Donor's Choose Project

Back in June, I created a Donor's Choose project requesting funding for trade books that help students understand math better.  So far there's just over a month left for the project and there is no funding yet.

I'm sharing this hoping that anyone out there might be willing to make a donation or if you can't, would be able to share this post so others who could might be able to help.  Here's a sample of what the donation request looks like, and here's the link to take you to my donation page.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!

Theresa

Ready or not....

Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  Perhaps.  We had our 2 days of workshops yesterday and today, and tomorrow is our first day with our students.  I mentioned in an earlier post how I received several responses from parents and students on my letters that I sent them.  I also got to meet two of them today.  I feel better about tomorrow.  Although I just taught 3rd graders this past year, for some reason I was imagining my 4th graders as larger students.  I'm not sure why....

On Sunday night I definitely didn't feel ready mentally for school.  The idea seemed surreal.  Yesterday, before our district workshop in another building, I went to my classroom to drop off some items.  When I left, I felt more motivated and energized for school to start.  This morning, after a couple of meetings, I was able to work in my room.  I got pretty much everything I can imagine prepared.   Now I'm sitting on my couch waiting for laundry, patiently waiting for a decent time to get to bed, and I feel that I'm ready.

However, as ready as I feel right now, I certainly was dealing with the nerves this morning and afternoon.  Yeah, let's just say that I'm really looking forward to Thursday, because the first day of school jitters will be over.

Excited about science!

A few years back when I was teaching middle school language arts, I joined my science teacher friend at a 4-day workshop 6 hours south from my home.  Granted one of the motivators of taking the workshop was that it was an "vacation" with a friend away from home, near the ocean, free of charge, and I was getting paid a stipend from the organization giving the training after all was said and done.

Aside from the immediate and monetary benefits of attending the workshop, it was an opportunity to be trained in something science related, which appealed to me as a language arts teacher who loves science, and that uses technology.  It also is a way for my students to have an impact on their community and have a genuine purpose for their inquiry-based learning and exploring.

Now that I'm being relocated to another building in my district, I'm excited to get started.  I was so overwhelmed with my own learning last year, that I didn't get the opportunity to even consider implementing the unit in my class.   This school is located near a boat landing on a river, and has a wooded area near our playground.  These are perfect locations for my 4th graders and I to look for native and invasive species in both plants and aquatic animals.

The whole purpose of the unit is for students to identify species of plants, insects, or aquatic animals, by using species cards. They collect data, draw the species, use the species cards to determine if they have found or not found the species they were looking at, as well as include the coordinates of where the species was found.  All of this data is uploaded to the website called Vitalsignsme.org and is eventually verified whether it was found or not.  

It's a process, but after all is said and done, students have helped their community, both local and state, by identifying a species, and if it is an invasive species, then scientists in our state know where it is found and can monitored.  The unit can be kept as a small unit, or one that is on-going throughout the school year.  The thing is, in our area, we have snow for a large part of the school year, so we can't continue our investigations until the spring.

As for where it falls in the standards, it includes writing for an audience, student-driven investigations, use of technology, as well as collecting data and making graphs to represent data.  Depending on how in-depth the teacher wants to take the lessons, depends on how cross-curricular it becomes.

The training I received provided me with materials, such as cameras, GPS devices, contraptions for collecting aquatic plants and capturing aquatic animals.  The website itself provides tons of materials for teachers, citizen scientists, students, and anyone who wants to participate in any way.

I feel it's the perfect unit to begin the school year with, and one that can be my signature unit.  No one else in my new district knows about Vitalsignsme.org or how to perform the lessons.  Although it was originally designed for middle level to high school students, I can see how it can be easily adjusted for upper-level elementary grades, too.  You're welcome to check out the site.  I recently did an investigation for Cow's Parsnip, or Indian Celery, and I'm just waiting for someone to review my data and verify whether or not I've identified it properly.

Traditional Spelling vs. Developmental Spelling

All my childhood career, until I reached high school, I had to learn a list of words and spell them correctly.  Sometimes my teacher would have me and my classmates write sentences using the spelling words, too.

As a middle school teacher, I struggled with my students learning how to spell specific words.  I was more concerned about them learning the meanings, and using them properly, than knowing how to spell them.  However, I was encouraged to have them know how to spell them, too.  This is where my students failed most, and I felt it was so unfair to them.  Mainly because at this point in the game, I felt that my students were passed the point of needing to learn how to spell the words, and that it was more important for them to learn their meanings instead.

Last year, as a first time 3rd grade teacher, I followed what most of my colleagues were doing, which was having students study 25 words and spit them out after a week of studying.  I was comfortable with this because this is how I had learned my spelling words.  

Last week, while talking to my new colleagues in my new building, I was introduced to the concept of Developmental Spelling.  I looked it up, and learned that it's basically learning how to spell using phonics.  Now I'm looking at the Whole Language vs. Phonics issue.  In all honesty, I didn't realize that there was still a debate.  However, as much as I love having the choice to take the approach I feel is necessary to meet my student's needs, I do feel that I should at least take a closer look at what Developmental Spelling is and how to approach it with my 4th graders.

This leads me to my question.  If anyone has any advice or suggestion as to how this works, I would love to hear from you.  I will be meeting with my colleagues soon about it, but would like to have more insight on the topic, and at least sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Endings and Beginnings

Yesterday was a milestone day.  It was a day of endings and beginnings.  I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but I'm changing classrooms again.  In fact, I'm changing buildings, too.  New building, new grade, new building principal, new colleagues, new room....new EVERYTHING!  I was very glad to have been a part of the last workshop day in my new building, too, because we made decisions and preparations that afternoon that will affect me.  It felt so nice to be included in the decisions.  I already felt like I was part of the building already.  It was wonderful!  I  was already all packed at my old building, and with my oldest stepson's help, everything is already moved to my new building.  I felt so welcomed by everyone.  I see a great new school year coming!

Successful year and more changes....

So, I have survived my first year of teaching 3rd grade.  There were times that I wondered if I was where I was supposed to be, but my belief that there is a plan for me, I just need to say yes and follow, and that kept me going.  I can confidently say that I was a good teacher.  Not a fantastic teacher like I wanted to be, but a good one.  I did a lot of reflecting and learned more than I had ever expected to learn this year. I'm a much better person and teacher because of this year.

School will be finished with the kiddos on Tuesday, and I will be finished at that school as well.  My position got cut, again.....However, this time I am NOT at the bottom of the totem-pole this time, so I'm only getting relocated to another building in the district to teach 4th grade.  I'm really looking forward to the change.  I'm already 90% packed!  As soon as I get the okay from my new principal in the new school building I'll be moving to, my stuff is heading their way.

On a sad note, however, I'm really going to miss the friendships I've gained this year.  Some I will still see, because they tend to move around the district throughout the week, but there are a few that don't.  I'll miss our daily, morning chitchats.  I will also miss my kiddos.  I had a couple of kiddos who came a went, but I have 13 students as of right now, and they have all made a mark on my heart that will never go away.  Those 8 and 9-year-olds, even the ones who challenge me behavioral-wise throughout the year, have had a part in my own education and evolution from being a middle school language arts teacher to a 3rd grade teacher, and I'll be forever grateful for their patience with me and love for me.

The big kiddos  in the back are mine, the smaller ones in the front were part
of a Pre-K class that joined us for Fun Day.

I've also learned the value of supportive parents.  I've communicated with parents before, but it was usually because they weren't happy with their son or daughter's score or final grade.  Other than that, I hardly saw them or heard from them.  This past school year I have had the overwhelming support from my children's parents.  They've been open with me on their concerns, and have supported me with mine.  There was never a question as to whether the lines of communication were open or not.  They always new they could contact me if necessary.

My new building that I'll be working with has been praised highly by my colleagues.  I've also worked with my new principal in my old district.  He was my mentor teacher back when I started teaching middle school. In fact, because of what I've heard and who I'll be working with, I'm excited.  I'm really looking forward to using my new-found skills, abilities, and knowledge to be an even better teacher next year.  I have some new tools in my new toolbox I can use, and some old tricks up my sleeve that I wasn't able to use with 3rd grade.  It's a pretty exciting time!  It's as if this past year was a stepping stone, only meant to prepare me for next year and beyond.

To leave you with something to think about, I found this saying on Facebook today...thought it was important for me to remember when I feel overwhelmed.