Read All About It!

So, I decided I would procrastinate putting grades in the computer by posting some of my favorite reading projects that were presented today. I just finished a unit with my Reading class based off of the book Number the Stars. This was a childhood favorite of mine, so I was very excited when I decided to do that book with my class. The students, even though they have no background knowledge (or very little) with World War 2 and the Holocaust, they still were incredibly engaged during the entire book. This also opened up their world to those subjects and they couldn't wait to go to the library every week and check out more books about this period in history. That is when, as a teacher, you know you are doing your job. Their final assessment for this novel study was a partner project, as well as two individual projects. For their partner projects, they had to choose one out of five options. I wanted to highlight these two because I thought they really showed the student's understanding of the novel, as well as their creativity.

So this first series of pictures are of a pair of girls who created a facebook page. I thought they really took this to the next level. They created this from memory....we have no access to facebook at school! Next time, I would love to figure out a way for them to create a mock facebook page for their character on the computer. I love all the details that are true to facebook!

 Chatting with Ellen :)

This next series of pictures are of the newspaper option. They could create an illegal newspaper (similar to the one in the book) or they could create a legal newspaper. This pair of boys chose to create an illegal newspaper. I especially liked the tag line under the title: "The illegal newspaper you can trust." 

 I haven't looked closely at the individual projects yet, but will hopefully post some pictures of those too.

Fall Break, Fall Break, Fall Break!

It is so close, I can taste the pumpkin spice latte. Fall Break is 3 DAYS AWAY! We only have to make it to Thursday. However, I have 108 students' report card grades to put in the new system that the county is using. So, while 4:00 p.m. Thursday is SO close, it is yet, so far away. But I will make it through. I know my promise to update every week has not been so true. But, I remembered to take some pictures and am finally going to update with the fun things that have been going on in fourth grade. I think I left off while we were studying light. We went on to sound and the students got to make musical instruments. They are currently being displayed in the library so I will have to go take a picture of the displays and post it on here. The students LOVED this project. I brought in everything I have been recycling for about a month or so. It definitely took the help of my mom and fellow teachers to bring in as many recyclables as the students wanted. They would have emptied a local recycling center if I had let them. Their possibilities were endless; however, most stuck with the drums, shakers, and guitars. They had to show pitch, volume, and make it look creative. Like I said, I will post some of those pictures soon.

I know that the days are tough and pulling these 12 hour days are not ideal. However, there are reasons I keep getting up day in and day out. Last Friday, my students and I had a great day. Their attitudes were great; my attitude was great. I opened up the day and each class with some Kidz Bop (which I do most Fridays, but they were just having a great time with it this Friday). And then by the end of the day, after the fury of papers and folders had settled, I looked at my board and found this:

As much as they may drive me up the wall sometimes, I always have to remember why I am doing this.

I also added some new "ticket out the door" options. I added a "twitter board" and a "What Stuck Today?" My kids have enjoyed "tweeting" and ask at least three times a week if they can reply to the tweets. Our "What Stuck Today?" board works, but I am constantly finding post-it notes on the floor. I'm sure the janitors aren't crazy about the post-it board.

Alright, well that's all for tonight. I have some more additions to the room, but I have got to do some work for grad school. Unfortunately, that has taken the back burner this semester, and I need to try and get some of it under my belt tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow! Yikes! It's already Tuesday! Alright, until next time...take care!