Share Some Thoughts

A Little About You

Take Control

Hey sixth grade Reading Workshop students, take control of your life. Make yourself great!

Share Your Thoughts

Here They are in Poetry

One day in class, as we were working on poetry, I just had to write about Cade. And then I wrote another poem about another student, and this post just started to grow.

A Cade Kind of Guy

A funny little guy

that makes people laugh

Sometimes for no reason

other than weird little comments

that he slides in there

like a base runner

coming home

No cheers for him

but lots of smiling teammates

The Noise of Issac

blah, blah, blah

yack, yack, yack

hum, hum, hum

buzz, buzz, buzz

rrrr, rrrr, rrrr

ring, ding, ding

clack, clack, clack

Quiet Karly

So quiet in class,

almost never a sound

always with a smile

but never a frown

Working away

almost never at rest

a teacher's dream

giving her best

A mind always thinking

almost never shared

wonder what she'd say

if ever she dared

Who is Wylie?

Layer upon layer

so many people

in one young girl

Deep in ways

so uncommon so young

Understanding of others

seeing the good in all

Goodness of Garret

Soft-heated and kind

others first on his mind

Treats everyone with care

friendly everywhere

Following a role

of never hurting a soul

Always standing tall

as a leader to all

Ryan's and His Hair

Zoe

DRAMA

friendly smile

DRAMA

good reader

DRAMA

nice

DRAMA

always involved

DRAMA

likeable

Be Nice Like Bryce

Always friendly
Always says hello
Always smiles
Always laughs
Always nice
Always positive
Not always hard working


Corbin
Poem suspended for fighting
(it's a shame because he's really a nice guy)

Deanne
shy
quiet
inaudible
hushed 
noiseless

Hallie
A student came to school
with not much to say
but paying attention
Then the writing assignments began
and amazing ability
from an analytical mind
leapt out
and I realized sixth grade
was just a step
in an amazing future

Annie Climbed the Mountain
                                                                She was successful!
                                                         No more study table.
                                                Her grades improved drastically.
                                        She made up all of her missing work.
                                 She began working very hard.     
                          She chose to be successful.
                    Then she decided to change.
               She was in trouble every day.
          Her grades were awful.
     She didn't do her work.
She started at the bottom.

The Change of Matthew
So so quiet and very shy
Not even enough nerve to say hi
Scared of new teachers and his class
Feelings ready to shatter just like glass

Many months later, hand's always in the air
Laughing and talking with never a care
Joking around, smiles for all
A really great guy, standing tall.

Renasha

Helps everyone
Especially giving
Loves to make people happy
Puts others first
Full of kindness
Unusually quick to assist
Lots of good in Renasha

Camo Will
wearing his camo jacket
blending in with the crowd
not wanting to be noticed
with so much to show
but staying hidden

Always Kailey
Always working hard
Always smiling
Always friendly
Always caring
Always giving her best
Always trying
Always nice to everyone
She's always Kailey

Madison's New Home School
Came from a disaster
two years home schooled
No school building
No classmates
No friends
No work
No success
Just her and the computer

Came to Salt Creek
here in sixth grade
An old building
Lots of classmates
Lots of friends
Lots of work
Lots of success
And made it her new home school


Two Sides to Kaleigh?
She's so so quiet
with almost nothing to say
Never raises her hand
or volunteers in any way

Then I saw her that time
going crazy at the dance
all over the floor
I watched her prance

Sometimes conversation seems
like such a chore
but I can see inside
there's so much more

One day she jumping jacked
with hop after hop
while the whole class watched
until I made her stop.

I've been studying her
for this whole year
and somehow I know
the shyness will disappear.

The quiet side
will someday go
and the outgoing Kaleigh
will forever show.

Jonathon has Heart

When I         think of 

 Jonathon,     I think of  

heart. He is kind and he 

likes people. He smiles 

all the time, and he 

shows  people 

how much

he cares

about

them

Josie's Smile
the nicest smile
always on her face
the best kind
that comes from inside
showing she cares
and that you matter
causing people to smile
and feel so special
on the inside 
from the nicest smile

The Friendship of Ella and Brooke
Twins but not sisters

Making each other
Strong and successful 
Sharing laughs
Whispered conversations
Grins of understanding
That only happens 
with the best of friends

Sydney's Story
Like an iceberg
not the cold part
she's plenty warm
but the little seen part
just a small bit showing
but so much more
beneath the surface

Be Like Bryce
Hello Mr. McGuire,
he says with a smile
How are you, Mr. McGuire?
he says with a smile
whatever he says
he says with a smile
It seems real nice
to be like Bryce



Miss Mariah
Easing into life
Cautious and thoughtful
Caring and determined
Working hard
A young lady
that you could pass by
but so amazing when you don't

Wiggly Wyatt

Wiggly all over the place
Yanking himself to and for
Always on the go
Twisting this way and that
Trying so hard to sit through another class


Cheering Calla
Competition cheerleader
who goes through life every day
cheering on others
to have a great day

Enthusiastic and smiling
cheering one and all
being everyone's cheerleader
is definitely her life's call





 

Could This Describe How You Operate?

Kid President's Thought for Today

Want to Understand Your Teacher?

Will It Be You?

Reading Workshop students, will you take a minute today to say something to make someone else's life better? Before you say yes, think about when and where this will happen. Thank you for taking the time to share some of yourself for another.

What Makes You Awesome?

So Reading Workshop students, what makes you awesome? What one thing sets you apart? What one trait defines you? When you think about your best quality, what comes to mind? What is the one thing that you do best? What makes you awesome?

Tell me about it.

Image from @bethhouf

Ten Random Acts of Kindness and a Poem

We are beginning to focus on poetry in Reading Workshop.  The best poetry sparks some sort of emotion within the reader.  A good poem should make us laugh or make us cry.  It might surprise us or make us think.  It might open our hearts and connect us with the writer.

As we work towards the craft of becoming writers, and with the hope of opening awareness of others, students have a special assignment.  During the next five days, give to someone else.  The task is ten random acts of kindness.  This can be to a peer, a friend, a relative, or a total stranger.  The point though is to focus on the interaction of the person involved.

On Friday, Reading Workshop students will pick one event, emotion, thought, or idea from the week and share it in a poem.  I am sure with this year's students, there will be some amazing poetry.

Caps Cause We Care

This is being reposted from Megan's Thoughts. 

 Hello again, its Megan! I just wanted to remind everyone that Friday, October 13th  Saltcreek Intermediate School  is going to have a hat day!

All you have to do is bring in 25 cents or more to wear your hat all day long! All the money that student council raises is going toward a special girl in the sixth grade who has leukemia. We will donate the money toward whatever her family needs, to help her get better.

Just remember to bring in a hat and a quarter to help her. Your classes student council representative will collect the money in each class. Thank you for reading!

This is a great cause so please bring in money on Friday to help the Student Council help one of our students and her family.

The Old Man with the Cane

I was standing at the cash register at the Village Cafe as an old man with a cane slowly walked up to the front door.  Just as he started in, a young woman started out.  They saw each other at the same time and both quickly stopped.  The young woman backed up, and motioned for him to come in.  

Although it was a struggle for him, the old man's response was immediate.  He eased backwards, held the door, and told the young woman to come through.  His response was one built through a lifetime of good manners and showing respect.  

To some, in today's world, his actions may be considered old fashioned.  Some might even suggest he needs to get with the times--women are equal to men.  To those of us with older parents and/or grandparents, we might think he needs to be a little willing to accept help.

But to this old man, his response was the only one possible.  He did what was right.  And he did it because he always treats people with respect.  In just a few seconds, his actions showed the kind of person he is.  He didn't think about it.  He acted the way he always does.

What about you Salt Creek students?  Do you do what is right?  In your new school, with new classmates, do you treat others with respect?  Do you think of others first?  Or are you thinking just of yourself?  

As the new school year starts, please take a minute and think about yourself.  What kind of person do you want to be?  Is that how people see you?  Why or why not?

Image from http://alwaysonwatch2.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

You Are A Success Story

Students in Reading Workshop have made amazing progress this year.  You should feel good about your success!  What has made you successful?

Teacher as the Student

Being a student is a lot easier than it used to be.  If class gets a little boring, you can just check your email, text someone, or surf the Internet.  It's also easier to not get bored because you can check out sites and information the teacher discusses.  At least, that's how it was for me this week when I was a student at the Etech (Ohio Educational Technology) Conference. 

In every session I attended, participants were on their laptop, IPad, or smart phone.  I did see one or two note takers with their legal pad, but they stuck out.  A lot of sessions were interactive and presenters made it a point to share links and involve attendees.  Sessions were obviously planned by the presenters to encourage the use of technology.

Admittedly, as a student, I haven't always been attentive and have been challenged with being a little too hyper to sit in class for very long.  One of my goals when I started teaching was to shut up, keep students busy, and let them learn through their own hard work.  I have always hated classes where the teacher stands in front of the class and talks and talks and talks and talks. 

I couldn't help but think about how different adults are treated than kids.  Maybe it's about having a captive audience with our students.  Imagine how involved they would be if everything they did was interactive.  Imagine how different teachers would be if their students could start texting or surfing the net when they got bored.  It might not be totally a good thing, but it would sure liven up some classes.

The best part of an opportunity like the Etech Conference is the chance to hear about what other teachers are doing and what is working in their classes.  This year's conference had a lot of excellent sessions and ideas for the classroom.  I am anxious to try them in the Reading Workshop classes.

  

Want to See What is Going on Here?

There is nothing like a picture to show something soooooooooo  if you want to see a daily picture from The Reading Workshop, just check out Ink361.com.  You can also check out the photos on Flickr.  If you have an Iphone, you can get on Instagram @jmcguire14 (you can download the free app) and see our daily photostream.  Unfortunately Instagram is like everything else Apple and you can't access it from a PC or Droid.

Enjoy the pictures of our stars and more.  :)

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called School 2012. Make your own badge here.

Bullying Revealed

Every school has a Richie.  He is bigger than most of the kids, and way meaner.  Normal kids like Russell just stay away from him.  Unfortunately, an attempt to be funny puts Russell straight in Richie's sites.

The latest read aloud in Reading Workshop is The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm.  The book opens with Russell, the main character being harassed by Richie Tucker.  Russell is already having a tough time with the start of middle school.  Somehow, he found himself without a group.  He was alone even though people were all around him.

This brings us to the question, if you were in the same position as Russell, what would you do?  What can you do about a bully? 

Letter About a Book

Students in Reading Workshop recently had to write a letter about a book they were reading.  Specifically, the letter had to address "If I was the Main Character . . ." and talk about how the book would be different if they were in the book.

Letters were graded using the Friendly Letter Rubric on the Wikipage.

Here is Lexi's letter, which is an excellent example of what I expected.

Dear Mr. McGuire,

I know you love to read and so do I. I’m reading this amazing book by Leslie Connor. It’s called Waiting For Normal. But this book pulls you into the actions that’s going on. Sort of like the books you like to read. It’s kind of a girl book but then again it’s not. I would recommend it to anyone. I think that you might like it. You should definitely read it!

The main character in my book is Addie. She is 12 years old. Her and her mom live on the side of a highway in a trailer. Addie doesn’t really care that’s where she lives but if I was her I would not live there for anything! They even live right next to a rail road and the train goes by often!

Addie also lives across from a mini mart. There is these 2 people that work there. Their names are Elliot and Soula. Addie becomes great friends with them! I would be friends with them too because they are really nice and they would seem like family to me if I was Addie. Soula can’t walk because she has cancer. Addie doesn’t mind that though. Actually I wouldn’t either. But in the end Soula dies! Addie cries and cries and cries! I would have too because Addie got really close to her!

Addie's mom isn’t the type of mom I’d want. I doubt anyone would want that type of mom. Addies mom will leave Addie alone for 2 to 6 days in the trailer! I would be petrified! But the only reason why she does that is because she found a new man and she didn’t tell him she has a twelve year old daughter! Addie's mom says she’s away for work but you can tell she’s not. Towards the end of the book mommers (Addies name for her mom) tells Addie she’s pregnant. Addie didn’t like that because she don’t take care of her, How would she take care of a baby too. I would absolutely feel the same way as Addie did. If my mom treated me like that and then said she was pregnant I don’t even know what I’d do!

In the book there’s also another guy named Dwight. That was mommers ex-husband and the father of her other 2 children. Dwight loves Addie dearly even though she isn’t his, and Addie loves him. Dwight knew mommers wasn’t very good at taking care of Addie so he tried to get custody of her but mommers wouldn’t let him. I would want to go and live with Dwight if I was Addie because Dwight is just way better than mommers and knows how to take care of kids. But in the end Dwight got custody over her because Soula called children services and ratted out mommers. I would have thanked Soula but Addie didn’t!

That’s the end of my letter. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading it! I hope someday you recommend this to one of your other students! Or you maybe even read it!

Sincerely,

Lexi

Working Like Brady

Tom Brady, MVP quarterback and three time Super Bowl winner for the New England Patriots has worked hard to make the most out of his career. Last night on Monday Night Football he passed for a team record 517 yards in a win against the Miami Dolphins. 

In this video he discusses his road to success.



In your opinion, how does his success relate to success in the classroom?  How can his ideas help you, as a student learn more, earn better grades, and be successful?

A New School Year

It's a new school year and four days in, students are doing great.  Most have started to adjust to their new school schedule and get back into the habit of getting up in the morning.  There are some adjustments this year with fewer teachers and more students in each class, but we are already starting to get used to this. 

This year's sixth grade classes are starting out working hard and have come in with a positive attitude.  If they keep this up, they can be the best sixth grade class ever!  

Welcome to sixth grade new students.  Keep working your hardest and you will be successful!