Emily Butler-Smith, a staff developer with the TCRWP led an interesting session on classroom management structures at the July Writing Institute. At first, I'm pretty happy with the routines and procedures I've established (and honed) over the past few years. However, I truly believe you can always get ideas from others, so I went. And… Continue reading Five Shakes of the Rain Stick
Author: Stacey Shubitz
Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.
Recap of T.B.P.S.
Some of the quotes/highlights from our posts, which you can locate at any time by typing "Big Picture Series" into the SEARCH BOX on the top right corner of this blog. “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is… Continue reading Recap of T.B.P.S.
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The Big Picture: Happy Mail!!!
This is the final post of The Big Picture Series. (Ruth stated hers was the last, but after I received some mail from her today, I decided we needed to have just one more post in this Series.) I returned home from running errands about 30 minutes ago and found a thick, manila envelope in… Continue reading The Big Picture: Happy Mail!!!
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Poems for Kids’ Birthdays
I was on two home visits yesterday. At the first one, the little girl asked me, "Do you know when my birthday is?" I sure did! I knew it because I already put all of my students' contact information into Outlook, which I syched to my iTouch. However, when I realized that I have four… Continue reading Poems for Kids’ Birthdays
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The Big Picture: Honesty
“I'd rather be able to face myself in the bathroom mirror than be rich and famous.” --Ani DiFranco I created a handbook of classroom regulations and procedures for my fifth graders during my second and third years of teaching in New York. Here's an excerpt from it: Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, copying, plagiarizing) will not… Continue reading The Big Picture: Honesty
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Online Poetry Class (Stanford University)
A few months ago Kirsten Andersen who is a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University visited my classroom. She sat with my students and conferred with them about their poetry. She spent an extraordinary amount of time with my students truly listening to what they had to say about their writing. Even though she was only… Continue reading Online Poetry Class (Stanford University)
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STRONG EMOTIONS MINILESSON
I was asked, by Ro, about my Strong Emotions/Skittles Lesson. I normally don't post minilessons I write in this forum for several reasons (one of which is that it doesn't align with the mission statement Ruth and I composed for this blog). However, this one is a bit out-of-the-box. Hence, I am posting the minilesson… Continue reading STRONG EMOTIONS MINILESSON
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Memory Boxes
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge was published in 1985, when I was in third grade. However, my third grade teacher never read it to me, nor did my fourth or my fifth. In fact, I hadn't even heard of this Mem Fox Book until last week when my mother-in-law, a former first and third grade teacher… Continue reading Memory Boxes
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The Big Picture: Pay no mind to the calendar or your watch! Just pay attention to what you do with your days!
I was about 15 when a family member shared a quote with me that was inscribed on a wall of his high school: "We live in deeds, not years." It was something worth remembering. I tucked it into my mind, reminding myself of it on birthdays. By the time I reached my mid-twenties, I realized… Continue reading The Big Picture: Pay no mind to the calendar or your watch! Just pay attention to what you do with your days!
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Five-Subject Writer’s Notebooks
My students will be getting idea notebooks early in the school year. By late September, they'll also possess five-subject writer's notebooks, which they'll use expressly for units of study. (Click here to read more about idea notebooks.) Hence, I spent the early hours of my morning affixing tips, poems, section guides, and notebook 'guidelines' to… Continue reading Five-Subject Writer’s Notebooks
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Brighten another teacher’s day
Take a look at The Reading Zone's Back-to-School Swap Idea. It's a neat way to get to know someone else and to brighten the start of someone else's school year.
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Consider adding photos to your SOLS this week.
It's Tuesday, which means it's time for the SOLSC! Link your post here by using Mr. Linky and/or posting a comment. I added photos to my post this week, which I created on Smilebox. Consider adding pictures to yours to enhance the story you tell.
