Under My Belt October 18, 2011

Tomorrow I will be observed by my principal. I am not nervous, but I do wonder if I should be. I have been teaching for so long that observations come naturally to me. I can remember my palms sweating, heart pounding, and loss of sleep the night before my observation. I can say that I have grown as an educator. I do like to be observed so I know what I need to improve upon.

I know one thing I need to improve upon ~ consistency with discipline. It is so hard to be consistent. I have been better this year. Maybe because of the new grade or maybe because I am more sure of myself. Whatever it is, I still need help. Tomorrow class will probably go smoothly and I will receive high marks on my observation, but the part that my principal doesn’t see is the days Johnny Boy misbehaves. Tomorrow he’ll be an angel.

I guess I can say I have my lessons under my belt, but I sure do need help with that area of discipline. I wish it were a perfect world in a perfect schoolhouse, but it’s not. I have to live and learn from my mistakes even when the principal is not around.

Writing Club Agenda October 17, 2011

I’m so excited about my very first club meeting this Wednesday. Since we are only meeting once this month, I’ve decided to do Halloween themed writing. Here’s what I’ve come up with. We only have an hour so I hope we get to finish.

3:30 – Warm-up activity – “Monster” Exchange -  Each child designs a “monster” (no blood, violence, etc. of course) and writes a careful description. They keep this secret . Then they give their writing piece to a partner ( who hasn’t seen their drawing) and the partner tries to draw it from the description. You hang them up with the writing in the middle and with both illustrations on either side. The kids really get how critical descriptive detail is!

3:45-4:15 - Halloween sensory list and ghost story activity – I haven’t decided yet how I will go about the ghost story. I may find one and read it to them first. Then have them use their sensory list to create a ghost story. I am welcome to ideas.

4:15 – share time

The End of the Quarter October 14, 2011

The end of the quarter

Seems to creep up

On me and my students

What can I do to get my grade up?

Do your assignments when they are due

Can I get extra credit?

Um, let me think about it?

Can I?

Um, no…

Seriously?

Seriously!

The end of the quarter

Seems to creep up

On me and my students

May I take an AR test?

Not if it is The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food

Why?

You’re a fifth grader.

It’s a fourth grade level.

Why have you waited until today to take a test?

The end of the quarter

Seems to creep up

On me and my students

***

Papers everywhere

Grades here and there

Comments and conduct

I wish you all good luck

Writing Club Interest Meeting October 7, 2011

This past Wednesday I had my Spilling Ink Writer’s Club interest meeting. 21 students signed up and 17 attended the meeting. I was thrilled. At the meeting I passed out permission forms and a quick interest survey. I wanted to see why they attended and the types of topics they wanted to write. We wrote as well. The students seemed to enjoy it.

What makes me the happiest is one of my struggling students signed up and attended the meeting. He wrote and shared. That just warmed my heart. I know this club will be beneficial to him in so many ways – socially, academically, and mentally.

Our next meeting is Oct. 19 and I can’t wait. My plans are to do Halloween themed writing. Any suggestions?

Teacher and Peer Conferences September 30, 2011

I have to admit that I struggle with teacher conferences and peer conferences are another story. I like to do them, but sometimes I feel that I am not benefiting my students. Since now I am in 5th grade I have come to realize that I must model more often so the students can see what they are “supposed” to do. I decided to come up with a very short power point on peer conferencing. I found a video clip on unitedstreaming.com of two boys conferencing. I showed it to my students and the magic happened when it was time for my students to conference with a peer.

Before the students conferenced, I gave them a writer’s checklist for conferencing that I found on the internet. I found the perfect checklist for my students and myself. Check it out! What I loved about this checklist is that it had a place for the student to write down if they wanted a teacher conference and what 2 specific things they wanted me to look at.

Every year I have students say, “read this.” I hated that. With this form I had successful teacher conferences. Also there are other forms you can use to help with the teacher conference.

I look forward to reading my 5th graders’ personal narratives.

Writing Club September 20, 2011

It’s official. I am starting a writer’s club this school year. For several years now I have wanted to conduct a writing club, but wasn’t sure how. This year I took the plunge and wrote the proposal! My principal is excited about this new endeavor at our school. The name of the club is The Spilling Ink Writer’s Club. I have the book Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook and wanted to learn more, so I googled it. Guess what? The authors have a blog  with a plethora of writing information for young writers. This year we will use the book Spilling Ink. I have made buying the book optional. The club is for students in grades 4-8. My hope is that the students will come to enjoy being with a community of writers along with creative writing. Our first official meeting will be Wednesday, October 21. I can’t wait!

5th Grade September 15, 2011

Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of being a 5th grade teacher. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I do. It has been a little difficult getting used to the maturity level of the kids, but other than that I love it! My former students still visit me every day. It’s hard seeing them in a different classroom, but I am happy with this change. I am learning new things. Social Studies has been the subject that’s out of my element; however, I am making it work. I’ve implemented a new way for taking notes with them (it’s nothing very innovative). Instead of having them copy notes from the screen, we make webs or graphic organizers. Sometimes the students get into groups and read a section of the book, make a web, and then present them to the class. I also use the tool United Streaming, which is a big help! I look forward to what’s to come in 5th grade!

First Day Delights August 11, 2011

 

 

I love the first day of school

Freshly waxed floors

Welcoming classrooms

New shoes

Crisp uniforms

Happy smiles with contagious laughter

Hugs from previous students

Eager eyes wait in anticipation of the new year

Questions, questions, questions

Answers, answers, answers

More on Digital Storytelling June 23, 2011

Summer for me is a time to teach writing camp. I have been fortunate to teach at two camps this year. This week I have been working with kids from grades 3-8 in Martin, TN. We blasted off the week with Digital Storytelling. We used the website LittleBirdTales to create our stories. On the site students can upload pictures or use a paint program to draw their very own pictures. This site now allows teachers to create student accounts and the teacher is able to manage each account. See my post from February.  The only thing that I wish this site had now was a spelling/grammar check option.

I just love digital stories. They are a great way for students to showcase their work. The best part about them is the students can work on them at home! I loved seeing their creativity shine.

Below is my digital story and two student examples from this week:

The Two Koalas

Alan by a soon to be third grader

Bad Day for Baldwin by a High school student

CHANGE is Good ~ Right? June 16, 2011

Last Monday my principal called and left me a voice mail. I was intrigued by what she wanted to talk to me about. Thousands of thoughts passed through my mind — what does she want? Does she want me to teach computer? Is she finally going to ask me to teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English?

My heart pounded as I punched in her number. I really wasn’t sure what she was going to ask me. As the phone rang, my heart fluttered more and more. “Hello,” said the quite voice on the other end. “Sister, this is Andi returning your call.” Then it came. The question that I wasn’t expecting at all. “How would you like to teach 5th grade?” A long pause went by before I answered. “Oh, I am not so sure. I am going to need time to think about it.”

We ended the phone conversation and my mind was going 90 miles an hour. My first reaction was to tell her absolutely not. Why would I want to move down? I have been teaching 6th grade for 10 years. Why change when I have my routines set? Is this really something I want to do? Would I hate it? Would I love it? These were all the questions running through my mind – no let’s say sprinting through my mind.

Three days had past and I decided to call her and tell her that I wasn’t going to take the 5th grade position. I waited until 7:30p.m. to call her. “Sister, I don’t think I want to teach 5th grade. I don’t think I would like it.” Sister sounded disappointed, but at that moment I didn’t care. It was over. I made the decision. I’m staying in 6th grade.

“Not so fast!” my heart said. Something didn’t feel  right. My heart wasn’t settled. I kept pondering my decision. The clock’s minutes ticked away. I couldn’t sleep. My decision seemed to be haunting me. Of course I had to call my mom. I dialed her number hoping she would still be awake. I didn’t care that it was midnight. I needed my mom’s words of wisdom.

The next morning around 6:45 I called my principal. I changed my mind. I will be embarking on a new adventure this 2011 school year — 5th grade! I am ecstatic about my decision. My heart feels at peace and I’m ready for this new journey in my life. Who knew?