Why is MAIN IDEA so hard?

Teaching students to identify the main idea is such a tricky walk, because for our students, main idea is very ABSTRACT. What exactly is the difference between the main idea and details? In order to define this clearly for our students, we need to break it down into tiny little pieces. Students need to SEE it. I like to start with a visual. You can use a drawing of a pizza, fruit tray...I like to use a BIG SALAD. My MAIN IDEA salad. Each ingredient is a detail and the MAIN IDEA is how it all comes toether, the BIG SALAD. Just as we would not put chocolate chips into a salad, we would not expect to find a detail about dogs inside a passage about birds.

Next, I give students opportunities to MATCH details to other details in an effort to identify the MAIN IDEA. The more practice students get in matching details, the easier it will be for them to begin to see the pattern, the relationship between details and main idea. I like to start with a few funny examples. See below.

Here, the main idea might be something to the effect of "Harry is very sneaky." A 4th detail would be another sneaky behavior of Harry's. If you approach main idea slowly and deliberately, you can make it FUN and not painful for our students. Take the PAIN out of main idea!! Check out my digital resource for MAIN IDEA.

Book Sharing THIS YEAR

This year is different in SOOOO many ways, but when one of your favorite things to do is to give out books....well, just when you think this year could not get any harder...How do we share our love of books when we can't share books?! This year, I created "sleepy bins" for my books returning from homes. We call it "giving the books a little rest time."

How Do I Assign One Google Slide at a Time?

Hello, Are you wondering what to do with these large digital packets? How do you assign one assignment at a time without driving yourself crazy? It is actually not as challenging as you might think. Just like Powerpoint and other docs we are used to working on, it is simply a matter of making a new copy, deleting what you do not need, and resaving it under a new name. Below, I have outlined the process in 5 easy steps! 

 STEP 1 Open the original Google Slides Doc.

 

STEP 2 Click "Make a Copy/Entire Presentation" and Save to Drive by clicking OK

 

STEP 3 Delete the Slides you do NOT want to assign by right-clicking each slide.

      

STEP 4 Click File/Rename to name the file of the slides you want to assign today.

       

STEP 5 You are all set! Now, you can share just one slide with your students!

 

5 Tips for Stretching those Small Moments

1.  Model, model, model!  I am constantly modeling.  Before each lesson, or at least most of my lessons, I model writing on the Smartboard.   I do so by writing about my own small moments, my ride in the car with my sons, "the pride I felt when I saw Joey(insert student) writing all by himself for the first time," etc.  I show my students how I revise as I go.  I let them observe my passion and excitement about my story.  I might add sparkle words, change words to better words such as scurried versus ran, or add what I might be feeling.  I might add sound effects or words I might say.  I think aloud A LOT!  A model of mine might go something like this:

***It was a bright and sunny fall morning in Room 10.  As I gazed out the window I could see the students rushing in from the bus.  As I was watching the flurry of students, I became a little distracted.  From the corner of my eye, I spotted one of my students enter the classroom.  It was Emma.  Emma quickly walked over to her desk, immediately pulled her book from her bin and and began quietly reading.  As she did, she didn't even notice that I was standing there watching her.  She was doing what good readers do.  As she read, I felt my face become warm and a smile spread from one ear to the other.  My heart started to pitter patter as it filled with pride.... as I write, I invite the students to comment on what makes my small moment sparkle, or come alive.  Which words did I use that made my story great?  They might comment on my heart going pitter patter or the way I used words like "gazed" or "immediately." 

At this point, I would ask the students to help me continue writing.  As the unit moves on, I would stop earlier and have the students continue my story after only a few sentences. 

2.  Use mentor texts.  Read from mentor texts and as you do, write down words and phrases you like.  Say things like, “I might want to use these words in my own small moments stories.” Jot it down on a sticky note right then and there. As you are reading from a mentor text, go back and read a great sentence a few times, commenting on how you like what the author did.  

Some of My favorite Small Moments Texts:

The Best Story

The Relatives Came

Owl Moon

The Snowy Day

When I Was Young in the Mountains

A Whistle For Willie

3.  Use student work.  Before and after each writing lesson, I read samples of student work that I think exemplify stretching a moment or contain strong elements. You might start with your strongest writers, but you will find that as you go, you will be using samples of ALL of your students to model good writing.  I love when I find a struggling writer’s work to be model worthy and that happens more often than you think.  The pride felt by these students when this happens makes my day!!  Do this BEFORE and AFTER EVERY writing lesson.

4.  Ask questions to guide your writers such as "What did it look like?" "What did you smell, hear, feel?"  "What were you thinking to yourself when that happened?  Write it”  Also, don’t be afraid to give your writers the right words when they are struggling.  They will learn to use phrases and words you give them over and over if it makes their stories stronger.  As writers are writing, you should be conferring.  Walk around with a pack of sticky notes to guide your writers with suggestions such as "show not tell how you felt at that moment," or "I see you used the word went, maybe we can use a stronger word." 

5. Students need reminders, checklists, and reminders to look at the checklists and after that, more reminders!  The checklist should not only have the talking point, i.e. "paint a picture" or "add sparkle words," but it should provide clear examples of exactly what that means.  I give the students examples either via modeling or words on the easel, as they are writing.  I usually have these points on anchor charts and checklists.  Make sure to include only a small number of elements on the checklist.  I would give my students a checklist, but each day, we would focus on only one element, for example, painting  a picture, and on another day, adding our 5 senses.  I have created checklists containing all of the elements and these can be found in my small moments packet. However, I introduced only one a day.  :) .  Check out my small moments writing unit at TpT!.  Click the link picture below.  

Last...HAVE FUN!!  Small Moments make the world go 'round and teaching students how to embrace their stories and make their stories come alive is one of my all time favorite things to do!  I hope you make some fabulous small moments today. 

Adjective Iphones - We did these with nouns and adjectives and my kids LOVED it!!

You can have students write common nouns on cards and proper nouns underneath or as we did in this photo, write nouns on cards, and adjectives underneath.  

Print out this sheet.  Then write your nouns on the colored cards.

Then, glue onto the phone, only the lid of the card, and write adjectives underneath.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Adjective-Craftivity-1601443

A Look Inside My Classroom- Love Paint!

This is my hallway bulletin board, small but usable. I changed my color theme last year to blue/green and I am really loving it.

A Peek inside

I painted this wall green. It was the best thing I ever did. No more bulletin board paper!!

The blue and green squares are my word wall, just pieces of card stock laminated. Love this too.

This is simply a blue rectangle I painted on the wall. I will use this for important reminders, changes in pick ups for the day, etc. I also receive a few gifts/artwork that I display on this wall.

And of course, my personal favorite, my sentimental shelf where I house photos, personal gifts and this treasure given to me on the first day of school from a super special student!

LOVING Decorative Duct Tape

 Look how I turned an ugly, industrial looking white board into a cute one!  Would you believe my husband had this ugly thing hanging in our hallway?  Now I can take my duct tape to my classroom.  Watch out!