February Love

So Much to Love in February!

• The return of The Walking Dead
• The last holiday party, done and done!
• The AMC Oscar Showcase, did both days with four movies each day
• Second to the last Reading Street unit

So here it is, better late than never... Reading Street Unit 5 Focus Wall Posters and Unit 5 Amazing Words and Selection Vocabulary.

Happy (Late) Valentine's Day!

First Day Freebie

5th Grade Unit 4 Reading Street Amazing Words and Vocabulary Focus Wall Posters Freebie to celebrate the first day of winter break!  Merry Christmas!

 

I spent the second day of my break wrapping Sam's gifts and making his favorite Christmas treats, fudge and Buckeyes.  He had to take a class tonight (naughty...speeding ticket), so I spent the evening making Unit 4 Focus Wall Posters (nice!).  So get a bonus freebie here!

 

She's a Wild One (and some wild (?) focus wall posters!)

I would have given anything to be at the *well-deserved* Little Kids Rock Joan Jett Tribute the other day (I can only imagine what a show that was!), but just a week ago I was in Tulsa...

A long drive, but well worth it!  Some dinner, people watching, and then the show...

 

 

Crimson and Clover...

 She still loves rock and roll...

 Just around the corner from the light of day...

 

It was a great show, better than ever!

After the show, we saw a few smaller bands, took a few turns at the slot machines, then went back to the room to see her in Stephen King's "Big Driver."  A short-long weekend, but just what I needed after conferences!  Thank you again, Sam, you're one in a million!  Or as Katie so aptly stated, "Your husband is AWESOME!"

So in honor of a great night and a well-deserved honor, Unit 3 Focus Wall posters and Amazing/Vocabulary Words!  Use 'em if you want 'em!

btw...speaking of well-deserved honors, you can vote for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees here.  I'm just sayin'...

Finally!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks!  No copier functioning at school for three weeks, progress reports due, new curriculum for all reading, language arts, handwriting, writing, and spelling, district collaboration, "Dot Day", and Parent Academy!  Whew! 

Now getting ready to celebrate the weekend, and oh yeah... my birthday.  As I always tell the kids, "You never ask a lady her age!"  But I do love it when I don't have to go to work on my birthday (Thanks, Jim Gaffigan!)!

So, a very merry un-birthday to you!  Here are Reading Street Unit 2 Focus Wall Posters for anyone interested.  Yeah, I know... it's about time!

5th Grade Reading Street Unit 2

I cannot believe that this is the last week for Unit 1 of our new Reading curriculum!  Time has gone so quickly, and I still don't feel prepared on a daily basis.  The school year is speeding by, as usual.  But ready or not, it's time to get prepared for Unit 2!  So here you go, for all who are interested... Selection Titles and Questions and Amazing Words and Selection Vocabulary for Unit 2.  You may notice that I added the number of the unit and story at the bottom of each page.  I'm hoping that will help me stay organized and save me a few minutes each week when I change my focus wall.  I will continue to work on the skills and strategies this week, and hopefully have them up soon.  Please share any ideas you have on implementing Reading Street for this novice; any advice would be much appreciated!

 

On a side note, I want to congratulate our Reading Specialist (and my friend), Mrs. Skoff, for receiving the classroom iPads from our district!  I could not be happier for her; it is well-deserved, and I know she will make the most of them while reaching a greater and more varied population of students in our school.  Congratulations, Mindy!  It couldn't have happened to a better teacher or a nicer person!  Yay!

Why I Hate/Love Twitter and Unit 6 Reading Focus Wall

I hate Twitter.  I know, I know... it's the best way to make contacts and find resources in the PLC and edtech world.  I get that.  But, in the last month or so, someone has hacked my Twitter account twice and sent inappropriate messages in my name.  So, be warned Twitter, you're on my list (okay, now I know they're scared!).  ;)  And my sincere apologies to those who received unfortunate messages *NOT* from me.

Anyway, on to bigger and better (?) things.  I have finished my Unit 6 Titles and Questions, as well as the Selection Vocab and Amazing Words.  If you're interested, you can find them here and here, and Unit 6 Focus Wall posters here.  As always, let me know about any errors, and I will do my best to correct and repost them.

(Side note:  If you're wondering why I did Unit 6 after Unit 1... Well I picked the next book off of the shelf, assuming it was Unit 2...)

School starts for teachers in just two days.  Today I have to meet with other grade level curriculum writers to plan our Friday presentation.  Isn't funny that you can talk to rooms full of kids day in and day out, but one tiny presentation to a group of adults makes you nervous?  Crazy.

And even better... I opened up my class list this morning and saw my new friends, and a few old friends as well!  I taught first grade as recently as two years ago, and saw some familiar names and faces on my class list.  How lucky am I to get them twice????  Seriously, these are some great kids!  Looking forward to Monday's Back to School Night more than ever (hope they are too!)!

Reading Focus Wall

For the past few years I have been fortunate enough to be involved in writing our district's new Reading curriculum.  We are starting Reading Street in the new school year, so with a little help from Karen Cox's wonderful Polka Dot Labels, I made some focus wall posters.  Please feel free to use part or all of them if you like!  Hopefully, I will be adding more as I finish them. 

Click here for 5th Grade Reading Street focus wall headers and Words Their Way headers.

Here are the 5th Grade Reading Street Unit 1 Title/Author/Question posters. 

And here for Unit 1 Amazing Words and Selection Vocabulary.

And finally, here for the rest of the skills/strategies/etc. posters for Unit 1.

I have the headers mounted on green paper and laminated, but the rest of the posters I put in plastic sleeves to save time, as well as for ease of storage.  Please let me know if you find any errors, and I will correct and repost them as soon as possible.  Thanks!  ;)

How is your focus wall displayed?