WE WON!!!!!

We just found out that our 6th grade video for the "Jackie Robinson, Breaking Barriers"  Colorado Rockies contest is the GROUP WINNER!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of our students!  They will be honored on the field before the game tomorrow night as well as on the jumbotron!  Lastly, they will be in the May edition of the Colorado Rockies Newsletter!

Here's a link to our video if you would like to see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUUYj6U3ei4

A Teacher's Impact

Ever have the feeling that you know you were born to be an educator?  Today, was one of those days for me and it's the best feeling in the world!

Today, I was stopped in the hall by a previous student's parent and we were talking about how quickly her children have grown up.   I can't believe her daughter who I had in 2nd grade and in 6th grade was graduating high school this year.  I asked her how she was feeling as a parent to have her first born graduate and head off to college.  She told me she felt Mae was ready, she was excited about her going and this new adventure she would have.

I agreed with her (matter of fact, Mae was ready in 2nd grade to go off to college... :) )  But, what she expressed next really made my heart melt.  She told me that because of me and the impact I had on Mae, she has decided to enter the elementary education program at her school.  She said that Mae always talks about my teaching and the bond I created with my students.  Mae wants to have the same thing with her future students.

WOW!

They always say we never know the true impact we have on our student's lives and that's so true.  Who knew, 10 years ago when Mae entered my classroom as a scared, shy young girl that I would plant the seed to truly help her figure out what her passion is in life....to become a teacher.

Thank you God for the gift you have given me as an educator.  I am truly honored and blessed to spend my days with such amazing, young children.

Do you have a story you would like to share.  Please leave it in the comments!  I would love to hear how you are impacting your students!

Choice...Who Loves It?

As I entered my classroom today I thought to myself, it's Monday, the kids will be tired, unmotivated to work and excited to have a four day week.  Was I wrong?  YEP!   Every single one of my 6th graders were eager to work on their Biography Narratives.    Some even asked as they entered the room, "Are we spending the entire LA Class on our outline or rough draft?"

Quickly, I told them, "Yes, but we needed to  write down this week's quote of the week, respond to it, share it and then talk a little about revising our work. "

A group of students asked if we could skip all that so that they could get to reading about their person and take notes.  Normally, I would say yes to them and allow them the entire class time  but today we needed to discuss the weekly quote as it ties in to our read aloud.  So, instead I shorten the share out part and let them continue their work on their narratives.

As I put up my student conference sheet, I thought to myself, "Wow, these students really want to work on this project."  Then, I looked around the room and all 30 of them had their noses in their books reading, taking notes and engaged.

At this point of the year, I think most students are done with school (As with lots of teachers...thank goodness for summer break).  But, not these kids.  It's not that they are all eager learners or that I have some special touch.  It's the fact I gave them CHOICE.  I allowed for them to pick whomever they wanted to research about, decide what's important about that person and how to relay that new information to the class.

All year long I have done that.  I give my students CHOICE.  Choice on what they read, what they write and how they share their new learnings.  I don't dictate any of that and I truly believe by giving students this freedom, they are more motivated learners.  Today proved my theory.   So, if ever your students are checked out...bring them back by giving them some choice (i.e. control) and see where it takes their learning.  I bet far!

Comic Strip Inferencing

As a teacher, I think it is so important to make sure your teaching is fun, interactive and exciting for your students.  Therefore, I am always trying to find new ways to be inspired so that I don't always use the same lessons in the classroom.

One of the hardest reading strategies for me to teach is inferencing.  A few years ago, I was at home with my own kids and my son asked to read the comics.  Of course, I quickly found them in our Sunday paper and handed them over.   He started to read them and started to ask questions about what was the purpose behind some of them.  As we discussed them, I realized at the age of 5 he really didn't have the background knowledge (schema) to read between the lines.  That's when the lightbulb hit...my 6th graders could do this AND it would be a fun, interactive way to teach them how to infer.  Quickly, I read all of them and came up with a teaching plan.

The next day, I started explaining to my students that in order to infer, you need to read the text and take that textual evidence and add it to what you already know about the topic (schema).  Then, you can make an inference based on putting those two things together.

(textual evidence + background knowledge (schema) = inference)

Here's an example of what we did.  Using this comic, first we read the comic.  We talked about what the words said,  "Pssst, how do you turn these things on?".   Next, we looked at the picture and discussed what we saw, book, student asking another a question, "back to school" on the board, etc..  Using all of those pieces of information (also known as textual evidence) we asked ourselves what do we know about "turning things on", what kids do and don't do in the summer and books?  We then came up with the inference that the young man in the comic must not realize that not all things are devices to be turned on, or that he has lack of experience with textbooks or that all summer he did not pick up a book rather he played with devices all summer long.

My students LOVED reading various comics and practicing their inference skills.  I hope this quick idea leads into something creative for you and your classroom!

My next post will be about how my kids created their own comics!

A Teacher's Impact

You will never truly know the impact you have on your students life.  

Make sure each and every minute you spend with them is meaningful.  

Followers Freebies!

Yeah...it's Saturday!  

I wanted to let you all know that if you follow my blog you will be entered to win FREE products from my Teacher's Pay Teacher store or on one of my future professional development classes!   Once a month one lucky person will be selected!  

That lucky person could be you so follow me today!

Wonderful Writing Thoughts

Happy Friday!  I wanted to share with you some quick thoughts I have about writing!

As we all know, writing is a way to express your thoughts, whether it be through a story, article, poem, book, note, blog, text message, etc.  Often times, it seems like students struggle getting those "thoughts" down on paper.  I can't blame them.  It's hard to find the right word(s) to use and especially hard when there are restraints put on you as a writer.

This year, I am teaching 6th grade language arts for the first time ever!  It's been quite the eye opener for me as an educator and I believe my craftsmanship of teaching has really benefitted from the challenges.  My learning curve has really been uphill for most of the year.  Now that our school year is coming to a close in 7 short weeks, I feel like I finally am grasping the art of writing instruction.

Where am I on teaching writing?  Well....

Writing is a process (a transition).  It's a connection made between the writer and the reader.  It gives voice to something that would otherwise be silent.  Writers want to spark emotion in their reader and they can only do so if they take risks, which means making mistakes.  Giving students the permission to make mistakes allow for growth to happen.  As the process of writing unfolds it's messy but well worth the time and energy.

All students bring to the classroom a different viewpoint on writing.  Some love it.  Others can't stand to pick up a pencil.  I never liked writing as a student, so I can understand the frustration some students feel when they are asked to write something.  This is why I make sure to not only say but to show my students why the written language is so important.

Each and every day my students write whether it's a free write to build fluency or it's a short informational text article to recap what they read.  Either way, they are given the opportunity to practice this skills that need time, energy and elbow grease to master.  Happy writing!

Finally...My First Blog!

Everyone has a bucket list of things they want to accomplish in life.  For me, one of those things was to start a blog and finally I can say...it's done!  A huge thank you to Megan from "A Bird in Hand Design" who has designed this blog for me and has helped me every step of the way!

This blog will be filled with inspiring ways to dream up the most creative lessons, activities and projects for your classroom.   It will also be a place for me to share my journey of teaching with all of you!  I hope you enjoy reading and following me!