Versatile Items to Keep On-Hand in Your Middle School Classroom

Throughout my years of teaching, I have found that there are some things in my classroom that I can't live without.  They make my day go easier, and honestly, these things make the students' day go more smoothly as well.
Today, I had a guest-teacher come to my class and I realized the benefits of these things that I take for granted daily.

1. The first thing that is a must for teaching middle school is a timer.  I got my timer at the dollar store and it was about $5. I have had it for about three years and I use it everyday!  I use it to time our free-reading time, to time various sections of class (since my class has different sections for reading time, vocabulary, class time).  I use it to time any type of group activity that we do.  Heck! It helps me keep track of time because, even as a teacher, we can get off-track from time-to-time.

2.  Something that I love about this year's classroom is my word wall. Until this year, I have never done a good job of incorporating a word wall into my daily class interactions.  This year, I have been avidly incorporating it into my class and the students have even been involved in that, which I think is an important aspect of its success.  My students help me put the words up on the wall and they use it daily.  I see them, and it is amazing how much seeing the words help my students. In fact, one day, I took it down to redo it near the beginning of the year, and several students asked me if I was putting it back up. #teacherwin

3. Another item that is a must-have in a middle school classroom is this little black box on my door. It is kind of like the little thing on the outside of each room at a doctor's office so that the nurse can leave the patient's paperwork in it for the doctor.  I love this because I have students put their exit-tickets in it at the end of class.  If we didn't do an exit ticket, we always have something we are working on that we do not get finished before the bell rings and we have to leave.  I can just have students put their papers in this black box on the door on their way out and it doesn't take up any extra time or cause them to create a line that makes them late for their next class.

4.  Another thing that I love to have in my room is giant paper for making anchor charts and some good markers.  This paper is incredible and I like it because I can write the notes on the anchor chart with the students and not before or after.  I used to make anchor charts before to make them neat and clean, but I have learned that this is really not beneficial for the students.  When I make them beforehand, students don't get to take an active role in the creation of the anchor chart.  It is important for them to create it with the teacher, so having this giant pad of paper and some markers on hand is always beneficial and can be worked into virtually any lesson.

5. Sticky notes are some wonderful to incorporate into a lesson as well. It is amazing how a simple sticky note can make an lesson more engaging and fun.  I have used sticky notes to allow students to annotate texts that I don't want them to write in and I have also used sticky notes to allow students to share thoughts quickly on the board.  It is amazing the things you can do with them, so I always keep a ton on-hand.

6.  Something that I have found is beneficial and fun for students (and me) is using old newspapers and magazines.   Old newspapers and magazines are filled with tons of information that could be priceless in an English/language arts classroom if applied correctly.  Currently in my class, I was cleaning through some old cabinets that were given to me and I found an entire set of scope magazines from 2012 with The Beibs on the front cover.  I'll be honest: I almost trashed these. But is was a whole set, surely there was something I could use it for.  As I sifted through the magazine, I found a little article about celebrities and whether or not they are under too much stress from the paparazzi.  The article was geared towards argumentation and I was actually teaching that to my 8th graders.  So, I decided it would be a nice little add-in to my lesson. We used the magazines and the 8th graders actually loved it.  They laughed because some of them don't like Justin Beiber anymore.  We then went on to write an argumentative paragraph where they took a side on whether or not the paparazzi should be allowed to photograph celebrities.  They had some pretty good points and some meaningful discussions all from those old scope magazines.  This just goes to show that good use can come from old materials if it is applied correctly.
Another way I have used old newspapers is to search for strong sentences throughout and then have students explain why the sentence was a mentor for them.  These can be fun activities for when you are away and need meaningful assignments for students to do independently, but they can also be used when you are there.  They are also generic and can be used alongside many different lessons.

Reading Bell Ringers & Reading Raffles

Reading is so important for the ELA classroom and I incorporate it everyday into my classroom.  This year, I am using something called a Reading Snapshot to help my students stay accountable for their reading.  This helps them set and track goals and it also helps them keep track of what happened in each of the books they read.  Since I teach middle school, it is easy for students to switch around to different books without finishing them and that is not really helping them in understanding the text and it means that they are not enjoying it either.  This makes my heart sad, and I have been trying to find ways to help them love reading as much as I do.

One year, I had students do something that we called Reading Responses and it seemed to work well for awhile. I have almost decided that students need change after about 9 weeks of something because they get comfortable with it and begin to be more relaxed, which makes them not do it as completely and thoughtfully as I'd like.  The reading response was a sheet that had 9 activities on it.  Each one was something pretty easy and it allowed (or forced) them to interact with their book.  However, many students realized that we only did them on Fridays; so, they would "fake read" Monday through Thursday and then actually read on Friday enough to do the assignment.  

So, this year, I have been having them do the Reading Snapshot and it is going ok, but I am still not sure that they are enjoying reading time.  I think I give them too much time to read in class now (trying to overcompensate, I guess), so I am cutting it back to 15 minutes of reading time now.  We just started this this week, so more updates on that later.  The Reading Snapshot is a quick way that they have to kind of list certain aspects of the book.  For example on the Fiction one, they have to list the BME of the plot.  On Non-fiction ones, they have to list some key vocabulary words that they learned or that are key to the topic.

This 9 weeks, I have incorporated a poetry one and am having them read at least one poem as one of their snapshots.  They kind of like that (probably because a poem is short. Ha!).

The snapshots are easy and make them accountable, but I am still searching for some ideas that are more engaging and fun.
This week, I am trying to give my middle school students a task to do immediately after reading that they are accountable for to remind them to stay focused.  I have made a PowerPoint to use like bell ringers and that is how we start the day.  I saw some ideas on a friend's page and I have implemented those along with some others.  Some ideas we did this week are:
Moody Monday: After reading, describe the mood and give at least 2 examples that illustrate this particular mood.
Try it Tuesday: After reading, answer the following on an index card:
One sentence summary.
Your rating so far and why.
When finished, we shared these with a partner (that we already had set up) and this helped with accountability.
Word Wall Wednesday: After reading, write one word on an index card that you do not know or is a challenging word.Then, look it up and create a definition in your own words.  When done, we shared these aloud.
I think if students think they have to share something, they will do it because they don't want to appear left out when the rest of the kids are doing it.  Positive peer pressure.

These are the snapshots that I use each 9 weeks for middle school.

Reading Raffle
Another trick I am trying this 9 weeks is to assign students to read 20 minutes at home each night.  While they were already assigned this before, I am sure many of them did not do it.  However, this time, I have found a fun method of bribery.  Ha!
I have created a little sheet that has raffle tickets on it.  For each night, Monday through Sunday, if students read at home and have their parents sign off on it, they can bring the slip to school daily and enter it in a raffle that will happen at the end of the 9 weeks.  The more you read, the more entries you get to win.  At the end of the 9 weeks, I will buy a $20 gift card and raffle one off.  They are SO excited about this.  Many have already reminded me to get the raffle forms for next week ready.  Excitement=happy me.  I know they are really only excited about the money, but if they are reading they will eventually realize how much they love it.

Inside Circle, Outside Circle: Meaningful Discussions that Force All Kids to Participate (and involve movement)

I love listening to my kids have discussions in class and this method of inside circle, outside circle is really incredible for upping the engagement in your classroom.
The first step in this process is giving students a question to answer on their own, at their desk without talking. I have students write their answers on an index card or blank paper. Then, after every has had enough quiet time to talk, I go around to the 8 tables in my room and choose 1 kid from each table to form the center circle.
Next, we form an outside circle and an inside circle. The 8 kids I chose go on the inside and the others are on the outside. Everyone has their paper where they wrote the answers and a pencil. We all face the inside and there are 2 circles: an onside one and an outside one.
The people on the inside begin sharing their answers to whatever the question was. They have them written down, so they have had time to think about their responses and that makes them more comfortable sharing.
While they are sharing, the people on the outside are taking notes about what is being said. I give them a focus of what to be looking for.
The first time we did this activity, I gave them a prompt to explain why learning to read and write is beneficial to them now or in the future. So, the outside circle focused on finding someone from the inside that they agreed with and someone they disagreed with. They also had to explain why and provide examples. This reminds me of an online discussion board. I really liked it.
Once all 8 of the inside people told their thoughts, the outside people began sharing their notes about who they agreed with and who they disagreed with. I did this with my 8th grade and I did not call on them to go. They shared without interrupting each other and the did a great job. I had a chart with each kids name on it and, as they shared, I marked them off for participation. They knew I was doing this and that was how they received a grade for this discussion.
Instead of agreeing and disagreeing with each other, they could also reply in other ways. What I love about this activity is that students are forced to listen to each other because they have to use what the other students say in their own response.
Something I am trying this week is to have students answer a question about the reading for the first part. Then, in the inside circle, outside circle discussion, they will choose a student's point and reply by adding more evidence to support the point.
Another way I plan to use this discussion method is to choose 6 students, one for each vocabulary word, and have them, create a sentence with that word. These 6 students will be in the center and share their sentences. Then, the other students will choose a word and explain if they think the student with that word used it correctly. Then, they will use the same sentence as the person on the inside, but they will alter the sentence and use a synonym (or another variation) where the sentence means the same as the vocabulary word. Then, a different person from the outside will do this again and again to show the different ways the vocabulary word can be phrased. This also helps with associating the vocabulary word with other words, which helps students make connections and allows for more meaningful learning.

Using Blackout Poems to Help Teach Point-of-View

I really feel like this week has been an incredible teaching week! I am so proud of what my students have accomplished this week and it makes me giddy about next week!
One activity that we did this week that I have never tried before in my classes was a blackout poem.  We studied point-of-view and the story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in my 8th grade class and they kids did so great with it and we all loved Walter Mitty.  So, Friday is always a really difficult day to plan because you don't want to start something new, but you don't want to do nothing.  Right?  So after we had our vocabulary quiz and our reading time, we did a blackout poem.

This is how the instructions went:
1. First, I need you to pick one of the following characters: Mitty or his wife
(These were the two main characters of our story, so I had them pick one in order to use that character's point-of-view.
2.  Now, write that character's name at the top of your paper.  You are now that person.
3.  Now, use your pencil and go through the sheet that you chose from the story and lightly circle the words that you want to create a story that somehow represents the character you chose.  So, for Walter Mitty's character, they might choose to use the words to create a new daydream that he is having.  Or for his wife, they might choose to use the words to create something that she is telling Walter to buy at the store.
4,  After the students carefully circled the words that make up their story and are satisfied, they used a black marker to black out the rest of the words.
My kids LOVED this! They were so quiet doing this you would have thought it was a test! They even asked if we were going to do this every Friday.  Score!  I love when I find something they love and I can sneak in some learning on them.

This is fun and meets the 8th grade standards as well.  We took some notes this week on the different types of point-of-view and analyzed the points-of-view of various texts as well.  This was just the icing on the cake and I can't wait to read all those wonderful poems to see just how creative they can be.  I also had them label at the top of the paper what point-of-view they were writing in.  For example, did they tell Walter Mitty's story in 1st person? Or was it 3rd person omniscient?

These are some examples of a practice one with less rules.  Since we didn't finish, I don't have photos of the ones we made today, but I will be getting those on here soon!

Teaching Vocabulary: The Best Practices

Today was a great Monday in my classroom!  We start class with 20 minutes of independent reading, and so far, that is going great.  I set the standards high and I hope that will holdout throughout the school year.  After the 20 minutes of reading, we record our reading on the Status of the Class form that I found in the book called The Book Whisperer.  Next, we go over the mentor sentence of the week and notice the qualities that make it our mentor sentence.  Finally, we do the vocabulary portion of the class.  So, I decided that, on Mondays, I will give the students all of the vocabulary words and that will take the place of the "lesson" for that day.  Today, that worked perfectly.
So, we all get out our little dictionaries that we made.  This is a folder with prongs in the middle and pockets. We put paper in the middle and, on each page, we wrote a letter of the alphabet to create a dictionary for each student.  Today, we had 5 words for the week for the 7th grade and 6 words for the 8th grade students.  These words come from the story that we will be reading this week.  I give the students the word, part of speech, correct definition that goes with our text, and a good example sentence.  Many teachers think that the students should look up the words on their own, but I prefer to give this to the students so that I know they have the correct definition and sentence.  They write all of this in their dictionary under that word's entry.  Then, I follow a little "script" that I found online that worked wonderfully!
Here is how the script went:
1. The word is ______.  What is the word? (I make the students say the word aloud to ensure they can say it properly.)
2. The defintion of _________ is __________________. (Again, they read it aloud. I make them redo it until they are all saying it.)
3. Let's look at our sentence. (I read the sentence again.)
4. Talk at your tables and figure out another way we could say this word in the sentence. (I make sure to tell students that this word does not have to be a synonym of the word.  This is to make sure that students have an idea of what the word means and can replace it to make the same sentence make sense.)
5. Then, we share what they talked about at theit tables.
6. At the end, I try to think of a higher order question that goes with the word. So, if the word was faulty, I might ask: what are other things that can be faulty? This really makes them (and me) think about the word.

So, we did this with all 5 of the 7th grade words and then all 6 of the 8th grade words.  It took some time, but I feel that the time was well-spent and I hope to see great improvements on their vocabulary development from these vocabulary practices.
Tomorrow, we will begin doing some paper-and-pencil activites that are Marzano-approved.
I will be sharing these soon!

Book Hunt

After searching for ways to get my students excited about reading, I found something that I like to call a book hunt.  I saw where another teacher did this and I kind of modified it to fit my classroom better.
When setting up our interactive notebooks, we created a page called our "Reading Wish List."  This is where we list the title and author of books we want to read.

One of the first days of school when students did not have a book yet because they had not been to the library, we did the book hunt.

Planning for the Book Hunt
The data that I used to guide my book hunt was "Getting to Know You" sheets that my students did the first day.  After sifting through the "Getting To Know You" information about each student, I compiled lists of topics that they liked.  Our librarian helped me find some of the latest books from our library and I used books from my personal library as well. I spread the books out and put one book at each seat in my classroom, even seats where no students sat.

Implementing the Book Hunt During Class
I asked students to get out their notebooks and turn to the wish list page.  I played music and allowed students to walk around the room and kind of look over the books until they found a place they'd like to sit down and spend more time with the book.  When I stopped the music, students were to sit down at the table they were in front of.  I set a timer for 2 minutes and students had 2 minutes with the book.  I told them to read the front and back covers, read the inside flaps, read some of the chapters, or even begin reading the book! Once the timer dinged, I would play the music again and students would write down the title and author of the book in their Reading Wish List if it was something they were interested in reading later.  Some students didn't even want to leave the table where they were sitting when the bell rang to switch.  We did this routine about 4-5 times and they kids really LOVED it!
In fact, see the post-it on the picture? Several kids wanted to take the book with them, but I had them put post-its on them with their name so they could come back and get it at the end of the day so other kids could look at that book as well.  And those kids came back to get their books, too!

Books on the tables for our
book hunt.

First Day of Interactive Notebooks

Today was the first day of interactive notebooks and I think it was a great success! I feel very confident with the work we have done so far in them.  We actually accomplished a lot in the 90 minutes that I have them.  It was slightly more difficult to get the students' pages coordinated with mine as far as having everything on the same page number and getting it organized correctly in the table of contents, but I know the hard work will pay off when the notebooks are orderly.  I am excited to see how this newfound organization will help my students learn.

It took a little time and a lot of demonstrating with my own example notebook to get our notebooks ready, but we did it!  One class even got finished early and I was able to do an "Example Notes" lesson with them. They were very curious to learn how we would use these notebooks.  The most helpful thing I learned from today is that I am glad I made a "Teacher Notebook" as an example.  It really helped them to see me do it along with them and this is a strategy that I will implement daily in my classroom!

Example Note-Taking Lesson

This is the reading list where
my students will record the
books that they read this year.
I found this gem in the book
Reading in the Wild by
Donalyn Miller.

This is the table of contents that I made for our
notebooks.  After all of my classes had taped it in, a sweet
student helped me realize that...I had misnumbered!
It was a sad moment, but then, we just scratched them
out and corrected them.

I had thought that we would have enough time to decorate our notebooks by pasting clippings from magazines on the front cover (and maybe the back, too), but we didn't get to do this yet! I do still hope to do this.  Maybe on Monday.  Decorating the notebooks really allows the kids to personalize them and I honestly think it allows them to engage with my class more.  It is something that is personal to them and that makes it more meaningful.  I had been told this before, but I had never really believed it until I saw it for myself. Having something of their own, even if it is just a notebook, is important for middle school kids.  I can't wait to see how these notebooks affect my teaching and their learning!

Tips to Make Your Word Wall Beneficial & Functional

Today, we started back with our first "teacher day" and it was the first day that I have worked on my room since last year.  The main thing I got accomplished was getting my word wall laminated (thanks to our awesome librarian) and hung up in my room.  I also cleaned the tables and got them all in order along with my own desk.  While everything is still in the boxes I packed at the end of last year, I will get all of that cleaned up and put up tomorrow.

This is my word wall that I put up today. I kind of love how it
turned out. <3

While hanging up my word wall, I realized some pointers that I wanted to share with you guys in an attempt to make it easier for you than it was for me.

1. Make sure your letters are large enough to see from across the classroom.

2. Laminate the cards or letters that you will stick to the wall.

3. Make sure you have enough room on the wall.  If not, you can get creative and put it on two walls like I did. I kind of like how it looks.

4.  Make sure that you can reach the word wall to easily put words on and take them off.  Make sure the kids can reach it, too, so that they can interact and play the word wall games.

5.  Try to position the word wall in a place that does not have desks in front of it.  I am going to be moving those desks in my picture.  I know this isn't always 100% possible, but do the best you can.

Two years ago, I had my wonderful husband hang letters perfectly around the top of my classroom. THE TOP! I could not reach it and none of my students (even the 6 foot kids) could reach any of the letters or the words.  So, this word wall failed miserably.  So, all of that to say that, even though the word wall might be cute and look great in your classroom, it must be functional to be beneficial for your kids.

I can't wait to add words to my wall.
If you have any tips, share them in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

Grammar Police!

Something that I have always wanted to implement but have never had the time to sit down and plan out how it would work in my classroom.  With finally a minute to figure it out, I have a bulletin board set aside as you enter my classroom, and that board will be for all the grammar errors the kids and I find "in the wild," meaning out in the world as they have everyday encounters.

I have a few examples that I am going to show them as I introduce this assignment so they can get an idea of what I am looking for and what they should be looking for.  I will have a box designated for the grammar police examples that they bring in.  I will have one box for 7th and one box for 8th.  As they bring them in,  I will have them write their names on them and put them in the box for their grade.  When we have time in class, probably right after the bell work is completed, I will check the box and let someone go.  They will show the example they found and explain what was used incorrectly.  Then, they will show how to fix this error.  I love how this lets them see the grammar issues in the world around us and it has them actively thinking about grammar and usage.  The errors can really be anything.  It doesn't even have to be an error.  It can just be something they were unsure of.  I am going to have them take pictures of the grammar examples they find and then print them.  If they can't print, I will have them email it to me and I can print it for them.

For the following examples, I would read the sign to the kids and then ask if they see the error. We would discuss why this is incorrect and how to fix it.  Then, I would hang it on my Grammar Police Bulletin Board.  I can't wait to see what the kids find out in the world!

I found this example online and I just
couldn't resist using it as an example to show
the humor in some errors.

This one is a misspelling, but I would love for my kids
to recognize this and be able to fix it, too.

Do you see what is wrong with this one?

As you can see, the main goal of this activity is to get students to recognize the words that are used in the work around them.  It is not meant to "make fun of" anyone for misuse, so be careful that the kids don't do that.  The goal is to see the errors, understand why it needs correcting, and be able to correct the mistake.  You will find that many of the errors make the sign/sentence quite funny, and it is perfectly acceptable to laugh.  That is part of the reason I think my kids will LOVE this activity.

I found some grammar police shirts that I feel are necessary that we all have.  Click here to check out these inexpensive shirts.  I have not received mine yet, but I will let you know how it fits once I get it.

This is the shirt example from the website above for the
one I ordered.

I would love for you to share some of the errors you find in the wild in the comments below.
Get out there and serve and correct, grammar police!

Word Wall Games: Missing Word, Word Pictures, & Categories

I am very pleased with the research I have done this summer about vocabulary and word walls.  This post has some of the games that I will be playing with my kids this year that I have never played in the past.  This just goes to show the importance of trying to learn more so that you can do the best job you can.  So, here are a few of the games I am excited to add to my arsenal, but there will be more coming soon!

Missing Word

One of the games that I thought was quick, easy, and fun is called the missing word.  The only prep that this game requires is for the teacher to remove one of the words from the word wall and then you can rearrange the other words if you'd like.  For older grades, I bet you could remove 2-3 words.  During the vocabulary time that day, the teacher would give clues and hints to get the kids to figure out the word.  This is very easy and I bet the kids would think it is fun, especially if a little candy is involved.

Word Pictures

One of the things that I love about Marzano's vocabulary ideas is the fact the he shows that students benefit from constructing a visual to go with each vocabulary word.  I agree with this, and, even on my own, I can remember things more easily when there is some kind of visual to file in my head. The word picture game allows students to work in teams.  The team chooses a word and illustrates it somehow on their paper.  I will probably have mine use chart paper.  Then, the opposing team guesses what the word is based on the illustration and gets a point if they get it correct.  After they guess the word, the team that did not draw gets to choose a different word and illustrate it.  I think it would also be neat to play this by having teams create a collage if they insist that they cannot draw. 

This is one great example of why color coding the word wall is helpful; the teacher could say: "Choose a red word.  Or choose a word from the red or green words on the wall."  The color codes help students know which words are available during the game.  

This is an example I found from online since I don't have
any that my kids have made...yet.  The goal is to try to get the
other team to guess the word based on the picture.

This is not from my classroom, but this is what
I have in mind that this game will be like. I might
have my kids draw it bigger.  It is kind of like
Pictionary.

Categories

I really love the game called Categories.  In this game, students create different categories and then put the words from the word wall into the categories that they created.  The teacher could also create the categories if the students need the scaffolding.  Sorting words really lets students interact with the words or "play" with them, which is what they need to truly learn the words and reuse them.  The categories that I have in mind range from parts of speech, to actual context that the word could be used in.  For example, if you had the words reverent, pious, and respect, the category could be polite. Sorting words into categories begins in lower grades, but it really helps students learn about the word more than simply memorizing a definition.  It forces them to think about the word, and that kind of interaction is what we need for them to file this word into their personal dictionary.

Of course, since I only do 5-6 words per week, I would probably want to build the words on my word wall for a few weeks in order to play this game, but I will be doing that this year!

These games are simple and the actual prep and playtime is not time consuming either, so they should be very practical for you classroom.  I can see my middle school kids loving these games and I can't wait to get into the classroom in exactly one week to get everything ready for my kids to #interact2learn.

This is an example of a word sort I found online where the
words are sorted by the prefixes.  It can be this simple, but
it can also be more difficult depending on the words.

Here is an example of a word sort for a music class.

Keep in mind that these word wall games work even if you teach other subject areas.  And the most important aspect of this game is to make sure you ask the kids why the sorted the words this way. They can't just do the activity and forget about it; they need to interact with the words and form mental and verbal connections among the words and their lives.  The teacher's job is to get those brains working and making these connections.  So, be sure to ask them why the sorted the way they did, and also, make sure to listen.  What I love about language arts is the fact that half of the learning is done through discussions!  Engage with those kiddos to make the most of the lessons.

I'd love to know how these games work in your classroom and I will be posting pictures of my kiddos playing them!  I hope you can add these to your arsenal as well!

Say YES! to Word Walls for Middle School Kids

My first experience with word walls was 2 years ago when I started working at Fall Branch School. I was new to the county and I learned that word walls were to be in all classrooms. I was going to be teaching 7th and 8th grade ELA, so I was new to word walls since only lower grades used them in the previous schools where I worked. I was honestly unsure of how to use a word wall, but I found a place in my classroom for a word wall because I was told to do this. The place I found was at the top of the classroom around the classroom. While this looked really neat at first, it made it impossible for me (I am 5 foot 2 inches!) to put the words up easily. The first thing you want to make sure you do with your word wall is make it accessible to you and the kids. This first word wall was not accessible and I really did not use it efficiently that year even though I tried my best. So, I started doing some research and found out how completely incredible word walls really are because, when used correctly, they help students learn vocabulary words!

The Benefits of Word Walls for All Grade Levels
At first glance, you might not think a word wall is useful for your kids in upper grades, but, let me tell you, they love it, too! There are many benefits to using word walls for kids in upper grades:

• Provide meaningful vocabulary teaching with student engagement 
• Daily contact with the words each day 
• Help improve spelling 
• Provide visual cues for students 
• Allow for interaction with the words through games 

This is a word wall that I like that I found online.

This is how my word wall will look after the first week of
school.  

Getting ready for my own word
wall.  The word cards will have
the number 7 or 8 to show which
grade level the word is for.

What I Changed
Color Coding & Labeling: After doing my own research about word walls, I have decided to jump on the ban wagon and color code my words by week using colored paper. I was going to use colored markers, but I think the colored paper allows the words to stand out more. So, each week, I will use a new color of paper for that week's words. Since each week, we will have 5-6 vocabulary words and I teach 7th and 8th grade, I will be responsible for putting up 10-12 words per week. Since our vocabulary words come from the texts we will be reading in class, obviously 7th and 8th graders will have different words, so I am going to write a 7 or 8 in the right corner of the paper with the word to distinguish which words are for which grades. I hope the kids know, but in case I get confused, this will help me remember.

Alphabetical Order: I am going to put the words on the wall in alphabetical order to make it easier for my kids (and me) to look for certain words on the wall.

Students Have a Personal Dictionary: This year, I am having my kids make a personal dictionary out of a folder with a pocket on each side and the 3 prongs in the middle. They will put paper in the prongs and this will be their personal dictionary. They will include the word, the part of speech, the definition, and a sentence for each vocabulary word in their dictionary. We will have one page per letter and, although the dictionary won't be able to be in perfect alphabetical order, they will at least have all the A words together and so on. Since they have a folder with prongs, it is easy to add paper when they need to add more words.

This is going to be my
personal dictionary. 

We will put notebook paper inside for each letter of the
alphabet to put our words in for our own
personal dictionary.

 Accessibility: Make sure your word wall is easily accessible to you and your students. They need to be able to see the word wall and interact with it. That's right interact with it! There are several games that they can play with the word wall and that is why it is beneficial for vocabulary development.

Once I get my new word wall set up in my classroom for this school year (in just a little over a week), I will update with some pictures of my word wall. Even better, I will update with some photos of my kiddos playing games as they #interact2learn those vocabulary words!

Here is a list of games that you can play with your word wall. The games are in more detail at the link below by Jennifer Cronsberry and I will also be blogging more in the future about vocabulary games with word walls.

Vocabulary Games That Can Be played With Word Walls
Whole Class Activities

• Mystery Word 
• Visiting Word 
• Missing Word 
• Quick Definitions 
• Looking at Spelling 

Small Group Activities

• Word Pictures 
• Word Relationships 
• Word Cards Partner Game 
• Parts of Speech 
• Drama 
• Plurals 
• Word Ad 
• Categories 
• Musical Words 
• Prefixes and Suffixes 
• Contextualization 
• Word Origins and Roots 
• Names for Musical Groups 

Individual Activities

• Definition Bingo 
• Words in Writing 
• Maximum Words in a Story 
• Word Searches

As you can see, there are so many different games that you can have students play to interact with the words. I have heard some teachers who say they don't like letting students "play games" like this because they are never on task. For myself, I just found out that was because I was not properly engaged as the teacher. The teacher needs to be very present in the room and making sure that everyone is on task and the games are being played properly to engage in higher level thinking. Without the interaction and engagement, the games are worthless. You, as the teacher, just want to ensure that each "game" is being properly played because if you just tell them to play it and then sit at your desk, middle school students will probably lose focus on the game. With some teacher involvement and these incredible games, you can't go wrong.

I will update you soon with a current picture of my own word wall once I get it into place.

Testing Vocabulary
My vocabulary test will be each Friday and the color codes will be very helpful when testing.  My goal is to help students actually learn how to use the words, so I will have them use the words in a short writing task.  The task will call for them to use the words I choose and the mentor sentence of the week. (Click here for more on mentor sentences.)  I intend to use the color codes to tell the students which words will be tested that week.  So, I could say that they will be tested on any green word on the word wall and then they are responsible to know the green words on the word wall.  After a few weeks of words, I could tell them that the test will be on any green, blue, or yellow words, which helps to ensure that they are truly learning words as the weeks go on instead of just for the Friday test.

Works Cited
Cronsberry, Jennifer. Word Walls: A Support for Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. 2004.
Click here to visit this PDF for more information about the games.

You can also check out my friend Ashley's blog post about word walls here
She has some incredible posts that you will want to check out, especially if you teach high school English!

2016-2017 School Supply List

I remember my first year of teaching when I had to make a school supply list that my kids would get and bring for my class.  I think my first list was something like:

Mrs. T's First School Supply List

• Notebook paper
• Pencils/Pens
• ??

I guess I just thought that the kids would automatically be organized, but I was wrong!  I now feel that it is part of my job to teach middle school kids how to be organized because they certainly don't know how.  

After many years of teaching, I now have some supplies that I ask each student to bring and I feel that this list is inexpensive and reasonable items to have in class.  I promise that we will use each of these supplies, probably daily! Being prepared is one of the most important actions you can take for your classroom.  If you don't know what they need, how can you expect the students and parents to know? 

If you don't have a plan that you will put into action, then you are planning to fail!  So, the following is what we will be using this year:

2016-2017 School Supply List for Mrs. T's ELA Class

• 1 bound composition book (no spiral and preferably college-ruled
• 1 folder with prongs and pockets
• College-ruled notebook paper
• Pink, green, blue, and yellow highlighters
• Blue or Black pens or Pencils (You can choose what you write with)

While this list is not elaborate, I am pretty sure this is all we will need in my class this year.  Of course, I would love for students to bring in Kleenex, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, and index cards to help out my classroom supply, but as far as their personal supplies, I think this covers it.

A Day in the Class of Mrs. T's Interactive Notebooks

This summer, I have been researching to learn the best note-taking strategies for my middle school students.  I am going to use my own adaptation of interactive notebooks, (click the link to see the first post about interactive notebooks on this blog) but I will also be using Cornell notes.  Cornell notes is a systematic approach to taking notes that I think will give structure for my middle school kids and will help me plan and teach more effectively and efficiently.  Cornell notes are actually used excessively in law school as well, which really impressed me.

"IN"/ Bell Work
At the beginning of class, the student should open their notebook so that there are two blank pages: one on each side.  Then, they draw a line dividing the left page in half.  They begin the day with a bell work activity.  This is where I am using mentor sentences (click to see post about mentor sentences) and you can see this in the picture below.  A lot of interactive notebooks call this the "IN" portion of the notebook.  I like calling it bellwork, but I can also go with calling it the "IN" because the kids do this when they first get "IN" class.

This is what the notebook should look like
at the beginning of each class period.

THROUGHOUT CLASS
After the kids do their bellwork and we discuss it, we are ready to move to the "THROUGHOUT CLASS" section of the notebook.  Now, I have struggled with this side because, if you really look at it, this one page is not really very big for a day of notes.  But, after thinking about it, it might help me be more concise.  I can only include what is really necessary for the lesson instead of having students take notes that are not needed.  For this section of the notebook, we will be using the Cornell note taking strategies that are pictured here.

This is how I will have my students set up their notebooks for a day of class. 

Once the lesson is over, I will give the students a few minutes to complete the left side of the Cornell notes.  This section is kind of like a reflection where students look at the notes I have given them, and then, they will either write questions about the notes that they will use when it is time to review.  Or, they can use bullet points to capture the most important points in their own words.  It is very important that they do it in their own words because it allows them to read what I give them and then actually think about it, reflect upon it, and then write about it.
At the very end, they will write a few sentences summarizing the lesson, again, in their own words.


 OUT/Closure
At the end of the lesson, I will use the "OUT" or Closure side for a few different things.  The first option is to have a few questions about the lesson to have students use their notes and think about what they have learned.
Another option is to have students write down what their homework assignment is so that they will remember it.  For example, they could write down that they have to read chapter 1. Or that they need to complete worksheet 11.
A final option is to have students write down the questions they will need to do for homework so that they will have them ready beside of their notes to do.

The main benefit that I see in using this method is that it will allow students to have an organized approach to taking notes in your class.  There is accountability and I honestly think it will help them learn to be more organized since they really don't have anyone to teach them but us.
While we do take many notes in my class, I know that there are days that we don't take notes, but, instead, do an activity or some group work.  If that is the case, I will not have the students use the Cornell notes, but I will still have them do the Bellwork and the Closure.  In the THROUGHOUT CLASS section, I will have them use this section to do the activity.  I think it is really important that they have all their notes together in this one bound notebook.

Let me know what you think.
I will be updating you soon when we start back to school in about 10 days!

Connect 2 Vocabulary Game

One of the best professional development days that I have been to EVER was this past June with Jami Corwin.  She was an incredible instructor for the embedded grammar ideas that have me stoked!  She recommended the book Mechanically Inclined, by Jeff Anderson and it is a great read for sure.  One of the vocabulary strategies/games that she demonstrated is called Connect 2 or Select and Connect.

How to Prepare:
To prepare for this game, the teacher needs to have cards for the week's vocabulary words.  Since I am only teaching 5-6 vocabulary words a week, I have decided to also use words that will be in the week's story.  I may also throw in some synonyms, but the goal here is to try to make sure that every student has a card.  The teacher should pass out the cards at the beginning of the game.  I like to do this after going through the definitions of the words for the week so that students will at least know the definitions of some of the words.

How to Play:
All that Jami Corwin told us for instructions was that she wanted us to find at least one other person in the room whose word somehow "connected" to ours.  Make a connection.  So, we all immediately asked, "How?"  There are so many ways to make connections with words.  Endings. Beginnings. Synonyms.  So, I will explain to my own middle school students that I want them to make ANY connection.  I want them to read the work, process it, and use their brains to just make some kind of meaningful connection from their word to another word.
Jami turned the lights off and told us that we had until the lights came back on to make our connections.
In the PD with Jami Corwin, some people connected words because they all ended in -ed.
Other people connected words because they were synonyms.  Other people connected because the words were antonyms.  Some connected because the word had the same prefix.  Then, still others connected because the words just had to do with one another in a contextual setting.  For example, the two words were computer and mouse and we made the connection that a computer needs a mouse with it.
After all the connections were made, Jami turned on the lights and we were ready t o begin analyzing the word connections.  As the teacher, she would go to certain groups of students who were holding their words and she would just ask what the connection was between the words.  The students told her why they felt the words connected.  It was as simple as that.

The point with this is that the kids made connections between and among words.  These words would be in the story that they were getting ready to read and making these connection is very important for students when reading and learning new vocabulary.

So, you cannot go wrong with this simply wonderful game!  And, you could also use the cards that you created to play the game for your word wall!

You can write or type the word cards you use for this game.

Some things I noticed about the game as I played:

• Make sure you have the students read their words aloud as you call on them.
• Make sure to engage with the students and call attention to WHY the connections were made.
• Make sure other students are listening as the connection explanations are being explained.

As we read the story after this activity, she asked us to highlight words we remembered from the activity.  It was actually pretty fun and I can't wait to see how my 7th and 8th graders enjoy it!

Be sure to share what you think in the comments!

I'd love to hear from you!

KABOOM! Vocabulary Game

I have spent the summer searching for fun vocabulary games to use in my classroom.  Marzano believes that if students interact with new vocabulary words in meaningful ways, they will learn them more thoroughly and they will invest in them.  I believe that, too.  In fact, when I integrated more meaningful vocabulary games into my classroom, my kids actually knew and used the words.
P.S--> test scores went up.

Planning for KABOOM!
To play KABOOM! you need some Pringles cans (or that is what we used).
You take strips of paper and write the vocabulary words on them.
You can use one word more than once.
You also need to have a strip of two with the word KABOOM! on it.

How to play
I like to have groups of 5.  Out of the 5 students, one student has the definitions to the vocabulary words.  I try to choose someone who I know will have a grasp on the words and that person is the Game Master.  So, this person doesn't play the game while they are the Game Master.
Student 1 takes his/her turn: They pull out a strip from the KABOOM! Pringles Can.  They say the word and then I have them tell the definition of the word.  You could also have them give a synonym of the word or use it in a sentence.  You could have them play a round of all three!  If the Game Master agrees that they have given the correct definition (or synonym or sentence), they get to keep the strip of paper.
The game moves on to the next player and they keep going through the game.
When a student gets a KABOOM! strip, that student has to put all the strips he/she has earned back into the Pringles can and then the game keeps going.
I like to have students play for a set amount of time.  I set a timer and when the timer goes off, that round is over and the person with the most strips of paper wins the game.

My kids love this and I have played it for years.  I first heard of the game when I started teaching in Greeneville, Tennessee back in 2011.  The kids taught me how to play.

You can decorate the Pringles cans (if you find the time).  I have a few that are decorated and a few that are not.  The kids don't mind.

Plus, it gives us a great reason to eat Pringles!

using #mentorsentences to teach grammar

After some incredible professional development days this past summer, I have added so much to my teaching arsenal.  One of the ideas that I knew would fit right into my classroom is the idea of using mentor sentences to teach grammar through writing.  I know that you have heard it a million times like I have: grammar is taught more effectively when it is taught along with writing and through writing.  But really though...has anyone ever shown you how to do this?  They had not shown me.  Until this professional development day that I went to this past summer where I absolutely fell IN LOVE with mentor sentences.

So, let me share with you how this works.

What happens is: you, as the teacher, choose a sentence that you feel is beautifully written and has components that you'd like to see in your students' writing.  It should be from something you are reading, and for me, I am choosing mentor sentences by the week so that we can study it for 5 days that go along with the format I learned in the PD day.

#mentormonday
Monday is the day that you introduce the sentence to the students.  So, for me, I will have them write the sentence in the Bell Work section of their interactive notebooks. (IN LOVE already with the notebooks!)  On this day, I will have students investigate why they believe this sentence was chosen.  For 8th grade, I might choose 2 sentences if they are shorter sentences.  We make notes about why it was chosen and I am sure to identify why I really chose it if they did not figure it out.

#partsofspeechtuesday
On Tuesday, I will highlight certain parts of speech in the mentor sentence.  So, if the sentence used an incredible subordinating conjunction, I might point that out and show them how this conjunction connects the sentences.  You have to choose the sentence that shows what you are going to teach.  Also on this day, I will give a grammar mini-lesson about whatever is in the sentence (grammar-wise) that I am teaching them.

#revisewednesday
Wednesday is when the students will change something in the sentence.  Now, this does not mean that the sentence has anything wrong with it, but it means that we, as writers will change something to make it different.  As the teacher, I will instruct them about what they need to change.  This will also be something we are focusing on this specific week.  So, if we noticed a subordinating conjunction, maybe the are to change the subordinating conjunction to see what happens.  How does it make the sentence different. Something I loved that the teacher at the PD said is that "Kids need to play around with language to learn to manipulate it."  LOVE!

#transcribethursday
On Thursday, my students will create their own sentence in the style of the mentor sentence. Have you heard of the karaoke versions where the music is in the style of Taylor Swift? So, that is what we are doing here.  I will also set the focus as not to overwhelm students.  I might have them imitate the subordinating conjunction that is used in the sentence.  Or I might have them imitate that it is a compound sentence.  Just be sure to let them write and to make sure you have taught them what they need to imitate properly.

#funfriday
Friday is when I will quiz them on their vocabulary and the mentor sentence.  I will have them respond to a short (and fun) writing prompt in which they will use so many of their vocabulary words and mimic the mentor sentence.  I cannot wait to see this #funfriday in action!


Here is a little example plan I made:

Mentor Sentence Week 3

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

#mentormonday Invitation to Notice Mentor Qualities ·         Dialogue ·         Uses hyphens “Where’s the what’s-its-name?” she would ask. “Don’t tell me you forgot the what’s-its-name.”

#partsofspeechtuesday Invitation to Notice Parts of Speech ·         Multiple verbs in a sentence ·         Hyphenated nouns ·         Imperative sentences “Where’s the what’s-its-name?” she would ask. “Don’t tell me you forgot the what’s-its-name.”

#revisewednesday Invitation to Revise “Where’s the what’s-its-name?” she would ask. “Don’t tell me you forgot the what’s-its-name.”

#transcribethursday Invitation to Imitate ·         Imitate the sentence by creating your own hyphenated word ·         Tell what part of speech your hyphenated word is ·          Use dialogue “Did you get to ride in the flying-machine?" asked the little boy when he saw his father for the first time since his deployment to Iraq.

#funfriday  Quiz