Mentor Text {First Snow in the Woods}

Happy Sunday night!  After a fun day in Canada to see a Wiggles show (even with a daughter who is still under the weather), I am relaxing and catching some much awaited fall season premieres.  Anyone else watch Revenge?  It is my favorite new"er" show! 

Since there are five Sundays in September, Collaboration Cuties has a Halloween/Fall theme for their weekly mentor text linky.  Fall is my favorite season! :)

I am linking up a book that I absolutely LOVE called First Snow in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick.  It is a beautiful book and the photography takes me into the woods where I can almost feel the stillness and beauty of that first snowfall of the season.  In New York, our first snowfall occurs in the fall and usually happens at the end of October to mid November.

From Amazon:  Readers are taken on a beautiful photographic journey deep into the autumn woods as the animals of the forest get ready for the year's first winter storm. They hear the cries from the great gray owl who came down from the far north carrying the warning, "Winter is coming early this year! Prepare." From the very first page, readers will be fascinated by the exquisite photographs of wildlife amid a background of vibrant autumn reds and golds. Will the animals be ready for the cold, hard winter to come? Winner of a Mom's Choice Awards -- 2008 Gold Recipient!

Here are just a few pictures I took of the stunning pages in this book:

The book is full of vivid language and imagery.

From this opening line (simile): "The northern lights faded bright to dim, like a distant torch flickering across the cold, night sky" to other lines such as "Dewy webs hung on goldenrod and covered the morning fields" and "Dew sparkled on fragile webs where a family of deer grazed," the reader is enticed by the play of words accompanied with the photographs of beautiful animals and scenery.

Personification is sprinkled throughout as well as the animals prepare for the winter in various ways.

"Have you heard?" asked the red squirrel.  "The great gray owl is on his way from the far north.  He only stays here during the harshest winters."

"In a morning meadow far away, fog tiptoed in without a sound." 

A red maple lead held stubbornly, twisting and turning on its stem.  "Let it happen," nudged the breeze.

The author's of this book also have a blog here and there is a video that accompanies this book!  I don't own it and have never seen it, but here is the movie trailer.

I created this freebie graphic organizer for my students to use.  

Students complete the table by referring to details and examples from the text to describe how the various animals in the story prepare for winter.  Most 4th graders could tell you ways these animals prepare for winter without reading this story (especially in my neck of the woods where it is very rural) but sometimes that makes it difficult for students to actually USE only the text based details.  This is a skill that 4th graders struggle with.  CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Be sure to check out the other Halloween/Fall themed mentor texts linked up at Collaboration Cuties!

Mentor Text and "Hop and Win" Giveaway!!

Happy Sunday!  I am linking up today with the one and only Collaboration Cuties to share a mentor text for Language Arts.  Be sure to check out all the link ups and add some new texts to your list! :)
Also, read the entire post for information about Day 2 of the awesome giveaway going on right now! 

  

I love the story, Dear Mrs. LaRue!  Have you heard of it? 

It is a favorite from our reading series, MacMillan McGraw Hill Treasures for fourth grade.  I use a few stories here and there from the MacMillan series when they tie in with my theme and this is a story that is tough to ignore because the students enjoy it so much!  Because it is in our reading series, each student has their own copy of the text to use and the illustrations are so fun.  The story is full of cause/effect relationships, inferencing, point of view (forgot to add that to the button) humor, and persuasive techniques.  From Amazon Reviews:

A clever book for a clever dog, Dear Mrs. LaRue collects a series of guilt-inducing letters sent home by the cat-chasing, chicken-pie-eating Ike to his "cruel" owner Mrs. LaRue, whom he hopes will come to her senses and spring him from obedience school.  Desperate to come home, Ike shows great enthusiasm for stretching the truth about his treatment at Brotweiler Canine Academy. Illustrator and author Mark Teague has developed a hilariously disdainful and dignified voice for the not-very-put-upon Ike, but Teague's most cunning innovation is the book's format: He splits each spread between what's really happening, done in color, and what Ike's imagining and exaggerating to Mrs. LaRue, in big thought bubbles using dramatic black and white. As Ike delivers his first letter, in his thought bubble we see Ike carted away in the Brotweiler Canine Academy paddy wagon ("We Aim to Tame"!), up a windy road to a scary-looking quasi-Transylvanian compound, complete with lightning and bats; in full-color reality, Brotweiler looks much more like the UCLA campus in spring bloom, with a sign pointing to the sauna (on the right) and the pool (on the left).  

Ike's first carefully typed letter pleads, "How could you do this to me? This is a PRISON, not a school! You should see the other dogs. They are BAD DOGS, Mrs. LaRue! I do not fit in." Subsequent letters describe the staff ("The GUARDS here are all caught up in this 'good dog, bad dog' thing"), the "crimes" that landed him there ("I'd like to clear up some misconceptions about the Hibbins' cats. First, they are hardly the little angels Mrs. Hibbins makes them out to be. Second, how should I know what they were doing out on the fire escape in the middle of January? They were being a bit melodramatic, don't you think?"), and his eventual plans for escape ("I'm sorry it has come to this, since I am really a very good dog, but frankly you left me no choice"). Teague drew inspiration from a couple of sneaky dogs in his own life; kids and grownups reading Ike's tall tales might be reminded of loyal and misunderstood pooches of their own. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

Here is a link to an online teacher version of the text from the MacMillan McGraw Hill Treasures series.  It includes some great guiding questions in the margins of the text.  

Here is also a great guide by Scholastic for this book with links to some reproducibles!

Now, I would like to share with you the awesome "Hop and Win" giveaway by Fifth in the Middle and Where the Wild Things Learn!

There are some AMAZING prizes you can enter to win at one of the two blogs above ("THE" pencil sharpener, choice of a laminator, Xyron Sticker Maker, or $25 gift card to an online store!).

Need to start at the beginning? Go back to the start of the hop here:

Here is my button for the blog hop.  

You will need to record the number shown on the button.

 Download the Cheat Sheet to keep track of your stops!

Go to the next Stop at Teaching Tales Along the Yellow Brick Road by clicking here or the button below!

Have fun at the Hop!

Social Studies Mentor Text and a Peek at My Week!

I am home after a week of camping fun and it is now the last hurrah of summer!  

The hubby was off for the week and it has been five days since I last blogged.  What?!?

We relaxed, enjoyed a day at an amusement park (that wore me out!), relaxed some more, (I read Defending Jacob and highly recommend it-keeps you guessing until the end!), the kids had a blast just riding their bikes, swimming, and just being kids playing in the dirt.  My 6 year old has mastered the two wheeler and my 3 year old scoots with his feet on a tricycle-will NOT pedal!  It was a nice surprise to have our camper "neighbors" there for most of the week.  They have two boys ages 7 and 9 and also had friends visiting with boys ages 7 and 4!  Don't worry, our 6 year old girl didn't let all those boys boss her around! :)  

It was quite the opposite. Haha!

So, it is back to reality and the to-do list is making me a little nervous!  I swear being a northern blogger has its disadvantages in terms of school year timing.  In May, my southern blogger friends are finishing up their school year and just starting summer vacation when I have well over a month left to still go.  Then, in August when southerners are heading back to school, you would think that I could enjoy knowing that I am on vacation while I am viewing your classrooms all ready?  No!  My vacation is coming to a close soon but I have so much left to do!  Seeing all your rooms ready gives me anxiety when I think about where my room is! Lol.  Anyone with me?

I had to link up with my girls at Collaboration Cuties with their amazing Mentor Text Linky!  

This week the topic is social studies.  

The social studies mentor text that I am linking up with Collaboration Cuties is Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places by Joseph Bruchac.  Since many teachers begin the year with Native Americans, I chose a book that can be used in any area of the United States since it covers legends from various geographic locations.  I used this book last year for the first time since it was one of the suggested texts for our NYS social studies nonfiction texts.  

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6:  Bruchac frames 11 legends of Native American sacred places with a conversation between Little Turtle and his uncle, Old Bear, who says, " 'There are sacred places all around us...They are found in the East and in the North, in the South and in the West, as well as Above, Below, and the place Within. Without those places we lose our balance.' " Bruchac writes in language that is dignified and almost poetic in its simplicity. The text is printed in stanzas, enhancing the image of prose poems. Each legend is related to one of the seven directions and is attributed to a specific people. There is a brief pronunciation guide and a map showing the general location of different Native American groups, but no other documentation is provided. Glossy, cream-yellow paper; clear, black type with the first letter on each page done in flowing, yet restrained, red calligraphy; and lush art make this a book that is pleasing to the eye. Locker's landscape paintings are done in the tradition of Constable's work, concentrating on conditions of sky, atmosphere, and light rather than physical details. His colors, veering toward the day-glow intensity of Maxfield Parrish's work, infuse the scenes with the intangible presence of the sacred. It is difficult to convey the beliefs of an entire people in one brief legend divorced from the rest of their tradition, yet these selections point to the richness possible in looking at the Earth in a spiritual way. Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY

This is a two-page sequence graphic organizer that I made to accompany two of the legends (Seneca and Cheyenne) from the book.  You can download them here!  We completed the first one together and I assigned the back side for independent work.  

It works great for practicing sequencing using a format similar to "the test"!

I am linking this post to the amazing Fifth in the Middle's Native American linky! Go check out the other ideas linked up for teaching Native Americans!  

Diane has link ups for other social studies topics too.

I also am excited to link up with a brand new linky from the wonderful Jennifer at Mrs. Laffin's Laughings!  It's a linky where you share what you have planned for the week ahead.

I thought about making some cute little "days of the week" pictures like some other bloggers did, and then I started thinking about what I would write for each day of the week.  Hmmm...I don't really know!  I have so many things on my to-do list that I can't even imagine trying to put a day on each one.   I just don't want to think about it yet...

One big item on my agenda this week is teaching Vacation Bible School on Monday thru Thursday night 6-8:30 (I get to do games-fun!).  I plan on spending Monday and Tuesday taking the kids to the beach and park, getting laundry caught up and the house back in order.  

I am going into school all day on Wednesday and Thursday to plan with my team (we are departmentalizing this year and have lots to discuss) and I hope to have my room "ready" so that next week I can finish last minute first day plans (students start September 5th).  Then, this weekend we are going out on our friend's boat and a family picnic another day.  I might have to sneak back to work also if I don't get enough done on Wed. and Thurs.!

Okay, that is all I can think about right now because it is now crunch time where I have to really prioritize what "needs" to be done before next Thursday versus what I would have "liked to" get done!

Have a great week and I hope to see you back for Tried It Tuesday this week! :)

Mentor Text (Science)!

If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press the Mentor Text Linky by my friends at Collaboration Cuties!

I have been terrible about linking up lately but am so grateful the ladies offer this linky every Sunday!  I will be using Mentor Texts in conjunction with Mentor Sentences next year and this linky always gives me so many great ideas!
It might not be the greatest thing for my budget though:)

The Mentor Text I am linking up this week is The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner.  

It is a pop-up book with that uses colorful pictures, vivid descriptions, and engaging pop ups to feature different animals on each page with their meal of choice.  This is a fun way to spark discussion in science when introducing or reviewing the predator/prey relationship, herbivores/omnivores/carnivores, and then naturally leads into the discussion of the food chain.

In addition to the science skills that this book lends itself to, it also is a great example of using adjectives to create vivid images.  Here are some of the highlights from the text with adjectives in red. 

The Wide Mouthed Frog eats flies by sticking out his long sticky tongue. 

 "I eat wriggly worms and slugs," replied the bird, snapping his pointy beak.

Now the wide mouthed frog met a furry brown mouse.

"I eat crunchy seeds and juicy berries."

 "I eat delicious wide mouthed frogs," replied the alligator, showing his sharp white teeth.

You will have to get the book to see how this turns out!  Haha!  

Actually, it has a funny ending and the frog escapes (well, that might be open to interpretation!).

Teachers could make a chart of the predators vs. prey from the book, discuss which animals are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores, and then use this information to begin investigation of food chains.

I found this amazing website where students can play a game with the food chain.  

 The food chains get progressively more difficult and they are all interactive.  After a food chain is complete, the animals come to life and eat their "meals"!  It is so fun that I sat and played the game for 10 minutes after finding it.  Here is a snapshot of a bird eating a caterpillar.

 There are also many links to information about topics that correlate with food chains.  

This website (Sheppard Software) has tons of other topics too!  Check it out!

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!! :)

Mentor Text Back to School Theme!

It is Sunday and I am just in time to link up with my BBB's at Collaboration Cuties for their Mentor Text linky!!  

This week's topic is back to school mentor texts!

Last year I used the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes for the first time when working on building writing stamina at the beginning of the year.  The students really got into it because what nine year old doesn't like to talk about their name?

Amazon.com review:  Until Chrysanthemum started kindergarten, she believed her parents when they said her name was perfect. But on the first day of school, Chrysanthemum begins to suspect that her name is far less than perfect, especially when her class dissolves into giggles upon hearing her name read aloud. That evening, Chrysanthemum's parents try to piece her self-esteem back together again with comfort food and a night filled "with hugs, kisses, and Parcheesi." But the next day Victoria, a particularly observant and mean-spirited classmate, announces that Chrysanthemum's name takes up 13 letters. "That's half the letters in the alphabet!" she adds. Chrysanthemum wilts. Pretty soon the girls are making playground threats to "pluck" Chrysanthemum and "smell her."

Kevin Henkes has great compassion for the victims of childhood teasing and cruelties--using fresh language, endearing pen-and-ink mouse characters, and realistic dialogue to portray real-life vulnerability. He also has great compassion for parents, offering several adult-humor jokes for anxious mommies and daddies. On the surface, the finale is overly tidy and the coincidences unbelievable. But in the end, what sustains Chrysanthemum, as well as this story, is the steadfast love and support of her family. And because of this, the closure is ultimately convincing and utterly comforting. ALA Notable Book, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Horn Book Fanfare Honor List. (Ages 4 to 8) --Gail Hudson

In addition to the writing stamina activity that I used last year (discussed below), this book would be great for the beginning of the year when discussing classroom expectations and  how we treat our classmates!

I read about using this mentor in the Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner (pgs. 15-16).  

I downloaded these handouts to use with the writing about your name strategy from Super Pig and Tyrant King.  Click here to get her handouts.

My experience last fall using this activity:  First, I had students complete the first worksheet in class.  Then, I assigned the "Investigating My Name Interview" for homework to interview a parent/guardian.  The next day, without discussing the "Work on Writing" rules, I had students free write for a few minutes about their name in their first journal entry.  I told them that they could write anything.  Ready, set, go!  I was curious how the students would handle work on writing.  I have the top third of the 4th graders in my class.  So, the first student raised their hand immediately.  I walked over to this bright student and he asked me, "What am I supposed to write about my name?".  I replied, "Anything you want.  You have a lot of information."

Next, a student raised his hand and said, "I'm done."  This was after writing two sentences.  

This was a great learning experience for me to see where the students are in their writing stamina.  We have already began Read to Self and made an anchor chart, modeled the correct/incorrect behaviors and have been working on stamina (they only lasted 2 min. 30 sec. the first time we tried it...and these are the top readers in the grade!).  

We discussed the percentage of time spent working on reading vs. working on writing since they were young.  Most students agreed that it was about 80% reading and 20% writing.  They really have had very little practice writing about a topic freely.  Their name (how they got it, how they feel about it, etc.) is something they should be able to write about for 5 minutes, especially after interviewing their parents the night before!  I mean, they had the worksheets right on their desk and students were "done" without including any of the information they learned about their name!

After discussing the Work on Writing expectations and why we need to practice writing freely, the students did a much better job the next time with their stamina and there were no more hands in the air.  They wrote for an additional 10 minutes about their name.   

The most difficult part for me has been to just let them write without butting in over their shoulder.  I really want them to get comfortable writing without worrying that they are doing it "wrong".

Looking back at this journal entry from September now really is encouraging!  The students grew so much as writers throughout the year.  Wow!!  Back to school will be coming quickly and we will all have another set of kiddos to transform in about 9 months:)  Are teachers amazing or what?!?  :)

Be sure to check back at Collaboration Cuties for all the other back to school mentor text ideas!

Mentor Text (The Raft) and Currently!

Are you on summer vacation and already working hard looking for materials for next year?  I am not on summer vacation yet but Amanda and Stacia's awesome mentor text linky is so organized that I can go back anytime and keep adding texts to my must-read list!  I am really looking forward to some extra blog reading time during summer vacation (just 3 weeks away!).  Check out their linky this week.  Topic: Language Arts

The mentor text I am sharing today is one of the stories from our reading series, McMillan McGraw Hill's Treasures.  

Although I only use the reading series about once or twice every two months, there are some wonderful texts here accompanied by great resources for teaching certain skills.   One of my favorite stories from our textbook is The Raft.  It is nice to use the reading series when I find a great text to share because the students can each have a copy of the text in front of them when using the books.  The Common Core standards emphasize referring back to the text for SPECIFIC details.  This is making it difficult to not provide the class with individual copies of a text and still practice the types of questions students will be assessed on during "the TEST".   

From Amazon Reviews:

Imagine passing a summer drifting up and down a slow-moving river, watching as cranes, turtles, raccoons, otters, and ducks grow accustomed to your presence. Envision days spent poling the raft through lily pads and grasses, glimpsing foxes through the trees on shore. On hot, sticky nights, picture a tent set up on the raft, from which you have an unobstructed view of huge bucks drinking from the moonlit river. Nicky has no idea what he's getting into when his father drops him off for the summer at his grandmother's cottage in the woods. And he's not especially pleased at the prospect. "There's nobody to play with ... She doesn't even have a TV." But this "river rat" is not the normal kind of grandma. Without pushing, she quietly allows Nicky to discover for himself the wonders of river life. Gradually, Nicky's interest in drawing the wildlife he sees brings him closer to his artist grandmother, and to an inner peace that looks as though it will last for a lifetime.

Here is a link to a great slideshow of activities to accompany the novel.

I have made many of these computer investigation worksheets to accompany themes that we are exploring with texts.  Here is one where students can explore different types of animals and answer questions.  

Download this worksheet for students to investigate more animals using the National Geographic website.  I noticed that the margins are off in Dropbox but you should be able to edit the margins in Word once it is downloaded.  You can also edit the directions.  I have a website through Quia.com where I provide links to all my computer investigations.

Next, I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade.  I am probably like link up 128,492 but, hey, I am only a day late:)

Thinking my daughter's birthday party was a success!  Here she is getting her nails painted at a "Little Diva Day Spa!"  It was totally low stress for me and the girls had a blast!!

Wanting the next three weeks to be over with but also wanting to enjoy the last weeks with my students!  I love my class this year and will be sad to see them go:(

Needing to write up my lesson plan from my unannounced walkthrough observation on Thursday.  I also have to submit 24 artifacts for domains one and four of the Danielson rubric.  They are mostly done but I need to double check and add a few things.  I am procrastinating...

I did make these handy organizers to keep my binder organized if you want to check them out.  There is also a version for the TED rubric.

I look forward to having time later to catch up on what all of you are doing "Currently!"  

Have a great Sunday:)