I am so excited to start the 2016-2017 school year! Please make sure you enter your email address and subscribe to my classroom blog to get information, websites, and resources for your student.
Hello! I wanted to give everyone some help on accessing Tumblebooks and Mobymax from home. You can now go to the Tonganoxie Public Library Website at http://www.tonganoxielibrary.org/teens/cool-websites/ . There are some neat websites but there is a section that shows links under digital content.
Kindness has been the topic of discussion in my classroom lately. Here are 5 reasons (shared) that we should be kind to one another! 1. Being Kind Feels Good Doing something for someone else's makes us feel good. Make someone smile and you'll be happy for having done so. 2. Kindness is for free Kindness is something we can all engage in, anytime and anywhere. Kindness is a choice. You don't have to donate rare items to make someone happy, but in every single situation you have the choice to choose to act with kindness. 3. Kindness makes people want you to be around them One of the most common responses to kindness is gratitude. People appreciate what you've done for them. Your kindness is very attractive, so they want to be around you. . 4.Kindness makes a difference It's up to us to make the community nicer with every kind act we do, because when you are kind to others, the impact of your action doesn't stop there. Many times the recipient of your kindness and others who see or hear about your kindness are inspired to be kinder. 5.Kindness softens our heart When we look for kind deeds, beauty, and the opportunity for kindness, we'll find that we are more compassionate and more tolerant. As we practice empathy, it opens our heart to others. Here is a video to share with your students. Start a discussion, be compassionate, and remember that you don't always know what another person is going through. If you are kind you might have just changed their day! This year on Veteran's Day, I was able to share with your students. I am a veteran and I am very proud of my hometown Emporia, Kansas. On this Veteran's Day, I was able to share my experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan with students at TES. We talked about how Emporia became the founding city and I also shared pictures of my husband and I. I was also able to bring different kinds of gear for students to try on and look at. The students really enjoyed this and were also able to look at patches from units (they were collected from soldiers from all over the country) as well as some of the medals/ribbons that I earned during my service. The students were also able to ask questions! This is what I love about TES.....we are able to take time for teachable moments. What better way to celebrate Veteran's Day than to have a hands on presentation from a real life veteran? Thank you to all of the classrooms that invited me and thank you to the parents. I could not have asked for a better, more respectful audience! I am posting the link from one of the 2nd grade classrooms that I visited (Kendra Schobert's) so you can see pictures from one of my visits. http://schobert2ndgrade.weebly.com/blog
Here are some pictures from my deployments! Enjoy-and please, if you get a chance, thank a veteran for their service!! 10 Strategies to Teach Me How To Read Many readers use lots of different strategies. Decoding words or figuring out the words is just one piece of the reading puzzle. Below are prompts that you can use to help a child apply strategies to figuring out unknown words. 1. Wait at least 5 seconds before saying anything, quietly count to 5. Many times, if we just give the reader a moment to struggle and problem solve, he will be able to figure the word out on his own. But, if that doesn’t work, try some more of the strategies on the list. 2. Give it a try.Many kids are in the habit of just waiting for someone to tell them the unknown word. Encourage them to try it on their own. This is a great confidence builder. 3. Do you see a part you know?Bigger words can be daunting. Have the child look for a part they already recognize in the word. For example, in the word hitting, the child might recognize the “ing” ending or the little word“it”. Knowing some word parts can help you figure out the word. 4. Look at the picture for a clue.The pictures are meant to complement the text and often can provide valuable clues to unknown words. Easy readers are purposefully designed to provide lots of text support through the illustrations. 5. Get your mouth ready for the first sound?This one is similar to give it a try. I used to say, “Give it a try. The word might just pop out.” When a child attempts the first sound, sometimes the correct words just falls out. This prompt is great for those kids who just sit and stare into space waiting for someone to tell them the word. 6. Think about what word would make sense.This is a strategy for decoding and comprehension. Thinking about the sentence, paragraph or story often provides clues to the unknown word. 7. Cover up part of the word and try again.Covering the endings (suffixes) of words often helps young readers recognize words they may already know but don’t recognize with the suffix attached. 8. Skip the word. Keep reading and then come back.Sometimes, when the other strategies aren’t working, it’s best to skip the word and read on to the end of the sentence. The rest of the words can be helpful in determining the unknown word. Just remember to remind the child to return to the unknown word after skipping it. 9. Go back to the beginning and try again.When we are struggling with too many words in a sentence or a paragraph our reading fluency is greatly impacted. All this problem solving also impedes comprehension. Try telling the child to go back to the beginning of a sentence, a paragraph or a page and try starting again. 10. Does is sound right? Does it look right?If a child mispronounces a word or says the wrong word, these two questions are very helpful. Thinking about what makes sense is critical in determining words and comprehension. Resources and information used from: http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/08/18/teach-me-how-to-read-strategies/ I hope everyone is looking forward to fall, cool temperatures, and conference week. It is so important for teachers and parents to communicate with each other about your student. We always want to do our best for your child. During conferences, I am always available and try to attend every conference. Sometimes scheduling conflicts only allow me to be at your child's conference for a small period of time but please feel free to ask me anything you have questions about. You can always call or email me anytime outside of conferences. I look forward to seeing you here!! I have included a video with facts about fall to share with your child! A lot of the kids tell me about the wonderful technology they have at home. You can use that technology to make them learn. Educational games are a great way to combine fun time and learning at home. If you have an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad you can check out http://www.smartappsforkids.com/. They review different apps and let us know when the developers are giving away the app or have made it very low cost. Most of the learning apps that I use with students I have been able to get for free from here. I have made and posted a list that reviews many apps that I use here at school with students. Android users, there are plenty apps out there that are free for you also!! Parents always ask me...."what can I do to help my students learn?" As a parent myself, I understand that you don't have a lot of time. For students that have a hard time learning, it seems hard to find ways to engage your student....especially after they finish their homework for the evening. There are many websites that are great to help your students build skills! Here are some I use in the classroom!!
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AuthorMrs. Rea teaches at TES in the resource room. Archives
January 2016
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