On Friday we had a Pep Rally to pump up the kids for TAKS. When I told the kiddos what we were doing, one kid kept asking what a Pepper Rally was. Pretty funny kid! The 3rd Grade teachers and our principal did this fantastic rendition of "Stop in the name of TAKS" and my principal REALLY sang it!! The kids would have cleared the gym if it was me! Then, the 4th grade teachers did a cheer and Aggie athletes came and spoke. We have a band that made a school song for us and they performed it and handed out free CD's. It was pretty neat to see the kids so excited!
In my next career I'm going to design t-shirts. I designed two for the TAKS to wear on the days of TAKS. I'll get some pictures of them and post them on here. I think they are rather cute myself. If you are a prayer, we can use some prayers! The TAKS is this Tuesday and Wednesday and I am ready for this to be over! This time is so stressful and I try to take on the stress instead of the kids but they take it on also. So, prayers are much appreciated!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hopeful ...
First, I want to apologize in advance for all of the TAKS posts. With the test a few days away we are in major prep mode! Yesterday I told my kiddos that if they could make A's and B's on a practice passage then we wouldn't have to practice any more. Well, all but 2 got grades that would pass!! I'm feeling a lot better about the reading scores. I am still concerned about the math scores, but the kids always manage to surprise us. I am hopeful that the kids will do well next Tuesday and Wednesday. Please pray for a calm spirit in our classroom and wisdom for the kids.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Freak the Mighty Part 2
Yesterday (Friday) we finished "Freak the Mighty". If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it. For the first time, I almost cried in front of my class. I have been very emotional lately and the end of the book is very sad. It was interesting to read the students' comments about what happened. No, I am not going to tell you because I want you to read it for yourself. Upon finishing the book, I was flipping through the back and found that there is a sequel and the kiddos BEGGED me to get the next one so we can read it. I love it!!
In math, we are studying probability and collecting data. I split the kids into two groups to collect data on 2 different things. Group 1 watched cars to see if they stopped all the way at a stop sign or rolled through. Group 2 collected data on the color of the cars that drive by our school. We were outside for 20 minutes and the kids were amazed that 25 cars rolled through the stop sign! Not only that, every car that drove out of our school parking lot, didn't stop AT ALL when pulling out! We were shocked! I think we may talk about civil action this week and discuss things we can do as citizens.
In social studies, we are discussing Texas' role in the Civil War. It has been interesting to watch the interest grow in slavery. The kids are hungry for more information on it. We have gone over our "time" for social studies every day because we are deep in discussion, which is great! We are ahead of the other classes in social studies and since it is not a high interest subject, I am going to take advantage of the interest level and teach them some more about slavery and people who were pivotal in ending it in the US.
Our TAKS test is in 1 week. I am trying not to stress the kiddos out. We have been doing relaxation activities every week and pumping them up. I'll have to take a picture to post, I have a stop sign that says "Don't Stop Believin' " hanging up in my classroom. It is my motto. I want to change the words so it talks about strategies to use. Even though it is corny, it works! Last year my kiddos were saying it to themselves throughout the test. So, as long as there are standardized tests, there will be prayer in school. This Edugator will be praying daily for my kiddos to have the necessary knowledge, as well as a calm mind and environment. Wish us luck!
In math, we are studying probability and collecting data. I split the kids into two groups to collect data on 2 different things. Group 1 watched cars to see if they stopped all the way at a stop sign or rolled through. Group 2 collected data on the color of the cars that drive by our school. We were outside for 20 minutes and the kids were amazed that 25 cars rolled through the stop sign! Not only that, every car that drove out of our school parking lot, didn't stop AT ALL when pulling out! We were shocked! I think we may talk about civil action this week and discuss things we can do as citizens.
In social studies, we are discussing Texas' role in the Civil War. It has been interesting to watch the interest grow in slavery. The kids are hungry for more information on it. We have gone over our "time" for social studies every day because we are deep in discussion, which is great! We are ahead of the other classes in social studies and since it is not a high interest subject, I am going to take advantage of the interest level and teach them some more about slavery and people who were pivotal in ending it in the US.
Our TAKS test is in 1 week. I am trying not to stress the kiddos out. We have been doing relaxation activities every week and pumping them up. I'll have to take a picture to post, I have a stop sign that says "Don't Stop Believin' " hanging up in my classroom. It is my motto. I want to change the words so it talks about strategies to use. Even though it is corny, it works! Last year my kiddos were saying it to themselves throughout the test. So, as long as there are standardized tests, there will be prayer in school. This Edugator will be praying daily for my kiddos to have the necessary knowledge, as well as a calm mind and environment. Wish us luck!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Freak the Mighty
Every year I try to read books that would spark my students' interests. Recently, we read Percy Jackson. Now, we are reading "Freak the Mighty". If you have not read this book I highly recommend it. It is about two boys, Kevin and Max, and the friendship they form and the ways they help each other out. It is a heartwarming tale and with my emotional roller coaster lately, I am sure I will cry when I finish it. So far, my students have complained a LOT about having to read this book. However, it got very interesting today. As I walked around the room, I saw a lot of comments in the reaction journals about how fun the book is now. :) HOORAY!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Where has time gone???
It is hard to believe that we only have 6 weeks left in the school year. Where has time gone!?!?!? We have two weeks until TAKS and we are busy at work to make sure we are all ready! I am seeing so much growth in our students and I am very proud of how far they have come. Our caterpillars came in the mail today and we are looking forward to the process of the butterfly life cycle.
Every year, I get a group that does not love reading as much as I do, although that is with most people I meet. :) Throughout the year, I try to show my students how much I love reading and hope to instill that love in them. In my great quest, that means I try various things. Last year we had a "Passport to Reading" and students kept track of books they read, with the purpose of reading various genres. This year, we are doing the same thing but instead of a passport, we have bookmarks. My kiddos have been reading machines lately! I read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief to them and the rest of the Percy Jackson books are flying off my shelf!! I have a student that loves the Goosebumps books, which is great. However, I also want my students to broaden their horizons and read different types of books. The bookmark allows me to challenge them in reading different genres while giving them something to work towards. I would love to hear any other reading ideas. Now, my next goal is to figure out ways to encourage my kids to love math. If I could figure that out, maybe I would love it also!
Every year, I get a group that does not love reading as much as I do, although that is with most people I meet. :) Throughout the year, I try to show my students how much I love reading and hope to instill that love in them. In my great quest, that means I try various things. Last year we had a "Passport to Reading" and students kept track of books they read, with the purpose of reading various genres. This year, we are doing the same thing but instead of a passport, we have bookmarks. My kiddos have been reading machines lately! I read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief to them and the rest of the Percy Jackson books are flying off my shelf!! I have a student that loves the Goosebumps books, which is great. However, I also want my students to broaden their horizons and read different types of books. The bookmark allows me to challenge them in reading different genres while giving them something to work towards. I would love to hear any other reading ideas. Now, my next goal is to figure out ways to encourage my kids to love math. If I could figure that out, maybe I would love it also!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Countdown to STRESS!
This time of year is the most stressful time for a teacher in a testing grade. The next few months are insane between actual state mandated tests and benchmarks to prepare our kids and see what else we need to teach. As many people have said, as long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school.
I have been very fortunate to have a student teacher this semester. The best part is that she is a math and science major!! Between the two of us, our students are getting the best of both worlds. :) The school year has been pretty smooth lately. The kids are learning and making a lot of progress. I am very proud of them!
During the past week, we read the book "Crossing Jordan", which is set in the early 1990's in Tallahassee, Florida. The book is about two girls attempt to be friends even though their parents do not want them to be friends with those of another race. Each day, we have students make a chart to keep track of characters, setting, plot, and connections. Then, after reading the chapters for that day, the students write a reaction in their journal. The other day I had 3 boys sitting at the back table with me trying to decide what they wanted to write their reaction about. One boy said, "Mrs. Edugator, we used to have a lot of racism in our class. We had people who didn't like each other because of their skin color." Okay, first...what a great revelation and the fact that he said USED to!! Then, another boy at the table said, "yeah, but we are a school family now and we don't think about that anymore." OMG!!! I could not believe it!! I may have cried tears of joy.
I have to admit, at the beginning of the year I did not think that this group would become the school family that my past groups have. I have focused on school family so much and almost shoved it down their throats (not literally). :) It is so nice to see the kids learn things you want them to learn. Not only that, I have turned them into Mini- Edugators. I can hear them say things the way I do. It is so funny.
* "We don't talk to our friends like that"
* "Is that school appropriate?"
* "Guys, if we want to play guitar hero on Friday then we have to be quiet"
Of course, there are more things that they say to each other that sound like me, but I think it is so cute. I also enjoy watching them calm each other down when they get upset. I have a few students that walk and stand right outside of our door and when they do, another student usually goes out there to check on them before I can. Okay, so of course it hasn't been all peaches and cream but the good has definitely weighed out the bad during the past month. I am so proud of my fantastic fourth graders and how far they have come from the beginning of the year. I can't wait to see how far they get by the end!
I have been very fortunate to have a student teacher this semester. The best part is that she is a math and science major!! Between the two of us, our students are getting the best of both worlds. :) The school year has been pretty smooth lately. The kids are learning and making a lot of progress. I am very proud of them!
During the past week, we read the book "Crossing Jordan", which is set in the early 1990's in Tallahassee, Florida. The book is about two girls attempt to be friends even though their parents do not want them to be friends with those of another race. Each day, we have students make a chart to keep track of characters, setting, plot, and connections. Then, after reading the chapters for that day, the students write a reaction in their journal. The other day I had 3 boys sitting at the back table with me trying to decide what they wanted to write their reaction about. One boy said, "Mrs. Edugator, we used to have a lot of racism in our class. We had people who didn't like each other because of their skin color." Okay, first...what a great revelation and the fact that he said USED to!! Then, another boy at the table said, "yeah, but we are a school family now and we don't think about that anymore." OMG!!! I could not believe it!! I may have cried tears of joy.
I have to admit, at the beginning of the year I did not think that this group would become the school family that my past groups have. I have focused on school family so much and almost shoved it down their throats (not literally). :) It is so nice to see the kids learn things you want them to learn. Not only that, I have turned them into Mini- Edugators. I can hear them say things the way I do. It is so funny.
* "We don't talk to our friends like that"
* "Is that school appropriate?"
* "Guys, if we want to play guitar hero on Friday then we have to be quiet"
Of course, there are more things that they say to each other that sound like me, but I think it is so cute. I also enjoy watching them calm each other down when they get upset. I have a few students that walk and stand right outside of our door and when they do, another student usually goes out there to check on them before I can. Okay, so of course it hasn't been all peaches and cream but the good has definitely weighed out the bad during the past month. I am so proud of my fantastic fourth graders and how far they have come from the beginning of the year. I can't wait to see how far they get by the end!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Celebrate good times... come on!!
All year I have been working hard to build confidence in my students and show them that they can do hard things. Well, this week we had a huge success!! We had a writing benchmark on Thursday (a practice for the real thing in 5 weeks). Usually on benchmarks, we do not have a huge success rate. However, this time over half of the class passed!!!! I was so excited for them! It truly showed my students that they can do it. It was so great to see smiles on their face as they found out the scores instead of tears. They have been working so hard and I am very proud of them.
The past few weeks have shown me more than ever how hard my kiddos have it when they go home. I have heard so many things from my students and it brings me to tears. I could never imagine experiencing only half of the things that they do. Then, it frustrates me. (I feel as if I am going through all of the stages of grief.) Here we are teaching our hearts out and expecting kids to pass high stakes tests, when in reality we are lucky if they get to school with clean clothes and a positive attitude. I understand the importance of standardized tests, but let's take the pressure off of the kids. They have enough going on in their little minds. I am constantly telling my kids to let me stress, just do your best! When I taught kindergarten I always thought, "I refuse to be one of those teachers that teaches to the test." Well, I still refuse. I teach the strategies and we practice passages and problems. However, I feel it is also important to educate the WHOLE child and meet as many needs as I possibly can while they are at school. My goal is to teach my students to believe in themselves and know that they can achieve anything they want to.
Another proud mama moment I had this week involved our school spelling bee. When I first told me students about the spelling bee I had ZERO students that wanted to participate. In fact, one girl even said, "Spelling bees are for white people." When she said that, my blood almost started to boil. I know there is inequality in education and I see it all the time but I NEVER want my kiddos to feel and see the inequality. I wanted to show them the movie "Akila and the Bee" but the rating isn't acceptable for school. Okay, I digress.... back to my story. My students refused to participate in the spelling bee so I came up with a plan. I bribed my students but my real goal was for my students to try something new. I had 8 out of 16 students participate in the spelling bee. The whole time I was praying they would at least make it through the first round and all of them did. Furthermore, some of my kids made it even further!! The larger success in all of this is the reaction of my students. When they got a word wrong and were asked to leave the stage, they calmly walked down.... no mad faces, no screaming, no pouting, no blaming others... SUCCESS!! On top of that, as members of their school family came off the stage, they gave each other a high five. Tears were in my eyes the whole time and words could not express how proud I was.
People ask me why I became a teacher and I always have a different answer. Here are a few of them:
* to make a difference in the life of one child
* I love watching the growth that my students make in all areas: academics, emotionally, physically...
* thinking of the future my students will have
* giving my students a feeling of being loved and valued... unconditionally
* seeing the light bulb come on
* encouraging students to try something new
* watching my students become "mini-me's", especially when helping a friend.
Okay, I have written quite a bit tonight. :) I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy I have for my students and how far they have come.
The past few weeks have shown me more than ever how hard my kiddos have it when they go home. I have heard so many things from my students and it brings me to tears. I could never imagine experiencing only half of the things that they do. Then, it frustrates me. (I feel as if I am going through all of the stages of grief.) Here we are teaching our hearts out and expecting kids to pass high stakes tests, when in reality we are lucky if they get to school with clean clothes and a positive attitude. I understand the importance of standardized tests, but let's take the pressure off of the kids. They have enough going on in their little minds. I am constantly telling my kids to let me stress, just do your best! When I taught kindergarten I always thought, "I refuse to be one of those teachers that teaches to the test." Well, I still refuse. I teach the strategies and we practice passages and problems. However, I feel it is also important to educate the WHOLE child and meet as many needs as I possibly can while they are at school. My goal is to teach my students to believe in themselves and know that they can achieve anything they want to.
Another proud mama moment I had this week involved our school spelling bee. When I first told me students about the spelling bee I had ZERO students that wanted to participate. In fact, one girl even said, "Spelling bees are for white people." When she said that, my blood almost started to boil. I know there is inequality in education and I see it all the time but I NEVER want my kiddos to feel and see the inequality. I wanted to show them the movie "Akila and the Bee" but the rating isn't acceptable for school. Okay, I digress.... back to my story. My students refused to participate in the spelling bee so I came up with a plan. I bribed my students but my real goal was for my students to try something new. I had 8 out of 16 students participate in the spelling bee. The whole time I was praying they would at least make it through the first round and all of them did. Furthermore, some of my kids made it even further!! The larger success in all of this is the reaction of my students. When they got a word wrong and were asked to leave the stage, they calmly walked down.... no mad faces, no screaming, no pouting, no blaming others... SUCCESS!! On top of that, as members of their school family came off the stage, they gave each other a high five. Tears were in my eyes the whole time and words could not express how proud I was.
People ask me why I became a teacher and I always have a different answer. Here are a few of them:
* to make a difference in the life of one child
* I love watching the growth that my students make in all areas: academics, emotionally, physically...
* thinking of the future my students will have
* giving my students a feeling of being loved and valued... unconditionally
* seeing the light bulb come on
* encouraging students to try something new
* watching my students become "mini-me's", especially when helping a friend.
Okay, I have written quite a bit tonight. :) I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy I have for my students and how far they have come.
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