Story Map Chart and Graphics

Wow!  I feel as if I fell off the face of the earth for awhile there!  I hope you are all having a great start to your new year!  We have completed our 16th day of school and are beginning to get the lay of the land with the new group.  It takes a few weeks but the kids are doing a great job adjusting.  We even completed our first full day of small reading group rotations!  Woohoo!!

I was googling an image for Plaidypus Lost, our third story in the Scott Foresman program, and I came across this post from April at Chalk Talk from last year.  I loved the idea of a permanent Story Map to use week after week with each story read.  I am currently making my chart and will include a photo when it is complete but I am copying the same design shown in the Chalk Talk post.

Here are the graphics and text I am using for my pirate theme this year, which I am loving by the way! I printed the text on colored paper and will use a large sheet of white chart paper for the chart.

Story Map Chart

Thanks to Scrappin Doodles...
Story Map Graphics


I also made these signs to differentiate fiction and non-fiction books that we read in Scott Foresman.  I have used google images to download pictures of the book covers and laminated them.  As we read each story, we will place the cover under the fiction or non-fiction sign.  I have been meaning to do this for the past several years so finally, here they are!

Fiction Non Fiction Signs

I'm WONGing it!

Well, you can't actually search inside.  Sorry about that!

 
Well, ladies and our few gentlemen, we are all just weeks or for some of us, days away from starting over with a fresh batch of kids.  Is this when a lot of you, like me, seriously question your career choice?!  I LOVE my babies once we are a month or so into school but the first few weeks are painful...as in FULL.OF.PAIN. for everyone! The kids are exhausted and somewhat bewildered- we wear them out, don't we?  And of course, being much older, we are definitely worn OUT.  That being said, the only way and I mean THE ONLY WAY to start off the year is with PROCEDURE, PROCEDURE, PROCEDURE.  Did I hear AMEN?!  Did I?

After my first and somewhat, disastrous, but chock-full-of-lessons-learned First Year back to teaching, I spent that summer seriously re-evaluating the year.  I knew things had to change and my sweet friend, Lana, told me I needed to WONG it.  I am sure that most all of you are aware and have probably read Harry Wong's book but after staying home with my girls for many, many years he was fresh news to me.  His directions are clear, simple and repetitive.  This works for children but it also works for us, doesn't it? 

Children need to know EXACTLY what to do when it is time to line up, go to the bathroom, go to lunch, what to do when they have a question, how to walk through the hallway, how to sit on the carpet during whole group, what to do if the kid next to them won't.stop.bothering.them, etc.  If you SHOW them, model all of these procedures, have them practice, practice, practice then the answers are clear.  They feel more sure of themselves and you start to form a group.

I re-read this book right before school starts every year just as a re-fresher and it makes such a difference.  The single best advice I give to new teachers, students teachers or elementary ed majors is to READ THIS BOOK.  The more confident children feel about clear, succinct, simple and oft-repeated directions and procedures for doing everything, the more smoothly they are able to function as a class, a team.  This allows everyone to work together and for those having difficulty, the consequences are plain and upfront-no surprises.   I love it!


By the way, thank you all for your very sweet comments about my husband's deployment to Afghanistan.  I so appreciate them and all of your prayers.  It means a great deal to our family.  Thank you so very much.  That is just another reason to love blogging-you meet so many wonderful people! Thank you for taking a moment to write-you are amazing!