Happy New (School) Year!
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
I took this picture the morning of the first day of student attendance.  My classroom was set up, my plans (for the day at least) were made.  All that was missing was the kids.  As I stood in my ready-and-waiting classroom, I took a moment to think about the year ahead. This moment - the moment before the first bell rings and kids fill the hallways- is full of promise and possibility.  My brain and my heart are filled with ideas and hopes and dreams that will hopefully manifest themselves over the next nine months.  Though I know the names of the students who will o ..read more
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Sibert Smackdown 2018
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Right now, my third graders are deep into our study of informational text.  We've spent time looking closely at different kinds of informational texts, examining text features, poring over photographs and infographics, and discussing how authors write about the same topics in different ways.  This is one of my favorite units of the year, because the quality of informational text written for kids has exploded since I was in elementary school. Back then, it was always called nonfiction, and was in the dusty part of the library.  The books almost never had pretty jackets, the text ..read more
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Struggle is Real
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Sometimes, when I read the various blogs I subscribe to or scroll through my Facebook and Instagram feeds, I wonder how everybody but me manages to make everything work all of the time.  I realize that's not the case, but it is easy to be caught up in the perfection projected by so many on social media. Where are the posts about the days that just don't work? Because I could use one of those right now to let me know that I'm not the only one who is having a hard time keeping it all together. Don't get me wrong... I love my kids and I love my school and colleagues.  My struggle rig ..read more
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Get off the train, Mindi!
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Photo via Creative Commons. Attribution here. I am about to start my third week of school.  As I sat at my desk at school yesterday (yes, I went in on Sunday), surrounded by my teacher's editions and unit plans, I began to feel a twinge of familiar anxiety - how am I going to get everything done that I need to get done so that my kids learn as much as possible during their third grade year?  How much more quickly can I move through the math chapters so that I cover all of the important concepts before PARCC testing?  How are we going to finish this social studies unit ..read more
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Building Stamina
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
The transition from the freedom of summer to the routines of the school year can be difficult, even for teachers.  During the summer, I can wake up whenever my body decides I've had enough sleep.  I can eat when I'm hungry.  I can read when I want for as long as I want.  I can talk... or not. Students, too, have this transition. They, and I, have to build stamina to do the hard work of learning and growing. The kids have to get used to using their Level 0 or 1 voices during the literacy studio and I have to get used to talking to both the whole class and small groups, a ..read more
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The Decisions Series: Knowing When to Turn Off the Light and Shut the Door
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Today at 5pm, I turned off my classroom lights and shut my door.  This was the last thing I saw as I left my room: I felt a sense of satisfaction as I walked through the door.  I GOT the job done, and now I get to enjoy my last weekend of summer before I meet my new students on Monday during Meet the Teacher and then on Tuesday when classes start. I won't lie... I spent a LONG time getting my room ready for 2017-2018.  Since early August, I have spent an hour or two (or three) almost every day unpacking Rubbermaid bins, reorganizing and refurbishing my classroom library, arra ..read more
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The Decisions Series: Part 3 - Classroom Environment
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Once upon a time, I thought it was important that I cover every inch of wall space in my classroom with inspirational Argus posters (think kitten dangling from a branch with "Hang In There" written in a cute font across the top).  I thought the brighter and bolder the border on my bulletin boards the better.  I thought I needed to make up for the fact that the classroom was "on the garden level" of our building and the only way to make it a place my kids would want to be was to make it NEON!  These photos are from my 7th grade ELA/US History classroom from about 2003 or so. &nb ..read more
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The Decisions Series: Part 2 - The Teacher Desk
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
Many teachers, both in my school and in my extended network, have decided to get rid of their teacher desks.  Their reasons vary:  some of them have very small classrooms and want to maximize space for students; some of them prefer to sit at a classroom table to plan; some of them had really old desks that should have been retired ten years ago.  Whatever the reason, the teachers I know who have moved away from having a teacher desk are very happy with their choice. I have decided to keep my desk. There are some things I know about myself as a worker.  I need a space that ..read more
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The Decisions Series: Part 1 - My Classroom Library
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
I spend a lot of time thinking about my classroom library. For me, this is the heart of my classroom. Community is made here. Thinking happens here. Eyes and hearts are opened here. Kids find themselves and the world here. I've invested a great deal of effort and money in curating my classroom library. I'm careful about the books I add, but I also buy books my students request. This means that there are books that I might not choose to read but that THEY love. That is as it should be... it is their library, too, and I want to make sure they feel ownership of it just as I do. The biggest d ..read more
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Recommended Reading from Room 301
Making It Work in Third Grade
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3y ago
The school year just ended and I have some things I need to write about, but I'm still processing the school year that was.  For today, I've decided to share the titles my third graders have designated as "must reads." Here for you, in no particular order, are their favorite books from this year.  If they are books I've written about over at NextBestBook, I've included the link. Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger Cody and the Mysteries of the Universe  and Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Spring Stubb The Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene I Could Not Keep ..read more
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