Center for the Collaborative Classroom: Our New ELA Program

Let me first start by saying that I am not a program person. I have always used a balanced literacy approach to teaching reading and writing - and my students have always been very successful. The problem was that I was an island. What kids were doing in my class, they were guaranteed to continue in their next class. Our school was all over the place and there was no consistency. There may have been pockets of great teaching happening, but there was no cohesion, and so our students could not sustain any great learning that was taking place from year to year. We basically had a patchwork quilt of teaching going on.

Enter Collaborative Classroom. This year, we adopted this program k-6. When I say that our elementary school teachers are obsessed, I mean it. Finally, we are all on the same page! And our teaching is connected - reading, word work, writing, interventions, small group reading, spelling, grammar, SEL, EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE!

By the way, I am definitely not cool enough to be paid to say any of this. I am just sharing my thoughts on a "program" that is sooooo not a basal, but is structured enough that any teacher should be able to follow it and find success.

PS the program is only 30 weeks. So there is plenty of time to integrate other types of learning into your year, take a break for a Social Studies/Science unit, or do some test prep.

Here are the big programs:

- Caring Classrooms - We don't use this component because we follow Responsive Classroom, but SAME THING. It is basically morning meetings and basic SEL practices that make sense. FYI, the entire program integrates these practices throughout and builds a strong foundation of SEL for kids starting from day one.

- Making Meaning - Our reading comprehension program. It is based on the BEST read alouds ever. I seriously love every single one. It is rooted in discussion, partner talks, sharing, quick writes, etc. So, of course some testing grade levels freaked a little. They love the program but the big bad test is always looming, so we chose one read aloud text for each unit to buy class sets of, and I created test prep questions for that text. Now, the teachers feel better!

- Being a Writer - Again, based on mentor texts and a Writer's Workshop mentality. LOVE IT. Our teachers always struggled with teaching writing. Everybody did it differently. Some people didn't do it at all. Yes, that is real. 

- Being a Reader - This is mostly K-2, based on teaching kids to be independent during small group work. It also comes with "sets" of books for small group reading. Now, these text levels go through third grade, so our k-3 teachers use them for small group reading. Our fourth grade teachers use them for their lower readers, in addition to continuing to use Literacy Footprints, which we love. *Also, second grade has a word work component here and there is a letter learning piece to K-1.

- SIPPS - The interventions! OMG, the interventions align with the tier 1 instruction, can you believe it? I love it. As a classroom teacher, I hated not knowing what my kids were doing when they received a reading intervention. I am very controlling. But now, the program is fairly scripted, research-based, and I know exactly what every kids is doing - and it aligns with the Being a Reader program. In fact, kids getting a reading intervention are also receiving small group instruction in their classroom and literally see the overlap of the program. They say, "Hey, I learned this word with my reading teacher!" Yes, yes, you did. Not a fluke.

- Guided Spelling - Only for 3-6, but awesome. We were kind of using Words Their Way for a while. I love Words Their Way, but some teachers taught it really thoroughly and others...didn't. So this program is better. It is setting up a strong foundation of understanding patterns within words. There is some differentiation, but definitely not like Words Their Way. So some of our teachers ARE still using Words Their Way for their lowest spellers during their Academic Intervention Support time, but those are only the very motivated and dedicated teachers who previously used Words Their Way and understand it at its core.

And that is Collaborative Classroom! In the nuttiest nutshell ever. If you have more specific questions about it, ask! I love talking about Collaborative Classroom. Also, go make a free login in their Learning Portal or Hub. They are nonprofit, so all of their resources are right there for you to check out and try - I'm talking teacher manuals, student workbooks, printables, professional development videos/blogs/articles - you name it. I literally taught SIPPS for a year before we bought the program. It is way easier now that we have all of the materials and I'm not making everything from scratch, but I was definitely able to do it! And you can too!

Five for Friday

One of my sweet students had his dad make this for me! There is a light in the wooden stand and a remote control so I can change the color of the light! It is so cool.

I sent these secret missions home for parents this week!

Parents will write a note of support and encouragement for kids. I'll put one note on their desk on day one of the ELA state test and one note on their desk for the first day of the math state test. Inside the envelope parents have a letter explaining the assessments and what they need to do, two envelopes, and two notecards for writing their child letters.

Secret Mission Parent Encouragement Notes

We had a secret agents day!

Since it was a half day, with an assembly, and lunch, AND a special...I wound up with only one hour of teaching time!! Soon, I decided to have some fun with it. We have a state test in ELA next week, so their secret mission was a reading passage and an extended response. After they finished writing it, they had a four point rubric to grade themselves and make changes to their final writing piece. They also got to do this rubric with invisible ink! It was a blast!

The "lasers" were made with white string and a black light shining on them.

I had our READ sign lit up for secret agents day and it looked even cooler in the dark!

The letters were from Michaels.

When I was going through my closet and gathering things to send to Goodwill, Arthur climbed inside the bag and snuggled up with my clothes! The funny thing is that he is afraid of plastic grocery bags!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven't been fishing is that something you'd like to try?

I have gone fishing, a very long time ago as a child! I was pretty awful and never caught anything. I think it was mostly my uncle fishing and then letting me hold the rod after he cast! I think that I would enjoy fishing now that I'm older. It seems really relaxing.

2. What's something you're always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

I HATE carrying purses or bags of any kind, so I usually stuff my pockets with everything I might need when I go out. Usually, I have a hard time when I need to dig out any cash. It falls everywhere and it's a crumpled mess.

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

Finding Nemo, of course.

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

Sunrise. Because I am a total morning person. I'm conking out on the couch at 9pm every night but I'm always up before the sun.

5. What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

I have been the same size since like, middle school, so I definitely have clothing from a long time ago. I also hate throwing anything away that still fits! The oldest clothing I have is probably a sweatshirt from ninth grade when I played on the field hockey team. The sweatshirt is ripped and permanently stained, but it's perfect for layering under my coat when I walk the dog on frigid winter days.

6. We've got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What's been the best and worst part of your winter so far?

I love winter! Now that I live a hop, skip, and a jump away from the school I teach at, it's really nice waking up to a snowy morning. No more driving an hour to work, scared to death in the blizzard-like weather! The best part about winter is when it snows A LOT and I bring my bulldog, Lucy, out to play. She hops like a rabbit in the high snow! So, no, I'm not itching for a vacuum.

7.  The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day...will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffett fan? If so, what's your favorite JB tune?

I didn't realize it was National Margarita Day until I saw my sister's instagram feed. She had her boston terrier sitting near her margarita glass, wishing everyone a happy day! Check out rufiegram....that dog is hilarious!

I like Jimmy Buffet. I think I could sing all of the lyrics to Cheeseburger in Paradise.
8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have been all Lego all the time lately! My school is pushing STEM/STEAM big time, so it's been a major focus this school year. I've been creating Lego STEM/STEAM activities to incorporate into my third grade classroom. Check them out by clicking here.


Oh! And here is a picture of Lucy from our recent hike at Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, New York. She's awesome.

Classroom Fairy Door

This little door from Amazon has worked wonders in my classroom for behavior management! My little third graders really believe that there is a fairy living on the other side of the door. They think that diary brings them clean desk notes and treats, messy desk reminders to clean up, and little rhyming notes for fun in their mailboxes!

The coolest part about the fairy door was the WRITING it inspired. My kids write stories about the purple door and what is behind it. They write mysteries, fictional fantasy stories, and riddles. It has been INSPIRING! And a ton of fun for me to sprinkle glitter on the floor every once in a while. :)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Fairy-Starter-Pack-2938546

Hi there! I'll be linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday today. So, let's get started! :)

I've been experimenting with new ways to incorporate our secret agents day into the year. My second graders had a blast with this room transformation last year! I created secret agents days focused on area, multiplication, addition, subtraction, and time to make this year memorable for my third graders!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Secret-Agents-Day-AREA-2989107

Have you ever made a deep dish pizza in a crock pot? It really works! Just use Pillsbury pizza dough and layer your toppings! It was DELICIOUS!

Yet again, the Valentines science kits I found on TPT were a hit with my students as a Valentines day gift! And so easy! I bought the materials for less than $15 and packaged them in an hour!

I became a Seesaw ambassador recently! Seesaw has transformed my parent communication and I LOVE IT! Email me for more information. I also have a Seesaw ambassador code to get you some free Seesaw Plus, which is an amazing formative assessment tool.

http://web.seesaw.me

I started a new bulletin board in my classroom recently. I began pulling mentor sentences and paragraphs from my students' writing journals and posting them on the bulletin board as inspiration for the class. The kids love reading each other's writing and using this variation of a mentor text.

How To Writing

Our third grade class used Amy Lemons and Hope King's Write On unit to help us through procedural writing. The kiddos LOVED  making Pie In a Cup! We discussed the materials, made it ourselves, used sequence words to write a paragraph, and saw our writing through to publishing! It was a lot of fun and something different. All third graders have done How To Writing before, but none of them had made Pie In a Cup before!

Secret Agents Day

Last year we had so much fun transforming our second grade classroom. I used white string and went crazy taping it all over to make the lasers. I bought black lights from Party City on sale. Each child had "spy" glasses. I also printed secret agents badges and put them on string to make necklaces. I had four tasks throughout the day, each in a manila envelope. The tasks in second grade focused on each subject area. We had a close reading, Oregon Trail writing, math activities, and synonyms/antonyms. 

This year I plan on doing four tasks ALL ABOUT AREA. My third graders have been struggling with area so I created four tasks to practice this skill before our state assessments. It's going to be a lot of fun!

WE HAD A BLAST LAST YEAR! 

And I am so excited to bring this to my third grade class this year.

Check out the product on TpT if you're interested:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Secret-Agents-Day-AREA-2989107

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Secret-Agents-2350119