Exciting Things to Come!!

Finally!!! We are ready to begin working on creating glogs this coming week! I am so excited! I hope my students enjoy it as much as I do!  They will be reading short stories and displaying the story's elements with graphics and words...their goal will be to show how the elements work together to present the theme/author's purpose!! Wish us luck!

Check out the glog I made as an example!! I love this story!!"Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp" by Mercer Mayer


As we head farther into my favorite month, we will soon hit my favorite holiday, Halloween!!!! In honor of this night of haunts and goblins, my students will use the characteristics of legends that we having learning to write their very own ghost legend!!! The twist- it will be a Digital Story!!

My Co-Teacher

This year has also brought me the new experience of having a co-teacher in my Reading classes. At first I was not happy to say the least.  Discussion of literacy workstations happening daily and focusing on pronunciation of words when we really needed to be focusing on literature, had me very shaken. With only 45mins to teach my Reading class, I could not fathom how we could do workstations daily when my students needed to be learning how to read novels.   Luckily, a conversation with my principal completely calmed my nerves.  My new co-teacher, who has been working with primarily grades K-3, was just as nervous as I was about starting this process and she really didn't understand what she was coming into.  Since my meltdown, things have been going great!! She has worked diligently to grasp mythology, legends, and fairy tales and she has been an asset to my students and to me.  I have had to get over my obsession with "its written in my lesson plans so it must me done." I have loosened myself up and we are all benefiting in my classroom.  She has been giving me confidence in my lessons and adding details that have greatly increased the knowledge we can gain.  Having that daily encouragement and affirmation has been fantastic!

I have learned a great deal from her already in the short 3 weeks we have been working together.  But the tables are about to turn!  She is definitely a "digital migrant" and I will be her passport into the world of Glogster and Digital Storytelling.  When she looked at my PBL unit plans, the look on her face was the same look I'm sure some get when asked to read Greek for the first time.  Now she is nervous that she will be in the way when I have the students use technology.  If anyone out there has some suggestions to help me help her, I am all ears...or in this case, all eyes!!

Starting the Year with Engagement!

Every morning when I get up, I have this excited that begins to grow inside me.  I get to go to work and read!! As a child I loved to listen to stories and look at pictures in books and develop my own stories.  Now I get to read with my students everyday.

This year I decided to begin with a unit to teach my students about myths, legends and tales.  This multipurpose unit is helping me teach not only characteristics of each genre, but story elements and their connection to theme and author's purpose.

We began this unit by diving into the tumultuous lives of the Greek gods and goddess.  I was shocked by how deeply they were engaged with the stories!! As we moved into legends, starting of course with John Henry, my student's excitement increased!! One student that, the first day of school, told me, "I hate reading!" had a special brightness in his eyes as I handed him an Indian legend to read with his group!  Other students were thrilled to read ghost stories from across our country.  The best part is that my kiddos are actually getting it!!! For the first time in my short teaching career I actually feel confidence in what I am doing with my students.  As a new teacher I am always doubting myself, but this year feels different!

Tomorrow marks our move into the world of fairy tales.  I am hoping to start it off with a bang by reading "Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood" by Mike Artell.  I have literally practiced the Cajun accent and French terminology a dozen times!  I'm hoping that reading a short informational text about the Cajun culture will give my students some background knowledge and help them to love this little story as much as I do!

I am so excited to continue through this unit in which my students are going to create a glog based on the story elements of one of their favorite short stories in the unit.  Then we are going to read about the legendary "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli, after which they will create their own Digital Story of a myth, legend, or tale that they write!!

I know I have gone on and on, but I can't contain my excitement about is happening daily in my classroom!  I just really hope to pass on my love of reading to my students!!!