A Peek at My Week {6-08-14}

It's my last week!!!  Wahoo!!!  Sorry this post is late.  (Thanks to Ana at Mrs. Bentin's Blackboard for the text message and reminder that I hadn't posted this week's linky yet.  I guess that even though there's one week left, my brain has already left the building.  :)  So please link up your plans for the week.  I'm guessing most of you have "home" plans because you are already on break and that is good too!

Being the last week of school, there are a lot of end-of-the-year loose ends to tie up.  We will have our awards assembly, AR goal ice cream party, a talent show and field day.  Thankfully, there is something going on almost every day to help keep us busy.

In the classroom, we will be finishing up our read aloud of this wonderful book.

Love this book and the beautiful story of August.  I also love how the story end on the last day of school, about the same exact day we will read this part and end our story this year.

We've done quite a few readers theater scripts this year to work on fluency.  This week, I'm going to have the students work in groups and write their own script.  It should be interesting to see what they come up with.

Today, I found this fun pin on Pinterest.  I love this project (anything that incorporates writing and art is awesome!) and will find somewhere to work this into our schedule.  Students write about their year then decorate their hand print and the border.  I think it would make a great memory of our year.

I'm working on making Goodbye Bags for the kids.  I went to Walmart and the dollar store this morning and loaded up on lots of fun things.  When I get it all together, I will post about it.

I was thinking of continuing the A Peek at My Week linky party throughout the summer, linking up to share our fun summertime plans, but I was wondering what you think.  Do you want to see A Peek at My Week continue?  Please leave me your thoughts in a comment below.  (Also, my Thursday linky party, Positive Thinking Thursday, will continue throughout the summer.  Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to do so!)

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Taking Time for Reflection

This past week, I wrapped up writing class.  This year, I have been teaching writing to two classes while one of my team members taught math to my class. It was a great arrangement and it allowed me to really dive into writing instruction, something I love!

I am a big believer in reflecting.  It is important to take time to think about where we've been and where we are now.  This is something that is also important for our students.  In the busyness of the day and year, we sometimes forget to have our students stop and reflect on their growth.

On Thursday, I handed back each student's Treasure Chest.  These are the writing portfolios we used to keep all of our writing projects safe.  At the beginning of the year, I gave each student a manila folder and asked them to decorate it with the things that were important to them.

Throughout the year, we would add writing pieces to the Treasure Chest.  On Thursday, the students had a chance to go back and see all of their writing from the beginning of the year up until now.  I gave them about 30 minutes to look through their Treasure Chest.  It was so exciting to watch them!  You could almost feel the excitement in the room as they went back and reread their mystery book they wrote, their poetry or their biography reports, among many other things.

The best part is listening to the students talk about how much they grew as writers this year.  Looking at pieces from the beginning of the year, I heard comments like "Well, that's not a good lead", "My story doesn't go anywhere", or "Where are my paragraphs?"  While I reminded them that they did the best they could at the time, the real celebration is in that they now recognize and use qualities of good writing.  They can see their growth right before their eyes.

Simply amazing!

Positive Thinking Thursday {6-05-14}

Happy Thursday!  Feeling positive today?  If so, please post about it and link up here.  If not, take advantage of the link ups and turn your negativity into positivity!

Here's my positive thought for the week:

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Don't you just love Audrey?

As we are all looking on toward summer and making plans, remember that anything you want to do is possible.  You just have to get started!

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Currently -- Bring on June!

I nearly forgot that today was June 1st.  How could that be???  If you are looking for my Sunday linky party, A Peek at My Week, please scroll down to the next post.  Otherwise, it's time to check in with Farley of Oh' Boy 4th Grade for Currently.

Listening:  80's music rocks!  That was when music was music.  (Never mind that my kids call it the "oldies"...such disrespect.)

Loving:  My son got his license and now he gets to do all of the running around that I used to do.  He doesn't complain though. This is how he pays for his gas.

Thinking:  Two weeks of school left.  Who thought it was a good idea to have three weeks of school after Memorial Day?  Seriously....

Wanting:  A late spring means prolonged allergies.  Achoo....

Needing:  My get up and go has got up and left.  There's so much to do, I just need the energy to do it.

This Summer:  Read the pile of books I've been collecting all year; Write because I love it; Play because life is too short not to.

How about you?  What are you Currently up to?  Head over to Farley's blog and share?

A Peek at My Week {6-01-14}

It's Sunday, which means it's time for another edition of A Peek at My Week, my weekly linky party where you can share what you've got going on this week.  Many of you are on summer vacation (lucky you!), but I still hope you will link up and share your plans for your week.  If nothing else, it gives those of us who are still in school hope that there is life on the other side of the last day of school.

Two more weeks...two more weeks....I can do this.

Last week, we finished reading Frindle.  The kids really loved this book and all of the crazy antics between Nick and Mrs. Granger.  It was an awesome end-of-the-year read.  This week, we are reading The Chocolate Touch.  (Chocolate is something that is near and dear to my heart.)  We began on Friday, and the students have already figured out that there is a connection between this story and mythology (King Midas and the Midas Touch.)

This is our last week for Writing class.  We are finishing up our "Seeing Both Sides" papers.  For this project, I asked students to choose from a list of "opinionated" topics (Students should go to school year-round, Kids should be allowed to have their phones at school, All students should be required to play an instrument, etc.) and to write about BOTH sides of each topic.  This took lots of modeling and practice because it's very difficult for 4th graders to see anybody else's point of view, but it was worth it.  We will be publishing our papers then having a publication party.

On Tuesday, the hubby and I will celebrate 19 years of wedded bliss!  Talk about time flying!

Looking ahead....I am super excited to be attending the All Write Summer Institute in Warsaw, IN on June 19-20.  There is a great line up of speakers - Donalyn Miller, Stephanie Harvey, Ruth Ayers, Colby Sharp, Franki Sibberson and my writing idol, Barry Lane.  I can't wait!!  Are you going???

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Have a great week!

Positive Thinking Thursday {5-29-14}

It's Thursday which means it's time to share some positive thoughts!  I hope you will join me in spreading positivity today by linking up to share your own positive thought for Positive Thinking Thursday.

Today's positive thought is dedicated to my good friend, Heather, and is also for all you "nerds" out there. You know who you are! Ever since I met Heather, I have learned to embrace my inner nerd -- that passion for something that others don't always seem to understand.  What are you nerdy about?

Image via Pinterest

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I sometimes feel like this when I'm really being nerdy:

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Have a great Thursday!

A Peek at My Week {5-25-14}

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Memorial Day weekend seems to be the official kickoff to summer.  I can't wait!!  Let's take a peek at my upcoming week....

We still have three weeks of school left (but who's counting???)  The kids are pretty much "done" (if you know what I mean), so this is the time when I really have to pack the plans full of good stuff to keep 'em moving.

We are finishing up our novel study of Frindle, by Andrew Clements.  

I bought a class set of these books from Scholastic awhile back when they were $1 each.  (LOVE those deals!!)  This is a great end-of-the-year read because the characters in this book are in the 5th grade, which my students are getting ready for.  Nick is quite the character and my students can relate to him.  It's so funny to listen to their discussions about the choices he makes and some of the things he tries to pull on his teacher, Mrs. Granger.

In writing, we will be writing letters to next year's 4th graders.  We are working on opinion writing, so these letters will be my students' advice on how to prepare to be a 4th grader.  It's always so interesting to read what they think!

On Wednesday, we have our class list meeting.  This is where we sit with the teachers of our incoming students and tentatively choose a class.  The teachers talk about the strengths and areas of concern for each class, then we choose a class that we feel a connection with.  Honestly, there is so much growth and change that happens during the summer between 3rd and 4th grades that many of the concerns disappear and we start fresh in the fall.

On Thursday, we will be celebrating Wisconsin's birthday!  We have been working on a month-long research project called "Come Visit Wisconsin" and will finish up on Tuesday.  So on Thursday, we throw a birthday party of Wisconsin and sample all kinds of Wisconsin foods -- cheese curds, cranberries, Sprechter root beer, bratwurst.  The kids love it!!

That's it for this week!  I wish you a wonderful Memorial Day!  Please take a moment to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our wonderful country.

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