Drumroll Please! And the Winners...

I held my first contest this month. Today is the big day. I literally wrote each person's name on a slip of paper for each qualified entry, folded them up, mixed them up, and asked my teenage son to draw out five names. Each winner receives five free products from my Teachers Pay Teachers store. One winner will get a $20 Amazon gift card!

Terri Browne - You are a winner! Your name was drawn twice you lucky duck, so you get to pick TEN classroom resources. One problem though -one half of your email is missing from the form. Please EMAIL me a.s.a.p.

Debbie Chad - You are a winner! Your name was drawn once. You get to pick five classroom resources.
Edit: Debbie - Your email bounced. Please email me.

Elizabeth Sechrist - You are a winner! Your name was drawn once. You get to pick five classroom resources.

Blenda McHenry - You are a winner! Your name was the fifth one drawn. As stated you get to pick five classroom resources + you are the winner of the $20 Amazon gift card.

Ladies - Please check your email for instructions. Terri - I need you to email me. Blenda - I need you to reply and verify your email before I send the gift card. Thank you for entering my first contest!

To the rest of my followers: I've learned a few things during this contest. Next month I will have a shorter time frame, and focus on one task to complete in order to win. You never know what I might decide to give away, so stay tuned.

Review of Fearless: The Story of Racing Legend Louise Smith by Barb Rosenstock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fearless: The Story of Racing Legend Louise Smith
by Barb Rosenstock

Vrooom! Vrooom! Ladies, start your engines! I confess I didn't know a thing about the first woman race car legend Louise Smith until I read Fearless by Barb Rosenstock. This nonfiction picture book biography is told with gusto. As I was reading the story, my teenage son walked by me and commented on the illustrations. The illustrator, Scott Dawson did a bang-up job infusing color and life into the paintings that made up the book.

I thought the book was a delightful read. Rosenstock managed to sweep over the difficult parts of Louise Smith's life, and portray her as a woman with the courage to follow her dream. This book deserves a place in any teacher or librarian's collection of biographies for elementary children. I thought the language flowed with a rhythm that takes you to the time and place of Smith's life. The author uses onomatopoeia and repetition to give the text a kick. It's a wonderful little story of overcoming obstacles and perseverance.

The text is short enough to read aloud as a pint sized biography for 2nd - 4th graders. One of my fourth graders is crazy about cars. I handed the book to him, and even though the story is about a woman race car driver instead of a man (and not directly about cars) he gave it two thumbs up. The reading level is mid third grade.

Review of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly is so far out of my comfort zone, I feel that I've been stretched as a reader to the point of no return. This contemporary story paints the past and present together in a hauntingly brutal portrait of two girls, in two different times. After tragedy strikes, Andi discovers Alex, a girl of the past. It is through Alex's diary that Andi learns how to live in the present.

As a writer, Donnelly is amazing. She always manages to masterfully weave together an unbelievable complex story. The author uses multiple genres in a complicated plot crossing time and dimensions. Revolution is both contemporary and historical, and possibly fantasy, but you are never really sure whether or not Andi's trip back in time is a "trip" or the truth.

This book blends the French Revolution (you must have a strong stomach to read this story -it's graphic), musical genius, genetics, tragedy, love, and hope together in a poignant novel that will shake you to your core. Yes, I had disturbing dreams. Revolution is a unique read requiring a strong, mature reader. I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of sixteen.

Review of Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On the day the 2011 Newbery was announced, I had many conversations that went like this: "Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool won the Newbery. Have you ever heard of it?" The answer: No. The tweets started twittering and suddenly this little unknown middle grade book got the "to read" mark. Every second of reading Moon Over Manifest was worth this reader's time.

Let's go back in time, in the days of World War I, where a story of hope and courage and fear and joy and tears becomes a secret in the little town of Manifest. Now fast forward eighteen years when 12 year old Abilene Tucker comes to town. Pieces of the past and present begin to come together through storytelling and adventures. This heartwarming tale is a few layers deep. Vanderpool allows the reader to peel the layers one at a time and savor another time and place, and a story that uniquely universal in so many ways.

This is a book filled with rich language, drama, emotion, history, and bittersweet reality. The reading level is early fifth grade. It is appropriate for high readers fourth grade and up. As I read this book I was often reminded of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. The two stories share a familiar heart. There is no doubt in my mind that every teacher should read this book, and pass it on to their upper elementary and middle grade students. Moon Over Manifest is one of those books you can read again and again and discover something new each time. I agree that it deserved the Newbery Medal. Thank you Clare Vanderpool for penning a magnificent story and sharing it with the world.

The Power of Self-Selected Professional Development

A group of teachers are the captive audience of another in-service day. Professional development is on the agenda. The audience is made up of new teachers, teachers with a few years under their belts, master teachers, and teachers counting down the days until retirement. Similar to our classrooms these teachers have different learning styles and different academic needs. Everyone waits for that little golden nugget of inspiration. They can only hope this workshop gives them something useful to take back to their classroom.

We've all been there.

As adults we are aware of our personal and professional needs. We realize we need something fresh to spark our 21st Century student's imagination. We are searching for the very thing that will motivate and inspire the reluctant student. We await the teachable moments with bated breath. We capture "a-ha" moments in order to push ourselves to the next level in our teaching.

Mandated professional development is what it is, but it's not everything, and we should not rely on it to grow as teachers. Self-selected professional development allows for differentiation and personal growth. When we direct our own learning we tend to embrace our new knowledge and shout it from the rooftops.

Read

Reading is the cornerstone of education, but in today's high tech world, you don't have to go at it alone. The best thing about reading a professional book is that it gives you time -time to reflect, time to try, and time to apply. Today you can read, reflect, and discuss in on going professional conversations with fellow educators from around the world. Teachers are communicating in forums, chat rooms, through blogs, on Twitter and Facebook, and countless other online communities.

Opportunities abound when teachers network online. Powerful communities of educators are built and new thinking is explored, discussed, analyzed, and applied in the classroom. The latest thinking is online somewhere. Teachers who are readers are sharing everything from classroom management to the best in children's literature.

Push

One of the greatest professional development opportunities lies within yourself. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) provides the standards and the means to take yourself to the next level in teaching.

NBPTS forces you to take a look into your mirror of teaching. There is nothing quite like watching yourself teach and becoming your own reflective evaluator. You will walk away from the experience a changed person and teacher. This rigorous professional development opportunity is voluntary, but it is also powerful. Push yourself to find the best teacher within.


Attend

It's one thing to network online, it's quite another to network in person. Join professional organizations. Attend conferences. Step up to the plate and become part of the behind the scenes action. This is your chance to meet the gurus in education, to hear the best of the latest research and theory -directly from the researchers mouth, to find out about the most current trends in education, to meet authors, and to network with other educators from all over the country.

Attending a conference is the best way to refresh your spirits, enhance your learning experience, and stay in the know when it comes to best practice. Don't get left behind (no pun intended). Join local, state, and national organizations in the field you teach and see your self-selected professional development actualized into reality.

Active Engagement Strategies for Teaching and Learning

Review of A Sick Day for Amos McGee -2011 Caldecott Medal Winner

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As soon as I heard the announcement that A Sick Day for Amos McGee  by Philip C. Stead won the 2011 Caldecott Medal, I sent a student to the library to check out the book. First I read it aloud to my fourth graders. The book is primarily for younger children, but my nine and ten year old students still got a chuckle out of the book. We looked at the artwork and decided it had a bit of an old fashioned appeal, but that is precisely what makes it fresh today. The kids picked up on the black and white drawings (or woodblock printing according to the information on the flap)and the color added into the lines.

I've read the books several times now, studying text structure and word choice. Amos McGee is a zookeeper who visits his friends (the animals) each day. One day he becomes ill, and then the animals decide to visit Amos McGee. This is a circular story with two mirrored opposite halves. This book could be used by teachers to teach organization of a story.

The theme of the story is friendship. Amos visits his friends every day, and in turn, his friends visit him. I also noticed a wonderful use of verbs and a few sentences that make excellent models for mentor text for writing. Overall, the story is enjoyable and fun to read aloud to children.

LITERATURE GUIDE FOR A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE

Win FREE Teaching Resources PLUS an AMAZON Gift Card!

Enter to win FIVE FREE teaching resources PLUS a $20 Amazon gift card! 2 weeks to enter - FIVE WINNERS! 

Beginning: Sunday, January 16, 2011
Ending: Sunday, January 29, 2011

I will draw five names on Sunday, January 29, 2011 at 12:00 noon Central time. Each winner will receive a notification by email, plus I will announce the winners here on my blog. The first four names drawn will win will five classroom teaching resources of your choice from my Teachers Pay Teachers Storefront. I will email your resources to you. The FIFTH name drawn will win FIVE FREE resources PLUS an $20 Amazon gift card! 

You can potentially win all  five times! That equals 25 FREE teaching resources of your choice + an Amazon gift card for $20! All prizes (including the gift card) will be sent by email.

SIX + 1 WAYS TO ENTER

FIRST
Your name will be entered one time for each completed task (for a max of 6 times): 
1. Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers.
2. Follow me on Twitter @teachingfriends
3. LIKE Effective Teaching Solutions on Facebook.
4. Sign up for Effective Teaching Solutions monthly newsletter. The sign up box is on the sidebar of this blog.
5. Follow Effective Teaching Articles blog. The follow button is on the sidebar of this blog.
6. Tweet a link to this contest. RT @teachingfriends

SECOND

REQUIRED: SIGN UP HERE to get started. I need your email address so that I can contact you if you are a winner. You have to sign up in order to win, but you can't win unless you get your name into the drawing. How do you get your name entered into the drawing? Complete the above task(s) and then fill out the entry form. 

ONE MORE WAY TO ENTER YOUR NAME ONCE A DAY

Fill out the REQUIRED ENTRY FORM before leaving a qualified comment on my Effective Teaching Articles blog. (Qualified means that you are commenting something of value regarding an article or book review.) If you use a pen name, in order to avoid confusion, please EMAIL me and let me know your name. One entry per day. 

Disclaimer: Teachers Pay Teachers is a privately owned marketplace for teachers to buy and sell teacher created classroom resources. TPT is in no way, shape, or form involved or responsible for this contest. The winners may choose five products created by Lisa Frase only. The winners will be asked to email me the titles of the products they want, and I will email a copy to you. You will NOT receive the products from TPT. The winner of the Amazon gift card will receive it as a gift card from me to you through email.

Review of Scumble by Ingrid Law

Scumble by Ingrid Law

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really liked Savvy by Ingrid Law, but I loved Scumble! Scumble is the companion to Savvy. The Savvy characters are all grown up, but they make appearances (mainly Rocket) when the family comes together for a wedding. Of course this story isn't about Mibs. Mibs is all grown up now, but her cousin Ledge is turning 13, and you know what happens when a kid in this family turns 13! In Ledge's case -things begin to blow up and fall apart. It's not a good feeling to have a destructive savvy, especially when you spent your life planning on running. Literally. Ledge runs alright -right into Sarah Jane, newshound extraordinaire. Ledge has to scumble his savvy, figure out his future, and keep everything in his life from totally falling apart. It's tall order, but in the end, it all comes together.

Things blow up in this book. Boys will love it. Once again, Law sparks the senses with fresh language and out of the ordinary events. Halfway through the book, I set it down and had an a-ha (I probably should have realized this much sooner): Savvy and Scumble are tall tales (sort of). Law managed to create a modern day tall tale that sounds like realistic fiction with a bolt of fantasy. I could see a movie in my head, and I can imagine Scumble on the big screen (calling all filmmakers). This top of the trees story leaves the reader imagining all sorts of wondrous wonders.

I recommend reading Savvy first. Scumble can be read alone, but it will be a lot more meaningful if you are introduced to scumbling your savvy first. I recommend you get your Savvy before you try to Scumble, after all, you do need to know what it is your scumbling.

The reading level is middle of fifth grade. Although innocent, the book mentions kissing and cussing (no curse words are used in the book). I would feel comfortable reading it aloud to fourth grade and up.

SHORT ANSWER & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS + WRITING PROMPTS FOR SAVVY

Review of Mudshark by Gary Paulson

Mudshark by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished reading aloud Mudshark to my fourth graders today. This book is on the Texas Bluebonnet list. It's interesting, but I find that my tongue had a tendency to trip over the many long sentences. I love Gary Paulson as a writer, but this book is a bit different from his usual voice and style.

Mudshark is one smart dude. He is extremely observant and highly intelligent. It's nice to have a super-sharp boy -who is not only smart, but totally cool, as the hero of the story. Mudshark makes reading, observing, and thinking a cool thing to do. There are plenty of boys out there who are gifted and talented, but rarely is a book written about a smart boy on this level. I give the book extra credit for this alone.

The book is quite humorous and a little bit wacky. The class verdict was split. Half of my students gave the book a five and the other half gave it a three. We are compromising with a 4 out 5 start rating. It's certainly a book worthy of keeping around. My copy is in my reading center. I'm not likely to read it aloud again to future classes, but I think some of the quirky humor and an intelligent boy hero makes it worth recommending as a "just right" book for certain kiddos.

Review of Humble Pie by Jennifer Donnelly

Humble Pie by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my favorite authors of young adult and adult literary fiction is Jennifer Donnelly. I recently discovered her picture book Humble Pie. This original story is a funny little medieval tale about a spoiled and selfish boy who nearly gets baked in a humble pie. The is a character transformation story with a strong beginning, middle, and end. The story moves along at a nice clip, and uses a lot of snappy language and various sentence structures. It's a great read aloud and has lots of teaching potential for elementary grades. This morality tale teaches a lesson in a rip-roaring way that will keeps kids giggling while reflecting on why the boy acts the way he does and why it is wrong.

Architecture of a Writing Mini Lesson

Teaching a writing mini lesson effectively requires a unique structure that is a little bit different from a reading mini lesson. I developed this structure to use during writing workshop in order to maintain the use of modeling and mentor texts.

Teaching Point
Your mini lesson needs a specific teaching point (objective) with a tight focus. A mini lesson is five to twenty minutes.
Connect
Begin your lesson by connecting what your students will learn with something they already know. This connection acts as an introduction to the lesson; a focus. Your connection is only one to three sentences long. 
Model
Modeling writing is crucial, but in a mini lesson you don't have a lot of time to model by writing in front of your students. Write your modeled piece before your lesson, or try to find a patch of mentor text from literature. Your modeled piece doesn't need to be long -a sentence or paragraph demonstrating the techniques you want to teach is plenty. Show the model and explain the writing technique used in the piece by "noticing" how it's done in a mentor text, or talking about your thinking process when you wrote your modeled example. If your piece and literature patch is short you can use both in your lesson. 
Try It
My students bring their writer's notebook to the lesson zone (on the floor in front of my chart stand). After I teach the writing technique, I ask them to spend a few minutes trying it out in their notebooks. Next they turn and share their pieces with partners, and then I ask for three people to share a good example they heard.
Apply It
Of course all of this means nothing if students do not apply the technique to their writing. I give them the task of going back into their current writing project and finding a place to incorporate the new technique. We add the new writing technique to our writer's toolbox. 


WRITING WORKSHOP PACK
15 WRITING RUBRICS
MULTI-GENRE WRITING PROJECT
WRITING UNIT - TEACHING THE TRAIT OF IDEAS
PEER CRITIQUE DISCUSSION CARDS

Teaching Students to Navigate Nonfiction

  As readers of fiction we easily fall into a good story and allow ourselves to be swept away into another world. As teachers we want our students to become lifelong readers. The heart of reading is found in fiction, but the brain power lives within nonfiction. 
Teaching the Difference Between Fiction and Nonfiction
  The first thing readers need to learn is to identify the differences between fiction and nonfiction. 
  It's not enough to know that fiction is not real and that nonfiction is real. Students get confused when they see narrative nonfiction or realistic fiction. Teachers must explicitly teach how to identify the differences by modeling. You can also give students stacks of books to sort. Ask your students to justify their reasoning for placing a book in one category or another. 
  Teach your students the purposes of nonfiction, parts of nonfiction books, text features, and text structures. Nonfiction encompasses books, magazines, newspapers, ebooks, websites, mail, advertisement, brochures, and countless other formats. 
  We live in the information age at a time when information changes before we can blink our eyes. It's imperative our students learn to navigate this brave new world, sort through myriad sources, and recognize a good source from a bad source. 
  Information is at our fingertips, but if our students do not know how to critically sort through and read text they will become lost in information overload.
The Four Purposes of Nonfiction
  There are four basic purposes for nonfiction. Virtually every type of nonfiction writing will fit into one of these categories: (1) to inform (2) to express (3) to persuade or convince and (4) to give instructions or directions. This blog article is an information piece. Some blogs are an expression of a person's feelings about a topic or a recount of a personal experience. Some bloggers write with the purpose of convincing the reader to think differently or to take action. And then there are blogs that are meant to instruct or teach. A website, blog, book, magazine article or other type of text can easily have multiple purposes. It's our job to teach our young readers the sometimes subtle differences between different types of text.
MINI LESSON - TEACHING AUTHOR'S PURPOSE FOR NONFICTION
Parts of a Nonfiction Book
  I believe it's important that we begin teaching students at an early age the parts of a nonfiction book and how to use those parts effectively. When my daughter was in first grade she learned how to use a table of contents to find the pages she wanted to read. Children can begin learning about nonfiction in the early years. The time spent teaching students how to use an index, glossary, and appendices will pay off when they are required to use textbooks in core subjects in upper grades. Teaching these skills will help students to search for information by scanning. Scanning will help them to access the information they need quickly. 
NONFICTION READING PROJECT
Text Features
  I think it's easy to assume a reader will pay attention to headings or bullets, but in reality, unless we call student's attention to nonfiction text features, they will probably ignore this essential information. Once when my son was in fifth grade he failed a test because he didn't read the directions and ignored an important chart. This experience opened my eyes to the fact that students must be taught explicitly the importance of text features. I went back to my classroom with the goal of teaching everything from pictures and captions to timelines and graphs. I wanted my students to understand that the sidebar was there for a reason. Not only do text features give more information, they often summarize or show a picture to help readers understand and comprehend the information.
NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES "ABOUT ME" BOOKLET
Text Structures
  Authors organize expository texts in different ways. Teaching students different types of text structures helps them to work their way through the text and increases comprehension. 
  There are many different types of text structures, but you can start by teaching some of the most common ones: sequence of events or chronological order; compare and contrast; cause and effect; problem and solutions; question and answer; and description.
  One other structure that is used a lot in magazines and Internet articles is "top lists". Top lists list out the top ten or twenty (or any other number) of people, places, things, resources, or ideas. 
  I've noticed that teaching students to analyze nonfiction to determine how it is organized, and then writing a piece following a specific structure, not only helps students to better organize their writing, but it also deepens their comprehension of the reading material. 
  We may want our students to read fiction for the love of a good story, but we must teach our students how to read nonfiction texts. Nonfiction is the gateway to knowledge. 
  Your comments are welcome. How do you teach nonfiction to your students? What do you think is important about teaching nonfiction? Why do you think teaching students to navigate nonfiction is important to their futures?

Review of Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

Alchemy and Meggy Swannby Karen Cushman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Alchemy and Meggy Swann is set in London during the Renaissance (the era of Elizabeth I, but before Shakespeare). Meggy's father sends for her and her mother is glad to see her gone. She arrives only to discover that her father expected a son, and certainly not a crippled daughter. Meggy must learn to overcome obstacles, including self-loathing, in order to find friendship and her place in the world.

This book is appropriate for strong readers grades 4 and up. The readability level is upper fifth grade. Readers might navigate the text with more confidence if they are given a bit of understanding of the historical context and vocabulary first. Readers might want to read the author's notes first. This book can be connected to science and history.

Meggy starts out rough around the edges, but her terrible circumstances makes her attitude somewhat understandable. The book tended to drag at first, and I began to wonder where it was going, but eventually it took off. Alchemy and Meggy Swann will requires the reader to hang in there, and may lose a kid's interest before getting to the good parts. The ending is satisfying, but the last few pages feel rushed, almost dumped upon. This book is a fairly decent read. I will be curious to place this one in my reading center and see what my 4th grade readers have to say about it.



View all my reviews

2011 Reading & Writing New Year's Resolutions

I believe in practicing what you teach. This year I've decided to ask my students to make reading and writing New Year's resolutions. I like to think of a resolution as a goal, something to work towards. The end of the year is an excellent time to reevaluate your goals, to consider your achievements, and to set new goals to push yourself forward.

FREE Student Worksheet for Setting Reading & Writing New Year's Resolutions

I believe in modeling what you teach. If I am going to ask my students to set reading and writing goals, then it only makes sense to set goals for myself.

2011 Reading & Writing New Year's Resolutions

I resolve to read one fiction novel book per week.

I enjoy reading a variety fiction including young adult, middle grade, literary fiction, classics, and Regency-set historical romances (a particular favorite).

I resolve to read one nonfiction book per month.

I like to read professional books on teaching, books for writing, books on the Regency period, and books that help me to navigate the Internet.

I resolve to draft, revise, polish, and submit for publication my YA Regency manuscript.

I wrote 2290 words (chapter one) of Fortune's Face today. This is the beginning of my YA Regency novel.

I resolve to publish my nonfiction book on teaching writing.

I've considered, reconsidered, thought, procrastinated, and thought again. This year I'm simply going to take the plunge and do it.

My goals are realistic. I might surpass them, but I believe that I can achieve them. This week when I return to school, I will share my goals with my students, and give them the opportunity to set their own reading and writing goals.