Tuesday's Slice of Life (03/10/20)

Bailey's expression here matches how I was feeling today while my students were working on a quick write. The students were making a list of "authorities" - things that they are very knowledgeable about. My "slice of life" happened towards the end of the quick write. I decided to sit next to one of my reluctant writers. This writer is able to express ideas verbally, but when it comes to putting ideas into written language, this student struggles with this task. While we were writing, I looked over at this writer's paper and noticed the long list this student was creating in his notebook. I whispered to him how proud I was for the amount of writing he was doing and this fueled him to keep writing.

As we wrapped up our quick write and the students were transitioning to our next activity, this particular writer came up to me and asked to see my list. As I showed him, he started to count my list of "authorities" and then compared it to his. When he realized he wrote more than me, this writer's face was beaming. I challenged him by writing several more ideas. He rose to the occasion and continued to add to his list.

This was one of those small moments in which I saw a reluctant writer take off with a writing prompt. While right now, the writing task was just making a list, I hope to help build this student's stamina and confidence in his own writing abilities. As teachers, we are constantly looking for these little victories to remind us of the positive impact we can have on each student who enters our classrooms.

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Tuesday's Slice of Life (03/03/20)

It's just that time of the school year. We are at the longest stretch.. trying to say goodbye to winter and anxiously awaiting spring! It is a long few months between the end of winter break and the beginning of spring break. Living in southeast Pennsylvania, we still haven't seen one snow day this year! Lately, I have been feeling like my pup, Bailey, each morning. I wake up and get ready to take on a new school day, even though I rather still be crawled up under the covers! Despite the daily craziness of teaching, we can always find small moments that remind us how we are making a difference in the students' lives who walk through our doors each day. I recently attended a writing workshop about Writer's Notebooks. When the presenter handed me a brand new teal notebook, I was actually excited! I took time decorating it with stickers and pictures that reflected me. I wanted to write in and take pride in how I was going to use it. That excitement led to me

Tuesday's Slice of Life (03/17/20)

Wow! Have things changed just in a week's time?! This was Bailey the other day. Just sitting, staring into space, maybe pondering about what in the world is going on right now?! When I think about a "slice" of my time this week, I'm not even sure where to start. Is it that staff meeting last Tuesday talking about our school district's plan for dealing with what was going on in the country? Is it the moment my grade partner walks into my classroom on Friday in the middle of our planning time saying we need to get materials ready for the kids immediately since they may not be returning to school next week? Is it Friday afternoon as the kids are walking out of the door and we are getting the official word of the two week school closure in Pennsylvania? Is it Monday morning when I log onto my computer with minimal directions as to help my students move forward as learners? So many questions, so many slices! I know I have blogged about my students' wri

Tuesday's Slice of Life (03/31/20)

While these past few weeks have been unpredictable, Bailey's expression matches how I was feeling after we kicked off online learning for our students this week. On Monday, we started "Virtual Learning" for school. Thankfully, the school district is taking this approach slow and steady to help parents and students to adjust to the "new" way of life for right now. One of the first tasks we asked the students to work on was a writing assignment. The teachers wrote a letter to students to let them know what we were up to and then we asked students to write a letter back. My "slice of life" was the moment students started responding back! As much as students sometimes don't always show their appreciation for their teachers or for school, it was evident they were craving to hear from us! The students were so genuine in their responses, sharing what they were doing at home with their families and how they were honestly coping with soc

The Chronicles of 4th Grade

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