Teach Dailey

Homemade Writing Journals For Students: The Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. Inspiration: In my winter courses, we have been discussing the importance of authentic writing in the classroom. In my 5th grade classroom, we have written letters to the Governors of the states that students had researched for social studies. Now we will begin crafting narrative writing in student journals. In these interactive journals, the teacher and peers will comment on content. Students will always know who their audience will be before writing. Those giving feedback will not respond about form or writing conventions, but instead respond to concepts or ideas that the writing is sharing though writing. This will provide an audience for student's writing, as well as give students pr...

As I return to my 5th grade classroom, I am filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy. I really missed being here. I am amazed by the relationships that have been forged in such a short time. It is truly hard to believe that I didn't know any of these students before this school year started. We went on a field trip this past week. It was an action packed day at the wetlands. We started by rotating through activity stations and then went on a "safari" that culminated with a stroll through the inner wetlands. I was impressed by how thoughtfully my resident teacher had organized the field trip. She took care placing students in groups, talking to them about what they would be seeing, and she was so organized that the day progressed smoothly. Pre-owl Pellets Here come the owl pellets Investigating  The first activity that students in my group started with was dissecting owl pellets. They worked in teams and meticulously examined what that owl had eaten. Th...