Using Thinking Maps to Compare/Contrast

I don't know what all of your pacing calendars look like but ours is CRAZY fast and jam packed! Because our time is so tight and I have absolutely NO wiggle time I had better be wise in picking the most meaningful activities I can for my students to engage in.

So this year Jill and I have made it our goal to utilize a variety of researched brain based learning tools in both of our classes to help students learn and retain as much as possible and we are documenting our results. We are at different schools at different grade levels with different populations of kids so it will be interesting to compare. All the research out there points to visual representations as a powerful learning tool. I've taught my kids that the visuals are the glue that cements the learning in their brains. Here are some good books we are reading on the topic: I really love Thinking Maps as a tool to help students construct meaning in every subject area. We use them in math, reading and the content areas.

I believe in getting the kids involved in the actual construction of as many thinking map posters as possible and if I can make a chart interactive then it is all the better! Here is a great example.

Today we were reviewing our learning on the Ancient Civilizations of Greece and Rome. The Double Bubble is ideal for this type of thinking. I wrote the topics of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in the main bubbles and then started to hand out minibubbles for students to record information about the civilizations. Then they illustrated their facts. Next came to sorting and classifying of details as either belonging to Greece, Rome or both. As we taped them onto the chart we wrote a G, R, or B on the back of each detail.

I'll remove the minibubbles from the chart and place them along with the big poster in a literacy station for partners to come and work with. It is self checking since we wrote the letters on the backs of the bubbles. This along with extra research books and post it notes will make a great literacy station during guided reading time. Very simple, no fuss and the students created the learning tool. The follow up research makes it differentiated as students are researching answers to their own questions using a wide range of books on different reading levels.

After a while this double bubble will aid us by becoming the prewriting graphic organizer for a paragraph comparing/contrasting the civilizations. Triple bonus!

How about you? What do you think about using graphic organizers in the classroom? I would LOVE to hear what you think!!

Sunday's Words for the Week

How is 2012 going for you? A friend and I are picking our words for 2012 this week. We come up with one focus word that will lead our year. Last year my word was "gratitude". I'm still thinking about my word for this year. I will share it next Sunday. Would you like to join us? Come back next Sunday and post your Word of 2012!

For inspiration please listen to Will Smith's take on life. All I could say was WOW afterwards. I was moved by his words.

A Not So Ordinary Estimation Station & A Winner

Here is an idea for a not so ordinary Estimation Station.

It's a real challenge for young children to keep units of measurement organized in their little brains. How can we expect them to remember inches from meters from liters from grams from pints etc. etc. etc. the list goes on and on! It can be mind boggling for adults yet we want our wee ones to keep all the metric and standard measurement straight AND to be able to use them effectively!

One way I try to help them along is by giving them lots of practice using different measurement tools and units of measurement all year long...not just during the two weeks or so when I teach the unit.

This is where the Estimation Station fits in. It is not the kind of station where you throw some candy in a jar and ask kids to estimate the number. Instead I set up a situation in which kids have to estimate the size, weight or even temperature of things. I set up the situation in the beginning of the week and then students have until the end of the week to visit that area and make their estimation. At the end of the week we measure to find out the actual measurement. Here is an example of the estimation we have set up currently in our room:


I write what they are estimating and in what unit on sticky notes so I can change it out each week or so. Some other estimations we have done:
time it takes for icecube to melt in minutes, temperature inside a mitten in degrees Fahrenheit, weight of a piece of coal in grams, etc. etc.

Kids can even help you think of some! There are weeks when I put a child in charge of running the whole station.

Here is an estimation station sign for those who may try this idea out.

Estimation Station 2
OK here is another one...estimate the number of days late Doris will be in announcing the winner of the questioning apron? 1, 2, 3 days...no! The correct answer is 6 days late. Yikes! Time certainly got away from me. Better late than never huh? The name picked out from the hat was: Paula!! Congrats!

Chill Out with a Cool Book!

Hello Everyone! Hope your first few days back have gone smoothly! It is as cold as the arctic around here which makes me think PENGUINS! Here is a penguin book report idea if anyone is interested My kids are into giving book commercials to advertise their books right after reader's workshop. This writing activity is basically the commercial written down. They rated the books at the end. Commercials really have helped motivate my students to read different books that they may not have picked up on their own. Check this one out! Penguins with personality!

You can pick 

up my whole penguin unit here: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguins-A-Snow-Day-Winter-Unit-for-January-2274840

Last Minute Panic (:

Yes, it's the last night of winter break and I'm in big time denial. Still listening to Christmas music and eating chocolate peanutbutter balls. Must I really face a class full of third graders tomorrow?? What am I doing with them? I know I had almost two weeks to get my act together. There's really no excuse to still have empty spaces in my lesson plan book for this week so I had to laugh out loud when I read this comic. Is it only me or can anyone else out there relate to Calvin right about now during these final hours of winter break? Good luck finding your inspiration! Have a great day back tomorrow everyone!

Sunday's Words of the Week

Happy 2012! I love the feeling of a brand new year stretching in front of me. 365 days worth of opportunity. Opportunities to do amazing things...IF I chose to do them. The year lies open like an blank journal just waiting for me to write the words. So how will I fill it? What will those words be for this year? What will my story tell?

One of my favorite songs of inspiration is Word of God Speak.
The lyrics speak to me at this time of year:

"Word Of God Speak"
I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

The last thing I need is to be heard

But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In Your holiness

Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You

Beyond the music, beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with You

And in the quiet hear

Your voice

So let me quiet myself this year and just be still and know. Let me take HIS guidance and let my words tell a story that is positive, uplifting and meaningful.


Wishing you all the absolute best in 2012!