The first year...

The first day, the first week, the first month, THE FIRST YEAR!!! What a struggle this can be for a first year teacher. After a tough day yesterday I just wanted to share how thankful I am for my mentor and my third grade team this year. They have been such a help to me these first two months! While unpacking some boxes back in August I found this sign my sweet friend Katelyn made for me. I decide to hang it up behind my desk just to remind myself that I can do this. I just wanted to share this with the rest of all you first year teachers...and the seasoned veterans as well. WE CAN DO THIS!! 

Read For The Record!

Today the nation took part in "Read For The Record". Schools and classrooms across the country read the book "Bunny Cakes". I decided that I would incorporate this into our instruction for the week. We have been discussing the reading strategy visualization and how it can help you determine or infer different character traits. I played a reading of the story on the computer and only allowed the students to listen. They were not allowed to see the pictures. They had to visualize the characters, their actions and their dialogue. I asked them to draw a picture of what they visualized and to write down character traits they determined from the visualization. THEY DID AWESOME! I was so impressed with how quickly they picked up this skill and how great they executed it. 

A new reading series!

The third grade at TES has started their new reading series this week. Benchmark Literacy is currently being incorporated into the entire school and we are hoping all the students will really enjoy it! I am absolutely excited about the Readers Theater portion that accompanies the series. Super fun!!!

Our Class had a C.O.W!!!

The students got to experience our brand new C.O.W or "computers on wheels" cart last week. During the first few weeks of school many students have to take several tests to see where they fall academically. The third grade students used the new computers to take several of those tests. These computers will be used often in third grade this year and the students are very excited about that!

Twas The Night Before School Started...

Twas the night before school started
when all through the town
the parents were cheering
it was a riotous sound

By eight the kids were washed and tucked into bed
While memories of homework filled them with dread

New pencils, new folders,
new notebooks too, new teachers,
new friends, the anxiety grew.

The parents just giggled when they heard of this fright
and shouted upstairs
GO TO BED! IT'S A SCHOOL NIGHT!

Writing Center

I finally got to see my classroom this week and I can't wait to start decorating. One idea I had is to incorporate a writing center somewhere in the room. I found this really cool idea to make writing folders for the students to keep at their desks as well. While browsing for those ideas I came across this awesome blog and a fun freebie! I can't wait to print this poster out to hang in the class!

Check out the blog for yourself :) http://theteacherwife.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-do-writers-write.html

Magical Places...

I have always been someone who reads a book and finds myself completely lost in whatever world has been written for me. I have fallen in love with many far off places of the years...Narnia, Oz and of course Hogwarts to name a few. So I decided I wanted to incorporate this into my classroom somehow this year. Of course the library is the perfect spot to do this and when I saw someone else do this on pinterest one day I knew I had to make my own. This sign is one of my first crafting creations and I cannot wait for the kids to see it. I honestly am so in love with it that I almost want to keep it all to myself!