#springmeansstatetesting

February vacation has come and gone. Parents are signing off on conference sheets and getting ready for a week of April Vacation.  As teachers, we are utilizing SO MANY strategies to use as the PARCC  (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing approaches. What works for you? Can you share strategies that allow you to focus? What about reading challenging text? What suggestions can you share with the class? And then there is the writing. How do you organize your thoughts? Lists? Graphic organizers? I am a "REREADER." I have always needed to reread my material, sometimes two and three times before it sinks in. Even as an adult, I STILL reread.  It works the same for complicated movies. I can enjoy the movie for pleasure the first time, then I need to watch and listen to the dialogue, note the change in setting, and find the underlining meaning. Highlighting? I even watched the show "How It Is Made" because they were filming in a highlighter factory. What a great invention! Highlighters make the text POP and steer my eyes to what is important in the reading. As for writing, I make lists of words that may lift my writing. I try not to repeat the same words and I can be quite descriptive. I also need to look over my writing. If I write just ONCE I definitely need to revise. So......give us all a good response and some serious advice on taking a good test.  It is right around the corner......... Happy Spring!

WINTER AMERICANA

Today, February 2nd, was a very special day that I think you should have known about.  It has been celebrated for over one hundred years-yet-I did not hear any mention of Groundhog Day today.  To be honest, I was a little disappointed.  Maybe everyone was busy with work, texting, keeping up with friends and activities.  Poor Phil.  He needs to wait one whole year to show his sweet, rustic face. His job? To tell us if winter will remain for the next six weeks or if spring will shine bright.  Watch the video and scroll through the web page.  Let's give Phil his much deserved recognition, shall we?   Please post your comments :)

P.S. Phil is so respected! He even has his own webpage and his holiday was streamed live at 6am!

http://www.groundhog.org/
http://visitpa.com/groundhog-day-live-stream/

THE POWER OF IMAGERY

 As we continue with narrative writing let's not forget the power of imagery.  When we read a great novel or view a good movie our five senses can come into play.  Please view the You Tube video and carefully gaze at the photos below. What senses do they evoke (bring to mind)?  Share your thoughts with the class!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoNl1Ue5ZtQ

New Year-New Direction!

Maybe we spent time with family and friends, traveled, or stayed quietly home during this holiday vacation.  One thing is for sure-we all began our new year. A new slate. Resolutions. Goals. Wishes.  Just remember- you are never too young or too old to make a list of a few areas in your life that may need altering, changing, or deleting.  You may need a tune-up with study habits, helping at home, or changing your attitude. These resolutions, or goals, or "whatever you'd like to call them" aren't always easy to put into practice. We SAY we will make the effort but our ACTION may be missing. As you begin this new year-start off easy. Don't set yourself up to fail. Choose one area that you need to improve and work on it. Don't give up so easily either. Being a good human is hard but worth the work.  We'll share our resolutions in class and support each other.  HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 to a spectacular group of kiddos:)