My Vocabulary Keeps Growing!

"Why do we have to learn Latin and Greek in English class?" Good question, and one that I'm sure your students have at least thought of - even if they didn't go as far as to articulate it.

The truth is, beyond the fact that root words, prefixes and suffixes are specifically addressed in the Common Core, reading and writing English can only become easier by learning the Greek and Latin roots.  If we are to guide our students to reading both literature and informational texts closely, empowering them to analyze and truly comprehend a text, and then take it a step further to acquiring knowledge from that text, the ability to decipher meanings of new words is essential.  Not only in the ELA classroom, but in all content areas, students can only be more successful if they understand what they are reading and what they are being asked to do.  Recognizing the patterns created by commonly used roots, prefixes and suffixes will help them negotiate meaning in challenging texts and the kinds of questions that are being asked as students write and speak about what they are reading.

One tool that I have created to help students with developing these language skills is the My Vocabulary Keeps Growing graphic organizer.

(Click image for FREE download.)

This graphic organizer is also a part of a much larger bundle for literacy center activities pertaining to roots, prefixes and suffixes.  Feel free to stop by my TpT store to check it out, but please be sure to download the above FREEBIE either way.  I hope you find it helpful! 

I'm linking this post to Classroom Freebies to make it easier to find.  Be sure to click the link below to stop by the site and see all of the other great FREE resources for your students.

A Day for Sharing: Friday Favorite and Teaching Blog Circle

I know this post comes a little late on a Friday...but the day just seemed to get away from me!  As things are finally quieting down and I can take a breath, I see it's after 8:00 already.  Yet, I can't hunker down for a night of movie watching with my hubby without taking a moment to share two fabulous finds with you.  One is officially my Friday Favorite - a little something I found and posted to my Facebook page earlier this week.  The other is something that kinda found me, and I'm so thankful.  Both are things that I hope will inspire you.

First, I have a name for you.  It's one to remember, as it is the name of a boy with a heart of gold who has taken the mere words, "Stand up against bullying," and has acted on them.  He started a movement that has touched the hearts of those in his high school, his community and now thanks to NBC's Today, has inspired the multitudes.  His name is  Jeremiah Anthony.  He is a high school student who decided to show it's just as easy to tweet compliments as it is to spread hurtful comments through social media. He's been an inspiration in his school's community, and serves an a beautiful example of compassion for all of us. Nicely done!  Take a moment to click the link above and watch his story.  At a time when it seems difficult for the media to find and report on simple examples of human kindness, it made my heart happy to see Jeremiah's story.  Think about how you may be able to share this clip with your students. 

Secondly, I would like to share with you that I was the recipient of an act of "bloggy" kindness earlier this week.  It made my day when I saw this comment on my last post:

"I just shared your site with my daughter's middle school teacher :)
You have a special place in the heart of the Teaching Blog Circle! I invite you to stop by and learn more... Your blog has inspired and helped me :)"
Tracey
The Teacher's Chair

Thank you, Tracey!  This gesture was so appreciated, and I look forward to passing along the love to some of my favorite bloggers who have taught me so much - without even knowing - and continue to inspire me every day.   Be sure to stop by Tracey's blog, The Teacher's Chair, to learn more about this award and her other creative ideas and resources. Ok.  My hubby has gotten our little man to bed and I can hear he's just finishing reading the last story before "lights out."  I don't want to miss out on the goodnight smooches! :-)  Be sure to leave a comment about any of the above, or something that you found this week that is a favorite of yours.  I would love to learn about it!

Friday Favorites: Tips for Classroom Management AND FREEBIES

Some of us are just getting back into the routines of our school days this week.  Some of us will be headed back from our holiday breaks this coming Monday.  In either scenario, coming back for the new year lends itself to making some fresh starts.  In terms of classroom management, this is the perfect time to reflect on what has been working well for you and your students...and what may need to be tweaked a bit to make more efficient.  It may even mean trying something that is all together different.  The beauty is that during this period of reflection and goal setting that naturally coincides with the first days of January, the timing is perfect to make changes that will help all of us - teachers, students and parents alike - make it successfully through the remainder of the school year.

The following is a list of my favorite classroom management tips.  There are 5 of them, and I hope at least a couple of them will provide you with a little inspiration as we start the new year off and running!

1) After 14 years teaching middle school aged kiddos, I can honestly tell you that having a set routine for when students come into your classroom is very helpful.  One of the things that I like to do is to have a spot in the front of my room that shares important information that my students need to start the day.  My students know to look at that specific spot (a white board in the front of my room) as soon as they come in.  They immediately find a list of materials they need on the desk, the agenda for that day's class, the objective(s) being focused on that day AND the "Do Now" task for the day.

2) Tip #1 (above) is especially nice for me as the teacher because it buys me time for my next tip.  It gives students a task to focus on while I ALWAYS try to be in the hall between classes and greet my students as they come in.  We've all seen the research showing that many of the bullying behaviors we try to watch for happen during the least structured times of the school day.  What is less structured than passing time in the hallways?  In our school district, as I would imagine in many buildings, it is actually considered part of our professional responsibility to have a presence in the hallways during these times of the day.  Of course there are some times when it is not possible to be stationed by my door as students come in (maybe I'm talking with a student or fielding a call from the office), but generally speaking, it's a pretty easy thing to do.  The best part is that I can make a connection with my students as they come in by welcoming them and, if something has changed in our daily routine, I can give them a heads up before they even step over the threshold into ELA.  I can even use this time to give students materials they may need for class - an example being a Formative Assessment Sheet for a day when I want to get a snapshot of how my teaching and my students' learning is progressing.

3) Make sure that if you are finding some challenges with discipline in the classroom that your expectations and consequences (both positive and negative) are very clear.  Whether you've created the rules and guidelines for your classroom OR it is the result of a cooperative effort between you and your students in the beginning of the year, now is a good time for a reminder and/or to rework any areas that have been problematic.  Here is a link to a post I wrote in September that pertains to this subtopic in classroom management.  You will find some details about the system I have used.  You'll also see why I feel that providing middle school students a chance to reflect on their poor choices and have a chance to self-correct when appropriate is something that has helped me create an environment that is mutually respectful.

4) Reach out to your students' parents!  I'm finding that one of the most shocking things to me, as the mother of a Kindergartner this year, is the level of involvement of many parents in elementary school.  People are always volunteering to help.  Parents are at PTO meetings.  School functions are well-attended.  I know it seems funny, but my experience at the middle school level has been quite the opposite.  I never really thought about it before this year, to be honest, but now I have a different perspective.  I really think that many parents would like to be more involved in the educational lives of their children, but may not know how.
    Of course, just the ages of our tweens and teens in middle school adds to the challenge.  Developmentally, our students are looking to gain some independence and may not be as open with family about the day-to-day goings on in school.  This makes is even more important for us to reach out and create some positive lines of communication with home right away.
    To make things easier, have a record keeping system that will assist you in keeping track of these interactions with parents.  It doesn't have to be elaborate or time consuming, but just a common place where you can note when conversations occur and anything that you glean from your interaction that can help you to know your students better.  This is also a great tool for you if problems arise with a particular child during the school year.  Little clues, when put together with observations and information form others on your team, may be helpful if a student needs assistance - academically or emotionally - as time goes on.  My Classroom Management Kit includes three templates that can help with this.  Feel free to take a look for more details.

5) Build in an opportunity for quick cooperative learning breaks - anytime.  I've written several posts about the importance of allowing time for our students to share what they are thinking, creating and learning with others.  It's important to provide a way for students to process and internalize new information, and sharing the learning process with others is very helpful.  The challenge I have run into over the years is finding a balance between the time it takes to form learning partners and/or groups and still leave time during the class period for instruction and practice.  And, of course, in middle school it's all about who you are working with!  That social piece is, in and of itself, a challenge.  In an October post, Terrifying Twosomes, I followed a Halloween theme to create a useful tool to help with making student  pairs, and had lots of positive feedback.  The post explains in detail how it is used and includes a link to the free form.  I followed this with November's Grateful Gabbers and December's Festive Friends (I love alliteration.  Can you tell? ;-) )
      And now...new year, new month, new theme:
Presenting (insert drum roll here)...Winter Wonders!

Be sure to check one of the posts of the previous months to learn how to set this up with your kiddos.

Hopefully, these tips will serve as a reminder of things that you already do, and do well, and also as a reminder of a thing or two that you can revisit or consider trying new.  In addition, with all of this focus on reflecting and refreshing, I want to leave you with something fun that you can do with your students in the first few days back to class.  I've had a lot of positive feedback on the Holiday themed Mad Libs that I experimented with last month.  One that I created is called My New Year's Resolutions and I would like to offer that to you for free as a token of my appreciation for making it all the way through this incredibly long post! :)

It is part of a set of three that is available at my store and will only be offered for free here.  I hope, if you choose to give it a try, that your students will get a giggle from it when they are done.

Please consider leaving a post if you're trying any of the tips above OR if you have some more tips to share.  We would love to see them!

With best wishes for the new year,

I've also linked this post to:

Stop by and look around - great ideas are there to be found! :)

New Beginnings

Hello, 2013!  The promise of a new beginning that the first days of January brings is a welcome and needed change for me...personally and professionally.  My goodness, it's good to feel like I'm getting back in the game!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post.  Like so many of you, being caught up in the festivities that come along with the holiday season kept me on my toes and feeling like I didn't have enough time to fit everything in.  Yet, it was actually quite a different, tragic event that - again, I know like many of you - stopped me in my tracks.  My last post for 2012, though it had only taken me a second to publish, was the most difficult piece I have blogged thus far.  My moment of silence post for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary was what I published the morning of our son's 6th birthday.  At the same time that so many families were in unimaginable pain and our nation was brought to its knees in grief, my own newly-turned 6 year old was up early and running and laughing...just filled with joy at the idea of simply being 6.  As a teacher, I was frightened and heartbroken.  As a parent...this poignant contrast of emotion was almost too much to bear.  The only thing I felt I could really do was to focus on and, in a way, lose myself in my love for my family.  I have to say, selfishly, I was so relieved to have Christmas Break come when it did.  It was a week and half of solid family time that I so desperately needed.

In struggling to gain some perspective, I've read many blog posts (perhaps written by some of you) that have helped.  In gleaning what I could from bloggers that so articulately and beautifully conveyed what I was feeling - the sadness, the confusion...and the desire to somehow, in our own individual ways, ensure that the lives that were lost will be honored, the take-away for me is this: make the most of every moment.  We should be giving every effort put forth our all and making the time that we have count for something. Every chance we get, we should be creating memories. I'm realizing that this is not only what I need to do for myself, but as our everyday lives are returning to "post-holiday normal," keeping this in mind as I go through the day can only encourage those around me to do the same.  As a spouse, as a parent, as a teacher...I can't think of a better way to ensure that the people in our lives know that they are loved.

And so, as I write this post - my first post of 2013 - I am focusing on new beginnings.  Perhaps fitting, today is also a new beginning for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary.  Children are returning to school, a new school, for the first time today and I am holding each of them in my thoughts and prayers. I'm thinking of the staff and hoping that they find the strength and courage needed to get through the days and weeks to come - as well as the comfort in knowing that they are needed and loved by every child that walks through the doors of their new school.  I'm thinking of the families for whom today - I imagine like every other day - holds yet another reminder of unimaginable loss, and pray that this new phase of their personal journeys can help to heal their hearts.

I'm also thinking of you, my readers.  I'm so thankful that you take the time out of your day to stop by my little blog.  I look forward to learning even more from the teacher-blogger community and sharing what I learn.  I'm so eager to share more ideas and create more materials that will be helpful to you and your students.  I'm striving this year to really make this blog a place where you can come to find a little inspiration, especially during these challenging times in education.  I hope that this year provides each of you with opportunities to learn new things, create memories and encourage others as well.  It's what teaching is all about!

Much love,

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Formative Assessment Sheet - Christmas FREEBIE Edition!

I've taken a popular download from my store and created the remix...Christmas style!   My Formative Assessment Sheet puts your Do Now, your checks for understanding AND your Ticket Out (or Exit Slip) all in one place for you to quickly monitor which students are feeling successful and find those that need a bit of reteaching.  It's quick, efficient and organized authentic data at your fingertips!

(Click on the image for your Google Doc. FREEBIE!)

The upper-left box has space for students to record answers to a "Do Now" activity that would be ready for them to tackle as soon as they sit down.  Then there are two spots for "Stop, Think & Share" where students can record thoughts about a topic of reading or discussion, answer a question, reflect on an activity, etc.  They can then share with a partner, small group or whole class.  The last box on the bottom right is a Ticket Out spot.  Students can record an answer to the last follow-up question of the class, list a few things they have learned, or ask a question about something they would still like to know.  Then, this whole sheet would be their "Ticket Out the Door" - handed to you as they leave.

Bonus: If they know that you will be seeing each of these at the end of the period - as well monitoring them while they are working during class - they are much more willing to stay on task! :)

Now you have a chance to go through the papers and really see who is getting it!  Hand back the next day or save in their folders - it's up to you how you use them, but the information you can get from these little sheets is very helpful in planning the next day's lessons and/or interventions.

A Letter From Santa - FREEBIE

I used to LOVE Mad Libs when I was a kid.  One of my favorite, really vivid memories of 5th grade is being in class when our teacher would review parts of speech with us by using them.  He would call out a part of speech and hands would shoot up in the air to take a turn contributing a word to the collaborative effort of completing what we hoped would be a hilarious story when we finished.  The best part was watching our teacher's face as he considered how the words given by us would alter the meanings of the story.  He would giggle to himself and nod, and sometimes, if he REALLY liked where the story was going, he would whisper, just loudly enough for us to hear, "Oh...this is going to be so good!"  The suspense was just this side of agonizing to a bunch of 9 and 10 year old kiddos waiting for the biggest laugh ever!  Then, when all of the blanks were filled in, he read it...as dramatically as he could, and we would laugh and beg to do another one.  Not a bad way to review some grammar!

For a Christmas time activity that I hope will bring your students the gift of laughter, I am giving you my first attempt of writing my own Mad Lib as a FREEBIE.  In this example, Santa is writing back to a child that seems to have made his/her way to the naughty list.

(Click image to view and download your copy)

Enjoy!

UPDATE: If your classes enjoyed Santa's Letter, I do have three more Festive Fill-ins available at my store, PLUS my Grammar At a Glance to help your students with choosing the correct parts of speech for each passage:

(Click the image to check it out.)

Happy Holidays!