Pack the Suitcase! {FREEBIE}

I survived my first big professional development endeavor!  Yesterday was the big day!  Overall, I'm pleased with how it went, although I certainly learned a thing or two about pacing for next time.  :)  It was difficult to manage the time in a room with no clocks when my PowerPoint was up, and I couldn't see the clock on my computer screen.  I guess it's time to wear a watch again!  I had had the opportunity to share a few things at the district level over time, but this was a whole other ball game.  Having an hour to speak in front of roughly 120 people was a totally new experience for me!  All in all though, I'm satisfied.  I made a few contacts in other districts which is great, especially since I'm job searching.  I'm also really excited to be offered the opportunity to work on our K-5 Literacy team at the county (soon to be regional) level next year.  Stark County is pretty big, so I am humbled and excited about this opportunity.  I'm certainly the little fish in a big pond.  I was the only teacher presenter, and all of the other presenters either worked at the county level or on the Ohio Support Team.  So, I'm definitely a pretty small fish.  :) I have to say THANK YOU to everyone who previewed my presentation!  You gave me so much peace of mind going into this.  :)  I love our bloggy community!

Yesterday morning, I had the chance to attend two different workshops about reading nonfiction and the common core writing standards (which thankfully really led into my presentation).  I picked up a few more ideas, but I haven't really had time to process them, because I am exhausted.  It's been a big week between my presentation, buying a new car, attending a full day in-service on the Common Core Standards on Tuesday, and driving to Pittsburgh for a doggy arthroscopic surgery on Monday.  {It turns out that my precious little fur baby K-Fed has elbow dysplasia in both elbows and had a dislodged bone in his cartilage.  This means that I have been on "mommy patrol" to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself now that he's all stitched up.}  This week has been total madness! 

I'm hoping to be able to share more once things slow down a little bit for me.  I'm still trying to find time to read Math Work Stations, but I haven't had any time to pick it up this week.  So, instead of math goodies, I'd like to share an idea that I picked up from my new reading consultant buddy Joe yesterday.  It's a strategy for helping students determine importance, especially in nonfiction texts.  It may help to have students think about what's most important to take with them when they go on trips, and what they can leave behind.  {This actually kind of fits into my immigration lesson strangely enough.}  It's always nice to build schema and start with something very ego-centric since that's the stage most of our students are still in when they come to us.  Starting with "me" always seems to bridge gaps in comprehension!  After the short intro, you can introduce a short piece of text to the students and read it together.  Then, the idea is that the students will work independently or with groups to determine importance, write them on notecards, and pack their "suitcases"...small manila envelopes.  Eventually, the "suitcases" get pruned down, and the students "travel" to areas of the room to share with partners.  After a few minutes, the whole class gathers to share out the most important facts from the selection.  Isn't that fun?  If you'd like to have my version of this lesson, you can snag a freebie below! Teacher directions are included in the file.  ENJOY!

UNPACK THE FREEBIE

It's rainy in Ohio, so the lighting is a little lackluster!