A Spring Break Surprise and Some Writing Help

Oh how I have missed Monday night taco night! Last week I was enjoying my last night at the beach (I'm not sad at all....do you hear the sarcasm???) and while we did enjoy some delicious Mexican food, it is just not the same as my normal yummy tacos. No one takes care of me like Raul and Jesus! It was so good to get back in my usual routine and it actually helped me get through my first day back from Spring Break.

Speaking of Spring Break, for those who went back today, did you survive? I am soooo tired! It never fails, after returning after an extended break, it is always to get used to working all day. I think one of my teachers said today 43 days till summer break....it can't come fast enough!

I have a funny story about Easter Eggs to share with you! Kindergarten classes dyed eggs the Thursday before we got out, which is over 10 days ago, and today one of the teachers found a "surprise" in a students book bag....a dyed egg!!! The best part was that the egg had gotten smashed open in the bag and anytime you walked near her room, you caught a whiff and it almost made you sick!  Get out the Clorox ASAP!!!!

Today I worked on planning out our next writing unit. I am working with first grade and they are doing authors as mentors in Writing Workshop. When thinking about authors you want to study there are a few important things to think about.

1. Which authors do you enjoy? Think about your favorite go to authors for read aloud and shared reading. Why do you like them? Are they appealing to your kiddos?

2. What does this author do in his/her writing (writer's craft)? Which items do I want to focus on and have my students practice in their own writing?

3. Are there more than one book written by this author to use as mentor texts during this unit?

Once you've answered these questions, you'll be ready to choose the author who you will study during this unit. Choose about 3-4 books to use as mentor texts during the unit. After you have decided on your mentor texts, look through them and find which author's craft items you will highlight in this unit. Then its time to begin your monthly overview.

This is a sample of what could be done in a Writing Workshop using this genre.

After this, its easy peasy to create your writing mini-lessons! 

Do any of you use overviews to help plan out longer units????

Lucy + Me = BFF, and freebies!!!

I am on cloud 9!!!  I had the awesome pleasure of being able to attend the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Writing Workshop on Monday.  Amber and I rode down with Ellen and Danielle (2 other Instructional Facilitators) Sunday afternoon and spent the evening in Columbia.  Dinner was at California Dreaming, which was yummy.  The restaurant is in an old train depot, which is so neat!

Amber and I with our Pinnacle Buddy, Carla!

Next we headed out to Wet Willie's, which is basically an adult slushy bar!

What's not to love about that????

We had a great time relaxing and hanging out with other teachers.  But the highlight of the event was definitely seeing Lucy!!!!  She went over the new units of study, and spent a lot of time discussing the new opinion units.  I loved hearing her speak and being so real.  You could tell she was a teacher at heart.  I am so excited about using these new units next year!

When were waiting in line to speak to her, I was sooooo nervous!!!!  When we were up, I'm pretty sure I managed to mutter out something like, "I'm so excited to meet you!  My teaching has been revolutionized by the Reading and Writing Workshop!!!"  At least in my head that is what it sounded like.  This was honestly the highlight of my educational career so far!  

I came back to school and it was back to the grind as usual.  We are having PD tomorrow on Retelling, so I whipped up some freebies that you can use if you want!  

They are in my Google Drive, so just click on the pics to download them!  

Check out the awesome treat I made for my teachers just for attending our PD today!!!  Don't you wish you were in my PD!

As an added bonus for all my amazing followers, I am having a Sale at my TPT and TN through Sunday!  Enjoy 20% off at both!

Yummy in my Tummy and Winners!!!

So many of you know I took the jump into the Pampered Chef world.  Well my launch party was this week and went great!  We had Chocolate Lava Cake, Mini Pesto Pizzas and fresh Salsa....are you hungry yet????

Amber  from Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher dropped in the frosting for our lava cake!

This cake was made in the microwave in 10 min!  Shut the front door!!!!  It was moist and delicious.  

Fresh Salsa made in the Mannual Food Processor

Power Cooking!!!!!

We used the Simple Slicer to create these yummy Pesto Pizzas.  I'm here to tell you, eating one isn't an option!

I started a Pampered Chef group on FB to share these yummy and quick recipes.  What is your go to product???

Thanks to all who entered my Lucky Numbers giveaway!  The Winners are Tamera and Aimee!!  Congrats ladies, I am sending your prize to you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well I'm heading off to see Lucy Calkins after church in Columbia, SC with Amber  and some other teacher friends!  I am so excited I can't wait!!!  Are any of you going to be there? If so, we could have an impromptu Blogger Meetup!

A Mary Poppins Kind of Day!

Today can be summed up in one word....Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!  Feel free to break into song now!

 

 I presented Professional Development for Pearson Math Investigations today for 3-5 and it is so awesome to work in a district that values PD and allows for time for it during our instructional day.

Today was a day without kids for all teachers.  Our Curriculum Facilitators created sessions that covered all topics of curriculum and teachers chose different sessions to attend and then would report back to their schools and share out in PLCs.

Our workshop began at 8:30, so I got there at 7:30 to get "mentally prepared".  Normally this is plenty of time, but today was different.  Our session was held at the local community college, which we use often for PD.  I went to the room we were assigned to and discovered that we had not been given 2 rooms (1 for k-2 and 1 for 3-5) This was a BIG oopsie!  We stood around and waited for the custodians to help us find a room, this.did.not.happen.  Finally our Curriculum Facilitator told us to walk to another building and we took over a  room!!!  We did not pass go.  We did not collect $200, we just took over the room!

When we got into our newly acquired room there was a partition in the middle that needed to be closed.  Our session began at 8:30 with roughly 150 people and the partition was WIDE OPEN until at least 9:30!  Talk about loud!  We had all 6 grade levels going on at one time-two words-HOT MESS organized chaos!  But the teachers in my district rolled with it like rock stars.  The teachers in my session were great. It was awesome discussing all the things that were coming up in 3rd grade unit and how my Kinder teachers were using the same terms!!!  (insert happy dance)

After the sessions teachers grabbed lunch and then came back for their PLC debriefs. This is where my Mary Poppins moment came in!  I told my teams I would be coming around to touch base with them and hear about their day.  I started with 2nd and they were awesome.  Each teacher shared out what they had learned at their session and discussed new things they thought the team could implement.  My 2nd grade team has it going on!  They shared with me that they were ahead of most others in their sessions and they told me how much they appreciated all my hard work during the first half of the year!  I have been wishing and hoping and thinking and praying (yep another song for ya!)for this day for a LONG time!

Next, I went to visit 1st grade.  They were talking about using nonfiction text within shared reading.  They shared a site that was new to me National Geographic Young Explorers

It is great for getting your content standards with the new ELA CCSS.  I also had a great compliment from a member of this team.  I didn't realize that all I did was appreciated by my teachers, but one of them told me that while they were at their session today other teachers began complaining about not having any time to gather resources.  My teacher told them that her Instructional Facilitator (me) gathered all kinds of resources and was super helpful!  Not only did my teacher notice what I have been doing for them, she shared it with someone at another school!  How cool is that!  

While I was working with my 1st grade team, my new principal (have I mentioned how awesome she is!) came and asked me to come to K.  They were discussing balanced literacy and our new Fountas and Pinnell Phonics program.  I listened and contributed to the discussion then the convo shifted to writing.  They are beginning a new unit of study and were concerned about how to begin.  I offered to come and do a model for them, and they were thrilled to have me come!!!!  This was another Mary Poppins moment!  We continued discussing curriculum and then my principal and I went back to my room for a debrief of the day.  

She complimented me on all the teachers were able to achieve through my leadership in curriculum.  It was a huge compliment, as just a few months ago I was doubting myself daily.  Sometimes hourly  Then she told me something that I never expected.  When she came and got me from my 1st grade meeting, the K teachers asked her to come and get me!!!!!  I was asked for!  

I know the old saying is good things come to those who wait, and this day and the way it made me feel, were all worth the wait!  And for those of you who hung with me through this super long post, are being rewarded as well!!!  I have included my Reading and Writing Conference Sheets.  Just click on the pic below to download yours.

Tomorrow I will be dropping my new Weather Lapbook with a giveaway you don't want to miss!!!

What was your Mary Poppins moment today?

Whoa What a Week!

This was a short week, but man was it packed!  Monday, I sat in front of my computer to work on my National Boards staring at a blank screen, and enjoyed a delicious meal of tacos.  Tuesday, I heard the best news ever, my school is staying open!!!  After the board meeting, my principal, Rebecca, approached me and my other two teammates and looked us right in the eye and said, "Game on tomorrow!" Several months ago when we visited another school and decided to dump our reading anthology Rebecca asked us to present what we had learned to the rest of our staff.

Fast forward to now and I will tell you, its not easy to present to the home crowd!  I had already done this presentation at another school, and knew the material well, but when it came time to present to our staff, I was afraid of how it was going to be perceived by the other teachers.  We didn't want them to think we were 'showing off' or saying 'look at me!'  Well, our worrying was for nothing!  I work with some of the best teachers out there and they were so excited about the change and asked tons of questions and several grades went and downloaded the curriculum immediately to use during their workday Friday.   The conversations between all the teachers was AWESOME!  Also, Amber, over at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher was able to come and learn more about this program and is planning on using it in her classroom!  Make sure you check her out, she is always sharing great ideas.  In the end, I know that all our students are going to benefit from having teachers who are willing to move into something new because they know its best for kids.

This all happened, and it was only Wednesday!  Are you tired yet?!??!?!

Thursday we had a field trip to the   Gaston County Museum for a program called Let's Build a County Seat.  My students were able to act out a court case and found the defendant guilty!  They also got to learn about what the civil war was like in our area.

Our group learning all about the Civil War 

I think I could've been a solider! 

One of my teaching partners, Erica, ready to shoot the enemy!  Too bad she was fighting with the Confederacy, and she's from Michigan!!!!  Love it! 

And we are now on Friday!  It was a much needed workday!  We spent the morning visiting a school in a neighboring county that is using Pearson Investigations in math as well.  And if you remember some of my earlier posts about this, my team started using Investigations in November and have had huge success with the program.

Thank goodness Monday is also a workday, because after this busy week, I NEED IT!  Now on to work on my National Boards play on Pinterest!

First Day Back, Drumroll Please!!!!!!!

Well today was my first day back from break and I was fully expecting all out craziness from the kiddos and sleepy spells from myself.  Guess what happened?!?!?!??!  None of the above!  My kids were, wait for it....PERFECT! I couldn't believe how good they were knowing that they had been without structure for so long.  I will admit that I didn't exactly show my alarm clock love this morning, but after finally getting going, the day was pretty good.

The highlight of my day was getting an email surprise form Amanda from One Extra Degree I had won her giveaway and commented on how I loved another of her units and what did that sweet darling do, but send me that one too!!!  I was giddy all day telling all my colleagues about it.   She has the most adorable and functional units.  Make sure you check her out, especially if you are looking to get into the Reading and Writing Workshop.

When Teachers Collaborate Magic Happens!

I am always amazed at the things that come out of teacher collaboration. By now I should be used to magical things happening when groups of teachers share their new ideas or "oldies but goodies". I was asked to share what my third grade team is doing with the Reading and Writing Workshop and Shared Reading at another school in our district. I recieved a very warm welcome and could immediatly tell that this staff, was ready for change! They flipped through examples of my student work that I brought along and asked very thoughtful questions throughout the presentation. Their principal then broke them into different break-out sessions to allow teachers to learn from their own peers about things that were going on in their classrooms to be able to take those back as well. Teachers came over and asked me questions about how I started, how I got grades and a variety of other things having to do with giving up control as the teacher and allowing students to take that on.

After the session as I was packing up to leave, several grade level teams stayed in the school library and immediatly began planning what they wanted to change first! It was awesome to see teachers so commited to their students that they didn't mind changing what was comfortable to them in order for student achievement to be higher. I am so glad that students in our district have teachers who are so commited to their learning!

Anchor Reading and Writing with Awesome Charts

I have been using anchor charts for a few years now, but this year I am really into them. I have some awesome new sharpie poster markers that really help the posters pop! (thanks to my awesome teammate, Erica!) To help my students really understand a skill I am teaching, I find that if I draw pictures that go with the text, they seem to grasp the concept better. The only problem is...I am a HORRIBLE artist! My kids know that I am not very confident, but continue to tell me that I'm doing a good job. (its so sweet of them to lie!) I am using these anchor charts in both reading and writing workshop. After we finish using them in our weekly lessons, I move them to an open wall in our classroom to allow students to access them all year long.

This is my first year doing the writing workshop, and it is a brand new learning experience for me! I am constantly learning new things about myself as a writing instructor. I am a great writer, but find that it is one of the most difficult things to teach. The workshop model has been a great help with that. The anchor charts are there to help students remember the key points of the lesson taught that day. This helps me and my students recall what was taught on any specific day.
If you haven't use anchor charts in your classroom before, I encourage you to do so in the near future. Let me know if you have questions, or need resources, I am always happy to share!

Totally Didn't Feel Like a Monday

So usually after a long break my students come back hyper and out of control. I typically spend most of the day saying things like, 'stop talking' 'please get on task' and 'please wake up'. Today wasn't like that at all! I started using the Reading and Writing Workshop models without using reading stations or an anthology reading book. I.Loved.It. My students' behavior was phenomenal! I didn't have to ask them to stop talking until 2:20pm. This was amazing!

At 2:10pm one of my students looked at the clock and said, "Mrs. Haywood is it really 2:10?" I said, "yes it is, why?". He continued on by saying that he couldn't believe it was already time to go home and that he felt like we hadn't done any work today because we had fun all day. That is the kind of learning I want to be known for, the kind that doesn't even feel like learning! I love seeing my students so excited about their learning.

Oh and a bonus is it was Monday Taco night!!!! We had 2 newbies join us last night, and I'm pretty sure they'll be back next week. Who can beat $1 tacos?????

Workshop Frenzy!!!!

With common core making an appearance next year, every teacher I know is already gearing up for the transition. My team is no exception. Last week we had the privilege of visiting another school in our state that is already doing common core based lessons and see how we can begin moving into that type of teaching.

We have always had a reading anthology that we were expected to instruct our students from. You know the type, everyone reads the same boring story and you do activities based on the story. BORING!!!! We have had the same reading text book for over 6 years and the stories in there are in much need of a rest. For the past 5 years I have been using the reading workshop model for teaching reading skills and meeting with my guided reading groups. I love the workshop approach and wouldn't give it up for anything. After spending a little over an hour in reading workshop I would then subject my students to 45 minutes of the reading text book. In my classroom we have been spending around 2 hours on reading!!! There isn't anything wrong with that if they were already good at all other subjects, but sadly they need to have instruction in those areas too!

After the school visit, my team and I decided to approach our principal about ditching the reading text book and teaching core reading skills within the reading workshop approach. She was all for this. Now that we have an extra hour of instructional time in our day by dumping our reading text, we are also adding in Writing Workshop. I have always loved this approach to teaching writing, but have never had the time in the day to do it correctly. I am now in the planning phases for both of these workshops and the excitement is contagious! I am so excited about this new phase of instruction and can't wait to see what kind of growth my students are going to make from now until the end of the year.

Our first minilesson for our "new" reading workshop is going to be on stamina. We are going to expect our students to eventually read silently for 40 minutes. I know what your thinking, "your crazy! My kids can't read that long!" I don't know about your state end of year assessments, but here in NC, our kids are expected to read 8 passages in about 2 1/2 hours. I feel that if I don't get them practicing this early on, I am failing them as a teacher. Check back next week for the progress on our stamina lessons and on how the writing workshop is going.

Check out this stamina poster I created to use to introduce this during our minilesson

Visit my Teachers pay teacher store to pick up a free poster!