Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Weekly Reading Logs

I really wanted my students to do a weekly reading log each night in which they were required to read 20 minutes every night at home. However, being that I teach fifth grade, I really wanted to make sure that my students were really thinking about their reading and wanted them to respond nightly about what they have read. So, I created a reading log in which the responses can be changed each week to fit with what we are learning in class.  Please feel free to use and share!



Sunday, October 13, 2013

Rainy Day Recess

Here is what we do on Rainy Days!


Out of My Mind!


I have not posted in like 3 weeks and I feel so behind!! I promised myself I would post weekly but unfortunately 5th grade is keeping me extremely busy!!!  However, I am having a lot of fun and we are learning a lot of great things!! About two weeks ago, we started reading the book "Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper. Though we do not get a lot of time to read, this book has seriously opened my students eyes and taught them fabulous life lessons. Below is a synopsis of the book from Barnes and Noble and if you are looking for a good read aloud for upper grades students, this book rocks!!!

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows…but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.
Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice…but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.