Oski the Bear

So, Oski the Bear gave out some Oski Paws this week to organized and clean desks.  This was the first visit he has made this year.  Every once in awhile he decides it's time to reward the students who have been working on staying organized.  An organized student moves smoothly throughout the day!

(Oski is our classroom mascot, but also the U.C. Berkeley mascot - my alma mater!)

The Cubes are Done!

We assembled the cubes that display the students' white squares that tell about themselves.  They look great!  Over the next few weeks each student will have an opportunity to share his/her cube.

Writing!

Two weeks ago the students filled in their heart maps.  The heart maps have ideas, events, experiences, and anything close to their hearts.  We talked about how writers create stories using what is important to them, or experiences they have had.  This is my heart map.  They have heard a lot of my stories, but not all of them yet!  :)

On Monday, we started off talking about how writers choose a writing topic.  We specifically talked about watermelon stories versus seed stories.  There can be great watermelon stories, but many times they are too long, and it is too hard to really explain with clear details.  Writers often get off topic and lose the reader with watermelon stories.  Students looked at their heart maps to decide on one story they could tell and then narrow it down if necessary from a watermelon story to a seed story.

On Tuesday, after students chose their writing topic, (our focus was real narrative stories) we worked through using a 4-square organizer to organize and plan the story ideas.  I chose my "Scraps" story.

The following day, we worked on using the 4-square organizer to write the story, adding more details to the story as needed.  The students are learning that the organizer is like a road map and sign posts that guide the way.  They should use words and phrases, not full sentences to plan.  Wednesday and Thursday the students wrote their stories.  Writing Buddies came to visit during this time.  (ask your child about Writing Buddies!)


On Friday, we worked through our Rainbow Editing procedures.  This time the used some of the Rainbow Editing steps to help edit the writing of their elbow partners.  This is our reference chart in the classroom for Rainbow Editing:

It's a stretch sometimes for 3rd graders to look at their writing as find things that need to be fixed.  "I have to fix this?  I think it looks great!"  So, we start this off as early as we can so that it becomes a more natural step as we go throughout the year.  It also helps to have another set of eyes looking at our writing.

 So, that was our week in writing!

Are You a Bucket Filler?

This year our school is focusing on "filling buckets".  Students will put their  STAR cards in their buckets, and they can also write bucket filler comments to each other to fill buckets.  Here's what it looks like in our classroom:

This is the link to the book that we used to introduce this concept.  

Squares are Due!

The 6 white squares that students have been working on at home are due tomorrow, Friday the 19th.   We will be assembling the cubes tomorrow.  This is what the final product will look like:

I look forward to seeing the squares and learning more about the students!  

Surfin' Into 3rd Grade!

It has been a full 2 weeks of getting to know these kids!  I enjoy this time we have to share about ourselves and build community.  It's an important foundation for the rest of the school year.  The students also worked on a writing piece about themselves using our four-square organizer.
This writing gives me a good idea of where we are starting 3rd grade with their understanding of organizing ideas and how they write sentences.  The surfin' bobble heads that go with the writing were fun to create!

A bulletin board in our classroom has their self-portraits along with some information about themselves underneath.  They did a great job!  It was fun watching parents at Back to School Night trying to find and guess which one belonged to their kid!

Our class birthday wall is now full of birthday superheroes!  Our school has a "no-treat" birthday policy.  So, in our classroom, we celebrate with a special chair covering they get to use for the day, certificate and bracelet from me, and a very special birthday song!

Reading Routines!

Setting up Reading Routines takes time, but it is worth it!  Part of our Reading Block involves small group reading meetings with me, so everyone else needs to know what to do during this time because my time with groups or individuals is important.  But, it's not just about keeping kids busy so that I can meet with small groups.   It's also about making the most of the reading time, and working on things that will help move their reading along.

First, we started with the routine of Read to Self.  The more they read, the better they get.  But, what they read is just as important.  So, we talked about making Good Fit book choices for Read to Self time.  Each students has a book box to keep the book(s) they are reading.  We went over the expectations for both students and teacher, and the key word is RESPONSIBILITY!

The next routine we talked about was Responding to Reading.  This one will take longer to develop, and will continue to evolve over the year.  I have been reading a Humphrey the Hamster book to help model the process.  We are using a Response Starter page that they have glued into their Reader's Notebooks.  Right now we are focusing on asking questions as we read.  For example:

• "I wonder..."
• "How did..."
• "Why..."

The key word for Responding to Reading is THINKING!  Great readers think about what they read and tune into what is going on in their brain!  The chart prompts students to think about ways they are responding and reacting to what they are reading.  

 Next week we will be working on more Reading Routines - Word Work and Listening to Reading.