Blaze a Trail! 

Our school theme this year is “Blaze a Trail” and we kicked it off in the spring with a summer reading challenge.  I have been doing some reading this summer and love it!!!

Some of the titles I would like to share with you are:

Professional books:

The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller

This book has me recharged for teaching reading.  I can’t wait to get the class hooked on some great books!

Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire by Rafe Esquith

This is a second read of the book.  Revisit a teacher that is very enthusiastic about his craft.

Books for Youth:

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

This is the story of Rumplestilskin, his journey that lead him to weave gold and his journey to find his “real” name and what it means.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This story is about Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich, who survives WWII by learning to read with the help of her accordion-playing foster father.  She shares her stolen books with others trying to survive.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

This was a second read as well (in preparation for the Global Read Aloud).  DiCamillo is my favorite author!  I had the pleasure of spending a day with her when she was in Grand Forks for a reading conference.  I was hooked before her visit and was even more so after.  This is the story about true love and being humble.  Edward is on a journey to find both.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

Petra and Calder find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one is spared from suspicion. Can they decipher a crime that has stumped even the FBI?

The rest of the titles I have enjoyed are for young adults and adults only!  It has been a great summer of reading.  I look forward to a great school year and even more good books!  Let's set our compass to success, grab good books, and Blaze a Trail!

14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools | Ingvi Hrannar

A good blog post worth reading:

14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools | Ingvi Hrannar:

'via Blog this'

To Young Teachers that Have Touched My Soul

Well, time sure flies when you are making relationships that touch your life forever!
Ten years ago, Dru Sjodin went missing and one of her very dear friends was student teaching with me.  This young teacher became part of my heart, soul and family!  Four years later, the fiance of Joel Lovelien was in my room with me.
These anniversaries have made me reflect on the amazing, let me repeat - AMAZING young educators that have graced my classroom:  Alicia, Erin, Joe, Mary, Rebecca, Heather, Brad, Laura.... I have been blessed by you all and have been so proud to call you friends... some have even become my extended "family" - I love them like siblings.  Lucky!  Yes, I am blessed!

So, with a new TEAM student starting in my classroom, I was reflecting on what I would tell a new teacher today.  And this is my list:

1.  There is more than one way to teach effectively.  You must determine what works best with your personality and your students while meeting the expectations of your administrator and school district.

2.  Get to know your students. Listen, empathize, and above all be patient. Your students are great people. Let them know that you care about them and their education.   

3. Teaching is hard work. It is much more work than you ever thought possible. It is essential that you are organized and use your time efficiently.  It is essential that beginning teachers give themselves sufficient time to plan as well as learn to be flexible.

4. Standards cannot be ignored.  Look at the standards as an aid to good teaching. Standards help you decide what to teach, support your decisions about what and how to teach, and focus curriculum so that you do not spend too much time on a favorite subject and ignore important concepts that must be taught.

5. Write objectives that focus on student learning.  Focus on what you really expect students to learn and to be able to do. Thinking about the criteria for student success before giving an assignment will help you determine your expectations.  Clearly stating your expectations upfront helps students to know what they need to do to be successful.

6. Smile, and do so frequently.  You may be the only adult who smiles or greets an individual student warmly today. You may never know the importance of those smiles or other expressions of caring. Remember, you do not know what has happened to your students before they entered your classroom.

7. Respect your students. Treat your students as intelligent humans beings.  Students can be taught responsibility for their own actions by following your example. This means you should always be prepared, return papers promptly, and provide feedback that is quick, helpful, and thoughtful.

8. Believe in your students even if they don’t believe in themselves.

9. Don’t isolate yourself.  It is essential that beginning teachers become proactive in developing a support system.  If possible, establish a mentor relationship with an experienced teacher. A mentor relationship encourages you to cooperatively seek solutions, increases your awareness of alternatives, provides a sounding board to vent frustrations, and allows you to learn from the experiences of a colleague.

10. It is not appropriate to teach the way we were taught. The world is changing quickly and the way that teaching and learning takes place should be completely different from the one you grew up in.

In summary, effective teachers are constantly learning from their successes and failures. To be effective, one must look back on their practices and assess what works well and what doesn’t.

More great advice:

How to Be a Teacher for More Than 5 Years Without Killing Yourself Or Others — Pursuing Context:

Parent-Teacher Conferences

I have been away from my blog for far too long.  I am busy getting to know my students, learning third grade curriculum and getting prepared for Parent-teacher conferences.  As I am sitting here at my kitchen table preparing for parent-teacher conferences, I have created my newest blog-post:  

Making the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences

I spend the first month of school getting to know each child and gathering data.  I know I have a lot to share, and am excited to visit with parents!  Student teachers are always amazed at the time and energy put into these very short meetings.  But, getting to know your students not only prepares you not only for conferences; it prepares you for a successful year of responsive teaching.

Parent-teacher conferences offer great opportunities to deepen a working relationship with parents.  It is my goal to highlight their child's strengths, celebrate their gifts and interests, and discuss growth opportunities. 

A little planning is vital to effective conferences.

Here are some tips for new teachers:

Make an outline and gather materials and baseline data. A plan for how you'll divide up the time will help you stay on track:

5 minutes: Opening conversation

5 minutes: Report on academic progress, successes, and growth areas

5 minutes: Report on social progress, successes and growth areas

5 minutes: Summing up

·      I put all my baseline data in a quick table in outline format.  This is something the parents can read at a glance and take home with them.

·      If a parent raises an urgent issue or has concerns that need further discussion, it may be beneficial to schedule another conference or meeting.

·      In addition to writing an outline, you'll want to make notes for topics you want to cover, have student work samples, assessment results, and anything else you want to share with parents.

·      Invite parents to share their thoughts. As experts on their children, parents can share valuable insights.

·      As a team, set goals that are attainable within the school year.  We want each child to grow and learn the entire year.

Be Prepared for Surprises

·      Parents sometimes surprise us with negative or personal questions or comments.

·      Steer the conversation back to positives.

·      Focus on the child.

·      Listen with empathy.

·      Offer to get help.

Follow Up and Follow Through

If you offered to find resources, gather information, and so forth, make sure you do so—and share the results with parents.

Weekly or monthly newsletters are a great way to keep parent informed of what is going on in the classroom.
Send home a copy of the goals (adding a little thank you comment helps with establishing good rapport with the parents).

Each parent-teacher conference can be a powerful occasion for meaningful communication with families. Thinking ahead and following some simple guidelines will help ensure that conferences are positive and productive for everyone.

First Day in Third Grade

"Just Right Fit"

Today was the first day of  Third Grade for me and my students.  What a great discussion we had today about being a learner, our talents and things we would like to work on.  After the usual rules, procedures, Code of Conduct and general learning about how school works; I had a little circle time with my amazing class.  We all took of our left shoe.  We talked about how that shoe fit us, was easy to walk and run in, or fit our fashion needs.

I wore my favorite pink wedge sandles pictured above today.  LOVE these shoes for so many reasons - but most of all because they fit!  I handed my shoe to an adorable brown-eyed boy in my class.  I told him to give it a try.  I asked him "How do they fit?  Will they work for you?"  This very articulate boy told me they fit.  "However, they aren't very comfortable.  They are too high and don't work well with socks."

This pattern continued.  We passed shoes and tried them on.  Some were too tight and they pinched our toes.  Some were too big.  Some were a little big, but would work if we could get some help as we grew into them.  And, others fit but just weren't the right style.  As the discussion and shoe trading came to a close we discovered that it was PERFECT that we were all different!  

Just like our shoes are different, we know we are different learners.  I promised my students today that I will find the right learning fit for them, support them when they are growing into a new size and help them move into a new size when things seem too small or tight.

My children were able to tell me and each other that they know they need different things as learners - and that was music to my ears.  I promised that as their teacher, that it was my job to find the "Just Right Fit" that would support and challenge them as learners.

The kids get it!  They understand that "Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing, but everyone getting what they need."  (Tomlinson)

Here's to a year of "Everyone getting what they need" to be successful!

50 Common Core Resources for Teachers

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA) and Literacy are rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations.  The standards set requirements for literacy across the content areas, including history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

What are the shifts?

Click on this link for awesome resources for teachers:  50 Common Core Resources For Teachers

Next Generation Science Standards

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released on April 9.  The new standards establish learning expectations for students K–12 by combining three important dimensions: science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts.  NGSS provides an approach to science instruction that will significantly change the way science is taught and learned.  North Dakota will explore adopting these standards this summer.

Click HERE for a quick video introducing the NGSS.

Click HERE to view the standards.

Click HERE to explore The NSTA Learning Center.