Monday, Monday ... (la la lalala)

I stepped into the classroom this morning with high hopes and a head full of ideas!  It was actually a great day in as far as what I got accomplished with my kiddos!  Today we reviewed inferencing (again).  Before we began, I re-introduced non-fiction text features.  I created a stolen borrowed anchor chart and adjusted it to meet the needs of my students.

Not the neatest charts, but we did them together and helped me complete my lesson!

We then used "Paths to Discovery", a magazine type text from our adopted basal.  The students became absorbed in the text, so finding and identifying these features was a lot of fun.  This text is unique in that it has a non-fiction and fiction piece for each topic.  There are poems and drama pieces.  Really cool!

Excuse the light...my iPhone skills aren't the best!

I did have to pull in my own non-fiction texts and our Texas History book to illustrate a couple of features, but it was still a great lesson!

It was also a great segue into writing.  Our portfolio project this 6 weeks is research.  Now, with the writing STAAR right around the corner, it's hard to get off the "prompt" writing and do something different.  But it's also a fantastic way to continue expository writing and connect the text to writing.    Ooohhhhh...now I get the reading/writing connection! LOL! 

Students collected research last week in the tech lab, so they are using what they selected to complete a foldable.  The foldable will be their "sloppy copy", or planning page.

Students are writing about a person, animal, or place of their choice.  These were their foldable guidelines, based on their choice.

Here's what their product looks like.

I can't wait to take this foldable to the next level.  They are going to create their own magazines!  More details later.

We received a new student today...yes, the day before a Math benchmark.  Go figure.  She is also a NES (Non-English Speaker), so we have our work cut out for us.  Right. Before. STAAR.  Ugh!  I can compare it to teaching first grade AND fourth grade.  At the same time.

Well, I hope my kids give the Math benchmark their all.  Confidence is the key. 

Nothing is impossible.  Even the word itself says, "I'm possible." --Audrey Hepburn

Always,
Tammy