11 out of the 17 students who were present yesterday turned-in their drafts. Nine of them will be getting customized letterhead. Good number, right? I found that the packet of touchstone texts (letters) I gave the students on the immersion day of our unit really helped to lift the level of their writing. I could… Continue reading Touchstone Texts Helped
Category: letter writing
Letterhead
Tuesday's News & Announcements Chart Originally uploaded by teachergal As you know, Sunday's are for chart-making in my home. I just finished creating this week's News & Announcements Charts (for Morning Meeting) as well as a few strategy charts for Writing Workshop. Feels good to be finished! For the past couple of years, I've created… Continue reading Letterhead
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Two Exceptional Professional Books
In the past week, I've managed to squeeze-in some time to read through two professional books, both of which I picked up while I was at NCTE. Writing to Persuade: Minilessons to Help Students Plan, Draft, and Revise, Grades 3-8, written by Karen Caine, is a resource I wish I had four years ago when… Continue reading Two Exceptional Professional Books
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Sundays are for chart-making.
Prompts for Writing About Reading Originally uploaded by teachergal I've been cranking-out charts for the past hour or so: News & Announcements Charts, as well as strategy charts. Just thought I'd post a few of the strategy charts, for reading and writing, in this forum. Make sure you click through to the Flickr Pages (just… Continue reading Sundays are for chart-making.
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It’s going to be a busy week!
Week of December 1st, 2008 Originally uploaded by teachergal I just finished planning out the upcoming week and wow... there's a lot going on! However, when I realized my kids were publishing and starting a new unit of study this week, I realized I had to create some additional sheets to get them to reflect… Continue reading It’s going to be a busy week!
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Stacey’s Memoir Monday Post: Thankful
We've never been the kind of family that's gone around the table telling each other what we're thankful for, though I always wished we could have been. However, I think it was assumed why we were thankful for the things we were thankful for... though those things were unspoken on Thanksgiving. However, as I've grown… Continue reading Stacey’s Memoir Monday Post: Thankful
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Dear President-Elect Obama
Every Wednesday evening my students read the cover story in Time for Kids and then complete one of the worksheets. It's not exactly how I'd like to do current events, but sometimes it's all that's possible in a given-week. Last night's assignment was to read pages 4 and 5 of the present issue and then… Continue reading Dear President-Elect Obama
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pre-election missives or entries
Many teachers have the kids write letters to their future selves at the start of the academic year (to be opened in June). I've never been one of those teachers, but I'm starting to think I need to be... at least where this historic election is concerned. Here's what I'm thinking (while trying to avoid… Continue reading pre-election missives or entries
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Mini Notecards
Little Note Originally uploaded by teachergal I recently purchased a bunch of small note cards from Christina Hill, The Hollister 25, and Piping Hot Papers for the purpose of writing little notes to my students when I catch them doing something good, want to give them a written pep talk, of when I wish to… Continue reading Mini Notecards
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Little Notes at Standardized Testing Time
Well-wish letters Originally uploaded by teachergal This morning was Day 1 of the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) Reading Test. Since I was up way before dawn, I decided to write each of my kids a little note. I put each one in a small envelope, put my "This was made for you by..."… Continue reading Little Notes at Standardized Testing Time
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Letters of Hire
I'm a big advocate of letter writing. It is, perhaps, my favorite genre. There's something about holding a personalized letter in one's hand that feels special. A few years ago, Instructor published a list of classroom jobs that were a bit out-of-the-box. This year marks the third year I've been using more sophisticated job titles.… Continue reading Letters of Hire
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Preserve Your Students’ Year in Writing & in Pictures
A few days ago I received two e-mails from one of my former fifth graders that I hadn't seen since the final day of school in June 2007. He's now in seventh grade and wanted to get back in-touch. Seeing as all of my students have my personal e-mail address, this was pretty easy for… Continue reading Preserve Your Students’ Year in Writing & in Pictures
