Complaint Free Living Challenge

It's nearly Thanksgiving....time to give thanks and gratitude for all that we have. I love this quote by Tony Robbins. He goes on to advise us to "stand guard at the door of your mind: Condition empowering emotions such as gratitude, courage, faith, determination, compassion and love. Break your pattern and avoid emotions that create stress."  

As a teacher, there is so much about my job that is out of my control and somedays it feels like all I face is one stressful situation after another. Standing guard at the door of my mind is a full time job.  I am reading this international bestselling book by Will Bowen:

Like Robins, Will Bowen believes there really are no stressful situations, only stress filled thoughts. If you take control over your thoughts, you can live a stress free life.

Hmmm....what do you think, teachers? 

Over 6 million people in over 80 countries have taken the 21 Day No Complaint Challenge and they have shared their testimonies. 

You can listen to Will Bowen talk about it here: 

So the challenge is to go 21 days without complaining, criticizing or gossiping. 

Get a bracelet and read the rules from Bowen’s book:

1. “Begin to wear the bracelet on either wrist.

2. When you catch yourself complaining, gossiping, or criticizing, move the bracelet to the

other wrist.

3. If you hear someone else who is wearing a bracelet complain, it’s okay to point out

their need to switch the bracelet to the other arm; BUT if you’re going to do this, you must

move your bracelet first! Because you’re complaining about their complaining.

4. Stay with it. It may take many months to reach 21 consecutive days. The average is 4 to 8

months.”

Brian writes:

“To be clear, being Complaint Free isn’t about pretending there aren’t any challenges in our lives or in the world. There are. A lot of them.

The question is, what do we DO about it?! Let’s say we’re dissatisfied with something. Do we choose to DO SOMETHING constructive about it or do we choose to sit around and complain about it?

That’s really what this is all about. Will we be a victim or will we be a creator?”

There are four levels that you go through while doing the challenge; apparently most people quit at stage 2:

1. Unconscious Incompetence (Complainers who aren’t aware of how much they complain)

2. Conscious Incompetence (Complainers who are aware but still stuck in the habit)

3. Conscious Competence (Non-complainers who have to think about it)

4. Unconscious Competence (Non-complainers who just ARE it)

This is a tough, tough challenge! I didn't realize how much "complaining" I did until I started focusing on it.  I am stuck at stage 2. I was on day one forever.... then went to day two...slipped up and back to day one. Like Bowen says, it is not failure to bounce back, you are building awareness. No great change happens overnight, right? 

I have had to move that "bracelet" back and forth more times than I'd like to admit, but am determined to push through to 3!

 Bowen says working through these 21 days “diligently, patiently, persistently and playfully”, will rewire your brain to higher and happier levels of being. As Bowen said, “competence and happiness become your unconscious setting.” That sounds good to me!

Click the link below to check out Will Bowen's book: 

A Complaint Free World

Anyone interested in hooking up and taking this challenge? 

Email me at: youngdor8@gmail.com

or comment below!

A Book to Gobble About - A Thanksgiving Freebie

Hello Friends! I CAN NOT even believe that we are into the month of November!!  Where is the pause button?? Can't seem to find one so I believe I am in for a wild and fast ride this year.  I put away my Halloween decor this weekend (seems like I just put it up) and now it's time for turkeys and Thanksgiving. I love this month and love the whole idea of giving thanks for all that we have. With that in mind, I want to thank all of my friends and followers who are still checking this blog and are emailing me to see if I am still breathing. I love and appreciate every single email I get from you all. THANK YOU!

Good news is...yes, I am (still breathing)! And even better, than that, I am here with a quick post to share a November themed book report idea. 

My students are working on writing book responses.  

In this turkey talking book report, my children are sharing a "Book to Gobble About".

They will be telling about a book they are reading during their independent reading time. 

These monthly book reports are one way I hold my students accountable for their "on my own" reading time...otherwise known as BAM time (Books and Me).  Isn't that cute...heard that one from a teammate and it stuck like glue. My kids love BAM time!

We have been working on the monitoring skills of identifying main idea as we read.  Students do that by asking two questions: WHO and WHAT.  Students are also recognizing the power of visualizing. 

For this strategy we verbalize our "mind movies" as we read. We are learning that if the mind movie stops playing then we must stop, rewind and try playing it again. This usually requires slowing down and reading more closely. 

Finally, a connection takes a reader from within the text to beyond the text. 

Students need to connect something they have read to another character or story. 

I have posted this book report sheet in my TPT store as a Freebie. 

Go check it out here: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Thanksgiving-Themed-Book-Report-2864972

Increase Engagement: Flocabulary Free Trial Offer!!

Hello Friends,

Boy, it has been awhile since my last post! I had every intention in the world of posting weekly...but then school started. Need I say more!  In the hustle and bustle of September some things just need to slide and this little blog was one of those things. I have a couple of weeks of school under my belt and am getting into the school routine. Doesn't it feel good to breathe again??? I wanted to check in with everyone and share good news and a fabulous deal. So read on....

I am a lucky, lucky teacher!  I have the sweetest of sweet children, but the beginning of the year is just hard....no way around it.  Third grade is such a big transition year. I see my little ones trying to adjust to the demands of this new grade...it isn't easy for them or for me. Coming from a relaxed summer break to a busy school day of learning can be exhausting for everyone. For us, it can be a huge challenge to keep these little learners focused on what we are teaching them.

During the first week of school, I watched in frustration, as one by one, they checked me out and let their brains wander to some far off place. Who knows where they go...maybe they're in Pokemon land (I have kids absolutely obsessed with these little creatures this year), or they could have drifted off into the world of Mindcraft? All I know is that they are anywhere BUT room 43 listening to old Mrs.Young ramble on and on about how to make a bar graph.

It's crazy hard to compete with all the high voltage stimuli that fills our world these days. It is tempting to  react to our frustrations by complaining or trying to find someone to blame for it, but really, who has time for that?  Instead, let's figure out how to respond to this ever growing problem by seeking ways to increase student engagement.

 Luckily for me (and you now too)  I have some tricks in my teacher bag for combatting "stray mind syndrome." One of my favorite engagement tools and a sure fire way to get everyone's attention (yes, even the little guy who is busy sawing his pencil into a million little tiny bits inside his desk) is just one click away.

Do you know about and use the highly engaging educational website called Flocabulary? Are you teaching in one of the more than 60,000 schools that have used Flocabulary's standards-based videos, instructional activities and formative assessments? If so, you have seen the magic of this powerful tool. If not, you need to be!

Flocabulary provides teachers with hip hop style videos to support us in teaching our content in a fun and engaging way.You can find songs and videos for all subject areas and  across many grade levels.
I personally embed the use of Flocabulary's many resources into my language arts, math, social studies and science teaching. It is a great hook into any lesson, but because this site offers us so much more than just a catchy song or lyric, it can also be used as the core component of your teaching. This website offers more than 750 instructional units to support instruction in math, science, social studies, ELA, vocabulary, current events and life skills. The fine folks at Flocabulary are responding to our ever increasing needs by adding new content all the time. Take the time to explore the ever growing bank of resources and here is what you will find:

There are songs and videos on all kinds of different topics. I recently used the song and video about Main Idea. It was so fun and catchy that my kids kept wanting to sing it even when I turned it off...they told me it was "stuck in their heads"!  Exactly what I hoped for!!

Besides the song and video, look at all the resources you have at your fingertips:

Quick reviews, lyric notes, fill in the blank activities, etc. etc. 

I used the Printable as part of one of my reading rounds...it had to do with being good classroom friends. Perfect for what we were learning about.  Students had to read the text and determine the main idea and details. They were provided with a graphic organizer to record on. 

Check out ALL the printables you have easy access to. Each video comes with all of this, plus lesson plans and teacher guides!

Ok, here is a brand new option that is soon becoming my favorite: The Lyric Lab. With this tool, you can have your students create their own rap on the topic. Are you looking to increase the complexity of your student tasks..this one hits high on Bloom's Taxonomy. Flocabulary provides you with a word bank and the music...your kids create the lyrics. When you get to the end of each line, the program generates a list of words that rhyme with the last word you wrote....AMAZINGLY fun!!

Intrigued?

Well,  here's the best part of all...

I am partnering up with Flocabulary and giving away free memberships! You have the chance to win a FREE year-long subscription! I get to give subscriptions to three lucky readers. Plus you have the opportunity to earn a 45-day extended free trial that is accessible to not only you, but everyone at your school just for entering! Sign up by clicking the link below. After signing up, you will receive an email that will allow you to access your free trial for the week of October 18.  Also, you will be entered for the chance to win a FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION!  Winners will be announced on October 18^th. 

You must enter by OCTOBER 16 @ 11:59pm EST!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

GOOD LUCK!!

In the meantime, check out the link below to visit the site and see all that it has to offer: 

EXPLORE FLOCABULARY

Class Set Up: Objectives Chart

Three more Mondays and then I'm back at school! Time to start thinking about the classroom and how I'll set up. 

I'm sharing two classroom decor ideas today. 

I'm linking up with Tara for another Monday Made It. 

Check out her blog...you will leave with lots of great ideas!

http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/

We are required to post our objectives for the students. I start every lesson here at this board where I identify our learning goal or target before we begin. 

I made these subject sheets to slide in sleeve protectors so I can write on and wipe off easily.  

I put the "science" sheet behind the "social studies" sheet since we focus on only one content area study at a time. 

I'

I'm sharing these subject sheets free on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 

You can check them out here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Objectives-Board-Printables-2716490

I also made these big bubble letters for my writing and reading areas. 

I just printed, cut and laminated them. 

You can find these here: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Center-Signs-Write-and-Read-2717219

Enjoy your week!

Doris

Active Syllabication Practice with Word Work Outs

Happy Sunday! I thought I would share a little book that made a big difference in how I work with some of my students who struggle with decoding words. By third grade, readers are encountering many longer multisyllabic words as they read. I have found that many have adopted some very inefficient means of reading these words...like what I have termed the "grab and go". These readers grab and decode the first syllable of the word, guess the rest and go right on along even if the word they invented made absolutely no sense in the sentence. These are my Word Plowers...they made me crazy so after listening to student after student stumbling over these longer words, I decided to seek out the best way to help them.  And, I am happy to report that  I found a great strategy in Isabel Beck's Making Sense of Phonics.  This is the second edition of this book and in it she has added chapters with insight on how to help our transitional readers become more proficient at reading longer and more challenging multisyllabic words. 

If you can relate to the above scenario I described, then you need to read chapter 9 in this book. In it she states, "Children need to know that a chunk, or an approximate syllable, has one vowel or vowel team per chunk. They need to learn to be flexible with their sounding out of syllables and blending syllables together. They should be given a copy of the advanced vowel chart (see Figure 3-3) to help them remember the most common sounds for a particular vowel or vowel team. Consistently remind students that if one sound doesn’t work, they should try another. Also, remind the children frequently that their sounding out will only get them close to the real word. As they are blending syllables together, they need to think of a word that is close to what they are saying and that make sense in the story. I often find that children don’t rely on context enough as an additional support when they are sounding out multisyllabic words."

Yes,  yes and yes. 

She goes on to say that supporting students' reading of multisyllabic words requires three skills. 

1. Analysis: Where to divide a written word into syllables

2. Pronunciation: How to pronounce the individual syllables in a word. 

3. Synthesis: How to combine the syllables into a spoken word. 

Last year I decided to become much more explicit in the modeling of these skills as I introduced new words to my students. I found opportunities throughout the day. Many times I used part of my social studies or science time practicing the analysis, pronunciation and synthesis of content vocabulary words. I knew students were going to have to read and write social studies words like: democracy, independent, legislative, executive. These are hard words to pronounce, let alone read and spell.  

I began using an approach that incorporated Beck's suggested skills as I introduced content related words at the beginning of a unit. First, I would write the word and together the students and I would analyze it to determine the syllable parts. Students learned that there must be a vowel in each syllable. 

We would "sweep the syllables" under the word and number them. 

Next, we would work on pronouncing each syllable part. Here is where I really used some of our "Brain Buddies" to help us remember good decoding strategies. We used "lips the fish" to get our mouths ready to make the letter sounds, we used "eagle eye" to look for word parts that we know already and we used "trying tiger" to try another sound for a particular letter...perhaps long i instead of short i, etc. 

When at last we had synthesized our parts into a word that made sense, we were ready to practice reading it by syllable parts and then fluently. 

For this step, I had my students get up out of seats for some "Word Work Outs". 

I grab at any chance to get my students engaged in some kinesthetic learning and students responded so well to these mini work outs. 

Word Work Outs are short and simple movement exercises that students do as they read the syllables and pronounce a new and challenging word. 

I have a student grab the Word Work Out can and pull a card. 

Students will perform the word work out as they say each syllable.

For instance, if we pull out the "Whack It" card, students pretend they have a tennis ball and racket and swing the racket as they say each syllable. For the word: "independent", they would swing the racket as they say "in", then "de", "pend" and "ent".  

I point to each syllable on the board as they perform this and make sure they are using their mouths to say the parts. 

After we are done, I would erase the board and students would attempt to chunk and spell each syllable.  They are amazed and thrilled when they can spell these "big kid" words themselves.

They soon learn that if they can chunk it.....they can spell it. 

I have added my Word Work Out Cards to my Teacher Pay Teacher Store. 

Check out the link below if interested: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Work-Outs-Active-Syllabication-Practice-2715963

You can also find the Brain Buddies Set here

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brain-Buddies-Poster-Set-Strategies-for-Reading-and-Decoding-277080

Please share any suggestions or strategies you use to help your older readers decode longer and trickier words.

Comment below or email me: youngdor8@gmail.com

Back to School: Open House Treats

Wow, can it already be time for another Monday Made It? Yikes, the weeks are flying by! Time to get busy. Check out the productive teachers posting on Tara's Fourth Grade Frolics Monday Made It page.

http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/

I'm on a quest to seek out the simple in all I do. I recently found these smiley face treats at my local Walmart. I picked them up and figured out a way to use them.

  I decided to use these as a welcome treat for our Open House. 

I created a quick tag and there you go, a simple but sweet way to welcome students to school. 

If you are interested in using these, you can find them as a free resource on my Teacher Pay Teacher Page. Just click the link below. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Open-House-Treat-2701030