Comments (1) Hey all! I know its been sooooo busy and we have kind of lost touch, but I wanted to give a BIG shout out to Kim V. and Casey G!!!! Their school was highlighted in the news today for positive things going on in their building! Awesome to see good things in the news about schools!!!!! Congrats ladies!
To see the full story, go to the link below:
Florida Teacher’s Essay Becomes Rallying Cry for Educators Seeking Respect
This essay is PHENOMENAL.
Looking for some photos to inspire writing? Go to this link for several really intriguing photos!
Hello all! Please feel free to vent, ask questions, celebrate, give advice, etc.! Hopefully this will ease some of the stress that comes along the way!
Welcome Fellows of 2010 Summer Institute. Current TC’s you are more than welcome to join in as well!
We would like you to get acquainted with the web site. Please respond to this post by describing yourself using ONLY 5 words!
Inquiry Rocks!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!
Hello! Tonight was our first practice run through for the presentations for the Showcase. For those who were scheduled, an AMAZING job! After tonight, we are certain the showcase will rock! I cannot wait to see the rest on Saturday! Thanks again to all!!!
Hi all! I recently received this link from a former colleague. Haven’t gotten too deep into the site, but thought some may be interested in some of the resources. The site has quite a few links that may be of use! Let me know if you find anything good to use!
Hello! I have a question to pose to see if I can get some ideas. It is currently report card time (my faaaaavorite time and, lucky for teachers, it comes 4 times a year!!!). It seems as though some of my parents tend to identify spelling as identical to writing. Even worse, some uphold spelling as much more important than writing content and other writing related strategies. Why is this?!? As an elementary teacher, I find spelling instruction (by this I mean giving a list of words in which kids write each word 5 times, put the words in alphabetical order, etc.) a complete waste of time and really find it pointless. Unless the focus is on word patterns or some type of word study, I find memorizing word spellings tedious and small in the grand scheme of learning.I do think it is important to know letter sounds, blends, patterns, etc. It all comes together as the child grows as a reader and a writer. But what is the hang up?!! Is it just that spelling is very clearly assessed by noting that a set of words is spelled correctly or not? Why is spelling homework something parents feel is SO necessary? Why is it that some of my students’ parents are so critical of their child’s spelling that they miss out on the amazing writing presented by their child?!
Of course, this is definitely my own personal opinion, and maybe not all see it the same. What do you all think?
By the way, ironically, I tried to hit spell check after writing this, and it kept causing the screen to freeze!! Ha! Go figure!
(PS—I teach 2nd grade, so I apologize to anyone who is thinking that I am off my rocker for this conversation!! 
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