I’m sorry; I tickle myself with my bad puns. It runs in the family (but I’m the only one who laughs at their own jokes!). So, we have snow day #4 tomorrow, and it is not looking too great for Friday based on some rumors I’ve heard. I was really stressed about missing days; I’m… Continue reading Say it ain’t snow!
Category: Students
Snow days aren’t as fun as I’d imagined they would be!
Today we are snow day #2. Tomorrow, we’ll have snow day #3. I grew up in Florida, so snow days are still a relative novelty to me. Since I’m still in the South (Atlanta area), we don’t get that much snow very often. In fact, this is the most snow we have in the five… Continue reading Snow days aren’t as fun as I’d imagined they would be!
Standards Based Grading: An Experiment
As I prepped for back to school in June and July, I was excited about the prospects of standards based grading – or even going as far as abolishing grading. I wanted to provide an environment where my students learn and our focus is not on the “A”. I played with my gradebook, and found… Continue reading Standards Based Grading: An Experiment
Building Community
One of the things I really want to work on this year is building a community of learners within my classroom. During the first couple of days, we have already started getting to know each other – and how to work together. I have also been sharing with my students information about our class jobs,… Continue reading Building Community
Open House: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Yesterday we had our open house for our new group of sixth grade students. Open house is always such an exciting time. I love meeting my new kids, but even more, I love meeting their families. It’s a great reminder to me that I teach a child who is very precious to a mom and… Continue reading Open House: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Establishing a Culture of Inquiry during the First Days of School
I am trying to reinvent my class for next year – especially the first week of school. Here is an outline of what I did last year on the first five days of school: Day 1 – Classroom expectations, basic overview of what is covered in the course Day 2 – Lesson on observations, inferences,… Continue reading Establishing a Culture of Inquiry during the First Days of School
Class Jobs for Middle Schoolers?
It’s summer, so of course I am spending my time thinking about how I can do things differently next year. I have lots of huge plans including web based portfolios and totally revamping my grading system. Not to mention lots of new lessons to write with all the fantastic strategies I learned during my gifted… Continue reading Class Jobs for Middle Schoolers?