Friday Flashback: Read This Book!!


YES!  Friday!!

Is it just me?  Or are 3-day weeks always the longest?

It was great to see my kiddos again though.  Missed them.

One of my little girls was so stinkin' excited to tell me what she got for Christmas.  (or show me)

A monster Tervis just like mine. Pink lid and all.  Mine was a gift from a student.
And a monster shirt.  It was adorable.  Monster face on the front.  Spikes down the back.

And monster socks.  She was so excited!  She's a true Mon-STAR, I tell ya!

Of course, this is the same girl whose mom told me that she comes home from school everyday, changes into her play clothes to go outside to play, then comes back in to play school each night.  But before she does she has to put her "Mrs. Madden" clothes on...the "play" clothes just won't do!!  Hahahaha....she's going to be a teacher.  I just know it!  Not that I used to do that or anything.  ;)

Anyway, it's been a great short (LONG) week.  We've been productive.

Here's a "flashback" of our week...

We finished up our persuasive writing unit with these book review displays.  Students each chose their favorite book to create a new book cover for.  They had to write a summary of the book, rate it, and create a new front cover (with title, author and an illustration of their favorite part of the book).
Then they created their face and hands to hold the book as if they were reading.  I love their creativity.  Some of them just couldn't get the hands on correctly, but that's part of the reason why I love them...their uniqueness! This one is from my ESL student.  She has come such a long way!!
Finally, they tried to persuade others walking down the hall to read THEIR chosen book by adding a speech bubble.  I wish I had zoomed in on some of those.  They literally tried to stop the people with "Hey!  You!  Yeah, You!"  or "Dude, come here!"  So funny.  I love when their voice shines!

The template for these are in the Persuasive Writing Unit from Teacher's Clubhouse.  You can snatch it up at our new TpT shop if you have a gift certificate from there, too!  Come follow us!

We also finished up our dictionary study with those guide word bees I threw in a post a over the holidays.  Cute!  And they did SUCH a GOOD job!!  We actually played Dictionary Hop & Write and then I had them use the guide words on their game card for this project.  Then had to think of four entry words that would come between their guide words.
We started preparing to dive into our Biography study next week.  I can NOT wait.  This is always one of my FAVORITE units with our Living Museum celebration at the end!

We started by talking about what makes a person famous.  Students wrote their ideas on post-its and we created an affinity diagram with them.


Notice most students know that special talents (like singing, dancing, sports) help people become famous but there were very few who knew of other ways (such as inventions, discoveries, leadership).  I'll definitely have more to share later in this unit about the exciting things we do, but here's a little sneak peek for you.

Show the blog world what you've been up to this week.  That is if you weren't still enjoying your nice, relaxing vacay.  I don't want to see any pics of you lounging around in your PJs.  That would make me jealous!  Very jealous! :)  Just copy the button at the top of this page to your blog post and link up below!


12 comments

  1. Wow! You had a busy short week!! I love the MonSTAR story! Such a cutie!!

    Great ideas!! I've never thought to really ask them why someone is famous. You are totally right! They think fame comes from music, acting, or sports. You just gave me something to chew on! Thank you!

    Amanda
    Collaboration Cuties

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  2. They sure do! We also talk about "famous right now" vs. "forever famous" because of changing our lives in some way and they really get that! Almost everyone chooses a "forever famous" person for their research. ;)

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  3. I just love everything you do with your class, Amanda! I really enjoy reading the discussions you have with your kiddos and I adore your persuasive book reviews and your biography projects!

    I really like your anchor chart on what makes a perso famous. I'll definitely remember famous right now vs. forever famous when we start our biographies!

    I've never heard of an affinity diagram. Only 3 days in to the new year and I've already learned something new!

    Happy 2013 to you!
    Linda
    AroundtheKampfire

    I'd love to link up but I'm still in my jammies enjoying every second I have left! hehehe

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  4. This craftivity is beyond awesome! This unit is now on my wishlist :) I love the speech bubbles on the side. I'll be working on biographies pretty soon so I will have pin this post to remember all of this. Also, those bee's are too cute! I love smart art. I'm still on vacation but will be linking up next week when I return to school :)

    Learning In Wonderland

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  5. Amanda,
    Your persuasive book review and craftivity is too cute! Thanks for hosting the Flashback Friday linky! I love finding new blogs!
    Kim
    TheVeryBusyFirstGraders

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  6. The story about your student made me smile. She must really look up to you!
    I LOVE the persuasive writing idea! We are starting a persuasive writing unit soon and I think your unit will be perfect. I added it to my wishlist on TPT.

    When I first started teaching, I remember finding your Teaching Clubhouse website. I was happy to find your blog last year!

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  7. I just found your blog and I'm a new follower! I love the persuasive book reviews. I've made videos before, with my class, where they tell about their favorite book, similar to Reading Rainbow. I think this idea is super cute to add to it!

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  8. What an amazing testimony it is to know that your student(s) want to be just like you! She must think you're a wonderful teacher if she wants to teach just like you! Ah, warm fuzzies!

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  9. Awesome post! I love the persuasive book review and the biography sneak peek.
    What i have learned

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  10. Well no happenings in my classroom since I'm still on vacation. I don't want to make you jealous ;-) I wish I started on a short week. I agree that those are always the longest weeks. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could all start on a Friday? Just enough time to get back into the routine of things, but knowing that the weekend is the next day makes it all worth it. :-)

    Jennifer
    Darling Little Learners

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  11. I was able to link up! Yay! Thanks for hosting this linky:) I always look forward to sharing our adventures.
    Maribel

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Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing ideas! I love to read your comments. I like to reply back by email, so make sure you have that option enabled so we can chat! :)

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