The Not So Jolly Roger

I loved the not so Jolly Roger. It was a very cute book and I could picture third graders really getting into it. The reading was easy and yet still very interesting. I felt like students could really relate to the Time Warp Trio. The book was a little suspenseful, very exciting, and gave great historical  information.

Me Map: Power Point

me-map

Swashbuckling

I really enjoyed reading the Swashbuckling Unit. It was so creative and I could just picture kids coming into glass that day and hearing the music and seeing all the text and instantly becoming hooked on the lesson. As I was reading the article I began to think that I had never seen an entire unit lesson before. I had only see single lesson plans for daily activities. It was interesting to see the finished product and see the progression in the unit. The part that I found must interesting was the section on reading Twin Text. As soon as I read it I thought to myself…what a great idea. I loved it! It made so much sense but was something I never what have thought of on my own. I think children would really enjoy reading the historical fiction and the nonfiction together. I also enjoyed learning about Double-Entry Diaries. I like how modeling is so important to do with (DEDs). I think it’s good for students to see their teacher “Thinking Aloud”. This unit was packed with such great activities. I would love to try this whole unit on a classroom one. Seeing the unit set up also gave me some ideas for the unit I have to create this semester. It was very helpful.

The Notebook Know-How: Chapter 2

The Notebook Know-How: Chapter 2

I loved reading about how to launch the notebook and pull kids into their own writings. I think Buckner did an excellent job in explaining how she uses the notebooks in her classroom and how she uses different techniques to engage her young writers without simply giving them a prompt.

I must admit that I never once thought about how I would teach writing to my students. I am not sure why the thought never crossed my mind. I guess I thought that over time my students would know how to write from our daily work. I never thought I needed to make a plan on how to make them better writes. I worried about teaching them things like spelling, and proper grammar. This book has shown me how important it is to have a thought out plan and agenda in teaching writing to my students. It has to be something that is worked on and encourage with the students.

I wouldn’t consider myself a great writer. I think I get by. I love reading. I am always working a new novel. I think it would have been great if when I was younger I was taught how to organize my thought into a notebook. I am very excited about everything I am learning from reading this book. My favorite two parts about chapter two have been 1) when Buckner talked about the joy the students would feel when they completed a notebook. I can relate to that. I still feel accomplished when I’ve made the time to finish a book. 2) Was learning about her “Lifting a Line” strategy. I love music and often pick out my favorite lines. When I finished reading about “lifting a line” my mind was filled with lines from song lyrics and how it might be fun to write my own story from their lines.

The Notebook Know-How:

I really like what I’ve read in the book so far. I like that it is such an easy read. I also enjoy how the author shares her personal experiences with the reader. I think that the purpose of the writers notebooks was pretty clear. It is to teach children to become good writerrrrs and help them develop the ability to write on their own without needing a teacher to provide a topic. It is a tool to encourage students to not only become better writers but to also enjoy the time they spend writing.

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