Support for a Friend and Others

I have a list in my mind of the worst things anyone can ever hear. At the top of that list is: "You have cancer." Sadly, a blogging friend of mine has now heard those words twice! And she's only 33! And she does all the right things! It's the kind of situation that fuels my anxiety over little things. I always wonder, "What if it's not really little?" The good news is that this friend, Mandy at Cooperative Learning 365, has the perfect attitude. She's ready to "cowboy up" as we say here in Texas and fight this thing a second time. And I know she will do it. To raise awareness, Mandy is having a linky party at her blog, and I joined to show my support for her, and others I know fighting cancer. I show my support by posting this ribbon on my blog. How can you add your support?

FREE Fifth Grade Emergency Sub Plans

Finally, now my first set of elementary level emergency sub plans is complete! And just in time for cold and flu season. I just put the finishing touches on fifth grade plans based on the book Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. I know fifth grade teachers have differing opinions on the value of teaching through picture books. Many feel students at this age should be reading and analyzing higher level books.

However, my thinking here is twofold:
1) Practically speaking, these plans are meant to be completed in one day while a substitute teacher is in the room. A higher level chapter book cannot even be read in one school day, much less have time to complete activities.
2) Philosophically speaking, I am on the other side of the debate. I am an adult and still many times get much out of picture books. Fifth graders can take picture book analysis to a much higher level. So while, many students may already know the story in the picture book, they have not done such challenging activities with it.

All that being said, here are the fifth grade plans based on Stellaluna. As with my other plans, these contain a warm-up, a reading lesson, a language arts activity, a social studies lesson, a science activity, and some math problems.

Scary Stories for Halloween

With today being Halloween, my students and I celebrated by reading their scary stories. They had been writing the stories for a little over a week, and used a shortened version of the writing process. They began by using my Scary Story Map. They then went from the story map to their rough draft. I had them proof and edit their own story, and then they traded and had a buddy proof and edit it. We went from there to their final copy which they wrote on notebook paper, glued to black construction paper, and drew a picture in white crayon.

Today, they all got a turn to share. I turned out most of the lights and gave the author a flashlight... and the fun began! I was so proud of all their stories. While they all have plenty to work on, every single student wrote a cohesive story, even my low ones. It was great! And the students really had a spooky good time. Here are a few photos.

Easy (and FREE) Multiplication Lapbook

As we started our multiplication unit, I wanted my students to create a lapbook. Other multiplication lapbooks I've seen focus on learning the facts and have lots of intricate foldables. Well, I didn't have the patience to help 19 kids create these foldables correctly, so I designed a simpler lapbook. My goal was to have all the basic information about multiplication in one place, especially the academic vocabulary. I also wanted to students to take ownership of the information, so they filled in the pieces with guidance.

First, start with a file folder. I used colored ones to add some fun. Open the file folder up all the way and fold each end into the middle to create a book that opens like barn doors. The title frame glues on the front, students write their name, and decorate the cover in a multiplication theme.

The center of the lapbook is a multiplication chart that the students completed. I used the Multiplication Tables: Blank (0-12) template from Super Teacher Worksheets.

On the left side of the book, students drew a picture illustrating the key action of multiplication (Join Equal Sets), wrote key words that often signify to multiply in a story problem, and looked for patterns in the multiplication chart.

On the right side, the students defined vocabulary words and wrote down strategies to use to figure out the facts.

I am thrilled with how the lapbooks turned out, and the students like to use them. As they have had multiplication assignments, every student is using their lapbook as a reference without even being asked.

And here are the pieces to download for FREE: Easy Multiplication Lapbook

Red Ribbon Week

It's Red Ribbon Week, and we celebrate at my school with wearing certain colors and other things to signify the Pillars of Character and saying no to drugs. This time of year we are also doing Dream Boards where students complete posters of their dreams for the future, including what they want to be, where they want to go to college, and where they want to live. I thought a perfect class meeting lesson this week would be to talk about goal setting. So, we talked about what the students wanted to be when they grow up. I always love that question. This year I got answers from a composer to a scientist to a teacher to a ninja. Haha! Then we talked about how you can't reach goals if you do drugs... one bad choice could change your whole life. Finally I had the students finished the sentence, "I will be drug free so I can become ____________." And they illustrated. I glued them all together on a piece of paper to make a class "quilt." The results were super cute!

Paint with Words

I always tell my students that writing is like painting with words. The writer needs to paint a clear image of what is in the story, just like an artist paints details into a picture. I use this handout with a mini lesson on using descriptions and specific words. This should be used after the students know adjectives and adverbs. And you probably should have done some lessons on "tired" words to help students choose more specific ones. This activity is a culmination of those lessons. It is quite simple. The students look at the basic, boring sentence and choose words to add to it to make it a more descriptive, exact sentence. I usually have the students choose their favorite expanded sentence and illustrate it on the back according to their descriptions. So if your students need some practice with Painting with Words, then download this freebie.

Using "Smart" to Introduce Money Unit

When introducing a unit, I love to generate interest by reading a story or, in this case, a poem. My favorite to introduce a unit on money is "Smart" by Shel Silverstein. It can be found in Where the Sidewalk Ends. The poem is about a boy who trades a dollar for two quarters because two is more than one. It continues until he ends up with only five pennies and is very proud of himself.

To start with, I read the poem straight through and ask students to write in their math journals if they feel "Smart" was an appropriate title for the poem and to explain their answer. We usually come to the conclusion that money isn't about how many of each coin you have; it is about the value of those coins.

I then read the poem through again while the students use manipulatives to show the trades and calculate how much money was lost at each level.

The students love this poem because they love to point out how they are smarter than the boy in the poem.