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Showing posts with label Deb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deb. Show all posts

Friday, 11 April 2014

I Have... Who has.... {Freebie + Giveaway!}

Posted on 05:45 by the great khali
Hi!  It's Deb from Crafting Connections with you again this Friday!  I am guessing that there are few among us who have not played a version of "I have... Who has..." in our classrooms.  When I walk into an upper elementary classroom and students spot me carrying "I have... Who has...", cheers erupt!  (I'd be curious to know...does the same thing happen in your classroom?)

For those who have not played this game in your classroom, I encourage you to give it a try!  In fact, to provide further encouragement, this Greek and Latin Roots game is a FREEBIE at my TpT store through the weekend.



Little prep is required.  Simply cut the cards apart prior to class, and then pass them out when you are ready to play the game.  The person with "I have the first card.  Who has..." reads first.  At the end of each card, a question is posed.  Whoever has the answer to that card written at the top of THEIR card reads next.

These cards are part of my Beginning Prefixes game.

Students love this activity because it's fun!  They see it as a game.

As a teacher, I see it as so much more than that!  These are a few of the benefits of playing this game.

  1. Students are exposed to the target content in an engaging way.  There are literally hundreds of these games available.  One can find an "I have... Who has...." game for almost any upper elementary math, reading, or language topic!
  2. Students work cooperatively as a team.  When I play this game with students, we almost always play at least three rounds.  (And if we don't have time to play multiple times, boy, do I hear about it!)  Each round, I time how long it takes to advance through all of the cards, and the first round always takes awhile.  In the subsequent rounds, the students try to break their record, which they usually succeed in doing.  They not only help each other, but also encourage one another to pay attention!
  3. Students have an opportunity to improve fluency and voice volume.  When playing this game, it is very important to speak slowly, loudly, and clearly.  If you read too fast or too quietly, time is wasted because the class has to ask you to repeat yourself.  Therefore, students quickly learn to read as fluently as possible.
  4. Students have to pay attention and listen critically.  If they are caught not paying attention, they are letting their classmates down.  (I find that students pay attention quite well, though.)
I have learned a few tricks over my years of playing this game with students.  I make an answer key by cutting the pages in half, and then taping the strips together so that I have a very long strip of cards that are in order.  I put this strip under the document camera.  This is helpful in a couple of ways.  This is very helpful for those students who have a hearing disability or who just need to see the words written.  This is also helpful for me because I can easily catch any errors, especially when playing with cards that are very closely related.  

Strips are taped together.

This game is also wonderful to play with small groups of students.  The advantage of playing it with small groups is that each student holds (and is accountable for) multiple cards.  They have to pay attention the ENTIRE game.  I have them begin by laying their cards face-up on the table.  After they read a card, they turn it over.  By doing this, it is easier to keep track of which cards have been "played".

A small group of third graders play the prefixes game.


This BUNDLE will be discounted to $21 this weekend; that's less than $0.50 per game!

The above list shows all of the "I have... Who has..." games that I have created to use with my students. Enter the raffle below for a chance to win this "I have... Who has..." BUNDLE!  I will draw one winner on Monday morning!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A followup:  Lisa D. is the winner of the BUNDLE!
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Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb, Games | No comments

Friday, 14 March 2014

Why Didn't I Think of That? {Page Protectors}

Posted on 02:30 by the great khali
Way back in November, I blogged about a book called Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan Wiliam that changed the way I teach.  I encountered several "aha!" moments when I read that book, and today I'm going to blog about another one.  Many of you may already know this teacher-friendly trick, but I want to share it anyway, just in case any of you are unaware like I was!

Do you have a set of these white boards?


Wonderful, aren't they?  Each student can have a white board and display his/her answer on his/her own board.  They are perfect for small group use, and even large class use. Yes, the students like to draw and doodle on them, but overall, students using white boards are usually quite engaged in the lesson. You can quickly get an idea of the students that are understanding the concepts being presented, and those that are still confused or struggling to grasp a certain concept.  (You know... just watching our students' nonverbal cues can tell us teachers a lot.  Students that confidently write their answer as quick as a wink KNOW the concept.  On the other hand, students who pause and try to covertly steal a glance at their neighbor's board do not quite understand the new learning.)

These white boards work great for practicing spelling patterns, math problems, etc.  However, they aren't the answer for everything.  They don't quite work for practicing map skills or drawing the hands on a clock.  Drumroll... that's where PAGE PROTECTORS come in handy!  Did you know dry-erase markers and erasers work just as well on a page protector as they do on a white board?!?!?  Yes, it's true!  (When I read that in Wiliam's book, I sat there and thought, I've been teaching for 15 years, and I didn't KNOW that?  Why didn't I think of that??)

Just slip a paper inside a sleeve and voila!  You have a new all-student response system that you can use with your entire class to keep them engaged!  Want to practice finding locations on a map using longitude and latitude?  Just hand out maps, page protectors, and dry-erase markers and you're all set for whole-group practice!  Want to have students practice finding the place value of a certain digit in a number?  Try this method!  

Below are just some of the ways that I have used page protectors in my class:


During our genre unit of study, I gave each student one of these genre lists, a marker, and an eraser.  Students joined me in the classroom library area.  I held up a book and read the summary on back, students determined the genre by circling the correct term on their sheet.

Colored cardstock provides a bright alternative to white boards!

Perfect for labeling maps!

Works great with any graphic organizer!

These graphic organizers are FREE on TPT (compliments of Nicole Swisher!).
Please leave a comment and let me know what other papers you slip inside page protectors to allow for individual responses during a whole-class activity!  I would love to hear more ideas!

Before I sign off for this month, I have two other things I would like to quickly mention!  First of all, I recently added a FREE April Fool's Day craftivity to my store!  If you haven't tried a craftivity with your students yet, this freebie is a perfect one to try!

Finally, I have a "Pin It to Win It" giveaway going on at my blog, Crafting Connections, right now! I will be giving away pinned resources to FIVE winners!

Until next month!

Deb
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Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb | 1 comment

Friday, 14 February 2014

Have Some Fun with Sundae Summaries! {FREEBIE!}

Posted on 03:00 by the great khali
Hi there!  It's Deb from Crafting Connections with you again today!

A few years ago, during my first year working with fifth graders, I was informed that writing summaries was the next standard we would be focusing on.  Actually, the fifth grade teacher asked (in a dry, monotone voice), "What do you have for teaching summarizing that's fun and exciting?"  I stared back at her blankly.  We both felt the same... there was nothing fun and exciting about teaching students the art of summarizing.  "I'll think of something," I told her (in a dry, monotone voice of my own).

My research for something fun and engaging first took me online.  If you've done this same search, you know that my Google search yielded lots of "Somebody Wanted But So" examples.  I checked it out, but I have to say - I just couldn't latch onto this strategy.  I know that some teachers swear by this method, but I just couldn't quite grasp it.  While it works very well for certain fiction stories, I kept finding stories where I just couldn't make it work.  And if it didn't always work for me, how would I effectively teach it?

So, I came up with my own method to teach students to summarize fiction.  As you might imagine, fifth grade students were surprised one morning when I got out the play doh!  While they may have been skeptical, they were also intrigued.  I then proceeded to use the play doh to make a banana split sundae in front of them!  As I formed each component from the play doh, I compared it to the steps involved in writing an effective fiction summary.  I compared the banana halves to the characters and setting, the three scoops of ice cream to the beginning (problem), middle (events related to the problem), and end (resolution), and the cherry on top to the theme.  I also placed toppings onto each ice cream scoop, explaining that these were important details revealed at the beginning, middle, and end of the story...but cautioned students from overloading their summaries with too many unimportant details!  I said that just as too many toppings on a banana split sundae would get all mixed together and the individual flavors would be lost, a summary loaded with too many unimportant details would result in a confusing, overwhelming, and essentially ineffective summary.

Mrs. Thompson (my co-teacher) and I were thrilled with how well this method worked for our fifth graders!  In fact, when the concept of summarizing rolled around last year and again this year (usually October), we got out the play-doh again and repeated the analogy with the next batch of fifth graders!

Last year, I decided that I should take the time to create a PowerPoint and matching craftivity.  Well, it took me more than a year to actually follow through on this, but I finally did it!  (I'll admit, special requests from three different teachers on TpT for such a resource gave me the kick-in-the-pants to finally put a priority on this!  I figured that if three teachers were specifically asking me for it, there were likely many teachers looking for an effective strategy and opportunity to work on this skill with their students.)

I finished the Summarizing Fiction PowerPoint last week!    It includes 45 slides.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summarizing-Powerpoint-focusing-on-summarizing-fiction-1088810
Ice cream sundae graphics by Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs.

Then I finished the Sundae Summary Craftivity.  This resource includes an original short story for students to summarize.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summarizing-Craftivity-A-Sundae-Summary-1097769
Ice cream sundae graphics by Aim Less Daze.
Finally, I followed that up by creating an interactive notebook entry to match the PowerPoint and craftivity, and I'm giving it away as a FREEBIE! 

Ice cream sundae graphics by Aim Less Daze.

I'll also briefly mention that Amy from Eclectic Educating recently blogged about this important topic, as well.  I liked her checklist strategy, so you may want to hop over to check out her comments on summarizing fiction, too.

I have to admit, I'm looking forward to next October when I can show the PowerPoint to my fifth graders!  I think they will love the craftivity, too!  Perhaps YOU would like to try the Sundae Summary the next time you teach students to summarize fiction!

Before I sign off...unrelated to the topic of Summarizing Fiction, but perhaps of interest to YOU - hop on over to my blog today to find about a flash freebie craftivity!  It's available through midnight tonight (Friday, 2/14).
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    Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb, ELA | No comments

    Friday, 10 January 2014

    My Animated PowerPoint Dilemma ... and the Solution I Found!

    Posted on 04:00 by the great khali
    Deb from Crafting Connections is back with you today...

    Ever since I learned to make PowerPoint presentations, I have enjoyed making interactive ones to present to my students.  I almost always use a PowerPoint to introduce a new ELA concept.   I tend to follow an established pattern of introducing the concept with the first few slides, and then have several practice opportunities for the remaining slides.

    Until a few months ago, though, I was utterly stumped on one particular aspect of making PowerPoints.   I had elaborate visions of what I wanted my PowerPoints to look like- I wanted to use Jen Jones’ Hello fonts that I had purchased from TpT, and I had creative ideas that incorporated my favorite clip artists’ creations- like the fun and visually engaging clip art by Krista Wallden, Away with the Pixels, and A Sketchy Guy!  (And I can't neglect to mention all those great digital papers to use for backgrounds!)

    My question was this: How do I create a PowerPoint with full animation that is secure and cannot be edited????  After all, the terms of use with the graphics I wanted to use clearly state (and rightfully so!): “Please make sure all digital files are secured in a PDF file or another secured format so the clipart cannot be copied and used by others.”  However, once I turned my PowerPoint into a PDF, it lost all animation!   My text boxes would no longer “fly” onto the screen!   I was stumped and frustrated.

    Let me pause for just a moment and say that I know that some of you already know of a solution to this “dilemma”.  But, I also have to believe (to make myself feel better, if nothing else!) that there are some readers that are stumped by this like I was.  For them, I want to share the solution I found… (The rest of you can read along and let me know if you have an even easier answer!)

    Back to my story… I asked the tech teacher at my school, but she admitted that although she knew there was a solution to my question, she hadn’t figured it out yet.  My online searches left me empty-handed… until one day when I must have typed in the magic phrase!  I had my answer!

    Keep reading to see how I got from the BEFORE to the AFTER!



    Here’s what I figured out: The key is this - Once you have created your PowerPoint, you need to save each slide you want as flattened PNG images!!   Let me explain, showing the steps I take:
    1. Design your PowerPoint presentation.  Save it as you normally would.  (I named mine “Author’s Purpose Revamp”.)
    2. You can now begin the “flattening” process.  “Flattening” refers to each complete slide as a PNG image.   (“Flattening” prevents another user from being able to click on a particular component on a slide and copy it for another [illegal] use.)
      • Delete all of the animated text boxes.
      • Select “Save As”. (Make sure to select Save AS!)
      • Go to the “Save as Type” box (the bottom drop-down box) and select “PNG Portable Network Graphics Format”.
      • Click on “Save”.   (I also give it a new name. In this case, I named it “Author’s Purpose Revamp Slides”.)
      • A box will appear on your screen. Click on “Every Slide”.
      • Once all the slides have been saved as PNG images, return to the folder where you have the PowerPoint saved.
      • Click on the new folder that has just been created.
      • The newly created PNG image of each slide appears here!
      • Select Slide1. Copy (Ctrl C).
      • Open a brand new PowerPoint file. Paste Slide1 PNG (Ctrl V).
      • Insert a new slide. Return to your PNG images and copy Slide2.
      • Paste the Slide2 PNG.
      • Continue copying and pasting slides until all of the flattened PNG slides have been pasted into the new PowerPoint.
      • Use “Save As” again to save this new PowerPoint with a unique name.  (I usually use the word “flattened” in this version, like “Author’s Purpose Revamp flattened”.)
    3. You're almost done - a FINAL step awaits you!  You now just need to add back the animated text boxes from your original PowerPoint file (those you deleted at the beginning of the previous step). 
      •  Return to your original PowerPoint.  Find the first slide with an animated component. Select that animated component, and copy it (Ctrl C).
      • Go to your newly created flattened PowerPoint. Find the appropriate slide and paste it – as a picture.  (Note-I just learned this step a few weeks ago!  Before that, I thought I had to use a standard font on any animated component…but not so!)
      • Add back the animation elements, as you normally would.
    Once you have completed the process of adding back any animated text boxes, you should be done! You now have a flattened PowerPoint presentation!

    This method has totally changed how I have designed my newest PowerPoints!
    This is one of the slides from my favorite PowerPoint- (my Main Idea PowerPoint!)
    Furthermore, the use of this flattening method has allowed me to greatly enhance the appearance my PowerPoints.  Armed with my new revelation, I have begun going about revamping all my existing PowerPoint resources – and I’m actually having a lot of fun with it!  Wait… let me rephrase that. While I can’t say that the work involved is “fun”, it is highly gratifying to see my NEW finished products!!)  Here are a few more “before” and “after” shots!






    If you enjoy making PowerPoint presentations, give this method a try!  Good luck!

    *One final disclaimer – the method described above is applicable to PCs.  I can’t speak to the process involved for Mac users.* 
    UPDATE!! My blogging friend, Lisa from Grade 4 Buzz, was kind enough to notify me that she tried my process on her Mac, and it worked!  She did note, however, that she needed to take an additional step to improve the resolution of her slides once they were flattened.  She said that under Options, she simply had to change the width to 2999.  Thanks, Lisa!!

    Oh, one more thing - stop by my blog and enter the giveaway you'll find there! You'll find another surprise of sorts there, too - a different blogger!
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      Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb | No comments

      Sunday, 22 December 2013

      Relax, Rejuvenate, Enjoy! (with a free New Year's craftivity!)

      Posted on 14:39 by the great khali
      Deb from Crafting Connections is sending you warm Christmas greetings from snowy Iowa!

      Every educator I know is now on holiday break until after New Year's!  I must admit, I LOVE the one day each December when I get to say these oh-so-trite words to my students as they walk out the school doors:

      Background by RedPepper!


      Anyway, I thought I'd share with you a few challenges I am giving myself for Christmas break.  Perhaps you will want to challenge yourself to some of these same goals!

      1.  I challenge myself to RELAX.  Yes, I could make another batch of treats for the cookie trays we'll be delivering to the neighbors, I could look for a unique little gift for my girls' religious ed teachers, I could... there are a million (and one!) things I could do.  But I am challenging myself to NOT do anything on my Could list!  Anything not worthy of going onto a Must list is getting nixed!

      2.  I challenge myself to LET GO of the stresses of the school year.  You know what I'm talking about... the x, the y, the z.  I have no doubt they will be awaiting my return to school on January 2, but between now and then, I'm going to make a heroic effort to let them go!

      3.  I challenge myself to ENJOY the blessings surrounding me!  Enjoy a quiet evening with the family watching movies (without the computer on my lap in order to multitask), enjoy sleeping in, enjoy observing Christmas through the eyes of my nine- and six-year-old daughters...

      So, I'm off to RELAX, REJUVENATE, and ENJOY!  Before I go, though, I've got a little Christmas gift of sorts to share with you.  I hope you enjoy this flash freebie New Year's craftivity!  Perhaps you can use it the first day back at school... my hope is that it will require little effort to prepare, thus allowing you a bit more time to spend with the people you care about this holiday season.  Just click on the link above or the image below; it will be free at my TpT store through Saturday, December 28!

      http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Years-Writing-Activity-and-Craftivity-1028242
      Credits to artists Krista Wallden, Lovin Lit, Mrs. Leeby, and Hello Literacy!

      Best wishes to you and yours... and SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

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      Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb, FREEBIE | No comments

      Friday, 25 October 2013

      Have you tried Readers' Theaters in your Upper Elementary Classroom?

      Posted on 21:00 by the great khali
      Hi there!  Deb from Crafting Connections is back today...

      A number of upper elementary teachers have told me that they have not used Readers' Theaters in their classrooms.  I must say, that surprises me!  I've experienced nothing but great success using these resources with my students.

      I see several WINS for students when we do Readers' Theaters:
      • In my district, students are placed in guided reading groups through fifth grade.  With that, they almost always read with the same small group of students who read at the same level they do.  However, during those weeks where we take a break from Guided Reading for Readers' Theaters, students are very excited to be placed in different groups and enjoy getting to work with different classmates that week.  Along with that, I nearly always see students working together, helping one another with expression or a difficult word.
      • Struggling readers get the opportunity to listen to strong models reading.
      • If I instruct a student to reread a chapter from a book, they often see it as a chore or a punishment.  Readers' Theaters, on the other hand, are fun to reread again and again!  With each rereading, students' fluency improves.  My experience has been that their voice expression improves with each rereading, too.  As students become more comfortable with the words and plot, they begin to experiment more with their character's lines, adding more expression.
      • They provide a good opportunity for students to practice oral speaking skills (speaking loudly and clearly, lowering their script to belly-button level rather than having it right in front of their face).
      • Many students love to perform (often including those I would least expect)!  With that, students often appear more invested in a Readers' Theater activity, knowing that they will eventually be performing it for others, and they want to be prepared so they entertain their audience.
      • They provide a good opportunity to practice listening skills.  In fact, on the day of the performance, we usually begin by discussing characteristics of a good speaker/reader, AND the characteristics of a good audience member.
      Are you interested in giving a Readers' Theater a spin with your students?  I've got two timely resources available for you to check out!  (Just click on the image to be directed to the resource at my TpT store.)















      Also, hop on over to my blog for more detail on the Halloween Readers' Theaters BUNDLE - and an opportunity to win it!

      I'm also offering a special deal on my Readers' Theater BUNDLE.  Today only, I am making it half-price!  For $11, you can have 14 original scripts (that's less than $1 per script!).



      One more thing before I sign off:  Be sure to come back tomorrow to see how ATUE celebrates fall!
       
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      Posted in Crafting Connections, Deb, Reader's Theater | No comments

      Thursday, 19 September 2013

      An Upper Elementary Take on Author's Purpose

      Posted on 00:30 by the great khali

      At a staff meeting about five years back, our principal had us look at the previous year's test results, identify one or two areas of weakness, and then write a plan of action for improving that weak strand.  Well, my colleagues and I recognized that Author's Purpose was a weak area for our third and fourth graders that year.  We wrote what we thought was a fabulous plan to help our students to better understand the concept of Author's Purpose... and thus be better equipped to score higher in that area on the annual standardized tests.  Our plan even included placement of a huge "pie" in the central part of the hallway where each class wrote the titles of books they had read that fit into each category!

      As teachers, our confidence soared as State Assessment time approached!  (You know what's coming...)  Well, assessment time arrived, and as an ESL teacher, I was providing the accommodations of reading the test questions aloud to limited-English proficient students.  I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as I read various questions related to Author's Purpose.  I realized that the test authors did not limit the answer choices to persuade, inform, and entertain.  Rather, I saw answer choices that included words like explain, describe, and occasionally even illustrate. 

      Furthermore, I realized that sometimes, the test authors required students to differentiate the main idea.  For example, answer choices might include:
                A.  To inform the reader about the formations found in caves
                B.  To describe the formations in a cave
                C.  To entertain readers with a story about a cave
                D.  To inform the reader about how caves are formed

      It was then that I set out to do more than just teach the basic PIE method for Author's Purpose!  I found the PIE'ED method online, and from there created several materials to support that method.

      What is the PIE'ED method of Author's Purpose?
      P-persuade (to convince the reader of something)
      I-inform (to provide the reader with information)
      E- entertain (to provide a story readers will enjoy - it can be sad, scary, or happy, and often includes dialogue)
      E-explain (to give the reader directions)
      D-describe (to appeal to most or all of the reader's five senses)

      Clipart by Krista Wallden.
      I invite you to check out my Author's Purpose PIE'ED 
      FREEBIE available at TpT!  (The last page of the free download contains a listing of all the PIE'ED resources I have available at my store, including my top seller  PIE'ED craftivity, shown to the right.)


      Finally, I also invite you to head over to my blog.  Actually, I am finishing up a raffle with a fellow blogger today, but tomorrow (Friday), I will start another raffle giveaway of my Author's Purpose PIE'ED BUNDLE - craftivity, task cards, worksheets, games, PowerPoint and more!  (Stop by both days and enter both giveaways!)
                                                                                                                              
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      Until next time,
       

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      Posted in Common Core, Crafting Connections, Deb, ELA, FREEBIE, reading resources | No comments
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      Blog Archive

      • ▼  2014 (62)
        • ▼  April (13)
          • Guest Post, Beyond Traditional Math: Common Core ...
          • Easy Fraction of a Set Game
          • Introducing Division Concepts
          • Testing Time is Upon Us!
          • Fun, Quick, and Easy Reading Comprehension Games f...
          • Guest Post: Kimberlee Fulbright, Close Reading J...
          • I Have... Who has.... {Freebie + Giveaway!}
          • Number Line Frustration? Walk the Walk!
          • Creating polygons in the classroom
          • Bringing Earth Day into the Classroom
          • Guest Post Lucy Ravitch: How Decimals and Fractio...
          • Test Incentives and Motivational Ideas
          • Guest Post from The Brown Bag Teacher: Augmented ...
        • ►  March (16)
        • ►  February (15)
        • ►  January (18)
      • ►  2013 (241)
        • ►  December (15)
        • ►  November (18)
        • ►  October (24)
        • ►  September (19)
        • ►  August (15)
        • ►  July (20)
        • ►  June (20)
        • ►  May (25)
        • ►  April (19)
        • ►  March (21)
        • ►  February (18)
        • ►  January (27)
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