Reading Responses

FREEBIE!! Fun Test Prep Questions

We came back from Spring Break ONE day before our state assessments!  We were off for 11 days.  BAM! Testing!!

So, I made these fun test questions for my students to answer on the day before testing.  I wanted them to have a relaxing day back.  Of course, we did other review activities.  However, my kiddos loved these questions and sharing their answers!  This was a lot of fun for my kiddos.  I thought someone else might want to use the idea!

The questions are simple.  For example, in one I asked them to tell me  a favorite memory from the school year.  In another, I asked them to tell me their favorite book we read this year and to give two reasons.

Here are some of my students' papers... 

Nikita is so sweet!  He said his teachers are beautiful and sweet!

"Mr. Ratchford has a good voice for the BFG"
It was fun reading these!

    

You can download the questions from my TPT store.  Click on the picture below!  It is a Word Document.  Feel free to edit, revise, change, to meet your needs! Please leave feedback!! :)

                                                

Do You Dojo?

I just love ClassDojo and what it has done for my classroom!  Honestly, I used to get complaints from some parents about not communicating enough.  I was very frustrated as I'm sure many of you have been with hearing something like this from parents.  I made weekly newsletters for parents.  I had the students write messages and reminders to parents.  I made calendars of events to go along with the school provided.  I still heard from a few parents that I wasn't communicating enough!  I had to do something else!

I found ClassDojo to be my answer!  I have been using it since the start of the school year.  I was skeptical at first.  I saw on a few sites that some had negative experiences with the app.  I however, have only positive experiences! Parents love it!  I love it!  And better than that, the kids love it!  The kids have their own login information for them to log on at home to check their progress.  They can even choose their monster.

I use Dojo for my weekly conduct grade.  It is great for instant class message reminders.  Parents can communicate with me instantly just like text messaging.  At first, I was concerned that it would be difficult to use and keep track of during the school day.  However, I printed a class list and I have a student job for keeping track of positive points I give out for the day.  I easily enter them in five minutes at the end of the day!

Another feature that ClassDojo added this year is Class Story videos.  They have character education videos that my kiddos love!

We just participated in the ClassDojo Design a Monster contest.  My students had a blast!  I will continue to use this activity in the years to come!  We took it a step further and made a craftivity out of their designs.  Each student used construction paper to create their monster.

Thinking Maps

Have struggling writers?

Have you used Thinking Maps in your classroom?  

I started using Thinking Maps in my classroom last year after going to the professional development training at my school.  I cannot express enough how grateful I am for being able to have attended that training!  Using Thinking Maps has transformed my students' writing.

Even my students that normally struggle when it comes to expressing their thoughts have been able to achieve success using Thinking Maps!  No more tears!  No more struggle!  These Thinking Maps empower the students!  They are able to take ownership of their writing like I have never seen before!

My students read articles about the Gold Rush this week.  The created Tree Maps to identify the main ideas and key details in the two different articles.  Then, they used different colors to use them like Bubble Maps.  After this they were able to write detailed paragraphs expressing the similarities and differences in the articles.  

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

Just in time for Dr. Seuss's birthday!  

I have made comprehension and vocabulary task cards for Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss.  In the book study, I have included graphic organizers for central message, character traits, and comparing and contrasting.

I love using this book with my upper elementary to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, but also because of the great message he teaches about testing!  This book is perfect for the dreaded testing season!  Miss Bonkers tells the students not to fret because they have been taught how to think!  Click the picture below to go to my TpT store! :)

Inference Christmas Riddles

I can't wait to use this Inference Christmas Riddles craftivity!  My students write inference riddles and always love going around the room to see if their friends can guess what they want for Christmas!

First, my kiddos write creative inference riddles about their present.

Then, they draw a picture of the present they are hoping to get.

After that, they color a giant gift box and glue it over the top of their picture.  They glue just enough to make it flap up when they are ready to reveal what's underneath.

Finally, they have fun around the room reading their riddles to friends.  The students use their inferencing powers to figure out what is hiding under everyone's presents.

You can get this fun craftivity in my TpT store!  Click the picture below. :)

Stone Fox

This story just melts my heart!  I cry at the end every time! My students are loving this story.  We finished it today and had to discuss what it means to have a bittersweet ending.


Stone Fox is about a little boy named Willy.  His grandfather is sick.  It is up to Willy to save the farm and Grandfather!  Willy is a tough little boy that faces his problems head on.  He takes on harvesting the potatoes by himself with only the help of his best friend Searchlight (a ten year old husky). He will have you rooting for him throughout the story.  The ending is bittersweet, but I will let you read it for yourself!

  

I love this interactive journal from Lovin' Lit!  I used her journal to introduce each story element I wanted to teach in Stone Fox.  It was so explicit for my students.This is a plot mountain diagram from her journal.  I'm definitely using her informational interactive journal for our next unit as well! 

I followed her plot diagram with a plot mountain from my Stone Fox novel study.

This is a characterization chart from Lovin' Lit's interactive journal that I used for Stone Fox.

After learning about character traits and how to look for evidence in the text, the students recorded traits on their own about little Willy.

My students answered task cards from my novel study after we read and discussed each chapter.

Happy reading! :)