School's Out (for the summer)

I haven't updated this blog in over a month. I'm a terrible blogger, I know!

The last few weeks of term were pretty busy. I spent a lot of the time in the office finishing off the two school books and designing the presentation day program. I spent so much time in front of the computer, that when I got home from work, all I wanted to do was give my eyes a rest. I do not know how anyone can spend all day staring at a computer screen!

I also got the big new that next year I will be on Kindergarten! I am very excited to be back on class and I have already gone on a bit of a design, print and laminate frenzy. My classroom theme? rainbow. I love having everything bright and colourful and I want my students to look forward to coming to a cheerful looking classroom. Is it wrong that I am already looking forward to when I actually get to start putting everything up? You can check out my rainbow themed resources here.

I haven't had my own Kindy class before, so next year will be a learning curve for me. Overall I am excited, though I am paranoid that on the first day everyone will be crying and I will have no idea what to do or how to make them stop. I'm sure I will be fine though. I am reading through a bunch of awesome Kindergarten blogs to prepare myself :)

It feels weird to already be on holidays. 2014 has felt like a pretty short year for me, I guess because I was on holiday for half the year :P My plans?

* Continue to learn how to swim
* Read up on the new syllabus documents (they changed while I was away)
* Design and make resources
* Do outdoorsy things while avoiding the heat
* Finish the comprehension series blog posts
* Relax

I can pretty much guarantee I will do everything but the last one!

That's about it for now, happy teaching!

We Published a Book!

Through Big W Photo Books service! (Australian department store).

Student authored informational texts are a great activity for getting students to write for an authentic purpose. For the past few weeks, the year 4 class I have been supporting has been hard at work on a book about the local community. These students have been highly engaged and are very proud of their work. They are buzzing with excitement to see the finished product. I cannot wait to show them what it looks like!

So how was this implemented?

First, students were introduced to the informational text structure. They were given example texts to read, to identify the structure and features.

The task was then explained to them; they needed to write an information text about the local community for the year 1 and year 2 students. Once the task was explained, the students had to brainstorm and research what services to include in the book. Students then chose what service they would like to cover.

The class jointly constructed the section about the local museum. This was an important step as it gave them practice for writing their own section.

Students then researched their selected service and wrote a piece complete with pictures. This class was very enthusiastic about it, they did some research at home and then posted their work on Edmodo. This made the whole process go a lot faster than if it was done purely at school. I also liked how they would comment on each others' work :D

The work was then edited and then I took their work and inserted it into the online photo book software. It was a bit of a tedious task in terms of positioning the text and making sure everything was coordinated, especially when the website was down and I thought I had lost everything! But the excitement and enthusiasm of the students made it worth it. I completed it on Thursday and according to the website, it is ready to ship! So fingers crossed it comes in sometime this week. They worked very hard on it so of course I want them to see their finished product by the end of the year.

I would definitely do this again. I feel that the authentic purpose boosted student engagement as they were excited to produce an actual book that would be read to other classes within the school. If it were just a piece of work that would sit in their writing book, it wouldn't have been as exciting.

Obviously printing photo books would be quite expensive to do on a regular basis, so to combat this, you could easily whip one up using Microsoft Office or even Photoshop and print it yourself at home. Most schools should have a binding machine in the photocopy room, so you could bind it there. Laminate the pages for durability. Alternatively, you could use a display folder.

For my American readers, I believe you can use the photo books service at Staples - yes, I did actually Google this so you wouldn't be left out :P

I am also working on another school book. A book of poems about the school. It is coming along quite nicely. I have the cover done and quite a few of the poems are typed up. This one is being published at the school, so it has been a lot easier, as I am using good old PowerPoint to create it. I cannot wait until this one is finished as well.

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

I Got a Liebster!

Kathleen from Kidpeople Classroom nominated me for a Liebster Award! How exciting! :D Be sure to check out her blog!

In order to accept the nomination I must answer the following questions from Kathleen;

1. What one word sums up the heart of your blog? 

Experiences.

2. What is your favorite post, or your favorite category of post?

Teaching. I love sharing my ideas with others. I also like scrolling back through past posts, it's like a diary of lessons :D

3. What one blog tip would you pass on to other bloggers?

Sign up to Bloglovin'. Makes following blogs a lot easier and they have an app! I use my commute time to read up on all the latest from my feed.
 

4. What one thing would you most like to learn?

I would love to be fluent in another language. I'm not quite sure what language, but I think it would be pretty cool to be bilingual.

5. What's your favorite holiday and why?

Easter. Hello chocolate!
 

6. How do you spend your summers?

Hiding inside with the aircon up full blast. I know that's not too exciting, but I burn really easily, so any outdoor activity usually involves me turning into a lobster. However, this summer I will probably be making use of the pool in our apartment complex. My goal is to learn how to swim.
 

7. If you could live some place else, in some other time, where would it be?

I quite like the idea of living in Europe. Purely for the cooler temperatures and interesting buildings.
 

8. And I GOTTA ask this :) What idea on my blog is most useful to you?

Five for Friday posts. I love reading about what others do in their classrooms.

Now, here are 5 random facts about me;

1.  My nails are currently painted teal, pink, purple and cornflower blue. At 26, I still love painting my nails with crazy colour combinations.
2. I own over 200 headbands. Yes, OVER 200.
3. Last year, I travelled to 67 cities across Europe and lived in England.
4.  If I wasn't a teacher, I would probably be a graphics designer.
5. My all time favourite place to go is the Zoo.

Now it is my turn to nominate 5 people :D Click on their buttons to check out their blogs.

Miss Tompkins' Classroom

Here are my 5 questions;

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog?

3. What tip would you give to other bloggers?

4. What tip would you give to new teachers?

5. What is your favourite thing to do on the weekend? 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :D 

Comprehension - Part #4. Making Connections

Making Connections is a great strategy to get students thinking about the text and how it is similar to themselves, another text or the world in which they live in. Making connections helps develop a deeper understanding of the text and the characters.

The easiest one to start with is Text-To-Self Connections.

To introduce this, I would pick a basic book that is about a situation that pretty much anyone can relate to. For the younger grades, any Charlie & Lola book is perfect. Before reading, tell students that you want them to listen to find a part of the book that is similar to their life. Read through the book and then have students talk with a partner about how they are similar to book/character.

Put up the prompt "This reminds me of..." on the board and have students use this to guide their answer for reporting back to the class.

In terms of bookwork, have students draw a picture and then write a sentence/paragraph about their connection. You can use the following sentence starters;

* This reminds me of...
* The character is like me because...
* I remember when...

Once students are comfortable with Text-To-Self connections, move onto Text-To-Text. Make the connection (ha!) between what they have just done and what they will be doing now (listening to connect). Good texts to use for this;

* The Gruffao and The Gruffalo's Child
* The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
*  The Stinky Cheeseman & Other Fairly Stupid Tales and any fairytale covered in the book
* Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf's Story

Once again have students discuss and then write. This time use the sentence starters;

* The character _______ reminds me of ____________ in ________ because...
* The text ____________ reminds me of ___________ because...
* This story is like _______ because...

Teaching Text-To-Text connections provides a great starting block for comparing texts.

The last connection to teach is Text-To-World. Any text that is about a global issue would be fine. One of my favourites is George Saves the World by Lunchtime. This text is also great for reminding students about recycling and disposing of rubbish thoughtfully :D

Use these sentence starters to guide student responses;

* This reminds me of _________ because...
* This is like when....
* Something similar happened....

Once you have introduced these strategies, you can then use them as reading response activities. A great way to practice writing and encourage deeper thinking about what students have been reading!

I have a pack of posters and thinking stems in my TPT store that would be a perfect companion for teaching this strategy;

Next up: Questioning!

Digital Learners

Technology is everywhere. Homes, schools and out in public. I think it is very important that we teach our students how to be responsible while using technology. I feel very strongly about this as I have had my own issues with people abusing technology and it's something that no one should have to go through or put up with.

So here are three resources that can be used to help teach students about the safe and responsible use of technology :)

Resource 1 - Internet Safety

This resource covers the topics of;

1) What is the Internet and what is it used for?

2) What is Cyberbullying? What can you do about it?

3) What is Cyberharassment? What can you do about it?

4) Tips for Internet safety

5) Permanency of things posted online

6) Police involvement

I think there are some people out there who think that because things are done online, it's not as serious as it is not "real life". The thing is, technology has now become such a big part of everyday life, that things done online are in fact done in "real life". To use the excuse that "it doesn't matter because it's online" is ignorant and a pretty weak way to try and justify bad behaviour. It doesn't matter whether it's done in person or online; if it's wrong, it's wrong. No excuses. If you know you would get intro trouble for doing it offline, you can get in trouble for doing it online.

I also think that people are unaware of the fact that they can seek help from the police over cyber issues. I know for a fact that in Australia, the police can and will get involved over issues such as Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking. People may assume that the police have bigger issues to deal with, but the reality is that they are there to help us whether the issue be big or small. 

The issue of permanency is also a big one. I think this stems from a lack of understanding about what the Internet is and what it's made up of. Perhaps a good way of demonstrating this, would be to use two iPads and send a message between them. Have one person delete the message from one of the iPads and make a point about how it is still on the other iPad. Then show how the message can then be sent and uploaded to anyone.

Resource 2 - Digital Citizens

We are all digital citizens and the notion of Digital Citizenship is an issue that we come across in our classrooms when implementing online learning environments. We want our students to use technology effectively, so we must teach them how to use it effectively. 

This resource covers the topics of;

1) What is a Digital Citizen and how can you be a good Digital Citizen?

2) Don't be a Digital Pest (bad Digital Citizen)

3) Digital Footprints and how they can convey information about you

This resource would be perfect to use when setting up a class blog or Edmodo group.

Resource 3 - Cyberbullying

This is also a pretty big issue. Once again, I think people assume that because things are done online it's not as serious and they can get away with it.  

Included in this resource;

1) What is Cyberbullying? What are some examples of Cyberbullying?

2) What can you do about it?

3) Perspectives of a victim and a bully 

With this resource I wanted to get students thinking about the two perspectives; from the victim and the bully. So included in this resource are two stories. One from the victim of cyberbullying and one from a cyberbully. There are discussion questions which look at the feelings, actions and reasoning behind the actions. This also opens up a discussion about what students can do. 

By educating and making students aware of these issues, we can help prevent technology from being used in an abusive and negative way.

You can check out these resources by clicking here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Back to School + FREEBIE

I've kind of neglected this blog over the past week or so. Whoops!

The school holidays are over now. I didn't spend that much time on the computer, hence the lack of posting. My goal for the holidays was to spend at least an hour each day doing something active outdoors. The area that I live in has quite a few parks and walking/bike tracks. So my boyfriend and I went for lots of walks, runs and scooter sessions. Our building has a pool too, so on the hot days we went swimming (i.e I learned to swim). It was nice being able to do things outdoors during the week. On weekends, it's always a bit hectic with all the bike riders and dog walkers.

Aside from doing outdoorsy things, I went shopping and bought an iPhone. I got the 5c in blue. I love it! Now I finally get to hear the magical Ka-Ching that all the teachers talk about on the forums :D

School is back for the final term of 2014. I am still working with the same classes and focusing on reading groups. This week, we started with new texts. One activity that we have been working with is a Predict-O-Gram. Click on the picture to get your own FREE copy on TPT! (celebrating 300 products freebie).

Before reading, we fill out the boxes. Students make predictions about the vocab, characters, setting, problem, events and resolution. After reading, we look back at the predictions and confirm or reject as well as discuss the similarities and differences. Great activity to get students thinking about the text!

Will try and find some time this week to add to my Comprehension series.

Enjoy your weekend!

Comprehension - Part #3. Predicting.

Predicting is also an easy strategy to teach. Chances are, you are already doing it with your students, but the aim of this is to;

a) get your students to look closely at the clues in the text 

and 

b) get them to do it automatically, rather than have the teacher prompting all the time

To start off, define what predicting means. Explain that we predict before, during and after reading. Talk about what students can use to make a prediction; cover, titles, illustrations, blurb and text.

Pick a text and have students make a prediction. Give them the sentence starter "I predict". When they tell you their prediction, ask them why they think that. What clues from the text did they use? The sentence starter now becomes "I predict.....because.....".

You can use the above discussion for during reading predictions too.

As for after reading, the discussion turns to talking about what would happen if the author were to write a sequel. Students will use the events from the story to make this prediction. The sentence starter would be "I predict that......would happen next because.....". This can then turn into a writing task if you wish.

It is also important to confirm or reject predictions. That is, talking about whether they were right or wrong. Confirm or reject is just a more technical and nicer way of putting it. At this point, emphasise that it's totally okay if their predictions were rejected. Build up esteem by talking about how well they used the clues from the text :)

A neat way to set up this activity is to use three columns. My Prediction, What Happened and Confirm/Reject. The first two columns are pretty self explanatory, the confirm/reject can be completed with either a tick or a cross, or a C or a R.

If you want students to write about their predictions, here are some ideas;

1) Sentence starter "I predict" or "I predict....because..." Students can draw a picture to support their writing

2) Two columns. My Prediction and Clues From The Text

3) Have students predict what the characters will do, what the problem will be and how they will solve the problem.

My all time favourite activity is to stop reading just before the big ending. Have students write what they think will happen and draw a picture. Then read the ending and compare. It's one activity that the students absolutely love and it's pretty interesting seeing what they come out with.

That's pretty much it for predicting. If you are looking for some graphic organisers they can be found in my Super Six Activity Pack;

Next up in the series; Making Connections!