Teacher Stores are Overwhelming

     Yesterday my mom and I happened to pass by a store for teachers (The Chalkboard) while we were out. I asked to stop in because I wanted to buy a lesson planner. Wow, there was so much in that store it was hard to even find the lesson planning books! Then, there were so many that it was hard to make a choice, especially since I haven't used one before. Last fall, I typed out weekly plans for the weeks I was actually teaching, but this year, I don't want to rely on a computer since I'll be teaching abroad. Finally, I found a simple, sturdy, green one with a plain inside that didn't waste too much space (similar to the one on the right, but mine only has four periods). I considered getting two since I have two grades but decided that if I need to, I could just use the weeks after the yellow separator for the fifth grade and get a new book at Christmas. I didn't have time to look at anything else, money to buy anything, or space to bring it, so I left with just the planner, but wow, that store had a lot of stuff! I could have spent hours just browsing like a child in a toy store.

     Trying to plan for my classroom in Venezuela is proving to be very difficult. I don't really know what resources I'll have besides a general view. I also can't bring too much with me since my living supplies will take most of the room in my suitcase. Today, I sorted my books and picked a handful that I hope to have room for in my carry-on. I like to be prepared for my class, but I can't really do that like I usually would. Packing is quite the process, and I leave soon! School starts in less than a month, and I can't believe that I will ever be ready for it. I would appreciate any first year tips, lack of resources tips, or any other advice you have!

Suzanne Collins Author Study

     One of my favorite parts of being in an elementary classroom is children's literature! In fact, if I wasn't going to be a teacher, I would probably be a children's librarian. It also helped that I had the best children's lit. class in college, where the professor did a wonderful job getting us prepared to teach and excited for children's books. In that class, I learned that knowing about the authors is important and can teach students many things. My favorite way to do this with a class is to do an author study. David Shannon has been one that I have done with multiple primary classrooms, focusing on how he wrote the first David book when he was five and how he includes his dog, Fergus, in at least one picture in every book he illustrates. You can read more about this here. Well, since I love doing author studies, I thought I would start a series of author studies on my blog, so you can learn more about some superb authors. I'm hoping to feature some information about them, books they have written, ways to use it in the classroom, and other resources I have found. Without further explanation, here is an author's study on Suzanne Collins!


Meet the Author
     Suzanne Collins was born and stills lives in Connecticut. Although she now lives in the same state, she moved around often as a child since her father was a U.S. Air Force officer. She is using this experience to write her newest book, which I wrote more about below. She graduated from Indiana University with degrees in drama and telecommunications. In 1991, she began writing for children's television and has won many awards from this. This start to her career and her major would be an interesting topic to discuss with upper elementary students who have read her books. It doesn't appear that she began writing with the intent of writing a young adult literature, but I'm sure this experience surely helped her.
     According to her website, Suzanne came up with the idea for The Underland Chronicles after thinking about Alice in Wonderland. She wrote this series between 2003 and 2007. In 2008, the first book of The Hunger Games was published and quickly became internationally known, read by all ages, and on the top of many bestseller lists for many weeks. Now, movie versions of this series have been coming out, and Suzanne has been writing another picture book. She lives in Connecticut with her family.

Books
     When people think of Suzanne Collins, they automatically think of The Hunger Games, but that is not the only series she has written. She actually started her writing career by writing stories for children's television like Little Bear, Oswald, Clifford's Puppy Days, and more. It's hard to imagine that someone who wrote something as intense as The Hunger Games has written lots of preschool level shows, but it's true, and I think it's important for students to realize this. In this section, I'll feature her books. She has two series and one picture book with another picture book coming out in September.

 The Hunger Games series
     This series is very well known, so I won't spend too much time on it. These stories take place in Panem, where 12 districts rebelled seventy four years ago. As a result of the rebellion, the Capitol show their power by holding a Hunger Games every year in which two twelve- to eighteen-year-olds from each district fight each other to the death, hoping to be the last one standing. These books are stories of rebellion, freedom, war, and love. Teaching at an elementary level, I probably would not use these books in my classroom (as much as I love them), but I know many fourth and fifth graders who have read them.

The Underland Chronicles

      This series is lesser known, but just as good as The Hunger Games. I listened to the first few on audiobook on my way to and from school this fall, and each time it would leave me on a cliffhanger! Then I read the last few so fast because I couldn't put them down. Gregor is an ordinary 11-year-old kid from New York City until one day while he is doing laundry. His little sister, Boots, crawls into a vent and falls down into the Underland, which is a whole new world with giant rats, cockroaches, spiders, and bats. Trying to find a way back home, he meets some unusual humans that live down there and have never seen the light of day. Gregor discovers that there are prophesies that the Underlanders expect him to fulfill. Throughout the series, Gregor keeps being called/sent back to the Underland to fulfill yet another prophesy, which always includes many adventures and war.
     According to Scholastic, these books have a fifth grade reading level. Personally, I loved these books but would be careful which students read them given the content. I am usually overprotective about potentially scary things in the content because I was the child who would have nightmares after reading something this thrilling. There is violence, war, and death, but it is tastefully written. I would still be cautious, especially for kids with vivid imaginations. I really enjoyed these books as would many upper elementary/middle school boys, and I am hoping to have a set for free reading in my fourth/fifth grade classroom this fall!


When Charlie McButton Lost Power
    This rhyming picture book has a wonderful meaning behind it. Charlie McButton loves electronics and plays on them all the time until one day when the power goes out. Desperate for a single battery to play an electronic game, he tries to steal one from his three-year-old sister. In the end, he ends realizes that he can have fun without electronics, which is a message so many children need to hear these days. This book would be good for all elementary ages.

Year of the Jungle
     Year of the Jungle is Suzanne Collin's latest book and will be released on September 10th. Since I haven't read this book myself, I'll let the description from Publisher's Weekly that is quoted on her website tell you about it: “In this picture book, Collins sensitively examines the impact of war on the very young, using her own family history as a template." This sounds like a good book to have in my international classroom this year. I can't wait to read it!


 Resources You Can Use

• http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/
• http://www.hungergameslessons.com/
• http://www.scholastic.com/underlandchronicles/ 
• Word Problems for When Charlie McButton Lost Power on Teachers Pay Teachers - Costs $1 by Mrs. Simmons
• Resource Pack for When Charlie McButton Lost Power on Teachers Pay Teachers - Costs $4 by Sarah Kirby
• Teachers Pay Teachers Resources for Underland Chronicles

Number Rhymes

     I've been busy this summer cleaning out my closets, preparing to move, and getting ready for my first classroom. While I cleaning, I found these rhymes for how to write the numbers 0 through 9. I believe I originally copied these from my little cousin's preschool or kindergarten teachers who wrote them on a newsletter. Some of these I love, but others I think I've heard better in the past and can't remember them. Do you use a fun rhyme to teach little ones how to write numbers or letters?

 

 



Currently

I'm linking up with Farley's Currently this month!

 

 

     If you are visiting from the linky, welcome! I just graduated college, student taught in first grade, and have a job teaching forth and fifth grade at an international school in Venezuela next year. Now, I'll go into a little more detail concerning my currently responses.

 

 

Listening - I love musical and Disney music! Wicked is currently my favorite.

 

Loving - I got my teaching license last week! Indiana now long sends a paper copy, instead I just printed mine off. I am certified to teach K-6 general education and mild intervention.

 

Thinking - When I came home from college, I put most of my stuff neatly in the corner until I could go through it since I don't need most of it together any more. Well, now I started going through it, and it's magically taken over my room. I would post a picture, but it is terrible. I need to sort through it to see what I need to pack for teaching in Venezuela, what I should get rid of, and what I need to put away in the basement for whenever I will need it again in the future.

 

Wanting - My dad was suppose to go for a bike ride with me this morning, but we slept in too late. He said we can go when he gets home, but now it's starting to look like it may rain.

 

Needing - For this summer, my "work" consists of organizing my life, preparing to teach in Venezuela (which is a lot more than just preparing to teach), and taking care of lots of paperwork and other summer projects. For now, I'll work on organizing my room so that I can sleep on my bed tonight.

 

3 Vacation Essentials - A camera is essential because I love to take pictures, scrapbook, and reminisce over past trips. Sunscreen is second since I am a redhead and can be visibly burnt after sitting in the shade in Florida for ten minutes during the winter (that really has happened). Finally, no trip is complete without other people. It would be boring without family or friends for too long.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Feel free to look at past blogs and read about my time student teaching and finishing college.

Music Composition

     This semester one of the classes I'm taking is called Music in the Elementary Classroom. We learn how to play the recorder, basic music skills, and how to teach music in our future classrooms. We often have small projects and do things in class that are things we could do with our students. This project was to write a composition using whatever instruments, body percussion, or other noise we desired. We had to write the song down using our own notation with a key. This is what is projected on the screen, but unfortunately, you can't see it, and I don't have a copy. Our project had to be sounds from somewhere. Hopefully you could guess it from the video, but we chose to do a ship in the ocean, where the girl jumps off and gets attacked by a shark.

     We had a lot of fun with this project, and I could see a similar working well with different subjects. Enjoy!

Blog Anniversary and Prosthetic Unit Freebie

     My blog is officially one year old! Actually, it was a few weeks ago. To celebrate, I decided to publish my prosthetics mini-thematic unit that I made last year. I first mentioned it here and here. I originally made this unit as a project for one of my classes and taught it during one day to the fifth grade class I was in. Well here it is! Click on the picture to check it out. Please leave me a comment telling me what you think about it.

 

     When I taught this to my fifth grade class last year, our day was very chaotic due to some last minute practice testing. We still had fun, and the lessons went well. My favorite part was showing them some of the nonfiction books about animals with prosthetics. See the children's literature list in my unit for more information. Using those books, the students found answers to questions on the following pages:

 

     Part of this unit includes a project where students build a prototype of a prosthetic, choosing the animal (or human), body part, and purpose of the prosthetic. Unfortunately, since my practicum ended I did not get to see their final projects, but they had some very creative ideas such as a prosthetic ear for a dog that is necessary to help bring scents to their nose.

 

     If you want to hear more about this project, please email me or leave a comment below, and I would be happy to share more about it. I look forward to another year of blogging!

 

I Officially Have a Job for Next Year!

     I just accepted a job for next school year and am very excited for it. I will be teaching a 4th and 5th grade combined class with 10-15 students at an international school in Venezuela. I am so excited for this opportunity! Fourth and fifth grade will be different since I did most of my student teaching in first grade (although the second half I did a special education placement with 4th-6th graders). A combined class will also be interesting. I am looking forward to learning a multitude of new things. The next few months will be consumed with finishing my college classes, planning and training for my new job, and getting ready to move to another country.

     I am still continuing this blog, though not about student teaching, and look forward to adding more things about teaching including things I am learning in my classes and my first year teaching next year.

Doodle 4 Google and Books

 

 

 

     I was just looking something up on Google, and I noticed that they are doing their annual Doodle 4 Google competition again. If you haven't heard of it, children in grades K-12 can submit a drawing that uses the word Google to this competition. If they win, their drawing will be featured on Google one day. Google even provides an educator's guide with some ideas for how to use it in the classroom.

 

      Personally, I would love to use this as part of a short writing assignment to mix things up a bit. I learned from my first grade experience that learning to draw a story was a skill that my students needed to learn. As I am not currently in a classroom, I thought I would just share the idea.

 

     While I am sharing things from other websites, a friend recently told me about a great website called We Give Books. There are many books online that you can read with your class or use as a computers station. They also give books to others. My friend used this to read books to her class while she was student teaching overseas and did not have access to the books otherwise.

 

Have a great week!

Saturday Sayings - Martin Luther King Jr.

 

     Today I'm joining Tammy from Forever in First for Saturday Sayings. If you're interested in doing a Saturday Saying, visit her post here.

 

     In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day this past week, I chose a quote about education from him. This quote is taken from an article he wrote for The Maroon Tiger, which was the Morehouse College Student Paper. He wrote this article, titled The Purpose of Education, when he was a junior at Morehouse, which I find interesting since I am still in college. You can read the full article, and learn more about it here or here.

 

     While this was written with the audience being his professors and classmates, I believe it is true for any age. Critical thinking and character are important things that our students need to learn. If they do not learn these skills, then they will not be able to use the knowledge they have well.

 

     How do we teach critical thinking and character? I've seen schools do many different things to teach these. Some that I have been in use a curriculum to teach character or even have it as a special. However, I think character is best taught by example, mini-lessons that are relatable to the students, and real life situations. Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned in all areas. It includes teaching students to think about the how and why questions, reasoning, and much more. Martin Luther King Jr. was correct in thinking that knowledge does not mean much without character and critical thinking.

 

So, what do you think? What is your opinion of this quote? How do you teach character and critical thinking?

The Price of Freedom

     During January, my college offers month long classes. As seniors, most students are required to take a capstone class with their major as a cumulating experience. For elementary ed. majors, we take a class serves as a conclusion to our education classes. In this class, we covered topics that had not been covered in depth yet such as interviewing, unions, suicide prevention, school shootings, applying for our licenses, and teaching the Holocaust. Elementary education majors also go on a trip to Washington, D.C.

 

     Our trip's purpose was to teach us about our country's capital, give us an experience, have a time for us to have fun for the last time with our classmates, and inspire us to view teaching as a profession that  makes an impact. Our touring company made "The Price of Freedom" our theme. We visited lots of memorials. Our favorite stop was the National Museum of the Marine Corps. I highly recommend it, and since it's outside of D.C. area, it's great trip to combine with Mount Vernon, just be sure to give it enough time.

 

     We visited the week before the inauguration, so everything was being set up for it. It was interesting to see the Capital (inside and outside) all prepared when I've visited during another time of the year with my family in the past.

This pile of books just made me want to read. All of these books are about Abraham Lincoln. I even saw many children's books in the pile! I want them for my future classroom.

 

Saturday Sayings - John Holt

     Today I'm joining Tammy from Forever in First for Saturday Sayings. If you're interested in doing a Saturday Saying, visit her post here.

     This week, I went to my college library to look for what books there were on bullying for a group presentation. While I was there, I saw the book What Do I Do Monday? by John Holt. I remembered hearing his name from some information I looked up back in high school about different types of schooling. John Holt is tied with unschooling, even though he spent many years teaching in a classroom. You can read more about him here. I decided to read parts of his book to look at it with the knowledge and experience that I have gained during my college years and student teaching. One quote that sums it up very well is:

 

 

     Many unschoolers, which are children in a type of homeschooling that is student-led, use this to support their method of following the child's interests. I do agree with John Holt's idea of self-directed learning to an extent. In my own life, I can think of certain things that I learned and worked on more intently while I have been in school than the things I was forced to learn. For example, as I mentioned, I was very interested in educational theories during my senior year of high school. I could spend hours procrastinating on my homework by looking up different ideas of education. That seems really dorky, but I actually had no intention of being an education major at that time (why I didn't get the hint, I don't know). However, I also learned many things at school where I was taught things that I did not think would interest me until a teacher forced me to learn about it. Still, I think John Holt has a very valid point. Children do learn best when they want to and have say in the matter. Creating the conditions listed may be easy for a homeschooler, but it is more challenging when applied to a classroom of students, for whom John Holt also intended the book.

 

     What can we do as teachers to help students learn best by self-directed learning? Throughout this week, I have thought about that question, and I came up with a few ideas that are not all brand-new:

•  Having a discovery time each day where students could choose what they wanted to work on. They may want to read, work on a project, draw, or look into an interest of theirs. The teacher would be the facilitator, encouraging students in their interests.
• Encouraging student interests they mention. If they ask questions, help them find the answer. If they love horses, help them learn more about horses. When using a KWL chart, be sure to respond to all of the wonderings.
• Allowing projects to be open-ended with students choosing their topics and how to respond. I can recall some of my favorite book reports where the only requirements were a book and project that was okayed by the teacher.

What are you doing to help students learn

by allowing them to led their learning?



Suicide Prevention Training

     Today (well, long ago when I started writing this and scheduled this to be posted for), my college class covered suicide prevention training. In my school's state, it will be required for licensure starting in July. My college used QPR training from QPR Institute for Suicide Prevention. QPR can be as life saving as CPR.QPR is meant to show the person that you care and give them hope.

There are three basic parts to QPR:
1. Question - Most people will ask for help or communicate their struggle within a week of their suicide attempt. It's important to listen and take it seriously. I was also taught that it is best to be direct when asking if they are considering suicide because it will lower their anxiety and risk of impulsive act. Don't ask in a negative way (You're not suicidal, are you?).
2. Persuade - Listen. Suicide isn't the problem; something deeper is. Offer hope. Take them to get help. You're not a counselor, but you can visit one together.
3. Refer - It is best if you can directly take the person to someone who can help like a counselor. Even getting them to consider going for help is good, but it is best to ensure that they are getting help.

Some other interesting things I learned:
-Elderly are among the highest group of people who commit suicide since they lose hope and can feel alone.
-Suicide can even affect young children.
-Many suicidal children will tell friends.
-Girls are more likely to be depressed, but boys are more likely to attempt suicide, especially after a crisis event (break up, discipline problems, humiliating event, ect.).


How does this apply to me as an elementary teacher?
-I should be on the lookout for signs and students reaching out for hope.
-I should refer to a good counselor and follow up regularly rather than giving counsel myself.
-I need to teach my students when they need to break promises and tell an adult.
-I need to show my students that I care for them and give them hope even when they feel alone, stressed, and desperate.

Has anyone else had QPR training for your licensure? How do you address this topic in your classroom?

I'm Done!

I am officially done with student teaching! After one more semester, I will be a college graduate.

Now, I'm heading home to celebrate Christmas, unpack, repack, and relax. Unfortunately, I did not finish all of the blog posts I wanted to write this past semester, so bear with me this Christmas break as I go back and fill in my adventures in student teaching. I'll add them close to the actual dates, so if you're reading a new blog post from October, don't worry.

I hope everyone is enjoying your last week of school before break!

Praying for Sandy Hook

Student Teaching in Special Education

     For the second half of my student teaching this fall, I was in a special education classroom in a 4th-6th grade school. My teacher and I spent time with our students pulled out to our room during parts of the day, but we also went into classrooms to aid the inclusion teachers, especially during math class. The district mandated that low-performing students work with a phonics computer program for 25 minutes every day, so many of our students spent a chunk of their time in our room do that. I also used different reading programs to help and aided them with homework or projects that needed additional assistance.

 

     This placement taught me about parents and communication more than anything else. I constantly had to communicate with parents and other teachers. The first week at the school, there were student-led parent conferences, which was a great place for me to introduce myself. At these conferences, several parents made requests for various things, and it became my job to fill it. This included specially made lined paper to help the student write and give space for editing and indenting paragraphs, behavior intervention plans, and a workbook for a student to complete for fun at her house. One visually impaired student also requested a giant multiplication chart for her to take home (the teacher had made one the week before I came for school), so I scanned and taped it on to a giant poster board for one giant multiplication chart. 

 

     Every day I communicated with parents through the students' assignment notebooks. I was very glad to have this experience working with the parents and other staff closely because that is often a side of teaching I did not have the opportunity to experience as just a college student. I even attended several IEP meetings with parents' permission and led one, including completing most of the paper work and completing all communication with the parent.

 

     Well, that was my second experience in a nutshell. I was frustrated with it at times because I felt like I couldn't work with students much, but I did learn many things, especially about communication. I even attended the fifth grade field trip to the planetarium! Also, having fourth, fifth, and sixths graders was very different than my little first graders during the first part of student teaching, but I love them all! Oh, also at this school, I had my first few Amish students and was in a school where all students were given iPads to use during school (sixth graders could take them home). If you're interested in hearing more, I'd love to share, just let me know.

Liebster Award

Thank you to Allison Burgess at Teacher Life in Room 102 for nominating me for the Liebster Award. The Libester Award is for newer blogs with less than 200 followers, which definitely describes me. It is to show new bloggers that they are appreciated and help spread the words of their blog.

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator gave you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.
5. You cannot "tag back" the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with URL of your Liebster post so they can learn more about you and see who you nominate.

 

11 Random Things about Me
1. My first job was working at a farm stand.
2. I played the flute in our school band from 4th to 12th grade and would like to find a way to keep it up.
3. My roommate's dog is named Junie B. after the book, except for her B. stands for Bella.
4. I am signed up to run a half marathon in May.
5. I love scrapbooking with my mom and am currently working on finishing my senior year of high school.
6. My youngest cousin is in first grade, and there's another one on the way!
7. In January all the senior elementary education majors at my school go on a trip to Washington D.C., and I'm super excited!
8. Children books are my favorite thing. I never seemed to grow past the young adult books, and even some of those I don't like.
9. I love making ceramics and have taken a few different classes in high school and college.
10. Next semester, I have two classes at the exact same time. I want to ask my professor for a time turner like Hermione has in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
11. I love white chocolate covered pretzels!

11 Questions from Allison
1. Why did you decide to start blogging?
I decided to start blogging to connect with wiser teachers, document what I have been doing, and hopefully grow to the point where I am helping other teachers.

2. What piece of advice would you give to a first year teacher?
Since I haven't yet had my first year of teaching, I'll give a piece of advice to student teachers. My top two pieces of advice are be sure to communicate clearly and be creative. With communication, I would add to be sure to talk with your teacher and make sure that you understand their expectations immediately. Also, now is the time for creative lessons. Too often, I felt constrained by school or district curriculum expectations, but realistically, as a student teacher my teachers would have understood if I was more creative since this was my "trial run."

3. What is your best memory of teaching, so far?
My favorite memory goes back to when I was student teaching in first grade earlier this semester. I had the opportunity to start Writers' Workshop. I knew the students needed motivation and prepared lessons to do that for the first week. We had so much fun! It was exciting to see the whole class go from hating writing to it being their favorite subject. Here is my blog post with more details. I also love reading aloud! That is one of my favorite day to day things.

4. Year round school, or not year round school? Which would you prefer?
I haven't thought too much about this, but year round schools have always intrigued me. I like the idea of not having the whole summer, where so often students fall back a few levels. Having a few couple of week breaks would be fun. Of course, it could be hard learning in the summer, knowing that other schools aren't in session. I have always been part of a not year round school though, so that is what I know, and I have learned to work with it.

5. What is your biggest challenge in teaching?
I've come to realize that how strictly I am required to follow curriculum is an issue. At the first school I student taught at, math was my least favorite subject since we followed a curriculum that I did not find appropriate for my class. As a grade level, we tried to skip a lesson or teach it in a different way since we knew that it would not make sense for our classes and were told that we needed to directly follow the provided curriculum since it is research based. Looking at pre- and post-test scores that I took, I could see that all of my students did learn, but none of us had fun doing it. In my second experience, the students were required to work on a computer program for 25 minutes everyday while I had them. This took up most of the time, and they did not enjoy it. Overall, I found that having more freedom in my lesson planning encouraged me to be creative. I was able to plan lessons that I was excited for, which in turn made my students have fun while they were learning.

6. What is one of your most favorite lessons/topics to teach?
I don't really have a favorite lesson or topic yet. During my student teaching, I really enjoyed my introduction to Writers' Workshop, Columbus Day project, health lessons, and of course, reading aloud. Reading aloud is always one of my favorite times during the day.

7. What do you do to keep school life and personal life separated?
This has not been much of a problem for me this past fall, so I'm not exactly sure how to answer.

8. When did you know that you wanted to be a teacher?
I thought about being a teacher when I was little. My friends and I loved playing school and debated who would be the teacher that day. However, I did not really know until the end of my sophomore year of college. My freshman year, I was a math major (note: NOT math ed.), but I took an education class just because I was interested in it. We had a lab, and when asked where I would like to be I told the professor lower elementary. I had just gotten out of high school, and I certainly did not want to be placed in a high school or even middle school math classroom. I was placed in second grade and loved it! I still was uncertain until I had to make a final decision at the end of my sophomore year. All of my junior classes were elementary education classes. Next semester, I am actually finishing a few el. ed. classes that I should have taken my freshman year (but weren't required for student teaching for people like me).

9. What is your favorite subject to teach?
Similar to favorite lesson/topics, I don't have a favorite yet. Knowing that I was a math major, most people would assume I love to teach math, but that's not always the case. In my first experience, I loved teaching Writers' Workshop and health, because I had the freedom to plan my own lessons, which made my students and I excited about them.

10. What is your best classroom management advice?
Be confident! If there is one thing I have learned, it is that you can pull off anything if you are confident in yourself.

11. What resource do you use most to find teaching ideas?
I love using other teachers' blogs, Pinterest, and google to find ideas. I have also used ideas from past classes, both in college and elementary school classrooms I have visited.

Blogs I Nominate
(Sorry if you've already received this award; it was taking too long to find eleven without.)
1. Beach Lovin' Teach
2. Blooming Kiddos
3. Kindergarten Kel
4. Lovely Literacy & More
5. Teaching: The Art of Possibility
6. Tales from a Traveling Teacher
7. The Crazy Adventures of a University Grad
8. The Loco Teacher
9. The School Potato
10. 2nd Grade Frosting
11. Creative Lesson Cafe

11 Questions for my Nominees
1. How long have you been teaching?
2. What is your favorite children's book?
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
4. Why did you decide to teach?
5. What is something you want for Christmas?
6. What is one of your favorite teaching memories?
7. What is one memory you have from when you were in elementary school?
8. Tell me about how you found your first job.
9. How do you like to assess students?
10. What is your favorite song?
11. What advice would you give to a first year teacher (like I'll be next year)?

Let me know what you thought of my answers. If you answer my questions, please give me a link to your blog. Even if I didn't nominate you, you can still answer the questions by leaving a comment.

Thank you Allison!

It's Not a First Grade Experience Without...

     October 18 was my last day at my first grade experience. The rest of my student teaching will be at a different school in a special education classroom. It was very sad to have to leave these first graders that I have gotten to know and a school I have grown to love.

     The last day in first grade was very fun! We had a field trip to a local health center, where the students learned more about nutrition and exercise. I taught my students a health unit to prepare them for this trip, and it was exciting to see them to correctly answer the questions the presenter asked them. My students did really well for our first field trip. The only problem we had was some students started to lie back on the carpeted stairs they were sitting on. I asked several students to sit up throughout the program; one boy gave me a look back that said, "really, I don't feel well." Later, I shared this with my teacher while the students were at specials, and she told me that he fell asleep on the bus on the way back to school.

     During our last thirty minutes together, the students gave me cards that they had made earlier in the week. Then, I read a Pigeon book and Scaredy Squirrel. I sent the students back to their seats so that I could hand out the little gift bags I brought for them. Then, one of the students came up to me and said, "So-and-so just threw up." They have said this before and were not correct, but sure enough he actually had this time. Also, my teacher had just stepped out of the room. I took care of it, sending him to the office with an adult I spotted in the hallway. When my teacher came back, she laughed and said, "I guess it just is not a first grade experience without someone throwing up." Then, I handed out the goodie bags and gave the children hugs as they walked out to the buses. It was the best last day I could have asked for (minus some throw-up).

 

      I am really going to miss my class and am looking forward to going back a few times to visit. The cards that my first graders gave me were so encouraging and funny. Here's a look at some of my favorites.



 

Columbus Day Writings and Bulletin Board

     On Columbus Day, my teacher wanted me to do a lesson about Christopher Columbus. Usually she has the students complete a writing, which goes in the hallway. I was fine with doing something for the hallways, but I wanted it to be something the students would enjoy too. Looking for ideas I came across a pin like this one. I thought that doing a picture like this would be fun for the kids because they rarely have the chance to use paint (my teacher did not even have any). Since this was the only lesson I was teaching, I knew that I could pull them out earlier in the day for their handprint.

 

     First in the lesson, I talked about Christopher Columbus, showing them where he was from, wanted to go, and actually landed on the globe. Then, I made a story web with key details they remembered from what I had said. Next, the students completed their writing. I required them to have two well-written, complete sentences in their neatest handwriting. I used the pictures as an incentive. They needed to do their best work on the writing before they would receive their handprint to complete the picture. The boats were their handprints, and they colored water and other things with their crayons or markers. Finally, we added three paper sails that I had cut out. I love that this illustration uses a variety of mediums. The projects turned out very well! Here are a few of my favorites:

 



 

     When I hung the writings in the hallway, my teacher asked me to use our bulletin board as well. I titled it "Sailing with Columbus" in white like a cloud and wrote the objective "We can write in complete sentences" in blue for the water. Then, I added a big ship as the Santa Maria and two smaller ones for the Pinta and Nina. I also put the work of three different students on the board.

 

 

     Overall, this was a very fun project. My students loved the pictures, and I did too! Let me know what you think. This project could also work for learning about the Mayflower or other ships.

Band-Aid Stories

      During Writers' Workshop, I have allowed my students to free write, except the first month always had to be a small moment from your life (district wide for first grade). Sometimes, I would suggest things they could write about such as a recently lost tooth, but ultimately, it is up to them.

     One idea I gave them was to write a Band-Aid story. This was someting we did in my early childhood education class a few years ago. The students write a story about a time when they got hurt. When it is all done and well illustrated, they can put an actual Band-Aid on their picture. This is great because a Band-Aid is a wonderful motivator. I only let my students receive one if they did their best work. Also, it can be done with almost any grade level. In preschool, the teacher could write a dictated sentence. My first graders could have only written one page, but many of them wrote much more! Older students can continue writing more but they may like it just the same.

Here are some examples of my students' work:

 my ElreShic bick acksdit (My Electric Bike Accident)
I wet on my elreshrick bick I... wet in the grass then i wett in the shret. i fel on the shret i got a blodey ney it hrtid naw i am hrst it hrsts. MoMy im bling. dot it Look LiKe it hrst!!- i know seid MoMy i no i what to frow up iuy it is naste yoce pee you.














 My Bandad Story

 Me and my 1 sister and my 1 BFF wint roler skating! We scrapt ar ne!

 My BFF fel of ov the monci bars she seid!

My sister fel of the trampin!

 

the day I fell of my bike

 One time a go I was riading my biek with my Dad. I fell of my bikc. I criad a lot owch!

 

 

     Now for the last story. If you read the whole thing, it is very well-written for a first grader, and I'll continue writing it so that you can actually see. If you don't care to read the more than ten page story, I don't blame you. I just can't help to show off my students' work though and prove how much first graders can write at the BEGINNING of the year. I will fix the capital letters when I am typing it though because I need to for the sanity in typing it.



The Terabll Fall

Didcattit to Peyton

 

One time I whattid to go to the play grownd. Mom can I go!

One time I was playing on the slid. I got tiadd of playing on the slid. So I wint somewrelese.  

 

I watted to play on the mokey bari's and...

That's is what i did

 
















I fell off the mokey baris and I hret my leg it was bad! I ask't my grandma can I have a banddade?

I fiunly fond her.
 

 

She said yes


She gave a banddade.

 

 













My leg fellt bettr. Now I have a banddade to ramind me mot to evre hang upsied down on the mokey baris agein.

Now I do not play on the mokey bri's aney mroe!

 

I hop it is not my brother's tane (turn)!

It is!

 

 

 

Now my brother has to get a banddade. The end!