School and the City

After attending a PD workshop last week on balanced literacy, I was inspired! I was particularly motivated by a session about conferring with readers (and writers). It was based on this book , which - by the way - is easy to read and fabulous!  After attending the session, I realized I needed to get organized and make a binder to hold all of my materials and records for my student conferences. I had to make my conferring binder match my planner binder, OBVIOUSLY.  Binder covers are by A Modern Teacher! The first thing I have inside is the "Matching Books and Readers" document by TCRWP . Since I've seen Lucy Calkins speak in a workshop before, every time I read this document, I hear it in her voice. It explains in depth what students are expected to be able to do at each guided reading level (Fountas and Pinnell). Next I have numbered dividers for each student. For each student, I have a strategy checklist that I created. It is essentially a s...

If you know me at all, you know my favorite children's book is The Giving Tree . I'm in love. I have a hardback copy that I displayed on a shelf in my classroom last year as one of my favorites. However, that copy is going on the shelf this year for the kids to love on as it is being replaced with this 50th anniversary METALLIC special edition! Yes, I know all teachers have heard of The Giving Tree , but I feel like it is my personal duty to advocate for the use of The Giving Tree in the classroom.  I have used The Giving Tree to teach... thinking aloud / tracking thinking. questioning. making predictions. finding patterns. understanding characters. You could also use The Giving Tree to teach... plot. sequencing. character development. personification. fiction/nonfiction. bibliotherapy (kindness, selflessness). creative writing. SCIENCE! trees, life cycles, plants, etc. MATH! time, measurement, simple addition & su...

I've finally given in to the fact that it's almost time to go back to school, so I've been hard at work on my (never-ending) teacher to-do list. Tonight I decided to update my reading superstar sign! When I started implementing my reading superstar reward system, I whipped up a sign real quick, stuck it in a sheet protector, and taped it to the board. Somehow, I never got around to making a real / decent / even semi-attractive sign. Before: After:  Pssst! This little starfish is my first EVER original clip art!  A little about Reading Superstar: According to the balanced literacy model, students are supposed to spend 45 minutes of our literacy block reading independently. FORTY FIVE MINUTES. 7-year olds! (During these 45 minutes, I am pulling small groups and individuals.) Although my students had great stamina by the end of the year, they still needed a little extra motivation to stay on task while reading independently.  I'm pretty sure I...

I've only been out of school for 4 weeks so I'm not going to pretend like I'm ready to go back to school yet. Although I have not started working, planning, or preparing yet, I have been thinking about the upcoming year daily. Of course, I have also been exercising that "Pin It" button! (Side note: My school boards are getting a little out of control. Too many incredible ideas!) I'm linking up with Jess to share my goals for the new school year. I'll need all of you to hold me accountable.  What are some of your goals? Any suggestions for me?