Guest Post on ATUE

Today, I am excited to share a post I wrote for All Things Upper Elementary.  I love reading and writing poetry with my students and I am grateful for the opportunity to share this with some new readers.

If you don't know about this collaborative blog, I recommend you visit them regularly.  Some excellent 3-6 grade teachers share tips and materials.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erksine

Caitlin has Asperger's and up until now she has always gone to her older brother Devon for help deciphering the world.  Devon has died and Caitlin's father is struggling with the tragedy.  Caitlin decides that what she and her father need is "Closure."  She just isn't sure what that is or how to get it.

I loved the voice of this main character.  I have taught several children who approach the world in a similar way and I alternately laughed and cried at Caitlin's confusion.  I might consider this as a read aloud for older elementary or middle school students.
For an explanation of my rating scale, click here

What Persistence Looks Like

I believe that I am a good teacher because I am persistent.  None of my students want to fail.  They may give up because they don't see another option.  I love watching the light bulb pop on for someone who might have otherwise given up.  Recently, I had that moment for myself.

I was teaching Virtually Montessori's Create a Geometry Star Lesson.  I could not understand why one of my students, an otherwise gifted artist, was struggling to create her star.  I sat next to her, I modeled for her, and I held the ruler while she drew the lines.  Still her project looked more like a polygon than a star.  I walked away for a bit, not sure what to do next.

I started helping a different student who had missed the first part of the lesson.  "Can my lines cross?" he asked as he was starting the second part.

"Yes, they can," I replied and the light went on.  "Carol, did you know your lines can cross?"

She shook her head.  "Oh, well they can, see?"  Now she could make her star.  It was beautiful as I expected it would be.

I teach my students to be persistent with a task.  Sometimes, they need to walk away for a moment to find a new approach.  This isn't giving up...even though it might look like it at first.

Here is Virtually Montessori's Create a "Geometry Star" Lesson -- a CCSS linked freebie from TpT.

Quote of the Week for October 27, 2013

"If the school board gives the teacher lousy instructions, the teacher can easily put up his hands and say, 'I'm just doing my job.' The great teacher doesn't do that, of course. He provides a buffer between the administrators and the his real customers, the students." Seth Godin

I found this quote a few weeks ago in a blog post called The GIGO Buffer.  It completely resonates with how I feel.  I am the buffer between insanity and students.  (Substitute school board with any influence on education that is frustrating you.)

Reading Strategies Poster and Bookmarks

 

When I taught kindergarten, first, and second grade, I taught my students this set of strategies for attacking new words.  I printed it up for my volunteers so they had a list of strategies to coach emerging readers besides simply telling them the word.

 

Now that I teach fourth grade, I find the strategies work well with my struggling readers.  We have first grade buddies and I hope that the older readers can coach the younger readers with this book mark handy.

 

 

Choose below which method to receive this free download:

 

 

Download Reading Strategies from my TpT store here.

 

Download Reading Strategies from my TN store here.

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

I guess with the title Liar and Spy, I should have expected the theme of this book to be everybody lies.  Without spoiling too much of the book, you need to know that everyone in the book is telling a lie about something at some point.  This turned the plot into  a mystery for me, but Rebecca Stead works out all the situations in a satisfactory way.

At first I was concerned at the lack of honesty, but as I finished the book, the characters stayed with me awhile and I thought it would be a good book to discuss why people lie.  I do not know if I will have time to read this aloud this year, but it is a possibility.

Some character traits create both problems and solutions for a character.  Click here to download a free form where readers can collect evidence from the text for this.

For an explanation of my rating scale, click here.

I use Grammarly for proofreading because I don't want my fellow teacher bloggers to get out their red pens. This post is sponsored by Grammarly, an online proofreading service.  It also checks for plagiarism, so I can check student work as well.   I rarely have sponsored posts, but this service is one I actually use and can recommend to others.

Poverty, Planners and Scholarships

I teach in a school with a 41% free and reduced lunch rate in a neighborhood north of Seattle.  I was curious how much money that meant a month: a family of four grosses $3,600.  These numbers are set nationally and I know our area has a higher cost of living.  All of this to say there isn't much disposable income here.

I wonder what will happen each time we charge for field trips and special events.  Once I had a pizza lunch where we charged a few dollars and many students came without funds.

This year, I ordered planners for my students.  I should have considered the cost and asked more questions last spring.  When they arrived I created an order form that had a box marked "Scholarship Request."  Only four of twenty-three received scholarships.  That's better than what I thought our statistics would bear.

One child who I expected to request a scholarship brought in enough money for two.  Her mom wanted to provide a scholarship for another child.

This is typical of the families I work with: many struggle financially, but they are generous.  They know what it means to be in need.