We Are Readers, Writers and Friends

We believe in ourselves! We can read. We can write. We can be a great friend!

 

International Dot Day 2017!

Check out how we celebrated International Dot Day and unleashed our creativity!

As we begin this new school year we are really thinking about how we can be learners. Author Peter Reynolds provides us with rich books to help us build self-esteem and understanding of all.  Some of our favorite books written or illustrated by Peter Reynolds are:

  

and the new favorite 

First Day of Kindergarten 2017-2018!

First Day of Kindergarten for the 2017-2018 School Year!

Crab Salad, Pickles, and Cookies while Listening to Ralph Fletcher and Lindsey Moses!

     

Excited to be heading to Eau Claire this weekend to help my oldest daughter, Bailey, and her husband move into their first home! I decided to make a few items to bring with. While I was cooking I continued to play PD Summer Bingo and one of the choices was to listen to a podcast and share your new learning or wonders. You should definitely check these out!

My first podcast was Joy Write with Ralph Fletcher. Ralph shared that he feels in today's academic writing world teachers are just checking things off a list based on the genre expectations. He adds that's not much fun. Ralph said, "I don't want those kids to be saying the same thing. When you start to see letters like that, you realize it's not about the kids really saying what they want to say, they're following a format that's been given to them, and it's not really authentic anymore. I mean I'd like to know what the kids think and not following the format."

Things to remember:
Choice is not just a matter of what to write about but also how to write about something. I am hoping to take Ralph's idea of a writing greenbelt and provide a comfortable space for my learners to compose.

  A writer's workshop that flourishes in today's classroom!

My next podcast was with Lindsey Moses. I love how she secured my thoughts that reader's workshop is not WORKSHEETS or busy work. It needs to be purposeful. 

One important thing Lindsey says is that anything your learners might need they should be able to know where it is and have access to it without help from us. During the podcast she also suggests having a place for students to review strategies or ways to talk with partners.

Lindsey said, "So in order to facilitate independence we have to provide additional visual supports, reminders and spaces where students can interact freely, and they know what the purpose is."


Things to remember:
Personal Learning Experiences (PLE) need to be purposeful and to support our learners independence teachers need to give them CHOICE.

Looking forward to meeting and listening to both Ralph Fletcher and Lindsey Moses at the WSRA 2018 Convention!

x

Insect Inquiry Begins with Curiosity

Next they will continue their exploration of their chosen insect.

Can We Save Grandma?

Today the students embarked on their first Breakout EDU activity. Today's inspirational game is based on the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. I broke the students into five groups and each group worked collaboratively and communicated in order to be creative and use critical thinking skills to solve the puzzle to solve the combination to unlock the lock. Looking forward to providing this for my students again soon!

Collaborative Inquiry with Susan Meddaugh

How does engaging in a shared inquiry process change perspectives and clarify thinking? 

  

This week students followed the dog, Martha, in a series of books written and illustrated by Susan Meddaugh.  They chose their favorite book and worked collaboratively with others. Learners used verbs to describe Martha's actions and adjectives to describe Martha and her events. Next they retold the story using pictures or words. After that they analyzed and synthesized Martha's experience and could find evidence of how Susan Meddaugh match her words and pictures which build their understanding of the story. Lastly the students shared their learning with you using Seesaw!