The More You Read...

This week ends our first trimester for the 2014-15 school year. All of my students were required to read one chapter book per week which would total 10 books! I am so proud to say that most lived up to this goal! Reading is the heart of EVERYTHING and it's so critical that they read each and every day & night. One of my favorite quotes from one of the best authors says it all...

Brain Based Learning ~ Physical Movement

Want to improve the learning in your classroom?  

You will need to implement brain based strategies into your classroom.  

Strategy Number One-  Physical Movement

We know that we grow neurons through our lifetime and they are highly correlated with memory, mood and learning.  This process can be regulated daily with exercise.  When students move, good chemicals are produced to help thinking, focus and learning.  Our brain "run on empty" when they don't move, so it is critical as educators we get our students moving in the classroom.

What can you do in your room to make sure students get physical movement?  

State Changes & Energizers!

Here are some examples:

Cross Lateral Movements

Sit Ups/Push Ups

Jumping Jacks

Snow Balls Fights (Crumble up paper and throw at each other)

Stand and Sing YMCA

Thumb War with a Partner

Wall Squats

Trading Places (Students change seats)

Mingle, Mingle, Find Another Single (Have students walk around the room until you say stop. Then, have them  

I will post more examples soon!

Random Acts of Kindness and the Wonder Connection

For the first time in my career, we asked our incoming 6th grade students to read a book over the summer.  Our pick was Wonder by R. J. Palacio.  We choose the book because of it's amazing themes- Kindness, Acceptance, Friendship, etc.

We have decided to start our school year discussing kindness and how being kind to others truly impacts the world.  On September 11th, we watched a video clip called:  9/11 Anniversary Call for 10,000 Acts of Kindness.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taQt42zqrKs

Now, even though this "call" for kindness was a few years old, I decided to challenge my own students to this.  They all were asked to do a Random Act of Kindness.  Then, we would share our acts in hopes of inspiring others to continue to do more kind acts.  We also journaled about our experience.

Well, one of my students decided to do his Random Acts of Kindness on me!  This is what I saw on my desk:

I was shocked and SOOOO excited!  I love the fact that my student gave it back to me!  I decided to then, copy the sheet and pass it on to two students in my class as well as 5 teachers in my building!  Looking forward to this lesson impacting tons of other lives!

Anecdotal Observation ...Who Does It???

How many of you observe your students and record what you see?  

How about conference with them and take notes?  

Doing both will help drive your instruction!  

It has been proven that by systematically collecting and analyzing anecdotal comments, teachers can evaluate students' progress and abilities to inform and plan appropriate instruction.

Anecdotal Means: An anecdotal record is "a written record kept in a positive tone of a child's progress based on milestones particular to that child's social, emotional, physical, aesthetic, and cognitive development," notes the American Association of School Administrators (1992, p. 21).

There are two overall purposes of using anecdotal records: 

1.  to identify the instructional needs of students
2.  to provide information about students’ development over an extended period of time

Interested in a variety of anecdotal forms and conference forms?  Check out my latest product on Teacher's Pay Teachers!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/50-Anecdotal-Record-Conference-Forms-1429227

My last day of summer break...

Today marks my last day of summer vacation.  I would have to say it's bitter sweet for me.  In 19 years of being a teacher, this was my first summer not teaching summer school, tutoring, working at a restaurant, teaching a graduate class or facilitating professional developments for teachers!

AND.....I have to say... 

I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

We had so much fun as a family doing so many things from going to the pool, to skate parks, to traveling, to reading endless number of books!  Seeing summer vacation again through my children's eyes was magical for me.  I am looking forward to next summer already!

With that being said, I am also SOOO EXCITED for the start of a new school year!  I love setting up my classroom, to planning team building ideas and lessons to the professional development!  (I will post pictures of my classroom this weekend!  I love the new set up!).  I also get excited to see what my colleagues did over the summer and reconnect.  Lastly, I LOVE the school supply shopping!  Every year, it's like Christmas for me when I get to buy new supplies for my classroom.  :)

How are you feeling on your eve of going back to work for the 2014-2015 school year???

It's a SUPER SUMMER SALE!

August 4th and August 5th all my products at my Teachers Pay Teacher's store is 30% off!  Great time to stock up on those reading and writing lessons, checklists, projects and more!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nichole-Barnett

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???