Inspiring and Quick End of Year Activity

Are you looking for an inspiring and quick end of year activity for your students? You'll want to give this a try.

1. Ask  your students to brainstorm a list of things that they learned over the course of the entire year. I had my kiddos round table (write and pass) on one sheet of paper per team. 

2. Lay out a long length of butcher paper and provide the students with colored markers. 

3. Be inspired...I was so impressed with everything that they were able to recall.

I posted their mural in the hallway and the kiddos were very impressed with all that they had accomplished.

I will use the paper to line a table with cookies and punch for our end of the year award ceremony with the parents on the last day of school.

What is your favorite end of year activity? 

Finding Reading Level in Microsoft Word

Hello Everyone,

I recently gave a training on Comprehension Instructional Strategies and shared how to find the reading level of a passage in Microsoft Word and thought you all may be interested in this based upon the response that I received. Obviously with Common Core there are quantitative and qualitative factors to determine text complexity, but this could serve as a quick check.  Also, click here to go to an interesting and informative article regarding text complexity and analyzers that teachers use in a Harvard Education Letter.

How do you analyze your passages? What tools do you use? I would love to read about it in the comments.
Happy Teaching!

Five year old Mighty Mito Warrior and Photographer

I have had the amazing pleasure of having Gavin's sweet big sister, Makenzie, in my class. Words cannot express how loving and giving this family is even though they are struggling beyond words. The financial toll of Gavin's medical expenses is weighing heavy on their heart. Please take the time to read a bit about Gavin's plight, view is incredibly photography, and see a bit as to why our community is inspired by them. Thanks so much!

Click on the image to see more of Gavin's work

Photographer, Gavin Lawrey is a warrior. At the age of five he's fighting an incurable Mitochondrial Disease, all the while teaching those around him lessons of love, laughter, and perseverance. We hope you enjoy the images he's captured from the unique perspective of a pint sized Picasso.

The story behind Gavin, photographer-extraordinaire: 
Mitochondrial Disease is a life altering condition, for which there is NO CURE. For Gavin, this means he has both cognitive and physical regression and must work twice as hard as healthy children to accomplish everyday tasks. Since playing any type of active sport is out of the question for G-Man we hoped to find an activity that he could take pride in and enjoy while expending minimal energy.

During one particularly memorable hospital stay Gavin turned his Bi-Pap mask into a "pretend" camera. It was in that moment that we thought photography could be the perfect hobby for him! We are continually amazed at the photos he produces as he runs around, pointing and shooting with pure joy and smiles from the perspective of a spirited little boy.

Gavin has a very supportive eight year old sister, Makenzie, who has named each photo in Gavin's portfolio of work. Each print includes a small logo with a little boy holding a balloon that says "Hope for Mito". This personal logo is representative of Gavin's journey and raising awareness for Mitochondrial Disease. 

Please note: Proceeds from all sales go towards The Gavin Lawrey Trust Fund. This fund helps with medical expenses, including, co-pays, medicines, medical equipment/machines as well as travel expenses for specialist visits. We use the fund to help him live as normal and as healthy a life possible.

Here's their incredible story along with videos of the family. 

Gavin's Story

Music for the Classroom

Like many of you, I truly enjoy playing music for my students. I happened to be playing The Piano Guys in while my class was at P.E. and it was playing when they arrived. My students were mesmerized and ask for the music constantly. Please check out their channel on Youtube. I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do. Be sure to check out the whole video because The Piano Guys truly span across a variety of genres of music. My class favorite is their Cello Wars to the Star Wars theme.

Speaking of music, my husband and I had a great time dancing and celebrating last night. We attended a terrific Golden Apple Award Ceremony for six incredible teachers in my area! I was named a Teacher of Distinction and so my hubby and I got all dressed up to celebrate, party, and be inspired by the amazing Golden Apple teachers! Their speeches truly reinforced the passion that we as educators have.!