Wow!

Wow I feel honored to be nominated !!!!! Ahhhh, tomorrow is the last day of school and I can breathe --and blog-- again :)

I'm in Mailbox Magazine!

Trying to get through the last week of school, been crazy busy! 

I am excited to be published in the Aug/Sept 2-3 Mailbox Magazine :) What an honor!! 

Meet Miss Tattle

Miss Tattle entered my classroom a few weeks ago when my kids were just getting so nitpicky with each other. It is a clear Chinese container painted black and decorated with yarn and ribbon. The top has a slit. 

Here is how she works: 

We spent about a week talking about what a bully is and ways to prevent being bullies and being bullied. We also discussed the differences between a tattle and something serious. So now when Jenny sticks her tongue out at Mary she can write to Miss. Tattle and not bother me with it. We, of course, spent a lot of time role playing using an "I message" and dealing with someone who does something mean. I keep a stack of scrap paper near Miss. Tattle and when the kids feel like they just NEED to tell someone that "Bobby said he won't invite me to his birthday party" they can write to Miss. Tattle. I do read them at the end of the day and not only are they hysterical, they truly are silly tattles so I'm glad I am not being interrupted anymore because Alex took 2 pencils when he was only supposed to take 1. Do you do anything like this in your classroom? How did it work for you?

Daily 5-- Part 8- Listening

Okay, well this is it... The last installment of my Daily 5 guide. For listening to reading I only use the computer. I don't purchase books with CD's because there are so many free resources on the Internet. Currently I only have one computer so that means one student per round can do listening. 

I use Tumblebooks and only Tumblebooks because there are so many books. It is a subscription site though. What I do is I pick out 2 books for the week (usually a 10 minute and 4 minute) and put them in my Tumblebook favorites and the kids are able to just open and click. It's super simple and only takes about 1 minute of prep time to change out the books each Monday. There are many free sites listed here I just wouldn't be able to tell you how they work since I've never used them!  

After my students listen to reading they are then required to complete a listening reflection. My students just write in their Daily 5 notebooks. I model this in the beginning of the year. They may write about their favorite part, a connection they made, etc. When I taught kindergarten last year I used these two files. I have two different versions to differentiate. One with lines and one without. 

Well, I hope my Daily 5 blabbing helped some of you out. I am super passionate about literacy and the Daily 5. You are always welcome to email me and ask questions. 

Great.... now what am I going to blog about?? ;)