Last week my brother and I went to an American Sign Language social with other students learning ASL and people in the community. I have no idea what came over me, but I decided to tag along. This was different for me since I am the type of person who likes Continue Reading →
The Next Generation Science Standards calls for my kiddos to make observations and find patterns about what plants and animals need to survive (K-LS1-1). I referred to a PDF of the evidence statements for this particular standard while designing for this unit. One branch to this unit led to the Continue Reading →
The new Google Sites (pretty version that came out the latter part of 2016) is super user friendly, so friendly that LITTLE KIDS can create their own websites! This year I had my kindergartners create digital portfolios in Google Sites. I wanted the kids to showcase their amazing digital work for Continue Reading →
There are people you learn about who you may admire from afar as they inspire you by their story or with the work that they do. Diana Herrington was a dedicated educator who valued student centered learning, shared her wealth of knowledge, and was recognized with many honorable awards for Continue Reading →
It amazes me how my kindergartners were learning to identify letters and sounds at the beginning of the school year, and now they are learning about words with specific phonics patterns. When learning a new phonics pattern the kids will read a book with the pattern, participate in a whole class brainstorm Continue Reading →
Disclaimer: This post is for NEW EDUCATORS going through Induction. In California new teachers have to go through two years of an induction program to get a Clear Credential. I can rant about my views on the idea of Induction, however I am going to focus on the positives. I have Continue Reading →
Towards the end of the school year, it is a common time to do some deeper reflecting on the learning that took place and reminisce about the memories that were made. One project I wanted to get my kiddos going on were memory slides. Thinking back to last year, my Continue Reading →
Right now my students are focusing on applying positional words to their everyday activities. Some examples of these words include: behind, in front of, above, below, next to, beside, in front of, and behind. Originally, I was thinking of having the kids recreate the story of Rosie’s Walk, but I wasn’t feeling Continue Reading →
How awesome is it that Littles CAN search for images?! Considering that Littles are early spellers, it is super cool when they can start applying spelling patterns they have learned or even just trying to spell words into a search engine. A common concern that people express to me when Continue Reading →
Storyboard That has been the PERFECT creating tool to support the type of writing my kindergartners are currently focusing on. Basically, the web tool allows kids to click and drag scenes, characters, props, and more onto a storyboard. The kids can customize their characters to resemble themselves or however they’d like! Continue Reading →