POETRY MONTH

I know Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets EVER.  I remember reading "Where the Sidewalk Ends" all the time!!!!!  Here is a link to some learning resources to use with his awesome poetry.  There are many downloadable resources that you can use.  I don't know about you but I need to do a better job of teaching/using poetry all year long!  There is even a Common Core aligned teaching guide.  It is also the 50th Anniversary of "The Giving Tree".  Remember, Earth Day is coming up soon (April 22nd).

Here is a blog that I found on a Poetry Month Bloghop on FB.  It is Literacy Loving Gals.  She has different links to many poetry sites & resources.  The bloghop was started by Carla at Comprehension Connection.  Here is an awesome article that I found on Reading Rockets that has many links for you to use.

I got the following from www.shelsilverstein.com:

     If you are a dreamer, come in,

If you are a dreamer,
A wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er,
A magic bean buyer…

Come in…for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Let's use the poetry we grew up on along with Common Core.  Times change but some things don't have to.

~Susan~

Another Blog

OK....I am still on Spring Break but this post is not school related...  I know.

On my last post, I talked about Sheila Jane Teaching.  Well, there is a blog that I follow all the time.  It is Wendi Kitsteiner.  This blog I use in my personal as well as my professional life (just because she is REAL, loves the LORD, & loves her FAMILY).  I also have just a tad bit in common with her (fertility struggles).  Please, you need to go and visit her blog.  She is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

~Susan~

Spring Break

Who is on Spring Break this week?  This is my first day and my school mind will not turn off.  I cannot quit thinking about school.  Well....mainly stalking blogs!  I have found some GREAT ones.  Wait....there is one thing that I have discovered that may just be my saving grace this year.  

Who has heard of Sheila Jane Teaching?  Oh my...if you haven't, you have to go and visit NOW!!!!  This site is awesome!!!  She even has a Facebook Page (Sprinkle Teaching Magic), TeachersPayTeachers store, and Pinterest  page.  She totally understands the frustrations of teachers ("Been There, Done That").  The very first pin I noticed on her Pinterest Page was End Teacher Burnout.  I so need this right now and I know there are many of you out there that need this too.

I better log off for now.  It is 11:30 at night and I am tired.  GOoD night :)

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13936499/?claim=h99pxduqq3n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

March Mystery Box Giveaway!!!!

This would be awesome!  Here are a few of the items (and the bloggers that are heading up this giveaway) that YOU could get if you take 10 minutes to enter.  I think that it is well worth it!  You will find all the information that you need for entering on their blogs!!

BLOGGERS
1)  Fluttering Through First Grade
2)  Teacher to the Core
3)  Second Grade Sparkle
4)  Melonheadz Illustrating
5)  Second Grade Math Maniac
6)  Growing Firsties

These are all the AWESOME blogs that you need to go and visit!!!!!  Now, here are the goodies that you could win!!!
1)  A $10 TPT Gift Certificate from each store!!!
     -Fluttering Through First Grade TPT
     -Melonheadz Illustrations
     -Second Grade Math Maniac
     -Second Grade Sparkle
     -Teacher to the Core
     -Growing Firsties

2)  A year subscription to Vocabulary A to Z.
3)  A year subscription to either Reading A to Z or Raz Kids.


Okay…I think that is well worth the 10 minutes it will take you to enter!!!!!  GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Happy Weekend….and little bits of randomness!

I don't know about everybody else but I dislike 3 day weeks.  We had Monday and Tuesday off because of Mardi Gras.  The students were extra crazy this week.  My student teacher is picking  up another subject next week and starting Friday she will be teaching everything.  It will be hard letting go of control…

This post will have a few odds and ends here an there.  The first is a link from Laura Candler about 12 Ways to Motivate Reluctant Readers.  This is something that I want to copy and send home to my parents.  The second link is also from Laura Candler about Teaching Informational Text with Magazines.  I don't know about your students but mine LOVE nonfiction.  I put about 30 new nonfiction books out and that is all they want to read.  At the end of the above article there is a GIVEAWAY for a FREE subscription to a Kids' Magazine!  I just entered!  My students would LOVE this!!!!!

If you haven't signed up for Laura Candler's Newsletter, you need to!  There are  many wonderful tips and Freebies!  We all know that teacher's LOVE free things!!!!

On another note, my new SmartBoard was hooked up yesterday but I haven't gotten it fully functional yet.  There were some hiccups (we won't go into that) but things happen for a reason and it will all work out.  I need to look up the owner's manual/instructions online (since I didn't get one) to read what all this little bit of technology can do!

Here are a few more links…I told you this was going to be a random post….
1)Reading Rockets - This is another good site that sends out email newsletters.
2)The 2 Sisters - I am so glad that I found them!  They also send out a newsletter.  I have implemented THE DAILY 5 in my classroom this year for centers and I have to say that it is going rather well!  Now, if I can just find the book I bought!!


Okay…I guess that is it for now.

Math Investigations

I don't know the Math program that everyone uses but we use Math Investigations.  I have many parents that don't understand this NEW MATH.  They (including myself sometimes) want to help/teach their child the way they learned.  It is frustrating because there are not that many resources that I can find to help the parent understand the NEW MATH.  I am bound and determined that I am going to do this.

First let me start with Understanding the Common Core (What you need to know).  It gives a brief description and you can click on your state for more information.  Here is the link for Alabama.  Some more resources for understanding the Common Core are All Things Common Core: A Guide for Parents, and Education.com: A Parent's Guide.

Here is the link to the Investigations Home Page.  There is another link that I found (Math Investigations) that has links for students and teachers.  It gives the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) strands, standards & expectations for each strand, contact information if you have any questions, and a list of the top 25 picture books that help meet the math standards.

I will go into a more in depth pursuit in the links for students and teachers.  First, the links for students.  Well, as I just found out, it doesn't go too much in depth.  I clicked the link and all it gave me was a list of 12 websites to help meet the standards.  Let's try the link for teachers.  Again, all it gives is a list of websites (25) to help teachers.  I guess that it does help to give links (for each strand) for the standards & expectations, ideas & worksheets, and Book Suggestions.  Some of the links for some strands do not work (ideas & worksheets, and Book Suggestions).

There was a link that I found on the Investigations Home Page where you can enter your email address to stay informed and up to date about curriculum, workshops, & receive a quarterly newsletter.  Here is a link to Curriculum by Grade Level and more specifically 2nd Grade since that is the grade I teach.  There is also a PDF you can download that gives you an overview of the curriculum for 2nd grade.

Again, I just wish they had everything in one place for parents.  I can see how they would get frustrated because all they want to do is help their child.