Blog Problems and a Summary Activity

So as you may have noticed my blog has not been going so well.  I have lots of cute stuff going on in my classroom but haven't been able to share it.

Problem 1: I keep forgetting my password

Problem 2:  I NEED AN I PHONE!!!
 I have an old phone that takes bad pictures and no digital camera.  The pictures I take for my blog always turn out weird and blurry.

Problem 3:  I'm not sure I wan to blog about just teaching anymore.
I started this blog as a creative outlet.  I found that I wish I could write about more than just teaching.  By that I mean you know those real stories about what happens in the classroom?  Things I'm doing around the house (got some cool projects going there by the way to get ready for the baby).  Annoying family members.  Maybe I need to start a personal blog.

Problem 4:  I'm so tired.
I have a student teacher this semester (thats how you are getting to read this fabulous post as she is in charge right now) but at night I have this little creature moving all around, I can't sleep, and I'm trying to get ahead in my plans for my maternity leave.

Problem 5: I havent really put as much into my blog as I could.  I don't use google docs to input things. I need to start sharing more.

So while I am figure out what to do (give advice please)  here is a cute activity I threw together for my 2nd graders who were bored and tired of doing testing and writing.

Our Cute Summary Cats!!

By the end of 2nd grade it is the expectation in our school that students be able to provide written summaries for all their District wide comprehension tests and on the DRA2 reading assessment.  We start this skill in 2nd grade but sequencing events. and getting more detailed as the year goes on.

This week we were reading the story

First we talked about transition words in a summary.  That is what is written on the front of the index cards.  Then inside the cards we wrote an event to go with it.  I cut some construction paper for the cat bodies and we glued on the index cards.

Then I found this cute template (I was to lazy to make my own this time)

I just used the face, arms, and legs.

YOu can get the template here http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/catcrafts.html#hangcat

As soon as I take pictures I will post about our Sailboat summaries and you will be able to download my first template!!!!

Making the Most of Boring Curriculum

Hello Everyone!  We are only 15 days away from paradise :)  Can you smell the children about to loose it?  3 of my  best behaved, most helpful students decided throwing food at lunch was a good idea today.  Then they were shocked that they got in trouble for it :/

UMMM? What classroom have you been in for the past 2 years?  However, when I asked them if we should ask their parents what they thought about it all 3 decided they would just take the punishment......dun, dun, dun, an evil clip down.  We have a behavior chart where they can clip up for good behavior and down for bad.  I love it because I can be mean and then nice when they turn it around; it lets me be more strict without having the whole class on phone call home at the end of the day.  I also can turn students behavior around by rewarding the good ones and not constantly being a meanie.

On to the main point of my post.  Does your school have a reading book that you use as part of your curriculum?  We use Literacy Place and for the most part I like it.  However, in 3rd grade there is a story that I dread teaching usually I would skip it but my kids were having trouble with sequencing events and it is actually a good story for that.  So my goal was to make it interesting for the most important person in the class.....ME:)

The story is Up Goes the Skyscraper

First, we do our vocabulary for the lesson by looking at the context clues, making predictions and then looking up the real meanings.  I give the kids a sentence that the word is in and then they have to write down what clues helped them make their prediction. I started this because my kiddos kept bombing the context clues section of their district assessments and EdVision placement tests.  I use a modified Fryer diagram for our vocabulary format.  I can change what I want the squares to say and keep the format consistent.   It gets the kids used to it by the time they need to use it.

Since we don't live in an area with skyscrapers we then watched a movie about them.  I love the website Howstuffworks.com and it had one that was perfect!  You can check it out here!

Once we were done the real fun began.  We build our own skyscrapers!  I cut black construction paper in half the "hotdog" way.  Then I cut note cards into squares for windows.  On each window starting at the ground students needed to write a step in the process of building a skyscraper.  Then we decorated them!  The kids had a lot of fun and I think its the first time any class actually remembered what happened in the story.

Some of them turned out larger than others because they broke down the steps instead of combining ones that went together, I think a contest over who had the tallest skyscraper broke out.  Next time I do this I am going to give them a set number of steps they must have.

What things do you do to make the curriculum more interesting and engaging for your kids and your self.