Images of My Classroom's Reading Center

I am grateful to the Brown's for their incredible gift to our students in providing this nice carpet for our reading center! The kids have loved stretching out and cracking open good books! Thank you....Mr. and Mrs. Brown...from Carpet One of Northwest Arkansas!

Springtime, Blackberry Winter, Allergies, and Standardized Testing...ugh!!

Ok...these are just a few of the "big" events in my teaching world right now! What is stressing me out the most? Standardized testing would be the answer, since I take it as my personal report card every year!! I believe that I have placed more focus on the teaching of Reading and vocabulary this year, more so than any other year. I am anxious to see what impact...if any...it will have for each of my students. In year's past...I have placed a lot of focus on writing/language arts...but, this year it has been with great importance in writing and greater importance in reading....we will see when those results come in!!

Guess Who? I'm a Blast From Your Past!!

Students were involved in a large biography writing task for the past month in third grade. The culmination of this project ended after students had been assigned for their latest book report, to read a biography of their choice. The final task after the written report was complete was presenting in full costume their person's biography. Our students did a fantastic job. See if you can identify some of these famous people from our past in American History.

Authenticating the Curriculum; Learning Becomes Real!

Speaking of Civil War War-ships... It is incredible when the material that you are teaching is authenticated by what happens to be in the nightly news! Example...my third graders have been deeply submerged in the study of the civil war in their social studies curriculum. At the same time we have been reading two novels about the Monitor and the Hunley. The Monitor was the first iron-clad warship used in the civil war. The Hunley was the first submarine used by the navy during the civil war. Both stories are mysteries about the discovery as to why the two vessels sank. Both have in recent years been searched for and partially excavated from the ocean floor. The exciting part for my students was the authentication just this week of an article in the news about a recent discovery of the remains of another war-ship off the coast of Galveston. Evidently it was uncovered by the most recent hurricane Ike. My students were thrilled to read the article. It is further proof of the many stories related to the civil war that they are reading and learning about.http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/09/Wreck_of_Civil_War_ship_found_in_gulf/UPI-27101236616212/

For Great Book Recommendations...

You can't beat Esme!! I glean so much each week on titles that I've never seen. I also enjoy reading about books that I am using throughout the year with my own students! It is always neat to see what other ideas are being used to incorporate great children's literature across the curriculum!!

The PlanetEsme Plan: The Best New Children's Books from Esme's Shelf: TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES (PICTURE BOOK)

The PlanetEsme Plan: The Best New Children's Books from Esme's Shelf: TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES (PICTURE BOOK)

The Cat in the Hat Pays Visit to our Classroom Today!!

Here are the characters created by my students...as promised! We had great fun when not only did we get a visit by one of Dr. Seuss's helpers who read to the kids, but also the Cat in the Hat made a special appearance! It was great fun for all! Who knows...we may have a Dr. Seuss in the making...Keep inspiring those kids!!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!

In celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday, my third graders have been emersed in a ton of Dr. Seuss books within the last week. Our week came to a halt with the reading of Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Students were then instructed to create a character of their own who might debut within a Dr. Seuss book. Using "collage" technique, students created some very interesting characters. In fact....stay tuned to see some photographs of their creations. It never ceases to amaze me what children can do with their imaginations! Not only did they create interesting characters, but as a writing enthusiast...of course I had to tie this art project to their writing. They had to add clever text to their pictures. We will conclude this unit by creating our own class Dr. Seuss book! What a blast!!

Strategies for Thinking about What We're Reading

My students are learning so much about how to really "think" about what they are reading. Through the reading program "Foundations and Frameworks" students are taught to use strategies, while they read, that incorporate questioning and visual tools to reflect on what they are reading, and organize the information in such a way that they won't forget what they have read. After completing the novel "The Miraculous Journy of Edward Tulane," students are creating what is called "intellectual art." This is an opportunity to illustrate all of the tools they used throughout the novel unit, as well as incorporating tools that they have learned throughout the year that help them organize their thoughts and the text from the book.