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! :)

A Minion Reasons To Be Thankful!

This minion craft from The Not So Common Classroom are so cute!  My students loved them!  My team teacher and I cut everything out before our Thanksgiving celebration to make assembly easy peasy for the kiddos.  

I also purchased her Christmas Minions to make!

Bunnicula

This book is awesome!  It's a big hit with my kiddos every Halloween!  It is just spooky enough to be appropriate for elementary students.  The family dog, Harold, narrates the story. While the family cat, Chester, entertains readers with his eccentric behavior.  Chester is definitely one of my most favorite literary characters because of the humor he brings to the plot.  The story is about a family that brings home a bunny from a Dracula movie.  Chester believes the bunny to be a dangerous vampire and sets out to prove his theory.  In the end, Harold asks readers to decide.  Is he or isn't he a vampire?

We decorated pumpkins for Halloween and our Bunnicula turned out so cute!

  

The students loved creating a storyboard of the book as we read Bunnicula!

All of my Bunnicula Task Cards and Novel Study ideas are at TPT!

Donovan's Word Jar

I love this book by Monalisa Degross!  Donovan is a little boy that loves collecting words.  He has a problem when his word jar is full and calls on his family to help him find a solution.  This is a heart warming story about about how a little boy's love of words help others.

My students loved turning our door into a giant word jar during Literacy Week at our school!

My Donovan's Word Jar Task Card Set and graphic organizers are at TPT!