Comparing the Earth to an Apple

I am taking a Historical Geology class this summer to complete my Middle School Science endorsement.  Even though I teach components of this in 4th Grade, I haven't gone nearly as in depth as I am expected to do in this course.

For instance, the first chapter alone covers the creation of Earth and the Solar System, the layers of Earth, the major features of mountain ranges and ocean ranges, the rock cycle, and the different types of rocks (and those are just the highlights).  Whew!

I have got to learn/review an enormous amount of information in a relatively short amount of time.  So I got to thinking...  The Earth kind of reminds me of an apple.  This could help me memorize the layers of the Earth.  Not to mention the fact that I just might get the chance to use this with my students before too long!

This customizable PowerPoint includes the following:
Label the layers of the Earth
Compare the (filled in) layers of the Earth to the layers of an apple
Answer key for the compare and contrast slide

You can pick up a FREE copy by clicking here.

Do you have any great tricks or resources for this information?  If so, I'd love to see it!

My Teacher Always Says Linky

Tammy at Forever in First is hosting a Linky party to share our classroom mantras.  I absolutely love what I've ready so far!  I'm borrowing/stealing some of the sayings for next year!

One that I CONSTANTLY use....

This one comes from Dr. Becky Bailey's Conscious Discipline.  Even 4th Graders need to stop and think about this quite often.  It helps them to differentiate between tattling and reporting an emergency.  We have a "Tattling Turtle" and "Cool-Down Spot" for any comments that don't need to be taken care of right that second.

This is another one from Dr. Bailey.  You can fill in the blank with "take you to specials" or "continue with the lesson," etc.  It reminds the student that they have the power of self-control and they should use it at that moment.

This one is for when the class is a bit too loud or I just need to bring their attention back to me.  I say it quietly and compliment those that follow my directions immediately.  I remind them that if their finger is on their lips and the other hand is a peace sign, they can't be talking.  It usually doesn't take long for the entire class to be sitting silently with peace signs proudly showing!

This one lightens the situation when a student is just kind of pouting or maybe being a bit too dramatic.  The first saying is from "The Pout-Pout Fish" book by Deborah Diesen and the second is from "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" by Dr. Seuss.  Kids usually will crack a smile when I say either one.

Do you have any mantras you use?  I'd love to hear them because I'd love to "borrow" them!  Head on over to Forever in First to link up and share!

Math Rounding Rules Poster

Each year, we almost always start out with a review of place value as it applies to rounding, and each year, I feel like I cannot do enough to help students remember the rules for rounding to a specific place value.

So I created a poster to put up next to my math word wall that I will refer students to when we are doing our daily review.  After all, I can say it a million times but ultimately, they must make that metacognitive process work for themselves.  The more they go look at the poster, the more they will commit it to memory or at least learn to read the room!

This customizable polka dot PowerPoint shows the little saying that I use to teach/review rounding rules with my students. I have added a little extra to it this year, so we'll see how successful the saying is! You can pick up a FREE COPY by clicking here.

Polka Dot Word of the Day

I've been working on improving literacy in Math, Science, and Social Studies.  I've learned that looking up words in the dictionary rarely, if ever, seems to truly teach students the meaning of the word.  Using prescribed vocabulary lists doesn't seem to do much, either.

I thought about all the words in our Social Studies, Science, and Math textbooks that students just breezed by but didn't stop to think about the meaning.  The students need to KNOW these words and be able to use them to be successful in these classes.  What can I do to increase the knowledge of these words?

This polka dot Word of the Day PowerPoint is customizable so you can choose what things you will have your students focus on.  The labels I've included:
1. Textbook definition
2. Textbook sentence
3. Synonym
4. Antonym
5. Non-Example
6. Dictionary guide words
7. Plural
8. Plural Possessive
9. Illustration
10. Prefix
11. Suffix
12. Root Word
13. Dictionary Part of Speech

You can pick up a FREE copy by clicking here.

I don't plan to have students complete this in one day.  It will most likely take several days, especially at the beginning of the year.  Some of the labels will not apply to every word, either.  For example, if the word is "venture", there won't be a root word, prefix or suffix. 

I do plan to create a classroom job (Word Master) so a student can go around to help/check their peers each day.  I always check this student's work first so I can assure it is correct and the understanding of the word is accurate.  This is a great chance for me to conference and assist ESL or other students that are developing language skills.

Thinking Ahead... Table Points

Next year, I'd like to change up my behavior management strategies.  I've begun thinking about it so that I can gather some things from my classroom to take home as I plan.

I've been reading Building Literacy in Social Studies (see the picture below or click on the link).
  What does that have to do with behavior management, you ask?  Well, this book is not only rich with ideas on improving comprehension in Social Studies, but also includes some great ideas how to get small groups of students to work together in the most efficient manor.

This book calls it PODS (Performance Organizational Design System) rather than Table Points, but I think I will stick to calling them Table Points for now because students have background knowledge of that terminology from previous classrooms.

Each student within a table is assigned a number that corresponds to task they will have to complete during the learning block.  For example, all number ones are the group leaders.  The numbers are randomly assigned by handing out index cards with Social Studies terms written on one side and a number on the other.  For example, while studying the Civil War, there might be 5 cards that read "industrial," with a number 1 on the back 5 that read "agricultural," with a 2 on the back, and so on until you have enough to give each student a number within their table.

The teacher could ask all the number threes to collect materials for the group, or the number fours to summarize the information their group discussed during think-pair-share.  Since the numbers are constantly changing, no one knows the task for which they will be responsible.  This should help keep them on their toes and engaged!

Now on to the points.  The book assigns points to desired predetermined behaviors.  For example:
No absence: 5 points
1 absence: 3 points
Homework: 5 points
Materials: 5 points
On-task: 5 points
Assignment: 5 points
Behavior: 5 points

Bonus points are awarded for the following.  This helps compensate for missing homework or absences.
Sharing information
Encouraging
Listening
Participating

Points are tallied daily and weekly to help motivate students to do their best.  The book calls this "positive interdependence" (members of a group realize that each must contribute for the sake of others).

I love this idea.  The one thing I wanted to change was how the points are displayed.  Elementary students need visual representations of their effort to help motivate them.  So, I found some great ideas on Pinterest. 

First, this great idea for keeping track the points earned at the end of the day.  It puts the table's desired reward at the bottom of the strip on a sticky note, and the points are shown by moving a paperclip down the strip.  The group earns their reward once the clip makes it to the sticky note.

The next idea comes from Stephanie Moorman.  She uses algebra to have students calculate their table points.  What a great way to get some math in!

Whew!  What do you think?  Do you use anything similar to this?  I'd love to hear some ideas before I get started.

Close Reading in Social Studies

I've been reading a great book called Building Literacy in Social Studies: Strategies for Improving Comprehension and Critical Thinking by Donna Ogle, Ron Klemp, and Bill McBride.

In a section of the book called "Supporting Struggling Readers", the authors write that "The more students read on the same topic, the more likely they are to move from novice to expert ways of thinking.  Therefore, students need to be surrounded by more rather than less material on the topics being taught."  They go on to say that you need texts of three different levels: simple, instructional, and advanced.

This led me to think of a reading strategy called Close Reading.  If you're familiar with text complexity and Close Reading, you know it is a method for increasing reading comprehension.  Many teachers use it in the core subjects in addition to reading class.  The following graphic is a summary of the steps of Close Reading by Tracy Watanabe at her wwwatanabe blog.

On a recent trip to the Library of Congress (LOC) with my friend from One Teacher's Take, I picked up some great kid-friendly texts to support my Social Studies curriculum.  While reading the books together, we thought they would be perfect for some Close Reading!

Two books that would support students during our "5 Documents of Freedom" unit:

These two books would be an example of the "simple" level of texts.  It introduces and explains the concepts in simple text with many pictures to support all levels of readers.

What about the instructional and advanced levels?  Do you have any examples of texts that would work for a Close Reading for these levels?

Using the Library of Congress in Your Classroom

I recently took a trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and it was well worth the trip!  I went with my friend, Andrea, from One Teacher's Take.  We preregistered online and got our official "Researchers card" that allows us into parts of the LOC that aren't open to general public.  We got to see and learn from the wealth of primary and secondary sources house at the LOC.

While I can't share many of the images we got to see, I can share the research databases that I used while there.  I'd like to give a big shout out to the extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff at the LOC.  The following sites were shared with me during our visit by the staff.

The first is the America; History and Life database.  This research site allows you to search journals dating back 55 years by theme, reviews, and author.  We searched for the influence of the Scots-Irish on the culture of Virginia.

The second is the Internet Archive Database.  This site offers thousands of primary and secondary sources in digital, audio (including e-books and songs), movies/clips, and much, much more.  You can sort by the media type and title of the source you're looking for.  Many of them are offered as downloadable PDFs or available to read online.

 I used it to find the elusive resources for the Virginia state-recognized tribes.  I found this great downloadable PDF on the Rappahannock Indians.  The entire book is on there with some great photos and primary sources.

 Since this was created in 1925, I can't share the wonderful pics that are included in the book, but you should definitely go to the database and search for it if you teach Virginia's state-recognized tribes.

Do you have any great databases you use to find great primary or secondary resources?