Summer Reading List

The Clutter-Free Classroom is having a linky party about Summer Reading (and a give away to go along with it.  I always have a ton of books on my Amazon Wish List, in my book basket, and on my Nook.  This summer I plan on reading the Daily Five book and The Cafe book for the online book study.  I am also doing Primary Inspired book study on Guided Math (and hopefully hosting a chapter here!).  Not all of my summer reading will be professional development though.  Here are more books on my to read list:

        

       

Book Boxes:Yes or No?

I don't know about y'all (yep. I said it. Y'all. I am Southern), but at the end of the year I get in super planning mode.  I keep thinking about all the things I want to do this summer and I want to start them all RIGHT NOW.  I am trying to keep calm and focus on what I need to do-which is back up my entire classroom in preparation for my move down the hall, finish all my end of the year paperwork, and enjoy my kids. 
  That being said, I am considering doing book boxes or book bins next year for my kids.  The room I am moving to is a bit smaller (ok a lot smaller) than my current room and there will not be a lot of storage for students.  My thoughts were to get those book bins or boxes and have students keep their current reading selections in there along with their reading journal, reading folder, and perhaps writing folders.  I have never done book boxes before so I am looking for input.
  My questions to you:
  Have you used book boxes before and how did it go?
What did students keep in them?
What kind works best?  The cardboard or should I spring from the plastic ones?

  Thanks for any input you can give.  I know we are all busy and exhausted but not too much longer!!!

Mystery Case Files

Hello Friends! Today was one of those magical days in teaching for me.  You know the ones where you feel like your lessons went well, you asked good questions, your kids did not look bored one bit?  This success is largely due to Beth Newingham and her amazing idea for Reading Detectives.  My students were so excited to get their case files yesterday! We had already discussed mysteries and the vocabulary such as suspects, crime, and clues.  Once they got their Case Files we were ready to get to work.  Yesterday we simply used them as a station during reading.  For the station, they were to look through their mystery book, examine the front and back covers, and write their predictions about their mystery. 

Today the students got in their detectives groups and discussed their predictions.  We recently made an anchor chart that I found on Pinterest about partner talk so we used that as a guide.

http://independenceinlearning.blogspot.com/2011/12/partner-talk-anchor-chart.html

 After the students discussed their predictions, they read the first chapter of their mystery.  The students choose how they read it- independently or with partners.  I walked around and talked to each group after they completed their chapter.  I asked them what they read about, if they knew the problem in the story yet, if they had any suggestions, how they knew if their character was "nice" or "brave",if they liked their book so for and so on.  I really enjoyed this part of the lesson! They had some great observations and it gave me the opportunity to check for understanding and give them feedback on their partner talking.  Students could add any suspects or information about their detective to the papers in their case files and then they moved on to other reading activities.  

A lot of the items I am using in my mystery case files can be bought from One Extra Degree on TPT or downloaded from Beth Newingham's site.  I highly recommend checking this things out if you are interested in a mystery unit!  Here are some photos!  I told my kids to give me their best detective poses. Check back this weekend to hear about the awesome geometry project we started today too!

Building A Mystery

For those of you that teach using Reading Street in the 4th grade, you know that Unit Four is all about puzzles and mysteries.  We kicked off our Unit Four by using clues to guess what the mystery item in the bag was and reading mystery task cards.  I really want my kids to explore this genre during our unit.  I did some buying on TpT and fell in love with Beth Newingham's Detective Reading Groups.  My kids are going to love getting their case files tomorrow!
  Not only do I want my kids to read mysteries during this unit, I want them to write them as well.  I created a series of graphic organizers to help my students with various pre-writing stages.  I don't know about you but my kids always want to skip the pre-writing and jump right in.  I appreciate their enthuasim but sometimes their stories are hard to follow and lack details.  My hope is that these graphic ogranizers will help my kids focus on some of the main elements of their story first. I plan to pull a sequence one from my files as well.  I have listed this pack of graphic organizers on my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you are interested.  I hope to post photos of my little detectives soon! Oh and I have a fun Simon Says math idea to share with you all soon!

Organizing Leveled Readers

My school uses the Reading Street program.  For those of you that use it as well, you know there are a lot of materials to manage.  For example, the leveled readers.  There are six units with five stories each.  So that is thirty different leveled readers.  And there are six of each book and three groups.  In all that is 540 books (if my calculations are correct).  We all know that those cardboard units they came in don't always last and they are an awkward shape to try to store.  I wish I could take credit for the following idea but sadly I can't.  This organizational gem comes from the mind of my wonderful co-worker, Brooke.  She put the six leveled readers from every story in a quart size ziploc bag.  Then she printed labels that said "Unit" and "Story".  You stick the label on the bag and write the unit number and story number in the space provided.  When you finish all that, you put the bags in order into a basket.  I have three baskets- one for each reading level group.  The books I need for guided reading groups are always right there in the front.  At the end of the week I put the books back in their bag and put the bag at the back of the basket.  That way by the end of the year, Unit 1 Week 1 is back at the front again.  Isn't Brooke a genius?

The Book Whisperer: Reader's Notebooks

Today I read about the Reader's Notebooks in The Book Whisperer.  This past nine weeks, I used a reading log for students to complete center work in but I see the difference between that and the reader's notebook.  My students used their reading logs to answer teacher created questions, complete graphic organizers, and do other skill based work.  A reader's notebook is a place for students to record their progress as a reader such as genre requirements and book lists. I would love to have a reader's notebook this year to allow my students and I to communicate about their reading.  I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around how to set them up and use them.  My system uses a basal program and I have certain non-negotiables that I have to complete in centers each week.  I have looked into reader's notebooks available on Teachers Pay Teachers (Lesson Plan SOS has one I really want!).  This is something I am going to have to do some serious planning and thinking about.  Does anyone out there use reader's notebooks with a basal program? I would love some suggestions!

Freebie Alert, Giveaway, and a Fun Blog!

Just Add Clip Art is having a freebie linky party to celebrate reaching 100 followers!  You can download freebies from other blogs and then post your own!
My freebie is a document I send home at the start of the school year.  Parents are always asking me how to help their students improve their reading.  I always tell them to read with your child.  Have the child read to you, a sibling, or you can read to your child.  I created a list of questions for parents to ask their child before,during, and after reading.  These questions go along well with the basal my system uses.  You may want to add more personal response questions.  I hope you find this useful!

Fourth Grade Frolics is having her first giveaway and it ends tonight!  She needs our help decided on her blog template!
I also want to share a blog that I found recently. It is called Wells' Tale of a 4th Grade Nothing. She has great ideas. Check it out!!

Questions to Ask While Reading With Your Child

Shared Reading Center

Every teacher has favorite picture books that they always read aloud to their students (or if you are like me you have an entire spare bedroom of them!). Why not turn them into a literacy station? My fab reading coach, Amy, told me about this station idea and we are calling it the Shared Reading Center. I am positive my creative bloggy friends can come up with a better name for it. Here is what you do, simply attach a library pocket into the back of the cherished book. Then write a few questions related to the story or reading skill on index cards and put them in the back of the book. Next find a cute basket or bin to hold all the books( I am still working on this part). When students come to the station, they read a book of their choice with their partner and then answer one of the questions in their literacy logs (notebooks my students carry to every station and use to record their work and thinking). I think it is important to have read the book aloud to your class before placing it in the center so the students will have some experience with it and won't struggle as much with new words. This station can easily be updated throughout the year by adding new read alouds so students will not get bored. You could even differentiate this station by color coding the index cards for different reading levels. 

I created a list of general questions you could use for this center.  Each book could use a more specfic question and each book will lend itself to a different reading skill or strategy.  If you come up with any more questions for this center please share!