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Category Archives: Reflections
Job Hazards for the Kindergarten/First Grade teacher
From Sarah over on Confessions. From mildly annoying to downright unsafe, here’s a brief list of job hazards for the early elementary teacher:1. Getting the “days of the week” song stuck in your head.2. Being referred to every once in … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, teaching
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Teacher = Miracle Worker
From Sarah over on Confessions. Yep. I’m about at that point where I take stock of the students on my caseload and the learning expectations, and declare that I’m expected to make miracles happen. I mean, how else am I … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, Stress Oh Yes, teaching
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advice for a new teacher
From Sarah over on Confessions. I had a new reader recently email me to ask for advice for “hopeful special education teachers-to-be”. It made me think about my six years in various special education placements.It really boils down to two … Continue reading
Posted in Disability Awareness, Reflections, teaching
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Where teacher gifts go to die
From Sarah over on Confessions. Somewhere out in the universe, I can picture a large warehouse. In this warehouse, there’s a thick layer of yellow dandelions carpeting the floor. There are shelves that reach to the ceiling filled with dollar-store-chocolate, … Continue reading
Posted in Classroom Life, Reflections, teaching
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a horror story from the trenches of student teaching
From Sarah over on Confessions. My very first teacher observation was during my first semester of student teaching in a resource room for kids with learning disabilities.I remember it well because it was traumatic.I hadn’t previously met the man who … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Reflections
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Maybe, maybe not
There’s nothing wrong with this short video in theory. It reminds kids that if you want something, you have work hard to attain it. That skills don’t just fall into your lap, you actually have to practice. This is a good message.But I saw it at our pr… Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
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where’s the remote control?
I’d love to have a remote control for life.We’re back to school today and it’s a whopping ten weeks until our next break. Honestly, if I had a remote control, I’d fast forward to June!In the meantime, I’m going to remember that this school year has bee… Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, teaching
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I wonder if I could take a sabbatical?
I used to make resolutions for the new year when I was younger because I thought that was the thing to do. I don’t remember what they were (get a boyfriend!) or if I kept any of them.Nowadays, I feel like the New Year starts in September with the retur… Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Reflections
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eating in class
I was in seventh grade. I was sitting in Science class, and it was quite early in the morning. It was still dark out, so it must have been sometime in the winter.
I forget what the teacher’s point was…. all I remember is that she had a 2-Liter bottle of Sprite sitting unopened on her desk.
She picked it up and held it in front of us. “Who can tell me some of the properties of Sprite?” she asked.
No one answered.
“Come on, now. What does it taste like?”
I raised my hand: “I think it would be easier to answer this question if we all had a taste of the Sprite.”
To my utter surprise, she reluctantly agreed (it may have been all of the excited cheering coming from the rest of the students). And we all had a cup of pop that morning.
I honestly couldn’t tell you anything else about seventh grade science. I don’t even remember that teacher’s name! But I do remember the day we talked about the properties of Sprite.
Taste is a powerful thing, and I hope to incorporate more of it into my lessons! Maybe not quite to this extent (I don’t have the leeway to veer too far from our basal reader series), but maybe in smaller doses….
The teacher who had my kids last year read this book to them:
Then she did a whole week’s unit on pumpkin stuff and at the end they had a pumpkin tasting: pumpkin soup, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin bread!
If you ask my kids today what they remember about Kindergarten, they will all start yelling about pumpkin food! I’m thinking of creating a literature unit on the sequel to that book, and incorporating a “tasting” as well!
Do you like to incorporate taste into your lessons? How do you do it?
Posted in Classroom Life, Personal, Reflections, teaching
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i hope i didn’t just jinx it all
Things have been going well. Suspiciously well.
I’m the only one of the three deaf ed. teachers that has an AWESOME general ed team to work with. The first grade teacher that I work with is so nice and so easy to get along with. She’s in her sixties and she’s still a fantastic teacher! We plan for and teach Science together and so far it’s been super fun.
The mandatory lesson plan format that we need to turn in to the principal every week has changed so that it’s actually a working document I can teach from! No more double lesson planning!!
I get to work with an aide this year! Two adults in the room for six children during Language Arts…. it doesn’t get much better than that!
I’m on top of my data collection (to chart progress) for the first time in…. oh, ever.
I like each of my kids and there are NO behavior problems that are beyond me!!
So far, it’s shaping up to be a great year… go knock on some wood for me!
Posted in Reflections, teaching
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