Teacher Talk

The Teacher's Backpack!

2010-07-17T20:22:00.004-04:00

First, let me say... I hope you are having a great summer! I know I did! I can't believe the count down has already begun though... I only have 2 more weeks! Where does the time go? I'm really excited about getting back in the groove with a bunch of new little kinder faces and opportunities to try out all the new tools I have learned and added to my teaching backpack. I love to read over the summer and call me a nerd, but I read professional books. Many of my friends make fun of me, but truly the summer is the only time I have do things like that and I do enjoy it. Some of the books I read this summer are...

Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen

The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Early Grades by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser

Sharing the Pen: Interactive Writing with Young Children by Gail E. Tompkins and Stephanie Collom

Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner

All wonderful books that I have learned so much from! In addition, I attended another workshop with Lola Schaefer that was offered by my county and covered the topic of teaching writing specifically in kindergarten and first grade.

What went into my Teacher's Backpack?

Where do I start? First, let me explain what I mean. The teacher's backpack is invisible, but it is a place we, teachers, either consciously or unconsciously store tools, resources, strategies, etc until a student or students need us to pull them out in a way that will help them to learn a skill or concept. Sometimes, we have to try several until we find just the right one that student needs. Often times, it the one on the bottom and sometimes we just don't have it. That's why it's important for teachers to keep learning! I can't list all the thoughts, beliefs, strategies, resources, etc that I have put in my bag even this week, but I have listed a few below and hope that you are encouraged to continue learning and adding to your own Teacher Backpack!

One idea I am keeping in the back of my mind as I develop my class schedule for next year is that students need time to process things in order for the information to be moved into long-term storage. For this reason, I am schedule several breaks for my students.

I began purposefully using Interactive Writing last year and saw how much it improved the writing of my students. This year, I plan to gather my students together at the end of the day and have them list all the things they did and learned for the day. We will together form one sentence to Interactive Write. I plan to insert each day's writing into my newsletter so my parents can discuss these topics with their child. Not only is this a great reflection technique, it will help my students be able to answer that age old question, "What did you do at school today?"

I love the ideas I learned from reading The Daily 5! All of them! I have great expectations of how this is going to work in my classroom to help me create students that are independent learners! I can't say enough about this book and I think everyone should read it K - 5 and it could probably be customized by middle and high school teachers as well!

This is another great book! So many people referred it to me, so I am so glad I finally got it. I can't wait to help my students organize their ideas to help them generate their own writing topics that are meaningful!

I have been blessed to work with Lola Schaefer in several ways. I hope that my county continues to work with her for a long time. There is still so much for us / me to learn! One of the topics that I have focused on this summer is all the information and ideas she has shared about how to use great literature as mentor text when teaching writing. This information has changed the way I read books and what I think about them. In fact, I have visited several used book stores this summer finding many of the texts that she recommended, but also reading in search of great examples of craft. I can't wait to read them to my students!

Always remember that reading and learning about strategies is not enough. The backpack is there for a reason... easy access. Pull these new strategies out often and use them. If things don't work out as expected the first time, don't give up! Everything takes practice.

What have you learned this summer or just recently that you would like to share? Any great book suggestions? Please leave a comment below so we can share these wonderful learning experiences! I wish you all the best of luck in your upcoming school year!

Summer Schedule

2010-05-23T15:33:00.003-04:00

Wow! Where did the year go? I wanted to keep you updated on the Teacher Talk Radio schedule. Due to the busy end of the year schedules and summer vacations, I am there will be no shows scheduled from June 9th the June 14th. Our show schedule will stay the same at 8:00 pm EST every Wednesday beginning July 21st. Tina Turbin will be our special guest for this show! See below for a detailed schedule. Then, we plan to have some special guests that will get us ready and inspired for a new school year!!!

June 2nd at 8:00 pm EST - Katie Davis, picture book author will be sharing some great ideas of how to use picture books in the classroom.

June 9th - July 14th - There will be no shows! Have a great Summer!

July 21st at 8:00 pm EST - Tina Turbin, picture book author and children's advocate will be sharing diet related information.

Hope to see you there!

The Future of Schools?

2010-05-16T22:19:00.001-04:00

The New School?

Check this out: Public School Gone Virtual K - 12

Let me know what you think!

Writing with Jeff Anderson

2010-05-10T21:59:00.002-04:00

Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio on Wednesday, May 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST! My guest, Jeff Anderson is The Write Guy! Jeff holds workshops packed with effective and practical writing strategies. He's also a writing consultant! You can learn more about Jeff and great writing techniques by tuning in! We will be talk about why it is important to teach writing, why it is important that teachers write with their students, setting up a writing workshop in your class and incorporating appropriate grammar instruction!

Learn more about Jeff Anderson, The Write Guy at his website: http://www.writeguy.net/

Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teachertalkradio

Spring Break

2010-04-11T16:14:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone! So sorry I disappeared on you for a while! I have had a crazy couple of weeks! Unfortunately, I had to cancel the show on Wednesday, March 17th due to illness, so we will reschedule that show for April 21st at 8:00 pm EST. Hope you can join us! It's going to be a great one! You can learn more by visiting my blog post from March 16th. The past couple of weeks, I have been doing lots of traveling with my husband, also known as the Chicken Whisperer! We have been traveling all over the country working with Purina and teaching people how to start their own backyard flock of chickens in urban and suburban areas. In addition, I have been working with the Georgia Department of Education to create English Language Arts Frameworks for Kindergarten teachers. I am honored to be a part of this project, but also overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. I hope you have been enjoying the archived shows on the Teacher Talk Radio show page or via iTunes.

On Wednesday, April 14th, Keith Schoch will be joining us. We will be talking about the importance of using picture books, how to incorporate the use of picture books in the classroom, and ideas for teaching with picture books. Learn more at the Teacher Talk Radio show page!

!!!! Patterning !!!!

2010-03-16T21:37:00.003-04:00

Sherry Colarusso is back to share more great math instruction strategies! Wednesday, March 17th at 8:00 pm EST on Teacher Talk Radio, Sherry will show us how to create patterning and algebraic thinking lessons that build rigor throughout the grade levels! The mentor text for this show is, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, by Dr. Seuss! You can also find downloads Sherry has created to use during these engaging lessons! Check them out HERE!

This is another 1 hour special! She will be focusing on strategies for students in kindergarten, first and second grade from 8:00 - 8:30. She will be focusing on strategies for students in third, fourth and fifth grade from 8:30 - 9:00. You don't want to miss it!

Have your own patterning lessons or algebraic thinking lessons you would like to share? Please post them in the comments section below!

National Standards

2010-03-11T21:37:00.002-05:00

It's time to make your voices heard! The Federal government just released a draft of National Standards to the public for kindergarten through 12th grade! Check them out and share your feedback! If you don't speak up now, don't complain later!

www.corestandards.org

Gail Karwoski

2010-02-24T18:21:00.002-05:00

Join me today, Wednesday, February 24th at 8:00 pm EST as I welcome author, Gail Karwoski, to the show!

Gail's Award Winning Book List:

River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers

Water Beds: Sleeping In the Ocean

Julie the Rockhound

Tsunami: The True Story of an April Fools' Day Disaster

Miracle: The True Story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture

Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906

Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier

Seaman: The Dog who Explored the West with Lewis & Clark

The Tree that Owns Itself and other Adventure Tales from Georgia's Past

Gail has wonderful resources on her website that share engaging educational activities that correlate with her interesting books! Check them out!

Have your school book Gail Karwoski as a guest author today!

Place Value

2010-02-15T14:50:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 pm EST, Sherry Colarusso and Teacher Jen will be sharing great resources and strategies on how to teach Place Value in a rigorous and engaging way on Teacher Talk Radio! This is a special 1 hour show that will focus on Kindergarten, first and second grades for the first half hour and then third, fourth and fifth grades for the second half hour!

The book we will be using to introduce place value activities is, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Sciezka and Lane Smith! This is an excellent book! Check it out by clicking here!

In preparation for the show, you can download the documents found on the VennLogic website that we will be discussing in further detail on the show!

Please share your own great resources, strategies and engaging activities for Place Value in the Comments Section below! Don't forget to Tune in Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 pm EST to Teacher Talk Radio

The Path to Improving CRCT Reading Scores

2010-02-02T20:40:00.008-05:00

On Wednesday, February 3rd, Teacher Talk Radio will welcome Reading Coach and teacher, Sally Campbell! Sally will bring us great strategies that will help young learners develop strong reading comprehension skills. Will these strategies improve CRCT scores? Yes! These reading components are common threads in all high-stakes testing. But, more importantly they will help our students develop strong literacy skills, which will last a life time! I have listed the concepts below that we will be focusing on. You may look at this list and think, "I already teach those! That's nothing new!" You're right! But, through her own training with Learning Focused Schools and her own experiences, Sally will be sharing the innovative way she has taught all the teachers in her school how to promote these focuses. Click Here to learn more!

Click the reading components below to access graphic organizers!

main idea
sequencing (time line)
compare and contrast (Venn)
fact and opinion
cause and effect
inference

In addition, she promotes a focus on story elements including character, setting, problem, and solution.

More Graphic Organizers!

You can learn more by visiting the Learning Focused School website!

A Children's Book List

2010-01-30T23:20:00.004-05:00

I had a friend ask about great children's books. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the children's section at the book stores and read picture book after picture book. Due to this... I have 2 bookshelves full of picture books myself and I am about to start a third! I figured if she was interested in learning more, others would be too, so I put together a list of some of my favorites! Please feel free to add your own favorites in the Comments Section below!

* Please note: The authors listed below are extrodinary any of their books would be worthy to be listed in this post!

Nursery Rhymes! Nursery Rhymes! Nursery Rhymes! Nursery Rhymes are the most important type of literature to share with a young child because they provide opportunities for phonemic awareness skills to develop. You can find books that either contain a collection of nursery rhymes or a book that uses the nursery rhyme to tell a story.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bill Martin

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? By Bill Martin

The Very Hungry Catepillar by Eric Carle

1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle

If you give Mouse a Cookie and others in this series by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Dr. Seuss books are great, period!

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

Dog and Bear: Two’s Company by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

In general…

Color Books

Shape Books

Number / Counting Books

ABC Books

Some great books lists and more:

http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/sfplonline/kids/booklists/read2me.htm

http://www.cbcbooks.org/pdf/Books%20To%20Grow%20On.pdf

http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/k2chilit.htm

http://www.books-to-grow-on.com/

Janie Suss

2010-01-24T16:43:00.004-05:00

Janie Suss is the author of Oscar and Olive Osprey: A Family Takes Flight. She's also know as the "Bird Woman" by her friends and neighbors. Learn more about Janie and her book by listening to Teacher Talk Radio on Wednesday, January 27th at 8:00 pm EST!

How can teacher's use Oscar and Olive Osprey in their class? I have listed some ideas below!

Kindergarten, First and Second Grade:

Young children are always interested in stories about animals! After discussing the difference between facts and fiction and non-fiction and fiction stories, read 1 - 2 of these short chapters each day. Make a list of facts with your students that they learned through specific information stated in the text or through the actions of the birds in the story.
Talk about what kind of book Janie Suss wrote and review what it was about. Have your students come to a conclusion of Janie's purpose for writing this book. Was it to entertain? Inform? or Persuade?
After reading about Oscar and Olive, students can write their own personal narrative. Students can write stories about their own pets, a class pet or an experience they had with a wild animal.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade:

Go on a nature walk and have students observe animals in their own habitats. During this time, have students write their observations in their Writer's Notebook. Students can research information about the animals they observed using the internet and library resources. Have students write their own personal narrative of the observations during this time focusing on informing their readers about the animal's characteristics, persuading their reader of that animal's importance in nature while creating an interesting read. Don't forget to provide an opportunity for an audience! Contact your local nature center or zoo and see if they will post your students' writing in an appropriate area for their guests to read!
Have students use the information they gained above to create a riddle about their animal. Invite other teachers, parents or staff members to listen as your students share their riddles and make guesses. You can also have your students post their riddles on a blog page and have their friends, parents, and other school staff members make their guesses in the comments section! Students really get a kick out of this!

Don't forget... you can learn more on Wednesday, January 27th by tuning in to Teacher Talk Radio at 8:00 pm EST! Just Click Here!

Graphing

2010-01-19T18:35:00.006-05:00

As mentioned in the December 30th blog, Sherry Colarusso and Teacher Jen are coming together once a month to bring ideas, strategies, and activities for you to use at your particular grade level in a special 1 hour show! Our first show is Wednesday, January 20 on Teacher Talk Radio!

The first 30 minutes of the show will focus on kindergarten through second grade activities. The last 30 minutes of the show will focus on third through fifth grade activities. We will be focusing on the book, Bat Jamboree by Kathy Appelt. There are also activities that you can download before the show on the Vennlogic website. They will continue to be posted after the show for all of our archive listeners.

Date: January 20th

Story Starter: Bat Jamboree by Kathy Appelt

K-2 Documents to Download: Bat Jamboree, Bat Pictograph, Building the Great Pyramid, Exploring Pascal’s Triangle, and Balloons for Pascal’s Triangle

3-5 Documents to Download: Bat Jamboree and Pascal’s Triangle, Pascal’s Triangle, Pascal’s Triangle Complete, Pascal’s Triangle Internet Information, and isometric dot paper

Website Links: http://www.vennlogic.com/
http://www.vennlogic.com/radio.aspx
http://www.mathwire.com/themes/themebat.html
www.blogtalkradio.com/teachertalkradio

Learning More about Autism

2010-01-12T22:05:00.002-05:00

Want to learn more about the connections between Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance and Autism? Tina Turbin joins Teacher Talk Radio Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST!

Tina is a researcher, advocate, and supporter of those diagnosed with Celiac Disease. She has an informative website and helpful blog where she posts updated research, gluten free recipes and more! Check them out!

See you one Wednesday!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-30T21:10:00.011-05:00

Wow! I can't wait! I have high hopes for 2010 and it's already looking great!

I have great news for Teacher Talk Radio! I am welcoming Sherry Colarusso on as a co-host once a month beginning January 20th for a special 1 hour show! Each month Sherry will be presenting interesting math activities and strategies by grade level! For the first 30 minutes of the show we will focus on activities for grades kindergarten through second. For the last 30 minutes, we will focus on effective activities for grades third through fifth. You won't want to miss these shows! These strategies are going to be beneficial for you and your students! We plan to provide you with the ideas and information that you can take back to your classroom the next day and make these ideas your own!

Sherry Colarusso is the author of teacher resource books, Venn Diagrams for Critical Thinking, and Foundations for Critical Thinking: Using Venn Diagrams, and children's books, Vincent and Viola, and The Moon Is Broke Together. She has been an educator for 33 years in a variety of levels from pre-kindergarten to collage and is now a teacher trainer.

Make sure you tune in to Teacher Talk Radio every Wednesday at 8:00 pm EST in 2010! Please check out the Teacher Talk Radio show page for further information as to what strategies will be presented during each show!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T21:57:00.002-05:00

I hope you all are having a Merry Christmas! I spent the holidays with my family and ate too much food, but had a grand time! I'm very excited about my Christmas present though! I signed up for a workshop with Lola Schaefer on writing children's books! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas also!

Remember the Reason for the Season!

God Bless!

Parentella

2009-12-09T19:31:00.002-05:00

Teachers are you having trouble getting your parents involved or informing them about things occurring in your class or school?

Parents are you interested in getting involved, but find it difficult to get information sent home? Maybe your child looses papers on the bus...

Learn more about a useful resource that can help solve these problems!

Parentella

You can learn more Wednesday, December 9th at 8:00 pm EST on Teacher Talk Radio!!

Lola Schaefer

2009-11-29T13:36:00.006-05:00

For the past four months, I have had the pleasure of being in the presence of Lola Schaefer. She is a writing consultant for my county this year and I am on the Writing Training Committee. I get the benefit of observing Lola Schaefer teach a specific writing genre (response to literature, narrative, informational, and persuasive) with one class of students each quarter. After this session, there is a Question & Answer session with the students and again after the students leave with just Lola. The next day, Lola provides a full day of training on one of the above mentioned genres. Our county then asks us to redeliver this training to the teachers at our respective schools.

This has been one of the most enlightening and beneficial professional development experiences for me. I'm the type of teacher that loves to read anything and everything that can help me better teach my students, so often I find most professional development sessions a review. During the Lola Schaefer presentations, I am completely engaged, trying desperately to absorb everything that is presented. When the sessions are over I feel refreshed and energized, even excited to get back to my classroom to practice what I have learned from her.

One thing I have learned so far is that what Lola makes look so simple is not always the case. While I have had many successes, I have struggled with some of my implementation attempts, but each one has taught me something new. With each attempt I get closer to my goal of what and how I want to teach. Lola has changed my focus on writing quite a bit for my kindergarten students. As I have report before, I use the Kid Writing approach, which I love! My focus with using this approach was to encourage and enable my students to write by the end of the year and I have been quite successful! Now, I am paying more attention to the content of what they write and encourage them to be attentive to what they want to say as well.

I encourage anyone that has the opportunity to work with or observe Lola Schaefer to take it! She is amazing to watch and it is a joy to learn from her! She is also a wonderful author of books for children! Check out her website HERE! Learn more about Lola Schaefer on Teacher Talk Radio! Lola will be my guest on Wednesday, December 2nd at 8:00 pm EST! You won't want to miss it!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T13:08:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a Wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent my time off with family. I am blessed to have my family living close enough to meet together during the holidays. I have so much to be Thankful about even though this year has been an emotional roller coaster this year.

Top Ten Thankful List:

1. Jesus, My Lord and Savior

2. My wonderful husband, Andy

3. My supportive family and friends

4. A healthy family

5. Teaching at a school I love

6. Meeting and learning from the authors, researchers and teacher leaders on Teacher Talk Radio

7. Collaborating with great teachers via Teacher Talk Radio and Twitter

8. A home full of great memories

9. Healthy food to eat

10. My chickens and dogs

God Bless everyone!

Sherry Colarusso: Vincent and Viola

2009-11-15T19:26:00.004-05:00

Teacher Jen is proud to welcome Sherry Colarusso to Teacher Talk Radio Wednesday, November 18th at 8:00 pm EST! As an educator, Sherry has worked with students from pre-k to college levels. Now, she trains new and veteran teachers on Making Math Connections. Sherry is also the author of two teacher resource books, Venn Diagrams for Critical Thinking, and Foundations for Critical Thinking: Using Venn Diagrams and two children's books, Vincent and Viola and The Moon Is Broke Together. For all those interested in contacting Sherry Colarusso to set up a Teacher Training Session please email her at: Sherry@sysmatrix.net

Vincent and Viola is a fun rhyming book that can be used to help introduce children to Venn diagrams. Viola's teacher assigns her class to complete a Venn diagram that compares them to their sibling. The relationship Viola and Vincent have is typical for all brothers and sisters. They are as different as dogs and cats, but in the end Viola makes a connection with her brother, Vincent, and to this mathematical concept. Sherry has done an excellent job sharing the development of Venn diagrams at a level all students can understand and she does so in a fun engaging way. She also includes a couple of pages in the back of this book to help teachers understand that there are different types of Venn diagrams they can teach. This was an enlightening section for me! She also includes math vocabulary terms that are important for children to learn. This is a great book that can be used in a variety of ways by teachers in elementary classrooms. I have listed some ideas below, so please check it out and add your own in the Comments section of this post!

Vincent and Viola:

This is a great book for introducing students to Character Trait Response to Literature writing because many traits are listed in the book!

Ideas for Intersecting Venn diagrams:

Students can create their own venn diagram comparing them and a sibling or friend.
Students can compare pets (cats vs. dogs, fish vs. cats, or chickens vs. lizards)

Ideas for Non-Intersecting Venns:

Students can sort who the boys and girls in the class are.

Example - Boys: (Jack, Mark, Fred) Girls: (Sara, Lily, Emily, Jane)

Students can sort two types of hair colors in the class.

Example - Red Hair (Sara, Mark) Blonde Hair (Jane, Emily, Jack) Other (Fred, Lily)

Robyn Hood Black

2009-11-02T19:41:00.005-05:00

I am so excited to welcome childrens' book author, Robyn Hood Black to Teacher Talk Radio on Wednesday, November 4th at 8:00 pm EST! Please join me as I introduce this great author to you and share how you can begin using her great books in your classroom to help your students meet standards! Robyn Hood Black is also a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She will be sharing how she helps others begin writing / illustrating for children!

Below, I listed some ideas of how you can start incorporating Robyn Hood Black's books in your classroom!

Sir Mike - a rhyming Rookie Reader

Concepts:

rhyming
phonemic awareness
comprehension
real/fantasy
story elements
sight words
letter sounds
decodable chunks: ight, ing, etc
2 vowel rule (CVCe, CVVC, etc)
Types of punctuation (., ?, !)
Read with expression
Writing

Ideas:

Use a post it note to come the second rimes in the story. Read through the first part and story at the covered word. Have the students think of rimes that make sense in the story. After students think of their best guess, show the first sound in the word and ask them in they still think their word is the correct. Show the next letter and repeat until the word is uncovered.
Ask students to answer Who? What? When? Where? Why? questions.
Ask students to generate Who? What? When? Where? Why? questions.
Study the story elements: characters, setting, problem, solution
Encourage students to write their own imagination story.
Have students write about what they would like to be one day.
Create a Venn Diagram to compare the dog and the dragon.
Create a Venn Diagram to compare a real knight to the boy pretending to be a knight.
Create a graphic organizer to show understanding of beginning, middle, and end.

This book is interesting, engaging and has a great plot that can be used to work on many varying leveled skills!

WOLVES - nonfiction book with a twist! Pop ups and interactive turning wheels!

Concepts:

Life Cycles
Compare and Contrast
Wolf facts
Nonfiction text
Persuasive writing
Creative writing
Animal diets
5 senses
Sketching

Ideas:

Students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast 2 different wolf breeds.
Students use a Venn Diagram or other comparison graphic organizer to compare and contrast wolf facts to a wolf from a fiction story. (ie: Red Riding Hood, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Three Little Pigs)
Students compare and contrast our own 5 senses to that of wolves.
Students write a persuasive piece to share why wolves are important to our world.
Create a graphic organizer to show and explain the life cycles of wolves.
**You have to check out the Lone Wolf Cafe Menu! I think it is a great idea that students could create after a study of other animals! (ie: The Grizzly Bear Corner Cafe, The Penguin Diner)

This is one of the most interesting nonfiction books I've seen! It's so interactive that it creates an engaging and fun experience where students love learning about Wolves! There are fun facts scattered all over the book! Check it out! You'll love it too!

Remember, Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio on Wednesday, November 4th at 8:00 pm EST to learn more!!!

Busy Schedules!

2009-10-30T22:03:00.003-04:00

Wow! What a week... or two! As you know, I teach kindergarten. In our county, we assess using Standard-Based Report Cards. I'm sure every county structures this type of report card in a different way, but overall, they are divided up so grades can be given for each individual standard. Personally, in a lot of ways, I love the Standard-Based Report Cards, but as with everything, there are a few issues that make things complicated or parts I wish I could change. One challenge with this report card, especially in kindergarten, is that everything must be assessed individually. When you have 24 students and 30 - 50 standards to assess for depending on the quarter, it is very time consuming. The thing I love about Standard-Based Report Cards is that they provide great information to me as a teacher as to what each of my students know. This can also be the case for parents as well... when they understand what Standard-Based Report Cards are and what the grades mean. Because of this, after first quarter, I schedule a parent conference with every parent to introduce the Standard-Based Report Card as well as discuss grades earned and future goals. This is what I have been doing for the past two weeks or so.... assessing, grading, and conferencing.

Does anyone else use Standard-Based Report Cards? How do you feel about them? I plan on inviting as assessment expert to join me in a report card discussion soon, so tune in and keep an eye on the Teacher Talk Radio show schedule! Until then, post your opinion, let me and others know your assessment methods and how you feel about them in our Comments section below!

Rebecca Kai Dotlich

2009-10-14T19:09:00.007-04:00

Today on Teacher Talk Radio, I will be intervewing Rebecca Kai Dotlich! Rebecca has been a poetry consultant, teacher and visiting speaker in classrooms across the country, colleges, and conferences. She promotes children's poetry, giving presentations and workshops to students, teachers, librarians and writers. Rebecca is a poet and picture book author of such titles as What is Science? (a 2006 Subaru SB&F prize finalist, a prestigious award promoting scientific literacy.) This book was also chosen as best children's book for the year by nationally renowned Bank Street College. Her latest book, Bella & Bean incorporates a traditional prose picture book with poetry, and has been hailed by reviewers and bloggers as the picture book every elementary teacher should have this year. Her poetry collection titled Lemonade Sun was an American Booksellers "Pick of the Lists." Her work has been featured on PBS Kids, "Reading Rainbow" and "Between the Lions." We are going to help our listeners learn more about Rebecca and brainstorm some inspiring ways we can incorporate her great poetry and picture books to teach different skills and concepts in our classrooms!

Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio HERE!

Learn more about Rebecca Kai Dotlich and her excellent books HERE!

Tina Turbin

2009-10-07T18:12:00.002-04:00

I want to encourage everyone to join me today, Wednesday, October 7th on Teacher Talk Radio as I interview researcher, artist, and author Tina Turbin!

Check out her website for more information about herself and her books! CLICK HERE!

We're going to have a great time!

I also wanted to share with you the great news! You can now find Teacher Talk Radio on iTunes! Subscribe Now and get updates each time a new Teacher Talk Radio is uploaded!!

Writing Plan

2009-09-30T16:47:00.007-04:00

This week has been a very busy week! I am on two writing committees including a committee of about 35 teachers from kindergarten through twelfth grade working together for the next three years to create a Writing Plan that is vertically aligned, encourages relevant and rigorous teaching, and makes sure students are exposed to a minimum of writing instruction. The second committee is working with author Lola Schaefer as she trains on teaching writing through Narrative, Response to Literature, Expository / Informational and Persuasive genres. This week, I had to present our rough draft of the K - 12 Writing Plan back to the kindergarten through fifth grade teachers as well as support staff at my school as well as share some of the great ideas that Lola Schaefer had shared with the initial committee.

I received lots of great feedback from the teachers, so I thought you might be interested in learning more on this topic. Join me Wednesday, September 30th on Teacher Talk Radio!

Rhyming Fun!

2009-09-23T18:00:00.003-04:00

Scholastic Rhyming Game

Listen to an Animal Rhyme

Rhyming Game Fun!

Rhyming Match Game

Great Rhyming Activity Ideas

A Rhyme a Week

More Great Rhyming Ideas

Rhyming Activity Sheets

In Loving Memory of Shirley Schneider

2009-09-15T10:23:00.003-04:00

The world has lost one of the most beautiful lights I ever did see shine... my mother-in-law, Shirley Schneider and I can't begin to tell you how much I miss her. She loved me, supported me, and accepted everything about me in the same way my own mother does. I really thought this day would not come so soon, but while we have lost her body, her impact on this world has yet to be complete. She has touched the lives and hearts of people all around this big world. The way she treated me was the way treated everyone. She loved them. She is an inspiration! The love people felt for her and her love for them will continue on forever.

Give Jesus a kiss for me, Shirley! I love you... We all do!

Egg-citing Egg Hatching!

2009-09-12T23:12:00.003-04:00

Being the wife of the famous Chicken Whisperer has it's perks, especially for my students! We get to experience lots of egg-citing things including seeing and touching real farm animals including chickens and goats right there on the school property! One of the most amazing things my students get to experience during their kindergarten year is hatching baby chicks! We usually do this about 2 - 3 times a year! We've had every experience from good to bad... all the chicks hatch, none of the chicks hatch, a couple of the chicks hatch.... but they were all very egg-ucational for my students!

It takes 21 days for a chicken egg to hatch and there are a variety of activities you can do with your students before, during and after this time to make learning FUN!

We will be talking with Andy Schneider, the Chicken Whisperer, on Wednesday, September 16th at 8:00 pm EST about getting started and setting up incubators in your classroom, so your students can experience this amazing experience!

We've hatched out more chicks than I can count, but every time I hear the first peep or see the first crack in one of the eggs... you'd think I was one of my 5 year old kindergarten students! I love it, my students love it and you will too!

Have you hatched chick eggs before? If so, share your experiences in the Comments section below!

Significance of Rhyming Timing!

2009-09-07T17:16:00.005-04:00

I remember learning about Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss. Muffet, The Itsy Bitsy Spider and many more Nursery Rhyme characters during kindergarten and first grade. Unfortunately, there are many students that are not being exposed to these important beginning reading building blocks today!

Why?

There are probably many reasons, but it boils down to the fact that we feel... "We're too busy."

What I want to do is encourage you to make time to teach using Nursery Rhymes.

Why?

1. There are so many things we can teach our students through the introduction and repetition of Nursery Rhymes beyond rhyming words.

Letter names and sounds

Word Families

Word Chunks including diagraphs, prefixes and suffixes...

Sight Word recognition

Reading Comprehension

Reading Fluency

Math, Science and Social Studies Concepts AND MORE!

2. Research has shown that a child's ability to rhyme is one determining factor in the child's reading readiness. In addition, it has been found that many struggling readers in upper grades never learned to rhyme. (That gives me chills!)

Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio Wednesday, September 9th at 8:00 pm EST to learn more about the importance of rhyming! I will also be sharing great rhyming activities you can introduce throughout the day to teach a variety of skills in ALL content areas! Please feel free to share your great rhyming ideas in the Comments area of this post!

Reading Success For All!

2009-08-27T20:22:00.010-04:00

I've had a good bit of experience using a variety of Reading Programs over the years. I've also done quite a bit of research on teaching children to read while in graduate school to earn my Masters and Specialist degree in Curriculum and Design.

My school has used a well-know phonics program for many years, since before I even started teaching there. Naturally, when they gave me a job, they gave me all the resources to begin using this curriculum in my class and even though I liked it, there were many things I didn't like about it. Once I started doing research about how children learn to read, I began to understand what I didn't like about it and why. I could list and explain all the issues I had with this program, but I'll just tell you the most important one... Not ALL of my students were learning to read!

About the same time, Title I teachers at my school began using the Cindy Cupp Reading Program with our most at-risk and struggling students. Guess what... by the end of the year they were reading basic text with sight words and decodable words. I was impressed! I was also ready to try something new, so I and another teacher volunteered to test it out with our whole class.

That summer, I was trained on the Cupp Program by Dr. Cindy Cupp herself and when school started back all the teachers using the Cupp Program had the privilege of visiting and observing teachers at another school that had already begun to implement Cupp Readers, which was great! (I'm a very visual person!)
I will be honest after the first week of implementing the Cupp Reading Program, I was overwhelmed. By the second week, I could see the great benefits of this reading program, but something was just not right. The Reading Coach at my school suggested I call Cindy Cupp and ask her about it. I was a little apprehensive, but I called... Cindy was so nice and she gave me some perfect suggestions all of which she has on her website, http://www.cindycupp.com/, an excellent resource! I went back the next week and put her suggestions into practice. What a success! I called Cindy back and thanked her for her help! How often can you get in touch with the author of a curriculum to ask for suggestions when you need help?? I've been teaching with the Cindy Cupp Reading Program for 3 years now and LOVE it! Why?

ALL my students now learn to read!

Let me and Dr. Cindy Cupp tell you more about the Cupp Reading Program Wednesday, September 2nd at 8:00pm! Tune in to Teacher Talk Radio! You won’t want to miss it!

Building a Welcoming Community

2009-08-23T20:41:00.002-04:00

I've been back to school with my students for 2 weeks now. I'm happy to say that, everything is going pretty well. The first month of school is always very stressful to me. There's so much to do, so much to prepare for, and so much to teach! There are several things that have really helped me create a comfortable environment that makes school more fun for my students and me!

Every morning, I welcome my students into my classroom as I stand at the door with a smile on my face. We share a greeting and a high five or a handshake.

In the classroom, my students learn to greet each other.

Once a week, on Monday's, we read stories, role play, play games or participate in other activities that help us understand our feelings, learn how to communicate our feelings with others appropriately (don't hit, when someone makes you mad), learn what to do when we see bullying behaviors or other problems, and many other important social concepts!

Once a week, on Friday's, we hold a Classroom Meeting, where we discuss how the week went, what we learned, what was fun, how our behavior was and what we could do better, as well as other topics that arise.

If you want to learn more about how you can build a strong Classroom Community, tune in Wednesday, August 26th at 8pm EST to Teacher Talk Radio! If you miss the LIVE show, all shows are archived for your listening and sharing pleasure, but I encourage you to tune in to Teacher Talk Radio LIVE and participate in the LIVE chat! It's a great way to collaborate and learn more from others! Hope to see you there!

Please post comments or share ideas about how you create a Welcoming Environment in your classroom!

Date and Time Change!

2009-08-17T17:59:00.003-04:00

Teacher Talk Radio has been moved to a different time and day! We will now be going LIVE every Wednesday at 8pm EST, so please join us for great information, great conversation (chatting) and collaboration!

We have great shows coming up!

This Wednesday, August 19th, Teacher Jen will be sharing inspiring ideas to get Centers and Work Stations set up in your classroom! Every grade level should be using these ideas, just tweak them for your grade level!

August 26th, is our second book study. Our focus will be on Eric Jensens, "Teaching with the Brain in Mind," second edition.

I have some great shows in the works for September, so stay tuned!
Click Here to listen in to Teacher Talk Radio!

Going Back To School

2009-08-08T16:18:00.005-04:00

Well, I don't know about you, but I am frantically working to get everything together to create a perfect first day of school for my students! My new little kindergarteners will be joining me Monday, August 10th! I’m very excited!

I'm also very privileged to welcome Harry and Rosemary Wong, authors of, "THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL: HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER," to Teacher Talk Radio August 11th at 6:30pm EST! We will be discussing their wonderful book, website, and learn more about classroom management, procedures, scripts, classroom set up and more!

My school has recently looked at a lot of data showing good things our students are achieving, but that's not where we want to stop! We don't just want to be good... We want to be GREAT! Our new school motto is: Students Going from Good to Great! Now we just have to work on how to make that happen. I believe implementing the key ideas shared by Harry and Rosemary Wong can move us one step closer to helping our students reach higher goals. We never want to get settled where we are no matter how good our students are doing, we want to keep striving to be better!

To quote from, “THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL,” Harry and Rosemary Wong share that, “Student achievement at the end of the year is directly related to the degree to which the teacher establishes good control of the classroom procedures in the very first week of the school year.” Wow! What a statement! Tune in to this special 1 hour show to learn how to get your year off to an effective start! Spread the word, so everyone can benefit from this opportunity! Click Here!

Book Reference

2009-08-07T21:17:00.004-04:00

Another great book recommended by Dr. Eileen Feldgus! "Using Rubrics to Improve Student Writing, Kindergarten." You can find the book HERE! To order call: 888 361-6233. You can email them at: info@ncee.org. Check it out!

I LOVE Kid Writing and Kids Do Too!

2009-08-02T19:49:00.013-04:00

August 4th, I will be interviewing Dr. Eileen Feldgus, one of the authors of, "Kid Writing: A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and Writing Workshop." This is one of my favorite books! Eileen Feldgus and Isabell Cardonick share insightful, practical strategies that ALL teachers of young students should implement in their classroom! Their work is based on the J. Richard Gentry's Phase Theory, which you can learn more about by reading, "Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing," and by listening to the archieved book study show on Teacher Talk Radio from July 28th by clicking HERE!

Over the past 4 years of using Kid Writing strategies in my classroom, I have seen amazing growth in my students' writing abilities, but that's not all! The Kid Writing process also strengthens my students' reading abilities! Many times, my kindergarten students have mastered such complex skills as only seen introduced in second grade! Why do I teach them? Because they come up in my students' work, which I use to create teachable moments. When I use their own work to teach the class, they are highly engaged in the lesson and they learn these complex concepts quickly. While I have specific reading instruction times and writing instruction times, writing is something we do continually throughout the day in every subject area and we write in a variety of ways. Through the Kid Writing book, these authors share with teachers many writing opportunities they can make available for their students each day! Students can create posters in the classroom, label areas to help find things they need, create reminders or new rules for the classroom and post them, write to students that are absent that day, create birthday or other greeting cards, create surveys, graphic organizers, books and much, much more!

By using the Kid Writing process, I have helped my students learn most importantly from the first day of school: They ARE writers! Once they believe this, there's no stopping them! All I have to do is guide them along their writing journey. It doesn't take long for my students to fall in LOVE with writing! Many times, I can't get them to stop writing even when it’s time to go to lunch!

Here's what one of my students wrote to me in a card:
(In his own Kid Writing)

Dear Mrs. Schneider,
This has been the best school year ever.
I like Kid Writeing.
Kid Writeing is my faivrite subject.

I encourage you to listen in on Tuesday, August 4th at 6:30pm EST to Teacher Talk Radio to learn more! Hope you enjoy the show!

Teaching Through Gardens

2009-07-21T14:05:00.008-04:00

Great Websites to give you ideas and help you get started!

KidsGardening.org
Great Gardening Ideas
Teacher Gardening Ideas
Plants Kids Love to Grow
Build a Worm Bin
Gardening Projects Ideas
Kid's Garden Safari Fun
Building a Raised Bed

Grant Opportunities:

Georgia Master Gardeners Grant
Captain Planet Foundation
Healthy Sprouts Grant Awards
Youth Garden Grants
Annie's Grants for Gardens
Love Your Veggies Grant

There are many more, just take a minute to do a Google Search! Here in Georgia, Georgia Organics is a great resource for teachers! I'm sure the are similar organizations in every state! I receive a newsletter email from them once a month with great information! I have posted their information below.

email: erin@georgiaorganics.org
phone: 678.702.0400
web: http://www.georgiaorganics.org/

How to get Free Seeds/Plants:

Free Seeds for Schools
List of Websites that offer Free Seeds
Bonnie Plants

Types of Gardens you can create with Kids:

Sensory Garden
Herb Garden
Window Sill Herb Garden
Vegetable A to Z Garden
Edible Flowers Kid Garden
Wild Flower Meadow
Wildlife Garden
Pizza Garden
Fairy Garden
Butterfly Garden

If you have any questions about how to get started gardening with your students, please post a Comment! I would love to help you! You can also tune into Teacher Talk Radio Tuesday, July 21st at 6:30pm EST to hear how I got started and how I hold Farmer's Markets and create a Florist Shop in my classroom with my students! Click Here!

Summer's Almost Over

2009-07-14T11:23:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm getting packed up and heading down to the beach! This is our annual trip. Every year, as long as I've been teaching or even before that when I was in school, Andy and I have headed to the beach right before school starts back. No matter how busy the summer is, we pack our bags and get out of town. This is my last moment to relax and refresh, before the hustle and bustle of beginning of the school year activities begin. I love the smell of beach air, the sand between my toes, and the sun beating down on me. I usually take a couple of books - teacher related - and a notepade (I know, I know, I'm a nerd!)... but it helps my creative juices get flowing and reorganize my ideas for setting up my classroom. This has become a tradition I look forward to every year, even though it means that my summer is almost over. By this time, I am looking forward to a new year of fresh faces and the challenges they set before me!

Do you have any traditions or methods of getting back in the groove before school starts back? Share them in the Comments section of this post! I would love to hear them!

Math Their Way

2009-07-10T14:22:00.005-04:00

On July 14th's Teacher Talk Radio show, I will be discussing the use of Math Manipulatives and the Math Their Way approach. Mary Baratta-Lorton, the author of Math Their Way, successfully changed the world when it comes to the philosophy of teaching Math, starting in the 1970s and her influence still spreads today... as it should. She didn't start out as an effective teacher and even wanted to quit after her internship, but luckily for teachers and most importantly students, she kept learning what it took to be an effective teacher. Without her accomplishments, classrooms would look very different today. Unfortunately, she left this world way too early and there's no telling what else she could have taught us if she were still here today. I personally admire Mary's enthusiasm and passion for teaching and feel the same insatiable urge to create, design, and learn what works for my students, so I can effectively help them reach their learning potential.

Unlike most curriculums, Math Their Way was developed over time by a teacher, Mary, searching to find what worked for students. She shared her ideas with those in her school and county until her work was finally published and then was given the opportunity to teach others. We all should be like Mary in this way. We all have great ideas that are beneficial for our students... all students. We need to be sharing them with each other!

Tune in to learn more about the Math Their Way approach and using Math Manipulatives in the classroom on Tuesday, July 14th at 6:30pm EST! You are also welcome to use my blog to share ideas with other teachers on how you use the Math Their Way approach or Math Manipulatives in your classroom by leaving a comment on this post!

Book Study Opportunity

2009-07-08T14:40:00.006-04:00

I have started a book study opportunity with my radio show listeners and want to open it up to all those interested! The title of the book is “Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing.” J. Richard Gentry is a world renowned author, consultant and researcher in education! You can learn more about him by clicking HERE! This is one of the greatest books written in my opinion, for all teachers! In this book, Gentry provides information on brain scan research, phase theory, and simple and effective teaching methods. It is an easy read with short chapters and a topic that is most engaging! The book study show will be LIVE on July 28th at 6:30pm EST. Hope to see you there. I will open up a chat room for listeners to share their thoughts and you are welcome to call in to discuss the book with me! If you don't have the book already, I recommend getting it immediately. To me, the information in this book is priceless! I have been using phase theory in combination with the teaching strategies shared in Gentry's book for 3 years and can't tell you how much better I feel I am meeting my students' needs. I now understand my students better and am much more prepared to provide them what they need to become successful readers and writers!

Here is one place to purchase the book if you don't have it yet: Amazon

Click Here to Listen to the Radio Show: Teacher Talk Radio

Differentiated Instruction

2009-07-01T14:01:00.006-04:00

While the idea of differentiated instruction is not new, it is quite new to the educator's vocabulary. I don't believe this should be a term we as educators resist, but an idea that we embrace! And it is just that... an idea, a way of thinking about how you are going to set up your classroom, write up your lesson plans, work with your students and help everyone reach their academic potential! There is no step by step guide to follow in order to create an effective differentiated instruction classroom, but the more you learn about it and setup opportunities to practice differentiated instruction methods in your classroom, the more proficient you will become. I will be sharing some of the strategies that I use in my own classroom on Teacher Talk Radio this week, so I encourage you to tune in. I think it is very important that teachers share what works and doesn't work for them, so we can learn from each other to make every classroom a better place for the students. We should all have the same ultimate goal of helping every students achieve their learning potential! Therefore, I would like to give you the opportunity to share ideas and strategies in the Comments area of this post with each other!

Please don't make differentiation something more than it is. I'm sure you already implement many DI strategies in your classroom. For example, I this year, had 5 small groups for reading. One group that I worked with had 6 students in it, but 1 student had a hard time focusing and following as the other 5 students read aloud during guided reading, so I divided the group once more in half. While there were some things that we continued to do together, like practice sight word cards and playing reading skills games, when it came time for students to take turns reading aloud, I listened to just 3 students, while the other 3 worked independently on a skills practice sheet. This is an example of differentiating that continued to help that child learn to focus and follow as other students read. He was provided with just enough opportunity to provide a challenge and yet still be successful, instead of becoming frustrated and giving up completely.

Don't forget to share one or more of your own DI strategies in the Comments area!

Teacher Talk Radio

2009-06-30T13:33:00.004-04:00

I wanted to invite you to join me as I host my first radio show on Blog Talk Radio! I will be introducing myself, introducing my listeners to Differentiated Instruction and sharing my future goals for this radio show! My show begins at 6:30pm EST on Tuesday June 30th and will be a weekly radio show every Tuesday following, so I hope to have you join me!

Click Here to Listen

My monthly schedule plans:

1st Tuesday of the Month - Focus on LARTS discussion

2nd Tuesday of the Month - Focus on Math discussion

3rd Tuesday of the Month - Focus on Education Topics in General

4th Tuesday of the Month - Book Study Focus

5th Tuesday of the Month - Focus on Education Topics in General

Welcome!

2009-06-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my Blog! I hope you find it interesting and informative! I plan to share my research, ideas, and opinions on teaching and education in general. As I've stated before, I love to learn and I am compelled to share what I have learned with others knowing that they will take that information and make it their own. While I have learned a lot in my 5 years in education and multiple years working with children prior to that, I am still on a mission to learn more and believe that everyone, especially teachers, always should be! I know that not everyone will agree with me, but I am open to reading your comments and learning from you! Please enjoy and share with your friends!

Teacher Talk

The Teacher's Backpack!

Summer Schedule

The Future of Schools?

Writing with Jeff Anderson

Spring Break

**!!**!! Patterning **!!**!!

National Standards

Gail Karwoski

Place Value

The Path to Improving CRCT Reading Scores

A Children's Book List

Janie Suss

Graphing

Learning More about Autism

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Parentella

Lola Schaefer

Happy Thanksgiving

Sherry Colarusso: Vincent and Viola

Robyn Hood Black

Busy Schedules!

Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Tina Turbin

Writing Plan

Rhyming Fun!

In Loving Memory of Shirley Schneider

Egg-citing Egg Hatching!

Significance of Rhyming Timing!

Reading Success For All!

Building a Welcoming Community

Date and Time Change!

Going Back To School

Book Reference

I LOVE Kid Writing and Kids Do Too!

Teaching Through Gardens

Summer's Almost Over

Math Their Way

Book Study Opportunity

Differentiated Instruction

Teacher Talk Radio

Welcome!

!!!! Patterning !!!!