faulker099

Hello Everyone! My apologies for not posting lately.  We had to drive to Chicago to help my widowed father in law move 53 years of "family" to a new apartment. Going through that many years' worth of "family accumulations" was both wonderful and emotional.  My husband got to bring home so much of his childhood that we had to rent a U Haul!  We were able to settle dad into a great little apartment with incredible "senior" amenities.  Feeling pretty blessed!  Anyway, I was totally "unplugged" all week and it actually felt pretty good! But now, I'm in catch-up mode! So today I'm sharing my new and improved Interactive Math Notebook.  We have had such amazing results from using the math notebook approach to support our math program, but I wanted to make it even more interactive. If you have used this before, please download again.  I've added about 9 different number of the day pages depending on your kids' level and readiness.  I...

Hello Everyone!! Happy Monday!! I picked up a random book at Half Price Books the other day,   Visual Tools by Roger Essley, a diagnosed dyslexic.  The title caught my eye because I am such a visual learner. As I read through this book, I have to tell you, I almost cried.  This approach to teaching writing for a differentiated classroom has become my Ahhhh Hahhhhh for the summer.The author suggests that kids need to draw out their stories before they even begin writing anything.  Then they need to talk about their drawings, make adjustments, additions, etc, and then begin writing.  I have always had my kids draw before they write, but not even close to the extent that Mr. Essley suggests.  He calls it Storyboarding.  The process really helps kids organize visually what they want to say in their stories. Stick figures and labeling to help others understand are acceptable.  He tells many stories of kids with learning challenges who became writ...

Hello Everyone! I am so looking forward to doing our Superhero unit with our new group of Superlearners! As I was thinking about the beginning of the year, I knew I wanted to incorporate the "Wrinkled Heart" activity that I've done the past 9 or so years.  We always spend time talking about bullying and how we always need to think before we speak. I like to use Chrysanthemum or Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon for this activity.  Take a giant paper heart and have kids crumple it up each time something is said that hurts the main character. After the story, try to smooth the heart. You can't get get the wrinkles out.  A great hands on and visual activity to help kids understand that words do hurt. Have kids place band aids on the wrinkled heart as a symbol of their commitment to thinking before they speak! Here are a few pics from previous years. It has evolved!! Well, to go along with our Superhero unit, I decided to try using a paper superhero cape!! I think it will work...

Hello Everyone! First of all, my apologies for not posting lately!  We have been having some frustrating internet problems.  So I am going to speed through this post while our connection is up!   This is just a quick little activity post for those of you who like to use old magazines for literacy projects.  I looooove to reuse magazines that would normally just get thrown away, but I haaaaate the mess the projects create.  They can also be very distracting for some of my ADD kids. Some kids spend more time looking at all the other stuff included in magazines.   I have seen these magazine letter pages out there in cyberspace, so I thought I'd try it myself.  This little unit includes pages of color and black and white magazine letters you can use for so many things!! You simply need to print, have kids cut out the letters needed, and glue. You can use the pages for literacy and math!  Can't wait to have the kids make these to go along with our...