Saturday, September 6, 2014

Listening to Reading




I was looking for a way to extend my "listening to reading" portion of the Daily 5. I searched the internet for listening response sheets that were free and best for my students at the time. I made Response Logs for each student by alternating 4 different response sheets.

Before I introduced the response logs, I exposed the class to each of the different response sheets. As a class, we listened to a story and completed the response sheet together for that story. Each of the next three days we followed the same process for another response sheet and story.

After all four different sheets were familiar, I split the class into Daily 5 groups. We again used all four response sheets, but this time we used a "jigsaw" approach.  Each group has a "helper" (It is a life saver during typical Daily 5 operations) and  was given several copies of one of the response sheets. After listening to a story with the whole class, the groups each completed their response logs individually asking questions of their helper or other group members if necessary. (Each child had a response sheet identical to his or her group members.)

After the forms were completed, the groups reviewed the response sheets of all of their group members. The groups voted on the one paper that best exemplified the expectations of that response sheet. The groups then presented the exemplar paper and told what was best about it without revealing the author.

     These peer evaluated exemplars were then hung in the classroom marked with the title "Ask an Expert". During our Daily 5 time then the class used these response logs. If at any time they could not read the sheet or did not remember what to do, the child could refer to the displayed papers.

The names of the helpers for each group were listed with the exemplar papers since all members of that group were somewhat "experts" on that response sheet.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Daily Math-Set up

      I recently paid a couple dollars for this mailbox structure. It had been listed on line from a district getting rid of many things.  I had not actually been able to see it before I bought it. I wanted to make it into a place to store game boards for Daily 5 Math. So here is what it looked like after I had removed some of the sticky debris. ( I forgot to take a true "before" picture.)

So I have begun to transition this into something that will compliment my classroom. Here is the progress. I am pleased so far......