Saturday, February 25, 2017

Simple and Effective. {Celebrate This Week}



This week I swayed from my "mandated" systematic phonics resource because it's missing a standard or two I have to teach.  Yahoo!!!  Maybe that should only have one exclamation point.   I had only intended to focus on contractions but the picture books we read explaining the apostrophe naturally led us to learning about how it can show possession.  I wanted to see if the student's understood how an apostrophe could be used to show possession.

I recalled making lots of class books years ago, often in word study to share something we were learning.  I began thinking about making a class book.  The idea seemed almost too simple but it worked years ago when I taught second grade.  I found myself wondering why does school seem so much harder now and does it need to be so much harder?  I decided not.  I just need each child to demonstrate an understanding for how to use an apostrophe to show possession.  I planned to have each child use their name and generate a sentence of their own.   All they would need is paper, pencil and an illustration tool.  That was my plan; let's make a class book.

They were so proud to read their page to the class and the topics they wrote about were relevant and personal to them.  Every child was successful with one sentence.  It was simple and effective; a win-win for everyone.




Thank you Ruth at Ruth Ayers Writes for encouraging us to find daily celebrations in our lives.  If you want to read more positive things stop by this week's post, It's Really Real.

9 comments:

  1. Celebrating the authentic opportunities you give your students is so important, Mandy. Those lessons enrich your life and their lives. Together you bring a sense of joy to the classroom. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Oh Mandy, I love the one sentence writing. It is something I've done for a long time when I introduce a concept or a grammar piece. I found the seed for the idea in a 19th century grammar text: "The simple declarative sentence is the building block of all composition." It works so well. It is a cornerstone in my professional development grammar and writing workshops.

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  3. Learning happened. Creating a book happened. Everyone can be happy!

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  4. I love how you trusted your own instincts about what would be a good way to show understanding. What's better than a class book? Awesome!

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  5. Class books like these are fun and purposeful! I bet I could do something like this with my 5th graders too. Thank you for the idea!

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  6. Simple is something we hold on to. Simple is underrated! Lovely work.

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  7. Maybe it "should" have had only one exclamation point- but I am glad you gave it many more! This sounds like such a fun learning experience.

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  8. "Every child was successful with one sentence." The class book - simple, relevant, effective. Sometimes it's nice to revise those things that have worked before.

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