Thursday, November 29, 2012
Blog, what blog?!
Nothing like Thanksgiving, upcoming report cards and parent conferences to kill a fledgling blogging habit. I missed out on my Mission Monday (wasn't that supposed to be my not-to-be-missed post?) and Two-Way Tuesday, so I guess I'm back around to my...
This is an exciting one for me because it inspired me to create my first ever teacherspayteachers resource. I'm a big fan of all the incredible resources I've found there (ooo...that could have been my works-for-me contribution!), so I'm really excited to be able to contribute something.
One more thing I learned how to do just for this post...a screen shot. I'd love to be able to figure out how make a page show up as a picture without doing a screen shot, but this will do for now:
I have uploaded the file of my go-to intervention for our kindys who just really struggle with letter ID. It's not pretty, it doesn't have fancy frames or colorful clip art, but it works for me. Hope somebody out in cyberland can use it also!
Works-for-me Wednesday
This is an exciting one for me because it inspired me to create my first ever teacherspayteachers resource. I'm a big fan of all the incredible resources I've found there (ooo...that could have been my works-for-me contribution!), so I'm really excited to be able to contribute something.
One more thing I learned how to do just for this post...a screen shot. I'd love to be able to figure out how make a page show up as a picture without doing a screen shot, but this will do for now:
I have uploaded the file of my go-to intervention for our kindys who just really struggle with letter ID. It's not pretty, it doesn't have fancy frames or colorful clip art, but it works for me. Hope somebody out in cyberland can use it also!
Friday, November 23, 2012
To accent or not to accent
Found It Friday
In the past year I have become much more comfortable with knowing when and where to use accent marks. It was actually only through teaching it to third graders that I really figured out the rules and the terminology for llanas, agudas and estrújulas.
Still, I sometimes need a reminder about which homophones gets the accent. That's where this sight I found will come in quite handy. Hope it's useful to someone else!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Structure and function
Thoughtful Thursday
I am the kind of person who likes to mentally multitask. Maybe "likes" isn't the appropriate word. It's just the way my brain functions. It's kind of like when you decide to search for something on the internet...You see a link, click it, read for bit, notice another link, click it and before you know it, your search for CCSS lesson plans has led you to Pinterest where you've now followed a link and learned how to make really cool hair braids, but you are not any closer to finding that perfect lesson. I don't set out to think about a million things at once, my brain just does it, so I need to compensate by developing routines and structures to fall back on.
I have noticed some blogs I've seen use each day of the week to focus on something. I'm hoping it will provide enough structure to keep me focused, with enough freedom to post my pressing thoughts. Here's what I've chosen:
Mission Mondays: This is the one post I'd like to get done each and every week. It's where I can establish a focus, a mission for myself for the week. Since I'm still figuring out more role as a support teacher and finding the right balance of interventionist/ co-teacher/ coach, a lot of these will be about getting better at what I do. They might also be about my selected goals for teacher evaluation.
Two-way Tuesdays: When I post on Tuesdays I will focus on reminding myself and my dear readers about strategies for Dual language programs and dual language learners, including ELLs. I expect to rely heavily on the Center for Applied Linguistics' Dual Language Resources, including the TWIOP, the TWI toolkit and the Guiding Principles.
Works for me Wednesday: A day to celebrate successes and share with my readers and my distracted future-self resources, tricks and tips.
Thoughtful Thursday: A day to share my thoughts about issues and kids, sometimes with my make-do solution, and an invitation to my readers to be thought partners to help me solve the issue.
Found it Friday: a quick link or resource that I'd like to share.
Thought of the day
Since my first goal is to write for myself, I hoping that this structure will be just what I need to make and keep a blogging habit, reduce writer's block and allow me to be able to post even if I'm short on time. I do wonder, however, if all this structure is too much of a good thing. I can tend to go overboard on systems and structures sometimes. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
CCSS
Works-for-me Wednesday
I'm trying to get on board with CCSS, just like 90% of the rest of the public school educators in the country. I know that some districts were slightly ahead of the curve. Mine is not. We have so many other initiatives (not to mention a state test that is still not CCSS aligned) that CCSS has taken a backseat.
Still, I know it's coming and I like a lot of the ideas behind it, so I'm trying to use it in my plans and conversations as much as possible. One thing that really helps while I'm learning the CCSS for all the grade levels I work with is to use an app on my iPad.
This is what it looks like:
It comes in a variety of formats, so you don't need an iPad to access the app. If my attempt at embedding html was not successful on your screen view, you can access it at the website of Mastery Connect.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Starting Over
One of my favorite things about teaching is the chance to begin again. I love setting up the classroom, meeting a new group of kids, figuring out what different challenges we will face this year, using everything I figured out last year. I love the new school supplies, new initiatives, new parents to meet. But mostly, I just like the chance to start over, a little better this time.
So that's what this is...my first post. Again. Yes, tomorrow is the end of the first trimester. But now that all the beginning of the year chaos has ended (I'll blog about that later,) I'm ready for a new start. As far as I can tell only one person other than me has read one of my two posts from last year, so I don't think the deleted posts will be missed!
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