Summer Reading

I love to send my students off with a great list of books for summer reading.  

Here are some fun "summery" book list forms for the students to use.  

Each sheet has spots for 10 books recommended by their teacher and 10 books recommended by their peers.

Inventions

For the past few weeks my 5th graders have been working on an inventions unit. They read about famous inventors, created a timeline of important inventions (the wheel, printing press, compass etc...), did many creative thinking exercises, and learned the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. method.   Then, they  brainstormed problems and things in their lives that could be improved, learned about patents and trademarks, and learned how to do research to see if their idea has already been created.  They have all chosen an invention to create and are working hard to make a prototype and a display board for our big "Invention Convention" next week.  This is always such an exciting unit for the kids that keeps them motivated during the last few weeks of school.  It really gives them a chance to incorporate so many of the skills they have learned into one fun project.  I can't wait to see all of their final products!

Blog Set Up

While I should be correcting a stack of essays, or making my Smart Board slides for tomorrows math lesson, I am instead messing around with all the settings and configurations for this blog.  It is so fun! So many choices- colors, patterns, designs, fonts....I don't even want to look and see how much time has elapsed since I first logged on!  

23 days left until summer break!

Hello World!

Hello World!
I am excited to share my adventures in teaching with you!