Jan Brett Author Study

November is one of my favorite months to teach because of Election Day, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. However, after Thanksgiving comes one of my favorite units to teach.  I absolutely love Jan Brett.  She is an amazing author and illustrator.  Each year I have taught I have done an author study using some of her books as a whole class project.

I take about two weeks to compete the author study and try to read one book each day.  After we have read five of the books I have my students write a summary for one of the books with their table group.  There is a graphic organizer in their packet to help organize their thoughts and then I give them chart paper and a marker to write their group's final draft.

After the summaries, I have the students do a character analysis.  They choose one character from one of the books and draw a picture of him/her in the middle.  They then write different things about the character around the outside of the picture.

The next big thing that I do is read The Mitten by Jan Brett and then read The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt and the students compare and contrast the two stories.  Once we have read both stories I allow the students to write their own mitten stories.  I cut out large mittens from construction paper and have the students decorate them as the cover to their stories.

The last thing we do is make a graph of our favorite Jan Brett books as a class.  I choose five of the books and have the students pick their favorite.

The mitten stories, summaries, and graph all go into the hallway as a display for the month of December. (I seem to have never taken a picture of this display so I will try to do that and update this post in the next few weeks.)

I have made a packet that goes with the author study that can be found by clicking here!

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What's Next??

I have mentioned before that I am ready to take the leap and leave the classroom. I just feel that I am ready to do bigger and better things. But my issue is always, what't next?? What is it that I want to do next in my educational journey.

A couple of years ago I decided to get my Admin 1 certification. I thought maybe getting into administration is what I would like to do next. While I have had many people tell me that I would be good in administration, I am just not sure if deep down I want that to be the next step. 

After I finished my certification, I taught for another year in the classroom and then decided to apply for assistant principal. I made it into the second phase and then was told I wouldn't be getting to the next round where I would interview for a position. Deep down I was kind of happy because again I just wasn't sure this is what I wanted.

In the fall I was invited to attend an aspiring leader's program. This program is focusing on the role of assistant principal and has taught me a lot about not just administration, but how to be a good leader in general. It is also helping me realize that I am just not sure it is the next step for me.

One thing that I really enjoy when it comes to teaching is helping other teachers. I enjoy being able to share resources/thoughts, support ideas, and answer questions. I really struggle internally when I see a teacher who needs this extra support and I am not able to fully help or support them because I am still in the classroom. This is especially hard when it comes to new teachers. I was so fortunate that during my first few years of teaching I had a very supportive math resource teacher, reading resource teacher, and instructional coach to help get me through those years when we are just trying to stay afloat.

I know a lot of people say this, but we HAVE to find a way to support our teachers. Teaching is tough. I am in year 11 and I still feel like I am trying to figure things out. Now, we are throwing in this pandemic teaching. Some are 100% virtual, some are hybrid, and some are in the classroom trying to figure out how to teach with social distancing.

The more I think about it, I think my first step out of the classroom needs to be some type of teacher support role. Whether it is resource teacher, coach, mentor, whatever, I need to help my teachers. Because ultimately when you are helping the teachers, you are helping the kids and that is where my heart is.

My goal in 2021 is to make things happen. Somewhere out there my job is waiting for me, I just have to find it.

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Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Write Around the Room

I've seen many versions of these type of write the room activities, but I wanted one that I could customize to fit my kindergartners needs.

My version has 20 different sets, 10 months worth of words with clipart to match the different months. Each set has 12 word cards and a sheet with primary writing lines for your child/student to practice writing.

Here is a list of what my version includes:

• school vocabulary
• rhyming words
• number words
• opposites
• compound words
• color words
• feeling words
• position words
• zoo animals
• articles of clothing
• and 10 sets of sight words

The best part of this document is that you can make a copy and change all of the words to anything that you want!

Click here to get a copy of the presentation!

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Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

Into the Unknown

As we enter 2021, we have made it almost halfway through the craziness of virtual kindergarten. In June I wrote a blog post about how I wasn't sure what kindergarten would look like for my then 5 year old.

We found out in August that she would be starting off 100% virtual. The school started kindergarten off with a gradual entry. The parents met with the teacher one day. Our daughter met with the teacher one day. Then they had a couple of days where they just had morning meetings. During the third week of school, they followed a full schedule.

The school created a schedule that they felt would work the best for these kinder babies. They have a morning meeting, phonics in one of three small groups (the other time is supposed to be independent time), math, a 2 hour break for lunch/recess, then small groups in the afternoon for science/social studies/health/reading. Lastly they have specials at the end of the day.

At first I loved this schedule. I thought it would be good for the kids to have extended breaks from the computer. However, as we have progressed through this year, I have discovered that these long breaks are HARD. Unfortunately, she has a break from 10:55am to 1:50pm because she is in the last group in the afternoon. I have two, hour-long classes that I teach during this break so it is hard for me to help her with independent work and she won't do it on their own.

Even with the struggle around the working independently, it has been AMAZING to watch this kid navigate this virtual learning like a pro. She absolutely loves being on the computer with her teacher. She loves to tell her "friends" on the Google Meet that they are her best friends, even though they haven't met. She has learned sight words, letter sounds, how to add/subtract, understand greater than and less than. She is starting to read. All of this has been accomplished while learning on a computer.

The things that these kids are accomplishing right now is nothing short of amazing. They are learning to navigate technology, programs, online assignments, etc. during a pandemic. All while dealing with who knows what at home. 

We continue to venture into the unknown as we begin 2021. Many counties are continuing virtual learning with no idea when or if we will return to the school building. Keeping positive thoughts. This may not always be easy, but these kids are resilient. 

Fractions of the Week

Fractions come and go throughout our pacing guide in our 5th grade curriculum, so I created this simple Google Slides presentation that I use every couple of weeks to keep fractions fresh in my students' brains.

You could choose to have students pick 2 fractions or you could pick the 2 fractions for them.

Each day of the week the students have a different task to complete with the 2 fractions. There are so many different ways you could use this. For example, you could assign it Monday and say that it is due Friday and the students could complete it on their own time. You could use it as a warm-up every day of the week.

This could also be changed to focus on whatever it is you are focusing on with fractions. For example, if you haven't taught adding and subtracting fractions yet, you could just customize it to fit what your students have learned.

The way that I have set mine up is the following:

Monday - model the 2 fractions

Tuesday - compare the 2 fractions

Wednesday - find 3 equivalent fractions for each one

Thursday - add the 2 fractions

Friday - subtract the 2 fractions

I have included some basic fraction strips that could be used, but if students pick their own fractions and use a different denominator they won't be able to use that virtual tool.

Click here to get your copy of the presentation!

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Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

2020 Review in Books

Let's be honest, no one wants to write about their 2020. One of my goals for this year was to read more for pleasure. (aka non-educational books) That happens to be one of the goals that I actually accomplished!

So instead of writing about my year, I decided to share all of the books that I read.

All images link to the book on Amazon.

 

   

  

 

It is always fun to me to look back at the books I have read throughout the year. I will admit it has been a LONG time since I have read this many, but it is almost like a journey through the year.

I know many people are happy to see 2020 come to an end. No matter what this year brought you, I hope that 2021 brings you everything you hope for and more!

Happy New Year! (PS - what books should I read this year??)

https://sites.google.com/view/amberpotter/home 

Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730

School Supply Labels

 I have used a version of these school supplies in my classroom, but wanted to recreate them based on the needs of the different teachers since some of us are teaching virtually, some are doing a hybrid setup, and some are back in the classroom full time.

This Google Slides presentation has school supply icons so that you can easily let students know which supplies are needed to complete an activity.

I have included 3 sets. The first set is the smaller icons that can easily be copy and pasted into a digital platform. This could be putting them at the top of an assignment, posting them in Google Classroom, or putting them on a slide that can be projected virtually or in a classroom.

The second set is the icon placed in a circle with the icon name. This is more ideal for the classroom. They can easily be printed on regular computer paper or card stock and laminated to be displayed in a classroom when students need materials for an activity.

The third set is similar to the second set, but it does not contain the circle or words, it is just a larger version of the icon that can be printed and cut out in the shape of the icon. I would print on card stock or computer paper and laminate for durability.

If you want to be able to edit this presentation to fit the needs of your classroom (ie. adjust sizes, change font, add different icons, etc.), then click on File, then Make a copy to get your own copy that you have editing rights to.

Click here to get your copy!

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Instagram: @mrspotterstyle

Twitter: @apotter730