and I've been busy with IB trainings . . .
I was super lucky to go to this years IB ARMS conference in Keystone with 5 of my favorite co-workers! The weather was beautiful, instructors were knowledgeable, and most importantly I got to spend more time getting to know coworkers that work in other areas of our building (all over glasses of wine of course). It may not be Vegas, but it was a great get away that got me excited for the school year!
All that being said... I haven't done much school-wise so I'm thankful for the linky "Monday Made it" from 4th Grade Frolics to keep me accountable for continuing schoolwork over the summer! Most of my stuff is specific to IB, but I'd love some help compiling a bigger and better book list for our unit on exploration that anyone could use!
Made it #1: A unit map for our school year! I can't tell you how many different ways we have compiled our 6 units of inquiry, I think that this one will do the trick with all of our central ideas, key concepts, related concepts, and lines of inquiry on one quick document. Hopefully this baby will cut down on having to flip through a copious amount of documents : )
Here's a quick freebee for you all! I was planning workout classes with a buddy for the week and realized I needed a better way to organize my plans (and make sure I stick to my workout routines). So hop on over to my TPT store to download this baby for free and get your workout on!
Made it #2: This document will be a bit more universal and goes with our second unit of inquiry of "Where We are in Place and Time". I know, it sounds fancy, right?! Through the lens of state standards this unit is simply about the age of exploration. But we're all fancy like in IB so looking at this unit from their lens our unit is focused on the enduring understanding that when people explore we end up learning something new about our world and other cultures (our central idea is "exploration may lead to discovery, new understanding, and change"). This broader lens allows us to look at advances in medicine, technology, and explorations throughout history. I LOVE IB because these broad lenses give us more meat to dive into when we make transdisciplinary units.
Sorry, that became long winded. But this document is simply a list for my students to use when searching for "read to self" books that relate to our unit of inquiry on exploration. I've compiled my favorite books from my personal classroom library that go with this concept but am DYING to find new books to add to my collection! Please leave a message if you have any FAVORITE exploration (adventure) books that I should add to my classroom library : )
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| each page has the book title, author, cover, and a quick description to help students decide at a quick glance if the book they are checking out would interest them! We don't worry too much about AR points/levels in our classroom seeing as we go over how to PICK a just right book at the beginning of the school year. I just want my kids to LOVE to read! This page has a few of my FAVORITES! I'm planning on reading these 3 as read alouds during our unit : ) 1. Heart of a Samuri 2. Misadventures of Maude March 3. My Side of the Mountain |
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| 4. Infinity Ring series 5. A Wrinkle in Time 6. From the Mixed-Up-Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frandweiler |
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| 7. The Penderwicks 8. Princess Academy 9. Island of the Blue Dolphins |
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| 10. The Wonderer 11. Stranded 12. Shipwreck |
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| 13. Everest 14. Peak 15. Blue Fingers: A Ninja's Tale |
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| 16. Moon Over Manifest 17. Mysterious Benedict Society 18. 39 Clues Series |
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| 19. Stuart Little 20. Wings of Fire Series 21. Three Cups of Tea |
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| 22. The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe Series 23. Pippi Longstocking 24. Kingdom Keepers Series |
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| 25. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World 26. Julie of the Wolves 27. Hatchet |
Which adventure/explorer book is YOUR favorite?! What books do I need to add to my list/classroom shelf?!
P.S.
I have no "crafty" items this week because our school is a "red zone" this summer and therefore I have no printer nor storage space for the things I make : ( My poor boyfriend is dying to have our guest bedroom back... I took a picture of the disaster that is my "teaching space" until I get back into the building August 13th but decided I shouldn't give other teachers nightmares...
Ahh your conference sounds nice! It's always great to be able to visit with your coworkers (like normal people do!) It's not our fault that our days are spent with little people! Sometimes I feel like I don't even know my coworkers unless they are in my hall because we never get to visit! Your unit map looks great! What is a red zone?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Bridget! And seriously! I know my 5th grade team so well but then the rest of the school seems so distant : ( Our school's focus this year is to get together whole staff once a month and do fun things to help remedy that issue.
DeleteBut to answer your question, a "red zone" means that it is in use with contract from outside of the district... aka a bible camp has taken over the school for the whole summer and I have a ton of 1st graders taking over my classroom. Not too happy about sticky little fingers all over my big kid classroom but most importantly it's been SO hard not having access to my room until their program is over! But no worries, "red zone" isn't like it's under quarenty or anything lol
What a rigorous, engaging theme! I am sure kids love this unit!
ReplyDeletemybrightbluehouse.blogspot.com