Just for fun
-
It is officially back to school season–my favorite time of year! It sure is different and full of new obstacles, but one thing I know for sure is that elementary teachers everywhere are bringing their all like they always do. I’m in awe of what my colleagues and others did from March to June, and…
-
Dear teaching, From the moment I wrote on Mrs. Francescutti’s chalkboard during student teaching and gave fourth graders word search advice in an evergreen Lake Forest Park classroom, I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you. A love so deep I gave you my all– From my creativity and money To…
-
Our Center School Summer Reading Flipgrid (email me if you need the password; it’s only available to Center students and families) is POPPIN’! 94 book talks with 1,447 views already, and it’s only day 3 of students posting! My favorite part is that cardinal readers have introduced several books to me that I recorded on…
-
I’m devoting a lot of my thinking and attention to writing this year. How can I support students’ independence in writing? How can I encourage their transfer of skills from one unit to the next? How can I improve their awareness of themselves as writers? Reflection is a tool that I turn to again and…
-
One of my mantras as a teacher is, “If the students can do/make/think it, they should.” So when we realized our schools’ walls could use some spiffing up, we decided to turn over the decor transformation to the students! Since this is “The Year of the Reader,” what could be better than some inspirational reading…
-
Do you want to host a book tasting? It’s a great activity to introduce new books or genres to students, in which students spend a few minutes browsing an individual book to get a “taste” of it before deciding if they want to read it. To make the event even more appealing, I’ve created a…
-
I love finding inspiring quotes in the books I’m reading! In fact, my students have a whole section of their reading notebooks devoted to quote collecting. It’s impactful work because it encourages: “reading like a writer.” Being aware of how words are composed influences and excites us as writers. I want my writing to have the same kind…
-
It’s hard to believe that EIGHT publishers turned down J.K. Rowling’s draft of the first book in the series. If it wasn’t for Bloomsbury Publishing we might not be the Potterheads we are! I was exploring the Bloomsbury website, trying to find out when the illustrated editions of the series are going to be released…
A SEA OF TALK 