Of Daily 5 and Not Whining

I spent last year hearing from my colleagues about my incoming students, which is the curse of teaching the oldest in the school.  The teachers bemoaned the behavior issues, the learning disabilities, the community chemistry, sometimes with a look of pity flung my way, sometimes with a sly “boy-are-you-screwed” grin.  For a while I took [...]

Summer Goal Update Part 1

I was on a blogging hot-streak, then sort of stumbled.  But the work toward other summer goals continued…
I just finished Mr. Chickee’s Messy Mission by Christopher Paul Curtis.  I met Mr. Curtis last fall and also had a chance to hear him read an excerpt from his most recent novel Elijah of Buxton.  I was [...]

By Golly, I Like It!

Today I read The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.  What a cool book!  Very reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which the author credits as an inspiration in her acknowledgements), this is the story of a boy who makes it into an elite sort of competition run by a toy manufacturer.  The characters are [...]

Two Hot Dogs

 
I try to comfort myself by thinking that all reading teachers have favorite genres, which is likely true.  But still, I know I’ve got to read kid lit that is outside my personal preference if I’m going to be able to continue to perform that fantastic alchemy of taking those series-loving early 5th graders and [...]

Reading Sunday

Today was the first day I had not a single commitment to family or friends.  I spent it in my pajamas, reading and sleeping and reading and SMILING.  Not only did this feed the raging introvert that I am outside the classroom–well, it just feels good to read.  I’ve finished two more kid lit selections:
The [...]

The Latest Percy Jackson Fan

Like all good procrastinators, when I do dive in to work I start with the work I enjoy most.  In this case, I’ve started my summer with kidlit, specifically with Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse (see fancy website here).  My friend/tech teacher extraordinaire Barbie said her son [...]

Formative Pain in the Assessment

 
This month marks a special anniversary for me.  It’s been 4 years since I started using the Developmental Reading Assessment (from Pearson) in my classroom.  Back then I was bright-eyed and full of undirected/misdirected teaching energy.  I accidentally signed up for a PD day that “trained” me on how to administer the DRA.  That accident [...]

What I’m Doing Right…For Once

March Madness is not, in my world, connected to basketball.  March is Reading Month, making it four straight weeks of near-religious observance of the joys of readng.  It has also been the month in which I do my Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) for each of my students.  And this year, the month we finished collaborative [...]

Mandated Reading Program? No Sweat

So I’m in New York, and with the crazy schedule and general wacky pace of the city, this is the first opportunity I’ve had to blog about my learning at the National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting. Lots of shiny lights and distractions.
I attended a great session yesterday on getting creative with mandated curriculum. The Californians [...]