30 Days Till the End of the Year

Sometimes when your computer becomes unresponsive and slow, the only thing you can do is shut it down and start over.  Sometimes when your students become unresponsive, it's time to start over. 

Today was one of those days.

I retaught procedures and classroom rules.  We talked about the difference between rights, responsibilities and privileges.  We established new rewards for good choices.

I have updated my free packet called "Privileges and Coupons" to include the work we did today.

Here is the link to "Privileges and Coupons" in my Teachers Notebook store. 

Two months ago, I wrote a blog post about John Stephen Aquari, a marathon runner who finished his race despite injury.  I remember the quote, "My country did not send me seven thousand miles to start this race, but to finish it."

It's time to finish this race.

Favorite Read Aloud # 5 -- Holes

The first time I read Holes, by Louis Sachar, the writer in me was impressed with the plot: nothing was wasted.  The movie closely followed the book.

One of the units in our literacy program has the students read and write book and movie reviews.  They focus on books that have been made into movies. This year, I chose Holes as my book to compare and contrast.  We talk about creating our own images in our mind as we read and compare that to what we see in the movie.  We also talk about why movie versions of our favorite books don't always work. (Although I have to say this movie version is a good one.)

Here is a graphic organizer for comparing and contrasting.  Students put the similarities in the box and the differences in the t-chart.

This post is a part of my series Four Reasons Why I Read Aloud. 
Find me at Goodreads.
 

Question of the Week -- Unplanned Events

Last week, I wanted to make a video observation of one of my math lessons.  I planned the lesson, and I arranged for someone to operate the camera.  What I didn't plan for was the fire alarm that went off because another class was cooking pancakes and the grill got a little too warm.

I went ahead with the lesson and the video.  My students were frozen and atypically quiet.  I didn't think it went well.  I plan to keep the video, because it is a slice of reality.

When did you have an important lesson that didn't go as planned?

Quote of the Week -- May 6, 2012

“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe twenty years.”

Jacques Barzun

We are in the middle of our state standardized testing right now.  I am not teaching to the test.  I am teaching for their futures.

Teacher Appreciation Sale at Teachers Pay Teachers

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  To honor teachers, I am participating in the Teachers Pay Teachers Appreciation Sale.  My entire store is 15% off.  Enter the promo code TAD12 at check out to get an additional 10% off.  The sale runs Sunday, May 6 through Tuesday May 8.

To find more Teachers Pay Teachers stores that are participating in the sale, visit this link up from Teacher 2 Teacher.

Teacher Appreciation Jackpot

Laura Candler,(3-6) April McNair,(K-2) and Adrianne Meldrum (7-12) are teaming up with some Teachers Pay Teachers sellers to bring teachers some free classroom materials.  Teachers work hard and this time of year, it is nice to have some new lessons to keep students focused.  We hope you feel appreciated.

I will be giving away one item from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I won't reveal which one until May 6.  Teachers who are participating will be linking up to bring teachers a jackpot of free teaching materials.

Updated: May 7, 2012
Thank you to those teachers who participated in the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot.  I hope you received some great resources for your classroom.  Playing with Rhyme: Creating Couplets, Tercets, and Quatrains will be on sale today and tomorrow as well as other products in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Updated: May 5, 2012
I have just made Playing with Rhyme: Creating Couplets, Tercets, and Quatrains free for the Teacher Jackpot.  Stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers store and pick up a copy.  It will be on sale Monday and Tuesday and return to its regular price $3.25 on Wednesday.

Updated: May 3, 2012
Over 130 teacher bloggers are participating in this event.  The blog hop for third through sixth grade teachers is below:

Favorite Read Aloud # 4 -- Frindle by Andrew Clements

I read this book aloud to teach my students the power of words and to explore the idea that one person can have a huge impact.  In fifth grade, we begin writing persuasive essays.  Learning to influence others positively is a theme in this book.

Nick Allen starts out by rebelling against his vocabulary teacher Mrs. Granger.  The battle between two strong wills teaches both of them some lessons.

New (June 2014): I just included a graphic organizer called Elements and Events that helps students determine the important characters and events in the book.  Click here for Elements and Events.

This post is a part of my series Four Reasons Why I Read Aloud. 

Find me at Goodreads.