Ramona Recommends

Welcome to the NEW Ramona Recommends. Oh my gosh, have I been excited for this day. The talented Megan from

did her magic and created this beautiful, cheery new look. It just fits me and my excitement for books!

As you can see, I did a little dusting this morning too. Moment of the truth- blogging has taken a HUGE backseat this year. Doing a combo is no joke. I love being able to work with two classes, but the planning has become my new hobby. :)

I want to share with you a few fun last week of October ideas!

Have you heard of Growth Mindset? I had not until this year. I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I think it is so important for students to understand that "smart" is not the end all be all. We must work to to our full potential. Smart does not define us. So many kids in this generation are terrified to fail. We live in the world of -Everyone gets a trophy. Failure is TOUGH. We need to teach our students what does failure look like and how to rise above. I found this idea on pinterest. I am going to make a GRIT bulletin board outside my classroom door. I took each student's picture last week and uploaded onto powerpoint. The kids were able to pick between growth or fixed mindset. I then found sentences to go with each. Above is my example for the students.

Want to learn more about growth mindset, check out this free product on TpT from Sara Gardener

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Growth-Mindset-FREEBIE-1988801

I was feeling really down the other night because I had not made ANYTHING cute in a long time. My cuteness has really taken a backseat. It hurts my heart. This weekend, I decided I needed to take back the cuteness and create some last week of October fun. I created morning messages and fun facts for the kids. Students can earn the MUMMY AWARD which means they were on task and following directions during Morning Memo.

Below is a BINGO freebie. In fourth grade math on FriYAY, we are going to Pumpkin Inventory bingo. There will be skittles involved :) All you have to do is come up with 24 multiplication problems, write the answers on the board , the kids write the answers in any box they prefer. Then you write a problem on the board, they solve- whoever gets a row yells Pumpkin. :) At the end, they can eat their skittles.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4d2OL0R7Zx1VTBqWmF2RnNsX0k/view?usp=sharing

Thank you Creative Clips, KG Fonts, Hello Fonts, and Miss Tiina Fonts

http://www.amazon.com/The-Graves-Family-Patricia-Polacco/dp/014240635X

Great book for description language.

Courtney

Hey, y'all! It's Terri here from The Creative Apple Teaching Resources!

I've been blogging for over three years now. I blog with Courtney over at iTeach Fifth and was thrilled {and honored} to be guest blogging for her!

Today we are going to talk a bit about using picture books to teach science.

Let me preface my recommendations by saying that I currently do not teach science. However, I spent three years teaching fourth grade science just a few years ago. Something I learned from teaching older kids is that they NEVER get too old for picture books! Even as an adult, I still love reading picture books! I also use them as much as possible in my 5th grade ELA classroom.

Let's get started!

Please tell me you know Gail Gibbons! Her science books are unbelievable! The text features that she uses are so interesting for students (and adults)! She definitely makes learning about science fun!

In Georgia (where I'm from), learning about the phases of the moon is a 4th grade standard. I always use The Moon Book to give the kiddos a grasp on how those phases are formed! I would always read the book and then we make our own moon flip books.

You can also never go wrong with The Pumpkin Book. It has such cute illustrations and text features about the life cycle of a pumpkin!

Any of Gail Gibbons' books are great resources to incorporate science and ELA standards.

Another type of book I like using in science are the National Geographic for Kids. They have great photographs and are easy for the students to read and understand. They are always expanding their titles. If you have something you are teaching, you should check what they have available. Here are some titles that I know can fit into science curriculum.

Even though this is level 1 reading, it still contains enough information to keep my 4th graders interested. Level 1 is usually suitable for 1st-2nd graders.

To use these, I have different readers (some from National Geo. and some from our science series) assigned to groups of 4. The group of 4 is responsible for reading the text and creating a visual to present the important facts from the reader to the class. Since the readers are different for each group, each group presents different information. They love this because they feel like they are the teacher!

Here's another one of my favorites. This is a level 2 reader so it contains more challenging vocabulary and is most suitable for 2nd-4th graders. The level 3 reader can be used for up to 6th grade. Take a look at those photos!

Since the interest level on these is high for students, they are also great readers for your struggling readers!

Lastly, I wanted to include a teaching resource that incorporates mentor texts into every single lesson. Have you heard of Picture-Perfect Science Lessons for the K-6 classroom? These are science experiments/activities that incorporate picture books to help teach science concepts. The entire lesson plan is included with each activity. All you have to do is gather the mentor text and supplies. Plan ahead and have your students bring supplies from home. Most of the mentor texts used can be found in your school or local library!