Greedy Apostrophe!

One of the most basic grammar rules is using the almighty apostrophe to show possession, but people (I'm not just writing about 2nd graders here) are always misusing it. Apostrophes do not form plural words. Teacher's and grammar lover's everywhere are tired of people misusing this tiny, but oh so important punctuation mark. (Did you see what I did there? Teachers and grammar lovers are PLURAL NOUNS - they do not need apostrophes! They do not own anything! They are not showing possession!) 

Teaching 2nd graders how to correctly use apostrophes is actually incredibly fun, thanks to Jan Carr's adorable children's book Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale. This delightful story begins with all of the punctuation marks reporting for their daily duties. All of the marks are given specific jobs - the quotation marks help with dialogue, the exclamation points are needed to show excitement and the apostrophes have to make contractions and show possession. Before they begin their day on the job, all punctuation marks are required to recite the Punctuation Mark Oath - promising "always to help readers, never to confuse them." Greedy Apostrophe is known for being rebellious and he refuses to participate in the solemn oath. He storms out of Hiring Hall and wreaks havoc all over town. He loves placing himself where he doesn't belong. He confuses students at a local school by changing the "Pencils and Rulers" sign to "Pencil's and Ruler's!" He tricks shoppers at the local toy store, advertising "Yo-Yo's" and "Marble's". Does he eventually learn his lesson? Find out for yourself! You can purchase a copy for your classroom here.  It's a really great book to get your students excited about one of the most basic (and frequently misused) grammar concepts. 

Reading this book is part of my apostrophe unit every school year. Greedy Apostrophe always visits my classroom and my students LOVE him! You can make your own Greedy Apostrophe in less than 5 minutes - all you need is red & white construction paper and a black marker. I move him to a new place in the classroom when my student's (looks like Greedy Apostrophe wanted to leave his mark on my blog) leave the room for recess, PE, library, etc. When they return, they immediately begin the search and can't wait to find out where he is hiding. They've all been instructed to inform me when they locate him so I can snap a quick picture for photo evidence. The students are also required to tell me why he doesn't belong where he is. They actually think it's quite hilarious when he attaches himself to a plural noun. When they are lined up and ready to leave the room, I'll hear them whisper to each other, "I wonder where Greedy Apostrophe will be next!" or "I wonder what kind of trouble he'll cause while we're at recess." 

In addition to moving him around the room, I have my students make wanted signs to hang up around the classroom. I show the students some photos of wanted signs and they get to design their own for Greedy Apostrophe. One of the wanted signs I shared with them this year was of Harriet Tubman - which can be used to jumpstart a social studies unit about The Underground Railroad. Because we are currently studying the vowel sounds of y in phonics, students were also required to describe Greedy Apostrophe using at least three words that utilize y as the long e sound. Some of the descriptive words the students used were - sneaky, silly, greedy, smarty pants, funny, meany, grumpy, crazy, naughty, etc. 

If you're looking for other fun and engaging books to teach your students about apostrophe's (there he goes again!), I highly recommend Alfie the Apostrophe by Moira Rose Donohue and The Awesome Apostrophe Show by Justin McCory Martin. 

Happy writing!

Heather

2013 - Happy New Year!

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Y                                                                  

N
E
W

Y
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R

Some favorite highlights from 2012 - a trip to Japan, tent camping in Livermore, exploring Yosemite with my parents, weekend trips to Lake Tahoe with friends, countless visitors, the Jackson County Fair, a few trips to Indiana, a couple of summer days in Michigan, making fabulous new friends, starting my 5th year of teaching in San Francisco, running the California International Marathon. I could go on and on.

It's been three months since I've written a blog post. The beginning of 2013 (and perhaps watching Julie & Julia tonight) has inspired me to blog more frequently. Here we go...

Your screen isn't messed up. I purposely wrote "Happy New Year" vertically. One of my favorite ways to assess what my students have learned is through acrostic poems. Although our large poetry unit usually doesn't make its way to my classroom until early spring, I teach my students how to write acrostic poems early in the school year. When I announce we'll be writing acrostic poems, cheers of joy and excitement can be heard all the way down the hall. My apologies to the first grade teachers -acrostic poems really are that exciting. These poems require students to think critically about specific topics and units of study. It's not merely circling A, B, C or D on a multiple choice test or worksheet - students are required to use new vocabulary words and construct creative sentences and phrases.

To write an acrostic poem simply follow these steps:

1) Choose a topic.

2) Write the topic vertically, on the left hand side of the paper.

3) Write sentences or phrases for each letter of the topic that's been chosen. 

*Be sure each sentence or phrase begins with the letter it corresponds to on the left and that each sentence or phrase gives more information about the main topic.*

4) I usually have my students publish the poems on special pieces of publishing paper, illustrate pictures and then glue their masterpieces to colored construction paper. 

Tech savvy students can create, save and print their original poems here. ReadWriteThink is a wonderful resource for both teachers and parents alike.

Even when my students are not required to write an acrostic poem for an assignment, I see them frequently filling up the pages in their writing notebooks with poems about all kinds of topics. Every poem that is written is original and reflects each student's unique writing style.

Mali, malaria, mosquitos...oh my!

School has been in session for an entire month. I have 26 sweet second graders and we are having a lot of fun learning new things! It's been a busy few weeks, but I'm excited to get back to blogging. I'm going to start tonight by sharing an article I wrote about the Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI). The article can be found on the LCMS English District website and it will also be featured in the English Channels, a publication sent to schools and congregations within the English District of the LCMS.

Is your school or congregation interested in a new mission project? Are you looking for somewhere to donate your weekly chapel offerings? Be sure to check out the LMI website and get involved in this wonderful project being sponsored by the LCMS! Read on to learn more...

Under the Net

Mali, malaria, mosquitos...oh my!

Did you know every 60 seconds a child dies from malaria? Or that malaria kills approximately one million people every year? The LCMS launched The Lutheran Malaria Initiative (LMI) as a way to combat the deadly disease in countries where malaria is prevalent. Currently, LMI is reaching out to countries where there are partner Lutheran churches and missionaries on the ground. Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya are the countries that have benefited from malaria projects thus far. In the near future, LMI will begin to offer programs in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Nigeria, Guinea, Niger and Ghana. To date, over 2.4 million people have been reached by ongoing LMI projects.

Several elementary schools and congregations within the English District have already contributed to LMI. $10 is all it costs to send a treated bed net to a family in need. Education and training on how to properly use a bed net is also given to every family. Last spring, students in San Francisco, CA contributed their chapel offerings to LMI. Over $2,000 was brought in by the students and their families. Together, they donated over 200 treated bed nets to send to Africa. Students kept track of how many bed nets were donated by hanging mosquitos in the hallway for every $10 that was given as chapel offering. As you can see from the pictures, the hallways were overtaken with mosquitos! 

In addition to schools and congregations joining together to combat malaria, a small group of deaconesses, DCEs, lay leaders, pastors and teachers have come together to serve on the English District LMI Team. The meetings are held via conference call, as the team members are spread across several different states and time zones. The team will serve as a coaching model and resource for congregations who wish to support the LMI. The English District officially kicked off the LMI project at this summer’s district convention in St. Louis. Martie the Mosquito was seen buzzing around, encouraging conference attendees to get excited about LMI and what they can do to support ongoing partnerships in Africa. It is the committee's hope and prayer that English District schools and congregations will join us “under the net” to put an end to this deadly disease that is taking away so many lives. 

Together, we can change “Mali, malaria, mosquitos!” to “millions saved, medical treatment and the message of the gospel proclaimed!” What will your school or congregation do to help this worthy cause? Together, we can save lives.

Statistics and facts stated in the article were taken from www.lutheranmalaria.org. Be sure to visit the website for more information, resources and ways to support LMI. Don’t forget to “Like” Lutheran Malaria Initiative on Facebook and share what your congregation is doing to help in the fight against malaria. Pictures of current projects are especially appreciated.

Heather Schneider is a 2nd grade teacher in San Francisco, CA. She serves on the English District Lutheran Malaria Initiative Team.