The Happy Learning Den

I guess my plans for weekly blog posts flew right out the window!  Oooops!  Thanksgiving is this week, and I am grateful for a few days to spend with my friends and family... and NOT bringing any work home with me!  What a hectic year it has been so far- and we have only been in school 3 months!  My new plan is to blog once a month- to recap what we did in the classroom, and if I am able to blog a little more.... bonus!

Writing ELA Plans
Dreadful!  I am constantly second guessing myself with is this good enough... will this engage and interest my on-grade-level readers; for my below grade-level readers, I constantly worry if they will find the lessons "baby-ish."  Enough is enough is enough!  Last week I worked smarter, not harder! A colleague and I sat down after school with our reading manuals, the standards we are focusing on during the months of November and December, and our Teachers Pay Teachers accounts open.  We sat together for about 90 minutes, but our reading plans are solid through the second week of December!  And I feel confident that it is standards based, targets each level (below and at grade level), and students will enjoy the lessons.... even if they don't enjoy it, I am confident they will be engaged!  That's half the battle!!!

I think I discovered part of my problem with writing reading plans this year.  (For those of you who don't know, last year I only taught math and science, and the year before that I was in 3rd grade for 100 years....)  Anyway, I discovered while we were planning what is my problem with writing reading plans.  After all, I don't usually second guess myself when I write math or science plans.  It ONLY happens when writing plans for ELA (English Language Arts).  I REALLY do not like this reading series.  Most of my students are reading 2 or more years below grade level and the curriculum is annoyingly difficult.
(I sense an RTI -response to intervention- blog post starting to be written in the back of my mind...)

Thank goodness I have a wealth of supplemental curriculum that I can use.  The fifth grade teachers have been using StoryWorks again this year, which I adore.  It's more than current events that you get with Scholastic.  It also has Readers Theater plays, poetry, PAIRED TEXTS (hello!  It is so hard to find paired texts.), content that students are actually interested in, background videos, audio files of the texts, AND worksheets that go along with each text, AND..... tests..... differentiated tests!  OMG!  There are always 2 tests to go along with two of the featured articles AND they are differentiated!  So there are LL (Low Level) and HL (High Level)... LOVE LOVE LOVE!  I have also bought several resources on Teachers Pay Teachers to supplement and fill any gaps.

I hope everyone has a restful and family filled Thanksgiving!  Try not to bring any work home with you during this break.  Enjoy this time off, refresh yourself, eat turkey, go shopping, SLEEP IN PAST 5am, and go back to school well-rested and ready.  Because the winter holidays are right around the corner! 

Happy Teaching!  Happy Learning!
Love to all,
~Sandy @The Happy Learning Den

We held our annual storybook character parade Monday!  Students were encouraged to dress up as their favorite storybook character, and then each class paraded around the school parking lot to the delight of parents, teachers, and students alike.  There were ninjas, princesses, pumpkins, and of course the 4th and 5th grade teachers dressed up too.  Just like we do every year.  This year's book was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  I was 'Happy.'  I think we get better every year.... it can be a little stressful, but the pictures show just how much fun everyone had!  I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year!
Enjoy the photos!