Partner Poems

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India.  In Sanskrit the word yoga means 'union'.  I used to do yoga many years ago, before children, at the health club I used to belong to.  I did it on a Friday night and it was low-key and AWESOME!  But then I got married, moved to Alaska, had kids and got really involved in the school where I teach.  Excuses, yep I know.  But I'm the kind of person that needs a coach or teacher to lead it in order for me to do it.



Yoga in the classroom has been popular for a while now, especially as way to fit breaks and movement into a very crammed day.  I've tried to incorporate it via Brain & Body Breaks (I don't like to just call it a brain break because I think both need a break at the same time).  I also started using Cosmic Yoga on YouTube at our independent video station during our small literacy groups and that has been VERY successful (I have wireless, infrared headphones from Caliphone).  But I was still trying to find another way to incorporate it and also incorporate other subjects areas. . .then it hit me like a bolt of lightening!

Readers' Theater-style partner poems that are non-fiction and focus on different yoga poses combine reading + science/social studies + movement.

I love to write poetry and creating Readers' Theater scripts!  I had so much fun writing these and researching yoga and different animals!  I can't wait to incorporate these into my classroom this fall.  I like that the scripts are purposefully short yet there is a written, step-by-step, explanation on how to do each pose after reading the partner poem.

And I've gotta give a shout out to my new favorite clipartist:

Have a great week everyone!

Pig the Pug

I stumbled upon a new book series last week that I am in love with!

I was flipping through books in my classroom and came across 'Pig the Winner'. It was a book I ordered from the Scholastic Book Order last year and never did anything with.  So I sat right down, read it and laughed the entire time!  Aaron Blabey's use of rhyme throughout the entire book is fantastic and I immediately thought "I've got to turn these books into Readers' Theater scripts because they are awesome fluency practice AND infuses SEL!"

Badda Bing, Badda Boom: Pig the Pug PACK

I loved writing these scripts because they're funny and short!  I have a hard time keeping my scripts to 3 pages or less and each script is about 2 pages.

I've ordered all the other books (Pig the Grub, BTW, is hard to find and I got it online from Australia) and am planning to do a Pig the Pug week right after Thanksgiving and then invite parents to come watch the plays so they can listen to their children and be proud of their growth thus far in 1st grade.

Click on Pig below to check it out!

A Gaggle of Geese

A gaggle of geese = a bunch of geese.

A mischief of mice = a bunch of mice.

My son said something at dinner the other night that started the hamster wheel in my brain turning.  Before I knew it, I was writing a partner play about all the normal, silly and weird names for groups of animals (i.e. collective nouns). It's a rhyming, 2-page play and it's FREE, so go check it out!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!  

Now do you get the title of the play?

Pocket Monsters

Did you know that the word 'Pokémon' means pocket monsters?

I remember waaaaaay back in the late 90's that these animated creatures took the world by storm.  That was the start of my teaching career and a little boy named John, in my very first class, taught himself to read in English (because I taught at a French immersion school and there was no English in our 2nd grade classroom) by studying the Pokémon poster that was hanging on a wall in his bedroom.  Then the craze faded. . . .and was back with a vengeance in the summer of 2016 with the Pokémon Go app.  This reignited the dormant passion to 'collect' all these different little creatures. It ignited my curiosity as to "what in the heck are Pokémon anyway?!"

The story behind the creation is really neat!  Creator Satoshi Hajiri was fascinated with bugs when he was a kid and turned that passion into "Pokémon".  

My students walked into the 2016-2017 school year all abuzz about Pokémon and I scrounged around for some books to satisfy their passion and curiosity.  To meet that need, I also started creating partner and trio plays based on the characters, game and app to motivate students for "Read With Someone" time during our small reading groups.

I spent a lot of time researching various Pokémon characters and how to play the game.  I added a comprehension component to each play that is part of an overall reading mission for all the plays in this set.

It took me longer than anticipated to complete this new set of partner and trio plays due to the research (which was actually really fun) and switching grade levels this past year AND renewing my National Boards.  But it's done and I'm so excited to share it!

If you do download this pack and use the plays in your classroom, I would LOVE kid suggestions for which Pokémon should be part of Series #2!

School's Out and I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

I am officially freeeeeeeeeeee for the summer!

I am feeling giddy that tomorrow I don't have to go to work and can do whatever I want, when I want!  I'll most likely spend it working in my gardens and yard, running to Home Depot and maybe even taking a nap. . .

This year I switched grade levels (up to 2nd), renewed my National Boards in Literacy and had the largest class ever in my 17 years 

(and 90% of my boys were 'squirrels at a rave').

The last few weeks were CrAzY, with everything winding down, putting on a triathlon for kids in our city, creating and distributing our school's yearbook and being DJ for our annual end-of-the-year DJ party. . .all while my husband was in Japan. . .thank goodness my mother-in-law flew up to help me out!

But I LOVE all the FUN things I'm involved with at my school!  Time to have fun in the classroom and at school continues to dwindle and I've had enough so I'm bringing the FUN back in any big or little way I can.

Speaking of fun, have you read the book "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt?  HILARIOUS and clever!  I read it a few weeks back and as I was reading it I said out loud "This story would make a great Readers' Theater play." and everyone cheered.  So I whipped up a script and we performed it for parents in the music room with microphones and a black, velvet curtain...so awesome!

Click on the image below to get it for FREE and use it with your class, your RTI group, your summer school class, etc.

If you are not yet done with your school year, my thoughts go out to you:

What's the Difference?

Here's a little quiz.  Write down or remember your answers and then scroll down to see how you did.

Are these pairs of animals the same?

                   A)  cougar & puma

               B)  turtle & tortoise

               C)  crow & raven

               D)  jackrabbit & hare

               E)  crocodile & alligator

               F)  firefly & lightning bug

               G) butterfly & moth

               A)  yes

               B)  no

               C)  no

               D)  yes

               E)  no

               F)  yes

               G) no

How did you do?  If you're wondering why B, C, E and G are NOT the same then I've got the thing for you. . . actually it's for your students.

Click to get

Click to get

I remember wondering, about a year ago, "Are ravens and crows the same thing?", as I watched a raven (revered by certain Native Alaskan groups) caw at me from a light post at my school one morning.  Right then and there I got the idea for yet another Readers' Theater pack and my brain started racing to think of more animals that were similar but not the same.

Each play comes with 2 different comprehension checks: a Venn diagram fact sort and a 6 question opened ended response sheet.

I came up with so many animal pairs that I'm going to start working on pack #2, followed by pack #3!  

Next week I'll be at a cabin in the woods, on a lake, in the middle of no where and I'm excited to churn out some more writing!

The Sun and the Wind

I'm now back in Minnesota, my home state, for at least a month to visit family and friends and do lots of fun things!  Today, our first full day here, I took my kids to SandVenture, which is basically a swimming pool that looks and feels like a lake.  It was hot. . .upper 80's with some humidity (remember we live in Alaska so it's like culture shock).  The sun, although hot and shining brilliantly, was tempered with a nice cool breeze.  I made a connection right then and there to the fable "The Sun & the Wind".

Later on I was sitting outside in a very cool one-person swing my sister has, listening to the wind blow through the trees and appreciating the shade from the sun and got the urge to write. . . a Readers' Theater script.  If you're not familiar with the story, here's a cute video:

This play has 4 characters, is 3 pages long and comes with both a comprehension check and inferential group discussion questions.

Hope there's lots of sun, with a nice cool breeze, wherever you are!

Greatest Hits

If you know me, you know how much I L-O-V-E Readers' Theater.  Freebies are also something I love! So I combined both of them.

You can now have 17 fiction & non-fiction scripts at your fingertips in one file.  You can use the TinyPDF app to use them sans paper.  Also included is some information about Close Reading and Readers' Theater.

And along the lines of Readers' Theater, I'm not sure where I got the idea but this past year I put up a permanent stage curtain in my classroom, in front of my main whiteboard and meeting area.  

It was a great decoration, was our stage for Readers' Theater presentations and was useful when I wanted students to only see part of the board and keep something out of view.  I bought a long curtain rod and 2 wall-mounted things to put the curtain rod on (kind of like brackets that you'd hang your bike up on when winter comes around)....not sure of the name.  But I got them at Home Depot and will put in a third one up (in the middle) next fall.

I took my kids to the library today and as they played I roamed the aisles of book and grabbed ones that stood out.  So I have some more (fiction) Readers' Theater inspiration.

LEGOs Rock!

Automatic Binding Blocks.  Not a very catchy name, right?  How about LEGO?  Much better!  LEGOs are a fantastic building tool and now a days they can even be used to help teach math, reading, science and social studies!

I had a blast researching the history of LEGOs as well as what the LEGO factory in Billund Denmark is like.  I was in Denmark this past March but didn't have enough time to take a train from Copenhagen to Billund to check out the factory for myself.  But now that I know so much about it, it's going on my bucket list!

My latest non-fiction Readers' Theater script is a partner play about LEGOs.  I hit the jackpot in combining fun reading fluency practice with pretty much every child's favorite toy!

And here's a fun idea to try at home with your kids or at school with your students:  Marble Maze using the bigger, Duplo, LEGOs that kids outgrow but you don't know what to do with them.  My daughter and I did this last weekend and we had so much fun!

You put a marble at the top and let it go and wait to see which container it will ultimately fall into on the bottom.

The long, blue board was something I purchased at a local toy shop.  It's 2-sided (small LEGOs and big Duplos). 

I stumbled upon a fantastic blog called frugalfun4boys.com and the blogger has some awesome ideas for using LEGOs!  I'm going to try many of her suggested ideas and see how I can adapt them for use in my classroom.

New 2 & 3 person Reader's Theater PACK

Do you think bugs are interesting?  I do.

Do you think bugs are gross?  I do.

Do you freak out when bugs are around you?  I do.

Do you know a ton of cool facts about bugs?  I do.

Well.....

My newest pack of partner and trio Readers' Theater plays is finally done and I'm so excited to try them out!  I've worked long and hard on these gems; doing a ton of research.

click to get it

Here's one of the plays for FREE so you can check it out and see if it's worth adding to your guided reading resource stash or a good fit for Read with Someone.

click to get it

I cAN'T wait to start my next Readers' Theater project (get it....can't/cANT)!

Pete the Pigeon is Baaaaaaaaaaack!

It's that time again. . .

This crazy pigeon invaded our classroom last year, the week before Thanksgiving, and he's going to do it again this week. I wasn't sure if I was going to do this again since we just had Scaredy Squirrel hanging out in our room but I remembered how much fun it was and got things prepped.

His nest.

His first letter to us.  Each letter tells us another interesting fact about pigeons.

I LOVE being the voice for this funny character and kids get a kick out of reading his messages each day.

If you want to bring Pete and his antics into your classroom, check this out 

(it'll be on SALE for the next 2 days):

And here are some fun Readers' Theater plays for partners or trios based on the books (also will be on SALE for the next 2 days).

Add caption

And check out the Pigeon section of Mo Willem's website here!