Throwback Thursday 8.21.14

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What is Throwback Thursday? How does it work, you might ask? Simply look through your PURR-fect Previous Posts, perhaps a particular favorite of yours, and re-post it! Then add the TBT badge to your post and include your link below! Purr-fectly easy and simple! Your post doesn't have to be from LOOOONNNGGG ago; it can be from last month or even earlier this week. And if you don't have a post to share, perhaps an old photo or two from WAY BACK will do! Even a favorite pin is PURR-fect! Just join in the Throwback fun!

This post originally appeared August 18, 2013, while I was preparing things for the first week of school which is what I'm doing now as well. That's how I came upon this post.

I'm linking up for the first time with Collaboration Cuties for their weekly Mentor Text Linky Party. I've been following the blog posts for this linky for several months and have finally decided to join in... with this awesome science text...

From Amazon..."Not an ordinary mystery book, One Minute Mysteries makes science fun! Each one-minute mystery (solutions included) exercises critical thinking skills while covering earth, space, life, physical, chemical, and general science. This entertaining and educational book is great for kids, grown-ups, schools, educators, homeschoolers and anyone who loves good mysteries, good science, or both!"

I LOVE to do read alouds with my upper elementary students, and I make sure that I read something each day in each class. I think it's a terrific way to model fluent reading for kids, and it can quickly engage students with content area material... not to mention sharpening auditory/listening skills. That's exactly what 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Science does.

I was introduced to this book and its companion about Math at an inservice for Gifted and Talented students about three years ago. The presenter picked it up from his stash of books on a table and randomly opened it without telling us what the title was or what the book was about. He began reading and I was hooked!

Each mystery is a simple narrative chock-full of Science content with something amiss. At the end of the narrative is a photograph or illustration related to the content followed by the "solution."

When using this as a read aloud, my students must listen for what is out of place, amiss, or just plain in-your-face wrong with the Science presented. You can read a few of the mysteries HERE to get a feel for the book. Based on their knowledge I ask my students to solve the mystery and provide reasoning for their response. No one may simply guess; each must provide Science evidence. If they can not solve the mystery, I send them off to do research, not immediately but rather on their own time, and we proceed with the day's lesson. The next mystery is not shared with them until they solve the current one. 

Doesn't this sound a little like close reading, textual evidence, comparing texts, reading across the curriculum... common core? I think it would be great to have enough copies of this book to use with a class of students. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sway my administration. However, 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Science is available in Kindle format so I am able to project the text on my Smartboard or widescreen TV and present it to my students. We highlight evidence, underline or circle important text, and immediately head off on the internet to answer science questions they may have. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

You can imagine then how excited I was when I went in search of links for 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Science on Amazon and found...TA DA!

It is already stored in my Kindle, ready to go. LOL!

This book is once again ready to go in my Kindle (actually on my Kindle app on the computer at school). I hope this crop of sixers enjoys it as much as the last did.

OK, now it's your turn.

Must Read Mentor Text: Polar, the Titanic Bear

I'm linking up what has quickly become one of my favorite texts for this week's Must Read Mentor Text hosted by Collaboration Cuties.

Polar, the Titanic Bear 

by Daisy Corning Stone Spedden

"Written for her son by an American heiress whose family survived the 1912 sinking of the "Titanic", this account of the Edwardian life and of the disaster is told through the eyes of the young boy's teddy bear. Illustrated with watercolors and family photographs, this book makes an ideal read-aloud." Amazon.com

This year's crop of fifth graders is wild about anything Titanic! We recently read Lauren Tarshis's book I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic 1912, enjoying the adventure story as well as the actual history behind it. When our fourth grade teacher saw what we were reading she brought this delightful book to me from her own collection of teaching materials (she is retiring at the end of this school year).

Told from the viewpoint of a stuffed bear, the story of the Titanic becomes VERY real for young readers. The story is actually written by a Titanic survivor as a memento for her young son, who also is a survivor as is his bear, Polar. Not only is the story of the Titanic recalled but a window into the world of Edwardian times is opened. Aeroplanes, funnicular railways, and department stores are in their infancy and introduced as the modern technology of the early 1900's.

While I don't teach Social Studies, I did use this text to teach Language Arts skills. We were able to continue our learning of literary skills, particularly character traits and point of view, comparing this text to Lauren Tarshis's that we had just completed. Following are two INB foldables that I used with my fifth graders to accompany the Polar text. A word of explanation is needed for the point of view items. As we were exploring the point of view for this text, one of my boys shouted, "Not PERSON point of view- BEARson point of view!" Too clever to pass up thus the foldable in its form below! They are yours for the taking; just click on the picture.

Additionally, I created a fun set of SCOOT cards to accompany this mentor text. There are actually four different activities in one: three different identify the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives) and one identify the prepositional phrase utilizing sentences taken from the book. My fifth graders have enjoyed using these activities. We played a round of SCOOT and a round of SCATTER already. This coming week we'll start looking at prepositional phrases and how they enhance our writing. We'll return to this set of cards once again, this time for practice with this particular skill. These cards are available in my TpT Store and can be downloaded HERE or by clicking on the following picture.

Be sure to stop by Collaboration Cuties to see what other great Mentor Texts have been shared this week.

Better late than never... Must Read Mentor Text for Poetry Month!

Mention Spring Break and I'm on a no calendar, no clock schedule! I lost track of time and totally forgot about Stacia and Amanda's weekly Must Read Mentor Text linky... and this week's featured texts are for Language Arts, my area of teaching! Ah well, don't they say that being fashionably late is en vogue? If so; I am, so here goes!

The mentor text that I have selected to share this week is one of my all-time favorites, if not favorite book, and is perfect to use during April, National Poetry Month. I first used this text in my Language Arts methods class back in undergrad school, more than thirty-five years. It has stood the test of time and become a classic children's poetry book... Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill.


From its early cover...

... and monochromatic pages...

...through its evolution in appearance...

... this is my go-to book when first introducing the concept of imagery (not to mention personification, alliteration, metaphor, etc.). Mary O'Neill makes color come alive for readers of all ages. And if you don't like poetry when you begin this book, you will be a fan when you complete it.

Like acrobats on a high trapeze
the Colors pose and bend their knees. 
Twist and turn and leap and blend 
Into shapes and feelings without end.

The Colors live between black and white
in a land that we know best by sight.
But knowing best isn't everything,
for colors dance and colors sing,
and colors laugh and colors cry -- -- --
Turn off the light and colors die,
and they make you feel every feeling there is
from the grumpiest grump to the fizziest fizz.
And you and you and I know well
each has a taste and each has a smell
and each has a wonderful story to tell...

There are numerous resources and ideas to accompany this perennial favorite from the complete text online to a delightful video created by school children. One of my favorite accompanying activities is to have my students create their own color poems. I no longer have them simply write their poems with pencil on paper, they input their ideas into a website and with the click of a button... VOILA! instant poem.

 

Click on the graphic above to try your hand at writing an instant color poem, or visit Instant Poetry Forms and select "Color Poem" from the sidebar menu. While I wouldn't recommend having your students write poems in this fashion regularly, this method can be a motivating jump start to a poetry unit or the perfect solution for reluctant poets.

Be sure to stop by Collaboration Cuties to read more Must Read Mentor Texts!

And while you're at it, please stop by the Classroom Game Nook where I am guest blogging today about my favorite classroom game. Author Rachael Parlett is taking time off to spend with her beautiful newborn daughter Clara.

Must Read Mentor Text: The Butterfly

One of my favorite topics to read about is World War II, especially the events that occurred in Europe. Each year I have my sixers read at least one novel that discusses the plight of the Jewish during this period in history. It's a tough subject for them, but it fits beautifully into what our year is all about. They study the Old Testament and the history of our salvation via the patriarchs so they learn a great deal about Jewish history, the constant oppression they underwent. They are beginning to be aware of the world around, taking note of other peoples and countries since they study world history in Social Studies. And unfortunately, they are at the age when they really notice the difference between them and others with many of them "poking fun" at those who are different.


This year my sixers will read "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry in Literature Circles, but they won't read this novel until after Spring Break. To set the historical stage and give them a bit more background I'll be reading several picture books/short novels about this same topic. I've already read to them Lauren Tarshis' new novel "I Survived the Nazi Holocaust 1944."

OH MY! She's done it again! I just LOVE this series as do the kiddos! They wouldn't let me put it down and I ended up reading it in just five days.

The book that I am currently reading aloud is not fiction, however. It is a true story by perenially favorite author Patricia Polacco.

Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique?s small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters ?the little ghost? sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique?s basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight...Amazon.com

 I'm about halfway through this marvelous book! My sixers' reactions are so...? Some are frustrated, some are angry, some are trying to predict, some are absolutely silent! All are engaged and rapt! On Monday we will finish the story, but their questions will begin. They are learning about a time and place so, so different than our own yet they are seeing characters so like them, everyday characters: mothers, fathers, children.

Once we've read the book and had time to talk about the subject matter, we'll return to the text and talk about the literary elements. My sixers and I will be completing this INB foldable as a review of all the elements we have been working with. You're welcome to grab a copy to use in your classroom. It's not book specific so you can use it even with a short story. The directions are designed to give my sixers practice with following written directions. The colors coordinate with the markers I will use when I am scribing notes for each section on the whiteboard.

Later in the week, I'll be sharing more mentor texts about the same subject with my sixers:

There are SOOOOO many wonderful books about this topic! All age appropriate, all thought-provoking! All memorable. Please be sure to stop by Stacia and Amanda's blog, Collaboration Cuties, to discover more outstanding mentor texts for all subject areas.

Must Read Mentor Text: Homophones vs. Homonyms

I'm linking up once again with Stacia and Amanda of Collaboration Cuties for their weekly Must Read Mentor Text linky party.

I always look forward to the first Sunday of the month because this linky focuses on Language Arts mentor texts. I teach in a departmentalized school, and this is my area of concentration so I'm always on the lookout for new mentor texts.

This week I'm sharing a book that I've had on my shelf for years but never actually used as a mentor text until this school year. I actually have quite a few similar books as a set that I simply display for the students to read when we would focus on work skills.

My fifth graders were in need of studying homophones again. They were still confused by some of the more tricky ones so I created a list of twenty to use as their spelling words. Three weeks later we are still studying these words. Not because they haven't mastered them but because of the polar vortex. We will finish them up this week... finally!

When we first began our study one of the boys asked me the question, "What's the difference between a homophone and a homonym?" He had heard both terms used interchangeably and was curious. We quickly consulted both the hard copy dictionary in our room and one online and soon discovered conflicting definitions so we expanded our search. Apparently the linguistic experts can not quite agree. Some say that the two terms are interchangeable while others state differing definitions. To help us with our quest, I remembered this book, pulled it from the shelf, and immediately shared it with the class.

by Nancy Loewen

The bright illustrations caught their attention while the simple sentence structure was easy to remember and connect with. Silly sentences caused ripples of laughter and helped the students remember key ideas, and the simple, concise expository text is easily comprehended by even the youngest of language learners.

Best of all, we were able to answer my student's question:

If you were a homonym, you would be pronounced and spelled the same as another word, but you would have a different meaning. If you were a homophone, you would be pronounced the same as another word, but you would have a different spelling and a different meaning. Learn the difference between these two tricky concepts... Amazon.com

Again and again my fifth graders are returning to this text as they work with their spelling words, especially as they are puzzling out the difference between your and you're and their, there, and they're. The current assignment (to be collected on Monday) is for them to write sentences in which they use homophone pairs/triplets from their list, in the style of the writing from the mentor text...

She ate eight jars of jam while waiting in the traffic jam.

They're riding their bikes over there.

There were lots of giggles on Friday afternoon as they began their work. I'm anxious to see what they come up with, and if they have mastered these tricky words. Ms. Murphy is teaching their language lessons this week (she has an observation late in the week) so I will not be able to close the homophone lesson as I would've liked (darn that polar vortex). However, I did whip up a quick interactive notebook item to help them do a little more practice distinguishing homonyms and homophones. If you'd like a copy you can download it HERE or by clicking on the graphic below.

Students should color the material, then cut out the pockets and word strips. They should glue the pockets into their notebooks, leaving the tops open. They then should sort the word strips into the correct pocket based on the type of word each is. An answer key is included.

Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6