In a few short days, Americans across the United States and individuals all over the world will be remembering September 11th and the horrific events that occurred on that tragic day. I was in 6th grade during 1st period when my teacher got a call to turn on the TV. It took me a while to understand what was going on. I knew that it was bad, but I specifically remember not knowing and comprehending anything about terrorism, terrorists, or tragedy on such a large scale. Even now, I find myself thinking about to how I felt on that day. It is hard for us to relay what deep emotions are found within us when we reflect on 9/11. It is even more difficult for us to share and teach those feelings to young children who should not be exposed to such raw tragedy. Eventually the events of this world will catch up with our youth, but for now they are very much naive and unable to make connections to such a heavy day. However, I feel that it is still important for us to share ...
Archives for September 2014
Vocabulary Lanyards
I got really excited last night when I was typing this post that I put "publish" instead of "schedule" so you are getting some Monday Made It a little early! Thanks to Tara for the link up! I am a data fanatic. Data reports can help me create a pretty good picture of what type of learning and teaching needs to occur in my classroom. Last year, our SAT10 results showed that my students needed to be more proficient in vocabulary. So, I began to research and did you know that research shows that students who have a rich and expansive vocabulary are better, stronger readers? Not only do they read more fluently, but they actually better comprehend the text that they are reading. So guess what is going to be a much larger focus in my classroom curriculum this year? Yup! You guessed it! Vocabulary! Vocabulary is essentially the knowledge of words and their definitions. However, student understanding of vocabulary should go beyond just knowing what a word means. ...
Our “Champtastic” Week with GoNoodle
If you follow me on IG or Facebook then you know that my teaching world has been all things GoNoodle for the last several weeks. #sorrynotsorry GoNoodle has changed my classroom for the better, and I just can't stop bragging about this awesome group! I have been desperately patiently waiting to share with you about all of the neat GoNoodle inspired opportunities that have happened in our classroom the last week. My students and I have been very grateful for the opportunity to share and grow together while spreading the knowledge of GoNoodle to other classrooms. After winning the GoNoodle contest, we were given $1,000 to spend on classroom items, a visit from Holly and Taylor, and a concert from Koo Koo Kangaroo(Seriously y'all- these guys are the best). Since movement, being active and engaged learners, and bringing in more "student choice" chances are all a huge focus in my classroom this year; I wanted to use the prize money to help purchase items for the ...