Phonics Phones

Hey all!

This past week I was at my mother's because she was having knee surgery.  Since she was pretty much stuck in a chair we decided to tackle a DIY for the classroom that she could sit down for.  We decided to make the DIY Phonics phones that you see all over Pinterest.  The link shows where I found the materials needed.


First, I went to Lowe's and purchased what I needed:

(1) 5ft long 1 inch PVC pipe (I know the link above says 3/4 inch but I really wanted them to be a little bit thicker/ sturdier)

6 bags of 1 inch elbows (My Lowes only sold bags with 5 elbows in each, but online they sold 10 in a bag)

PVC glue (my mom already had that)

Duct Tape (Pink and Green)

We started by measuring and cutting the PVC pipe.  We cut it so that it was 3 1/2 inches long.



Next, I used the glue and swiped it around the inside of an elbow.  Then I pushed it into the end of the long pipe.  I did the same with the other side.  Now the PVC glue dries SUPER quickly, so you need to make sure that you have it lined up with the other elbow so that you can actually use it as a phone!

I didn't capture too many pictures but here is what they looked like when we were done gluing.

Next we needed to use the duct tape to cover the middle.  Most were long enough that the tape fit across no problem.  Obviously some were longer than other because we needed to slim down the tape.

And there you have it!  The phonics phones that I will be using for my classroom this year.  I am going to also make a job where someone is responsible for cleaning these with a wipe daily and ensuring that they are back where they belong.  Overall this took me about 45 minutes total to make (keep in mind my mom was helping).  I can't wait to tackle some more DIY projects with PVC pipe-  Maybe I'll go for the Anchor Chart Stand?!  Or this site that shows how to make lots with PVC!!!!!

Best,

Angela's Review of Falling in Love with Close Reading

I have finally finished reading the book :)  (better late then never right?)  I am ready to share my opinions on the book and how I think it will impact my students.

Monday:  Overall thoughts on the book  Would you recommend?  Why?

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book.  While I do know that research matters, I struggle to finish books that solely rely on just data.  I was able to finish the book easily because it relied not just on what they know what works, but how we can best use it in the classroom with concrete steps and real world examples of lessons taught based on the different ways we can close read a text.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants their children to start to slowly read a text.  Sometimes we often push a high quantity of texts on our children because  we need them to be able to read more/longer passages for tests.  But we never take the time to dissect the passages so that not only do they understand more, but they can get in the habit of understanding a passage better. 

Tuesday:  Favorite passage/quote

My favorite chapter from the book was Chapter 3:  A Way with Words:  A Study of Word Choice.  I loved it because it really starts to show how we need to expose our children to not just what is being said, but how it is being said and what the choice of those words could mean.  My "aha" moment came when the authors wrote:  "One way to invite students to live looking for word choice is to study television advertising, those thirty-second spots that flood our screens, day after day.  We can help students see that in all media, as well as in daily life, everyone chooses their words for a purpose."  This section on page 35 starts to explain how you can teach understanding word choice through advertisements.  It encourages you to not just look at the overall product, but to look at the words they use to describe the product.  It wants you to stop and ask:  How do those words influence you the viewer?  How do they give us insight into the author.  

Wednesday:  Didn’t care for didn’t understand

There wasn't much I didn't care for.  The beginning was a little wordy, but it's how they planned to bring the reader in.  It did take me a few pages to get into the groove of the book, but once I started to read the chapters that gave real world ways to bring in the different ways we can close read, I started to enjoy reading it more.  

Thursday:  How can you apply this to your every day practice next year?

This past school year we opened our eyes to close reading but never did any research or learning behind how to effectively close read.  This year I plan to use a chunk of time (maybe my Friday centers) to really dive into close reading.  I would like to say that EVERYDAY we will close read, but I gotta start somewhere ;).  I hope that if we focus on a new close reading objective, that by the end of the year we will be close readers.  I would also like to then make close reading happen during morning work time.  I like to have something independent for my students to do daily so that as other children are arriving we are not wasting time.  I was planning to create something similar to the Rise and Shine Binder's that Ms. Tunstall has, but I wanted to also include some time where students repeatedly read a passage for understanding, not just for fluency.  Still just a thought though.

Friday:  Final Thoughts
Overall I really enjoyed this book.  As I said before I am not a huge fan of books that just rely on data, and don't really show you how to apply it- but this book really does a great job of showing you how you can introduce close reading to your students.  I love the exact steps that are given to show students how to close read- and that the same steps can be used no matter what you are close reading for:  word choice, point of view, text evidence, etc.


I am so glad that this book study has kicked off!  I can't wait for next month when we read, The Together Teacher by Maia Heyck-Merin. 



Best, 

Lapbooks-Just the beginning!

Hey all!

Happy Holidays!  So my co-teacher and I wanted to stop giving so many worksheets and multiple choice questions, so we decided (well she had this great idea and I jumped right on!) that after Christmas we would start trying to infuse lap books to help them learn the information and then try and have them apply what they learned through the lap books into grade level texts.

Cue:  Lapbook 101


Here we are today (we didn't have a snow day, but did have a 2 hour delay which is basically the same thing but I can at least be in my classroom)  trying to make 25 lap books to start our kids off with.

Please mind the tons of pictures but I wanted to ensure that you understood what we did!

First we started with a plain manilla folder.  This is the outer layer of our lap book.

We folded the one side so that the tab touched the middle fold.

Then we did the same to the other side.

We were left with a lap book that looked like this:

Now to make the inside of the lap book.

First, we started by cutting off the top parts of the folders (the tabbed area where you would write)

 Next, we cut the folders in Half.  We only did this so that we would have enough flaps for the actual lap books (1 per lap book- so we cut about 13 folders)

 We took a piece of paper and used little baby dots on the outside of the paper to glue it to the back of the lap book.  Baby dots are the key to ensuring that the paper does not get crinkly if you do not have glue sticks.

 Next we put tape on one side of the lap book.  This is so that I can punch holes in the lap book so they can store them in their binders, and i won't get destroyed.

 Almost there!

Now we took the half folder and taped the top to the inside of the folder so that it would flap upwards.

Last, we needed to hole punch the lap books so that they would fit inside the scholars binders.

 Viola!!!!!!

My next post will be about our very first lap book and what they created.  We are planning to make these during our week of testing so that the students can review Main Idea in a positive way.

Preparing for Next Year

So I have decided to share with you all my summer reading plans as well as my goals to prepare me for next year.  I will be teaching 5th grade again, but inclusion to the same students I had in 2nd and 3rd grade (the gang's all back!).

Over the summer I plan to reflect on not only best reading and math practices, but how to push myself to be the best leader.  I have been at my school for 6 years and we have a decent turn around, making me one of the most veteran teachers in the school.  As someone who has been there, I try every day to be a great leader, but sometimes I get caught up in the moment.  Below are the books I plan to read to help me reach that goal:

1- Leverage Leadership
2- How Children Succeed
3- Word Nerds
4-Common Core Mathematics in a PLC that works
5- The CAFE


I have not decided on a theme this year, but I plan to keep it short, sweet, and to the point.  I plan to use my summer creating data binders like this one I found here.

As soon as I can I will show you my math binder that I have started to work on in preperation for next year.  Last year we started Go Math! which was a great math program, but did not help us bridge the gap for our students, most of whom were not ready for the rigor it expected in each lesson.

Well, I am sure I will be back with more great stuff later today!

Best,