Quote of the Week -- June 30, 2013

"School is an unnatural place to learn." Unknown

I don't know who actually said this.  I read it on a teacher forum and was unable to verify it.  As most of us are on summer break, I just needed the reminder that life-long learners don't need a teacher to keep them going.

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Currently July...a little early

I was a little surprised this morning to see Currently July already up.  Oh well, I was working on my blog anyway.
 
Currently I am listening to the birds outside.  It's supposed to be 80 today which in Seattle is rare.
 
Currently I am loving the time I have to work outside.  My garden got away from me and I am bringing it back into some order.
 
Currently I am thinking that I need to get out of my PJs.  It's Saturday morning, right?
 
Currently I am wanting to try out a new recipe for Mexican food I pinned.  Summer is the time for me to experiment in the kitchen.
 
Currently I am needing nothing.  I am content.
 
My tip is to give yourself a field trip this summer.  Immerse yourself in an experience you wouldn't have thought of trying.  This past week I went to my first auction.  I lost out on what I wanted to buy, but it was still fun to watch how it all works in real life...not on TV.
 
Head on over to Oh Boy 4th Grade and link up with the July party.

Past, Present, and Future -- Free Writing Lesson

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When creating the bundle Writing Past, Present, and Future with Intermediate Students, I designed an extra activity that is not a part of the products I combined.  Students choose an every day event, like going to school, and brainstorm what that event would be like for a child in a time period in the past, what it is like now, and what they think it will be like in the future.

This week's freebie is the graphic organizer I use to teach this lesson. 

I hope you enjoy this activity with your students.  For more information about my Teaching Genre units, click here.

Shrek by William Steig

Just in case you didn't know, before Shrek was a movie it was a wonderful book by William Steig.  The movie has very little to do with the book.

I shared this with my fourth graders and decided to avoid the obvious lesson of book vs. movie.  Instead we talked about the story structure as a fractured fairy tale.  Shrek is an unusual hero.  His parents kick him out to seek his fortune.  A donkey tells Shrek his fate.  Shrek has a happy ending that fits his character, but probably not that of a traditional fairy tale.

Students can create their own fairy tale or analyze this one with this graphic organizer.

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Summer Plans -- Dream Big

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I'm finally on summer vacation.  I say finally because many in the blogging world ended their school year in May and have already started their back to school promotions.  :(

I want a balance this summer between work and play, so I made a list of what I want to accomplish, with room.

1. Summer Theater Workshop -- this is becoming a tradition.  I help out a creative husband and wife team who lead this two week workshop for middle school and high school students.  I learn so much every year.
2. Writing Goals -- I have curriculum, blog posts, and fiction I want to write.  I am creating a weekly schedule so I can stay on track, but I'm setting what I think are reasonable goals.
3.  Ecclesiastes -- my stepdaughter and her friends are in their senior year of high school or in their freshman year of college this fall.  This book has a lot of wisdom in it.  My theme is there are some experiences you can learn vicariously through the mistakes of others.
4. Walking -- I need to get back on an exercise plan.
5. Water -- I find I don't drink enough water during the school year, because using the restroom isn't convenient.
6.  Professional goals -- I have a class I need to take and I will begin reviewing Common Core this summer, too.  I don't want these goals to take over my life.

Have a good summer.

Quote of the Week -- June 23, 2013

 

"We must be clear about where we're going if we want anyone to help us get there."

Simon Sinek

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Classroom Library Genre Sort -- FREE

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Frequent readers of my blog know that I make sure that I teach reading and writing skills across genre.  (For more on my Teaching Genre products click here and here.)

Today's freebie is a Genre Sort that I use with my students in our classroom library.  I use these four definitions when I introduce Realistic Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.  I have students find and record examples on the form.  I find that it is a good formative assessment of my students understanding of the books in our library.  It also gets them into a book that they might not have seen before.

I hope you enjoy Genre Sort with your students.  Thank you to my Facebook Page followers for helping me choose this week's freebie.