School and the City

I'm baaaack! My original blog post about running Words Their Way, called  Words Their Way: MY Way , is my most-visited and most-pinned blog post EVER. First of all, I'm totally flattered that anyone wants to read anything I have to say. Second of all, I GET IT! Words Their Way is the monster under the bed that makes you decide that, well, you'd rather stay safely in your bed than risk getting out of it. I love Words Their Way - don't get me wrong - but it can be completely overwhelming and consuming if you don't have an attack plan. Thus, I present to you... If you were directed here from my first post, thanks for reading! If you haven't read Part 1  yet, I suggest you start there first. Let's dig in! As many of you know, I started at a new school this year. My new school does use Words Their Way, but I have had to change up my routine a bit to best fit my new classroom. WORKBOOKS First of all, my school prov...

I HATE pencils. Really. But pens aren't always practical. Sometimes I think to myself that I should quit my job and invent a pencil that doesn't require sharpening, and then I remember that mechanical pencils are a thing. Sigh. I guess I'll stick with my day job. Honestly, though, where do all of the pencils go? Are they hoarding them in desks and backpacks? Do they take them home and display them in their bedrooms? Do we have a pencil monster that's best friends with  the eraser monster ? Why do they tear them up intentionally? Do they EAT them? I don't get it.  It's a little infuriating. So I decided I was going to set a great example for my students by not sharing my pencils. (sarcasm) I had seen multiple ideas on Pinterest  about how to make sure teacher pencils are clearly marked. I picked my favorite method, opened a brand new box, and sharpened those babies. Then I wrapped them with my favorite washi tape so that they becam...

...and you are, too! Honestly! Tieks . I am SURE you have heard of them, if you are a teacher that frequents Instagram and educational blogs. (If not, get out from under your rock!) Tieks have a reputation in the online world of educators for being the go-to workday shoes. I have feet issues (Achilles tendonitis), so I was skeptical. I especially have trouble with flats. But I also hadn't found any shoes at all, other than sneakers with orthodic inserts, that were comfortable enough to teach in all day. After weeks of researching, I finally made the decision to go for it. #TreatYoSelf The first pair that I bought was leopard. Maybe I should have picked something a little more boring, but in my humble opinion, leopard is a neutral. Obviously, I was sooo excited to wear them to school! At the end of the day, my feet felt.... well, just fine. I didn't feel like I was walking on clouds or anything, but I didn't have any pain or blisters either. I found that T...

Y'all. I hate pencils. And pencil sharpeners. Some days I daydream about quitting my job and inventing something to replace pencils and becoming a millionaire overnight. Oh wait. Those things already exist. Thanks mechanical pencils and ink pens for shattering my dreams. Unfortunately, I do not prefer mechanical pencils to old-fashioned pencils. Second graders and mechanical pencil lead do not make for a happy ending. I'm that girl that sharpens pencils for her students on my own time after school because I've spent too much time and money buying electric pencil sharpeners that end up in the trash. You can't use this new pencil sharpener, I told them. Only I can touch it , I told them. I am tired of you all breaking pencil sharpeners that I buy with my own money, I told them. You already know how this story ends. Yep, that sharpener broke too, even though the only person who touched it was perfect in every way. Ahem. Then, this pencil sharpener walke...

This year was my fourth time around teaching text features , and I decided that it was an area that I could show improvement. I think text features are a difficult concept for young students to learn because it's typically rote memorization of a lot of funny words that they don't understand the importance of.  This year has been the fastest my students have ever learned the names of text features, and they know how to use them, too.  First of all, I have seen anchor charts on Pinterest where a teacher tears apart a worn-out nonfiction book and uses pieces of it to create a visual reference for text features. I loved the idea of that, but it was a LOT of work and I didn't want to have to do it year after year. I spent an afternoon cutting apart a book and some magazines and gluing pieces on a piece of chart paper. Then I took that baby down the hall to the place where the magic happens: the teacher workroom. Because that's where the laminator i...

We are wrapping up our narrative writing unit. We use Lucy as our writing workshop curriculum, but I like to put my own spin on things.  My class this year doesn't love writing... (and let's be honest, I don't love teaching writing) ...so I try to make it as exciting as possible by making real world connections. Write Like a Detective  We discussed what it takes to be a detective. Students decided that detectives look carefully, take their time, and so on.  I told them that by the time we were through, they would become official certified writing detectives  and that they would get their own official writing magnifying glasses . *Cue excited gasps.* Kids are the best. Throughout the week, I taught them new ways that they could "write like a detective." I used my own writing as mentor texts for this week. Kids love hearing/reading stories about me because I tell them funny or interesting stories about myself. The engagement is grea...

Hi, friends! It's been a while! I am 4 weeks in at my new school, and things are going... well, it's going! As I try to stay afloat and survive the back-to-school chaos in addition to getting acclimated at my new home away from home, I've been trying to stay positive.  A happy teacher is a good teacher.  Well, that may not be exactly true, but you get the idea.  I've been reflecting on a book that I read over the summer, Move Your Bus , written by the truly incredible Ron Clark. I was able to download the book for free with my free Audible trial. I listened to it while I was packing for my move. A lot of the stories in the book were the same stories that Ron Clark told when I went to visit RCA in May , but I still loved the book, especially because it was in his own voice! I plan to add a hardback to my bookshelf soon.  My Biggest Move Your Bus Takeaways: Don't get caught up in negativity. I know we hear this all the time, but it...