Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My docs

If you are interested in downloading some of the documents from my presentation...

http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/10863056/1qkl3q1lqci8r3v68w9w

Please let me know if this doesn't work...
I have the ABC giant flash cards
This tune makes me feel and If I were a...

Enjoy!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Back into the grind

After a lovely week of having Spring Break I"m back to it! Aaah with 40 days of school and almost being done with my master's. Where did the time go???

Anywho, I implemented greeting as well as the sharing. I had show and tell in my room. I'm not a fan of it really because it just seems that kids bring in things that have no meaning and it makes the others feel bad who don't bring things in. But I am not sure if I should just stop it altogether and make the "Sharing" be about something that has happened in their lives.

I did switch sharing to the beginning of the day as part of our meeting time. Which has been a lot better. However, I cannot get my kids to ask questions besides..."Where did you get that? HOw old were you when you got that?"

On another note I have been implementing a lot of new writing ideas in my classroom. So far it has gone pretty well. I am still struggling with the kids who hate writing. I have one student in particular who is a very advanced reader and excels in everything. But this child will not write. This child will do the very basic of what is asked and then be done. Where as the others in the class will go above and beyond adding those details. When they are given free choice on writing, it still is a challenge. I know this child is a perfectionist and freaks out every time they get an answer wrong or can't do something. I am thinking this is holding them back, since they always need to know how to spell everything correctly. This is what I am struggling with. THe rest of the children are just fine with inventive spelling and adding details. I am hoping to find some more ideas on how to tell them that it is okay.

Friday, March 27, 2009

http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/camp-games.html

I found another good site that I will be utilizing after Spring break comes to an end...tear. It is aimed at camp...but it can be used in a classroom. The games and activities are also good.

I found an activity about guessing someone who is the news that I think my kids could do as a form of current events. A person of the day if you will. I will give them clues and they can guess while learning facts.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Here we go

So instead of trying to change everything the week before spring break...(not the best idea) I've decided to do little by little of implementing bits of the Morning Meeting! I thought it would be so simple, but no never is! I am feeling so cramped for time in my classroom!! I don't know what I am doing wrong this year. The day is flying by and some days I feel like we got through one thing. Then I feel like I'm throwing all these things at them so I can say that I have done them. It doesn't help that my students are soooo chatty so it takes us so long to even start an activity. I am really hoping by implementing this in my classroom, it will help the classroom management aspect so my kids are more calm...Am I wishing too much?

So I have decided to just add the greeting this week. The kids are having fun with it, and it seems like it will go well. I was never consistent with the greeting, but I know I have to make that effort. As I delve into my book The Morning Meeting book over spring break, I will generate new ideas on how to compose a better morning meeting following SPring break.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Origins Responsive Classroom

http://www.originsonline.org/rc_classroom.php

This website provides multiple ideas for the responsive classroom. It offers a plethora of greetings for my morning meeting

Check it out!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

New idea

Well...my life is everlasting changing therefore my ideas are also changing. I know have changed my focus to the Morning Meeting. My morning meeting or group time is calendar, weather, schedule how many days in school. Stay tuned for more....

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Positive Behavior Support

I found an article discussing a few parts of the Positive Behavior Support System. The article was about a 3rd grade teacher who had a student who got frustrated during writer's workshop. The teacher led a problem solving conference. There were certain steps that were given to follow and the author provided an example with their own student.

It seems like a great idea to have a problem solving conference. In the past, I establish rapport and do a brief conference. However, the times get cut short usually with needs from some of my other students. But by having lunch together to discuss the needs could be very helpful.

I think this is something that I will try out in my classroom. Following each step and staying calm because the student may be also feeling frazzled over the problem. I also like how involved the student is in choosing the solution to the problem.
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/9550415/18j6tw0c15mnav4y0toy