Life of the Party

     This movie was amazing. I was literally engaged the entire movie. While reading the book I had imaged a completely different set of faces for the characters, but this caste seemed to completely out shadow all my previous thoughts. I laughed and cried during the same ten minutes spans of time. The storyline was both thrilling and heartfelt.        Being bored after school can only be solved through a movie night. Mom and I made the trek up to Sylva, NC. My hormonal butt was perfectly planted beside my mom. She and I both needed tissues before the end of the first thirty minutes. Falling in love with characters is not something that I take lightly, but honestly this is an amazing movie. Thank you so much for this movie. Who ever took the time and effort to put this all together is talented and gifted.           I posted on Facebook that I had went and saw this movie. Everyone decided that this was crazy and ...

          My birthday was super sweet and having to work that day wasn't that bad. My students all seemed to join in on the fun of picking on me. :)    Who could help but laugh?  My day was spent in laughs and smiles. I can only hope that there will be more days like that!  I decided to share what some of my students brought me.       My eighth graders came down to visit me. I really do miss them too!  Some of my students even brought me food and treats. I still wish I knew how they found out? 

     I ended up having to spice up my lessons with some Halloween additives. It is never detrimental to always have a back up plan. Students often become bored or lulled by the daily routine, and sometimes we have to be creative. Enticing seventh graders to get excited about the reading was actually like pulling teeth from a raging cougar. Okay..... SO IT WASN'T that hard!      I have them some nonfiction to read about that concerned what Halloween is really about. My students weren't really enthused to learn about this material until I found this link that provided a short film to go with it.  Students enjoyed reading about the Salem witch trials and learning about the tests that were given. In turn each group was responsible for explaining one assigned person's death that they had to look up. Some of these people were men, which added to the overall conclusion of the class: Most people were accused due to past misdoing. Middle schools student...

       I've had this gadget for about eight months now, and honestly I feel as if I've got my money's worth out of it. My pink bracelet that goes around it is stained and ugly now, but that is perfectly okay. I can alway purchase another one in another color. I was upset to find out that the company didn't replace it if it stained after a week's wear, but that is okay too. What was I expecting?       The battery life of my unit hasn't been too bad either. I wear it seven days a week and only have to charge it three times a week. I don't think that is too bad. I was surprised at how well it works considering I use the alarm clock every morning. The vibration should have caused the battery to deplete faster, but it didn't. This is a nifty little gadget that has come in handy on a daily basis. I have no fitbit friends to keep me motivated, but trying to bet last week's step count is always my goal. My mom seemed to think it was a complete waste of mon...

Oh this movie wasn't even worth the forty-five minute drive to the nearest theater. One sure thing you can expect about living in a small town, is that you will get your "driving time" in. We say the movie trailer for Annabelle and decided that it would be a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.             First of all, that doll is just creepy. I think the intention should have been scary, but it was unsuccessful. There was a handful of people there watching this film. I walked away angered and disappointed. I like horror movies that make me jump and cringe. The hype that backed this movie was false advertisement and frankly, I was just upset that they didn't do a better job with this. My students had been talking about this movie and even excited about getting to see it. I can't wait to see their reactions. I wonder if they will feel the same way?            I will admit that it did have a good storyline ...

     Fridays are so relaxing and exciting. I felt like a child today because I counted down the time until I could leave work. Today was a teacher work day, which means my day was spent planning and grading papers. It's always boring when the students aren't there. I looked at my pacing guide and realized that I'm officially two weeks behind in curriculum. I think this coming week will be spent on catching up and covering notes.       Teacher work days are also very quiet......       The hallway was almost erie and silent, except for my blaring music that was buzzing from my room. I was walking back from the teacher lounge and realized how the low hum from inside my room made the hallway even more creepy. I ended up propping my door open and welcoming anyone who passed by. Only a hand full of teachers even came to school today. No surprise there! lol 

          Let me just say how amazing it is!  I'm super excited for all my students and I hope the stickball game goes great tonight. I was literally caught in traffic for about thirty minutes trying to get out of Cherokee this afternoon. One word of advice for travelers. Get there early and pack a umbrella! I hope the rain holds off. Actually, I think the game will go on even if it does rain. My students were ecstatic about tonight' s events.           The activities may not be everyone's forte, but the food is another reason to come on out! Food can and does end up pleasing everyone and I'm sure there is something for everyone here in Cherokee. One of my students brought in bean bread this morning, and I was so thankful. Living here in the mountains is truly remarkable. We get to celebrate all walks of life and heritage. 

     I think collaborative learning is the way to go, but often I also find that it's hard to keep them on task. So, the solution is that I will let them tackle two out of five assignments in "learning communities." Things to Consider:  1. I have prearranged groups for some of these activities. I needed to make sure that these groups were going to actually work.  2. Some class periods will be divided up randomly. I will have them pick up Popsicle sticks from a cup that are colored coded. Certain colors will sit at certain tables. 3. Give DIRECTIONS first!!!!! 4. Plan ahead and decided what will happen when a group doesn't exactly work out.  5. Have the groups display their work back to the whole class.  6. Peer evaluations. ( I have found that this is a great way to minimize one student doing all the work and the other doing all the coping.)  7. Have a task sheet or have the tasks written on the board.  ...

       I had my students do a book/ movie comparison. I was amazed to find out that most of my class was divided in their opinions of which was better. I preferred the book because you actually got to know all the characters and you got to see things through Joey's perspective. The movie did not provide this for me and I felt like it missed what the book really displayed. As always, my middle schools students surprise me with what they had to say. One student said that, "maybe they make movies to show how America has lost its ability to have creativity." I was speechless. I wanted to have something "light" for them to do today. I hadn't realized that the movie would take three class periods. I guess I need to plan ahead next time.          Tomorrow is Indian Heritage day and we will not be having school. Our students were encouraged to go to the annul Fair in Cherokee. They were all supper excited. Their anticipation and excitement could no...

Welcome to my sixth grade classroom!   Although I really enjoy my seventh graders, I have the unique ability to teach both this year. I hope you enjoy the following pictures. Please feel free to share your ideas! I paired the literature circles up in groups of two or three. Each group was responsible for a series of questions and this final project. The poster includes: a summary, list of characters, plot map, and key vocabulary. My students seemed to enjoy this and I believe this project will be repeated again next year! Most of my students had a hard time drawing a horse outline so i decided to help them out. I projected the image on the wall and they traced it out.        War Horse was a terrific novel to read. I had to spend most of my time explaining the terminology, but it was totally worth my time and effort. I was wanting some of my peer teachers to provide some useful feedback if they had any.