Tools for Teachers

Here is a site to other links that are interesting and helpful for teachers.

http://www.necc2008.org/profiles/blogs/1997968:BlogPost:36019

Tumblebooks

You can go here and read books online that are leveled by grade level. There are story books and chapter books.

http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fhome%5Ftumblebooks%2Easp

Twitter

You can join Twitter and start to follow your friends mini blogs.

http://twitter.com/login

U.S. Government

Here is a link to our U.S. Government.

http://www.usa.gov/

Westchester Library

Here is the link to the Westchester Library where you can find support services and student resources.

http://www.westchesterlibraries.org/node/7

Westorchard Elementary School

Here is the link to my school I teach in.

http://wo.ccsd.ws/

Leveled Book List

Here is a leveled book list from Westorchard Elementary School.

http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/

Patterson, NY

Here is some local information on Patterson, NY..... enjoy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson,_New_York#Geography

What is Balanced Literacy?

This is a great resource for Instructional Strategies in Reading and Writing Workshop.

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/balancedliteracy/index.html

Mystery Unit

For the past 2 weeks, my class has been studying the Mystery genre. My students have broken into 5 reading groups based on similar reading levels and read the same book together. They make predictions, collect clues, find suspects with motive, summarize plot and solve the crime. These books are lower than their independent reading level because the work I expect them to do is harder. Students need to weed through some nonclues or "red herrings" and have many discussions on twists and clues in the story.

Each group has a detective file where they track their progress and collect their data from their books. While filling in each worksheet in the file, they "Book Buzz" and share their findings.

I am reading The Maze of Bones, book 1 in the 39 Clues series, by Rick Riordan. This book is above their reading level and it is holding the class on the edge of their seats. I demo collecting clues in my detective file and also develope character profiles. So far, the book teaches a lot about history and it focuses on relevant topics for 4th grade Social Sudies such as the Declaration of Independance, Ben Franklin, and Colonial Times.