New Item:
To go along with my popular Poetry Slam product, I created student templates to use for the final copy.  I have several ideas for this cute little booklet.  It can be printed and put together as a whole sheet or students can cut along the line to create a half-size booklet and keep the instruction page in their writing notebook.  I would staple at the top for the 1/2 size.  Another idea is to cut and paste them into a booklet made out of construction paper where both sides can be used.  I didn't create page numbers on purpose.  I want my students to create them along with a Table of Contents.  This also allows other teachers to pick and choose the poems for their class.  I will have students write rough drafts and revisions in their writer's notebook and final copies onto the booklet.  I included a rubric too!

Poems included:  Acrostic, Couplet, Quatrain, Cinquain, Diamante, Haiku, Limerick, Ballad, Parody, Lyrics, Bio Poem, Concrete, Free Verse, Informative.

Link to Poetry Portfolio









Pam

This is the perfect time of year to teach limericks!  Leprechauns and St. Patty fun!  Speaking of fun, I have to share my wonderful time in DC!  I got to see some great family and friends for my actual birthday.  I know I celebrate Pamuary but this was the actual day!  My brother even had a countdown to midnight that night!  I am so glad they embrace my fun!  I then enjoyed watching my daughter cheer for Cheer Extreme Coed Elite at the Battle of the Capitol.  They were flawless!  The talent still amazes me every time I see them.  Isn't this a cool picture of her and her stunt partner?  I know you probably think that freaks me out but I am used to it now.  My brother has a hard time watching her cheer.  It is dangerous at times and it should be considered a sport!

Oh, back to the fun limericks, I have a free instruction sheet and template for writing limericks!  I will keep it free in my store for two days!  Stop by and download!  Use the limerick instruction page on your smart board or run off a copy for each group.  This assignment can be placed in writing centers too.  It is cute for bulletin boards or poetry portfolios.  Enjoy!







http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Limerick-Instructions-and-template

Pam

Do you need a new reading log?  Half-way through last quarter I got tired (or worn slap out as they say in the south) of my sameo sameo reading log.  I created this so my students would have to read and respond to both fiction and nonfiction each week.  NOW that is Common Core! I have been very pleased with the outcome.  I must say the first couple weeks, I had to remind them to read through the question.  Even though I go over it in class that Monday, by Friday, many of them only wrote about the first part of the question.  Once they realized it was graded and my expectations, ShaBBBAAAM!  I'm loving them!  I keep a basket of newspapers, magazines, and Scholastic News available for their nonfiction reading.

Responses:
Fiction: Text Connection, Visualization, Questioning, Character connection, Setting, Meaningful quote, Sequence, Point of View, Solving Problems

Nonfiction: Summarize, Main Idea and Details, Nonfiction elements, Questioning, Text Connection, Facts and Opinions, Meaningful Quote, Point of View, Vocabulary

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Common-Core-Reading-Response-Log-for-Fiction-and-Non-Fiction

Here are some random samples:  I print off double-sided worksheet each week!  (fiction side and nonfiction side)








Pam

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner!  It is the most exciting time of the year for my little elves and for me!  I love the ho ho holidays!  With that being said, enjoy a gift of similes!  Click below for the freebie!  I am going to post freebies throughout the holiday season so check back!!!!


Pam

My kids love mysteries!  After my fourth graders picked a good mystery book and read it from cover to cover, we created Mystery Book Reports.  Although this is included in my Book Reports That Motivate, you can use this idea for your classroom without a purchase.


2.  Write a summary with suspense all the way up until "who did it."   Paste is inside on the left of the booklet.  A graphic organizer or checklist of things for students to include is helpful!

    a.  Description of the main character and setting at the beginning of the summary.

    b.  Detailed information about the problem/mystery.

    c.  Plot is clear, evident, and easy to understand.

    d.  Good sentence structure and paragraph format.

    e.  Details have words that create a picture in the reader's mind


3.  Then write the ending and 2 other possible endings.  Paste it inside on the right of the booklet.  **Mix up the endings!  This will help when students present the mysteries to the class.  They want to be able to stump their classmates and have them guess one of their own endings, NOT the real one!




4.  Do a self-rating.  This can be the same as the checklist or a rubric so students make sure they included everything.

5.  Present to the class and see how many people you can stump!  Whoever stumps the most, gets a prize!  My students love it and I hope yours will too!





Pam

These were so stinkin fun!  I started off by telling my fourth graders they were going to read some Nursery Rhymes and they all looked at me like I was off my rocker. Then I looked at them and said, "Oh, I thought I was in a Kindergarden class!  I think we should do them anyway and tie them into our mystery unit!"  They were still looking at me like I was a bit crazy.  Then I said, "Let's make up our own Nursery Rhyme Crime!"  Then they got excited!  Each student got a nursery rhyme.  They had to create a crime for the rhyme and then invent suspects, clues, etc.  If there wasn't enough information in their own nursery rhyme, they were allowed to use some from another nursery rhyme.  They had a blast learning mystery elements!  Check them out!  Cute, cute, cute!!!





Pam

I like to start off the year with Acrostic Poems.



Then we work on Biopoems.  These are so precious!  I put these in the front of their writing portfolios.  I put the portfolios out during conferences for parents to see their progress so far.  Kudos to my kiddos for doing such an amazing job!





Pam