4 Ideas for Halloween in Your Classroom

Halloween falls on a Friday this year and I predict it is going to be a crazy day. Students love to celebrate holidays at school, especially Halloween. Here are some ideas to celebrate Halloween and still get in instruction.

1. Spooky Reading Day

Create excitement and spook by inviting your students to bring flash lights and umbrellas to read under in the dark! Last year, my students read their ghost stories from their literature circles under their umbrellas and used flashlights to illuminate the pages. We had silent and partner reading during this time. It was spooktacular!

2. Book Character Parade

Kids love to dress up on Halloween. In an effort to keep costumes, gore free and school friendly, host a book character parade throughout your school. Each class or student can dress up as a their favorite book character. One year, I was Fancy Nancy and my students dressed as fancy words of their choice. Not only did it build their vocabulary but, they had an awesome time. Invite parents to join in the fun, too!

3. Hourly Guest Spooky Reader

Invite a surprise reader every hour (or just once) to come read a halloween story to your class. Give clues to infer who the reader may be before they arrive. I have invited everyone from the superintendent to a room parent. No matter who it is, the kids will be super excited.

4. Deceased Museum

They don’t call Halloween “The Day of the Dead” for nothing! Have students research a “deceased” person from history. Students will dress as that person and prepare a “wax museum-like” presentation. I did my “Deceased Museum” in the school cafeteria, where I invited the school and parents to come visit our exhibits. This was a great opportunity for students to practice research, reading, and writing skills. As a bonus, they got to dress up on Halloween and have fun. This is George Washington!

Happy Halloween and teaching!

-Randi Anderson

5 Biggest Time Wasters in the Classroom

Wasting time is not an option when you are a teacher! Scores, growth, data, and the emotional well-being of your students is YOUR responsibility. I use to think before I was a teacher myself, that teaching was going to be stress-free and all smiles. Oh, how I was so wrong. All the while, the rewards of teaching still out weight the stresses. Teachers don’t have a second to waste of instructional time. Here are the top 5 time wasters in the classroom and ways to conquer them.

1. Bathroom Breaks

Yes everyone needs a potty break every now and then. But do we really need to take up a 5 minute block of your schedule in the morning and afternoon to allow everyone to go? NO! Teach students a routine for politely asking to use the restroom, emergency procedures, and knowing the appropriate times to go (not during a lesson). This will give you 10+ extra minutes of instructional time each day.

2. Copying From the Board

I remember loathing the days of copying the board of notes for the weekly lesson. And after all, how effective is copying? Instead of having students waste time copying the board, make them a copy of the class anchor chart. They can then jot down their own notes, doing their own thinking, along the margins. This will help students create their own meaning of the material, while still having the correct verbiage to study and use.

3. Grouping Students

Taking the time to group students right before or after a lesson is time consuming. Grouping students ahead of time can help save some precious minutes of your instructional day. Using the iPad app Make My Groups (it’s FREE) on your classroom iPad or your iphone can help. Enter your class list into the app, select the number you want in each group or the number of groups you desire, press “make groups“, and viola! Groups are made. No more awkward random public selection. It is also motivating and entertaining (technology always is) for the students.

4. Getting Supplies Out at the Start of Every New Subject

How many times have you heard this “I don’t know where that is? Hold on while I find it!” Wasting time by trying to locate supplies or getting new supplies out like a math notebook or colored pencils can eat up your lesson time. One strategy I used was making sure I had a list up in the corner of the white board that listed every supply the students would need that day. If we were doing a reader’s response, I would make sure and add that to the list along with a pencil or post-it’s for the lesson. This helped save the time of digging in cubbies or backpacks continuously at the start of each new activity or subject. I also had buckets with Writer’s Notebooks or pencils that were easy to access in the morning. The student’s morning routine was to unpack and gather their supplies needed for the day. There was only one time of the day where they were “hunting and gathering”. This also prepared my students for what was coming up in the lessons that day.

5. Teacher Searching for Their Copies

One of the best management strategies I saw while student teaching, was a filing rack and cardboard drawer set used to file the week’s copies by day. I set this up in my classroom and it was my go to place. Not only were my copies or papers ready each day but, I was prepared better because I would make sure and file everything the Friday before the next week’s lessons. I was prepared even if I had to get a sub unexpectedly. I could also just grab the day’s folder or drawer and know that everything I needed was there. Students could also go back to that folder and grab papers they missed while being absent.

-Randi Anderson

Teaching Writing Genres

Teaching writing is a challenging task in itself, but throw in genres and conventions, and you have taken expertise to a new level! As a fourth grade teacher I know the struggles of teaching writing first hand. Teaching the difference between writing a personal narrative and imaginary story or an expository piece is tricky. Make students develop knowledge in concrete and visual ways. Create an anchor chart to keep posted and have students can create their own notes about the key points after you have taught the genre. Checklists are easy tools to use as a study guide or reference. I created a checklist for students to keep in their writer’s notebooks as an easy reference tool. To access my checklist. CLICK HERE!

The basics of Personal Narratives

• It’s a REAL story (no fantasy elements)
• It’s about YOU!
• It’s a story (Problem/Solution or Problem/Theme)

The basics of Expository

• It’s NONFICTION or true, factual information;
• It’s NOT a story; and
• It EXPLAINS.

The basics of Imaginary Stories

• It is a story;
• It has FANTASY (Not Real);
• It has CHARACTERS and a SETTING; and
• It can be about others or yourself

~Happy writing!  Randi

Tips for Starting Guided Reading

After four-to-six weeks of school, small group guided reading really gets going! The purpose of guided reading is to provide closely monitored structured practice of the reading strategies your students need to be successful readers. The guided reading format gives teachers opportunities to observe and coach students as they apply strategies and knowledge of author’s craft.

Here are a few tips for making your reading groups effective:

1. Clearly identify the learning target ( i.e. reading strategy and authors craft that you want students to practice). Be sure to use beginning-of-year assessments and observations of the students during reading to determine the learning targets for practice.
2. Identify students who need this practice. Remember, not every student in your class needs to practice every strategy or skill. Groups membership should be based on need rather than solely reading level.  Some students may already be effectively applying the reading strategy and therefore really don’t need to guided practice.  Some students may be ready to move to a “book club” practice setting rather than guided reading.
3. Select a text in which the reading strategy will need to be applied. Be respectful of your students’ independent and instructional reading levels as you choose the text. The key to success is making sure students will have success in using the reading strategy or skill.  Remember, the goal of the group is to guided practice of a reading strategy or skill. The desired result of guided reading is that students develop fluency with the learning target in order to read and comprehend other texts across genres.
4. Let the students do the thinking. Before reading, set your students up for success by helping them activate prior knowledge pose questions to serve as the purpose for reading. During reading, each student should read and process a portion of the text independently. Monitor students as they read and provide prompting if needed.  After reading, have the group return to the pre-reading purpose and questions.  As students discuss what they have read, monitor to see if they are using reading strategies and knowledge of author’s craft to comprehend the text.  You know your guided reading groups are successful when students apply reading strategies and are moving towards autonomy.

Starting off right is key! Remember to go slow with routines and instruction at first, so your students have the time and coaching they need to become strategic readers.

Get a FREE small group planning sheet and example HERE!!!

Practice Matters!

As I travel around to different districts and schools, I’ve noticed a difference in definition when it comes to shared, guided and independent practice. Having common verbiage and practice is crucial to students’ success.

Students need both guided and independent practice in order to develop as strategic, autonomous learners who can deal with cognitively complex situations. When learning new processes, strategies, and skills, students need frequent structured guided practice. This practice should be closely monitored by the teacher and provide students with feedback as they apply the new understandings and behaviors.

Shared reading (or problem solving) is one way to provide guided practice. In a shared experience, the teacher is thinking with the learners. In the gradual release of responsibility, this is a “We do” or “I do, you help.” The students all process the same content (no differentiation) with the teacher is providing support. The teacher monitors to make sure students understand how and when to apply the strategy or use the skill.

Guided practice should move from shared experiences to multiple guided experiences (e.g. guided reading or guided math) within the first few days/weeks of learning the new process, skill, or strategy. For example, in guided reading, the learners read independently, as the teacher is closely monitors and provides prompts or feedback as needed. Content needs to be differentiated, so that the learner can successfully execute the strategy or skill that is being targeted. In the gradual release of responsibility, this is a “You do” or “You do, I help.” Help is only given if the student struggles. The teacher serves as a coach, giving feedback and prompting if necessary. Most students need 4-5 guided practice sessions in order to comprehend the steps to use in the process, strategy or skill.

After students have developed comprehension of the process, strategy or skill, varied independent practice should be provided over time and the complexity of the situations or texts can be increased so that students need to use the knowledge in a variety of scenarios. Fluency develops as students practice over a relatively long period of time. Bottom line, to really become a strategic, autonomous learner, students must have a lot of practice. Many students fail to develop as strategic readers simply because they didn’t get enough coaching and practice. How will you ensure students get the practice they need? Click here to download a PDF version of the graphic organizer.