Summer Time Planning

I love summer.  It is time to sleep, beach, and plan.  Yep. Plan.  I am such a nerd.  I spend my summer thinking, reading professional blogs, professional books (a couple of fun ones in there too,) pinning educational lessons on Pinterest, salivating at the teacher store, and  reexamining my long rangeplans  from the previous year and tweeking some things.

 Even with my toes in the sand, I have a notepad in my hand, and the book Teach like a Pirate  in the other and am looking at ways that I can "hook" my students first thing with my lessons-- ( reminds me of the old PET model of teaching) If you haven't read the book, the last section of the book gives ideas for different types of hooks to grab their attention. If you are familiar with multiple intelligences, the hooks run along the same lines-- just a few are:

• Using music
• using art
• using magic
• using a puzzle
• a costume
• using a short video clip

If you frequent pinterest, you may have seen a site that has movie clips to use.  The movie clips are a great resource.  They are short, and you can find a variety of familiar clips to use for TONS of lessons.

One use was for identifying character traits and using the video to cite reasons for that character trait.  For example, I used a clip from Wizard of Oz And played it for the students.  They watched the clip and recorded character traits for the characters in that clip. With CC I know that giving evidence is key, so as students watched the clip again, they recorded incidents in the clip that would prove their choice for the character trait.  (They begged to do more of these)

I absolutely love pinterest.  At some point I need to print off my boards and file them into my unit notebooks.

I need an intervention....

As I walked into Walmart today I saw the supplies.  New crayons.  New markers.  Nice clean composition books.  Glue sticks.  A big multipack of them-- for ...$1.  I love school supplies.  I am addicted to them.  Never mind I still have a tub of dry erase markers at school that are perfectly  fine--(multiple colors)  Never mind that I have every color of the rainbow ink pen for grading papers-- and probably double green and purple. (my favorite colors to grade papers) Never mind that I have some black composition books left over from last year that weren't used. (I like the colored ones a little bit better...) When I get back from the beach-- it is on.  Unless my husband finds out.

Technology Bug has Bitten...

There is so much technology that can be integrated into our classrooms, and so much in our daily lives that I am not sure if I can keep up.  There is so much out there-- I am trying hard to keep up with the times, but frankly I am finding myself overwhelmed with it all.  I try to do something new every year-- something that I can continue the next year and tweek into perfection.  Something that will be a time saver for me and beneficial for my students, but I have found myself wanting to do it all.  I think I need to sit down and come up with a plan rather than jumping in and drowning in all this technology.

 I tried the webpage that will text parents when you want to send out an announcement, but I started it late n the year and only had one parent sign up.   I work at a Title 1 school, so student access to computers is minimal. Although I do have some parents whose children are on free and reduced lunch and they have a car and phone better than mine-- but that is a soapbox for another day.... I am wondering what new thing I should take on this year. Perhaps I will perfect the texting announcements.... I am working on a  Project , but it isn't completed yet-- I would like some Kindle Fires for my classroom for "Listening to Reading." And the QR codes--

My mind is racing at how I can implement these into reading.... I hope I am not biting off more than I can chew....

The Notebook

Yeah-- not the movie.  I mean that notebook that you keep all your student data in-- test scores, reading levels, and conferencing notes.  If you are like me you probably have more than one notebook.  Who wants to lug around a 3 inch binder with all that stuff in there?  As I search for the perfect form to record my notes, I find myself changing every year-- sometimes even mid year. last year-- I had blank boxes to keep notes.  Nope-- didn't work for me-- too much writing, and I spent WAY too long on the conferences. I was only getting to 5-6 kids a week-- not a good number when you have 23 to reach.  With common core in our midst, I keep wondering how I need to change my blank box.   And then I found the The Teacher's Corner.  I think I have found the answer to my student data notebook.   I am already going to use up half of my copy allotment for the 9 weeks before school starts, but I am excited that I will be keeping better records this year. :) 

Starring 4th Grade

One thing that I am always striving for is to be better.  To be the best that I can be.  (Sounds like a commercial for recruitment to the military.)  But I believe the way you perfect your teaching skills is to get rid of what isn't working, and try new things.

 I love to collaborate  with other teachers and learn from them.  Yes, I have been teaching for 21 years, and I have found many things that I love and will continue to use, and then there are still those areas that that I haven't quite perfected yet. I would love for you to visit me on facebook and as I continue on my adventure of teaching-- (because yes, that is what it is-- I tend to learn as much as my students some years) As I find resources to share for teachers-- especially as we embark on the common Core.  I welcome others to add their successes, suggestions, questions, and even "train wrecks."  After all, we are in this together. 

Ah Sweet Summer

I have so many ambitions every summer.  Books I want to read, units I want to revamp, andnow, Common core is staring at me straight in the face.  This year I will be teaching ELA and social studies to two clocks of students. It looks as though there will be about 21 or 22 students per class.  I know that isn't many, when you look at other teachers' classes across the nation who have 30 or more students. So I shouldn't complain. It is a little tough to swallow, though, when I had 16 or 17 students for a few years and wow.  What a difference.But I digress.

As I have piddled a little with the ELA common core standards, started on my long range plans, and tried to interpret what these standards are needing me to teach, I have gotten a little frustrated with the lack of resources that spell out exactly what the standards want.  There are some out there that are guessing and give minimal guidelines... but I guess what I want is something that spells out what the standards mean.

On top of all this I am trying to integrate my ELA and social studies completely. For example, In social studies,

Week one :
Fictional piece : Wooly and Fang (skills: summarizing, story elements)
Nonfiction piece: Cloning a wooly Mammoth (skills: Discussion, supporting an opinion)
Poetry:  Mammoths on the Move (skills: Rhyme scheme, repetition, onomatopeia, alliteration)
Writing:  Writing an opinion with supporting details (cloning)
Extension: Mammoths (researching)

I know that all these have some sort of cost, and over the years I have paid for a membership of different sites and when I make my copies of the resources, I have them for several years.  With the first week of school I talk about the continents, archeology and mammoths and it takes me right into the land bridge theory.

Doing my ELA strictly around my social studies units is going to be the only way to step up my game in the content area.

Oh Summer, Where have you gone?

As  I begin to look at what I have left to do this summer, I realize it is almost gone-- and it is only July 3rd!  I have one week to clean my house and pack for the beach-- I have a week at the beach-- then I have one week to unpack from the beach and pack my boys off for their youth retreat to Panama City.  They will be gone a week-- (That week I think my daughter and I will just bask in the awesomeness of summer) then I really need to start getting into my classroom and getting it all together! How is that the last week of school can go by so slowly and a summer vacation be gone in a wink of the eye?