Week 3?

Is it already the third week of school?  My, how time flies!

I can already say that this year is definitely turning over a new leaf for me.  Coming upon my FIFTH year in elementary, I am finally feeling more secure and less like a "new and young" teacher.  I spent my summer voraciously reading teaching books, reviewing my portfolio from college, trying to redefine who I want to be as a teacher.

It's easy to become jaded - to feel so buried by state accountability, standardized testing, new programs, and you just give up.  You decide to give more worksheets, you decide that there is no time for creativity...no time to give your students rich experiences in the classroom.  

This year, I have found passion.  I have found a zeal for what I do, and I feel it every day in my classroom.  I enjoy planning out my lessons now.  I can't wait to cover certain topics, I can't wait to dive in headfirst and get these kiddos writing.  But the kids haven't changed... I have.  I have realized that as teachers, our calling is monumental.  We cannot allow students the excuse of "I don't like _____________," or I can't think of anything."  We must teach them that from the moment they walk in the door, they are transformed into someone who does hard things.

This week - what's my plan?

We will be discussing ways to map out ideas by completing an emotion box in our writing journals.

We will be completing a "quick write" and beginning our first personal narrative.

We will dive into building great sentences, first focusing on subject/predicate, then moving into 4 types of sentences.

We will continue reading The Indian in the Cupboard and work on some characterization maps. :)

Stay tuned, folks.  Pictures/Lessons coming soon. <3

First Week Re-Cap

What an inspiring first week of school. (photos to come)

This year, I have the opportunity to teach ONE subject instead of TWO.  I was thrilled when my principal informed me I'd be teaching the Reading/Writing subject ONLY, without History!  While I enjoyed teaching Texas History last year, I have always favored the English Language Arts section.

I spent summer going through several different workshops which set my heart and mind ablaze with passion for teaching kids to LOVE to read and write.  I also read a book called The Book Whisperer (Donalyn Miller) which helped me to realize how much our society is crippling kids by not teaching them to read for enjoyment.

This week, I welcomed three classes of sweet fourth graders into my room, thrilled to have an opportunity to inspire them with what I have learned this summer.

We began our week practicing class procedures and getting used to the rigor and pace of an older grade.  In my elementary school, fourth grade is the oldest group, so our kiddos have QUITE an adjustment this  year as leaders on our campus.  We are rolling out a school wide PBIS behavior system, and it's been thrilling to watch its success so far.

On Wednesday, we began switching classes and discussing academics.  We create a "Why do we write?" anchor chart, as well as a "Good Reading Looks like: Feels like" T-chart.  We began to discuss how reading affects our writing, and began our first read aloud of the year with one of my favorites, The Indian in the Cupboard. My students are HOOKED!

Thursday and Friday were spent discussing elements of fiction in reading, and how to brainstorm in writing.  I introduced the "seed idea" from Lucy Calkins' units of study, and we created a "heart map" for inside the writing journal.  Inside their heart maps, my students were to write/illustrate things/people that are important to them.  Then we co-created an anchor chart in our writing journals about where writers find ideas.

Next week, we will begin to discuss how to craft a personal narrative essay.  We will start with how to use a heart map/jot page for planning, and then go into the actual craft of the essay.

In reading, we will be creating our interactive journals for reading skills and will begin with elements of fiction.  This will probably include a flip book to be glued into their new journals.

Watching my students feel successful this week and feel that they CAN become readers and writers was really inspiring.  I can't wait to watch them grow!

Enjoying a looooong weekend,
Mrs. C

Meet the Teacher...(Classroom Semi-Reveal)

Being a teacher is the GREATEST job ever!  I am so thankful for an occupation that gives me joy, where I feel that I can touch the world in my own way.

Today was Meet the Teacher at my campus.  Unfortunately, today was also the day I turned my alarm clock off and kept sleeping... which meant arriving 15 minutes late!  Nothing like waking up in a panic on the WRONG day. :)  Thankfully, my coworkers were very sweet to me and gave me some time to calm down before hitting the ground running.

It has been a long day of scrambling around, stapling, cutting out, laminating, copying, printing, designing... then hiding, packing away until after Meet the Teacher (my cabinets are EMBARASSING, but tomorrow's another day!)

All 20 of my students came to Meet the Teacher, and I am so excited to watch them grow as readers and writers this year.  They really do change SO much from beginning to end.

Here are some photos of what parents saw when arriving in my room today...

 Reading Strategy Wall/Reader's Workshop assignments - I plan to have this wall changing out throughout the year to accomodate our learning.

 Our Reading corner...please excuse the HIDEOUS yellow bookshelf.  It will be painted NEXT summer - unfortunately, I ran out of time this summer!

 Students' supply cubbies/student work station, my desk and shelves for textbooks

 News of the day board - calendar, schedule, homework club, job chart.  Our "one stop shop" for important information.

 CAFE reading strategy posters, Reading workshop station organizer

 File boxes, inspiration posters, shelving for book nook.

 Desk arrangement - I changed the layout of my room COMPLETELY this year.  I wanted the "front" of my room to be in a different place, and I feel that it makes my room feel SO much bigger!

 Reading Strategy/Comprehension Level Rainbow, Daily News, supply buckets.

Word Collector/Embarassingly messy cabinets. :)

This group of kids is one I'm looking forward to.  After meeting them and their parents, I cannot wait for Monday!  Hoping for a successful, useful work day tomorrow in preparation for our first weeks back!

Aching feet and Tired Brain,

Mrs. C

Back to School, Back to School...

Back to school??  What?

... is it really ALREADY August?  Summer was wonderful and some great times were had... but it will be so nice to get back into a routine!

So many exciting things happening this week as I get my ROOM ready!  I love classroom prep and organizing.  It is my favorite thing to do after a nice, long, restful summer.

This year, I'm going with a neutral, calming color pallet.  I went with powder blue, black, and white.  I mostly mixed black and white prints with a powder blue background.  I think it looks great, and I'm REALLY happy with how it's progressing!  Here are some projects I've been working on -

Inspiration wall/turn-in baskets

Book Recommendations/Anchor Charts

Word Wall

Inspiration posters

Curtains/WRITE letters

I still have a lot planned - I'm looking to create a storage system for my students' writing supplies.  I also would like to figure out a good configuration for student desks.  I got rid of a LOT of furniture at the end of last year to have more space for my students to move around.  I am hoping that this will lead to better space for book clubs and group projects.

I will post more in the coming days as my projects come together.

Hot glue, markers, and printed paper,

Mrs. C.

Catch 22

How do you make students care and take ownership of their success in the classroom?

My biggest struggle is that my students do not CARE.

Several of them do not want to do better, do not TRY to do better, and thus tend to slack off/get an attitude.  I have tried rewards/bribery, and they still just don't care.

It breaks my heart, because I want so badly for them to be successful.


Expo smudges on my hands,
Mrs. C.

Summer School, Week One Down

Okay, I can honestly say that summer school has been a HUGE learning process for me.  I went in apprehensive and nervous, and am leaving thankful that I teach elementary school age kids.

I am currently working with 5th grade students who all struggle with reading.  Many of them struggle as a result of poor behavior choices, not necessarily because they are poor readers.  It has been interesting to learn some new ways to keep the students engaged and active, especially considering that they are at school in the summer.  Many of them have reminded me multiple times that they DO NOT want to be there.

I am not typically supportive of "fun" as a learning strategy.  I believe that structure is crucial, and fun can happen as a result of structured learning time.  I want my students to be successful, but the challenge is THINKING.

In a society where many things are given to us immediately, with the push of a button, we are losing our ability to think.

I am challenging these kiddos.  I am pushing them, and many of them are NOT happy with me - but they are learning!  Today, one of my strugglers recieved his first grade of 100 in what he called a "LONG time."  Those little victories push me to keep pushing them to be the best they can be.

We are using practice passages, as well as reading a novel aloud.

Each day, we complete a different activity with that day's passage.

Monday, we worked in groups of four to read/answer the questions with a passage.  Students were required to discuss their answers and challenge each other, and I monitored their discussions.

Today, we worked independently, then broke into partners to compare answers and discuss.

Tomorrow, we will have "Reading Court."  Each student will be assigned a question, and will present to the class evidence/proof for their answer.  The class will decide if the student is correct/incorrect.

Thursday, we will play word building/vocabulary games, catch up on our read aloud, and work with some main idea/detail tables.

Friday, we will take a practice test based on the week's skills.

I am hearing such wonderful discussions and academic language, and I hope for many more "lightbulb moments" as our final week together continues. 

With a Bouquet of Freshly Sharpened Pencils,
Mrs. C

Survival Mode

Here it goes, my first try at blogging.

I read so many teaching blogs EVERY week, and I decided that I wanted to try it out. We'll see how this goes.

Let's start by reflecting on this past school year:

I survived.

I can walk away from this year, my first year teaching fourth grade, with my head held high.

Honestly, my dream has always been to teach this grade, as my student teaching experience under an incredible mentor taught me so much. I left a position that I really loved last year, and took a giant leap of faith. Terrified, I went in to the first day of the 2012-2013 school year with the belief that if one student walked out of my classroom more confident than before, I would have done my job correctly.

This brings me to Thursday. The last day, and my moment to reflect on all I have learned this year.

1. Some days I will go home and feel like a failure as a teacher, but I always get another day to redeem that.

2. A silent classroom does not mean a productive classroom.

3. Support makes all the difference.

4. Teaching students to value what they create can truly change the way they see the world.

5. I do not have to "dislike" a misbehaving student. Some of my wildest students this year were students I enjoyed the most, because I learned to appreciate them as people.

I have so many more thoughts and ideas pouring through my head, but I know I can step away from my first year teaching fourth grade feeling inspired. I feel stronger than before. I feel secure in what I do, and in my ability to bring about student success.

Starting Monday, I will be teaching summer school for three weeks. I will be reflecting/sharing what I learn through the experience.

The Survivor Lady,
Mrs. C