42, Baseball, and Reading Workshop

PLAY BALL!!!
Do you love hearing those words?
I do...

Which is why I had to see the movie 42.
It is a MUST see; baseball fan or not!
Jackie Robinson's story is so inspirational!
His courage to take a stand...
Not just a stand for equal rights of all...
But a stand to not fight back when so many are against you.
To not fight back when you are humiliated, ridiculed, injured.

One of many favorite quotes from the movie was when Branch Rickey called Jackie Robinson into his office to talk to him about being the first African American in the Major Leagues.

The conversation went something along the lines of...

Rickey:  I know you are a good ballplayer.  What I don't know is whether you have the guts.

Jackie Robinson:  Mr. Rickey, do you want a ballplayer who doesn't have the guts to fight back?

Rickey:  I want a ballplayer with the guts enough not to fight back.

WOW... WHAT POWERFUL WORDS!!!

Here is the trailer to the movie in case you are interested:

So how does this tie into reading workshop?

Books about baseball and Jackie Robinson are great ways to teach theme, character traits and development, how characters respond to challenges, perspective, historical events, etc.

There are some great books out there about Jackie Robinson as well as many others who had the courage to stand up for what is right.

This message of courage is so important to teach children and can tie into many topics besides racism (bullying, telling the truth, peer pressure, etc.)

One of my many favorite books is Teammates by Peter Golenbock.

This book not only shows Jackie Robinson's courage to take a stand on segregation and racism but also his teammate, "Pee Wee" Reese's courage to do the same.

In "Pee Wee's" hometown, which at that time was not a fan of Branch Rickey's decision to put an African American into the MLB, he was confronted with a difficult decision- Go against the beliefs of his family and community and ridicule and shun Jackie or take a stand for his teammate and do what is right.

Such an AMAZING book with a powerful message for all.

Here are some other books, among many, about Jackie Robinson:

If you are a baseball fan and want to take this one step further, you could also go into the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.  In a time when most men were off fighting the war, women were asked to step up and keep alive the love of baseball.  A truly inspirational time in the history of females and their struggles to be treated equally.

Check them out!!

There are so many picture books out there that are excellent ways to inspire children to have courage and stand up for what is right.

What are some of your favorite books that have powerful messages or strong characters that face difficult challenges?

We would love to hear your ideas.

Antoinette :)

Quotes for the Day

So I have to do a SUPER QUICK post because I am suppose to be at Emily's Mardi Gras party like at 3. Sorry Emily- lol
LOVE YOU!!!! ;)

I love quotes and found some on Pinterest that were to cute not to share and some inspirational ones that everyone should know.

First-  WAY TOO CUTE! lol

Next- If only everyone could feel this way...  Especially our students.

Third- This is SO TRUE!!!

Last- This COMPLETELY describes me...

Just thought I post some quotes to make you think!  Hope you enjoy them! :)

Antoinette

Blogging, Reading Notebooks and FINALLY RAIN!!!

With how busy back to school has been, I feel like I'm at a loss as to what to post about.  I've had so much going on, that you would think there would be a ton (and there probably are) but my mind seems to come up blank.  I didn't want to get outta the habit of posting though and go MIA like last year so thought I'd give a quick what's up in my life.

My new job as a Teaching and Learning Coach is SUPER busy, but I am enjoying it.  I am a people person and love helping others.  So this job is perfect because I get to do both.  Wanna know another reason my job is pretty cool??  What other job can you get paid to search blogs and Pinterest during the work day.  I had some down time Friday and am in the process of collecting resources for reading notebooks (Wanna share any great ideas??  Especially from K-2??).  Since I know many of you post about Reading Workshop and the tools you use to implement it in the classroom, I spent some time checking out blogs.  I am even referring blogs to fellow teachers.  See... I'm helping you all out also. lol :)  That's the thing I love about blogs... They are such an amazing resource to all the teachers of the world.   I also found some pretty cool resources on Pinterest which in turn led me to even more blogs.

Just thought I'd share that cool tidbit about my job. :)

Also want to include some sites where I found some great information.

The Reader's Notebook
A Place Called Kindergarten
Our Class Web

There are so many amazing blogs out there with a wealth of information.  Have you posted about reading notebooks or have a great site to check out?  I would love to read about it on your blog and refer you to the teachers at my school.  The following quote states it perfectly.

"Our best thoughts come from others."

                  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

One last final bit- I know many states have been lacking in the rain department, but here in Missouri, it rained both Friday and Saturday.  YEAH!!!  We needed it so badly.  It hasn't rained like this since possibly May.

Updated Conference Form, Conferring Freebies and a Much Loved Quote

Updated Conference Form

Back in an earlier post, I had asked for feedback from our amazing followers on a conferring document I was putting together for my new buildings.  Click here to view that post.  Two presentations down and my schools will officially begin their journeys, today, into the world of conferring.  I am so excited to help them along this path.  I am also hoping all of you experts out there will help us.  See what I did there??  Recruiting all of you to help out! lol ;)  Hey that's what teaching is all about, right?

Thanks to the wonderful followers who posted a comment with feedback, I have an updated form.  It is a freebie for you.  Download it if you want and tweak it to fit your needs.

Click on the image below to download.

Included, as well, in this download, is a basic conferring form which would be good for beginners.  I also included a guide to using this form and information about each category under the teaching point.

Another document I created for my teachers is a cheat sheet for the metacognitive strategies.  In this form, I included a definition as well as discussion starters which could be used during conferring.  I'd like to claim I came up with all of the information on my own, but I am a firm believer in "Why recreate the wheel?".  So, Click here to go to the website where some of the verbiage came from.  Some of it IS actually mine. lol :)  The website is an amazing resource for reading and writing workshop.  It's a MUST CHECK OUT!!!

Click the image below to download the cheat sheet!

I remember when I first learned about conferring.  It was 14 years ago and I was a brand new teacher.  I had NO clue where to start or what to say.  I am trying to make this transition much smoother for the teachers I work with so I wanted to provided them with as many resources as possible.

I would LOVE to hear any feedback and/or tips about conferring.  How do you track your conferences?  How often do you confer with students in a week?  Any info would be appreciated. :)

I want to leave you all with a FAV quote of mine.  I had this exact poster hanging in my classroom for the last few years.  It is so true!!!

LOVE THIS!!!!!

B2S Survival Kits and Quotes for My Office

How are working with teachers and working with students different?

Really they're not.  This time of year, classroom teachers are planning lessons to build community and relationships in their classrooms.  I too am building relationships, but with the teachers in my new buildings.  Tomorrow (or today since it's after midnight here lol) I will be doing my first presentation on my district's new units of study for reading and writing workshop.  This style of teaching is very new to many of my teachers and therefore a considerable stress in their lives.  So I decided to make a Back to School Survival Kit.  I decided against Teacher's Survival Kit as not all of the people I work with are classroom teachers.

So I checked out a variety of kits on Pinterest and various websites and decided on the items I wanted to include.  I wish I would have been more prepared and shopped for some of these items when school supplies were on sale or on the tax-free weekend, but overall was able to keep the price at a minimal.  Each kit ended up being a little over a dollar.

                                                       

Here are the supplies I used:

     - pencil

     - eraser

     - Starbursts

     - Hershey Kisses

     - Laffy Taffy

     - rubber band

     - penny

     - paper clip
     - puzzle piece

Here is the card I created to attach to each kit:

I also included a Teacher's Prayer I found on the internet.

The final product...

I posted pictures of my office and decorating ideas.  Well my office is still in complete shambles as there are tons of books in there which need to be organized and leveled and I have been SUPER busy in my two days back.  BUT...  I have created some signs which I want to frame.  Those of you who know me, know I love quotes.  Here are some great ones!!!  I created these myself (except quotes and fonts).

What are some things you all do to build relationships and community in your classrooms?

This is crucial to a successful school year, so sharing your ideas will be a great resource for fellow bloggers as well as my classroom teachers.

Don't forget we are hosting our first linky party!

We can't wait to hear about your favorite things!

Thanks,

My New Office, More Pinterest Finds, and Target buys!

It feels so weird to not have a classroom to decorate!  You would think with an office it would be a whole lot easier... not so much!  At least not for me.  My classroom was always colorfully decorated.  I had a sports theme, but it was very kid-friendly.  I used primary colors and some of the decor was based on ThistleGirl Designs and the Sports Theme Set from Clutter-Free Classroom. In my head, an office shouldn't be so kid-friendly as I will be working with teachers, but I very much want it to represent an educational environment.  So I had all these cool ideas brewing in my mind until... I was reminded of the Fire Marshall Codes!!

First I'll show you pictures of my office which is exciting.  Then I'll explain the codes which completely limit what I can do.

     

My name outside my office!!

View looking in through the door.

Cabinet area in back right.

There's a blue book shelf behind the door and
that large space of white wall is where I can decorate!

My desk area!

To the right of my desk!

Now...  The books on the shelves are leveled readers and will be housed in my office.  The boxes around the room contain more books which will be organized and placed on shelves that will be added at a later time.

Fire Marshall time...  Anything hanging from the walls must be more than two feet down from the ceiling.  That eliminates above the shelves on all sides, almost all of the space above the white board, and the open shelf area above the file cabinet.  Also, we cannot hang anything on either side of the door.  So there goes that space.  I've heard we also can't hang anything on the walls outside the room either.  The space below the shelves will eventually have more shelves for the remaining books.

What does that leave me??  The cabinet area, my desk, the bookshelf, the file cabinet, and the dry-erase board.  The one area where I have a good amount of space to decorate is that section of white wall in the photo with the door.

Things I'm contemplating...  I love quotes and would love to either use stick-on letters or frames to put some educational quotes up.  Some quotes I like are "Mistakes are proof you are trying.", the Dr. Seuss one from the green frame below, and "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."  I would love to hear more ideas from you all!!  Remember I am working with teachers, and this year there will be a TON of change.

Here are some Pinterest ideas I found (click on the pics to connect to the site):

This one I thought might be cute because I am at new schools.

This website has ADORABLE decorating ideas!  Would love to incorporate some into my office; only a little less pink. lol  I like blue.

I raided the Target $1 section (which isn't all a dollar lol) along with the school and office section.  Here is what I bought:

Decorating adult things (like my apartment) is SO not my thing.  I would love any suggestions from you all.  Do you have any great office ideas for me with my limited amount of space?

I would like to leave you with one final photo.  This is what I see when I look outside the door of my office!  LOVE IT!!!