Wednesday, June 4, 2014

"Testing Is Not Teaching" Reading Discussion

Our reading discussion for the book Testing Is Not Teaching is scheduled for the first day of the institute. As you read Testing Is Not Teaching, select a line (or two) that strikes a chord with you and/or deserves discussion. In a comment to this post, record the line(s) and a brief response. We will use these responses to frame our discussion on June 25.

Happy reading!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Our Morning & Closing Moment

We had a wonderful morning...
Jennifer's Action Research Presentation #spirevswordstudyvsreading
Gail's Action Research Presentation #framingyourthoughts
Tony's Workshop #writersnotebooks
CONGRATULATIONS!
 Our official theme song:

#openingmoment

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Dear Diary...

"Dear Diary --

It has come to my attention that the humans in this place have lost their minds completely.  Not only do they eat things that look suspiciously like plants, but the real madness is that they don't play with it first. And then, unlike sane humans who gather in dignified circles to discuss the books they read, these humans stand around and flail their limbs while listening to a raucous din that issues from the ceiling.

There is no wisdom in this room."

These cats could learn a lot from Michelle's workshop on using Blogs to disseminate their reflections!  Michelle offered some great tools and loads of supporting research in her presentation, and I for one am looking forward to trying out a thing or two.  Don't forget to comment on her blog and take advantage of the great resources there.  Marianna proceeded to educate us in the pitfalls of executive function, especially in relation to writing.  This highly informative workshop should spark all of to pay closer attention to helping our students learn and use strategies to help them be successful writers -- to keep them from succumbing to the opinion of Renee's young student: "I hate writing."  

During TMT this morning, Patricia introduced us to Teaching Channel , and Renee told us a bit about how she uses Blogger as a class page for her students and their families.  Some of the great resources available on Renee's blog are Spelling City and Storybird.  In the afternoon, we will hear from Tisha, Julie, Mary and Alan.  Can't wait!  At the end of the day, we will "sing the song of our people."

Bee Blogging

Here is the link to my blog, beemusement

Please explore my blog site then choose one to which you feel compelled to post a comment in reply. Your reply might be a reaction to the bee happenings discussed or you might have clarifying questions. Many thanks!

Additionally, here is the link to a survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VMXBC7D

Please give me your feedback about my blog: recommendations, comments, questions!

Again, many thanks.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Professional Writing Path

I have shared my first teaching and learning post with my staff!  Recently, we gave a narrative writing prompt at my elementary school.  Many teachers were wondering how they could take the assessment and feedback and use it with students in a meaningful way after the prompt had been given.  This inquiry led me to write about some ways that I could envision doing this work with young writers.  I used a tech tool called smore.com to make a flyer that I could electronically distribute to my staff and send out via Twitter.  So far, I have received positive feedback from teachers at my school!