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Shared reading is an instructional approach that can be used with a whole class or a small group. Through modelling and think-alouds, the teacher begins to share with students the responsibility for reading.

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Guided reading is the bridge between shared reading and independent reading. It allows teachers to help students make the transition from teacher modelling to student independence.

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Praising the process not the product encourages the student to keep going and make them and their work valued.

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ELA.W.1.3

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards K-5

1: 1st Grade

3:
Write narratives in which they recount two or
more appropriately sequenced events, include
some details regarding what happened, use
temporal words to signal event order, and
provide some sense of closure.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.W.1.5

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards K-5

1: 1st Grade

5:
With guidance and support from adults, focus on
a topic, respond to questions and suggestions
from peers, and add details to strengthen writing
as needed.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

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Thought starters

1. How does process praise help students develop growth mindsets?

2. How does Ms. Stewart make sure her process praise is authentic?

3. What tips does Ms. Stewart share for how teachers can begin to use process praise in their classrooms?

Teachers

English Language Arts Math Science Social Studies Arts / Kindergarten 1 / Teacher

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Chana Stewart uses process praise to help her students develop growth mindsets. She shows us how she uses this praise during writing workshop and offers tips for how other teachers can try this type of praise.

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This resource talks about what writing workshops are, how they work, how to use them, and how to know if they are working.

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What Is It?

Kids learn to write by writing, so the bulk of a writing workshop consists of...writing! A writing workshop is a block of time set aside in the school day to focus exclusively on the writing process. Writing workshops take various forms, but the basic components are the same. In most cases, a writing workshop consists of a mini lesson teaching a particular skill or concept, a much larger block of time devoted to writing and conferring, and an activity that allows students to share their writing with the group.

Why Is It Important?

To help students learn to write, give them time to write. The writing workshop allows students time to work through the entire writing process-from first drafts to revision to final published pieces. Donald Graves, in A Fresh Look at Writing (1994), discusses the need for ample writing time in this way:

If students are not engaged in writing at least four days out of five, and for a period of thirty-five to forty minutes, beginning in first grade, they will have little opportunity to learn to think through the medium of writing. Three days a week are not sufficient. There are too many gaps between the starting and stopping of writing for this schedule to be effective. Only students of exceptional ability, who can fill the gaps with their own initiative and thinking, can survive such poor learning conditions.

When Should It Be Used?

Many teachers plan for their writing workshop at a time that is least likely to be interrupted, but it can be scheduled for any time during the day. The workshop should be a consistent, structured, uninterrupted block of time where students can concentrate on the writing process. Some teachers prefer to schedule the writing workshop just before or after the reading workshop to provide an extended literacy block. In this way, a teacher can take advantage of the reading and writing connection by extending and transferring the skills and concepts learned in one workshop to the other.

How Can You Make It Happen?

Although the writing workshop won't look exactly the same in every classroom, many elements are common. The simplest structure for a writing workshop starts with a mini lesson and a much larger block for writing and conferring.

A "typical" writing workshop might look like this:

Teacher conducts mini lesson on a specific skill or concept (5-10 minutes)

Students write while teacher confers with individual students (45-60 minutes)

Selected students share completed pieces or works-in-progress with whole group (10-15 minutes)

Students complete final edits and publish their works when they are finished.

Structure
The keys to a good writing workshop include scheduling it regularly so that students know that they will have a given amount of time to develop their pieces. You may think you need a highly creative, ever-changing environment to stimulate young writers. The opposite is actually the case. Lucy Calkins, in Lessons from a Child (1983), found that children thrive best when they can depend on a set structure within which they can work:

It is significant to realize the most creative environments in our society are not the ever-changing ones. . . . They are deliberately kept predictable, so the unpredictable can happen (Calkins 1983).

Materials for a writing workshop often include a writer's notebook, which is a place for students to collect thoughts, ideas, questions, and wonderings from which longer pieces will grow. It is a place to experiment and make mistakes.

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Kids learn to write by writing, so the bulk of a writing workshop consists of...writing! A writing workshop is a block of time set aside in the school day to focus exclusively on the writing process. Writing workshops take various forms, but the basic components are the same.

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This resource talks about different implementations of writers workshops. It gives ideas and provides some lesson plans for your classroom.

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TeachersFirst - Writer's Workshop - Introduction

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These pages introduce Writer's Workshop implementations for K-3 and upper elementary students. As you read this information, remember that you can implement these strategies in whole or in part, depending on your class and individual circumstances. In any case, the goal is to create students with confidence and fluency in the writing skills that will be necessary for secondary and post-secondary education.

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This is a newsletter that gives ideas of how to create good writing assignments

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Summary: Developing creative and rigorous writing assignments can be challenging. To support teachers in planning and reflecting on writing assignments in all content areas, a group of teacher-consultants and Writing Project site directors collaborated to create this new framework for writing assignments.

The challenge of designing writing assignments can be particularly daunting.

The sheer number of decisions could daze the most fearless among us: What do I want my students to learn from this assignment? For whom are they writing and for what purpose? What do I think the final product should look like? What processes will help the students? How do I teach and communicate with the students about these matters?

These decisions sit at the center of the Writing Assignment Framework and Overview project. This project has its roots in a study begun for the Consortium for Chicago School Research (CCSR) in 1996. Led by Fred Newmann, then a professor at the University of Wisconsin, and supported by the Annenberg Network Challenge, the CCSR study examined teachers' assignments and student work emerging from several Chicago public schools. The basis for this empirical study was Newmann's concept of "authentic intellectual achievement."

For a writing assignment to be authentic, the task would ask students to (a) construct knowledge in contrast to simply reproducing knowledge; (b) elaborate their writing by making generalizations and supporting them with examples, details, or reasons; and (c) connect their work to issues and concerns that prevail beyond the school's walls.

Research shows that teachers who give students assignments requiring authentic intellectual work see greater gains on standardized tests (Newmann, Bryk, and Nagaoka 2001).

Tools to Strengthen Writing Assignments

The goal of the Writing Assignment Framework and Overview project is to serve as a classroom and professional development tool-born of research and practice-that will help teachers create and refine challenging assignments for students.

The Writing Assignment Framework and Overview represent the effort of National Writing Project teachers to create tools for themselves and their colleagues that might substantially strengthen their writing assignments.

This tool is not a list of the ten best or the twenty worst writing tasks. Instead, it offers a lens to look at an assignment's purpose, planning and preparation, expectations, and processes.

This resource includes: a framework for asking reflective questions about assignments, a sample one-day professional development schedule, examples of assignments and related student work, considerations for how to review sample assignments and student work, and recommended resources.

Because this tool has been created by teachers for teachers, it is important to say what it is not. It is not a checklist or an evaluation instrument. It is not mandatory, compulsory, or required. It is, however, a tool that respects teachers and their continuous efforts to give their students challenging writing assignments.

Download the Article

Download "The Writing Assignment Framework and Overview"

Related Resource Topics

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The Writing Assignment Framework and Overview

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Summary: Developing creative and rigorous writing assignments can be challenging. To support teachers in planning and reflecting on writing assignments in all content areas, a group of teacher-consultants and Writing Project site directors collaborated to create this new framework for writing assignments. The challenge of designing writing assignments can be particularly daunting.

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This source has a pdf linked to it that talks about how ELL's will need more help and more time to do reading assignments .

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With the number of students who are English language learners (ELLs) likely to double in coming years, it's more important than ever for schools across the U.S. to design and implement educational practices and strategies that best meet ELLs' learning needs. To inform both practitioners and policymakers in bringing about this higher level of school support, the report profiles three expanded-time elementary schools, providing both the framework and compelling examples for understanding how the strategies and effective practices aimed at helping ELL students blend together to produce a high-quality education and serve as the foundation for future success. The report identifies four best practices that worked in the schools: (1) Extended literacy blocks, with upwards of 2.5 hours per day focused on skills needed for reading and writing; (2) Using data to pinpoint areas where individual students struggle, then subdividing those students into small groups where staff can help address the challenges; (3) Maintaining support and services for fluent-speaking English-learners who need to boost their academic English skills; and (4) Ensuring that teachers meet often to align lesson plans, and identify and address student needs.

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Giving English Language Learners the Time They Need to Succeed

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With the number of students who are English language learners (ELLs) likely to double in coming years, it's more important than ever for schools across the U.S. to design and implement educational practices and strategies that best meet ELLs' learning needs.

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This resource gives alternatives to round robin reading, which has been proven ineffective

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11 Alternatives to Round Robin (and Popcorn) Reading

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There’s no evidence that round robin reading helps students improve, so we gathered alternatives that teachers can use instead.

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Ideas how to lead a guided reading lessons in elementary classrooms.

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Jottings: An Approach to Guiding Reading in the Elementary Classroom

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Comprehension is the overall goal of reading. One approach to help students increase their comprehension is to discuss a text in small‐group settings. Yet, many students struggle to fully engage in meaningful...

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A teacher who says the secret to a good literac program is time, texts, teaching, talk, tasks, and testing.

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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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A unit plan to create a reading community in your classroom.

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Creating a Reading Community in Your Classroom | Scholastic

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Students will become active participants in a classroom reading community. They will learn the importance of sharing their interests in literature with others, and they w

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Amanda's stuff doesn't show up for some reason.

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After Larry Dayley retires from his exciting job as a meuseum security guard, he takes up his life long dream of becoming a wedding planner. You could always tell when Lary hosted a wedding, because the bride always wore red shoes and the venue was always in an unexpected location. This was going to be his 50th wedding that he planned so Larry wanted it to be a good one. The wedding day was set, the bride had the signature red shoes, all that was needed was a shocking venue. When he was driving home one night he wasn’t thinking of possible locations when the idea struck him. He passed an old abandoned prison, and realized that, that was where this wedding would be. He just needed the bride’s permission how he was going to convince her he didn’t know yet.

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~Wayne Aarum - boss at Circle C Ranch (religious mentor)
~Dad
~Steve Irwin (he was my role model as a kid and instilled a love for animals in my heart. He had a passion for educating people about animals, I have a passion for educating people in general)
Wes and Marge Aarum- great example of Godly people and a strong Godly marriage. I strive to be faithful like they are.
~Grandma Wise- she is kind hearted and sweet. She is a great example of a loving, God-fearing woman.

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~Warriors - Erin Hunter. This series is what really got me on fire for reading. Turned me into the avid reader that I am today
~Sherlock Holmes. I've always had a passion for mystery and these novels fueled that. I even dabbled in writing my own mysteries
~Lord of the Rings/Hobbit- I love this story and I love the story it represents. It shows the important of friendship and standing up  for what is right.

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Yesterday I had the Greens. The sick to your stomach greens. The stay in bed all day and eat soup greens. The I wish I didn't have to move I feel so bad but I have to go to class kind of greens. Today I have the Yellows. The rush, rush, hurry kind of yellows. The can't stop now yellows. The kind of yellows that make you feel like your running out of time to do something important kind of yellow days. I don't like the yellow days I would prefer the mellow blue kind of days. The its gonna be okay kind of blue days.

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Tasty meals made by loved ones
Having a much needed break
Amazing friends and family
Notes from special people
Kindness never ceasing
Safe travels for family traveling home
God's love never ceasing
Interesting animals to come home too
Virtual conversations with those far away
Inspiring leaders within my family
Never ending encouragement for achieving dreams
Grateful for time I can spend with family

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This is the mini lesson I did in my field placement about punctuation.

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This is a mini lesson that a teacher uses to show how to use transition words when writing. She models it for the students and has them highlight the words in her writing that can be considered transition words. After that they would write own their own as a part of a writers workshop.

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There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Teaching youngsters how to write I think is one of the hardest things about teaching first grade. Second only to.....Valentine's Day, Halloween and the day before holiday breaks. That's why today I want to show you how to teach transition words in writer's workshop.

But.... Every year, right about December when they are "off the wall" and listening to maybe a third of what I'm saying, I start to panic when I see their writing. "Oh my heavens! They are never going to make it."

"Oh God, I've failed them."

"This is just horrendous."

"Boys and girls, why are there NO punctuation marks on these papers?!!!"

"I have NO idea what this kid is even trying to say!"

And then January through April happens.

And just like that...they really are listening. Their writing becomes neater. Their sentences become longer. The content is more in depth. Their writing has voice.

Every year I want to shout from the mountains...."They GOT it!!! They finally got it!

But it hasn't been without effort, on both of our parts. Writer's workshop in my class is an important part of our day.

During Writer's Workshop, students learn how to be writers. They see, hear, touch, experience, and feel writing, and in these primary grades it is here the very basic and foundational steps of writing are taught.

Here is a typical Writer's Workshop lesson in our classroom.

On this day, we are writing a narrative. We review what a narrative is and the purpose of a narrative.

My school follows a balanced literacy model. We have adopted the Lucy Calkins model for reading and writing so we do a TON of writing about small moments.

Every Monday, we write about our weekend. I ALWAYS model in a writing mini-lesson. This wasn't always the case.

When I first started teaching I was afraid to model writing. I thought the students would copy my writing and then it wouldn't be their own. I've learned better now. Students want to please you and they want to do the right thing. Early writers especially need to know what is expected of them. They need to see the process modeled so they truly know how to do it. How do you sound out words? How do you leave "finger spaces?" Ohh.....so THAT'S what she means when she keeps saying finger spaces.

When I am modeling writing, I am writing quickly, getting my ideas down fast (clearly, my handwriting is atrocious).

I made mistakes and that's ok. I just cross them out. I don't waste a minute when I'm writing out my great ideas.

When I'm done, my students and I read it aloud together. Does it make sense? Do I want to make any changes?

For this lesson, we were focusing on using transition words in writer's workshop.

After reading this anchor chart together we went through my writing and identified the transitional words with a green marker since the transitional word headers on this anchor chart are green.

We also went back to the purpose of a narrative writing chart and we made sure that I answered all the "telling" parts (who, where, when, etc.) and we identified those with a pink marker (since those words are pink on the anchor chart).

After reviewing what a narrative piece of writing is, watching it in action, and having some identifiable words to use for those tricky parts when the story shifts (beginning, middle, and end), students felt supported and ready to write their own narratives about their weekend.

Providing some sharing time at the end of the workshop allows students a time to share their writing and gives students a purpose for their writing.

Would you like a St. Patrick's Day writing prompt for FREE that will help your students use transition words during writer's workshop? This writing lesson is a favorite of ours! Imagine that a leprechaun gets into your school. What mischief does he/she cause and.....

how do you catch him/her?

Click here to catch Trap and Trap a Leprechaun for FREE!

Or this for a great hallway display and leprechaun STEM project:

What do you do for during Writer's Workshop in your classroom?

Julie is a first grade teacher, educational blogger, and Teachers Pay Teachers seller. She has an 11 year old son and 2 stepsons, but her beagle is her favorite. (Shhh! Don't tell her son!). She hopes to one day have more beagles than kids in the house. 🙂 When she's not trying to figure out what to buy or where to go for dinner, she enjoys reading and any time spent on the beach and with friends.

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Teaching Transition Words in Writer's Workshop - HoJo's Teaching Adventures

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There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. Thank you! Teaching youngsters how to write I think is one of the hardest things about teaching first grade.

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This is a teachers pay teachers resource, however I wouldn't buy it I'm just using this website as a reference. My cooperating teacher taught her students how to organize a paragraph with a burger image, much like the fourth image on this website. The top of the bun had the topic sentence or the hook. The patty was the "meat" of the paragraph and the lettuce, tomato, etc. were the supporting sentences. The bottom bun was the concluding sentence. I thought this was a really creative way to teach this topic. A burger is something all students can relate to, and it is interesting so they are more likely to remember what the pieces represent in their writing.

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6 Traits of Writing Mini Lessons With Printables!

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Writing 6 Traits Writing Mini Lessons is a great addition to your 6+1 or 6 Traits Writing Traits Crate! 6 Traits of Writing may be used alone to teach your students about all 6 traits! There are 56 pages! This has changed the way I do writing.

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I like the concept of the mini lesson. I never thought to do something like this when teaching how to revise work. I think it is cool, fun, and engaging and it's something I definitely want to do in my own classroom.

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Students are finished with their rough drafts and what do they want to do? Immediately write a final copy. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! This post will provide ideas for your writer's workshop when teaching your students how to REVISE a narrrative essay. It is also a part of a series of writing mini lessons that scaffold through the writing process ideal for any writing curriculum.

I call Step 3 of the writing process DARE to REVISE. I DARE YOU!!!!!!! Mention a few of your students' favorite authors and explain how they NEVER take a rough draft and try to publish it right away. They ALWAYS revise!

1. TEACH

Share an anchor chart or write the folowing on the board. Explain to your students that you are DARING them to make their papers better. Be excited and stress the importance of revising their writing! They will want to imitate your enthusiasm! Don't get confused with editing mechanics like capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling. That will come later. This step is making the content of writing better! See the transformation of writing into an amazing piece of art!

D- Delete unnecessary information
A- Add more important detail and transition words.
R- Rearrange text to be logical and effective.
E- Exchange words for clearer and stronger ones.

2. MENTOR TEXT

Share a mentor text for revising. One suggestion is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Jack Pretlutsky and Dr. Seuss. If you own my interactive writing notebooks, there is a mentor text selection for each grade level. In this particular book, there is an appendix that shows how famous authors find the need to revise! Remind your students that even the best authors revise, edit, revise, edit, over and over before they even think about the publishing stage. Roald Dahl's website is an amazing resource to share with your students. There is an interview with him where he talks about the importance of revising!

Model how to revise! When you wrote your rough draft with the class, did you make mistakes to correct for this step? If not, no worries! Take a section of the rough draft and make mistakes on it. Show students where they can make changes.

4. TAKE NOTES

Whether you have your students create interactive notebooks or simply take notes in a notebook, have them add the acronym D.A.R.E. They can refer back to their notetaking next time they have to revise an essay!

5. PRACTICE

Provide students with a paragraph with mistakes that could be revised. Have them work in partners or groups to find ways for each letter of DARE. Allow them to use a thesaurus, colored pens, and notes, and other student resources for this activity.

6. APPLY

I used to call this step READ to revise because ultimately you want them reading and listening to their own writing. Read the rough draft out loud! DARE seemed more motivational so I changed it. When students read their own papers out loud, they can HEAR where they are making errors. I love it when a student is reading a writing piece to me out loud and says, "I didn't mean to say that!" I reply, "This is exactly why we are revising! Think like an author!" It reinforces what I've been telling them all along! I like to give them options. They can read it to a peer or record it on a device where they can play it back to LISTEN for places to revise. Challenge your students to be DARE detectives. Find places to revise! Below you will see students using their IPADs to record themselves reading.

7. SHARE

Sharing is always a valuable activity. Students learn so much from each other! Have your students share their revisions! Tell them to explain why they chose to revise those areas.

I hope this helps in your writing lessons! The next several mini lessons will break down each of the acronyms for revising!
LAST LESSON: WRITING MINI LESSON #22- WRITING A ROUGH DRAFT
NEXT LESSON: WRITING MINI LESSON #24- REVISING A NARRATIVE ESSAY- DELETE!
CLICK HERE TO START THE FIRST LESSON IN WRITER'S WORKSHOP

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Writing Mini Lesson #23- Revising a Narrative Essay

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Students are finished with their rough drafts and what do they want to do? Immediately write a final copy. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! This post will provide ideas for your writer's workshop when teaching your students how to REVISE a narrrative essay.

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This is another teachers pay teachers mini lesson. This is something I would buy. Writing interesting hooks was, and still is something that I struggle with. I think this is simple and yet effective for helping students get ideas for writing hooks in their own writing.

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These 15 mini anchor charts are a great addition to your interactive writer's notebook. Each anchor chart gives an explanation of either a type of writing or tip to improve your writing. Students can glue them in their journal for quick and easy reference while they are independently writing.

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I did a whole group lesson on decoding words using context clues from the reading. If I were to do another activity, I could use this diagram to lead a mini lesson reflecting on the decoding process. The pictures are appropriate and help elementary age students remember what to do when they come across a new word.

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Decoding strategies chart--this will be printed and referred to during guided reading groups with some of my kiddos...would love to have them keep it in their literacy boxes for their own reference, too.

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This picture is from a greater blog, but I really like the concept behind this. As elementary teachers it is our job to not only teach our students how to read, but how to be a good and effective reader. Little kids need regular reminders sometimes and there could be a mini lesson about how to do their "job" as a reader and what a good reader looks like and does. I would do a whole lesson before this where we create this chart and use that chart to prepare them for reading.

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Ok, it's a little bit cheesy I admit, however keep in mind I teach kindergarten and am surrounded by these comments all day long!

Yesterday I promised I would show pictures of our latest work on schema. Here they are!

Then my lovely neighbor across the way introduced her students to Willamina the Writer. I LOVE this. I think Willamina will be paying my class a visit very soon!

Here is an outline for when I teach schema & connections. It's based off of Debbie Miller's book Reading with Meaning, or I as call it "the bible".

Microsoft Word - Schema_&_connections[1]

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Ok, it's a little bit cheesy I admit, however keep in mind I teach kindergarten and am surrounded by these comments all day long! Yesterday I promised I would show pictures of our latest work on schema. Here they are! Then my lovely neighbor across the way introduced her students to Willamina the Writer.

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This is a free teachers pay teacher's resource (I didn't know they did free things). Students need help thinking critically while they read. By doing a mini lesson where you talk about annotating using simple doodles like these you can help your students practice these skills. I think it would also be helpful to either print a large copy or give each student their own copy of this page, so they can refer to that in their regular reading

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Hello I created this for my students at the end of creating our handmade chart to reinforce all of the marks that we make as a class. Students use whatever color sticky note they want as a think mark. I may also used a laminiated sticky note and marker

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Making predictions is an important skills for students to develop at a young age. This link opens up to a whole lesson, but I would only use pieces of this as a mini lesson. I like the sticky note idea for a mini lesson. Before starting a new book, or a read aloud, I would give each student a sticky note and they each would write down their own predictions of what they think will happen. Since they haven't read anything yet, they are only making predictions based on the title and what they see on the cover.

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Hello, friends! Six weeks into the school year, we have hit the ground running and read-aloud has quickly become one of our favorite moments of the day. Today I wanted to share about one of my favorite books for teaching and modeling Making Predictions as a reading strategy - Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.
Last week our weekly read-aloud theme is a David-Shannon author study. I pulled all of our read-alouds and comprehension lessons from our themed bookshelf, some of them lesser-known Shannon creations. (To see other weekly bookshelf themes, you can search #1stgradebookshelf on Instagram.) Shannon makes a just-right bookshelf for my beginning-of-the-year readers with his bright illustrations, familiar characters, and kid-themed antics.

Only a few weeks into the year, making predictions is a just-right reading strategy for my emerging readers. Many of my friends still rely heavily on picture clues to make meaning and to decode texts. Making predictions allows readers to feel successful even with books they may not be ready to independently read, yet. Looking for a book to support this strategy, I pulled Shannon's Duck on a Bike from our bookshelf- a silly narrative about a duck who shows off his bike-riding skills only to have his farm-animal friends join him later in the story.

The morning before our read-aloud, I quickly marked my two stopping points. Marking these stopping points (when the animals see all the abandoned bikes and the last page of the story), keeps read-alouds intentional and helps me focus on specific strategies that I want to model for students.

After reaching our first stopping point (Duck has shown all the farm animals how well he bikes and the animals see a group of abandoned bikes), I invited - "Friends, we know when you make a prediction you use the clues an author gives you in the words and the illustrations to make a guess about what might happen next. What do you think is going to happen next?"

I did not want students' predictions to rub-off on one another, so each friend received a coveted sticky note. This is the *first* time we have used sticky notes this year, and it was SO exciting! Students returned to their seats and recorded their predictions. As friends finished writing/sketching their predictions, they returned to the carpet and placed their sticky note on our anchor chart.

About 75% of my friends predicted that the animals were going to ride the abandoned bikes; a few others noticed the hungry goat and predicted that he was going to eat the bikes. A few other friends predicted a farm-animal stampede, animals being taken to the animal hospital, etc. For responses that seemed a little 'off' to me, I questioned - "What evidence did David Shannon give you to make your prediction?"

After all our friends made and shared predictions, we finished enjoying the story. We were so excited to see that the animals did ride the bikes (even the mouse got a turn), and the silly goat was eating a bike! Most of our predictions were proven correct, which was such a huge confidence builder for my friends.

We finished the book and found that one more prediction needed to be made. On the last page, Duck is standing face-to-grill with a tractor. It was the PERFECT chance to make one last prediction - "If David Shannon didn't end the book, what might have happened?"

Using t his graphic organizer, I scaffolded my students with an "I think...because..." structure. While we have informally made predictions in guided reading and other read alouds, this is the first time I have asked students to write their ideas down. We are still early into the school year, and many of my friends still need sentence stems to organize their ideas.

This friend is one of my best illustrators and did an awesome job illustrating a parade of tractor-riding farm animals, sound-words and speech-bubbles included!

Duck on a Bike is such a simple book but a perfect one for making predictions. It's fast-paced, hilarious, and concludes with a perfect cliffhanger. Additionally, I could see a great class book coming out of Duck on a Tractor ...who knows what our 1st-grade future will hold!

Until then friends, what are your go-to books for teaching students to make predictions? This is a skill we'll practice throughout the year, and I would love to hear your ideas!

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Making Predictions: 1st Grade Read Aloud - The Brown Bag Teacher

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Hello, friends! Six weeks into the school year, we have hit the ground running and read-aloud has quickly become one of our favorite moments of the day. Today I wanted to share about one of my favorite books for teaching and modeling Making Predictions as a reading strategy - Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.

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In order to understand a text fully it is important to be able to understand why things happened. This picture is an example of a cause and effect mini lesson. If I were to do this lesson I would talk about what cause and effect and ask for examples. I would then write them down, or draw pictures of it. I would leave it up after we were done so they can see it while they are practicing identifying cause and effect in their own reading.

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Over Thanksgiving break my dad and I went to see Justice League. Overall it was a good movie. That had good actors and good characters. However, the abilities of the heroes were not representative of what they normally are or should be. Compared to Superman; Aqua-man, Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman are pathetic. They were fighting the big bad guy and being thrown around like ragdolls and suddenly Superman shows up and completely destroys the enemy. DC is also trying to hard to be Marvel. Statistically, Marvel is good at movies and DC is good at TV shows. In an attempt to change this statistic they adopted things that are very clearly things that Marvel does, like the opening title and ending credit scenes. The movie would have been so much better if the directors weren't trying so hard to be a company they clearly are not. I enjoyed the movie, but when I go see a DC movie I want to see a DC movie not a knock off Marvel movies

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You know you're in Ohio when...

....when all four seasons happen in an hour.
....when it's December and there's no snow.
....when you leave in the morning in a winter coat and a sweater and come back in a t-shirt and shorts.
....when "corn-hole" is a normal game to play.
....where loyalties solely depend on what football team you root for.

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It recently came to my attention that my mom has never had Alfredo sauce. She was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when I was in third grade, but has had it all her life. She didn't really eat creamy things growing up because it made her sick. I love Alfredo sauce, and I wanted her to try it. The recipe was kinda difficult but overall success and mom liked it1

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So apparently all of you out there seem to love alfredo sauce just as much as I do.

My Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti and Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo recipes are sitting near the top of the leaderboard in blog statistics lately. And one of the most-asked questions in the comments and emails is when-oh-when I'm going to post a gluten-free recipe for the alfredo sauce. Actually, make that the skinny alfredo sauce, since I figured out long ago that delicious creamy alfredo sauces do not actually need to involve heavy cream.

Well for all of you gluten-free friends out there, today's the day. This sauce is super easy to make, ready to go in less than 15 minutes, made with all-natural everyday ingredients (no special gluten-free flours). And the best part? I'm pretty positive none of your friends and family will even notice that it's gluten-free.

Let's do this.

First off, I have received a bunch of questions from readers over the past year about gluten-free pasta recommendations. I have tried quite a few, and at this point, my favorite is DeLallo's Gluten-Free Corn & Rice Spaghetti. This isn't a sponsored post - I just prefer some of the rice-based GF pastas, and DeLallo's happens to be one of my favorites. So I used it in this recipe, and then happily enjoyed every bite.

Heads up, though, it's very yellow thanks to that corn. It was practically glowing in these photos!

The sauce itself can be made in less than the time it takes your pasta water to boil. Simply saute some pressed (ideally) or minced garlic in olive oil. Then add a cornstarch and chicken (or veggie) broth slurry to the saute pan, along with some milk, and bring that mixture to a simmer. Add in some freshly-grated Parmesan, salt and pepper...

...and voila! It's literally ready to go in no time!

Well, less than 15 minutes, which is basically no time since you need at least that long to bring your pasta water to a boil and cook the pasta.

Then just ladle it on top of your pasta...

...and mix it in as you eat it...

...or just toss your cooked pasta in the pan with the sauce and toss it before serving.

However you dish it up, this gluten-free alfredo sauce is guaranteed to be a winner. And since it is made healthier without heavy cream and unnecessary extra calories, it's definitely a winner in my book.

Hope you enjoy it! And to all of you GF friends, thanks for waiting for this one. I'm happy to finally share it with you!

Gluten-Free Alfredo Sauce

This gluten-free alfredo sauce recipe is made with simple and delicious everyday ingredients, and it's actually made "lighter" without heavy cream!

Ingredients:

Directions:

All images and text ©Gimme Some Oven

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #gimmesomeoven. I'd love to see what you cook!

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Gluten-Free Alfredo Sauce | Gimme Some Oven

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So apparently all of you out there seem to love alfredo sauce just as much as I do. My Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti and Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo recipes are sitting near the top of the leaderboard in blog statistics lately.

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This is Mr. Wimbleton. He is a good dog, that knows how how to eat like a fancy puppy. But not fancy feast, he's too classy for cat food. He likes long walks on the beach, so long as he can chase the birds. He is excited for Christmas caroling because he loves singing along to the radio, even if he gets yelled at for singing too loudly.

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I fly home tomorrow, even though I am excited to go home I am nervous to fly. When I flew home last time there was a major ice storm that came out of nowhere. This ice storm stranded me in Baltimore for 12 hours. It wasn't any fun and I hope that I can get home at reasonable time tomorrow.

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This semester was one of the best and most challenging semesters in my college career. I learned a lot, but I've never been more stressed than I was this semester. I work everyday in two jobs, I had 18 credits of classes, and I was in 3 different ensembles. Needless to say I am ready for a break. Except that I have already been called in to sub at the elementary school Friday and three days next week. We will see how "restful" this break really is.