Lots of Love from DonorsChoose!

We all know that budgets are tight in public education (understatement of the decade!), but an amazing organization out of New York has provided millions of children with the resources that are so desperately needed for their education.  If you haven't heard about DonorsChoose.org or are new to teaching, I am here to testify!  DonorsChoose.org has afforded my students learning tools that my school couldn't afford and was certainly not in my family's budget!  Just today, I received my 11th grant for materials (in a 4 year span) totalling close to $4000 all together.  My kiddos will be getting 80 leveled books ($425 value) to add to our classroom library for readers workshop.

The process really is E-A-S-Y.  Teachers (public schools only) fill out a proposal and shop for items in a on-line catalog from retailers that we all probably shop from (Best Buy, Lakeshore Learning, School Specialty, etc.).  Before submitting my first proposal, I read many others to get a feel for what other teachers needed for their students and how they presented the request.  Once the DC staff approves it (for grammar, feasibility and other stuff), it is put on the DC site.  Not all of my proposals have been funded (I think 2-3 did not).  It's not a huge deal- I just resubmitted it and it was funded later.  It can take up to 5 months to get funded sometimes.  There are also many opportunities for funds to be matched by companies and other foundations.  DonorsChoose will email you when there is an offer so you can promote it to friends on Facebook or however you choose.  My parents love to take advantage to the matching offers in order to double their impact!

Donors are able to log on and donate to any project they like!  I've been funded by complete strangers the most- How awesome is that?!!  I have also opened it up to my family, friends and school families.  In lieu of Christmas gifts this past year, I requested that they make a tax-deductible donation to DC instead.  It's the gift that keeps on giving and goes right back to benefit their own child.

Now that teachers are not able to claim classroom expenses on their taxes anymore, I'll be donating to my classroom through DonorsChoose.org (which IS tax-deductible).  I urge you to check out the DonorsChoose.org site for more information.  This is an amazing opportunity for our children!

You can check out my page for some ideas.... Mrs. Smyth's First Grade on DonorsChoose.org

I want to give a shout to a favorite blog for continuing to inspire me for the last year- Charity at The Organized Classroom .  She put out a Five-Star Blogger Challenge a few weeks ago (and I got side-tracked!).  I hope it inspires you today like it did me!

Peer observation experience...

I stepped right out of my comfort zone yesterday and did something I haven’t done in a few years… agreed to be observed by a peer, while teaching readers workshop.  In an effort to improve our practice, my principal and literacy coach wanted us to take turns observing a peer and give them constructive feedback.  In turn, they would observe us, and do the same.  Aside from my principal and a few student teachers observing for a day, I really haven’t had anyone watch me teach since my fist year.  I’ve always been leery of having another teacher in the room that may judge me (I was burned in the past by a well-meaning teacher).  I was really optimistic for this opportunity because my friend was coming in to support me and help me grow (as I was there for her too in our journey).  I also appreciated the fact that our principal wanted our reflection of the experience and what we would still like to learn, not an evaluation of the other person.

I watched my sweet friend (we’ll call her Giggles), who teaches kindergarten.  She taught first grade a while back, so we understood the joy and challenges of each grade.  Her management of the workshop was FLAW-LESS!  She stated the teaching point 6 times in 8 minutes- seriously!  If those kiddos didn’t get it something was seriously wrong J  Side note- research says that if we state the main idea 3-5 times, the brain will hold on to it.  Kinders need a few more because they only pay attention ½ the time- ha!, ha!    Aside from the basic structure, Giggles did a few other cool teacher moves that I love and am stealing for my own.

·        Her student engagement piece was a turn and talk that only lasted about 20 seconds.  Enough time to share, but not enough to goof around.

·        She got right down with them during the turn and talk and had one of the pairs immediately share out.  She had a second question for them and she did the same thing- very effective.

·        She called them up individually to get their book bags and sent them back if they did not follow procedure.  She praised those who did as a great example of modeling.  She also encouraged some by saying, “Watch how Jimmy does it-I know he will walk safely and quietly”.  She does it individually to keep the management piece in place (it’s a struggle with this group).  First graders wouldn’t need this, but table groups could work.

Giggles knows her students and their needs!  She keeps awesome records of her conferring sessions.  A girl after my own heart!  We keep similar records.  As she conferred, she had the student restate the teaching point of their individual conference.  She also sends home this each time for the parents:

Can you see how fast I “liberated” this idea?  Less than 24 hours, friends!  Such a smart idea!  How many times do parents say “I just don’t know how to help him/her”? 

I also really appreciated the length of her conferences.  She only spent about 5-6 minutes on each student.  Seriously, we know they stop listening after 5 minutes!  Above all, she filled them with words of encouragement and a drive to succeed on their own.

When Giggles observed me, I tried to pretend she wasn’t there.  I love her- I do, but I was still nervous.  Why would I feel this way about a trusted friend and coworker?  Simple, we all want to do and be the best for our students.  I enjoyed the debriefing of the lesson the best.  I loved talking with her about the nuances of workshop and how much we were able to learn from each other.  Are we perfect?  Heck, no!  However, this exercise did open up more opportunities for conversations and broke the ice for authentic learning by watching another teacher.  That is more valuable than any book!

Thanks, Giggles! 

Words Their Way.... How did I get myself into this?

I'm going to put it out there right now.... it's confession time.  I'm a sucker for extra unpaid responsibilities.  If there is a pilot that needs to be done, I'm your girl.  Organizing standardized testing 3 times per year, me too.  Serving on any and all committees in which I'm asked- yep.  Developing and training other teachers on our districts next word study program... sure, why not.  I LOVE me a good Power Point and the feeling of more experienced teachers than me staring, wishing I was giving them Starbucks and pastries instead.  I REALLY need to close my mouth sometimes.  And definitely NOT get sucked in by my Literacy Coach (although I totally love her and her smart, manic, and crazy mind!).  Anyway....

Although I have been using Words Their Way for the last 5 years, I was never trained in it or formally told to use it.  It just made sense to me, being the hands-on kinda girl I am.  If you are not familiar, here is the book that can get you started:


Amazon LINK

The method combines spelling, phonics and word study into one, happy program.  This is NOT, however, for the teacher looking for a canned program.  There are assessments that must be done and the teaching/support/student work is all individualized to fit your students' needs.

How does it work?
An initial assessment/inventory is given to all students.  From there, the teacher uses a feature chart to grade and put together learning groups based on needs.  Once the students are in groups (I limit to no more than 4 in one class), they will sort pictures or words into sound and spelling patterns.  This will teach the students to find the patterns, manipulate word concepts and apply critical thinking skills.  Even irregular spelling patterns in our language!  There are separate books of sorts to support each spelling stage.  You can give spelling tests, but it's really not needed.  There are built in assessments at certain points throughout the program to readjust groups, based on growth. 

I'm in the middle of the Power Point right now, so I'll have more to share as I go on.  This was just a taste of what is to come.

Spring Break & Currently

I've been out of touch for a while..... I'm not one to rub it in, but I was on a spring break trip with my family in Arizona.  It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  Including the births of my children (real talk- the process is gross, don't believe the hype!).


Seriously.  Can it BE more lovely on Earth?

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

More Grand Canyon

Sedona

Approaching Flagstaff

Phoenix

Phoenix

I was so proud of myself.  I stayed off the computer (except for Pinterest- which doesn't count!).  I sort of caught up today and just HAD to take the lazy option join in with Farley's Currently !