Sophie and Sadie's Scholarly Site

More PINTEREST Inspired Work: The Teacher’s Closet

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:33:00 +0000

For the past month or so, Pinterest has been inspiring me in both my home and my classroom. The ideas for my classroom are tremendous: centers, boards, lesson plans, and arts and crafts. The ideas for my home have been helpful: recipes for the crockpot, crafts, organization, and seasonal décor that is easy. Another great thing that I discovered are all the great clothing ideas that I pin for work outfits that are teacher and budget-friendly. I will admit to a clothing slump of late. My usual school unofficial school uniform is a polo or a plain tee-shirt paired with a cardigan and khaki pants with good hearty teaching shoes that are not always pretty. Pretty plain, boring stuff. Thanks to Pinterest, I’ve ventured into throwing on a vintage scarf or costume jewelry and fallen in love with a pair or two of new, stylish, and comfortable Crocs- one pair in animal prints! Jewelry and scarves were not my thing until I saw the many ways I could use the old pieces which belonged to my Mama who always seemed to be stylin’ especially before I came into her life .

My Mama had great style for the librarian she became and was always looking for a bargain.

My Mama at UNC-Chapel Hill

The necklace she has on I now own. It was a present from her brother James when he was in England.

My parents on their honeymoon in Pinehurst, NC in 1956. Check out my Daddy’s shoes!

With style and thrift in mind, I decided to try my hand at making some scarves using some old clothing or as it’s called “upcycling.” Very budget-friendly to a teacher’s salary while fun to create and more fun to wear.

Here are the results:

A skirt that easily converted to a circle scarf.

A trendy fringe scarf from a well-worn polo shirt

Another circle scarf made from a pair of shorts with very little sewing.

Proof of how easy it is to do this if I can do it! The plaid scarves I really like for everyday. The fringe scarf I would save for a jeans day or weekend although it would be very easy to make one of these for school colors or some other fun day. Every time I look at this pink and green creation I am reminded of The Lorax!

You never know what you might see and be inspired by on Pinterest. Check out my boards here: http://pinterest.com/tabkatz/

Technorati Tags: Pinterest,teacher clothing,crafts

SCHOOL NEWS THAT’S GOOD NEWS

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:25:00 +0000

Earlier this week I posted that Sarah Emerling along with her husband Chris Emerling were both teachers in Aiken County who were voted Teachers of The Year. ( I would like to point out that this is the second time Sarah has been honored by our school). Sarah “pushes into” my social studies classes to provide her special education services to our students. And she is also technologically savvy . In my haste ( well, it was 5:00 AM), I neglected to see the other story in the Aiken Standard: Busbee Corbett Makes AYP which mentioned my former teammate Tammy Swartz. Follow the link to find out how my school Busbee Corbett made AYP because of a shared vision of literacy.

Technorati Tags: literacy-based classroom

One Family, Two Great Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:50:00 +0000

Sarah and Chris Emerling, a husband and wife team of teachers in Aiken County, are both nominated for our district's Teacher of The Year. I am lucky enough to work with Sarah. She's inspiring to me because she is always looking for new, fresh ideas to use with her students and works tirelessly to help her students succeed. Apparently this runs in the family! Read about the Emerlings in today's Aiken Standard.

What I'm Reading Today: AWAKENED by Angela Watson

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:58:00 +0000

I am a HUGE fan of Angela Watson (formerly Powell) having followed her website mspowell.com for years and then becoming an even bigger fan after buying her book, The Cornerstone. I have recommended both her new website The Cornerstone for Teachers and the book The Cornerstone to all first year teachers as a MUST for setting up the classroom, teaching procedures, and management, but I also feel that many of us struggle with being organized and can always learn something new from her as well ( and I certainly did).

Today I will begin reading her latest book based on the blurb at Amazon:

Do the never-ending pressures of teaching drain you emotionally? Is a lack of resources and support stealing your enthusiasm? Are the small daily hassles adding up and overwhelming you? Effective teaching requires serious mental fortitude. This book will empower you to develop the resilient, flexible, positive mindset you need to:

* Consciously challenge the negative thoughts that discourage you
* Raise your tolerance for frustration so you become less 'disturbable'
* Live beyond your feelings to stay motivated when you don't see results
* Change your perception of setbacks so they feel less stressful
* Let go of unrealistic expectations, standards, and comparisons
* Realize a sense of accomplishment in a job that's truly never done

Awakened provides simple steps to help you feel peaceful and energized, no matter what's happening around you. Drawing upon principles of stress management, cognitive behavioral therapy, spiritual truths, and personal experiences, Awakened helps you develop thought habits that produce an unshakeable sense of contentment, motivation, and purpose. Learn how to renew your mind and take a fresh approach to the challenges of teaching! (from Amazon.com)

Yes, right now I do at times feel drained, emotional, and exhausted, but I am always quick to point out that often the strain of teaching comes not from the children but from the relationships from other adults we deal with- co-workers, parents, and administrators whether it is consciously done or not on their part. The beginning of school is ALWAYS an adjustment for both the families and students but also teachers. This year we have many new faculty members which means that many roles and relationships have ended or changed. I am the kind of person who loves routine in my work. I love going to the same place seeing the same faces year after year. I find comfort in this arrangement, and it's been successful and soothing to me when the past several years have been a period of great change in my personal life. It will take some time for me to adjust to what is new in a place that I am so familiar and comfortable with.

I am one who is always looking for new ideas and inspiration so I will report back on my thoughts on Awakened . I am sure to be encouraged, renewed, and refreshed soon.

The Organized Classroom Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Head over to the new The Organized Classroom Blog. Same great ideas with a new look and design just in time for a new school year!:)

The “Back To School” Best Words To Motivate

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:34:00 +0000

A poem by Taylor Mali to inspire and remind teachers of what we do. Enjoy!

Taylor Mali video

Technorati Tags: Taylor Mali,Back To School,poetry

Back To School: Bulletin Boards

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:09:00 +0000

My summer is almost over ( sigh). Tuesday is my first official day back at work, but already I have been very busy preparing and setting up my classroom even doing what I can from home with a few quick trips to my classroom. Last week I put my desks into a very simple arrangement while keeping the basic setup the same from last year so there was no need to move the cubbies, computer tables, or my little corner with my computer, my professional books, and files. Because I lucked up and bought two rolling carts that were used in a video store that went out of business last May, I didn’t not have to move and sort my classroom library that has over a thousand books. ( That alone has sometimes taken WEEKS for me to deal with!) My carts have my books sorted into my social studies units so they are ready to go. When I got into my classroom, I started working on what will go onto my boards based on how I can use them in instruction. Because we use anchor charts in our classrooms throughout my school which are based on a balanced literacy model for reading instruction in my district, we do not plaster out walls with store-bought displays as I used to do in years past. My room will be decorative but not finished until the students arrive in about two weeks, and learning begins.

In the meantime, I've created some items for my two bulletin boards in my classroom, my dry erase board, and my door.Here’s how the door to my classroom welcomes my students:

When my class comes in each day, they will do a warm-up based on what we did the day before as pencils are sharpened and the restroom is used by those who need to. The warm-up is part of keeping a social studies interactive notebook. I’ve decided to use the middle part of my dry erase board as the place where we post our interactive note book work each day:

I have also decided this year to have a focus wall into addition to posting my standards as we are required to do. I have posted essential questions, word walls, and rubrics before, but I like the idea that I could use the bulletin board where my trade books which are an integral part of my history lessons to serve as both a meeting area and visual reminder and focal point for what we are doing that day in class. It is also in the corner away from the door so the students will be facing me so they truly will be focused as the lesson begins. Looking at my standards, I also see how the focus wall will insure that I include elements of social studies literacy such as timelines, maps, and diagrams:

Finally, I will have what I am calling a summary wall for the end of the lesson wrap-up. I chose the bulletin board near the door for two reasons: Here will be evidence of our learning, and because it is near the door, it will be easy to add post-its as exit slips as students line up and leave for the day. I have already posted a place where the rubric will be because this is also a requirement when student work is displayed.

Because I am the type of person that I think, reflect, and redo, I am already seeing some things I can improve. I am already realizing that are some other things that are needed and better ways to use these displays. I will share those improved displays when they are ready to go.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy these last few days of our summer.

Technorati Tags: Back To School,bulletin boards,displays,focus walls,classroom arrangements

Just for Fun: From “Trash” to Treasure

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:39:00 +0000

Now that my summer is winding down, and I will be back to school in another week, I have found TONS of crafts to make from “recycled” items on Pinterest, and I am busy trying out some of these ideas as possible art projects in my social studies classes. For instance, I found directions for making beads made from old magazines and catalogs, and I created a beaded bracelet. Because I am always looking for ways to make abstract ideas tangible, I am thinking of making “ friendship” bracelets during our study of William Penn and the Quakers settling Pennsylvania. Did William Penn actually use old magazines to make and trade beads with Native Americans? Uh-mmm, sources say “No,” but one of my goals this year is to bring in more creativity into my lessons while making my lessons a bit more real, and so making and trading beads to create bonds of friendship as a tangible reminder is a good thing.

Here’s how I created this simple project: I cut strips of an old catalog into thin triangles. ( The wide part or base was about an inch in this project). Then, I rolled the triangle from the wide end to the smaller end. I added a little dab of glue ( I used Elmer’s), took a finger and smoothed the glued end, and voila- a bead. I let the beads dry.

After the beads were dry, I trimmed a few just to make the look a little more uniform. I used twine to thread my beads and did a spritz of shellac to make it a little more permanent and give my creation a glossy finish.

And here’s my bracelet- nothing fancy but pretty nonetheless:

Thanks for taking a look, and I hope you’ll share some ideas with me on my Pinterest boards.

Technorati Tags: Pinterest,just for fun,arts and crafts,class projects,Back To School

Classroom Set-Up: Personalized by Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:16:00 +0000

This week I’ve started setting up my classroom, and this year, thanks to my obsession with Pinterest, I have decided to add some personalized touches to my classroom.

Here are some of my recent projects inspired by some of my pins.

You can download this wonderful poster from eighteen25. Lots of great ideas there.

Here are some new projects that I have worked on this week.

and a few previously posted.

Check out my classroom boards at Pinterest for the inspiration for these and future projects.

Technorati Tags: Pinterest,classroom decorations,Back To School

HAPPY SCHOOL YEAR! It’s BACK TO SCHOOL!

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Because Christmas in July is here, the NEW SCHOOL YEAR can’t be too far behind so it’s time …

to avoid the television because the “back to school” ads like this classic are in full force!

Why not celebrate and think of happier times? My memories of Christmas in my classroom are all good ones, and by the time December 2011 rolls around, the nationwide heat wave will be in the past, and I’ll be dreaming of a White Christmas.

Actually the day after Christmas, we got SNOW here in SC. Nice to think about when the temperatures are 100-plus. All the more reason to stay indoors and check out some COOL ideas.

Charity over at The Organized Classroom Blog is celebrating Merry Christmas in July. Charity has put together some activities from several great blogs showcasing the BEST ideas, and let me mention that they are all FREEBIES!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Technorati Tags: Christmas,crafts,games,activities

PINTEREST PARTY!

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:17:00 +0000

I have stopped pinning for a few minutes to invite you to check out

my boards over at Pinterest. Over at Michelle's Math in The Middle, there’s a linky party going on! Grab something cool to drink ( I suggest some sweet iced tea), stay inside from this triple-digit record heat, and look at all the cool stuff we’ve been pinning this summer!

Have you ever seen a great idea for your classroom and then you forgot later where you saw it? Even with book marks it’s often hard to find what you are looking for. Pinterest lets you add a “pin” to your toolbar where you can “pin” a picture to any board you create: recipes, home projects, classroom ideas, , books, fashions- you name it. Then, you have a picture to remind you of where you saw that great idea. But the other neat thing is you can share your boards with your friends, and anyone else you want to share with publicly so you can follow, share, and repin as much as you desire.

I will give you a quick tip for how I pin ideas. I use Google images, and my searches take me right to photographs for me to choose from. I have come across some awesome projects and ideas for social studies just by doing that.

Finally, if you want to join your blog in the party fun, here’s how to add your link to join in the party. Here’s what you need to link up:

A teacher blog, where you will write a quick little post telling your readers about this Linky Party ~ {Don't forget to grab the Linky Button on Michelle’s page)
A Pinterest account
The Follow Me on Pinterest Button displayed on your blog

Have fun and get those pins ready!

Technorati Tags: Pinterest,classroom displays,Back To School

Look Who’s Coming To My Class

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:35:00 +0000

After blogging about My Back To School Best , I decided that I need to upgrade my frog. I found this Kermit doll along with this book at Amazon along with several other Muppet characters. For a little frog, Kermit has a lot of dreams, or at least he did back in the original Muppet Movie. Kermit ( actually this is Jim Henson singing the words of Paul Williams) said it best. Have a listen just in case you forgot:

The Muppet Movie

This has always been a song that makes me think of why it’s okay to be called a dreamer:

Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.

So I am going to encourage my kids this year to be dreamers. Kermit will be our mascot of sorts. He will represent what we want to take hold of ( as in More Than Anything Else). He will be an example of someone small who has big dreams that call his name, and he will be our model of someone who explores the world around him and beyond to find that dream.

Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Thanks, Kermit for reminding me that it’s okay to dream.

Technorati Tags: Back To School,goals,class mascot,deep comprehension,symbols

My Back To School Best

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Last year was the first year I tried this read aloud and comprehension activity, but it will now be a tradition. It really does set the tone for what kind of deep thinking you are aiming for in a literacy-based classroom.

One of my first read alouds was an old favorite of mine, More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby. I have read this book for years, but last year was when I “got it”!

PLEASE NOTE: In case, you’ve never read the book, I will only refer to the main character as “the boy”. If you want to know why, you may look at the end of this blog.

During the first week, I read the book, but what was different this year was that I thought of some lessons I wanted to use after reading Angela Bunyi’s blog at Scholastic on Using Symbolism To Deepen Comprehension and the work of Kelly Gallagher. Skeptics be prepared to be amazed.

I read the book aloud with my fourth grade students. Usually we would just follow up with some writing response to the read aloud, about our goals-blah, blah, blah, but not this time! I went back to the text, and we looked again at the boy in the story catching a frog and reread and discussed using the pictures and the text the boy playing with the frog. I reread those pages, and we talked about how the frog was slippery, wet, and always on the move, and the boy had to carefully hold onto this little animal that he wanted.

I asked the children what was the boy hanging onto and wrote that on a t-chart under the word tangible ( which we had already talked about). I asked them what the boy wanted “more than anything else,” and most easily my class said “to learn to read, ’” and so they needed a little more prompting from me . I showed them the man in the book who can read, and the children then understood it was more than just being able to read, the boy wanted to be like the man- not just a reader but an educator! It was being educated that this boy wanted, and he wanted to share and pass this education on to others! That was his dream or goal. I wrote the words dreams/ goals under intangible.

I just so happen to have a stuffed animal- a frog in my classroom. I told them that I was putting the frog where we could see it to remind us of how the boy in the book wanted his education and also to be a teacher, and he had to hold onto those dreams or goals despite the rather bleak situation he was in at the moment. It may be that you can think of a tangible object that can be a class mascot or symbol for your students as well ( a bird, a seed, a book, a rock).

The next several days we read some other books that had a similar theme. Here are some other children’s book that follow that idea of having a dream or goal for both children and teachers:

The one Angela Bunyi uses in her lesson is:

How great would this book be to get kids thinking deeply and setting goals for themselves?

The funny thing is once you use this reading strategy with your classes, you will never look at books the same. I dare you to reread the book, Everybody Needs A Rock, and see what I mean.

If you want more ideas on using books to have students think deeply, I recommend that you take a look at Kelly Gallagher. If you are a teacher of third grade or higher, you can adapt his ideas to your lessons. Don’t let the idea that he has high school in his books intimidate you. You can adjust many of his ideas for younger readers.

His book Deeper Reading is a great resource for reading teachers who teach intermediate, middle and high school students.

Technorati Tags: Back To School,Kelly Gallagher,Angela Bunyi,children's bookren's books,literacy-based classroom,comprehension,reading stratgies,reading comprehsion,thinking skills

Note: The boy in the fictional story More Than Anything Else is educator Booker T. Washington!

MONDAY QUESTION: Post A COMMENT, PLEASE:)

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:12:00 +0000

My friend Meredith Landis posted this on her Facebook page:

Question of the Week: Picture books to teach characterization protagonists, antagonists, and changing characters.... Who has ideas?

My vote: An author study of one of my favorites: Eve Bunting!

I chose three of her many, many books with characters that change in some way with themes that older elementary students can dig deeper into.

Which picture books would you suggest?

Technorati Tags: comprehension,reading,literacy-based classroom,literacy,Eve Bunting,characterization

PINTEREST : Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Hello. My name is Fran, and I have a problem: PINTEREST!

Actually, my interest in pinning projects has been a Godsend. I grew up drawing, painting, and making crafts daily, and my parents at one time thought I might go into something that was artistic, but it seems like over time, I have deemed those desires to create things counter-productive and wastes of time. To be truthful, it seems as if there was a point when I was in school back in the late 70’s where there was an artistic track and an academic track in education especially in high school. I believe with the testing mania that has taken over education, art has been pushed aside. If it’s not tested, we usually don’t do it. Yet listen to Sir Ken Robinson : Creativity is a skill we need to nurture if we as humans are going to survive. (Thank goodness for that ancient person who decided fire was a good idea!) There is a human need to create in all of us whether we acknowledge it or not. All the more reason to search for projects that will allow teachers and their students to create. Teachers especially almost all have that desire: Talk to most teachers, and they will say that we love those few times a year that we get to sit down and just color or make something- and the messier the better for me.

So I am loving the fact that I can create something after finding inspiration!

Here’s what inspired me today:

from The Blue Eyed Owl Boutique

Here’s my own creation made with an apple I stenciled many years ago, a Flip camera, and befunky

My READ Poster

Take a look at my Classroom Pinterest and perhaps you will be inspired to start creating some of your own projects.

Technorati Tags: arts and crafts,Pinterest,befunky.com

PINTEREST- Inspired Project: Positive Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:40:00 +0000

I pinned a picture on Pinterest from the many beautiful things at The Papyrus Project and My Wild Imaginings. Here's my own project that I worked on as I sat on my deck this evening. Same idea but using magazines and catalogs. It is a simple collage of positive thoughts and words. This could easily be adapted into a classroom project for elementary, middle or even high school.

I have to find my glue gun so I can move onto some other pinned projects!:)

Teambuilding 101

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:01:00 +0000

As much as possible in my social studies classes, we learn and work together in teams and small groups.

WHY? TEAM-BUILDING BUILDS BRIDGES!

The challenge here was to build a bridge of pipe cleaners that would hold a textbook. The only materials were two desks, masking tape, and the pipe clears. There was NO TALKING allowed

This group of girls worked quietly and efficiently to build their bridge in less than 10 minutes. Another plus with that class of kids happened naturally: When a group completed the task, the entire class ALL applauded and celebrated. WOW!!!

Another Bridge Built

Sometimes you can rethink an activity into your theme or subject matter and make it a cooperative game or task. In our camping unit, we used the beach balls to do the traditional over and under. It was a challenge because it was a windy day!

Beach Ball Over and Under Relay

Just about any activity can be made into a cooperative one- tasks can be divided among the group or steps can be given as roles in the group. Third- fifth grades love this stuff because they want to be social.

But they are KIDS so sometimes we play games just for fun as teams, too. Playing and working together is important as well as learning to accept defeats, being a good sport and also be a gracious winner. You don’t “just earn” how to do this if you don’t play any games where there are winners and losers. There must be a balance if you play games in your class.

My best classes over the 20-plus years I have been teaching are the classes that we live, work, and play almost as a family. We support each other, get along well, and have a caring atmosphere. Sometimes these relationships happen naturally like the group in the pictures above, but most often, teambuilding really must be an on-going DAILY effort starting from Day One. Here’s a new favorite of mine used at the end of last year with a group that built relationships over the course of that year to be like our school family by school’s end.

“THE LIFEBOAT”

We did this activity at the end of the year as a part of our 2-3 week unit based on camping and the book Week in The Woods by Andrew Clements. I used the Lorenz Publications team and game books throughout that unit. They are awesome books to develop these skills and can be done very often with no special materials.

How To Do The Lifeboat:

I put several old blankets on the ground. All 20 of my students stepped into our lifeboat. I explained to them that we wanted everyone to be rescued, and that if the lifeboat capsized or sank, we might all possibly drown or freeze ( Thank you Hollywood for the movie Titanic!).

Everyone had room and was comfortable, but then I explained that the lifeboat was leaking and so there would be less space. I folded one blanket in half.

It began to get a little more crowded. Our lifeboat began to lose more air…The blankets were folded again.At this point, I was only a spotter ( and you must have several children to have that role).The kids actually thought how they could save room. ( One or two girls wanted to piggyback!). It was interesting and fun to see who became the leaders and who were the thinkers and problem-solvers. It was decided that everyone must stand on one foot, balance, and hold tight. And that is exactly what these kids did in order to “survive”.

Once someone lost their balance, and it was inspiring to watch the kids grab someone as if they really would fall into the cold, freezing waters to a certain death, and hear the group rejoice that no one was lost. This was one of those spine-tingling “A-HA Moments” of teaching.

I would recommend any of these teambuilding activities below to any teachers but especially in the intermediate grades ( 3-5), middle, and high school.

Here are some fabulous resources I use for finding teambuilding games many of which can be adapted to review and content in any subject matter such as spelling, math, and reading:

Technorati Tags: cooperative activities,team-building,games,Back To School

Here are some teambuilding ideas that I found online, also:

Teambuilding Games

More Teambuilding Games

Teambuilding Activities for Kids

I hope you will include some team-building activities and games in your classroom this year. Enjoy!

Where The Rubber Hits The Road…

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:30:00 +0000

That phrase keeps coming to me, “That’s where the rubber hits the road.” The weeks of summer vacation are quickly passing by, and in a month, I will have students again.

It’s been fun the past several days pinning photos of bulletin boards, displays, classroom arrangements, and social studies projects on my classroom board at Pinterest, but the reality is that I need to get into my real room and get some of these things off my to-do list.

There are some people who mistakenly believe that the 4-5 day week before school starts for students is when teachers can get those tasks done, but the truth is you can’t. Those in-service days aren’t designed to all be “teacher workdays,” and so chances are you will only have a good full day to get the room set-up. It can be done, but it is probably not the best decision.

I am not one who believes every single spare space of the wall needs a chart or teacher-made or store- bought decoration. I believe in anchor charts, but I also believe in my students creating writing, art work and projects that will become part of our room’s décor.

I do believe in putting around my own personal touches in my classroom especially with older students. I do believe that I need to personalize this space because that personalized space can be an invitation to get to know me. In my case, I put pictures around of the “fourth grade Fran” that you see here along with several other pictures of my parents and me . My boys often pick up the picture of my father being carried off the field by his football team, and they ask about that person and who he is, and that is exactly why I do it: I want my kids to ask questions and have conversations with me.I put those things around my room so the kids see I am a real person and that my life has been enriched by the people around me and the experiences we shared.

Several years ago there was a push to remove all the personal touches from our classrooms. Someone who was “our special friend” from our state department told several of us that she worked with on a weekly basis to “remove any personal objects that have no real educational purpose.” (I suppose seeming more business-like and impersonal would improve test scores). Reluctantly I did put away several class pictures, handmade crafts from kids, and personal photographs. My room didn’t have much of me left when it was done. At the time, I didn’t argue or question, but now I know better: My kids need to be reminded every day of what is important to me by what is included in my classroom.

And what is important to me should be a reflection of what I want for my students. Anyone coming into my room should be able to tell what is important immediately from what they see in that classroom. Looking around my room, there are reminders of what I want for my students. I want my students to have the support of loving adults-teachers, coaches, and parents. I want my students to value education not just as a ticket to better paying job, but as a personal lifelong journey. I want my students to understand the importance of teamwork. I want my students to understand what it means to give your best effort and personal best. I also want my students to begin to learn that some lessons require much hard work and sacrifice in order to excel. I want my students to see the love of books, history, and life that fills that room.

I would say to everyone who teaches young or old that before the first chair or desk or bookshelf is moved or placed to do this: Sit down and write down what you want your class to know about you in your own classroom. Can your class see what you value by looking around your room? Let you answers to these questions drive your decisions in planning and set your purpose for the upcoming year. Let those words be your mission statement.

Somewhere in my many travels across blogs and teaching websites and professional reading these past several weeks, I saw a mission statement posted. I don’t mean the one that your principal or your school or your district tells you that you have to post: I am talking about your personal mission statement. Write those beliefs down on a piece of paper, put those beliefs where you can see them, and let those words guide you as up set up your classroom and plan for this school year.

Technorati Tags: mission statement,Back To School,classroom arrangements,classroom displays

PINTEREST: My Classroom Board

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:23:00 +0000

School will be starting for me in less than a month so my mind is on getting my room ready as soon as I get to my room. The floors are being waxed so it's OFF LIMITS :(. IN the meantime, I will just have to dream and "pin" my dreams on my Pinterest board.:) Check it out: My Classroom Board

Blog Mixer LINKY

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:54:00 +0000

Welcome! Please check out my blog, and then follow these links to check out some blogs that I am following:

1. My New Kid blogger is Joy Hall at Joy of Teaching who has been blogging since June 2011.

2. I teach fourth grade social studies to four homerooms of about 20 students each so the blogger I chose was based on content. Michelle Lundy of Math in The Middle also teaches in a specific content area.

3. While I teach in an elementary teacher, Kristen Bowers has a blog that is aimed for middle and high school teachers at Secondary Solutions .

4. Check out her blog and grab the cute button over at Nyla's Craft Blog.

There are more great blogs to check out at the Blog Mixer Linky at Yearn to Learn.

Technorati Tags: Blog Mixer Linky

More on Active Participation

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:04:00 +0000

I am a firm believer that to be a good teacher, you truly have to be creative. To keep students interested you have to keep them ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING, and often, that takes a great deal of creativity and thought. In previous posts, I have already written about how many authors and teachers suggest this simple strategy as a way to manage a classroom and prevent discipline problems. The longer a kid sits passively, the less engaged the brain is, and the mind will wander after about 10-15 minutes, and often the body follows!
Carol Glynn offers some simple ways to get the class up and moving in her book and video, Carol Out of The Box.

Here’s a creative and simple way to keep students engaged that is easy and very do-able even for content areas as well as older learners and can be used in any subject area including reading and math.

Carol Glynn

Rae Pica, a movement and learning author, teacher and speaker, states on her website the reason why this type of movement and learning link should occur:

Eric Jensen labels this kind of hands-on learning implicit – like learning to ride a bike. At the opposite end of the spectrum is explicit learning – like being told the capital of Peru. He asks, if you hadn’t ridden a bike in five years, would you still be able to do it? And if you hadn’t heard the capital of Peru for five years, would you still remember what it was? Extrinsic learning may be quicker than learning through exploration and discovery, but the latter has greater meaning for children and stays with them longer. There are plenty of reasons for this, but one of them just may be that intrinsic learning creates more neural networks in the brain. And it’s more fun!
from Rae Pica’s website Moving and Learning.

Creating MORE Neural Networks IS THE KEY!
Who wouldn’t want to be part of the classes in Carol’s video? Moving, singing, writing,talking are all ways to keep kids engaged, and if you watched Carol in action at the workshop with the adults, you can see it's very EASY. You ,too, can have the same results.
In my classroom after watching the video, I was convinced it was worth a try. I took a boring textbook reading lesson about the parts of a New England village and assigned each student a role. There was a field of wheat, a waterwheel, a stone mill, a cobbler, a blacksmith, the stocks, a meeting house- yes I had to assign multiple roles, but everyone was up and participating. It was loud, it was fun, and months later, the kids remembered who was the waterwheel ( I can still see the poor kid spinning in circles ), and that mills were important in New England’s economy!

Out of the box thinking can be done- simply in any subject, any grade, and in literacy and reading classes,too. Some examples could be the solar system, the parts of a circuit, the parts of a cell, order of operations in math, story elements in literary fiction, genres, and the list goes on.

Challenge your self: Think of what you teach that you can try some of these “out of the box” experiences with your class this year.

Technorati Tags: brain-based learning,summer professional development,movement,active particpiation,literacy-based classroom,reading

Whole Brain and Whole Body Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:40:00 +0000

In my last post, Brain Breaks and FMAP: What Do They Have in Common?, I talked about ways that author and teacher Angela Watson uses active teaching methods to manage a classroom. Whole Brain Teaching is also active, engaging, and brain-based. But be prepared: The kids aren’t sitting in rows quietly doing workbook pages. It is at times LOUD and to some, it will look chaotic, but it’s not. And like most things in education, there is at least one thing that most of us who are teachers can learn from this method if nothing but to “jazz it up” a bit.

If you aren’t familiar with the idea of “whole Brain Teaching”, sometimes a picture ( or a video) does indeed speak a thousand words! These sixth graders are awe-inspiring!

Sixth grade

The reasons WHY we need these brain-based, whole brain, and active learning strategies is explained by these fourth graders.

Fourth grade

And here’s the thing about Chris Biffle and Whole Brain Teaching: IT’S FREE. Go to WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING and you will see resources for all grade levels and abilities, and did I mention :It’s FREE! Go to the website to get the details, and right now, there is an e-book on setting up a Whole Brain Teaching model classroom so please give them a look. It will get you thinking about how any grade or age can use some of these techniques. Even young learners respond well to these strategies.

Here’s a kindergarten class using Whole Brain Teaching.

Kindgergarten

And first graders using the same methods of learning through movement and brain-based activities.

First grade

And finally, third graders in a class using Whole Brain Teaching in a reading class.

Third grade

How could you use more brain-based learning in your classroom this year?

Technorati Tags: brain-based learning,Whole Brain Teaching

“Brain Breaks” and FMAP: What Do They Have In Common?

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:51:00 +0000

Over at the Organized Classroom Blog page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TheOrganizedClassroomBlog

and other pages such as http://www.facebook.com/teachingresourcesbyshelleygray,

they ‘re discussing “brain breaks.”

I first really thought about “brain breaks” after seeing something similar on mspowell.com ( now http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/). Angela Watson calls these breaks FMAP for “Fifteen Minute, Active Participation” when being pro-active in both your teaching and in managing your classroom.

What do “brain breaks” have in common with FMAP? Besides just being a best practice in learning, keeping students actively engaged by moving, talking, and writing helps manage BEHAVIOR! Active students are not off-task. Active students are interested, and active students are LEARNING which should be what we want our kids to do.

Here’s a real gem if you’re interested: Angela’s blog actually offers a webinar on her ideas.

Pro-Active Behavior Management

Other videos in her Cornerstone series may be found at her channel, also:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Cornerstone4Teachers

These webinars are based on the information from her book and blog, The Cornerstone. You may read more about FMAP in a sample from that book here:

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/behavior-management/off-task

Check out the resources at her site and start thinking of what you can do as teachers to keep your students actively participating, their bodies moving, and their learning sticking by add more –brain-based tasks and breaks to your lessons.

Technorati Tags: behavior management,The Cornerstone,pro-active behavior management,brain-based learning,brain breaks,FMAP

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, E.B. WHITE!

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:11:00 +0000

E.B. White- the author of my favorite book of all time, Charlotte's Web. I loved it form the moment my third grade teacher Mrs. Tyler at Joseph Keels Elementary School read it to my class every day after lunch. I loved it so much that I begged for the book for my ninth birthday. I loved it so much that I insisted that my Daddy read it ( I was horrified he hadn't), and so we read Charlotte's Web together on the porch at a beach house at Surfside Beach, South Carolina back when beach houses didn't have televisions much less wireless capabilities.Our entertainment in the evenings after long walks on the beach was playing board games, playing cards, reading, or sitting on the porch and talking or singing if Daddy brought his guitar. Those beach trips are some of my fondest childhood memories for me.

I sat in an old rocking chair with my Daddy as we read about Charlotte and Wilbur and Fern. We read every night for hours. We laughed a lot. I can remember that Daddy's favorite line was "Wilbur threw himself on the manure pile." I didn't get it, but now I understand Wilbur's despair. We cried together, too. As I got older, I grew to appreciate even more Charlotte and Wilbur's love and loyalty to each other.

I thank you E. B. White for that story you put on paper. I thank you Mrs. Tyler for introducing me to that book. I thank you Daddy for allowing me to share that book with you. So many lessons I've learned each time I have read that one little book.

At times in my life, I have felt like Wilbur ( alone, scared, and friendless), Fern ( fascinated by my animal friends), Templeton ( selfish), and Charlotte ( fiercely loyal until the end). I believe there is something there for everyone in this childhood favorite of mine.

Who is your favorite E.B. White character? Follow the link to answer that question and share your E.B. White memories.

Read Alouds: Gone to The DOGS

noreply@blogger.com (Fran Richardson) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:29:00 +0000

I love reading, and of course, I love my dogs. I have known some kind, patient old souls who are of the four-legged variety, but the first and best example would be our beloved old Max, my Daddy’s German Shorthaired Pointer, who let so many little children ride him, rough-house, and play with him. When Max was being “loved on,” his big brown eyes would shine so brightly and that little nub of a tail would wag like it was on by a motor. He was the most patient, sweet-natured, and kind dog I’ve ever seen -hands down.

I thought of our old Max when I saw that therapy dogs were being used to help kids read. I can see Max doing something like this. Max would have been a natural!

Here are several ways that dogs are being used in libraries across the country to help children in learning to read beginning with a story from ABC News.

Good Morning America

Therapy dogs are used in the READ program in Salt Lake City.

The READ Program

And in New York, both the dogs and the kids in this library share something in common: They both live in shelters.

CBS News

You can read more about a similar program using dogs to promote literacy at TALES FOR PAWS.

And here are some great books to read aloud to your own dog. I am sure our old Max would approve.

Get a tissue for this one by one of my favorite authors, Cynthia Rylant.

Technorati Tags: reading,reading strategies,therapy dogs in reading programs