As excited as I am about the potential of the new position at Benton Elementary next year, I really feel like I am going to miss being in the classroom terribly! I already miss it now, especially these kids from this year. I truly hope that I was able to have an impact on them this past year and I wish them all the best going to CMS. We've had a lot of fun together, tried a lot of new things, and hopefully learned a lot. Have a fantastic summer! Love you guys!

So sorry for the delay in posting. We have had a very busy week! We have been preparing for TCAP all week and I feel very confident that the kids are going to do quite well. Testing begins on Monday so please be sure that your child gets a good night's rest each night and eats a good breakfast each morning. Thank you to the parents who volunteered to send snacks. You will receive a schedule on Monday.

Well, it is nice sometimes to have an unexpected day off! This isn't the greatest time to have one, but oh, well...we'll take it, right?? I hope everyone had a very blessed Easter holiday. This week, of course, we are doing a lot of review in preparation for TCAP coming up next week. I will be out tomorrow. I'm going to visit another school. It is so nice to be able to watch other educators and learn from them. On Wednesday, we will have our D.A.R.E. graduation at 10am. Thursday the students will have their quiz on hyperboles, similes, metaphors, etc. Hope we have some sunshine by then and get everyone in good spirits going in to testing week. I will be asking parents to donate snacks for next week. I like to have a small snack for the kids during our breaks. Look for a letter later this week. Lots of happenings coming up..Stay Tuned!

Today we continued workstations in Reading and began a new unit in Social Studies. We are studying the Civil Rights Movement and began the study with a little in-class segregation. The students were clueless as to why some of them were being 'left out' of the activity, but by the end everyone was included. We have several things going on this month, so be sure to check the calendar often. Cap and gown pictures are Friday and the money has to be paid ahead of time. Be sure to check out VoiceThread in the portaportal. Very neat!!...

I got a little carried away yesterday blogging about our Skype call and didn't really mention anything else! Next week is our final week before Spring Break. We will be finishing Number the Stars and our study of WWII. The students should expect a test over WWII on Thursday of next week. Also, those taking their state re-tests will have that on Thursday as well. We're also completing our Number the Stars stations next week. The students have been visiting stations to study Denmark, WWII, and the Holocaust. If they bring any of these stations home for homework, they are optional. I am giving them time next week to wrap it all up in class.
Our student meeting for Washington, DC travelers is on Monday afternoon. I'll be going over with students some of the places we will be visiting while on the trip and some important etiquette rules. Please pick up outside my room at @4:30. We may finish a little early. We'll be leaving Friday morning. I know I'm excited! Any questions, please have them ready on Monday afternoon.

On Friday, we had our Chapter Six test in Social Studies wrapping up our study of the Great Depression and FDR's New Deal. We also finished reading Out of the Dust. I think the students really enjoyed Billy Jo's story about her life in the Dust Bowl. It was a little difficult to follow at times because the entire book is written in free verse poetry, but the kids did well with it. Next week we begin WWII and the novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowery. Typically, this becomes the students' favorite novel of the year. The students will visit different stations over the next two weeks and study different aspects of WWII and the Holocaust. This is a difficult subject to teach and attempt to keep at an age appropriate level. It is always good to discuss at home.
We have been studying prepositions in English and will have a quiz over prepositions on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
Our Skype call with Thailand was such a success that we've already scheduled another contact! On Thursday evening, we will be conferencing with a school in Australia. Our call will be at 5pm Thursday evening which will be 9am Friday morning for the kids in Australia. We're working on our dialogue for this conversation and questions that we have for the Aussie kids. I'm going to attempt to post the audio for this call this time. A letter will be sent home on Monday concerning this call. Have a great weekend!

Ok, I've graded the states tests. Most of the students did very well. Yay for you guys! Those who scored below an 85 will receive a parent letter tomorrow and get a re-test on 3/19.
Today I also worked on a Washington update letter which you should receive tomorrow. We're finishing up the Great Depression this week and our novel. Students will have a reading test and social studies test on Friday. Don't forget about our Skype call tomorrow morning. The kids are so excited. Plan to be in seats by 7am...see ya then! BTW...parents are welcome to stay and observe too!

Well it is officially the first of March. For us in the education world, that usually means crunch time for TCAP. It is my theory that if I have instructed the children well throughout the year, they will have retained the necessary knowledge and we won't have to "cram" so much. I can certainly hope! We do have a lot of review to do...they have slept since November. We have about three weeks until Spring Break and our big DC trip. After returning from Spring Break, we'll have about three weeks until testing. I am going to be absent tomorrow (Monday) because I will be judging the National History Day competition in Knoxville. On Tuesday, we are going to get in to The Great Depression. We'll finish up with our study of this topic and our novel study on Friday. Next week, we'll begin WWII. Boy, time sure flies when we're having fun!!

Next week is Read with Spirit week at school. Here is the list of activities if you didn't see it in the Friday folders:
Monday: Hat day
Tuesday: All mixed up/backwards day
Wednesday: Crazy Hair
Thursday: Silly Socks
Friday: Pajama Day
Please remember that Wednesday will be our Skype call with the fifth graders in Thailand. Drop students off outside my door rather than at the auditorium. No one will be admitted after 7am.

Today, we had our 4H Clover Bowl. Our class didn't win, but they did well. I'm proud of them. This event coupled with DARE caused our day to run a little bit behind. We didn't get our Social Studies lesson in today and we only did our centers in Reading. We've continued with our novel.
I hope those students who have been out sick all week are feeling better and are able to return to school soon. There's so much sickness going around! I have been finalizing the plans for our Skype meeting with the school in Thailand next Wednesday. The plan is to have the students arrive at school at 7am so that we can have an 8-10 minute videoconference with fifth graders on the other side of the world. Parents, encourage your children to research Thailand a little between now and then so that they are better able to relate to these students. We'll be looking at a few things in class as well. You'll receive a letter with more information in their Friday folders this week.