Camp Thunderbird - Part 2

Here's the second set of pictures from camp...

Camp Thunderbird - Part 1

I've finally gotten around to put some of the photos together from Camp Thunderbird.  As you're watching this slide show, make sure your child is explaining each event.  There are lots of funny moments! 

Organisms - Studycast

Click here to listen to the studycast for our upcoming test on Organisms.  This is a studycast I made for last year's class, but it covers all the same material.  If you have any questions, just leave me a comment or send me an email.  Thanks!

Notebook Connections by Aimee Buckner

Notebook Connections

Aimee Buckner
Stenhouse Publishers

The thing I like about Aimee is that she doesn't hold back.  She's completely honest about herself and her teaching - her struggles and successes.  When you read one of Aimee's books, you feel like you're having a thoughtful conversation with a colleague down the hallway.  But that's the great thing about Stenhouse authors  - they're teachers.  These authors/teachers are using current theory and tying them to authentic classroom practices.  

Notebook Connections shows us how Aimee has incorporated notebooks into her reading workshops.  In chapter 2, Aimee shows us how easily notebooks can be used to better know your students are readers.  Throughout the year, you can have students respond in their notebooks using guided questions or prompts.  These entries help us get inside our students' heads - to understand how they view themselves as readers and thinkers.  Chapter 3 is full of strategy lessons that help connect comprehension strategies to notebook writing.  Aimee does a great job of getting her students to think about their thinking.  The strategies she uses with her students push them towards deeper and more responsive thinking.  Chapter 5 focuses on finding the "hidden layers" of a text.  One of my favorite lessons she shares deals with character connections.  By studying the connections between characters, readers are invited to infer deeper about their relationships - and ultimately about the theme of the story.  Aimee closes her book with a chapter on assessment.  She understands that teachers must find a balance between their personal lives and school lives.  She provides realistic guidelines for assessment that give valuable feedback to students and parents, while at the same time prevents teachers from spending their entire Saturday reading notebooks. 

I'm ready to try out some of these notebook strategies in my classroom.  My students keep reading notebooks - they've become extremely valuable places to record our thinking, reflections, and book lists. But Aimee has pushed me to use notebooks in more thoughtful ways.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens!