What Does the Pledge Mean?

I pledge allegiance 
to the flag 
of the United States of  America
and to the Republic 
for which it stands,
one nation 
under God, 
indivisible, with liberty 
and justice for all

For today's assignment, students had to look up meaning to words in the Pledge of Allegiance and rewrite it in their own words. Not only did they learn the meaning of some important words, but hopefully the next time they say the Pledge it will mean a  little more and they will know why it is so important to our country!

Vocabulary Words

allegiance
united
nation
all
indivisible
liberty
pledge
justice
republic

The Roots Video

You can see a list of stems from weekly vocabulary lessons Stems #1-8.

You can see a complete list of Stems Here.
You can also use an online Etymology Dictionary.

Why We Sing in Language Arts Class

Each day in Reading Workshop for about 7 minutes (usually two songs), students sing. Lyrics are shown on the white board using the LCD projector. Music is played and students sing along, reading the lyrics as they sing. Every week, we sing at least one new song. As students get familiar with a song, they know all of the words, so they don't need to read. Changing songs is important to keep students reading. It also helps with vocabulary instruction. With each new song, there are new words to learn and discuss.

The best part of singing in reading class though, is how it helps academic achievement. When students read fluently, the ability to comprehend increases dramatically. Conversely, when students fight to read each word, starting and stopping, and starting again, comprehension decreases dramatically. We have all listened to a student read, struggling with each word, never reading a sentence through, and wished we had a magic bullet. We know if we could just get him to read fluently, he would have a better chance of understanding what he reads.

As we know, there is no magic pill, to cure all ailments. However, with modeling, and repeated readings, students can significantly increase fluency. In fact, primary teachers use this daily. Adolescent learners will quickly turn us off though, if we try to read as a class every day. This just wouldn’t be “cool.” This is where singing plays an important role in the language arts classroom. Singing their favorite new hit is most definitely “cool.”

Richard Allington wrote in What Really Matters for Struggling Readers

The available evidence provides reliable, scientific evidence of the positive impact of repeated readings on a variety of reading tasks and outcome measures. These studies also indicate that engaging children in repeated readings of a text is particularly effective in fostering more fluent reading in children who are struggling to develop proficient reading strategies.

What better way for repeated reading than through singing?

OAA Reading Strategies

We have discussed reading strategies throughout the year in Reading Workshop.  What ones did you use completing the passage about Toni Morrison?

You can see the responses HERE




If you have trouble seeing the entire form, can't scroll down, or get to the submit button, on your keyboard, just hit Ctrl - (Control and the minus sign at the top of the number keypad.)

OAA Vocabulary

Here are some words you need to know.

You can see the responses HERE.

A New Word

Created with Padlet

Vocabulary Games

Want to play a little Pinball?  Check out these Pinball Vocabulary games from Ms. Amanda's 6th Grade Language Arts Class.

Red A1	Red A1 cont.	Red A1 cont.	Red A1 cont.
Red A13	Red B7	Red A4	Red A4
Red A13	Red A15 Red A5	Red B9	Red A15 Antonyms Red B10 Antonyms
Red B7	Red A15	Red B9	Red A15 Antonyms Red B4 Antonyms
Red B7	Red A15	Red A3	Red A15 Synonyms
Red B7	Red A2	Red B9	Red A15 Synonyms Red A4 Antonyms
Red B7 Red A6	Red B1	Red A2	Red B9 Synonyms Red A4 Synonyms
Red A5	Red A13	Red A3 Synonyms Red B4 Synonyms	Red B9 Antonyms Red B4 Synonyms
Red A13 Red B1	Red B8 Red B10	Red A3 Synonyms Red B10 Synonyms	Red B9 Antonyms Red B10 Synonyms
Red A13 Red B10	Red B8 Red A4	Red A3 Antonyms Red B1 Synonyms	Red B9 Synonyms Red B1 Synonyms

Vocabulary Practice and Help the World

FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme. They offer an easy way to learn vocabulary, math skills, geography and more.

According to FreeRice

FreeRice has two goals: 

1.  Provide education to everyone for free.

2.  Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site. Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide.

Want to learn in a fun and exciting way?  Check out FreeRice.

Do You Know a Lot of Words?

One of the most limiting factors in students' achievement and their ability to read is a poor vocabulary.  If students want to learn more, comprehend better, and be a dynamic writer they must have an extensive vocabulary.  Also, test scores almost always reflect a student's vocabulary.

With this in mind, we will focus even earlier in the school year than normal on vocabulary.  We will be using Rags to Riches on Quia, classroom discussions, and other activities to help build stronger vocabularies.  For easier access to the words assigned each week, take a look in the sidebar.

To see Reading Workshop Vocab lists, assignments, practice links and word meanings, go to the Reading Workshop Vocabulary Page.

A Fun Way to Learn Test Vocabulary

Learning vocabulary is never fun for students.  However, a large part of success when taking the Ohio Achievement Assessment is determined by students' working vocabulary.  Looking for an interesting way to build the vocab of students in Reading Workshop led me to Quia.  This is an online site that features games and quizzes.  

There is a library of items created by teachers that are available to anyone to use.  Creating new games and quizzes is easy to do when you want to use specific terms.  My personal favorite is the Rags to Riches game which is similar to Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

To see the activities that students are participating in so far, you can visit my Profile Page.

Give it a try. Maybe you can learn a few new words and win a million dollars!

You Can't Always Sound it Out

They just kept trying over and over, to sound out the word.  They broke it into two parts-- con and science.  Basically, the word was made of two words that they knew.  But together it didn't sound right.  

What's a group to do?  How about trying to sound it out another way?  Hhhmmm, let's see.   kɒns  kĭn  or as they were saying it cons kins.  Still, it didn't sound right.

Students, in groups of 3 or 4 were doing the assignment from How to Figure Out Those Hard Words.  This was a follow-up to the practice run through using the 2006 OAT.  Students had identified words from the questions that they didn't understand.  As this group started today's assignment, they coasted through the first three, and then they came to this word that they didn't know.

Unfortunately, they used one strategy over and over and over, and never did find the meaning of the word.  This led to a discussion of why we have more than one word attack strategy.  Hopefully the next time they get to a word they don't understand, their conscience will tell them to try other strategies like using context clues, word substitution, or using prior knowledge.

How to Figure Out Those Hard Words

Last week we listed difficult words from the 2006 OAT.  Today we looked at how we can figure out the meaning of the words. 

Which word attack skills works best?
S = Skip
C = Context Clues
ST =Substitute
PK= Prior Knowledge
SN = Sound it out
RT = Root word, Prefix, Suffix
CN = Connection
P = Picture
O = Other Strategy

______  barked--All afternoon, Uncle Orrin barked orders.
______  description--Support your description of each attitude with a specific detail.
______  symbolize--Which place symbolizes love and safety to Nathan?
______  conscience--the value of listening to one's conscience and being honest
______  intimidated--Why was Ella too intimidated to dance?
______  scat performers--What do the selection and the footnote suggest about scat . ..(this is defined in the footnotes)
______  footnote--What do the selection and the footnote suggest about the scat performers?
______  evaluation--Identify two factual details from the selection that support the author's positive evaluation of Ella.
______  factual--Identify two factual details from the selection.
______  amateur--A number of other amateur venues
______  venues--After her early success at the Apollo and as a popular performer at a number of other amateur venues . . .
______  analysis--To write a scientific analysis of why some frogs jump farther than others.
______  organizational--Which organizational tool would most clearly contrast the lengths of winning jumps?
______  contrast--Which organizational tool would most clearly contrast the lengths of winning jumps?
______  wilted--But she wilted under the glare of the spotlight.
______  star-struck--She was star-struck and she just sat there looking at everyone.
______  rental frogs--Rental Frogs includes which piece of information?
______  coachable--Frogs don't understand about money and they're not very coachable.
______  capacity--Having the capacity to be taught.
______  figurative language--In the poem, how does the poet use figurative language?
______  repetition--Explain why the poet makes this repitition.
______  personification--Which characteristic can be found in the poem?
______  dialogue--Which characteristic can be found in the poem?
______  emperor--Each emperor built a magnificent palace.
______  prosper--It also helped the Inca prosper.
______  terraces--Why did the Inca farmers build terraces to plant their crops?
______  ravines--Suspension bridges made of plant fibers spanned deep ravines.
______  spanned--Suspension bridges made of plant fibers spanned deep ravines.
______  priorities--What was one of the Inca government's main priorities?
______  adequate--To make sure everyone had adequate food and clean housing.

Word Attack Strategies

What strategies help you when you don't know a word?  Do you always use the same one?  Here are ways you can figure out the meaning of words you don't get.


1.  Do a Skip Test

Read the sentence without the word.

Ask yourself, do you need that word?

If not, answer the question without the word.

If you need to know the word, try another strategy.

2.  Can you figure out using context clues?

Read past the unfamiliar word and look for clues. If the word is repeated, compare the second sentence to the first. What word might make sense in both?

3.  Is there a word you can substitute?

Think about what word might make sense in the sentence. Try the word and see if the sentence makes sense.

4. Use Prior Knowledge

Think about what you know about the subject of the essay or passage. Do you know anything that might help you make sense of the sentence? Read the sentence with the word to see if it makes sense.

5. Sound out the word

Break the word into parts.  Look for the root word.  Divide the word into syllables.  Look for familiar beginnings (prefixes) and endings (suffixes).  Read each chunk by itself. Then blend the chunks together and sound out the word. Does that word make sense in the sentence?

6. Connect to a Word You Know

Think of a word that looks like the unfamiliar word. Compare the familiar word to the unfamiliar word. Decide if the familiar word is a chunk or form of the unfamiliar word. Use the known word in the sentence to see if it makes sense. If so, the meanings of the two words are probably close enough for understanding the new word.

7.  Visualize

Picture the passage.  Think about how the question relates to the passage.  Get a picture of what the question is asking.

Word Attack Strategies Survey

See the results here.

What Words Students Don't Know--Achievement Vocabulary

Students frequently miss questions during an assessment simply because they don't understand the question.  Use of unusual or uncommon words is a common practice on the Ohio Achievement Assessment.  In addition, simple requests are often worded in a way that create confusion for the test takers.

To overcome this barrier, students went through the OAA 2006 test booklet that they just used as a practice test and highlighted all of the words in the questions that they didn't understand.  Once we compile this list, I will compare it to the vocabulary list from The Reading Workshop Achievement Vocabulary Page.  Also, I will use to to look for specific vocabulary and word attack needs.

• barked--All afternoon, Uncle Orrin barked orders.
• description--Support your description of each attitude with a specific detail.
• symbolize--Which place symbolizes love and safety to Nathan?
• conscience--the value of listening to one's conscience and being honest
• intimidated--Why was Ella too intimidated to dance?
• scat performers--What do the selection and the footnote suggest about scat . ..(this is defined in the footnotes)
• footnote--What do the selection and the footnote suggest about the scat performers?
• evaluation--Identify two factual details from the selection that support the author's positive evaluation of Ella.
• factual--Identify two factual details from the selection.
• amateur--A number of other amateur venues
• venues--After her early success at the Apollo and as a popular performer at a number of other amateur venues . . .
• analysis--To write a scientific analysis of why some frogs jump farther than others.
• organizational--Which organizational tool would most clearly contrast the lengths of winning jumps?
• contrast--Which organizational tool would most clearly contrast the lengths of winning jumps?
• wilted--But she wilted under the glare of the spotlight.
• star-struck--She was star-struck and she just sat there looking at everyone.
• rental frogs--Rental Frogs includes which piece of information?
• coachable--Frogs don't understand about money and they're not very coachable.
• capacity--Having the capacity to be taught.
• figurative language--In the poem, how does the poet use figurative language?
• repetition--Explain why the poet makes this repitition.
• personification--Which characteristic can be found in the poem?
• dialogue--Which characteristic can be found in the poem?
• emperor--Each emperor built a magnificent palace.
• prosper--It also helped the Inca prosper.
• terraces--Why did the Inca farmers build terraces to plant their crops?
• ravines--Suspension bridges made of plant fibers spanned deep ravines.
• spanned--Suspension bridges made of plant fibers spanned deep ravines.
• priorities--What was one of the Inca government's main priorities?
• adequate--To make sure everyone had adequate food and clean housing.

In one class, students averaged not knowing 6.75 words.  This would obviously lead to many missed questions.  We will spend the next few days working on word attack skills, looking for root words, prefixes and suffixes, and context clues, and we will spend the next few weeks improving vocabulary specific to achievement test questions.  This will allow students to show their ability on the 2010 OAA.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/missnita/471669682/sizes/s/

Your Homophone is Out of Order

Is your writing ringing in the ear of the reader?  Have you checked for mistakes with homophones?  Since texting and IMing have become so popular, this has become the most frequent mistake in writing.  It’s also become extremely common among bloggers.

Homophone--One of two or more words, such as night and knight, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and sometimes spelling.

Here are three of the mistakes with homophones that show up over and over:

1. Your vs. You’re

All it takes to avoid this error is to take a second and think about what you’re trying to say. “Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your car” or “your blog.” “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re screwing up your writing by using your when you really mean you are.”

2. It’s vs. Its
This is another common mistake. It’s also easily avoided by thinking through what you’re trying to say.  “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in “this blog has lost its mojo.” Here’s an easy rule of thumb—repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” instead. If that sounds goofy or wrong, “its” is likely the correct choice.

3. There, They're, and Their
This one seems to trip up everyone occasionally, often as a pure typo. Make sure to watch for it when you proofread. “There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place, “let’s go there” or as a pronoun, “there is no hope”. “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their bags” or “their opinions.” Always do the “that’s ours!” test—are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there.  "They're" is a contraction for “they are,” as in “they're going to answer the homophone."  :)

Help the reader by carefully editing.  Be sure the sounds out of your phone/blog are pleasant to the ear/eye.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaysun/479031890/sizes/s/

Come on Readers, Let's Sing

Kids live for music. There is never a day that they don’t listen to music. BUT, we rarely use it as part of our educational program in intermediate classes. Many teachers in the primary grades use songs to teach letters, words, numbers, and counting. For some reason though, we rarely see it in 4-8 classes. And, interestingly enough, this is the time when music begins to play a major role in our students’ lives.

Turn that down!
Can I have some money to buy Rhianna’s CD?
Where's my IPod?
That video is not appropriate, Emily.
How can you do your homework with that music up so loud?
Dad, change that station.
Will you give me money to get tickets to go see Pink?

All of this was said in the last few days in my house. Do you ever hear similar comments? Yet even though we know that music is totally intertwined in our lives, we rarely integrate it into the curriculum. So, we are singing as part of Reading Workshop.

Each day for 10 minutes (usually two songs), lyrics are shown on the wall using the projector. Music is played and students sing along, reading the lyrics as they sing. Every week, we sing at least one new song. As students get too familiar with a song, they know all of the words, so they stop reading. Changing songs is important to keep students reading. It also helps with vocabulary instruction. With each new song, there are new words to learn and discuss.

The best part of singing in reading class though, is how it helps academic achievement. When students read fluently, the ability to comprehend increases dramatically. Conversely, when students fight to read each word, starting and stopping, and starting again, comprehension decreases dramatically. We have all listened to a student read, struggling with each word, never reading a sentence through, and wished we had a magic bullet. We know if we could just get him to read fluently, he would have a better chance of understanding what he reads.

As we know, there is no magic pill, to cure all ailments. However, with modeling, and repeated readings, we can significantly increase fluency. In fact, primary teachers use this daily. Adolescent learners will quickly turn us off though, if we try to read as a class every day. This just wouldn’t be “cool.” This is where singing plays an important role in the language arts classroom. Singing their favorite new hit is most definitely “cool.”

Richard Allington wrote in What Really Matters for Struggling Readers

The available evidence provides reliable, scientific evidence of the positive impact of repeated readings on a variety of reading tasks and outcome measures. These studies also indicate that engaging children in repeated readings of a text is particularly effective in fostering more fluent reading in children who are struggling to develop proficient reading strategies.

What better way for repeated reading than through singing?

I Miss Are Blonde Times

My daughter, Heather got this message from a friend she hadn't seen in a while. She was glad to hear from her, and is going to make plans to see her soon. Heather, and her friend are both brunettes, but capable of blonde moments.

However, as told by Heather:

I might miss our blonde times, but I sure don't miss are blonde times together.

Now hair color has absolutely no bearing on the ability to write a sensible message, and the girl that wrote this is not a blonde, but she sure made her point. Hopefully they can get together soon and there fun times will continue! :)

Word Substitution in Fiction

We showered outside when it rained. What a great substitution for we played in the rain. This excerpt from the book, Mountain Magic, written by Alice Boggs Lentz showed how word substitution is used in fiction. I discovered this during Mrs. Wolfe's read aloud in a fourth grade-six grade co-writing project.

Have a good fictional word substitution? Please share it.

Word Substitution

We worked collectively to figure out the meaning of a phrase from Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. You can view the entire excerpt here.

This is the phrase we were working on:

I believe the players collectively looked for whoever was able to help the team most on any given night

We discussed that collectively was an adverb which may or may not be needed to understand the essay. I asked two questions:

1. What is the purpose of collectively in the sentence?
2. What word does collectively describe?

We looked at the root word, collect and talked about its meaning. According to Ask.com

1. To bring together in a group or mass; gather.
2. To accumulate as a hobby or for study.
3. To call for and obtain payment of: collect taxes

We decided that collectively tells how the players looked. The challenge when students left class, was to find a word to substitute that was easier to understand, but had the same meaning.