Currently...halfway through October

I'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 CURRENTLY.

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!

Loving:  Yay fall, my favorite season! :)

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.

Wanting: A break.  That's all.

Needing: same same.

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.

September currently!

New month, so that means it's time for a new currently!  Go link up with Farley to join in the fun!

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 Kristen 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!

The fun fonts lend themselves to that too.  I love finding new, fun, FREE fonts to spice up the things I make!

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. :)

August 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!)

Here's my August currently:

Also, bloggy friends, I want to introduce a new feature to my blog: SIOP Saturdays!

Background: 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!

Disclaimer: 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 Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model 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. :)

Today's Feature: Overview of SIOP

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.

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).  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.

There are 30 specific features of the SIOP model, and these features are grouped into 8 main components:

Lesson Preparation

Building Background

Comprehensible Input

Strategies

Interaction
Practice/Application

Lesson Delivery

Review/Assessment

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! :)

(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.)

My first "Currently"

Yay, my first Currently!  I've spotted these all over the teacher blogs that I follow, and now I get to participate too!

Check out Farley's post at Oh Boy 4th Grade to see everyone else's!

And NOW I think I am finally ready to get some sleep!  Lots done on my blog today, and hopefully more to do tomorrow!  Buenos noches!