tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48384084401832910402024-03-05T05:17:06.019-08:00Tales of a Title One Teachercourtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-81068980849084867582013-06-04T11:13:00.000-07:002013-06-04T11:13:00.519-07:00Tic Tac Toe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
All my efforts to keep instruction rolling have been noble...but with the choas that ensues in the last few days of school, meeting that I have to attend, and upheaval that has been occuring with placements within our building, I am officially heading towards burnt out. I have created some tic tac toe sets with different characters (some for girls, some for boys, some for both) that I have been using for kids who finish early, or when I just need to fill a few minutes. The kids love them. A freebie game is below the pictures. You can find the sets at my TPT store. Good luck, and may the force be with you!<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fairy-tale-Tic-Tac-Toe-set-of-Five-Boards-and-Characters-716972" target="_blank">Visit my TeachersPayTeachers Store to purchase a set!</a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1uxBzvJ03FreWF1VVRfQ2lBYTg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Here is the link for a free Star Wars Set!</a></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-38781950822248308382013-05-22T18:00:00.000-07:002013-05-22T18:00:03.752-07:00Insect Fun!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This week I began my attempt at curbing end of year chaos through giving the kids more freedom and choice in the classroom. Remarkably there were periods of absolute silence at times. Granted they lasted about 3 minutes a stretch, but still an accomplishment. <br />
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We began learning about Insects this week. I introduced the unit by reading a book on insects and creating a can, have, are chart for a caterpillar as an example. We then used the smart board to model how the kids could use the computer to look for information about their insects. I bookmarked a couple of cute webquests that focused on the group of insects that I had chosen, and we practiced how they could choose what they needed to look for. We also modeled how to use non-fiction books to gather information. Much of this was review, but it was the first time I was asking them to be accountable for finding and recording the information on their own. Next, we decided as a class on three objectives. 1). We wanted to find out where the insect lived. 2). We wanted to learn what the insect ate, and 3) we chose to research habits of the insect. Once this was done, I let the students sign up on chart paper for the insect that they wanted. Each group had about 4 people in it.<br />
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We are on day three of our projects and each group has done much of their research and are now choosing how they are going to present that information to the class. Some are creating a video, one is writing a song, and another is writing their own non-fiction story. It has been lots of fun and the kids really seem to be enjoying the group work. Here are some photos of the research part of the activity (I laid out butcher paper on the tables, gave them markers, and let them go to town!)<br />
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-3731958028338705312013-05-19T14:45:00.001-07:002013-05-19T14:48:02.065-07:00Ideas for surviving the last few weeks of school ...and a freebie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't know about many of you, but this time of year seems to creep by in a slow drag of tattling, talking, and overall disregard for the classroom rules and expectations that I have set up from the beginning of the year. I have asked around school and it appears to be the case in the school as a whole, not just in my classroom. It still confuses me though, because one thing that I would call myself very strong with is management. I attribute most of this to being a certified Responsive Classroom coach, and all of the amazing training that I have benefited from along the way. However, something is just not working and I have spent the weekend thinking about how I can make the end of the year as smooth and enjoyable as possible for both my students and myself (so I don't go running for the hills!) Some of the realizations and ideas that I have come up with are the following:<br />
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1. We are all sick of each other.<br />
Now I love my kids, I truly do. Most of the time they love each other too. However, in the past week the tattling that has never really been a problem has really picked up. I am convinced that they are just too familiar with each other at this point, and are nitpicking and bickering because of it. I have moved seats at tables and on the carpet but there are only so many places that they can go. For this reason I am turning to the adage of Academic Choice, one of the 10 RC ideals. Academic Choice can be given in a variety of different ways. I will use it in this case to allow the students to work in various areas of the classroom. On the floor, in the reading chairs, at my table, as long as they are following the classroom rules while doing it. This will allow them a break from their table mates and the ability to sit, stand, or lie down as they feel the need. It kills two birds with one stone - they get some quiet and privacy, and they can move as they need to as long as they are safe about it. If they do not follow the classroom rules while doing this, they lose the privilege and must return to their seats.<br />
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2. They are done with math tubs, stations, and the same old same old.<br />
I rotate my stations and activities often. I make new games, and find cool things on pinterest and TPT. Ultimately, at this point in the year they feel like they have "been there, done that" and I cannot hold their interest, nor their mouths closed, while they are at these areas. Therefore, I am going to ix nay stations and incorporate more of the act of the kids designing them. Instead of having them play a phonics game, I am going to challenge them to create a new phonics game to add to my stations next year. Instead of using a math tub for their magic number, they are going to have to write some story problems that I will then type up and give out for morning work. I am going to give them more freedom in using their creativity that will in turn serve as an informal assessment for me to see what they have mastered, and what knowledge they are able to transfer.<br />
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3. They don't want to sit and listen to me talk.<br />
Even though I use a variety of resources when introducing new materials (smart board, story books, games, manipulatives) they are just over hearing my voice for longer than a few minutes. For this reason I am challenging them to learn the material in their own way. I am planning a unit on insects where instead of me introducing the material, I will divide the class into groups and have a variety of resources on hand for them to use (library books, encyclopedias, computers, an ipad). Groups will be assigned an insect (preying mantis, ladybug, dragonfly, butterfly, grasshopper and centipede) and will have to learn as much as they can about the insects in their own way. Before beginning, I will share with the class a rubric of what I will be looking for so that they know what they will be responsible for learning and what they will be assessed on. I will be there to assist, but the majority of the responsibility for this activity will be on them. At the end of the week they will have to choose a medium to teach the class what they learned - making a poster, writing and performing a play, making a video, writing a song, etc. I will videotape each presentation and they will be able to watch it back and help me design their grade based on the rubric.<br />
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I am hoping that implementing some of these ideas will make the last few weeks of school fun, and we all know that when students are engaged with and enjoying what they are doing, behavior issues decrease. I will share how things go as I begin these activities so look out for my updates! <br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1uxBzvJ03FrNy1sN2JTNldwSDA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here to download my project rubric!</a></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-63443151245873696162013-05-16T09:39:00.002-07:002013-05-16T09:39:34.302-07:00Goldilocks and a freebie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the past week, we have once again begun my favorite time of year...Fairy Tales! I think I enjoy it more than the kids do. This week we are reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We always use the elements of a Fairy Tale to compare and contrast the different versions that we read. I created a pocket chart station retelling activity to help my kids practice the order of events. It is based on the original version of the story. Below are some pictures of how my kids did with it. Click the link below the photo to get your own copy of the activity...free! Enjoy, and hope your day ends with a "happily ever after".<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Goldilocks-and-the-Three-Bears-Retelling-Pictures-and-Story-Cards-698064" target="_blank">Get your own set of Goldilocks retelling pictures and cards!</a></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-8737503769986162512013-04-30T17:48:00.001-07:002013-05-15T18:32:44.446-07:00Bidding Farewell to an Amazing Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am entering my last week with my amazing student teacher, and I feel like I am going to be absolutely lost without her. We have had such an incredible dynamic that it felt like a true co-teaching experience. I was so fortunate to get paired with someone so like me in both personality, lifestyle, and philosophy. I expect we'll be friends for long to come. Today was her final evaluation with her faculty supervisor. When she conferenced with us after the lesson she told us how obvious it was that we enjoyed working together and what a great experience it had been for both of us. She then proceeded to tell us about the other student she is supervising who is having a terrible experience - the teacher has no passion for the profession, has little to offer her in terms of philosophies or advice, and essentially has the students doing worksheets all day. This leaves the student teacher with little time or ability to interact or to form relationships with the students. It angers and disappoints me on behalf of all teachers who get a bad rap because of the ones like this. This person is "mentoring" a future educator? The profession will be lucky if this girl doesn't run the other way after her experience. Luckily, it sounds as if she is taking it as a learning experience and is looking at this situation as a way she does not want her classroom to be run. Learning comes in all forms I guess, and she is taking what she can from the experience. What a responsibility it it to introduce someone brand new to the classroom to this incredible world that we all get to live in every day. It is so important that we instill in new teachers the survival skills that they will need in the classroom, and the very basic principal that is not taught enough in their own colleges - learning cannot occur without a safe, supportive and relationship driven classroom. You can read every textbook there is, but if you cannot build meaningful relationships with your students which then gain trust and earn motivation, then no true learning is going to occur inside your classroom walls. I hope if nothing else, that I have been a living example of that to my incredible student teacher so that I am setting her up with all the tools she will need to be successful as she begins her own amazing journey into the magical world of education. :)</span></div>
courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-52166579930766974152013-03-09T17:39:00.003-08:002013-05-15T18:33:51.902-07:00New Items at TPT - Dragons!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After spending the last week with more free time and quiet than usual (My husband was able to pick the boys up almost every day) I found myself with some very rare free and quiet time. I used it to get caught up on some planning, to organize things that I needed for my student teacher, and to complete my latest TPT unit. This one is a dragon theme using math, literacy and writing to emphasize adding descriptive words to stories, bridging to 10 and number facts, true and false fact checking about Dragons, ABC order using words that describe dragons, and lots and lots of writing activities, along with a premade book activity for students to complete using their own imaginations and descriptions of their dragons (flashbacks to the amount of times I watched Pete's Dragon as a child). I also included an extensive list of books that can be used with the unit, and a self written story that introduces the idea of what dragons are and what words describe them in a cute fictional way. It sells for $5.00 for 65 pages of pure dragon-rificness. I would love any feedback that you have for me! Hope everyone had a great weekend. We are gearing up for the 60's and 70's over here on the east side. And an outdoor field trip Monday with warm temps. That is unheard of!</span><br />
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Check it out here at my TPT Store:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dragon-Themed-Writing-Literacy-and-Math-Unit-and-station-Activities">Dragon Theme Literacy, Math, and Writing Unit </a></span><br />
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-36149786188917710412013-02-15T13:41:00.001-08:002013-05-15T18:34:25.958-07:00Out of the mouths of first graders...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">Walking through the lunch line one of my little girls paused at the hanging rack of lunch cards with student's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">names written on them. She turned to me and said -"Mrs. Norton - at first I thought that name was is.is. Then I realized it was Isis!". Check that word wall word off the list!</span></span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-59676201900258815592013-02-10T06:19:00.001-08:002013-05-15T18:35:19.142-07:00It's been a long time...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I started this blog with the full intention of updating it weekly. Unfortunately, that has not occurred with my chaotic life. I have been held hostage by Crohn's Disease for most of this year and m just returning to school after a two month surgical absence. I am feeling much better now and am hoping to get back into the swing of things quickly. One added incentive to getting myself organized is that I have a student teacher starting on Monday! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Before I got too sick, I was surprised in my classroom one morning in the midst of teaching by my two little boys carrying in bouquets of balloons, and several other people, many unknown to me, entering my classroom. My principal thn informed both me and my class that I had been selected by Office Max as a winner of A Day Made Better campaign that recognized outstanding teachers. I was awarded boxes full of school and office supplies, a brand new leather desk chair, and best of all, all of my kids got supply boxes to take home. So desperately needed in our community. It was an amazing and overwhelming experience, and I am so grateful to be recognized for doing something that I love so much.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you again to Office Max, and to my co-workers and administrators who nominated me for this incredible event!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"> </span></span></span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-75905408204464474352012-06-10T04:40:00.000-07:002013-05-15T18:35:47.032-07:00To Loop or Not to Loop...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well here it is on Sunday morning and I just opened my school email to find the answer to the question that I have been anxiously awaiting...am I going to loop with my class to second grade. The answer was no. I was very late in expressing to my principal that I would like to do this, mainly because I LOVE first grade, and my team. Since discovering teaching blogs a few months back I have also spent an incredible amount of time purchasing units off of Teachers Pay Teachers, and making my own, so I am well stocked and organized to begin next year in first. Mostly though, I love my team. In eight years of teaching I have never worked with a group so amazing, and we truly make each other better teachers everyday. So, the only thing that I am truly sad about is my incredible kiddos. This class was very special, a true team in every sense of the word, and I am so very sad that I will not be able to spend another year watching them grow. Especially my new speakers who came in without a word of English and are leaving meeting benchmarks that I never thought they would achieve in such a short time. So, it was a bittersweet email. Now, I can continue packing my room away in the most organized fashion possible so that all of the time and effort that I spent this year will be at my fingertips when I need it next year. Fingers crossed that part of the magic was my Responsive Classroom background and ability to build relationships with my kids. If that is the case, maybe next years group will be even better. :)</span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-19231800619205428382012-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:002013-05-15T18:36:19.233-07:00The Three Little Pigs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This week began tales of three pigs and B.B. Wolf . Being a short week with the Memorial Day holiday, and having been ahead already on Science and Social Studies, I stole some of that time and did two blocks each day for fairy tales. We began with James Marshall's version of the story, and as usual our story element four square. In the afternoon I read Steven Kellogg's version, and had the students complete their own four square. I used it as a comprehension grade, and at this point in the year I am thankful for any graded pieces I can find! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For Wednesday we began our writing piece, "What would you use to build your house if you were the pig?". I started by reading The Three Little Pigs (An Architectural Tale). We added to our element chart, and then we brainstormed different materials that would be smart to use to build a house, and some that might not make the best choices. The kids then went on to write about what they would use to build and why. They then created their own illustration of their house to go along with the writing. Here is the prompt page that I created.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/95885022/Three-Little-Pigs-Writing">http://www.scribd.com/doc/95885022/Three-Little-Pigs-Writing</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is what it looked like with our houses all assembled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, we read my favorite version by Jon Scieszka "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs". We then voted on who thought the Wolf was guilty or innocent (overwhelmingly guilty!) and then became newspaper reporters as we completed an activity from a cute packet from Amanda Terhune of <a href="http://mrsterhune.blogspot.com/">http://mrsterhune.blogspot.com</a>. You can purchase the packet here. <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fairy-Tale-UnitStorybook-Characters.">Fairy Tale Unit.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We filled in the who, what, when ,where, why and how boxes with the information we wanted to be part of our article. The kids had some very creative ideas of where they thought we should say the crime was committed, but they really enjoyed it. Here is the end result. (We also did the WANTED poster for the pig bad wolf from her unit)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday was our final day on this great Tale, and we spent it reading The Three Little Tamales AND the Three Little Javelinas. My ESOl kiddos loved these, and my class immediately connected the Tamales to The Runaway Tortilla which we read this winter with our Gingerbread Man unit (yeah!). We ended the unit writing a letter to the Wolf from the one of the pigs and creating our own pigs to go along with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www/">Letter Template</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www/">Pig Template</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a great week, and we had lots of fun with the Three Little Pigs. Next week it is on to Goldilocks, and our last fairy tale before school ends. :( </span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-85831461257289941592012-05-29T09:22:00.000-07:002013-05-15T18:36:51.193-07:00Cinderelly...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This week we spent our phonics and whole group reading blocks on the magic of Cinderella. The girls loved it, the boys put up with it (unfortunately my library transfer request for Cinder Fella didn't come in). I promised them that I would make it up to them by dedicating the last week of school to a true modern day fairy tale...Shrek. This did the trick.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1K2ErMKWIUTPRbT_gn4WRvx5iUh0O1297nwTmkI_oxthXwKVQdO0D8W753xra27m-L7E3mkprLTz5vLqImWIBy_hKI9qBR795K-nMdDJqRgtxYLn5uOntVfr1y3-btEiTwN-a0HjbaAu/s1600/books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1K2ErMKWIUTPRbT_gn4WRvx5iUh0O1297nwTmkI_oxthXwKVQdO0D8W753xra27m-L7E3mkprLTz5vLqImWIBy_hKI9qBR795K-nMdDJqRgtxYLn5uOntVfr1y3-btEiTwN-a0HjbaAu/s1600/books.jpg" /></a></div>
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As usual, we began our week with a four square organizer with the major story elements that we are studying - character, setting, problem and solution. This time we broke the character column into two sections, good characters and evil characters. This really only became a problem when deciding where to put Cinderella's father, since in every version we read he was mentioned but never elaborated on. We began with an original version, Cinderella by Kinuko Craft. Some of the wording was a bit difficult and since I teach an ESOL class I had to explain a bit of vocabulary, but overall they enjoyed the story and the beautiful illustrations. </div>
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For writing this week, I created a "How To" writing activity about how to get Cinder_____(enter student's first name) to the ball. We first reviewed the sequence of events that occurred after Cinderella met her fairy godmother who then helped her transform ordinary objects into magical ones. From there we had a mini-lesson review on how-to writing, which we have done a bit of this year. I modeled using some elements that were true to the story, and some that I changed. I then set the kids free to brainstorm their own objects to transform into magical elements. We had pizzas, crayons, and dogs that were turned into various objects to help CinderCarlos (ex.) to the ball. Funny how many students wound up with a batmobile like finale. Here are the writing pages that I created for this activity. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRYbpxHyHnQglCEqxCBHuPNpKGkTxFrLbM3kR6xGY29JpxNmympwaqJ8iUZMeP697tunyQyxkcjTmzF7vpW4HOveJ9A7ljMzsA_RKtsW-hufiLYx497LIr9HGrwekZgi5o6rff00STxpp/s1600/Picture+316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRYbpxHyHnQglCEqxCBHuPNpKGkTxFrLbM3kR6xGY29JpxNmympwaqJ8iUZMeP697tunyQyxkcjTmzF7vpW4HOveJ9A7ljMzsA_RKtsW-hufiLYx497LIr9HGrwekZgi5o6rff00STxpp/s320/Picture+316.jpg" width="239px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkKYYvVlrtODeOHWw9eR-G5e6pE2tZjlGGH7oTPdx1QCWw4fGYpzSnIF_YKhMclPc4xSrb2BzKXpA8PIjJmRpSzt1lVtaLsRPLbqNmUFr-X2S0OuCV07GtTQqjh5DfehwgDPsshEYjqX-/s1600/Picture+315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkKYYvVlrtODeOHWw9eR-G5e6pE2tZjlGGH7oTPdx1QCWw4fGYpzSnIF_YKhMclPc4xSrb2BzKXpA8PIjJmRpSzt1lVtaLsRPLbqNmUFr-X2S0OuCV07GtTQqjh5DfehwgDPsshEYjqX-/s320/Picture+315.jpg" width="239px" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/95155949/How-to-Get-Cinder-to-the-Ball" target="_blank">Get it FREE here</a></div>
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We worked on the writing all week and it came out really great. We didn't have much time to create an art activity to go with it, so we created a Reward Poster for our missing shoes to go along with the unit. The version I created is here.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH3vNFGTcIGSH-xMbAG6ciTPlT74HgWdD1p4d-5UJ8POWMnLFtZWhKwvyMbK6zvGkLkTTA-X0meZqOr3cqjQ11JaJB_1gWWwLqBKHIndoCKImat4vh2nNuV7Md0NRInyL3YsNALCkSkNk/s1600/Picture+313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH3vNFGTcIGSH-xMbAG6ciTPlT74HgWdD1p4d-5UJ8POWMnLFtZWhKwvyMbK6zvGkLkTTA-X0meZqOr3cqjQ11JaJB_1gWWwLqBKHIndoCKImat4vh2nNuV7Md0NRInyL3YsNALCkSkNk/s320/Picture+313.jpg" width="239px" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/95158159/Shoe-Lost-at-Ball">Grab it here</a> </div>
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I did create a template for creating our own carriage which I ran out of time to use, but I am including it here.</div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/95158422/Cinderella-s-Carriage-Template">Carriage Template</a></div>
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We continued reading various versions of the story throughout the week. Not as diverse as I had hoped, but our school library was a bit limited. I am hoping my wish list materials will be here in time for next year's unit. We worked on our writing daily, and I purchased a great unit from <a href="http://fabulousfish-stephanie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">First Grade Fabulous Fish</a>. I purchased the unit on <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers</a> at:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cinderella-Stories-Literacy-FUN">ttp://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cinderella-Stories-Literacy-FUN</a>. </div>
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We wrote about what we would wish for from our Fairy Godmothers and also used her ABC order to practice our alphabet skills. The kids loved the colorful vocabulary cards as well. I used them in my classroom writing center. I also purchased her entire Fairy Tale unit as well at: </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Once-Upon-a-Time-a-Fairy-Tales-Unit-for-Little-Learners">http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Once-Upon-a-Time-a-Fairy-Tales-Unit-for-Little-Learners</a> </div>
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which was WONDERFUL. Great activities for literacy stations and especially templates for the Writing center. Here is our version of her Fairy Godmother writing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGAwLG378k-QhyphenhyphenU4nqRT4KqBzE-TS55Gow281qSXgBV2wrSI70kyUd8uv-Gb7NA0zdRo_jgwjIn42KYfS-cr4uek66g-R58GgIlbOJissjW8SFaNMs-Yn8N57oLAwMBRy_3P1cPHOIknB/s1600/Picture+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGAwLG378k-QhyphenhyphenU4nqRT4KqBzE-TS55Gow281qSXgBV2wrSI70kyUd8uv-Gb7NA0zdRo_jgwjIn42KYfS-cr4uek66g-R58GgIlbOJissjW8SFaNMs-Yn8N57oLAwMBRy_3P1cPHOIknB/s320/Picture+314.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>
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Finally, after a busy, action packed well in Cinderella-land, we wrapped up with our hallway display. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineMikXtc-7ecWh-8f414hTZBw1dHNNeH_Ft-FmWVGpFZhLaeFnko980hMfRsZxsSXwengPxmWaV_Pv4C0vmxiV9f8smMO3pFoFNJc_qn-Wjw0F9aeGQChHvUdWJae3WzHORkTDXL9SRXO/s1600/Picture+311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineMikXtc-7ecWh-8f414hTZBw1dHNNeH_Ft-FmWVGpFZhLaeFnko980hMfRsZxsSXwengPxmWaV_Pv4C0vmxiV9f8smMO3pFoFNJc_qn-Wjw0F9aeGQChHvUdWJae3WzHORkTDXL9SRXO/s320/Picture+311.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div>
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Not quite as fancy as our Jack and the Beanstalk unit, but still not so bad. :) Next week, on to the Three Little Pigs!</div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-51556106771503189982012-05-19T11:37:00.003-07:002013-05-15T18:37:27.450-07:00Let the Fairy Tale Adventure Begin!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This past week has begun my absolute favorite part of the school year (and no, I don't mean the countdown to summer vacation :). We started a seven week unit on fairy tales! We have seven first grade classes, and so each of us teaches a different fairy tale each week, so that we can share materials and have all versions available to our kiddos in the classroom library and big book stations. The only problem with this approach is that at Library resource this week I discovered how much my students love fairy tales as well when they went looking to check them out, but the teachers already had them! I quickly put in a wish list for our librarian to hopefully order additional copies for next year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My class began with my favorite tale - Jack and the beanstalk. I purchased "Once Upon a Time (Fairy Tales for Little Learners)" from <a href="http://teachinginhighheels.blogspot.com/">teachinginhighheels.blogspot.com</a>. Here is a link directly to the package on teacherspayteachers.com. <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Once-Upon-a-Time-a-Fairy-Tales-Unit-for-Little-Learners">http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Once-Upon-a-Time-a-Fairy-Tales-Unit-for-Little-Learners</a>. It had a great way to introduce the unit with colorful charts which described fairy tales, folktales, and fables. We always focus on four key elements when reading fairy tales: character, setting, problem and solution. We create a four square chart for the original version, and continue to add to the chart in different color marker for each version that we read. It can get a little busy, but I have found that it works better for the kids to see all of the information in one place. We spent the week reading a variety of different versions. Here are a few that we have read:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyOlqc4WDsZhQ3DQfmMnWQ018zqEAcNQVW469xKuPPdCpsibDuiGsAE9SrvdQyYJ6Ee025bRXclY1RJhKUguss5a7WiGMXEMmTsDRDsP-ZD-XdqJL4Q-DkLsQwmJ_Fgjrzark6TFRUFXd/s1600/books.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyOlqc4WDsZhQ3DQfmMnWQ018zqEAcNQVW469xKuPPdCpsibDuiGsAE9SrvdQyYJ6Ee025bRXclY1RJhKUguss5a7WiGMXEMmTsDRDsP-ZD-XdqJL4Q-DkLsQwmJ_Fgjrzark6TFRUFXd/s200/books.jpeg" width="151" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEJfjb30audo6JKgzLiOE5Ui34kHET88BFBmh0FdSFevXSa4tZksoRWAz29kidpWdcJKHp8uuHtNvJ2Z319bw6tDoD4Rw0RzTOs8KpwP85ltLTJkwTMm634F9ZSEDaeb-plo1jcNUQuNI/s1600/books-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEJfjb30audo6JKgzLiOE5Ui34kHET88BFBmh0FdSFevXSa4tZksoRWAz29kidpWdcJKHp8uuHtNvJ2Z319bw6tDoD4Rw0RzTOs8KpwP85ltLTJkwTMm634F9ZSEDaeb-plo1jcNUQuNI/s200/books-1.jpeg" width="137" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The base of my writing and phonics activities came from a site I found on pinterest. <a href="http://mrsbumgardners1stgradeclass.blogspot.com/2011/04/earth-day-plants.html">http://mrsbumgardners1stgradeclass.blogspot.com/2011/04/earth-day-plants.html</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjAs19-xXfWDyy7UjH7cuvj_1lc4NyBdlVj-fdDJttNehsqz4FXf071Pt5NuOap5b1j09MKxznaaQpfg7W1_dfVOM17CwhWgb5VY8-kDSrALlnWBAqx2YeW7oTJqkHta_YhjBvKpgD4hV/s1600/2111131045412382_RXSle0mz_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjAs19-xXfWDyy7UjH7cuvj_1lc4NyBdlVj-fdDJttNehsqz4FXf071Pt5NuOap5b1j09MKxznaaQpfg7W1_dfVOM17CwhWgb5VY8-kDSrALlnWBAqx2YeW7oTJqkHta_YhjBvKpgD4hV/s200/2111131045412382_RXSle0mz_c.jpg" width="155" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We completed the ABC order beanstalks and also our very own books "_______ and the Beanstalk". I stapled three empty pages onto each book and focused on the writing mini-lessons that we had done on beginning, middle, and end as a reference. I found it was helpful to the kids to have an idea of what should go on which page. It also prevented the three sentence "I'm done!" culprits from trying that one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We did our mini-lesson on Monday, and for the rest of the week the kids had writers workshop to work on their stories. I cut it a bit short this week because I was very ambitious when I came across yet ANOTHER incredible art activity on pinterest....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEydavLH99h9wwN9n-JskC-yDgcbHWmi5bqcsWcWNjgPjIdB4IZNp_cB5uWmlFfTRcVBx20v3UpxmRGHI3PoGW-9cNH7OJBvF7JpxKiDFXD_Ip3ohjHibpm3c8RGTmVYoiqAnBaIf_HJO/s1600/87116574012053164_Qfm7LW1E_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEydavLH99h9wwN9n-JskC-yDgcbHWmi5bqcsWcWNjgPjIdB4IZNp_cB5uWmlFfTRcVBx20v3UpxmRGHI3PoGW-9cNH7OJBvF7JpxKiDFXD_Ip3ohjHibpm3c8RGTmVYoiqAnBaIf_HJO/s200/87116574012053164_Qfm7LW1E_c.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This one is from <a href="http://paintedpaperintheartroom.blogspot.com/2012/03/fe-fi-fo-fum-jack-and-beanstalk.html">http://paintedpaperintheartroom.blogspot.com/2012/03/fe-fi-fo-fum-jack-and-beanstalk.html</a>. We began this on Monday and did a bit each day before finally finishing on Thursday. Once I had finally displayed all of our hard work the walls outside room 501 looked pretty amazing if I do say so myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5ICFMmMdvz5R11k52HMTF_fwDxpX2g7VTak2SWQmuX9nCY21adK-QDX93E5V1nr5XVQLu233DAd_zAjmMjQe1VfgrqMML8ERx-v20NsPc3Jc8GsCYmGhAu6v9sOa1J0ymi09EzHpMsMR/s1600/IMG_2216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5ICFMmMdvz5R11k52HMTF_fwDxpX2g7VTak2SWQmuX9nCY21adK-QDX93E5V1nr5XVQLu233DAd_zAjmMjQe1VfgrqMML8ERx-v20NsPc3Jc8GsCYmGhAu6v9sOa1J0ymi09EzHpMsMR/s200/IMG_2216.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk3ObNIBNeofYbCht5Z6nMiXI1nRerEbRs-skSO0X62QE8ITuiSdhGl2fwBE2nHYp9fsmROpspRJXUA0zqkq_SfeQlYTe_VTIRVVnpvTBu1auaGOJuJd42q98xifPkUfbphSATx-hQwzp/s1600/IMG_2217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk3ObNIBNeofYbCht5Z6nMiXI1nRerEbRs-skSO0X62QE8ITuiSdhGl2fwBE2nHYp9fsmROpspRJXUA0zqkq_SfeQlYTe_VTIRVVnpvTBu1auaGOJuJd42q98xifPkUfbphSATx-hQwzp/s200/IMG_2217.JPG" width="148" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZ66L60S4TQohnu97fc-QZ7dWgzwq0od1H7CJHy3Jpa_Ykihj7o_Z5_SY2jose0o0m8r4T7-fTXdPbU0oOXvrEtzDk6E6K0m5nY85PsS8EWTtShGC3qN52dOGoaKtynhJ5stJOq1Z6BHW/s1600/IMG_2218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZ66L60S4TQohnu97fc-QZ7dWgzwq0od1H7CJHy3Jpa_Ykihj7o_Z5_SY2jose0o0m8r4T7-fTXdPbU0oOXvrEtzDk6E6K0m5nY85PsS8EWTtShGC3qN52dOGoaKtynhJ5stJOq1Z6BHW/s200/IMG_2218.JPG" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS_vADW0mvZUzVogclg2pAKciVbiA5YCcA20HGyxkd0bB8MahI5MCBzq8PECWjKahoZo7wNx3YwL6XMj0nahmyekMwS5jbT41ySrN4RtCqdVgxrA26q6WRHafYF3_P2v2qU85RUw9T-ft/s1600/IMG_2223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS_vADW0mvZUzVogclg2pAKciVbiA5YCcA20HGyxkd0bB8MahI5MCBzq8PECWjKahoZo7wNx3YwL6XMj0nahmyekMwS5jbT41ySrN4RtCqdVgxrA26q6WRHafYF3_P2v2qU85RUw9T-ft/s200/IMG_2223.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next week, it's on to Cinderella!</span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838408440183291040.post-7082658416188066442012-01-15T10:28:00.000-08:002013-05-15T18:37:55.554-07:00Introducing Mrs. Norton!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi all! I am a first grade teacher in Richmond, Virginia. I have been teaching for 8 years now, after becoming a career switcher from the corporate retail world. I feel lucky every day that I am so in love with my job. It is also my hobby, and there is no better scenerio! Last year, my husband and I brought home the loves of our lives, our twin boys Tyson and Gabriel from Ethiopia. I was worried that becoming a mom would dampen my enthusiasm for teaching, especially being with such young children all day, but I have found the opposite to be true. I have recently discovered teaching blogs, and after becoming a certifiable "addict", have decided to try one out myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My perspective is a bit unique in some ways. I teach an ESOL class where I collab for about 30 minutes per day with an ESL teacher. This year I have two brand new speakers, and 12 Spanish speakers overall, out of a class of 19. Transiance is always an issue at our school. Many of our students have parents that are incarcertated, seperated, illegal aliens, or are dealing with things at home that I hope my own children never have to dream of. We have severe behavior issues, but amazing kids, and I love my school and my students wholeheartedly. I am certain that I am a Title One Teacher for life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been trained in an approach called Responsive Classroom, and it is the guiding principal in my classroom, and how I teach. I believe in it fully. One of my goals this year is to become a certified site coordinator for Responsive Classroom so that I can lead trainings and hopefully convince some of my peers that it is an incredible approach which minimizes discipline problems through building relationships with students, giving students academic choice, guided discovery and the four key elements of morning meeting (along with a few other factors...). I would finally call myself a master teacher at classroom and discipline management, and am working hard to add that title to all subject areas as well. Enjoy my blog as I am sure it will be a work in progress. Thanks for stopping by! :)</span></div>
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courtandjayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649439850777963574noreply@blogger.com0