What have you read this SUMMER???

Summer is a time when I get caught up on all the books I could not read over the school year!  I am looking for more suggestions on what I MUST read before school starts.  What are your suggestions???

What have you read this summer???

Ever Thought What Do I Need To Teach???

Knowing what mini-lessons align with the Reading, Writing, and Language Common Core State Standards for 6th Grade and 21st Century Skills is tough.  So, I made it easy for you!

I created two lists that are organized Reading & Language and Writing & Language to help you determine what to teach your students!  Each mini-lesson is aligned with the CCSS or 21st Century Skill.  In addition, there are columns to let you date when you teach that concept as well as for comments on how the lesson went.

Check this product out as it will SAVE YOU TIME!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mini-Lesson-Lists-for-Reading-Writing-Workshop-6th-Grade-1311415

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6403624445617641/

I am featured today on TpT!!!!!

WOW!  I am so excited to actually see my store on the TPT website as an author/teacher!

I am Having a 20% Off SALE on TPT!

It's almost the end of June...why not stock up for next year with my amazing 20% ENTIRE STORE SALE???  Sale runs from Friday, June 27-30th!

Start planning your lesson plan book...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Binder-Super-Pack-Lesson-Plans-Teacher-Documents-Calendar-Etc-759475

Noticed your students need more practice writing paragraphs???  Check out this Paragraph a Week Unit.  It comes with writing prompts, rubric, etc.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Paragraph-a-Week-MEGA-Unit-Common-Core-Aligned-964649


Get your student journals ready....

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Show-Me-the-Evidence-Poster-Common-Core-Connection-553629

A Student Thank You

In high school is when I found my true calling...being a teacher.  I have never looked back and have enjoyed everyday I spend in my classroom.  I started my career teaching a variety of elementary grades and I truly loved it.  About 8 years ago, I made the switch to middle school.  It was a hard choice but needed at the time.  I quickly found out that the "light bulb" moments you get being a K-5 teachers does not happen as frequently in middle school.  However, I have learned to accept it and still believe that each day "light bulbs" are turning on they just are not as bright or as loud!  :)

Last week was the final week with my students.  It is always a bittersweet time for me as I am sad to see them go but I also know that I have given them the wings to fly even higher.   Once of my students wrote me this note and it made me cry.  Yes, I did challenge this student because I knew she could learn amazing things and go places she never thought with her learning.  This note proves that my high expectations does pay off.  I know Jenny thanks me in this note, but it's me who really should be thanking her for what she taught me.

Love My Job!

It always makes you smile when a students tells you, "Mrs. B, you were the hardest teacher this year that really made me work. Thanks for that. I have become a better reader and writer." Yep, high expectations yield high results! Love my job!

http://rochestersage.org/2012/04/17/they-made-a-difference-for-gifted-children/

Out of My Mind

Have you read the book Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper?  It's amazing!  I have read it out loud to my 6th graders for 3 years now and every time I read it, I like it more and more.

Out of My Mind is the story of a middle-school girl named Melody with cerebral palsy, extremely intelligent but unable to speak without the aid of a machine (which she obtains only midway through the story) and unable to complete basic tasks like dressing or feeding herself.  Out of My Mind chronicles Melody’s struggle to fit in when she is allowed to attend regular education classrooms.  It also describes her struggle with not being able to express herself to a world that largely sees only her disability. Melody has a photographic memory and she enters a quiz bowl competition, surpassing her classmates in trials, providing her with the opportunity to show the world her intelligence or at least her ability to comprehend, compete, and retain information.  Unfortunately, because her disability makes her classmates uncomfortable, her chance is stolen, and her inability to communicate effectively, swiftly, and without aid leads to further tragedy, which ultimately is resolved happily enough, but was quite a gut punch from Draper to her readers.

http://sharondraper.com/bookdetail.asp?id=35

If you have not read this book, it's a must read!