Create a Graph, Pro Con

Website from today's 6th Grade Learning Log Meeting...

Link: Create a Graph

Great tool for creating graphs you need, such as to display student data, or you can use this site when teaching graphing as well.

Another item from the 6th Grade meetings:

Link: ProCon.org - For reading skills...

Article of the Week

Article of the Week is a reading initiative that is already being implemented at Anderson High School, and will be at Highland Middle School for the 2014-2015 school year.

Here is a link to the Powerpoint.

Here is a link to the Vale Middle School "Article of the Week" site. Anchor papers and articles can be found here.

Aha Moments #1

I attended the RRCNA this week. Here are a couple of "AHA" moments from Main Session 1.

Free Books, I-Pad tips

If you have an I-Pad, here is an app that will give you access to thousands of free books!

One of the first things you might want to download is the User Guide for ios7. This will give you several great tips and tricks for things that will make your i-Pad more productive for you.

One tip (page 32): i-Pad lets you run many apps at the same time. This is great, however, sometimes it can put a large burden on your device. Or if for some reason you need to restart an app, what can you do?

To view all open apps, just double-click the home button. This will show you all open apps, all you need to do is swipe right or left to see each open app. If you want to close an app, all you need to do is swipe up. The app should disappear from your list.

MyOn Reading Website

This is a website that students have access to (thanks to Supt. Ritz). To access the site, see the information below.

If you have any trouble logging on, drop me an e-mail.

A new take on Vocabulary

Here is a video about teaching vocabulary. How do we normally teach vocabulary? We normally pre-teach vocabulary. But is this the most effective way, when very often students have no context in which to understand the meaning. In this video, the teacher uses an activity to "teach" vocabulary after the lesson has been taught. Now the students have a greater context to connect a word with its meaning. Interested in knowing more, check out the video of this 7th grade class in action.

Site of the Week - Your Turn!

I usually get my ideas for a site of week from someone I have had a conversation with, or from another blog, etc. I know that there are many good sites out there.

So here is your turn to contribute. If you have a good site that you know of or frequent, please post a comment below giving the site and any pertinent information about that site. Then when I or others check in, we can see some of what else is out there.

In the mean time, let me start things off this week.

 

getinthefold.blogspot.com Even though the last time this blog was posted in was in 2012, it has some great ideas for teaching reading with foldables. And remember, foldables are not just for elementary students!

And don't forget to share one or more of the sites you use in the comment section below.

New Reading Level Correlation Chart

Here is another Reading Level Correlation Chart. This one is the OFFICIAL chart, and has been put together by Ryan Glaze (ACS Curriculum Director) and Laura Swain (ACS Reading Coach for 3rd - 5th Grades).

Click here for PDF.

How to do a Close Read

Here are some resources on How to do a Close Read.

• Here is a PDF of information found here. 

• Here is a 2 minute and 47 second video about Close Reading. Part 1 (found on the same site.) 

• Here is the 3 minute Part 2 video - Describes what a Close Read looks like in a classroom.

• Here is a video (4 minutes and 22 seconds) that has an example of a Close Read. 

• Another example (10 minute and 46 second) of a 6th Grade Social Studies Close Read.

Lexile Conversion Chart

Link to PDF.

Here is a PDF copy of another Reading Level Correlation Chart from Laura Swain.

Site of the Week

ACS 3-5 Reading Coach has put together a "WIKI Space" with some good resources for reading teachers. I am sure that some of this instructional information applies beyond the 6th grade as well.

Here is a PDF with instructions on how to access the site!

Here is just some of the information you can access on this site.

Website of the Week!

The website of the week is worksheetworks.com

I found this site several years ago, and have shared it with as many as possible since. Great activities for all subject matter. These worksheets can be created to suit many different needs as they allow you to set some of the parameters. Then, it generates a new worksheet each time, even if you leave the parameters the same. These are then given as a PDF file with the answer key.

Great for subs, Success Time, or to reinforce a specific lesson!

Reading/Writing ideas!

Here is a PDF copy of the information Eric shared in his e-mail today.

Some of the "Big Ideas"

• Teaching Constructed Response Writing (Important as we move toward Common Core)
• Organizing a classroom library
• Accessing Reader Thinking
• Making Connections in Reading
• Socializing with Teachers
• Close Reading in a technical text
• Infusing I-Pads in the classroom

Asking the Right Kind of Questions

One of the themes of Common Core instruction (Benchmark and Agile Mind) is developing students who think, rather than students who merely recite information. To do this, teachers must ask the right kind of questions. Questions that require more than a simple "yes" or "no" response. We are looking for thinking that requires reasoning or evidence. As I tell teachers, we are shifting from teachers giving instruction and then having students respond (or perhaps a better "r" word would be regurgitate), to having students discuss and then teachers respond (by building on what they know to guide them to what they do not know.)

With that in mind, the PDF link provided (click on the picture below) offers several question stems to help guide us to the types of questions that will help us ask the right questions as we seek to facilitate the thinking our students.

Thanks to Laura Swain, Instructional Coach for 3rd -5th grades for ACS for the info!