Throwback Thursday

What is your forever book? 

I'm back for another Throwback Thursday. First of all, it's August 1st!! In less than one month, we'll be welcoming in brand new third graders. It is hard to believe how quickly summer flew by! Throughout this month, I will post parent information, classroom photos, important dates for you.

Now let's flashback again to September 2011...Our third graders were just getting used to going to school ALL day. Forever Books was one of my most treasured lessons in the beginning of first grade. I would love to see if these students still care as deeply for the book they shared as they did two years ago. It's something we may have to revisit this year. Anyway, it was always fun to have other staff share their books as well. This past year, I had the privilege of sharing my forever book to Mr. Holden's class. I loved going in with the first graders to share my special memories of my book, which you can see below.

Have a fabulous weekend!!
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September 13, 2011


 We have been talking about our reading lives in Reading Workshop. I introduced the students to my forever book, Just Grandma and Me, at the beginning of the year. It is my forever book because it reminds me of all the special times I shared with my grandma on vacation when I was a little girl.

Today, Mrs. Cooper shared her forever book with the class. Umbrella is her forever book because her mom read it to her when she was a little girl and now she reads it to her girls. They LOVE to play in the rain, so the book has extra special meaning to her.

The students are sharing their Forever Books with each other. Some chose a book because it was read to them by mom. Others choose a book because they had a special connection to the story. Some students just LOVE their book and said they have read it over and over and over again.

Throwback Thursday

It's that time again, Throwback Thursday. Today, I'm thinking about Building Community. Community has always been an important aspect of my teaching philosophy. When we support and care for one another, we can excel. I'm a huge proponent of Responsive Classroom. As a first grade teacher, we would begin every day with Morning Meeting. I'm exploring what Responsive Classroom and community looks like in a departmentalized grade level. We are very close in third grade. Though we each have a homeroom, every third grader is OUR student. Mrs. Oppenheim, Mrs. Holt-Taylor, and I take an active interest in the "whole child." Two years ago, our class motto was "Room 105 C.A.R.E.S." I will be implementing a similar idea this year. Stay tuned for more!



 September 23, 2011 

I wanted to share about our introduction to CARES. CARES stands for Cooperation, Accountability, Respect, Empathy, and Self-Control. We focused on one word a day this past week. I read a children's book each day, showcasing the character trait and then led a discussion. Students are beginning to develop an understanding of these "big" words, but we have much more planned! Next week, we will be participating in roll plays. Students will also will be creating a page for our book "Room 105 CARES!"

Below you can check out the books used in introducing CARES.

COOPERATION

ACCOUNTABILITY 

RESPECT

EMPATHY

SELF-CONTROL

 

Throwback Thursday

I'm linking up again with Cara from The First Grade Parade for another blast from the past. Mrs. Oppenheim told me at the beginning of last year that I would be blown away with what the students write in Third Grade. Wow! My students did in fact "blow me away." At first I was a little disappointed that we did not use "books" to write in during Writing Workshop. Instead the students had Composition Notebooks (and we did get to publish). My disappointment quickly faded after the first week of Writing Workshop. I kept bringing stories over to Mrs. Oppenheim to read. Well, let's flashback to October 2011. These now Third Graders are sharing their Pattern Books. Can't wait for what they have in store for me this year!



 October 28, 2011

Today we completed our Pattern Unit in Writing Workshop. The students chose one book to keep in the writing portfolio. We enjoyed sharing our books with friends. This opportunity not only allowed students to share their book, but also gave students practice on partner reading and helped build community.

I modeled how the student is to listen to their partner. We also gave each other compliments. After the sharing, we met together and discussed the compliments. Students noticed that others used punctuation. Others were impressed with the pattern in the book. Detailed illustrations was another compliment.

Here are a few other things we did this week...

We worked with short i.

We used the iPad during Guided Reading!

We worked on Quilt Squares.