Poem of the Day

Children Learn What They Live

By: Dorothy Law Nolte

If children live with criticism
They learn to condemn

If children live with hostility
They learn to fight

If children live with ridicule
They learn to be shy

If children live with shame
They learn to feel guilty

If children live with tolerance
They learn to feel patient

If children live with encouragement
They learn confidence

If children live with praise
They learn to appreciate

If children live with fairness
They learn justice

If children live with security
They learn to have faith

If children live with approval
They learn to like themselves

If children live with acceptance and friendship
They learn to find love in the world.

Teachers College Reading & Writing Project

Over the weekend, I attended the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project 86th Reunion at Columbia University. This informative professional development offered more than 140 workshops, keynotes and closings on state-of-the art methods in the teaching of reading, writing, performance assessments, and the Common Core. The topics included were the following: argument writing, content area reading and writing, opinion writing for very young writers, writing about reading , getting students to CCSS levels, Danielson and teacher effectiveness, phonics, guided reading, critical literacy, digital literacy, and etc.

Along with several hundred public school teachers, I had the opportunity to pick a number  of workshops that interested me to attend throughout the day! The first workshop I went to was lead by Audra Robb. She spoke about different strategies teachers can use to educate their 4th-8th grade students about poetry. Robb discussed ways to help students interpret poetry. 

Poetry Example:

In Mother's Shadow by: Janet Wong

I walk behind Mother
through the woods
careful
not to touch the poison oak
she points to with her stick

She sees snakes before 
they move.

She finds her way
by the smell of the trees.

She stops to rest
the very moment
my shoes grow
heavy
she gives me water,
she gives me shade

in her steady 
shadow.  

Prompts to Stimulate Discussions:
1. Students work in groups of two and have a debate.
*Partner 1: views Mother as a positive figure. 
*Partner 2: views Mother as a negative figure.
2. Good readers can see both perspectives.
*Whose perspective do you see? 
*How does your perspective affect your understanding? 
3. Sometimes words can have literal and metaphoric meanings.
*What does the woods symbolize?

Colleen Cruz presented a workshop that posed another view on video games. She discussed how video games, like Minecraft, can be used to help students learn and strengthen their reading. Cruz mentioned several aspects of a gamer that teachers must understand and consider when using this approach to reading, like the following: semiotics, persistence, feedback, and social connections.
Semiotics
-This includes vocabulary and the rules of the discipline.
-Educators should teach students that reading is another world of semiotics. When gamers play a new game they ask themselves, "What kind of game is this?" the first thing they do is try to drive a car. If they can't do that, they try to find a weapon and their targets.
- Students should think of reading a new book in the same way. They should ask themselves, what kind of book is this? What language do I need to know? What rules do I need to know?
*Example: If a book is fantasy, students can ask themselves: "What do I know about Fantasy?"

Persistence
-Students should realize the same persistence they, as gamers, use to solve levels in a game is the same for when they are reading. 
*Example: When students reach a word in their books that they don't know how to read, they should try everything just like with Minecraft. They should keep trying until they get it.

Feedback
-Gamers are attracted to games because when they solve a problem or accomplish something in a game, they instantly receive feedback with an award. In Minecraft, for example, when gamers create something, they receive immediate feedback when their creation immediately works, which is their reward for their hard work. 
-In the same way, educators should reward their students and give them immediate feedback when they reach their reading goals or use a reading strategy to pronounce a word as he or she is reading.

Social Connection
-When gamers play video games they aren't playing alone. They are playing with other games around the world. 
-Educators need to think about how they can provide opportunities for their students to experience social connections while they are engaged in a book, just like when they are playing games. 

Greater Than or Less Than?

Today I introduced my friend Mr. Gator to my first graders with the following story and poster:

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.3
Compare two two-digit numbers based on meanings of the tens and ones digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <.
Putting Mr. Gator to the Test!
My students compared different numbers to see which ones were greater using Mr. Gator.
Materials:
*Pipe cleaners (green)
*Googly eyes
*White construction paper (cut into small triangles for teeth)
*Number cards
*Recording Worksheet
*Pencil
Steps:

1. Pick the first two cards from the top of the deck of cards. Place cards on the table in a row with space in between them.
2. Compare both numbers by asking yourself: "Which number is greater?"
3. Make sure Mr. Gator's mouth is eating the right number!
4. Remember, Mr. Gator only likes to eat larger numbers!
Differentiated Instruction:
Provide students with manipulatives like unifix cubes so they have a tangible and visual tool to work with in order to understand the skill they are practicing.

Transition Words

For the past month my students have been working with how to create "All About" books (also known as informational texts). In order for my students to practice using transition words in their writing, they did this fun activity!

First I discussed why writers use transition words in their writing, examples of these words, and where they can be used in sentences. I used the following charts to demonstrate this:
The following day, I reviewed these charts and then introduced the activity: "How to Blow up a Balloon"

Materials: 
*Multicultural crayons
*Balloons
*Face and Eye Template
*"How to Blow Up a Balloon" Worksheet
*Construction paper
*Glue sticks
*Scissors
*Tape

1. Blow up your balloon and tie a knot at the end of your balloon. Set your blown balloon aside.

2. Using your "How to Blow Up a Balloon" worksheet, write the steps you took to blow up the balloon and set this paper aside.

3. Color in the face and eye template using the multicultural crayons. Then, glue the face onto the background paper and the "How to Blow up a Balloon" worksheet under the face.

4. Using a scissors, cut out hair, jewelry, etc. out of different colored construction paper.

5. Glue on all of your accessories for your person and then tape the balloon onto the face so that it looks like the character is blowing up the balloon. 

Fractions: Cookie Madness!

Here is an exciting math lesson I taught my first graders on fractions! On Monday, I read Virginia Kroll's, Equal Shmequal to my students and then on Tuesday they completed a fraction activity using Felicia Bond's, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!

Common Core State Standard:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.3
Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. 

Materials:

*Construction paper (different colors)

*Scissors

*Crayons

*Glue sticks

*White printer paper

*Pencils

1. Fold the brown construction paper in half and cut out half a heart with your scissors. The heart you just made will be your mouse's head.

2. With a glue stick, glue the heart onto the top edge of your white printer paper, leaving the top of the heart hanging off of the paper .

3. Bring your mouse to life by adding eyes, a mouth, whiskers, and color to his or her ears with crayons. 

4. Using your brown paper, cut two circles. Take one circle and cut it in half and take the other circle and cut it in fourths. Glue your cookies on your white printer paper.

5. Finally write the following sentence starter on your paper and complete the sentence: If you give a mouse a cookie...

Here is the finished product!!!