A Classroom of 3rd-grade Explorers by Taylor Baltz https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h Ahoy explorers! Let's embark on a quest to discover how literacy is incorporated into the classroom! en-us 2019-11-07 13:26:15 UTC 2025-10-08 14:19:15 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f526.png Teacher and Students tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408036111 The teacher designs her classroom to be an exploration classroom as a way to get students involved!
16 explorers
1 head of navigation (Teacher) & 1 push in map holder (Teacher Assistant) - students also push into other 3rd grade teacher's classrooms and work with the other 3rd grade classes at times. ]]> 2019-11-07 13:28:04 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408036111 Push in or Pull out? tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408036805 Both! Reading professionals are in constant correspondents with the teachers and they often give resources and activities to the teacher to use. There are still some students that need more support that are pulled out of the classroom during guided reading so that the reading teachers themselves can work with the students! ]]> 2019-11-07 13:29:15 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408036805 Classroom Library Organization tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408039479 The teacher does a great job of organizing her library based on story genres. She uses bins to group stories based on mystery, holidays, adventure type and many more. She also in the top two rows chooses to have books organized by authors name which is an interesting way to chose to organize the extra books in a library. The teacher also couldn't fit all the bins and books on one book case, and you can see that she used space on a cart and under the seating that the students use on the carpet.  ]]> 2019-11-07 13:33:17 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408039479 Grouping and Tracking in Literacy tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408090805 Grouping involves two medium-level support needed students with one student that needs very little support and one student that needs more support in each for a regular classroom activity. 
This class implemented a system of two students with similar reading/writing needs together work with the teacher on individual instruction. Then every student independently work on writing in journals, individual reading, and online epic book reading as well as other activities while the teacher works in pairs with students with similar support needs. 
This works well for the students that get to work with students at similar ability levels as well as students at differing levels.

]]> 2019-11-07 14:42:51 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/408090805 Literacy Assessments tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420265921 The teacher and the 3rd grade team at this school use I-ready that they use to assess students 3x a year. The teachers when students have been assessed get together and work through the information and diagnostics for the assessments. ]]> 2019-12-05 15:19:07 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420265921 Next Generation Learning Standards tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420272259 This third grade class was focusing on different writing medium and the meaning behind text, the way text is organized for different mediums, and how writing   using these skills can give them different ways to write stories. ]]> 2019-12-05 15:28:02 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420272259 More on Learning Targets tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420274972 The teacher also uses I can statements everyday and writes the goals of lessons on the board. For common goals they are focusing on she makes anchor charts for the students. 

An example of the teacher's anchor charts focusing on theme, character traits, etc. 

]]> 2019-12-05 15:32:03 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420274972 Resources Used in the Classroom: tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420276516 There are many resources around the room that students can use to improve their literacy. I found that there are many anchor charts used as reminders on both the smart-board and around the room. The teacher gave them many ways to remember strategies and skills and students would refer around the room for help when reading, writing and participating in class. ]]> 2019-12-05 15:34:18 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420276516 More Resources: tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420276855 I was able to go with the class on a field trip to observe another medium of literacy. We visited a Cinderella play in Rochester where the class was able to watch the Cinderella story from a different point of view... the godmother's! ]]> 2019-12-05 15:34:46 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420276855 Terminology tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420277193 I really enjoyed how this teacher focused on vocabulary. Students would weekly receive a vocabulary word card and would break apart the word, give a simple definition, draw a picture, and write the official definition. This activity works well with what the teacher models with the anchor chart below. Morals is an easy term the student picked up fast, and then she finds key parts of the word that help define the word. ]]> 2019-12-05 15:35:17 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420277193 Time Frame tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420279590 Students spend a lot of time practicing literacy:
- read aloud: 5-10 minutes a day 
-Writing: 35-40 minutes a day
- ELA: 45 minutes 4 out of the 6 block days
-shared reading: 15 minutes a day 
choice work: 20 minutes a few times a week (Can include different lesson focuses)]]> 2019-12-05 15:38:47 UTC https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420279590 Instructional Texts tb26 https://padlet.com/tb26/f9sccy9zzw7h/wish/420284544 The school I visited focuses on Fountas & Pinnell for literacy and assessment and 3rd grade students generally begin at a level M and the program works to get them to level Q by fourth grade.

The teacher also uses texts such as,
The Rain Princess by Linda Chapman
The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables by Aesop and George Flyer Townsend
to name a few used in the class! 

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