Teach Like a Pirate Chapter 13-Stand and Deliver

Ah- Public Speaking. VOMIT. Dave starts this chapter by asking if you consider yourself a public speaker. I give a resounding NO. And I have to respectfully disagree that teachers are public speakers. SOME of us are public speakers in front of children only. I can teach, sing, dance, and act like a complete crazy in front of my kids. Put me in a room full of 25 adults and I.AM.DUNZO. It is all over. I panic, shake, stutter, and freak right out. BUT this past year, I sure got myself right up on stage for a TCAP pep rally with a bunch of other teachers and did all kinds of silly things. And even helped my students perform Test Me Maybe. This is something I NEVER would have done a couple years ago. So at least I am getting better. But back to the chapter and hooks...

Storytelling Hook-How can you hook students with a story? My kids are always interested in my personal life. My daughter to be more specific. If I start a lesson with a story about Payton, BAM I have them hooked.  Get really into it with dramatics, acting, facial expressions and they are all in.

Swimming with Sharks Hook-How can I enter the audience and participate in the activity? Get IN the lesson. Don't just give it, DO it. BE it.

Taboo Hook-How can I position my topic so it seems like a little known secret? Kids LOVE secrets. One year I decided to start the year by telling my kids a secret. You wanna know the secret? Come in reallll close. Ready? "You are the BEST and SMARTEST class in the entire school. BUT we can't go around telling people that. So we just have to SHOW them." Yep. They ate it up. Any time I worried about behavior (going to other classes, substitutes, etc) I just said, "And don't forget about the [whisper] SECRET" and they loved it! And believe me when I say, they did NOT tell a single peer about that secret. Another student overheard me say the shh it's our secret line and asked what it was and my kids would NOT tell. LOVE kids!

Mime Hook- How can I use silence to spark my students' engagement? This works really well during inferring and drawing conclusions. Charades and pictionary type activities would go well here.

Teaser Hook-How can I gain interest by promoting it ahead of time? This one is easy- "You do NOT want to miss this activity tomorrow." "If you thought today was fun, just WAIT until next time." Here's a blog teaser "You do NOT want to miss the announcement Jenn and I are making this week." (This is serious, there really is an announcement coming.)

Backwards Hook- Can I show the end product to help get theme excited about learning what needs to be learned in order to get to the end product? Dave relates this one to CSI. They show you the murder straight from the beginning and then work through the entire episode to get to the actual criminal. I am not sure of a good way to do this one in the class. Any ideas?

Visit the AMAZING Jennifer for today's chapter

 

And the super sweet Lynda (in my exhaustion while typing this 2 weeks ago, I forgot we had TWO amazing hosts this week!)

Guest Post with... The Groovy Teacher

Hi There! I am so happy to be guest blogging for my friend Gina. I've been thinking a lot about this upcoming school year and all the changes that I want to make in my classroom ( I teach 1st grade). That's the great thing about summer, it gives you all kinds of time to think. And I've also thought about the things in my classroom that I never really change because they already work well. One of those things is The Daily Five. Whether you have the Daily Five working for you already or you are thinking of implementing it this school year, I hope that this post can help you.

I try to start it early in the school year and it does take a lot of work to have it running smoothly. But, when all 5 components have been taught, practised and put into action, it is an amazing feeling to look around and see everybody on task and you (the teacher) able to work with a small group in peace.

Here was the first thing I did to get started. I read this book. It's a must!

Once I introduce the Daily 5 to my kids, the one thing that I am never fussy about is where my kids read. It can be anywhere, as long as they are reading. All of the other stations, work with words, work on writing, etc... I have designated spots for those. And I am lucky, I have a nice guided reading table. 

There is a lot for kids to know as they move through each component, so to make it easier, I made these Daily Five posters to help my kids remember what they need to do for each activity, here is a sneak peek at them. I use the word RIGHT in each one, so that they are learning to do Daily Five the right way and also to give them a little trick for remembering what they need to do.

It really helps my kids cause there is just so much for them to remember. These are just a few of them, but if you would like the whole set you can get a copy of it by clicking on the pic below.

I hope this was able to help you a bit, especially if you are looking for Daily Five ideas. Have a great summer and you can always visit me here

Leslie - Guest blogging for 

Guest Post With...Flip Floppin' Through 3rd Grade

I am so excited to be a guest blogger here on Third Grade Tidbits.  Thanks to my friend Gina for giving me this opportunity!  I thought a lot about what I might like to share with you all today and I decided to show you my plan for word study in my classroom for the upcoming school year.

We use Words Their Way in my building, so I am guided a bit by that decision.  I have used this study in the past, and I like the flexibility it gives you to be able to differentiate for each student.  What I have found to be the biggest issue is managing the program.  I want to be able to provide students with a variety of ways to manipulate and practice their words, while also providing some student choice.  Recently I created a companion word study pack that offers a way to manage the word sorts for each students:

This pack helps with student organization and parent understanding of the assigned weekly word study. Included in this pack is: 7 each of (orange, red, yellow, green, blue, black, pink, purple) folder / binder cover pages - for a total of 56 choices. Also included is: weekly word take home packet, 3 cover choices, student choice menu boards (5 versions), daily directions, parent signature required section, homework recording pages, and word work sorting mats. Works with any word sorts. 


The word work sorting mats are a freebie that you can download by clicking the image below:

I also wanted to be able to quickly create a set of word study cards for each sort that I assigned to students.  This is my Word Study Sorting Card template that I can pull up, type header cards and word cards, and print. Viola, differentiated word sorts for each student.

Before school begins, I plan to purchase 3 prong pocket folders and laminate a cover page that coordinates with the folder (I plan to use the red, yellow, blue, and green colors that go along with the Words Their Way spelling stages).  This will be the students weekly take home folder for word study.  Each week I will include a student choice menu board and homework recording pages.  Students will take this home each Friday with a list of their new words.  They will have the weekend to become familiar with their new words, and word study activities for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Students will return the folders on Friday morning and will take their word study assessment.

I took a lot of time to plan out the management of this pack and I am excited to be able to use it this year in my classroom.  I feel like I am already organized and that once the students understand the process for word study in our classroom, that management will be a breeze.

I hope this sparks some interest in how you plan to manage word study in your classroom.

~Chelsea
www.flipfloppinthrough.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flip-Floppin-Through-3rd-Grade/389533684491155



Guest blogging for:

Teach Like a Pirate Chapter 12- All The World Is a Stage

Let me start by saying I have a love hate relationship with my classroom. Interior designer I am not. And I constantly rearrange furniture. But in this chapter, Dave is telling you how to use your room as a stage for hooks. Here are the ones he teaches about in this chapter.

Interior Design Hook- How can you change your room to create the most fascinating atmosphere for your lesson? I have not often changed the look of my entire class just for a lesson. Honestly, I think that this would work better for a departmentalized teacher who teaches one subject multiple times a day. This way you are getting to use that rearranged atmosphere a few times a day. For me, I would have to rearrange and then undo it to move onto the next lesson or work around it. And sometimes, with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds, change like that doesn't always work. Could it work for ONE lesson? Yes. But after that lesson, I know my kids would be W.I.L.D wild.

Board Message Hook-What can you project or write on the board to get the students interested in your lesson before it even begins? Sometimes I will project a picture for my next lesson while students are preparing their materials. As soon as one student sees it and starts the buzz, everyone starts asking questions. I use this a lot to get students engaged in their own path of learning. Their questions COULD take us away from my intended lesson but that is half the fun. And if we can't get to the questions that are off the beaten path, we save them for later. The reason I actually started doing this is to get students asking better questions. Instead of just what is that I want them to question specific things. How did that man end up in the water? Why isn't he running away from the flood? Is the house on stilts? (Those are all things kids asked me when viewing different pics that related to wild weather.)

Costume Hook- Is there anything you can wear to enhance your lesson? I haven't done this one much. I want to though. The one time I did it was a sports themed test review and I wore a baseball jersey. The kids bought right into it, which made me realize I need to do this more.

Props Hook- What can I bring in or show students to gain more interest in the lesson? Anything students can hold and pass around or even just see in front of them on the table adds to their interest. You probably do this a lot more than you realize. Instead of just talking about a book, bring it and show it. Display it for students to look at when they have time.

Involved Audience Hook- How can I get the students to be part of the "show"? Keeping students involved keeps them engaged.  I need more work with this one, so if you have any examples of how you do this, please share!

Mystery Bag Hook- How can I engage them by openly hiding something? O.M.G friends THIS is the winner for my class. My kids LOVED anything mystery. We did the mystery box activity a couple times this past year and we did mystery mail 3 or 4 times. Again, it also taught my students how to ask better questions and use clues to make conclusions/infer. If you asked my students what their favorite lesson of the year was, I think these would be pretty high up there.

Stop by and visit our fantastic host Tamera (who happens to love pirates) at

It's my official FIRST BLOGGY BIRTHDAY

My BIG one year blogging bash is coming up soon! My official 1 year celebration is today, but I have too much going on right now. I am planning to have a big bash the week of July 14. It will include giveaways, deal of the day opportunities, a sale, and maybe a flash freebie (that will be posted on facebook). Get yourself ready by following me here and on bloglovin, liking my facebook page, and following my TpT store!

I don't have too much to say today.  So instead, I am going to ask some random questions for your to answer. :)

1. Do you watch Big Brother? I was pretty excited to hear it was starting earlier this year! It is my favorite summer tv show! I am not happy that Rachel's sister is on. And Miss Staten Island needs to go too. (Please don't post any spoilers because I never watch live.)

2. When you comment on blogs do you prefer that the blogger reply right on the blog post or in email? I usually reply to the email that comes to me when you comment. But then I feel bad because people who don't know that I do that, might look at my comments and think I am a meanie that doesn't reply to people. But I do. Unless you are a noreply blogger (which means I have no way to email back to you), then I just come to the post and reply. But if you don't check the little box to get replies sent to you, you might never know. What an ordeal huh?

3. Do you do Daily 5? I used to be completely against it. But I think I am going to give it a whirl this year. Once I get everything done, I have some really good freebies to share with you.

4. Are you following me on bloglovin? I don't want you to miss out on anything I post, so make sure you follow along with the button over there on the right. And then go to my post from Wednesday 6/26 and enter my giveaway. I think I have it set up to go until July 6 or 7.

5. Would you please show some love and click on the Top 25 logo over on the top right sidebar and vote for Third Grade Tidbits?

6. Are there any questions you have for me?


Frame from Jen Jones
Font from Kimberly Geswein
Mini me from Crystal Fox

Teach Like a Pirate Chapters 10&11- Long Live the Arts and What's In It For Me?

Oh the arts- certainly NOT my strong suit. But the best thing about kids (at least 3rd graders and under) they don't care how bad you sing or how awful your drawings are. They LOVE it. And even if it is a terrible drawing of an animal that looks like a blob, they will compliment it. And so, I must say that I agree with Dave when he says "Music and art can be incredibly powerful ways to engage our students and enhance our lessons." My kids LOVE to sing. So as bad as I am at it (I mean BAD- hold the windows they might break I am so bad) we will bust out in a grammar or science song any time I can find one!

Here are the types of artistic hooks:

The Picasso Hook- incorporate art- anchor charts, foldables, craftivities- those are all simple ways to incorporate art that doesn't take a lot of time or stress. 

The Mozart Hook- add music to your lessons- sing a song, have the students make up a song, use music for transitions. Jenn does this and I envy her. My kids would be crazy. I don't do that. BUT I do use some Disney music (the Good Morning song from Magic Kingdom rope drop show) to signal that it is time for a morning meeting. We also listen to instrumental music during times when they are working independently. 

The Dance and Drama Hook- acting and dancing. We love to make up dances. I never really incorporated the drama part until the end of last year. Last year when I started implementing fluency time, my kids got kinda bored of the partner skits. Until I told them to use voices and make it fun. THEY took it upon themselves to memorize the lines and come up with some acting to go with it. I was so proud of them! After seeing that, I started incorporating acting things out and writing plays into some of their choices on choice boards. They almost always chose that one!

The Craft Store Hook- WHAT Dave?! Are you giving me permission to go the craft store? Could you alert my husband?! Oh. I supposed craftivities go here. Well regardless. Get your craft on!

Another favorite blogging buddy of mine is hosting this chapter- stop by and visit Faith!

 

Monday Made It- Pirate Style

I am linking up with Tara again for

But before I start, make sure you hop over to another book study I am participating in.

I was so busy last week that I didn't even post. Bad blogging friend! But I am back to share with you something that took me an eternity forever. As you may have read/figured out, I am doing a pirate theme next year. But everything I found was red and black. And that just wasn't enough color for me. You have seen a couple pieces of my pirate theme set, but it is finally.all.done!

In a few other posts I shared some of the pieces to this set, already put together. If you missed those, I will link them at the bottom. On top of what I have already shown, there are 2 sets of calendar cards- one with seasonal art, one with no art. I included 3 sets of calendar numbers so you could practice patterns on your calendar by mixing and matching the cards. There are also days of the week cards (I used them on my drawers that will be linked at the bottom) and cards for today is, tomorrow will be, and yesterday was.

The next batch of fun includes subject cards and blank cards. I used the subject ones in drawers (post at the bottom) but they could also be used for schedule cards. I included blank ones so you could write subjects in that maybe I didn't include or to use them as group labels. I also included 8 desk name tags. My kids loved these last year and utilized them a lot. I just suggest covering them up when you are doing tests on facts (multiplication facts). 

 

This next picture shows an example of the alphabet cards that are included. There are 2 more sets of numbers but these are not calendar numbers. These can be used for many other things. I am using one set for my library check out system (post about this coming soon) and the other set is being used for my computer rotations.

There you have it. I love the way it all came together. The first picture will take you to the listing on TpT. Oh! I forgot there is also a student binder cover included!! I can't wait to get in and decorate!

Links to posts referenced here:

Labels for days of week and subjects and word wall

Noise and Sound Check