Apples for the Teacher

Unlucky Arithmetic – Fun Reflective Learning Activity

missbee — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:13:19 +0000

Rebecca Leigh has published two lists, “Unlucky Arithmetic: 13 ways to raise a non-writer” and “Unlucky Arithmetic: 13 ways to raise a non-artist,” based on a similar list for non-readers from the Horn Book. What an interesting idea for a reflective learning tool for teachers. There’s a certain amount of fun and a lot of humour in creating a list of “don’ts” instead of a list of “do’s” and the possibilities are endless–non-musicians, non-scientists, math-phobes, etc.

What would you include in your unlucky list?

Thanks to Choice Literacy for providing this info.

Library Thing – This Is Cool!

missbee — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:53:09 +0000

I’m having one of those, “How did I not know about this sooner?” moments. I’ve stumbled upon Library Thing, a site full of information about books. I love that there’s a place where books are searchable by tags (my favourite filing system!). My favourite feature is the recommended books that accompany each search.

I did a search, for example for Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munch. (A great book, by the way, for this time of year!) While the initial 10 recommendations were nothing spectacular (i.e., most were other Munsch titles), clicking on “See More Recommendations” provided a great list.

Halloween Hits

missbee — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:04:23 +0000

My grade 1 literacy class has been enjoying a number of Halloween books over the past week or so. With 2 more weeks until the “big day,” excitement is mounting, and we’re tapping into that excitement in most of our literacy activities. Here’s a quick review of what we’ve been reading:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything has everyone’s attention, everytime! Great for retells, as there’s a pattern to what follows the little old lady.

The Runaway Pumpkin is a story in rhyme about some children who find a giant pumpkin in the pumpkin patch and send it rolling down the hill on Halloween. Great repetetive chant in the book becomes a “chorus” for students to read along with you.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat gives students a new way to sing an old favourite. Great for starting a list of Halloween vocabulary!

Mailbox Delight

missbee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:36:48 +0000

I have a few friends who treat letter writing as an art. What a great way to get kids motivated to write! If you could look forward to receiving items like this in the mail, wouldn’t you be inspired to get creative and write back?

Literacy Work Stations

missbee — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:55:37 +0000

I’ve been using my free time this summer to give more serious attention to the many teaching resources that I’ve added to my bookshelves over the year. I’m fortunate enough to be teaching grade 1 literacy again this coming year and I have high hopes and big plans for what my literacy workshops are going to look like. Based on my first year of classroom experience, I’ve decided to immerse myself in the work of three literacy gurus: Debbie Diller, Debbie Miller, and Lucy Calkins.

I’ve just finished rereading Literacy Work Stations: Making Centres Work by Debbie Diller. What follows is my first draft of literacy work stations that I hope to introduce over the first 6 weeks of grade 1 this fall.

Miss B’s Literacy Stations (Max. # of students)

1. Listening Station (2)

-”I Can” instructions card
-labelled basket with baggies for earphones
-labelled basket for books, CD’s in cases, Discmans
-CD player with instructions posted?
2. Overhead Station

-”I Can” instructions card
-basket/binder for transparencies with songs/poems learned

-? Sorts ‡ retells, sounds, etc.

-dry erase markers
3.   Poetry Station   2   -”I Can” instructions card
-special pens, paper for copying poems
-bin of poetry books and cards to read
-?pocket chart with poems
4.   Working With Words
Station
(initially phonemic awareness, then WordWall)   4   -”I Can” instructions card
-playdough + alphacards in plastic sleeves
-sounds match binders with transparent chips
-hair gel baggies + alphacards (laser copied)
-commercial alphabet memory game
-alphabet feltboards
-wikisticks and crayon
-printing boards and thin dry erase markers
-whiteboards, markers, 1-minute timer
-alphabet stamps, inkpads, 1/2 sheets of paper
-stencils, gel pens, 1/2 sheets of paper
-mini clipboards with lists of new/theme words
-footprints + other flash cards
5.   Big Book Station   2   -”I Can” instructions card
-big books, easel
-pointers (umbrella stand?)
-reading the room glasses
-task cards
6.   Classroom Library   2   -”I Can” instructions card
-pillows, chair, rugs, stuffies
-whisper phones
7.   Fluency Station   2   -”I Can” instructions card
-tape recorder (when working in pod)
-familiar books, poems, songs
-big plastic microphone
-buddy checklists
-puppets (make puppet read story)
8.   Writing Station   2   -”I Can” instructions card
-”I can write…” ideas file folders
-fancy paper (in accordian file?)
-special pens
-envelopes
9.   Guided Reading Station   4-6   -”I Can” card?
-whisper phones
-stickies
-student folders for RR (magazine file)
-head phones
-RR sheets
-writing implements
-6 whiteboards, dry erase markers, socks
-storage for extra GR books and loaned baggies

For All The Visual Learners…

missbee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:04:41 +0000

Wow. Not sure of the original source, but I found this while browsing Holly Nowalk’s site.

How I’ll Spend My Summer Vacation

missbee — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:25:57 +0000

The first full week of July and I’m finally settling into vacation mode. I don’t have big plans for July. Most of my plans revolve around organizing all of the boxes of clutter I’ve accumulated over the school year and, of course, making a dent in my reading pile. Pictured here are some of the books I’ll be reading.

I’m experimenting with the Facebook Visual Bookshelf Application for tracking what I’m reading and what I’d like to read, but I’m not linking that application to this one just yet.

Another couple of books that didn’t make the photo are those that I’ve borrowed from OCT’s Margret Wilson Library. This is a great service of the college: select books from the online catalogue, submit your request, and they arrive in the mail! They also come with a postage-paid tag to send them back. I’ve got two bundled and ready to drop in the post tomorrow.

One of the two books I’m returning is Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development by Gillie Bolton. I learned quite a bit from this book about the merits of writing and reflecting in order to help me become a better teacher. This week, by some kind of lucky coincidence, I also stumbled across an opportunity to be part of a reflective practice training group this year, and I’m got my registration beside me, ready to be faxed tomorrow. I’ve learned a lot about how writing helps my students become better learners and now it’s time to practice a little of what I’ve been preaching.

An Ideal Field Trip

missbee — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:01:02 +0000

Last Tuesday, I took my class to the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada, near Guelph, ON. Although the trip was mostly outside and we took a bit of a gamble with the weather (the rain held off) this really was a great location for a field trip. It got the kids out of the city and gave them hands-on experience with something completely new. I think the trip had a really positive message about humane treatment of animals and the beauty of rural life. What made it incredibly stress-free for me, however, was the fact that we were in a contained environment, so I didn’t have to worry about children getting lost, distracted or separated from the group. The bus travel time was about 30 minutes (just long enough to build anticipation) and we were prepared with activities for the children to do, so there was no chance for boredom. A great day that I’d really like to repeat!

A Roomful of Poets

missbee — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:10:50 +0000

This week, I started the last writing unit of in the Lucy Calkins Units of Study series for K-2: “Poetry – Big Thoughts in Tiny Packages.” My students (and I) are loving it!

There’s no denying that I have a special spot for poetry in my worldview. 4.5 years studying English Lit. is partly to blame. It’s really just FUN though–and I know my students would agree with me on this–to experiment with language. At the grade 1 level, this is the easiest way to do it.

I’m also impressed to see that some of my struggling writers are already excelling with this genre. I’m surprised by who is able to think abstractly and some of the things that come out of their mouths are absolutely beautiful! A personal favourite is a poem about a paper towel: “It sounded like the wind breathing/ when I ripped it.” The wind breathing!!! Oooh…shivers down my spine!

Viral Literacy

missbee — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:14:31 +0000

It’s happening. It’s actually happening! Beginning in January, I started reading Jeff Brown’s Flat Stanley books to my class. Serendipitously, the books appeared in the following month’s Scholastic order and several children ordered Flat Stanley books. Now, I’m pleased to hear that several students are reading these books at home and, more importantly, that several of them are doing most of the reading independently! What once was beyond their level is now “just right.” Given a taste for Flat Stanley (and chapter books in general!) they’re developing an addiction.

Watch out. Literacy is contagious.