Sunday, May 11, 2014

Hocus Pocus…Keep Them Focused!- Part 2

We all know teachers are magic, but it seems that this time of year, our magical powers need a little extra umph and a maybe even an ABRACADABRA to get us to that last day of school!  So, I teamed up with some amazing intermediate bloggers to create some magic of our own!  You may recall that a couple of weeks ago, we joined forces to swap some of our favorite resources, armed with the goal of putting a little extra magic in our lessons and keeping our students engaged during these final weeks of the school year.

Credit goes to these talented graphic & font artists: Krista Wallden, KG Fonts & CC Fonts.

As promised, we’re all back today with Part 2 of our blog hop giveaway – the big reveal – viola!

I am so excited to share with you the product that I used in my classroom this week.  I swapped products with Kelly Benefield from Teaching Fourth.  I used her Spring Themed Graphic Organizers to keep my students focused and help prepare them for the BIG state assessment they will take next week.

Here is a look at how I used two of the graphic organizers found in this packet with my students.  

First, we read an AMAZING story from Storyworks Magazine called Good Enough.  It is a sweet story about a girl that REALLY wants a name brand shirt, so she will fit in with the girls at her school.  Her father is out of work, so her family can not afford the expensive shirt.  However, for her birthday, she receives a "fake" or "knock off" version of the shirt.  Of course, she is embarrassed and ashamed of the shirt and does not want to wear it to school.  In the end of the story, Dori, the main character, learns that material things are not important.  :)
So, the students worked in small groups to read the story and discuss it.  I used two graphic organizers from Kelly's pack to help the students review some of the literature standards.  The students worked on identifying the characters, setting, the events that make up the plot, and the theme of the story.  Kelly's Plot Mountain graphic organizer reviewed all of these skills.

After completing the Plot Mountain, the students completed another graphic organizer to determine the character traits of the main character, Dori.  The students had to analyze the text to determine a character trait based on the character's actions and the words of the character.

Here is a look at a couple of my student samples.


I was SO pleased with the work my students did and the way they were able to take apart the text using these organizers to pinpoint key details.  The students loved the activities as well.  In fact, I teach two classes of ELA and both groups commented about much fun they had in class.  Music to a teacher's ears….the kids were engaged, learning took place, and the final products were FAB-U-LOUS!  Thanks to Kelly for an AWESOME product!

Now to our second round of magic giveaway!  We decided to switch things up a bit by having several winners this time around!   In fact, 14 classrooms will receive a little magic for their own classrooms!  Each of the blogs featured below will be giving their prize to a different winner!

So, perhaps you want to know what MY winner will collect!  Whoever is drawn as the winner from my blog will receive my Flippin' through the Common Core- Flip Flaps for Reading Interactive Notebooks.
If you would like to see how these can be used in the classroom, check out Kelly's blog post.


Here’s what you need to do for this giveaway:

Stop by each blog to read about all the magic that has been spread around classrooms near and far!

Enter to win each blogger’s resource using the raffle below.  Each blog is showcasing the same Rafflecopter, so you can just add entries as you go! 

While you are at each blog, if you’re not a blog follower already, sign on to follow!  (You can earn bonus entries for following all blogs once you unlock the additional entries.)

Again, a total of 14 winners will be named!   Each blog will award a winner.  That individual will receive the prize listed at that blog!

Here’s the list of blogs to visit: 
Swap Stop A
Teaching FourthTeaching with Blonde Ambition

Swap Stop B 
Fifth in the Middlehttp://thebrownbagteacher.blogspot.com/

Swap Stop C 
http://iheartrecess.blogspot.com/http://middlegradesmaven.blogspot.com/

Swap Stop D 
http://crafting-connections.blogspot.com/http://www.theteacherstudio.com/

Swap Stop E 
http://createteachandshare.blogspot.com/http://teachingtoinspirein5th.blogspot.com/

Swap Stop F 
One Lesson at a Timehttp://www.commoncoreandsomuchmore.com/

Swap Stop G 
Photobuckethttp://www.thesciencepenguin.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Well, friends, here’s the blogosphere sending a little magic your way this May! :)

3 comments:

  1. I love my Scholastic Storyworks subscription!! Great activities ladies!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed for some May Magic!

    Susan
    LopezLandLearners

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there,
    This new Canadian website might be of interest to you:
    www.resources4teaching.com
    We offer some features that are not offered on any other similar website.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was diagnosed as HEPATITIS B carrier in 2013 with fibrosis of the
    liver already present. I started on antiviral medications which
    reduced the viral load initially. After a couple of years the virus
    became resistant. I started on HEPATITIS B Herbal treatment from
    ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC (www.ultimatelifeclinic.com) in March, 2020. Their
    treatment totally reversed the virus. I did another blood test after
    the 6 months long treatment and tested negative to the virus. Amazing
    treatment! This treatment is a breakthrough for all HBV carriers.

    ReplyDelete