tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10160903166051467342024-03-06T21:33:49.175-06:00Confessions of a (former) Fourth Grade TeacherReflections of teaching on the fly...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-35303851108350940672016-07-10T21:26:00.002-05:002016-07-10T21:26:37.676-05:00Back into the swing of things...Well, it has quite a while since I have posted to this blog. <i>Confessions</i> has been the last thing on my mind...such is life.<br />
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My summer is now over. I had a wonderful, uneventful June, with most days spent watching TV and lounging around the house in my PJs...now THAT'S the life, isn't it??? Tomorrow I start presenting at a writing workshop for my district. Three weeks of it. <br />
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I have just returned home from a fabulous conference by Solution Tree on the PLC process. While I learned a lot, I found some of the pull-out sessions exceptional. As a matter of fact, one particular presenter really impacted me. <br />
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I've always thought that teaching children was my ultimate goal in life. I love teaching. I'm passionate about it. As a CIS, I have enjoyed working with students and working with teachers to help them with their pedagogy. But I now feel I am meant for something bigger...more profound...more impactful. All of those adjectives describe teachers and teaching. But for me, personally, it means doing something much, much more with my life.<br />
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It is rare that I come home from a meeting or conference and still feel moved days later. That's how I feel right now. I absolutely cannot think about anything else.<br />
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Dr. Anthony Muhammad changed my thinking and my life goals in so many ways. To him, I am just a face in the crowd. But to me, he is an inspiration for my loftier (and scarier) personal goals. He presented two pull-out sessions about school culture and the achievement gap. I plan to read his books that I purchased at the conference. As I become more knowledgeable, I will share this process with the empty blogosphere, in hopes that one person may be a support for me on my journey.<br />
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To begin...I cannot believe the teacher and mentor I once was. PLC is the hot term floating through the school system right now. But its purpose is real. It's all about learning to teach better. My reponsibilities as a CIS require me to share my ideas and knowledge with my campus. I love doing that. But as a classroom teacher, I must sadly admit, I was horrible at it. Sometimes, great last-minute ideas would pop into my head. Yet, I never shared them with my teammates. I just shut my door and did my thing. What a b$%^&!! I guess, if I'm honest with myself, I felt that if I shared my idea, a teammate might take it and do it better than I had originally planned. That would have been a slap in the face!<br />
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What I failed to realize is that sharing and contributing to my team would have improved it as a whole. Teaching isn't supposed to be a competition. We are tasked with teaching all children to the best of our knowledge. By keeping ideas to myself, I not only stiffled the abilities of my team members, I closed myself off to the ideas of others; good ideas that would have made me a better teacher and person.<br />
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Why do we do this???? Why don't we embrace each other, learn from each other, practice and perfect the art of teaching with each other??? Why do we hold back and think that we are the only ones with the answers?? The truth is, whatever worked for me one year did not always turn out well the next. But I stuck to my routines. What a diservice I did to my students and myself.<br />
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We have to open our minds to what we, as teachers, have to offer each other!! Our world is constantly changing! If we work with each other, share with each other, confide about students with each other, we inspire an entire grade level of students, not just the 40 we may be responsible for.<br />
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Something Dr. Muhammad said really struck me. I'm paraphrasing here; I didn't write down what he said word-for-word. I was just so enthralled by my awakening! He said, essentially, that if something I teach isn't mastered by my class the first time, why would I insist on reteaching the same material????? Why would I not go to a colleague who did it better and ask for their help? If it didn't work the first time, why in the world would it work the second time???? What...did I not teach it to the best of my ability the first time? OF COURSE NOT!!! I did the best I could. So I want...no, I NEED the help of my teammates to reteach. Not one single teacher I know does a crappy lesson on purpose the first time!!!! NOT ONE!!! We all do our best the first lesson. So if there isn't mastery, I NEED TO DO SOMETHING NEW!! And who better to learn from than the teacher that had mastery?????<br />
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Wake up teachers!!!! We cannot do it alone and every single child we teach deserves our best, and when our best isn't good enough, they deserve our collective best!!!!<br />
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So, I feel my journey may take the path of consulting. I don't know what it will look like, but it will be about ideas that work, that impact students and teachers, and I hope one day to inspire someone to learn and do more.<br />
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Of course, for now, I need my paycheck! LOL! But reinvigorating this blog may just help me move along my purpose!!<br />
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<i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">“I’m not out to compete with any one, I’m here to complete, by encouraging and inspiring souls through a text at a time.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4563534.Bernard_Kelvin_Clive" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;">Bernard Kelvin Clive</a></b></i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;">Please Google Dr. Anthony Muhammad to find out more about his messages. He also has a website at newfrontier21.com.</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;">*** I am in no way associated with Dr. Muhammad and I get no payment for suggesting him. I was just inspired by his presentations!</span></span><br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="https://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-30980332851386678112015-02-24T21:14:00.000-06:002015-02-24T21:16:15.835-06:00And Adding to that Theory...Good evening! <br />
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It's almost Spring Break, and I am definitely happy!! However....it's the AFTER Spring Break that concerns me!! A week after we return, it STAAR time in Texas. And that means our 5th graders need to be reading to read!!<br />
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I just wanted to add a little information to the Notebook post. I am a HUGE notebook fan (in case you haven't noticed). Last post, I shared information about anchor charts I have students put into their notebooks. But, I wanted to show some other things we do in our notebooks.<br />
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My 5th grade groups are working on novel studies. I don't use worksheets or prepackaged units. Since we are so close to STAAR, I spiral through all of the TEKS students need to know. But everything we do is OPEN-ENDED. Students have to give me their answer, why they wrote the answer they did, and what part of the story told clued them into the correct answer. Now, it's really difficult to come up with new questions on a daily basis, but one of the best things you can do is use the LANGUAGE OF THE TEK to create your questions. If you teach outside of Texas, use the language of your standard.<br />
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We are lucky on our campus. Our district provides us with some question stems, we've pulled stems from released STAAR exams, and we use stems provided by Margaret Kilgo of Kilgo Consulting. We've attended her Math and Reading sessions, and found her information and work invaluable. Stems are broken down by TEK, and that makes it so much easier.<br />
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Here is how I use the resources in my groups:<br />
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As you can see, I ask the question and students have to respond with an answer, why, and where it came from. (This is great idea that our district coordinator came up with.) I have two different groups. One group is reading <i>James and the Giant Peach</i> by Roald Dahl. The other group is reading <i>The Thing About Georgie</i> by Lisa Graff. (I highly recommend both!)<br />
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<span id="goog_1863125936"></span><span id="goog_1863125937"></span>For assessment, students USE THEIR NOTEBOOKS to answer questions:<br />
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Another option is to have students answer multiple choice questions using their open-ended responses.<br />
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And I'm outta here...<br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-35100536994381839732015-02-18T19:04:00.000-06:002015-02-18T19:07:32.662-06:00Expanding the Notebook Theory Happy Wednesday! I can't tell you how happy I am that the week is almost over! This time of the year, every day is a busy, stressful day, and they can't go by fast enough!<br />
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I wanted to continue with a little example on my challenging post from yesterday. I asked you to think about how interactive notebooks are used in the classroom, especially in elementary school. I encouraged you to allow students to use their notebooks not only for instruction, but for assessment. So I thought I might give you a little hint of an example..<br />
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I don't have my own classroom anymore, but I do tutor students and teach summer school (on occasion). I absolutely REFUSE to give Pearson any of my hard-earned money for "reteach" or "test prep" materials, so I use only interactive notebooks and novels or grade level readers. I usually do initial instruction that includes some type of interactive notebook anchor chart or activity. Here are a few examples of something we have done in our notebooks...<br />
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These are anchor charts for their interactive notebooks that were actually used in my 4th grade summer school class. Each chart gives the elements of fiction, non-fiction, and literary non-fiction. When we worked on this, we also discussed and listed the types of questions that might be asked on STAAR, or the specific TEKS that might be covered. <br />
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I generally don't give my students any type of test. If I were in the classroom, I may quiz students over the types of fiction, non-fiction, and literary non-fiction. I could quiz them over the types of questions that could be asked...the possibilities are endless!!! BUT....I would let them use their notebooks!!!!!!! Totally open-ended questions that they could answer using their notebooks! I can guarantee you, especially in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade that your entire class or block would NOT make 100%! The way I see it, these charts are building blocks for future knowledge. Students have to understand these elements before they can even begin to fully comprehend. <br />
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I can also promise you that students who use them frequently will eventually stop using them because they now KNOW the information, especially after repeated use. That's our goal, isn't it????<br />
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Ok, ok....I'll relax....<br />
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I just get too dang passionate about using the things we work so hard on!!!!!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"I don't sugar coat crap; I'm not Willy Wonka."---??</span><br />
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teehee teehee<br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-72120867935075741102015-02-17T22:21:00.001-06:002015-02-17T22:21:43.806-06:00Stepping Out of the Teacher Box Part 1Good evening, dear void!<br />
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One of the great things about my job is that I get to work with some very creative people. I also get to work with teachers that are willing to think beyond "What I've always done" and try something different. Believe it or not, stepping outside of the teacher box we put ourselves in is very hard to do. As educators, we tend to look for what works, or what we think works, and stick with it until we are either forced by administrators to change. decide to quit, or retire. Yes, it's that drastic. Yet there's not a teacher out there who would willing admit that they are inflexible. We all truly believe we are are open to try new things, buuutttt....(insert logical reason why a new idea won't work).<br />
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Hey, I'm just as guilty. But my position gives me the opportunity to look from the outside in. And I must say that my point of view has changed over the last few years. There is so much I know now that I wish I would've known when I was in the classroom!<br />
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If I had to go back to the classroom, I would step out of my teacher box when it came to utilizing interactive notebooks. Now, I don't mean just using them in classroom instruction, but using them as tools to teach students how to look up information, find evidence, and go back and investigate previously written text. <br />
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I am a huge interactive notebook fan. I think they are a fantastic tool for the classroom. I use them in small groups. However, I know many teachers that spend a lot of time copying materials for students to glue into their notebooks. (Not my idea of best practices, but that's a post for another day.) Even more teachers spend a great deal of instructional time having students create foldables for their notebooks, or enter information creatively into their notebooks. But at the elementary level, what is the true purpose???? We don't send these notebooks home for students to "study". They are not developmentally ready for that. What I typically see is that students enter new information in their notebooks, but never use those notebooks with purpose.<br />
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So here's a thought...an idea...a time to try out some of that flexibility...<br />
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When you are spiraling through previously taught material, REQUIRE students to use their notebooks DURING ASSESSMENT!!!! :::GASP::: I know what you're thinking. But I have not lost my mind. <br />
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Think about it...when you learn something new, whether it be a professional development system or an electronic grade book, you look at the instructions many, many, many times. The more you use the instructions, the more things you remember. So you reread, practice, reread, practice...until you finally understand exactly what you need to do. It's the same with students and interactive notebooks! If they use the notebooks to complete assignments, answer test questions, or even as a guide to help them figure out how to get an answer to a test question, they are rereading and practicing over and over again. They will eventually learn exactly what they need to do! It's an open book test.<br />
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You'll teach them to:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Look back into text for information.</li>
<li>Locate key facts.</li>
<li>Reread for understanding.</li>
<li>Compare what's written to what's asked.</li>
</ul>
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All of these things are precursors to finding text evidence, proving information, gathering information, and clarifying for understanding.</div>
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Try it...I dare you! Give a test over something you've taught and make them use their interactive notebook to answer questions.<br />
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You just might be surprised.<br />
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<b>"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.--Andre Gide</b><br />
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Always.<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-79736156786239557632015-02-16T17:33:00.000-06:002015-02-16T17:33:10.121-06:00Back to Bloggin'As I look through my blog, I've come to realize how much I have neglected it. So many times, LIFE has gotten in the way. <br />
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Since my last post in August of 2013, I have become a grandmother to the beautiful Olivia. My husband and I moved from our home of 20 years, the place where I raised my children, to a brand new home. I graduated with my Master's Degree in Teacher Leadership. We lost my beloved father-in-law to cancer.<br />
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Yep...life got in the way.<br />
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But life has also stayed the same. I'm still a "former" fourth grade teacher. I am still an instructional specialist at the same school. And I still love teaching.<br />
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However, I think I may tinker with this blog just a bit. I may just send more than ideas into the great educational internet void. I might journal my thinking. Maybe I'll rant! Or maybe, I'll just make a list.<br />
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That's what I've missed about blogging the most...sharing what I want when I feel it.<br />
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<img alt=" ......Whaaaaaat? minion" height="150" src="http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/82/821541c07cb14d0a45fe0a4efe3759b68467d1d0bb971ea4442e0d7dd26940a1.jpg" width="200" /><br />
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So...I'm back! I promise there's more to come!<br />
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Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-9630464830580811292013-08-31T16:32:00.002-05:002013-08-31T16:32:26.524-05:00My Two Cents on Pinterest and Twitter...It has been one heck of a week! Returning to school from summer break always seems packed with "have to dos"!! I'm entering my second year as a campus instructional specialist and I still feel like a newbie and that it's just a matter of time before everyone finds out I'm in the wrong position!! But, I love working with teachers and helping them find out what works (and doesn't!) in their classrooms.<br />
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Now on to the reason for my post...<br />
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Pinterest and Twitter have been invaluable resources for so many educators. Where else can you find exactly what you're looking for, in all content areas, without having to type 15,000 entries into Google search?? But many teachers, I feel, fail to use these social media sites effectively. You may have a classroom loaded with Pinterest ideas, but do you really know why? <br />
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I encourage all of you to take the time to investigate the ideas you gleam from Pinterest. Don't just pin the idea without clicking on the link. You may be surprised at what you find...and not in a negative way! Links take you to the website the idea was originally pinned from. Don't just look into the clicked idea, peruse the website. Many of the ideas I initially pinned led me to new, exciting ideas on the same website! It's also interesting to see why a teacher had an idea and how they actually use it in their classroom. I'm always leery of using ideas that a teacher created, but has not used. What is the purpose? What are the results? What were the kinks that had to be worked out? If they don't know, then why would I try it??? It's great to have a cute classroom with 100 anchor charts, but did you use them the way they were intended? What is the relevance in your classroom?<br />
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If you don't have a Twitter account, I highly suggest you get one. Almost every educational institution, including local school districts, regions, colleges, and government educational agencies, have a Twitter account. The great thing about Twitter is you don't HAVE to tweet to use it! I follow so many blogs and educational accounts. There always seems to be a link to follow full of ideas that I would have never seen on Pinterest or Facebook!!! There may not be cute posters or colorful baskets to label, but Twitter keeps me updated on every day education news that I never see on a news website! I can follow whomever I want. It may be a classroom teacher tweeting about a new activity they've tried in their classroom. Or a blogger with no cute pictures to pin. But Twitter is happening NOW. If a teacher posts to their Twitter, they are sharing an idea they JUST used!!! I don't click on a five year old idea that is no longer relevant. If an educational institution tweets, it's about what's happening NOW in education; not what happened in 1972!!!! Love, love, love it!!!!!<br />
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On to one of my many favorite Pinterest pins:::: <br />
<a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/a3/e9/bb/a3e9bb7df0d018cd6a486e7af64c1b73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="every time." border="0" class="pinImage" height="313" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/a3/e9/bb/a3e9bb7df0d018cd6a486e7af64c1b73.jpg" style="height: 395px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 40px 0px; width: 403px;" width="320" /></a><br />
Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-16108573282912259112013-03-03T21:26:00.003-06:002013-03-03T21:28:11.143-06:00Just sharing...As an instructional specialist on my campus, I have the opportunity to write "creative" lesson plans for our teachers and students. I don't do this for their classrooms; I do it for our Saturday Academy. This is a special instructional time, where selected students get to learn skills they are struggling with in a "new" way. I get to create games, and write unique plans. Then, I have to gather the materials. That's the hard part...I have to make foldables or game pieces for 7 classes of 10 students. Time con-su-ming...and time is not what I have a lot of at the moment!!!<br />
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I wanted to share several foldables that our students have done. Our 5th grade students are working on inferring (yikes!!) and our 4th grade students are working on revising and editing. All are preparing for the first round of STAAR testing the first week in April.<br />
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Let's begin with a foldable and an anchor chart for FANBOYS. These are the conjunctions students need to expand sentences. They include For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56sivb9cSHZmmI7wAPlv1gL0oBwfsy1rTyisf-U4f0Nkwb8kxMjtJ47gzZZ7zCpM3gaOns0g3TheeR4rvI_in-8JtpaYQ0duCA-F_Cu4vUWLqL6PIlRbE_-VZJY5H1H2U2vUDDe3reCuQ/s1600/February+2013+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56sivb9cSHZmmI7wAPlv1gL0oBwfsy1rTyisf-U4f0Nkwb8kxMjtJ47gzZZ7zCpM3gaOns0g3TheeR4rvI_in-8JtpaYQ0duCA-F_Cu4vUWLqL6PIlRbE_-VZJY5H1H2U2vUDDe3reCuQ/s320/February+2013+003.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I did this activity with my small group first. They looovvveeeddd it!! It's something they go back and tell their homeroom teachers!! Wow!<br />
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They have also worked on subject/verb agreement. Here is a foldable we created: <br />
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Finally, here is the foldable we used for my 5th grade group to continue our work on inferring: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzIiq81q61wk45PyyBEENuD_zQUeim2sLbiZWOJ4902cxq7z79HU10WUqncZNzuQrRBgHSnKLtwusQOKSdcDPevS8THO8rgVyI21u1a1bRpw5H_VrakSoBnCWvkR861k5IUqC6QhK-HTF/s1600/February+2013+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzIiq81q61wk45PyyBEENuD_zQUeim2sLbiZWOJ4902cxq7z79HU10WUqncZNzuQrRBgHSnKLtwusQOKSdcDPevS8THO8rgVyI21u1a1bRpw5H_VrakSoBnCWvkR861k5IUqC6QhK-HTF/s320/February+2013+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I truly believe that using creative ways to reach students, which includes creating fun foldables, reinforces learning and helps students gain ownership over what they need to know. I love allowing students to use foldables to help them answer questions or create their own questions.<br />
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On a personal note, I am working on my Masters Degree in Teacher Leadership. I am currently working on Student Motivation and Achievement. Though I'm excellent at time management, I found myself, for the first time since I started in January, struggling to get motivated! HOW IRONIC! (Alanis Morrisette is playing in my head right now!) However, I completed my assignment 5 hours before it was due. So, at least I wasn't late. Hmph.<br />
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Here is a great quote from my the creator of my favorite cartoon characters, Calvin and Hobbes:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">"You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic"<span style="color: black;">--Bill Watterson</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">My. Point. Exactly.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Always,</span></span><br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-47136641045434960932013-02-17T15:06:00.001-06:002013-02-17T15:07:50.075-06:00A Lazy Sunday Review...What a beautiful southeast Texas Sunday! It makes me excited for spring...and Spring Break!!<br />
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I wanted to share with you an activity I did with my 5th grade Alternative Learning Time group. ALT groups, in our district, are used as reteach moments for students who are struggling or enrichment for students who are on the right track.<br />
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My lesson for my ALT group students involved reviewing and reteaching how to "infer". This is just such a difficult concept for students to grasp! It's also one of the things that we ALL do EVERY DAY...several times a day!! But when it is put in the context of education, children just don't "get it"!!!<br />
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With this group, I'm having to revisit the concrete before we can move on to the abstract, i.e. STAAR test question stems and practice materials.<br />
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Of course, I started with an anchor chart...because, well, I love them and it's so totally the way I teach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOn748Fu_MmxONvZ3a4VuvUyM3tFbgM5TkUmgiW5kJOo_t8ujazeEx_4jJkZAOhQI80yk3Shmf6-G6UiMOWO_hatQksoTgjPVDE642vfV0AqbWDgCZtBL1VEJNW8LbL-N5a2y6aM9XoXV/s1600/Feb+2013+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOn748Fu_MmxONvZ3a4VuvUyM3tFbgM5TkUmgiW5kJOo_t8ujazeEx_4jJkZAOhQI80yk3Shmf6-G6UiMOWO_hatQksoTgjPVDE642vfV0AqbWDgCZtBL1VEJNW8LbL-N5a2y6aM9XoXV/s320/Feb+2013+028.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
Sorry for the "sideways" pic! I now work out of a small office instead of a regular classroom. Once I add a table and students, there is no room to maneuver and take a full-frontal anchor chart pic!! Essentially, we talked about what infer means: what we already know PLUS what we learn. In fifth grade, students must infer through generalizing, predicting, and drawing conclusions. That was our concrete focus. Oddly enough, my group came up with an acronym for the chart: <span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">G</span></span>us <span style="background-color: yellow;">P</span>lays <span style="background-color: yellow;">D</span>odgeball! They know I love my fun<span style="font-size: small;">k</span>y ways of teaching!!<br />
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After much discussion and examples, I had an "on the fly" moment! Why not have students create a quick foldable with this big stack of extra paper strips I have??? "Why yes", I said to myself, "I think I will!!!" So, I grabbed an handful of paper strips, and some paper clips, and "Mobiliarbus" (Harry Potter, people!), here is what we created:<br />
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The closed strips list how we infer (know+learn), and each type of inference (generalize, predict, draw conclusions). When students opened each strip, they wrote the definition of the term:<br />
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know+learn=infer</div>
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generalize=we talk about the group</div>
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predict=an educated guess; what we <i>think</i> is going to happen</div>
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draw conclusions=come up with a new thought</div>
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The whole paper clip thing came up because I couldn't find my ball of twine, or any yarn, and I only have 45 minutes to work with these kiddos. I did, however, have a massive bag of old paper clips from the last 13 years!!!!!!! Some of them even had rubber bands <i>melted</i> to them! The kids had so many comments about "paper clip boogers" that I couldn't help but crack up!!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment."--Ralph Waldo Emerson</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My classroom life is nothing but one!!!! Happy Sunday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Always,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-31095965804261249452013-02-09T19:45:00.000-06:002013-02-17T15:08:04.768-06:00About Time!Well, well, well...I imagine most of you thought that I had fallen off of our great, round planet! It has been so long since I posted that I, myself, wondered if I could still do it!<br />
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So much has happened in the last three months...where to begin??? My personal and professional lives have been crazy busy! <br />
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Personally, I have had to watch my daughter graduate from college (with a degree in Elementary Education...yay!) and move off to Ft. Bragg, NC to be with her husband for the first time in their 2 years of marriage. My son has moved back home to attend college nearby...the nest is adjusting to his return. I adopted a puppy from the shelter, only to have it die from distemper one month later, on the day before Christmas Eve. I then decided to foster-to-adopt another puppy from the same shelter. That puppy ALSO has distemper, but she is flourishing, happy, and healthy. Of course, she requires lots of meds and nebulizer treatments. But, hey, she's ok! <br />
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Then, I got a wild hair to go back for my Masters in Teacher Leadership. Yes...really. I love learning and I am adjusting to re-entering school as a learner...but I didn't need anything "new" to do. Right now my course is over Understanding and Analyzing Data. Wow. But I love that stuff! Haha! <br />
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Professionally, I spent my first semester in my new position getting to know the new campus, my colleagues, and the routine. I had the opportunity to model lessons for teachers. I was lucky enough to create an academic vocabulary plan for our campus!!! I absolutely loved doing that! I used our TEKS, Bloom's taxonomy, and question stems to come up with words for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Our awesome teachers came up with definitions and quizzes on those words for their respective grade levels and off it went! Since my model was based on something junior high students in our district use, I can't share with others. But academic vocabulary is important...see what you can do for your campus! <br />
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Now, however, I get the chance to work with students again! I provide a small group setting for selected students. I am having the time of my life doing that! I feel like I'm back to what I do best...teaching! The best part is that I get to work with third, fourth, and fifth graders, instead of just fourth. I love it! I get the chance to introduce a skill (3rd graders), build a skill (4th graders), and perfect a skill (5th graders). Wow! As educators, seeing a skill from beginning to end, across grade levels, rarely happens.<br />
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I am also having to write lesson plans for our Saturday Academy. Teachers conduct tutoring on selected Saturdays for "bubble" kids. While they get paid for their time, they still have to volunteer to give up their day off for the good of our kiddos. It is definitely weird to have to write plans for educated people who know what they are doing. But I've been encouraged to write "out-of-the-box" plans. Now THAT is something I can do!!! I loved creating a game, called "SPUNO!", out of parts-of-speech. It's a combination of the parts-of-speech and the popular game, UNO! I look forward to hearing about it on Monday. If plans worked...woohoo! If not, well...at least I have a starting point. It can only get better.<br />
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One of the things that I seem to address in all three grade levels is context clues. Students seem to have major difficulty when it comes to finding the meaning of new words and words with multiple meanings. While teaching one particular group, I realized that they didn't know what "context clues" meant. So I created an anchor chart for that! (Of course!) I will post a picture soon, but suffice it to say, we made the connection between context clues and "in text hints". We connected to the tot show "Blues Clues". Even with 5th graders, I hit a three-pointer! Can you say "swish"??<br />
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I promise to get some anchor chart pics up ASAP. Thank you for sticking with me, or joining me, even though I was missing in action!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">“My blog is a collection of answers people don’t want to hear to questions they didn’t ask.”
</span><br /> ―
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4489284.Sebastyne_Young">Sebastyne Young</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Why, yes...I think that's what mine is!</span> </span><br />
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Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-61756027368569173942012-10-27T18:47:00.001-05:002013-02-17T15:08:48.987-06:00Why, yes! I will plan my life!!Today's post is about something completely unrelated to teaching...well, maybe not <b><i>completely</i></b>...<br />
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I am a datebook/planner dork! I live my life by my planner...everything I need to remember is written in there. Call it age, memory loss...I'm ok with that!! But my college-aged daughter is the same way! <br />
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Well, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to conduct a staff development on my campus. A couple of teachers came to the meeting with planners (date books, calendars...whatever you want to call them!) One teacher had a lesson planner; the other, a standard calendar/planner. They were personalized. They were so very cool...I had to get one for myself!! Since then, many of the teachers on my campus have purchased planners! I bought one for my daughter, Megan, as well!<br />
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When I came home from a "girls date" with Megan, my <a href="http://www.erincondren.com/store/" target="_blank">Erin Condren</a> order had arrived!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefEzCpf8cDyWhZn0Lh18fGPhsV3CRf0CbtVCX-efjjaUk2R6eGCvtszWKKAu7405iuU_s6yYgvVFCBn-XJ5KGx6sFx0rfcZlP0WkxxwCWbbzSY5DCQ1c2DULAHyP49_Y7mpaZ1jRt49eO/s1600/tammy+1+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefEzCpf8cDyWhZn0Lh18fGPhsV3CRf0CbtVCX-efjjaUk2R6eGCvtszWKKAu7405iuU_s6yYgvVFCBn-XJ5KGx6sFx0rfcZlP0WkxxwCWbbzSY5DCQ1c2DULAHyP49_Y7mpaZ1jRt49eO/s320/tammy+1+006.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my planner!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rh8yFzuHDhGYDvXQTfUXYWpWdNcZfrkC89d-F6Qw63vlE3Wl4nDYK3qgva_bNfg8w1gBgceSJsvATqeocTps0WYT7fy7rkhDlfONCzoUzxMp7VJZZiZdiz7MTd1jAmSAXDk3TP5wdBuL/s1600/tammy+1+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rh8yFzuHDhGYDvXQTfUXYWpWdNcZfrkC89d-F6Qw63vlE3Wl4nDYK3qgva_bNfg8w1gBgceSJsvATqeocTps0WYT7fy7rkhDlfONCzoUzxMp7VJZZiZdiz7MTd1jAmSAXDk3TP5wdBuL/s320/tammy+1+005.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Megan's!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b> You HAVE to check out these planners!!</b> They are sold by <a href="http://www.erincondren.com/store/" target="_blank">www.erincondren.com</a> !! <b><i>This company has every kind of planner you can imagine</i></b>...life planners, notebooks, lesson planners, notecards, etc. If you're organized, whatever you need can be found there!! The month tabs are laminated and everything is held together by a thick, sturdy metal spiral. I looovvvveeee the personalization part of it! You can add a photo to your choice, sticker photos, etc. This. Is. So. Fantastic.<br />
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I don't work for or get anything from this company. I am strictly a customer. But, sometimes, when you find an item that is so great, you just have to share with your followers! I have to admit, their prices are a little high, in my opinion. Especially on note cards, stationary, and the like. BUT, you could spend just as much on a store bought planner. It really comes down to what you want and what you are willing to spend on yourself! I am actually going to by a couple as Christmas gifts for family members. <br />
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The cool weather has hit Texas, so I am off to bundle up and watch a movie or two. Have a wonderful weekend!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking well is wise; planning well, wiser; but doing well is the wisest and best of all. -Persian Proverb</span></span><br />
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Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-4288364670541530512012-10-15T20:05:00.000-05:002013-02-17T15:09:29.365-06:00A Little Note about Writing... Hello, all!! It has been soooo long since I put up a new post on my blog! I've been so engrossed in learning about my new position, and trying to do it well, that I have neglected the usual things that give me joy! Updating this blog is one of them!<br />
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I am really growing into my new position as a Campus Instructional Specialist. It's been challenging...I now deal with grades 3-5, instead of just fourth, so I have had to become familiar and comfortable with the different curricula. The bonus side: I no longer have grades or papers to grade! My weekends are a lot less stressful because of it!! I get to see the ways different teachers do their thing and I've seen a lot of great lessons and ideas! The negative side: I miss working with students, every day and on a regular basis. That being said, I have had the chance to model lessons for a couple of teachers. The student interaction has been wonderful!<br />
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Well...enough about me!! On to my reason for posting!!<br />
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Writing is one of my favorite subjects! (Go figure!) It's always come easy to me...the grammar, the vocabulary, the structure... I love putting ideas on paper. I've always dreamed of being a writer...I even began a book, adding things over the last couple of years. (It's a work-in-progress, though. It will probably never see the light of day!) But it's fun and it's mine! Haha! Anyway, I also love teaching writing.<br />
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Our district curriculum focuses on using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Units-Study-Teaching-Writing-Grades/dp/B000Z3W596/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350346433&sr=8-3&keywords=units+of+study+for+teaching+writing+grades+3-5" target="_blank">Units of Study by Lucy Calkins</a> .(This link will take you to Amazon.) Lucy is the be-all, end-all writing guru. While I find her units difficult to follow, the ideas and methods used are solid. It's based on great ideas, if you can manage the fluff. But, that's just my lowly opinion.<br />
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I believe writing can be taught as a method. There are steps to writing, especially with beginning writers. When writing is taught methodically, students begin to pick up a pattern for composing a piece, whether it be a narrative, expository, how-to, etc. We all learned to do this, in some form or fashion, when we were in school! (Remember outlines?????)<br />
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I've had the chance to model narrative compositions for third graders (based on Lucy's units). The group I am working with began their planning page with a "storyboard". I love using the term; I told students how storyboards are used by the creators of their favorite movies!!! Despicable Me, Finding Nemo...all of those movies began with a storyboard!!<br />
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Students drew pictures in student-made boxes for a story that they wanted to tell. Then, out to the side of the box, they wrote about what the boxes were trying to show. The next day, students used a green pencil to add to the picture...then to the sentences. (See the pattern?? Picture..sentence...picture...sentence...) The green pencil idea came from the teacher I am working with...she had students use green to show that they are "growing" their composition!!! Neat, huh?<br />
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Since I don't have my own classroom this year, I made an "example" so you can get an idea of the pattern...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoAAOmltGi3gm5KkbHYAce-f7Ey9DPBIEmtP5m0Ew1NegGsZV9MzMcV0YSwZSoWmsE1xmdOa8WuymFNsYcLdYXXAA2E9zXcWSbT2sMZ3ueQ37GYnRlj0PW2HmJcbTfbBvTt0JwMPNZQ8X/s1600/Writing+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoAAOmltGi3gm5KkbHYAce-f7Ey9DPBIEmtP5m0Ew1NegGsZV9MzMcV0YSwZSoWmsE1xmdOa8WuymFNsYcLdYXXAA2E9zXcWSbT2sMZ3ueQ37GYnRlj0PW2HmJcbTfbBvTt0JwMPNZQ8X/s400/Writing+001.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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Tomorrow, we plan to put our "storyboard" onto paper <i><b>without</b></i> the pictures. We will edit/revise from that copy (sloppy copy, rough draft, ...). We will then make a final copy.<br />
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We are doing one step each day, so that students can work without pressure. My hope is that when they revisit narratives, this process will be part of their routine.<br />
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I promise (to myself) to get back on the blogging track! Oh...and back on the blog-hopping track, as well!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">What is written without effort is in generally read without pleasure.<br />
–Samuel Johnson</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Always,</span></span></span></span><br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-64513792287763362912012-08-15T07:59:00.000-05:002012-08-15T07:59:51.929-05:00Just Gotta Share...The word "love" is over-used in the following post. I did NOT use a thesaurus! Consider yourself warned! Ha Ha!<br />
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Ok...I have to admit...I am a staff development/workshop geek. Do they have a support group for that? Blasphemy, you say? I know, I know...we all dread the development days at the beginning of the school year, especially if we've been in the same district for years. I agree...things get really repetitive. But, I love the curriculum workshops. Sorry. I like getting a new scope and sequence; I like getting new ideas (that I sometimes forget the following day...but hey); and I absolutely love ordering books mentioned during a workshop from Amazon on my phone. Yes, I am indeed a geek. And since I'm blogging this year, I'm passing on some info to you!<br />
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As many of you know, my new position involves working with teachers and students in grades 3, 4, and 5. So, for the first time ever, I went to a workshop to hear 3rd grade ideas. It was a two day event that dealt with bridging the gap some students show when they move from a non-testing grade to a testing grade. (In Texas, students take the state test for the first time in 3rd grade.)<br />
<br />
Well...I loved this workshop primarily because we received two FREE professional books. Yes. Too. Cool. I love free anything or peppermints on the table! So imagine the JOY of getting an actual BOOK!!! Two of them!!! My Geekdar was off the charts! I just have to share the best one!<br />
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It is called <u>Independent Reading: Inside the Box </u>by Lisa Donohue. Here is a pic of the cover:<br />
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I love this book because it combines skills lessons <i><b>with</b></i> fiction and non-fiction ideas <i><b>with</b></i> higher level thinking <b><i>with</i></b> station ideas <i><b>with </b></i>the independent reading part of balanced literacy! Get. Out. Of. Town. Awesomeness!!!!! Here is just one picture of the many ideas shown in the book:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5HSnQMN5AMtOaGhvNmkOCdg7QgUHAq69pVK9IrVVO27K0DexjibnNVumKyNx1TDIUYTknf-zvzrk-uG5I6A5P9tw_a_g2nymW2O1cQ5K58PlGg1YvP1GbgkbpCssQTmBxuQaSI1gNNWO/s1600/end+of+summer+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5HSnQMN5AMtOaGhvNmkOCdg7QgUHAq69pVK9IrVVO27K0DexjibnNVumKyNx1TDIUYTknf-zvzrk-uG5I6A5P9tw_a_g2nymW2O1cQ5K58PlGg1YvP1GbgkbpCssQTmBxuQaSI1gNNWO/s320/end+of+summer+050.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The really cool thing about this is that I can use the ideas to create my two favorite things...anchor charts and foldables!! (If there was an Olympic medal in those areas I would sooooo win gold!) Part of our "activity" during the workshop was to show other teachers our interpretation of different sections of the book. I created examples of an anchor chart I might create based on visualization ideas from the book. I created two.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOabTgj4Gen3X34JofQBrqDZXLEEkTuCtGdfh_7H70usmJWRKXhpacqGXgTyjrcHLVWz7vtbOWsouyUgh0Md5mgV30__vRTSTxzomLrvcx5QX4NyxH-Ho6aYq5k9P6dYFEr06BwPTZkL2a/s1600/end+of+summer+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOabTgj4Gen3X34JofQBrqDZXLEEkTuCtGdfh_7H70usmJWRKXhpacqGXgTyjrcHLVWz7vtbOWsouyUgh0Md5mgV30__vRTSTxzomLrvcx5QX4NyxH-Ho6aYq5k9P6dYFEr06BwPTZkL2a/s320/end+of+summer+051.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fiction</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Non-fiction</td></tr>
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In the first one, I love that students learn visualizing is not just a "picture" in their head...we use all five senses to understand characters and events! Great chart for shared reading! The second one encourages students to draw a picture of what is being studied and label it. My sticky notes are ideas of different ways I could use this chart! I would draw a diagram ahead of time and prompt students to help me label as we read!<br />
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Students can use these ideas to then respond to text during independent reading! I just love it! This book can be ordered from <a href="http://www.qepbooks.com/">www.qepbooks.com</a>. I don't know if it's available on any other site...this address is on a sticker on the back of the book. I just know it's perfect for those looking for new ideas for anchor charts and text response.<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It can’t be done. 2) It
probably can be done, but it’s not worth doing. 3) I knew it was a good
idea all along!</i> --Arthur C. Clarke</span></div>
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0px none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-42132957725131620732012-08-13T20:32:00.000-05:002012-08-13T20:40:12.091-05:00I'm Baaacccckkkk....Wow! This summer has flown by!! My last post was on June 10. So much has changed for me in two short months. I really had nothing, idea-wise, to blog about. On top of that...ah, just read below... <br />
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I am no longer at 4th grade teacher. ::gasp:: It's hard to believe. I left my last day of class knowing that I would return to the same campus, same grade, same classroom. Oh my...how wrong I was! (Don't worry, blog land, it wasn't something negative). Want the story?? Well, here we go...<br />
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On June 20th, I received a phone call asking me to apply for a different position. I had been asked to do so several times since April. I always said no. However, the phone call I received happened on the date, 26 years later, of my dad's passing. He was killed in a car accident when I was 17. For some reason, I felt that the phone call was a "hint" from a higher power that I needed a change. Weird, hunh? I tend to believe, sometimes, in that fate/karma thing.<br />
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Anyhoo, I decided to apply for the position. I went on the interview and was given the job. I am now a Campus Instructional Specialist (CIS) for grades 3-5. It is basically a "peer facilitator" job. Same responsibilities; different title. Not only did I change my job title, I changed campuses as well. I am the proverbial fish-out-of-water. My support system at my old campus was extensive. I have to start from scratch at my new campus.<br />
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I have the opportunity to work with teachers now. At the minimum, I will support them in their classrooms with everything from finding materials, giving ideas, and disaggregating data. I also will tutor small groups when needed. (There are a lot more responsibilities...I just haven't digested them yet!)<br />
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It's a very exciting, yet terrifying time for me. I will miss having my own class and working with students on a daily basis. I will NOT miss grades, attendance, restroom breaks, etc. I will be working with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers, so I have a lot to learn about 3rd/5th grades. It was also difficult to go from a large classroom to a small office. Geez...I had no idea how much "stuff" I had <strike>hoarded</strike> accumulated over the last few years. I kept all of my books, but gave a lot of 4th grade things (including a huge box of unused boarder!) to one of my daughter's friends who just graduated and had her first teaching job in 4th grade. Any primary stuff I had was boxed up for my daughter to use after she graduates in December. And I threw A LOT of stuff away! ::tears:: But, if I go back to the classroom one day, I'll have an excuse to get all new stuff!!! Yay!!<br />
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It's intimidating because helping the adults will be my focus. I'm confident...I know my stuff when it comes to curriculum. I think I have a lot of great ideas and enough experience to confidently share those ideas. But grown-ups can be grown-ups, if you get my drift. I plan to work really hard on my colleague relationships.<br />
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I've stepped out on a limb...the hardest part is leaving a campus I loved, and people I loved, for the unknown. But greatness has never been achieved by those who don't take risks. And, boy, I am sure not a risk taker!!!!!!<br />
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I plan to keep my blog name for a while. I still feel like a 4th grade teacher at heart. I will continue to post ideas for foldables, activities, and anchor charts. My first plan of action is to create a binder with all of my previous anchor charts and have it available to any teachers on my campus that may need an idea or two. I also plan to add to it throughout the year, based on ideas I may get from other teachers. Anchor charts and foldables can be used for 3-5...I'll simply adjust them to match the TEKS for a particular grade level. So keep up with my blog...new things will come!<br />
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Please keep me in your prayers. I plan to do my best, use my best, and give my best on this new chapter. And hopefully, come out a better person for it.<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"You can't build a reputation on what you're <i><b>going</b></i> to do."--Henry Ford</span></div>
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-68192505149501849672012-05-28T17:24:00.000-05:002012-05-28T17:24:12.996-05:00The Final Stretch...Whew!! What a busy, busy time! We have 5 1/2 more student days before summer break! And, boy, do my quarters know it!!<br />
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I can't speak for everyone, but this is going to be the busiest time yet! I absolutely dread all of the "housekeeping" items that need to be taken care of. I know it's important and I know it needs to be done. But that doesn't make it fun! Wrapping up a whole year in the last couple of weeks is crazy! But we all have to deal with it and I always get it done in the end!! I always feel like I am forgetting something...and sometimes, I do!<br />
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Amongst the award days, I get to participate in the school play! I am "Mighty Science Mind". Several teachers get to sing and give lines and I think that the students are going to love it! I'm going to borrow a mad scientist wig from my mother (the real science teacher) and I have a cape and mask! Woo Hoo!! In the meantime, I need to print my awards, keep order in my class, finalize report cards, clean up my room, ... the list goes on and on! All while maintaining order!! But we all go through it, some even more than others!<br />
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Last week, we continued reading <u>The Hunger Games</u>. We will finish the book before the end of the year and my kids are excited. Another activity that I had them do was make a comic-type strip for their favorite part of the story. I downloaded the strip from TPT during Teacher Appreciation Week, but decided to use it a different way.<br />
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I like the idea and my quarters enjoyed it! That's what it's all about!!<br />
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I posted the quote below ONLY because I think it is hilarious!!!! It also fits my post, as I feel like one of those teachers right now because of the overwhelming amount I need to do!!!! <br />
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="huge">"I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers."--Woody Allen</span></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="huge"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Always,</span></span></span></span><br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-5742571365929632262012-05-22T18:39:00.000-05:002012-05-22T18:39:16.750-05:00The Countdown Is ON!Nine. More. Days. For the first time ever...I can't wait!! We only have students for nine more days. Then one teacher workday and I am outta there for the summer!!<br />
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I will miss this group of quarters...overall, they are a hard-working, well-behaved group. There have definitely been challenges, but there always will be. <br />
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Our challenge for the last two weeks has been BEHAVIOR. They are not "bad" by any means. But they know school is almost out and they just lllooovvveee to talk. They talk about each other. They talk about next year. They talk about this year. They talk about themselves. They talk about mud. They talk about carpet...you name it; they talk about it!!!!! And this is all done <i>WHILE I'M TALKING</i>!!! C'mon...<br />
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In an attempt to keep them very busy, I have dragged out our persuasive writing. I have also dragged out a character trait activity about characters from <u>The Hunger Games</u>. (See my last post.) Well, today most of my quarters finished the group activity and I am most impressed!! Their job was to draw and color their impression of the character they were assigned. They then had to work in teams to list all of the character traits that apply to that character so far (we haven't finished reading yet...). Below are pictures of Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta. (The Rue and Cinna groups aren't done yet!)<br />
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Each group is going to present their posters next Tuesday. I'm going to ask them "interview" type questions and make them "prove" why a particular trait applies to their character.<br />
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On a side note, one of my students completed a cartoon-like drawing based on some of his interpretations/feelings on the novel. <br />
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He did this completely on his own...it was not an assignment. THIS is why I went down this road with the novel. THIS is learning. It's his interpretation with what we have read. It's not the movie; it's not the gore; it's not my idea. It's the imagination of a fourth grader and the result of being immersed in a story for the sake of the story. And...he is just an "average" student! He is not GATE/GT, etc. THAT is what teaching is all about, my friends!!<br />
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Here is a quote (in honor of the end of the year) that made me feel normal:<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already."--Dave Barry</span></span><br />
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Always,<br />
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<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0pt none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-12928963363394442132012-05-14T20:21:00.001-05:002012-05-14T20:22:02.561-05:00Voting Starts Today!!Voting has opened today for Most Fascinating Blog; Elementary Teacher 2012!! Please be sure and vote for my blog using the button on the top left-hand side!<br />
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Moving on...<br />
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The end of school is getting closer and the kids are hyped up!! It's hard coming up with things for them to do!! I tell ya...talking, complaining, playing, and tattling are at an all time high! But, I love this group of quarters! They aren't perfect and I've been disappointed in how little I've seemed to help them...but they are good kids who really want to do well. I'm lucky to have been their teacher!<br />
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I find myself looking back on the year and wondering what I could've done differently that may have changed their results on TELPAS. It's sad that I feel that way because I feel this is the hardest I have ever worked...I've tried every idea I can think of, looked for new ones, and repeated and retaught more than I ever have before. Still, I feel that I have let them down. I am not looking forward to their STAAR scores. It is a day I truly dread. It makes me sad to think of how hard some of them have worked and that they may not get the scores they so aptly deserve. I actually feel a little down about it all. I have never, in my entire career, been as ready for the summer as I am at this moment. My husband was shocked when I told him that and asked me if I still wanted to teach!!! Of course, I do!! But I can't shake this feeling...<br />
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Let the pity party continue...without me...Haha!!<br />
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Today, we read from <u>The Hunger Games</u>. As most of you know, I chose this novel because it's the "in" thing and my kids are obsessed with the movie. But they are actually really into the book; so much so that I use it as leverage..."If we don't calm down and get back to work, we will NOT read a chapter today!!" And it works!!! I had an "on the fly" moment, too!!<br />
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We are creating our idea of the characters from the story! Today, quarters worked in groups to draw and color their idea of what a character looks like. (I drew names to assign quarters a character...otherwise EVERYONE would want Katniss!) Each group worked together to create their drawing on large butcher paper! It was fabulous watching them work together!!! They were so serious!!<br />
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Tomorrow, they will continue their work. I hope by Thursday that we will be able to move on and use a character traits word list to assign them to each character...I have an idea in mind...I'll post pics once we figure it out!<br />
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I'm so happy to have a teaching partner that is willing to share the burden...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Teams share the burden and divide the grief."--Doug Smith</span></div>
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Thank you, V!<br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-47973511147860228242012-05-09T21:53:00.001-05:002012-05-09T21:53:18.274-05:00Can We Persuade You...?Whew!! Today has been a cray-zay kinda day! But I feel like my quarters got a lot accomplished! Let's face it...it is soooooo tempting, with 20 days of school left...to just start packing up and call it a year. And there are so many housekeeping things that need to be done to wrap up the year "administratively" that I can hardly breathe! But, I've found out over the years, that if quarters think we are not learning new things anymore, they open up a can of Crazy and everyone takes a sip!!!<br />
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I have definitely tried to keep things interesting. It doesn't always work. We have made a lot of foldables and they have really enjoyed it. But I have also had to do DRA testing (MOST of my class!!!). It is so not fun...for me OR them!!<br />
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Today, we continued working on our persuasive essay. We are completing one as a class first. (Partly because I need to model and partly because, well, I need to keep them busy for the next few days. So...yes...I'm dragging it out...) Earlier this week, we decided to write a class persuasive essay about saving animal habitats. We then brainstormed, using a circle map, of different animals and their habitats. <br />
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After the brainstorm, we chose a habitat that had many of the animals that we named. My PM class chose "oceans". I saw an idea very similar to this on a blog or Pinterest or whatever!! Sorry I can't remember! But I adapted it to the skills that my quarters need to learn. Anyhoo...the following day, we created a "flow chart" for expository/persuasive writing. What I love about this is that it is EXACTLY what we used for main idea/details!!! (One of those "why didn't I do this sooner" moments!!) My quarters immediately connected reading to writing! I might have them create a table when they do their own essays...need to think it out...<br />
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With the above, we are just creating a planning/idea kind of page. I'm sure it could have been done better, but it was an "on the fly" moment, so I just kinda went with it! The main idea box is used as our introduction. The detail boxes are used for our "whys" or "explanations". Since we are doing this as a class, for now, quarters copied the charts into their writing journals.<br />
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They did really well, so I can only hope they carry this idea all the way when they write their own essays next week. Tomorrow we will begin to compose our sloppy copy.<br />
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These last few weeks, I have decided to revert back to something I did with my quarters last year. I ask them questions from the game/book <u>Would You Rather?</u> by Doug Fields. (I actually found the card game at Target last year...the questions in the game are much more suited for 4th graders than those in the book.) Here is an example:<br />
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I love these questions because they are thought-provoking and the quarters think they are gross, cool, fun, etc. They HAVE to choose an option and write a paragraph about why they made the choice they did! (expository...persuasive...so many possibilities!) Then they share with the class, if they wish.<br />
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I didn't do this with my current class for most of this year because, quite frankly, I had to focus more on the stages of writing and on grammar than I did last year. Last year was a "non-ESL" group, so language wasn't necessarily an issue. My goal was to get my quarters in that group to enjoy writing and to write more. But my current group is enjoying it so much, that I may have to work it in next year...somehow. I equate it to journal writing when it comes to time spent.<br />
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I'm very excited for next year. Today, "next year's" 3rd/4th grade LA teams (those currently at my school) met to come up with a common vocabulary plan. We've focused, mainly, on stem question vocab and TEKS vocab. It's obvious, to us at least, that many of our students don't hang on to that kind of vocabulary the way they should. It really hit us this year with the new STAAR test. So, if we collaborate across grade-levels, maybe we can improve the test taking vocabulary of our students so that they don't get caught up in misunderstanding the questions before they even have a chance to answer!! (It wasn't suggested last year because no one really knew what to expect with the new test.)<br />
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Anyway, we hope it starts a cross-grade level discussion and that the thread that begins with 3rd and 4th can be carried from 3rd to 2nd, from 4th to 5th, etc. until our whole campus is involved. We just have to be willing to work, listen, and plan with those that aren't part of our own teams. Once we get a solid set of vocab in place, we should be able to take it to others. It was a lot of fun talking with 3rd, and hearing the things that they are concerned about, what they teach, and how they teach it, in a relaxed and truly cooperative way. I had no idea how much they have to teach in order to get their 3rdies ready for their own test, much less ready for 4th grade!<br />
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Well, it's time to watch a little comedy on TV!<br />
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These quotes should go on a wall in our teacher's lounge...I'm just sayin'...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."--Henry Ford</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."--Ryunosuke Satoro</span></span><br />
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Always,<br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0pt none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-74660709204424244812012-05-07T20:50:00.000-05:002012-05-07T21:01:24.871-05:00Super Excited!Today, I was just going to blog about the goings on in room 224. Then...<br />
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I received an email from <a href="http://www.accelerated-degree.com/2012-fascination-awards-elementary-teacher-blogs/" target="_blank">2012 Fascination Awards</a><a href="http://www.accelerated-degree.com/" target="_blank"></a> to inform me that I have been nominated for The Most Fascinating Blog in 2012, Category: Elementary Teacher Blogs! WOW! Needless to say...I'm SUPER EXCITED!!<br />
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Here is a snippet of information I copied from the link about this award:<br />
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"The Fascination Awards are an annual collection of the web’s most
inspirational and thought-provoking blogs. All participants are
nominated by our editorial team and voted on by our readers.<br />
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We know that all blogs are not created equal, so we want to
recognize websites that go above and beyond, providing truly engaging
content for their visitors."<br />
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Isn't that cool??? Per the email:<br />
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<span style="color: black;">"Voting begins May 14th at 12:01 AM
(EST).The blog with the most votes by May 21st at 11:59 PM (EST) will
win the grand prize, a $100 restaurant gift card."</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Waaayyyyy cool!! </span><br />
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I've noticed that a lot of my "blog roll" has been nominated as well! I feel so privileged that someone thinks my blog is interesting and inspiring! It's like having someone open my file cabinet in my classroom and commenting about how organized and neat it is!! (That is soooo not the case in my classroom file cabinet, by the way!) <br />
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I have posted the "voting" button on the left hand side of my homepage. Keep those fingers ready and start voting on May 14th!<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">
"To every person there comes that special moment when he is tapped on
the shoulder to do a very special thing unique to him. What a tragedy if
that moment finds him unprepared for the work that could be his finest
hour." - Winston Churchill</div>
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-35447592158021997122012-05-04T20:06:00.000-05:002012-05-04T20:07:09.263-05:00Passionista...The last couple of days have been busy busy!! We've been passionate about reviewing our reading skills within the context of our novel. I love that several of my quarters made connections between vocabulary we have reviewed in Texas History and things that have happened within our text. Fun! Fun! Fun!<br />
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We reviewed the vocabulary barter, diverse, discrimination, and Reconstruction. In our flipbook shown below, quarters wrote the definition and drew a picture to represent their understanding. One of my quarters drew a picture of a girl with arrows, holding a squirrel, and a man with bread for the term "barter". It was a <i><b>direct</b></i> link to <u>The Hunger Games.</u> I was thrilled, to say the least!! And she wasn't the only one. We also talked about the lack of diversity amongst the people of The Capitol as well as the discrimination that is evident against the Districts. Fantastic!!<br />
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We also covered producers and consumers. This was an easy connection, for me at least, because this is the first year that I have grown a vegetable garden. I told my quarters all about growing vegetables and how much I enjoy it. I told them about some of the problems I am having with my plants and a couple of funny stories about what has happened (crazy dog peeing on plants...EWWW...gross bugs...squirrels...). You get the picture!! I really believe that when we, as teachers, let our students know a little about our "real life", they feel more invested in us and in their learning. We become real people who have successes and failures, just like them.<br />
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We also reviewed our great state!! One of many things that make Texas unique is that we are the only state bordered by four states, a country, and a large body of water that connects to the ocean. I love having the quarters use colors to help them categorize things and items that are important.<br />
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I love our longitude/latitude foldables!! I really think they were able to remember the "long" in longitude. Here is what they looked like:<br />
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It's hard to see the parts written in pencil in these pictures! Sorry about that! But our longitude foldable opened left/right. Our latitude foldable opened top/bottom! Pretty cool, hunh?<br />
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Finally, as part of our grammar/writing activities, we talked about antonyms. While I disagree with our scope and sequence that has fourth graders learning this skill at the end of the year, I must say that my quarters caught on very quickly. That tells me that they had a good foundation from third grade! I must give my buddies a high five for that. Fourth grade really should teach this skill earlier in the year. It would greatly improve their writing because they would have an easier time thinking of good vocabulary instead of using the same words over and over. Even though they may have learned it in third, a lesson to remind them might be prudent next year before state testing. <span id="goog_128107563"></span><span id="goog_128107564"></span><br />
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They put this into their writing journals. Ignore the paper...there is no educational reason I used it...it was extra paper that I've had for YEARS and I decided now was the time to use it!! (We've all been there, right??)<br />
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My principal asked me what I was going to do this summer with my blog! She stumped me because I really don't know!! We had a good laugh about it and I told her "Oh, I'll think of something!" What?!?! Since we won't be in school, I won't have ideas to teach "on the fly" and I won't have quarter examples to show you how my ideas work in the classroom!! I have some things I plan to work on in preparation for next year, but definitely not enough to post about every day!! I'm sure many of my fellow bloggers feel the same. What do you plan to plan to post about during summer break? I may just reflect on things, especially since, by then, I will have an idea about how my quarters did on the STAAR. (Scary, scary thought, by the way...you have NO idea my fears about their results.)<br />
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My first year as a fourth grade ESL teacher has been very challenging!! Last year was my first year in fourth grade, period, and I didn't teach ESL. I did not feel as worried about their scores as I do about this year's class! While being a former primary (1st grade) teacher was definitely a great prep for ESL, I did not expect the struggles my quarters would face. Nothing is more heartbreaking than having a hard-working, committed, ideal student complete a test with a smile and I have to tell them that they didn't pass it. This has happened on weekly assessments. While I firmly believe the student I'm thinking of has a dyslexia issue, I don't think she is the only one. AND she is not the only hard-worker that isn't always successful. ::tear::<br />
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Off to stalk some Teacher Appreciation freebies at Teachers Pay Teachers!! Adios, mis amigos!! (See...I learned something this year!)<br />
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I love this quote...and it fits the end of my post, I think...<br />
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“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live
so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which
case, you fail by default.”--JK Rowling<br />
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You thought I was done with Harry Potter/JK Rowling quotes didn't you????? Well...SURPRISE!!!!<br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0pt none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-26450278895290936572012-05-01T21:24:00.000-05:002012-05-01T21:24:30.802-05:00Having To Teach On The Fly...So...today I actually had to live up to my blog subtitle! Yes...one of my lessons went a teeny bit wrong! I had grand ideas; I had a plan! But ::bites nails:: I didn't actually <b><i>practice</i></b> it first!<br />
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C'mon...stop snickering!! We've all been there!<br />
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Here's the deal: We need to catch up on our Texas history vocabulary. I decided to do a foldable (I love foldables, by the way!). Well, I had the quarters fold and cut their construction paper (oh...they're following me while I model on the ELMO). I had them draw lines, etc., etc. Then I realized...this is SO not what we should be doing!!<br />
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I had to think on the fly!! What to do...what to do??????? Actually, after much paper manipulation, this was our final product:<br />
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See?? Sometimes, teaching on the fly doesn't turn out too bad!! It makes no "foldable" sense but, hey, they learned and understood about the Spanish explorers, and vocabulary words foreign, expedition, colonization, and settlers. Actually...it was pretty fun! I felt like a gunslinger in a shoot out...so now I'm flipping my gun around (real fancy like), blowing on the barrel, and putting in the holster.<br />
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On another note, we reviewed (<b><i>again</i></b>) summary, plot, and main idea/details. And, get this, I had ANOTHER on the fly moment! We were reading a chapter from our novel, so I made another anchor chart of the the plot mountain. Each night, students have to write a summary of what we read that day. I've asked them to use Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then. But I wasn't getting the answers that I was looking for. Many of them were giving me vague information or details/events. So I had the bright idea of adding SWBST to my plot mountain. And all I heard was "OOOHHHHH...NOW I get it!!" WHAT?!?!?! We've talked about this so many times! And, ONE WEEK <b><i>after</i></b> the STAAR reading test, they GET IT??!?!?!?!?!?! ::banging head on desk:: Why am I not surprised?? I can't help but laugh!<br />
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We took the plot mountain even further and added main idea above the mountain and details below the mountain. Now they correlate main idea to summary and details to events!! YES! At least they will know this going into 5th grade. <br />
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I guarantee that I will use this kind of anchor chart from the beginning next year!<br />
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Well...I'm off to blog stalk!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">“If you just go with the flow, no matter what weird things happen along the way, you always end up exactly where you belong.”</span>--Tom Upton, <u>Just Plain Weird</u><br />
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Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-27862266047209924902012-04-30T19:09:00.001-05:002012-04-30T19:09:36.992-05:00A Stolen Idea...Or Two...Another great day in Room 224! We were back on our "regular" schedule...meaning, we are back to balanced literacy, writing, and Texas History...minus the test prep! The one thing that I have been <i><b>strongly</b></i> lacking in is Texas History. ::hangs head in shame::<br />
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Now, I love history, especially that of our great state...but, it is not my focus most of the year. I just cannot cover it the way I want AND prepare the kids for testing. I'm not going to out anyone, but I am not the only teacher in Texas that feels that way. (Yes, I'm a follower...) :-).<br />
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So, today we hit Texas History HARD. We started with some vocabulary that my quarters learned at the beginning of the year. We created this really cool foldable that lists different levels of government, their definition, and the names of the actual leaders! This was fun!<br />
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Pretty cool, huh?? We compared the different positions in government to our classroom, school, district, and region. But, the quarters still had difficulty comprehending the idea...so, time to "teach on the fly"! I pulled out the construction paper and used an idea I have seen on Pinterest!!! ( I just looovvveee that site!) I don't remember WHO came up with the idea, though!<br />
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I didn't have a lot of construction paper, so we used what we had left over! (In case you can't tell by the black and manilla!) They had the chance to see how our neighborhood is part of our city, county, state, country, continent, and planet. Pretty neat!<br />
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Now, before we moved on to our read aloud, I wanted to have my quarters complete an activity related to "empathy". This idea is completely <strike>stolen</strike> borrowed from Farley over at <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Oh' Boy 4th Grade</a> !!! She has some of the coolest ideas!<br />
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I created a "new student". His name is Horace Smith. (I tried to figure out the weirdest name possible...no offense to any Horaces out there!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All I had was GREEN paper!!!!!</td></tr>
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Anyway, I asked students to welcome him to our class and talk to him like he was real. We discussed what to do in the classroom, what our routine is, etc. Then I gave him qualities...his lights are off and he can't wash his clothes. His water isn't working because his mom is out of work. These are actual things that many of my quarters have experienced at one time or another. They are also things that they have teased others about! And, just like Farley's classroom, the negative (even cruel) comments started coming!! Now, many of them have said mean things to each other throughout the year. There have also been some teasing incidents that my team teacher and I have shut down. So this lesson had meaning...<br />
<br />
I actually had one student say, "Horace, you need to get more popular clothes 'cause you look bad." Then, she looked at me and said, "Well, I'm just trying to help him!" And she was pretty condescending about it. I was really flabbergasted!!! They said he smelled and had holes in his pants. Just. Plain. Mean. <br />
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We have an issue with the "Cheese Touch" game from <u>Diary of a Wimpy Kid.</u> Except our quarters take it even further...they add another quarter's name to it, i.e. the "Tammy Touch". UUGGGHHH!!! We have battled this all year. This lesson really hit home!<br />
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As the quarters said ugly things, I crumpled Horace into a ball. I then went on to explain (like Farley) that every ugly comment hurt Horace and crumpled up the way he felt. Silence. Literal...silence. I could tell how they "got it". Then, we began to say nice things to Horace. We straightened him back out.<br />
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Then...we had to discuss how he was still "wrinkled". We talked about the "Cheese Touch" game and how that wrinkles the person you are teasing. And once you say those hateful words, it is impossible to make someone "flat" again. Horace will never be the same. Powerful.<br />
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Well, we were actually able to connect this lesson to our book, <u>The Hunger Games</u>. (If you're new to my blog, please see my reasons for reading it <a href="http://hedwigsnest.blogspot.com/2012/04/testing-strategiesppbbtt.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> .) We talked about empathy and how the Capitol has "wrinkled" the Districts. We also talked about how empathy led Katniss to volunteer for her sister, Primrose AND how it helped her to make a connection with Rue from District 11.<br />
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I love when we can make LOTS of connections with just one idea!!!<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">"Compassion is the capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody
else's skin...the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for
me until there is peace and joy for you." Frederick Beuchner</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><br />
Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-60515085647451461182012-04-27T20:27:00.001-05:002012-04-27T20:27:54.270-05:00Yipee Yoo Hoo!!What a great day! My quarters were so relaxed today!! It was our last "fun day" for a couple of weeks. Monday we go back to our regular schedule (minus the test prep...Yipee Yoo Hoo!!) But, for the day, I let them have some free time. Not all of them, mind you...I had a few that still had work to finish!! ::shrugging shoulders::<br />
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One of the things they did was use my normal teaching materials to play school. I LOVE watching them do this! I was so surprised! A couple of them used an old chart tablet to make some anchor charts!!! (They got it...they really got it!!) I just HAD to take some pictures!<br />
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The little things are soooo cool! Another one of my students copied poem information from her poetry folder.<br />
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One thing I found interesting. Some of my girls were writing names on the board for talking. (Yes, I know...they have obviously remembered that talking results in a warning by putting your name on the board...) My girl is an ELL. I was stunned when I saw what she wrote:<br />
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Hmmmm....do you see what I see? What she meant was "people in trouble" ( I do NOT write that on the board...hahaha!!). But, what she thought and heard was "people introuble". Wow. Just...wow. I never realized, though I should have, that ELLs sometimes hear things in a much different way! She's a fourth grader, so seeing this took me by surprise! It's common with primary kiddos. This will definitely be on my mind when I reflect and plan for next year!<br />
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On another note, we received an email from our district on information that was released by TEA. We will get raw scores at the end of May. I don't understand exactly how we will read them...I think we will only find out how many questions there were and how many each student missed. Now, the good thing is that I will see what I need to work on to be a better teacher. Here's the kicker...we won't get the final scores until January of 2013!!! Yes, you read that right...2013!! These kids will be half way through their 5th grade year!!! Geezy sneezy!!<br />
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I do have one concern that I'm not sure how to address. My homeroom has 13 ELLs. My partner's homeroom has 14. Now, she is a former bilingual teacher, so of course her class is listed as ESL. I teach language arts, I am certified to teach ESL, but on my roster, my class isn't listed as ESL (the individual students are, though). Make sense?? (nah, not to me either.) Anyhoo...when those scores come back and, IF they are not too hot, anyone looking at my scores will think I have a standard classroom that didn't do as well as the others. What should I do about that? It never bothered me not to have my roster listed as ESL because I knew, my team knew, and admin knew that my kids were ELL. But, when I think about future job opportunities, I wonder how this will affect me. Selfish, I know. Not extremely important in the scheme of things...I'm not planning on moving any time soon. Just curious...<br />
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Have a fabulous weekend!! <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">"You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it."--Oprah Winfrey</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">That's ME!!!!</span> </span><br />
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Always,<br /><img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-22910622966617310282012-04-26T20:51:00.000-05:002012-04-26T20:52:12.956-05:00Moving On...Well...the STAAR has burned out.<br />
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Burned out my students, burned me out, burned out my friends.<br />
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Burned, burned, burned.<br />
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However, I will fix that with a new haircut, some new clothes, lunch (and maybe dinner), and a <strike>few </strike>couple of glasses of Moscato with a friend I haven't talked to in 10 years or seen in 14!!! I'm driving to meet her on Saturday. She was one of my closest, dearest friends for many, many years. She was in my wedding 22 years ago. But life took her one way and me the other. The best part...and I know this sounds cruel...but she is NOT a teacher. So I will not talk about school, curriculum, testing, students, etc. for one whole day!!! (My husband is thinking, "What the feathers???? I have to listen to it all the time and I'm not a teacher!" Too bad, kemo sabe!)<br />
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Sometimes I am a "immediate gratification" chick. I admit it. I love my Kindle for that reason. But the waiting for the test scores is craaaazzzyyyy. We may not find out until next school year. "What?!", you may ask. I thought the same thing!! How do I fix what I "broke" this year if the new school year is already upon me when I find out my scores???!!! ::: rant, rant, rant::<br />
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My quarters worked hard...and as usual, I'm second guessing every single decision I made when it comes to teaching. I know, I know...I can't change a thing. But, ya know, I can't let things go sometimes...just ask my husband!!!<br />
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It is time to move on...<br />
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My quarters are soooo ready for some fun. And, of course, they will get it. Our campus has so many activities going on this time of year. We have our field trip, a party day...need I say more? But today, we just relaxed, read, and wrote. They actually did really well "out of the routine." They talked A LOT. But, what should I expect? They are kids for crying out loud! (I did have to take two Motrin, though.) One of my <strike>major talkers</strike> sweet boys didn't wear his glasses today. I asked where they were and he told me they were in his locker. I asked him why and he said, "The STAAR test is over and I don't need them anymore." He had the <strike>evil grin</strike> sweetest, biggest smile. In my best teacher's voice I said, " Go. Get. Them. NOW." I can only imagine the next few weeks.<br />
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Most of my quarters finished their free verse poems today!! They were so gooooood!!! Over the last couple of weeks, they wrote poems about many things. They chose what they wanted to write about. One day, we had a "classroom tools" write. We played "I Spy" and wrote a poem about that. They wrote about family, friends, food, feelings...you name it. Today, I let them choose their favorite piece and take it to final copy. Here are a few samples:<br />
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A lot of them liked their "stuff at school" one the best...I don't know why. But, for having two classes of 21 with 13 ELLs in each class, I'm liking what they've got going on. (Well, there's the STAAR...back on topic, back on topic....)<br />
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I found this great quote...I only wish the people who concocted these crazy tests for kids "got it"!!<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">
<span class="huge">"But the person who scored well on an SAT will not
necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best
businessman. These tests do not measure character, leadership,
creativity, perseverance."--William Julius Wilson</span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
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<div style="color: blue;">
<span class="huge"><span style="color: black;">Preaching to the choir!!! </span></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span class="huge"><span style="color: black;">I KNOW, I KNOW!!!! Letting....go....now.....</span></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
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<span class="huge"><span style="color: black;">Always,</span></span><br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0;" /><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-87597451503413755032012-04-23T20:38:00.002-05:002012-04-23T20:41:20.325-05:00Aaaannnndddd...done!Well, today is the day before our big state assessment, the STAAR. Last week, I strayed from the norm and did not do any test prep passages. Today, we did do one paired passage to remind quarters of the strategies they should use to work through their assessment.<br />
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Tomorrow, the quarters will take the STAAR Math exam. I don't teach Math, so I'm feeling no stress. I think my partner teacher and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that we have done what we could and what will be, will be. My quarters take the STAAR Reading exam on Wednesday.<br />
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It was sad leaving my room this afternoon. But that is only because I had to take down all of <a href="http://hedwigsnest.blogspot.com/p/my-anchor-charts.html" target="_blank">my anchor charts</a> and <a href="http://hedwigsnest.blogspot.com/2012/02/little-sharing-time.html" target="_blank">my parts-of-speech word wall</a> . My room looks so bare and uninviting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iYHULlGrT0pdzrnMPy46cnkqDEXGh53dykfylwE-rbu__l2-cd8TanZXXGBanFhzQmnL4b0kJXgKN_ox8yDTqxvyFGzVy4hQc1bJFzIJ85a0eoK45O-NnTwf59EtlXGRRyDLidZokOkK/s1600/day+before+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iYHULlGrT0pdzrnMPy46cnkqDEXGh53dykfylwE-rbu__l2-cd8TanZXXGBanFhzQmnL4b0kJXgKN_ox8yDTqxvyFGzVy4hQc1bJFzIJ85a0eoK45O-NnTwf59EtlXGRRyDLidZokOkK/s320/day+before+001.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing charts for their trash can funeral!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We usually begin each class with vocabulary builder work. However, since we've done as much as we can, quarters created "reminder" posters for their lockers <a href="http://hedwigsnest.blogspot.com/2012/03/toil-and-trouble.html" target="_blank">using our STAAR reminder chart </a>that we put up back in March.<br />
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They hung these<b><i> inside</i></b> their lockers (no STAAR things to "help" them when they walk down the hall to the restroom...haha). I could insert a smart comment but I'd better not...Anywho...my quarters had a good time adding their flair! We all know...if you do it, say it, color it, invest in it...you just might remember it!<br />
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My team teacher and I created and signed the poster below. I believe we can hang these on the outside of their lockers (but I will check with our AP before we hang them in the morning). Please excuse the lighting...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZxf5VWer_LXcxgWvyztByxShfJgMbz2QEsMe1hBtMRSflsgp8Ppb-TcNWdNGDLssXMJ5vfbYmjNZyG4oM72wedylIDqCH_HANuksGs3QSZLG0yjG1nJYiySJvuja-NVAwsQByBcGAmZg/s1600/day+before+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZxf5VWer_LXcxgWvyztByxShfJgMbz2QEsMe1hBtMRSflsgp8Ppb-TcNWdNGDLssXMJ5vfbYmjNZyG4oM72wedylIDqCH_HANuksGs3QSZLG0yjG1nJYiySJvuja-NVAwsQByBcGAmZg/s320/day+before+007.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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We printed them on many different colors of paper. They are not fancy, by any means, but we want the quarters to know we believe in them. I have put up the outline under my "Free Printables" tab, just in case someone is interested!<br />
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I'm just excited that, on Thursday, I get to return to the ART of teaching! 6 more weeks to go!!<br />
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<b>“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” -Abraham Lincoln</b> </div>
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I hope my quarters think this way and realize that tomorrow is their "chance"!<br />
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I now wipe my hands clean of the Texas STAAR! <br />
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::slaps hands together like a casino guy:: <br />
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Well...until next year...<br />
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0pt none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016090316605146734.post-44447439492697010032012-04-20T21:42:00.001-05:002012-04-20T21:43:17.374-05:00A Wonderful Ending...We had a great week! Whether it makes a difference on the STAAR test or not, I will truly never know. But my quarters seemed to be engaged, so it was worth it, to me!<br />
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On Thursday, we reviewed sequencing. Quarters used the chapter we were reading in <u>The Hunger Games</u> to sequence the events. There are three words/key vocabulary I wanted them to review and remember: organize, order, sequence. We put the three words into a "sing-song" type rhythm and counted to three on our fingers. As they said each word, I had them hold up a finger. While I know this seems rudimentary, most of my quarters are ELL. Movement and memory seem to make connections for them. I wanted them to associate (#1) with organize, (#2) with order, (#3) with sequence. We repeated this several times. I encouraged them to remember that if they see the words organize, order, or sequence in a STAAR question, they are being asked to put things in 1, 2, 3 order. I really think they may have "gotten" it...<strike>finally</strike> after months of discussion!<br />
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Today, we had a special guest. I was so lucky to have my daughter come to my school! She is an education student in college and will graduate in December. She wants to teach K-4. She needed 5 more hours of volunteer time for a class she is enrolled in this semester. So, I rounded up some classrooms for her to visit and help out in. She also helped in my room. She had an assignment to complete on "cause and effect" and had to tape herself teaching it! I got to watch her in action!! I was very proud!!<br />
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As a class, we read another chapter of our book. We focused on how to infer. The quarters did an awesome job inferring and predicting. They were able to connect prior learning and knew that schema + evidence = inference. It was a great week of review!!<br />
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We also had time to continue working on our research magazines, in which students chose a person, place, or thing to research and write about. I have a few that are not finished, but most of them only have one page to go. Here are some pics of one that is almost complete:<br />
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They are not perfect...but...</div>
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They are non-fiction...</div>
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They have many text features...</div>
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They are informative...</div>
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They are researched....</div>
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They are creative....</div>
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They are unique....</div>
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And the students will remember them!</div>
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"Memory...is the diary we all carry about us"--Oscar Wilde</div>
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Hopefully, the lessons they reviewed this week will be part of the "diary" they carry in their memories...for testing and beyond!</div>
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Always,<br />
<img align="left" src="http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t369/tlmatejka/Signature-1.png" style="border: 0pt none;" /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3