August 2014 | Crafting Connections
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Writing Guided Reading Lesson Plans {A FREEBIE}

Friday, August 29, 2014
Guided reading lesson plans... the mere mention of those words makes me shudder! I have spent so many hours of my life writing these lessons plans. I remember feeling so overwhelmed by trying to keep up with them.  I sure hope none of you feel the same way I did!
Keep reading, though, if you think you might be interested in...

FREE guided reading lesson plans written for the book Because of Winn Dixie!
Clip art by Scrappin Doodles


I have come to realize that "guided reading" means different things in different school districts.  At the school district where I taught for the past 16 years, there were very "rigid" expectations for how guided reading lessons were to be taught, and very little "wiggle room" was allowed.

We had to write very detailed lesson plans based on Fountas & Pinnell's beliefs of how guided reading should be taught.  Each lesson plan written had to include the learning target, introduction (which included introducing vocabulary), reading the text, and discussing the text (with higher level questions).  The lesson itself also had to include a minilesson based on what I observed when I listened to students read during the lesson.

Let me tell you, I spent hours upon hours writing these detailed plans each week- especially during my two-year tenure as a half-time reading teacher, when I worked with 8 guided reading small groups each morning.  I worked with fourth and fifth grade groups who were reading primarily chapter books.  I loved reading the books, but it was nearly impossible trying to keep ahead of eight groups of eager readers!

Needless to say, the lesson plans I labored over are now sitting here on my computer "gathering dust", so to speak.  I realize that guided reading plans are highly individual, based on your district's expectations, the students you are writing the plans for, and your own unique style.  Still, I decided to start by posting just one of my lesson plans here on my blog, just in case there is even one fellow teacher out there who can actually benefit from having this 9-day lesson plan!  Maybe, if nothing else,  it will give you some question ideas for the various chapters.

These are the lesson plans I wrote for Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Guided Reading Level R). They aren't cute or fancy, and you might run into a misspelled word or some of my random abbreviations, but I think you'll get the idea.
 Download the PDF version here, if you wish!  

FREE guided reading lesson plans written for the book Because of Winn Dixie!
Click HERE to download the Word version. 
Please let me know if this was helpful to you.   That will help me decide whether I should post more of my plans that are "gathering dust".

(If you'd like to see the other free guided reading lesson plans I have available, click on the links below.)
Shiloh (Level R)
Flat Stanley (Level M)


Synonyms & Antonyms Anchor Chart... with a freebie!

Monday, August 25, 2014
Today's anchor chart focuses on synonyms and antonyms
Synonyms and Antonyms Anchor Chart
As an ELL teacher for grades 3-5, I created this anchor chart as part of a third grade lesson. However, I observed my fourth and fifth grade students referring to it regularly, as well. This seems to be a concept that some students understand immediately, and others struggle to grasp.

When I introduce this anchor chart, it looks like this before the lesson:
Synonyms and Antonyms Anchor Chart- create the rest of the chart with your students!

We start with the Synonym side of the anchor chart, and I point all of the mnemonic devices I tried to include- that "Synonyms" and "Same" are both colored the same color and they both begin with 'S', and that if you remember that all cinnamon rolls look nearly the same, it will help you remember that synonyms are words that mean nearly the same thing. Then, I have students help me decide what words we should write to create the synonym pair.  They quickly discover that most words have more than one synonym (pretty, lovely, beautiful), but I only write one of their suggestions on the chart so that it does not become too overwhelming.

Next, we move on to the antonym side of the Anchor chart, and I point out the various mnemonic devices I devised for this side- that "Antonyms" and "Opposite" are written in different colors, that the different colored ants are moving in opposite directions, etc.  When we get to the word "older", they realize that "newer" is an antonym, but "younger" can be an antonym, as well! When this happens, I quickly point out that we need to look at the context of the sentence, and write some example sentences on the board:
My older brother is twelve years old, while my ______ brother is two years old.
I have an older copy of the book. I think yours is a ________ edition.

After the anchor chart has been completed, I have students make a matching interactive notebook entry. Students match their interactive notebook page to the anchor chart by using only blue for the synonym page, and alternating green and red for the antonym page:
FREE Synonyms and Antonyms Interactive Notebook Entry! This blog post contains the materials to make a matching synonyms and antonyms anchor chart, as well!

You can download the materials to make the anchor chart AND the interactive notebook entry for FREE by clicking on the image above:


Feel free to check out my matching activities. As you can see, I have created printable versions and digital versions of these activities. Click on an image to take a closer look at it!

Synonym Rolls CraftivityCheck out this digital version of my synonym craftivity!



Keep your students engaged with this antonym craftivity!  Check out this digital version of my antonym craftivity!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Deb

Character Traits Anchor Chart & Activity (FREEBIE included!)

Monday, August 18, 2014
I love teaching character traits!  I think it's because, as an ELL teacher, I get to introduce new, advanced vocabulary to my students and watch them soak it in. Then, when one of my kiddos uses one of the more advanced words correctly in a sentence, it's so rewarding!

That being said, character traits can be VERY challenging for ELL students (and many non-ELLs). Character traits are rather abstract, and if left isolated, they are meaningless to students. Furthermore, as students advance through the grade levels, we want them to use more varied vocabulary than just "nice", "mean", and "bossy". 

I try to teach these words in several different ways... two of which I want to share with you today.  First, I use word associations on an anchor chart using antonyms. One of the reasons I like this anchor chart is that it covers two ELA concepts:  character traits and antonyms.
Check out these FREE character trait activities! This blog post contains a character traits anchor chart and an idea for a character trait lesson where students learn more challenging character trait vocabulary to create a collaborative class book! If you want students to move beyond "nice" and "mean" character trait responses, check this out!

I carefully chose the words above, most of the time pairing a well-known word, like "kind", with a more advanced word like "arrogant". Clearly, teachers need to provide a detailed explanation to completely define the word, but now students can at least refer to the chart and recall that "arrogant" is the opposite of kind, and that it is a rather negative word that is used to describe a person who is not kind.

The second activity I want to share is a follow-up activity to introducing the anchor chart, and students LOVE it!  After all the words have been defined, I split the students into four groups, and give them a set of papers (included in the download below).

The complete set contains all of the words from the anchor chart. Students divide the papers and work together to complete a collaborative book. Students look at the word written beneath the face outline, and think of something a character with that trait might say. They write the sentences in the speech bubbles. Then, students determine the expression that would probably be on the face of the character and draw it.

Check out these FREE character trait activities! This blog post contains a character traits anchor chart and an idea for a character trait lesson where students learn more challenging character trait vocabulary to create a collaborative class book! If you want students to move beyond "nice" and "mean" character trait responses, check this out!

Check out these FREE character trait activities! This blog post contains a character traits anchor chart and an idea for a character trait lesson where students learn more challenging character trait vocabulary to create a collaborative class book! If you want students to move beyond "nice" and "mean" character trait responses, check this out!

When these books are completed, students are SO PROUD!! They eagerly share their books with their classmates, and everyone enjoys seeing how their thought bubble sentences differ. We put the completed books in the classroom library, and students can refer to them when they need help recalling the meaning of a word on the anchor chart.

If you think you want to try this lesson with your students, here is the FREEBIE!!
Check out these FREE character trait activities! This blog post contains a character traits anchor chart and an idea for a character trait lesson where students learn more challenging character trait vocabulary to create a collaborative class book! If you want students to move beyond "nice" and "mean" character trait responses, check this out!

If you are looking for additional character trait activities, check out my TpT store. The image below shows my bundle, but all of these products can be purchased individually, as well.

If you are teaching your students about character traits, be sure to check out this character traits bundle. It is packed with many engaging activities!

~Deb

Anchors Away Monday: Adverbs (Loved that Lesson!)

Monday, August 11, 2014
Adverbs are difficult for students to identify.  The -ly trick is helpful, but as with everything else in the English language, there are exceptions (ugly, friendly, family).  Plus, the adverbs that do NOT end in -ly are the hard ones to recognize, in my opinion.

Adverbs Anchor Chart (Loved that Lesson!) by Crafting Connections! Plus, a great project to do to reinforce the concept!


This anchor chart focuses on two main aspects of adverbs:
WHAT they modify (verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs)
and
HOW they modify (they tell us where, when, or how an action occurred, or they can explain the frequency or degree of something)

I think it's safe to say that most kids believe adverbs are boring and even confusing.  I have an adverb activity that I have done the last three years when teaching about adverbs, and whenever I have done it, my students have really enjoyed it (both third graders and fifth graders)!  In fact, this is such a tried-and-true lesson that I am linking it up to The Teacher Studio's Loved That Lesson linky!
Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!

This adverb lesson is centered around the book, The Z was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg.  I plan this lesson after adverbs have been introduced and we have spent some time identifying adverbs in sentences. (Amazon affiliate link follows.)

Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
I use this mentor text when teaching adverbs!

Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The first page contains this picture only.  Based on previous experiences with alphabet books (and perhaps a mild hint from me), students predict that a sentence with multiple A words will follow the picture, and they brainstorm A words based on the picture.  (Once, students guessed that the matching sentence was "The A was attacked.")

Once you turn the page, the alliterative sentence is revealed.
The A was in an Avalanche.
(A is one of the few pages that does not contain an adverb.)
Here are a few more of the pages:
Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!


Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!

Students love to guess what the accompanying sentence will be on each page, and after I read the sentence, we pause to determine whether there is an adverb in the sentence.  When there is an adverb, I have students also identify the word it modifies and how it modifies (whether it tells when, where, how, how much, or how often).

When we finish reading the book, I give each student a piece of drawing paper, and students create their own picture, following the pattern of the book.  I tell students that their sentences must include an adverb.  These are some of the pages my fifth grade students created a few years ago!


Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The G was gratefully glowing.
Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The P was painfully pecked.
Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The B was barely bitten.

Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The S was slowly slithered on.

Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The F fell fast.

Check out this mentor text lesson idea that focuses on adverbs! After reading The Z was Zapped aloud and identifying the adverbs, challenge your students to draw an alternate page for each letter of the alphabet. Then, assemble the drawings into a class book and add it to your classroom library!
The W was whining wildly.
When students finished their drawings, most of them volunteered to share their picture under the document camera and invite their classmates to guess the sentence that they wrote on the back of the paper.

If you are looking for additional activities, feel free to check out a couple from my store!

Adverbs Craftivity- including a worksheet and a bonus poster!

Adjectives and Adverbs PowerPoint, Craftivity, and more!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Deb

Types of Sentences- An Anchor Chart and FREE Resources!

Monday, August 4, 2014
This anchor chart is designed to assist in teaching students the four types of sentences.

Are you teaching students to identify the four types of sentences? This blog post contains multiple activities that you can use in your upper elementary classroom! Check out the types of sentences anchor chart and download the FREE worksheet and interactive notebook foldable!

I created an interactive notebook page to use with students that uses matching clip art. This way, students' notebook entries will match the anchor chart on the wall! This file also contains the pieces to make your own anchor chart. Click here to download a copy of this FREEBIE.
Are you teaching students to identify the four types of sentences? Check out this blog post. It contains multiple activities that you can use in your upper elementary classroom! Check out the types of sentences anchor chart and download the FREE worksheet and interactive notebook foldable!


Finally, if you are interested in collecting additional resources for teaching students to identify the four types of sentences, feel free to check out this bundle (or any of the individual items shown on the image below).

Are you teaching students to identify the four types of sentences? Check out this bundle full of resources. It contains multiple activities that you can use in your upper elementary classroom!


Thanks for stopping by!

~Deb

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