Photo Friday 1*27*17

I ran across an idea on Pinterest about writing strategy rings. This summer I decided that I'd implement them this school year. Every time my students take a writing prompt through the entire writing process, I conference with them. We do this at least twice a quarter. 
I have students bring me their completed writing and they read it aloud to me. As they're reading I'm grading it using my district's holistic writing rubric (it focuses on the 6 Traits). When they finish I decide what trait I want the students to focus on and I write a note card with that strategy (see photo above with white card including Voice and Sentence Fluency Strategies). I add that strategy to a metal ring. 
Students frequently refer to their Writing Strategy rings during writing workshop. The next time we conference they bring their ring and after they finish reading their writing we talk about their specific strategies. I might ask "Can you show me where you used voice in your writing?" If they've used the strategy, I write the date on the back of the card, if not, we discuss it and hopefully they'll use it next time. 

In addition to the writing strategies I add to the ring, I found a set of Mini Writing Charts for FREE from Teaching to Inspire! These can be added to their rings as well.
I use No More I'm Done by Jennifer Jacobson to get my 6 Trait Lessons and ideas for writing strategies.

Photo Friday 1*20*17

Have you heard of the Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo? Well if you haven't, you are definitely missing out!

I absolutely love this book. It has reading strategy and skill lessons for every guided reading level with anchor chart ideas and question prompts. It's not a book that you read from front cover to back cover, it's meant to be a reference book to pull ideas from. 

I went through the book and tabbed each lesson that correlated with the 3rd grade reading standards in Virginia. I then created a chart. It includes Lesson Title, Strategy, Standard and I Can Statement. I created larger I Can Statements that have magnet strips on the back of them so I can put them on the board and refer to them during guided or shared reading.

What are your must have reading resources?

Photo Friday 1*13*17

I've been assigning Top Secret Snow Day Missions for 3 years now. The first year I did, we missed school for ten snow days, last year we missed school for six snow days. This year, we've already missed several days this week to snow. Good thing I sent my snow packets home last Friday!

I use to send home all the copies the students would need to complete each mission, but last year I decided to put them on my classroom website for parents to print themselves. There's always one activity that's mandatory and this year it was completing the Ready Freddy Super Secret Valentine Comprehension Packet.

I purchased this from Stories by Storie. I think she use to be a member of the Second Grade Teachers Club I was apart of years ago. I love her book companions, they're perfect for my 3rd graders. 

I also found the book on Scholastic Reading Club for $1 each. I purchased one for each of my students to include with their packet as well. They get to keep the book for their personal collections.

Do you send home any activities for your students to complete during inclement weather days? 

Photo Friday 1*6*17

I first saw this idea on Facebook. Learning in Wonderland had shared the photo below and I fell in love!  

Katie Mense from Little Kinder Warriors created the inserts for these mugs. I found the file in her TpT store for $5. I'm purchasing my mugs from Hobby Lobby (mainly because I have gift cards to this store). They are $.87 a piece. That would make them $10.44 for a dozen. Many people were purchasing theirs from Oriental Trading, but I saw they were $16.99 a dozen. As you can see in the top picture, the one from Hobby Lobby worked just fine. I simply threw the inserts that came with it away and printed off one from the file, cut it out and viola... a super cute gift! 

They'd make a great Christmas gift with a packet of hot cocoa, I missed that window. Even thought about Valentine's Day, with the cocoa and a card that says "You make my heart melt...". But I think my students would also appreciate them as End of the Year gifts. What do you think?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from The Teaching Oasis! This school year has been super busy. That coupled with the fact that I've been helping my friend launch her very own LuLaRoe business, I haven't much time for blogging. I'm hoping to change that.

Starting this Friday, I'll be conducting "Photo Friday." Every Friday I'll feature a photo from my classroom or just a photo of an idea I have. Hopefully that'll get me back on the blogging track and back to doing something I'm passionate about... sharing ideas and resources with others!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the Teaching Oasis tab at the top of my blog, take a moment to do so. The official Teaching Oasis website has been discontinued and all files are now housed in Google Drive folders. Want the link to those files... check out the tab!