Blog of A Jenna

 One of the dangers that I face as a teacher is I learn and forget a whole bunch of stuff every year. For example, there is, somewhere out there, about three different blogs full of my writing...somewhere out in the ether. I used to blog what I learned in detail during conferences so I would never forget what I learned. Little did I know I could forget entire things - like spending hours and hours writing blog posts. As I face the second to last week of school, I feel ironically energized and ready. My report cards are done, but now, the cumes aren't - but that is another story. One of the things I forgot, and forget over and over and over again, is a small-group alternative to provide targeted practice for each student while calling over either one or two students, or entire small groups to reinstruct a targeted skill.  Because this style of instruction can be nebulous to try and nail down, I've found that having a grade sheet on a clipboard, a notebook, some labels, and some...

One of the main reasons I wanted to start recording the work I do, is to have a log for NEXT year. I seem to get annual amnesia. How did I have students keep their stuff organized? What is the paper flow system? I have created and forgotten, hundreds of routines, activities, and other bits of instruction of the years. The thing I am struggling with most this year is keeping the classroom clean. I have classroom jobs, but I don't make them a daily routine with fidelity. So, yesterday, I spent 3 hours cleaning the classroom.  When I moved into my current classroom, one of the things I lamented was that there were no cubbies. So, I borrowed a class set of milk crates from the cafeteria to make individual cubbies. I tried to make a bookshelf of them, and ended up not liking how much space they took up. So, the next iteration was for the individual cubbies to be a the students' table spot. WHAT. A. MISTAKE!!! I went through ONE child's cubby and recovered pencils, whiteboards, a...

 Work Glut #1 After watching New EdTech Classroom's video series about what's wrong with education, and what we can do about it, I was reminded of the value of Universal Design for Learning. It was the perfect timing for this message because I had just attended #EduProtocols World Wide #3 a few weeks ago.  Back in the day, I joked about loving drinking from the firehouse. I even created a long-defunct podcast where I shared my passion in a whispered nugget of teeny tiny ed-tech. www.tinyurl.com/oojot . The danger, I've learned, about drinking from the firehouse is that I forget as much as I learn. So, in an effort to help me remember what I've learned, and to help me deal with my habit of re-inventing the wheel, I've decided to record my work gluts.  Once I dive into the glut I can tend to start chasing rabbits. So, I'm hoping to create this little blog series, I'll be able to keep some focus. 8:15a.m - Learning Centers Choice Board Uodate @ 8:25 OMG! So, I...

 Hello!! It's me again. I'm making more sentence segmentation stuffs, this time I'm focusing on using a Halloween Poem, the 5 Little Pumpkins.  SLIDE DECK VIEW slide deck  --  COPY slide JAMBOARD VIEW jamboard  --  COPY jamboard SEESAW Self Correcting BOOMDECK I have included the original images for you to use as you want ;)

 I learned so much from a colleague today! I won't get deep into the details - since I'm just trying to get down my quickest thoughts and then share the links. Sentence segmentation is a skill in which students can count how many words are in a sentence. It seems like a simple skill, but the neurons being made for segmenting sentences will support students in later and more challenging tasks like segmenting words syllables, and syllables into sounds. Sentence Segmenting: Google Slide Deck - Show the sentences and ask students to use their fingers to keep track of how many words are in each sentence. VIEW SLIDE DECK -- GET YOUR OWN COPY Google Slide Deck With Graph - Same as above, and includes a small graph for either whole-group, small-group, partner, or individual work. It includes multi-colored drag-a-copy rectangles to make counting the words more kinetic and tactile. VIEW SLIDE DECK -- GET YOUR OWN COPY Jamboard - The background is the same as the Google Slide Deck With G...

Her blog:  https://simplyskilledinsecond.com/ Her Youtube She just started a series on Phonological Awareness that has been PHENOMENAL! https://www.youtube.com/c/AnnaDiGilio Her Product: www.guidedreaders.com   The best $167 I've ever spent on my classroom. I found Anna when I started researching phonics instruction. My district did not provide adequate training, and it was - and remains to be - a blind spot that I am patiently waiting to come into focus. Anna's resources on TeachersPayTeachers are amazing. I got hooked on her TAB-Its, a copy, cut and paste activity that leaves students with a little tabbed notebook full of the evidence of their learning.  If you are looking for legitimate learning on guided reading instruction and phonics, I can not recommend the amazing, incomparable, and genius Anna Digilio!

I have a rolodex brain. I can start a task and then get lost in seventeen other tasks. So, I decided to open this blogpost because I am curious how long it will take me to prepare for a new idea for centers. My students are able to rotate independently. I started with playdough, coloring, cut and paste, lego bricks, free drawing and the like. I slowly incorporated academic centers. (I have ideas for doing this better next year so students can feel more successful sooner.) So now, I'm deciding to formalize centers and tracking with the Daily5 idea. So, I'm going to start the research now.  It's 12:12pm. I'll let you know how it goes! The Daily 5 Cafe Structure Read to Self Center - Picture books from read alouds - Library/Book nook  I have a few plastic floor-seats and some patio furniture pillows students use when they visit the library. I'm realizing now that I had better spend some time making the organization of the library very clear with labels, or students won...