Lyric Notebooks - Connecting Reading and Music

Children of all ages LOVE to sing.  I guess that's why Karoke has become so popular across our country.  So why not use the love of singing to help students learn to sing.  If you don't have a karoke machine, don't worry.  There are several of places on the internet to find songs for your child, most are free.  The only catch is that the child needs to read the lyrics, NOT just memorize the words to the song.  One idea I read about includes have a "Lyrics Notebook" that is made by putting music into a three-ring binder.  Let your child turn on the music and sing, I mean "read" along.  The only rule is that the child has to read along with the music. Lyric notebooks would be great on a road trip.   The following sites are places where you will find lyrics to some of your favorite songs.

Children's Music Archive - Lyrics, sing-along suggestions, and activities

The Bus Songs - Lyrics, videos, and music for kid's songs and nursery rhymes

Teacher Created Resources - Recordings of hundreds of children's songs along with printable lyrics.

National Institute of Environmental Health's Kids - Lyrics for dozen of children's songs, patriotic songs, holiday songs, and songs from movies

KiDiddles - Lyrics to popular children's songs organized by subject and alphabetically

Songs for Teaching - Songs to support math, science, social studies, art, etc.

Easy Flipbook to Help Your Child Sound Out Words

As I was spending time on pinterest, my newest hobby, I came across this really neat idea.  It grabbed my attention because:

1. I'm going to be the Title I Reading/Math teacher next year.
2. I have a granddaughter who is learning her letters and sounds (she's three).
3. This is quick, easy, and cheap and I can make it quickly.

So I ran to Walmart and picked up these Wirebound index card book for $1.24 each.  I cut the book (made up of 50 index) cards into three sections and wrote the letters of the alphabet (a-z) on the first third of each card.  I also added some blends like sh, bl, tr, etc...  On the second section I wrote the vowels, and on the third section the letters of the alphabet (a-z) and some ending blends (ch, sh, th, etc).

The purpose of this activity is to help your child phonetically decode words.  Remember that some of the words are nonsense words, but the point is to practice decoding.  What a wonderful tool to take with you in the car or while you are sitting at ballgames.

If you are interested in more information, the original post can be found HERE!

Purpose of Bulletin Boards Challenged

As one school year comes to an end and my thoughts for next year begin to flow; I’m beginning to think about my limited space in my Title I room. I want to make sure I use my bulletin board space as learning opportunities, a teaching tool that is interactive and student-centered. 

"Too often bulletin boards are just thought of as decoration, when they really should emphasize the learning that is taking place in the classroom," author/educator Michael Gravois told Education World. "Those two qualities do not have to be mutually exclusive; a bulletin board can be both educational and decorative."

Gravois , an author of several books, says we must keep three bulletin-board principles in mind. Bulletin boards, he says, should:

• be interactive and make the classroom "come alive" with the curriculum material being studied.
• give students a sense of ownership of the classroom by surrounding them with examples of their work.
• be mostly created by students.

Below are a few ideas for interactive reading bulletin boards are:

1.    Pathways to Reading  - Vowel Town

2.    Readers Choice –  I would change the idea below to - What medal would you give this book? Gold, Silver, or Bronze?

4.    Read Across America – Every time a location or place is mentioned in a book the student is reading pin the location on the map.

5.    Good Readers Ask Questions –  Some open ended questions that you may want to alternate on the bulletin board are below:

                

What is the main idea of this article?

Which sentence gives the best summary?

What is the essential message in the article/story?

What would another good title for the article?

Which statement best describes the lesson/moral of this story?

Which accomplishment/idea was most valuable?

What is the primary topic in the article?

What would an additional paragraph at the end of this passage most likely be about?

How does the author organize the information in this story/article?

What events lead to the resolution?

What word best describes the character?

 

What is the organizational pattern of this text?

What in the passage indicates that the conflict is resolved?

How do the character’s responsibilities affect how he/she reacts?

What is the main conflict in the article/passage?

How does the main character change from the beginning to the end of the story?

Which sentence from the text mostly expresses its theme?

Why is the setting important to the text?

What are the reasons behind the author’s opinion(s)?

How are the concepts/ideas in the text different?

What is the setting in the story? (Place, time, conditions)

What is the most valid argument in the text?

What is the moral lesson?

On which facts are the opinions in the text based?

How are the concepts/ideas in the text similar?

What is the point of view in the text?

What would people who read this text learn?

What would the information in the article be most useful for?

What is the author’s purpose for writing this text?

What role does each character in the story have? (Protagonist, antagonist, foil)

What is the author’s perspective in the text?

What statement best describes what the author is probably thinks about the topic?

What is the genre of the text? What details support it?

Does the author have a bias? What is it?

What text features are included in the text?  Why were they added?  How are they important to the text and readers?

What is the tone of the text?

What is the mood of the text?

What are examples of figurative language in the text?  What are they used to express?

What is the cause & effect in the story?

Which statement best describes the lesson/moral of this story?

What context clues did you use to understand a difficult word in text?

What is the plot of the story? (Follow the plot structure)

How do you feel about the topic/theme of the text?

How does the story/text relate to your life?

What do you and the character(s) have in common?

How does the story/text relate to another text you have read?

What were your favorite and least favorite parts? Why?

How are you and the character(s) different?

If you were in the characters shoes what would you have done differently? What would you have done the same?

What created the strongest image in your mind?  Why?

If you could rewrite the ending, what would happen?

What passage did you find the most meaningful?  Why?

How the story/text relate to the world we live in?

6.    Find words from the story that are new to you.  Write them on a sticky note for further study.

7.  CRAFT – Reminders of what we need to be cognizant of as we read.

Do you really need a teacher desk?

Teacher "desks" take up a substantial amount of your space in the classroom.  Is it worth the amount of real-estate it's using?  These are questions that one needs to really think about before setting up your classroom.  It also sets the mood for your classroom.  Some questions from Clutter Free Classroom that you should think about prior to the set up of your room:

What do I use my desk for?

If it's storage, think about other places that you could store those same materials (or better yet, declutter the space and get rid of some of them). If you use your desk for planning, grading, etc. then consider alternative spaces that would work better. Maybe the small group table could serve a dual purpose.

Am I the only one benefiting from the space?

Teacher desks frequently monopolize a large fraction of the classroom, yet only one person is getting use out of it. What culture does that set for the classroom.  I once heard a teacher say, "Is that how you enter my classroom" and all I could think was "Isn't it OUR classroom, not just yours."

How does this piece of furniture effect my teaching?

Most teachers report that they don't spend much time at their desk. When children are present, teachers should be working with them and not sitting alone at a desk. When they are out of the room there are tables available to work at. Just some food for thought.

How does your desk area usually look and how does that make you feel?

The desk is a direct reflection of you. If it is cluttered and messy then that sends a message to the kids.

Is getting rid of the desk an option? If not, how could it be repurposed?

I currently have a teacher desk in my classroom. I doubt it could be removed because I don't think there would be anywhere to store it. However, I am planning to repurpose it as an area that kids can work at. It's higher than the tables so it'll be a good option for those friends that like to stand and work.  Most teacher desks are magnetic.  How can this space be used?  Word walls, etc.

Center Ideas for Literacy

The Florida Center for Reading Research http://www.fcrr.org/http://www.fcrr.org/

FREE Reading Games 4 Kids
This link also has free colored game boards and game pieces to download.

Classroom Organization

These ideas come from http://www.readingresource.net/classroomorganization.html
 
 Efficient use of our space is critical to great flow.  Use those bulletin boards for instruction, remove those large teacher desks and other pieces of furniture that are taking up too much real estate, and make it "our" classroom (teacher and students) vs. "your" classroom (teacher's only).




Some simple suggestions:

• Don't just decorate bulletin boards. Use them as instructional spaces.
• Use fadeless paper or fabric so that yon can reuse the bulletin boards without having to do them again.
• Maximize cabinet doors.
• If you have large bulletin boards and/or dry wall, use them for things that are most difficult to hang.
• Use windows to display posters.
• Use the space outside of your classroom to display student work.
• Try to place furniture appropriately so that it's not taking up too much wall space.
• Tri-fold poster boards can also serve as portable wall space!

Since I have a magnetic whiteboard and a rolling Smartboard, I wanted to make my large group area in close proximity to them. I hung up the most important posters (above the whiteboard) and utilized the wall area to the left of the board for my calendar area. I only use the calendar area for a small portion of the day, so when I need to use the whiteboard I could just push the Smartboard over it and it's not a problem! Because reading is so important to me, I want others to feel that immediately when they walk in the classroom. Placing my red bookshelf by the door made sense, but I didn't want to cover up the only bulletin board in my room! I decided to place it on the right side of the board...and I knew that I would have to cover up a little of the board to make this work. Before I moved the shelf where I wanted it, I put up the paper, borders, and posters so that it would be easier. Once my board was finished, I was able to move the shelf where I wanted it. When I moved into this classroom I was fortunate that I was able to carry most of my materials before my furniture was moved in. This prevented me from having to pack and unpack a lot of boxes, but I was left with a lot of "stuff" that couldn't be put away until my furniture arrived. I tried to get as much stuff out of the way so that when my furniture did arrive, I would be able to move it around without a bunch of obstacles!When you are arranging your room, it's best to get the little things out of the way, including the student desks! By keeping them out of the way, you can assess the perimeter of your room and use the space effectively.
I like having curtains in my classroom because I feel they make the space feel more like a home and the vertical lines make the room seem taller than it really is. Many people forget that windows are also great places to hang anchor charts and posters. If you have blinds in your classroom, you can use wooden clips to hang posters! When furniture is placed against the wall it not only takes up space for posters and anchor charts, but it doesn't allow you to utilize both sides of the furniture. The placement of this bookshelf gives students a quite place to read and it functions as an additional literacy center with the pocket charts on the back.