Sharing Smiles and Stories
Before fleeing away into our Spring Break, our class started a favorite tradition last week: The Book Bracket! This will be our third (I think?!) year of doing a book bracket with our first and second graders and it’s a total highlight of the year. All we had to do last week was hang up... Continue Reading →
We got to cast our scene today for the school’s spring musical. This is one of my favorite things to do with my teaching team. We get to read the script for our scene, reread it another two or three times to make sure we can actually picture the thing (because it’s a totally original... Continue Reading →
People (you know, people out there in the big ol' world) talk about cognitive load. Have you heard this recently? The cognitive load conversation being the thoughts and realizations about the amount of usable information we can actually hold in our short-term memory at one time? Well. In my opinion, the intentional cognitive load of... Continue Reading →
I'm tired. My brain has left the building before the end of my contract day. Since I am left holding nothing inspirational to share with the slicing community today, I'll leave my daily literary smiles in the hands of the experts, aka My Students... Here's one: See that? It's a whale shark. Yep. They're the... Continue Reading →
The coolest thing happened in my first grade writing class today. Backstory: I have a young writer (we’ll call him James) who has just become an independent letter creator. He now knows them all and how to (mostly) form them correctly. This progression is, as we all know, huge. Despite the massive skill gaps between... Continue Reading →
To Whom It May Concern, As of today, I am no longer interested in this whole SPRING AHEAD! situation. No, thank you. I am canceling my auto renewal. I’ll be awaiting the prompt return of my missing hour of sleep, my alert first and second graders, my morning light, my cozy evenings, and my sense... Continue Reading →
I had to completely ditch my lesson plan for writing today. BUT it was for an excellent reason! Let me explain… We’re in the middle of an opinion writing unit in both first and second grade. All writers are doing a great job of clearly stating their opinion, supporting their statement with examples and details,... Continue Reading →
My brain was in no way connected to the rest of my body today. You know these kinds of days. I know it’s not just me. The kind of day when I pause myself mid-stride, walking through the classroom, having zero idea what my mission was. The kind of day when first and second graders... Continue Reading →
A if for Awesome, which all 33 of my students Are. B is for Brilliant - we hold a high Bar. C is for Coughs, ‘Cause they’re always so sick. D is for Dozens of books - their book boxes are THICK. E is for Each and Every hug that I get. F is for... Continue Reading →
Can we breathe yet?
Writing and Laughing 