Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson and education! Strange pair, huh?

While I was watching "CBS Sunday Morning" before church, there was a segment on Samuel L. Jackson. He was discussing his current Broadway play where he is playing Martin Luther King, Jr. Oh, that's how he correlates! Nope!


He went further to discuss how he got into acting and all the many movies in which he has starred. He made the comment that he loves to watch himself in his movies. Why? He said why should he expect others to pay to watch him and enjoy it if he didn't enjoy watching himself.


This got me to thinking. Would we enjoy watching ourselves in the role of teacher? Would we like what we saw? Would we love our teacher and want to be like her? Would we enjoy learning in a safe environment? Would we be made to feel successful even if it's a small step?


During my National Board Teacher Certification process, I had to video and analyze my teaching. I quickly became aware of changes I needed to make, but I also saw some great things going on in  my classroom. I encourage each of you to see your teaching from your students' points of view. You might just like what you see! 

~Cara

Friday Freebie-VocabularySpellingCity

As teachers, we are always looking for ways to make our teaching easier. We want to find activities that engage our students while they are having fun learning. VocabularySpellingCity does this. Plus, it's free to create an account. Once you have an account, you can save spelling lists for your students to use. 

VocabularySpellingCity offers 14 free spelling games that can be completely customized to use with your students' spelling lists. You can enter your own lists or use those you find on the site. You may find your spelling series' lists under the Forums section. You may want to use one of their precreated lists that is located under the Teacher Resources section. Here, you will find lists for such things as math and science vocabulary, Dolch sight words, compound words, and multiple meaning words. If you still don't find what you need, look under the Find a List section and search by teacher or list name. Once you have imported the lists into your account, your students can play the free games to study for their spelling tests (which you can give online through the site!). The games work perfectly on your interactive whiteboard. Many of the games can be printed to create customized worksheets. The handwriting printables are great! 


There is a premium version that costs $49.95 for a year for a group of 30 students. Your premium membership will open up even more games, vocabulary practice, and record keeping.


I strongly urge you to try VocabularySpellingCity. My students and I love it!

~Cara

Thursday Thoughts-Homework

My favorite education quote has to be "I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework." by Lily Tomlin as Edith Ann. 


I have had others complain that I don't give enough homework. (It has never come from a parent, though!) Usually, my students have a little bit of math if they didn't complete it in class and some studying. I feel it is important for students to have a life outside of school. We, as teachers, complain when we have to take things home to work on, so why do we expect our students to do it.


I teach full force from 7:45 to 2:30. Surely, my students have worked hard enough! I want them to enjoy school, enjoy home, and enjoy being a kid. During the day, we should touch our kids with new knowledge, a good story, a kind word, an art activity, a joke. School is so much more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. Although, that is the ultimate goal, I want my kids going home knowing that they are in a class where their teacher and classmate respect them. I want them to go home with good memories of school. 

~Cara

Wordless Wednesday-Heart of a Teacher

~Cara

Tech Tuesday-Edmodo

One of my favorite sites is Edmodo. Edmodo is a free "secure social learning network for teachers and students." I first began using Edmodo as a professional learning network. This year, I began using it with my students. My students and parents love it!


On first glance, Edmodo looks like Facebook. There is one twist. It is very, very secure. You can create a class group where only you, your students, their parents (with a special invite code), and invited guests can correspond with each other. My students love the Facebook feel. My parents and I love the security.


Edmodo is so much more than a social network platform. As a teacher, you can use it to create assignments, share links, communicate with your students about homework, etc., and offer encouraging words. As a professional, you can communicate with other teachers throughout the country. You can post a question and within minutes receive a response. 


Edmodo is a staple in our classroom. My group of 4th graders is learning digital citizenship in a hands-on matter. Have I ever had a student use the site inappropriately? No! They have known from the first day that their parents can view whatever they do and anything they post goes straight to my phone. Edmodo is a powerful tool!

~Cara

Must Have Monday-Morning Meeting

A must have in my classroom is our Morning Meeting time. This is a special time where each child is made to feel special. It quickly sets the tone for the day. We begin each morning sitting in a circle so we can see each other easily. We go around the circle and greet each other with a good morning and a compliment. We then move into reciting our rules and Whitehead's Wisdoms. After that, the students and I read a special letter I've written to the class. The letter contains a positive note from me, information about the day, and a spin off question that leads into our sharing time.  The question ranges from something silly that happened on that day in history to what it means to respect others. Each child is given the opportunity to share what is important to them.


This is my first year to do Morning Meeting. The 10-15 minutes that we invest in this time everyday has made a dramatic impact in my classroom. Each child knows he/she is loved and respected not only by me but by each child in the class. I wonder why I never did Morning Meeting before!  

~Cara

Sunday School-Turning to God

Do you ever really need help with something? Do you ever want to spend time learning something new? Once you learn that new thing, what do you do with it?


As teachers, we hope our students take the new things they learn and spend time teaching it and sharing it with others. Do we do the same?


Our Sunday School lesson today was on Heaven. We are spending time learning what Heaven is really like according to the Bible. Will we know one another? What will we spend our days doing? It was mentioned that God gives us our talents here on Earth, so we can practice them for Heaven. On a tangent, our talents can draw others to us where we can use the time spent as a witness to others.


I am a self-proclaimed tech nerd! If I don't know how to do something, I figure it out! Even today, someone asked me how to create a header for their new blog. I had forgotten, so I took time searching, redoing my own, and sharing that information with her.  


My prayer this Sunday is that I will do the same with God. If I have a question, why not turn to Him for the answer rather than searching for it myself. He is available to help me 24 hours a day. Why do I hesitate to turn to him at times?

~Cara