I am actually starting this AND finishing it on Thursday. Can you believe it? I'm going to the party a little early for a change!
We started our new grading quarter this week, and with it I began a more concentrated look at writing, especially the writing process and traits of good writing. Although both my fifth and sixth grade classes are quite familiar with the writing process they still need reminders and support. I use a writer's checklist to help students track their progress through the steps. Each student has a clothespin that he/she can move up and down through the chart indicating which step they are on.
You can see the full chart hanging between our Common Core Word Wall and MOVIES board. The MOVIES board is just a fun way to help my kiddos remember the traits of good writing: Mechanics, Organization, Voice, Ideas, Exceptional Word Choice, and Sentence Fluency.
Both the
Writing Process Clip Chart and
MOVIES Mini-Board are available in my
TpT Store and make for a great room resource for 5th/6th grade students. They help my students to become more self-reliant and I find myself answering less questions. Here's a little
FREEBIE that I use to help my fifth graders remember MOVIES, the six traits of writing- a set of pencil toppers. Just
download, print, cut apart, and wrap around the top of a pencil to form a reminder flag, a dab or two of glue to secure it, and... Easy Peasy!
I had a GREAT time teaching the fourth grade this week, something I NEVER ever get to do! Here you see them playing a game of
Halloween Scoot.
I missed the Halloween party... BOO! I stayed home with a terrible cough that had kept me getting NO sleep at all on Wednesday night! Here are my goblins and ghouls at their party posing for me. A big THANKS goes to my homeroom mother for snapping this great shot!
Because I stayed home on Thursday, I made a pot of dump chili... YUM! I call it dump chili 'cause I just start dumping things in the pot: 1/2 pound of breakfast sausage, 1/2 pound of hamburger, onions, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, a can of chiles, a can of diced tomatoes, a can or two of tomato sauce, a huge handful of chili powder, a can of hot chili beans, a can of black beans, a can of white beans, a can of corn, and some salt and pepper. Boy, did it make the house smell goooooood! And it tasted pretty darn good, too!
This week, I turned my attention to working on some new Thanksgiving items for my classroom. I've already added one to my TpT Store: T
hanksgiving Six-in-One Language Arts Skills Scoot. Your students can practice six different skills with one pack of Scoot cards. These cards are very versatile and can be used in a literacy center or anyway that typical task cards can be used.
Even though I didn't feel quite up to par this week, I had a great week! I hope you all did as well! Don't forget to link up with Doodlebugs for Five for Friday.
Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6
I hope you are feeling better. I had to miss the Christmas party one year because of strep and it felt like my year wasn't complete!
ReplyDeleteThank so much for your sweet well wishes! I am feeling better today. My cough has almost disappeared and I was finally able to get some sleep. I should be good as new on Monday. Have a great week!
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