christmas

These are a few of my favorite things....
This time of year, I am often asked by parents about what I have been putting in my stem station boxes. Here are some of the materials we use to build and create in third grade! They are great items for indoor recess too!

• Emido Building Blocks
• Plus Plus Blocks
• Pattern Blocks
• Dominos
• Peradix Bendable Molding Sticks
• Tumble Trak Magnetic Marble Run
• Wooden Tangram

There are more below I would recommend too that I do not have yet in my classroom.

• Bloxels
• Interlocking building set
• Jarbey stem Flowers
• Building Gears
• Magnetic Tiles
• Magnetic building set
• Star Cube

Each month I try to incorporate one stem activity on a Friday. Here are some of the options I have for the month of December. They are LOW PREP and provide good collaborate conversations! Check out the fun activities below. 

Take a closer look

Take a closer look

Take a closer look

Seasonal Activity Stations

I often am asked, what do you do to honor or celebrate this holiday or this event in history? Over the last couple of years my answer has been changing from bingo games and crafts to STEM or STEAM activities. This last year I committed to making 9 months worth of STEM activities, crack the code puzzles, graphing, and writing craftivities in monthly bundles called: STEM Activities and MORE! 

February STEM here

March STEM here

April STEM here

May STEM here

September STEM here

October STEM here

November STEM here

December STEM here

Getting Grammar Back into Daily Teaching

Grammar has been one of those forgotten subjects since I entered in the teaching field in 2006. Writing workshop, Math workshop, Reading workshop has been the trend and while they offer differentiated lessons, it has taken up some valuable time slots. One of those time slots for me has been grammar.

So....why now? Well, it is important! Have you read emails that do not have a capitalized "I" when it stands alone? Have you seen missing commas or the wrong end punctuation too?

Grammar is a skill that needs to be mastered!

HOW? I will tell you in just 15 short minutes 4 days per week, that is how. Here is the process I took.

First- I read the common core standards. You can find them HERE if you need a shortcut.

Next- I broke up the items that needed to be taught into 4 big chunks since our report cards happen 4 times a year.

• Quarter 1- Noun, Verbs, Simple Sentences, and Adjectives

• Quarter 2-Subject/verb agreement, Pronouns, Prepositions, and Adverbs

• Quarter 3- Coordinating/Subordinating Conjunctions and Compound sentences

• Quarter 4- Complex, Compound, and Simple Sentences 

Then- I found and created handouts with assessments for each skill. I usually spend a week on a skill and then I find a mentor sentence to go with that skill. The week of the mentor sentence we will do a "What do I notice or wonder about?" followed up labeling each part of speech we have learned, then revise the sentence with the skill we are learning, and finally imitate the sentence on our own and share. 

For Example:

Skill week:

Day 1- What is a verb? Identify verbs both regular and irregular

Day 2- Linking verbs vs Action verbs

Day 3- Vivid verbs vs boring verbs

Day 4- Identify verbs together in sentences and choose two boring verbs and make them more vivid in a sentence

Mentor Sentence week:

Day 1- Read "Come on, Rain" and put our thumb up when we hear our mentor sentence. Read it together and paste in our notebooks.

Day 2- Identify all the parts of speech in our sentence: The first drops plop down big, making dust dance all around us!

Day 3- Revise the sentence changing "plop" and "dance."

Day 4- Create our own sentences using vivid verb word list.

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Coming soon!

3 must haves for personal narrative writing

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When I started my career in teaching, writing workshop was all the rage! Teachers were excited about getting to know their students using the workshop model. I quickly learned that the lessons in these units were good ones, but could use places for reinforcement. Below I have listed the 3 MUST HAVES for PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING.

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Teaching Personal Narrative is one of my favorite units because I get to see into the lives of my students. We start out the year sharing about our summer vacations and generating ideas together. Then I begin with a MUST HAVE ACTIVITY NUMBER ONE an important lesson that compliments any personal narrative curriculum I have ever used called: “Watermelon verses Seed” topics. We go through topics that had been shared about our summers and I explain which ones are TOO BIG “Watermelon” sized and which ones are JUST RIGHT “Seed Moments.” Then students practice the idea using the sort activity below.

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CLICK HERE FOR MORE OF A DESCRIPTION

Once we have our drafts done, students begin the revision process. This is when I break out MUST HAVE ACTIVITY NUMBER TWO that again complements any personal narrative unit I have ever taught. It is called “Show not Tell” Scoot. You can also use this as example cards in a whole group discussion. I post these around the room and students read each one. Then the record their answers on the “Scoot” recording sheet.

Finally when we are in the editing stage of writing, I break out MUST HAVE ACTIVITY NUMBER THREE, and you guessed it, that complements any personal narrative unit I have every used. This activity is called “CHANGING PARAGRAPHS.” This activity has 5 examples of personal narrative writing that needs to be edited for paragraphing. Students learn all the reasons why they need to paragraph. Then they take the examples and place paragraph symbols into the places that need editing. After discussing these changes together, students learn when and how to place paragraphs into their writing.

Back to School STEM Activities and More

I love starting the year off with STEM challenges! Not only do they allow me to see how my students work in groups or teams, I can see their personalities shine through when given a challenge!

I have created a Back to School Stem Activities and more pack so you can hit the ground running right when you go back. Check it out below. 

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There are 3 choices for you to choose from when inside this pack. Appropriate for grade levels K-5. 

STEM challenge #1: Design a Desk

Stem challenge #2: Build a Bridge

Stem Challenge #3: Apple Drop

Graphing Skills with Back to School items has also been included in this pack for you to use in math centers, morning work, or as a filler. 

Writing Craftivity can be done with or without the people. I used card stock so that it would stay durable to hang the bulletin board. The prompt shown below is one where the students can introduce themselves. Prompts included are:

• Describe an activity you did over the summer
• Describe how you get ready for school.
• My name is _______________ (To introduce themselves)

The last thing included in this pack is "Crack the Code." These have been organized into 3 different levels (K--1,2-3,4-5). Each activity answers a joke.

Back to School Postcards

Who doesn't love getting snail mail?  Two weeks ago I got an email telling me that my class list was ready! I logged into our school-wide site to see the names of all my new third graders for this upcoming school year! Looking at the  class list in my hand was exciting… 

Do you all feel this excited too?

I wanted to make postcards to send out to them… so I came up with these. 

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Includes 4 different designs for the cover.

These are editable and pre-made to make the process simple for a friendly note on the back.

A great way to make everyone a part of the class right from the start. 

FB: Christian School Teachers

I am excited to announce that I have created a Facebook group for Christian School Teachers! This group has been created for you to connect with other Christian School Teachers. It is my hope that we will all be able to share ideas, thoughts, and activities that promote learning from a Biblical perspective. Interested? CLICK HERE!

How to Fight Summer Backslide in your Kids

Are you looking for some ways to keep your students or children learning this summer? In the summer, it is good to switch up the routine a little bit and have a good stretch of relaxing. However, as a mom, I do not like seeing my four kiddos lying around playing video games all day each day! I also find a bit of structure is needed. So, I have a list of things my kids do each day. I find that giving them responsibility makes our summer go much smoother. I also find that having some structure and routine prevents my kids from the infamous summer backslide. No one wants to see their children forget the hard work they have just learned in reading, writing, math, and language. 

Here is how I add in structure a bit to our day

Today I want to share with you some ways to fight the summer backslide. 

1. A Summer Review

I decided two summers ago that I wanted my children to have some sort of daily review of the skills that they had worked on all year in school. I wanted a short (no more than 10-15 minutes) worksheet. So I went ahead and created my own "Summer to Third" and "Summer to Fourth" packs. The entire packet is available to you. 

2. A Summer Reading Program

There are tons of great opportunities to keep you kids reading in your community. The easiest place to start is your local library. My kids and I try to go at least every other week. We have also discovered audio books. This has been great for my older ones who enjoy listening to reading. 

If your local library does not have a summer reading program and you are near Barnes and Noble, there is another option for you. Bookadventure.com has an amazing free program. It is available all year long, however, we mostly use it in the summer. 

3. Fun Educational Trips

Taking into account your children's interests and ages, you can give your children some amazing educational experiences. Check out local museums, library education programs, zoos, aquariums, or explore nature near your local parks. There are so many opportunities out there to keep our kids learning and still have fun!