A question for YOU! You awesome educator, you ;)

I find myself wondering this:

When do you feel the real teaching-- the really good stuff-- happens in your day? Why do you feel that way? How does that time look and feel differently than other periods of time in your day? Please, answer below!!

Thanks ;)

Stefanie

Above: students in a 1/2 blended classroom become scientists as they take notes on another students modeled experiment. Is role play and/or note taking valuable to you?! Is it valuable to your kids? Does it increase the value of learning enough to plan ahead for it and make time for it in the day?

Comments

6 Easy Steps to Awesome Newsletters that Meet CCSS AND Get StudentsInvolved

At this point I believe most classroom teachers, Title I teams, Special Education Teams, etc. have all finally got on board and send home either a weekly newsletter as individuals or as a team. We know the forms this can take such as email, website, blog, or paper. We know the benefits of such communication, like more parent participation, less phone calls, and an overall understanding of the roles your class or team or room is fulfilling in the school building as a whole. I'd like you to consider how you create the newsletter though...is it at 9pm on Sunday night? Is it about last week? The upcoming week? A mixture of both? Here is how I do it, and how I hope you will try to implement newsletters into your school day/writing/ELA block at any age level K-6: 1. Monday- Thursday: experience learning standards that are focused and meaningful, with students as active participants in the lessons through movement, conversation, modeling, manipulative a, and/ or play. ...

Updated: Reading to Someone in Centers is Important! Make it Productive for the Students with a Structured Activity they can Facilitate for Themselves!

In Elementary teaching, whether in public schools or charter schools at some point during their instructional day have a Language Arts Block that includes small group instruction. For us teachers, generally that means pulling leveled groups for guided reading or some form of it (reciprocal teaching, close reading, etc.), and for students it means rotating through learning "centers" or "stations" that should reinforce previously learned concepts based on Common Core Standards. When deciding how to manage these small group and center times, teachers often seek out instructional practices such as "The Daily 5", which includes the following 5 types of learning centers: 1. Working with Words 2. Reading to Yourself 3. Writing 4. Reading to Someone 5. Listening to Reading Now, whether you use The Daily 5 practice, or ...

3 Ways to Make Sure the Students are Loving Your Reading Block!

3 Ways to Make Sure the Students are Loving Your Reading Block! Hey everyone! I am excited to share with you again, this time some of my most successful Reading Block structures and activities to engage kids and get them interacting with text in ways that make an impact. Keep reading if you want to make some easy to implement changes to your reading instruction that pack a punch of growth! 1. Teach in Their World with a Variety of Text Selection and Media Text choices that our students can be excited about are more available to us now than ever before. Be aware of what the most popular books are on reputable websites such scholastic book clubs, or in the kids book aisle at target. Make an effort to borrow those titles from your local library (oh yeah, ask the librarians too--they'll be able to tell you which titles are checked out most often by kids in each age group!) or create a wish list on amazon for people who want to donate things to your class and put those books at t...

Go 4th and Teach

Search This Blog