Five for Friday (well, ok...Saturday)

Yes, I know two linkies in a row is bad form for a blogger...but who else is currently on Spring Break?! I knew that would distract you...

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her fabulous Five for Friday:

Who doesn't love to share some randomness, especially when you've been counting the days looking forward to some time off?!

I have been enjoying the dog park with my beloved boxer, Jovi...doesn't the trail look beautiful in the fall? Oh, yeah, it's supposed to be spring...we seem to have our seasons mixed up here in Texas...

Just this week, I finally got to do a little sprucing up to my drawer carts...it's been on my to-do list since the beginning of the year...but, that list seems to be growing longer instead of getting shorter...

before...argh!!! stickies....I know...

I replaced the neon stickies and masking tape labels...yuck...but, it was only supposed to be temporary...with monthly labels that match my decor...

the labels looks so pretty...

you can see all my "junk"

I could not stand that it looked like a bunch of clutter from the rear of this one...(my other two are on top of a file cabinet that is pushed up against a wall)...I am in love...as you can see, I'm very easy to please...

pretty organization makes me smile...

I brought in all my shoes boxes from home for my students' Shoe Box Reports that they will be proudly displaying for Open House...and before you start calling me Imelda Marcos or my friend, Lisa, ...lemme explain...some boxes were gifted to me and I've been saving up boxes for a year...never mind the four pair of shoes I've bought since August...it's a good thing dogs don't wear shoes...

ok, so I might have a slight bag fetish, also...

love, love!!

I got a new couch! Well, it's a new-to-me couch...a hand-me-down from my sweet neighbors...a teacher salary just does not allow for big purchases too often...

I'll prolly get new pillows or a slipcover...

all that's important is that it is Jovi-approved...

he takes my spot EVERY time I get up...

And, I spent the better part of an Oprah Life Class removing the shellac from my nails after a recent manicure...yes, they looked pretty...

but, unless you have about $70 to spend on monthly upkeep...I'd much rather spend my money on TpT, dog treats...and, of course, shoes...

Get Your Hall Pass!

Well, I don't know about you, but for me, it's been one.of.those.years...however, it's only eight, yep, I said eight days until spring break, and I CAN MAKE IT!!

I am excited to join the hundreds of other fabulous teacher bloggers that have linked up with Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits for her Hall Pass Linky.

First, the deets...

(P) Product

My favorite product of mine (never you mind that it's the only product I sell) is my Differentiated Number Building Using Number Scrolls. Need a use for toilet paper and paper towels rolls? I gotcha covered.

It meets Common Core Standards for counting in sequence and place value and will keep your kinesthetic learners engaged...in other words, your "active" boys and girls will be quiet for at least a little while...

check it out here

My kiddos really enjoy working on this during math choice time. They l-o-v-e seeing their scrolls grow longer each day.

I have one little spunky girl in the 3,000s...woot-woot!! Did I mention that she's just a wee bit G.T.? But, that's beside the point...

(A) Area

It was hard to choose just one favorite area. After all, I did a classroom makeover and theme-change at the beginning of this school year (remind me to never do that again), and I have many fav spots. If I have to pick one, I would have to say it's our classroom timeline.

It's difficult for my firsties to remember what we did last week...(or yesterday or 5 minutes ago)...so, I wanted a visual way to remind them of what we've studied, the holidays we've celebrated, and how far they've come each month.

(S) Signal

You mean you don't just yell at 'em? Just kidding, of course...I have used a desk bell (which resulted in one of my students responding with "order up Krabby Patty" (he was a huge SpongeBob SquarePants fan), I have used train whistles (not quite loud enough for my group this year), and I have used response chants like, "Ring, Ring" to which they respond "Hello."

But, then I found these gems from Miss Nelson and I haven't used anything else. My students think they're fun, and I can use them a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e...which is nice when you don't want to carry your bell around or you need to get their attention quick! Plus, it's fun to have code-words that only you and your class know...

(S) Sanity

You mean I'm sane? Hahaha...well, for one, I always keep some chocolate close at hand...me loves Valentine's Day... 

But, there's also the game Candy Crush that my friend, Miss Squirrels, introduced me to (peer pressure# and new addiction#)...

That is, until you run into level 29...and you've been stuck here for days...and you run out of lives and see this pop up on your screen...

Which brings you back to the brink of insanity...because you know your kids are due back any minute...blargh!!!

Until you remember that you also have a great group of blogging friends that will lend an ear, offer support when you most need it, or share a great idea that makes your teaching day that much easier...the Cincy crew!!

From left: Michelle, Miss Squirrels, Me, Jessica, Hadar, Nicole, and Tessa.

If you have any suggestions on how to get past level 29, I would love to hear them!! 

Cincyrocks#

In Pictures and In Words Book Study - Chapter 10

Hi, friends...we are almost finished with our In Pictures and In Words book study...my thoughts today are on Chapter 10 - Tone. Thank you to Deanna from Mrs. Jump's Class for hosting!

by Katie Wood Ray

The main idea of this chapter is to ponder the reader's emotional response to pictures through the use of tone...yes, that would be the same tone that got me in trouble more than once with my momma...

But, in the context of the classroom, it means helping your students understand that tone can be "crafted" through the use of color, background, size, space and further through the use of shape, texture, exaggerated features, and whimsical details. I will detail a few.

Author / Illustrator extraordinaire, Steve Jenkins, showcases his strength for making powerful illustrations in his books. (Can you tell I'm a huge fan?!) One of my favorite is Actual Size.

Look how he takes images across pages to draw in the reader.

It is a wonderful
example of Technique 35: Crafting Tone with Size.


Your students would not get the enormity of just how large a giant squid's eye was if it was not drawn to scale. Although you would think the life-like size might scare some of your kiddos, he also keeps in mind Technique 37: Crafting Tone with Shape and Texture. The lines are soft and curvy, the background is textured and not in stark contrast from the eye, which lessons the intensity.

Another one of my favorite authors, Judy Schachner, of the Skippyjon Jones series, uses Technique 39: Using Whimsical Detail to Lighten the Tone when Skippyjon Jones sets off on his adventure in Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice.

Not only does Skippyjon Jones have a mask, cape, mirror, and marble...but he has his precious sock monkey as well. His trinkets are what help make Skippyjon Jones intriguing for children.

And later, when he meets a Martian, you can tell immediately, by their proximity, that they're going to be fast friends. This is an example of Technique 36: Crafting Tone with Physical Space. They are both the same size, in the same physical space, and almost touching...visual imagery for friendship.

What are your thoughts? What kind of literature will you use to explain the use of tone in your students' illustrative work? I'd love to hear from you!

Daily 5 Book Study - Chapter 7 and a Freebie

Well, friends, after seven wonderful, collaborative weeks together, our book study has come to an end. I want to thank Kimberly from Funky First Grade Fun for hosting Chapter 7: Putting it All Together and Troubleshooting.

I want to start off by sharing this quote which "The Sisters" believe to be the "heart of choice: knowing the expectations, possessing the skills to meet them, being trusted to carry them out, and taking responsibility to do so"...isn't that what WE want from our administrators?

We know our grade level standards, have earned educational degrees in our content areas, maintain classroom structure and guidance for our students, and are held accountable so that our students succeed. We are trusted to use quality, yet challenging teaching materials as long as we follow our state-mandated curriculum. We have choice...I'm sorry if that sound soapboxish...but, it's something for me to keep in mind...

A few lingering questions I have:
I'm not sure how transient your school population is, but I had a revolving door last year...my class list did not become stable until April. How do you transition your new students to the Daily 5 structure? Do you choose partners for awhile? Do you do one-on-one mini-lessons? Since the newbies probably missed the mini-lessons and good/ not good model, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Fortunately or unfortunately, (it depends on how you look at it) I have not have any parent inquiries as to why they do not have daily worksheets that go home for literacy...yet. My student have journals, word work folders, work on writing folders, etc. to "show" their work. I just want to be proactive and not reactive if there ever was a question from a parent/ administrator. So, I found this gem from Bethany, a parent letter that informs them not only to what our students are doing during the Daily 5, but also ways they can support these same literacy activities at home:

get here

Here's a lil' something I created to assist those students that need a little more help once everyone has selected their literacy choice...and you are right in the middle of your small group lesson...and you do not want to be disturbed. Maybe they forgot how to access a website, or the volume is not right on their headphones, or they can't find the book that they were reading yesterday...enter Tech Support.

You can print these out (I would laminate them and print on card stock), punch a hole and use yarn or make a slit for a badge clip and your "tech helpers" can wear these to identify themselves to their peers.

click here to get them

Of course, I made these printer and classroom-theme friendly, but I also made some that match my new pirate theme :)

These are part of my larger packet, The Daily 5 I Can...Literacy Choice Picture Displays and More, that I have been adding to throughout our book study. I would love for you to take the time to give me your feedback if you download it on TpT :)

Over the course of our book study, I hope you were able to glean something useful for your classroom, gain a better understanding of implementing the five literacy choices, and realize that your students will succeed because they have a wonderful teacher guiding them...YOU!

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions :)

If you want to read about the previous chapters, you can find those here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6.

In Pictures and In Words Book Study - Chapter 9

Welcome back to In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study! Thank you for joining us on our literary journey. This week's musings are over Chapter 9: Wholeness of Text, the main idea being "how illustrators make connections between and among illustrations" (p. 168). A big thanks to Cheryl at Primary Graffiti for hosting!

by Katie Wood Ray

I don't know about y'all, but this chapter was a lil' tough for me. I mean, I understood Technique 26: Crafting an Ending That Returns to the Lead (circle story, right?) and Technique 31: Using Details of Weather to Show the Passage of Time (as in a plant life cycle), but some of the talk about static details and insignificant details started to just all sound the same. Anyone else agree? But, then again, that's why I'm here...to learn from you and your interpretations of the text. I want clarity, otherwise how will I explain these techniques to my kiddos?

If your students are anything like mine, they love Laura Numeroff's books! Her books are fun, have excellent examples of ADD, and are classic examples of Technique 26: Crafting an Ending That Returns to the Lead. They are great picks for the beginning of the year due to their familiarity and engaging use of silly animals. Here's a cute craftivity to go along with If You Give a Pig a Pancake.

get Melissa's work here

This craftivity includes a writing activity with the sentence starter, "If I gave a pig a _________ it might want __________." Plus, there are easy templates for your students to use to make their own piglet to hold the writing illustration / prompt.


I think Technique 31: Using Details of Weather to Show the Passage of Time can be exemplified by this book by Gail Gibbons, The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree. This illustration technique is probably one that our students can easily identify and, with guidance, use in their own writing...especially with so many of us doing apple studies early in the school year.

Here's a seasons reproducible book I found that would be great for the important writing connections. This 18-page book includes fact pages, acrostic poems for each season, and places for illustrations.

get Amy's book here

Another favorite book of students in my class is Chalk by Bill Thomson. This wordless picture book is an example of Technique 25: Building Meaning from One Idea to the Next since it is the illustrations alone that move the story. As you "write" the story with your students, it helps them with building vocabulary, connecting ideas to meaning, and drawing details from the story to build the "wholeness" of the story.

Have you had your students make wordless books for other students to "tell" the story? I think this would also help my students to understand how important the illustrations are to the story. If the pictures do not connect to take the story forward then meaning is lost.

Do you think it's best to use as many different books as you can for the illustration examples or would it be best to use a smaller number of trade books for showing examples of many illustration techniques? I'd love to hear your thoughts!