Let's Research: Using the Table of Contents, Index and Glossary

My kids have begun researching and I absolutely love it!

It makes my teacher heart happy to see them hard at work finding the answers to questions they have about subjects they are interested in.  

They are finding out that they don't need their teacher to learn...they just need books!

They are collecting information and organizing it in research folders and having a blast doing it. 

Along the way, we have been fine tuning our research skills with mini lessons on how to use a nonfiction book. 

My students are quickly understanding that knowing how to use parts of the book such as a Table of Contents or an Index can make their job of locating specific information a whole lot easier.  It is much more efficient to search for the facts they need by using an index  rather than flipping randomly through the pages of the book.  

I created a slide show for teaching the Table of Contents, Index and Glossary.  

It includes practice pages and resources. It made covering these important and necessary reading skills quick and easy. 

I added it to my TPT store. 

You can click the link below to check it out: 

Reading Nonfiction: Using a Table of Contents, Index and Glossary

Now I can just coach them as they use these text resources while they research.  

 Real life practice is the best!

Creating and Solving Addition and Subtraction Story Problems: A Lesson Plan for Success

We have been working on solving addition and subtraction story problems. Students are gaining a better understanding of when to add and when subtraction is the necessary operation. Now it's time to raise the bar. It's time for students to begin creating their own. Explicit teaching and modeling of this type of skill is always my approach. Most students need support and guidance in the transition from being the solver to being the writer.

I begin the process by activating my students' prior knowledge.  

We need to review these two operations and when and why we use each one.  

I created a sorting activity involving key words and example problems.  

Students repeat this sort often as we gain proficiency in identifying types of problems. 

Then students are ready to begin tackling the job of writing their own!

We take this slowly with lots of explicit modeling. 

To help students with the task of creating problems and to make it more fun, I use problem solving picture cards and number spinners. 

Students pull a card.  They use the picture as an idea or the basis for their story problem.   

Then they spin the spinner to determine the numbers they will use in their problem.
They can spin once, twice or even three times depending on whether they will use a one, two or three digit number in their problem.

Using the problem solving graphic organizer breaks the process into concrete steps. 

All students can be successful. 

We started by solving our own. But now many kids are such pros at it, they can switch off papers and read and solve each others!

We had great fun using the winter set since we are still celebrating this cold and frosty season. 

Another set is ready for use at any time of the year. 

I'll put this out as a math station or for my fast finishers to use. 

Creating Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Celebrating Academic Success with Topic Brag Tags

I started using Brag Tags this year as a way to reward my students' positive behaviors.
Students have earned tags for being excellent listeners, helping others and great citizenship along with lots of others.

They were so into earning these tags that I wondered if it would also encourage them with their academic progress. 

I started previewing the tags they could earn for showing good mastery of content area learning.
  Students keep a learning log that includes notes on our content area learning. If notes were complete and neat and they demonstrated a good understanding of their science and social studies learning, they would receive a topic tag.

I also like how the collection of topic tags helps students keep track of ALL the learning they did this year!

Our students cover A LOT of learning in just a year's time!

Students are so proud of their accomplishments!

I hang student brag tags on the side of a filing cabinet.
They collect them all week and then get to wear them on Fridays.



I've added these to my TPT store.
You can click the link below to check them out!



Academic Brag Tags

How do you celebrate your students' academic success?
Would love to hear!

It's Valentine's Day! Let's Write a Friendship Poem!

It's February....time to celebrate friendship!

 Friends are really important to our students.   I like using the topic of friendship as a writers workshop piece right before Valentine's Day. 

My kids are writing up a storm and I love using their writer's folders to manage all the writing they are doing. 

I posted about these folders in a past entry so scroll back a bit if you are interested in hearing more about these.  I have the printables available on my TPT store.  

You could check here:

Let's Create a Writing Folder

Doubling the folders allow students to have a section to glue notes and another section for references.

I use these "Slice and Stick" note sheets in this front section. 

  

Speedy Slice and Stick Writing Notesheets

We use them to document our learning and  they serve as a reminder of our writing responsibilities.

Two folders mean lots of pockets to put drafts they are working on.

Here are some examples

I LOVE using mentor texts when teaching writing.  Here is a super book to use to jump into the topic of friendship.  This is a great read for the month of February! After reading this one we will create an anchor chart on "How to be a True Friend".  I also focused on identifying causes/effects in this one since that is our reading focus but this book could be used for MANY teaching points!  Use it for what your kids need.  

The next day I introduce a patterned poem by Jessica Crum entitled: Friends.  I use the technique of "Guess the Covered Word" to get students to practice using context clues when reading.  Then this one is glued into the poetry journal where they will get much practice reading it multiple times.   The next day I tell students we are going to borrow Jessica Crum's pattern to create our own patterned poems about friends.   We work through the writing process together as we brainstorm, draft, revise and edit.  I am sharing this eight day lesson plan with all graphic organizers, mini lesson notes, drafting paper, and grading rubric in my TPT store. 

So check here if you are interested:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writers-Workshop-Friends-Writing-a-Patterned-Poem

Graphic organizers like webbing and brace maps helped my writers generate and then organize ideas. 

 I work my teaching of complete sentences and fragments, subjects and predicates into my writing block. It just makes sense to teach it there.  We analyze Jessica's sentences for completeness and then make sure we don't include fragments in our drafts.   I also teach how to edit for spelling through this writing lesson.

Spending time on prewriting sets students up for a successful drafting session:

Student writing is graded with a rubric.  Here is an example of the one I use for this particular piece of writing:

Here are the completed pieces we have done in the past: 

Some more! You will be surprised at the variety of ideas they come up with!

This is one of my favorite writing lessons.  It is simple to carry out and all students will be successful in producing a great final product.  It also introduces the basics about what good writers do.  This was my fifth year in a row using this lesson and I never tire from using it and seeing what the kids produce.

If you try it let me know how it goes! 

Happy writing!