Loot by Jude Watson

I originally discovered this book on Rick Riordan's blog just before it was released.  I had it on my "Want to" read for a long time, but finally read it this summer because it is nominated for an award in Washington State.

March McQuin is the son of a jewel thief who dies at his feet.  March hears his father tell him to "Find jewels."  He discovers that Jules is really a twin sister he didn't know about.

I loved the plot twists and characters and can't wait to read the sequel, Sting.





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Quote of the Week--December 25, 2016

"Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself."

George Bernard Shaw

Merry Christmas,

Claim: A Coordinate Graphing Game

Think of this as a different version of the Dot Game, where players take turns drawing lines between dots trying to complete as many squares as possible.

 In this version, players claim dots by calling out the coordinates for a particular point.

When a player claims the fourth point of the square, they color in the square.  The player who colors in the most squares wins.

 (Note: when we played this in class, one of the students asked if they could create any sized square and claim the area inside the square.  After experimenting a little, we decided that you had to claim the smaller squares on the board.)

I have printed out half a class set of this board, put it in a plastic cover, and we use dry erase markers for reusable game boards.

Claim is a free game available in Artistry of Education @Teachers Pay Teachers.

Quote of the Week--December 18, 2016

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the sees that you plant."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Have a good week,

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

A group of my students are reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in an after school book club.  When I heard about it, I had to read it.

The plot moves back and forth between Seattle at the time of the Japanese internment and the 80s.  Henry Lee, a Chinese-American, arrives at the Panama Hotel and realizes that items left there by Japanese families have personal meaning for him. He flashes back to a relationship he had with a Japanese-American girl and how they were separated as she moved to an internment camp.

I'm having great discussions with my fifth grade girls about their reading.  My stepdaughter read it in a community college English literature class.  My mom read it when it was recommended by a friend.




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Quote of the Week--December 11, 2016

"Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th."

Julie Andrews

Have a good week,

Teaching Place Value with Decimals

Every year, no matter what grade level I teach, I have a small group of students who need to work on understanding place value.  This year, I created the sheet shown above.  I ran it on standard white copy paper and put it inside a plastic sleeve.  Students use dry erase markers to solve problems with decimals.  

If you need other ideas for working with fractions and decimals, click here.

To download the free place value mat shown above, click here.

Quote of the Week--December 4, 2016

"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves."

Ray Kroc

Have a good week,

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

I loved Rose Howard, the main character of Ann M. Martin's Rain Reign.  She is obsessed about homonyms as well as other things.  She named her dog Rain, a homonym.

One stormy night, Rain runs away, setting off a chain of events that changes everything.






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Quote of the Week--November 27, 2016

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cyber Monday Sale -- November 28-29

Everything in both stores is 20% off.

Click here for Artistry of Education @Teachers Pay Teachers.
Click here for Artistry of Education @Teacher's Notebook.  
Have a good week,

Editable Beginning and Ending Routines

Here are the posters I have hanging in the front of my room with my beginning of the day and end of the day routines.  I teach my students these routines at the beginning of the year, but sometimes need to refer to them throughout the year.

To download "Editable Beginning and Ending Routines" please click here.

 

Quote of the Week--November 20, 2016

"Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood."

John Green

Have a good week,

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Albie has difficulty at school with learning and making friends.  Despite well-meaning teachers, he is bullied at school.  His parents and Korean grandfather put pressure on him to succeed. He makes friends with Betsy who is bullied as well.  

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff is a book I'm considering as a read aloud this year.  Although I teach gifted students, I believe they will have empathy for Albie.



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Quote of the Week--November 13, 2016

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."

Max Lucado

Have a good week,

My Question Answer Relationship

Frequent readers know I am teaching fifth grade challenge this year.  (This is what our district calls the highly capable or gifted program.)

My students ask questions...many, many questions.  To save time, I have organized my answers into four categories:

1. The quick answer.  These are questions I have already thought about and know the answer.
2. Let me think about it. I make it clear that if you argue with me about this, the answer becomes a permanent "No."
3. Let's try something and see what happens.  Of the possible answer, this one is risky.  Something bad might happen and the students may not want me to change course.
4. Out of my jurisdiction.  Some decisions are outside of my ability to control.  We all have to live with that.

I realized this week that I attempt to give as many "yes" answers as possible.  When I am consistent with my answers, students can predict accurately what they already have permission to do.

Quote of the Week--November 6, 2016

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Have a good week,

Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt

Several weeks ago I shared a vocabulary page I use as a warmup.

Another warmup I use with my fifth graders is the Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt.  I use the form shown below for a week's worth of words.  I write down words from one of our text books and have students look them up using the text features.  

To download this form from my Google Drive, please click here.

So far I have used them to review words in a lesson we have already covered in social studies. I also have used this as a preview of vocabulary in our math book.

 

Quote of the Week--October 30, 2016

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.

Clarence Thomas

Have a good week,

Paraphrase a Quote and New Release

I am working on a series of Character Education materials I use with my students.  Today's freebie is a way to use inspirational quotes in the classroom and practice paraphrasing.

Students copy the quote directly and then follow the steps to look up any words they don't know.  Then they write it in their own words without looking at the original.  Finally they check to make sure they captured the original meaning.

To download the "Paraphrase a Quote" lesson, please click here. 

I post a quote every Sunday here on Artistry of Education.  To view recent quotes, click here.

New product release:

30 Days of Gratitude is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
30 Days of Gratitude is also available in my Teacher's Notebook store.

Quote of the Week--October 23, 2016

There are two types of education.... One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.

John Adams

Have a good week,