Daily 5, Chapter 2

Happy 4th of July!!

I'm off to visit a friend for a few days...but I won't leave you behind! :) (She has to study for her Social Work Licensing Exam, so I told her I'd bring stuff to do...computer is coming with!) Hopefully I'll be spending some time on the beach with my Kindle! :)

Now onto the Daily 5!

Chapter 2 was about the management and the foundations of Daily 5.
One of the first thing the Sisters talked about was Trust. Trust is huge! The trust that a teacher builds with the class is one of the most important bonds that a teacher can have. Children need to trust that the teacher knows what she/he is doing, and the teacher needs to trust his/her students to do their best work and put an effort into their learning.

Sometimes, when my children came to me with something (minor), I would look at them and tell them "I trust you. I know that you'll do the right thing/your best work". They would just look at me, nod their heads and walk away. They usually walked away with their heads held higher, since they then had the confidence knowing that their teacher had trust in them.

Choice is also mentioned in this chapter. I am a big believer in having choice for the kids. I don't bug them about what books they are reading, as long as they are reading. I think that when I implement workshops/centers in my classrooms this year, I'll let the students choose what order they want to work on things. I'll still have the must-dos that will need to be completed by the end of the day, but they can decided what they are working on and when.

My students really liked it when I gave them an open-ended project (see here for an example), but let them choose who they did, or what book it was on. We did Literature Circles for the last two months of school, and they got really excited when  I told them that they were going to have a choice on what books they read (they put down 3, so some of them did not get their first choice).

Stamina is one of the most important things that we can help our students with. I had one child, when I taught Kindergarten, who could not sit still for 5 minutes. By the end of the year, he was able to sit still for almost 15 minutes. We did it by gradually increasing the time I expected him to sit still, and any time I notice any squirming, I had him stand up and move a little.

We shouldn't expect children to be able to pay attention or attended to a task on the first day. We have to gradually increase the time that we expect them to work. I love to read, and can literally read all day without any breaks...but then, I've had almost 30 years of building my stamina in that area! :)

Building independence and routines is also talked about in this chapter. I'm a firm believer that the first 6 weeks of school are the most important, because that is when you build the routines and expectations for the class. You can introduce routines and expectations later on in the year...but I feel that it runs more smoothly if you start it off that way.

Have a wonderful 4th!
Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Guided Math, Chapters 4 & 5

So I finished my 4th of July cupcakes...which you'll see a picture of later! :) They turned out super cute, and I used a trick I found on Pinterest to ice them, and it worked out well.

Now onto the Math portion of our evening...

Chapter 4

• This chapter was about Whole-Group Instruction. I think a lot of teachers...myself included...think, or used to think, that whole group was the only way to teach Math instruction. I began to realize this past year that while it has its place, it's not the only way to teach Math.
• I love how she included how to run a mini-lesson and the structure of a mini-lesson. I started using this a lot this year, teaching a whole group mini-lesson, then sending the kids to work in partners or groups of three to practice the skill. Some kids preferred to work alone, which was fine, and I was available to help those that needed it (People coming in often found me sitting on the floor and couldn't find me at first...I blend in! :)
• I really liked how she took things that we normally use in Reading and other subjects (KWL, Anticipation Guides) and showed us how we can relate them to Math and use them in our math instruction.  This is definitely something that I want to use next year, especially when introducing an new unit or concept. 
• Math Workshops were also introduced in this chapter, as an introduction to do after the whole group teaching. I'm wondering how well Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations would work within this structure? (I still haven't delved into my copy...)
• Sammons also had a small section on technology in this chapter, which really interested me, especially since I have a SMART Board this year. I know Khan Academy is a wonderful site. Bloggy Friends, do you have any other suggestions?

Chapter 5

• This chapter was about Small Group Instruction. Just like Language Arts has its Guided Reading groups,  Math can be taught in small groups as well. 
• I think that this would be very beneficial to students, since they'll be getting focused teaching. However, what about the students that I'm not reaching that day and still don't understand it? I think it will be a matter of finding a balance between all of the components, and something I can't do until I meet the kids and have a few weeks with them.
• A great deal of this chapter was focused on assessment and forming the groups. We use NWEA (MAP to some of you) to test three times a year, but how reliable is that data? It looks at one day, a few hours, and I don't think it is the truest reflection of a student's skills or knowledge. 
• Do I change groups for every unit? Sammons suggested pretesting at the beginning each new unit, and use that data to help form the groups.
• When working with the groups, how am I measuring their progress? I know I want a lot of the activities to be hands-on, but I need to show how the students are progressing. 

• I love how she went through a structure of a lesson with a small group. It will definitely come in handy when teaching!
• I was thinking about how Guided Reading and Guided Math groups are similar in their structure and purpose. For GR, I use post-its to record my thoughts/observations on a student (they're all on a clipboard) and I transfer them to a binder later on. I was thinking I could do the exact same thing for GM, (same binder but different sections!), and then I would have anecdotal data on how the students are progressing.
• This would also help when planning for the next day's lesson, or the skills I need to go back and review with the group, or even the whole class. 

• One thing that struck me while reading, is that I feel (and I also got the impression from Sammons), that the groups need to be flexible based on the students. Some of my kids last year were really good at computational math, but had a hard time with the more abstract math, like geometry, and vice versa. By having flexible small groups, those kids that struggle with those certain skills can get the reinforcement that they need and not be stuck in the lowest group for the whole year. 

Thank you for listening to reading my ramblings!!
Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Guided Math, Chapters 1-3

Y'all, I know that I am WAY late with this one. But I thought that I would share my thoughts up to this point, and try to join in on the rest of the chapters.

Last year, I used the Four Frames Framework to guide my math instruction. It divided my hour long math block into 4 sections:
5-10 minutes- Perfect Practice-a quick review of previously learned skills
10-15 minutes- Calendar Math- we used Every Day Counts
10-15 minutes- Problem Solver- taught the kids how to problem solve uses word problems and different techniques
Rest of the time (hopefully 15-20 minutes)- Direct Instruction- we had a curriculum map to follow and used Scott Foresman Math-this was mostly whole group

This year, I have an hour again, but this is the Math curriculum that I received when I went in for a few hours:

According to my mentor, there is no Calendar Math, and instruction is supposed to be mostly whole group. She did say something that I found kind of shocking when I thought about it...she was talking about some of the problems in the early units, and how the kids would not be able to do some of them because.....they do not know range (median, mode, etc.) is OR how to do simple division.

I was blown away. These are supposed to be incoming 4th graders, and I think (and in my experience) that they should at least have a vague idea on what division is!

Okay. That's where I am right now. I walked away from that meeting knowing that I wanted to try some sort of Math Workshop (or at least not doing all whole group teaching), and I needed to come up with a plan for Calendar Math (which I think is very important in practicing daily skills). I went home and ordered some books...

Just ignore that Guided Reading book for this post! :)

I got Math Work Stations first, but I haven't had time to delve into it. I got Guided Math last week.
Here are my thoughts so far.
Chapter 1

• I liked how she gave an overview of the framework, and then went into more detail for each chapter.
• I totally learned Math in a whole class way-and had some trouble along the way
• I like how she included the schedule to show that not everyday has to be a workshop day...some days can be whole class lessons.
• The emphasis of this and how it will work for you is based on the needs of your students. She does state that, which makes me happy. I feel like she knows that everyone needs to tailor the approach to their teaching styles and the needs of their students. 

Chapter 2

• Numeracy seems to be the standard that most schools/districts have the most trouble with. Creating a numeracy rich environment and continuous practice of these skills is one way that we can help raise those test scores.
• I love how she talks about creating a learning community. I am a big proponent of Responsive Classroom, and I feel that the ideals of this fit right into that. 
• I like how she breaks it down, for storing the manipulatives, to classroom arrangement, to having Math Journals (makes sense, since my kids had Writing Journals).
• I think that a lot of the time, teachers can fall back on the paper/pencil routine for math. We can forget how important it is for kids to be doing and creating. Sammons talks a lot about how we can make math more hands on for students, which I really like.
• On a side note, I started incorporating foldables more into my my instruction when I was teaching Geometry and Angles, and the kids ate it up. I felt they learned those skills much better because of the way that I changed my instruction, and they told me they liked having the foldable to go back to! :)

Chapter 3

• I really like the idea of Math Stretches. I think that it is something that could be easily incorporated into my Morning Meeting,  and a great way to introduce students into the day. Just like Morning Meeting gets them ready for the school day and bonding as a community, Math Stretches flexes those brain muscles to get them ready for thinking.
• Math Stretches or using Math could also be included in the Morning Message (I write a letter to my kids every day telling what we are going to do, or things they did well).
• Calendar is HUGE! I think it is important to have daily work with numbers, problem solving, graphing and more. It keeps the kids skills sharp on things that we are not currently doing, as well as keeping me on track for the date! ;)
• I love the fact that she included a problem solver, whether it be daily or weekly. I feel like a lot of common sense or problem solving skills are missing in the world, and if we teach our students to think outside the box, and to think of creative solutions to solve things, or to look at all aspects of a problems to figure out a solution. 
• We could make a problem solver journal, which they showed how they solved the problem, and dissected it to find the important information. This could be 1/2 a composition book (something I saw at a 4 Blocks Workshop)(so 10 books makes 20), with the problem typed up and glued to the top of the page. 

Whew! I think that's enough Math for now. I may post my thoughts on Chapters 4 and 5 later today...it depends on how my 4th of July cupcakes go!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Awards!!

Thank you so much Anne from Creative Happenings for giving me the Liebster Blog Award!!

This award highlights blogs that have less than 200 followers. Here are the rules for it:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. Thank the giver and link back to them
3. Reveal you top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

5 Bloggers

1.Nicole at Teaching, Stitching, and Parenting

2. Sabra at

3. Kristi at

 

4.  Kelly at An Apple for the Teacher

5. Lauren at

 I've also been given the Versatile Blogger Award from Ms. Walter at . Thank you!

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Thank the blogger who gave you the award
2. Include a link to their site
3. Include the award image
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award (I'll do some new ones...but not 15)
6. When nominating include a link to their site
7. Let other bloggers know they have been nominated

7 Random Facts:

1. I have been living with my parents ever since I got out of college (5 years!), but I am moving into my first apartment at the end of the month!!
2. My sister is adopted and we are friends with her birth family and spend time with them a few times a year.
3. I just received my M.Ed in Reading in May after 4 v-e-r-y long years!
4. I am a book hoarder...romance novels, professional books, children's books....I have a slight problem :)
5. I got a Kindle for Christmas 2010...I love it, but I do switch back and forth between reading it and reading 'real' books.
6. I am not afraid to let my opinions known (I've been having A LOT of fun playing with the poll people that have been calling ;)...and to speak up for my kids.
7. I love Tigger and have a small collection of Tiggers (people keep giving them to me!)

Bloggers

1. Lauren at

2. Sabra at

3.Brittany at 

4. Julie at

5. Laura at

 Thank you again!
Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Monday Made It and Freebies

It's time for another Monday Made It! Do you remember this....

and this....?

 

I took these and turned them into these!

Book Luggage for the kids! I orginally got the idea from Tara who got the idea from Beg, Borrow, Steal. I jazzed them up a little bit with ribbons on one side and I made cute ocean themes tags using KPM Doodles clipart.

Best part?

I'm sharing the tags I made with you! I made the numbers go up to 31, and included 5 blank ones as well. You can pick up your copy here.

I also made these for my friend's birthday. The finished product?

Take a look!

I just need to add tea light and wrap them up and they will be good to go for her birthday!

I think that's enough crafting for one day!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

July Currently

Y'all I know I'm breaking some sort of bloggy rule by posting twice in a day....but it's Farley's Currently! I think we can break the rules for that! ;)

  

Go link up! 

Smiles and Sunshine,

Kaitlyn

Daily 5 Chapter 1

Yay! The book study from has started! Chapter 1 in the Daily 5 was about how they changed their thinking throughout the years to find a system that works best for them.

When I first started teaching, I was teaching Kindergarten. When we did centers, there was always a lot of paperwork/busywork that my para or I had to correct. It certainly took a lot of time!

This year, I tried something a little different. The district I was in used the Four Blocks Framework (NOT my favorite...I think all the teachers had trouble with it!). The framework splits the "Guided Reading" block into three sections, Before Reading, During Reading, After Reading.

The mini-lesson occurred in the Before Reading, children practiced in During Reading and we were supposed to 'assess' in After Reading.  One thing that I changed was that I had the kids do more of their thinking and writing on post-its!

I would demonstrate the skill, and the children would practice it and then we would talk about our thinking and post-its as closure.

I definitely think that this worked better than the center practice that I did when I taught Kindergarten, but I still felt that something was missing. I wasn't really conferencing with students, or having students read books at their independent/instructional level (actual guided reading groups are frowned upon in Four Blocks...everyone should be reading grade level text during "Guided Reading").

Next year, in my new district, we are using Literacy By Design. From what I have seen so far, it is very scripted...BUT, I have guided reading groups (the correct, Fountas and Pinnell way), so there will be time when I am working with small groups of students that the rest of the class will need something to do.

The Sister's said it perfectly on page 15 "it is about helping our students develop independent literacy habits, so that we are free to work with small groups or have individual conferences"

I think the Daily 5 is a good way to model indpendence and structure our blocks of time so we are able to work with those students who need it.

 Wow! That turned out a lot longer than I thought it would! Go check out We Read We Blog We Teach for more insights!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn