Sunday, February 22, 2015

Teachable Moments for March


March is almost upon us!

One of my favorite times of the year. We are coming out of winter and heading into spring.

One teachable moment I would like to share doesn’t have to do with March at all, but was a great memory from when I was teaching middle school.

I had a sixth grade class of second language learners and I taught English, math, and social studies to them. We had been studying idioms and their origins in English class and Greek Mythology during social studies. I had bought a fan book which had each of the Greek gods and goddesses. I told the students that I would copy each page but I was going to have to cover some of the pictures because the Greeks wore little clothes and had “too much skin” showing.

Then a week or so later, I was trying to encourage students to read more and I was sharing how if you find an author you like, read other books from that author. I happened to have just bought an adult novel that Judy Blume had published. I showed the kids the book and shared how I loved her books as a child and I was interested in how she was as an adult author. One of the students asked me to pass it around so they could look at it. I told them I didn’t want to do that because she had some bad words in the text. And that is when one of students said, “The book has too much skin, Ms. Jackson.” I laughed and said, “Yes, it does.” I loved how this idiom was born in the classroom! As a teacher, you relish in the times the students make connections with the lessons that you teach them. It was a great moment!

Until next time, hope all is well with you and your students.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Five for Friday

Happy Friday the 13th!
 I always have good luck on Friday the 13th. It is already starting off great because I have the day off. I love holidays!


I am linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching for Five for Friday.



First, I got my pictures back of my kiddos on the Star of India. We spend the night and pretended we were sailors for the night. What a great experience for my students.




Second, my students had a performance this week with the violin teacher. They did such a great job with only eight weeks of lesson (1 hour a week). Now we are on to the flute.



Third, my students have earned 100 100% on tests so far this year. So we celebrated their achievement by having a Hawaiian Party in February. Only in San Diego right? They moved all their desks and sat on beach towels. We had flower cupcakes and listened to Hawaiian music.
What a fun day!



Fourth, we finished the book Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. My students loved this book. It has a lot of themes and historical references to racism. It stirred up quite the conversations. It is great to see my students tackle difficult material.



Fifth, my students spent the week doing Valentine's Day Math Activities. They are a great way to review standards that they need to master this year.



Hopefully, all of you will have a nice President’s Day break (my daughter gets a whole week off lucky). Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog!






Sunday, February 1, 2015

Currently February!

Happy February! I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade.


Listening to: Sea Chantey - Drunken Sailor.
I just came back from spending the night on The Star of India, a 150 year old ship. I still have sea chanteys running through my head. My students and I were sailors acting out a trip from London to New Zealand as an emigrant ship. The students worked in 5 crews: line handlers, boatswains, deckhands, riggers, and galley. They had to work on the ship and do 1½ hour shifts during the night. The students had a fantastic time!!!



Loving: A Few Hours to Myself. 
My husband went fishing for a few hours and I have the house to myself. I am doing laundry, watching a movie, and working on my blog. Just me and the dogs. I usually don’t like to be alone, but I needed it today!


Thinking: Where to Put All My Pictures and New Furniture.


I just received some new furniture and unpacked all my pictures for the house. We just got the last of our stuff out of storage. I want to hang all the pictures and rearrange some of the furniture to mix in the new stuff I bought.

Needing to: Finish my “By the Great Horn Spoon” TpT Product.

I have been working on several projects at once and I need to finish my big product By the Great Horn Spoon. Sometimes the big products drag out a little bit, and I am feeling the need to finish it this week.

Wanting to: Finish my Spanish Homework.
 I am taking a Spanish Conversation course and my professor gave me a lot of homework this week. I want to get it all done before the weekend is over. It gets so busy during the week, it is hard to get it done at that time.

Queen of Organization
I feel like all I have been doing lately is organizing my entire life and I am not finished yet.


Hope you all have a good start of February! Thanks for stopping by!