Graphic Novels that All Kids Love

It's hard to believe that we have already finished our first quarter (and we're on week two of our fall break)! I don't know about you, but I felt like we were always busy, but didn't accomplish everything we needed to. One thing we did do a lot of was reading. My students this year are devouring graphic novels. Not just some of my 5th graders. All. Of. Them.  I'd like to introduce you to the four that are currently being passed around our class - we even started a waiting list in the library for them. Not only did my kids enjoy these, but I did too! These are definitely marketed to girls, but the boys are loving them too (which I think is super!). Three are by Raina Telgmeier, and the fourth, by Jennifer and Matthew Holm, is definitely in a similar style.

Smile is Telgmeier's memoir in graphic novel magnificence. The story accounts her dilemmas - her unfortunate teeth woes plus adolescent drama with friends. A bit of humor mixed with a great lesson about being true to oneself makes this a quick, fun, and memorable read. I loved that I could relate to some of the orthodontic misery, but luckily didn't have the misfortune that Raina experienced.

                              






Sisters is another graphic novel memoir by Telgmeier and this one was my absolute favorite. Raina and her younger sister, like many siblings, struggle to get along. Although my younger sister and I generally got along as we were growing up, this story brought back memories! The story revolves around a family road trip, quite similar to one I experienced the summer before starting high school. Once I finished I had to pass this book along to my little sister.






Telgmeier's Drama is about just what you expect...drama. Teenager in the high school drama club has teenage drama. This one was just OK. The story tackles some young adult issues about dating and that I think would be better suited to more mature students. It's definitely not one I would recommend to all of my 5th graders. The story itself was a bit cliche, but still a good read and a story that I think many teens would appreciate.







The sister-brother duo who wrote/illustrated the Babymouse series published graphic novel Sunny Side Up earlier this year. The story is semi-biographical, following Sunny's summer in the 70s. She was looking forward to have a family trip but is suddenly shipped off to spend the summer with grandpa in his Florida retirement home. There's hints of a family issue which comes to light by the end of the story. Cute, sweet, poignant. 

I am loving that my class has become connected as a community of readers by these books and I'm looking forward to hooking them on more graphic novels this year. I already have kids asking for Raina Telgmeier's Baby-Sitters Club and will need to hunt down some more graphic novels for our classroom library.

What graphic novels have you and your students enjoyed?

The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties.

Star graphics by Ashley Hughes

Back To School Read Aloud

I have a confession to make...I had never read the book Frindle. That probably makes me the worst upper grades teacher ever, but what is really bad, is that one of the reasons I didn't read it was because I judged it by the cover *gasp*. Sorry, but a kid holding a pen wasn't all that interesting to me. I knew the premise - some kids rename pens with the word frindle - and it "seemed" like more of a 4th grade book; most kids coming to 5th had already read it in 4th anyway. It was never on my to-read list.

Well, as summer wound down I wanted to squeeze in one more teacher book (see my Summer Reading posts for more great teacher books I read over the summer) and I chose reading guru Donalyn Miller's "Reading the the Wild". What a lovely book! It really invigorated me and reminded me of how important it is to foster a love of reading.

I started to think about which book I wanted to start with this year, and I REALLY wanted to have a book that my students could each hold in their hands and follow along with. Last year our district adopted the Journey's reading series. I'm not a fan of basals/anthologies/programs like this, but Journey's has one great bonus, actual books - and enough for all the kids! Well, Frindle happened to be one of the trade books for 5th grade and so I knew that I'd finally have to read it.

And you know what...I LOVED it! I'm a tough critic and rarely give a book 5 stars, this was an easy 5 stars and I knew it was the book to start the year off! I had lofty goals to start it on day one, but that day flew by, so we started on day 2.

As I introduced Reading Workshop I explained that I wasn't going to use Frindle to teach them vocabulary and there weren't going to be "assignments" on it. We were just going to read it to ENJOY it! And enjoy it we did. Yesterday we wrapped up week two of school and finished Frindle. I think I enjoyed even more the second time around!

Frindle is such a satisfying read and perfect for 5th grade. The themes make it ideal to kick off the year:
* a teacher's influence on students
* thinking "outside the box"
* being a risk taker
* how words evolve/the importance of word study
* being yourself

Now to decide on a read aloud for week 3...

The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties.

Reading Like a Sleuth

Like most of you, this year I am dipping my toes in the waters of close reading. Our district provided a professional development for close reading last year, but I left it as a "2" on the Marzano learning scale. Yikes! How was I going to teach it?!

I've been scouring education sites, blogs, and Pinterest for more information on close reading, as well as hunting down resources, and finally ventured into teaching it last week. I was completely honest with my class and explained that although I wasn't a "4" on the learning scale, I would do my best to teach what I understood about close reading. I had already taught annotation (using this awesome freebie!) and my kiddos are getting better at it - one of my gals even annotated her math word problem today, without being asked to! Impressive! But now it was time to dig deeper. 

Luckily, today I got an email from We are Teachers with two fantastic FREE resources that are totally going to help me better understand close reading, help me teach close reading, and support students as they become close readers. The first is a handy and quick close reading guide for teachers.  

The second freebie, a close reading guide specifically for students. As you can imagine, this was immediately printed and copied. These will be going straight into our reading workshop binders as convenient references. I especially love the "Make your case" and "Prove it!"tips. 

Thank you We are Teachers for these great resources! Ok friends, I'd love any and all advice/resources/links/etc. on close reading! 

Vocabulary Cootie Catcher

My new {awesome} teammate showed me a simple yet wonderful idea today - make cootie catchers (aka fortune tellers) for vocabulary. Now, I know that these fun and sometimes pesky little paper creations can be overdone and can sometimes get out of hand, but I honestly haven't made one of these since I taught 3rd grade (over eight years ago!). I couldn't get this super idea out of my head, and since I came home to some nice news, I figured this was just the thing.

The news isn't anything big, but for me it kind of is. Today I reached a small, but personal, TpT milestone. I'm nowhere near being a top seller (and I'm totally cool with that!), but the few bucks I've made has certainly far exceeded my expectations from when I started. I'm blown away and amazed by everything TpT and I absolutely love creating and sharing my ideas. Plus, I've grown and become better at what I do both as a teacher and teacher author. I've also found some GREAT teacher authors who have been so kind to share their creations and I love being able to by quality goodies from them. To celebrate and thank my awesome followers I was going to make one of my paid items a freebie for a short time, but since my co-worker showed me this cootie catcher a few hours ago i figured this would make a perfect (and permanent) freebie.

Clicky-click! Get your cootie catcher and go crazy with vocabulary fun!

Reading Workshop - the first four weeks

The past four weeks of school have gone by in the blink of an eye. I've had hardly a moment to even think about taking photos for a blog post. But, I did want to make a quick post about my first experiences with Reading Workshop. I'm using a variety of resources to help me get started from Fountas & Pinnell to Pinterest. The only other teacher I know using it is at another school, so I am lucky to have her as a resource, although I wish we were closer.

So, what have we accomplished in four weeks?
* We built up stamina and we are now reading for 30-40 minutes!
* I have a student who is below a 3rd grade reading level but insists on reading above grade level material. I was able to hook him with with the Fabelhaven audiobook and he is now reading the entire time and is comprehending what he is reading.
* The first week I made some brief observations while the students were reading.
* It took me nearly two weeks but I interviewed each student about their reading. I loved these first conferences and getting to chat with my students.
* I was debating whether or not to complete a BRI assessment or just use the data from their AIMS tests. I decided more data and getting a chance to actually hear their fluency was the best way to go, so I started those last week.
* I'm hoping to get those assessments finished this week and begin small group/guided reading.
* We've completed a variety of mini-lessons with anchor charts and are already becoming better readers!
* We've reflected on our growth and areas for improvement.
* We've read A LOT!

What do I think of Reading Workshop so far?
I absolutely LOVE it! I wish I had learned about this sooner! I'm excited about the growth my students are going to make this year!

On Friday my students wrote me a quick letter about Reading Workshop and I had to share a few of my favorite. It really gives you an idea of how much the students are getting out of it already!

I wrote back to every single student and, although exhausting, I know the students will be appreciative and it will continue to support their growth in reading.

There were a couple of people asking me about the reading interviews that I completed with each student. The point of this is to actually connect with the students as a sort of first or pre-conference and show interest in each of them as a reader. This is not to be handed out for the students to fill out, but for the teacher to actually interview everyone. My Reading Workshop binder is filling up with data, observations, and their interview notes. The interview questions I adapted from Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop: Making Informed Instructional Decisions in Grades 3-6 by Sibberson and Szymusiak. You can get the copy I whipped up, for free, from my Facebook Fan Freebie page! 

Since I am still feeling my way around Reading Workshop I'd love more ideas/resources/links. Send them my way please!

And, I've already purchased some goodies from the HUGE Back-to-School TpT sale. Don't forget it is today and tomorrow only. All items in my store are 20%, plus use the code BTS13 for an extra 10% off!

I *heart* Zip Ties

I was planning on posting last week with my Monday Made It being . . . I made it through the first day of school, but, as we all know, the first days of school are extra exhausting. I guess this Monday Made It is that I made it through the first week of school!

The first week just flew right by, and I hardly took any photos! But, I wanted to share a bit of what we have been working on. This is my first year attempting Reading Workshop. Last week my new 5th graders went through our classroom library and reorganized it by genre and type. I had to give a few mini-lessons, but they started to get the hang of it. I put some of the books back on the shelf and labeled the shelf with my label maker. I had also bought some little baskets from the Dollar Tree to hold small bundles of books. We managed to find a lot of books that could be categorized by author too!

I whipped up some simple labels and then attached them to the baskets with one of my favorite classroom tricks...zip ties! You can get a colorful bundle from Dollar Tree with two sizes included. These are PERFECT for attaching labels to baskets. I've had some on baskets for years with no sign of breaking!

Labeled book bins at the top, and student book boxes and Reader's Notebooks in the shelf. 

Some books grouped by author. Tags attached with cheap zip ties! 

Some of our series books, on the shelves, labeled. 

A close up of one of those amazing zip ties!

Another Monday Made It - a simple wooden sign. I forgot my wall is white, so I guess I need to paint it again in another color!

And of course I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics and her awesome Monday Made It Linky!

Fortune Cookie Question Cards for Non-fiction {and a GIVEAWAY}

Several years ago I took a professional development course on (not taught by) Debbie Diller's Literacy Work Stations for Grades 3-6. The class was excellent because it was "make and take" and by the end of the class we all had several work station  materials ready to use in the classroom. Our homework during the course was to make and present our own workstation to the rest of the class. At the time Michael's had started selling take-out boxes in their gift wrapping section and I was inspired! I made three boxes each containing fortune cookie cards that had questions to use after reading at the non-fiction work station. I've had these in my room for several years, but I didn't photograph them because they weren't very pretty and had become faded from sitting in the window for years. I finally made a brand new set, fixed it up, and updated the questions.

These cards are great because they add interest to students and they come in their own cute storage boxes! 

And these are not just for literacy work stations! They can be used with small groups and whole class! 

I just added the file to TpT, it includes 16 science fortune cookie questions, 16 history fortune cookie questions, and 16 biography questions. There is a label for each of the three genres as well. The file has a black and white version for printing on tan card stock, or a colored version to use on white card stock. 

The take-out boxes can be found at many craft supply stores (Michael's, Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, etc.) These I purchased from Hobby Lobby for about $5.00. I *think* there were 8 included. I've even seen these at Dollar Tree! The pictured ones aren't laminated, but my original ones were. Just unhook the metal handles, unfold, and run through the laminating machine! 

So, I've been wanting to do a giveaway for sometime, but I'm nervous. I've never had one before and I don't want to do it wrong! Please gently let me know if I am committing a giveaway crime, I don't intend to! 

The prizes:

1st Place - I'll mail you the completed Fortune Cookie Question Cards for Non-fiction that is shown above! No need to print and cut, I've already done that for you! And, to sweeten the deal, I'll throw in a $10.00 TpT gift certificate! (Must be a US resident)

Runner Up - Two lucky people will receive a free PDF of the Fortune Cookie Question Cards for Non-fiction! Plus one free item of choice from my TpT store!

How to enter (up to 3 entries possible!): 

* Fill out the simple 3 question form below. 

(Your email address will only be used in the event that you win.)

* Like Upper Grades are Awesome on Facebook and leave a comment finishing the phrase "Upper grades are awesome because...".

* Follow the blog and comment on this post with the following: name, email address, and finish the phrase "Upper grades are awesome because...".

All entries must be received by Sunday, March 17, 2013 11:59 PST/PDT.

Winner will be chosen using a random generator. 

I will announce the winners on Monday, March 18. 

What genre are you reading?

When I taught 6th grade I felt that the students knew genre pretty well, but this year my 5th graders seem to struggle with it in their Read and Respond (I haven't "taught" genre yet). I set up this genre bulletin board in our classroom library area.

Last year I started using those small shelves from Ikea to display books in my classroom. I don't remember how much they were but they are super easy to install and are very sturdy. Since we study ancient civilizations in 6th grade, I would display books to go along with whatever we were studying: ancient Greece, Rome, China, Egypt, etc. I figured that for 5th grade I would try to display different genres and switch them out every few weeks to help the students understand them better. I used the free genre poster download from Beth Newingham (who coincidentally inspired me to start a classroom economy years ago).

My photo isn't the best, and there is an inconvenient glare, but I currently have up Informational, Mystery, and Realistic Fiction. My hope is that they not only better understand genre, but maybe they'll pick up and read some of the books I have displayed. Books are so much more welcoming when you can see the front cover and not just the spine!

I am also planning on adding an insert to the students' Read and Respond that includes a handy guide to genre.

Ready, Set, Read (and Respond)!

In my years of teaching (this will be number 9) I am usually trying new things (or improve things that work) and easily get tired of the same thing year-to-year. The one exception to this would be Read and Respond. The first school I taught at used the Success for All (SFA) reading program. It was a phenomenal program that really helped students make huge gains in reading and writing. It especially benefited the students of that particular school, which was nearly all English Language Learners, because students quickly became proficient in English too. One of the requirements was that students, of all grade levels, read for a minimum of 30 minutes everyday, even weekends. They were also not to write a summary of what they read, rather they were to respond to what they read in a meaningful way. And so I have kept Read and Respond over the years although due to my current school district's policy I have had to reduce the minimum time and days (20 minutes Monday through Thursday).

Last week we put together our Read and Respond notebook which consist of pasting the directions and grading rubric in the cover of a composition notebook. Then we practiced writing responses using the book I read aloud to them. They have only been doing this for a few days but some of them are already doing a extraordinary job! 

For Read and Respond students can read fiction or non-fiction and I require them to.....
* write the title
* write the date they read
* write the pages they read
* write the genre
* respond to what they read in 5 sentences
* get a parent signature to verify their reading

This is a model entry that blew me away! It says: 

"In this section India Opal Buloni found out that Winn-Dixie is afraid of thunderstorms. I can relate to that because my dog Graham is afraid of thunderstorms too. He whines and scratches at the door just like India had described of what Winn-Dixie did. Graham is also like Winn-Dixie because he won't lie down during the storm because he gets too nervous. After the storm is over Winn-Dixie calmed down just like Graham does."

At the bottom of her entry you can see the score she gave herself for Reading and Language Arts. I will grade these periodically, and I will also ask students to score themselves and score each other too. 

Ready to use Read and Respond in your classroom too? The Read and Respond Journal pages are available in my TpT store. You will receive a teacher direction page, student direction page and rubric to paste into a notebook, alternate blackline master for photocopying, and Read and Respond passes to use for incentives/prizes. 

Read and Respond

I have been using Read and Respond with my students since I started teaching 8 years ago and have tweaked it every year. Every educator knows how vital it is for students to be reading daily. Daily reading boosts fluency, builds vocabulary, and increases comprehension. Good readers think about what they read and the Read and Respond Daily Journal allows students to quickly and thoughtfully respond to what they are reading. Students use thought-provoking prompts to help them analyze what they read for deeper understanding. Read and Respond goes beyond traditional summarizing, although summarization is embedded into the response.

I use Read and Respond in my classroom as an on-going daily homework assignment. I expect my students to read everyday for 20 minutes or more, and I require them to respond to their reading in their Read and Respond notebook four times a week. I like to keep the response simple because I'd rather them spend more time on reading, and I feeling that a meaningful response can be kept to around five sentences. I provide prompts for students (for both fiction and non-fiction books) that they can respond to, or they can write their own response. I ask that my students not give a summary. Usually by 5th/6th grade students are able to easily summarize what they have read. It is much more meaningful for students to actually respond to what they read by thinking about it in different ways. Typically a summary will embed itself in the response. All the students need to do is write the title of the book they are reading, the genre, the date, a five sentence response, and a parent/guardian signature. 


The Read and Respond is checked off daily and I periodically collect students' notebooks and read some of their entries. I ask that students only put one response per page so that I may write a note to them about their response on the rest of the page. Sometimes I will collect everyone's notebook at the same time, or I have also collected them on a rotational basis (this helps me not to be overwhelmed). Usually the first few weeks students are still stuck on summarizing, but once I provide some feedback in their notebooks then I start to see the really meaningful responses emerge. 


In this booklet you will get . . . 
* Teacher directions and suggestions for use
* Student directions for students to paste in their journal 
* Student rubric for students to paste in their journal
* Student worksheet (to be used instead of a composition notebook)
* Read and Respond Passes (for use as incentive/prize in your classroom)