The Home Stretch

Guys!  We are in the home stretch!  SOOOOOO close!  Fridays are the best but seriously this one is so good cause it is the LAST one!  You ALL have MORE than earned a summer to relax and recharge!  

AND this blog post has very little to do with teaching...sorry if you were wanting more tips for your classroom.  I have summer on the brain! 

Just for fun watch this video on the Types of Teachers on Summer Break.  I am pretty sure I am the Vacation Loving Teacher/Side Hustle one! 

Which one are you?  

So, based on your teacher type, I am sure you have some plans ready for enjoying your summer months.  I of course do and I felt like sharing with you might inspire you to try something new!  

Mine are below:

1. COOK and learn new recipes that are healthy and have FLAVOR! Check out the Chipotle Salad in the link below!  I will be working my way through this list! 

2. Yoga, once a week or twice plus Pilates. (Strength training with Lily...hoping I can keep up!) I joined our local YMCA and I love the class options.  Be sure to check out your YMCA!  They typically do a discount for teachers!

3. Vacationing like crazy & company!  We have company coming this weekend.  I am sooooo excited.  I head to a HUGE Plexus event in June in Cleveland, OH and in July we have a short beach trip planned with the family and a few friends.  Glen and I will be heading to Nemacolin in PA with Glen's company!  We are also planning a trip with just the four of us this summer but it is a surprise so I can share just yet!  

4. I will also be working to keep my yard in check.  I hate yard work so this is a stretch.  We just added a little herb garden so I will be starting there. I have a few planters too.  I wish I was better at this so I will be doing some learning big time! This blog has been pretty helpful! 

5. And last, I will be upping my TikTok game!  You know I love me some T & T! Lily and Ian said that they are going to help me get famous. (It should be a hilarious journey so tune in!) 

Next week is going to go fast.  Enjoy your last few days with your kiddos.  Don't sweat the small stuff and start planning some things just for you this summer!  U deserve it!

Summer Reading Ideas for KIDS!

We made it!  Another week down and we are soooo close to summer break.  I know many of you are putting special things together for you kiddos and I wanted to share some summer reading lists with you. 

We all know one of the key components to avoiding the Summer Slump is to READ, READ & READ!  Our kiddos have come soooo far this school year & I know you all want them to keep that learning train moving in the right direction. 

I used to love to send a book list home every summer for my kiddos.  I challenged them to read all summer and bring me back a list of their books.  I always had a fun treat and a bookmark waiting for them.  (See the smelly bookmarks below!)

Don't forget about SUMMER Reading at the MOORESVILLE Public Library!  I am pretty sure the theme is a SURPRISE!  

Head over to the Library on June 4th from 9:00-12:00 pm for their BIG kick off! 

Also, be sure to let you families know about NC Digital Library!  Families will need a library card to log into their account.  Tons of great reads for kiddos all summer long! 

I found a FANTASTIC site with booklists for all ages!  Check it out below! The site is called Brightly.  I like that on the left you can click the print button and it will print the list for you but the site also offers links to where the books can be purchased too if parents want that.  

Or this one is great too! 

LOVE Brightly's Book BINGO too!  Perfect for printing out and sending home!

Check out this list of chapter books for grades 1-3!  Lots of oldie but goodies and some new ones too! 

Great list of FUNNY chapter books for kids! 

Who doesn't LOVE a scratch and sniff bookmark????? I just have to share these again! These would be so fun for students that bring you their bingo boards back in the FALL!!!!!  

A summer reading log would also be a great way for students to stay on track!  Love these ideas over at My Frugal Adventures!  Several FREEBIES too! 

If you have any other ideas for summer reading, drop them in the comments below!!!!

Can't wait to see what you all come up with! 

Podcasts for Teachers

Hi All!  Happy End of the WEEK!  Thank you for all the hard work this week.  EOY testing is going well!!! Pumped about the scores coming in.  So exciting to see all the growth that our students have made this school year. (You all have done an amazing job!) 

I know we have a ton of things going on with testing, moving rooms/packing, preparing end of the year activities, field trips and soooooo much more.  I wanted to drop a few of my favorite podcasts at you to help keep us up beat.  

Most of you know that I drive quite a ways to get to PVES every day and podcasts SAVE me!  I ran across a collection that is geared JUST for educators! So, whether you are driving in a car, having a working lunch or taking a walk, the list below will give you tons to tune into!  

I did run across this interesting fact too: Aural content has been proven to stimulate the brain more than visual/audiovisual content does. Because of how much exposure we have to visual media these days, our brains can switch off at the sight of it.

15 of the Absolute BEST Podcasts for Teachers!

One of my favorites it The Creative Classroom. It is filled with podcast about growth mindset, project based learning and so much more.  If you are looking to up your creativity...this in one to give a listen to! 

If you are looking for a better work life balance, I love The Teacher Space! 

This is a really good one! 

AND The Shake it up Leaning SHOW is filled with technology tips!

Also, I LOVE this one for students!  

Science discoveries!!!!

Sometimes having a bit going on in the back ground while you are working is just want you need!  It is powerful to surround yourself with like minded people so find a podcast that fits your personality and vision on eduction!  You won't regret it. 

End of the Year Student Engagement

Hi All! Happy End of the week!  I can't believe we are in Dibels Season and starting to think about end of the year review. I thought this would be a good time to think about upping engagement to help with focus! 

Check out some of the ideas below!  

What is Learner Engagement?  In a nutshell, Learner Engagement is the measure of a potentially successful learning experience for everyone concerned. It measures the quantity and the quality of a learner's participation. It also takes in account the interaction with co learners & instructors.  

What does an engaged learner look like?

• Active in their Learning
• Eager to Participate
• Willing to Expend Effort
• Motivated
• Inspired

I like this simple video about student engagement and the framework it explains. 

There are 3 levels of engagement:

1. Cognitive:Taking an active, committed approach to coming up with learning strategies. Such as mnemonics to remember content. 
2. Emotional:Feel connected to the material and or group.  Low levels of anxiety.
3. Behavioral: Completed tasks and always show up for lessons.  

So, we have learned quite a bit about learner engagement.  Let's jump into some ideas that will help you up the engagement in your classroom. 

Engaging Test Prep Ideas: Testing season is upon us and I know we are all working to get some review in. Up the engagement with some the the ideas below! 

This BLOG is FILLED with simple quick ideas that will help you up the engagement in your classroom. 

Be Creative with Content: You know the standard that we are working on.  Get creative in how you deliver it.  Ask students to weigh in on what interests them.  Get that SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES going in your lessons. Nonfiction is a GREAT way to up engagement and if the students have some ownership in what they will be learning about you can double on that engagement.  Use a survey about the next animal you will learn about for example. 

Hit lots of learning styles during your lessons. Add visual, music and movement to your lessons. 

Reward Learners:  This is always touchy for me.  I only want to reward extraordinary behavior not behavior that is expected.  But if this is an area that is really holding your students back, I always like earning a group reward.  Meaning building toward something.  Or adding in a bit of competition such as Cohorts competing for all assignments turned in. In PLCs, this week, I heard some great examples of earning raffle tickets for a class store and even giant Pixie Sticks. We all know that we are not in a normal situation and with that, we may need to do things we would not normally do.  This video is a JACKPOT of ideas for rewarding your kiddos! 

Check out these FREE rewards below!

Whole Brain Teaching: Get that call and response going! Even in the virtual world! Check out this video below modeling the SCOREBOARD!  I love to use this as a way to earn a "reward!" 

One of my favorite blogs, Cult of Pedagogy, has a great post about engagement!  Read it by clicking the image below!

Another great one from Cult of Pedagogy.  This is defiantly one to think about! 

Next steps from ENGAGEMENT to EMPOWERMENT!  GOALS!

Leveled Readers for Writing

Hi All!  I hope you had a wonderful SHORT week back to school!  I can't believe it is the end of April!  Next week is going to be busy with Dibels starting but we are in the home stretch now. 

I have been thinking lots about the leveled readers, specifically the predictable texts, that I know we have a surplus of and what we can do with them.  It is tricky because with what we have learned about the SOR we need to keep our students knee deep in decodables as they are learning to read.  

Some of the higher levels can be used for comprehension in the older grades.  Or sorted into to theme book tubs for students to choose from.  

I ran across this site over in a SOR reading FB group and I LOVE that the suggestions are how we can use the text to support students in writing & language with these leveled texts.    

This video is a QUICK refresher why we have moved to decodable text!  Great resource to share with parents if they are having concerns about book levels or lack there of! 

I am over the moon excited about using our predictable text to support our writing instruction! 

The Right to Read blog has a GREAT post with ways to look at the text and decide how they can be best used.  

Such as these ideas below.  

Once you have identified how you will use your text, school below and you will see different activities ideas that you can click on to support the text type.

Like this simple on for rewriting the sentence on the page! Use Post it tape to cover the words.  This would be so fun in a literacy center and then read the text to the class! 

Reading Rockets has these activities organized in a different manner.  

 

I know we are moving toward the end of the year but I thought these ideas were worth playing with at bit.  Finding ones that we can use next school year to bring more to our writing & language lessons.  

Have an awesome weekend! 

LETRS Update

Happy Weekend!  I hope you all have something relaxing and fun planned.  Spring is in full swing and I know things are going to start getting busy after our up and coming break.  

This Friday, I had a LETRS training about the first unit and what will be expected of us next year.  I thought this would be a great time to review the program and I will share more about our plan in PLCs next week.  

Check out this video! 

This video is a great example of why the state chose LETRS.  I am excited to get started with this program! I also LOVE that in the video, the teachers state that it can be layered over most all programs.     

Here is some light reading on Unit 1, session 1. 

What is LETRS Training?

Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, which is a product of Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc. (VSL, Inc.)

LETRS addresses four critical outcomes for effective literacy instruction: understanding the science of reading, converting research to practice, enhancing teacher effectiveness, and transforming instruction. By understanding the “why” behind science and evidence-based research, educators can effectively know how to aid students in learning to read.

Who is required to attend LETRS Training?

The state is providing funding for the following staff members to participate in LETRS® training:

• homeroom classroom teachers working with pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students, including CTE preschool teachers,

• one administrator per school who will support/evaluate for alignment,

• one instructional coach per school

• lead teachers working with children in the NC Pre-K program and onsite administrator (including NC Pre-K in child care and Head Start settings)

• elementary EC Resource Teachers

• elementary ELL Teachers

Let's Dive in!

We will be trained on 8 different modules through an interactive virtual interface.  

If you are interested in learning more about the training, please join in on one of the webinars provided.   Click the image below. 

Here is a great brochure that will help you understand the training process and how it will help enhance our teaching.  

The Science of Math

Happy end of the week everyone! I am going to warn you on this one.  This blog is going to jump around a bit.  Only because I got some really good news!!!  AND...I couldn't wait to share it.  So let's just agree that this will be a TO BE CONTINUED post.  (As I find out more, I will let you know!)

I had the opportunity to attend an in person PD from DPI on math this past Thursday.  It was so good to be back in a group setting and to be able to share with other educators.  

While there, we focused on the Understand, Diagnose, and Take Action model for unfinished learning. I know that we have spent a good bit of this year digging into data to then take action.  

I am looking forward to unpacking some of our math standards in the future with a focus on identifying the prerequisites needed to access grade level content.  

With the pandemic and the loss of instructional time our students have had, we all know it is super important to make sure that we look at unfinished learning but also keep in mind that all unfinished learning doesn't need to be treated the same.  Sometimes it just means giving students more time or need to put forth more effort.  

This post from Achieve the Core is fantastic and it really digs into the idea of unfinished learning.  Be sure to check it out! 

Okay now to the TO BE CONTINUED part...

Jemma got wind of this in her afternoon part of the training. (I only went to the morning.). So, I will be digging more into this for use next week.  

The Science of MATH!!!!!!  

Just like our components of The Science of Reading there are components of Math. 

Click to download! 

This video digs in! 

Stay tuned for more information about how we can use this information to support our math students!