You gotta love what you got while you have it

You've got to love what you have!

A room without books is like a body without a soul. (G.K. Chesterton) Teaching is the love of touching children's inner being while you have them. Because of the kids, we have a lot to be thankful for. It is the smile of a child, the voice of wonder, and the feeling of accomplishment on a face that makes me "love what I got when I became a teacher".

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	First Day? by: liketeaching1, 01-17-2010 I've been with my kids for half a day in the last 3 and a half weeks due to Winter break and SNOW! I feel as if it's the first day of school all over again. So tomorrow when I step back into the class I know that I will need to begin again. Model the independent reading during RW. Since I use some of the Daily 5 in a "my" way, I think that making a new chart for Read to Self will be appropriate. I am thinking that once we have written the chart together, the kids will probably be ready to jump into a secure feeling that yes, we are readers! Inferences are my teaching points for this week. But in only three days of workshop and actually using the first for a Read to Self teaching point, I am going to re-think my plans. Making inferences is one of my favorites. I like the "puzzle" atmosphere to searching the text for clues to what the author was saying, what the character was feeling, what those tricky unknown words could really mean...I can't wait to read a brand new text to showcase this strategy of comprehension. Writing workshop can go hand in hand with our search for meaning. This month's (what is left of it) theme is "making meaning". I want to teach the kids how to grab the reader from the beginning. I plan on using character/dialogue/and onomatopoeia. If the reader is going to make meaning from our writing, then writers must set the stage from the beginning. Routines can bridge the gap from so many days away from each other. So when the kids come in tomorrow I can make sure that we do the normal. We always greet each other. We take care of filling our water bottles, sharpening our pencils, putting our things away. The morning message will be the tie that binds us from kids from a family to the family that we have at school. I am ready. I am anxious to see my kids' faces and to hear their voices and to watch their growth. 1 Comments
	First Day? by: liketeaching1, 01-12-2010 I've been with my kids for half a day in the last 3 and a half weeks due to Winter break and SNOW! I feel as if it's the first day of school all over again. So tomorrow when I step back into the class I know that I will need to begin again. Model the independent reading during RW. Since I use some of the Daily 5 in a "my" way, I think that making a new chart for Read to Self will be appropriate. I am thinking that once we have written the chart together, the kids will probably be ready to jump into a secure feeling that yes, we are readers! Inferences are my teaching points for this week. But in only three days of workshop and actually using the first for a Read to Self teaching point, I am going to re-think my plans. Making inferences is one of my favorites. I like the "puzzle" atmosphere to searching the text for clues to what the author was saying, what the character was feeling, what those tricky unknown words could really mean...I can't wait to read a brand new text to showcase this strategy of comprehension. Writing workshop can go hand in hand with our search for meaning. This month's (what is left of it) theme is "making meaning". I want to teach the kids how to grab the reader from the beginning. I plan on using character/dialogue/and onomatopoeia. If the reader is going to make meaning from our writing, then writers must set the stage from the beginning. Routines can bridge the gap from so many days away from each other. So when the kids come in tomorrow I can make sure that we do the normal. We always greet each other. We take care of filling our water bottles, sharpening our pencils, putting our things away. The morning message will be the tie that binds us from kids from a family to the family that we have at school. I am ready. I am anxious to see my kids' faces and to hear their voices and to watch their growth. 0 Comments
	Needed Inspirations... by: liketeaching1, 01-06-2010 New Year. Resolutions. That means resolving to change and to change for the better! When it comes to stepping back into our teaching profession am I stepping back or forward? Reading Workshop: It seems that I have been fluttering here and there with the strategies that I want to instill. Trying to combine the required basal which touches on the topics--and--trying to delve into the strategies in a much more serious study is beginning to shortchange the whole process. The basal may spend one week on a certain strategy and then move on the next week to another. This just isn't what my first graders need if I am truly going to instill in them the love for reading. I really need to plan and set MY priorities for this second semester. Writing Workshop: AHHHH--the part of my day that gets pushed to the back. My kids are so needy in word work this year. I am spending more time on teaching the basic phonics and grammar and continuing to review over and over throughout the day. I use the morning message, songs, poetry, etc. and find that the minutes are escaping. Reworking the morning language arts block may need to give a new approach to making writing workshop a priority and the needed minutes for the kids to use their phonics skills as they are creating. Math Workshop: I find that this part of the day is the positive in my reflections over the first semester. When our district changed the achievement testing to the Stanford, it became apparent that our pacing through the math standards weren't up to par. When our district created new pacing guides for language arts and math I found a guide to help. The pacing guides were so different in what our adopted math curriculum followed. By using our morning meeting/calendar time I could touch on many more skills. Math workshop became a time to give the kids more of a chance to use higher order thinking skills. For Math, I am thankful that I feel confident I am giving my kids what they need. So now, I am sitting at home, on a snow day and have a few minutes to reflect and plan. I am not so busy in my paperwork, my Christmas needs, my travel needs, that I can truly plan ahead. So... I am thinking I will change my schedule. Before: Arrival: Some type of seatwork (poetry books, math review, etc) Morning meeting (Math calendar, songs, grammar, poetry) Shared Reading (basal) Word Work Reading Workshop Writing Workshop (usually NOT) Lunch Specials Writing Workshop (not really a true workshop--more of a MINUTE lesson and time to work while we settled from specials and took restroom breaks) Math Workshop Science/Social Studies Daily 5 /Title Reading New: Arrival (daily response journal--some type of writing!) Morning Meeting Shared Reading Reading Workshop Writing Workshop Lunch Specials Word Work Math Workshop Science/Social Studies Daily 5/Title Reading The basic change is giving the kids more writing experience during their arrival time. It gives the kids a chance to use the grammar and phonics skills. The second major change is moving Word Work to those 20 minutes after Specials when we are taking bathroom breaks. (Whoever planned our schedules have us going straight from lunch to specials with no bathroom breaks????). Since word work can be more of an independent work according to needs, this might work better. Well if all this goes to make a positive change maybe I will feel more confident that I am the teacher and not the basal! 0 Comments
	It took me a while by: liketeaching1, 12-19-2009 I am sitting with my feet up at the beginning hours of my Winter break. I've taught for enough years to remember that this used to be my Christmas break. Yes, times have definitely changed. We have gone from the times that we used to gather and sing Christmas carols on the last day to not being able to show the Polar Express because there is a Santa in it???? I have to wonder what public schools will be like when the teachers that are just now entering the classrooms will think when they have been around a while. I spent this morning in the room with my eighteen first graders and many of their parents. It was such a relaxing morning. I've never been comfortable with parents in the room. I've always thought they are watching and listening to ME. But this year I've had my eyes opened. RTI has thrown a new image into the necessity for parent involvement. My class has several children who need an adult to work with them, read with them, reassure them, guide them--be there. Our district's guidelines have necessitated that I cannot be everywhere (even though all these years I thought I could ). So when parents offered to help in the classroom, I found that they entered with the desire to help--not to bring in their binoculars for a view of me. It's gone rather well and the kids have responded. I'm seeing a little growth. But back to the morning party and gift exchange. My parent who planned the party planned for some crafts. It was nice to sit back and watch the parent/child. It was heart warming to watch the parents help those whose parents hadn't come in. I saw that children crave an adult's attention. They crave their reassurance. So, now, I'll sit here with my feet up. I'll watch it snow. I'll read a book or two. I'll wrap some gifts. I'll even clean out some of the dust bunnies that are running around my house. But I'll also end this calendar year with a new inspiration to open my classroom door a little wider! Yes, it took me a while... 1 Comments
	Drowning... by: liketeaching1, 11-21-2009 I think I'm drowning! I know I'm drowning. I don't know if I can save myself. Sounds pathetic but when I look to my left and to my right I see that I am not alone in this pool. Actually I'm with many others who are also drowning... In paperwork! The paperwork seems to consume my thoughts and my time. Time that could better be spent doing what I love...teaching! Yes, I know it sounds like something is wrong here. But I can't find the time or energy to give teaching my best because I am spending precious time with paperwork. RTI. Personal learning plans for every student. Grading required testing each week--because of RTI. Copies of the actual testing--because we might need it for RTI. Paperwork that is document in many places--all containing the same information--but might be needed for one of those other portions of the same student. I am anxious to hear from you guys. Do you have a safety net to throw me with ideas as to how to meet my ever changing profession of documentarian? Do you have any full proof life vest that will provide me the ability to put teaching at the forefront and not the "left over" time? 3 Comments
	The Power of Retell! by: liketeaching1, 10-21-2009 I have been striving to enable my first graders to truly become engaged in the wonders of literacy. After becoming somewhat disillusioned from the lack of interest in reading that some of the kids show AND the fact that many are non-readers, I had to take a good look at where we were and where I envisioned us to be! My kids are in so many different ability levels/reading levels. Reading workshop becomes so powerful in that it CAN reach all children, no matter where they begin. It was this knowledge that led me to do more professional reading. Trying to incorporate the required basal skills and strategies with my teaching points led me to realize that every year is different and every plan may be changed frequently. It became apparent that I could not look back--I could only look forward. No taking a look at what I was teaching this time LAST year. This group required different teaching points and different skills. With that in mind, I have spent a good month on reading: the pictures. The non-readers became readers instantly. It was this slow progression of really gaining information from the pictures--both fiction/non-fiction/required testing using a fresh read each week. We s-l-o-w-l-y looked, talked, conversed. We thought about words that we might be reading once we moved to: the words. The strategies that we needed so much to become successful--decoding/stretching the sounds/what makes sense/reading/re-reading/reading with a partner--the needed sense of "hearing" the words and vocabulary. retelling. I had skimmed over it before--this year. I had not thought of it's importance before--this year. I had not truely taught retell before--this year. I had not read and researched the power behind retell. But once I did, I realized that when the kids can retell, they comprehend. It was if a light bulb had only been burning at 67%. Sure, I had taught the kids to look at the picture and read the words, but the % of actually verbalizing and telling what was read had been miniscule. My teaching points and mini-lessons, and partner share, and information shared with parents hopefully will encourage true comprehension. For we now take our reading in a different manner. We take the time to read both pictures and words, AND retell either in our minds or to each other. I think that my kids will be better--simply because we took the time to give these kids what they needed. 1 Comments
	Still striving... by: liketeaching1, 10-11-2009 I am still striving to make reading and writing more meaningful. I happen to get caught up in all the latest ideas--pros and cons--regarding RW versus The Daily Five/Cafe Book. By browsing through PT and so many helpful, sharing professionals I have gotten many concrete posters, Cafe headings, Daily 5 cards, Library basket labels--the list seems to be endless. That doesn't even count the many helpful posts I have read and reread. I must be a follower instead of a leader. I really want to continue to "change" each year--change meaning that I am not doing exactly the same year after year after year after year. So is it this personality trait of mine that drives me to order a book that is mentioned? Is it the insecurity of my own thoughts that really helps me to model my classroom after those I view? Whatever, the reason, it is as it is! So knowing that I am going to not be content to stay in a narrow mold enables me to view "both sides" of new approaches to reading and writing. I know that I took RW and WW and KNEW that it was going to become a part of me because I had great seminars and workshops under a remarkable professor. She was not one who read and taught but never stepped into the classroom. No, she was a professional part of several districts. She conducted workshops. She visited the schools/classrooms/modeled with ME watching! This reinforcement was enough to make me feel secure in teaching using the thoughts of Debbie Miller and Kathy Collins and Regie Routman. But, then--she retired! She left! There was no longer that week in the summer to reinforce, teach, model, inspire. That was when ProTeacher became the support system for me. I journeyed into hearing so much about The Sister's books and their inspirations. I just envisioned that if I used their strategies/system I would be abandoing RW/WW. I read this summer and began making plans for releasing more to my kids (gradual release of responsbility). I thought maybe by changing our Word Work time that this would be a way to dip a tiny part of my day into a tiny bit of Daily 5. But then came the realization that Title pullout left me with minutes that could not be used for new instruction yet needed to give a majority of my students some enrichment. Thus came the Daily 5 mini-version for me. I used the teaching points during RW. I still held my morning block of time for language arts. But this 30 minutes at the end of the day could be the time to give the kids the responsibility of: Reading to Self, Reading With Someone, Listening to Reading, Working on Words, or Working on Writing. The students use it as it was intended to be and was written in the book! I was now a believer. And then...my district offered a study group of The Daily 5. I signed up with joy in my heart that now I could talk about the concepts and receive feedback. I could watch the videos that are a part of the program. We had our first meeting last week. I learned so much. I learned strategies for reading meetings for RW. Yes, I came to realize that the concepts aren't in competition with each other. It truly is about teaching kids to read with thought, understand our language and use it appropriately. I have taught for many years. The pendulum is always swinging and new becomes old. Old becomes new. The excitement of kids reading and enjoying literature, and talking books will never change and will never swing "out of style". Thank goodness that we have more than one author to lean on! 1 Comments
	Still striving! by: liketeaching1, 10-10-2009 blog deleted 0 Comments
	Doubting Teacher by: liketeaching1, 09-13-2009 I will admit it. Yes, I am a doubting teacher. I've purchased the Daily 5 and Cafe books. I've read with negativity regarding how this could possibly take from my Reading Workshop that I currently use in my language arts block. But a little change happened as I struggled with a workable schedule this year. As I planned my daily schedule this summer, it seemed absolutely perfect as Kevin Henkes would say. But then, reality set in. Our pull out time for Title reading wasn't worked into MY schedule until after school started. And, a student pulled out for thirty minutes of special education resource for READING was during my MATH workshop. Something had to change. I've been in school for four full weeks. And, yes, I'm still struggling with a schedule that meets my needs and the needs of my students--which should be more important than mine. The Title pullout time was during the last hour of the day. The four students would leave for thirty minutes, only to return in time for snack and packing time. This late time of the day could not be used for any "new instruction". It was then that my thoughts came back to Daily Five. This would be a wonderful time to incorporate a time of choice for the kids that remained with me. This would also serve as a time that I could pull individuals or small groups for an additional time to help those high achievers on a more advanced level. We all know that the high achievers are sometimes the ones that get overlooked with all our demands of RTI, testing, etc. I adapted the Daily Five by using the Target pocket charts that Ihad purchased for whatever I needed them for. Each child has a pocket of their own to place their daily five choices in on Monday--Thursday. I, of course, received this idea from Ms. Bainbridge right here on PT. She has a great picture of her set-up and even posted the little cards to use. I just had to make some for Working on Math. The kids are encouraged to choose a different choice each day (M-Th). I am now seeing a relaxed time of the day when kids can gather in small groups and work on academic skills, yet have a choice in their learning. I can finally pull out those word tiles, letter tiles, math games, extra reading and writing time, listening center! These were areas of the curriculum that never seemed to "fit" into our workshop approach for reading and writing and math. Yes, I've added math to my choices because this area can be reinforced also. I can satisfy my need for still using reading workshop as my 'teaching point" and have the kids reading during this time. I really didn't want to sacrifice READING! But now I feel that all my kids are really having their needs met during this 30 minute time slot--the title kids, and the others! Sometimes it is the negatives that can lead to a big positive. If it wasn't for the problem of working on a schedule, I would NOT have found time in the day for a Daily Five! 2 Comments
	Positives vs Negatives! by: liketeaching1, 08-23-2009 All I can say is WHEW!!!! I am so exhausted after the first week of school. It is the same feeling that most of my co-teachers are voicing also. So I can't blame it on my frustrations alone. I think back on the countless hours spent in room set-up, reading on ProTeacher all those wonderful ideas and trying to implement the ones I valued, staff development meetings, Meet and Greet on Sunday before five days of teaching. With room set-up mostly done on our own time and before the "official" beginning for staff, I can feel the stress even before the "official" beginning of stress. Once teachers report it becomes a whirlwind of activities. We began offering a few hours for parents and students to drop in on Sunday afternoon. It eases the panic on Monday morning of finally finding out the class, the teacher, the "why is my child in THIS teacher's class?, the parent have to get to work mindset. I have time to meet the kids and talk with the parents in a more relaxed setting. I wouldn't want to give up this time. But, from working almost non stop for ten days in a row, by the time the end of our first "teaching" week draws to a close I find that most of my excitement is beginning to wane. I am thankful that I can sit in my recliner with my laptop in my lap , drink a cup of coffee, and finally reflect on the first week with my new students. I find that they are a chatty, wiggly bunch! I think I have my work already planned for the second week of school. Somehow I have to focus this talk into meaningful times and meaningful thoughts and meaningful insights. With the introduction of my first Reading Workshop strategy, I have the opportunity to model ways to talk about their books. Adding to this noise level is the fact that our class sizes are really large. I've already had to rearrange my room to squeeze more desks into our already squeezed classroom. I found that nine is not a small group and is not physically a positive. It actually is a negative in that nine kids can either expand their vocabulary during my time to talk or lose the quietest among the more verbal. In fact, some of my nervous kids are so f-a--r away from me that I almost need binoculars! A positive thought in this tired body is the fact that most seem to be "ready" for reading. I will know more when I actually score their required placement tests. If they are indeed ready to jump into this wonderful world of books, then next week allows me the opportunity to lead them in this journey. My vision of remembering last year's bunch of kids reading in their book nooks with quality books in their bookshelves is a dream! I know that I need to s-l-o-w down and really model what I want them to do with their books. The browsing boxes need to be revitalized. I need to look back and list my teaching points for book treatment, book placement in the basket, actually reading the book whether it is picture reading or word comprehension. I have to teach these important skills in order to make the dream for this class a true reality. I found myself seeming to walk aimlessly through the day. My spark seemed to be snuffed out. So, it is my goal to again recharge, add some high powered batteries to my low level, and "truly love what I have". 4 Comments
	The time by: liketeaching1, 08-09-2009 Yes, the time has arrived. Summer is drawing to an end and next week when I step into my classroom it is for "real". Not the drop in and leave some materials I've purchased. Not the drop in and move another few things around to get it absolutely "perfect". Not the chatting in the hallway with other drop in cohorts. No, now it is the time to arrive "officially". The hours will be set and determined. The drop in will be for an entire day. What do I aspire to be different and engaging for me? I've done this for many years. I've had many times to have those back to school nightmares! Why are they always the same? Can my nightmares not become a new dream? Don't we as teachers always dream and hope for new goals each year? (I hope so. If not, it's time to drop out in my opinion!!!!) So, I will pack my car with last minute supplies and take in a brand new container of fresh coffee to brew. As I walk into the classroom, I will: plan for positives relegate negatives to the file 13 and engage 20 new students to the wonderful world of reading My positives I hope to meet this year are better conferences with individuals and small groups. I feel this is the area that I can and should improve. My inspiration came from viewing a Conferring Toolkit short video by another PT blogger. The inspiration became a reality when I thought back on teachable moments that I missed. I think I was relying on whole group mini-lessons to reach everyone. I should know better! I know where my mind goes when I am in whole group sessions. I doubt that first graders are any different than adults in that respect. I also will continue using my many resources for teaching points for reading and writing workshop. I've reorganized my office at home so that these resources are ready for my hand to grab them. My recliner is ready with my laptop easily accessible. In the quiet of the evenings when my thoughts can flow more easily, I can foresee that my dreams will be more vivid and my teaching more in keeping for what these new kids will need. Oh, the negatives: I don't know what the class holds. I won't know their needs, their desires, their abilities. I do know that in order to create a class of kids who converse, read, read, read, understand, question, etc. that I have to lead them through our classroom library. It is now in all areas of the classroom. I want them to view reading as a true positive. Last night I had a conversation with a friend, a parent who I had taught her child. This child was a wonderful reader who now hates it! The feeling is that once the light was turned on in first grade, it was dimmed in subsequent grades because reading wasn't valued. It wasn't embraced. It wasn't highlighted! I look to this year as one in which I must show the kids that THEY hold the key to reading. THEY can continue to love reading. This becomes a powerful goal: to let kids know that what we begin this year is held in their hearts--but only if they let it. That sounds a little religious. But in my mind, it is true. I cannot use the next 180 days to mildly have an influence on what lies ahead. I must be the teacher that can entrust more than a little. To the next year-- I will make a difference! 1 Comments
	How could she know? by: liketeaching1, 08-03-2009 Who: Debbie Miller What: I had been spending all my thoughts in the last month with the physical appearance of my classroom. Why: Because that is just the way I am! I finally felt "finished" today after moving a few MORE things in the room. So tonight (with only eleven days until teachers report) I decided that I needed a little pick-me-up from Debbie Miller. I know that I posted on my blog--probably two months ago--that I was going to read, read, read this summer and blog, blog, blog. Yes, I read--fiction for me! Now I know that I've been using those strategies: creating mental images, making connections, inferring, making predictions. But it was all strictly for my enjoyment. So, tonight I picked up Teaching With Intention. I am thinking that the invoice that was stuck inside the book was probably to the place that I read it last spring when I bought it. No, I never finished it. Sure, I was caught up in the business of teaching, making plans, writing newsletters, grading, making sure my kids could sit through the required achievement tests without falling apart. So, now, tonight, I began reading. I love to read Debbie Miller's books. She just writes as if she was sitting next to me and having a conversation about this business of education. Maybe because she actually taught first grade too I feel a stronger connection. That really isn't important and not what is looking me in the face tonight. Have I worked on creating this classroom I am proud of because it fulfills my needs or that I anticipate it will fulfill the needs of my 20 plus students? I have to think that I did work on creating a cleaner environment--I know that dust has been stirred around and cleaned--my allergies are evident to that! As I read of Debbie helping Katy to clean, toss, share many items--again I felt a text to self connection. (And, it wasn't even because I had read this book that made me spend hours and hours this summer doing just that.) But, tonight, I feel a big unsettled. I stopped reading and walked away a few minutes ago. I sat down at my desk and began blogging. Why is it that I spend so many hours on the environment and then leave only a little bit of time to read and plan for my goals? What do I expect will be different in the classroom learning? What am I wanting to change so dramatically in regards to curriculum that I feel cleansed? If it is so important for me to spend hours on arranging desks, bookcases, and materialistic things, what will I use to carry over to my teaching points? I will go back and pick up the book and read some more. I hope that my vision will become a little clearer. 6 Comments
	Classroom Pictures by: liketeaching1, 08-03-2009 You've got to love what you have (or change it!) I think my room transformation is as complete as it will be. Link to view all pics: HERE I have finished de-cluttering, organizing, moving, and making the classroom a more soothing place to be. I want the kids to enter, knowing that it is their home for the next 180 days. I want them to anticipate that we will be a family that works and plays and laughs and learns together. 25 Comments
	Classroom Design 2009-2010 by: liketeaching1, 07-16-2009 I am finished designing. I am finishing moving. I am finished cleaning. I am finished until school begins for teacher inservice. With out of town relatives coming tomorrow for two weeks, special education conference, and vacation , my time is over for wandering aimlessly through the classroom. I am the type of person who is OCD I guess. I can't relax until I have in my head what I want to accomplish and why. I want to walk away from the room and know that for 180 days, my students can enter a haven for learning, growing, and building. Attached you will get a peak at the classroom layout. I forgot to take my camera to take some final shots. That can come later. But the layout shows the important characteristics of a classroom that is a workshop for reading, writing, and math. Taking some ideas from the Daily 5 for word work, I plan to use three days a week for the students to work with words for about 20 minutes. Because of this goal, I set a bookcase adjacent to my desk to house materials that can be used in a variety of methods for building words: magnetic letters, stamps, colored letter shapes, letter tiles, magnetic boards, white boards, etc. (I want to make word work a little more individual task). We will still build words, sort words according to patterns, and work with words in the morning message so the strategies will be reinforced. Math manipulatives actually are stored in containers and labeled! Our district requires 90 minutes of math so this should mean a workshop approach! I foresee a daily "think" and respond time, whole group lesson on basic skills and math standards, individual practice time/partner time, and sharing. Writing supplies now are housed in a central location and there will be a choice as to the type of paper. I am limiting the beginning choices to three or four and during the year will introduce more for different types of writing. The ten book nooks are again labeled and using a pocket chart I rotate the book nooks each week. I still need to purchase a few more lamps but I'm holding off. I am foreseeing a cut-back of electricity for our district. A focus wall is now ready and in the front of the room next to the whiteboard (closest to the door). Using the pocket charts from Target, I have a place for reading/writing/math workshop skills and strategies, reading genre, author study, etc. On my to do list is the relabeling of my library baskets. (I am thinking that while the relatives sleep in, I can create book labels using graphics. Until pictures appear, I am ready to close that classroom door and lay it to rest. (I'm on vacation after all!) The kids' desks are really not all turned in that allignment but I couldn't figure out how to turn them. Only the back ones are turned toward the whiteboard, the ones on the sides are facing toward each other with the extra desk in the middle for community supplies. 9 Comments
	Room Arranging 101, part 1 by: liketeaching1, 07-13-2009 I've been working diligently on my room for the past week. I began by making a significant change--moving several years worth of files in three filing cabinets. Since I was alone...I had to empty each drawer, place the contents in rolling chairs...then move the empty filing cabinets across the room. This was a good move in that I condensed three into two. That led to cleaning out my former teacher area and making room for the student computers and guided reading table. This also caused me to empty several bookcases, move my teacher desk, etc. I have cleaned, thrown away, etc. I only have two more areas in the room to sort through--my storage cabinets. After teaching in the same room for eight years I was ready to toss things I haven't used in the last couple of years. Education is constantly changing so there is really no need to keep everything! I did find that by taking pictures each day and bringing them home, I could look at parts that were too busy, messy, etc. Stay tuned... Photos can be viewed by reading the reply threads! 14 Comments
	Room Arranging 101 by: liketeaching1, 07-05-2009 In my second lifelong love is decorating. I decorate and rearrange my house. I watch HGTV religiously. I also have a passion for the classroom. Some teachers like to make comments about my room--some sarcastic, a few in jest, and some complimentary. So now that 2008-2009 school year is in the past, my classroom has been dismantled, AND my carpet has been cleaned! This carpet cleaning is a major, major, major...well you understand--it has been done and this is only July 5th. (Last year it wasn't ever done and I waited until the last minute and did it myself.) See pics of last year's classroom here: http://blogs.proteacher.net/discussi...ad.php?t=91749 I've been on PT a lot in the last few days and on websites of teachers who have pics of their classrooms. We do get many ideas from each other. So now comes the time that I need to focus on what works and needs to be readjusted in the next set-up. In my previous blog I did mention the fact that during summer school I spent time cleaning and throwing out. I rearranged several areas. This came from trying to move all furniture away from the heating/cooler unit in order to get the air to actually cool my room. Another joy--after many complaints and requests, my air was fixed by the maintenance department. It only took our SS principal making a phone call and saying that these little guys were going to get sick from the heat. What do I want my classroom to showcase? Books are important. I moved books to all areas of the classroom. Math has its own unique area. Poetry/songs/poems also are a showcased section with a booknook. Bookbaskets were rearranged to allow favorite authors to be in a section by itself in our fiction library. Large bookcases and small bookcases were moved. From the door of the classroom to the furtherest corner, books are contained. Needs include setting up chapter books in an area so that I don't have to close them off when I first open the library for the students to choose books. Students are important. Booknooks for independent reading are inviting spaces. Lamps, pillows, comfy get-away spots are just calling partners to come read. The pocket chart is ready with the ten book nooks labeled so that each week the partners will move around the room to a new nook. Needs include purchasing some of those strip lights such as are in the summer area for stringing around different book nook stations. Additional small lamps need to be purchased so that every nook becomes a different yet special area. My desk needs to be moved. Sure it is tucked away in a far corner. Yet this space is only one of the two window areas in the classroom. Why should I have one of the two best spots? If I can get help (dh or ds) to help move filing cabinets, computer station, and my desk to a "boring" tiled area then I can set up that corner much better. I am thinking that I can move the student computers against the wall (two long tables) and have a meeting area with a table for small group/guided reading/and conferring area. I'm a little too old to be getting down and up from the floor. Student desks are arranged in groups. Last year I implemented a setup of desks with an empty desk in the center of six desks. It became a large dining room arrangement. This spread the students out and gave them much more space. This arrangement worked beautifully. It gave a space to set needed supplies, etc. The number of students determines the arrangement. Three groups of six/seven equals to a class of 20. Needs include not changing them as frequently as I did! I think my HGTV needs to be curtailed. The kids might welcome a little more consistency in what to expect each morning! Classroom theme. Last year I had a bookclub type of theme. We were all part of a reader's club. It began as a bookstore idea but I seemed to get lost somewhere along the way. I got a lot of ideas from BookMuncher's pictures of her room setup. (http://blogs.proteacher.net/discussi...d.php?t=106017) I like the idea of a reader's club but I don't think my kids really understood my ideas. I didn't convey them. I need to focus and decide exactly what I want my kids to see as they walk to our classroom door. Classroom colors. I have focused on the colors--red, yellow, blue, and green. Everything worked well--the floor mats, the bookshelf baskets for independent reading, their desk drawers, even their spiral notebooks were color coordinated. I'm tired of this! I did make the bulletin board backgrounds and the word wall backgrounds the same blue fabric. That was unifying and relaxing. Chair covers were a denim blue. But...I found these neat baskets at Dollar Tree that were blue, teal blue, and a green. I purchased a set of 20 to use for individual bookshelves in the teal blue and blue. I bought coordinating baskets to go in the center of the desk groups to hold supplies. Now...my library is housed in yellow dishpan type baskets. I have way too many to redo and I'm becoming a plastic basket queen. Now I need to design a way to put a card on the front of each basket in the newly designed colors to enhance the teal blue/blue and hide a portion of the yellow. I have some tab top curtains in the teal blue so I'm going to lay those across the tension rod and tie up with the blue ribbon. Next comes the actual work. I'll post pictures of my path to a decorated, inviting classroom--designed as in Room Arranging 101. 0 Comments
	Summer Reading by: liketeaching1, 07-06-2009 I have been wondering what "new" professional book I should read this summer in order to strenthen my reading/writing instruction. But in this short blog, I am instead going to begin re-reading Debbie Miller and Kathy Collins. Reading With Meaning Teaching With Intention Growing Readers Reading for Real As I read, I will post on my blog of how this reading will be reflected in next year's curriculum. Happy Reading! 5 Comments
	Cleaning and Breathing by: liketeaching1, 07-04-2009 Today is my first official day of summer vacation. I finished summer school on Friday so today was my first chance to take a deep breath. You may wonder why my title is about being clean and taking a deep breath. As I posted in my last blog, I spent some afternoons after the kids left in summer school cleaning and organizing. I can't imagine how to describe the difference I feel now that I have left my classroom for six whole weeks. I feel as if years of weight have been lifted from my shoulders. It was the cleaning and reorganizing, moving and setting up, that has given me the chance to walk away and not struggle over what I plan to change in the classroom setup come August. If you have read my blogs, you realize that I am a strong believer in the workshop approach of teaching. The changes that I made will hopefully allow my students the flexibility to learn in a more acceptable environment. I read on Proteacher of other's themes for their classroom and look at pictures and realize that for many of us, our summers are not spent in relaxation as the old saying goes--what is the best part of teaching? June, July, August. To strive to set up the environment in ways to allow the upmost respect for teacher's philosophies and goals is noticed in the pictures that are posted. I have made our classroom continue to be surrounded by baskets of books. The changes that I did within the cleaning were in that I have more defined areas for math, poetry, non-fiction, writing, and chapter books. I have taken the time to sort, organize, and toss, toss, toss! I made a section for our writing portfolios (one inch binders) in the group meeting area. I want the notebooks to be used--read, noticed more. In the years past, I just had them stored on a bookcase--out of the way--and only got them out at different times throughout the year for the students to add to their portfolio. I am hoping that the children will see themselves as writers to a greater degree because they are housed in our library that surrounds our meeting area. I noticed last year how the children loved to read their poetry books. They were housed in their independent reading baskets. They were read daily. I want to instill in the children how important their writing is. Math workshop has been a continued goal of mine, but one that I really have failed at tremendously. I know it. I admit it. I have used our math time as whole group instruction and independent working using manipulatives and worksheets. I can grumble that it is mainly because our math has to be covered at such a pace to cover the majority of standards before our achievement tests. Yes, I can use this as an excuse. But I can continue to strive for improvement. I moved the math books to a separate area and set up the area to give Math a more predominate place in the classroom. I actually sorted manipulatives, labeled them in their own baskets, set up workstations for independent practice. We will see. Writing was also moved to a new location. By organizing writing materials I am giving the children a choice in the type of paper they will use, the ability to become writers! More on this later! Not only will I continue to use the Units of Study as my primary sources, I will strive to merge writing and reading strategies together. (This is my next focus--the evaluation of my curriculum goals for last year and the re-writing of next year's goals). So, yes, today was my chance to take a deep breath. Today was my chance to reflect of the changes that I made in the classroom. Tomorrow is my chance to look to the future. For in reality, summers *do not* take the teacher out of me. 6 Comments
	Summer Revival! by: liketeaching1, 06-15-2009 It sounds a little weird and slightly ridiculous but things just seem to be swimming into place this week. I'm out of school--now for three weeks--but back in summer school for the last week. I have two more weeks of summer school. Now you may be wondering how I could be reviving with still the education thing every day. Summer school hours are shorter. There are several teachers but not nearly the number during regular school. It is hard to get a lot accomplished when chatting and visiting becomes paramount. So, it was the fact that I was absolutely alone in my hallway in the afternoons. Deciding to move one bookcase led to an "If you give a mouse a cookie" type of reaction. One bookcase move led to many things just falling into place similar to a domino effect. A tall bookcase was moved next to my teaching chair. I thought that surely this wouldn't work. It had to be much too tall. But it had been blocking the air flow and summers can be warm. So I decided that it was worth a try. By switching the two bookcases I then had to move the math manipulatives to another bookcase which gave me more book bin space adjacent to the meeting area. So, suprise--I could actually sort the bins into a much more logical order! By exchanging the math manipulatives to a deeper bookcase, I could actually fit them and organize them. Now, this led to me filling two trash cans full of things that I HADN''T USED in a long while. I began to get the cleaning fever. I had chatted with BookMuncher via PT regarding the way she spread her books around the room and this led to another "mouse" episode. I moved my rhymes, songs, and poetry books to a new book nook--totally across the room. But this spot was perfect for the rack containing charts of poems/poetry. And this led...to reorganizing the non-fictions section and large Scholastic News that I have laminated. School has been out for three weeks but I totally feel as if I have accomplished a milestone event. I feel rejuvenated in my classroom library. I have one section that I still need to make and that is the Math library. I'll leave that for another day! 6 Comments
	Workshop VS Daily Five Approach by: liketeaching1, 07-01-2009 As summer is in full swing for those of us who begin in August and end in May, the time for reflecting and planning inches from a minute corner of my thoughts to forefront. I always want to be the type of teacher and person who isn't afraid of change. Change can be the catalyst to keep me interested in education and not mundanely moving through the days and years. I just ordered The Cafe book by the sisters. I purchased The Daily Five last summer. I did read it. But for me, school was already in session and I had already planned for the year. I had (have) been sold on reading/writing workshops, read BookMuncher's blog over and over--Once Upon a Reading Workshop, and felt confident that I was doing the very best for my kids. I read parts of The Cafe book on line so have a little feel of what is contained. I have skimmed The Daily Five. I have read/reread Growing Readers and Reading With Meaning. My confusion lies in the innermost parts of my brain. Those little parts that seem to creep up and question myself. Am I really doing the best in using a workshop? I think my doubts really begin to stomp instead of creep when I realize that with the workshop I am more in control. I produce a mini-lesson and send them off to then take control. The confusion for me is the difference in The Daily Five's thoughts. Yes, there are still mini-lessons, but the kids choose what they will work/read during their time. Maybe I am confused as to how this is really supposed to work. I haven't viewed any videos of the Daily Five in action. If I do a mini-lesson on a reading strategy only to have some children decide to work on writing or word work, will they remember the reading strategy later when they do read independently? I am hoping that I get lots of feedback to this particular blog. As I have time to ponder and plan and renew this summer, I want to enter the next school year with a confidence in what I will give the next 20 kids that enter in my classroom. Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the approaches--positive and negative. 18 Comments
	We are back to the end... by: liketeaching1, 05-25-2009 We are nearing the end where it all began. I sit here tonight reflecting on the 175 days that we have shared. In five short days our time together will end. It is difficult to reflect totally due to the mountain of paperwork that greets me as I wade through the last few days. But, I do want to reflect today while I do still have a few precious minutes with the 20 kids that stared up at me from day one. Our class has remained the same--except for one student who moved away in October. But the kids definitely haven't remained the same. I do hope that they go away with what I envisioned last summer when I sat and planned for the year we would have together. I look back at the snapshots that I took of the classroom. With only a few minor changes such as rearranging the desks a multitude of times, the theme of the classroom itself remained. We were stepping into a "home" for our year. It was totally consumed by literacy. From every nook and corner the importance of literature greeted us. I think of the positives that I envisioned and I feel certain that they made a difference: Our book nooks. Labeling the book nooks from the beginning and allowing the kids to make their name tag that we used each week was important. The kids knew they had a place to journey in order to step aboard the book they were reading. I wouldn't change a thing for next year in regards to using the book nooks. Halfway through the year I also began to use the number of the book nooks to give each partner group an "assigned" area in our story corner. I use the foam mats that come in squares. It became easy to label the squares--1,3,5, 7, 9 and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Addition of lamps and lighting. I added the paper lantern to our story corner and lamps throughout the room. This added to our cozy feeling of our "home" for the year. Some book nooks had lamps and of course the kids felt those were the best ones. Planning to weave RW and WW within each month's goals and plans. This helped keep me on track and I feel the kids began to realize that they could write because they were reading quality literature from authors that wrote exactly like we were learning. Timeline. I used my large whiteboard that had been sectioned into ten squares a bit differently this year. I used the top half for RW and the bottom half for WW. I would write the strategies that we were learning. We progressed across the board and the two became a common one. For example, as we were reading Non-fiction and identifying the conventions used, we were also writing Non-fiction and writing using those same conventions. Movie Maker videos. Placing MM videos on my webpage gave parents a lesson in exactly what we were doing in the classroom. The kids took ownership for showcasing how important what was learned and demonstrating it for others to view. Charts. Continuing to use charts and stickies for our meetings to demonstrate our latest strategies again gave the kids a chance to visualize their thoughts. I think that as we have reached the synthesis portion of our reading strategies, that the students can get their thoughts on paper. The talk. This is the most positive part of holding reading meetings. Through our shared reading, read alouds, and strategy sessions, the kids became so vocal in telling their thoughts. To some it would sound like a disruption to the teacher, but to my ears it is kids thinking! So I have four days to tie all loose ends into a neatly placed package to send these kids off to a summer of relaxation when I can't control their reading or encourage them to read or write. I will send them off to a second grade classroom that is totally different from ours. I sat tonight and watched the season finale of House. When it was over, my heart sank. It wasn't a positive ending. It was sad. I so don't want the same feeling next week when we close our time together. I want to send them off with a song in their hearts that what we had together was a good thing! 4 Comments
	Spinning out of control?? by: liketeaching1, 06-02-2009 As April ends, I feel as if I've been picked up, tossed in the air like ToTo in the Wizard of Oz! A whirlwind of activities that seem to come after Spring Break each year becomes the definition of each day and each week. I stare at the calendar. I look. I count. I count again. Can it be that they REALLY want us to get these things done? It wouldn't be so hard...But...we have to actually have the students to accomplish these magnificient goals. Administer achievement tests.That one is accomplished after this long week. It is really difficult to keep 20 first graders in their seats, sitting in a chair, marking a bubble after listening to me drone on and on reading questions that seem to be paragraphs long. Is this really the state standards that we are testing? HMMM> No I see that it isn't since the test was written in 2004 and in another state and our standards were written this year. Complete unit tests for math. HMMM--this one is a little more difficult since we actually didn't receive the tests until this week. No matter that we were supposed to have them months ago so we could test as we finished each unit of study. Complete the reading testing. HMMM--this one we knew was coming. The problem is that we will not finish the series until the end of school and then we may not have the students in the classroom. They might be on a field trip, or outdoors on field day, or outdoors on career day, or having a required afternoon of reading to up our AR points to achieve a lofty goal of doing something to the principal, or we may not have students because they are at home while we complete teacher staff development days. Complete volumes of paperwork. But, alas, maybe the instructional assistant can help on this one. But, wait, no that may not happen as the IA may be sitting in a barricaded room cleaning up messy bubbles from the before mentioned achievement tests. With the whirlwind, tornadic days of the end of the school year--when is there time to settle in our normal school day? When can we turn and share our thoughts about our latest read aloud? I sit here tonight and reflect that I cannot remember a single read aloud this week. I can't remember a calming of our souls to settle into our book nook and read with the enjoyment and intensity we have experienced in our journey this year. I do hear the voice of my little guy who asked, "when will we get to use our writing folders and write again?" It is up to me to find the way to walk through the mire of the end of the year and give my little ones an ending to our year together that is a part of what we really are. We are readers. We are writers. We are NOT strangers who walk blindly through the day with no community spirit. Monday comes again. Achievement testing is over. Our days will somewhat have a normalcy for one short week before another round of strangers come knocking at our door and interrupt OUR world. Can I hide the stress of what is required from my little guys' souls? Can I give them a celebration of what they have accomplished in 180 days together? I am the pilot of this ship. It is up to me to take a break this weekend and recoup some of my beliefs so that we can again...love what we have while we have it! 3 Comments
	The Miraculous Journey of MY Class by: liketeaching1, 04-01-2009 From our journey through first grade, I continue to be inspired thanks to PT's many teachers who share ideas and inspirations. From reading the blog, Once Upon a Reader's Workshop, I have traveled a miraculous journey of my own. Last fall, I read about The Tale of Desperaux. Our school was having a book fair that very week. Someone began talking of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I was given $10 to spend. The Miraculous Journey cost exactly that so I purchased it and carried it back to the classroom. I showed the kids, but also indicated that we were going to begin a chapter read aloud time. It would be after our special class time and would transcend us to math time. By promising this time in the schedule and knowing that first graders really expect me to keep my promises, the path was laid. As we began our journey with The Tale of Desperaux, the pattern was created. The kids expected me to read to them and they could create their mental images with no fear of having to do anything else--just listen and travel with the book. We raced through The Tale because with Winter break approaching and the movie coming, I was determined to finish it before we left for the holidays. They loved it. Not so much me. I thought parts of it were a bit "dark" for my sweet, innocent kids. But, they were used to movies that were action packed. For them the fantasy was easy to imagine. As we returned from the holidays, we again journeyed to a chapter read aloud. Junie B. was voted on. We read. The kids raced to that basket during shopping time on Monday. By now, I had several reading on that level. Next came Mr. Popper's Penguins--a book that was old and falling apart from our school library. Yes, on library day, I still see that it is selected as one of their take home books for an adult to read to them. Magic Tree House--yes another race to select for their independent reading baskets. I'm seeing a pattern--read to them and they will come. Come for more. Read for enjoyment. We are now reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. This book has been sitting in our view since October. I've picked it up, cradling it in my arms, smoothing the surface, and...building the book in their minds. Now we are reading. I see their thoughts. I hear their feelings. I am seeing that we have traveled a miraculous journey of our own. We began as 20 individual students and one teacher. Now we are a family. We think. We share. We connect. We empathize. As we continue reading of Edward's journey, we are nearing the end of our time together. When I read BookMuncher's blog of reading the book very slowly in order to enjoy every word, I shared this with my children. I told them that my "friend" said that we must take our time to enjoy every chapter in the book. The chapters are very short. I hear groans when we finish each one. Sometimes I just tell them I've got to hear more (of course they're agreeing with ME), to create a golden path for them to continue. Independent reading time has taken it's own miraculous journey. I can hold our reading meeting and send them off to read. They READ! Can anyone doubt the power of showing how much books hold? Our journey. Their journey. Wow--is all I can say. Our school system is beginning a new project of teaching all students how to be compassionate, to respect others, and to generally grow into adults that can become part of society in a positive manner. I see that our time with Edward will continue to build the foundation for the system's journey. Books are so powerful and I have to say that each part of the journey is so important. But the read aloud time has been the part that cements us together. Our time together is fading. The classroom that they will move to will be different. I can only envision that our journey together during reading will continue to lead them on a path forever. 8 Comments
	Moving! by: liketeaching1, 03-08-2009 March is now staring me in the face. It seems as if this year has flown by and this is the time of the year that I get antsy. I am wondering if I've taught them enough. I am questionning my plans for the remaining 11 weeks of first grade. I am anticipating a rush toward a release of "me" to "them". January and February have been a blur. We have been in and out--missing seven days for inclimate weather, two days for vacation--MLK and President's Day. It seems as if we have been passing each other with a brief hello. Coupled with that is the personal time I have had to miss for doctor visits, etc. So now--March! Just the name suggests that we are beginning to move forcefully now. There is no time for baby steps. We *must* progress and step deeply and firmly during our reading, writing, and math workshops. I'll begin with Math since that is mostly planned for me. Due to the fact that my first graders will be taking achievement tests in mid April, I have to make sure that I have introduced all the major skills. Since there are several that we need to touch on I have had to make a "mini-workshop" in the morning. This few minutes allows me to stretch the current skill--money--which tends to be a difficult one for many. By stretching it out a bit, I can allow the kids the time to absorb the skills and practice them at a slower pace. Hopefully this more relaxed method will pay off in the end. But, I've had to steal the minutes away from reading and writing. Reading Workshop has continued to be a major, major positive! I have touched on all the major strategies within Reading With Meaning. Now I am moving back to questionning. We spent the last two weeks retouching Mental Images and the patterns of fiction. Oh, I am hearing and seeing the way the books are talking to my kids. It's so easy for them to verbalize and understand the author's purpose. Story maps gave us a visual of the set-up of the fiction text. I just let them practice with me through several books as we wrote our story map on chart paper. What was amazing were the comments on the author's message. They came up with such profound statements. It was amazing to hear their deep, thoughtful statements about what the text could teach them. We're moving back to questions with The Lotus Seed and How Many Days to America? I tied How Many Days in with our story maps from last week. We had been reading Frog and Toad in our basal last week so that was an easy one to introduce "mapping on your own". I read How Many Days on Friday to show them that a story map could indeed be a serious type book as well as light hearted fiction. The questions were flowing! I've got them primed to deep thinking and wondering next week. Writing Workshop continues to be a part of the curriculum I am not seeing as much progress. We are now working on our Authors as Mentors. I am getting a little excited about some of the pieces being more detailed and more of a tiny moment rather than a meaningless blog. I still don't know what the reasoning is for the feeling of wandering and not knowing where the path is leading. It is as if we can just step in quicksand and stay in the same location. This blog seems to be just as meaningless as writing workshop. I feel a restlessness when we gather together. I think we are all searching for a new beginning--a reviving of our community spirit. With the change in weather that spring usually brings I hope to be able to gather us together for a final march. I gained an idea from BookMuncher last year. I used a song that she introduced me to--This Pretty Planet. Next week we will again touch on the grandness of Earth, Read Across America, and our place in nature. Hopefully, as we venture outdoors to make our garden (the school grounds) a better place, we can feel the togetherness that our class needs. 2 Comments
	Read Aloud by: liketeaching1, 02-23-2009 Read Aloud. As a teacher that has been around the blocks a few times (or experienced), I lived through the time that reading aloud to K and 1st students was viewed as a frivolous waste of time. Yes, for younger teachers, that is a fact. Reading aloud was considered something that could be done only as a short time filler if need be. But now, the importance of read aloud is definitely not frivolous or a waste of time! It is through this time well spent in sharing the wonders of books that I can demonstrate the true love of books to my kids. They can see and hear and feel the characters come to life. They can ask questions and predict what will happen next. They can infer and use their schema and make connections. Through read aloud, students that struggle to decode can also hear and see and feel. They do not have to engage in the text to the extent that frustration takes the forefront. They become one on an even playing field. Their thoughts and responses are just as important as the fluent reader. Read aloud. Reading to my students the chapter books, the picture books, the poetry. That is when I hear one say "that is awesome!" That is when I hear, "can we read one more chapter?" I began to see the change in my present students when we read The Tale of Desperaux before Christmas. We read and read with the goal of finishing before the break because the movie was coming. But the movie was such a disappointment to them. It was the sharing of the words that drew our class together. Now they beg for more. We then read Mr. Popper's Penguins. Again, they couldn't wait until our time each afternoon when we settled down for our chapter read aloud. When that was finished, I gave them a choice. We made a bar graph to show which book they wanted to hear next: Junie B Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine, begin The Magic TreeHouse series, or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Well, Junie B won that vote. I have to admit that Junie isn't my choice of quality read aloud. But, it did give the kids another voice--from the drama of the Tale of Desperaux, to the fantasy of Mr. Popper's Penguins, to a light "comedy" in Junie B. It came to my attention that through their vote, I was again showing them the many wonders of books. Our next read aloud will be Magic Treehouse and then on to Edward Tulane. But just as important are the voices of my children that I hear. The easy way they can share their connections or predictions or inferences. It isn't something I'm asking of them in a Reading Workshop mini-lesson. It isn't something I'm asking them to respond to in a Reader's Response form or journal. It is pure and simple--the conversation in a relaxed group meeting. I will continue reading. My students will continue listening and learning that books are indeed the pathway to a miraculous journey! 6 Comments
	Predicting Positively by: liketeaching1, 01-27-2009 January has seemed to fly by--mostly because I've been out of school more than in due to MLK day and Snow! It does seem to take away from the progress that we were just beginning to make in RW and WW. Reading Workshop has focused on making inferences during this cold month. At first, it seemed to slow us down. I guess I didn't take into consideration the two week break. My mind was ready to jump right back into our strategies of reading. But I had to engage the kids once again. Striving to find literature that matched Grandfather Twilight and The Stranger to help our magical journey seemed to hold ME back. I just couldn't seem to find what I was searching for! But thanks to a kind poster right here on PT who shared her documents on inferring--I got some wonderful new ideas. If I had searched through RWM, Debbie Miller was leading me--right to poetry! For the past week (since we returned), I have been using poetry. That seemed to spark their thoughts. I wrote the poems on chart paper and left out the title OR the word that would indicate what the poem was all about. The kids tended to really begin searching for the hidden meanings. Now began the conversations back and forth among the kids--"no, it can't be that because...." or "I think... because...". That was what we needed--conversation! I needed the kids to become totally engaged in the thought processes. Since we were using this technique of trying to infer I used a big book that I had from our old Scott Foresman reading series. The book is entitled "Look --Who's Been Here?". (Sorry if I don't have the title exactly right and I really don't have the author with me since I am at home). The book shows wonderful pictures and gives clues as to what animal has been there as the kids walk through the country side. This really got the kids awake. They really enjoyed this book! If you can get a copy of it, it is totally worth the $$. It was exactly the book that helped us over the "winter duldrums". This week I will continue with poetry for the first few days and then move into other books. I have the agenda of using Miss Maggie by Cynthia Rylant and Fly Away Home. February looms closer, so now I need to refocus on my next plan of action. I want to move back into asking questions. With our study of the USA, Presidents, etc. I can now come back to those books: How Many Days to America and The Lotus Seed. I think we are beginning to synthesize now! It's amazing the progress that I see--even if it is in tiny steps sometimes. Writing Workshop has also seemed to progress--finally! I've been doing the unit: I Make My Writing Easier to Read. Using the UOS as my framework and also gaining ideas from conferring with the kids, I finally feel as if they are grasping the ideas that I have been supposedly teaching! I have to admit that the WW time seems to be short-changed. By our lunch break having to fall a bit earlier this year, WW has to be interrupted. We can get the mini-lesson and begin to write, then have to leave. When the kids return from lunch, again they try to settle to write again. Maybe I need to re-think my schedule. Could I possible move Word Work to those 20 minutes after lunch in order to have an interrupted writing block? But then becomes the issue of the Title kids needing independent reading time. However, the schedule, we have focused on improving our writing. Some of the main focus lessons have been: Focus on the tiny events, stretching it out in slow-slow-motion Add details--introduction of adjectives Working on verb tenses (since our basal is introducing this I thought it was an appropriate time to work on keeping our verb tense in the past as we write something that is in the past. Most got this! Yeah! Making our writing easier to read by neatness, spacing, capitals, punctuation. As we continue next week my focus will be: Using editing skills--the Fix'it basket. They have already been using the pens (blue and red). Next will come the paper and scotch tape. I'm thinking they'll all want to add to a page. In order to add to a page they will indeed have to zero in and stretch with details. Funny how the concrete objects can add to the abstract thinking. Use carots to add tiny details within the writing. Finally, publish our finished project and share with our Writing Workshop celebration. Time. Time. Time. Sometimes it slowly ticks by and then at other times it seems it's running out. This week I find out if I will be out for a while due to surgery. Will I be able to move the kids at the pace I want to? Will I be able to physically spend the time planning that I want? Will my mind allow me to really focus on my kids and their needs. We will see... Until next blog, I will aspire to continue predicting the positives! 2 Comments
	The first... by: liketeaching1, 01-05-2009 As the first few days of 2009 roll around, I read other PT's blogs and threads and see that we all think of new goals, new plans, etc. It seems like we all try to be hopeful. We try to want the new year to hold us in a positive embrace. We want to tuck away the negatives and sadnesses from the old. I traveled far from home between Christmas and now. I live in Tennessee. Sure, it's considered a Southern state but it still has the changing seasons. If I glance outdoors right now, I will see bare trees, brown grass, coldness all around. But traveling from Tennessee, through NC, SC, GA, and to the Florida line--something magical happened. I went from dreary to sunny. How could it happen just as we crossed the state line? But it did. I saw blue skies, white fluffy clouds, palm trees AND trees with leaves. I felt the warm sunshine. I felt hope. I felt alive! For eight glorious days, I could walk outside with no jacket. I could feel warmth on my face. I could breathe the "summer" again. There must be something to the feeling that light controls our emotions and well being. When the new year rolled around, my husband and I went to the beach to welcome the first sunset of 2009. We always enjoy the sunsets on the west coast of Florida. There are no hills and mountains to block the sun slowly sinking out of sight. We weren't alone! There were many others who were wishing to begin a new year with this hope. I'll share my picture with you, of course! But, I am a teacher. I am going back into the classroom tomorrow. I am sharing my hopes and dreams with my students. My plans for what I want them to learn between now and the end of the school year. Yes, I'll go back with light in my eyes. I'll go back with dreams of wonderful times that we will share together. I can envision our read alouds, our shared thoughts, our path from now to June. But why this blog? Because, each day brings: Write it on your heart--that everyday is the best day of the year (Emerson). This quote was on the January page of a calendar I received today. It was appropriately titled: Seize the Day and Make it YOURS! Can I dare not want the same for the 20 little faces that will greet me each day? 5 Comments
	Reflections of a Year by: liketeaching1, 12-25-2008 Our school year is half over. The midpoint. The end of a semester and beginning of a new year. The reflections. The New Year goals. It seems like only yesterday we were meeting each other--teacher/students. We met. We progressed. We anticipated a180 days of a first grade year. With 90 of those days marked off in the plan book and on the calendar, reflections of highs and lows seems to be fitting. Can I say that I am 100% satisfied with where we have gone? No one probably can say that! Can I say that I am 50% satisfied? No--percentages don't show the personalities, the personal triumphs of each child. (However the testing requirements seem to only focus on those percentages!) Reading Workshop has been different. The positives are that I have a wonderful long block of minutes that are uninterrupted in the morning. I can manuver the minutes however I wish. With only three students pulled out for Title, I have used those 45 minutes to review needed skills and launch the reading workshop. I can conduct the mini-lesson and give the children uninterrupted independent reading time. When the title kids return I can conduct a "brief" synopsis and mid teaching point to let them gain a little of what they missed but still give them the chance to settle into their book nooks and read. I think the culmination of our first semester ended with the read aloud of The Tale of Despereaux. They were begging for those minutes. I ran short of time to finish the book. So, I called them together on our last morning--half a day--in which to hold our class gift exchange and party. But I set aside those 30 minutes before the parents arrived to finish the book. We had just gotten to the climax--when the principal arrived to make an announcement to our class. It was a positive announcement --however those minutes when they were striving to find out the "end" were interrupted. Is that the same feeling I get when I stop to reflect--we are ready to find out more--will I disappoint the kids? I think I have: created a class of readers who know that the pages within a book can hold so many wonderful ideas and thoughts created a class of readers who enjoy those precious minutes managed to touch on most of the reading strategies from Debbie Miller (schema, connections, questioning, mental iamges) introduced the different types of reading--fiction/non-fiction/poetry created book nooks with a focused pattern of changing the students each week made each month's curricular goals stated/focused/strived to achieve introduced many more author studies But....I have much more to do. I am not satisfied with the teaching of poetry the level of my conferences with the students--I need to focus more on meeting every child's needs individually and not looking to the group's needs allowed the children to make meaningful reader responses met the little guy that never seems to be on the same page with me or the class--never seems to understand a connection, question, mental image--he walks to a different beat than the other kids and me--how can I teach him in a more meaningful way to HIM kept better records of each child's needs--district requirements of paper work is mounting higher and higher. Yet the type of paperwork that would really help ME teach the skills necessary for comprehension are so different than the district requirements. Finding the time to keep up with the required paperwork and still be enthusiastic in my role as a teacher--not a paper pusher Try to "tune out" the negatives around me--the complaints regarding requirements, the stress, the parental occasional complaints, etc. However, the desire to continue being the best I can be is why I sit here at the computer and reflect and ponder. If not for this desire, I would not be able to continue wanting to be a teacher. I'm not new on the block. I've seen many changes in education, in children, in the families. Can I see the positive changes? On, yes! Most definitely. I see the change in education. It is not simply picking up textbooks and reading the teacher's manuals and following them to the minute detail. No--it is reading and trying to learn about new approaches and new philosophies. It is seeing Kindergarten teachers who have words of the day, writing workshops, book baskets for reading. It is seeing first grade kids that can talk about books. Yes, I am ready to move to a new 2009. I am striving to continue with the kids and keep moving and not be interrupted at the climatic point only to be disappointed that things didn't progress as planned. When I step back into the classroom in January, I will begin with a new study in reading--one of my favorites--making inferences. The kids seemed to grasp asking questions and grow with each daily read aloud, with each group meeting. I can foresee that they will grasp making inferences in the same manner. They will be able to discuss and exchange ideas. Yes, my reflections are encouraging. We have come so far. WE have a lot to do! Merry Christmas! Happy NEw 2009 Year! 1 Comments
	Making connections by: liketeaching1, 12-13-2008 It's hard to believe that we have moved on to almost the midpoint of the school year. From the wonderings if I was helping the kids learn in reading workshop and writing workshop in any sense to the goal of finishing up the calendar year in a positive manner set my curricular plans swirling as quickly as the falling snow. Reading Workshop Last month I tried to refocus my plans and renew my sense of vigor in reading workshop. I felt as if we were drifting and not making any straightforward progress. My plans of "touching" on the strategies set (Reading With Meaning): schema, text to self connections, text to text connections, creating mental images, and now questionning became a stronger focus in my mini-lessons, my read aloud demonstrations, my shared readings. I think it may be paying off. When we have our reading meeting, the kids are more vocal--I am hearing them speak freely of making connections, describe their mental images, and now they really enjoy asking questions. A change in my timeline that I had used became just a path of where we were and how we are moving. I divided my whiteboard that I used for the timeline in half horizontally. One is for writing , the other for reading. I just have written Readers make meaning by...Writers make meaning by... Another change was to make a focus board that I use in our meeting area. (BookMuncher spoke of this and actually had some pictures of hers a couple of years ago). I simply took a poster board and cut some sections out. I had it laminated and placed it on the whiteboard in our meeting area. One section is for the strategy and I can write it in. Another one is for As you read... The last section is for sign up to share (this one I'm not happy with because all the kids wanted to stop their reading and rush over to write their name). HELP! Our required basal attempts to touch on these reading strategies. Perhaps that speeds up my introduction of each skill. The basal in no way really creates an understanding of these ways that we can make meaning from text though. I think the writers of the basal must have gotten a copy of these strategies and tried to incorporate them within their structure. Oh, if they only could see how much further it can go. If they could only see/hear/feel the way first graders can view the written language in a totally different way. However the reason--whether it be the basal "push" or the curriculum goals I wrote back in August--we are moving forward. December has brought a difference in the reading meeting. I introduced questions. The book choices of The Stranger and Grandfather Twilight have touched the natural curiousity of six and seven year olds. It is so fun to hear them ask the questions and then talk back and forth about their thoughts on the text. I think ending up our first half of the school year with the holiday break will be a strong finish. I always love this unit of study. Writing Workshop Somedays are better than others. I began asking the kids to give me any piece that they considered finished. I began telling them I was so excited to take their writing home and curl up on the couch to read a good personal narrative. It worked different ways for different kids. Some seemed determined just to rush through so they could "hand deliver it to me". Only a few seemed really determined to add those mental images and small details that my mini-lessons have delivered. One piece was outstanding. I was so amazed and so proud. I read a few to the class and noted how --straight from Lucy Caulkins--I was wanting to hear more. I was left wondering...all the little speeches to hopefully instill the thought that they can do more and do it better. Then I read the amazing one to the class. They knew it! They knew it was outstanding. I was so sure that this would inspire. I don't think it did. I really feel as if I'm floundering right now. We've been writing small moments since August. Maybe a change will do us some good. Next week I am going to let them write a patterned text using The Night Before Christmas as inspiration. I want them to use their senses to write their own story--personal narrative or simply fiction. This will be bound/published for a gift to their parents for Christmas. (If we end up with snow days--I may be sunk!) We will see how creative they can be. Maybe they need a little time to imagine and dream. The blending of reading and writing is a difficult one to accomplish at times. I am hoping that with additional read alouds and my singing the praises of the wonderful books we have that it will continue to meet my main goal--to create kids that love reading and writing. I am reading the Tale of Despereaux to the kids. I am trying to do a great acting job of really pouring my creative nature--how little it is--into making the words come alive. I LOVE how the book keeps addressing us as the READER and talking to us that way. Kate is doing so much--trying to do what I feel--show the wonders of books and reading. As 2008 winds down and falls to a close, I am again reflecting on where I will begin in 2009. My professional reading will be in my suitcase as I travel during the holidays. I will again Read With Meaning and Grow Readers. I just have to search to find the right path. 6 Comments
	November breezes by: liketeaching1, 11-13-2008 Conferences were held this week. They were enlightening and positive. I was so happy to meet with most of my students' parents. I didn't have one angry parent. Even with my kids that haven't blossomed and are just beginning to sprout and grow as readers and writers, the parents were willing to listen to how they could help. We could discuss ways to help them at home. The kids that I have do not all come from homes with rosy backgrounds. Almost 45% are moving back and forth from home to home because of split custody, foster issues, etc. However, most of the parents do share the education of their child. Only one student has a "custody battle" in which the parents split custody but will not split/share what is going on in their education. All the time I spend updating my website and adding newsletters/movies/pictures is beneficial because they can both get a glimpse of their child. Even though they won't share my copy of the newsletter that I send home, they do have access to all the information via the web. A conference highlight was the sharing of their writing samples from our unit tests. The district requires that we add these samples to their reading portfolio folders. The kids wrote in late September about an event that was fun. The next personal narrative was about how they had helped an adult. By reading these together with the parents, we molded together. We were all interested in their child. We could laugh at their illustrations/expressions. We could "read" their attempts at stretching words and thoughts. We could see what was important to their child. This sharing of their writing became a unification of sort. It was so worth the few minutes! I took a teachable moment to show the postives and growth. I could also show the parent a personal goal for their child. With the short month of November only allowing for twelve more "teaching" days, I am striving to refocus my goals: Writing Workshop: After reading their writing samples from our last celebration, I was not pleased with my teaching of small moments. I am going to backtrack and refocus on teaching a true small moment, writing details/stretching out the details, and showing not telling. I have been trying to use a combination of skills/focus lessons so that RW and WW will have some simatry. With the realization that as a first grade teacher I am building a foundation, I also must realize that I have to give these kids something to build upon. I think it was my doing. I was trying to bounce around too much. So, I will spend the remaining days in November not bouncing so much. I will still touch on teachable RW/WW skills, but I will make my main focus writing a true personal narrative that is a TINY small moment. The tiny seed notebooks that I made seem to be a hit! They are wanting to write their seed events. Reading Workshop: We will continue to make meaning. We are touching on the many strategies and I like that. This week we will backtrack a bit--touch a little more indepth on comparing and contrasting text as we use Text to Text connections. I want the kids to realize that we don't learn a strategy and then just place it on the backburner and leave it there. We bring it back out, we continue to use the strategies--a "connection" for all readers. Well, I'll end my short blog for November breezes. I am off ot find fabric to make new chair covers! We are ready for a "new" feeling to our classroom. 6 Comments
	Oh where Oh where??? by: liketeaching1, 11-04-2008 Oh where, oh where will I go? This week marks the end of the second grading period, the end of October, so thoughts of moving on are forefront in my mind this weekend. First, the positives: We celebrated our reading and writing--we are readers/we are writers. I continue to be amazed at the focused reading during reading workshop during the 20 minutes of independent reading. I am hearing kids that are "into" their books. I know that they need me to plan well in the next month's focus/goals. We published and read "small moment" personal narratives. They are able to stretch a small moment into a three page story--a district requirement. Making Meaning was our theme for reading workshop. I focused on two weeks mini-units of the ways readers make meaning--schema/connections, creating mental images. I like the "touching" of the strategies for reading. Goals for November: Reading Workshop: two weeks of making predictions--not the deep inferring but just touching with the way readers predict based on their schema and prior knowledge. Then I will do another two weeks of character study--the pattern in text relating to the way characters are used. This will move us into December due to the short week of Thanksgiving. I will have a good three weeks left to touch on questionning. By the time the new year rolls into our classroom, I have touched on many more strategies than I have in the past. I hope to see the kids engaging in more thought about their reading. We will see! I can't wait to get to the inferring and questionning units in depth after the first of the year! Writing Workshop: I continue trying to relate what we are doing in reading workshop to our writing. Creating mental images and putting the reader into our thoughts as we planned our writing seemed to help some of the students. I demonstrated good authors, I talked the talk over and over. However, I still have about a third of my kids that are just writing a short sentence on each page and considered it done! I read Owl Moon several times in segments for mini-lessons. I embraced the text in Morning Colors, Night Sounds! (I've got to put that on my to purchase list--it is so absolutely perfect!)I sang the praises of both and hoped to instill the thought in these little pencils that there is so much more to say. I've got to feel that their eyes are alight with sights and their ears are full of sounds that they too can convey to the reader. I am thinking maybe that we need a slight detour--a bend in the road to another type of writing for a couple of weeks. I will use Salt Hands in my focus lessons next week. Maybe the next book will help us. I can tell I've beginning to spin right now in writing workshop. Oh where? Oh where will I go? I usually feel about this time of the school year that we are really a group. We are "family". I was shown this in a different way this year. We had our "harvest" party (Halloween in year's past). My room was full of parents. I looked around and realized that these parents knew each other. They were friendly. They were sharing thoughts and past experiences. They weren't standing off in separate little groups in an uncomfortable separation. No, these parents shared a common theme. They were so positive and happy! I am blessed! I hope to create a month of continued progress in November--a feeling of "thanksgiving" that I really did take these kids where they needed to be in reading and writing. 4 Comments
	Falling into Place by: liketeaching1, 11-13-2008 The leaves are turning. The season is changing. However the climate of the classroom is also abuzz with new learnings! As I hear so much on TV (those many, many political ads) on change--change! The change in my workshops from last year to this is definitely a big change! (Maybe I should place an ad!) Today I really took a look at myself, my teaching, my goals. Why is it that some days things just seem to miraculously fall into place? This morning was absolutely a wonder to me! As the morning ended I reflected back and to my amazement I realized that even after using the district's required basal, I had been able to let loose of those mundane tasks of worksheets. These kids were active learners. They were working with partners, using REAL literature--not a worksheet--and were learning so much more in the process. I know they were enjoying it more. They were looking at the text in an entirely new way. I was able to plan with a new direction and focus. I have to admit that last year was a muddling through of a new basal. This year I am able to look at the big picture. I can easily see the skills that are tested. I can incorporate those into my reading meeting, charts and poems, songs and rhymes. Word work can be so much more than the basal suggests. Word sorts have turned the kid's into thinkers and readers and decoders. We can do so much with a sticky note, a spiral notebook, a felt tip pen. I feel good! (I can toss those worksheet pages into the recycle bin at the end of the week with the knowledge that my kids are so much better for it! Reading Workshop is moving at a much faster pace than last year--another ! Looking back at last year's reading/writing workshop plans I see that I am two months ahead of my previous year. In the present day--we are connecting texts, we are predicting, we are visualizing. Last year I was still working on decoding words! Can it get any better than this? (Debbie Miller's voice again!) My Goals for the rest of October: Reading Workshop: Our theme for the month has been using each strategy as a way to understand the text. We will work some more on retelling and get a glimpse of visualizing. I think with the many fall colors around our school and the variety of fun books about fall, the harvest, pumpkins we will be able to really turn on the colors in our minds. Our visual thoughts can touch all our senses. What better time to excite the kids with another comprehension strategy? Writing Workshop: We have just finished writing a patterned text. With a field trip, inservice day off for the kids--and me--our time will be shortened a bit. I like to let the kids write in their Memory Books on Mondays each week. (It's just a black/white composition book that they can record their memories). Since we also have our field trip, we'll use the memory books to record those fun thoughts. That will only leave us about 7 days of real Writing Workshop through the end of the month. I want to engage visualizing into their words. I will use some of our fall read alouds as a spring board to touching our senses. Author Study: Todd Parr--what can I say? I think his books have really helped the overall atmosphere in the classroom. I have a few children who really need this character building/thought provoking/It's OK to be Me read alouds. These would have been a great author study for the beginning of school but I really feel that it was meant to be (philosophical I know!) for me to be using these now. My class is a mixture of kids with lots of emotional needs in the home. My heart breaks for some of the situations these kids are enduring and have endured. I am so glad that Todd Parr can "speak" to the hearts of my little ones! It was a perfect time for us to relate and to grow as a community of learners. Interactive Read Aloud: I am continuing to really try to focus and plan this part of the day. No longer can I pick up a book just because it is on our content area theme. I pick up the book because I can demonstrate and model. I think I have the kids hooked--at least I'm really hearing lots of voices talk back to me--so they are thinking too! They may just take on to this reading and writing and continue to soar! The pic is a look at what we did withOUT any basal, without any worksheet! We were thinkers, we were researchers, we were writers. Happy Fall! Happy Reading! Happy Writing! Change is good! 6 Comments
	Stepping forward or backward? by: liketeaching1, 10-05-2008 Another week's passing has been a strange mixture of highs and lows. Positives and negatives. One step forward--but the feeling that we've actually stepped backward two giant steps. Maybe the change in the seasons and the built in barometers of six years old is becoming paramount! But, the weekend will need to be spent reviving myself personally and as a teacher. A busy week with a district meeting for my grade level meant my first day off from the teaching/classroom. That in itself can be a step backward. The kids seemed to realize that it was an opportune time to "forget" what we've done. I should know better than to stop by the school and take a look around before the custodians clean. How can the kids not know where the trash goes? How can the kids know that their name isn't suppose to go on their papers?How can the kids forget how to write legibly? How can they forget in a few short hours what we have spent seven weeks learning? Alright, it's just a minor setback. I entered our classroom "clubhouse" satisfied that we would have a great day! We'll begin again and continue in a positive manner. What, they have forgotten how to listen too? How can that be? So now it seems two days have been lost. Two days of reading workshop--really reading workshop. Two days of writing workshop--really writing. Two days of actually doing math. Now it's Friday and the week seems to be a lost cause. District required testing is on Fridays. That limits the amount of time for reading/writing workshop. But...one giant step forward. The kids seem to relax back into the familiarity of reading in their book nooks. They seemed to relish the time spent writing. Thank goodness--the week ended much better than the slight detours of mid week. (Of course, I haven't even taken a peak at their tests! Better save that for another day. ) Reading Workshop: we continued with making connections. I used the RWM suggestions of read alouds: A Chair for my Mother, Fireflies, The Relatives Came, Ira Sleeps Over, and some Mercer Mayer Little Critter books. Today I used I Was So Mad. The kids seemed to make some good connections and they wrote them down on a form I "borrowed" from a nice poster here on ProTeacher. Since I'm using the Beanie Baby figures as a visual of the strategies for decoding and comprehension, the form has nice little pictures to guide them in their thought processes. The kids seemed to be "talking the talk". They were able to convey the part of the text and what it reminded them of. Wow--a giant leap! I'm feeling good.....Until., one little boy had nothing on his paper. Not one little thing. When I began to confer with him, he began to cry. He had no connection because his mom had never told him "no". Now I really should have been able to handle this and use my teacher mentality to make this a teachable moment! No, it was me that took a gigantic fall backward. How do you top that statement? I'll make that a priority next week to confer with him about making meaningful connections. This is only the second time we have been writing our responses. The last time was the same--he had no connection. I've got my work cut out for me! Writing Workshop: We had to finish our district writing sample at the beginning of the week. The requirement was a three page personal narrative. I used my mini-lessons to talk about telling the story first to their writing partner. Then to write the words just as if they were talking. I am so proud--their narratives were above average for this time of the year. If they can do this after the first grading period--I can hardly wait to see what we will do by the end of first grade! Next week I am going to use storytelling as a focus for both RW and WW. We will work on retelling favorite reads. Our basal story is The Little Red Hen. It is also a time to look at some of the different versions and to introduce text-to-text connections. I plan to let the kids write their version: The Little Red Hen Bakes a Cake. Science Workshop: This week we studied animal groups: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish. I taught about the characterisitics of each for a day. The chance to introduce all our classroom books of each group became a grand opportunity--to sell the non-fiction portion of our library. I am anxious to see if they run to select some of the books I showcased when we shop for books on Monday. It was also an opportunity to introduce just a little of the non-fiction conventions. We did draw and label and made an animal characteristics book. Math Workshop: I tried to vary the method of the mini-lesson and the use of manipulatives, whole group activities, and independent working time. We are beginning to reach a time when the new skills that are introduced may not be a daily occurance. Only when we have time to re-view and practice these skills can I feel comfortable with a workshop approach. As it stands now, the individual practice time is short--so much is done in a guided whole group. As I reflect upon a somewhat hectic week, it is good to realize that there WERE some positives. Maybe next week we will make up for the "lost" time I feel existed. Just maybe, I'll feel as if we are becoming more of a community of learners. I think I need to do a little community character building in our morning meetings next week. Maybe I was trying to squeeze too many little tidbits of learning and not looking at the whole picture. Thank goodness for a weekend and the time to spend time reflecting and doing some character building of my own! Focus for next week: We are continuing with our reading and writing workshop and combining the two main focus topics. Our October topics are ways to make meaning to the text for both the reader and the writer. I plan to use an anchor chart to visualize the path of our learning. I will attach a Making Meaning chart that I am going to give each child and place in their independent bookshelves. (The Daily Five) was a great help in managing my thinking and planning--along with BookMuncher's great blog. If you look at the second page of the attachment you will see how I plan to add as we make more focus topics. 4 Comments
	Progress! by: liketeaching1, 09-23-2008 I am now in week 5! Besides today being the dreaded "picture day" our days have now developed into a routine. It is the simple disruptions that can send my kids into a frenzy of sorts. Developing my curriculum for RW and WW for a year-long calendar is turning out to be a great help. I can feel as if I am not swimming aimlessly along in the workshop world. Our district divides our year into six weeks time frames. First graders do not get "graded" the first term. It is a good thing as we are simply not being consistant in our dedication to daily activities and assignments. One hour will produce kids who are thinkers and the very next one--I think a new set of kids came back from lunch in my little guys' bodies! What on earth are they consuming during that lunch period that could change them so drastically? Since math follows our lunch and special classes, it is the math that seems to be suspect. I really like that my mornings are dedicated to reading and writing. I like it that way. I like focusing on language arts and it's little facets of being literate. I like focusing on the next strategy that will produce readers and writers. My next weekend thought must be how to produce the same in the afternoon math workshop. Reading Workshop: We are working on the decoding strategies along with using schema and predicting. I am so glad that I am not focusing simply on the decoding strategies until late October/early November. I like that we have some interesting conversations between partners. These kids simply continue to amaze me--they really are doing what we are modeling! Could it be? I think they will become great readers! I will probably be so sad when they venture off to second grade at the end of the year. This week I am seeing: predicting what the book may be about talk of the author's style of writing selecting books for their personal bookshelves and really thinking and talking about WHY they want that book hearing talk--"I've read that one AND that one--do you want it--it's really good!"/"I haven't read this one, I'll get it!" reading the pictures and gaining information/retelling reading independently for a longer period of time If these kids can come this far in five weeks--they have a lot to gain this year and a lot of enjoyment in reading. We are now working on our first "movie" of reading workshop. I've been carrying that camera around for the past few weeks and snapping pictures of "readers". I played around with showing them some of the pictures on the big TV screen (sorry no SMARTboard)! There were lots of oohs and ahhs. (You'd think we were making the big time!) These movies are such a great parent motivator. That is the best way I can communicate with parents who work and can't visit or who don't understand my goals for their child. Writing Workshop: I am really concentrating on revocalizing what we learn in RW into our WW time. We are predicting what a book might be about. We are getting our minds ready to read. So in WW, we are also thinking before we write. We are placing enough information into the beginning of our personal narratives to allow the reader to predict the setting, predict who is with us, and also getting our mind ready for the actual narrative. How could I ever envisioned separating the two? Math Workshop: Back to my dilemma--how to reach these kids in the afternoon. By using the results from our placement test that was administered the first week, I think there is a glaring issue: a majority of these kids aren't mathematically inclined. So...I have a task ahead. We have introduced addition and subtraction. I have conducted mini-lessons. We have used manipulatives of all shapes and sizes. We have drawn our thought processes. We have modeled. We have practiced, practiced, and practiced. However, I still have several who just don't understand. Most days our math workshop pushes 90 minutes. This is a state requirement--but I also use a few minutes in the morning for calendar math, journals to review, etc. So it isn't the fact that I am neglecting math because of the language arts block in the morning. I applied for a grant. I hope to receive $$$ to purchase some additional resources to aid in my math curriculum. Keep your fingers crossed for me (and of course my students who will be the winners in reality). All in all, I feel as if we are beginning our journey that will take us to places unknown. I want to slow that journey down enough to embrace the children's steps along the way. As Dr. Seuss says--On the places we'll go! The journey may be difficult at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way! 4 Comments
	Building the Reading Community by: liketeaching1, 09-07-2008 What a difference a week can make! I am so proud of my first graders this week. I feel as if they have progressed further during Reading Workshop than I've ever seen from any of my groups. I have to give my credit to Debbie Miller, Kathy Collins, as well as fellow ProTeachers (especially BookMuncher). I think the inspirations have come at a time when personally I needed a "boost". Our positives for this growth: I tried to have a celebration of sorts at different times during the week. The week began with a change in the classroom entrance (photo attached). On that first morning the classroom door was closed so that the kids could "see" they were entering something different. All mornings the classroom door is propped open until we all arrive and put our backpacks away. This morning I could hear their excitement and voices. They noticed! Things were different! I could tell them that they were different! They were ready to be members of our reading club. We wrote our reading workshop pledge. I let the kids tell me what we had learned so far. They came up with some really great thoughts. We also made our faces to go around the pledge. (Another photo is attached). It seems art is also a celebration! I made some better book nooks (thanks to pictures on ProTeacher of course!). Then I told the kids that we would make a way for them to visit each and every one. I made little signs for each nook and numbered them. Each child was given a sentence strip card in which to write their name and decorate it with markers. (Markers are special in my classroom. They are only used on special occasions. This was special!). After they made theirs we then used a pocket chart to place the 10 book nooks and place the partner groups. So...another celebration--getting a book nook. Some are more special. Some are more private. Each one though will be owned by a partner group for a week. Our last celebration was to begin selecting books for their bookshelves. Our first free choice was from the David Shannon basket. Following a mini-lesson in using the pictures to read the story, use the pictures to understand tricky words, AND to have a meaningful "talk" with your partner. I was absolutely amazed and so proud! The partners were holding meaningful book talks. I do attribute part of the success to me. I have to admit that I took a look at myself. My teaching. My strategy sessions. I began to include more in our interactive read alouds. I used every precious minute to include more than just one skill. Yes, I could show them a strategy for including decoding skills. But I could also throw in making connections, using our schema. (Thanks BookMuncher). Next week we will open the library for book choice. I think that letting them select books first will lead up to our skills of choosing "just right" books. But, I think these kids are going to be a special group. I am blessed that most of the students are in my class because their parents requested it. They wanted a class that used RW and WW! They wanted a teacher who values reading. Knowing that, I owe them all I can do to make them really special! 6 Comments
	September Thoughts by: liketeaching1, 09-08-2008 September finally rolled into town. For those of us who begin teaching at the beginning of August it seemed like September would never arrive! Maybe it's the thought of many on ProTeacher who are just beginning school this week that adds to the slowness of August. Or maybe it is the adjusting to a new set of faces, new personalities, etc. I touched on that in my last blog. September brings new thoughts and ambitions for me. Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop have launched! Both seem to be progressing as planned. But when I picked up Growing Readers this afternoon and curled up on the couch for a refresher course, Kathy Collins seemed to be shouting at ME! Why is it that I was rereading the same words I had read many times but was seeing through different eyes? (That's a mini-lesson for the kids--read and reread!). Maybe it was the questions on PT this week regarding scheduling, basal requirements by districts, desires to teach with a true workshop that made me really THINK. We've discussed the Teacher's College fundamentals on holding those workshop mini-lessons. We've practiced making teaching points. We've discussed and listenend to each other's advice regarding Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop, and Math Workshop. Why then, when I picked up the book was it right there? It was a "just right" book for me. I feel renewed, just as a new month seems to be fresh. A new beginning. A new frame of mind. A desire to continue doing my best. Pictures from other classrooms that are now set for the kids also seemed to inspire me to take another look at my classroom. I've had to make a few adjustments. My large dining room table format has been changed to a regular set-up. I let the kids graph which way they preferred them. I was suprised. They liked the closeness of the regular five desks in a group. They verbalized that it was the closeness that made them feel comfortable. (I was thinking that the extra desk would save some of the extra chit-chat from overtaking the room.) But maybe for a little six year old that distance was gigantic. I think back to my goal of making a more child-centered classroom and I accept the choice they made. It seemed to calm the classroom into a satisfied feeling. We will revisit the large table format again this year. I am always changing the desks formations. It will be interesting to see if the kids will no longer need that closeness as they grow and mature. I also thought as I visited classrooms via PT teacher's sharing! What an inspiration. I saw that teachers everywhere value books, reading, and writing. There are tubs of books in almost every corner of the classroom world! What a statement to our kids. Surely my mini-lesson on how valuable books are and how I feel about them would not fall on unhearing ears! But I will continue this week as we open the classroom library. I remember BookMuncher discussing this in her blog from a couple of years ago. I want to make that celebration grand! I plan to take the next two days to open the book world. I've finally decided how to make my classroom door more inspirational. I plan to go in early tomorrow and add more book nooks. I will showcase the different sections of our classroom with some added baskets and lamps! Thank you ProTeacher for continuing to help make us better at the most important profession in the world. 5 Comments
	Ready! Set! Go! by: liketeaching1, 08-24-2008 The first two weeks of school seem to have passed in a blur. The excitement of meeting new faces, learning a little bit about each personality, and all the clerical issues that have to be resolved are now in the past. Squeezing more "faces" and "personalities" into my classroom has taken a bit of an adjustment. Finding that there are little management problems when there isn't space for another backpack, another writing drawer, another spot on the classroom meeting area have been resolved. Now it is on to the race! Placement tests have been administered and scored. I've gotten a feel for the ability levels and various needs of the kids. Modeling, modeling, modeling has been the main curriculum it seems. And I'm not talking about a vocation of putting on beautful clothing and walking down a runway. I'm talking about creating a classroom that runs smoothly enough to let the kids focus on their workshops. Reading workshop has been running fairly smoothly. I've placed Growing Readers and Reading With Meaning by my recliner--ready to grab at a moment's free time to get another boost of strength! Receiving Teaching With Intention in the mail has given me another thought provoking insight into teaching reading as a lifelong skill. I feel like I "know" Debbie Miller personally. But I was interested in the Introduction. She describes packing up her classroom--not at the end of the school year--but forever! She retired from teaching and her descriptions of the emotions she encountered in that packing was close to my heart. After all, I've taught 30 years also. I know that one day I will have to do the very same task. Can I leave knowing that I've done everything I set out to do when I stepped into my first classroom? As she goes on to describe taking her precious yellow cupboard with her I know that she was still attached to all those classroom walls, floors, and halls. But the most emotional part was when I read that she set up a classoom in her basement! Yes, she set a space to resemble the place she had spent so many hours. It was there she went when she needed a place to think and plan. She made me think--where is my place to think and plan? On to my goals for the next week. I want to use Growing Readers and establish the importance of reading: Strong readers read every day Strong readers talk and think about books with other people Strong readers read everythin in sight Strong readers take care of books and protect their reading time A big task this week! We have to work on knowing that our reading workshop is a precious time of the day! I don't feel that some of my kids know how I truly feel about that. So...I plan to make the classroom door a grander entrance into our Reading Club. I plan to make a few changes after viewing some of the ideas from BookMuncher and Buggy4Books proscenium. I want to let the kids sign the "wall" once I make the changes. I want them to truly feel that opening the door and stepping inside is a privilege! Another goal is to get the book nooks for RW independent/partner time more concrete. I will need to make a few changes to the classroom environment to make more "nooks" that are separate from each other. (Another management problem due to a larger class size!) Writing workshop is on target for where I want to be. We have made our writing drawers and have our writing folders inside. More modeling of expectations are included in my mini-lessons this week. Over-all though--I'm proud of what they have been doing. Well, it's time for "go" now! I'll step into my real classroom tomorrow with goals firmly in my mind. There will be another fantastic week of learning and growing. 4 Comments
	Getting in the groove by: liketeaching1, 08-18-2008 Settling in a new school year seems to take more and more each year. More time. More patience. More inspirations. More knowledge. More endurance. More time--Time because of the challenge of wanting to achieve more than the previous years. Wanting to grow in my ability to teach reading, writing, and math in a workshop approach. Yes, it takes time to learn and continue reading wonderful authors such as Debbie Miller, Kathy Collins, Ellin Keene. I feel as if I am using their knowledge as my foundation and it really takes time to build a firm foundation. More patience--Patience is a virtue. I think my virtues may be a little short on temperament at the present. I spent my summer focusing on the changes I wanted to make in my classroom and envisioning a more child centered one. I definitely have the child part--my numbers are about 7 larger than in previous years. I know that I have to adjust. I know that I have to move on. I know that I need to take this challenge and go with it! Turning the negatives in my mind into positives in the classroom is requiring patience. Approaching administration and feeling rebuked is the most negative feeling I've had in a long time. I can accept that some days may be better than others. But I have a difficult time accepting the fact that my current grade level is deemed not as important as those whose test scores "count". NCLB is rearing it's ugly head once again. I truly feel that what I do is important. It is planting the seeds that will grow and grow! More inspirations--I find so many great inspirations from right here on ProTeacher. It seems as if others have the same questions, strive to answer in a positive manner, and give me the inspiration that "yes, I can do that--what a wonderful strategy--what a wonderful idea"! My bookshelves are overflowing with books that I haven't had time to finish (alright--some I haven't even started). I look forward to Debbie Miller's new book in just a few days--Teaching With Intention. I am still learning from To Understand. I have Wondrous Words lying in wait. Yes--I can just look around and see that there are others who can guide me. More knowledge--the quote knowledge is power may provide a stimulus to my reading workshop in the next couple of weeks. To strive to excite my first graders in the wonders of knowledge that all those books contain. Just as I will learn through my professional reading, I need to turn the light on in those eyes that stare at me each day. Yes, a new beginning. A new chance to give my class so much!!! I'm beginning to feel inspired. I'm beginning to feel hopeful. I'm beginning to look with excitement once again. More endurance--Where have the years gone? With experience also follows along with age. The body slows down. The tasks seem to take a bit longer. But then, the tasks are different. Teaching is no longer a "follow the manual" profession. It is planning. It is excitement. It is reading. It is 'Growing Readers" and "Reading With Meaning" and "Tools of Comprehension", etc. The hours in a day in the classroom seem to increase. I'm not out the door with the last student. I'm thinking of Debbie Miller as she describes going back to the classroom at the end of the day--early in the year--and sinking into her comfortable chair in the room. She looks around the room at the scattered crayons and the scraps of paper. The dreams of how she envisioned the year beginning tend to get lost in the "getting in the groove" portion of the year. The settling in. The hustle and bustle of paperwork, setting up the classroom, meeting district and school paperwork requirements, holding Meet and Greet, and modeling expectations for a classroom environment are all part of the groove that will become a feeling of "family". Our district began with a couple of inspirational speakers. But I think the words that sang to me were: We are family.! 4 Comments
	Picture Share--My Classroom by: liketeaching1, 08-05-2008 The feeling that school is imminent comes when the classroom is finally set for the beginning of the year. Always thinking of changing certain areas to make them more efficient is always floating through my mind during the summer. This summer was very different. The school never was cleansed of last year--the children's fingerprints and footprints. For some reason with the change in contract to a different cleaning company, the workers never came to my building. As school begins for me next Wednesday, the thoughts floating through my mind seemed to turn to nightmares. The stress of setting up the "perfect" classroom changed to just setting it up. Never mind the desires to create a perfect climate for the next 180 school days. Now the thoughts were --just let me in and set it up!! So, with my own cleaning supplies--carpet cleaner, rubber gloves, cleaning supplies, I sat off to school. Once I had the carpet cleaned, it was a giant weight that went floating up to the ceiling. I quickly opened the door so it could just float off to the next "dirty" classroom. (But, I wasn't alone!) As I opened my door and peered out--other teachers were making their frantic attempt to do the same. A quick lunch break and a big McDonald's tea gave the carpet a chance to dry. And then..I pushed and shoved and placed and looked. I looked at the "world" from a first grader's eyes. I saw that the classroom had indeed become a bookstore--my theme for the year. A set up like a Barnes and Noble bookstore. We will be the club members. The children will browse through the classroom as if they were wandering through the store and finding books at every turn. There were areas set for different types of books. You are welcome to come with me as we wander... (but you'll have to click on every reply because there is only one small glance each time. 39 Comments
	Talking the talk! by: liketeaching1, 07-30-2008 As I have been reading To Understand and the sample chapter from Debbie Miller's new book: Teaching With Intention I am hearing a common theme: letting the children TALK! Not that they mean useless talk but MEANINGFUL TALK. Using the workshop approach for several years has introduced the theory of letting the kids have a partner in which to "turn and talk". Not only being a speaker but a listener in order to learn from each other. To be able to reach higher understanding because we simply can share ideas! This is an about face in what education was in my primary years--children working independently at a desk. Do I remember turning and talking? NO. Do I remember working in a group or with a partner? NO. As the workshop approach to education tends to grow and develop over time, it has stretched to other facets of the curriculum--writing, math, science, social studies. The beginning of a workshop is a mini-lesson by the teacher. Therein lies the concept that it is a mini--a few minutes of teacher directed "lesson". While the teacher is directing this mini-lesson, I was "taught" to--not engage the children in reviewing. Not to engage the children in repetition of previous lessons. NO, the teacher is to quickly teach the focus of the workshop--the skill that the students will use in order to practice that strategy while independently working (the work part of workshop). Was I reverting back to my primary classroom--listen to the teacher and do as I show you? This part of the workshop is almost opposite to what I am reading! We want the kids to talk. We want the kids to be able to "be silent" and think. We want the conversation. We want the "talk". The understanding, the talk, the deep thinking, the desire to reach my students in a more meaningful approach to reading, writing, math, will come if I can reach a balance. My mini-lessons need to model the talk and the time to be silent and think. I need to s-l-o-w down. I think the desire to "fit it all in" within the frameworks of a daily schedule can contribute to this rushed atmosphere. I can hardly wait to be able to read Debbie Miller's book in its entirety. I can learn as I finish the book, To Understand. Hopefully, I will continue to grow in my ability to find a happy medium! Happy Reading! Happy Talking! Happy Thinking! 7 Comments
	Packing for the Yearly Trip by: liketeaching1, 07-21-2008 Vacation time/back to school time--both involve lots of thought on what to take and what to leave behind. What will I truly need and what will I wish I had brought? Ahh--the back to school sales create that frame of mind of making sure everything is planned, prepared, and executed so that those inevitable teacher nightmares don't actually come true! Thus, I am preparing my "suitcase" for the trip. My list is tentative. My list is lengthy. My list is definitely subject to change--no, make that changes! Plans for 2008-2009 Main goals are to continue improving RW and WW—meshing the two together so that the skills in one are reinforced in the other. to begin using a workshop approach in Math. I foresee using a two day approach to the small group practice portion of this until we get more grounded in the many skills that are introduced in our math program. To make better use of time management in relation to the skills required by the reading basal. The curriculum guide for my year: August: We are readers. We are writers. Launching both workshops will be the foundation of our community feeling in our classroom. The students will become part of the "reader’s club". Just right books will be selected from browsing baskets on each group of desks. Books will focus on: wordless, ABC, Songs/Poems, Eric Carle. Through storytelling, sharing of our special books (brought in by each student), author study of Eric Carle—the students will become readers, writers, thinkers. Celebration: Eric Carle Art Symposium September: Readers and Writers build good habits. Writers use words in their writing—Begin Small Moments. Opening the classroom library! Sign our class pledge! (Both will work on print strategies—phonetic approach to reading and writing.) Introduce "just right" books and use the pictures to tell, retell the story. Continue with the concept of RW—using time wisely, readers think and talk about their books). Author Study: Kevin Henkes Celebration: The Class Library—make signs/posters showing the wonders of our library, possible "entrance (per BookMuncher’s idea) to our library to set it apart and make it REALLY special. October: Readers use strategies to read "tricky" words and understand what they read. Writers use strategies to add details to their own small moments stories. Use the beanie baby strategy posters for decoding –our tools to become true independent readers and writers. Readers and writers use accuracy in their work. Celebration: Toast to Independence November: Reading Workshop—sailing off into Reading With Meaning—Connections (text to self, text to text, text to world/Schema). Writing Workshop: Continuation of small moments and beginning Writing for Readers. (Readers and writers make meaningful, thoughtful connections to text). December: Reading Workshop—Reading With Meaning—Using schema to understand the text. Retelling using sequence of events. Writers Workshop: Personal narratives have a sequence—beginning, middle, end. Give details to provide a schema for the reader. Celebration for November/December: Publishing event—Writing for Readers (gift for parents???) January: Reading Workshop: Mental Images/Predicting—readers use their schema to create images in their head about a story. Using these images help the reader to predict. Writers: Revision—writers use revision techniques to polish up personal narratives. These editing skills help the reader to create mental images. Celebration: Revision Museum—invite parents to read personal narratives in a museum type display. February: Reading Workshop: Questioning/Inferences—readers ask questions before, during, and after reading. These questions help us to understand the characters, events, etc. Readers infer what the text does not explicitly state. Writing Workshop: Authors as Mentors—follow the author’s craft as a tool for understanding the way text is comprised. Celebration: Authors as Mentors presentation. March: Reading Workshop—conventions of Non-Fiction. Study of non-fiction text and the way it is written. Readers use questioning, inferring, predicting to understand non-fiction. Writer’s Workshop: make a non-fiction conventions notebook. Research and write a non-fiction piece. Celebration: Non-fiction presentations to K classes. April: Reading Workshop: Poetry/using mental images, schema, connections, to understand poetry. Writing Workshop—writing with feeling (use wondrous words to write our own poetry) Celebration: Poetry Tea—read poems to each other in a coffee house setting??? May: Readers Workshop: Synthesis—we use many strategies to comprehend text. Our thinking evolves as we encounter more information, and make meaning. Writer’s Workshop: Writing fiction—our first try at using all the books and strategies to guide us in our own writing. Celebration: Wondrous Words Picnic (invite parents to listen as we describe the reasoning behind our own Fiction story that is published). So now the suitcase is full. The trip is planned. The destination is set--next year's kids will embark on the marvelous journey of becoming readers and writers for life! 0 Comments
	Reflections by: liketeaching1, 07-24-2008 It is now 21 days and counting until the wonderful part of the year called Inservice! I look at the meaning of the word and I realize that it is true--the days that we go IN to the SERVICE of a new year. The staff development term is only a small portion of getting back into the "teaching" mode. It is a time of the year when we basically seem to follow the same schedule during these days. Every year we spend at least 45 minutes trying to decide on the date for our back to school night orientation for parents. BUT this year we are greeting our students and parents on an afternoon BEFORE school and that date has already been decided. Now, we will have at least 45 minutes of something new and different! (I wonder if that means that now we will have 45 minutes to tell about our wonderful summer). Reflecting on last year and the positives and negatives are on my agenda for this day. One of the positives was asking the kids to bring in a book that was meaningful to them. I learned so much by this. I learned that some kids did have special books. I learned some of the interests and books I could always recommend...(this is a book for you...I know you love reading Pig books!). I also learned that some did not have books or very few of them. I could tell that the book they brought in was a brand new one, not special, not familiar. Those were the kids that I needed to "sell" on this wonderful word of reading. (My priority for the first RW meetings). There was also the child that brought in a religious book and I was faced with the reality that my district and my state would not allow me to read this book. (I later learned that the parent even called the district office to question my decision). I will have to be careful when I give directions as to what type of special books that the children can bring. Beginning a new basal seems to be a negative when I reflect on last year. The time element in making sure that I met with the district's requirements in testing seemed to weigh heavily on our reading and language curriculum. I did manage to "teach" the basal and still use RW. My kids still were able to hear mini-lessons, read independently, partner read, have guided reading groups. BUT, the time when we were able to spend precious minutes conversing, talking about our reading seems to be the area that was shortchanged the most. A second goal for my year is now in place. I will work more on time limits for the basal and time spent for RW. As a positive, our new title teacher is promising that those minutes will be spent wisely so that those kids don't lose out on the district's requirements for the basal. This will free up those minutes that I was re-reaching the strugglers with the basal guided reading groups. Writing workshop seemed to be squeezed in the little time left in our morning. It was interrupted by lunch. It was...lacking. There is no other way to say it. I failed. Sure, I "covered" the Units of Study. But I cannot say that these kids were "writers" by the end of last year. A new year comes with a new schedule for lunch and specials. A new year comes with new requirements--an uninterrupted reading/language arts time. Hopefully, these changes will help with my time. Lunch will now be earlier in the day and will give us a nice time to "break" from the RW and progress to WW after lunch. I feel these timely adjustments to the schedule will force me to stay focused on time conservation and again feel that the Writing Workshop is not an afterthought. Math. Not my love. Sorry. I am just more focused on reading and writing. I manage to teach the math program as it is. The kids perform well on standardized testing. The kids seem to grasp the fast paced math program that our district adopted. But...Math workshop will enable me to work with small groups on a more leveled approach. Math workshop will give the kids opportunities to use manipulatives, explore, use computers, play math games in small groups. My planning of this new "workshop" may take some editing, revision, and hopefully will help us to become thinkers and planners in the math area of the curriculum. Of course, I cannot reflect without seeing the faces of the children. The smiles, the puzzled looks, the personalities. That is the best. Those kids will now move on to another class of children, teachers, and more maturity. I want to wish them the best. I want to hope that I did enough last year to let them reflect on their first grade year with positives and not negatives. Now to meet the new faces, the new personalities, and NEW. 6 Comments
	Setting up the classroom by: liketeaching1, 07-10-2009 Summer school ended on Friday and the classroom become silent as the Pre-K kids exited. As I returned to begin thinking of the arriving first graders, I sat and gazed around the room. Then began the changes: I looked at the areas that were "cluttered" and stored items that were for me and not for the kids to access (remember my goal is to focus on a child centered classroom). Then began...the task of filling trashcans with "junk". (Sorry to our elderly custodian--a female to beat--in making those cans so heavy!) I found that with throwing out the "junk" I began to feel lighter. I could combine two bookcases by stacking one on top of the other and free up some wall space. I could get rid of my "coffin" bookcase--a rather long one with no good use since I left Kindergarten behind years ago. That freed up....more wallspace! And I could donate to a new K teacher. Now with one whole wall cleared out with only my long whiteboard timeline above it, I now had room for an area for me to meet with small groups OR a table for the kids to work together OR a place for a great booknook for RW time. As my eyes continued around the room, I was satisfied with many of the environmental issues from last year. I still had room for charts that we create in RW and WW. I did need to do some slight rearranging to our meeting area. I still needed the calendar area and pocket chart. However, I could move one of my display bookcases to a new spot to create a view of the whiteboard. I now could use the overhead if it sat on a low table and the kids could still be in the meeting area with clipboards or dry erase boards. By making these slight changes, I could fulfill my promise that we would be meeting together in the floor instead of sitting at desks. Some of the areas of the room aren't able to be changed such as computers, teacher computer station, cabinets, etc. Since I now had made my complete circle of the --yes--square room--my thoughts came to desk arrangement. This summer I had fewer students so I had played around with an arrangement of six students in a large type "dining room table" set-up. (picture posted).However, knowing that I would NOT have 12 students, most likely I would have 20 kids, became the task of trying different set-ups. I tried four sets of the "dining" table and MY the room became too crowded. I tried taking away just one desk in this arrangement to make it more narrow and give a little more room. I tried four desks with one on the end which became crowded because I was now pushing all the desks into two long rows. (By this time I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks!). I knew I wanted to have something settled in my mind before leaving for the weekend so I ended up with my usual arrangement. The five desks but in a semi-circular arrangement so that everyone can view the front of the room. This didn't satisfy me entirely, but it did give an additional "free space" that we could meet as a large group as we could squeeze in the middle of this semi-circular room. I still need to work on the "wall spaces" and the "floor spaces". By wall spaces I mean changing bulletin boards, the door to the classroom, the word wall--just getting ready for a class of new faces. I need to clean my own carpet. For some reason, I was told that the cleaning crew would be at our school to work on it----the day we return. What???? As teachers, we have to set our rooms up before we start inservice as there are meetings, meetings, and yes--more meetings. Being my "organized" personality, I can't imagine setting up a classroom in a couple of hours OR not feeling it is important enough to have the kids enter their new "home" for 180 days and not be totally prepared. My goals for this week are to finish the environment and then move on to the timeline for RW and WW. 12 Comments
	Setting up the "new" by: liketeaching1, 07-08-2008 As I look at today's date and realize that in four short weeks I will be back in the classroom I realize I need to become more focused and sure of the "new" beginnings that I want for this group. I have followed Reading With Meaning, Growing Readers, and the Units of Study for RW and WW for the past two - three years. However, this summer my workshop I attended used a new set of books: The Comprehension Toolkit. It was this spark that set my philosphy of thinking into a whole new gear! The Comprehension Toolkit follows a workshop approach and gives "guided lessons" step by step. It does focus on both non-fiction and fiction. The "kit" contains some video examples along with the sets of books. That in itself, was following the same path that I had begun when I moved to teaching reading and writing through a workshop approach. But what really hit me full force was the scene of more of a child centered classroom. I feel rather guilty when I think of what I considered a child-centered classroom and what I was seeing and hearing. I admit that I am a structured person in regard to order in the classroom--you know there has to be a basket assigned for every little thing. Was this part of my personality witholding from my students a real feeling that they are "part of the whole" and not a part of ME? With those thoughts mulling around in this brain of mine, I have come to the conclusion that: Yes, there are some ways that I can set up the classroom and yet still fulfil my organization dreams Yes, my approach to workshop can become more exciting, more engaging, less structured Yes, the conversations between students and also within small groups, large groups, will take on a different feel. Now comes the difficult part--I need to set up the physical classroom before the students step foot into their new "clubhouse". (Taken from Bookmuncher's blog--Once Upon a Reading Workshop). That is no different from setting up a classroom before every year. But this year--it needs to feel different to ME! It needs to invite the children into a wonderful place. I read today (here on PT) of a new banner--Reading Takes Me Places--or something close to that. When the kids step into their new "world" for the next 180 days I want them to feel that yes--Reading takes me many places. This trip will be the best ever. Today and for the next 27 days I will be planning, contemplating, envisioning this trip. 6 Comments
	A new beginning by: liketeaching1, 12-09-2008 School begins in a few short weeks. Always the anticipation of what the new faces will show, the personalities that will grow, and the togetherness that will be shared as I become the leader, the teacher, the mentor. I am not a "new" teacher--having spent 30 years leading, teaching, and mentoring. Yet, each year is a new beginning. A chance to "love what I have while I have it". The change in philosophy for me began in the summer of 2001. A low time in my life for personal reasons. A summer class with a wonderful "teacher" from a neighboring state. The introduction to Debbie Miller and Reading With Meaning. With this introduction came a feeling that teaching had taken on a new beginning. It wasn't the same year after year after year. A chance to begin a new excitement in the classroom. Really finding the excitement of sharing books and literature with my children. Then I really understood the thought from Because of Winn Dixie--you gotta love what you got while you have it. As I begin a new chapter for me--the blogging world--I hope to reflect on my professional growth and change this year. My goal of teaching reading, writing, and math in a workshop approach. The traditional classroom with desks lined up in a row and students completing worksheets quietly at their desks is a figment of the past century. My children are readers, thinkers, talkers, and feelers! To a new school year--2008-2009! 10 Comments

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