Spring Break

This Spring Break I really had fun spending time with my kids and working on several projects in our home.  We went to Busch Gardens twice (the kids were thrilled!).  It was pretty empty so the kids got to ride every ride in the park, multiple times.  I finally painted 2 rooms, so now I've got the painting bug.  But.... it's time to get back to the library.  So, painting will have to wait until Summer.

I'm feeling recharged and ready to teach!  It was even hard to sleep last night because I couldn't stop thinking about what we'll be doing during the upcoming weeks before testing begins.  

I've been working really hard to come up with some lessons to make reference sources fun for 5th grade.  I'm going back and forth between a Nearpod or Socrative lesson.  I'm leaning toward Nearpod because it's so interactive.  I used Nearpod with this same group of students last year, so that should shorten the introduction time and leave more time for the lesson.  What's tricky about the 5th Grade Virginia SOL is that one of the objectives is for the students to be able to compare and contrast a dictionary, glossary, and thesaurus.  I know the students can tell me the use of each source, but I'm sure most of them will be unable to compare the reference sources or identify the best source to find the information given during testing.  I'll post more next week. :-)

I'm really excited about beginning an author study with my Kinders and 1st graders.  Up first will be:  Mo Willems!  The kids LOVE his books and so do I.  It will be lots of fun!  I think I can also find a way to tie together the bunny unit they are doing in the classroom with a Knuffle Bunny book.

Have great week everyone!