Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'

Have you ever thought that things are going just the way that you planned only to find out that everything was going wrong? Well, that is exactly what happens to the Tappletons in this sweet tale by Eileen Spinelli. This has always been one of my favorite Thanksgiving stories. My students always love it as well and I think it is because we all can relate to it.

If you haven't read this story now is the perfect time to introduce yourself and your students to it. This story has a great message at the end that really gets to the heart of the true meaning of "Thanksgiving" and the Holiday Season.

Check out my Story Pack by going to my TPT store http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-at-the-Tappletons-Story-Pack and in the spirit of ThanksGIVING, I will give a copy away to the first three followers who comment on this post. Make sure to include your email address!

I do! We do! You do!: Goal Setting

Goal setting has become a big part of my classroom life this year. As an instructional coach, I had a professional development session that focused on using MAP to differentiate in the classroom. I included goal setting with MAP scores as an added element to this training. This year, in my third grade classroom, we are setting goals with our MAP scores in Reading and Math. This is actually a school-wide activity.
I have truly enjoyed the conversations I have had with my students as we work together to set realistic goals for them for the Winter round of MAP testing.

Take a look at one of my sessions. If you want to try your hand at goal setting, grab a copy of my MAP goal setting document. This one is different from the one my school uses. I have made a generic one so that everyone can use it! Enjoy!!

Making a good impression!

We have been studying fossils this week and spent some time discussing the definition of a cast, a mold and an imprint. As a culminating activity each child made their own imprint of an object found in nature. Before they made their own imprint- I shared 3 different examples: a ring, a key and a fork. Then I asked them to record what each imprint will show future people about how we lived. You can get the recording sheet by clicking on the picture.

Here is the recipe to make your salt dough if you want your students to try this activity:

• 4 cups of all purpose flour


• 1 cup of salt


• 1 and a half cups of water


• bowl

Mix the above ingredients in the bowl until dough forms. Add extra water a little bit at time if needed if the dough is too dry.

Give each student a small ball of dough and have them flatten it on wax paper. Students will gently press their object of choice into the dough. Have your students carve their initials into the dough before collecting. Place the creations on a cookie sheet (take off the wax paper) and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. This will harden the dough and make the lasting impression! Have fun!!

Gimme a "Fall" Break Sale!

Hey ya'll! I hope you are enjoying the autumn leaves as they fall upon us! I am throwing a sale to celebrate my fall break which is coming up starting on Friday!! So, from October 13th- October 17th you can get 20% off of everything in my TPT store. Just click on the Autumn Leaves and "fall" in love with my products!

Stick it to 'em!!

I just had the most fun ever with my guided reading groups! I have an obsession with post-it notes. I have all sizes, colors, designs, stickness strengths....too many by far! My obsession seeped into my instruction awhile back and I love coming up with new ways to use the little magic pieces of paper with my kiddos.

Today I used my Non-fiction Text Feature post-its with my guided reading groups and they loved it! I love being able to find hands on activities during reading and what a way to keep them engaged. My students worked in pairs to find various text features in their leveled readers about penguins. The discussions that were taking place were focused on investigating the text and learning about each feature. After the pairs had ample time to search the text and slap their post-it labels (which by the way is a text feature!-just saying!!) we spent time letting them share their findings. It was such a worthwhile mini-lesson. I can't wait to do it again.

If you would like to try your hand at this guided reading activity, click on the post-it picture and head on over to my TPT store and grab your FREE copy of my post-its! They will be free until next Friday, October 14th. I'd love to hear from you all if you use this activity with your kiddos!! Have a good one!

Melissa

BANG! BANG!

Now that the school year is in full swing for my kids, we have been doing a lot of testing. I like to make sure my kiddos are prepared as much as possible, so we do a lot of reviewing. I try to find lots of ways to review with them and one of their favorites is BANG! It is quick, it is easy to make, it is versatile and it is FUN and ENGAGING! The best part is- all you need is an empty Pringles can ( the perfect excuse for a snack), BANG! can cover sheet and BANG! game cards. My games are all in one pack at my TPT store. Click on my BANG! game pic to get yours!

Guided Reading Rotations Made EASY!

My third grade team has 4 guided reading groups that we meet with 4 times a week. I meet with my groups on Tuesday- Friday. Each Monday I front load with a lot of whole group activities, so we don't meet on that day. I also share the centers that students will be working in that week on Mondays so I do not take up any whole group time explaining on Tuesdays before our rotations.

I wanted a way to have my guided reading groups leveled but then let my students work with students outside of their guided reading groups during the other rotations each day. My system is pretty simple and the kids caught on right away! We practiced one day the first week of school and then they were ready to do it "for real".

My third grade team has also jumped on board and I think they are seeing great results with management during reading. They used to have each group rotate as a whole and the entire group would do one center each day. This meant that 6 students would be at one center together. Management nightmare!

I have 4 different rotations (since I have to meet with 4 Guided Reading Groups). They are Guided Reading (with me), Read to Self, Seatwork and Centers. During the seatwork rotation students are practicing skills that we have been working on during whole group or guided reading. During the Centers rotation the students visit one center per day for a total of 4 centers each week. My centers change from week to week but include: technology, word work, listening, spelling, art, science, social studies, math. It really depends on what stories/genre we are working on and skills we are practicing.

Your Reading Rotation Cards should be posted in a centers chart. I leave all of my student cards where they are and just rotate the center cards each day. Be careful to make sure that you are spreading out your students so that they are not more than 2 students at a center per rotation.

Check out my rotation cards for free at my TPT store! Click on the pic of my center chart to snag your copy. Let me know what you think!