tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55216225548206807192024-03-05T21:40:07.594-05:00Learning in Progress...The journey of a first grade teacher with a passion for teaching, learning, organization and technology!Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-37101484622591145172012-08-21T17:13:00.003-04:002012-08-21T17:13:57.927-04:00Little Big Minds: Happiness<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Happiness is feeling okay about everything and being satisfied no matter what...It is also the feeling that you belong somewhere." -Marietta McCarty, <u>Little Big Minds</u></i></b></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the next in a series of blog posts dedicated to the AMAZING book Little Big Minds by Marietta McCarty. You can view the previous blog posts here:</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://heatherowilson.blogspot.com/2012/08/philosophy-for-kids.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Philosophy for Kids</a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heatherowilson.blogspot.com/2012/08/little-big-minds-philosophy.html" target="_blank">Little Big Minds: Philosophy</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Topic: </b></i>This theme is centered around students
defining in their own words, “What is happiness?” I think as adults, we have a lot to learn
from children about happiness. It seems
that most children have this consistent happiness about them. McCarty has her students explore this
definition and then examine things that we mistake for happiness. A few resources McCarty uses to explore this
topic is having students listen to “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6tV11acSRk" target="_blank">Here Comes the Sun</a>,” E.E. Cummings’ poem
“<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/243815-who-knows-if-the-moon-s-a-balloon-coming-out-of-a" target="_blank">who knows if the moon’s / a balloon</a>,”
and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “<a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-fawn/" target="_blank">The Fawn</a>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Philosophers:</b> </i><a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/" target="_blank">Epicurus</a> and <a href="http://sweepingzen.com/charlotte-joko-beck-dies-at-94-american-zen-pioneer" target="_blank">Charlotte Joko Beck</a> are
the philosophers that McCarty bases this them of happiness from. Epicurus was an Athenian citizen that left
the main part of town and built just a house and a garden. His teachings are mainly about living a
simple life. He says that if we get rid
of all the “extra stuff” we will be happy.
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Charlotte
Joko Beck is a woman that studied Zen Buddhism in her forties. Beck teaches that happiness comes from within
and in order to have that happiness from within, we must take the time to look
inside ourselves. An interesting point
that Beck makes is to just sit. It seems
like we are all so caught up in doing something that we never <u>just sit</u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Meditation
is something that McCarty introduces to her students to mimic the teachings of
Epicurus and Beck. A few resources that
McCarty recommends using to expand on recognizing our happiness is the book,
“<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Phantom-Tollbooth-Norton-Juster/dp/0394820371" target="_blank">The Phantom Tollbooth</a>” and the film, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjFE9uy3N38" target="_blank">You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown</a>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Simplicity: </b> </i>The goal of this discussion is for students
to begin to think about Needs and Wants.
Once they decide that clothing is a need and clothing with a name brand
is a want, they can begin to realize how to live a simple, uncomplicated life. An exercise McCarty has her students do, is
to find things in their home and make a list of Necessary/Happiness and
Pleasure/Wants. Also, my favorite part
of this chapter is having students dance to Aretha Franklin’s “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKkWj2WpWM" target="_blank">I Say a LittlePrayer</a>.” Students learn that dancing and
happiness coincide with each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Creating
Balance: </b></i>Meditation is a wonderful activity to teach students.
This allows them to see what it feels like to just sit and listen to
their thoughts. McCarty explains how
students experiences after meditating are quite descriptive which shows how
beneficial it can be for them. She also
describes how using a Frisbee to show students a visual of how meditation can
help you reach your center (through meditation). Once they reach this center, they can begin
to balance their thoughts, lives, etc.
Finding time each day for some meditation/quiet time can be beneficial
to students with their everyday hectic lives.
They need time to just slow down for a few minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is a fun link to guide students through meditation: <a href="http://doasone.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">Do as One</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How will you teach your students about happiness? What will they teach you?</span></div>
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Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-66867705723028802622012-08-21T16:36:00.003-04:002012-08-21T16:42:49.379-04:00Little Big Minds: Philosophy<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>"The word 'philosphy' means: love of wisdom. Inspired by a sense of wonder and countless questions, philosophers investigate life...children have such questions in mind from a very early age, and philosophy is their chance to go exploring." </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>-Marietta McCarty, <u>Little Big Minds</u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I began this blog series last week pertaining to an AMAZING book titles Little Big Minds by Marietta McCarty. You can read the introductory post here : <a href="http://heatherowilson.blogspot.com/2012/08/philosophy-for-kids.html" target="_blank">Philosophy for Kids</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Topic:</i>
</b>The word philosophy means “love of wisdom.”
McCarty explains how philosophers like to investigate life. Children are perfect for this since they are
always asking questions and have a natural curiosity. Along with discussion questions, McCarty
offers some resources to teach the topic. These are three of <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/155" target="_blank">Emily Dickinson’s poems</a> and the story <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Little-Prince-Antoine-Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry/dp/0156012197" target="_blank">The Little Prince</a></u> by Antoine Saint-Exupery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>The
Philosophers</b>: </i>McCarty discussed two main philosophers for this section,
<a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/" target="_blank">Socrates</a> and <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/" target="_blank">Plato</a>. Plato was a pupil of
Socrates and his writings show how his and Socrates’ philosophies blended
together. One story that McCarty reads
to her students is Plato’s “<a href="http://historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/plato.htm" target="_blank">Myth of the Cave</a>.”
This is a story explaining to children how important it is to live with
wonder and curiosity, otherwise you are a prisoner to the thought of ideas. Another resource that McCarty connects to the
story is to play “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI4scpZ_e3Q" target="_blank">Haydn’s Symphony No. 22</a>” while they are drawing a picture
that comes to mind while listening. As
they are drawing children are discussing why this symphony is titled “The
Philosopher.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>The
Examined Life</b>: </i>McCarty emphasizes the importance to
children on acknowledging that we don’t know a lot of things. She also explains that it is just as
important to wonder about things we may never find the “answer” to. This can be explored by reading to students
the poem, “<a href="http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15537" target="_blank">The Red Wheelbarrow</a>” by William Carlos Williams and then having them
write their own poem inspired by these thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Good
Conversation:</b> </i>“I
compare philosophers to jugglers who, rather than keeping many balls in the
air, instead hold many ideas in their minds during philosophical conversation”
(McCarty, 2006). Children learn that
conversation, talking through ideas is more important than who gets the last
word. An exercise that can be done with
this topic is taste tasting with mustard and pretzels. McCarty has the students report in one word
how they would describe it. Children are
then able to compare their opinion with others and realize the differences but
accept them at the same time. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What does the topic of exploring philosophy mean to you? Please share your experiences if you dive into this with your students!</span></div>
Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-82247849397958833722012-08-17T12:25:00.001-04:002012-08-21T16:42:26.097-04:00Philosophy for Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"<u>Little Big Minds</u> is an invitation to discover philosophy and to consider how we as adults can most effectively share this subject with children...I can tell you kids are natural philosophers. They approach philosophical topics with great big minds that are uncluttered by the baggage that can accumulate as one gets older." -Marietta McCarty</i></div>
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Recently, for a graduate class I was assigned to read the book <i>Little Big Minds</i> by Marietta McCarty. Now, at first I was skeptical about teaching elementary students through middle students about the topic of philosophy, but as I dug into this book I was enthralled! It makes so much sene to discuss these topics with students to expand their thinking, our thinking, and building relationships in the process. In the next few blog posts, I will be exploring a select few chapters that I know will interest you. If these interest you as much as they did for me, I challenge you to purchase this book and share with me an adventure in philosophy with kids!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">MariettaMcCarty has the belief that children are the best philosophers. Thinking about the world around them andquestioning things is a natural part of their growth. McCarty takes advantage of this and beginstalking about Philosophical topics with children ranging from Kindergarten toMiddle School. In this book, McCartyoffers 15 topics, and each one has its’ own chapter:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In each chapters she shares a <b>theme</b>, <b>philosophers</b>, and <b>discussions</b> that all connect with that chapter’s topic. She does a wonderful job of offering teaching tips, discussion questions, exercises, and a list of resources to be used. An important piece of advice McCarty offersis to be aware of your students and what they can handle, or want to discuss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Teaching Techniques: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="line-height: 200%;">McCarty offers a brief description of some teaching </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">techniques</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> to make your “Philosophy Time” more beneficial for you and your students. First and foremost she offers two rules:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Never speak when someone else is talking.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Never make fun of what someone says.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">These two rules show how McCarty makes sure to make this time a safe place for students to share and to open their minds with no limits. A few other techniques she offers are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sit in a circle</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Start with quiet time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Include a brief story with each lesson</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pay attention to children’s comfort level</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Be prepared with definitions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Clarify meanings</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Avoid generalizations/projections</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Discuss reasons for assignments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Participate without doing the assignment for them</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Give a sense of completion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Use a variety of mediums (art, music, poetry, literature)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Connect philosophy to their lives</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">FFor more information on this book and the author visit:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><a href="http://www.mariettamccarty.com/">http://www.mariettamccarty.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marietta-McCarty-Books/106579186040792">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marietta-McCarty-Books/106579186040792</a></span></div>
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Have I peaked your interest yet? Stay tuned for a selection of chapter summaries in future blog posts!</div>
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Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-84221449991934799712012-08-04T12:59:00.000-04:002012-08-04T12:59:24.068-04:00Edu-Pinterest Linky Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rainbowswithinreach.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAohe-lzvS0Rz7N_n7ViXQaJVjUGgfifAhNxClDkoS7ejHFGeTlSYi1Z0JMNk6dYyi7NJ38xqa1tWyxhBT63dgEG4jkxLaIiuMryDkUyuXw_ihekrcR9PAzXM06sw_970iK84kh7ddUfE/s320/pinterst+FOLLOW+along+party.png" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://rainbowswithinreach.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://rainbowswithinreach.blogspot.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Educators in love with pinning your classroom inspirations UNITE! Click the link above to add YOUR Pinterest page and then explore the links that others have left!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy Pinning!</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-7447653214441179802012-07-31T11:19:00.002-04:002012-07-31T11:52:24.704-04:00Back to First Grade!<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>— Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Lots</span></b> of changes are up ahead for me in the next month and especially the next school year. I thrive on change and new adventures though, so I could not be more excited than I am right now. I got a new job (teaching First Grade again), in a new district, and moving to the East side of Michigan (where I grew up)! I taught First Grade for two years before my last two years teaching Second. I absolutely LOVED Second Grade, but there was always piece of my heart that was left in First Grade :) The growth in First Grade can just not be compared to any other grade in my opinion. Reading and writing growth are HUGE and it is so exciting to be a part of this. Can you tell I have endless passion for First Grade? I think it's going to be a phenomenal year to say the least...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's the thing though...I need to immerse myself back into that First Grade mindset I was in 2+ years ago. I know it will come back naturally, but I could use any advice you have. In the past year, I have really gotten into technology with my students/families such as using: KidBlog, classroom Facebook page, classroom Twitter page, and many other abundant resources out there. I am determined to use most/all of these but will of course go about them in a whole new way. This I am excited about. Something I am familiar with, but a new twist on it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Where to start? Morning Meeting/Calendar routine. Today I will be comparing/</span><span style="line-height: 22px;">contrasting the <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-28753_33232---,00.html#FIRST" target="_blank">Michigan GLCEs</a> and <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/" target="_blank">CCSS</a>. My new school has not made the switch to CCSS yet, but I figured that I may as well begin making the connections. I need to update my routine with this part of the day making sure to touch on certain GLCEs/CCSS every day to make my students successful. I have a few questions for my PLN out there:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">What essential activities do you do for your Morning Meeting/Calendar time? </span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">My goal is to create a daily page for students to fill in as we are doing Calendar time to help with the date, weather, telling time, counting, etc. <span style="color: #f1c232;">Do you do something similar? </span> If so, please share helpful tips as I am creating mine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I look forward to this new journey and learning from all of you on the way! I will be sure to share what I come across as well :) Stay tuned.</span></span></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-80351474417438588872012-06-22T10:16:00.001-04:002012-07-31T11:22:33.300-04:00Summer Communication with Students<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">“</span><a class="sqq" href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/kind_words_can_be_short_and_easy_to_speak-but/12518.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;">Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.</span></a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">” </span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">-Mother Teresa</span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The last day of school can be bittersweet saying goodbye to your class. Thinking about how you have seen them almost every day since September and now it will be months before you see them again...Even that depends on if they will stop in to say hello or perhaps they have moved on to a new school. My solution to this: <u><span style="font-size: large;">continue the conversation</span></u>! I like to write postcards to my students a few weeks into summer asking how summer is going, telling them a little bit about what I have been up to, and then ask <u>them</u> to reply! Now, I can't say that <b>all</b> my students jump on the opportunity to write to their teacher over the summer, but for the few that DO respond, it really puts a smile on my face :) I also like to think that receiving a postcard in the mail from their teacher puts a genuine smile upon their face!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This summer though, I have a new challenge for my students that I discussed with them at the end of the school year. Instead of waiting for them to write me via snail mail, I asked them to continue to post on their <a href="http://kidblog.org/home.php" target="_blank">KidBlog</a> from home and that I would reply! So far, we have been out of school for 16 days and I have had 3 students post/comment on our class blog page. Again, this isn't a lot, but it makes me smile and makes me think that I taught them a "life-skill" that they are choosing to do OUTSIDE of school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well I am off to mail my postcards, how will you continue the conversation with students over the summer? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3ESrrhGveT4v37AKxDVO4AEJ1MyGoCqZh_wSKmxC1N4GliWrscvseS4MPvQKbOLyXulxSPw_c3gMfStUJbJuRAJjWpf01cUb5WbPO0jHDZKGo5Wh6T2RdJkWP-ciY5v3fmNEGAk8mhBf/s640/blogger-image-1222698100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3ESrrhGveT4v37AKxDVO4AEJ1MyGoCqZh_wSKmxC1N4GliWrscvseS4MPvQKbOLyXulxSPw_c3gMfStUJbJuRAJjWpf01cUb5WbPO0jHDZKGo5Wh6T2RdJkWP-ciY5v3fmNEGAk8mhBf/s640/blogger-image-1222698100.jpg" /></a></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-40635186007765775932012-04-14T11:30:00.001-04:002012-07-31T11:24:57.606-04:00The Great Poetry Race<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Invitation </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>By Shel Silverstein</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>If you are a dreamer, come in,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A hope-er, a prayer, a magic bean buyer...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Come in!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Come in!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My classroom started a project for Poetry Month called The Great Poetry Race. I first heard of this project through <a href="http://www.proteacher.net/" target="_blank">ProTeacher Community</a>. This was my go-to for about 5 years B.T. (Before Twitter). It's essentially a forum with teachers ready to share information and chat about classroom happenings. Sounds similar to Twitter, doesn't it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So anywho, The Great Poetry Race explanation... Each week during the month of April, my students are given a new poem. They receive this poem on Monday and turn it with with signatures of who they read it to on Friday. The student who has read it to the most people, wins The Great Poetry Race for that week. As their "reward" they get to keep the Poetry Trophy on their desk the following week (stuffed Dr. Seuss character). They also record their voice reading our poem for the week on a <a href="http://voicethread.com/" target="_blank">VoiceThread</a> which is posted on our classroom website: <a href="http://wilsonh.weebly.com/special-projects.html">http://wilsonh.weebly.com/special-projects.html</a> Enjoy and feel free to leave comments :) This will be added to every week with our new poem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Why I love this project? My students get so passionate about poetry during this project time. Their fluency is being practiced and they realize what fluency really is from reading the poem selection over and over. They turn into little actors and actresses:) Also, families love having them call grandma in Arizona, or their older brother away at college to hear them read the poem. It's a project that connects people in a 'poetic' way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, deciding what poem to have my students read for next week?... Taking suggestions! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do you inspire the love of poetry in your classroom?</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-52141317629432229922012-04-04T21:19:00.001-04:002012-04-04T21:19:54.054-04:00Looking for a Poem in Your Pocket Skype<iframe frameborder="0" height="445" scrolling="no" src="http://education.skype.com/projects/2298/embed" width="300"></iframe>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-52594549017112072912012-03-09T14:58:00.001-05:002012-07-31T11:25:21.568-04:00MACUL 2012<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A year ago, I went to my first MACUL conference. At the end of the conference, my mind was sWiRlinG and my brain was <span style="font-size: large;">overflowing</span> with information. I remember thinking to myself, I am <i>never</i> coming to this conference again. This feeling came from the fact that I was learning about all these new things and I wasn't doing <u>any </u>of them. This made me feel <span style="font-size: x-small;">clueless</span>. Not only that, I didn't know where to begin! I was so overwhelmed with ideas and emotions, so I thought giving up was the answer. (I was SO wrong) Well, here I am at MACUL again. So, what changed?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was able to change because I realized I <u>don't</u> have to do EVERYTHING I just learned. Once I made this realization, I was able to breathe and start to <span style="font-size: large;">filter</span> the information I had gotten. This was the most important lesson I learned at MACUL last year. I went to MACUL because I knew that I loved technology. I left MACUL learning, as an educator, how to use technology in a useful and not overwhelming fashion for myself and my students. Technology is thrown at us every day of our lives and when new ideas come into our path we have to stop and think:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Can I see myself using this? (if the answer is no, just let it pass. If it's really worthwhile, you will hear about it again and maybe this time you will know someone who can offer their background in it making it a little more appealing to you. And, you may have more courage to try it out.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-How am I going to REMEMBER to come back to this later? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a year I have gone from <span style="color: magenta;">loving</span> technology, to becoming <u><b>Knowledgeable</b></u> about technology. When I hear about something "new" I ask myself the above questions AND I dig into it deciding right then and there, can I use this? For me, if I don't start using it right away, I won't use it. So, if something doesn't appeal to me as being able to utilize it right away, I let it go. Maybe another time it will work into my classroom, but not now. This tiny lesson has made me have more courage to try new things and not beat myself up for NOT trying the "newest" and "coolest" thing I heard about, yet. I like to let it soak in for a bit before taking that jump. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, I am going to spend tonight "filtering" through what I have come across these past few days and I welcome you to come back and see what I am going to start implementing "Next Week" ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have added some fun finds to my classroom links page over the past 2 days so feel free to peruse those for now! <a href="http://wilsonh.weebly.com/students.html">http://wilsonh.weebly.com/students.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks MACUL for <i>making</i> me a better teacher and <i>wanting </i>to become a better teacher for my students.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="445" scrolling="no" src="http://education.skype.com/projects/2057/embed" width="300"></iframe>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-4554485824841397262012-02-20T21:07:00.000-05:002012-02-20T21:07:15.698-05:00Daily 5 Series: Listen to Reading<table style="background-color: white; color: black; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #c80000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>"The fluent reader sounds good, is easy to listen to, and reads with enough expression to help the listener understand and enjoy the material."</i></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #c80000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>-Charles Clark, "Building Fluency: Do It Right and Do It Well!"</i></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #c80000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhWl-4WHvKkDAW8lPkClDgRn4aVj6aiXWU13a_MnOdtYlTQJ6TEcRN6DDO7kZw-gPpbOP5EjaM2icSS2HrgjCoau85SEM4fIufMrQfU4MJGD70flr5dpoe4-MnyH_lgrjG62ls8NYG36m/s1600/P2190057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhWl-4WHvKkDAW8lPkClDgRn4aVj6aiXWU13a_MnOdtYlTQJ6TEcRN6DDO7kZw-gPpbOP5EjaM2icSS2HrgjCoau85SEM4fIufMrQfU4MJGD70flr5dpoe4-MnyH_lgrjG62ls8NYG36m/s640/P2190057.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #c80000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i><br />
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</i></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Listen to Reading is probably the MOST popular of the Daily 5 Choices. If I didn't give my students guidelines about how many choices they need to make each day, they would choose L2R every time...Since it's so popular I make sure that I have a variety of tools for this choice and that enough students can get to it each day while still making other choices. Along with a variety of tools, students know the correct way to use L2R. Here are the tools used in my classroom:</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">L2R Tools & Resources</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #c80000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>*Netbooks*</b></span></span><br />
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</b></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHc26T0NpvAhfI9FVaEACbWL_L_en4QcwdvUFzKHcyiAY9q4JpsCLVsHbW918p8TYXkBysgemr4EI10YZN-3ZVSnV9NmCv43HPdOQh1pnGC6DFcGO8wNNIQU3eS7vfgYDYPVBoLEaekFQ/s1600/P2190052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHc26T0NpvAhfI9FVaEACbWL_L_en4QcwdvUFzKHcyiAY9q4JpsCLVsHbW918p8TYXkBysgemr4EI10YZN-3ZVSnV9NmCv43HPdOQh1pnGC6DFcGO8wNNIQU3eS7vfgYDYPVBoLEaekFQ/s200/P2190052.JPG" width="200" /></a></div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwrjj9kiosrJm75wmJSkqvxS8Bwj7z2uxYNKy_uvTm89ix8yAmr7fRIvwetJyuuVFzkFZnkvqY3CEYqx80oqSU-XRaJ-C4xL_lOFK7IY_4mIocGY3d4pJQzonNrdEpguiKRj-LuLvT1UN/s1600/P2190054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwrjj9kiosrJm75wmJSkqvxS8Bwj7z2uxYNKy_uvTm89ix8yAmr7fRIvwetJyuuVFzkFZnkvqY3CEYqx80oqSU-XRaJ-C4xL_lOFK7IY_4mIocGY3d4pJQzonNrdEpguiKRj-LuLvT1UN/s400/P2190054.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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</b></span></span></div><div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b>I have 4 Netbooks for students to sign up at. Students have <u>clothespins</u> with their student numbers on them and this is how they sign up for all the Listening Stations. When one student is finished, they remove their clip, slide the next student's up and also taps them on the shoulder letting them know it is their turn. </b></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b>While students are on the netbooks, they choose stories from our Symbaloo Page: (</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/reading2ndgrade">http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/reading2ndgrade</a></b></span></span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">) </b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">They know to choose books on the left side of the page because those have the <i>words along with the story</i> for them to Read Along with :) We review quite often about how <u>reading along</u> with the story is what will help them become more fluent readers. </b></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
<b style="background-color: white; clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">*Walkmans*</b></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdgSY11_iNWzTA4wIZ1ewY3O-p8QupDhcZzHDksDU3-CyPqmNtBEq2doMj3EIKmrYkx1wEgQqZJ_KJG2enQTW7Oid6TUsAM4vWRykTFN5mi81TcFjiDdnCZ2iI1cbf2mKB8og1EyfVnE5/s1600/P2190051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdgSY11_iNWzTA4wIZ1ewY3O-p8QupDhcZzHDksDU3-CyPqmNtBEq2doMj3EIKmrYkx1wEgQqZJ_KJG2enQTW7Oid6TUsAM4vWRykTFN5mi81TcFjiDdnCZ2iI1cbf2mKB8og1EyfVnE5/s200/P2190051.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walkmans w/sign up sheets</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaO1lKTSiBMx0UpwjMJ40L3ItIb8mFxOF-dPgr5ub1T-3JxkkyeB8wDSUjapmW0dPbV7qdBjsPa_N0kdrEDBuL_Xq2yXaR62ex6dxtI2wAypoAvzXH3MiClzPkXR-vwysJnFaWk9dxSYd/s1600/P2190055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaO1lKTSiBMx0UpwjMJ40L3ItIb8mFxOF-dPgr5ub1T-3JxkkyeB8wDSUjapmW0dPbV7qdBjsPa_N0kdrEDBuL_Xq2yXaR62ex6dxtI2wAypoAvzXH3MiClzPkXR-vwysJnFaWk9dxSYd/s200/P2190055.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CD's/Tapes for Listening Stations</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12px;">So, yes I am going </span>back in time<span style="font-size: 12px;"> and using some old school Walkmans! I had so many books on TAPE, and my students just did not think they were "cool." Sooo, the Walkmans made them cool again. They can bring them to their reading nooks and they just LOVE it. It was a bit challenging teaching them this old technology, but they got the hang of it :) I found them on Amazon for $7 in case you were wondering ;) </span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">*Discman*</span></b></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">*CD/Tape Player*</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpH_Np-PXlRLtTnnE5egxJw7ysHf0PDEBOqjNNE_F62iM1ltTyjEhi0lx85sb2Goo2JDjKmEmLDhH3Ds6JPf8IGfW63zDJEACQBWDNZFRobWQG-DsPwotSFDsxUxRrpL6M8Ul6VeXxeKm/s1600/P2190048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpH_Np-PXlRLtTnnE5egxJw7ysHf0PDEBOqjNNE_F62iM1ltTyjEhi0lx85sb2Goo2JDjKmEmLDhH3Ds6JPf8IGfW63zDJEACQBWDNZFRobWQG-DsPwotSFDsxUxRrpL6M8Ul6VeXxeKm/s200/P2190048.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students get to sit in Rocking Chair<br />
while using the CD/Tape Player</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOdZYXQHalTOchX95YJinSOQRCwniiPJkir-LoKnxgF23iPlUuykYTjhnRH0MHu50pFUnRfSh1N2q2PGUBcdfaO7vSauGhWTw321KDKPlo0rhniJsIJ6utyq2hThLp_4-cyHbmM7Xo8tJ/s1600/P2190049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOdZYXQHalTOchX95YJinSOQRCwniiPJkir-LoKnxgF23iPlUuykYTjhnRH0MHu50pFUnRfSh1N2q2PGUBcdfaO7vSauGhWTw321KDKPlo0rhniJsIJ6utyq2hThLp_4-cyHbmM7Xo8tJ/s320/P2190049.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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</b></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks for reading and I hope this gives you some ideas/tips for your own L2R. Please comment on what resources you use for L2R as I am ALWAYS looking for updates/additions to my own system. Happy President's Day!</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b><br />
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</tbody></table>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-12308218673645174572012-02-07T18:57:00.000-05:002012-02-07T18:57:22.289-05:00Daily 5 Series: Work on Writing<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>“<a class="sqq" href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/be-yourself-above-all-let-who-you-are-what-you/381972.html" style="text-decoration: none;">Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.</a>”</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Writing can be a daunting task for some students, so my job is to make it fun, interesting, and new. I try to give my students a new Writing Prompt every other week so there is time to go through the writing process, and also have time to choose what they want to write about. I do Writer's Workshop at another time of the day, but Daily 5 time gives them "extra" time work work on current pieces. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj8fUYq161BKGqwI4OFwV1UwO1Qd4iPLOknOIZR-MsmS0t1qKzvLXmBg4SV3zXRWphMjrLmOENqJPiOgiMi00-o5snQN7v1TBBwrDTV7oqF9HViqlel6SZJK4nYhKWut8HXMF2SMOzaWM/s1600/P1010004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipj8fUYq161BKGqwI4OFwV1UwO1Qd4iPLOknOIZR-MsmS0t1qKzvLXmBg4SV3zXRWphMjrLmOENqJPiOgiMi00-o5snQN7v1TBBwrDTV7oqF9HViqlel6SZJK4nYhKWut8HXMF2SMOzaWM/s640/P1010004.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I always have a checklist with student names for the Writing Pieces that we currently are working on, but most importantly, I have a list of Free Choices they can make if they finish the required pieces. This ranges from books containing Writing Prompts to technology links which students can use our classroom netbooks for. Either way, they always have PLENTY of Writing options to choose from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">During Daily 5, students write in their Writer's Notebook. This is a notebook of their choice which contains all of their rough drafts from the year. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiQqfn1yEM8gAsRSLxGiozm8kZbYoSkWYEjX4HZhbEuQzsEWH0uYL4qjYpq0ZnTGqnANYVibKXvWiKCcs3dybihZee8V0g49L8_miXZLZhW7JRoiQ0vcNuc-f-bItDcg_ThB2XEK7M4jF/s1600/P1010011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiQqfn1yEM8gAsRSLxGiozm8kZbYoSkWYEjX4HZhbEuQzsEWH0uYL4qjYpq0ZnTGqnANYVibKXvWiKCcs3dybihZee8V0g49L8_miXZLZhW7JRoiQ0vcNuc-f-bItDcg_ThB2XEK7M4jF/s320/P1010011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some great links to get your students "pumped" about Writing are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx" target="_blank">PicLits</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/storystarters/storystarter1.htm" target="_blank">Scholastic Story Starter</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.wordtamer.co.uk/" target="_blank">Word Tamer</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/storymaker/storymaker.swf" target="_blank">StoryMaker</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://storybird.com/" target="_blank">StoryBird</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you have inspiration to share with young writers please comment below! Happy Writing :)</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-6860805439314779772011-12-14T21:02:00.000-05:002011-12-14T21:02:57.409-05:00Daily 5 Series: Read 2 Self<table style="background-color: white; color: black; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” </i></b></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i><img alt="" height="1" src="http://www.readfaster.com/images/pixel.gif" width="20" /><sup> - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"</sup></i></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i><sup><br />
</sup></i></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This series is going to be more of just pictures and little tidbits about what they are. Once you read the Daily 5 book, you will see how this all fits in. </span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Read 2 Self is the first step into Daily 5 and the one you really want your students to treasure. Therefore, you want to add some fun twists to it, to make it really enjoyable for the students and you! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2nk9ZfbAsBsdzD-0KhASiVsM-40jMQa2K-IAAQYCB-SjNhGYDyo1qR4rBqukyAjed5c7k1dWEDrPbpJ4IzlGZkTRRJqF7AIgdqnupClkxeUJq90DGy_BMTQnQp3nRRFAmqxLscOesZWl/s1600/P1010002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2nk9ZfbAsBsdzD-0KhASiVsM-40jMQa2K-IAAQYCB-SjNhGYDyo1qR4rBqukyAjed5c7k1dWEDrPbpJ4IzlGZkTRRJqF7AIgdqnupClkxeUJq90DGy_BMTQnQp3nRRFAmqxLscOesZWl/s320/P1010002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We would review this list every day for the first 2 weeks and every now and then refer back to it and review. This is posted all year (until I start my CAFE board).</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTBGREhF4MqgwAFsNk7Zct7s2q1SVu5KP30bv0IhnEndmBsXOIvRfW6saCCeFMifdpOVOxT1LjfI8_Bru3NbpaCAC0BHfwmryROA6fgm9OzWhLEX8bQTI4ZTyPp-XiUuOc6vNiZklouvE/s1600/P1010003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTBGREhF4MqgwAFsNk7Zct7s2q1SVu5KP30bv0IhnEndmBsXOIvRfW6saCCeFMifdpOVOxT1LjfI8_Bru3NbpaCAC0BHfwmryROA6fgm9OzWhLEX8bQTI4ZTyPp-XiUuOc6vNiZklouvE/s320/P1010003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This poster is SO important for my students and I refer back to it ALL THE TIME. This stresses to them the importance of really looking into a book before choosing it. "Don't judge a book by it's cover."...so they say...</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoleawnROoDpv4Oz6JRTwSuUV03EQw6fTloHYCOZNvofZQiRkcwgvnFyviiCqYelcAPup4zRM3qR5iKfOvZB4khJrH4sAr4KtheHGfRwmrx6aHYun3r8kQRU89RXeXuLMxXL53bgwmqlh/s1600/P1010009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoleawnROoDpv4Oz6JRTwSuUV03EQw6fTloHYCOZNvofZQiRkcwgvnFyviiCqYelcAPup4zRM3qR5iKfOvZB4khJrH4sAr4KtheHGfRwmrx6aHYun3r8kQRU89RXeXuLMxXL53bgwmqlh/s320/P1010009.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yEzcU-T3WtsVYzqgklMjGWX2xOqLpF_m0xaJu_eaiPtwi40SfwH2EaehfJYV95UquCvYL2TMEtdXxpPu4VTnXaYNCjrH2VuHh5HNa6e4SSqF70a0NaLhPh9rKfMigI-Pwt4lVnM-n0AU/s1600/P1010008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yEzcU-T3WtsVYzqgklMjGWX2xOqLpF_m0xaJu_eaiPtwi40SfwH2EaehfJYV95UquCvYL2TMEtdXxpPu4VTnXaYNCjrH2VuHh5HNa6e4SSqF70a0NaLhPh9rKfMigI-Pwt4lVnM-n0AU/s200/P1010008.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoleawnROoDpv4Oz6JRTwSuUV03EQw6fTloHYCOZNvofZQiRkcwgvnFyviiCqYelcAPup4zRM3qR5iKfOvZB4khJrH4sAr4KtheHGfRwmrx6aHYun3r8kQRU89RXeXuLMxXL53bgwmqlh/s1600/P1010009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;">This is an example of a student's book bin. The blue sticky note is for them to keep and refer back to so they know what lettered bins are "just right" for them. It also lists their AR grade choices for our school library.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwKZ1AIXH9KXGRINz4DElR6DNtVpSuMemOBia-GZwrltVKSm9DYOspyhsIkBHtxMCfAPk5VTvZz4VTRRLv94_B_NwXC1Ek6EmHmSdV69yOdiZ7RDabI3S7muAHan8hUCsPm2KsuBFdTv3/s1600/P1010008+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwKZ1AIXH9KXGRINz4DElR6DNtVpSuMemOBia-GZwrltVKSm9DYOspyhsIkBHtxMCfAPk5VTvZz4VTRRLv94_B_NwXC1Ek6EmHmSdV69yOdiZ7RDabI3S7muAHan8hUCsPm2KsuBFdTv3/s320/P1010008+copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;">As you may notice, this student has a stuffed frog reading with him. I have a bin full of stuffed animals that students can sign up for "Reading Buddies." When they Read 2 Self, they have a Reading Buddy with them to build their confidence :) It also adds a little spice to this Daily 5 Choice!</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Students do their book choices once a week and can have up to 5 books in their bin at a time. This number seems to work well. A magazine is also included as a "book." I stress the importance of "spicing up" your book bin so they don't get bored with the same thing all the time. It all depends on the mood you are in!</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Another twist I add for the winter is an alternative to the Neave Bouncing Balls from the previous post. I put in my Fireplace DVD which is up all Readers Workshop :) It's so cozy in the room!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8pfDHGEyXptDxnWmomrnKnTCFBmde0SzwYuDUvwjNG-qsU3wcJsxXOCBZB9upFCaOpz5hvEAMlTaa9oseB6SWnDi4daoxbzkkIh7gDGu4J0eivbQDYV-AEalXXWX_5OjpqGb8hrY4Z0-/s1600/41MCKAS0EFL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8pfDHGEyXptDxnWmomrnKnTCFBmde0SzwYuDUvwjNG-qsU3wcJsxXOCBZB9upFCaOpz5hvEAMlTaa9oseB6SWnDi4daoxbzkkIh7gDGu4J0eivbQDYV-AEalXXWX_5OjpqGb8hrY4Z0-/s1600/41MCKAS0EFL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;">What fun twists do you add to your Read 2 Self choice??</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-47965079735495998222011-12-03T11:56:00.000-05:002011-12-03T11:56:09.280-05:00Daily 5 Series: Introduction<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"There is a quiet and calm hum to the room. Some children are lying on the floor with Book Boxes full of 'Good Fit" Books sitting next to them. As they read to themselves, a child nearby reads the pictures in a book, giggling at a funny part...Some children are curled up in a corner on pillows with partners, reading a particularly animated section from a Junie B. Jones book...Other students are scattered about at tables, heads bent, pens moving methodically across the pages of their journals, crafting tantalizing tall tales, silly songs, or a tearful retelling of a pet goldfish succumbing to old age at home last night...others are sitting on the floor or at a table, tongues between their lips as they focus intently on building some of the word families and sight words using Wikki Stix or...play dough. Over on a couch two students are wearing headphones, books in laps, as they listen to tapes of the books, turning the pages and following along with the voice on tape...Where are the Teachers? There we are sitting on the floor with a group of four students. We are having an animated discussion about our favorite strategies to help us comprehend the story in front of us...the rest of the children in the class are working by themselves, completely independent."</span> -Gail Boushey and Joan Moser</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am in my second "Official" year of implementing Daily 5 in my classroom, and like most users of the program, I LOVE IT! I will be doing a Daily 5 series of blogs to give my take on how I use Daily 5 in my classroom and hopefully offer some ideas to some of you! Now, where to begin?......</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let's start with the basics. There are a few "essentials" which I use in my classroom to make Daily 5 run smoothly. Much of Daily 5's success depends on organization and passion in the program. If YOU look forward to Readers' Workshop, chances are that your students feel that passion and they too anticipate the next RW session :) Here is my list of essential Daily 5 Materials/Tools which I have collected from the Daily 5 book, blogs, and tweetpeeps I follow!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bins</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J_ODSMpCUTdApahwzhHtCNqg9Komp4QBgYaRHjeG-eldhCZfrLUfHRGdE64IvNn6sn8K7uafS_7pO8c4iIrGH542sACilmMFREdm8_ArOvEVRrKjnQYp92DxHYh7tieZBCp04937QjU2/s1600/DSCN3391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J_ODSMpCUTdApahwzhHtCNqg9Komp4QBgYaRHjeG-eldhCZfrLUfHRGdE64IvNn6sn8K7uafS_7pO8c4iIrGH542sACilmMFREdm8_ArOvEVRrKjnQYp92DxHYh7tieZBCp04937QjU2/s200/DSCN3391.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I purchased these from Dollar Tree. I have each labeled with a student number. Inside they have a book envelope for odds and ends like bookmarks, Coaching Sheet, etc. I also gave each student a clothespin which they use to sign up for Listening Centers. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reading Nooks</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaDEsK0voRfNgDyamUC5VlF4XDMFV3y8k_kvvFpFCaxW_CpmbQFsBSs3PMyDVoUV6qOOCE1PAg3tALqlKekXPldVUq1PK5ExB3NUvBsIw-O6_O1qrbxzgK0IaLwm2y0KpFFUEuAJIqExA/s1600/P1010012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaDEsK0voRfNgDyamUC5VlF4XDMFV3y8k_kvvFpFCaxW_CpmbQFsBSs3PMyDVoUV6qOOCE1PAg3tALqlKekXPldVUq1PK5ExB3NUvBsIw-O6_O1qrbxzgK0IaLwm2y0KpFFUEuAJIqExA/s320/P1010012.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I chose 28 "nooks" in my classroom and posted them as you see here. Each nook has a clothespin with a student number clipped to it. This is that student's nook for the week. These nooks are "earned" based upon responsibility during Daily 5 based on their completed Checklists which are turned in at the end of each week. Therefore, these rotate on a weekly basis. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Daily 5 Checklists</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdxf54jdxyzWelmc3mfC-LQ6EqgA6tfTKST0ST9VCxedZGJNE0cA3Ftqo5seKtLrQfUaPRpQb_jZhjNzfBZdb5CTA-9P6-F51uN8M6UldIU2quwtu_x0SWhBoUVm3_4fsJ0rbAvUUB0cp/s1600/Daily+5+Checklist+Updated.doc+%255BCompatibility+Mode%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdxf54jdxyzWelmc3mfC-LQ6EqgA6tfTKST0ST9VCxedZGJNE0cA3Ftqo5seKtLrQfUaPRpQb_jZhjNzfBZdb5CTA-9P6-F51uN8M6UldIU2quwtu_x0SWhBoUVm3_4fsJ0rbAvUUB0cp/s640/Daily+5+Checklist+Updated.doc+%255BCompatibility+Mode%255D.jpg" width="568" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Students have these with them all week during RW. If they complete the grey boxes by Friday, they have earned their Reading Nook for the following week.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Noise Monitoring</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://neave.com/bouncy-balls/">Bouncy Balls- Neave Interactive</a> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">(I keep this up for most of RW and the students really take this seriously!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">I look forward to hearing from you about Daily 5 and stay tuned for more of my Daily 5 series! </span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-10503787033230256522011-11-19T15:32:00.000-05:002011-11-19T15:32:28.573-05:00It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="height: 494px; width: 425px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif); height: 6px;"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-y; height: 482px; padding: 0 6px 0 6px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="height: 34px; padding: 14px 0 0 14px; width: 105px;"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" /></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height: 350px; padding: 0; text-align: center;"><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1BbsXDdqyZPDg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET&eid=118"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/1BbsXDdqyZQ/1BbsXDdqyZQ5o/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1321734653000/0/" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" /></a></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="background-color: #f4f4e9; height: 55px; line-height: 19px; padding: 15px 0 15px 0; text-align: center;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Photo Card</div><div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px;">View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</div></div></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif); height: 6px;"></div></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-64819157922980571582011-10-16T08:21:00.001-04:002011-10-16T10:15:41.271-04:00Keep On, Keeping On....Dealing With the Data<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>"If you are doing something in the classroom, and you're not getting data from it, you shouldn't be doing it." - Presenter on PLCs</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I could not <u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">disagree</span></u> with this statement more. For this blog, I am going to start off with a quote I am against, and end with a quote that will motivate me to Keep On Keeping On. Along with many teachers in this country, I am struggling with what I feel is right, and what I am being told I have to do. Unfortunately, I am losing sight of why I love teaching along the way. For some reason, we are becoming a data-obsessed country. There is such a thing as, Too Much Data. If I spend most of my time with students <i>collecting</i> data, and not enough time <i>reflecting </i>upon it and most importantly <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">using</span> it, what is the point? This is where I feel stuck. I have collected a HUGE assortment of data for Reading in the past few weeks and this weekend I am hoping to have an opportunity to look at the data and answer the question, What next?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The above quote has defined my school year this far and I need to either:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A. Accept it</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">B. Accept it, but make it tolerable</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">C. Don't do it</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I go with C (Don't do it), I will be in big trouble so I am going to pass on that one...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I go with A (Accept it), I am giving up all my hopes of why I became a teacher AND I am being a disservice to my students. If I allow myself to be overtaken by data MOST of the time, how do I have time to form a bond with my students? How will I have time to understand what my students need? Data collection is not the answer to either of these questions. I became a teacher because I want to inspire students. I want to teach them to be passionate about learning something new. I want to see that excitement and joy in their eyes MOST of the school day. They are <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">kids </span>not <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">robots</span>, and they deserve more than what this country <i>thinks </i>is good for them<i>.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Therefore, I am going with B (Accept it, but make it tolerable). I am a great teacher. I know what my students need. I love teaching my students. I love to to have fun with my students and laugh with them. I am not going to let data get in the way of my love for teaching. I am NOT going to let data get in the way of my student's love for learning. I am making a promise to myself that if I feel anything other than what I have just stated, I am slowing down. I am doing what <i>I feel</i> is necessary to be a Highly Effective Teacher. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I tell my students all the time that other people do not define you. I tell them that the most important part of life is feeling confident with who you are and doing what is best for you. It's time that I start following my own teaching.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Even though this year, so far, has been a struggle, I think it will make me an EVEN better teacher. This is the best way for me to reflect back on the past month, and I am ready to make a change for me and my students. Keep on, Keeping On!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"If there is not struggle, there is no progress."</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do you accomplish what you <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">have</span> to do, while still doing what you know is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">right</span>? I welcome your thoughts.</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-64569714192389211622011-09-27T21:24:00.000-04:002011-09-27T21:24:08.282-04:00Rewarding Positive Behavior<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Second grade has been in session for 16 days and it has been quite a ride so far :) Along with learning procedures, rules, etc. I have been focusing much of my attention on the POSITIVE behavior displayed in my classroom. One of the ways I am doing this is by using the Clip Chart I explained in a past blog:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://heatherowilson.blogspot.com/2011/08/goodbye-flip-chart-and-hellooo-clip.html">http://heatherowilson.blogspot.com/2011/08/goodbye-flip-chart-and-hellooo-clip.html</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another way I celebrate great behavior is with our Positive Marble Jar. This is for whole group behavior whereas the Clip Chart is more individual behavior. I add marbles for "BIG" moments in the classroom such as a fantastic Writer's Workshop which occurred today. I had a moment where I looked up and everyone was focused on their work. Some were Peer Editing/Revising with a quiet whisper voice, others were at their desks publishing a writing piece. It was so great! So, at the end I surprised the class with 5 marbles in the jar :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the jar there are 3 lines. Each time the marbles reach a line, there is a whole class reward to go along with it. I usually have the students suggest rewards and then I look at them and decide. This time the rewards are:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Line 1: No Homework Night</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Line 2: Longer Morning Recess/3rd Recess</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Line 3: Lunch in the classroom with a treat</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes I even grab a handful of marbles when I am just blow away by behavior. It works great and is especially helpful when I have substitutes. The know all about the marbles and this helps them to remind each other of how our classroom runs whether I am there or not.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would love to hear your version of rewarding positive group behavior or if you use something similar, how do you add your own twist to it? </span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-14978146826816627332011-09-05T20:58:00.001-04:002011-09-05T20:58:57.240-04:00New Classroom, New Technology, New Year!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;">“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a <b>new day</b>, a <b>fresh</b> try, one more <b>start</b>, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning...” -Joseph Priestley</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tomorrow, I will start my fourth year of teaching and could not be more excited! This summer has been a wonderful learning period where I have discovered a wonderful PLN via Twitter, <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> and a variety of teaching blogs. I have gained so many wonderful ideas for my classroom which makes this year even more special than the last three. It is quite an amazing feeling to take ideas which you have spent weeks thinking about to see them in action. My anticipation for the 2011-2012 school year is growing just by talking about it! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another exciting part of this year is not feeling like I have to start all over again. The first year of teaching, everything is new and it can be hard to keep up with it all. My second year I had a better understanding of the curriculum and I was able to concentrate more on adding more of my own zest to the classroom. The third year of teaching I switched grade levels AND moved classrooms THREE times between September and April. So, it was a combination of fun and crazy :) Now, I am teaching Second Grade for the second year. I know the curriculum, I feel confident about putting my own style into teaching AND I have a newly renovated classroom with BRAND NEW technology! It is going to be an AMAZING year to say the least. I wanted to share with all of you pics of my classroom in which you have ALL helped me to bring together this year. Thank you and I hope that I can return the favor by showing you something that perhaps you want to bring into your own classroom!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Have a great school year!</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-52268076994829187022011-08-14T17:51:00.000-04:002011-08-14T17:51:04.099-04:00Prezi for Daily 5<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caution</span>: Prezi has a learning curve" -Brad Wilson (@dreambition)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the end of this past school year (2010-2011) I had my students make a video skit to show the next year's class how to do the Daily 5. I told them they were the "professionals" and they had to show someone completely new to Daily 5 how it would work. I divided them into groups and gave each group a Daily 5 Choice. Then, I taped them!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I reminded myself a few weeks ago that I had done this and thought, I need to make this a worthwhile tool! What came to mind? <a href="http://prezi.com/index/">Prezi</a>. Now, I have only used Prezi <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">3</span> times and am STILL learning. It can be frustrating, but the finished product is AWESOME!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think it is wonderful as a classroom tool when you want to gather your thoughts, prepare for a future lesson and do something way better than powerpoint :) Here are two Prezis I have created and use in my classroom:</span><br />
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<div style="display: inline !important;"><u><a href="http://prezi.com/bgxrfn0gqr8g/the-daily-5/">Daily 5 Prezi</a></u></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://prezi.com/nfk0qxqg9cx5/how-to-create-a-simile-and-metaphor-poem/">How to Create a Simile and Metaphor Poem Prezi</a></u></span><br />
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</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-90651704717274983982011-08-11T22:41:00.000-04:002011-08-11T22:41:19.106-04:00Goodbye Flip Chart and Hellooo Clip Chart!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Discipline is teaching, not punishment.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">—T. Berry Brazelton</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How many of you use the <a href="http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3746287">Flip Chart Behavior System</a>? Me too! Until, I came across this genius idea! Here is what my version looks like :</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Each student will have a clothespin and they will all start on green each day. The big difference is that they can move down OR up throughout the day. This not only disciplines with consequences, it also rewards for good behavior. The classroom vibe should NOT be focused primarily on those who made bad choices. It should also give kudos to those students who are always on task and are easily forgotten. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, I have not started the school year yet with this, so that will have to be a later blog post. But, I have to say that after reading the Ebook on this system I have a positive outlook on the whole adventure. Read on to find out about this <u>genius</u> idea:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.newmanagement.com/products/clip_chart.html">Clip Chart Behavior System</a> (Click on the link to download the Ebook and get the full explanation of how it works and how to successfully implement into your classroom)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As always I love to hear who uses this or who is excited to use this for the first time as well?</span><br />
Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-25798446609616573982011-08-11T22:03:00.000-04:002011-08-11T22:03:59.615-04:00Student Work Display<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Bulletin boards/Work Displays should not be a TEACHER'S work of art, but should instead be the STUDENT'S work of art.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have to first recognize <a href="http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2011/08/student-work-displays-setting-up.html">The Clutter Free Classroom Blog</a> for this AWESOME idea that I put together this past week. I am SO excited about this change and hope that it really is all I think it will be :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Instead of me trying to design a board to display student work every month, this will be an interactive bulletin board in which the STUDENTS will add work to as they please. It will be their job to add pieces to the board whether it is a writing piece, class activity, or a drawing they did in their free time. All I will have to do is perhaps offer suggestions to some students of what they should add to their "square." Here is my Student Work display:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Students will get to choose which square is theirs at the beginning of the school year. It is theirs for the rest of the school year :) I have pushpins in each square for them to attach their Proud Work to!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Does anyone else do a version of this? I would like to hear your tips/advice!</span><br />
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</span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-46316179347529613752011-08-11T21:25:00.000-04:002011-08-11T21:25:10.622-04:00Daily 5 Book Bins<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffd966;">"There is a quiet and calm hum to the room. Some children are lying on the floor with Book Boxes full of 'Good Fit" Books sitting next to them. As they read to themselves, a child nearby reads the pictures in a book, giggling at a funny part...Some children are curled up in a corner on pillows with partners, reading a particularly animated section from a Junie B. Jones book..."</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am entering my 3rd year using the Daily Five and I think I FINALLY have the book bin situation perfected...I have tried Ziploc Baggies and cheap cardboard magazine files. Each of these had to be replaced during the school year or barely lasted til the end of the school year. So, I decided to opt for something a bit more durable and something that will last more than a school year. I purchased bins from the local Dollar Tree which are pictured below:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrCrs1FjUD_zkSlv_wAlt505WdKuN6IN1p6eYnmVxtp6wrUPEkXA8ODc734pC5Gb806vO8MLEKHbdkovMgMCWd1I5yyzRupM-6BsB095OR6uC1MVzPaXq4zbm8HG3fJlxMXnXBlTvohgG/s1600/DSCN3391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrCrs1FjUD_zkSlv_wAlt505WdKuN6IN1p6eYnmVxtp6wrUPEkXA8ODc734pC5Gb806vO8MLEKHbdkovMgMCWd1I5yyzRupM-6BsB095OR6uC1MVzPaXq4zbm8HG3fJlxMXnXBlTvohgG/s320/DSCN3391.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few things I want to note:</span></span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">I labeled the bins with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">numbers</span> so that they can be used another school year and I don't have to worry about taking off/replacing the labels. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">I inserted <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">library pockets</span> in each bin. These are great pockets for bookmarks, sticky notes, etc. Basically small items that they will need during Daily 5 but that we don't want to get lost amongst the books!</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Lastly, in each library pocket I have placed a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">clothespin</span> with their classroom number on it. These are used to sign up at the Listening Centers. I used to have students write names on clipbpards to use the netbooks/tape player/etc. and then realized how much easier it would be to have them use a clothespin. I could not be happier with this addition to our Daily 5 management :)</span></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">As the school year gets going I will delve into each Daily 5 </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">separately and explain how I use each in my classroom :) </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">How do you manage your classroom book bins if using the Daily 5? </span></span></div><div></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-84652584080030652582011-08-10T23:13:00.000-04:002011-08-10T23:13:34.530-04:00Dance Parties and Music in the Classroom<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose."</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dance Parties in the classroom?! Absolutely! Who doesn't love to "cut loose" every now and again to celebrate a good day or even make a bad day, better? I myself, have been known to have DP's by myself, in my home, after a long day of work. Why not share this "Brain Break" idea with your students? Some of you may think that this will make it close to impossible to get the class back on track afterwards...It actually is not, as long as you lay down the "guidelines" beforehand. I may use a DP as a reward or just to get out that extra energy on inside recess days. Whatever the reason may be, students know that if they do get out of hand during or after, this will make me question whether we can handle another one or not. My simple guidelines:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stay in your bubble (they bend their elbows to their waistline and form an invisible circle around them)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stay at your desk space</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The only "talking" is singing along to the music</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When music is done, get back to where we left off, and sillies turn off</span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some "no fail" songs for the classroom:</span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cha Cha Slide (This is great because they have to listen to the directions)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sandstorm (the beat changes throughout the song which makes it quite interesting)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ABC, Jackson 5</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hokey Pokey (corny I know, but the kids still have fun with it)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hand Jive (from Grease)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Footloose</span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Towards the middle of the school year, I start allowing students to make "song requests." They write down the requests and place them in my mailbox. I keep them in a spot near my computer and will pick from them when I choose. I tell students that I will not play songs that I feel are inappropriate for the classroom. This way, they understand why I don't play their song request. Also, there are some songs that I need to check the lyrics of before I play them. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> is a great resource for reviewing lyrics.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are a few ways to have some songs prepared for when you do decide to have a DP:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a> : Some good kid-friendly stations are Kidz Bop Kids and Radio for Kids</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://grooveshark.com/">Grooveshark</a>: This is great to make your own playlists and for instant access to specific songs. (For Valentine's Day this past school year, I put together a V-Day list that played during our party)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are two ways you can go about having a DP:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Follow the Leader (Pass a beach ball or some other object around the room and whoever has the ball is the dance leader, and we follow them! This helps with really shy students that do better copying someone else)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Freestyle (Dance how you want! Some students may just stand there and that's ok. Don't single them out and just know they are enjoying it in their own way.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I realized during my student teaching 4 years ago that I am not a Singing teacher, so instead I am a Dancing teacher. It's fun for me and for the kids. I think it really bonds us as a classroom and it certainly makes for some fun memories. Remember to dance WITH your students and this will help some of them come out of their shells if shy! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I would love to hear how some of you use DP's as a Brain Break in the classroom and any other song ideas for the classroom :)</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-70272241031667359602011-08-04T21:57:00.000-04:002011-08-04T21:57:21.018-04:00Organizing Your Classroom Books<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">"A room</span> <span style="color: #0b5394;">without books is</span> <span style="color: #351c75;">like a body </span><span style="color: #741b47;">without a soul." -<i>Cicero</i></span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The books in your classroom really are the SOUL of the room. By making your classroom library feel comfortable and inviting, this will show your students that reading can be fun, relaxing, and even adventurous at times. But, in order for this to happen, your books need to be organized in a way that truly invites your students in. When I first started teaching, I began with a HUGE selection of books that I did not know what to do with. Over the years I have organized my books into <span style="font-size: large;">3</span> parts and this is what I hope to help some of you with if you are struggling. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First: Picture Books </span></span></span><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><i style="color: #e06666;"> </i></span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #e06666;">I like to rotate my picture books every month to correlate with seasons, curriculum, holidays, etc. So, I have these all organized by "category" which is then alphabetized. My categories vary from topic (ex. feelings) to author (Eric Carle) to many other random topics. I try not to be too constructed so that there is some flexibility as new books come in. I am constantly creating new categories so that every book has a home. Even so, there are still books that do not "fit in" so for those I just alphabetize by title. Boring, I know, but it keeps my organized brain sane :) My goal this year is to keep track of the books I have already put out because last year I realized my memory isn't so great with this task. I am thinking I will put sticky notes on that folder if it has already been put out that school year. We will see how that goes. Eventually I would like to compile a monthly list of what books go out, but right now I just kinda go by how I feel! Here are some pictures of my Picture Book library that is for </span><u style="color: #e06666;">me</u><span style="color: #e06666;"> only. As I pull books out for students, those will go on bookshelf in our Reading Corner. Again, nothing fancy, but it is easy to keep up with and that is the important part right!?</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP16pfzVPCsc7DBn1Qt1QKFP9mf4OqUqOF9v_EMgkb490GBhqd-6fl9FLlMl-ZpLH4LsDQB2lSijo7QGRmAhDTQeVNZZQglg52xZLezM4GAyNdcZDUFpKSer-w8ct9sGGHXH0rJgYvkCa/s1600/DSCN3216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP16pfzVPCsc7DBn1Qt1QKFP9mf4OqUqOF9v_EMgkb490GBhqd-6fl9FLlMl-ZpLH4LsDQB2lSijo7QGRmAhDTQeVNZZQglg52xZLezM4GAyNdcZDUFpKSer-w8ct9sGGHXH0rJgYvkCa/s200/DSCN3216.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHNtAc5OdJ3uJNao3jd_DUumoMKKZhs3XGuNoIF0L2JeZmSBiCAGJ4BOAF1S5XpOzach8E2NUqGlwo2hxXHegwHMOb9LNXXvWel6cizfdYvzmgxlAWM9BIHMmeepdqDg5n9QMcu_IfQ3Q/s1600/DSCN3215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHNtAc5OdJ3uJNao3jd_DUumoMKKZhs3XGuNoIF0L2JeZmSBiCAGJ4BOAF1S5XpOzach8E2NUqGlwo2hxXHegwHMOb9LNXXvWel6cizfdYvzmgxlAWM9BIHMmeepdqDg5n9QMcu_IfQ3Q/s200/DSCN3215.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Second: Leveled Library</span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">I track my students' reading level at least 4 times a year if not more, so it is beneficial for me to let them know exactly what a "Just Right" book should feel like. As part of their book choices each week, they are able to choose books from the Leveled Book Bins that meet their level. This is somewhat "secret" information that I pass along to them on a sticky note which they can "hide" in their book bin if they choose to. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">To level <u>students</u> I use the resource: Qualitative Reading Inventory 4 By Joanne Caldwell</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">To level <u>books</u> I use:</span></span></span></div><ul><li><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> <a href="https://leveledbooks.beaverton.k12.or.us/">https://leveledbooks.beaverton.k12.or.us/</a></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do">http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do </a> </span></span></span></li>
</ul><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">My reading groups are based upon these levels and are very flexible as the year goes on of course. Here is a picture of my Leveled Book Bins:</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFb2MWXPyeuXNuT_fq6CSCoycc3Ei9uFPlb1xb-GK7uOIcy2fphKMxCmWNGbszAgzuZreGweDNrd7tMQlKmI60D9Mdc_lH_p1uFmWy3HMJobx0nHjzxF7MV8rz6dCo3DxodqD8vKAbtkh/s1600/DSCN3217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFb2MWXPyeuXNuT_fq6CSCoycc3Ei9uFPlb1xb-GK7uOIcy2fphKMxCmWNGbszAgzuZreGweDNrd7tMQlKmI60D9Mdc_lH_p1uFmWy3HMJobx0nHjzxF7MV8rz6dCo3DxodqD8vKAbtkh/s320/DSCN3217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> Another really helpful resource with <span style="font-size: large;"><u>converting</u></span> book levels (since there are about 6 out there that I know of...) is: <a href="http://rigby.hmhco.com/NR/rdonlyres/BD327C82-3F6E-4CEF-BAA2-CDFB31BE60A9/0/3816_R_LeveledChart.pdf">http://rigby.hmhco.com/NR/rdonlyres/BD327C82-3F6E-4CEF-BAA2-CDFB31BE60A9/0/3816_R_LeveledChart.pdf</a></span></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Third: Book Bins by Category </span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My last way of organizing my books is by category. This includes animals, Junie B, Magic Tree House, Jeff Brown, etc. These do not have levels and gives students a chance to find those "just right" books that we do practice. Here is what these look like:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0Fru402l1628oH7y3tXM-d3_5sbQ2klCOd-1WXUQpSAURy-PYfKiwHru_EtT7wNcGVnLv9ViZzAiFhLQbvnznBBdend0jm882OfH5-rWdyVsUz9-tojxzD8fwSBk6LXUuwr9brXPrANR/s1600/DSCN3219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0Fru402l1628oH7y3tXM-d3_5sbQ2klCOd-1WXUQpSAURy-PYfKiwHru_EtT7wNcGVnLv9ViZzAiFhLQbvnznBBdend0jm882OfH5-rWdyVsUz9-tojxzD8fwSBk6LXUuwr9brXPrANR/s320/DSCN3219.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I teach my students how to keep these organized and neat throughout the year so they actually do a great job taking care of our Classroom Library. I just read somewhere that a teacher assigns students to each bin, and it is that students' job to make sure that bin stays organized. I love that idea and thanks to whoever shared that! I may just try that out...</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, this is how I organize my books and I hope that I have helped someone along the way! I am always looking for better ways to organize things so please share if you have a better solution! Good Luck organizing :) </span> </span></span></div>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521622554820680719.post-42743063206893230152011-08-02T21:33:00.000-04:002011-08-02T21:33:53.849-04:00Symbaloo, I Think I Love You!<span class="sqq"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“</span><a class="sqq" href=""><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First comes thought; then </span><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">organization</b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality." -Napoleon Hill</span></a></span><br />
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<span class="sqq"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">If you haven't heard of, or checked out Symbaloo yet, you should! This site is a fun, ORGANIZED way of online bookmarking. You could use this for personal use or for your classroom which is what I have done. I spent the first few weeks of summer transferring all of my student links over from <a href="http://sqworl.com/index.php">Sqworl</a> and could not be happier. I did love Sqworl at first, but then quickly realized that Symbaloo is much more organized and therefore will be easier for my students to navigate as well. I love how you can add icons, organize by color and organize by location on each "webmix." The great thing is being able to add a link whenever to my page and instantly updating on my classroom website. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="sqq"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Here is a link to my Symbaloo page for my students to use: <a href="http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAAAgFD28cAA41_HBfXeQ==">http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAAAgFD28cAA41_HBfXeQ==</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="sqq"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Here is an introduction video to Symbaloo! </span></span></span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R4vy5AJ1hhI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span class="sqq"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span>Heather Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921173649328132376noreply@blogger.com4