tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91686281392567554082024-03-19T04:29:20.712-05:00Maestra BilingüeStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-47234194924361506752012-10-16T18:22:00.000-05:002012-10-16T18:22:45.739-05:00Currently...halfway through OctoberI'm way behind the ball this month. Actually I've been hiding from my blog for a while. But first, I'll link up to Farley's October <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2012/10/currently-october-for-classroom-and-you.html" target="_blank">CURRENTLY</a>.<br />
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Listening: I've been suspicious of my fridge for a while. I have it on the lowest cold setting right now, but I'm still not convinced that it is functioning properly. Help! Someone with fridge experience, advise me what to do or what to look for to know if it's working or if I need to tell landlord to replace it!<br />
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Loving: Yay fall, my favorite season! :)<br />
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Thinking: Part of the reason I've kind of been avoiding my blog, and all teaching blogs lately. I still feel like I'm so under water and drowning in everything that I have to know and do. It's not just because I've switched schools - I've done that every year. It's not just because I've switched grades - I've done that almost every year. It's something more than that. I'm just... tired. I always feel like I'm never getting anything done, and I feel like I can never catch up. Teaching just isn't FUN anymore. It just feels like a lot of drudge work. And I know I'm not alone in feeling this. When I finally decided to look at teacher blogs again, one of the first posts I was greeted with was Farley's post echoing my own sentiments. I don't know. I feel so conflicted about everything. And...just lost. Siiiiiigh.<br />
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Wanting: A break. That's all.<br />
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Needing: same same.<br />
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Book: "The First Forest" - I'm not up on all my cutesy Halloween books, but this one does talk about the changing of the seasons in a pretty creative way, so we'll go with that.<br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-88566583978668262462012-09-29T09:30:00.000-05:002012-09-30T21:33:20.635-05:00SIOP Saturday 9: Review and AssessmentThe eighth component of the SIOP model is Review/Assessment.<br />
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We've reached the last step in the SIOP framework!<br />
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Lesson Preparation<br />
Building Background<br />
Comprehensible Input<br />
Strategies<br />
Interaction<br />
Practice/Application<br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
<b>Review/Assessment</b><br />
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This final component reminds teachers that review and assessment should be present throughout any lesson plan framework. Teachers need to take time to explicitly review key terms and concepts with their students. Feedback should be constructive and timely, and teachers should use information gained through assessment to further guide their instruction. This component contains the last four features:<br />
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<b>27. Comprehensive review of key vocabulary</b><br />
Multiple exposures to new vocabulary terminology build familiarity, confidence, and language proficiency. Terms can be reviewed through paraphrasing or in a more systematic manner. The more exposure to these words that students have, the better they will be able to remember and learn them.<br />
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<b>28. Comprehensive review of key concepts</b><br />
Just as it is important for vocabulary to be reviewed, concepts also need to be reviewed, especially at the close of a lesson. This review is often informal, but still needs to be planned with careful thought. Stopping to summarize between paragraphs or sections in a text is a good example of this type of review.<br />
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<b>29. Regular feedback provided to students on their output</b><br />
Feedback needs to be supportive and validating. Teachers can use feedback as a way to model correct English usage, and also to scaffold students to further proficiency. Teachers can provide feedback through oral or written responses, or even through facial expressions and body language.<br />
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<b>30. Assessment of student comprehension and learning of all objectives throughout the lesson</b><br />
Review and assessment are an ongoing process. However, it is important to note the distinction between the terms "assessment" and "evaluation" - assessment is gathering data about student learning, while evaluation is making judgments about student learning. Assessment is periodic review throughout the lesson to determine student learning, as linked to content and language objectives. This can be group-administered or individual, oral or written.<br />
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES TEACHERS CAN DO TO SUPPORT REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT:</i></b><br />
*Thumbs up/down - could be used for true/false or yes/no responses.<br />
*Response boards - using individual dry-erase boards for an informal review of math equations, spelling words, etc, etc.<br />
*Number 1 to 3 for self assessment - students can indicate how well they believe they met the objectives (1=I didn't/can't meet the objective; 2=I didn't/cant meet the objective, but I made progress; 3=I fully met the objective), or however the teacher decides to phrase it.<br />
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<b>What are some other ways that you review and assess your students in your classroom?</b><br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: Wrapping up the SIOP model</i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-14457109068378412072012-09-25T20:33:00.004-05:002012-09-25T20:36:41.806-05:00Featured blogger!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I was featured today on <a href="http://funin1stgrade.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-teacher-blog-tuesday_25.html" target="_blank">Fun in 1st Grade</a>! Dana features new teachers every Tuesday, so head over there to check it out!</div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-39666985136689830442012-09-23T00:02:00.000-05:002012-09-23T00:02:32.371-05:00SIOP Saturday 8: Lesson DeliveryLesson delivery is the seventh component of the SIOP model.<br />
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Here's the whole framework:</div>
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Lesson Preparation</div>
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Building Background</div>
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Comprehensible Input</div>
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Strategies</div>
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Interaction</div>
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Practice/Application</div>
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<b>Lesson Delivery</b></div>
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Review/Assessment</div>
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The lesson delivery component reminds teachers to stay on track with their teaching, sticking to the objectives they have laid out for their students. It also discusses student engagement. This component contains the next four features:</div>
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<b>23. Content objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery</b></div>
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Objectives should be both stated orally and displayed in writing, in student-friendly terms. Many schools, my own included, choose to have these phrased as "I Can" statements. Before the lesson, during the lesson, and after the lesson is finished, the teacher and students should refer to these objectives to see how well they are being met.</div>
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<b>24. Language objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery</b></div>
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These language objectives can be related to ESL standards, or they may be related to a teachers' own scope and sequence of the language skills that their students may need to develop. Just like the content standards, these should be stated orally and in writing, in student-friendly terms, and referred to throughout the lesson.</div>
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<b>25. Students engaged approximately 90% to 100% of the period</b></div>
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Students should be paying attention and on task, following the lesson, and responding to teacher direction, as well as performing the activities that are expected of them. The more that a student participates during a lesson, the more he or she will gain from the learning experience.</div>
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<b>26. Pacing of the lesson is appropriate to students' ability levels</b></div>
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The pace depends upon the lesson's content, as well as the students' background knowledge. Finding an appropriate pace is also a tricky element when working with ELLs of varying language skills. It is also important to note that teachers should make full use of the time they are allotting to any given lesson.</div>
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES TEACHERS CAN USE TO SUPPORT LESSON DELIVERY:</i></b></div>
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*Think Pair Share - when the teacher poses a question, students should think of their answer, share with a partner, and then the teacher can call on a few students to share their answers with the whole class. This way students have a greater chance of more time being actively involved.</div>
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*"Chunk and Chew" is a technique teachers can use that states for every ten minutes of input, students should be given a chance to discuss or reflect on the information they just learned.</div>
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<b>What are some other lesson delivery techniques you use in your classroom?</b></div>
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Review/Assessment</b></i></div>
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-25625005492017738512012-09-15T20:50:00.000-05:002012-09-15T20:50:48.624-05:00SIOP Saturday 7: Practice/ApplicationOh man, another week flies by! Still feel like I'm trying to get a handle on everything. Most days I don't even know where my planning times disappear to, as I'm still bringing things home to plan and create and grade. But I'm happy, SO much happier in this environment, than I was last year (even though I still think <a href="http://mrsmanalli.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Angi</a> needs to move out here so we can teach together again!) that it's a good busy. Hence my lack of posts... but I will try to work on that!<br />
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Anyway, we are up to our next installment of my SIOP Saturdays series! Today's topic on the menu is the sixth component of the SIOP model, which is practice/application. <br />
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Here's where we stand with the whole thing again:<br />
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Lesson Preparation<br />Building Background<br />
Comprehensible Input<br />
Strategies<br />
Interaction<br />
<b>Practice/Application</b><br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
Review/Assessment<br />
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The section on practice and application discusses ways to make learning hands-on and relevant to students. Learning activities need to support and scaffold students' progress toward mastering content, while allowing students a context to practice the academic language skills they are acquiring. This component contains the next three features:<br />
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<b>20. Hands-on materials and/or manipulatives provided for students to practice using new content knowledge</b><br />
Research has shown that students have a greater chance of mastering skills and concepts when they have multiple opportunities to practice in ways that are relevant and meaningful. New material should be introduced in short amounts, with opportunities for students to practice their new knowledge right away. Using manipulatives or other hands-on materials also allows students with lower language skills to still be able to demonstrate and practice the content concepts being addressed.<br />
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<b>21. Activities provided for students to apply content and language knowledge</b><br />
Opportunities for applying content concepts are great for helping students to make abstract knowledge concrete. The activities should be related to the learning and should be meaningful, and allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through a variety of ways. Especially through interactions and group discussions or projects, students are able to integrate their language skills with the task(s) at hand.<br />
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<b>22. Activities integrate all language skills</b><br />
Teachers should try to allow students to express their learning through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Because all of these practices are so intertwined, skills that may be further developed in one area may lend themselves to help strengthen another area.<br />
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES TEACHERS CAN USE TO SUPPORT PRACTICE AND APPLICATION:</i></b><br />
*Using manipulatives to make a math lesson more concrete<br />
*Incorporating kinesthetic activities (for example, instead of doing a worksheet about ordering numbers, give each student a number and have them order themselves in a line)<br />
*Using a scaffolded listening cloze dictation: the teacher provides a copy of a text with words or phrases omitted; the teacher then reads the text and the students record the words that they hear that are missing from their page<br />
*Students could engage in discussion circles after reading a text to practice listening and speaking about the concepts, and then write a response to questions posed by the teacher after discussing the questions in their groups<br />
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<b>What other ways do you have students practice and apply new concepts and language skills in your classroom?</b><br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Lesson Delivery</b></i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-67193486916403017202012-09-08T14:06:00.000-05:002012-09-08T14:06:41.203-05:00SIOP Saturday 6: InteractionToday I'm highlighting the fifth component of the SIOP model, which is student interaction!<br />
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As always, here is where we stand within the entire SIOP framework:<br />
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Lesson Preparation<br />
Building Background<br />Comprehensible Input<br />Strategies<br /><b>Interaction</b><br />
Practice/Application<br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
Review/Assessment<br />
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This section on interaction describes the importance of allowing students to have opportunities to talk about and engage with the content they are learning. Some of the benefits of this include brain stimulation and higher engagement, increased motivation, more processing time for students, and increased attention to the subject material. This component contains the next four features:<br />
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<b>16. Frequent opportunities for interaction and discussion</b><br />
This feature emphasizes the importance of balancing teacher-talk and student-talk. Students should also be asked to elaborate on their responses, instead of just giving yes/no answers. Researchers have found a high correlation between students' oral proficiency levels in English and their reading comprehension and writing skills. In other words, students who are more proficient orally in English will also be more proficient in reading and writing. Therefore, by giving students more opportunities for dialogue and interaction in class, teachers can help students to develop their language in more than one area.<br />
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<b>17. Grouping configurations support language and content objectives of the lesson</b><br />
By using a variety of grouping configurations in the classroom (whole-group, small-groups, partners, individual work), teachers can provide students with a variety of ways to learn new information, discuss it, and process it. Teachers should also be mindful of providing students the opportunity to interact with a variety of peers - groupings should not always be homogeneous, but should be flexible and change according to the purpose of the activity. It is also recommended that at least two different grouping structures be used during a lesson, depending on the activities and objectives.<br />
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<b>18. Sufficient wait time for student responses consistently provided</b><br />
In US classrooms, teachers do not often provide enough wait time for their students to sufficiently process questions, answers, and understanding of concepts. By providing longer wait time, researchers have found that student discourse increases, as well as student-to-student interaction. Students should be given the opportunity to express their thoughts fully without being rushed. One way to accommodate this, but without letting classroom learning time lag too much, is by having students write down their answers first.<br />
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<b>19. Ample opportunity for students to clarify key concepts in L1 (native language)</b><br />
While this may not always be necessary in ELL classrooms or in regular classrooms, students who can make connections between concepts and ideas they may have learned in their first language and the new vocabulary and concepts they are learning, the link will be that much stronger, which will lend itself to deeper connection to the material.<br />
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES TEACHERS CAN USE TO SUPPORT INTERACTION:</i></b><br />
*using interactive dialogue journals to share ideas and learning<br />*"Stay or Stray": students work on an assignment in a small group; the teacher randomly chooses one group member to rotate around to another group to teach the new group the information that was worked on in the first group; the teacher randomly calls a different student in that second group to take the information that was just introduced and go teach it to a third group, etc. That way, all students are held accountable for learning new information because they never know who will be chosen to be the next presenter on what they just learned!<br />
*Start the day in pairs and have each pair discuss the content objective for the class period<br />
*Using "50/50" or "phone a friend" help lines for students who don't know how to articulate an answer. However, that original student must be the one to give the "final" answer, to ensure practice with the language.<br />
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<b>What other ways do you promote student interaction within your classroom?</b><br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Practice/Application</b></i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-84139575583285975892012-09-04T20:18:00.002-05:002012-09-04T20:19:31.892-05:00Open house night...already?!That's right...tonight was my school's open house! Kind of crazy and exhausting having it the day we come back to school after Labor Day weekend, but at least now it's over!<br />
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The best moment of tonight (besides meeting my students' families and such) was definitely one of my boys. He brought his dad into our classroom and proceeded to give him THE most comprehensive explanation of how everything in our class works, and all our procedures (including all our hand signals and the Whole-Brain Teaching elements that I have started incorporating). I told him I would have to have him come back next year to explain to my new fourth graders how everything works, and he just beamed.<br />
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Moments like that are what remind me how much fun this job can be... to see students take ownership like that.<br />
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:D<br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-36644467073054602652012-09-03T12:13:00.003-05:002012-09-03T12:18:28.342-05:00September currently!New month, so that means it's time for a new currently! Go link up with <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2012/09/currently-september.html" target="_blank">Farley</a> to join in the fun!<br />
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My favorite things: I'm loving powerpoint so much this year. Since reading teacher blogs and seeing all the amazing things people have created, and especially after learning that <a href="http://ladybugsteacherfiles.com/" target="_blank">Kristen</a> uses powerpoint for all of her beautiful things she creates, I started fiddling with it some more and have really found that it is an incredible tool to use!</div>
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The fun fonts lend themselves to that too. I love finding new, fun, FREE fonts to spice up the things I make!</div>
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And I already feel like I really belong at my school, even after only being there two weeks now. The reading teacher mentioned in a staff meeting that she loved the way I was starting to teach root words to my kids (which is a new school-wide endeavor for my building this year) and asked ME to be the guinea pig to have my class create a display for the reading teachers' bulletin board in the hallway - and in time for open house tomorrow too! Hehe. I can't stress enough just HOW MUCH happier the beginning of this school year feels compared to last year. SO MUCH HAPPINESS. Even amidst still feeling like I'm trying to get my feet on the ground as far as lesson planning and expectations of what my students can do. But I just have to remind myself to keep breathing, keep working at it, and NOT to stress too much. It will all come in time. :)</div>
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-31829873267210867742012-09-01T10:14:00.002-05:002012-09-03T12:18:06.462-05:00SIOP Saturday 5: StrategiesWhat a whirlwind week! We started our curriculum, and switching for math, and my ESL block this week, so things have been rather hectic, and I haven't had time to post! And now already it's Saturday again, so we're back to SIOP!<br />
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Today is highlighting the fourth component of the SIOP model: strategies!<br />
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Here's where we stand within the framework:<br />
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Lesson Preparation<br />
Building Background<br />
Comprehensible Input<br />
<b>Strategies</b><br />
Interaction<br />
Practice/Application<br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
Review/Assessment<br />
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This section about strategies provides resources for teachers as far as what they can do to help students connect to knowledge, problem-solve, and retain new information. This component contains the next three features:<br />
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<b>13. Ample opportunities provided for students to use learning strategies</b><br />
Many researchers have found that students are more successful when teachers explicitly and carefully teach self-regulating strategies to students. There are three different types of learning strategies:<br />
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<i><u>Metacognitive:</u> </i>strategies used for monitoring thinking (including predicting, self-questioning, monitoring, evaluating, summarizing, visualizing, inferring, and clarifying)<br />
<u style="font-style: italic;">Cognitive:</u> strategies that help students organize information (including rereading, highlighting, reading aloud, taking notes, mapping information, self-talk, finding key vocabulary, and using mneumonics)<br />
<u style="font-style: italic;">Social/Affective:</u> strategies that facilitate learning through interaction (including questioning for clarification, cooperative learning to solve problems, talking to someone, and group discussions)<br />
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These strategies should all be taught through explicit instruction and modeling, as well as teaching students HOW and WHEN to use each strategy.<br />
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<b>14. Scaffolding techniques consistently used, assisting and supporting student understanding</b><br />
Scaffolding is a term widely associated with Vygotsky's ZPD (zone of proximal development - when the student is in that "just-right" stage of learning and can accomplish a task alone, but it's not too easy for the student). Teachers can help by providing three types of scaffolding for their students:<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic;">Verbal scaffolding:</u> using prompting, questioning, and elaboration to facilitate students in reaching higher levels of thinking and language proficiency (including paraphrasing, using "think-alouds", and slowing speech and phrasing)<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic;">Procedural scaffolding:</u> using explicit teaching and modeling, and giving opportunities for students to interact with each other and with the teacher to practice<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic;">Instructional scaffolding:</u> preparing students in advance for the material they will learn (including using graphic organizers or any other instructional tools)<br />
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<b>15. A variety of questions or tasks that promote higher-order thinking skills</b><br />
Because it is difficult for teachers to think of these higher-order thinking questions off the cuff, teachers should prepare them prior to teaching the lesson. Teachers can help students become strategic at recognizing the levels of questions, and what they would have to do to find the answer (this is basically QAR, Question-Answer Relationships, and recognizing if questions can be answered by looking in one place in a text ("right-there"), or that require more thought and searching through the text ("think and search").<br />
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES TEACHERS CAN USE THAT SUPPORT LEARNING STRATEGIES:</i></b><br />
*SQP2RS ("Squeepers"): teaching students to Survey, Question, Predict, Read, Respond, and Summarize when interacting with expository texts.<br />
*GIST (Generating Interactions between Schemata and Texts): after reading a text, students underline ten or more words or concepts that are deemed "most important" to understanding the text. Write a summary sentence or two using as many words/concepts from the list as possible. After finishing, students can write a topic sentence, and the end result can be used as a summary paragraph.<br />
*DRTA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity): a strategy that can be used when reading fiction texts. Preview the story, make predictions, and stop periodically through the text to confirm predictions, make new ones, and think about/question what is happening in the story.<br />
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<b>What other strategies do you use to help promote student learning in your classroom?</b><br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Interaction</b></i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-36909907578041541382012-08-25T09:48:00.000-05:002012-08-25T09:48:03.649-05:00SIOP Saturday 4: Comprehensible InputHappy weekend!! Today's SIOP post is our third component in the SIOP model: comprehensible input.<br />
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Here's where we are within the whole SIOP framework:</div>
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Lesson Preparation</div>
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Building Background</div>
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<b>Comprehensible Input</b></div>
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Strategies</div>
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Interaction</div>
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Practice/Application</div>
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Lesson Delivery</div>
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Review/Assessment</div>
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The comprehensible input component reminds teachers that they need to be mindful of the words that they use, the rate at which they speak, and to make sure that they are explaining themselves clearly to their students. This component contains the next 3 features:</div>
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<b>10. Speech appropriate for students' proficiency levels</b></div>
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This feature refers to rate and enunciation, and the complexity of speech used. Students, especially ELLs, may need more time to be able to process words. If a teacher talks too fast, much of the information is lost. However, if teachers remember to slow down, use pauses, and speak clearly, students will be able to understand much more. Paraphrasing and repetition are also two techniques that can help give students multiple exposures to the words and ideas that the teacher is conveying. If teachers are familiar with the student's native language, a special emphasis on cognates (words that are nearly the same in both langauges) can also be beneficial to aiding student understanding.</div>
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<b>11. Clear explanation of academic tasks</b></div>
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Teachers can help ELLs better understand required tasks by breaking directions down step by step. Giving directions in more than one way (for example, explaining directions orally and also writing them on the board and/or providing visuals) allows students to process them the way that they are strongest, and the written directions or visuals give students something to refer back to if they need to check the directions again. Further, teachers should model or demonstrate what they are asking their students to complete, as this gives ELLs (and ALL students) the chance to see the steps in a process in action.</div>
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<b>12. A variety of techniques used to make content concepts clear</b></div>
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This feature reminds teachers of the importance of approaching learning from many different ways, and allowing students to interact with content material in more ways than just copying notes, or reading a book. These can include: using gestures/pictures/objects to accompany speech, using multimedia within lessons, previewing the material and noting which parts to emphasize to the students, or allowing students to use a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning.</div>
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES THAT TEACHERS CAN USE TO ENSURE COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT:</i></b></div>
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*Being mindful of using expression and body language</div>
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*Speaking slowly and clearly</div>
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*Using more pauses between phrases</div>
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*Using shorter sentences with simpler syntax</div>
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*Repeating and reviewing vocabulary</div>
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*Using visuals to accompany discussion</div>
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*Watching carefully for comprehension and being ready to repeat or clarify if necessary</div>
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<b>How do you monitor the ways that you provide information and interact with students while teaching?</b></div>
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Strategies</b></i></div>
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-10007380141429972182012-08-24T18:20:00.001-05:002012-08-24T18:21:21.591-05:00First week done...and those boring perpendicular lines!Blogger friends!! I survived my first week of fourth grade! Not only survived, but I absolutely love it. :D<br />
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This is the first year that I've really felt like I have a stronger handle on my classroom management system. I did so much research over the summer (and thanks to some of you for sharing your wonderful ideas and serving as inspiration!) and really hit the ground running!<br />
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Last year <a href="http://mrsmanalli.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Angi</a> and my first-grade teammates introduced the clip-chart system to me, and I loved it! The thing that I love most about the clip-chart is that you can tie it in nicely with any other behavior systems, such as schoolwide systems, or even integrating it with my classroom economy system like I want to do! So I am still incorporating the clip-chart in my classroom this year.<br />
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However, with learning more about whole brain teaching, I'm also incorporating elements of that with my classroom. I created my own set of class rules, but much like whole brain teaching, I make it a point for my class and I to recite the rules every day, and I also tied in some gestures to go with the rules to help us remember them.<br />
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I'm also using some of the "chants" (for lack of better term) from whole brain teaching - day one, I introduced "class-yes" and "hands and eyes" and oh goodness, I so wish I had known about them YEARS ago! Honestly, "class-yes" is the most basic idea ever (for those of you unfamiliar, you teach your class that whenever you as the teacher say "class", the students have to respond with "yes" and then be silent and ready to listen to what you will tell them next) but it is by far ALREADY super effective at bringing my kids attention back to me when necessary. I do have a few chatters (haha, what year have I not?) but I've already noticed the positive peer pressure from other students to encourage them to kick it in gear and get on board with the rest of us. Love love love this idea the most of all. Honestly, try it, and I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised as well! :D<br />
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I am loving the difference between first grade and fourth grade. My kids can already read, and can already express their ideas through writing. We can get to the meat and bones of stories now, really thinking about what is happening and the devices that the authors are using, instead of just working on decoding words. In math, (most of) my kids already understand how to add and subtract (one I'm not too sure about...poor sweetie) and even have experience with multiplying (dividing is still a little shaky). I introduced silent reading and talked about the behaviors we should be using during that time, and today (after only 2 days of practice) we sat and read...actually READ...for 20 solid minutes. My kids were engaged with their books, and we were working on writing down predictions as we read. I was able to walk around and give individual attention to some students who needed a little extra help. SO NICE!!<br />
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And my team of fourth grade teachers...no, I take that back, basically all the staff at my school... are so WONDERFUL to work with. And SO extremely willing to help me out with whatever questions I have, even if I've already asked them the same question 5 times in a row for 3 days straight. Haha. Friends, I have NEVER felt so much at home in a school setting...and this is STILL just the first week! Even after the first day, one of the other teachers asked me how things were going, and she said it just looked like I was "radiating happiness". I'm head over heels with it all. :)<br />
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I want to leave you with my first funny... we took a math pretest before beginning with the first lesson in the book, and I didn't realize (because I wasn't the one who typed up the page) until I went to check over them that there was a typo on one of the problems. The question should have read "are these lines perpendicular and INTERSECTING" but instead said "perpendicular and INTERESTING". One student really considered this as she wrote her response:<br />
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Happy Friday!!<br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-81910400060735571592012-08-18T22:01:00.000-05:002012-08-18T22:01:02.629-05:00SIOP Saturday 3: Building BackgroundIt's Saturday again! That means time for another installment of SIOP Saturdays!<br />
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We're up to the second component: building background. Here's where we stand within the SIOP model:<br />
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Lesson Preparation<br />
<b>Building Background</b><br />
Comprehensible Input<br />
Strategies<br />
Interaction<br />
Practice/Application<br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
Review/Assessment<br />
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Building background emphasizes the need to connect what students will be learning with what they already know, and filling in the gaps before teaching the lesson so that they will be successful. This component contains the next 3 features:<br />
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<b>7. Concepts explicitly linked to students' background experiences</b><br />
As educators, we know that students come to school with previous background experiences and schemata that may be different from ours, especially if students come from a culture that is different than that of the teacher's or the general school culture. Students' backgrounds influence the way they perceive information, and the way that they may process problems or generate solutions. Thus, it is important for teachers to try to connect the concepts that they will be teaching to relevant background experiences that students have, or if there is no connection that can be made, teachers have to create the learning experiences to build the background knowledge for the students before teaching the new information.<br />
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It is important to note that there is a distinction between "activating prior knowledge" and "building background". Prior knowledge is what students already possess, and thus activating it means that you are reminding students of what they already know. When "building background" is mentioned, this refers to the need of teachers to front-load information that students will need to know before beginning the lesson in order to be successful.
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<b>8. Links explicitly made between past learning and new concepts</b><br />
Teachers should explicitly build a bridge between what students have previously learned and connect it to what students are GOING to learn. This way the teacher can explicitly explain how the concepts are related, and help the students make connections between what they know and what they are learning, which allows them to adapt new information into their schemata more easily. This can be done by simply asking "Who remembers what we learned about _____?" or can be done by reviewing graphic organizers or classroom notes. When possible, teachers should have and display the item/knowledge being referenced (i.e. show the graphic organizer from yesterday, or put yesterday's powerpoint up again, etc).<br />
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<b>9. Key vocabulary emphasized (e.g. introduced, written, repeated, and highlighted for students to see)</b><br />
This feature actually includes 3 types of academic vocabulary that students need explicitly emphasized:<br />
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CONTENT WORDS: the key vocabulary terms and concepts relating to a particular topic (for example, in geometry: <i>circle, square, cube, sphere, vertex, side, face, etc, etc</i>).<br />
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PROCESS/FUNCTION WORDS: the words that have to do with performing certain processes or tasks (for example, <i>discuss, graph, classify, share with a partner</i>) and language processes (for example, <i>skim, argue, summarize, question, etc</i>).<br />
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WORDS AND WORD PARTS THAT TEACH ENGLISH STRUCTURE: the words that allow students to learn new vocabulary, based on English morphology. Also known as root words and their affixes.<br />
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<b><i>SOME ACTIVITIES THAT TEACHERS CAN USE TO BUILD BACKGROUND:</i></b><br />
*Journaling - students can write about their own personal experiences with a certain topic.<br />
*Quick-writes - students can write what they learned, or what they still have questions about.<br />
*"Tired" words - students can identify synonyms for words that are common and over-used to expand vocabulary.<br />
*Word walls - choose words from each topic to highlight, discuss, and display for student use.<br />
*Word sorts - students can organize words based on structure, meaning, or sound relationships.<br />
*KWL chart - the old teacher stand-by. :)<br />
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<b>What are some ways that you build background with your students before teaching a new topic?</b><br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Comprehensible Input</b></i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-58370172489672626272012-08-17T23:34:00.000-05:002012-08-17T23:48:08.109-05:00Finally...classroom reveal!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bloggers, I am exhausted. It's so hard trying to get used to a new building and a new team and new procedures and a new grade and everything!! And all at once! Kids start on Monday, as I've mentioned, and I'm looking at probably still having to go in tomorrow AND Sunday to try to finish up as much as I can! But, as I promised, I am FINALLY posting pics of my classroom! Pretty much the only part that isn't finished is my library area... I still have more organizing and sorting and book unpacking that I want to do. So pardon the fact that I'm not quite done with that area yet! :)<br />
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I'm linking up this post with <a href="http://brigidsdailylessonlog.blogspot.com/2012/08/classroom-tours-linky-party.html" target="_blank">Brigid's Classroom Tours Linky</a>, and with <a href="http://swimmingintosecond.blogspot.com/2012/08/show-off-your-space-linky-party.html" target="_blank">Courtney's Show Off Your Space Linky</a>!<br />
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<img height="138" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gxQClAW09Pg/UCjMcXMfmsI/AAAAAAAACnI/kdjTTbv6dvg/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-08-13+at+5.42.29+AM.png" width="200" /></div>
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Welcome to my new classroom!!</div>
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<b>BEFORE, whole-class view:</b></div>
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<b>AFTER, whole-class view:</b></div>
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<b>BEFORE, entry corner:</b></div>
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<b>AFTER, entry corner:</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uh512Ypsc54/UC8TnKrRJYI/AAAAAAAAAbw/UqpWXZK0vBo/s1600/Class3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uh512Ypsc54/UC8TnKrRJYI/AAAAAAAAAbw/UqpWXZK0vBo/s320/Class3.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Thanks <a href="http://www.ladybugsteacherfiles.com/" target="_blank">Kristen</a> for the fun numbered supply labels!)</div>
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<b>BEFORE, front of classroom:</b></div>
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<b>AFTER, front of classroom:</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SshaJ94ToAk/UC8Tlvt50HI/AAAAAAAAAbo/yxMJ8029jyM/s1600/Class2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SshaJ94ToAk/UC8Tlvt50HI/AAAAAAAAAbo/yxMJ8029jyM/s320/Class2.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Thanks <a href="http://mrsmanalli.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Angi</a> for the lovely birthday stars!)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sD1GTHaFb8/UC8TkTiwFlI/AAAAAAAAAbg/FmJboCA4PHA/s1600/Class11.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sD1GTHaFb8/UC8TkTiwFlI/AAAAAAAAAbg/FmJboCA4PHA/s320/Class11.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(I don't have a before of my teacher corner...haha)</div>
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<b>BEFORE, math wall:</b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exmzl6vZ-no/UC8XX1bowLI/AAAAAAAAAds/7yRzd74IKR4/s1600/ClassB8.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exmzl6vZ-no/UC8XX1bowLI/AAAAAAAAAds/7yRzd74IKR4/s320/ClassB8.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>AFTER, math wall (and new home of kidney table):</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trpNXlhDnfE/UC8Ti0rknnI/AAAAAAAAAbY/B746LKisy1w/s1600/Class10.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trpNXlhDnfE/UC8Ti0rknnI/AAAAAAAAAbY/B746LKisy1w/s320/Class10.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>BEFORE, library corner and back wall:</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcKatT04xYo/UC8T7-ILikI/AAAAAAAAAdI/YADR0CoxeIA/s1600/ClassB5.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcKatT04xYo/UC8T7-ILikI/AAAAAAAAAdI/YADR0CoxeIA/s320/ClassB5.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>DURING (haha), classroom library:</b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LwNiLFpVbg0/UC8ThRTmWoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/_jZ7RCNboZQ/s1600/Class1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LwNiLFpVbg0/UC8ThRTmWoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/_jZ7RCNboZQ/s320/Class1.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>AFTER, back wall:</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0cSGEQJtjVk/UC8Tvk0BC_I/AAAAAAAAAcY/hnwuyNGOWrg/s1600/Class8.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0cSGEQJtjVk/UC8Tvk0BC_I/AAAAAAAAAcY/hnwuyNGOWrg/s320/Class8.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Thanks <a href="http://teacherontheloose.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachelle</a> for the Boggle letters that look great in my classroom...even though I haven't added the actual Boggle letters yet...the header still looks great!)</div>
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<b>BEFORE, back whiteboard (and old home of kidney table):</b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGTLFzkoi1U/UC8T_3v9vZI/AAAAAAAAAdY/OLesXAfw7Ng/s1600/ClassB7.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGTLFzkoi1U/UC8T_3v9vZI/AAAAAAAAAdY/OLesXAfw7Ng/s320/ClassB7.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>AFTER, back whiteboard (now CAFE board and gathering area!):</b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCnfRQtkU1A/UC8ToXE6A3I/AAAAAAAAAb4/HNqSIlcVeqs/s1600/Class4.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCnfRQtkU1A/UC8ToXE6A3I/AAAAAAAAAb4/HNqSIlcVeqs/s320/Class4.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Thanks <a href="http://www.ladybugsteacherfiles.com/" target="_blank">Kristen</a> for the CAFE letters, which actually served as the whole inspiration for beginning this journey into the world of teacher blogging!!)</div>
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<b>BEFORE, cabinets:</b></div>
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<img height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xyj0GaqHAN0/UBvGwp3h6fI/AAAAAAAAATk/UdZhyNTWkiE/s320/IMG_20120802_135320.jpg" width="320" />
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<b>AFTER, cabinets:</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KX07aDi1Z8/UC8TxjPj-mI/AAAAAAAAAcg/YmYANle8kB4/s1600/Class9.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KX07aDi1Z8/UC8TxjPj-mI/AAAAAAAAAcg/YmYANle8kB4/s320/Class9.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(The change here was more internal...and you can now see how many storage containers I have left over!)</div>
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<b>BEFORE, sink area:</b></div>
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<img height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5BVDclUr1YY/UBvGR9YD8bI/AAAAAAAAATE/UYY4bococLM/s320/IMG_20120802_135327.jpg" width="320" />
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<b>AFTER, sink area (and now word wall!):</b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vkluOxrs5q4/UC8Tr6DsWFI/AAAAAAAAAcI/ZZf6ltk8ezY/s1600/Class6.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vkluOxrs5q4/UC8Tr6DsWFI/AAAAAAAAAcI/ZZf6ltk8ezY/s320/Class6.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>And one more view, from the back of the room to the front of the room:</b></div>
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Still more last-minute things to do before I'm ready for students... but I've worked hard and wanted to finally share my progress! Hope you enjoy! :D</div>
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-14591756053879599532012-08-16T18:42:00.000-05:002012-08-16T18:42:36.579-05:00Back to school jitters linky party!I'm exhausted!! I've been in my room every day (yes, including weekends) for the past week and a half or so. It's sooooooooo close to being set! And that's a very good thing, because today was the first teacher institute day, and our kids start on Monday! <br />
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Next post, I PROMISE to have some pictures finally!! But in the meantime, I'm linking up with A Turn to Learn for the Back to School Jitters linky party! And believe me, I have plenty of jitters!<br />
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<a href="http://aturntolearn.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-school-jitters-linky-party.html" title="Back to School Jitters Linky Party"><img alt="Back to School Jitters Linky Party" height="155" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o66tVljEABw/UCgYMNQI3xI/AAAAAAAABnM/cUBgMksmzqM/s200/Back+to+School+Jitters+Promo.png" style="border: none;" width="200" /></a><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-87100667058883656672012-08-11T21:29:00.002-05:002012-08-11T21:30:09.958-05:00SIOP Saturday 2 - Lesson PreparationLet me begin by saying... thank goodness you don't have to have an actual voice to be able to blog, because mine deserted me! I drove to Indianapolis yesterday to visit a fellow teacher friend... my voice began the trip with me, but did not arrive with me! But I don't need it for typing, thank goodness! And, maybe I can get this out of my system now so that I don't have to lose it this year when I start teaching, which always seems to happen!<br />
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Anyway, time for installment 2 of SIOP Saturday!<br />
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Today's focus is on the first component of the SIOP model: Lesson Preparation. If you remember from last time, the SIOP model has 30 features, broken down into 8 components. Here they are again:<br />
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<b>Lesson Preparation</b><br />
Building Background<br />
Comprehensible Input<br />
Strategies<br />
Interaction<br />
Practice/Application<br />
Lesson Delivery<br />
Review/Assessment<br />
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Lesson preparation contains the first 6 features. Think of the "features" as "important things to remember". For me, at least, that makes it just a little easier to understand. So, let's dive into the first 6 features:<br />
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<b>1. Content objectives clearly defined, displayed, and reviewed with students</b><br />
Many districts are requiring teachers to post their objectives in their classrooms so that any visitors or passers-by can see what learning is taking place. SIOP stresses the importance of actually talking to your students about what the learning objectives are. That way, everyone is held accountable for the learning being accomplished, and learning stays on track.<br />
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<b>2. Language objectives clearly defined, displayed, and reviewed with students</b><br />
Here is an important new concept for many teachers: language objectives. I like to think of language objectives explaining HOW students are going to demonstrate their learning of the content objectives. Language objectives should encompass one or more of the 4 language domains: reading, writing, speaking, or listening. Here are some examples:<br />
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Content objective: Students will identify parts of a plant and their functions.<br />
Language objective: Students will label (write) the parts of a plant on a picture and discuss (speaking and listening) the functions of each part with a partner.<br />
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Content objective: Students will understand the difference between parallel and perpendicular lines.<br />
Language objective: Students will explain (speaking and listening) to a partner how parallel and perpendicular lines differ.<br />
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Especially with ELL students, it is important to give them opportunities to practice their language skills, and give them support when they need it (example: sentence starters or a template for note-taking). The next time you are planning a lesson and looking at the content objectives, consider how you might be able to integrate a language objective for your students as well!<br />
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<b>3. Content concepts appropriate for age and educational background</b><br />
Occasionally teachers may have to build additional background knowledge for students if they have come from another district or another country where concepts are taught in a different order. The common core standards that many states are adopting should help to be a good framework for teachers to reference to see what students are learning in the grades above and below the grade they teach as well.<br />
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<b>4. Supplementary materials used to a high degree</b><br />
Hands-on learning experiences and the use of realia can make lesson concepts more relevant and meaningful to students, especially if they can see how the concepts apply to real-life situations. Thus teachers should look for opportunities to use additional materials as they are appropriate.<br />
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<b>5. Adaptation of content to all levels of student proficiency</b><br />
Especially with ELLs, every student in your classroom should be held to the same high standard of learning. ELLs should be learning the same content, but may require the method of delivery to be adapted. For example, they may require books at an easier reading level; a template for note-taking, or perhaps a quick one-on-one session with the teacher to build the required background knowledge so that the student can be able to learn the concepts.<br />
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<b>6. Meaningful activities that integrate lesson concepts with language practice opportunities</b><br />
Any time that students have an opportunity to practice a new skill they are learning, or a new concept, the teacher should provide a chance for ELLs to use the appropriate vocabulary and language that accompany the concept. For example, if students are learning to compare numbers (greater than, less than, equal to) the teacher should provide the students with the chance to practice this vocabulary. This could include talking to a partner, playing a whole-class game, or writing number comparisons while incorporating the language aspect and not just the number sentences.<br />
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<i>Next Saturday's topic: <b>Building Background</b></i><br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-16001670499825550402012-08-07T15:41:00.000-05:002012-08-07T15:41:08.881-05:00Classroom Economy (with printables!)I've been in my classroom each day this week - pretty soon I'll have some pictures to share with you!<br />
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In the meantime, I know I've been alluding to the classroom economy system I want to implement this year, so I'm finally getting around to posting about it! (Stay tuned at the end for some freebies!)<br />
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I'd seen various formats for classroom economies posted on the internet and around pinterest, so I combined a lot of the ideas I liked into my own classroom economy system!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--koLs8AAeLE/UCFwBm8ZbyI/AAAAAAAAAXA/q4UdLET5teE/s1600/Econ+10.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--koLs8AAeLE/UCFwBm8ZbyI/AAAAAAAAAXA/q4UdLET5teE/s320/Econ+10.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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(I haven't tried implementing this yet, so all of this thinking is how I *hope* it will run!!)<br />
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<b>COMPONENT ONE: CLASSROOM JOBS AND RESPONSIBILITIES</b><br />
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First step will be showing the list of jobs and responsibilities and explaining each one, so that the students will have an idea of the jobs that exist, and what will be required. I am a strong believer in every student having a job for which they are responsible in the classroom.<br />
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After that, students will complete a job application for their first, second, and third choice jobs.<br />
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I'll collect the job applications, and assign jobs. Students will be responsible for knowing when and how to perform their jobs, and how much "pay" they earn each day.<br />
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<b>COMPONENT TWO: ECONOMY AND "PAY" SYSTEM</b><br />
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Students will receive "earnings" each day based on 3 categories: behavior, classroom job performance, and homework completion. <br />
<i><u>Behavior:</u> I have integrated the clip chart system with this economy structure - students gain/lose earnings based on the color where they finish their day. For more about the clip chart system, see <a href="http://www.newmanagement.com/ebooks/pdf/clip_chart_ebook.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </i><br />
<i><u>Classroom job performance:</u> each job receives a specific amount of "pay" each day. If students complete their jobs, they earn their wages. If not, then they do not earn their wages. I'm hoping this will help motivate the students and keep them accountable for performing their jobs!</i><br />
<i><u>Homework completion:</u> If students complete their homework, they earn $1 per assignment. If they don't, they lose $1 per assignment.</i><br />
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Students will keep track of their monetary earnings in a personal ledger:<br />
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At the end of each day, they will total up their earnings and/or losses with a "banker" (one of the classroom jobs). At the end of the week they will "pay rent" for their property (desk and chair) and have the opportunity to spend their earnings. (<i>I've tried to make sure that even the lowest-paying jobs, combined with good behavior and homework habits, will allow students to have AT LEAST enough to pay rent and to start saving up for some of the rewards!! - hopefully this will hold true, otherwise I may have to adjust a bit!) </i>If students don't have enough money to pay rent, they can borrow a loan from the bank:<br />
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I printed some of these out and laminated them. :)</div>
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As students save up money, they can purchase privileges, or they can purchase property!</div>
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I already have to change this a bit, as I've learned my school has a strict no-food-in-the-classroom policy. No candy option for me anymore! :)</div>
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I've tried to make the rewards enticing enough that hopefully they will want to save up to get the good ones, and hopefully it won't take too long or happen too frequently!</div>
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Or, as an alternative, students can opt to purchase their property (desk and chair) AND/OR others' property!</div>
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For example, if Sally purchases her own property, she will no longer have to pay rent. If Sally purchases Billy's property, then Billy has to pay his rent to Sally! Depending on how this idea goes over, I may have to instate a rule that if you can afford to buy your own property, you get dibs on it...or something like that, just so there aren't too many arguments and/or tyrant property owners! :)</div>
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WHEW! I think that's everything! Now for some FREEBIES!! :D I've included some of the above documents, in case this classroom economy system appeals to you!</div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Information%20sheet.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">information sheet</a></div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Job%20application.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">job application</a></div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/List%20of%20jobs%20and%20responsibilities.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">list of jobs and responsibilities</a></div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Weekly%20ledger.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">weekly ledger</a></div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Rewards%20and%20prices.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">rewards and prices</a></div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Record%20of%20property%20purchases%20and%20bank%20loans.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">record of property purchases and bank loans</a></div>
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I'd love to hear if any of you choose to implement this in your classrooms, and how it goes! :)</div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="border: 0px !important;" /></div>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-16395517564229217832012-08-04T16:47:00.000-05:002012-08-04T16:49:04.893-05:00August currently.... and a NEW feature (SIOP Saturdays!)Thunderstorms are just starting here... I've got my bucket and towels in place (because no, bloggers, repair man has not returned to fix my ceiling yet) but so far so good and no leaks yet! (Knock on wood!)<br />
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Here's my August currently:<br />
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Also, bloggy friends, I want to introduce a new feature to my blog: SIOP Saturdays! <br />
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<b>Background: </b>I just completed a 3-day training in my school district about using the SIOP model for instruction. I also took a class about it a few years ago as part of my path toward my bilingual and ESL endorsements. I think it is such a fantastic method for teachers to use, not only for ELL students, but for ANY students! So I decided that once a week, on Saturdays (because then my teaching week will be over, and also because SIOP and Saturday both start with S, so it makes sense!) I will highlight a feature of the SIOP model, and list a few examples of strategies that teachers can implement in their classrooms to address each feature!</div>
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<b>Disclaimer: </b>Let it be known, these are all MY opinions. I am neither being told to, nor receiving any form of compensation for, explaining SIOP. The book <i>Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model</i> is written by Jana Echevarria, MaryEllen Vogt, and Deborah J. Short, and copyright by Pearson Education, Inc. Hopefully that's everything I need to include to make sure proper credit is presented where it is due. :)</div>
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<b>Today's Feature:</b> <b>Overview of SIOP</b></div>
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I'm curious...how many teachers who are not Bilingual/ESL teachers already know what SIOP stands for, or use any of the features in their classrooms? I know I had never heard of it before I began pursuing my bilingual/ESL endorsements.</div>
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SIOP stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. What is it? It is an empirically validated model of sheltered instruction. (Those of you unfamiliar with sheltered instruction, that term means that the teacher adapts instruction in order to make the material more easily learned. The same typical curricular standards are being addressed, but the manner of addressing them may vary based on student language skills). <u>In simple words, SIOP provides a framework for teachers to use in lesson planning and delivery in order to be more mindful about WHAT they are teaching and HOW the students will learn the material and practice language skills.</u></div>
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There are 30 specific features of the SIOP model, and these features are grouped into 8 main components:</div>
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Lesson Preparation</div>
Building Background<br />
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Comprehensible Input</div>
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Strategies</div>
Interaction<br />
Practice/Application<br />
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Lesson Delivery</div>
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Review/Assessment</div>
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My goal for this series is to address one of these components each Saturday, highlight the features that are specific to each component, and show some examples of strategies (when applicable) that can be integrated into classroom instruction to promote student engagement and student success. I hope you will join me through this series! Next week I'll start with Lesson Preparation! :)</div>
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(Also, through the typing of this post, the rain came and went, and brought old leaks and new. Ceiling leaked again (but this time just through the hole he made, so I guess that was a good call on his part!) and also the frame above my patio door. Sad face again.)</div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-45826726545353309782012-08-02T16:23:00.000-05:002012-08-02T16:23:57.646-05:00Classroom sneak peek!Ohhhhh friends... I am so happy!<br />
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I had a last-minute opportunity offered to me to attend a SIOP workshop in my district over three days (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) that is actually being hosted at my school building... so I've had the chance to meet teachers from my school and the other schools in the district, which has been amazing!! Everyone has been so kind and welcoming to me, and I am SO super excited (even more than I was before!) to be where I am this year.<br />
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Today I also had the chance to get...the keys to my new classroom!!! And I got to go in, and took some pictures, and am anxious to start thinking about how to arrange everything. The teacher who had the room before me retired, so she left lots and lots of materials and resources... which is good because I'm sure much of it will be useful, but a little bit distressing because it just means I have THAT MUCH more stuff to go through and organize. But I still have lots of time to do it! So here is the "before" picture of my classroom - be not deceived, it may look like it's up and ready to go, but I haven't brought ANY of my things into the room yet, and I haven't done ANY decorating of my own!!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-geTDKIyi7gw/UBruW5ULYPI/AAAAAAAAAS0/fbL51WP4vUQ/s1600/IMG_20120802_135344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-geTDKIyi7gw/UBruW5ULYPI/AAAAAAAAAS0/fbL51WP4vUQ/s320/IMG_20120802_135344.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'll keep you updated on my progress!! :)<br />
<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-74966908743170058312012-07-31T05:02:00.003-05:002012-07-31T12:52:05.549-05:00It's 4 a.m. Do you know where your ceiling is leaking?That's right, bloggers... We had some thunderstorms that passed through about an hour ago (and I DO NOT like thunderstorms) that woke me up, and I kept hearing something that at first sounded like hail outside (which is quite possible).<br />
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So I got up and went to look out my living room deck doors...and felt something drip on my neck... and then saw that yes indeed, there was water dripping from my ceiling. Went into panic mode, grabbed towels and my trusty bucket, and put it under the hole.<br />
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**SIDE NOTE** I'm no stranger to water mysteriously leaking into my living room. At my previous apartment, any time that it rained, or snow melted, my AC unit would drip...no, often cascade... water into my living room. FINALLY convinced that management to fix it one chilly February morning - which involved removing the whole AC unit, chipping away some of the brick from the building (because it had been installed with the incline draining INTO my apartment rather than down and AWAY from it) and then didn't have any more problems with it.<br />
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But anyway, back to my current leak. Walked away from it for a moment, turned on some lights, and looked again...and noticed that a steady stream of drips was proceeding from a little hole.<br />
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This confused me, because the hole was not right next to the outside wall, it was a little further in...and I do not live on the top floor of my apartment building. There is someone else's unit right above me. How on earth could it possibly be dripping from where it was?<br />
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Went into panic mode x2, texted my mother, who actually called me right back (must have woken her up with my text, sorry mom...), eventually called the emergency line for my apartment complex, got told by an operator that they would contact the repair man, went back to look at the hole...<br />
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...and realized that that little hole was the least of my worries. At least a foot by a foot patch of my ceiling was looking a little, well, bubbled out. Touched it (where did that bravery come from?!) and it was soft...<br />
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Cue panic mode x3. Waited in a nervous frenzy, repair man finally arrived (but no advance phone call, so that was a fun wait), strolled over to the ceiling, took some little tool and poked my ceiling, and caused a steadier stream to start flowing into a bigger bucket that he brought.<br />
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It actually JUST stopped it's steady flow, and he left like 10 minutes ago. Blahhhhh.<br />
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So anyway, he will be back a little later, and I'm here, awake, babysitting the bucket, making sure Libby kitty doesn't get into mischief, and because I'm afraid to go back to sleep for fear of discovering more trouble. So I leave you with this beautiful picture:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gQ8qfLXNcxg/UBetEVwYikI/AAAAAAAAASk/a5kHo0_ybT8/s1600/ceiling.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="border:none;" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gQ8qfLXNcxg/UBetEVwYikI/AAAAAAAAASk/a5kHo0_ybT8/s400/ceiling.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="border:none;" 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-24049558590992893562012-07-30T12:13:00.000-05:002012-07-30T12:27:16.980-05:00Monday made-it!I'm linking up today with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for her weekly Monday made-it!
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<a href="http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2012/07/crunch-time-monday-made-it-9.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A69zqxqqLj8/UBa6FLMDlzI/AAAAAAAAAQw/oIx7J6CHZTc/s200/mondaymadeit2_240x240.png" width="200" /></a></div>
This week I worked on my classroom rules display. I was inspired by a pin I found on pinterest of a teacher who had hung her rules vertically on ribbon, and was intrigued! I thought it would match my clip chart if I made mine in a similar fashion, so this is what I came up with! :)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kq-Y-D8gIZY/UBa-JHfTqtI/AAAAAAAAARs/sImKGb2jwjE/s1600/mmade1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kq-Y-D8gIZY/UBa-JHfTqtI/AAAAAAAAARs/sImKGb2jwjE/s320/mmade1.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's what the whole thing looks like.</div>
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And here are some close-ups.</div>
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And <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Classroom%20rules.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">here</a> are the files for my signs if they strike your fancy as well! I printed them out on white cardstock, and then glued them to blue cardstock and laminated them. Then I hot-glued them to the ribbon. I love how they turned out!!</div>
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Another element of my Monday made-it is my new blog header and my new blog button! I'm so excited with how they turned out, and think they look a lot more polished than my previous ones. Hooray!</div>
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And FINALLY my most exciting Monday made-it item of all... a dress!! I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas this past year from my parents, and have just finally started using it with a passion. My mom has incredible sewing skills - she made just about all of my sisters' and my Halloween costumes growing up, and she made all of my homecoming and prom dresses. I'd been hoping that I inherited some of her talent! I finally found some really easy tutorials online of how to make some dresses without needing to use any patterns (basically just sewing the fabric to the top of a tank-top) and finally took the plunge and am so proud of how this dress turned out!! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPMaA3KKd78/UBa-QhRL6lI/AAAAAAAAASE/bP1uaQqVYtk/s1600/mmade4.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPMaA3KKd78/UBa-QhRL6lI/AAAAAAAAASE/bP1uaQqVYtk/s320/mmade4.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is actually my second dress - the first one I made with a different fabric and a shorter length.</div>
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I knocked it out in a day - something around 9 hours altogether, with sizeable breaks between working on each part. And I also added something that the online tutorial didn't call for - lining, since the bottom fabric is a really light color. And I finished it! I even wore it the next day to my friend's bridal shower, and got some compliments on it! I can't wait to attempt other dresses and skirts - this was a huge confidence boost for me and my growing skills! :D</div>
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I'm hoping to be able to get into my classroom sometime this week to start the unpacking/decorating process, so cross your fingers for me, and stay tuned! </div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-14575204779940353292012-07-25T22:50:00.000-05:002012-07-30T12:26:28.634-05:00Cranium club - with printables!So I want to share with you today the idea that I discovered earlier this spring that has made me SO EXCITED to be moving to an upper elementary grade!! (Though I'm sure you younger-grade teachers can find a way to adapt this to your learners if you so choose!) It's an idea called Cranium Club, or Mastery Club, or any other variation, depending on how the teacher decides to name it!<br />
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I stumbled across a few different versions on pinterest, including a version by <a href="http://www.mrsrenz.net/images/classroompics/masteryclubpic.htm">Mrs. Renz</a> and a version by <a href="http://jackofalltrades-leslie.blogspot.com/2011/07/im-done-now-what-answer-brainiac-club.html">Leslie at Jack of all Trades</a> (and just now happened to stumble across a version by <a href="http://www.teachingmaddeness.com/2012/06/mastery-club-new-monster-edition.html">Amanda at Teaching Maddeness</a>), and completely fell in love with the concept. It's a standing answer to the "what can I do, I'm all finished?" question from those fast-finishers, which is something I'm always looking to find!<br />
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I was also drawn to this idea because it reminds me quite a bit of a similar ploy used by my 7th grade pre-algebra teacher. She had special puzzles called "quizzles" that she offered for us to do...probably for extra credit or the like. I just remember that she told me at the end of the year that I was the only student who completed all 50 of them! :)<br />
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Back to Cranium Club though...basically in a nutshell, students have a list of "challenges" that they can choose to complete - participation is entirely optional. Students can choose any of the challenges to work on, in any order, and can do so on their own time - at home, recess, or if they finish work early. They have to memorize their answer to the challenge (with the exception of a few challenges that require special recording sheets) and can give their answer to the teacher before or after school, during recess, or any other free moment during the day, at the teacher's discretion. <br />
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With my version, I decided to expand it to 100 questions instead of 80-odd questions. 100 just seems like a more finished number, in my opinion! In my version, if students complete 15 challenges, they become a Cranium Club member, and get to have their name added to the "Hall of Fame". Completing 25 challenges earns them "silver member" status, and 50 complete challenges earns them "gold member" status, which I will mark by their name with stickers of that color.<br />
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Here are a few pictures of what I am using to implement it and keep track of student participation:<br />
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These were printed on cardstock and laminated - I'll display these on a cabinet or wall (I wish I knew what my classroom layout looks like!!). One page lists the rules, then there are 5 pages with challenges divided by subject category, one title sign, and my hall of fame (super stars) sign</div>
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My cranium club materials share a binder with my classroom economy (which I will post about soon). The first page I have is a list of all the challenges - same as on the posters, just condensed to one page! I will copy this page and give it to my students so they have a reference of the challenges available to them.</div>
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Following the list of challenges, I have pages where I will mark which challenges each student has completed.</div>
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For some of the challenges, I created cheat-sheets with the answers (or a variety of possible answers, for more open-ended questions). I keep these answers in the binder too in case I need a reference!</div>
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I'm taking my next big blogging step, and learning tonight how to link files directly to my site so that any of you who are interested can download them! With this post, I'm attaching my page that has the rules, as well as a list of the 100 challenges that I have decided to incorporate. They are based off challenges I saw used for a 4th grade class. As I mentioned, I added a few extra to make it an even 100, and I also had to tweak them (changing some of the state-specific challenges, and I also changed one of the counting languages to Chinese instead of Spanish (because that would be way too easy for my kids!)</div>
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So...here ya go! Enjoy! (Please please please let the links work!!)</div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/Cranium%20Club%20Rules.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1">Cranium Club rules</a></div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/maestrabilingueesl/List%20of%20Cranium%20Club%20challenges.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1">List of Cranium Club challenges</a></div>
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Since this is a new idea to me, I obviously haven't implemented it in a classroom yet! Do any of you have experience with a similar "club" in your classroom? <br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-17291250216935115662012-07-23T09:38:00.001-05:002012-07-30T12:25:24.564-05:00My teacher story - linky party!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-teacher-story-linky-party.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oSq5gfPKzrs/UAsZ3f-TEcI/AAAAAAAABYY/uiUjIHYYqrE/s320/My+Teacher+Story.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'PT Sans Caption'; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">We all come to the classroom with a story. Some are similar to others while some are very distinctive. What's YOUR teacher story? How did </span><i style="background-color: white;">you </i><span style="background-color: white;">get to the classroom? Has it always been a lifelong dream or did you come after being in another profession?</span></b>
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My teacher story is pretty straightforward, but how I got into bilingual education is an interesting path.</div>
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I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was really young. I loved all the teachers I had year after year, and knew that I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I worked in a daycare as an afternoon/summer job in high school, and declared my education major as soon as I started college. Well...I guess there was like ONE week in High School where I considered going into psychology (because I found that class fascinating) but even just IMAGINING not going into teaching left me with an unsettling feeling inside, so I quickly nixed that idea. :)</div>
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My journey toward becoming a bilingual/ESL teacher, however, is a little more interesting - mostly because it seemed that I tried resisting it every step of the way. But for that story, I have to start with why I wanted to learn Spanish in the first place. Growing up, my best friend's family spoke Spanish. She didn't speak it much, but the idea of learning another language fascinated me. I decided that when I had the chance, I wanted to learn Spanish, so that I could understand what her parents were saying. My first opportunity came in 8th grade - I loved the class, so I took every possible Spanish class that I could during high school (which even included sacrificing a semester of band to do so!). </div>
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Entering college, I decided that I wanted to at least maintain what Spanish I had already learned, and decided that I could probably pursue a minor in Spanish (because my first love was education). However, during my sophomore year, I chose to take a Spanish course called Spanish for Service Professionals, which was a more personalized class of how you could use Spanish within your given major. It was a difficult class, but very enjoyable - I told myself that if I survived that class, and thrived in it, I would consider changing from a Spanish minor to a double major with Spanish and education. So, that happened, and I adjusted my course path to include more Spanish along the way.</div>
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That same semester, I took an education course which linked my class up with 5th grade pen-pals from a nearby inner-city school. I learned that my penpal was in a "bilingual" class (which I look back on today and realize it is more ESL than bilingual) and was fascinated by the idea. I got permission from my professor to go visit the school for a day, to see how that classroom looked, and I was intrigued.</div>
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Fast forward to senior year and student teaching - I made the decision to pursue a bilingual teaching placement, and landed in a "bilingual" kindergarten classroom (again, I put that in quotes, because while the students all were native Spanish speakers, this school was not teaching them first in their native language, it was only expecting them to learn to read and write in English. Yet the school still called it bilingual...). I loved the experience. </div>
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So when I started sending out applications, I didn't discount any bilingual opportunities. I wasn't necessarily seeking out only bilingual opportunities, but I didn't want to snub my nose at any offers! And the offer that I eventually accepted happened to be for a bilingual second-grade classroom. Taught bilingual second grade for two years, and then bilingual first grade for one. I also took all the required classes to earn both my bilingual and ESL endorsements. This year I made the decision to move to a different district, and accepted an offer to teach Bilingual/ESL 4th grade (how it exactly will end up being, I'm told will be based on the needs of the students. Which makes perfect sense to me). </div>
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While I love Spanish, I am actually really excited for the opportunity to actually teach in English this year, while still using my Spanish to keep it from getting rusty! It can be exhausting, though, trying to remember all the vocabulary for teaching each concept in your non-native language, not to mention having to find alternate ways to explain concepts when your vocabulary is limited. I am in the unique position to know EXACTLY how my students can feel at times, when trying to master a new language, and I cannot wait to see what this year will bring. :D</div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/213/E034BFC9B0C188E078719B6063EDEABB.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-86997857599094120032012-07-19T08:46:00.000-05:002012-07-30T12:24:37.403-05:00Newbie blogger hop!Still on vacation, blogger friends, so haven't been doing much yet by way of creating. But I love a good blog hop, and this one is especially for newbie bloggers!! So link up and tell everyone:<br />
<b>1. What state you are in:</b> Illinois<br />
<b>2. Your current teaching position:</b> 4th grade ESL/bilingual<br />
<b>3. Your teaching experience:</b> I taught bilingual 2nd grade for two years, and bilingual 1st grade for one year<br />
<b>4. When you started blogging:</b> I started my blog sometime during the last week of June 2012... So I've been blogging for almost a month now!<br />
<b>5. Share a blogging tip or resource:</b> As simple as it sounds, I have found a lot of tutorials and how-tos just by googling "how do you...". :)
Link up with Janis at <a href="http://gr3istheplace4me.blogspot.com/2012/07/newbie-blog-hop.html">Grade three is the place for me</a> and join her blog hop!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-88633358572407258572012-07-12T22:21:00.002-05:002012-07-30T12:23:48.118-05:00Blog hoppin' around the Internet!'Came across a blog-hopping party on Amanda's blog<a href="http://theteachingthief.blogspot.com/"></a> and wanted to join! So here is my attempt to link up. Check out some of the amazing blogs below! :)
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</script>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9168628139256755408.post-18928553883713159262012-07-12T09:20:00.000-05:002012-07-30T12:23:22.314-05:00New Orleans!Good morning bloggers! Posts will be sparse for a bit cause I'm on vacation right now! First stop: New Orleans! Beignets and cafe au lait for breakfast today! :)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911429758477235809noreply@blogger.com4