Treasure Books

Have any of y'all ever published Treasure Books with your students? This is my first year doing it so we're working on a class book together and just going step by step. We decided to write about something we are supremely passionate about!  WINK!  We are not done yet - but we will be soon! Here's a glimpse of our progress so far...

 

Magical Chameleons

Thanks to the gorgeous pictures and article in the latest National Geographic magazine, my ELD students are enthralled with learning all about these amazing creatures! 

We took a break from non-fiction learning, though, and began planning stories about magical chameleons!

 We thought deeply about the character traits, problem/solution, and other characters. Then, on Friday, we did a directed draw to illustrate a chameleon. The students are just now finishing their drawings and then will finish their stories, too!

Test Piloting Component 4

#ItNeverEnds

National Board Certification

So, many of you probably already know that the National Board Certification process has undergone a transformation and the new components have been rolling out slowly - about one per year. I started the process, finishing Components 1 and 2 last year and working on Component 3 this year.  During the process last year I learned the importance of planning ahead - impeccable planning - to avoid the stress of getting even close to the due date.    Yesterday, the NBCT opened up the submission window (til 5/18) to get this year's submissions in. Guess who submitted Component 3 yesterday?  This girl!

I only need to wait 8 months to get my results! Tick, tock...

Fri-Yay!

Friday is usually a day for a lot of assessments, but today we also experienced the Holy Trifecta - an author's visit, computer lab and an art lesson!

Dan Santat is Everything.

Do ya'll use Imagine Learning or Smarty Ants? My kids love "playing" the games and I love that they can get some fun practice in while they raise their EL levels! Home support, too! Winning!

We're so in love with paint, glue and oil pastels!

 

Best.Day.Ever.

So Excited About Tomorrow!

Beekle. Dan Santat. Tomorrow. In person. That is all.

Thinking Map Thursday

As we review for our Mid-Year Phonics exam, the students are using a lot of Thinking Maps to organize their thinking about word work.  Students used their favorite maps - which are the fun ones to draw - Brace and Bridge! 

Students used the Bridge Map to demonstrate an understanding of contractions and used the Related Factor (RF): -is a contraction for-...

Students used the Brace Map to organize their thinking about compound words...