Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Writing Note Freebie, Pay it Forward & Some Randomness


Hey Guys!

We had today off.  We went to Frankenmuth...


We go every year.  This place is the happiest on earth.  My husband, AKA Clark Griswold...

...was in heaven.  If it weren't so cold outside I'd take a picture of our house.  It closely resembles the one above.  Let's just say, I wasn't able to blow dry my hair yesterday morning because I kept blowing the fuse.  All those lights suck up a lot of energy!

Yesterday was a half day of school for us.  Contrary to what so many people think - it wasn't a half day for the teachers.  It was our records day.  If you can believe it, my cards are actually almost done - now that's a miracle!  It must have been the cozy fire that put me in the mood to get things done...

This "fire" lasted 10 minutes on YouTube - it was our "timer" for our daily 10 minute snack time.

At the end of each writing unit I send a letter home with the "pile 'o writing" explaining what we worked on.  A bunch of you asked for a copy of it on Instagram.  I'm not sure how helpful it will be since it is specific to what I taught this trimester - but if you can use it, it's yours.

Click the pic to grab yours!
If you haven't entered my Pay it Forward giveaway, which I'm pretty sure you haven't since only 2 people have {insert really sad face here} if you could take a moment to do that, that would be great. When you enter, you have an opportunity to give a shout out to a charity that is near and dear to your heart.  You also have a chance to win 50 dollars for that charity - it's all in the name of paying it forward.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE consider entering.  It's super easy too - you get one entry by sharing the name of our charity in a comment and another entry if you give someone a hug! Seriously....it doesn't get much easier than that!  Enter {here}.

Alrighty - time to make the mashed potatoes.  HA! I'm totally kidding.  My husband does that.  Time to go see if I can lick the bowl...










Sunday, November 23, 2014

Data vs Professional Instincts

Have you seen this picture floating around the Internet and other social media?


I have and for me, it brings up so many emotions. I mean, emotions that are all over the board.  I'm thinking back to 16 years ago, when I first started teaching.  We weren't nearly as obsessed with data as we are today.  Not even close.  There were so many times that we solely went with our gut.  Does that sound horrible?

I'm willing to admit, back then we {speaking for myself} had very little data and that's not good either.  We knew our kids were growing, we had artifacts {repeated tasks, writing samples, portfolios} to prove it.  I know data has its place but your instincts do too. Growth does not have to be identified on a data wall or in a database to obtain legitimacy.  Back then, you knew your students were growing based on a gut instinct? Yup. Sometimes.

I've been trying to find words for why that's not a horrible thing.  I think if you are a newer teacher your jaw might have dropped.  You might have tsk tsk'd me and thought, thank goodness I wasn't a teacher "back then".  Sometimes, there just aren't words to tell how and why you know - you just do, and it's better than any other way of knowing.  

Okay, let me put it this way.  Have you ever been at a conference or you're reading some sort of professional book and you learn a new professional word?  Take "scaffolding" for example.  I'll never forget when I first heard that word used in the educational setting.  I went "oh, I do that - what teacher doesn't?"  I just didn't know there was a word for it and now that I do, I'm still the same great teacher I was before I learned the educational jargon.  

The same can be said for knowing your students.  At least that's how I feel. I'm thinking of the days of yonder when I would put books in my students' hands, listen to them read and just know what type of miscues they were making {even thought I didn't even know the word "miscue" existed - I called them mistakes}.  I SAW with my own eyes that they were using the pictures for clues, I HEARD that they were cuing into the first letter of each word rather than stretching through the entire word and I noticed that they weren't reading for meaning "I walked my duck on a leash" - yup, no meaning there. I adjusted my instruction according to my students IMMEDIATE needs.  I took notes and most importantly I KEPT TEACHING.

Today, we do the same thing - but we don't always trust it - because it isn't coming in the form of a formal assessment. So what do we do?  We stop the presses.  Our classroom instruction comes to an abrupt halt.  And we assess.  One of those assessments for us is Fountas and Pinnell {a valid assessment and useful tool; don't get me wrong} and what do we end up finding out?  Yup, what our gut was telling us, what our professional instincts affirmed, that's what we are seeing on that assessment that took 20 minutes to administer. 

26 students.  20 instructional minutes lost per 26 students = 520 minutes.  520 minutes 4 to 5 times a year = 2,080 minutes per year.  2, 080 minutes per year = 35 hours.  That's a FULL school week. That's a lot of teaching....lost.  And that's only ONE of the many assessments we administer in our classrooms.

I know that many of us do not have a choice in the matter.  It's expected of us.  Administer the assessment so that we can decide whether or not you're worthy of teaching at our school.  I'm so sorry if that is your life.  I'm sorry that "those people" in your schools are putting as much value on the assessment as they are on the teaching.

Thankfully, I feel like my situation allows for me to balance both - at least for the time being; and I'm going to bask in that.  I'm able to assess at the beginning of the year and at the end.  In the middle I do whatever I feel best allows for me to understand where my students are performing.

Sadly, I'm noticing a new trend.  Teachers are no longer trusting their own professional instincts. To see my colleagues fall "victim" to testing and data collection is disheartening to me. I've seen so many of my friends paralyzed as professionals - they have forgotten that teaching is as much {if not more} an art as it is a science. I'm keenly aware that many districts are not like mine - who only require us to assess twice a year.  Yet, in spite of this understanding of professionalism, many are "stopping the show" to do more assessing.  I'm baffled.  I've thought so hard about why this might be.

All I can come up with is that they've forgotten that formative assessments, anecdotal notes and their own professional instincts are just as good, IF NOT BETTER, than the data they collect when doing a formal/summative assessment. It makes my stomach hurt to see instruction coming to a stand-still time and time again to perform senseless assessments. Data is necessary, I realize this.  It allows for us to dial down on skills and really pinpoint growth - but it's not the end-all-be-all.

I want my colleagues to dig deep into their memories and remember the days that they trusted their observational skills and their teacher gut and if you came into teaching at a time where you wouldn't know any different...you can trust your inner-teacher too.  You've got one - I'm pretty sure you were born with it.  Don't let data drive what you do each day in your classroom; let what you see and don't see do that.  You've got it in you. No formal assessment can take the place of your professional instincts...





Sunday, November 16, 2014

Fourth Annual Pay It Forward Giveaway

Happy Sunday!


So, I started this giveaway four years ago.  Making this post for the past four years just makes me smile.  I wish I could give more but every little bit counts. This time of year can be such a blessed & happy time for people but it can also be a struggle.  There are so many wonderful organizations out there to give to and I enjoy learning about new ones during this giveaway. 

Here are the organizations we've given to in the past.  Maybe you'll find a new one to give to yourself! 

Three Years Ago:



Two Years Ago:


Last Year:




So here's the skinny - you enter the giveaway.  One of the entries requires you to leave a comment telling what organization you would like a donation to be given.  If you feel like sharing why this charity is special to you I would love to hear your story and it's a beautiful way to honor somebody special to you.  I know others out there find themselves thinking of others, especially at this time of year, so this might help them find a new charity to give to.  This giveaway is all about paying it forward.

Once I choose a "winner" I'll give 50 dollars in your name to your charity of choice.  



If you are a blogger and you'd like to start a similar giveaway I would be tickled pink to see that happen.  After all, that's the whole idea behind "pay it forward".  That's always been my vision for this - it would be really cool to see this spread!

Enter below!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Sunday, November 2, 2014

Simple Little Somethings ~ For the Classroom

I thought I'd share with you some simple little somethings that I use in my classroom and love and I think you will too!




I've been using visual direction cards for years.  I just spruced mine up with this product from Ashley Hughes.  Some kids have a hard time following more than 2-step directions, others need reminders because getting from point A to point B can be tricky business.  These cards stop the "what do I do now" questions and help this teacher stay happy!

I have those little bins from Target all over my classroom.  They serve a couple of different purposes. They collect "junk" and they look cute!  I think I have one of these in every corner.  Pick up a pen, use it, instead of setting it down, plunk it in a bucket.  Easy breezy!

I might have these all around my classroom too.  One holds extra mittens for those kiddos who lose or forget theirs.  One holds extra headphones for listen-to-reading, another is used as our sharing sack.  Cute, colorful, cheap and oh so multi-purpose!


Beggars can't be choosers - and I am really happy that I get so many wonderful donations from parents.  But....I love a cute tissue box and have those EVERYWHERE in my classroom.  

I got my BOP this summer and I tell you...I LOVE this simple little pleasure.  I can take it anywhere in the room with me.  It's nice and loud.  Colorful.  Cute. One of my absolute favorite simple little something.


I'm a Tervis convert.  A sweet little guy gave me this one at the end of last year.  He said "Because you're so wise, Mrs. W."  HA!  I don't know about that, kiddo - but I tell you, this is the smartest beverage holder I've ever had.  I have since bought a couple more. One for water. One for coffee.  I can't use my coffee one for my water one.  I'm strange like that.  


I am very blessed and have so many books in my classroom.  I'm embarrassed to admit that, up until my handy dandy little "blue dot" basket idea, many of them were sitting in boxes - unused.  I tried to rotate books into bins, but often fell behind.  I haven't had a chance to sort them or level them but I really wanted them in my students' hands!  I decided a simple fix would be to put this blue dot label on bins, and put blue dots on all those books I haven't had a chance to level or sort.  Now those books are being read and loved.  Simple.


I use this gym floor tape for lots of things too.  It sticks to anything.  Doesn't leave a residue when you pull it off.  Just love it.  I use it on my books to level/label them.  I used the blue tape for my "blue dot" books.  If I decide to finally level/sort them, I can pull that tape off and replace it with a different color so that they can be leveled. I also use this stuff on the floor to designate where we line up.  On the carpet if someone needs a special little spot to sit during learning time.  Simple.

Hope you got some ideas!  

Happy November!
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