Teaching: A Pi Poem!

My Original Pi Poem

Pi = 3.14159265

Love them dearly (3)

Students (1)

They drive me crazy!(4)

Boisterous(1)

I learn from them, always (5)

But why would I dream of doing anything else?(9)

Sharing passions (2)

Striving to be the best ever! (6)

My kids, forever and always! (5)

"My Resume is Ready": Losing Good Teachers!

Not my words. 

I live and breathe teaching. I really can't imagine doing anything else, well, except writing.

These words were spoken by a teacher friend of mine.
He sounded so down when he said it.:(
He is overwhelmed, as are we all.

The kids.
The parents.
The kids.
And then all the crap from above.

He put in four years so far, and doesn't know how many more he will do.
He said his first year was great.
Second year, not too bad.
But now...this is not what he thought teaching would be.
I don't think any of us did.
And because of this, we are losing a lot of teachers, a lot of good teachers.

Teachers who are willing to go all out for the kids, but aren't willing to deal with all the "new things" being flung at us from every direction. 

We are suffocating under the weight of standardized testing, data collection, PLC's that are soon to be evaluated, (Who evaluates a PLC?), teacher evaluations tied to test scores, it's madness!

Some of us can bend and not break, and some of us can't. Some of us leave.
And it's sad.
Good teachers are leaving, young and old.

His resume is ready. I hope he doesn't have to use it.

I'm a Poet, And I Know It! Celebrating National Poetry Month!

I love National Poetry Month! I used to write poetry, maybe I will again some day.  But in the meantime, I like to give my kids a chance to grow to love writing poetry as much as I do.

There was a time, pre-standardized testing, when we would gather up all our original poetry, pair it with two really funny pieces of poetry, and have Poetry Day. We would invite the parents, and each child would share  one of their poems. We would read the two poems we chose as a group, one in the beginning, one at the end. Afterwards, we would have snacks and juice, provided by the parents. Aaaah, good times. :)

But, even though Poetry Day has gone the way of a teacher being able to think for themselves, I still incorporate poetry into April. This year, I chose formats I thought the kids would enjoy, (and they did). We wrote a Pi poem, a Spring acrostic, a cinquain," I Made a Mistake" ,and "I Am Sorry" (they apologize to an inanimate object). Tomorrow I am letting them write an original poem, any topic, any way they choose.

After they wrote the poems, they posted them on Kidblog. If you have a sec, check out the ROOM 8 Page and comment.. (Have to get in that authentic audience). I also allowed them to create a Voki for the poem of their choice.(Still working on those). I am going to create a Poetry Symbaloo, (Voki provides you with a Symbaloo link), and post it on our Weebly.

Check out one of our Voki poets below. I love National Poetry Month, and now, so do my students! :)

photo credit: Enokson via photopin cc

Are School Field Trips Becoming Obsolete?

The 5th grade went to the Blue Rocks baseball game today and we had a blast! I loved interacting with my students outside of the classroom. It's rare that we get the chance to do that anymore. We sat in the stadium, talking, laughing, and cheering. It was as far from standardized testing as you can get!:)

What happened to field trips? How can anyone think three to four  field trips a year are going to make a difference in whether these kids pass those tests? What happened to exposing our students to the world around them, letting them experience life outside the classroom?  Using a trip to supplement that great story you’re reading, or enhance a SS or science unit? When I taught in New York, we would jump  on the subway with 25-30 kids in a NY minute!

The term “Keeping it real” is played out now, I know.  But field trips do just that.  They keep it real. They give kids the opportunity to experience life “for real.” Some of these kids do not have the chance to see outside their neighborhoods. There's nothing wrong with virtual field trips, I have taken my class on a  few.  But if I had a choice of the Franklin Institute online and piling my kids on a bus and traveling to the Franklin Institute, the bus trip, with all the noise, bumps, and mishaps, trumps a virtual field trip any day!

Our pen pals on Edmodo recently took a trip to Tybee Island in Georgia. My students ask me why we can’t go on trips like that. What do I tell them?

I am exhausted. But it was worth it.
Field trips are so cool!

GoAnimate4Schools GIVEAWAY!!!!!! Animated Digital Storytelling!

How would you like to be the lucky winner of a one year subscription to GoAnimate for Schools?
If you are not sure what GoAnimate is, and/or what it can do, check out the video created by one of my students!

I asked them to use their Vocabulary words to create a story. No one begged to skip this assignment!

You can't go wrong with GoAnimate for Schools! It is a safe environment. The videos can be shared. Teachers can moderate the videos. The ways you can use this resource are infinite!

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate for Schools.

Just leave a comment below.(YOU MIGHT HAVE TO CLICK THE WORD COMMENT IN ORDER TO LEAVE A COMMENT)I will choose a winner using Random.org on April 22,2013! (Please make sure you leave your name)Your subscription will be valid for 100 students and up to 5 teachers.Good Luck!