Teaching Revision with our North Pole Designs

Day 3:

Last Friday, I introduced the North Pole Project to my class with the press release about the major earthquake at the North Pole, and a letter enlisting the students help in designing and rebuilding to insure Christmas Eve deliveries will take place as scheduled.  This anticipatory set had the students buzzing about the assignment and eager to get started on Monday morning.  Here's a link if you would like to read more about this:  http://beyondthegardengateclass.blogspot.com/2013/12/its-perfect-time-to-capture-our.html

Associated Press Newsflash: 

Major  earthquake has struck the North Pole!  All inhabitants have been relocated to Red Cross Emergency Centers, and will not be able to return for any reason, until the entire area has been rebuilt! 

For those who believe in Santa Clause this may have a slight impact on Christmas deliveries.

We will keep you updated on any news developments.

On Monday, the students were given the elves' requirements for the North Pole design.  They began the process of laying out the location of the various requirements, trying to honor the requests of the elves.  The focus here was creativity.  This seemed quite easy, and the students were happy with their designs.  You can read more about this at:  http://beyondthegardengateclass.blogspot.com/2013/12/designing-north-pole-let-creativity-soar.html

Yesterday, we added the reindeer' requirements to the mix.  This is when the students began to realize that they were going to have to categorize items, and move things around a bit.  Some problem solving was required, but they worked through it and were pleased with their results.  You can read more about this at:  http://beyondthegardengateclass.blogspot.com/2013/12/problem-solving-design-of-north-pole.html

So what did I have up my sleeve today?  Well revision of course!  Revision is not just for writing, and I find that it is easier to get my students to truly revise their writing when I have them practice the skill in other areas as well.  

The students were given the requirements of Santa & Mrs. Clause.  This was a much larger list, with quite a bit more specifics.  Unfortunately, there is no way to meet all of these requirements without doing some substantial revision.  Things must be moved to meet these new specifications. I wonder how that happened? 

Often in writing, students are quite attached to the words on their page, and they just can't seem to bring themselves to change them.  But with this project, the new requirements are fun and such an integral part of the North Pole community.  The students just dig in without a single complaint! 

The students will need to get their designs approved and then they will be able to begin building tomorrow.  I'll let you know how their designs look tomorrow - I'm anxious to see them myself! 

Creativity, Problem Solving, Revision, and fun!  

What could be better?

Keeping Everyone Happy - Problem Solving to Make a Design of the North Pole

Day 2:

So, yesterday my class started to design their layouts for the North Pole using the requirements of the elves.  The students were having a great time, and everything seemed quite straight forward and easy. But wait - nothing easy lasts forever in this classroom!!!!

So, today we added the requirements of the reindeer.  Many of the student partner groups simply got a new piece of paper and started a whole new design.  Really?  You think it's just that easy?

Oh no, no!!!  There is one North Pole community and all elements must be incorporated into one design.  The elves and the reindeer coexist together, and there are many things they enjoy doing together, but they also need their own unique spaces.  Everyone needs to be able to get around easily, but all requirements need to be incorporated into the design.  Ahhh...you are going to have to think a little harder and do some problem solving!  Darn it anyway!

I just love when those puzzled looks suddenly disappear - and the light bulb goes on!  What a fun day of problem solving and discovery!

• Hey, we can group things into categories! 
• Some things should not be in the town square, but should be on the outskirts of town!
• The reindeer are much larger than the elves, we need to incorporate that into our design!

It is so much fun watching the students discover their "Ah Ha's!"  And just wait until tomorrow when Santa & Mrs. Clause add a whole huge list of requirements of their own!  This is revision on an entirely new level!  

How to keep everyone happy?  This is problem solving at its finest!

Designing the North Pole - Let the Creativity Soar!

This week's blog entries will all cover my class' journey of creativity and design of the North Pole.  If you didn't read my last entry, I described the project that we are doing.  If you like what you see, your class can join us - this project is available at my TPT store.

Okay, today my students got into the project by analyzing the elves' requirements, and beginning a starting layout for the North Pole.  They are really loving this project, and it is so much fun listening to them as they discuss where the reindeer back riding trails should be, or the locations for the elves's housing.

I always feel I can tell how engaged my students are with a project by the length and depth of their discussions.  Today, they weren't only discussing their designs as they left for lunch, but they were still talking about it when they came back in after lunch!  I'd say they are in it this time!

Tomorrow, they will take a look at the reindeer' requirements, and start incorporating them together.  Too bad the elves and the reindeer don't always agree!  Oh well, I guess they'll work it out somehow!

Stay tuned in tomorrow, and I'll let you know some of the strategies they use!

Let the creativity soar!

It's the Perfect Time to Capture Our Student's Imaginations & Creativity!

Imagine It...                                   

   Design It...

       Create It...                            

I just love this time of year in the classroom!  I know...the student's minds are already half way out the door for the Winter Break...which could be so frustrating if we don't change up our teaching style.  

So...let's change it up!  I don't mean spend an entire two weeks on fluff with no educational value.  No, not at all.  This is the time of year that I like to capture the imaginations of my students.  

On Friday, I gave my students a press release about a major earthquake at the North Pole.  Everyone has been evacuated to Red Cross Shelters - which may affect Santa's deliveries, since no work can take place at the North Pole.  Gasp!  Moan!

Next, I gave them a letter sent to them from Santa, the elves and the reindeer, enlisting their help in designing and rebuilding the North Pole quickly so they can get back to work and make sure children everywhere will get their Christmas morning deliveries!  

So far, I have only let them choose a partner to work with.

Tomorrow, I will give the students the Elves' requirements so  they can begin to lay out a design for the North Pole.  Sounds easy enough, right?  But there is a catch...on Tuesday they will receive the reindeer's requirements, which may conflict slightly with the Elves! And on Wednesday they will need to figure in the requirements of Santa & Mrs. Clause.  Keeping everyone happy is going to be a bit of a challenge!  But, that's life, right?

Students will not begin to build their North Pole models until they get their designs approved by me, and that can't happen until all the requirements are met.  Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Common Core all incorporated in one fun, fun project!!!

My students are so excited, and can't wait to get started.  But there is a little problem for me, as well! I have two students that do not celebrate Christmas.  I don't want them to feel funny or left out, so I have created an entire alternate project for the South Pole.  Instead of Santa & Mrs. Clause there are the DoGoods - who kinda resemble old hippies!  The DoGoods perform good deeds for people all year long.  Of course they don't have a sleigh with flying reindeer - that's just ridiculous!  No, they have penguins that transport them around the world in the magical underwater DoGood Mobile!  And since there is no Santa's Workshop, they don't need elves!  But they do have gnomes that work in their "Making Dreams Come True" Workshop.  All of the fun, critical thinking, problem solving, and Common Core is still in place for these students as well.

Do you want to give it a try?  Go to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store - I've put it all together so you can use this project with your class as well!  

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Beyond-The-Garden-Gate-Shari-Bithell

Thanksgiving Week Idea #4 - My Family's Favorite Cranberry Recipe!

And here it is...

Shari's Cranberry and Pear Crisp

(I always make a double recipe, which fits a 14" x 8" casserole dish.  This is the amounts for a single recipe - 9" x 9" casserole dish)  - The topping has already been doubled - so you don't need to worry about that!

Filling:

1 bag of fresh cranberries

2 large pears, unpeeled and sliced

1 cup sugar (don't cut the sugar - you will be sorry!)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

1 stick of softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup chopped nuts

2 T flour

Mix filling ingredients and place in a greased 9" x 9" baking dish.

Cut together topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of fruit filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes before you serve it.

You can serve this warm or cold. 

We use it as a side dish, but it can also be a dessert.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Week Idea #3 - Have Fun With Listening and Writing

Your Students Become Police Sketch Artists to Aid the Police in Catching "Terrence the Terrorist Turkey"  Before He Ruins Thanksgiving for Everyone!

This is one of my favorite activities for Thanksgiving week.  My students love this one so much that I have packaged it as a Teachers Pay Teachers product, so everyone can enjoy it with their class!

As with all of my Criminal Character products, there is a fun story that requests your students help in catching a dastardly criminal out to ruin the holiday for everyone.  Your students are recruited as police sketch artists to help save the day!

All of these Criminal Character activities require good listening skills, as the students need to listen to the witness description and then create a sketch that the police can use to catch the bad guy!  The product includes note taking sheets, a wanted poster template for their illustrations, and a follow-up writing activity in which the students retell the story from the criminal's point of view.

This is a fun activity for your class, but very Common Core aligned for you!

If you are interested, check out "Criminal Turkey" along with my other Criminal Characters products:

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Beyond-The-Garden-Gate-Shari-Bithell

Happy Sleuthing!  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Week Idea #2 - Multicultural Feast

Share Our Cultures - Share Our Favorite Foods!

Rather than try to compete with Thanksgiving, I like my class to share their very favorite family foods with the class.  After all, isn't that what the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians did in 1621?  This first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the Pilgrim's first successful harvest, after the Indians had shared their knowledge of local crops.  This first feast was truly a blending of the foods of two very different cultures.

Our annual feast is a wonderful display of the best in people.  There is always an overabundance of food, prepared with love by mothers, grandmothers, and even the students themselves!  Sharing these delicious foods is special enough, but we don't stop there.  Prior to the feast, students share a five slide Power Point slideshow that they have created to introduce the class to their offering.  The students learn how to insert pictures, WordArt, and text boxes to create their own computer presentation.  

Power Point Slideshow:

• Slide 1:  Picture of the food and name of the food
• Slide 2:  Picture name of the culture that this food originated from
• Slide 3:  Ingredients (This is important for students with food allergies or religious concerns)
• Slide 4:  Picture of this food set on a table with a caption that shows us whether it is a main dish, side dish, or dessert
• Slide 5:  Family story that relates to this food.  (This is the best part - these stories are heartwarming and funny)  

I tell the students about the special cranberry recipe that my family always makes for Thanksgiving.  It has to be made just right, with double the oatmeal topping! Yum! One year, Aunt Mary changed the recipe!  Gasp!  She left off the topping and added orange to the cranberries!  Horror of horrors!  No one has yet gotten over it, and that must have been about 12 years ago!  Every year someone says, "Remember the year that Aunt Mary changed the cranberry recipe?"  Aunt Mary has been gone for about 5 years now, but her legacy lives on! - Check back to this blog on Friday, and I will share my family's favorite cranberry recipe!  It is truly worth the trip back!  Yum, but don't leave off the topping!

Once I get the thinking going, the students have so much to say, but I make them save it for their presentations!

Our Annual Multicultural Feast Truly is a "Taste of Harmony!"

And it's Fun Too!

Thanksgiving Week Idea #1 - It's a Great Time to Celebrate Diversity!

It is the Perfect Week to Celebrate our Cultures...

Just like the Pilgrims and the Indians!

Our country has become such a melting pot, that it is not unusual to have at least one student in the classroom that does not celebrate the traditional American holidays.  As I plan my activities for this week of Thanksgiving, I always try to remember these students.  Instead of stressing the idea of the holiday itself, I use this week as a time for students to share their family traditions and customs.

It does not matter whether a student actually celebrates Thanksgiving in their home, they are able to share their celebrations and festivities (not just at Thanksgiving - anytime throughout the year.)  I ask my students to think about the traditions that are important to their family.  These may have cultural or religious roots, but then again they may not.  Students might share what their family does every summer, for birthdays, or one student even shared about a football tradition for cheering on the USC Trojans!

To kick off this week, I first have my students create a poster that shows some of their family's customs and traditions.  I encourage the students to include pictures and captions, along with a title and any other decorations that they feel are appropriate.  The students and the parents love this assignment, and I get really beautiful work.

Now, when the posters come in I want the students to share their work, but the thought of 36 presentations just does not excite me!  So instead, I have half of my students put their poster up somewhere in the room or on a tabletop and stand by their poster.  The other half of the students walk around with a clipboard and a paper divided into 8 sections on the front and 8 sections on the back.  As they walk up to each poster, it is their job to listen to the student tell them a little about their family, then ask questions in the end.  Each student must find a connection or similarity between their own family traditions and those of the students that they have viewed.  (These do not have to be exactly the same - just similar in one way or another)

The students viewing the posters walk around the room for approximately 15 minutes viewing the various posters and finding connections.  After the allotted time, the students switch places and the viewers become presenters while the old presenters become viewers.

We culminated this activity with a whole class discussion on their findings.  My students were so insightful!  They noticed things such as:

• Most celebrations involved good food
• Most cultures incorporated some type of rice into their food dishes
• All celebrations involved family
• Many of the celebrations incorporated gift giving of some type
• Many of the celebrations used candles, lit decorations, or fire of some type
• There was religious significance to many of the family celebrations
•  Most celebrations involved dressing differently than just every day clothes, whether it was dressing up for church or wearing ceremonial or traditional clothing.

What  a great way for the students to realize that we are more similar than different - and I didn't even have to direct their thinking!

Reading Interest Charts Help Create Student Buy In

Chart Student Interest in Each Chapter  

End Up With a Plotline!

I love reading to my students!  There are so many benefits to taking the time to read a good book to your class.  First of all, you are modeling good expression and fluency.  But more importantly, you are helping your students to create the images in their head that are so important to reading comprehension.  

I read children's books often, so I am able to recommend good books to my students.  I want my students reading, reading, reading - and I want them to be enjoying the books that they read.  In choosing a book to read to my class, I try to select a book that most of the students in my class would not pick up to read.  I also want to be certain that it is an exciting book, that will grab their attention and won't let go. 

One of my favorite read-aloud books is The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.  The cover of this book simply does not appeal to most students, and the title doesn't help either!  Perfect! Ahhh...but the back of the book grabs their attention right off the bat!  Hmmmm....maybe this won't be so bad.  Then Avi starts the book with a warning to his readers - this usually seals the deal.  They just have to find out what happens.

We talk about plotlines, how an author needs to introduce characters and setting at the beginning of a book, how this is less exciting.  But then the author introduces a problem and builds suspense.  I tell them that we are going to chart our interest in this book, chapter by chapter, and discover the plotline for this book.

Here's our plotline for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle:

As you can see, my class loved this book!  After finishing each chapter, I have my students individually sort their thoughts in a response journal.  They can write about what surprised them, how the events made them feel, predictions, questions or things they wonder.  Then we have a class discussion about the chapter.  They love having a voice in rating each chapter, and the class discussion is very thoughtful as they strive to agree on a rating.  

I think it is a great way to get students excited about reading!  Give it a try - my students love it!

I Love Using Quotes in the Classroom!

Developing Critical Thinking Skills Using Quotes in the Classroom

I love using quotes in the classroom!  Listening to my students as they formulate ideas and begin to think deeper is one of the true joys of teaching!  I had one of those great moments in my classroom today, and I just had to share it!

I asked my students to take a good look at the poster above - I asked them to think about, but not answer the following questions:

• Is this literal or figurative language?
• With figurative language, imagery is very important - so look at the pictures in this poster.
• Look at the colors - who would these appeal to?
• What do they represent?
• With figurative language there is always symbolism 
• what words are being used to represent something else?  
• What is the theme of this poster?  
• How does this apply to your life?

First I had the students write in there journals, and then we discussed their ideas as a class.

At first I got the kinds of thoughts that I had expected - things like "success is sweet," or "try hard."  One of my students even talked about the different scoops of ice cream being our different goals.  Another student said there is not just one way to approach success, and like Baskin Robbins, there are at least 31 flavors/ways to approach a goal.  If one doesn't work for you just pick a different one!  So cute!!!

Then the students started relating this quote to some of the other quotes in the classroom, making connections and drawing correlations.  One student related this quote to the quote on our bulletin board - "Why not go out on a limb?  Isn't that where the fruit is?"  - drawing correlations between the fruit and the scoops of ice cream. 

But my favorite comment was when a student related the scoops of ice cream to the building blocks of the Pyramid of Success.  He explained that we can not reach a full level of success without all of the various building blocks, and that in this poster there were many different scoops of ice cream - the poster wouldn't look as good without all of the different colors of ice cream scoops.  I just  loved this thinking!  And this from one of my most quiet students, who rarely shares his thoughts!

I love these types of moments!  Just had to share! 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Critical-Thinking-and-Figurative-Language-with-Inspirational-Quotes-Mega-Pack-309265

Don't Skip Christmas in the Classroom!

In Depth Study of the Ancient Winter Solstice Celebrations

That Led to our Modern Day Winter Holidays

Well, it's that time of the year again to plan our lessons for the holiday season.  While I feel strongly that we must be careful not to disenfranchise any of our students, at the same time it is important to be inclusive of all students (including our Christian students!).  So, rather than skip Christmas in my classroom, I like to do a study of all of the Winter Solstice Celebrations.  


There is so much to learn about these 
ancient celebrations.  

  

Do you know where the tradition 

of Santa and his flying reindeer with sleigh came from?

How about the tradition of the Christmas tree or gift giving?  

All of these traditions have roots in the ancient Winter Solstice celebrations - some of which are still celebrated today.

For this Common Core based project, I have my students work in expert groups to research their assigned celebration and report back to the class.

Check out this and other holiday projects at my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Beyond-The-Garden-Gate-Shari-Bithell

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Solstice-Study-AncientModern-Holiday-Celebrations-CCSS-Aligned-5-8-424950

Responding to Literature - TV Broadcasts

Students become TV broadcasters to report on events from the story or reading selection:

As I have mentioned previously, I teach a combination class with both fifth and sixth grade students.  Although they have different curriculum, I work hard at finding the overlaps to enhance the learning.  When this isn't possible, I often have my students complete the same style project with different topics. (Easier for me and more engaging for the students!)  Win-Win!  Woohoo!

This week my fifth grade students were reading a nonfiction selection from their Reading textbooks about Mae Jemison, the first African American astronaut in space.  At the same time my sixth graders were reading the fairy tale - "The Emperor's New Clothes."  There just aren't any overlapping ideas in these two pieces!  (Fiction vs. NonFiction, Fairy Tale Fantasy vs. career choice selection) - Nope...no connections!

So, what did I do?  I gave both grades a similar assignment to respond to the literature. Students had to create a TV Broadcast - news style - to report on the events from their reading selection. 

This TV news format was easier for the fifth graders, because what they were presenting was news (or at least in was twelve years ago!)   To them this was ancient history, which created the problem of choosing a time frame and staying in that tense.  They could have it happening now, the interview could be right after the event occurred, or they could have it as a type of anniversary piece, remembering an event from ten or so years ago.

  

On the other hand, the sixth graders were encouraged to think of the Rosebowl Parade, and how the commentators present the floats as they come along.  They could interview crowds on the street, the Emperor's trusted ministers, or even the Emperor himself!

The students had so much fun with this, and I not only got a reading grade, but I also got Speaking & Listening grade!  I had the students work with a partner for this assignment. 

  No props or backdrops were required, but many of the students created them anyway - they really got into the mood and festivities!  A bonus for me! 

And the Learning Continues with our Continent Twister Maps!

More Twists with our Continent Twister Game Maps!

I know, I know...I'm probably behind everyone in Social Studies!  That being the case, I'm still going to tell you about the fantastic learning that our Continent Twister maps are still providing!

I teach a 5/6 combination class, so I am always looking for opportunities to not only cross the curriculum in my classroom, but also cross the grade levels.  It is so much easier to teach one lesson to the entire class, than to teach individual lessons and have the two grades working on different assignments.  Of course, I still need to do that most of the time - but when I can have them working all together and still achieving grade level standards, that is magical!

In any case, I was talking to my entire class about early man and hunter/gathers.  Fifth grade standards are the migration routes across the Bering Strait from Asia to the Americas, while sixth grade standards stay over in Africa, Asia and Europe.  I showed them maps and we talked about the Fertile Crescent, migration routes out of Africa into the other continents, and the Bering Strait.  I asked my students to get back into their Twister groups, get their maps and add the Fertile Crescent, the early migration routes, and the Bering Strait to their maps.  I also had them do some research and gather one new fact about each of these, put it in their own words on an information card, and list their source of information.  We talked about finding reliable sources on the Internet.

Not only were my students completely engaged, but their understanding of these concepts was much deeper than I've ever seen it before.  We did all of this prior to reading the lesson in the Social Studies book, but now since I had made sure that they each built prior knowledge, I was able to have them read the lesson independently and answer questions.  

This meets so many Common Core Standards: 

• Reading Standards for Informational Text (Key Ideas and Details, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas)
• Writing Standards (Research to Build and Present Knowledge)
• Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (Key Ideas and Details, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Research to Build and Present Knowledge
• 
  
• And addresses the Common Core philosophy of having students read to learn.
• If you are interested in learning more about my Continent Twister Game Project you can click the link below to read previous articles:

http://beyondthegardengateclass.blogspot.com/2013/08/continent-twister-geography-learning.html

http://beyondthegardengateclass.blogspot.com/2013/10/so-much-learningsooo-much-fun.html

And you can purchase this unit at my TPT Store for only $3.00!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Continent-Twister-a-Common-Core-Aligned-Twist-on-Mapping-and-Geography-819648

Our Idiom Costumes - Wishing You All a Very Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from My Class to You!

Can You Guess Our Idioms?

Here's a list to match with the pictures below:

Bite the Bullet

A Shot in the Dark

I'm on Cloud Nine

Queen Bee
Ivy League
Hold Your Horses
It's Raining Cats and Dogs

Design a Mask - Halloween Creativity

Halloween Idea #5 - Design a Mask

Why not give students a blank template, bring out all of the craft supplies, and let the creativity roll?  There really isn't much advanced planning on the part of the teacher, just let them at it!  I got some unadorned masks at a craft supply store at very inexpensive prices after Halloween last year, and I just put them away in the cupboard.  

The students were so excited when I brought them out, along with all of the various craft supplies.  You know, things like sequins, buttons, pom poms, tissue paper, straws, toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, etc.  They couldn't believe their good fortune when I gave no instructions beyond "Be Creative!"  I couldn't believe the quality of some of their work!

As teachers, we spend too much time controlling every little aspect of a project to insure quality work.  This was just plain, old-fashioned fun!  And look what they did!