From the desk of Carol C….
I was hoping for warm weather. I was ready for it. After all it was spring break. Instead, the weather was cold. It snowed. All was not right with my world. Then late in the week I noticed daffodils sprouting, tulips blooming, and iris stalks peeking through the dirt. Spring had begun to poke its head up through the ground. My world suddenly smelled sweeter.
Coming back to work …
From the desk of Carol C…
I’ve thought a lot about the role of questioning in our classrooms and its effect on students. Questioning, if used to help students think more critically is a vital part of any high achieving classroom. Lately though I’ve started thinking about the answers we give children. Whether kids are preschool age or in college the answers we give them open the door to learn more or shuts it and …
From the desk of Hope…
I was in a kindergarten classroom last week and a student came up to me and asked, “Where did you get your eyes?” Hmmm. I wasn’t quite sure how to answer but it didn’t matter because she was quickly shooed off to do her seat work. She promptly got busy working on sheets laying on her desk. As I left the room, I winked at her and softly mouthed, “we …
From the desk of Carol C…
If you look up the definition of the word “perfectionism” you will find something that looks like this. Perfectionism: “being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards”. While this definition makes perfectionism sound like something to avoid, perfectionism does have both positive and negative aspects to it.
We would probably all agree that setting high goals and standards and striving to achieve …
From the desk of Alice…
There is an advertisement in one of my favorite magazines that suggests you can lose weight fast “and safely” by replacing all your meals for an entire week with a liquid concoction. Hmmm- I don’t think replacing my meals for a week with just liquid sounds safe. It is not something I would ever choose under normal circumstances and it defies common sense.
However, I can see people choosing this …
From the Desk of Hope…
This strategy and that strategy. What makes this one better than the next? Strategy. Skill. I need clarification.
As I am out in schools coaching teachers with literacy instruction, I am often approached about confusions with the difference between teaching reading skills and reading strategies.
P. David Pearson writes about this topic in his work and has helped me conceptualize the difference. A strategy is an intentional plan for doing …
From the desk of Alice…
It’s the spring semester and even though the weather says it is still winter, many schools I work in have their eye on the end of the year. Specifically, the end of year assessments that are high stakes. This year, the assessments are a little fuzzy… we have the Common Core Standards and new ways of assessing and things are changing and we have never been in this spot before …
From the desk of Carol C…
Read an education journal or a book about teaching reading comprehension (no matter the grade level), you will find a myriad of strategies to use with your students. You’ll, also, find a difference of opinion on whether to teach these strategies using the same novel for your entire class otherwise known as “the whole class novel”.
Why, according to some experts (classroom teachers duly included), should we abandon teaching …
From the Desk of Carol C…
In the last few days I’ve read a blog article entitled “Comprehension Issue or Assignment Issue?“. It captured my attention and created questions in my mind. (Good reader!) Is this an example of parents overreacting? Are the children refusing to do homework or rushing through something they view as unimportant? Is it teachers giving assignments that are unnecessary? I have no idea. I don’t know these particular …
From the desk of Hope…
You Practice and You Get Better
(Dedicated to all my mentors along the way in my teaching career. You know who you are.)
Simple words. But words that are saturated with a life time of wisdom.
You practice and you get better.
When you were frustrated and and didn’t know what to do in your classroom, we did not tell you how, we showed you how.
You practice and you …