Knock Knock!

When I was a little girl, I remember a trick my mom use to play on us kids. Yeah. She was a sly one all right. She would tell us that (insert person here) was coming over and that we needed to clean up the house stat. "Hurry!" she'd spur us on. We'd vacuum, dust, sweep, wipe tables and do whatever else we needed to do in order to prepare for our supposed guest of honor. We, of course, wanted them to know that we "took pride in our home," humble as it was. When the cleaning was complete, we'd bask in the glory of having made our mom proud. Then we'd wait. And wait... and wait. "Huh?" we'd naively wonder as minutes turned into hours. Come nightfall, we'd realize that she'd done it again! Once again we had fallen prey to her nefarious plans. In the end, she accomplished what she set out to do--hoodwink a bunch of kids into spending a Saturday morning cleaning the house. Yeah. She was good. Real good.

Her ways may have been questionable, but she did instill in us a great sense of pride--at least until we'd mess up the house again. Well, today I'm the adult motivating my students to take pride in our classroom. Undoubtedly, for many of our children, our classrooms are a home away from home. We can't control our students' home environment, but we can ensure that when they walk into our classrooms, they are met with an inviting, organized, and tidy space in which to learn and grow.

On Friday, I did what I refer to as a backpack, desk, and binder check. As students are working independently on the computer, I call them up one at a time. With their permission, I check their backpacks to see what they've accumulated. You would be surprised at what I find, but that's a conversation for a different day. I also check their binders and desks to see if they are keeping their items organized. I commend those who've successfully kept a tidy backpack, an organized binder, and a neat desk and I would gently and discreetly encourage those who have not to do better.

Like a home blessed with active children, our classrooms are never going to be perfect. We are in the business of educating young minds and, truthfully, that can be messy--both literally and figuratively. That being said, we should get our students in the habit of keeping an uncluttered work environment. Knowing how to maintain an orderly work space will do our students well in whatever profession they choose.

Still Living the Dream (albeit with a little less mess!),

Lola Jollie

Got S - t - r - e - t - c - h Text? (PART 2)

Thank you for returning to my 3-part blog regarding stretch text.  Last month, I introduced this idea of what stretch text means in the classroom.  I highlighted some frequently asked questions and this month I want to continue sharing some of these insights and questions with you!

FAQ's:

Why stretch text?  http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf  Read pages 1 - 11

What essential questions can I use during stretch text lessons?  The one essential question that I use during ALL stretch text lessons: “What makes this text difficult?”  This simple yet powerful essential question is what I want my students to think about throughout the lesson.  By “deconstructing” the text, my students can dissect, explore, investigate, and “reassemble” the text like a puzzle.  If they can succeed with stretch text, they will certainly succeed with grade level text. Ultimately, I want my students to think about their thinking.

Where do I find stretch text?  NOT on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Instead, I have found that famous speeches or Ted Talks are ideal to use as stretch text (they are also free).  Try to select speeches that are relevant, engaging, and meaningful or that tie into Wonders anthologies in some manner.  For example, in fourth grade Wonders unit 4, week 3 includes the anthology selection The Moon Over Star.  This historic fiction selection focuses on the night of the moon landing.  You could tie the famous Moon Speech by JFK to this particular selection (which I actually have done).  Another example in fourth grade Wonders is unit 4, week 1 leveled reader “A Day in the Senate.” Last year, we deconstructed part of the Constitution using it as a stretch text in order to extend the understanding of the leveled reader.  The possibilities are endless. I try to make sure that my students understand that my selected stretch text is either part of an article, document or a transcript of a speech. This is why I try to avoid TPT worksheets or TPT articles. It is no secret that Common Core has made the understanding of technical texts a cornerstone of these new standards.  Stretch text lessons allow the teacher to at least begin to encourage and build self-efficacy within students in order to challenge them to continue “reaching and stretching” their reading abilities. My "look for" when I am searching text is mainly vocabulary. Does the text include a fair amount of academic vocabulary for students to grapple with? Be careful though! Too much may become too frustrating.

Note:  If you find a video on youtube, it usually offers the option to view the transcript.  Copy and paste the transcript onto your desktop in order to print the text for students.

How long do stretch text lessons take?  If you decide to do stretch text lessons during a 30-minute time block of UA, you can expect to take approximately three to five days to grapple with the passage.  It really depends on how deep you want students to go into the text. It is up to you and your learning outcomes.

Are there any resources that I can use?  Yes, I have included below some links that you can view at your leisure to see some examples of stretch text lessons.  Be warned, you will not find much resources by googling “stretch text.” You will usually find resources about accessing complex text (which may in itself be helpful as well):

1.  READ pages 1 - 11 in Appendix A of the common core initiative document (yes, I know it may be a struggle but, hey, if you want your students to do this, then we need to do this as well):

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf

2.  Teaching Channel videos:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/teaching-declaration-of-independence

Happy Writing!
             Gustavo Macuil

STEM/Science in Kindergarten?

My daily schedule is one the most asked questions I get from my fellow kindergarten teachers.  Many wonder how I how I get it all in. The short answer is: I don't usually.  Time with my students is not the issue (5-year-olds in a classroom for 5 hours daily is PLENTY for them, however, if they could manage successfully without the big behavior issues we are more commonly facing each year, extended time COULD be a positive thing... but that's a whole other blog post!). More flexibility with our time is key.

As teachers, we are faced with mandatory minutes per subject per day and/or week in all subjects. This is where we have to get creative by using cross-curricular concepts (the CCC's) to try to even attempt to meet the demands that are placed on us for the classroom time we do spend with our students.  Unfortunately, one of the subjects that gets pushed to the side in elementary school is science.

Back in my early days, we had a 20:1 ratio in kindergarten. We also shared a classroom with another teacher, with some overlap time.  And on early-release Tuesdays, both AM and PM classes would attend at the same time (40 kids/2 teachers in one room for 4 hours...ack!). This was when my kindergarten team had to get creative to manage all of those kids AND get to those subjects that we found difficult to cover (2 birds/1 stone).  We decided to do rotations: science, P.E., art, and social studies (currently morphed into social skills...also another blog post!).  Four teachers, four subjects. P.E. would be outside and art would be in a shared pod.

Each year, our rotation schedule changes according to number of teachers or other factors, but four is ideal for us.  We have also done many configurations of groups over the years.  Since we all teach in our own classrooms, extra space is not necessary any more.  I have been in charge of science instruction for our kindergarten classes for most of the years we have implemented rotations.






This is our current rotation schedule, now on Thursdays:

7:30 - School Begins
8:15-9:00 - Rotation #1
9:45-10:30 - Rotation #2
11:30-12:15 - Rotation #3
12:15-1:00 - Rotation #4
1:10 - Dismissal

If you would like to learn more about how you can manage this type of program, please reach out!

Happy and Positive SCIENCE Teaching!

Erin Grebel

erin.grebel@omsd.net

Photo Captions: Building a bridge for the Gingerbread Man (top right); Building hideouts for the Gingerbread Man (1st left, 2nd right); Making an object change direction without touching it (bottom left); Exploring strong and weak pushes (bottom right); Exploring motion with starting and stopping an object in motion (video).

Fitting It All In

Fitting It All In

And just like that, we enter January... where HAS the time gone? I truly cannot believe we have officially completed the first half of the school year with our students and I still have so much that I want to accomplish with them. If I drafted a TO-DO list for the remainder of the year, at the tippy-top, you would find two words, FORMAL WRITING.

As you may already know, each of our WONDERS Units outlines a writing genre that we should tackle for the duration of those six weeks. In a perfect world, our days would run smoothly and effortlessly, and we would complete every-single-thing on that suggested WONDERS pacing guide. But truth be told, that rarely happens. And unfortunately, the formal writing pieces that we so very much love (not kidding, I love writing with my kids) gets pushed aside in hopes that we will get to it... soon?

So How Does One Fit It All In?

I recently attended a professional development opportunity provided by OMSD, Providing A Balanced Literacy Diet, and I learned something which was so valuable that I had to share. In short, "It's all about the task." This phrase forced me to look at what I was accomplishing every day with my students and decide if the task was meaningful and if my students were engaged enough that they would master the standards through this task. 

Like most educators, I find writing to be one of the most powerful tools you can use as a life-long scholar, and I want to make sure my students master all of the writing genres before they leave me at the end of the year. So how did I tie together my love for writing, my new found knowledge of meaningful tasks, and fitting it all in? Here's how!

"YOU WILL NEVER 'FIND' TIME FOR ANYTHING. IF YOU WANT TIME, YOU MUST MAKE IT." -CHARLES BUXTON

My How-To Fit It All In

1. Decide if the task is important enough to master. I realized that I was trying to fit all of the WONDERS pieces into my day, that I was leaving behind something I loved and was truly important to me- WRITING. Like I mentioned before, writing is important, it is all around us, and mastering the art of writing is high on my priority list as a teacher. 

2. Make time for it. We know we cannot fit everything in, so I now take a closer look at the standards and decide which ones they NEED to master, versus which standards will spiral through down the line that I will get a second, or even third, chance to tackle. Really, if you are going to add something to our day, learn to take something else that perhaps was not giving you the results or engagement you were looking for.

3. Make the task meaningful. Find high-interest text/topics that your student population will connect with. You will find that by capturing their attention through high-interest text, the student engagement will naturally follow. 

4. Enjoy the process. Our students pick up on our attitudes towards these tasks. If they see that you are enjoying the process, the how-to, they will also adopt a positive mindset and produce work which demonstrates their passion for it as well.  

What now? I leave you with the promise of an update (soon) of how this worked for my students and me. To be continued....

-Yvonne Milian

Always Question, Always Wonder

Always Question, Always Wonder

Wow!  It’s hard to believe that we have already been back in our classrooms for almost three weeks now.  I hope that you found time to rest on your Winter

Break. A lot has been happening in my classroom since we started back a few weeks ago.  I am excited to share that my students and I are jumping into piloting a new science program. This is a process that is completely new to me and I wanted my students to feel like they are just as involved in the reviewing process as I am.  Before we started, I had a conversation with my class about what we would be working on for the next few weeks. While most of the students were excited to try something new, I think the real excitement came the day the supplies were delivered and they learned that we would be using Hot Wheels in some of our inquiry lessons.  There were many shouts of joy heard around the room that day.

“The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” ― Sir William Lawrence Bragg

Four days a week, we spend about forty-five minutes to one hour working on lessons from the program we are piloting.  Here is a list of some of the positive things I have noticed in my classroom so far:

1. Engagement - As I mentioned already, my students are really excited when it’s time for science.  Science is all around us, so it makes my heart sing when I hear how happy they are.

2. Learning through Inquiry-  Students encounter the phenomenon at the beginning of each model and are given an introduction to the culminating STEM project.  Each lesson within the module follows the 5 E model- Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. This gives students plenty of opportunities for hands-on inquiries.  By far, this is the most exciting days for students. Not every day has an inquiry lesson but we often refer back to what we learned on those days and apply it to the rest of the lessons. After each lesson, we reflect on what we learned and how to apply that knowledge to the culminating STEM project.  

3. Stem Career Connections- There is a section of the lesson that is connected to different careers in science and engineering.  We have been able to highlight different career paths within the realm of science. I love that students are able to see different types of scientist and think about what type of career in science might interest them.  

4. Questioning- This is the biggest take away I have had so far.  All of this inquiry learning has to lead itself to more and more questions.  Sometimes more questions about the phenomenon then we have time to figure out answers to.  I think that’s the best part! Students are now thinking about the world around them in a new way.  They are asking questions and trying to make sense of it all. They are driving their own learning!

“Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It's posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in.” -Sally Ride

As we continue on this pilot journey, I hope to continue to foster a sense of wonder in all my students.  I am blown away by what they bring to the table each day and I can’t wait to hear what questions they have about the world around them in the future.  

Learning and teaching with grace,

Alina

New Year, Fresh Start

New Year, Fresh Start     

Happy New Year Everyone! It feels like it has been a while since I last wrote. Coming back from break can make it difficult to get back into the swing of things. We have been on break enjoying our time with family, friends, fabulous food, which bring in all the FUN. Those moments make our heart warm and happy, as we make new memories in our so-called “Life”. Well in the midst of it, all we put our job to the side, losing the motivation that we need to get our TEACH ON! J

You may ask, “How do you regain focus on your purpose as you are still focused on winter break?”    

Whenever we lose our driving force in our daily job, remember to go back to your “Why?” Go back and think of why you became a teacher to find your purpose. What are you trying to accomplish as a teacher? What are you trying to accomplish this school year? These questions will bring back the spark, ignite your fire for education, and get you going back to when you first began this job.

As you think of this, take a moment to realize that many of our students may be feeling the same way. Some students are driven to move on to bring on the second half of the school year, while other students do not want to return to school at all. This is your opportunity to bring the fun back to the learning, leaving you both a strong desire to return taking on the next challenge.

“A good teacher is like a candle-it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~unknown

January is a month when we look at our own lives to reflect, keeping the good and getting rid of the bad. You can definitely do this with your occupation! The more we reflect upon our practice, the better it gets! Now imagine if you have children reflect on their learning on a daily basis, but with a stronger emphasis, returning from Winter Break…the impact can be great! Here a few suggestions that may assist in getting a new calendar year started/half of the year kick started:

1.     Journal Writing- Begin with asking students to answer the questions, “What have you liked best about my teaching this school year? What can I do different the second half of the year to help you succeed?

2.     Goal Setting- Have your students set a goal for Language Arts and Math. Ask them to think of something specifically of a concept they want to achieve before the school year is over (for example achieving more Reading Counts points, higher RI Level, writing a well-written paragraph (using text evidence), mastering multiplication fluency (up to the 12s), learning why and how to divide numerical operations, etc.). When students have set their goal, have them write the steps he/she will take in order to achieve their goal.

3.     What’s Your Word? - I loved this idea from Instagram Teachers because students choose a word that will define the rest of the school year for them (for example Believe, Hope, Advance, Try, Brave, Organization, etc.). It’s not another step they have to stick to, more importantly it is a motivational word that will be on their mind every time they take a step to achieve the goal.

4.     Provide a weekly quote to give your students “Food for Thought”. Feed their soul with encouragement, as the learning gets tough. You want your students to realize that everyone goes through hardships when trying to reach a goal.

Find what brings the joy into your classroom, go with it and remember to have fun throughout the educational journey. As state testing approaches, it will also serve as a good reminder that the learning process is a lot more important than a test score. Although, they will soon realize that once a goal is attained, growth will happen! You get your students to BELIEVE and they will ACHIEVE! 

Live, Love, TEACH! 

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton

               The Outsiders is a story of a group of boys from the wrong side of tracks and their personal and social struggles in the 1950s Tulsa, Oklahoma.  This is one of my favorite books to read with 6^th grade.  It is a story that is so relatable to kids at this age and older.  Ponyboy, the main character, and his friends become my students’ friends; that connection to the characters is what makes this story so successful with students.  The novel creates genuine excitement to read across all levels: low readers; high readers, GATE; non-GATE, and unmotivated; motivated.  This book will make a great addition to your class library.

            The kids bond with all the characters socially and emotionally because our students are experiencing both social and familial relationships in all its glory as well as all of its ugliness.  For example, Ponyboy and his brothers, who have been recently orphaned, treat their friends like family. This idea of loving people who you are not related to, and the concept of doing anything for them is so relevant not only to them at school, but they see it in their own homes.  I always use this example in class, “How many of you have an aunt of cousin that you are not blood related to, but they are considered family?”  A majority of their hands go up.  From the very beginning of the story, students relate to how the characters interact with important people in their lives. Furthermore, Ponyboy struggles with his own relationship with his older brother Darry, who has high expectations and a strong desire for Pony to be successful, but the lack of beginning able to talk about their feeling pushes them apart.  Again, students relate to this turmoil because they are going through it with their own families.  The relatability to the characters’ lives helps to build the love for this book.

A student's book report

            Social and emotional topics are very much a part of the plot of The Outsiders.  As teachers, we want to protect and shelter our students from the ugliness of this world, but sometimes it is necessary for them to face it.  The Outsiders is a great way to make real-life connections to social problems but in a safe way.  To clarify it is easier to talk about bullying or class discrimination when expressing it through characters in a book.  There is more honesty to discuss positive and negative behaviors when you are not talking about real people.  When I have discussions, with my students about these topics, we have meaningful and authentic conversations, maybe the impact is only in the moment, but I hope they can start to see actions can have serious effects.  The characters all experience loss in major ways, and it allows them to see what are healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with loss and grief.  Our students look to us as trusted adults they can talk to about these types of topics. If they have one more responsible adult helping them navigate through growing up then it puts them in a better position.

Character Analysis Book Report

          Lastly, and only looking at the novel as a standards based teaching experience, Ponyboy’s narration of the story is filled with figurative language.  Figurative language at the sixth-grade level, we are looking at how it impacts a story’s plot and tone.  This allows me to expose them to allusion, so I get to share with them when an author references another piece of literature; there is a purpose, which often times leads to foreshadowing.  Another standard that is covered is comparing literature in different forms.  After reading the book, we watch the movie, and the students just love this.  I am always so pleased to hear them say, “The book was way better!” Music to the English teacher’s ears.  Once, I had a student notice the dialogue from movie was word for word from the book.  She had been watching the movie and referencing the book the entire time. As of last year, I started using TWITTER to communicate with authors.  I reached out to S.E Hinton, and she answered me!  She is allowing my students to ask 3 questions, and she will answer via her website.  Once more another awesome and memorable learning experience for my students to make a personal connection to the book.

          The Outsiders is such an amazing book!  Just because most students read it in 8^th grade or higher does not mean your sixth graders can’t; I find that they love it so much they don’t mind reading it a second or third time.  There are so many ways to differentiation this novel to fit the needs of your students.  Give it a try, and I promise your students will love it.            

    "Things were rough all over, but it was better that way.  That way you could tell the other guy was human too."  ` Ponyboy Curtis  

Flipgrid! Where social learning happens.

 

A while ago I read an educational research article which discussed how to get students to care more about their writing. The authors concluded that the magic answer was giving your students an authentic audience. In other words, students need someone other than just their teacher to read their writing. This made sense to me because I recognized that I care more about my writing depending on who my audience is, and I increase my effort when I know the stakes are higher, as do some of my 6th graders. 

"When we establish authentic audiences for students, they can see the purpose for their work." - Edutopia 

Over the years, I have tried different things to create an authentic audience for my students. Google Docs helps with this task because they can easily share their writing with their classmates to receive feedback on how to edit and revise their work. However, I didn't notice the impact I was hoping for. 

Enter Stacey Van Heerden, a TOA from L&T. We met one day after school to discuss a different project, and she mentioned Flipgrid to me and how easy and powerful it was to use. Flipgrip is a social learning site where students record themselves sharing information from a prompt the teacher creates. I looked over the site and was instantly hooked. 

For my students to record a successful Flipgrid, they need to go through each ELA claim: research and read in order to answer the prompt in writing, then revise and edit, and finally rehearse their "script" multiple times and then speaking while recording their grid. Finally, students listen to their peers' Flipgrids and have the option of recording a video response. 

This video is of my students viewing their classmates' flipgrids while using a rubric to rate their peers. 

"As the educator, you are the Topic designer with specialized resources and attachments. Back-to-school intros, booktalks, reflections, expert Q&As, showcase STEAM ideas...the possibilities are endless for students to verbalize their learning!"- Flipgrid

Helpful tips for using Flipgrid:

1) Record one yourself before introducing the site to your class. The site is pretty user-friendly but, as with everything dealing with technology, it's a good idea to get a feel for it before you have your students dive into something new. 

2) Plan on the first one being something very low-stakes. For example, I had my students introduce themselves and share where they'd like to travel one day. This was just for them to get a feel for how to operate the site. 

3) Set up clear rules and expectations as you walk them through the site. Something that worked for my students was telling them to recite their writing aloud, at home, five to ten times, so they knew most of it by memory. Stacey (L&T TOA) suggested telling students they have a limit when recording. I decided to tell my students they had 7 minutes and/or 3 recordings max. This helped to move things along because some of the students were very self-conscience and would have re-recorded over and over if I didn't give them a time limit. 

4) Look over the teacher controls before you assign a new topic. There are some topics that I do not allow students to reply or react to each other's videos because the assignment doesn't call for those features. Also, you can moderate the video before they post to the grid. I like to do this to ensure students have completed the assignment according to the rubric specifications before students can view their classmates' videos. 

5) Allow students to record at home, if it's possible for them to, after the first one. This HELPS move the assignment along so much faster! Plus, they can record as many times as they want at home. 

Reach out to Stacey Van Heerden (L&T) if you need help setting it up in your class or set up a spotlight visit with me to see it in action! My students would LOVE to do this every day if I allowed them. 

Learning with you, 

Jenni Merry 

Forever in the Middle: Staying Positive When Teaching is Tough

My seventh grade school picture

As a student, I loved to learn. I loved going to school every day and I loved my teachers. One year in early elementary school, one of my teachers must have been cleaning out her classroom and offered old workbooks and worksheets to students to take home at the end of the year. I was thrilled to take with me a backpack full of work to complete over the summer. I remember walking home from the bus stop eager to start working on these assignments that weren't even required of me. I remember reading The Secret Garden on long summer days under the fan to stay cool and looking forward to daily writing in my eighth grade ELA/Social Studies class. I have so many wonderful memories of being a student.

However, this personal experience of my own childhood did not prepare me to be a teacher. I was a good student. I did my homework and always worked to keep my grades high and it was very evident that I had a thirst for learning. As a new teacher, I had failed to realize that not all students showed their desire to learn in the same way.  I have always believed that students naturally want to learn, but not until I started teaching did I realize that they show this desire in many different ways.  This was my first lesson as a teacher.

Now as a teacher, I have learned a lot each year about what I can present and expect of my students. Every year is different. Every group is different. Every day is different. That's one of the reasons I love teaching: there is an art to it and with every new challenge comes a new opportunity to refine techniques.

Compared to today, my lessons in my first years of teaching really weren't drastically different in terms of what I taught. We still learn how to comprehend and analyze texts. We still practice and learn grammar and writing. The difference is in the way that I teach it because of new technologies and the lessons I've learned from mistakes along the way.  I would not be the teacher I am today if I had not continually learned from mistakes and worked to become better because of them.

In the first years of teaching it is normal to feel like you are working to just survive. Teaching is hard. It requires a lot from the teacher and there is a huge learning curve those first few years. I remember those years and thoughts of, "What do I do now??"

Don't give up. Here are five ways to persevere through difficult times.

Five Ways to Stay Positive When Teaching Seems Tough

1. Keep reflecting and keep learning from mistakes. It's the best way to be the amazing teacher you are destined to become.

2. Find humor in the things that may happen. Let's face it: in most professions, the things that happen in the classroom would not be a regular part of the work day.
3. Treat every day as a new opportunity. Everyone has bad days but every new day has the opportunity to be the best one.
4. Find a colleague or friend who understands that you can lean on. Teaching is a hard profession to understand and having someone who "gets it" to talk to makes all the difference in the world.
5. Make time for you. It's easy to get lost in all the planning and grading. Remember to make time for things that keep you balanced. For me, I try to play the piano or craft something when I need a break. Do what makes you happy and make it a priority to keep doing it.

Don't give up. You can do this.

Keep the magic alive,

Kandyce Valverde (and Coco)

Celebrating the Book Nerd in everyone

I started off the school year with a lot of enthusiasm for reading in my classroom and I loved every minute of it. However, like it happens so often, once the year started up it was hard to keep daily discussions about reading as a part of our lessons because, as you all know, it is so hard to find time for everything! I know that I didn't want to give up the focus on reading but I just didn't have the time. It's every teacher's continuous battle, right?

"If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book" --J.K. Rowling 

My solution: Book Nerd Day!!
As a solution, I planned for one day out of every month that would focus completely on reading. The name, "Book Nerd Day," just made it more fun of course!  The plan was this: create structured activities that focus on reading and allow student choice in what they accomplish. I also attached an expected point value to keep students on task and directed. This allows students to respond to reading with differentiated tasks where they feel comfortable showing mastery. It's a win-win situation.

The Set Up
The night before our first Book Nerd Day, I rearranged the seats and set up stations around the room so that students would have all materials needed and could move from one location to another to complete activities around the room. Each station had directions and materials laid out.

The Choice Board

Poetry and illustrations
about books

In creating my choice board, I consulted ideas found online and put them all together. As students worked through and completed them, I kept track of which were most popular so I can adjust for our next Book Nerd Day (Coming soon on December 19!!) Students loved the poetry and letters to authors the most of everything. Here's a link to the first draft of my choice board.  The link also includes the titles and directions for each station. I printed them and put them up at each station (as pictured above).

Letters to authors

The Results
During the day's activities, I was able to check in with many of my students about what they are reading. Also, I heard so many students sharing what they have read with other students...with ENTHUSIASM!!! Their work showed so much about their comprehension and how much they liked or didn't like their books. Then, because I teach Middle School and they're all about the social media, I posted student work and tagged the authors of the books. The students loved hearing responses to what they are writing and this validated their own work by putting it out there into the world.

Pam Munoz Ryan??
Unbelievable!!

Our Next Book Nerd Day
The second Book Nerd Day is scheduled for December 19 and the students can not wait for it! Because of what I noticed with some students and where we are in the semester, our second one has some stipulations that the first did not. Everyone participated in the first Book Nerd Day. Students who are behind with their work or have not been on task for the week will be sent to another classroom to complete classwork needed. I won't do this every time, but for this time in this month it works out perfectly.

Comment below with your questions, comments, or thoughts!



Keep the magic alive,
Kandyce Valverde

On Winter Holiday... Now What?

Winter Holiday To-Do List

Sometimes a simple comment can spark an idea for a blog post. Today as I dismissed my students for their much-anticipated Winter Holiday, I hugged a parent goodbye and shared, "Enjoy your time with your babies!" to what she jokingly replied with, "I wish teachers took my babies during holidays as well!" (insert chuckles from both parties)

Truth be told, that although we both laughed at her reply, I immediately realized how important it is for us, as teachers, to truly re-energize every few months. We, as much as the students, cannot wait for our Winter Holiday to commence! Contrary to popular belief, this is not because we are burnt-out, but because we need our rest to approach our fast-paced lifestyle with a fresh set of eyes. This is what keeps us going for ten months and allows us to continue to be innovative thinkers in our classrooms. 

I'm On Break... Now What?

So now we are on break for two weeks... but let us be honest with each other, it never really feels like two weeks off during the holiday season. We have last minute gifts to buy, presents to wrap, holiday dinners to plan, and our favorite... families to host! Because of this, I feel it would be reckless of me to provide a never-ending list of things you should do for yourself to relax during the break. This might prove counterproductive and give someone added stress as they struggle to find all that "Me Time." Instead, I could share just a few things (ten at most... promise) that you can do to help put back some pep in your step as we enter 2019!

Ten Five Things to Help You Re-Energize

1. Take a long walk with a loved one and disconnect from the world (cell phone set to silent mode)

2. Visit your favorite coffee shop, holding your favorite book at hand, order something yummy, and read (yes... this means the cell phone is off...LOL)

3. Take your kiddos out to a place of their choice (Trust me, as a mom of two and teacher of 28, this will bring so much joy to your heart if you merely sit back and watch them enjoy their time with you. This works even better if you keep all electronic devices away from your special day (OMG I'm starting to notice a pattern...giggle)

4. Plan a day with your best friend... this may seem silly even to write, but I can tell you from personal experience, finding a date that works for two very busy moms is not always easy... but it is oh so rewarding when the stars align and you discover a date that works for all.

5. Take a yoga class at your local gym (and if you search the web, you might even find a class that is offered outdoors... BONUS!)

(You see, I was aiming to write ten things to share to help with relaxing and re-energizing over the holiday break, but I decided to keep my list short and sweet for my own sanity...LOL)

More importantly, none of these suggestions should break the bank. This list is simply written to provide my readers with a starting point. You know yourselves more than anyone else. So, find your happy place, pull up a chair, and relax.

See you all in 2019!

Yvonne Milian