I was first introduced to VersaTiles several years ago when one of our math teachers used them for after school math tutoring. I always thought that they were used only for math, but I recently discovered that they also have resources for science, readiness, and reading/language arts!
VersaTiles takes worksheets to he next level by requiring students to place number tiles on a corresponding letter that matches their answer. When all of the tiles have been placed, the students closes the answer case, flips it, and opens it back up. If the pattern matches the one at the bottom of the worksheet, the students has successfully answered all of the questions correctly. If the pattern does not match, the students can easily find their mistakes and make corrections.
I chose the Science Starter Kit because I have a hard time fitting in extra science activities. All of the workbooks have activities that fit perfectly with our scope and sequence. My students have done activities relating to weather, the moon, and plants. They are great for independent work or small groups.
The Science Starter Kit include a Teacher Resource Guide, 2 Science Process Skills, Earth Science, Physical Science , and Life Science books. It also includes one answer case.
Students can work independently once they learn how to use VersaTiles.
VersaTiles are engaging and challenging.
Students can self-check their work and make corrections.
My school has had the pleasure of hosting three author visits this year. One was an all day in-person presentation by Susan Stevens Crummel and Janet Stevens. The other two were 30 minute sessions via Skype or Google Hangouts. Bringing authors to school, in-person and virtually, has many benefits to both students and teachers:
We are able to see that authors are real people.
We become personally connected to the author and their publications.
We gain an appreciation for the hard work and effort required to be a writer.
We are inspired and motivated to be better writers.
In-Person Author Visits
In-person author visits can be very expensive, but worth every penny. Generally, they will charge a flat fee for the day plus traveling expenses. A way to cut costs is to find local authors who do not need to travel very far. Another way to help fund the visits is to apply for grants. Our author visit was funded by Target Grants for Arts, Culture, and Design. The $2,000 grant did not completely cover the cost of having both authors visit, but my principal was more than happy to pay the difference.
Author visits create a personal connection
The artwork created during the visit will be a permanent reminder to our school of the special day.
Student participation inspires and motivates.
Virtual Author Visits
A less costly way to bring authors to your school is through video conferencing. A lot of authors will do a 20-30 session free of charge or for a nominal fee. Author Kate Messner has created a fantastic list of Authors Who Skype with Classes. Other resources include The Skype Author Network and Skype in the Classroom.
Because I am so active on Twitter, both of our virtual author visits were a result of Twitter Chats. Erin Dealey popped in on #2ndchat one Wednesday night looking for classrooms to work with on World Read Aloud Day. On another Wednesday night, Dave Roman was a guest on #sharpschu book chat. I simply asked him if he would mind kicking off our 4th grade writing camp, and he said YES!
Skype and Google Hangouts are popular tools to use for video conferencing. Google Hangouts allows screen sharing so the author can show images during the presentation. Premium Skype also has a screen sharing option.
Erin Dealey shares her writing process with 2nd graders
Of course, the 2nd graders loved that she wrote a book called Potty Time!
Students are able to ask questions and talk with the author.
Dave Roman was a hit with the 4th graders. His work on Nickelodeon Magazine, and the Last Airbender and X-Men: Misfits graphic novels got lots of "oohs" and "ahhs".
A Successful Author Visit
In order to get the most out of an author visit, it is a good idea to prepare your students ahead of time by familiarizing them with the work of the author. Before Susan Stevens Crummel and Janet Stevens came, we did a library display of their books and encouraged the students to check them out. The teachers also used the books for classroom read alouds. Our library does not have books by Erin Dealey or Dave Roman, so we got classroom copies ahead of time to read to the students.
If an author comes in person, they are able to sign books that the students purchase in advance. For virtual visits, we did pre-orders of the books and gave the students a signed bookmark to go with it. Selling books is a nice way to thank the author - especially if they have presented free of charge. Most authors have information on their websites about book orders.
Author visits are the perfect supplement to your reading program. The possibilities are endless!
Photo Credits:
Penny Haight, Ginny Limer, Louise Morgan
In honor of Black History Month, we spent some time painting portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. The students don't get to paint very much because we do not have art at the elementary level in our district, so this was a special treat. While they painted, we listened to songs and audio recordings:
Shed a Little Light - James Taylor Live 1993
We Shall Overcome - Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr.
We Shall Overcome - Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr,
I Have a Dream - Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.
This point that I like to stress to my kids during Black History Month, is that Martin Luther King would be so happy to walk in our school and see that his dream did come true!
The portraits will be hung in the hall where we have our Black History Month display.
I have been using the Easi-Speak USB Recorder to work on fluency and prosody in my classroom and I love the instant feedback it provides. Another great tool from from Learning Resources is the HearAll Assessment Recorder. This handy little device works great with groups and allows me to go back and listen to the recordings and plan what I will work on the next time I meet with the group. I also like that it can hold up to 4 hours of recordings! Some other features of this product include:
There are many different uses for individual or small group activities
You can download the recordings to a computer
You can listen to and analyze the recordings after class for a more thorough assessment
You can share the files with parents and interventionalists
You can save several recordings over time to review or compare later
I love to do reader's theater with my students because it allows them to not only work on their reading fluency, it also gives them practice on their reading prosody.
Prosody, the defining feature of expressive reading, comprises all of the variables of timing, phrasing, emphasis, and intonation that speakers use to help convey aspects of meaning and to make their speech lively. One of the challenges of oral reading is adding back the prosodic cues that are largely absent from written language.
Researchers have found strong links between oral reading prosody and general reading achievement. For example, after comparing students’ reading prosody in first and second grades with their reading comprehension at the end of third grade, Miller and Schwanenflugel (2008) concluded that, “early acquisition of an adult-like intonation contour predicted better comprehension.” Another study, which included more than 1,750 fourth graders participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found a strong correlation between prosody and overall reading achievement (Daane, Campbell, Grigg, Goodman, & Oranje, 2005).
Reader's theater takes a lot of work to get it sounding fluent with lots of expression. Let's face it, a bunch of kids reading a script can be very boring. It is my goal to teach them how to make it interesting and expressive so the audience is engaged.
Learning Resource's Easi-Speak USB Recorder is a perfect tool to use in this situation. A student can record themselves reading and then instantly play it back to hear how they sound. As they get more comfortable with the script, their phrasing becomes more natural. The students are sometimes uncomfortable listening to themselves the first time, but usually they want to read better and record again. This powerful tool can help students become more fluent readers.
This device is really handy too. I can plug it directly in to a USB port on any computer to access the recorded files!
Here is a voice recording of a student who is just beginning to use expression in his reading. He was very excited to hear his voice and continued to practice after the first recording.
Learning Resources has generously offered The Frugal Teacher and Easi-Speak USB Recorder to give away to one lucky reader. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
#2ndchat is organizing a winter read-aloud starting on January 14th. We will use this week to read Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. We will also be doing activities in our classroom and then sharing via Skype and blogging. Please visit the #2ndchat wiki page for more information. If you have a good idea, please add your ideas to the Idea Garden widget at the bottom of the page. You can also follow the action on Twitter by following the #2ndchat hashtag. We chat on most Wednesdays at 7:00pm CST. Current ideas include: Writing a story about what toys do at night while we sleep Snowman crafts- See our Pinterest Board Science: The Life Cycle of a Snowman Snowmen at Night:
Here's a fun linky party that Lorraine over at Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies has come up with! Take a look back to the beginning of 2012 and list your first 12 posts of the year. After you create your post, add your link to Lorraine's post, then go visit the other links and leave comments!
