I am going to attempt several (maybe too many) new things next year.... - current events once a week - poem of the week - art once a week (we don't have a specialist) There are a few more, but I am also changing levels. What about you? I would love tips on the current events. I was thinking one student a week would be in charge of bringing in an article. We would also read a few articles chosen by me for shared reading. I wanted to do something fun with the weather section. Don't know yet. I'm thinking guessing the national high's a low's. They will get in some geography that way, and math.
i think i want to try the Daily 5. i like how it incorporates different aspects of language arts. i'm also thinking about incorporating mini offices (from one of the writing threads) into my writing program. and of course i'm trying to tweak the other things i've started last year. our school runs on a 6 day rotational cycle so i assign 3 or 4 students per day. we spend the first quarter learning how to create an outline of the important facts from a newspaper article. we then change the outline into a summary. i'm able to address the difference between reading a narrative piece of text and the newspaper. they have different text elements and need different strategies for each.
Your post has inspired me to start talking about current events in my classroom. I love your idea about having one student being responsible for bringing in an article. Next year I am gong to start doing literature circles and teaching more health.
Next year I am going to try: *Sending home a monthly calendar of events instead of weekly *Letting students work at the art center when they are finished early with their work *Keeping a challenge folder for students to work from *Allowing students to keep their books and journals in their desks and giving them the responsibility of keeping organized
I'll be teaching 5th grade and I am going to try a 5 minute calendar activity. It will begin a week or two before the month turns. Students will "get" a number (I have avariety of ways this will happen from balloons in the classroom that they will pick and each will have a number inside to just drawing out of a hat). The numbers will be the actual dates that we are in school-if the 8th and 9th are on the weekend then those numbers will not be assigned. After students get their numbers, they will have opportunity to research and find a significant event that happened on that day in history. Perhaps that will be a center activity or an early finisher activity. Any way, each morning before we start our day, the student with that days number will give a very brief statement about the event they chose. Not only does this reinforce some academic skills but each student will be able to practice public speaking as well as the skill (and it is a skill for some) of not being long winded!
Morning meeting Adapting Daily Five to my upper level class Podcasting With special thanks to everyone for all their help here on AtoZ!!
Since this will be my first year teaching 5th grade, I will build a token economy, where you earn tokens for assignments completed in class. if they are checked for errors, and error free, the student earns 6 tokens. if they have a couple of errors they earn 4 and if theur work has 4 to 5 errors they earn 2. I've been a student in this program for 2 years when I had the same teacher for grade 4 and 5 and it was the best thing I remember. Also to increase reading skills, a student can earn 1 token for each numbered page in a book of their reading level. (136 pages = 136 tokens) as well tokens will be deducted from incomplete homework at 1 token per mark. so if a student skipped 4 questions each worth 3 marks, they owe 12 tokens. On tuesdays and wednesdays, randomly I host tasty tuesdays, and wonderful wednesdays, were the student can purchase baked goods, and smoothies in the morning, with their tokens. Plus we have token auctions throughout the year, with prizes donated such as gift certificates, movie tickets, sports equipment, and art prizes. I've been developing it for the past 6 months and ready to let it loose.
I'm going to try Morning Meeting Writer's workshop Mini Offices Homeworkopoly Bettering my reader's workshop
