Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

There was that familiar feeling I always get as I near the near the end of great read.  The feeling is a combination of excitement to finish and melancholy for the story to come to an end.  Of course the up side with a series is that you are able to continue the story.  Yes, Lizzy(my 6th grader) and I have gotten the rest of the series so we can blissfully slip from the end of one right into the start of the next – -love it.

One advantage to not sleeping at all during this lovely Block II semester,  is the opportunity it affords us to read several novels simultaneously which makes comparison a natural outcome.  I read another great read during my Peter and the Starcatchers time, The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by Dorothea Jensen.  The books are quite different, the first fantasy and the second historical fiction, although Jensen does throw in a bit of fantasy just to keep the reader hooked.  Throughout my reads the thoughts of how I might use both of these selections in the classroom would inevitably cause me to ponder a bit about the writing style and make me appreciate the figurative language and “describe not tell” approach Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson use throughout their story.  Exploring the authors’ craft for examples of the true art of creative writing and the art of our language is just one of the ways I would use  Peter and the Starcatchers. Jensen, although not writing with the level of language complexity, has found a way to make history personal and takes the young reader on a journey where they experience the revolutionary period of America from the perspective of the ordinary people living through these  times.  No longer is the American Revolution a series of events involving Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and some tea in the Boston Harbor.  Jensen’s story invites students to think about these historical times as if they were living through them and is an excellent selection for integrating social studies and language arts in the fifth grade classroom.  Both of these pieces make me want to write and I am thankful that the writing journal is always ready and waiting for me, I hope my future students feel the same.

Fluency: Implications for Classroom Instruction by Elizabeth Frye and Woorow Trathen

“I don’t like to read”  we hear from many students.

But what if… we take away anxiety and offer comfort,

take away fear and replace it with excitement,

take away humiliation and throw in confidence,

and  take away the struggle of laboring through unknown text and create a class full of passionate readers!

Kids excited about reading and all of them, regardless of their reading level, reading literature with expression and passion.  I like this this a lot!  Kids love to perform – -they laugh and they’re creative – they lose themselves in the moment.  Reading and theatre (no matter how you choose to spell it) are a fabulous mixture for the classroom and create enthusiasm about reading.  All these pluses and the fluency techniques described in this article, are simple and affordable to integrate into any language arts curriculum.  I cannot wait to try these techniques out in the classroom!

Morphology: Breaking Down Words to Build Meaning

It is such common sense!  Teach students as many root words, prefixes, suffixes, focus on the cognates  – not only for ELLs but also for our students who will eventually take a foreign language – -wow – -what an efficient way to build a vocabulary.  Teach kids the strategies – -look for the root, look for any pre/suf – -then look to the context.  I will definitely be incorporating this strategy into my future vocabulary lessons.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry

What a great read.  The descriptive language and combination of mystery, magic, and malice immediately had me hooked.  My 6th grade daughter also – (I must run out and get another copy of the book, as she has confiscated it – with my blessing – for her independent read)

I love it when I find an author and great series that I can enjoy for a bit -

I have enjoyed being immersed in everything Pirate for the last few weeks – -I have learned so much about using instructional level trade books to create student inquiry based social studies and language arts experience that will allow the students to build their content knowledge using technology, language arts, visual arts, performance arts as they explore their “want to knows” about a subject.

I am thankful that I can apply so much of the skills learned in this unit – to my Causes of the American Revolution unit – we have covered so much with Internet Workshops, Instructional level trade books, twin-text of fiction and non-fiction, Literature Circles – journal writing and shared reading – -I want to be able to use this when I am out there – -I think the only way to get comfortable with it all is to use it — I think I will start on a much smaller scale and proceed slowly…..can’t wait though!

Blackbeard I Poem by Lisa Hatfield

Blackbeard

By Lisa Hatfield

I am cunning, I am evil, I am merciless, and I deceive.

I approach as a countryman, as the faux rag descends, and delight in the horror my joli rouge impends.

I feel the thrill of excitement, like predator for prey, closing in on my victims not a care who I slay.

I am fearsome to look at, six feet tall plus some more, privateering for Britain, an outcome of Anne’s war.

I perfect my craft on the Queen Anne’s Revenge, I pillage, I plunder, I grow my fleet by the tens.

I am cunning, I am evil, I am merciless, I deceive.

I own the Caribbean seas up the coast to Virginia and collect wives and treasure for home in Carolina.

I extort tolls for the use of my Pamlico Sound, splitting spoils with the locals so they will stay off my ground.

I grow bored stealing treasures as sailors no longer fight, so I take Charleston until I get the cure for our plight.

I enjoy the fruits of my labor, from my beach house in Bath, my transgressions are pardoned, but there will be aftermath.

I crave adventure again this is my fatal mistake, I seal my fate with the determined enemy I make.

I am cunning, I am evil, I am merciless, I deceive.

I understand life is but a journey, I sense mine coming to a close, I gather up my people and celebrate with those.

I outmaneuver Maynard, and dry dock his boat, but underestimate his sly, this will cost me my throat.

I fail to believe he and his crew are not dead, but he’ll not be defeated in his quest for my head.

I perish like the legend I am, pierced through twenty times, but Maynard is the victor and I pay for my crimes.

I laugh, with a shrill, as I take my last guilty pleasure, my secret, to the grave, with the site of my treasure.

I am cunning, I am evil, I am merciless, and I deceive.

What? No Plank?

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Edward Teach by Lisa Hatfield

I am cunning and merciless
I wonder how this voyage will end
I hear the unsuspecting approach of my next victim
I see my treasure waiting
I want nothing more than a pirate’s life
I am cunning and merciless

I pretend tranquility only to deceive
I feel superior to prey and predator
I touch the core of terror in others
I worry not
I cry out demands
I am cunning and merciless

I understand life is but a journey
I say what is required, not more
I dream of fortune and betrayal
I try what I fancy
I hope for adventure
I am cunning and merciless

Shared Readings: Modeling comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features for Older Readers

I am always amazed at how the most simple of ideas can have such a significant effect.  I remember watching Dr. Frye model writing in her journal for the first time and thinking to myself – -”well, duh!” – I know quite profound thoughts I have – -but really I was thinking –why have I not thought of this before –how can we expect children to know how to write their thoughts down, how to make just right word choices, how to move from what is in their thoughts to words on paper – without showing them exactly how we do it ourselves – -but  – sometimes it is the most obvious of solutions that are overlooked.  I have taken part in writing workshops with children where we have demonstrated so many different types of beginnings, middle, and endings…..given countless ideas for writing….and yet still have not reached many of the seven and eight year old writers.  Modeling how we write, crossing out words mispelled or words that we decide are quite the right fit de-mystifies the writing process for many learners.  This is how I see the modeling of reading for comprehension, vocabulary, text structures and features described in this article.  It seems so simple, yet it is so effective in guiding the older readers to read more effectively.

I think the out-loud stream of consciousness reading de-mystifies the more advanced skills a reader must develop to enrich their comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and understanding of text structure and other features.  I like the examples that flow directly from the teacher thoughts to student to student discussion of what they have just read.  This gives the students a chance to practice these new reading for comprehension/vocabulary/structure skills.

I definitely want to include this in my classroom, however would like to get a bit of practice in before doing so.

Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing: Meeting Student (and Teacher) Learning Needs to Achieve Best Practice in the 21st Century Social Studies Classroom by Elizabeth M. Frye, Woodrow Trathen, David A. Koppenhaver

“Effective integration is seen when technology enables learning that:  is extended beyond that achieved without technology; is focused on social studies content and skills and not the technology; clarifies relationships among science, technology, and society, and enhances the skills, knowledge, and values of good citizenship.”  This definition of effective technology integration, as provided in this article, will serve as a target check for the units I implement in my future classrooms.  Modifying the content and skills portion of this “cross check” list makes it applicable across the curriculum.

Our students need to be fluent with using technology as a tool for greater achievements.  Technology will continue to change.  Encouraging our students to look to technology as a tool that can help them explore and understand the world around, focusing more on the knowledge gained using technology rather than on the technology itself, will build the critical thinking and problem solving skills our students will need to be successful in the global society of the 21st century.  Focusing on technology as a tool, regardless of the specific type of technology, PowerPoints, Blogs, Webquests, will help our students look at their knowledge needs and wants and encourage them to evaluate the current technologies as a tool to help them achieve their goals.

I think it is very appropriate to include both students and teachers in this article’s title.  The pace at which technologies become accessible and outdated can be intimidating to even the “techiest” of teachers.  Empowering our students as technology tool hunters and exploring a variety of technologies that suit the specific goals, will eliminate the need for the teacher to be an expert on every type of technology, a goal not only unreasonable, but also unnecessary.

The steps provided in this article guide the teacher through steps to identify child-friendly and researched based web-sites.  This is a great exercise for teachers and will help students differentiate between authentic research sites and “stuff on the www” that may or may not be accurate.  The inquiry-based nature of the internet workshops will keep students engaged as they discover new information related to their topics.  Using a variety of text based and online sources for a unit will appeal to a broader spectrum of learners by providing a variety of ways to research.  Providing a variety of media to share their knowledge, such as the “I am” poems and the “Digital Story Slides” are other aspects that reach out to a diverse group of learners.

The classroom blogs is a great way to appeal to these millenium learners.  Many of our students will be more comfortable “texting” on their blogs than speaking out in class.  However I have noticed with my own daughters and their friends, that if I refer to a topic we have already “texted” about earlier, our “in person” discussions are more in-depth.  Students that have blogged about a topic will come to class filled with ideas for discussing and writing.

The collaborative possibilities of blogs is an area in which I am most excited to explore.  Blogs can be accessed and shared in so many venues, with classmates, schoolmates, across multiple schools in the community, state, country, or a abroad.  Blogs can be shared with authors, community members, or as an outreach to others.  The possibilities for collaboration are endless.

Swashbuckling Adventure

Pirates in Historical fiction and Nonfiction:  A Twin-Text Unit of Study by M. Frye, Woodrow Trathen, and Kelley Wilson

What a wonderful feeling it is to be invited.  Just the term invited builds anticipation for what is coming next.  Setting the right mood so all attendees may get into the spirit of the celebration helps to create a more enjoyable and memorable experience for all.  Music, surroundings, decor, access to easily explore the focus of the celebration are fabulous venues to create just the right atmosphere.  This sounds more like successful event planning rather than an elementary school integrated language arts and social studies unit.  However, setting the stage carefully for an integrated unit that will engage a variety of students is like planning for a huge bash, in this case, for 10-year-olds.

The article Pirates in Historical fiction and Nonfiction:  A Twin-Text Unit of Study, carefully outlines the desired outcomes of this integrated language arts and social studies fourth grade unit and outlines the highlights of the unit itself.  The fourth grade friendly subject on pirates lends itself to a rich learning experience for students.  Fourth graders will find it impossible to resist being pulled into a classroom filled with pirate artifacts, pictures, and music as they build their background knowledge of the subject.  Introducing the “Pirate Diary Notebook” after students explore and discuss the pirate filled classroom is perfectly timed as students will be overflowing with all sorts of thoughts to write down about “What they think they know”  and “What they want to know”.

The “side by side” approach of fiction and non-fiction will provide the readers answers to questions as they encounter these questions in their reading.  This approach capitalizes on the natural curiosity of students and will build their knowledge of pirate and related subjects as they read their non-fiction selection.  The guiding questions provided during the group and individual readings will scaffold learners that require the extra help with focus and will encourage learners to explore topics that will enhance their understanding of the pirate times and impact on our history and invite them to examine multiple interpretations and perspectives of pirate events and the people themselves.

On a personal note, I know want to change the unit I am creating to include this instructional approach.  Each week we explore new techniques and each week I want to try them out in the classroom.  Is anyone else struggling with this?

Some of my favorite pirates…Blackbeard, Mary Read, and of course, Captain Jack Sparrow(not very historical but fun to watch)

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“Integrating Instructional-Level Social Studies Trade Books” by Elizabeth M. Frye

Integrating multiple subjects into the curriculum is a wonderful way of helping students make connections and explore concepts at a more in-depth level -but imagine the frustration of the students cannot begin to comprehend the text that they are struggling to sound out as they read.  Now the fact that the language arts selection is being used across subjects is only compounding their feeling of being overwhelmed and falling further behind  as they are unable to complete their classwork and homework in more than one subject.  Selecting instructional-level trade books addresses the needs of students at all reading levels and offers each of them a rich language arts experience that will add to their understanding of the subject as well as build their reading confidence and just as important they love of reading.

I am grateful for all the long hours of research that went in to creating this list of great book selections at a variety of levels that can be used in the upper grade Social Studies units.  I will absolutely use this list as a resource this semester and as a teacher.