Monday Made It: A Name Study

I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It!!!  This is really a Monday Re-Made It.  I have been doing this activity for the past 6 years, but I inherited all the worksheets from my dear sweet teaching partner Lisa, who we lost to cancer a little over a year ago.  This year I finally had the heart to remake the worksheets and add my own flair.

It has been a tradition at our school for the fourth grade students to study their names and complete their very first writing assignment during the first full week of school.  I absolutely LOVE this project!  We begin the lesson by sharing with our groups one thing we like about our names and one thing we don't.

I then read the story Chrysanthemum and we take some time to share about similar experience we may have had with our names.  I have them complete a worksheet brainstorming what they might already know about their name and where it came from.  You can get a copy here.

Their homework that night (the very first homework assignment of the school year) is to interview their parents about their name.  You can also snag a copy of this one here.  When they return with their homework I give them some time to find the meaning of their name using books and this website.  They love this part!

Then we spend a ton of time talking about writing.  I share a sample paragraph I wrote about my name and ask the students to think about how their name stories could be put into a paragraph.  We carefully read the story and I have them write certain sentences in their heads as we read.  We call this Brain Writing....you'll never believe this, but they really like writing in their heads much more than they do on paper :)  We all begin with the same sentence to start our paragraphs "My name is....." I really think having this first sentence down on paper helps so many of them move forward in writing.  Sometimes that first sentence is the hardest one to write.

Of course we do a second draft because we ALWAYS edit!  After they edit with a friend they write their final draft!!!  How cute is this one?!?!

Our final activity is to brainstorm a list of adjectives that describe us, nouns that have special meaning to us, and names of individuals who are important in our lives.  Here's the worksheet I use for brainstorming!
 

We then use that brainstorming page to create a word cloud on Tagxedo.

If you haven't used Tagxedo, you just have to.  It's so simple, and you can totally customize your cloud....which fourth graders love....this is, by far, their very favorite part of this entire project.  Another bonus....they make a super cute bulletin board!!!  I had hoped to have a super cute picture of our bulletin board, but it's not ready yet....going in this afternoon to put it together!

Other books I use during our week long name study:

Hope some of you can use this back to school activity and I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to hear how your students like it!!!

Monday Made It and a little Fall decorating

Can't believe I actually had time to make something this weekend and link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics.  This is my 6th year of teaching (5th year in 4th grade), and I finally think I have it.....I was even able to enjoy the majority of my weekend and not spend it at school!!!

This week we are working on a genre study.  I use the activities in Laura Candler's Power Reading Workshop book, and add a few I've gotten other places.  One of the activities we will complete is a Genre Mystery Bag.  I got this idea from Mailbox Magazine.  I will put 3 or 4 books from the same genre in a bag and give each group a different bag.  They will look at the books and try to determine the genre of the books.  They will then fill out this graphic organizer with their group members.

You can get a copy here.  We will then discuss the various genres they had and then the student will get a random pile of books and attempt to sort them by genre.  I love this lesson and this year it is especially helpful since I had so little time to get my classroom ready due to construction.  The students will be learning about genre and putting together out classroom library at the same time!

I also have time for a little home made it!  I am so ready for fall it's crazy!  Yesterday after I finished all of my lesson plans I put some orange peels, a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and some water in a pot and put it on the stove....man oh' man did my house smell yummy.  I then set to work on our Fall Bucket List.  I simply changed out our Summer Bucket List and added some free scrapbooking paper I got from Activity Village and some fabulously fun fall ideas I got from Come Together Kids.

Next weekend I'm gonna bring a little of the fall action to the front porch!!
Don't forget to check out all the other awesomely amazing Monday Made It projects at 4th Grade Frolics!!

It was a Word Work week!

Let me start off with something that has nothing to do with school....Jacob got a car for his 16th birthday yesterday!!  His birthday is actually on the 21st (which is the first day of school....how gross is that???), but he got his gift a little early.  His grandparents purchased a new car and were generous enough to give him their old one!!

This was a complete birthday surprise for him!  When his grandma handed him the keys in the restaurant he said, "Did I just get a car?".  I'm so nervous that he will be free to roam the streets without me, but super duper excited that he is making the transition into a young man......I absolutely love that boy!!!

This will be my last Monday Made It for a while!  We found out on Friday that we will be able to move into our classrooms on Friday the 17th after 4 p.m.  We have Open House on Monday and students start on Tuesday the 21st.  That means I have 3 days to unpack every single school thing I own, put it away in my new classroom, decorate my room, and prepare for Open House and the first week of school.....no pressure!  Since I will be in freak out mode next weekend and will be working round the clock I'm guessing I won't have time for a Monday Made it post......on with this weeks goodies!

Last year I had 6 Word Work activities that students could choose from during this time.  Most of my ideas came from Tara at 4th Grade Frolics, and Laura Candler at Corkboard Connections.  I even used Tara's idea for creating the folders to hold them in.....cute huh!

I made these new activities to add to the fun!  You can get a free copy of any of the worksheets here.

The Sand Scribes will use our new colored sand boxes!

Our typists will use our new colorful keyboards.  I had thought about using the laptop keyboards, but taking them out always seems to take forever, and with a simple keyboard we'll save time, and nobody will "accidentally" turn on a computer :)

This idea also came from 4th Grade Frolics! I found these little pouches in the school supply section at Target for only $0.97!  They hold all the Magnetic Words Supplies! The letters were also from Target near the college/dorm back to school stuff, and the magnetic white boards are from Dollar Tree.

I plan to add my new ideas to last year's choices:

Vocabulary Foldable (from Laura Candler)
Words Worth, Scrabble, Secret Code, and Stampin' It (from 4th Grade Frolics)

I even got two new ink pads in blue and red from the Dollar Spot at Target!

I also had time to create Poetry Pots (inspired by 4th Grade Frolics....again!)

I wrapped up this very busy week with a very simple Box Tops container (nothing special just a left over sand container some craft paper and some stickers)

new bins for the kids to turn their work in.  Since we departmentalize I made a bin for each teacher with folders in each bin for the most frequently turned in kinds of work.  I'm hoping this makes organizing and grading hundreds of paper each week MUCH easier! I had the folders and I got the bins at Walmart for $1 in the dish section.

And, last I made an "I'm Done, Now What?" board.  I'm loving this thing and I think it's going to make an awesome addition to my room.  I got the genius idea  from Shelley Gray of Teaching in the Early Years!!!

This little guy was really time consuming to put together, but I have a feeling it's going to be well worth the effort!

Oh, and I finished two weeks worth of lesson plans yesterday.....all that's left is to get that room put together!!!  If you haven't linked up with 4th Grade Frolics this summer you are missing out.  Head on over there and check out all the other AMAZING Monday Made it projects!!

Writing, writing, and more writing!

I spent most of the weekend creating choice activities for Work on Writing.  Writing is something that I really want to focus on this year, and I felt like the Work on Writing activities I did last year didn't give the kids enough choice time.  Most of our writing was assigned and the kids didn't have enough freedom to choose writing activities they enjoyed.  This year I will probably still have one assigned writing activity each week, but the rest will be student choice activities.  Thanks to blog stalking, my Pinterest addiction, and 2 nights of insomnia I have come up with what I think will be some great additions to our writing!  I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for her Made it Monday!

I seems every year we do lots of narrative and descriptive writing, but not nearly enough informative writing.  To help with that I created the How to hot tub.  There are 30 how-to writing prompts in this cute little basket I picked up at Dollar Tree!

I would love to share the cards, but the boarders are not mine.  You can pick them up free from Mrs. Fultz's Corner.  Below is a list of the How To's I came up with:
Explain how to make smores.
How do you blow a hug bubble using bubble gum?
Explain how to play your favorite electronic game.
How do you make your favorite after school snack?
Explain how to make a root beer float.
How do you complete your morning routine?
Explain how to write a friendly letter.
How do you choose a good fit book?
Explain how to make a turkey sandwich.
How do you make lemonade?
Explain how to make an ice cream sundae.
Explain to a new student how to get a hot lunch in the cafeteria.
Explain to a stranger how to get to our classroom.
How do you take care of a plant or garden?
Explain how ot make a milkshake.
How do you check out a book in the school library?
Explain how to locate a specific word  in the dictionary.
How do you give a dog a bath?
Explain how to build a snowman.
How do you take care of a pet?
Explain how to carve a pumpkin.
How do you wrap a present?
Explain how to be a good friend.
How do you ride a bike?
Explain how to make a new student feel welcome.
How do you brush your teeth?
Explain how to play your favorite sport.
How do you play your favorite board game?
How do you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
Explain how to complete your bedtime routine.

Last week I made a little Pick and Persuade jar.  It was full of 100 persuasive prompts. You can check out the post for that here.

The next two ideas came from Tara's blog.  The first one is her Story Stones.  I used stickers and Modpodge on mine instead of creating pictures with scrapbooking paper.  I absolutely love the way they turned our and I can't wait to introduce them to my students! The stones and basket came from Dollar Tree....of course!  The stickers are from Hobby Lobby and were 50% off!!!

Last I took her Book Cover Inspiration idea and created 19 folders with book covers that the kids can create stories for.  I really think they are going to LOVE this one!! Her's a few of my favorites.....had to use Charlie the Ranch Dog since I've got my own little Charlie the Bassett Hound!! This didn't cost a penny.  I had the book covers and I used my own kids old folders from previous school years.  They don't all match, but it was free and I recycled.....what's not to love about that!!

That's it!  I am so excited about getting all of these things into my classroom and introducing them to my new students.  I have a few big writing assignments that we do each year that I just adore, but these new activities will make nice additions to writing practice on a smaller scale.  Since I love getting new ideas from all the blogs I follow, I'll share with you my top 3 favorite writing assignments.

At the beginning of the year we study our names. We start by reading the story Chrysanthemum and use a brainstorming activity to write down all we know about our name and where it came from.  Then the students interview their parents about their name and it's origins.  (I'm in the process of reworking the interview and brainstorming sheet.....if you would like I copy let me know and I can do a post on it later). We use baby books and an internet site I found to identify the meaning of our names, and then we write a paper about what we learned about our names. Last we brainstorm adjectives that describe us and use Tagxedo to create word clouds using our name and the adjectives we came up with.  This is one of my favorite writing assignments all year.  It wasn't my creation....nope, when I was lucky enough to join this 4th grade team, this was something they were already doing.  In the past we created Acrostic Poems using our names, but I decided to incorporate technology and add the Tagxedo activity.

The next one we do in February during Adopt a Pet month.  I don't know who loves this more....my students or me!!!  I print pictures of cats and dogs that are currently up for adoption at our local animal shelter.  The kids get to choose if they want a cat or dog to write about and then I just hand out the pictures (I learned that letting them choose the picture is just WAY too time consuming!).  Their assignment is to pretend they are the animal in the picture and persuade me to adopt them.  We talk about what the good characteristics of a pet are and what we should highlight about the pet to make someone interested in adopting them (ex. Is it a pet for an elderly person, an active person, a person with children, etc.).  I haven't had a student yet who wasn't eager to get started no this one.  We hang them on a bulletin board with a pink background and black boarder .  We decorate it with hearts cut from red construction paper and newspaper.  The title reads "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?"

Last is an idea I got from Mailbox Magazine years ago and it's called "Pickle in a Pickle".  The assignment is to write from the perspective of a pickle who was left in a lunch box at school.  The pickle is trapped in the building and is describing its location with enough detail that someone could find it.  The students write their descriptive paragraphs and then we exchange to see if we can figure out where their pickle is.   This one is hilarious!!  Before we write we get on the floor and try to get the perspective of a pickle (he's low to the ground you know), we walk from the cafeteria to the classroom taking notes of things we notice and can use in our description, and we even illustrate what our pickle looks like.  I've seen cowboy pickles, pirate pickles, hippie pickles....you name it....I've seen it.  I just love this activity!!

What fun writing activities do you do with your students????

Teacher Tuesday

I am beyond excited at the number of things I've accomplished this summer!!  I just know I'm going to be so thankful when school starts that I did a little bit each week and got a ton of stuff completed this summer!  Moving on from my self pat-on-the-back to my Monday Made It!  I'm linking up with Tara again at 4th Grade Frolics.  If you haven't stopped by to check out all the amazing things other teacher are making you are missing out.....or living on an other plant.

Made it #1: Pick and Persuade.  I saw these amazing persuasive writing prompts in April's TPT store, and I just had to have them.  I printed and laminated all 100 of them, and then put them in this adorable little jar I picked up at the second hand store earlier in the summer.  I just knew I'd find a use for that thing.  I painted the lid black and used a little Modpodge to attach the label.

Made it #2: What's for Dinner?  Isn't this just the cutest way to display the lunch menu?!?!?  I found it on Kelly's blog Fabulous in Fourth.  I still need to laminate it and attach the very first lunch menu of the school year!

The white piece of paper is the spot where the menu will go.

Made it #3: Highlighter name bucket.  I've seen these all over Pinterest and other blogs.  I couldn't find the original creator of this project, so if it's you please let me know....I want to give credit where it's due.  I picked up the little bucket in the Dollar Spot at Target and made the tag myself.  Here's hoping this gets my little peeps to put their name on ALL of their assignments :)

Made it #4: Credit cards!  Okay this is really another print and laminate, but it is just too cute.  I already have a monetary reward system in my classroom.  I've been using Denney Dollars for the past 5 years and the kids LOVE them!  They earn them for good behavior, having their planner signed each day, turning in assignments, helping out....all those good things we love to see in our kiddos.  Well, the kids save their money for our auctions.  The auctions only take place 4 times during the school year so they accumulate a big ol' pile o' dough during that time.  In the past they have misplaced some, lost some, had some stolen (this makes me so sad, but it's true), and just have a hard time keeping track of all those little bills in their desk.  This year I decided to keep the Denney Dollars (which I remade.....had to add a little Garfield :) but when they reach a certain amount (maybe $50 or $100) I will give them a credit card in place of their cash.  Then when auction time rolls around they can use their card for their purchases.  I plan to write the amount on the back of the credit card in a certain color and initial it so the kiddos can't change their totals.  I can't wait to break these out and see the looks on their faces.  I found them at Teachers Treasures!

Made it #5: Brain Breaks.  I used these same brain breaks in my classroom last year and I can't tell you how much my kids enjoyed them.  If I forgot, they reminded me about every 5 minutes until I finally gave them a little break!  As much as I loved them, I had a hard time remembering what some of them were.  I had originally put them on Popsicle sticks with no directions.  I would pick one, and if I couldn't remember what to do, I had to dig around until I found the directions (not exactly the short break it's designed to be).  So I saw this idea at The Diary of a Teachaholic ......perfection!!!!  I printed her freebie, laminated them, and will attach them to a ring.....just as soon as I can get into my classroom.

Made it #6: Pom Poms.  I love the way these turned out and I can't wait to hang them from the ceiling in my newly renovated classroom!  I found the directions on Pinterest....in about a million places!!

Whew....that was a list!  I'm already working on lots of goodies for next week and can't wait to share!  Don't forget to head on over to Tara's blog and link up!!