Happy Resurrection Day! I had a wonderful day with my family. My DD actually did her Easter speech this year and her grandparents were able to make it to see it. My dad is a pastor, so they aren’t able to make Sunday activities that frequently because he’s already booked! 🙂
Here’s a picture of Hubby, DD, and me today!
I am loving Flying Into First‘s weekly Let’s Get Acquainted Linky! I’ts amazing to see how many things we have in common, or how we find new ideas from other teachers in so many different places.
This week’s theme is……
Favorites Survey
Favorite Place to Shop
Despite my love for clothes, I really hate to shop! This place allows me to walk in, pick up clothes and walk back out. My second favorite would have to be Old Navy…..for the same exact reason!
Favorite TV Show
Ohhhhh…..I am so a Gladiator! I’ve been addicted to Scandal since Day 1! When it’s on, I can’t even sit down….I stand up and pace the entire time (in addition to constant tweeting the entire hour)! Olivia Pope is a bad….shut yo’ mouth!
Favorite Sweet Treat
Hands down…..a 10 or 12 layer chocolate cake. When we have that cake in the house, I don’t eat anything but that! LOL! Friends say, “Girl, let’s go out to eat!” and I’m like….”Naw, I’m just gonna stay home this time…” NOTHING will get between me and that cake. Breakfast….lunch….dinner….oh yeah. 🙂
Favorite Food……Food
I love to eat! Which is why I have to exercise….which I haven’t been doing a good job of lately….:-o And I could eat the Chick-fil-A #1, no salt fries, and Coke zero almost every singlet day! I want it the strongest on Sunday (of course, because they’re closed)…. Last time I went, I did better and got the Chargrilled Chicken sandwich….should have gotten the fruit instead of the fries….but I just……couldn’t…..do……it!
Favorite Restaurant
Longhorn is my favorite and we only go there for special occasions….like today! They have the best steaks, but today I wanted to do the right thing health wise and got the Salmon. It was sooooo good! I just grabbed pieces of steak of my mama’s plate! 🙂
Now it’s your turn! Click on the linky pic to be transported over to Flying into First’s page. Make sure you visit the 2 people that linked up before you and leave them a comment or follow them. What a neat way to build your PLN!
Last Sunday I linked up with Flying Into First for her “Let’s Get Acquainted” linky party. This week’s theme was Two Truths and a Lie and now it’s time for my BIG REVEAL!
#1 – I lived in Italy for a year. TRUE
My Dad was in the Air Force, but my mom wanted us to have a stable home, so I technically wasn’t a military brat. Since she was a teacher, we spent our summers wherever he was and he came home on his leave days. My dad’s last overseas stay was in Aviano, Italy. As the story goes, my mom went over to Italy for a year and came back with me as a bun in the oven. When I was almost two, we spent the year in Italy with him. Of course, I don’t remember it, but I do have pictures to prove it…..at my mama’s house…..
UPDATE! Found a pic
#2 – My girl group performed at the Apollo Theatre when we were in college. TRUE
I sang on my college choir the entire time I was at Claflin. On our yearly tour my freshman year, we met someone who had an inside with Showtime at the Apollo. Although we were a concert choir, we sang all genres of music…..verrrrrrry talented if I do say so myself. Our groups name was ENCORE. The idea was that we would kick it off and then other groups within the choir would then go. We were so sure that we were going to the Big Apple to be superstars (move over EnVogue), but it was not to be. We didn’t win at the Apollo, but turned out to be a BIG hit on the Atlantic City boardwalk….but that another story to tell!
ENCORE
#3 – My husband and I dated for 10 months before we were married. LIE
My husband and I were college sweethearts and we dated for 10 YEARS before we got married. This year is our 10th anniversary, but I have spent my entire adult life lovin’ that man! And it’s been more than worth it! 🙂
Today is the last Friday before Spring Break….yippeee! And it has been a whirlwind of a week! For this first time eva…..I’m linking up with Doodlebugs for her Five for Friday!
The rules are simple…..post five random things about your week. Post on your blog and then go over to Doodlebugs and link up!
1. We had our standardized writing test this week. We made it through!! I created prize cards for each student and set requirements for them to earn their teacher’s initials. On Day 1, students had to make sure they used a graphic organizer to plan, colored pencils to highlight voice strategies (compound and complex sentences, SAT words, and vivid vocabulary), and have a clean final draft. On Day 2, students had to annotate beside their multiple choice answer choices.
Out of our 110 students…..90 made it to the party. And boy did we party! We shut down our hall and had activities in each room. We also provided them with mini ice cream sundaes. I’m not sure who had more fun – the kids or us! I had so much fun I totally forgot to take pictures! 🙁
2. I created a Facebook page this week for the blog. If you get the chance, stop over and like my page……*shameless plug*
I am really excited about sharing my professional experiences with friends and colleagues. This will also give me a chance to utilize a different media outlet to reach other teachers. Here is my favorite post pic so far…..
3. I’ve been invited to present at the UTC (Upstate Technology Conference) this summer! I am so excited! After the last conference I attended, I decided that it was time to start putting myself out there. I’ve really gotten into the technology integration and I think that’s the route I want to take. So here goes….
4. Since this week was so serious with the testing, I thought we’d spend the last two days doing some unserious work. *smile* Insert “The Ransom of Red Chief”. If you haven’t read this short story do it now! It is about to swindlers who decide to kidnap a little boy. But in the classic O. Henry style, nothing happens the way it’s supposed to. It’s a great story to teach irony and I found this awesome internet resource to use: Internet Academy – The Ransom of Red Chief
5. I’m determined to get back on the healthy fitness track. My exercising has definitely been sporadic lately. It’s time for me quit whining and do something about it, hence my new toy. I’ve purchased another heart rate monitor to hopefully get me motivated to work out harder.
So here are my Five for Friday, what are yours? Click on the Five for Friday pic to head over the Doodlebugs and link up!
Six days to the writing test! And I have the heebie jeebies! Although this is my 15th year of teaching, this is the first year that my students will have to take a standardized writing test. I love writing and I love to teach writing….just not in 50 minutes with reading and grammar as well! *pausing for a panic attack*.
I am lucky that many of these students are already strong writers in most of the writing rubric areas (content/development and organization), and I’m not even going to touch conventions…..so we are spending the bulk of our time working on voice.
In VOICE, we focus on the following areas:
vivid vocabulary
varied sentence structure
quotes
humor
figurative language
The students are really blossoming! It’s funny, but my Honor students are still very reserved (and I have SIX days to fix that!), while my other students are taking dramatic risks! 🙂 One of my students called his blueberry muffins “awesomeness in a cup”! Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!
And now for the freebie! I’m linking up with TBA for Freebie Friday (and yes, I know it’s Sunday doggone it!)
Here is a powerpoint that we used to help students beef up their vocabulary. They did an AWESOME job! I’m attaching the powerpoint and the handout that goes with it.
Our sixth grade team of teachers is a real team! We love our jobs – we love our children and we’d do just about anything to help them become successful. We work together so well – I AM BLESSED! I know that our situation is the exception – not the norm – and for that I am truly grateful.
A few months ago, I had a half day meeting at the district office. Since it is so difficult to get substitutes to agree to come in for 1/2 day, we decided to split our 110 children into three groups. So these groups were anywhere between 35 and 37 kids….in one classroom…..for 90 minutes! But it worked! And we’ve realized (after having to do it once last week and twice this week) that we’ve got some really great kids too! Our new schedule took away only two changes for the students – but it really made a big deal with their “excitedability”. (Yes, I know that’s not a real word!)
Our SS partner was our sick for two days last week. We thought it would be only for one day and I was planned for that because students were finishing up a quiz. But day two…..kinda threw me for a loop. I thought about it all night, Friday morning, well actually about 15 minutes before the kiddos got there….and Eureka! it came to me. We were finishing up Euphemisms so I created a mini project for them….Euphemism posters. Students used PowerPoint to create a poster on a one Euphemism. See an example below:
I am especially proud of this kid for many reasons….:-)
But the #1 reason there is a smile on my face is because of this: My last period class is a elective class to assist students with preparation for our standardized test. But since I had mine and my partners, I allowed students who hadn’t finished their project to finish. And I didn’t have to do a thing! I printed out multiple copies of the directions and students who had finished their projects helped those who hadn’t. I was so proud of these students!! Plus we used DropItToMe for the first time….and it was NO headache at all…. 🙂
Check them out here!
Euphemism Poster Creation on PhotoPeach
And now for my February Currently! Thanks to Farley at Oh’ Boy Fourth Grade for hosting this really neat monthly activity!
DD and I are visiting my parents today and they have no willpower! It’s been NickJr. ever since we stepped into the house. Sigh…..SpongeBob SquarePants has never been a favorite of mine….
My blog has been selected for inclusion in the list of the Top 25 Middle School Teacher Blogs of 2012. If you’re interested, click on the link here. It took me three years to even get the nerve up to start a personal blog….how excited am I that people are noticing my hard work.
I’ve talked about our 1:1 mobile device initiative in a previous post (I think?) but it’s now really becoming a reality. My team submitted a group proposal so that all of our students would get the iPads and my principal is pretty sure we’ll be approved. I also received an email complimenting me on our proposal and was even asked if I would be ok with my ideas being shared in our initiative. And the final hurrah was being asked to be one of the first teachers for our graduate school class. Now, it’s not as if I don’t have enough to do (my family thinks I do too much already), but this is a wonderful opportunity for me. I received my administration degree in 2010 and have been debating what I really want my educational course to be. Since being back in the classroom after budget cuts – I’m slowly coming to the realization that my niche is technology integration. I’ve even been contemplating getting an Ed.D in Instructional Technology. As always, I will put it into the hands of the Lord and allow him to direct my path. He has never (and will never) steer me wrong!
I want to talk about my “needing”, but I get anxious just thinking about it! I told my principal somebody better get me a prescription of Xanax. I love teaching reading and I love to write – but I absolutely hate….strongly dislike teaching writing to sixth graders. OMG….nuff said.
So anyway…I’m skipping down to my “Pet Peeves”….
#1 Lazy Kiddos – uggghhh….Middle School is hard……6th Grade is the hardest! Our kids go from having one teacher in 5th Grade to having SIX teachers in 6th Grade! Whew! And many elementary schools are fond of social promotion. I have at least one student every year who failed EVERY CLASS last year and was PROMOTED!!! What?????!!!!! So when they get to us and they have to pass aaaallllll classes it is a great shock. You should see some of those sweet little faces at the end of the year – DISBELIEF! It’s downright comical in a sad, sad, way….
#2 Tapping – More specifically tapping me on my arm/shoulder and repeatedly calling my name….Mrs. J….Mrs. J…..Mrs. J……..WHAT? Oh, I absolutely despite it…..
#3 Complainers – We are so blessed at my school and school district. Promethean Boards, ActivExpressions devices, laptops and soon (cross your fingers) iPads! But sometimes (like every day) I hear a complaint about something. “These computers are too slow” (Bring your own from home – oh! you don’t have one), “My device isn’t working right” (Ok, get out your whiteboard then), “$.050 for a pencil??” (Tell yo’ mama to go to the store and buy you some), and on and on and on. Just once I would love to hear “Mrs. J. we are so blessed!” Just once…..or maybe once a day…..
Alrighty now! If you’re going to link up remember to follow the rule of 3 – Comment on the two blog posts before yours and one after. Who knows the connections you’ll make?
As I’ve stated many times before, I love to read! And as a middle school teacher I try everyday to instill a love for reading into all of my students. But, as I’m sure you know (and have heard before), boys are tough nuts to crack. Because of this, I’m linking up with Courtney over at Swimming into Second to promote the Best Books for Boys linky party and giveaway.
Here are books that my middle school boys love:
The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963 – Christopher Paul Curtis
This book is hilarious! I always read the first chapter aloud and by the time we get to the section where Byron has his lips stuck to the outside rear view mirror, we are all in tears!
Scorpions – Walter Dean Myers
The boys love this one because the main character is a boy. Now, although there are many differences (the setting is in Harlem and we live in a very rural area, for one) we talk about the importance of making good decisions as well as bullying and learning how to say no.
Forged By Fire and Tears of a Tiger – Sharon Draper
There isn’t a Sharon Draper book that I don’t like, but again the boys seem to gravitate toward books where the main character is a male.
They also love the Bluford series…and…..
The Baseball Adventure Series by Dan Gutman.
If you’re interested in participating, click on the linky party image that’s at the top of this post to get into Swimming In Second’s initial post. Oh! Before I forget, there’s also a chance that you can win a
$25 Amazon card giveaway…..
So you get access to great books for our boys and a chance to win? What more can a teacher ask for?
One of my goals for this school year was to create anchor charts with my students as we reviewed concepts. That way, instead of putting everything on the walls ahead of time, we would add to the classroom throughout the year. My hope that it would make the charts more relevant and used more frequently.
But….alas, it’s gone by the wayside as so many other great ideas I have had.
Miss Klohn at Adventures of A Sixth Grade Teacher has created a monthly linky party that will highlight Anchor Charts. I’m hoping that this will inspire me to get back with it….
Here is my anchor chart about Story Elements…
And Point of View….
Interested?? Here’s how it works….
One. Save the Anchors Away image from above and include it in your post.
Two. Be sure and link back to Miss Klohn’s blog. You can do this by linking the image to http://missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com.
Three. Share some pictures of your favorite anchor charts that you have made this year.
Four. Come back to this post and link up your post for others to see.
You can click on the link here to connect to the first linky party.
It’s day 2 of 2013 and I find myself still in vacation mode. These next 5 days will fly by and if I know what’s good for me, I better get my butt in gear!
So, maybe a way to get my mind right is to start looking at what I want for next year. And it just so happens that Michelle from Making It As A Middle School Teacher has just the linky party to do it!:-)
Here are the 13 things that I’ll be looking forward to or taking part in during 2013.
Just to highlight a few…..
By middle school, many students are really good at calling words – but have no comprehension skills. They hate to read which makes it even harder to teach them. I’ve heard that the book I’ve Read It, But I Don’t Get It is awesome so my goal is to read it over the next few days.
Before marriage and children, I has time to read school personal and personal personal books. I was able to recommend books to my students that they would love, which increased their reading. Lately, I’ve only been reading trash, none of which would be helpful to my students…. I’m trying to work my way back and Wonder is my next goal. This year, I’ve been using excerpts from my favorite books to teach concepts to students. That has worked out well, because after we finish an excerpt, many of them want to read the book!
Since being back in the classroom (I did four years as a facilitator that was cut during our financial crisis), I’ve been addicted to technology. Because of this I’ve been thinking hard about going back to school for either a Master’s or Doctorate in Instructional Technology. I know….I know….it doesn’t make sense to have two Master’s, but I JUST DON’T WANT TO WRITE A DISSERTATION!! So, I’m going back….just not sure of the details yet.
My principal let me paint my wall green to create a green screen for videos and guess how many I’ve done? ZIP…..ZERO…..NADA The thing is, I have students that are more than capable of independently creating videos for various reasons – I just need to organize it. Hmmm, that’s something else that needs to be added to my list…..gosh darn it!
Well, enough about me, let’s talk about you….if you’re interested, here’s what you do!
To join in, download the image below. Then open it with PowerPoint or any picture editing software you normally use. Add in text boxes and save it as your own version. Not much space so you’ll have to be concise.
Write a blog post which links back here and includes the main image above {with the chevrons} as well as your own version of your 13 things.
That’s it! Pretty simple.
Oh yeah…let’s do Farley’s Rule, too. After you link up, visit and leave a comment for the 2 people before you as well as the 1 after you.
All you have to do is think back at your favorites in 2012 and add a few pictures. What a fun way to remember the year, huh!? You can use these prompts if you’d like, or just type up your 12 favorite things!
12. Favorite movie you watched:
Django Unchained – Although I don’t think it is an entirely accurate depiction of that time period, it was definitely entertaining. Definitely QT fashion with all the blood…all the blood, but I’d go see it again.
11. Favorite TV series: Scandal
Who doesn’t love Olivia Pope? I am so addicted to this show!
10. Favorite restaurant:
Anyone who knows me knows I love I eat! I don’t just have one favorite….Outback, Olive Garden, Longhorn, Chickfila, Cookout….I better stop, I’m getting hungry right now….
9. Favorite new thing you tried:
Hmmmm, I usually would say I’m adventurous, but this year I’ve been pretty tame….so one goal for 2013 is….to be more adventurous….try something new….
8. Favorite gift you got:
The gifts from my students. Each and everyone of them are special, because I work in a very high poverty level area. If I received a gift from them, it means all the more to me because I know they had to sacrifice to give it.
7. Favorite thing you pinned:
I am not a fan of Steve Jobs, more like indifferent, but I definitely admire all that he had done during his lifetime. And I absolutely love this quote.
6. Favorite blog post:
I had a difficult time determining this one, but I finally made a decision. This blog post describes how I felt after the first quarter and showcased some great work that my students had dne.
5. Best accomplishment:
Being selected as a Top 25 Middle School Blog! 🙂
4. Favorite picture:
These are my kiddos (well about half of them). They have the best personalities….In the words of Farley, I {puffy heart} love them to death!
3. Favorite memory:
I have so many, but my current favorite is this Christmas. My DD didn’t wake up until 8:30 and when she did she wasn’t all loud about it. DH and I heard her moving around and shuffle up towards the den. Her gasp of surprise and quiet exclamation of “Santa came!” warmed my heart.
2. Goal for 2013:
To get back to healthy eating and exercise.
1. One Little Word:
Favored
How to link up:
Create a blog post sharing your favorite 12 things in 2012. Go to Miss Kindergarten’s website, add the button to your post, and link it to this blog post. Then link up below, making sure to link directly to your post, not just your blog.
I found this linky party on Hodges Herald . Grade Three is the Place for Me is hosting a newbie blogger hop. I’m not a “newbie” blogger, but this personal, reflective blog is new and I’m always interested in building new relationships, so what a wonderful idea!
Interested in making new connections? Here’s how to participate:
1. Post about his linky party on your blog
2. Answer these five questions
3. Think about visiting the other blogs on the post
1. What state are you in?
South Carolina
2. What is your current teaching position?
6th grade ELA
3. What is your teaching experience?
I am embarking on my 15th year – 5 years in 6th grade 5 years in 8th grade, 1 year as a Curriculum Facilitator, 3 years as a Exceptional Education Facilitator
