What Every New Student Should Know...

     Right before the break for summer vacation, our lead teacher shared an idea she had for a "welcome book" that would be created by current students for newly registered students to our school.  I loved her idea instantly!  When we first discussed the idea, Terry was reading Nonfiction Mentor Text by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, both Pennsylvania educators and fellows of West Chester University's Writing and Literature Project.  I took a class with Lynne last fall that changed my approach to nonfiction in the classroom.  I put my newly acquired knowledge to use and worked extensively with my class regarding nonfiction features and writing informational pieces, giving them the edge they needed to hit expository text head-on, equipped now with background knowledge and confidence.   A "welcome book" sounded note-worthy and necessary to me.

     So, why do we need a "welcome book?"  Let me give you some idea of what we face at our school.  The 2010-2011 school year saw 85 newly registered students between the months of October and November alone, with approximately a 45% transient rate, you can see how our demographics are constantly shifting.  With our melting pot always bubbling, there are inevitably some families who don't understand our culture at school.  By culture,  I am not referring to race, rather the expectations our staff and students are accustomed to year after year.  This culture is often difficult for those families who may have left a district with few expectations for themselves as parents and for their children as students,  only to find our district's responsibility meter off the charts!

     You see, our school  encourages professionalism in both appearance (dress code) and in behavior, with the end result a quality learning atmosphere.  As experience dictates, not all new students buy into our way of doing it.  Enter the "welcome book" idea.  This kid-created guide will serve as a resource for the child as he or she navigates the halls and classrooms of their new school.  It can give a new district family insight into their child's day, with expectations written in kid-friendly terms, using positive and supportive language.  This connection could help cement the all-to-important relationship between home and school, bringing us closer together like the team we were intended to be.

  So, the "welcome book" was introduced to my Summer Reading Club last Wednesday.  The kids at Summer Reading Club are also the same kids who attended my writing club this past school year and they ran with the idea of creating a book!  We spent time brainstorming important topics that should be included and planning several possible alliterative titles.  They assigned different pages to each other and began the writerly life of young authors.  They worked hard on clearly stating our school's standards for behavior, while trying to keep negative words out of the text.  This is a work in progress that will probably be completed during writing club this fall.  I know the kids are excited about the project which speaks volumes about them.  I am encouraged by their spirit and willingness to work diligently during their summer vacation. Children never cease to amaze me!

An Idea is Born at Longwood Gardens

Golden Finch eating from sunflower

     I took a PAWLP (Pa Writing and Lit. Project) graduate class at Longwood Gardens earlier this year and I was  awed by the beauty of the gardens!  In the gardening world I am considered a newbie, plants have been known to shrivel and die in my presence, so the magnitude of Longwood's botanical gardens and conservatory were both inspiring and magical to me!  It caused me to wonder about my students and what they would think about the gardens, I mean, they don't get many chances to experience beauty like that in their semi-urban community so, I decided to document my remaining classes using photography and journal entries.  I figured if I could capture some of the things that amazed me and then share it with my kids in a deeper, more personal way then it would be almost like they were there, right?
     I created a slide show after every PAWLP class at Longwood.  I told the kids about things I learned and projects I was working on and they loved it!  I was working on a project for class about bees as pollinators and I made a powerpoint as part of the unit study.  I shared the powerpoint with my kids one morning and to my surprise, they were filled with questions.  A handful of them signed out bee books from the school library that week and about a month later, while on an outdoor science-based field trip, my kids were able to answer questions regarding pollinators!
     This lead me in the direction of things like the natural world around us, conservation, research from Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, and of course...BOOKS!  I am a firm believer that nothing can be accomplished without a lot of books.  So, I decided to let myself wonder about how nature could inspire my kids.  I wondered about how I could build their background knowledge without having to take an expensive field trip every week.  I wondered how my kids could benefit from exploring picture books, both fiction and non-fiction, in an attempt to bring nature into their literal lives.  I wondered a lot.
Any thoughts?

Face Book, Twitter, and Blogging--Oh My!

    On a scale of 1-10, I'm about a good, solid 6 when it comes to technology.  After learning how to operate my smart board in the classroom, I thought I was the bomb!  But, with all the on-line social networking available nowadays, I'm struggling to keep up.  
    My daughter set me up on Face Book last year, but I'm a little challenged when it comes to Twitter and blogging and let us not forget Google+!  So, I began feeling somewhat inferior after I joined Centurions of 2011 - a Face Book group (and yes, at least I am cool enough to belong to one group! LOL) comprised of educators, librarians and the like, whose goal is to read 111 books a piece this year.  It is a tremendous resource for book titles but, it seems like everyone tweets, blogs, podcasts, etc.  and I'm just writing down book titles.  My technological clock was ticking loudly in my ear, so I decided to start a blog.   I joined Twitter, but I don't tweet.  And I listened to my first podcast, suggested by a friend from the Centurians with Ralph Fletcher. Things are going from good to great!  

The Good Samaritan

I believe that there is goodness in everyone (with the exception of Casey Anthony) and in my teaching career, I have had the pleasure of meeting many good people.  Kindness shown towards me is one thing, but when it is directed at my kids it's worth double points!  A special thanks to Kathy for donating 50 titles to my Summer Reading Club!  You rock!

So many others  have donated books to my classroom in the past and I am forever grateful to each and every one of them!  A book is a powerful thing in a child's hands - it can be an adventure, provide new insight into issues that matter to the child, and most importantly, a book can help a child understand the world around them.  That said, I love the look on a child's face when they have found that special story that resonates with them and becomes a part of who they are.  

I remember the first time a book changed me - 7th grade  - Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.  Do you remember your book?

Summer Reading Club is born!

     I loaded up my truck this morning with the usual items:  laptop, things to be laminated, newly purchased books, and cucumbers for the secretaries!  I was excited and a little nervous about the start of Summer Reading club and I don't know why I felt like that because it was all my usual kids! So, I went to the Municipal Branch of the Public Library and got two bags of great titles for the kids and then headed to school.  Once the kids arrived, it was like school never ended!  They were so happy to be at school with me and it was then that it hit me:  I forgot the brownies!! 
     I found a new title called The Fourth Stall and used that as my read-aloud.  The public library gave me "the power" to give out library cards, so we completed applications and then they selected a book to read.  You know, the kids at my school are different from other kids because they voluntarily came to summer reading club.  No one made them a lunch and sent them on their way, or reminded them it was time for reading.  They knew I would be there and they came from all different directions just to be a part of something.    Anyway, it went really well and next week I will come prepared with water bottles and PB&J sandwiches!  No one will go hungry again!  

A Summer Day at Starbucks....with the math curriculum!

I'm happily sitting in a music-filled Starbucks sipping my cappuccino!  Summer vacation is in full swing and I'm loving it!  I should have my latest novel in my hands, but instead I am working on a turn-key math binder that coincides with our math curriculum so that my math instruction improves and I can be better prepared for next year.  That was a mouth full!  You see,  I spent so much time  working on our Language Arts curriculum that I could probably do it in my sleep!  But math was never my strong subject as a kid, so I am determined to become an expert.  Does anyone else do this during the summer?