Tried It Tuesday {Role Play, New Fan Freebie!}

I go back to work today after a week off for spring break. We also had a wonderful extra day off yesterday. The weather here was beautiful and I'm afraid mention that it may SNOW on Wednesday. Maybe if I write it, it won't actually happen?
Back to a normal routine and counting down to the end of the school year...
It's Time for Tried It Tuesday! 

What have you tried at school or home?

My Tried It:
Role Plays
I recently wrote about using Revolutionary War figures for role plays here. 

We used these Primary Sources of Famous People in American History found here at Rosen Publishing or here at Amazon. I have a collection on loan and had eleven different choices of people from the American Revolution. I have 15 or 16 students per section, so a few students in each class had to choose the same personality.

You can also read about how I used this role play in my classroom last year here.

I had students complete this Revolutionary War Personality questionnaire to use when their groups were assigned and they began planning their role plays. 

You can access this worksheet as a new Facebook Fan Freebie!

 The groups were made from four Revolutionary War Personalities and students were responsible for writing a script including a cast of characters, some stage directions, and setting descriptions for each scene. Here are some images of students performing.

I can't say enough about how many higher level thinking skills really had to be applied with this activity. Students were instructed to include meaningful, educational dialogue based on their character's role in the American Revolution. The roles had to be connected in some way and this was a challenge. They also couldn't have more than 1/5 of their role play be "war scenes". They love those! Props could be used from the classroom and many groups created their own props using materials in the room. 

The groups had one 80 minute class to write their dialogue and begin rehearsing and another 30 minutes of the next day to practice. They really did an awesome job!

Role plays can be used for any topic and used in any subject! 

The students always remember this activity!

Before you go, check out my friend Bex at Reading and Writing Redhead's Milestone Giveaway!

An InLinkz Link-up

A Peek at my Week {Revolutionary War Role Plays, Point of View}

I know...I'm a day late to the party! Our ELA state tests were last week and after THAT, I felt like I needed to reside permanently in bed this weekend. I could have easily done that since my lovely husband passed strep throat to me (as well as my six year old daughter!).
We are already feeling better because we called in that antibiotic on Saturday as soon as I knew. It was nice that we didn't have to go to the doctor since someone in the household already had it. So, yet again, I'm having a bad week of blogging.:(
However, I took pictures on Friday with the intent of linking up with my sweet friend, Jennifer, from Mrs. Laffin's Laughings for her weekly linky: 

I teach three ELA blocks a day and today was a pretty easy day as we finished up our novel, Can't You Make Them Behave King George? by Jean Fritz and took a test. 

Then the reading teacher and I conferenced with the students to set new Accelerated Point Goals for the last ten weeks of the year (YAY!) while they were at Daily 5 centers. 

We learned about first and third person point of view last week. I forgot to take individual pictures of a student notebook (I'll try to update this tomorrow) but here are some shots from my APPR binder of point of view notes. The interactive notebook chart is from Nicole Shelby's Reading Interactive Notebook.

 This is a point of view lesson from Readworks.

You can also see more about point of view in the lesson I shared here last year.

This week, we are using these Primary Sources of Famous People in American History found here at Rosen Publishing or here at Amazon. I have a collection on loan and had eleven different choices of people from the American Revolution. I have 15 or 16 students per section, so a few students in each class had to choose the same personality.

 The books are about a third grade reading level and my students could read them in about 15 minutes. I love that even my lower readers were engaged and many students raised their hands to have me come over so they could tell me a neat fact they learned. "Did you know Alexander Hamilton" was in a real life duel?" Tomorrow, they will take an AR test on their book. 

 Large print with colorful pictures

Last year, I had students research their Revolutionary War figure online, but I think I am going to like using these books better as a source. They have more than enough information that the students will need and it is at their level (or below). Next, I will have students write about their figure in the second person "You are Crispus Attucks." Here is a sample below and click here for the resource I used.

I will place students in groups and give them a "role" to play by handing them an essay written in second person. The group will then have the task of creating a script for a role play based on their Revolutionary War figures. We will work on this Tuesday and Wednesday and groups will present their role plays on Thursday. I will be out Wednesday grading ELA state tests regionally (not my own kids but grading probably one written response question ALL day from students ALL over the county!...yeah, NOT fun!). I will be sure to blog about the role plays soon and let you know how it goes this year!

Friday we have a 1/2 day with students in the morning and teacher's in-service in the afternoon. In the morning, we are having our ELA test is over "celebration" by watching Frozen and enjoying a cold treat! Students are also allowed to wear their pajamas to school (they cheered when they heard that!).

THEN...It is spring break for me until we go back on April 22nd!!! Wahoo! Four more days!

See you tomorrow for Tried It Tuesday! :)

Role Play FREEBIE, Outdoor Game (Five for Friday Flashback)!!

Happy Friday!!  This week has left me exhausted but the warmer temperatures have been such a blessing!

I am linking up tonight with Doodle Bugs Teaching and Amanda from Teaching Maddeness to share some randomness of my week.

1.  It was time on Thursday to "celebrate" the conclusion of our ELA and math state exams! Wahoo!!  We couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to play some team building games outside.  All three 4th grade teachers planned a game and we rotated the groups through each station.  My game used some balls that had numbers and polygons drawn on tape and stuck to them.

•  There were three of each color and one ball had the team number while the other two had a polygon drawn on the tape.  
• Students started with a team ball that had a number on it.  
• After they turned around, I threw all the balls into the field.  
• Then, they had to have one team member race out to the field to find the ball with their team number (not the polygon).  
• Once they brought back that ball, the next team member raced out to get ANY ball of any color that had a polygon drawn on it.  
• They had to race the ball to me and name the polygon.  If it was correct, they kept it and if not, I threw it back out to the field and the next player went out.  
• This continued until I said time was up.  
• We added up the team points with the numbered balls worth 5 pts. each and the polygons worth 3 pts. each.  Each group played 3-4 rounds in the time we had.  They loved it!
• You can draw anything on the tape for review!  The possibilities are endless:)

Here they are ready to start the race in teams:)

 and running out in the field to get their first ball...

2.  The Mother's Day project that our team has used the last couple years was started at the end of the day today.  I will show you the finished product next week but it involves paper clips and magazine pages.  Students string about 25-30 paperclips together to form a "necklace".  Then they cut out square of magazine paper to wrap around each paperclip and glue in place.  When they are finished, it looks like there are little jewels in place of the paperclip!  I know it sounds funny but it is a work from the heart and takes the students some time to make this special present for their moms with their own two hands:)

3.  Check out the STACKS of books that my babysitter donated to our classroom library!  The students were SO excited (almost as much as I was!).  I am trying out a new system for a digital library and will blog about it soon after I see how it all comes together:)

4.  We continued our novel, Toliver's Secret, in ELA and our Revolutionary War role plays.  

The students each researched a Revolutionary War figure and wrote about them in 2nd person.  I then randomly gave each group four essays written by other students.  They group decided which student would play each role and used the points of view of the characters to create their own role play.  You can read more about this project and get the resources I used here.

Here are some students in the planning stages of their role plays:

The first two groups performed their role plays today and the rest will finish on Monday.  One group had all their lines memorized (I don't know how they did it!) and it was amazing!  This project was a class favorite last year and I love it because it really combines so many higher level thinking skills in a fun way:)

I developed a rubric for the essays in 2nd person and the group role plays.

You can access them for FREE here!

5.  I just hit 500 Followers today!! Wahoo!!!  I can hardly believe it.  I am so thankful for the blogging world and all the ways it has helped me grow as a teacher.  It has truly made such a difference in my daily life and I love the connections I have made with teachers from all over the country (and internationally too:).  Of course, this calls for a celebration!  I am launching my 500 Follower giveaway this weekend and am thinking I will divide the 40 prizes from bloggers into FOUR rafflecopters with an additional nice giftcard in each rafflecopter too!  You won't want to miss it:)  Thank you, thank you for all your support and love!! XXOO

Social Studies Mentor Text: Charlotte (Revolutionary War)

Ahhh...Sunday night.  Back to reality tomorrow.  We had a busy, fun-filled weekend setting up our first camper at a seasonal site.  The kids are so excited and we all can't wait to relax by the lake in our tiny second home in a couple months:)  

Tonight, I am linking up again with Amanda and Stacia from Collaboration Cuties for their awesome mentor text linky.  You have to check out all the link ups each week.  I have been pinning so many great books and can't wait for the summer to get organized!

This week the topic is social studies and I wanted to share a picture book read aloud that could be unexpected addition to your American Revolution books.

The book is Charlotte by Janet Lunn.

I just happened to find this book last year in some random searching on the internet.  It doesn't seem to be to widely used but I really love it!  It is based on a true story (the students love that!) and offers a perspective rarely seen in picture books about the American Revolution.

Based on a true story, ten year old, Charlotte Haines, faces one of the cruelties of war (family division) when her father, a Patriot, breaks all connections to the British empire.  He shuns his Loyalist brother who has been ordered to leave New York City for the wild land of Nova Scotia!  (Loyalists banished to Canada?? great teaching point!).  

When Charlotte disobeys her father and maintains her friendship with her cousins, he shuns her from the family as well and Charlotte must leave for Nova Scotia with her Loyalist uncle, aunt, and cousins.  It is a dramatic story and depicts one girl's sad story of the effects of war on families in a way that cannot be described without a secondary source like this.  The story is followed by an afterword discussing the story of the real Charlotte Haines.

I am off to read some more great social studies mentor texts and watch the return of one of my favorite TV series, Revenge:)

Secret Message Bread, GIVEAWAY, and Reading Incentives!!

The weeks are just flying by!
I can hardly believe that next week is MAY!!

I am linking up (a day late) with Doodle Bugs Teaching and Amanda from Teaching Maddeness to share some randomness of my week.

1.  Math State Testing

I apologize for not taking any pictures of this momentous event [sarcasm], but we are not allowed to have any communications device including but not limited to (enter a description of about 12 items that we had to read to the students for three days of ELA testing last week and three days of Math state testing this week...I just may have shortened it a little bit by the 4th day!).  If you have not turned over these devices to a teacher or another school official, you must give them to me now.  Does anyone have these devices?  This is your last chance to turn them over to me...

Well, at least the ELA and math tests are over.  Science is at the end of May for the performance and first week of June for the written.   

2.  Toliver's Secret

We started this novel in ELA and the students always love it!  It is about a Patriot spy during the Revolutionary War who has to deliver a spy message but sprains his ankle.  His granddaughter, Ellen Toliver, then has to go on a journey in his place to deliver the message that is contained in a snuffbox baked inside a loaf of bread.  She has many obstacles along the way but finds out that she is really much more courageous than she could have ever thought!  "Toliver's secret" refers to the secret message or to the "secret" that Ellen is really a brave young girl!

We read about Spies and Traitors from this handout from the book, History Pockets: The American Revolution.

The students used the secret code above to write a coded message on a little piece of paper to another classmate.  I bought ready made, rising dough from the freezer section of the grocery store (the students love the smell of the dough and it leads to a good discussion about yeast and kneading).  They put their coded messages inside the dough and we baked them.  When they were baked, everyone got another classmates roll with a secret coded message inside!  To say they were excited is an understatement:)  I forgot to take pictures of them figuring out the messages and eating the nice warm rolls in all the excitement.  They had them right before lunch and you would have thought that the class had never had eaten rolls before.  Although, they were quite good fresh out of the oven! (We are fortunate to have a nutrition center with a full size kitchen just a few steps from my classroom.  I was able to bake them during class and have them fresh out of the oven by the end of class!).

The message was baked hidden inside the roll.

3.  Plant Life

We started our plant life unit this week and planted our Wisconsin Fast growing plants that go from seed to seed in just SIX weeks!  It was a good activity for the week of Earth Day too:)

 We always plant some "experimental" plants (one with no fertilizer, one with no wick, one that doesn't go under the lights, etc.).  The plants stay under florescent lights 24 hours a day and the light gets raised as the plants grow.  I should have taken a picture of the whole assembly and will try to add that to this post next week.

 This is the wicking system that keeps the plants moist.  The plants sits on a mat that absorbs water from the pan below and each plant has a small wicking stick (same materials as the mat) that comes out the bottom of the pot.  The wick extends through the center of the plant and provides constant moisture.

 This is the plant growth and development guide that comes with this unit.  

4.  Reading Incentives

We have a lot of reading incentives that our school participates in.  

Most of my homeroom just earned a free pass to a Six Flags park this summer for reading 7 hours independently over a couple months.

There is now a "Race to Read" reading incentive program where students read just 15 minutes each night for four weeks and earn SIX passes to a family night at the local races.  Each pass is worth about $15 and so many of our families love racing!  Here are some bookmarks and bracelets passed out a an assembly we had this week with a "real race car driver"!

I also promote the Book-It program all year in the classroom.  Students must read four chapter books a month and score a 70% or higher on the AR (Accelerated Reader) test for this incentive.

Our wonderful librarians just started an AR contest this Monday that lasts until May 23.  We are competing against 5th and 6th grade for the most overall AR points.  Before Christmas, the 4th grade beat both the 5th and 6th grade (it was a CLOSE match!), so this race should be exciting too:)

I am linking up these reading incentives with Joanne's wonderful linky for Sparking Student Motivation at Head Over Heels for Teaching.

5.  Giveaway SOON!

I can hardly believe that I have almost 500 Followers!!  I remember when I started this blog, I was SO happy when I had 10 followers.  The blogging community is simply amazing and I have made so many great friends through this little ol' blog!  What better way to thank you for all your support, ideas, and help than by hosting a giveaway?  I have not made a button yet or decided what I will be giving away, but some great gift cards will definitely be up for grabs:)

I also hope that some of my lovely blogging friends would like to help out make the giveaway awesome by donating some amazing products! 

Would you be willing to help out?

Fill out this form with the details and I will be in touch soon:)

Thank you so much for all your love and support!!! XXOO