Beg, Borrow, and Steal from 3rd, 4th, 5th, and Kindergarten Teachers

Argh, mateys!  We're continuing our begging, borrowing, and stealing of ideas this week!  We spent some time in third, fourth, fifth, and kindergarten classrooms and have some treasures to share. :-)

Kelly Binder and Cindy Marquardt shared some Pandora stations they enjoy using in their classrooms for independent writing time.  The students in Kelly Binder's kindergarten were very engaged and loved writing with soft, instrumental music playing in the background.  Check out Lorie Line and Emile Pandolfi next time you are on Pandora.

Students in Mandi Williams' 3rd grade were working on a unit of study - Literal and Non-literal Language in Reading and Writing.  Look how Mandi connected what they were studying to her vocabulary instruction and how she used technology to bring similes to life in movies and music.

 

Emalie Lindsey, 4th grade teacher at Mathews, was a real trooper this week!  Her household was battling the yuckies and she had been out the entire week.  She returned to work on Monday AND welcomed 20+ teachers into her classroom!  The students reviewed plot, sharing their brain-friendly movements to remember the rising action, climax, and falling action.  Ask Emalie to show you the motions of her plot tune next time you see her.


In Layne Eckhardt's 5th grade classroom at Summit, students had been studying theme by analyzing song lyrics.  The song they were analyzing on our visit was "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson.  Students first read through the lyrics highlighting things that they thought might help them determine the theme.  Then, students reread the lyrics jotting notes about why they highlighted certain words or phrases.  Students shared with their group, reread the lyrics while listening to the song, and added highlights or notes.  Finally, they gathered together and shared whole group what they had highlighted and why while Layne recorded their thoughts on the Smart board.

 

After the mini-lesson, students read independently in their literature circle books or met with the teacher to discuss their literature circle book.  Layne utilized talking chips with her small group to ensure that each student participated in the discussion.  She also turned on a small light to remind students outside the group not to interrupt the discussion.

Meredith Carrisalez and LeAndre Jackson, fifth grade teachers at Summit, shared an alternative to using sticky notes for students to record their thinking.  It was an idea they learned during Star Summit in the fall.  "Thinkmarks" are tri-folded and serve a double-purpose--a bookmark and a place to jot their thinking as they read.  You can get a copy of the Thinkmarks HERE.

After our LNW discussion on anecdotal records, Meredith created and shared an electronic version of one of the anecdotal forms her group wanted to try out.

Josh Bennett, fifth grade, JTSD, and his group were discussing FCAT resources.  One example in particular was on cause and effect.  Check out the resource they were sharing HERE.