sutton007

Go ahead and ask my kids!   They'd tell you that I would bring 'school' anywhere.  It just so happens that we are on vacation and indeed school is in session!  Ski school that is....well, really Boarding School. Well, really...we're just snowboarding and skiing!  And I didn't bring 'school' here I just brought the kids to the mountain and the lessons are here waiting to be discovered!     Okay - so what I mean is that there are ample opportunities for the kids to learn even while they are snowboarding. Take a look at a few of our lessons today. Lesson 1: Elapsed Time!  What time will you need to wake up if it takes 40 minutes to get to the mountain? Make sure you plan to give yourself time for a 10 minute shower each (so multiply by 3) and grab a quick breakfast.  We need to arrive by 8:30 so you might need to work backwards.  ( Elapsed time practice for kids ). Lesson 2:  Money! (at the ticket window)  Throughout the d...

It’s a question I hear at ALL parent teacher conferences: What can I do to get my child to love to read?    Or What can I do to get my child to read?  These are also questions that educators wrestle with as well. As a teacher and parent I am still plagued by these questions as there are no definitive answers.  However, there are some steps that we as educators and parents can take to aid in the love of reading.  Be a Role Model: This is a tip from an article, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading .   Children follow their parents’ lead.  If they see their parents reading they in turn, are likely to read.  If watching TV is the preferred activity of parents, then children are likely to fall into that habit.   Likewise, children follow their teacher’s lead.  When the students are reading during DEAR time, why not read a book along with them.  Share something funny or unusual from a story you are reading.  Kid...

photo © 2005 Silvers Family | more info (via: Wylio ) It's the age old question: Will we have 6 more weeks of winter? The only one that truly is equipped to deal with that is Punxsatawney Phil the Groundhog from Pennsylvania... ! Every February 2nd before sunrise Phil is brought out from his home at Gobblers Knob in Punxsatawney PA, to determine if he 'sees' his shadow. If he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter . No shadow means ...Spring is around the corner. Groundhog Day - February 2nd - holds fascination for many... especially children. Here is some information and activities for those interested in Groundhogs and Groundhog Day! The Official Groundhog Club Site: Here you can find information about the history of Phil, past predictions and fun facts. Hoghaven: Here you can listen to sounds of groundhogs. Kaboose: This page gives craft directions to make a felt portrait of Phil. Primary Games : Interactive games such as a Word S...

photo © 2008 Chris connelly | more info (via: Wylio )   “It ain’t over til it’s over” was the phrase coined by Yogi Berra .  Spoken like a true sportsman or classroom teacher!   We all know that even when the kids have finished reading a story they’re “ not really done ”.  We read. We discuss. We assess.  There are all kinds of other activities that we can initiate to make sure the students have made connections to their reading.  This is Part 3 in the "Activating Prior Knowledge" series.  In the Before reading post, it was suggested to use an Anticipation Guide .  If used, it would be a great (quick) assessment to see if the kids can answer those questions correctly now .  (They love getting them all right too!!).  Also, in the Before post as an alternative to the KWL chart - a Word Cloud was suggested.  How about make a new word cloud to share what was learned.  (The kids love comparing them!) ...

The newest assignment in the 30 Day Teacher Blog Challenge is adding different media to your blog. Although I am new to the blogging scene, I have often inserted different media types into my classroom website . Items ranging from student created VoiceThreads and Xtranormal Videos, homemade Youtube Videos and Animoto and PhotoPeach Slide Shows have become regular visitors to our classroom website. (By clicking on the links you will see how these sites have been used in a fourth grade class.) I'm sure that many people have embedded the media mentioned above. So I decided I would try to find something different to embed. Recently I discovered Blabberize . I also decided that I would try it in combination with my Avatar assignment. The 'Welcome Message' at the beginning of my blog was created using Blabberize and Build Your Wild Self . (Sometimes it takes a while for Blabberize to load - I was having trouble replaying my creation - hope it works for you.) Al...

Coypright-Shmopyright? Not really so! Since I’m a teacher, I've mostly assumed that I don’t have to worry about ‘ Copyright '. Burying my head in the sand doesn’t excuse me from the law and rather perpetuates the problem of copyright issues. In one of my graduate classes I was first (and formerly) introduced to the issues of copyright and fair use. It made me realize that we all need to be cognizant and aware of the Copyright protections as well as the Fair Use rules in education (and elsewhere). While using images and multimedia in the classroom is key to helping my students make connections to what they are learning (please see Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age by David Rose & Anne Meyer ), I still need to be responsible and make sure that I am abiding by the rules. No longer can I bury my head in the sand as before. A great site that explains copyright is from University of Maryland University College . A great site ...

"No School - All Schools - Boston" "No School - All Schools - Canton" "No School - All Schools - Walpole" Yippee! That's the one! I remember sitting in front of the television or listening to the radio with my brothers and sisters waiting for the No School - All School announcement! Living in the "W" town our anticipation kept building and building after each letter of the alphabet. Often times there would be several commercial breaks which would produce loud groans of "Oh No" and "Not again!" There is something magical about a Snow Day off from School - UNLESS you are a parent. Today, with so many parents working it's a scramble to find someone to be with the kids. Superintendents often cancel schools early (even before the snow falls) in an effort to help parents make arrangements for the day. That being said - there are many parents that are home with the kids and they may be wondering "what can we do tod...

They're Reading - Now What? What are the strategies that you employ while your students are reading? Is there a way to incorporate technology as a way to help students with their comprehension? Focusing on making connections and activating prior knowledge DURING reading is just as important as tapping into the prior knowledge BEFORE reading . Check out these ' during reading ' ideas at All America Re ads . You probably already utilize many of these tactics. Using graphic organizers helps our students solidify their understanding through pictorial or structural designs. They aid our student's comprehension. One way to add a new twist to graphic organizers is to pair these time-tested tools with technology. Excel Spreadsheet: An Excel spreadsheet , for example could be created and filled in while reading. The example I have created below is about the characters in our reading story. Students can complete the charts individually, with a partner or whole group. ...

Back in November or December I had read about the " 30 Day Kick Start Your Blogging " Challenge. I thought that it might be nice to start blogging, but quite honestly I was afraid to take the Challenge in the event I couldn't do the entire 30 days. So I decided I would try to create my own blog on my own. That was the beginning of my blog, Teaching is Elementary, which is a professional blog. Not really sure the direction it would take, but it was my intention to share some stories, some experiences and some resources. Why did you join the Teacher Challenge’s 30 Days to Kick Starting your Blogging? Just yesterday I got an email from a friend of mine (thanks Cheryl) asking me to try the challenge. So, I here I am trying my hand with the hopes that I'll be able to keep up with everyone. I am always advising my students to take a risk in the classroom and I guess I'm taking my own advice. Why do you want to learn more about blogging? I wonder...