Tenn IRA + Graphic Organizers

 

It's time to attempt to get caught up on the back-log of
so many experiences saved on my memory card.

Here I am in Murfreesboro, TN.

Just a couple weeks ago.

I had two workshop presentations for their International Reading Association.

We women-of-the-headwear posed to show our zip.

              These are some some of my workshop participants,
 caught in the act of participating!!
This is my first workshop:
"Lyrics to Literacy: Read a Song & Sing a Book"

Now back to the exhibit hall... wait till you see these!!!

The Foldables Exhibit was right around the corner from my booth in the exhibit hall. I never had a chance to speak with Dinah. Our presentations and exhibit times were apparently overlapping? I can tell you that her 'booth' was hopping, and I mean non-stop! Teachers were in a constant clamor and the flash-bulbs were poppin'!! BTW: Here's the direct link to Dinah's website... remember to tell her that I sent you!

I took the following pictures (from her TONS of examples) to honor my promise of providing more support to my readers. I know that these will bring new visitors from Pinterest! [Please become a 'follower' thru your fave avenue: FB Networked Blogs or Google Friends.]  I just knew these examples were going to spark all sorts of teacher imaginations. I think they speak for themselves. I took photos in an effort to share ideas for different age groups and grade levels. Which style will be your favorite?

 

These ideas are for the big kids!!!!

                                             Palindromes, INDEED!!!!

This would be an awesome possibility for an older student's first major book report! It would be so easy to 'adapt' these flap-categories to suit your needs depending on your grade level -- for older or younger students. There could also be more or fewer categories (flaps) as per the need of any given student or book summary. How clever to have the student's illustration continue from flap-to-flap!

Two thumbs up!!!

This pink foldable wins on so many levels. I can really 'see' this as a personal dictionary of sorts.... with new vocabulary words being added over time and complete with definitions! It would be fun to have the student add an illutration to their new entry.

I thought that the "Little Red Riding Hood" captured in the example below, could work especially well for my Kindergarten friends. Long term readers know that I'm all-about helping every learning style -- about every child getting the support they need to grasp information, subjects, new concepts. These 'foldables' offer all sorts of manipulative + kinestetic feedback and potential. Whoooohoooooo!

 
Teachers, these get your motors running, don't they?

 

I can envision creating a more 'permanent' fold-able in the style of the "Little Red Riding Hood" example and using post-it-notes to personalize subsequent books + stories to follow this same breakdown review. What a perfect way for sequential learning to be broken into smaller chunks for retention and review.

**Fast forward into the future!! 
I have a follow-up article with tons more of Dinah's foldables. CLICK HERE

***Further out into the future I was able to photograph actual student 'foldables' used to make reports on inventors in elementary school.  CLICK HERE

Student Inventor Reports as Foldables

Also in the future I write an article on organization in the classroom! 
CLICK HERE for that hugely popular photo-essay!

Dr. Danny Brassell's son creating a photo-dictionary of vocabulary.

Today over at our collaborative blog, Dr. Danny Brassell has an article on how parents can help support their children in their language acquisition -- building their vocabulary -- all in a help to support their child's future reading efforts. His article dove-tails nicely with these foldables. Which to me, are all also all about "doing-whatever-it-takes" to reach each student, each child. Click here to read Dr. Danny's thoughts, his article has that same mantra: whatever-it-takes. His is the type of article I think you'll want to copy for your files.

My second workshop was a big hit, literally!! I presented all of my 'big hits' -- my original songs for children -- perfect for "brain breaks" with even sophisticated, mature students.

Then back to the exhibit hall for some

more signing + personalizing of my picture books.

Click here to read the synopsis of my first picture book, "You're Wonderful" for which I am author + illustrator (plus publisher + composer -- as the book is based on my original song by the same name.) The post has some amazing student created artwork in response to my quilted illustrations, from my Author-in-the-Schools visits.

Consider these foldable inspiration ideas and Dr. Danny's article an early holiday gift. I know that you'll be pinning-the-dickens out of these photographs!! What an amazing resource we have in Pinterest. What an amazing resource we have in fellow bloggers!!

Now that you're home for some much needed vacation time, you can brainstorm all the possibilities of these 'foldables' combined with Dr. Danny's insight. I promise I'll be on the look-out for additional brilliance in my travels. Thanks for stopping through.

                                                                -- Debbie --

Yes!! I now have a shop of goodies. 

***I am now an "Amazon Associate" which means when you click through from my blog to do your shopping, you add a little cha-ching to my Retirement Account! I've gone window shopping for you and located oodles of resources for foldables and graphic organizers. ENJOY! 

I have added this post to the blog hop, link-up, on all things 'foldable' over at Corkboard Connections.