tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69169517746253251222024-03-13T07:07:28.511-07:00All the Dots...inspiring creativity in the classroom!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-22539251897365964912014-05-18T16:55:00.000-07:002014-05-18T16:55:01.951-07:00What is the Purpose of Education? <b id="docs-internal-guid-6fef9a0d-0777-9d25-0685-aa572a5a79f8"></b><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-6fef9a0d-0777-9d25-0685-aa572a5a79f8"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">William Butler Yeats, a well-known Irish poet, summed up what I believe to be the purpose education when he spoke the following words, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” As educators, it is our responsibility to light a fire in each and every child who walks through our classroom doors. I strive to do this in a variety of ways through the careful implementation of specific curriculum, quality instruction, and meaningful assessment. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYACjJ1P47g/U3lDJLzmjhI/AAAAAAAABiQ/-vT85rzPz5A/s1600/choices.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYACjJ1P47g/U3lDJLzmjhI/AAAAAAAABiQ/-vT85rzPz5A/s1600/choices.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-6fef9a0d-0777-9d25-0685-aa572a5a79f8"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In regards to curriculum, specific learning goals and standards need to be outlined and communicated with all stakeholders. A strong curriculum, coupled with teacher buy-in, will drive quality instruction and guide the careful assessment of each student’s progress. In my six years as a professional educator, I have implemented a hands on approach to delivering and teaching the curriculum outlined for my students. It is my belief that students learn best when they are actively engaged in their own learning process. They are engaged in quality learning experiences from the moment they step foot in the classroom. They collaborate with partners and small groups, act out plays with meaningful scripts, compose thoughtful writing projects in their writing notebooks, engage in letter writing with pen pals from other states, ask thought provoking questions, create purposeful messes during art class, make observations and generate hypotheses through engaging science experiments, read quality literature, utilize their growing imaginations for a variety of projects, analyze the effectiveness of their business practices during an annual class market project, write thoughtful and caring notes to sick classmates, and go on to become lifelong learners. Each child I teach is extremely unique in the way he or she learns. I strive to use my talents to accommodate the individual needs of each of my students. I do not want my current or future students to be standing with an empty pail waiting to be filled up with facts I dictate to them. My desire is to ignite a fire that will burn within each and every one of them. It is my hope that each child I have the privilege to educate will develop a lifelong love for learning. No teacher should ever extinguish that fire which burns so brightly in the lives of young children. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NwBtIqpzGX4/U3lDYZQEujI/AAAAAAAABiY/YSfxqSg9qCY/s1600/idioms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NwBtIqpzGX4/U3lDYZQEujI/AAAAAAAABiY/YSfxqSg9qCY/s1600/idioms.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>idiom study</i></td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-6fef9a0d-0777-9d25-0685-aa572a5a79f8"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Children are naturally inclined to learn and enjoy doing so when they are intrinsically motivated. Quality instruction is a key factor when educating a diverse student population and educators ought to aide students in realizing their potential. Quality instruction that is learner focused will no doubt produce citizens who are prepared for a global, intellectually, and socially demanding society. Instruction should be explicit in regards to both the intellectual and social needs of each child. A fire that burns with only facts and knowledge will soon be extinguished. It is our job and moral obligation as professional educators to prepare students to enter a democratic society where their voice can and will be heard. Intelligence is of utmost importance, but without character, morals, and values, it will not adequately prepare one for life in an ever changing 21st century society. Through thoughtful planning and careful instruction, students will be prepared to enter the world outside the four walls of the school building. Through careful assessment of student learning, educators are constantly changing the way subject material is presented in order to reach their students and guide them along in their educational journey. </span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IT1vDknciTY/U3lDovYu7YI/AAAAAAAABig/L-KhNXzYTxs/s1600/spacepoem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IT1vDknciTY/U3lDovYu7YI/AAAAAAAABig/L-KhNXzYTxs/s1600/spacepoem.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>concrete poem from poetry unit</i></td></tr>
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Meaningful assessment is necessary to ensure that students are making academic progress and that they are comprehending the concepts they are expected to master as outlined by the curriculum. Meaningful assessment occurs when teachers and administrators analyze the data that has been gathered and it is then used to guide future instruction and/or reteach concepts that were misunderstood. I believe testing and assessment are sometimes used interchangeably by those who are not familiar with education. It is easy for those outside the world of education to proclaim that schools are failing when only standardized test scores are published for the general public. When standardized tests are culturally, socially, and economically biased, how is this a true measure of the competency of our current education system? Meaningful assessment occurs in classrooms across the country every single day. The school where I teach does not put our focus on standardized tests. We are free from the fear of losing federal funding if we do not meet Adequate Yearly Progress, because of our status as a parochial school. We administer the Stanford Achievement Test every spring, but I do not spend the year teaching to the test or administering practice tests all year long. It is time for education to be put back in the hands where it belongs, with the professional teachers and administrators who spend every day educating children. There is no possible way one test can adequately assess students from a variety of cultures and social classes. Can a multiple choice question show the light bulb moment when a student finally understands how to decode a word? Can a math problem with multiple steps that is read out loud by the teacher possibly come close to assessing students’ mastery of problem solving skills? The answer to these questions is a definite no. A variety of assessment strategies are daily used by teachers to ensure students are learning and performing to their potential. A student recently told me he would “rather read books at home than play video games.” This same student despised reading at the beginning of the school year and now he daily asks me to buy new books for the classroom library. He is worried when he goes to third grade that his teacher will not have the books he enjoys reading. Is there any possible way a standardized test produced by a corporate testing company can measure this student’s intrinsic motivation to read? No, it is just not possible. I am fortunate to teach at a school where I am viewed and respected as a professional educator and I am not expected or encouraged to teach to the test. After all, our students go on to gain entry into some of the best high schools in San Francisco and most prestigious colleges in the United States. It is certainly not because we teach to the yearly standardized tests. High quality curriculum, innovative instruction, and careful assessment all contribute to the success of students across the nation, regardless of what a multiple choice test might reveal about a particular school or district. </span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fPxM9pw_WA/U3lD5WuGnnI/AAAAAAAABio/SC3ZkhVsSeE/s1600/prefix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fPxM9pw_WA/U3lD5WuGnnI/AAAAAAAABio/SC3ZkhVsSeE/s1600/prefix.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>student created prefix game</i></td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-6fef9a0d-0777-9d25-0685-aa572a5a79f8"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curriculum, instruction, and assessment are all </span></b><b style="line-height: 2;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">major components in the conversation surrounding the purpose of education. While there have been many beliefs about the purpose of education over time, I have noticed common themes in my both my experiences as a professional educator and in my educational research endeavours. The purpose of education should be to prepare students to be productive and responsible members of a global society. As an educator and future administrator, I cannot sit back and just fill my students’ pails; I must ignite a fire within each and every one of them that will burn for years to come.</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SGtEKv3KPsg/U3lEWgSeajI/AAAAAAAABiw/si1XIU9Cjhw/s1600/owls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SGtEKv3KPsg/U3lEWgSeajI/AAAAAAAABiw/si1XIU9Cjhw/s1600/owls.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Caldecott Medal Study - Owl Moon</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YGX6oZimydI/U3lEaSzIMPI/AAAAAAAABi4/klzlxXtC-GA/s1600/rainbowloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YGX6oZimydI/U3lEaSzIMPI/AAAAAAAABi4/klzlxXtC-GA/s1600/rainbowloom.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>producing goods for the class market</i></td></tr>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-65988632006491104882013-12-07T22:13:00.000-08:002013-12-07T22:13:19.852-08:00Landform Maps!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before Thanksgiving break my class learned all about landforms. This is one of my favorite units to teach, because landforms are all around us! My <b>amazing</b> student teacher (<i>shout out to Miss Nelson!</i>) did a great job teaching this unit to the students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, we assessed prior knowledge with a slideshow of different types of landforms: </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c--v9OpN5jU/UqAndV--n1I/AAAAAAAABcw/9Jx4Gsgz-Z0/s1600/slideshowlandforms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c--v9OpN5jU/UqAndV--n1I/AAAAAAAABcw/9Jx4Gsgz-Z0/s640/slideshowlandforms.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, after learning the characteristics of each type of landform, we made our own landform maps out of homemade clay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***Homemade clay recipe can be found at the bottom of the post.***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, they planned out their maps and shaped the landforms: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LRIMmsASOBQ/UqQDSy1C_II/AAAAAAAABdM/Kni-srCJ9VA/s1600/mapplanning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LRIMmsASOBQ/UqQDSy1C_II/AAAAAAAABdM/Kni-srCJ9VA/s640/mapplanning.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7iTQXlJ-FM/UqQDbqGTiRI/AAAAAAAABdU/SBKc9FL-qGM/s1600/formingmaps.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7iTQXlJ-FM/UqQDbqGTiRI/AAAAAAAABdU/SBKc9FL-qGM/s640/formingmaps.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mjCm5rNe__g/UqQDmeEyLKI/AAAAAAAABdc/XpkVWx-aovQ/s1600/claymaps.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mjCm5rNe__g/UqQDmeEyLKI/AAAAAAAABdc/XpkVWx-aovQ/s640/claymaps.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, they painted their maps according to the characteristics of each type of landform: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AE1x4t8i_Y4/UqQD3FOd16I/AAAAAAAABdk/MZ91Q0lPUIc/s1600/paintingmaps2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AE1x4t8i_Y4/UqQD3FOd16I/AAAAAAAABdk/MZ91Q0lPUIc/s640/paintingmaps2.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fa6Rzd9D-ws/UqQEBuvPHkI/AAAAAAAABds/7wyMFArk9Bs/s1600/paintingmaps.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fa6Rzd9D-ws/UqQEBuvPHkI/AAAAAAAABds/7wyMFArk9Bs/s640/paintingmaps.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bxFHaxXEfoc/UqQEOkCZlVI/AAAAAAAABd0/v7K--PzgiHA/s1600/paintingmaps3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bxFHaxXEfoc/UqQEOkCZlVI/AAAAAAAABd0/v7K--PzgiHA/s640/paintingmaps3.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J0MPWGFf5cQ/UqQEv7nYpBI/AAAAAAAABeA/itPa306re-Q/s1600/mapsbeforelabels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J0MPWGFf5cQ/UqQEv7nYpBI/AAAAAAAABeA/itPa306re-Q/s640/mapsbeforelabels.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, students labeled each type of landform on their maps when they were dry: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q4gMhfS1Fss/UqQE_CjhdLI/AAAAAAAABeI/3bhzCD9zD6A/s1600/landformmap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q4gMhfS1Fss/UqQE_CjhdLI/AAAAAAAABeI/3bhzCD9zD6A/s640/landformmap.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xMnFDgoVucE/UqQFQTAArAI/AAAAAAAABeQ/WVq4A4eXLFE/s1600/landformmap2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xMnFDgoVucE/UqQFQTAArAI/AAAAAAAABeQ/WVq4A4eXLFE/s640/landformmap2.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36xUXz0OvGQ/UqQFYqTOh5I/AAAAAAAABeY/_VX17xn6274/s1600/landformmap3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36xUXz0OvGQ/UqQFYqTOh5I/AAAAAAAABeY/_VX17xn6274/s640/landformmap3.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students loved how fun and engaging it was to make the landform maps!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Homemade Clay Recipe</u></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(Perfected by my wonderful teacher's aide who mixes </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>it together for my class every year!)</b></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix together one 5-pound bag of flour with 5 canisters of table salt. </span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add water until your dough reaches the desired consistency. It will be sticky! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-12797312583356383712013-11-18T17:24:00.002-08:002013-11-18T17:24:23.962-08:00Favorite Thanksgiving Books & A Very Perky Turkey! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Some of my favorite Thanksgiving books to read with my class are: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A Plump and Perky Turkey</i> by Teresa Bateman</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Arthur's Thanksgiving</i> by Marc Brown</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving</i> by Dav Pilkey</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This is the Feast</i> by Diane Z. Shore</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Magic Tree House Non-Fiction Research Guide: Pilgrims </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Thanksgiving on Thursday</i> by Mary Pope Osborne </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made this turkey last week. Each student cut out his/her own feather and could use any colors or patterns to design it. The students were a bit unsure of why we only had them decorate ONE feather. After putting up the bulletin board, they understood why each person only decorated one. Our turkey looked much better and had a lot more personality when we combined our creative efforts and worked together! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather </span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-84112423707958581762013-11-11T14:45:00.002-08:002013-11-11T14:45:40.303-08:00Time Savers with Blog Hoppin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-SvSUF-_IY/UoAW5eLBubI/AAAAAAAABZY/S7HxJ12cNsQ/s1600/wearethankfulbloghop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-SvSUF-_IY/UoAW5eLBubI/AAAAAAAABZY/S7HxJ12cNsQ/s400/wearethankfulbloghop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog Hoppin</a> this week! Monday's topic? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Number One Time Saver Tip:</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always prepare my resources for the next week before I leave school on Friday afternoon. Because everything is organized and in its place, I can walk out of school and not worry about getting everything together on Monday morning. I have a file folder for each day of the week. It saves me valuable time, because everything is where it needs to be when I walk into the classroom on Monday morning and every morning there after. You can read more about how I keep my classroom organized <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/08/teacher-week-13-organizing-for.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTlA_wrC7Fs/UoAXsKsgvQI/AAAAAAAABZk/aIdmv419ls0/s1600/filefolders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTlA_wrC7Fs/UoAXsKsgvQI/AAAAAAAABZk/aIdmv419ls0/s640/filefolders.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You can pick up my file folder labels in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Days-of-the-Week-File-Folder-Labels-827838" target="_blank">TPT shop</a>. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Number Two:</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are your students always asking, "Miss so & so, what time do we go to Recess? PE? Lunch? Art? Music? Fill in the blank..." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The display I created below saves me time by not having to answer these questions during instruction time. The students know better than to ask me what time we go somewhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Number Three:</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students never question me about the daily schedule. I post our schedule every single morning so the students know what we'll be doing all day. They are definitely creatures of habit so I made a "Be Flexible" tag for our chart. I put this up when we do anything that deviates from the normal schedule - a school wide assembly, guest speaker, etc. Again, the students know better than to waste class time by asking me what subject comes next in our school day. A few seconds saved here and there really do add up!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course there are those days when I (<b>GASP!</b>) forget to change the daily schedule. They are always so quick to point out their teacher's mistakes! :) </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3ALFEUDcUU/UoAiTZGaHKI/AAAAAAAABaQ/Q_KqF7SiQio/s1600/dailyschedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3ALFEUDcUU/UoAiTZGaHKI/AAAAAAAABaQ/Q_KqF7SiQio/s640/dailyschedule.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Number Four:</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One way I save time before I even get to school in the morning is by having my lunch packed and ready to go the night before. I try to pack a few days worth of lunches and snacks on Sunday nights so I don't have to worry about it during the week: </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uhZaXCmmS9o/UoAlbVLYu5I/AAAAAAAABac/EYEZTns81uY/s1600/lunchcontainers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uhZaXCmmS9o/UoAlbVLYu5I/AAAAAAAABac/EYEZTns81uY/s640/lunchcontainers.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course some weekends are busier than others and this isn't always a reality. When I do have the time to prep everything in advance, it saves me so much time and energy on busy school nights!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RCD2hUk5W_0/UoAlifyyEWI/AAAAAAAABak/FMtU80rzs80/s1600/lunch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RCD2hUk5W_0/UoAlifyyEWI/AAAAAAAABak/FMtU80rzs80/s640/lunch.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you save time during the school day? Let me know! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-26374321217333719062013-11-01T21:34:00.000-07:002013-11-01T21:34:26.379-07:00Five for Friday - November 1, 2013 <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2013/11/five-for-friday-linky-party-november-1.html" target="_blank">Doodle Bugs</a> to share some </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">highlights</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from my week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I started out the school week with our school's annual Trunk or Treat event last Sunday evening. I dressed up as Ms. Frizzle from <i>The Magic School Bus</i>! We had quite the crew with my <b>amazing</b> student teacher as The Magic School Bus, another friend as Liz, and two teachers at my school were D.A. and Keesha. We handed out candy and books to anxious and excited trick-or-treaters! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. We read some fun books this week: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Click-Clack-Boo-Tricky-Treat/dp/1442465530" target="_blank">Click, Clack, Boo</a></i> by Doreen Cronin</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw1DeJjUAs4/UnR7eBJ0cfI/AAAAAAAABX0/j1KXa3tqT1k/s1600/clickclackboo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw1DeJjUAs4/UnR7eBJ0cfI/AAAAAAAABX0/j1KXa3tqT1k/s400/clickclackboo.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Spider-Doreen-Cronin/dp/0062233009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383365551&sr=1-1&keywords=diary+of+a+spider" target="_blank">Diary of a Spider</a></i> by Doreen Cronin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notice a theme here? Doreen Cronin is one of my favorite children's book authors. Her books have my students laughing hysterically every.single.time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another fun one was <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mostly-Monsterly-Tammi-Sauer/dp/1416961100/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383365778&sr=1-1&keywords=mostly+monsterly" target="_blank">Mostly Monsterly</a></i> by Tammi Sauer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The students worked together with partners to draft, revise, proofread and publish Halloween acrostic poems. I love it - they all have their mini dictionaries and thesauruses out on their desks and are putting them to good use! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Halloween party fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made popcorn and candy corn hands: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And played Halloween BINGO: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They all LOVED when I passed out the free homework pass: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. My students are currently obsessed with making homework for me, their friends and our student teacher: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was your week? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-9464087872204336932013-10-30T23:04:00.000-07:002013-10-30T23:07:21.299-07:00Martin Luther & The Reformation<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've been busy learning all about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation this week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We began our study by reading Paul Maier's book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Man-Changed-World/dp/0758606265/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383196450&sr=8-1&keywords=martin+luther+book" target="_blank">Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World</a></i>. It's a great book that teaches about the life of Martin Luther. <i>Reformation, recant, indulgences, translated, Wittenberg, Theses</i> - these are big words for 2nd graders. The book does a great job describing what was happening during this time in history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were excited to learn that </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Mighty Fortress is Our God</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was written almost 500 years ago by Martin Luther and we still sing it today. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After reading the book and learning the song, we moved on to learn about Luther's Seal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found two Luther Seals in our school: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DZX-j5xvTOQ/UnHp2jiuKNI/AAAAAAAABWA/lzCian_8hL8/s1600/sealdownstairs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DZX-j5xvTOQ/UnHp2jiuKNI/AAAAAAAABWA/lzCian_8hL8/s640/sealdownstairs.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then learned the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">significance</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of each part: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each child picked five interesting facts to write about the life of Martin Luther: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And they decorated a brown piece of construction paper to look like the Wittenberg church door, where Luther posted the 95 Theses on October 31, 1517: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love how different they all turned out. This student had fun writing all the way to 95: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The church doors served as the book cover for our Martin Luther project. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the book was opened there were 5 facts (we're working on distinguishing between fact and opinion) about Martin Luther, Luther's Seal and an explanation for each part. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully it won't be another 2 months until I blog about what's happening in my classroom. Lutheran school teachers: What are you doing to teach your students about Martin Luther and the Reformation? I would love to hear your ideas!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-47787222864760261582013-09-12T22:07:00.000-07:002013-09-12T22:14:17.598-07:00Ed Surge Meet Up at Google!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you heard of <a href="http://www.meetup.com/" target="_blank">Meet Up</a>? I love this website because it gives you the opportunity to find various Meet Up groups in the city where you live. There are various groups for runners, educators, writers, hikers, etc. I've been to a few Ed Tech Meet Ups in San Francisco and all of them have been fantastic. I attended an event last night that put engineers, entrepreneurs and educators in the same room to discuss issues in education. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night's Meet Up was sponsored by <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/" target="_blank">Ed Surge</a> and the event was held at the Google campus in San Francisco. If you're not familiar with <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/" target="_blank">Ed Surge</a>, head on over to <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/" target="_blank">their website </a>to learn more. Weekly newsletters and a frequently updated website keep educators, developers and entrepreneurs up to date on the "latest innovations in education technology." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">San Francisco really is a small city! I was able to reconnect with a teacher I taught summer school with a few years ago. She just started a San Francisco group for the <a href="http://www.cue.org/" target="_blank">CUE</a> (Computer Using Educators) corporation. Is anyone out there a member of CUE? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was also able to spend some time speaking with a representative from <a href="http://motionmathgames.com/" target="_blank">Motion Math</a>. Motion Math apps are "fun math games that turn <i>screen time </i>into <i>learning time</i>." I'm always looking for apps to recommend to parents. Some of the games I saw demonstrated last night were perfect for my 2nd grade students. I can't wait to hear their reviews of the app! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the wall we could write on at last night's event. Ed Surge representatives posed the following question: <i>What challenges in education do you want to solve?</i> Anyone could grab a dry erase marker and start writing. Here are a few of my favorites and ones I would have written if they weren't already on the wall! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I admire most about <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/" target="_blank">Ed Surge</a> is how hard they are working to bridge the gap between engineers, entrepreneurs and educators. Thank you Ed Surge! You have a happy educator who will keep coming back to your Meet Ups. What a great night of networking and discussing ways to solve problems in the educational system. We're all working together to close the achievement gap and I couldn't be more excited to be part of the conversation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The view from the Google office isn't too shabby. I just <b>love</b> this City by the Bay! For those of you who live far away, you can check out a live stream of the Bay Lights </span><a href="http://thebaylights.org/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lights are on from dusk - 2am Pacific Time. I must say, though, the view is much better in person. </span></div>
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<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-77205610410115404082013-09-02T22:46:00.002-07:002013-09-02T22:46:45.330-07:00Main Idea & Details Game! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm always looking for ways to get my students out of their desks and working around the classroom. They love "working around the room" and leaving their desks behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always play the Jeopardy theme song as a transition when working around the room individually, with partners or in small groups. When the music stops they have to be in a spot or I have them return to their desks to do their work and that's just <i>boring </i>sometimes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We work around the room <i>a lot</i> during writing workshop time! They just love sitting on the floor and rugs with their pencils, erasers, dictionaries and writing notebooks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our first unit in writing workshop is learning how to write a paragraph. We've been working <i>really</i> hard on identifying main ideas and details. This can be a really tough concept for 2nd grade students. Before we begin writing paragraphs, we take the time to really understand main ideas and supporting details. We'll do a lot of practice like this: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is the main idea of these groups of words? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">glue, pencil, markers - <b>main idea: school supplies</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">California, Indiana, Michigan - <b>main idea: states</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mexico, Canada, United States - <b>main idea: countries</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once they have a firm grasp on finding the main idea of a group of words, we move on to identifying the main idea in a group of sentences. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I created <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Main-Idea-Details-Game-851937" target="_blank">this main idea and details game</a> to use in class last week. They worked in groups of three and forgot how much they were learning, because it felt like a game to them! Remember how I said I like to get them out of their seats? They had so much fun working on this activity at different spots around the classroom. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can pick up the game for free in my TPT store </span><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Main-Idea-Details-Game-851937" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I placed four sentences in each envelope, numbered one to seven. The students discussed them together, identified the main idea and then recorded it on the yellow recording sheet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like to make our work in class relevant to their everyday lives so I made up sentences that they could relate to. The group below is working on the Starbucks sentences. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students had to identify the main idea from the following sentences that were mixed up inside envelope number seven: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He likes regular coffee with cream and sugar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>My dad loves to go to Starbucks before work. </u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes he buys a bagel with cream cheese. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He always leaves a tip for the barista. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know my students really grasp the concept when they can pick out the main idea from a group of mixed up sentences. It's easy for them to identify the main idea/topic in a paragraph, but much harder when they have to read several sentences that aren't in a particular order. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you want to know how much my students <b>LOVED</b> this activity? We only had time to make it through four stations before it was time for lunch and recess. When I said it was time to line up there was a collective, "NOOOO!! Not yet! We're having so much fun!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me know if you download the game and use it with your class! <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The game can be played independently, with partners or in a small group setting. For an extension activity students can create their own set of four sentences and have their peers identify the main idea. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Can <b>YOU</b> identify the main idea of my blog post? I sure hope so or you might need to come spend a day in 2nd grade! :) My students are experts so they can teach you!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-31972858716478196882013-08-30T16:06:00.003-07:002013-08-30T16:28:12.428-07:00Five for Friday - August 30, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's the end of week #2 and we've been busy in 2nd grade: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I blogged about <a href="https://www.remind101.com/" target="_blank">Remind 101's</a> awesome text messaging service on Sunday. You can read about it <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/08/remind-101-san-francisco-based-tech.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I did a demonstration this week and taught some of the teachers on staff how to sign up and create an account. I'm so excited we have several teachers now who are using this awesome service! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. We're learning about our families and making family trees:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Students brought in artifacts from their family's past. I'm loving the fact that a Boys II Men cassette tape is considered an artifact by 2nd graders! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">None of my students knew about All 4 One, but when I started to sing "I Swear" for the entire class, they informed me that the minions on Despicable Me 2 sing their own version of the song. I've not seen the movie, but I did find a Youtube video of their cover. My students are obsessed with minions right now! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out the old Nintendo game one student brought in: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. We've been doing a lot of fun activities in social studies. We learned that people used to make <b>ALL</b> of their own food. We made our own butter on Friday afternoon and everyone loved tasting it on crackers. One student remarked, "I'm sure glad I was born when I was. Life was hard back then!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. My students LOVE this video every year. I usually don't play it until we study polygons, but we've been working with pattern blocks a lot this week. A few students asked me why we only had hexagons and not pentagons or octagons! I showed them this short video clip at the end of the lesson so they could learn more about polygons: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a great three day weekend! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-18203846109244092162013-08-25T20:10:00.001-07:002013-08-29T16:55:16.910-07:00Remind 101 - San Francisco Based Tech Company! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does anyone use Remind 101 in their classrooms? <a href="https://www.remind101.com/" target="_blank">Remind 101</a> is a one-way text messaging system that allows teachers to safely text students and their parents. I am LOVING this resource! Best of all? It's a San Francisco based company!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The home page on their website states that Remind 101 is "A safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. Free." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It takes less than 5 minutes to create an account and class code. Teachers quickly type out the text they want to send and Remind 101 does all the work. Are you busy at 3:00pm with bus duty, but want to send out a text to your class? No worries. Remind 101 allows you to schedule texts for anytime of the day. No teacher, parent or student cell phone numbers are ever shared, making it a super safe way to stay in contact long after the last school bell has sounded at the end of the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're studying ancestors, what life was like long ago, artifacts, family trees, etc. in social studies right now. Check out the text I sent my students' parents tonight:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I introduced this <b>FREE</b> service to my school parents at Back to School Night. I asked everyone to pull out their cell phones and text my class code to the number provided by Remind 101. You should have heard the "oohs" and "ahhs!" I was able to demonstrate the messaging process on my SMARTboard and everyone's phones buzzed at the same time with a "Welcome to Back to School Night" text. I've received nothing but positive feedback about the few texts I've sent the first week of school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I shared this resource with our <i>incredibly</i> tech savvy 7th grade teacher at a staff dinner party on Friday night. She has already contacted her students (love the power of technology!) and asked them to bring in their cell phones this week for a demonstration. I only wish I could be a fly on her classroom wall when all her students' phones are buzzing at the same time with a text from their teacher! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Technology is changing the way we communicate. I love Remind 101's "about us" section: "We believe great education is the first step to solving many of the world's most pressing problems. Our purpose is to build products to make it easier for teachers to provide that education...The connected classroom is rapidly evolving. Remind 101 helps innovative teachers take advantage of technology in a way that frees up their time to focus on what they do best: teach." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you, Remind 101. You have a loyal subscriber! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-39410345726082595952013-08-14T17:26:00.002-07:002013-08-14T20:53:03.238-07:00Teacher Week '13: Organizing for Instruction <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I love an organized classroom and have a few tips to share! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a file folder for each day of the week. I use these folders to keep handouts, supplies, notes, etc. organized. I keep these on the right hand side of my desk, always within reach. Before I leave school on Friday afternoon I make sure everything is organized for the next school week. When I walk in on Monday morning everything is organized and I'm not scrambling to put together last minute lessons. I just open up the folder and all of my supplies are organized by the order of subjects for any given day. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I laminated the folders so they will easily last all year. </i></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F0zKCQoDarg/UgwZOu4Wh5I/AAAAAAAABNA/ZhVutLT740E/s1600/planbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F0zKCQoDarg/UgwZOu4Wh5I/AAAAAAAABNA/ZhVutLT740E/s640/planbook.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uZTAkyntsZw/UgwYR51CrTI/AAAAAAAABMw/9-r0vjuaL8U/s1600/filefolders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uZTAkyntsZw/UgwYR51CrTI/AAAAAAAABMw/9-r0vjuaL8U/s640/filefolders.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You can pick up your own set of labels in my TPT store <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Days-of-the-Week-File-Folder-Labels-827838" target="_blank">HERE</a>! </i></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8n_nBAZ_xk/UgwZXeKucVI/AAAAAAAABNI/FsIq-3vXG94/s1600/filefolderpictures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8n_nBAZ_xk/UgwZXeKucVI/AAAAAAAABNI/FsIq-3vXG94/s640/filefolderpictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I assign every student a number at the beginning of the school year that corresponds to their name in alphabetical order. Students are required to write their name <b>AND</b> number on each assignment. My aide (yes, I have an <b>INCREDIBLE</b> teacher's aide) and I can quickly put assignments in alphabetical order by looking at the numbers. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each student has a mailbox with his/her number. On Friday morning all graded assignments and projects are placed in the student mailboxes. My aide files all of the papers for me. We don't waste valuable class time passing out graded assignments!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mailboxes are shoe organizers from Target. I bought them 5 years ago and they have worked perfectly ever since. I rarely interrupt class to give a child a note or reminder from the office. I usually just drop it in their mailbox and they know to check it for mail at the end of every school day.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh07ytyE7K4/UgwbIboI2xI/AAAAAAAABNY/CfurDNwzxRs/s1600/mailboxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh07ytyE7K4/UgwbIboI2xI/AAAAAAAABNY/CfurDNwzxRs/s640/mailboxes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used labels and binder clips to write the numbers for each mailbox: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P1fkYxjZ8is/UgwbbYI1mQI/AAAAAAAABNg/AnQbwPAfvnk/s1600/closeupnumbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P1fkYxjZ8is/UgwbbYI1mQI/AAAAAAAABNg/AnQbwPAfvnk/s640/closeupnumbers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a ton of storage space in my classroom, but I'm always looking for more! I do not like a cluttered classroom so I bought some table skirts: </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZ4BvI3aMyg/UgwddFRUY7I/AAAAAAAABNw/0wDmkVMsBmM/s1600/tableskirts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZ4BvI3aMyg/UgwddFRUY7I/AAAAAAAABNw/0wDmkVMsBmM/s640/tableskirts.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And look at all the storage I have underneath! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this was visible to my students and parents it would drive me NUTS! I have a few desks and chairs hidden under another table. Table skirts provide instant storage and a pop of color to any classroom! </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jToZE_on2qw/Ugwdrct7UGI/AAAAAAAABN4/CABOXup5cx4/s1600/storage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jToZE_on2qw/Ugwdrct7UGI/AAAAAAAABN4/CABOXup5cx4/s640/storage.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I dust and clean every square inch of my classroom at the beginning of every school year. I've been putting it off for a few days, but I finally climbed on top of my cabinets to wipe down the dust and hang up my alphabet! </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkMY8Ywtho8/Ugwd-n4W6sI/AAAAAAAABOA/_fJT1zGHLxg/s1600/abchangup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkMY8Ywtho8/Ugwd-n4W6sI/AAAAAAAABOA/_fJT1zGHLxg/s640/abchangup.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are some of your favorite ways to stay organized? Share your tips and tricks in the comments! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-52489648527660060822013-08-13T23:00:00.002-07:002013-08-13T23:00:24.493-07:00Teacher Week '13: Classroom Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2013/08/teacher-week-classroom-digs.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RuEKft9qKao/Ugg8EmzAxZI/AAAAAAAABKE/Gfm8q8U8cao/s200/bloghopping13.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w53FccgphI4/Ugg8DPm-EmI/AAAAAAAABKA/o_dfboEE9Js/s1600/teacherweek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w53FccgphI4/Ugg8DPm-EmI/AAAAAAAABKA/o_dfboEE9Js/s320/teacherweek.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2013/08/teacher-week-classroom-digs.html" target="_blank">Blog Hoppin' </a>for a Classroom Tour. My classroom isn't completely set up yet, but I'll share a few pictures. My classroom was repainted (YAY!) over summer vacation so I had to hang everything back up on the walls. I'm not a big fan of having an egg shell colored classroom so I've filled the spaces with bright colors! I'm loving my Dr. Suess theme again this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students love to create messages with the magnetic letters on my desk: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3fN5X_UPO6M/UgsWFJv-llI/AAAAAAAABLU/Q7sVI-_Cfm4/s1600/desk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3fN5X_UPO6M/UgsWFJv-llI/AAAAAAAABLU/Q7sVI-_Cfm4/s640/desk.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">view from my desk - 21 students (smallest class ever!) this year: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_42kocklXTA/UgsWW_cmACI/AAAAAAAABLc/QuXznYxTulY/s1600/viewfromdesk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_42kocklXTA/UgsWW_cmACI/AAAAAAAABLc/QuXznYxTulY/s640/viewfromdesk.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">front of the classroom - I <b>love</b> my SMARTboard! </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jLok1GRvVA4/UgsXBfJkh_I/AAAAAAAABLo/q6bo-OvrcY8/s1600/frontofroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jLok1GRvVA4/UgsXBfJkh_I/AAAAAAAABLo/q6bo-OvrcY8/s640/frontofroom.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Travel books! This table is full of books about other states, countries and cultures: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9JA9F39kSow/UgsXXHfqJ6I/AAAAAAAABLw/hXcTAY_rr2A/s1600/travelbooks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9JA9F39kSow/UgsXXHfqJ6I/AAAAAAAABLw/hXcTAY_rr2A/s640/travelbooks.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">our spot for counting to the 100th day of school: </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-af6WUG5tAWA/UgsXftH4ZFI/AAAAAAAABL4/X5z4LYkNJ5k/s1600/100days.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-af6WUG5tAWA/UgsXftH4ZFI/AAAAAAAABL4/X5z4LYkNJ5k/s640/100days.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The polka dot rugs, small black table & red shaggy rug are all new this year. I always sit in the rocking chair for class read alouds: </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1sDb_ri0RiA/UgsX6gl4XlI/AAAAAAAABMA/Z3OCKlWwUTY/s1600/backwall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1sDb_ri0RiA/UgsX6gl4XlI/AAAAAAAABMA/Z3OCKlWwUTY/s640/backwall.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Truffula trees from <i>The Lorax</i>: </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZcrUZMNjpI/UgsYVFccOxI/AAAAAAAABMI/zwMaYOIjSLo/s1600/loraxboard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZcrUZMNjpI/UgsYVFccOxI/AAAAAAAABMI/zwMaYOIjSLo/s640/loraxboard.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have books scattered <b>ALL</b> over my classroom: </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7NDOkYSN9A/UgsYxnn7siI/AAAAAAAABMQ/bztsy5GWDxU/s1600/classroomlibrary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7NDOkYSN9A/UgsYxnn7siI/AAAAAAAABMQ/bztsy5GWDxU/s640/classroomlibrary.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>If you want to read about my love of $5 books from Kohl's, check out <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2012/08/los-chimichangos.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students love sitting in the beach chair with a good book: </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0xF7v2Il7Fg/UgsZFYnI-WI/AAAAAAAABMY/Loz0MTtH7NA/s1600/clockwall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0xF7v2Il7Fg/UgsZFYnI-WI/AAAAAAAABMY/Loz0MTtH7NA/s640/clockwall.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still have some work to do, but it's almost ready for Monday morning! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does your classroom look like? Be sure to link up with <a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2013/08/teacher-week-classroom-digs.html" target="_blank">Blog Hoppin'</a> and show us!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-3982323236154389912013-08-11T22:31:00.000-07:002013-08-11T22:34:39.280-07:00Teacher Week '13 - Meet the Teacher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2013/08/teacher-week-13-lets-talk-about-me.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrQiKUCrYic/UgakEpJmKwI/AAAAAAAABGM/RtfbTLf4ZTo/s200/bloghopping13.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog Hoppin'</a> for Teacher Week '13. I'm excited to meet some new blogger buddies this week and read about some great new ideas to implement in my classroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday's Topic is "Meet the Teacher!" I'll tell you a little bit more about myself using pictures. We call this a photo essay in 2nd grade!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what I look like according to my students: </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5SKUO-guRTw/Uga1YmwDhfI/AAAAAAAABHw/knI6-dmi9Gs/s1600/kidpicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5SKUO-guRTw/Uga1YmwDhfI/AAAAAAAABHw/knI6-dmi9Gs/s400/kidpicture.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grew up in Indiana: </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dEMYWvTEm_o/Uga1uU1GtGI/AAAAAAAABH4/7lf1TrcVH_0/s1600/indianasunset.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dEMYWvTEm_o/Uga1uU1GtGI/AAAAAAAABH4/7lf1TrcVH_0/s640/indianasunset.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and moved to San Francisco after college!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FXy5DsP8rbY/Ugaq2jp7pCI/AAAAAAAABGg/8dyFBAjwjeg/s1600/paintedladies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FXy5DsP8rbY/Ugaq2jp7pCI/AAAAAAAABGg/8dyFBAjwjeg/s640/paintedladies.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I teach 2nd grade & love it! Check out the frog life cycle below. Does it get much cuter? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do not like giving up control of my classroom to a substitute teacher. I leave so many post it notes, reminders, supplies and extra activities it's ridiculous. My desk usually looks like this when I have to take a day off: </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Oll6GkXBtM/UgawZ2QQG-I/AAAAAAAABHU/oD0SzqAD6bk/s1600/subplans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Oll6GkXBtM/UgawZ2QQG-I/AAAAAAAABHU/oD0SzqAD6bk/s640/subplans.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite science units every year is teaching the students about plants. We conduct several experiments to learn the functions of each part: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to be a gymnast when I was young. I competed with a club and my high school team. Sometimes, I still like to pretend I'm a gymnast: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I'm not quite used to flipping around anymore (and usually see silver stars when I try!), I decided to take up long distance running. I ran my first marathon last December and I'm currently training for my 2nd one! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes, I find time to sew and make pilgrim outfits for colonial day: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I usually have a booth at our school's annual Christmas Faire too. My days in 4H have paid off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am obsessed with avocados and making homemade guacamole on a near weekly basis: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love to travel and experience other cultures: </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7zlgxQgUaRo/UgbAMOJhzCI/AAAAAAAABJU/5oHvTgsRMgc/s1600/italy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7zlgxQgUaRo/UgbAMOJhzCI/AAAAAAAABJU/5oHvTgsRMgc/s400/italy.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to link up with Blog Hoppin' all week! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-83347968797907570552013-08-09T11:12:00.000-07:002013-08-09T11:13:38.353-07:00Five for Friday - August 9th, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LFFtqniOJL0/UgUgJRW8_eI/AAAAAAAABEA/Et1_eWebCMc/s1600/fiveforfridaynew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LFFtqniOJL0/UgUgJRW8_eI/AAAAAAAABEA/Et1_eWebCMc/s320/fiveforfridaynew.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My week in pictures:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Last week, I was given several boxes of school supplies from a friend who works at McGraw-Hill. They are downsizing offices and did some major cleaning. I recruited 4 of my teacher friends to help me sort through the several boxes of school and office supplies. I don't think we'll ever run out of paper clips or file folders ever again!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8o8q4_XhDw/UgUgRm0Q3UI/AAAAAAAABEI/ft43lW8ENiA/s1600/supplies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8o8q4_XhDw/UgUgRm0Q3UI/AAAAAAAABEI/ft43lW8ENiA/s400/supplies.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also dropped off several boxes of supplies to <a href="http://sfcityacademy.com/" target="_blank">City Academy</a>, located in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The Tenderloin has the highest crime rate of any district in San Francisco. <a href="http://sfcityacademy.com/index.php?nid=37252&s=au" target="_blank">City Academy's mission</a> is to</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"transform the Tenderloin Community by breaking the cycle early of poverty, violence and addiction through educating and empowering children to overcome those obstacles." I posted <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-summer-reading-list.html" target="_blank">here</a> about </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How Children Succeed</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Paul Tough. It addresses the issue of poverty and how it takes its toll on children. Although I teach at a very affluent school, I know there are several schools in the city that need extra support and encouragement from the community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. I made a trip to IKEA and found some great rugs for my classroom!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. My classroom theme is Dr. Suess again this year. I'm currently in the process of painting some truffula trees from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Lorax-Classic-Seuss-Dr/dp/0394823370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376070899&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lorax" target="_blank">The Lorax</a></i>. My polka dotted IKEA rugs were wrapped around the cardboard tubes below, which will eventually be the base of the trees. Never doubt a teacher's ability to be resourceful! </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ufQZbDaiKoQ/UgUlkmVOiEI/AAAAAAAABFA/tMT_4utTdI0/s1600/theloraxbookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ufQZbDaiKoQ/UgUlkmVOiEI/AAAAAAAABFA/tMT_4utTdI0/s400/theloraxbookcover.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. In keeping with my Dr. Suess theme, I decided to make my own birthday chart again this year: "Horton Heard It's Your Birthday!" I've been obsessed with </span><a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Kevin & Amanda's</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> smiley monster font for bulletin boards and posters. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Horton-Hears-Who-Dr-Seuss/dp/0394800788/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376070820&sr=8-2&keywords=horton+hears+a+who" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JZfOtiNVSy8/UgUszAmdkmI/AAAAAAAABF8/jBZPHGMya9M/s400/hortonbookcover.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Totally unrelated to teaching, but I am <i>obsessed</i> with making trifles. (Just ask the teachers at my school!) Usually I just throw some ingredients together and hope for the best combination of flavors, but when I found this s'mores trifle recipe on <a href="http://www.momendeavors.com/2013/06/brownie-smores-trifle-dessert.html" target="_blank">this blog</a> I knew I had to try it out. It actually tasted like a s'more straight from the campfire. Broiling the marshmallows for a few minutes gave the top layer a toasted look <i>and</i> taste. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a huge fan of my Pampered Chef trifle dish. I think you can make even iceberg lettuce look good if you just throw it inside a glass trifle dish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm off to the teacher's store this afternoon to pick up a few more supplies for my classroom. We have a "Meet and Greet" night next week and then school begins the week after that! I'm anxious and excited for a new school year to start. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-33176300176762620642013-08-05T23:55:00.000-07:002013-08-05T23:55:59.935-07:00My Summer Reading List! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's a teacher to do on summer vacation? READ of course! My summer reading list is below: </span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Ruins-Novel-Jess-Walter/dp/0061928178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375765826&sr=8-1&keywords=beautiful+ruins" target="_blank">Beautiful Ruins</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Jess Walter </span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a 4.5 hour train ride to Berlin and couldn't stand the thought of making the trip without a good book. I went to The American Book Store in Warsaw and was <strike>surprised</strike> shocked to find </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Financial-Lives-Poets-Novel/dp/0061916056" target="_blank">The Financial Lives of Poets</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> written by Jess Walter, the author of <i>Beautiful Ruins</i>. I read through the book in just a few short hours! </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Runner-John-Parker-Jr/dp/1416597891" target="_blank">Once a Runner</a> </i>by John Parker Jr. </span></li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PH235Vc97bE/UgCPd7SV5kI/AAAAAAAABDI/N3Bcvn8EDWg/s1600/oncearunner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PH235Vc97bE/UgCPd7SV5kI/AAAAAAAABDI/N3Bcvn8EDWg/s320/oncearunner.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Children-Succeed-Curiosity-Character/dp/0544104404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375768012&sr=8-1&keywords=how+children+succeed" target="_blank">How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character</a> </i>by Paul Tough. The short synopsis on the back of the book reads, "Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But in <i>How Children Succeed</i>, Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter more have to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, optimism, and self-control." It's reminding me a lot about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Global-Achievement-Gap-Need/dp/0465002307" target="_blank">The Global Achievement Gap</a> by Tony Wagner. (Hey you teachers - how's <i>that</i> for a text-to-text connection?!) Because of the focus on standardized testing in today's society, students in too many classrooms are not being equipped with the skills that are necessary to succeed in the 21st century.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> One of my favorite passages (I've **starred** <b>and</b> </span><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">underlined</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> it!) is as follows, "This push on tests," he told me when I visited his office one fall day, "is missing out on some serious parts of what it means to be a successful human." YES! YES! YES! Can we shout this from the mountain tops? I'm blessed to teach at a school where testing is not our priority, but rather educating the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>whole</b></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> child - socially, emotionally and academically. And you know what? My students do <strike>just fine</strike> outstanding on our ONE standardized test in the spring. I know many teachers are faced with standardized testing and practice tests all year long. How are students ever supposed to develop a love for learning when (nearly every week) they are forced to answer multiple choice questions on a test that is culturally and socio-econocially biased? These tests are not fair assessments of the progress a child has made over the course of an academic year. What we as educators need to focus on is "grit, curiosity and the hidden power of character" as we step foot in our classrooms every day. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you read <i>How Children Succeed</i>? Maybe all I need is another day of sunshine, blue skies, Peet's coffee and a bench by the San Francisco Bay to finish the book. I'm not quite half way through and I'm loving it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was on your summer reading list? I'm always looking for great educational research books. Tell me your favorites! </span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-48464010549679224952013-08-01T15:12:00.000-07:002013-08-01T15:12:06.976-07:00Getting Ready for Year Number Six! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sixth year of teaching in California begins in a few weeks and I'm excited to get back in the classroom. I've enjoyed every minute of my summer vacation! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few highlights from my incredible summer break - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's a teacher to do on the last day of school? Head to Lake Tahoe! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few relaxing days at Tahoe, I was back in the city to teach summer school. I taught a three week Wild Weather class and some hip hop dance classes. It was my third summer teaching at </span><a href="http://www.summergate.org/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">SummerGATE</a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">would recommend this program to anyone! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The morning after summer school ended, I hopped on a plane for a 21-day adventure in Europe. I had way too much fun! I spent time in - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rome, Italy: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Berlin, Germany: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My trip wouldn't have been complete without a stop in Indiana to visit friends and family! I planned my trip home around my 10 year high school reunion. It was so nice to reconnect with old friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now, it's (almost) back to work! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">School begins August 19th and this is what my classroom looks like right now. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I'll stay away until next week and enjoy a few more days of summer vacation! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though I'm not working IN my classroom just yet, I have school on my mind. I got a little too excited about these Dr. Suess goodies I picked up in the Target Dollar Spot this afternoon. I can't wait to put my classroom together next week! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ABCs & 123s, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-21587213376191303872013-04-22T21:03:00.001-07:002013-04-22T21:03:32.397-07:00Working on the Assembly Line<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started our economics unit last week and it is always a class favorite! Every year my students create their own business, produce goods, offer services, make advertisements, create business cards, film commercials and set up their stores at our annual class market. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My 2nd grade students are the producers and the first grade students are the consumers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learning how to efficiently make goods requires a lesson on the assembly line! Take a look at what we did last week to learn </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about this old manufacturing process: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We watched this short video about Henry Ford and the Model T to understand the need and importance of the assembly line. They love black and white videos!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lesson on assembly lines would not be complete without showing the clip below. My students could not stop laughing at the video and asked me to showed it again. Good, old fashioned humor!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After learning about the history of the assembly line it was time for us to try it out for ourselves by making greeting cards. I put the students in groups and gave them each a specific job: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 1 - Fold the paper in half. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 2 - Glue on the girl or boy paper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 3 - Write <b>Hello! </b>on the front cover. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 4 - Write <b>Love,</b> on the inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 5 - Write <b>Created by 2A</b> on the back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step 6 - Inspect to make sure each job was done correctly &</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> fix any problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, each student created a flow chart showing each job in the assembly line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They loved passing the card down the line to the next student as they raced to complete as many cards as they could. They are well on their way to becoming successful business owners. </span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-15320942726694610242013-04-11T22:24:00.001-07:002013-04-11T22:24:32.455-07:00Sparkling Eyes, Haikus & Worker Ants<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My spring break was filled with family get togethers for Easter, wedding shower and bachelorette party fun for one of my sisters, and a few days in my mom's kindergarten classroom. (Yes, I spent hours inside a school building on my spring break...) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a fantastic (and busy) spring break with family and friends, I've been back in school for almost a week. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This break was </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">exactly</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> what my students needed. They came back to school sweeter than ever and ready to learn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're ever in need of a confidence boost, just spend a day or two with 2nd graders. These kids crack me up and make me smile every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some stories from this week...too cute not to share!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - A few days ago as my class was entering the room, one student stopped and looked at me like she was going to ask a question. She stood there for several seconds. I said, "Can I help you?" Her response, "Oh no, I don't need anything. You just look so pretty." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 - As we were working on haikus in writing workshop time today one boy raised his hand and said, "Miss Schneider, your eyes just sparkle!" (You never know when they raise their hand if what they are about to say actually pertains to the lesson...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of haikus - look what I caught a few of them writing in their notebooks. Melts my heart...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 - We've been learning all about non-fiction text features the past few weeks. Today's <i>Time for Kids</i> magazine was all about ants. They loved watching youtube clips of ants carrying objects several times their own body weight. Later in the day some students were finishing an art project, while a few others were helping me put papers in ABC order. It was then determined that I'm the queen ant and my students are all the worker ants. I just tell them what to do and they get to work...hilarious! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're one big happy colony in 2nd grade! :) </span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-81410619562254630382013-03-26T21:57:00.001-07:002013-04-01T09:43:24.310-07:00Jelly Bean Graph FREEBIE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a quick post...Jelly Bean Graphing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-Jellybean-Graphing-Fun" target="_blank">here</a> to download my Jelly Bean Graph for free. I also created a separate recording page for students to write 3 facts and 2 questions about the data on their graphs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love creating their own questions to ask classmates. It really gets them thinking about the information on the graphs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just pick up a bag of Wonka Sweet Tarts Jelly Beans and you're ready to go! </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLjsQ4_LFdY/UVJ1b2DhEWI/AAAAAAAAA80/6jCw6wa57FY/s1600/EasterJellybeanGraphingFun+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLjsQ4_LFdY/UVJ1b2DhEWI/AAAAAAAAA80/6jCw6wa57FY/s640/EasterJellybeanGraphingFun+copy.jpg" width="492" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're looking for some additional Easter activities just click on the pictures below. You'll be directed to my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Heather-Schneider" target="_blank">TPT store</a> where you can download both ABC order activities for free. <i>Can I really call it a store if everything I've uploaded is free? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What activities are you doing in your classroom to celebrate Easter? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-11649849103185905792013-03-23T14:02:00.000-07:002013-04-01T09:44:59.072-07:00March 22nd Five for Friday & 2 Easter Freebies! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a super busy week! Here's a quick look at what we've been doing...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...there are links to two Easter freebies at the bottom of the post! :) </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zrsv0G4iof0/UUvp9QxmW3I/AAAAAAAAA7s/ad_qs-9fLLE/s1600/fiveforfriday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zrsv0G4iof0/UUvp9QxmW3I/AAAAAAAAA7s/ad_qs-9fLLE/s320/fiveforfriday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to check out <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Doodle Bugs</a> and link up! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I taught my students how to draw a leprechaun. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yNULHhjwDpY/UU4JniTfNYI/AAAAAAAAA78/BdA6J9GArVw/s1600/leprechaunpic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yNULHhjwDpY/UU4JniTfNYI/AAAAAAAAA78/BdA6J9GArVw/s640/leprechaunpic.JPG" width="476" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Side note - I <b>love</b> my SMARTboard, but some things are easier done on a white board. I'm happy to have both in my classroom!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. We painted water color rainbows and made pots of gold for the leprechauns. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DTMFQBdlXrk/UU4J5lrRDpI/AAAAAAAAA8E/YdFRO8LH2WU/s1600/leprechaungold.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DTMFQBdlXrk/UU4J5lrRDpI/AAAAAAAAA8E/YdFRO8LH2WU/s640/leprechaungold.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. We started our science unit on force and motion. They made ramps out of classroom books and measured how far each car rolled. Students conducted four test runs and wrote down their observations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>If you're curious about those blue tape lines on the floor, check out my post about <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/03/lets-learn-about-area.html" target="_blank">area</a>. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. We made prayer journals in religion class. Directions are below!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - Cut a 9" x 12" piece of construction paper in half. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 - Add small pieces of lined paper to the inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3- Fold construction paper in half and staple pages together</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4- Decorate the front cover. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'm assuming these were quick and easy to make. I <i>actually didn't do any of the prep work for this project. My </i><strike style="font-style: italic;">awesome</strike> <strike style="font-style: italic;">amazing</strike><i> </i><strike style="font-style: italic;">wonderful</strike><i> incredible teacher's aide did all the work. Do you have a teacher's aide? I don't know what I would do without her in my classroom every day. She literally saves me <b>hours</b> of work each week!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. We're currently writing a class non-fiction book about the ocean. Each child chose his/her own topic to research. Look at them putting non-fiction text features to use - diagrams, labels, facts, different types of print. These are the first drafts of their pages. We'll work on revising, proofreading and publishing next week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you made it all the way to the bottom, feel free to grab the Easter ABC Order freebies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-ABC-Order-Religious-Words" target="_blank">here</a> for religious words and <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ABC-Order-for-Easter" target="_blank">here</a> for general Easter and spring words. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-53956726359278329202013-03-18T21:00:00.003-07:002013-04-01T09:43:40.020-07:00Geometric Solids Museum - Math Monday Blog Hop<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cindy</a> for the <a href="http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/2013/03/math-monday-blog-hop-91-march-18-2013.html" target="_blank">Math Monday Blog Hop</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As stated in <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-15th-five-for-friday.html" target="_blank">Friday's post</a>, we've been learning about geometric solids in math. To begin the lesson, I taught the class about the six basic geometric solids - cones, cylinders, cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids and spheres. After learning the characteristics of each shape, we went on a quick "Geometric Solids Scavenger Hunt" in the classroom to find examples of each type of solid. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MkxNef13U3s/UUfWXGOjNiI/AAAAAAAAA6c/6JLJYhuxq8E/s1600/geoscavengerhunt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MkxNef13U3s/UUfWXGOjNiI/AAAAAAAAA6c/6JLJYhuxq8E/s400/geoscavengerhunt.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When our scavenger hunt was complete, I explained that we were going to set up a classroom museum to display different types of geometric solids. Their math assignment that night was to go on a scavenger hunt at home and bring in examples of geometric solids they found around the house. You can pick up a free copy of the scavenger hunt template <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Geometric-Solids-Scavenger-Hunt" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning, we all gathered around the museum. Each student had to hold up his/her geometric solid for the class and identify the shape using its correct name. <i>(I always tell my students we have to speak like mathematicians and use proper math vocabulary.) </i>Then, e</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ach student placed his/her geometric solid in the designated section of the museum.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fXdqzvUhML8/UUfXNip786I/AAAAAAAAA6k/vGOCh2fEXG0/s1600/museumcomplete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fXdqzvUhML8/UUfXNip786I/AAAAAAAAA6k/vGOCh2fEXG0/s1600/museumcomplete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fXdqzvUhML8/UUfXNip786I/AAAAAAAAA6k/vGOCh2fEXG0/s400/museumcomplete.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My students have spent a lot of free time visiting the museum and looking at all of the different examples. I want them to understand that math is not simply done with a pencil and paper. The concepts they are learning in math <b>can and will</b> be used in their everyday life. Geometric solids are not just the wooden shapes we learn about in math. We find them around the classroom, in our houses and inside the places where we shop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of my students insisted that we needed to display "Do Not Touch" and "No Flash Photography" signs like the <b>real</b> museums. I gave them some scrap paper and they created these signs to hang up. Shhhh!! Don't tell them I took pictures and broke one of the rules! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-29875792202672306722013-03-15T15:58:00.003-07:002013-03-15T16:01:18.134-07:00March 15th Five for Friday!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Five for Friday time with <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Doodle Bugs</a> again! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. We started our poetry unit in writing workshop. To begin the unit I had each student fill out a K-W-L chart. They had fun listing what they <b>knew</b> about poetry and what they <b>wanted</b> to learn. They'll fill out the <b>learned</b> section when we're completely finished with our study of poetry in a few weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. We've been learning about area this week and we've had <b>a lot</b> of fun. Check out <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/03/lets-learn-about-area.html" target="_blank">this post </a>to see all of the fun activities we did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. I often bring a green smoothie to school for a snack. My students think it looks disgusting and I constantly reassure them that you can't taste the spinach. I told them I would bring in my blender one day and whip up some homemade smoothies. Green smoothies for St. Patrick's Day! They loved this sweet and healthy treat on Friday afternoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Have you heard of Pennies for Patients? It's a campaign we participate in every year to support the <a href="http://www.lls.org/" target="_blank">Leukemia and Lymphoma Society</a>. This year, my class wanted to bring in at least <b>$300</b> to be a gold level class. Well, they exceeded their goal and actually brought in <b>$421.05</b> in a little less than two weeks! They won a class pizza party for bringing in the most money in the entire school. They loved dropping their spare change in the box every morning! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. We set up our Geometric Solids Museum this week. I'll be blogging about this activity on Monday so be sure to check back! Do you have a math project you want to share? Be sure to link up with <a href="http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cindy</a> for the <a href="http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/p/math-monday-blog-hop_30.html" target="_blank">Math Monday Blog Hop</a>! My students <b>insisted</b> we have a "Do Not Touch" and "No Flash Photography" sign like the real museums. So cute! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was your week? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-67973463548605026772013-03-14T20:59:00.007-07:002013-04-01T09:45:22.847-07:00Let's Learn About Area<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've been learning all about area the past few days. Here's what we did during math today: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday afternoon I used blue painter's tape to mark off some areas of the classroom. It was so fun listening to my students when they walked through the door this morning. "Miss Schneider! Why is there tape all over the floor?!" I actually overheard one student say to a friend, "I bet this has something to do with area." </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HiBrVgauIoM/UUKQdWa2oNI/AAAAAAAAA4E/ryCQw8M6cMc/s1600/areacolortiles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HiBrVgauIoM/UUKQdWa2oNI/AAAAAAAAA4E/ryCQw8M6cMc/s640/areacolortiles.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, the students went around to each shape and recorded the area in square units. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1w1tg5O77LY/UUKSA1HBsCI/AAAAAAAAA4M/NYuYFcQTcr0/s1600/findingthearea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1w1tg5O77LY/UUKSA1HBsCI/AAAAAAAAA4M/NYuYFcQTcr0/s640/findingthearea.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, we practiced finding the area of various shapes on the SMARTboard. If you haven't checked out <a href="http://www.ixl.com/" target="_blank">IXL</a> yet, do yourself a favor and get over there right now! It's an online math practice program that is completely organized by grade level. Click <a href="http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-2/area" target="_blank">here</a> to find the area game we played today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, students created their own shapes using color tiles. They carefully traced around their unique shapes and their partners had to find the area using color tiles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you teach your students about area? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather </span></div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-81318009880005693482013-03-12T23:02:00.000-07:002013-03-12T23:02:12.133-07:00Hiking, Dairy Queen & Stickers! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://flyingintofirst.blogspot.com/2013/03/join-my-first-linky-party.html" target="_blank">Mrs. Reed</a> over at <a href="http://flyingintofirst.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Flying into First Grade</a> for her "Let's Get Acquainted" Linky Party. The rules? Tell us three things about yourself using your initials. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>H- Hiking! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These pictures were taken on one of my favorite trails in Lake Tahoe last summer. Beautiful! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I worked at Dairy Queen all through high school and a few summers during college. I loved my time at the DQ and I am proud to say I can still rock the famous curl atop my ice cream cone. I have great memories from my years at the Dairy Queen. I actually don't know the last time I've had ice cream from Dairy Queen, which is probably a good thing...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The owners always put up birthdays and exciting life events on the sign by the highway.This was taken nearly 5 years ago before I moved to San Francisco. </i></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3EGEvVMo8xY/UUAPTIvGUiI/AAAAAAAAA28/WBZUbv68lls/s1600/DQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3EGEvVMo8xY/UUAPTIvGUiI/AAAAAAAAA28/WBZUbv68lls/s640/DQ.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>S- STICKERS! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come on - what teacher <b>doesn't</b> love stickers? Check out these adorable stickers a student gave me. Seriously, have you ever seen a binder clip look so cute? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to link up with <a href="http://flyingintofirst.blogspot.com/2013/03/join-my-first-linky-party.html" target="_blank">Mrs. Reed</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6916951774625325122.post-49097465961847622002013-03-09T13:44:00.001-08:002013-04-01T09:45:42.471-07:00My Week in Review & a Math Freebie! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm linking up with <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Doodle Bugs</a> again. Be sure to link up and tell us about your week! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first two have nothing to do with teaching, but were definitely highlights of my week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I went to Napa to cheer on some friends running the Napa Marathon. The picture below (in the heart of wine country) is where we set up camp, planked, cheered and rang cowbells as people ran by. Sometimes it's more fun cheering than being the one running!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj36irNefo0/UTua0PUEQ9I/AAAAAAAAA1o/BtON1UIYUVM/s1600/napa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj36irNefo0/UTua0PUEQ9I/AAAAAAAAA1o/BtON1UIYUVM/s400/napa.JPG" width="297" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. I watched the Grand Lighting for the new Bay Lights exhibit. The exhibit will be on display from dusk - 2:00am for the next two years. You can watch a live stream of the lights <a href="http://thebaylights.org/" target="_blank">here</a>. This picture doesn't even begin to give the view justice. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WEve4cURo20/UTubqD_flgI/AAAAAAAAA1w/yqyb8Gq55JQ/s1600/baybridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WEve4cURo20/UTubqD_flgI/AAAAAAAAA1w/yqyb8Gq55JQ/s640/baybridge.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since this <i>is</i> a teaching blog, maybe I should share a few things from my week in the classroom. Here we go - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. We've been working really hard on expanded form and place value. We've counted with base ten blocks, <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2013/02/let-them-write-on-their-desks.html" target="_blank">written on our desks</a>, etc. Some students were still having a bit of trouble, so I quickly created a review sheet for homework practice. You can pick up your free copy <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Expanded-Form-and-Place-Value" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Do you play <b>Around the World</b> with your students? My students <b>love</b> this game. They really get into it and cheer on their classmates when they are doing well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a quick explanation if you don't know how to play: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student A stands next to Student B and I call out a math fact we've learned. Whoever says the answer first gets to move on and is now paired with Student C. <i>This keeps going for every student in the class. </i>The biggest challenge is for a student to make it all the way around the world (classroom) by beating each classmate and saying the answer to the math facts the fastest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a student make it all the way around the world this week! The rest of the class wasn't jealous or disappointed; they were genuinely excited for him and loved the "Around the World" certificate I quickly made up after he won. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. We spent Friday afternoon in the computer lab on <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/" target="_blank">Read Write Think</a>. As a culminating project to our Presidents' Day unit, the students worked with partners to write an acrostic poem about Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. They've <a href="http://allthedots.blogspot.com/2012_12_30_archive.html" target="_blank">written several acrostic poems</a> this year, but this was the first time they <b>typed</b> them! The acrostic poem generator at readwritethink.org is excellent. You can check it out <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/" target="_blank">here</a>. You can save and print the poems when they are complete. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How was your week? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heather</span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657054388886999506noreply@blogger.com3