Our classroom reading nook is one of our most popular literacy stations. Before school started I spent time going through our classroom library and organizing the books by topic and reading level. At the beginning of school I surveyed the students about the types of books they liked to read and the things they wanted to know more about. By observing and listening to the students I keep a close eye on the books that are generating the most interest. I also include books that coordinate with the Science/Social Studies units we are currently studying. By limiting the amount of books they have access to, students spend more time reading and less time “grazing”. Also, by having books always rotating in and out students always have an opportunity to find something new to read. Students especially enjoy having a quiet place to stretch out and be comfortable.
Category Archives: school
Room108 Podcast 12: Ms. Bowler
Our question of the day is: “Why do you like Ms. Bowler?” Ms. Bowler has been our classroom assistant at Positive Tomorrows for the past two years in Room 108. This is the twelfth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. My third and fourth grade students discuss different questions during our end-of-day class meeting and record our answers as a class radio show.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- Our Classroom Website (on Google Sites)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 11: Our Responsibilities
In this episode of our classroom podcast, Anastacia shares a summary of an article she read on News-o-matic about a company building a space plane. Check our shownotes for a similar article! Our question of the day is: “What are your favorite things to do at recess?” This is the eleventh episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. My third and fourth grade students discuss different questions during our end-of-day class meeting and record our answers as a class radio show.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- German space researchers reboot effort to launch hypersonic space plane (August 18, 2015)
- Our Classroom Website (on Google Sites)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 10: Favorite Things At Recess
Our question of the day is: “What are your favorite things to do at recess?” This is the tenth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. My third and fourth grade students discuss different questions during our end-of-day class meeting and record our answers as a class radio show.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 9: Books We Are Reading
Our question of the day is: “What book are you reading and why do you like it?” This is the ninth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. My third and fourth grade students discuss different questions during our end-of-day class meeting and record our answers as a class radio show.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 8: Our Morning App Choices
Our question of the day is: “What app did you choose today?” This is the eighth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. My third and fourth grade students discuss different questions during our end-of-day class meeting and record our answers as a class radio show.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 7: The Important Thing About Our Class
This is the seventh episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. In this episode my third and fourth grade students discuss the question, “What is the important thing about our class?” We read “The Important Book” by Margaret Wise Brown and used its pattern and rhythm to create this podcast.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- “The Important Book” by Margaret Wise Brown
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Room108 Podcast 6: A Challenging Day
This is the sixth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. In this episode my third and fourth grade students discuss the question, “What was challenging about today?”
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
Our First Two Weeks of School
We had a great first couple of days at school. I had 12 students on Thursday and 15 on Friday. We spent the first two days enjoying our classroom and getting to know each others’ names. Some of the students’ favorite things to do were Maker’s Studio, DEAR time, and playing name games.
The students are doing very well at our morning meeting and closing meeting. We use our center carpet as our “home base.” The students are adjusting to our new workstations. We are still trying to determine when and where our best work can happen. So far there has been no fussing about the “cool places to work” because there are always another cool alternative. I am beginning to notice the places students return back to, which are their “comfort work areas.” Next week I hope to identify our individual learning stations and begin working on the procedures for our language and math stations.
So far my favorite new classroom activity is our end-of-the-day radio show. The students are beginning to get comfortable with each other and classroom culture is going well. I am recording this podcast on my iPhone each day using the app Opinion.
We created two different videos in the first two weeks of class which we published to our classroom YouTube channel. The first one is an iMovie Trailer, called “First Day of School 2015.” I have made iMovie trailers before and helped students make one, but this is the first time I’ve made one in class with students. It turned out well!
The second video is a paper slide video, which I learned to make this summer in iPad Media Camp. It is called, “Who I Am in Room 108”
Room108 Podcast 5: What We Like To Do!
This is the fifth episode of our classroom podcast, created using the free Opinion app on my iPhone. In this episode my third and fourth grade students share what they they like to do when they are not at school.
Open/Subscribe in your podcast app
Shownotes:
- Our first Paper Slide Video: “Who I Am In Room 108”
- My Classroom Website (Google Site)
- Our Classroom YouTube Channel
- This podcast episode on Opinion
- Follow me on Twitter: @sfryer
