I sat, mesmerized, as the music teacher coaxed the most beautiful songs out of 30-40 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. This was not the first time. I have been to many of her concerts, and I am always amazed. READ MORE
21 May
Vocabulary and Spelling City: Lovin’ It One Year Later!
It’s been a year since I began using SpellingCity. I have to say that my students and I really enjoy using it. Not only that, but SpellingCity keeps finding new ways to keep my students engaged with added features, all beneficial to the classroom.
These are the features I loved a year ago, and thankfully, still exist today:READ MORE…
14 May
Teachers, Targets, and Test Scores!
My stomach is in knots and I want to scream.
I want to hit something.
I look at my students’ test scores, the growth they have made,and I am proud of them.
I refused to teach to the test, and they still kicked DCAS !
I looked down the AYP column on the all-glorious data chart, and saw that some of my students grew by over 100 points. Only two of my students did not show “growth”.READ MORE…
10 May
Appreciating Teachers!: My Top 10!
Chocolate, gift certificates, and lunch are great! I really do appreciate all the thanks I have received during the week.
But I’d like to share some tips on what would REALLY make me feel appreciated!
This goes out to anyone who interacts with teachers,in no particular order:READ MORE
6 May
When is a PLC, Not a PLC?
I wrote a post with this title in 2011.
Fast forward.
A couple of weeks ago we were handed a rubric. The purpose of the rubric was to provide feedback on our PLC. However, it should be understood that the rubric is NOT evaluative.
I think if it walks like it’s evaluative, and talks like it’s evaluative…READ MORE
1 May
“My Resume is Ready”: Losing Good Teachers!
Not my words.
I live and breathe teaching. I really can’t imagine doing anything else, well, except writing.
These words were spoken by a teacher friend of mine.
He sounded so down when he said it.:(
He is overwhelmed, as are we all.READ MORE
24 Apr
I’m a Poet, And I Know It! Celebrating National Poetry Month!
I love National Poetry Month! I used to write poetry, maybe I will again some day. But in the meantime, I like to give my kids a chance to grow to love writing poetry as much as I do.
There was a time, pre-standardized testing, when we would gather up all our original poetry, pair it with two really funny pieces of poetry, and have Poetry Day. We would invite the parents, and each child would share one of their poems. We would read the two poems we chose as a group, one in the beginning, one at the end. Afterwards, we would have snacks and juice, provided by the parents. Aaaah, good times. 
READ MORE…
