Opinion & Letter Writing

Whew. What a week last week was! It can be summed up in just a few short words: parent teacher conferences.

The bright side, as soon as my last conference was completed, spring break started! After a bit of a brain break, and sneaking into my classroom to take some pictures, I'm finally ready to get away from spring break projects for a little blogging. I'm hoping to catch up on some of the fun stuff we've been doing in the classroom. We've been so busy in our room and there are many things that I need to blog about yet!

A couple of weeks ago, we started into a persuasive writing unit. It began with two great mentor texts "I Want and New Room" and "I Want an Iguana" by Karen Kaufman. Two incredibly cute books, full of an exchange of letters between a mother and son with the son trying to convince the mother that he absolutely HAD to have. My students were hooked by the story lines {what kid hasn't tried to convenience their parents of something or another?}

Last year, I found a great resource from the Collaboration Cuties that worked perfectly for the beginning of this unit. Within the pack were graphic organizers, that we utilized in the creation of our own letters to home. Over a few days we read the books, reviewed the parts of a friendly letter, filled out graphic organizers to create our own letters, and eventually published one. Students had the option to print more than one copy in order to share a clean copy with their parents. 

One student came back happy to report that she and her dad would be building a tree house over break. I think she has persuasive arguments down pat {although she's a cutie too, not sure how her parents would tell her no too often, haha!}

A fun project that was a great introduction into persuasive writing and a wonderful review for letter writing too.

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Hello Harvest Moon

It's been way too long since I've linked up with the lovely ladies at Collaboration Cuties for their wonderful mentor text linky. I was able to finish up my graduate projects a little earlier this week, so I have a few minutes to blog... finally!

I love that this week's topic is fall/Halloween. It's finally beginning to feel like fall here and I'm loving it! Love to have the windows open, love the gorgeous temperatures during recess duty, and a real reason to jump into a pair of sweats when I get home (not just because I like them!)

This week I'm sharing the book Hello Harvest Moon 

 

From my friends at Amazon: 

While tired farmers and their families are in bed, the harvest moon silently climbs into the sky and starts working its magic. For some, it is the nightly signal to rise and shine. It is time to hunt, to work, or to play in the shadows. For a little girl and her cat, it is an invitation to enjoy the wonders of the night and a last flood of light before the short days of winter set in. With an evocative text and radiant illustrations, this companion to Twilight Comes Twice offers a glimpse of nature’s nightlife long after bedtime.

The illustrations compliment the text so well. I thought that an excerpt could be taken from the book  to talk about "seed" ideas; focusing on a detail rather than every detail. Or just utilize it as a fall read aloud; it really is a pretty book, but then again Twighlight Comes Twice was a pretty book as well.

Happy fall ya'll!

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The Door Bell Rang: Math Mentor Text

Happy Sunday friends!

Before I get into the meat of this post, a math mentor text, a little fun news to share. After church this afternoon, the hubby and I headed out to look at a pickup. My husband sold his old one last week (spur of the moment deal), and he has been scouring the web and classifieds for "the one".

Luckily, we found it! This truck even met all of my criteria... a passenger door that shuts easily (the old one would stick often), a crew cab (someday down the road,we will have a need for all 4 doors even more than now, ha!), and a step bar. This pickup met all three requirements, and is now gracing our front driveway :)

I so cannot wait for August 30th and the start of football season and tailgating!

Back to business...

The book that I'm sharing with the ladies of Collaboration Cuties weekly linkup is "The Doorbell Rang".

Don't you just love their new button design?!?!

Synopsis from Amazon:

Ma has made a dozen delicious cookies. It should be plenty for her two children. But then the doorbell rings -- and rings and rings.Each ring of the doorbell brings more friends to share the delicious cookies Ma has made."Refreshing, enjoyable and unpredictable.

I guess I just have cookies and fractions on the brain from two of my latest classroom creations for the upcoming year, but I thought this book would be a great step into fractions. Food is concrete; most kids have had to share or have offered to share a candy bar or cookie, so they understand you can break a cookie in half. This book expands beyond just breaking a cookie into two... and opens the door into some great discussions and start to a fraction unit.

In other news...

After celebrating all week for my blogiversary I have a big winner!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Sherie M! An email is headed your way!!

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Mentor Text for Back To School

It's another rainy day. The perfect setting for curling up with a blanket and a good book. Which makes it the perfect day to link up with my friends at Collaboration Cuties for their mentor text linky.

So awhile back, I talked about "Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons" as a mentor text for back to school. I love the way the book makes vocabulary, such as fair, polite, modest, cooperate, and many others, and makes the words understandable by using the process of making and eating cookies the descriptors for the words. One page reads, "Cooperate means, how about you add the chips while I stir?"

It's a cute book. Simple text structure. A great book for the beginning of the year. I want to incorporate the book at the beginning of the school year, so I made up a few activities to go along with it. I'm hoping that I can use most of the pack, but I'm not quite sure how the schedule will work the first couple of days. I'm hoping for enough homeroom time to be able to utilize this book.

Click either picture to see this item in my TPT store!

This book opens up the door to talking about classroom expectations, rules. In this pack there are activities that can become part of a bulletin board, a collaborative classroom book, and even a couple of recipes for cookie dips to start the year with a sweet treat. I've been told that dollar tree even has some cookies that would make for great bulletin board decorations, so I may have to make a stop there soon!

Wishing everyone a "sweet" back to school start!

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History Fix- Writing & History Lessons

It's been a lazy, rainy afternoon in the Whitehair household. My to-do list has been a mile long for awhile now, but the weather today made for the perfect accompaniment to a movie afternoon with the hubby, so that's what we did. Now I'm off to try to knock a few things off that list, but not before linking up with Amanda & Stacia for their mentor text linky! {It's Amanda's birthday too, so be sure to head to their blog and leave her some birthday love!}

A quick blip, from my friends at Amazon:

Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.

It's a simple, but powerful story, that opens the door to talking about civil rights and racism.

This last year, one teacher I co-taught with introduced me to WritingFix a website full of great lesson ideas, a few of which we used/tweaked to switch things up. Today, as I was wracking my brain for a book to share, I stumbled upon another part of this website: HistoryFix.

A sister site to WritingFix, HistoryFix combines history topics with potential writing prompts. Almost 30 book and lessons are currently posted. Worth a look during plan times :)The Other Side is included in one of the lesson ideas and can be found here.

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Math Mentor Text: Multiplying Menace

Hello all!

I've been missing you all so much! Back home internet access is next to none. I've tried to catch up from time to time on blogs and returning emails, but I'm trying not to use too much data as well. However, tonight, my Dad and I are staying in a hotel so I have a bit of internet time before a glorious 4:30 wake up call to get Dad in for his knee replacement.

I'm not much of a morning person, but I am very glad to be able to join some of my blogging buddies for their mentor text linky!

The gals from the Collaboration Cuties have a wonderful linky, if you haven't taken the time to check out this weekly feat you should. If your afraid of the repercussions to your bank account, take a deep breath, and check out this linky anyway!

From my friends at Amazon:

It's been 10 years since the queen defeated Rumpelstiltskin by speaking his name, but now he's back to demand repayment for all of the gold he spun for her so many years ago. If she does not oblige, he threatens to increase the pest population and make the kingdom's livestock and other assets disappear by multiplying with fractions. Rumpelstiltskin multiplies the king's nose by six and vows to do the same for the entire royal court, unless Peter, the queen's 10-year-old son, agrees to go with him to work off the debt. It's up to the young prince to take possession of the man's magical multiplying stick and learn how to use it in order to restore normalcy to the kingdom. Calvert has created an interesting vehicle for teaching children about the differences between multiplying with whole numbers and multiplying with fractions.

A fun spin on a traditional character with math in the mix.

What math themed books do you like to use, be sure to link up!

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Baloney: A Post of Sunday Randomness

There has been so much going on the last few days that I feel the need to link up with Sunday Smorgasbord as well as share a great mentor text for language arts: Baloney.

First up, there is a HUGE giveaway going on where EVERYONE wins! A summer planning linky with packs for lessons and decor. The packs are divided into K-2 and 3+ so you can pick and choose which pack fits your needs/wants the best. You can sign up to win more than one pack. All you have to do is follow the scavenger hunt from blogs to TPT or Facebook, find all the secret words for the pack and your golden! To get started visit I'm Lovin' Lit's page!

 

Second, my 300 follower giveaway is still going on! Chance to win $25 TPT gift certificate and items from my store. 3 prizes two ways to win! Click the picture below to learn more! 

 

Third, I'm loving all of the link ups each week for my summer linky and I'd love for you to join in to! It's a summer recipe swap of sorts. Link up your favorite recipe, a recipe from Pinterest, a restaurant recommendation {basically, anything food related!} You don't have to take pictures if you don't want to either. I post a new link up that is open all week each Monday, all summer long! Be ready to pin, there have been some really great meal ideas/desserts and drinks posted!

Fourth, one of my good blogging buddies is celebrating her birthday and bloggiversary with a chance to win $50 gift certificate your choice to either TPT or Amazon! Click the picture to enter.

Last, and certainly not least... the linky that is the reason I want to win that $50 Amazon gift certificate: The Collaboration Cuties Mentor Text Linky! If you haven't been following along, this linky is chock full of amazing texts that you can use to teach from. {My amazon wishlist grows exponentially each Sunday!}

Here is a quick pitch from my friends at Amazon:

Henry P. Baloney needs to come up with a very good, very believable excuse for being late to szkola yet again--or he's in big trouble with his teacher Miss Bugscuffle. But never fear! Henry has a doozy of a story. You see, it all started when he misplaced his trusty yellow no. zz zimulis. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he was on a razzo blasting off into space, where he eventually landed on the planet Astrosus. All went well there, as the intrepid explorer entertained the Astro guys with his funny piksas--until they decided Henry and his piksas would be entertaining to eat. Things go on in this vein until somehow, miraculously, Henry P. Baloney ends up back in his classroom, a mere seven minutes late--but still one writing utensil short!

Trust the ultracreative author/illustrator pair, Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, the Time Warp Trio series, and more), to mastermind a plot this bizarre and yet somehow familiar to any school kid. Sure, Henry P. Baloney is a cute, saucer-eyed, green alien, but he has problems just like you and me--such as the threat of Permanent Lifelong Detention. Remarkably, as Scieszka reports in his afterword, when he received and decoded the transmission of this story (directly from deep space, mind you), it was written in a combination of many Earth languages, including Finnish, Swahili, Latvian, Esperanto, and Inuktitut (decoder included). Go figure.

Last year, one of the classes wrote their own frindle stories, and after reading this book I thought the same could happen. With our MTSS/RTI activities, I thought I could restrict students to come up with a nonsense word that fit patters that they are working on (long vowel pattern, r-control, etc.) {Nonsense words/word attack skills are a challenge for many of my students.} The story filled with excuses for Henry being late, provides a bit of humor as well as a chance for students to use context clues to figure out what Henry is talking about.

A fun book, I'm wanting to try later this school year. What mentor texts do you use to teach language arts skills? Be sure to link up!!

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Back to School Books & Stone Fox Winner

The Collaboration Cuties have their back to school themed mentor texts starting this week. {Crazy how summer flies so quickly!} I'm linking up a couple of books that I really enjoy for back to school time, although, the Collab Cuties have several great back-to-school products posted with their latest post so I'm thinking I will need to add a few more books to my back-to-school rotation!

The first book that I'm going to share I plan on reading with my class fairly early in the year. I plan on utilizing Jivey's Mentor Sentences and similar to Max collecting words, I want my students (and myself) to be a collector of great sentences. I think that this book will be a great spring board for those collections to take place.

Here is what Amazon has to say about Max's Words

Max’s brothers have grand collections that everyone makes a big fuss over. Benjamin collects stamps and Karl collects coins, and neither one will share with their little brother. So Max decides to start a collection of his own. He’s going to collect words. He starts with small words that he cuts out of newspapers and magazines, but soon his collection has spilled out into the hall. All the while, his brothers are watching. Benjamin brags that he has one thousand stamps. Karl is just a few coins short of five hundred. But a thousand stamps is really just a bunch of stamps, and a lot of coins is only a heap of money. A pile of words, however, can make a story. 

A wonderful story that draws children of all ages into the story.


I'm also sharing another story from a previous week: Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons. I think that this would be a wonderful story for the beginning of the year when talking about rules and expectations. Click on the picture to find out more.

Last, but not least.... thank you for all the pinning and great feedback on my Stone Fox unit. I'm pretty excited about it. I hadn't made anything quite this extensive for reading, it just sort of kept growing. I cannot wait to share this wonderful book with my students this year.

Congratulations to Amy! You'll be getting an email shortly!

This unit is on sale in my TPT store if any one else was eying it {starting tomorrow through the 4th}

Last Day of Blogger Reader! If you would like to continue to follow please click on blog lovin' on the sidebar. 

There is also a major giveaway going on that ends tonight... over 100 bloggers are participating and if you haven't entered you should! You have a chance to win at each spot! To learn more... click here!  

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Mentor Text Linky: The Flag We Love

Summer is just completely flying by! I cannot believe that this is the last week of June!

One of my favorite link-ups is with the great gals from Collaboration Cuties. With all of my books in disarray still from trying to get them all scanned in (this little project keeps getting bumped down on my to-do list), I've neglected to link up (too hard to try and remember a good book to share.) However, I've been to the library this week and I'm back with a great patriotic find; just in time to usher in July.

From the School Library Journal:

"A poetical history of the U.S. flag. Each double-page spread features a four-line, rhymed verse of mediocre quality and a box of well- and little-known trivia on the left, and a full-page painting on the right. The stronger illustrations include such moving scenes as the train carrying Lincoln's coffin, the Vietnam War Memorial, and an astronaut walking on the moon with a U.S. flag reflected in his visor."

With the upcoming holiday, I thought that this could be a good read to share. I enjoy Pam Munoz Ryan's books and this was one I hadn't discovered before. The illustrations do great to showcase the simple, yet moving poetic works. The trivia along the side adds a bit of fun along the way with more in depth information.

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First Wedding Anniversary & Mentor Text Linky

I love Sundays for the Collaboration Cuties mentor text linky... and if you'd like to read about that scroll downward. This next bit is nothing teacher related, so if you don't want to read about it I understand. :)

A year ago today I married my best. My wedding day has been the best day of my life, so far. We were engaged forever (599 days!) Time seemed to drag until we were able to say "I do", but this last year has flown by. I guess time really does fly when your having fun!

 We had a problem with our decoration plan. This didn't come to light until 10 days before the wedding. Luckily, wheat harvest was early last year and we were able to incorporate wheat in many aspects of our wedding. 

 Song of Solomon 3:4 "I have found the one my heart loves." 

 I am an only child, and "daddy's girl". Tony & I had a traditional wedding, so I had my first look with my Dad before the wedding took place. I love the photos from this moment.

I usually just wear  boots. But I survived in 3 in heels for the day. (Joanne, I have no idea how you teach in heels everyday!)

 More wheat. I was digging wheat out of my hair for awhile that night!

 I love this man so much! 

 One of my favorite pictures of the day!

We've had a wonderful weekend spending time with each other and celebrating. Complete with some off-road adventuring through the flint hills this afternoon. I love Tony so much; I'm looking forward to all of the adventures God has in store for us for years to come :)

*All photos taken by the AMAZING Laura Foote from Captured in His Image photography. She will be relocating to Florida. So if you are looking for an amazing photographer or want to seem more of her amazing work please visit her webite!!* {Truly a sweet, lovely lady with God-given talent!}

Back to more teacher related things: Mentor Text Linky!!

This is a wonderful book that sums up some of life's lessons in a sweet way through making and eating cookies.

The book starts with: COOPERATE means, How about you add the chips while I stir? and continues with one definition per page. Definitions continue throughout each page with beautiful illustrations. Other definitions include: REGRET means, I really wish I didn't eat so many cookies; and CONTENT means sitting on the steps just you, me, and a couple of cookies.

Using cookies or another shared activity, this book could be used as an example for students to create their own life-lessons learned through a fun medium. A great way to start the year! 

Lastly, tomorrow I'm starting a recipe exchange of sorts. If there is a recipe you love, one you've tried (or want to try) from Pinterest or a great restaurant you'd like to recommend please link up.

I fully intend on participating with Monday Made It throughout the summer too... and I figure "making" good eats, treats and drinks kinda jives with that theme if your wanting to link up with both posts :)

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Mentor Text: Wants vs. Needs

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I've been enjoying the day with family and friends and I'm so very thankful to live in this country, with the freedoms I have, thanks to all of the military members past and present. To all active military and veterans, thank you!

I've been slacking a bit with blogging here of late. School was out for students last Wednesday (crazy that in just a couple of days a week of summer will have already come and gone!) I've spent a lot of time catching up with the last of my college friends that were finishing up school before they move around the state and across the country. I've also been pinning away a ton of summer project todo's and lesson ideas for ELA this next year. Be on the look out this week for all sorts of todo's, reflections, and fun stuff along the way.

I'm linking up a little late with the Collaboration Cuties for the great linkup. (I cannot wait to look back over all of the previous link up... major book order coming soon!) This week's topic is Social Studies. Since I haven't taught social studies since practicums during my undergraduate work, some weeks I have to scratch my head and think before a book comes to me. This week I finally remembered one from those good ol' practicums days: Those Shoes.

All Jeremy wants is a pair of "those shoes", you know the ones... the ones that everyone at school seems to be wearing. Unfortunately Jeremy's grandma says they don't have room for "wants" just "needs". When his old shoes fall apart at school we wants "those shoes" even more. After various attempts Jereme soon see the things that he does have, warm boots, a grandma who loves him, and the chance to help others out--- things that are worth more than "those shoes".

It was a cute book (the illustrations really showcase the text well) with a great message. Whether the students in your class are those with or without those shoes or whatever the "hot" item might be, I feel that they can sympathize with Jeremy and be glad with the choices that he eventually makes. 

A great conversation starter for the wants and needs of life. 

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