Hey everyone, Lindsey here! Nothing puts me in a better mood like Five for Friday!! Head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching to link up and share your week!
It’s that time of year. My life has been consumed by DRA testing. Even though I dread testing because it takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R. I love it at the same time because you get to see the growth these kiddos are making. Nothing makes me prouder then seeing them fly through these tests and make progress!
Dr. Seuss day was a success!! This year we made this Cat in the Hat snack. For the kiddos to be able to make this snack they had to complete a reading log. Their reading log was divided into different parts they had to complete to get the different parts of the snack and they had to read 20 books total to be able to make the snack. They LOVED it! I am happy to say that they all worked really hard and were able to fill up their reading log! PLUS, I am SO lucky to work with my mom and she came in as a guest reader and read The Sneetches to us. It was a wonderful day!
For the past few weeks we have been working on folktales. I LOVE this unit because we teach so many things with these stories and the kiddos can really dive in and understand these books. These are our posters for the story elements for each type of folk tale we teach. Also, these fracture fairy tales are, by far, my favorite versions for teaching point of view. They are HILARIOUS and they tell the point of view of the other character. We just read Seriously, Cinderella is so Annoying and it sparked a debate among the kiddos over which version was the true story. They really get them thinking!
We have an hour reading group block each day. During this time, our kiddos are being pulled out for various reading groups while we are also doing groups in class. The kiddos who are not in a group have a lot of work to do. They begin the block by reading to self and work on a reading response. Then they move on to their differentiated center. After that, they listen to reading or partner read. I haven’t been happy with the listening to reading portion. I really wanted the kiddos to be working with books more. So, we created this list. These are a few ideas that the students came up with that they could work on during this time. Most of the hour is so structured so I really wanted this to be more of a free choice time. At the end of the hour we have a sharing circle where they can share their work.
Here are some of the kiddos working. Some are still choosing to listen to reading, others have made a “book fort” and are partner reading. Another set of partners are working on a color word list, while another group is working on a list of collective nouns. One student chose Cinderella and wanted to make a character trait bubble. They are so proud to share their work at the end. Plus, they are really excited about reading time and motivated…that’s all I want:)
No, no…we aren’t practicing gymnastics in class. My hubs came into school this week to hold a self-defense class for some of the teachers. We don’t work in the best of neighborhoods, and some of the teachers wanted to make sure they could be safe in different situations. We sure are lucky to have someone come in and teach us. Makes me feel a little more confident in my ability to defend myself:)
I hope that you all have a wonderful, restful weekend!!
Author
I love your blog design! I started following you and reading through my Bloglovin' app this week, which is convenient but you totally miss out on the cuteness of everyone's blogs that way. Aren't DRAs rough? I used to dread report card time because we had to do so many DRAs. One building I worked at, we would get subs once or twice a year so we could have an uninterrupted day to test. It really helps but you still get to the point where if you have to hear Monkey's Stepping Stones or Turtle's Big Race one more time, you are going to lose it!!
Happy Friday!
Sara
Sara J Creations
Author
Thank you!! We are lucky to get a DRA sub in the fall and spring but not the winter, even though we still have to do our whole class:( Isn't it funny how they get burned in your head!! The worst ones for me are The Wonderful Day and Thin as a Stick! Joya told me that you are going to be in Vegas this summer. Look forward to meeting you:)
Author
Yes, I just registered on Sunday night so I'm officially going! Can't wait to meet you and Joya in person. On OMG Thin as a Stick! I'd blocked that one out of my memory. Seriously, the worst!!!!