More Student Slices

More student slices...

Today is my uncle Cole's birthday. He is turning sixteen years old. He is just learning how to drive. I can't wait 'cause he can drive me wherever I want. He can almost drive. When you are 16 you can drive. He can drive me to MacDonald's and Wendy's. I will command him. - Ethan

Yesterday it was my brother's birthday. He turned 19 and we celebrated his birthday at Nick's. - Boris

Yesterday Alexandra gave me a cut by accident. And, today I had a problem at recess: my best friends, Kaitlyn and Michelle, wouldn't let me plan with them. They wanted to play something and I wanted to play the other. And they said, "You can only play with us if you play this." - Taylor

In May I am having a party. I am inviting five boys and five girls. I am having a swimming party. - Alexandra

Today I am finishing my book about penguins. We are almost done. We just need to do the last page. Then, we need to color. Then, we are done. We might share it tomorrow or in two days. There is a new series coming. It is called "Bella Mouse and Polla Penguin". It is about a mouse and a penguin that are friends. It is not too funny but kinda funny. It will come out in April. Me and Reese are working on the series. We are also working on a puffle handbook. - Audree

Do you ever feel like you're getting left out? Well, I did. It was my birthday two years ago. I couldn't go in the kitchen because my unwrapped present was there. I am wondering if anyone else sometimes feels the same way? Bye, for now. - Ruth

On Sunday my family went to a garden show. It was not a show. It was a big craft fair. On Saturday only mom volunteered to help at the big craft fair. She helped at the Welcome Wagon Stall. The next day we all went to the craft fair. We got a flag and candy. - Aarushi

Once I Got Bit by A Spider
Once I was climbing on the rocks in my backyard with bare feet. I didn't know that spiders liked to sleep in the rocks. All of a sudden I felt a pinch on my foot. It was the spider. It had bit my food and I had to go to the Children's Hospital again. When I got there they had put a special medicine on my foot. Then, I went home and I lived happily ever after. - Paige

Once in my life I have fainted on the bus. It happened when I turned my face red. I fell straight to the ground and Karson tried to get me up but I didn't get up. I stayed on the ground. In about 5 minutes I probably got up and when I did get up, it was my bus stop. It was really freakly being fainted. That was my first time being fainted. It didn't feel good being fainted. I don't know why I turned my face red at that guy. His name was Diego and I don't know why I fainted and fell to the ground. It didn't hurt a bit when I fell to the ground. (To be continued.) - Isaiah

Every day my brother does something mean to me. Sometimes he bites me and scratches me in the face. He does a lot of mean stuff to me. - Rene

One time I was on the bus and my friend Julia wanted to sit with me. So, when the bus started to move...and then a couple of seconds later she spat on her hands and stuck it on the seat. Then, Ryder said he would never sit on that seat again. - Reese

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/solsc-2011-10-of-31/

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou...

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to have focused conversations about books? The answer is easy: teach kids strategies to help them develop effective conversa...

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson. He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade...

A Teacher's Ruminations

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