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Let's Take A Vacation!
This lesson was, by far, my favorite this year! In Texas, second graders are required to learn some landmarks that are symbols
of American and also some famous world landmarks. We turned this requirement into a beautiful vacation book.
On our first day, each child received their own passport. They filled in their information and even added a school photo.
We discussed why we need passports and discussed the project.
Each week, we studied a new landmark. In that week, we read books, watched videos and discussed each landmark. The students
would write a journal entry or a letter to a friend or family and talk about their trip to this landmark. They discussed
its significance and pretended that they had actually visited the landmark. They would then draw a picture of themselves
at the landmark.
This Writer's Workshop project helped the students advance in the ways they approach a writing project. By the end of
the project, they felt comfortable writing webs or quick notes, rough drafts or sloppy copies, editing and revising with me
or a friend, and publishing. Many students were wonderful editors and I was impressed with each child's creative writing.
I have provided an example of one student's vacation book. We created a cover for our book, a title page, put our letters
and drawings together, put our rough drafts in the back and finally wrote a summary or about the author for the back.
Please look through her book. We are all very proud of our work!
Vacation Book
It might take a minute or so to download ... but it is well worth the wait.
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From Bach to the Beatles!
I noticed earlier this year that my students were very musical. I found that singing or chanting our spelling words produced
a huge increase in scores and that my students loved listening to music during class. Because of this, I decided to teach
timelines, biographies and a little history through a musical/artistic writing project.
We began with JS Bach and worked our way to the Beatles looking at differences and similarities in the music as we went.
We studied classical music, jazz, blues and rock-and-roll by reading biographies of famous musicians from each genre. My
students picked up on tremendous details in both the biographies and in the music, shocking me with each new musician.
Every three days, we would meet a new musician. We would a biography about the person and listen to their music. We
would listen to several pieces by the same artist and would brain storm as we listened. We wrote adjectives about the way
the music sounded and what it "looked like" and also described how we felt. My students jumped right in. "I
felt like I was on a pirate ship!" - Bach, "I felt like I was driving a go-cart!" - Mozart. "The music
is big and soft and loud and peaceful all at the same time," - Duke Ellington. It was amazing to see what each student
created. The second day, we would listen to and write about the music. There was a basic rubric to follow, but many students
went above it, producing beautiful writing. They would then type up the rough draft and draw the music on the page. The
art they produced was breathtaking.
Since we started this project, my students have started to listen to classical music outside of our classroom!! Almost
daily, I have a student approach me and tell me he or she heard Bach or Chopin or Beethoven on the radio. It surprised me,
but my students seemed to enjoy the classical music section more than any other ... and they LOVE the Beatles!
In the end I believe that teaching students through other means opens them up to whole other worlds ... many they would
not experience otherwise. I hope my students remember at least one of the musical artists later in life. I believe it helps
them become more interesting adults and more well rounded people.
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Reader's Workshop/
Writers Workshop
At the beginning of the year, I used centers. Although I do believe they can serve a wonderful purpose, I often found my
students rushing through their work to get to their "free choice" center quickly. This completely took away from
their learning time, and also distracted me during my guided reading groups. In January, I decided to drop centers and use
Readers Workshop instead. The work and learning and CREATIVITY I have seen produced in the past four months is mind-boggling.
Readers Workshop in my classroom begins with 15 to 20 minutes of "stack bag" reading. These are familiar texts
read in guided reading group. The books can be exchanged after a child has tested out (read it perfectly) with me. This
ensures daily, leveled reading. It also helps fluency, expression, comprehension and, most of all, confidence in reading.
My students love to test out of books and move on. I have seen great growth in EVERY student this year! When our time is
up, they write in their response journals. This is just a quick blurb about the book to get them using reading words and
reflecting on their reading.
After our stack bags, students are given options. At first, I was wary of allowing my students to make the choice of
what to do during this time. I found, however, that each and every student was engaged in a project or a book at all times.
I was honestly shocked. I have seen the most incredible work in these past four months. Comic books, entire books, projects
that developed in the sand box at recess, poetry books, short stories and research projects. The students are proud of their
work because they are given the freedom to explore. They make their own choices and guide their own learning.
I find readers workshop to be a more productive, more creative, more learning based use of classroom time. It also feel
comfortable pulling guided reading groups, knowing that all of my students are on task and learning.
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