judy3ca - Hi carol, I think I must be a little early for my group--sorry.
Grace/IL - Hi Judy
stephanie - hi judy! - thats ok - we are just still talking exceptional needs
judy3ca - Hi Grace, I was very glad to hear that you liked MOT!
Grace/IL - Gess I'm 3 minutes early also
Grace/IL - Spelling person spells gess instead of guess
judy3ca - Grace, LOL, that's a typo!
dlvlly - a great checklist to help with your refective writing can be found at hhtp://education.leeds.ac.uk/
Grace/IL - 7:30, Wow! It's almost bedtime here.
judy3ca - It's almost bedtime here, too, since last night was a late Back to School Night, LOL.
naneb - Hi Judy and Grace
judy3ca - (((((nan)))))
Grace/IL - Wonder what's happened to Kim. I think she's a bit overtaxed with work.
Nicki/4th - Hi all.....
Grace/IL - Hi Nicki, welcome to the professional reading chat
naneb - I will not last long tonight, I am too tired
Nicki/4th - Thanks, Grace.....anxious to discuss STW and comprehension grading!
judy3ca - Nan, I thought about your assessment question a lot, but I don't have a good answer. And I'm beyond tired--15 hours at school yesterday made a long day.
Nicki/4th - Yes, it's 10:30 here on the east coast and I am wiped out!
Nicki/4th - Jeez....15 hours yesterday, Judy?
naneb - It is a really hard question, I want my grades to be real and to be worthwhile and not contrived
Grace/IL - Judy and naneb, please give me a quick rundown on the content of Wondrous Words. I need to buy it.
judy3ca - Hi, Nicki....it was Back to School Night--even I don't normally work that long, LOL.
naneb - I really think I will start doing at least 1 grade per book like the questions on the state test, Here it is called the MCT
judy3ca - Nan, would it work to do some of your assessment orally as you discuss?
naneb - Grace, I have resisted that book so far!!
Grace/IL - naneb, are you free to grade according to objectives -- by using a checklist?
judy3ca - Grace, I love the book for thinking about writing.
naneb - judy, parents like to see proof and I want to use this as one of my personal goals so, I will need student samples as evidence
judy3ca - Phew, that was kind of you Nicki.
Nicki/4 - Naneb.....what type of rubric do you use for the one grade per book?
Grace/IL - OK, is WW more about writing than about vocabulary building?
Nicki/4 - Phew is right....couldn't keep track of all the posts!!
naneb - Yes, grace, I am sped so I use checklists
judy3ca - Yes it is, Grace.
judy3ca - Grace, Ray's basic premise is that we need to read like writers. She's wonderful, but I don't think she does much with vocab specifically.
naneb - Nicki, i have usually done several grades per book, usually a written response, some type of graphic organizer, sometimes a group response (T chart, KWL chart, discussion questions etc)
judy3ca - Hi cavey!!!
Nicki/4 - naneb, what type of rubric do you use for a written response?
Grace/IL - naneb, for first grade, I had a list of what I wanted to accomplish during the year and checked off where each child was at the end of each grading period. Then I attached a letter saying, such and such percent of the class is at "this" level. Parents could see where their child was in relation to the rest of the class.
cavey - Hi Girls, looks like you need a little more color in here!
naneb - Grace, I document IEP objectives by my gradebook and by samples of student work
Sadie T - Oops... gonna go change colors..
judy3ca - Hi Sadie!!!
cavey - Can't have two smart alecks with the same color
Grace/IL - Hi cavey and Sadie
naneb - Grace, I have to document progress on IEP objectives in a similar manner but this is middle school and 2 grades per week is the minimum
judy3ca - LOLOL
Erin - Hi Everyone
cavey - Hi Grace and Judy!!
judy3ca - (((((Marcia)))))
Marcia/1st/GA - ((((Judy, Nan!)))))
naneb - ((((((((((((((((((Marcia))))))))))))))))))
Grace/IL - naneb, that's a bit different from first grade, isn't is LOL
Nicki/4 - Hello erin
cavey - Erin!!!!!
judy3ca - (((Erin))) Hooray, the gang's (almost) all here!
Marcia/1st/GA - Isn't this exciting??
Sadie T - Hi everyone. Cavey, my thoughts exactly - can't have two smart alecks in violet red.
naneb - it sure is a big difference
Marcia/1st/GA - what's the discussion?
Erin - Just finished my first week and all the kids are still alive!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grace/IL - Hi Erin & Marcia
judy3ca - Marcia, how are you feeling?
cavey - Hi Marcia - we haven't met
Erin - Hey Judy!!!!!!
Erin - Hi Grace
Marcia/1st/GA - tired, don't know how my leg is. It's hard to tell. I go back to the doctor on the 18th
brad - LOL, Good Morning Everyone
naneb - ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((brad))))))))))))))))))))))
Erin - ((((((((brad)))))))))
Marcia/1st/GA - Hi, cavey
Nicki/4 - nan.....you may have missed my post,...what does your rubric look like for grading those written responses to literature?
Erin - Oh great nan gave you more hugs here's more (((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))
cavey - Hi Brad - did you bring dressing or HO HO's
Sadie T - Hi Brad!!! "Good morning"??
judy3ca - Marcia, I'm still thinking of you and how hard it would be to do what you're doing in fall. Good luck with the doctor.
brad - Thanks for the hugs gals
judy3ca - Hi brad
Grace/IL - Hail, hail, the gang's (almost) all here.
naneb - Nicki, I usually grade by a checklist, remember this is sped, I will develop a checklist of elements that it must include, usually we do this in class together
Erin - Figured you need them with the group you have
brad - LOL, good morning because I came home, had a little something to drink and fell asleep. I'm just now waking up, saying, "
Nicki/4 - Thanks, Naneb
brad - Shoot, I almost missed my friends
Sadie T - What did I miss Marcia - what are you doing?
Erin - Hi Mrs. J
Marcia/1st/GA - Judy, it is difficult to maneuver in teh classroom with crutches. I really am hoping I get off of these things soon
naneb - Just need Alta Rose, Jan and Kim
Nicki/4 - ...NER....what is everyone's age in here?
judy3ca - Marcia, I can't even imagine how you get by--and with firsties!
Sadie T - Where has Kim been lately, anyway? Anyone know?
naneb - Marcia, I spent the first 2 months of school in a wheelchair one year, It was an experience!!
Marcia/1st/GA - Nan, are you guys from professional readig chatboard?
Nicki/4 - ....and Mae in Texas
Mrs. J - Hi, all!
brad - I haven't heard from Kim in days (again, unusual). She's been a little stressed I think
naneb - Yes, marcia
naneb - Oh NO!!! I forgot mae!!
Erin - Kim is overwhelmed with everything at her school and says to send good thoughts her way
cavey - Hi Mrs. J!
judy3ca - brad, I'm a little stressed, too, LOL.
Marcia/1st/GA - Judy and Nan, progress is slow in my room for more reasons than one. Word must be getting out that I used to teach special ed. I ended up with 11 students qualifying for our intervention program
brad - what's going on judy?
brad - what's going on judy?
naneb - Hi Mrs. J
Mrs. J - Never fear. After all, Kim #2 is here
cavey - Stressed too !
brad - lol mrs. j
Erin - Our fearless Mrs. J
Nicki/4 - <------VERY stressed!
Marcia/1st/GA - Mrs. J, where are you from? I am from Michigan
Erin - I'm stressed that the kid who won't stop talking all day will drive me to the asylum
judy3ca - Marcia---ARG, that really annoys me! I get low readers because I'm "good" at teaching reading and behavior problems because I'm "understanding." Yuck!
Marcia/1st/GA - I will join the stress group too.
brad - judy, i think that's what happened to me this year
Sadie T - Me too!
cavey - Judy! Judy! Care and Pierre really worked for me. Even my fifth graders loved it!! Our school librarian stole the idea too!
Nicki/4 - Erin, I can totally relate! My kid has a bit of defiance in him, too
Mrs. J - Marcia, I live in Springfield, teach in Battle Creek--Home of the Corn Flake! Where are you from?
Erin - Me too judy...we know you can handle him Erin
naneb - I will trade y'all classes anyday!!
judy3ca - brad, just the usual beginning of school stuff--and late Back to School Night last night. But I think I'm going to love my class, warts and all.
Sadie T - "Me too" was to Marcia
Marcia/1st/GA - Judy, I just feel like my kids aren't in the routine yet. Very distractible and impulsive and low
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, I am from Mt. Pleasant. Went to Central Michigan
Erin - We told our principal there was a conflict of interest with our back to school night...Survivor starts that night. A definite crisis
brad - I tell you, I forgot how stressful these first few weeks are. Can't stand them; getting things up to speed, routines established, etc.
naneb - judy, my principal will call a faculty meeting at the end of Open House so that everyone leaves on time
cavey - Let's all have a drink and unwind
judy3ca - cavey, your Pierre story really tickles me! I'm soooo glad it worked for you, too. And it just started out as a noodle.
Marcia/1st/GA - My roommate from college was from BC
Sadie T - LOL Erin! What did your principal say to that?
Nicki/4 - Yes indeed, Erin, can't allow that!!
Erin - cavey...glad to hear it. My kids loved it too...kept saying "I don't care." as I was reading
Mrs. J - Too funny, Erin. I thought I was the only one who watched Survivor
Grace/IL - My next question on MOT (after the ones on the board) is "Is there a danger of basalizing the strategies. Many teachers seem to be looking for specific "books" to teach individual strategies. I really likes Glenda's comment about a child makin a text to text connection in a really elementary book.
Erin - She laughed..she's knows that third grade is bonkers but loves us
brad - Cavey, been there, done that, just woke up
Marcia/1st/GA - Ooooh, when does survivor start?
judy3ca - Marcia, we seem to be getting past the impulsive stuff finally, but this is THIRD grade, LOL.
brad - Erin, have you seen the ratings, how could you possibly be the only one watching survivor?
Erin - Marcia, Sept 19
Nicki/4 - Judy....do you have to give a "curriculum speech" to your parents?
Nicki/4 - The survivor ratings are in tact, Brad!!
Marcia/1st/GA - Thanks, Erin. I will be ready
brad - Grace, I think there's always a danger of that, just like there was basalization of novels and picture books when people moved to "whole language"
Mrs. J - I don't know Judy. My third graders are pretty impulsive right now too, but maybe it's where I teach
Erin - Third grade teachers at my school definitiely support Survivor
naneb - Or Grace, is there too much emphasis on the use of the strategies and not enough on understanding the story, What I mean is will we focus so much on strategy useage that we forget the goal!
judy3ca - Nicki, yup.
Mrs. J - Marcia, where are you in Georgia?
Erin - Mrs. J...I have a few impulsive ones also. Struggling with the ones who won't respond. Nothing seems to interest them
Marcia/1st/GA - Nan, I read one o fyour posts on one of the chatboards about your low group of students this year. I feel the same way about getting to the MOT. Several of mine don't know all of their letters and really need some independent reading strategies quickly
brad - We debated that a lot at first, didn't we, nan?
Sadie T - Naneb, I think that's a great point - we could focus so much on strategies that we forget WHY we are focusing on them
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, I am from outside of Atlanta now.
judy3ca - I love Survivor--and since our baby will be leaving for college a few days before it starts, I'll have Thursdays (and Fridays, of course) to look forward to...
naneb - It is still there though, If the goal is improved comprehension then what strategy the students use is secondary
Grace/IL - I do know that after reading MOT, I will be much more conscious of what I do when I'm reading. I don't think it will stop me from understanding the story, though.
Erin - Or students become so wrapped up in deciding what strategy they are using that they don't know anything about the story
brad - I really think the story mapping thread has been a great interest this week. We have to be cautious to not make these tools (or strategies) the goal. Comprehension is the goal.
Mrs. J - Marcia, my brother moved to the Atlanta area 7 years ago. He lives in Woodstock now. Loves it there. I have to get down there to visit sometime
naneb - This goes right back to how we assess comprehension, is it by use of the strategy? ability to retell the story? or what?
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, don't people use mapping as a way to assess for report cards
naneb - My point exactly, Brad!
Marcia/1st/GA - Wood stock is only about 2- minutes from me!
brad - Grace, you will definitely start noticing. It was the same way with me after taking a film appreciation course. I never have watched movies the same way since. (And I love them even more now)
Erin - This may be a lame question, if it is I'm sure you will let me know. We have certain assessments we have to do in reading. I don't want to give the kids busy work, but what do you have your students do while you pull for reading assessments?
Nicki/4 - Do you all use story maps?
Marcia/1st/GA - Mrs. J, I meant 20 minutes
brad - Marcia, I think you could use some mapping for assessing. RRR. . . those durn grades
brad - Erin, this is just me, but in 4 Blocks (or in any reading workshop, really) we have conferences with them in SSR block while they're independent reading. This is when I do any of those kind of assessments. So the others are busy READING
Mrs. J - Marcia, he lived in Marietta when he first moved there. Just got married two years ago and bought house in Woodstock
naneb - I will use graphic organizers a lot especially for sequencing, sped kids usually have a lot of trouble with sequence
Marcia/1st/GA - Is a story map a graphic organizer? Maybe I am not using the right term
naneb - i use GO's more for writing
Marcia/1st/GA - Mrs. J, Marietta is about 15 minutes the other way from me
Grace/IL - Another question about SSR. Aren't teachers
Erin - That's what I've been doing. How long does it take you to do them all?
judy3ca - nan, I think of them as useful for writing, too.
naneb - last year my students could write about the story and do a good job of summarizing, this year, No Way!!
brad - Depends on what assessment Erin?? DRA?? DIBELS?
Mrs. J - Nan, me too. My kids use them to plan for their writing
Grace/IL - Hit the button too soon -- Aren't teachers supposed to be reading during that time?
Marcia/1st/GA - It seems like it takes a long time to read the story, then discuss and then complete a graphic organizer/story map. First they have to be modeled each time you introduce a new one.
judy3ca - We use DRA and BRI, too. What's Dibels?
Erin - It's California ones. I guess I'm just stressing because in years past I have just given the busy work everone else has and knocked them out. But because I'm trying hard to do things that are ESIA approved it's throwing me this year.
naneb - depends Grace, I do 4 blocks and during Self Selected Reading, teachers meet with students and discuss books, do assessment, fluency, book level etc
brad - Judy and Nan, but I hated when "process writing" first started floating everyone's boat when I was in high school, Every teacher made us turn in a pre-writing web and outline, and I hated those because I don't write that way. I just made them up. Not very authentic, then, huh?
Nicki/4 - where can I find info on Self Selected Reading?
Erin - brad, LOL, I used to write the outline after my paper. I don't think that way either
Marcia/1st/GA - Yeah, brad, you do the writing and then go backwards and compete the outline and web! I remember that
Grace/IL - Erin, sometimes you need to move beyond ESIA to what works for YOU!
judy3ca - brad, I don't make kids use them! But I do introduce webs and lists as ways to organize one's thoughts in WW. They can use them or not--it's up to the writer.
naneb - brad, I agree but, my kids last year needed the organization, they are tools for kids to use and we have to teach them how to use them if they need them
brad - Not in 4B, Grace. They claim you're modeling good reading in the read aloud, and then other comments through the day should suggest you're a reader. It's wasting valuable instructional time, is what they claim. I agree.
Erin - Grace, thanks I needed to hear that
Marcia/1st/GA - what's esia?
Mrs. J - Brad, when plans get cookie cutterish, I squirm. I teach my kids different ways to plan, but leave how they plan up to them. I just stress that even adult writers plan. You have to organize your thoughts so your writing will be clear to the reader
naneb - brad, I always did the same thing, i wrote and then made an outline
brad - Just don't be "The Enforcer" with it. PResent it (GO) as an option.
ali~3/PA - Has anyone tried the Four Square method for writing??? Focuses on improving the content
Nicki/4 - SSR....where can I find info on this? in MOT or STW?
Grace/IL - I was teasing about teachers reading during SSR. I always had too many more important things to do.
naneb - I value my conference time in SSR, best time to connect with students
Erin - The problem is when it becomes required for an assignment. I don't require it but like all of you, suggest it might help some of them to plan
Sadie T - ESIA = Educationally Sound Ideas Association
cavey - Ooh s
brad - me too, nan, I just hate those days (before holidays or assemblies) when they can't settle enough in SSR for conferencing. It is good time.
judy3ca - Erin, I stress over when to give rrs also. I wind up going and getting kids from the daycare facility and testing at lunch and recess because I detest giving up instructional time for loooong rrs.
Marcia/1st/GA - Ali, I really like the four square method of writing. I think it really helped me as a teacher to structure lessons for the kids.
Sadie T - There are two SSR's - Self Selected Reading and Sustained Silent Reading - teachers are supposed to read during Sustained Silent Reading....
cavey - oh Sadie, we knew you'd come through
brad - Grace, I always have to be cautious not to catch up on paperwork during SSR. I promise to be better on that this year.
Nicki/4 - What's Self Selected Reading......can I find more info in MOT or STW?
naneb - we have an AR class called GATOR, I do my SSR during this class
Erin - judy, thanks, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one
Sadie T - (Finally I have something to do as Acronym Coordinator around here....)
ali~3/PA - Marcia.... I did a pre and post writing prompt... the improvement over the year was astonishing!@!
brad - That's right, Sadie. I do self-selected. That's 4B
Grace/IL - ESIA -- It's a "fun" group with a big sounding name.
Erin - cavey, I'm glad she came through because everytime someone asks what ESIA is , I'm not sure if I know the acronym.
ali~3/PA - Nicki... Four Blocks has a new book dedicated to Self Selected Reading methods
judy3ca - Erin, I'm glad you brought it up because some of my coworkers think I'm crazy to do it this way.
brad - judy, how much time does this testing take (I thought rr's were running records, lol)
Nicki/4 - By all........
naneb - (((((((((((((((((((((((((Kim)))))))))))))))))))))))))
Marcia/1st/GA - Ali, Great! I love to hear that. Isn't it great ? I love to see the kids develop their writing skills.
Nicki/4 - (Thanks ali~)
brad - ((((((((kim))))))))))
judy3ca - ((((Kim's here!)))))
Erin - I did the OOPS/WOW lesson this week. Went great and my class really tuned into it. I used the independent reading rubric that has OOPS/WOW also
Mrs. J - It's Kim #1. Hi!
Kim/1/Ca - ((((Hi everybody)))))))))
Sadie T - Hi Kim!!!!
Erin - (((((((((KIM))))))))))))))))
Grace/IL - (((((Kim!))))) I've missed you!
Kim/1/Ca - Aw shucks............
Marcia/1st/GA - How do you join ESIA? Are the dues atrociious???
cavey - Hi Kim, we saved you a seat!
Sadie T - I saw this mentioned on the board... what is OOPS/WOW?
brad - Marcia, ask Sharon. She's absconded with all of them.
ali~3/PA - Marcia... what I liked is how their writing became focused and detailed instead of just trying to fill up the page
Kim/1/Ca - Thanks, Cavey!
Erin - Marcia, yes, because the books you end up buying cost a fortune
Sadie T - We don't know if the dues are atrocious, becuase our treasurer ran off with all the money.
Marcia/1st/GA - I also did the Oops and Wow lesson. It was great
Kim/1/Ca - Anybody bring margaritas?
naneb - Kim, are your ears burning? We were all missing you!!
Grace/IL - Yep, Marcia, you just hang around the prof reading board and you're in.
Sadie T - Kim, how have you been? WHERE have you been?
brad - Oh, Marcia's bought so many of them already
Erin - Sadie you model behavior for silent reading. An OOPS reader wanders, flips through books, doesn't read, chats
Kim/1/Ca - I have missed y'all, believe me. Things are calming down a bit. But HOO BOY.............. what a terrible time I have had.
brad - Kim, been there done that, just woke up. I'm sobering up over here
Erin - A WOW reader reads intently, stays in one spot, doesn't bother others, is interested in their book. You can make it what you want
Grace/IL - No, Kim, but I brought my yogurt and ate it all up.
cavey - AW Kimmy Kim Kim Tell us!
Sadie T - Thanks Erin. I should do that then. I already have several STUDENTS who model that during silent reading... the OOPS part.
Marcia/1st/GA - Oh, Brad, I missed all of that conversation. What did I buy?
brad - (No wonder they have pretzels at bars; these are fantastic, he says to himself)
ali~3/PA - I could use a drink!! But I don't drink... need an alternative! LOL
Sadie T - Where did this OOPS/WOW idea come from?
Kim/1/Ca - Just pure anxiety. You shoulda SEEN that classroom. Packed by the "fling method." and the dang meetings.............I was nauseated for 10 days straight.
Erin - I read it on the mosaic teachers board at yahoo.
passer - hi
Marcia/1st/GA - Ali, try ice cream!!
Erin - Hi passer
Grace/IL - Hi passer
Mrs. J - hi, passer
ali~3/PA - Lol @ Marcia! I like the way you think!! Starbucks Fraps work too
Kim/1/Ca - I like my kids, though. Very sweet, very cute, and very very..................low.
brad - I think OOPS/WOW is a little Lucy Calkins, a little Debfourblocks. I've seen it both places. Calkins Art of Teaching Reading.
Grace/IL - Kim, are you missing your old school?
Kim/1/Ca - Yes Grace. This is very hard.
Grace/IL - Kim, I also read about the fires in Palmdale. Anywhere near you?
cavey - Okay Kim I'll bite, how low?
Erin - Kim, the Sweet and Lows as we call them
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, why did you change schools?
Sadie T - Kim, you changed grades several times... K or K-1 or just 1... I see that you are just 1 now. Is that what you expected?
naneb - Kim, sounds like my class
ali~3/PA - I think going to bed might be best! Good night
Kim/1/Ca - I introduced the word "schema" today. That whizzing sound you heard was when I first tried to explain it...............
brad - Erin, I like that term. I might have to use that for some in my class.
Marcia/1st/GA - Yes, apparently I was reading it while you were snoozing tonight
Sadie T - Thanks Brad
Erin - bye ali
passer - sorry.it's first time to be here.i'm not familiar with it
Kim/1/Ca - I guess it is a blessing in disguise, Sadie. Just first grade.
Mrs. J - Night, ali
Marcia/1st/GA - Oh, I guess I am an oops writer!
Kim/1/Ca - We activated our schema about shoes today...........I put shoe words on "feet" cutouts................
passer - could u help me?
Marcia/1st/GA - Well, I do have the book here and the tape recorder and I know exactly where the tapes are. I will give myself this weekend to do it and will let you know on Monday
brad - There was a lot of whizzing those first couple days in my classroom. I had to go back to the old-fashioned, "This is how you hold a book; this is how you turn the pages. . ."
Grace/IL - Schema is a "big" word for first graders. Need to go back to the original, a schema of a restaurant. Most kids understand that.
brad - Sweet and low, right?
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, your class might be like my class only a year advanced.
Erin - "Put your finger on number 2...is everyone there?"
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah........you got it, Bradley.
brad - Most do Grace. Not mine. Mine think a restaurant is McDonalds. They don't grasp "waiter" or "tip"
Kim/1/Ca - No schema for "waiter" or "tip."
brad - (And they really seem to be into my hairy arms. AAH, the life of a man in primary)
Marcia/1st/GA - We did schema for a dog.
Grace/IL - OK, Brad, so they think of McDonald's. That's where you begin to enlarge their schema. Of course, you take them all out for lunch.
Mrs. J - LOL, Brad
Kim/1/Ca - We are a 100% free lunch school. I was reading some of the apps for free lunch when the kids brought them back............hoo boy.
Mrs. J - My kids get all amazed at nylons. They want to rub my legs all day
Kim/1/Ca - I LOVE your hairy arms, brad.
brad - We are too Kim. I don't even bother taking lunch count. Why not eat it if it's free??
Sadie T - LOL Brad, "why not eat it if it's free"
Kim/1/Ca - Mine love to rub my suede shoes!
brad - Thanks Kim, They're ta' die for.
Grace/IL - So a schema for a dog could be enlarged to quadroped mammals?
Mrs. J - You know, that's what I thought too, Brad. But I'm amazed at the number of kids who bring cold lunch
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, they sound very tactile!
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah, Grace.........think so.
brad - I do have a few once in a while, but not enough to bother. Must be those days they don't "like" the lunch.
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, of course, that was just what I was thinking!
Kim/1/Ca - They are very "huggy" and I don't mind a bit, Marcia.
brad - Kim, time to haul out those multiple intelligences LOL
Kim/1/Ca - Yup......... how about some suggestions for practicing spelling words...........for a "new" first grade teacher?
brad - Kim, how are those lockstep plans coming?
brad - hey, what happened to judy?
Kim/1/Ca - Well........... I had a "heart to heart" with Mrs. Grade Level Rep. She says as long as I do stupid Open Court and Stepford Math, I mean, SAXON math, I am okay to fit in whatever.........I just have to make sure I have ELD req. met..........
judy3ca - on phone brb
Erin - Yeah, where did she go?
Marcia/1st/GA - Too weird. I was just sending amessage to Nan about Judy too, Brad.
Erin - Never mind
Grace/IL - There ain't no such animal as quadroped -- nor quadraped nor quadriped either. None of them even look like but, Marcia, you caught what I meant (LOL)
brad - I'm interested in what you think of Open Court Grace.
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, let's have a talk about Open Court.... are you doing the reading series or the phonics program?
Sadie T - Kim, I bet she didn't really say "stupid Open Court" did she? ...
Sadie T - Do you have many ELD students
cavey - LOL KIm- I call planned communities Stepfords
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, I guess I am just quicker than I thought
Kim/1/Ca - I have about six teacher manuals for Open Court. I HAVE to do the phonics which is okay, I guess. It DOES need to be taught. The district has adopted another program for literature.........."Spotlight" or something...............
Grace/IL - I'm not too familiar with the new Open Court. I really liked the early version as far as quality of literature but it started with long vowels which I didn't agree with.
brad - Scholastic's Spotlight on LIteracy, I bet
Kim/1/Ca - No, Sadie......... she genuflected when she said it.
Marcia/1st/GA - We use the Open Court phonics program in our school system. We also have Spotlight from McMilian for guided reading
brad - That is unusual Grace.
Erin - I'm tired. No air conditioning at home this week, first week back, came home and helped hubby paint an outside wall...I'm all tuckered out. See you on the chatboard
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah, Brad.........LOTS of really cool literature titles..............I think I can take the titles and the sentence strips and then do my own thing............I have 6 ELD kids.............
brad - poor erin, bye
Erin - bye everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grace/IL - What's unusual, Brad?
Sadie T - Good night Erin
Marcia/1st/GA - bye erin
cavey - Night Erin!
judy3ca - I'm back.... Night, Erin!
Mrs. J - Night, Erin
Kim/1/Ca - I think it is McMillan
brad - I've heard Open Court reading series is fairly decent as far as story content in anthologies
brad - Grace--introducing long vowels before short
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, I used Open Court Literature when I taught resource. I liked the selections in it. Basically just an anthology, isn't it?
judy3ca - Kim, sorry to make you repeat yourself, are you a straight first now? Is that okay?
Kim/1/Ca - Yes, Judy........it's okay but stressful because I haven't done it. And I have NO help yet so I am trying to assess....................grrrr................
Grace/IL - IMHO, anything that gets hung up on long explanations is a waste of time. Most of the new reading/phonics programs get hung up on verbiage.
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, the Spotlight on Literacy is published by McMillian
brad - Grace, now that I'm teaching a lower level, I should visit your site again. I probably haven't been there since last spring.
Kim/1/Ca - I don't know, Marcia. All I have used so far are the "toolbox" cards for the phonics ..........reviewing the alphabet.
naneb - Grace, what is your opinion of Phonographix?
Grace/IL - Brad, there have been other series that have done that. They figure that children can relate the letter name to the sound immediately.
Marcia/1st/GA - Isn't it in a box of laminated cards by lesson?
brad - I find a lot of things get hung up on verbiage. You're right Grace. Short and sweet right? And get back to reading
Kim/1/Ca - yes, marcia.............. I figure that will give me the "bones" of the phonics lessons and I will supplement with word work and writing journals.
brad - My issue with that Grace, is, at first I agreed. I too thought they could associate letter name with sound quicker, but the long vowels have more spelling patterns than short ones, so that's why I think short is easier to grasp for spelling and reading purposes. Long a can be spelled ai, a-e, etc. but short a is usually just "a"
Marcia/1st/GA - They're reeeeeallly long phonics lessons. Good luck.
Grace/IL - naneb, I think the best parts of it are the pages that tell parents they have to come down hard on their charges and not let them get away with anything (not in those words but that's the gist)
Marcia/1st/GA - They do give a good phonics background to people who haven't got it, i guess.
Kim/1/Ca - Marcia, I don't THINK I have to use Open Court's literature stuff............... the Spotlight is for that.
naneb - I have been using PG with two groups of students and they are making amazing progress
Kim/1/Ca - How long, Marcia?
judy3ca - back on phone
cavey - I'm tired too. Sadie can you handle any smart aleck comments if i leave?
naneb - the best part is the way it teaches how to blend as you go, most of my kids knew sounds but they cannot blend or segment
Grace/IL - Kim, just work really hard on letter sounds, then start them spelling.
Sadie T - Sure, Cavey, no problem.
brad - what is PG
Kim/1/Ca - (((cavey)))
naneb - and do lots of word mapping
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, I have avoided the phonics lessons and do my 4 blocks (shhhh, don't tell), but I think they would be about 30 -45 minutes if you do everything in the lesson. I basically do some of the phonemic awareness and blending stuff. Can't do the puppet. It's too confusing to me
Kim/1/Ca - I start this week with "at" family words, Grace.
naneb - phonographix, Brad
cavey - Thanks Sadie. Good night guys!
Sadie T - Good night cavey!
brad - thanks
Kim/1/Ca - I have two boys who each spent 2 years in Kinder. They know about 5-7 letters and 2 sounds!
brad - nite cavey get some sleep
Grace/IL - naneb, I agree. I think lots of people are having great results with PG. I just don't like their spelling patterns (more linguistin than mine) and I think their stories are the most trite I've ever seen.
brad - I really don't understand that there Kim. You would think osmosis would have some play after two years
naneb - I don't use the stories at all but other leveled readers and decodable books
Kim/1/Ca - You would THINK! I am at a loss..............!
Sadie T - Brad: PG - Phonographics (Acronym Coordinator is guessing here)
Marcia/1st/GA - Well, that makes my little fellow look like he's ready for college, then Kim. Wow, then the OC phonics may be really good for them.
Sadie T - Oh, I missed Naneb's answer.
Grace/IL - Kim, make them "write" the words. It really forces the attention.
judy3ca - I'm just going to have to inform friends that I'm busy here on Friday nights and NO more phone calls, LOL.
Sadie T - PG = Parental Guidance suggested
Kim/1/Ca - What else, Grace? Would stamping them out help:?
Sadie T - Yes, Judy, do that!!
brad - Does OC phonics still have "oo' on the ghost? LOL
naneb - I use letter tiles and we make nonsense words and add and subtract letters to make new words, focus on the sounds
Marcia/1st/GA - That's right, Judy. Tell them you are having a party with some of your imaginary friends!
brad - LOL, Judy, my wife says she knows better than to talk. Luckily she's in bed shortly after I get on
Marcia/1st/GA - no, that must be the old set. Now it's an owl
judy3ca - LOL, brad
brad - my point always was BUT OWL DOESN'T HAVE AN OO SOUND!!
judy3ca - Oooh, Marcia, that's it!
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, the picture clue for /th/ is thongs-the shoe type, that is
Sadie T - "Look at the ool in the tree"....
naneb - but Brad, it says hoot!!!
brad - that's great marcia. My kids KNOW what thongs are, and we ain't talking shoes.
naneb - just joking!!
judy3ca - nan, hooray for hoot
Sadie T - "Look at the hoot in the tree."
Grace/IL - Teach them to write the letters. Go to my website, click on "Free Resources" and "Teaching the Child to Print." While you're having them trace, write, (whatever) the letters, have them say the principal sound at the same time. Go to m & n so you can have them write "an, am, man". It takes mastery of tiny steps with these kiddos.
Marcia/1st/GA - and the sound for a is a lamb and e is a hen. I just teach them the Orton Gillingham/Recipe for Reading way and it works much better
brad - Marcia, that sounds more like it.
naneb - I don't use picture clues either, just teach the sounds of the letters and how to blend them into words, then say it and write it
Kim/1/Ca - I brought ROOTS home, Grace. For perusal this weekend, again.........now that it is relevant to me.
Mrs. J - Lamb and hen? My kids don't even know what they are! Or an owl for that matter
brad - That Levar Burton Kim. He's some actor. Didn't you enjoy him in that?
Kim/1/Ca - <<<<snorting here...........agreeing with Marcia. Lamb and hen..........Oh brother.
brad - mrs. j, mine wouldn't either. but what do i know?
Marcia/1st/GA - I know. It frustrates me. What frustrates me even more is how much everyone LOVES the program. Oh, well
Mrs. J - Brad, you're a "hoot"
Kim/1/Ca - Or PIG for short i...............
naneb - it just seems like a lot of wasted instruction, when you can do the same thing in a much simpler way and not teach kids to rely on a picture
Kim/1/Ca - You are such a HOOT Brad................LeVar Burton indeed..............
Marcia/1st/GA - Great, I know I have found some comrades here. Sometimes I just need a reality check...
Grace/IL - Marcia, those are good words but don't you have to sing them out to get the sound. I use apple for a and egg for e (and then we have to teach them to say egg properly instead of aig.
Kim/1/Ca - Owe me a coke, Mrs. J .........!
JDD - hello
brad - I like the suggestions in Phonics they Use. This is just a good example of why "created programs" cannot work across the board. You must adjust for each individual class. That's why I'm not big into any program which asks me to buy in to a certain material
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, my point exactly. Plus, I teach them to feel their mouth for the sound and exaggerate and all that...
Mrs. J - Ok, next time I'm in California (which should be never since I'm afraid of earthquakes!)
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, these are the picture clues for teh widely published Open Court phonics, not my program
Kim/1/Ca - Amen and halleluja, Brother Brad..............
brad - Grace, around here, the kids get such a kick out of me because I say pEn. Everyone else around here says pIn, like a safety pin. They think I talk funny.
Grace/IL - Absolutely, Marcia. I had to teach my son to say \v\.
Kim/1/Ca - It's been YEARS since our last big earthquake, Mrs. J
Grace/IL - Brad, add that Hoosier twang to any phonics lesson and you have another issue.
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, where are you? I run into the same problem
naneb - probably due then Kim!1
brad - Ohio
Mrs. J - Then you're due right Kim?
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, as opposed to /vuh/?
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah, we are due............ <<<<<shuddering..........
naneb - getting ready to fall inot the ocean!!
Grace/IL - Kim, you didn't respond when I asked if the fire was near you -- NER
brad - Marcia, I've even had a few (not in this building) who think I'm funny cause I say wash (as opposed to WARSH, I think)
Mrs. J - With my luck, you'd have one the day I came! Besides, I'm afraid of planes too. Only been on one once--one month before 9/11
Marcia/1st/GA - must be eastern Ohio?
Kim/1/Ca - Oh yeah, when I was assessing letters/sounds today.......you wouldn't BELIEVE the /uh/ sounds................
Grace/IL - Uh, uh -- as opposed to \b\
Mrs. J - Ooh, now I owe Nan one!
brad - southwestern OHIO, dayton, cincy corridor
Kim/1/Ca - Every ONE of them said /k/ for Qq...........
Grace/IL - Oops, I thought Brad was in Indiana -- but not far from it.
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, interesting.... I would have thought more of a midwestern accent there.
brad - I teach in Dayton City, and you must know "A New Day is Dawning" Marcia. LOL
Kim/1/Ca - Oh, Sorry......Grace, yes.......... they were evacuating about 3 miles west.......but them it started raining.
Mrs. J - Did they say /w/ for y?
naneb - I have to go to bed, I am going to school tomorrow morning to work on the stupid computers again!!
Mrs. J - Night, nan
Kim/1/Ca - YES, Mrs. J............and yuh for Uu..........
brad - nan, school on saturday?? shudder to think. good night
Sadie T - Good night Nan
naneb - bye!!
Marcia/1st/GA - Nan, when that computer job starts interfering with mosaicteachers, I want you to quit it, ok??
judy3ca - night, nan, I'm working Saturday, too
Kim/1/Ca - DUH BUH VUH...........KUH............makes me crazy!
Mrs. J - Does the K teacher teach it that way, Kim? Or don't you know yet?
brad - KIm, I'll bet. I learned a lot the year I subbed primarily in one building around here from the speech pathologist. I really never understood how to teach sounds (no certificate in K). I had no idea about the "uh's" as you might call them.
Grace/IL - Have them hitch those consonants to other vowels like in the old syllabarium. They'll figure it out in due time.
Kim/1/Ca - I think they do...........when I taught K I was very, very, careful......................
brad - syllabarium?? that's a quarter word
Marcia/1st/GA - Here's how I heard one first grade teacher sounding out a bonus word on her spelling test today "/el/ /Long e sound/ /f/ /ant/" I shuddered!
Kim/1/Ca - "short little sounds," I would say. Now you can't help it much with /w/, but ...............
judy3ca - Well, friends, time for me to say good-bye. Night.
Grace/IL - ba, be, bi, bo, bu (long vowels) and ab, eb, ib, ob, ub (short vowels)
brad - gnite judy
Kim/1/Ca - ACK! Marcia.......! You are KIDDING, right?
Sadie T - Good night Judy!
Mrs. J - I never thought about it, but I did my student teaching with a first grade teacher when the whole district was trained in Project Read, and that was a big deal. I was good at using my imaginary scissors to cut those "uhs" off
Grace/IL - Brad, part of the syllabarium was on the ancient hornbook. That's how kids were taught.
brad - brb, must get more ice for drink
Kim/1/Ca - Makes sense, Grace.............
Marcia/1st/GA - no, so annoying. This is a well sought teacher too. Pointless activity!
Grace/IL - Mrs. J., you had GOOD training with Project Read
Kim/1/Ca - Do you like the idea of the kids writing out their spelling words on chalkboards, Grace? For the tactile thing........?
brad - what activity is pointless marcia?
Grace/IL - If there's room for everyone to write on the chalkboard, great. That's what
Marcia/1st/GA - Do you ever get tired of fighting the good fight of best practices? Trying to explain yourself and what you do. Trying to figure out why people do some of the things they do?...
Kim/1/Ca - Little chalkboards, Grace, ........
Mrs. J - I never really got to use it though. My reading recovery teacher about killed me the first year I started teaching. Said it would confuse her kids. Some things stuck with me though--like the scissors
Grace/IL - Intensive Phonics for Yourself has them do (Crazy transmission here again)
brad - I look Forward as I walk down the halls Marcia.
Kim/1/Ca - Brad.....let's digress a sec. How is your wife feeling these days?
Grace/IL - Little chalkboards are fine. They can hold them up for your immediate feedback.
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, sounding out a word incorrectly. Like when people sound out the word "said" with a long a sound to cue the children to use the ai spelling pattern
Mrs. J - A lot of people do the things they do because they have never thought about WHY they do the things they do. That's why I love my job! Half the day, I get to work with teachers to help them start thinking about WHY
brad - thanks marcia. Wife is doing okay, Showing for sure now. Bathroom's becoming issue.
Sadie T - Hi Eilene!
Kim/1/Ca - A sight word is a sight word for a reason............(sigh)..............
Mrs. J - I use white boards. I know some teachers who use those little envelope sealers that you fill with water--then they use on chalkboard
brad - Kim, all that sighing. Leave some air for us
Grace/IL - Yes, "said" is the exception. "paid, raid," etc. are good.
eilene/3/il - Hi, Sadie. What's tonight's topic of choice?
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, this is not your first then. I read something about a daughter
Mrs. J - Welcome, Eilene
Marcia/1st/GA - Hi Eilene.
Kim/1/Ca - Cool, Mrs. J...........I like the envelope sealer things. The white boards are good, but chalk gives that tactile sensation up the arm.
Sadie T - Right now we're talking about phonics and teaching letter sounds and the alphabet (first grade)
Sadie T - What envelope sealer things? How do you use them?
eilene/3/il - Hello, everyone. Oh, phonics. I'm teaching my kids phonics too. the district is coming off the whole language kick
brad - Marcia, it will be my son. Biologically it's my second. But I have three children, a son a daughter, and now a son on the way. AND I'M DONE.
Mrs. J - I hate the tactile sensation of chalk! It gives me the heebee jeebies (don't know how to spell that) even when someone else is using it
Marcia/1st/GA - Eilene, and we are also sighing over some of the ways people teach phonics and the various programs.
Kim/1/Ca - Balance is important eilene, as I am sure you know...................balance, balance, balance...............
Marcia/1st/GA - the caboose
brad - I love chalk, but hate it in my classroom. I never use chalkboard
Grace/IL - I used a clock on textured wallpaper (fabric backed to last). The clock idea is from Spalding. It really works for letter formation.
Kim/1/Ca - How DONE are you Brad?? Snicker , snicker............
eilene/3/il - Oh, well, then you might need to sigh over me. I have no idea how to teach it!, and of course I know balance is the key. As someone said, a sight word is a sightword
Mrs. J - The envelope sealers are like little bottles. You fill them with water. They have a sponge on one end. You use them to wet the envelope to seal it. You can write on the board with water
Marcia/1st/GA - Grace, how do you do the straight letters with a clock?
brad - No more stretching of procedure areas!! Step away from the procedure areas!!
Kim/1/Ca - 6:00
brad - A clock?? Wait, I missed this.
Kim/1/Ca - ...or 12:00..?
Grace/IL - Yes, but you have no balance if the kiddos don't know their letters.
Marcia/1st/GA - Duh, I guess the hands would work wouldn't they? I am only thinking of the face
Sadie T - Thanks, Mrs. J., I know what your talking about now - good idea.
Kim/1/Ca - A clockface on their desks.............. all the letters start somewhere on the clock. C, for example, is a 2:00 letter.
brad - Grace, I don't believe that you have no balance if you don't know the letters. Explain so I'm sure I'm not misunderstanding
eilene/3/il - I can agree with that. I'm discovering my 3rd graders who are non-readers.
Kim/1/Ca - THANKS for reminding, me, Grace!
Marcia/1st/GA - Do you use that Kim?
brad - That is GREAT, Kim and Grace. I've never heard of a clock. What you don't know. . .
Kim/1/Ca - I think I am going to.............Kinders didn't quite "get " the clock reference.
Mrs. J - So is it a handwriting tool?
Grace/IL - I use the clock mostly for curved letters but also use it for numerals. For 4, go 11, 9, 3, then pick up pencil and go 12 to 6. For b, one COULD start off the clock, come down through 12 to 6, then make a right turn and follow the numerals back to 12.
Marcia/1st/GA - Okay, so what do I need. Textured wallpaper, a clock face on their desk?
brad - Maybe we can think of something else for reference. After all a lot of these kids have digital at home
Kim/1/Ca - Yes, it is.............printing that "flows" allows for expression of thoughts...............
Marcia/1st/GA - But, Brad, I still have Old Ben up on my classroom wall.
brad - Well take him down, marcia, doesn't he have to make rice?
brad - oh, wait, that's uncle ben
Kim/1/Ca - Just tape down a clock face. Grace also recommends a line to line up the top of their paper. Her book, ROOTS is well worth the $25......full of stuff like this.
Marcia/1st/GA - LOL, Brad. I am starting to catch on
Grace/IL - Marcia, go to my website. It's all written out there.
Marcia/1st/GA - And I thought you were talking about the movie...
Mrs. J - What is your website Grace? I guess I've missed it
brad - Look Marcia, there's Big Ben, Parliament
Kim/1/Ca - You can buy the backing you get for needlepoint, for cross stitch, Marcia? You know what Imean?
Marcia/1st/GA - Oh, yeah, it is Uncle Ben, isn't it? Didn't catch it and still thought it was pretty funny
brad - IF you have a rat on your wall, marcia, I'm leaving
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, what do I need backing for?
Grace/IL - Yes, Brad, but they have troubles when they meet an analog clock in their math work. I always drew a huge circle on the chalkboard, then asked then what numeral went where. It was great.
Marcia/1st/GA - Lost me, now Brad.
Kim/1/Ca - They sell it at WalMart............ the kids put their paper up against it and trace oversized letters with crayons.......very bumpy and tactile.
brad - Ben, the rat, Michael Jackson
Marcia/1st/GA - Oh, I see, Kim. More of Graces' ideas?
Grace/IL - www.spellangtree.org
Kim/1/Ca - Instead of textured wallpaper.............stores upright.
Sadie T - Grace, a lot of mine (high school) can't read analog clocks. I teach them. They hate it!
Mrs. J - Do you use cross stitch fabric or the plastic canvas?
eilene/3/il - Kim, are you talking about the aida fabric
Kim/1/Ca - It's the plastic canvas.
Marcia/1st/GA - Gotcha, Brad
brad - It's those @#$% microwaves, sadie.
Mrs. J - OH, I have been there!
Kim/1/Ca - With the little grids.........you know ?
Sadie T - LOL Brad! It is!
Marcia/1st/GA - Kim, that's plastic canvas
Grace/IL - transluscent plastic canvas
eilene/3/il - That's a clever idea, Kim!! and not very epensive, either
Kim/1/Ca - credit Grace..........
brad - marcia, how are your first days coming?
eilene/3/il - Grace, that's a clever idea!! and not very expensive, either
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, just finished 4 weeks. Still a little rough going. Got some work habits to get under control
Grace/IL - Brad, on the balance issue -- If kids can't decode (letters and sounds), all of the comprehension strategies will be for naught.
Kim/1/Ca - <<<<<<<<<LOL, eilene...........
Marcia/1st/GA - Plus, I haven't followed the 4 blocks totally and I am trying to implement centers.
brad - Yeah, same here. Just finished second week. I think I'm getting through to them we're not going to be doing much coloring, playing of games, drawing, or cutting
eilene/3/il - Marcia, how are you introducing your centers? I'm finding it difficult just even thinking about cneters right now
Grace/IL - eilene, cheap's the word. I get two pieces from a 24 cent piece of canvas.
brad - Ooh, Marcia, you should read the posts on the boards on centers. Don't knock yourself out. Ask Grace
Kim/1/Ca - which board, brad?
Marcia/1st/GA - I have some kids who really miss toys and rest time in kindergarten..
brad - It makes me wonder what those first grade teachers did with them (a lot of coloring, drawing, playing of games, and cutting, I'm sure)
Grace/IL - Guilty as charged, Brad
Mrs. J - Alta, hi!
Marcia/1st/GA - which board?
eilene/3/il - I never thought of using that for tactile kids.
brad - prof reading board
Marcia/1st/GA - Hi Alta
Kim/1/Ca - ((((((Alta)))))))) .......... Yeah, Brad..........that's all I plan to do with them. It will be a lot easier.
eilene/3/il - Hi, Alta
Alta Rose / 2 - Hi! (Don't want to interupt.)
Marcia/1st/GA - I'll check it out, brad. I guess I just need to accept the level of the kids and do what I think is right with this group.
Kim/1/Ca - Yup, Marcia................ same here.
Sadie T - Hi Alta!!
Mrs. J - You know, what my kids can't shake: SNACK. They ask me daily if we are going to have one
Marcia/1st/GA - Are any of you at Fountas and Pinnell schools?
Alta Rose / 2 - What grade, Mrs. J?
Grace/IL - eilene, the idea came out of the blue. I was looking for something to put over letters and thought screen wire could be a scratchy problem. I thought of the textured stuff they use for light fixtures but realized kids could break that and hurt themselves.
Kim/1/Ca - Well, brain research does show they need a midmorning snack................
brad - Grace, see I don't believe that, I think if we WAIT to teach comprehension until after they can decode, then you get to where I always was in third grade listening to some nice word calling, but they couldn't tell you a durn thing they read. We can teach comprehension through read-aloud and shared reading and I think we SHOULD. Especially those students who don't get their Thousand Hours. They have no story sense, and need to develop some ALONG with decoding. It's just a matter of organizing your schedule to accomplish both.
Marcia/1st/GA - Now, Mrs. j. we still have snack, but the kids have to bring it. We usually do our math journals during snack.
Mrs. J - Well, I wouldn't say we are a Fountas and Pinnell school, but our guided reading looks more F&P than 4aB
eilene/3/il - Well, my school is a hodgepodge of F&P, 4B, you name they'll adopt it.
brad - I missed something, Kim. What are you doing that's easier?
Kim/1/Ca - I WISH, Marcia.
Alta Rose / 2 - I did Action Research on F & P GR before switching to 4Blocks.
Mrs. J - Oops, I mean 4B
Kim/1/Ca - Just letting them draw, paint, color, and cut.
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, I agree. The comprehension is often there better with non readers than some who can read.
Mrs. J - Yah, Marcia, but I teach 3rd
Grace/IL - Brad, I didn't say, "Wait." They need all of it.
brad - I don't mind if THEY bring a snack or water bottle, and I tell them, but I'm not going through the trouble of managing a snack calendar or buying them myself. Am I harsh?
eilene/3/il - clever thinking, Grace. *wishes she had brain power to be that clever*
Kim/1/Ca - Of course you are harsh, Brad. You are a manly man.
Marcia/1st/GA - Brad, I don't provide or pass out snacks. I say I am not a waitress.
brad - Well, Grace, that's what I mean by balance. You have to have it all from the get-go.
brad - With hairy arms, Kim
Mrs. J - I let them bring water bottles but snack (even if they bring it) just takes too much time
Marcia/1st/GA - For those of you at F and P schools, are you doing the workboard with literacy centers, etc.
Alta Rose / 2 - My kids bring their own snacks. I provide times for them to eat them in am and pm during read-alouds.
Grace/IL - I'm heading for bed. Have a meeting tomorrow morning (Smile). It's always fun to chat with this group.
Kim/1/Ca - <<<<<<<fanning herself at the thought of Brad's hairy arms...........
Alta Rose / 2 - Night, Grace.
brad - The snack can't be crummy though. Has to be fruit, fruit roll up, gummy snacks, or vegetables. No chips, pretzels, cookies, HO HO's. . .
eilene/3/il - Night, Grace! Thanks for the idea
Sadie T - Good night Grace!
Mrs. J - My kids have individual planning sheets
Marcia/1st/GA - bye Grace
brad - I like the perspective you bring Grace. Have a good night, and see you later
eilene/3/il - We can't have snacks. Had some 'critters' over the summer
Kim/1/Ca - My kids don't have the money for snacks. If I start providing............I am setting myself up. Yet, if it helps them learn.................................(scuffling feet here)
Sadie T - No Ho-Ho's, Brad?!
eilene/3/il - Marcia, I'm starting to do the F&P workboard, but not quite to their style
brad - No, Sadie, too messy, I don't really like oranges because they're a @#$% to peel and they perfume the whole room but I will NEVER deny these kids a healthy snack. We're talking kids who eat Andy Capp's Hot Fries with a Mountain Dew for breakfast.
eilene/3/il - My district endorses the "skill a day" routine. They abide by the textbook. As F&P has said, skill a day won't work with centers
Mrs. J - Hey, I'm a mountain dew breakfast gal!
eilene/3/il - Hey!!! I used to have Flaming Hot Cheetos and MD for breakfast too!
Marcia/1st/GA - It's making me crazy tyring to figure all that out. Last year, my kids did really well with reading workshop (SSR) and they were reading about 50 minutes a day at the end of the year (mini lesson and response time included in that 50 minutes.)
Kim/1/Ca - Flaming hot cheetos...........(Homer drool).............
brad - So I suffer through the oranges. But most can maintain eating some grapes or carrot sticks while reading. Surprisingly (or not) only one or two bring something on any kind of regular basis and it's not everyday. Guess what?? Kids don't need to go to the bathroom more than once a day either!! LOL
Mrs. J - Uh, oh, my bambinos are stirring (and whining) Brb
eilene/3/il - Now my stomach revolts every time I take a bite. I must be getting old
brad - I'll come over and stir them, mrs. j. With my manly hairy arms too. Beat them soundly and send them back to bed without their supper
eilene/3/il - Marcia, I plan on using those centers as an "unstructured" break for the kids. We've extended our school day by 45 minutes, but have no recess. So that's what I'm going to give my kids.
Mrs. J - Don't have to go to the bathroom more than once a day? Try once an hour!
Marcia/1st/GA - or letting them use the bathroom, right Brad?
Mrs. J - Little late for supper, don't you think Brad?
Kim/1/Ca - My Pet Peeve. The bathroom brigade............ugh...............
Marcia/1st/GA - I am going to sign off. Nice talking to all of you tonight. Maybe I will see you on the boards
Alta Rose / 2 - We were discussing the snack / story thing at p.m. recess today. I have let them eat their snack during a.m. story, and assumed by p.m. story they'd not have anything left. But today I said after recess that if they had any snacks left to bring them to the carpet--And they brought the fruit that hadn't been eaten yet!
brad - Mine too, Kim. I hope to be able to phase it out again this year, Kim. I don't know though
eilene/3/il - We go as a class. it gets them out of the room if only for 10 minutes
Kim/1/Ca - G'night, Marcia........
Mrs. J - Night, Marcia
eilene/3/il - Night, Marcia
brad - night marcia. see ya'
Sadie T - Good night Marcia!
brad - but they're so loud in the halls while they're waiting, eilene, and I can't blame them. It's boring
Alta Rose / 2 - Kim, my daughter and I watched "Kindergarten Cop" last weekend. I almost died when Arnold yells out, "THERE IS NO BATHROOM!!!!!"
Kim/1/Ca - What I cannot STAND is when I remind and remind to go at recess, before school, etc. and then they plead to go RIGHT NOW...........jiggling up and down.........
eilene/3/il - Not my kids, we're not loud at all. and I bring a deck of playing cards and we play 10 partners
Mrs. J - I love that movie!
brad - Mine are starting to get the hint. We go once and once only. I know this wasnt' the case last year.
Mrs. J - Mine always, without fail, have to go when we are lining up for a special or lunch.
brad - Eilene, explain, this could be useful
Kim/1/Ca - I get my Kinders TRAINED, I tell ya.........and then I change schools and these kids have a bathroom in the Kinder room........they can go whenever they please.
brad - Of course, I'm sure, Kim, you can diagnose a true emergency. ;-0
Mrs. J - You know, Brad, I think I'm going to tell them that tomorrow. I never thought of that!
Alta Rose / 2 - I don't worry too much about the bathroom thing. If they gotta go, they gotta go.
Kim/1/Ca - I made THAT mistake as a new teacher. "You can go if it is an emergency." HA! "Teacher......it's a MERGENCY!"
eilene/3/il - Well, I use the cards Ace through 10. At the flash of the card, the kids have to tell me what they need to add to equal ten. We also use the cards as count bys. If the kids get stuck on the number, they use the suit symbol to help them count on.
brad - I have it doctor approved I say. LOL. That's true though, in case any parent gets sassy
eilene/3/il - I usually wait until I see them "dance" if it's not a scheduled break
brad - I need to see tears. (bad me)
Kim/1/Ca - Alta......too many of them take advantage and use it as an excuse to get out of class. Then they are gone 41 seconds. Ridiculuous.
eilene/3/il - The cards are just a math drill, but it does help them in the end
Mrs. J - I live in fear that someone's gonna wet themself and then I will be in deep doo doo
brad - Kim, what's the big deal if it's in your room. I had that in my long term sub. I just kept an eye out and said you couldn't go during teaching and only one at a time. Who cares?
eilene/3/il - Mrs. J, or would that be deep "p...." oh never mind!
Kim/1/Ca - Great idea, eilene...........
Alta Rose / 2 - Yes, but I quickly spot who does that and then I deal with them. I had a boy last year who needed to leave the room every once in awhile as a coping mechanism.
brad - You have to be doing one of the 2 B's before you go to the nurse in my room too
Alta Rose / 2 - That's my feeling, too, Mrs. J.
Kim/1/Ca - It is NOT in my room.
Mrs. J - bleeding or barfing?
eilene/3/il - Bleeding and begging, Brad?
brad - exactly, mrs. j
eilene/3/il - I don't allow barfing in my room
Alta Rose / 2 - You guys have a school nurse? We've never had one.
brad - If a kid says, "But I have to throw up" I just walk over silently pick up the trash can, and set it next to them.
Mrs. J - LOL, that's the only thing you can interrupt a group for in my room (and if you can't breathe)
Mrs. J - We use to have one, but only one half day a week. Now we don't
eilene/3/il - It was the first thing I told them. The unwritten rule. Became the tyrant and never gave them the option. They know they can just run out. Luckily the bathroom is just a classroom away
Kim/1/Ca - LOL.........that's my tattle rule. Somebody has to be "dead, dying, bleeding, or puking" to tattle.
brad - we have one two days of the week
eilene/3/il - We have a nurse full time
brad - Mine too kim, the 3 B's, bleeding, barfing, being destructive
Kim/1/Ca - I LIKE that, Brad........hmmmmmmmmm...............
brad - she's in the other building the other three (we have intermediate across the campus)
Mrs. J - Wow, what does a nurse do all day every day? Are they busy the whole time?
Kim/1/Ca - I had a kid in Reading Academy who pulled the "I am going to be sick" routine on the other teacher. I just placed a trash can next to her and said, "Aim well."
Alta Rose / 2 - I also allow waterbottles, which will result in more bathroom breaks. The only time it drives me crazy if they ask to go 2 minutes after recess.
brad - Being destructive is a pet peeve of mine. I just can't stand to see a kid destroying property for no reason. It annoys me when I hear of vandalism. It's so mindless; pointless.
eilene/3/il - She is. Vision/Hearing tests... Lice checks...
Kim/1/Ca - Yes, I encourage water bottles..........
brad - LOL, KIm. Sometimes I do say, "Be sure you hit the middle"
eilene/3/il - Dispensing meds... My building is k-6 with over 1,000 students
brad - We have a sink in my room, but it's not cold. As long as I'm not actively teaching. . . but my kids whine it's not cold. I say, "Bring the water bottle then." They do learn once September's over.
brad - I should've said, a sink with a water fountain attachment
eilene/3/il - Litter is a pet peeve of mine. Vandalism is pretty important to the school, because we're in a high gang area
Mrs. J - Our secretary dispenses meds and we do lice checks. Our health department sends someone one day a year to do hearing checks, and one to do vision
Kim/1/Ca - I don't know what OURS does............I sent a kid down today with what looks like Ringworm all over the back of his neck. She said it was NOTHING.......hmmmmmmm...............
eilene/3/il - Oh, Kim, that's so gross. I don't know what really they are legally entitled to do.
brad - Our nurse is very nice, explanatory, and helpful (Thank God, so many other people in this district aren't)
Kim/1/Ca - Well, she isn't a nurse. A "health aide" and she does attendance.
brad - What?? Vandalism is important??
eilene/3/il - We have a lot of ld referrals, so we have to make sure the students V&H get screened first (as you all know)
Mrs. J - Our nurse couldn't diagnose or give meds--only bandaids, and a call to the parents
Kim/1/Ca - He is African American........little bumps in a pattern. He said they stung.
eilene/3/il - Sorry, brad, the Not Committing Vandalism thingy
Alta Rose / 2 - Get this--Because of litigation fears, our field trip permission forms now have to list all the possible things that could happen to the child on the fieldtrip. So our swimming forms (we'll be walking to the pool 3 blocks away) now read: "The above activity may result in sprains, ______, _______, and possible death."
Sylvia/CA - Hellllloooooooooo friends!!!!!! I forgot that I might find you here!
eilene/3/il - Oh, how cheerful, Alta
Sylvia/CA - oops! Gotta go change!! BRB!
brad - You're right Mrs. J. That's part of my beginning of the year diatribe about having to barf or bleed to go to the nurse. She can't do anything anyway, blah, blah, blah. Unless I can cover it with a band-aid (and I'm stingy with those too), it has to go to her. That blood borne pathogen thing
Kim/1/Ca - I can barely keep my head up. What a week! I will visit the board tomorrow to try and get caught up.
Mrs. J - Brad, I have to see dripping blood to get a bandaid
Kim/1/Ca - ((((Smooches!)))))))
Sadie T - Good night Kim!
Alta Rose / 2 - Night, Kim. Hi Sylvia.
brad - LOL, Mrs. J, it sounds like you and I share these policies. There's just too much wasteful time in my school
eilene/3/il - I tell my kids to "Apply Pressure. And by the time you're married, you'll forget about it."
Sadie T - Hello Sylvia!
Mrs. J - Welcome back, sylvia
brad - OH, Kim good night
Sylvia/CA - Awww, Kim!! But I just got here!! *handing Kim some toothpicks for those eyes!*
eilene/3/il - Night, Kim!
Mrs. J - Night Kim
Sylvia/CA - HI Sadie!! HI Mrs. J!
Kim/1/Ca - Good night...............sorry, Sylvia. Nothin' personal.................zzzzzzz
brad - They're very skilled of taking advantage too (we have a lot of "elders" in the k and 1)
Sylvia/CA - Kim!! "Apply pressure and by the time you're... well.. awake... you'll forget about it"! LOL!!
Sadie T - "elders" Brad?
brad - veterans,
Sylvia/CA - Nighty night, Kim!!!
eilene/3/il - Brad, what grade do you teach again? I've forgotten.
Sadie T - Brad teaches students.
brad - I'm 2 this year.
Mrs. J - Ah, the fine art of scamming
Sylvia/CA - eilene!! I was JUST about to ask brad about the grade he teaches!
brad - LOL, literally
eilene/3/il - Duly noted, Sadie
brad - LOL, don't mind sadie, eilene, she's a little SASSY!!
Sylvia/CA - brad! TWO??? Wow!! You're waaaaaaaaaaay advanced in speech, vocabulary and even typing skills!!!!!!!!! LOL
brad - I learned all I know from Jan
brad - After all she raised Hunter
eilene/3/il - Well, I was going to ask you what grade you were in, but was afraid of the answer I would get from that!
brad - I'm a fine grade, a premium grade myself
brad - Why are we asking me this?
Mrs. J - Hairy arms and all
Sylvia/CA - and modest, too, Brad! LOL!!
eilene/3/il - Grade A, extra large?
brad - Sadie, do youget these issues in high school?
Sylvia/CA - Hey wait.... I'm waaaaaaay wrong right now.. BRB again...
Sadie T - Extra hairy.
Sadie T - Which issues, Brad?
brad - You guys act like I'm Robin Williams or something. I'm not that hairy. It's just black.
brad - Leave the room issues
sylvia/ca - Ok... I'm back, now! all lower case... I wanna be like brad and eilene... LOL!!!
Sadie T - Yes, I do... I usually let them go.
Mrs. J - Hey, you're the one who brought the hair up Brad!
eilene/3/il - Brad, your hair stands up?
brad - i don't know when i turned into ee cummings, i guess i'm too lazy to hit shift
sylvia/ca - brad, you can always say "I'd rather not answer that question"
brad - It can, eilene
eilene/3/il - I'm too tired, and lazy to capitalize anything.
Sadie T - They carry a notebook in which we record each time they leave class... it's their hall pass. That way we can tell if a particular student is leaving classes all the time (remember, they have 6 different teachers)
sylvia/ca - Well, the truth is, I was too lazy to remind you and eilene of what I've been telling my students all week!!! Proper nouns should always be written with the first letter as a capital letter.... see? that was too much to say on a friday night! LOL
eilene/3/il - When you scuff your feet on a wool carpet, brad?
brad - sadie, that's an advantage of high school. i might try that. believe it or not they have agenda planners in my school in second. it's a nightmare right now. i'm hoping it smooths out like it did in third
Mrs. J - Our high school locks the bathrooms during class. They are only open between classes
eilene/3/il - But like Maggie says in Muggie Maggie, when we are adults and don't have to answer to anyone....
brad - just a little gel, eilene, size of a dime, and rub it all around for that just-got-out-of-bed look
sylvia/ca - Sadie, so what do you do when a student says he/she lost the notebook??
Sadie T - Mrs. J., what do students do if it's really an emergency - if they are sick or something?
brad - eilene? muggie maggie says what about what?
Sadie T - It's an agenda, they have to use it for homework and other things too, if they lose it they have to buy a new one (first one is free)
Mrs. J - They have to go to the office and get someone to open it
brad - Are they from Franklin Covey Sadie. That
brad - our policy too
sylvia/ca - Ohh.. I get it, Sadie! Actually, that's a pretty good idea about tracking kids leaving the classroom!
eilene/3/il - about her handwriting... She can write it anyway she wants as an adult, but right now as a third grader she writes it the way she should so that she has a happy teacher
Alta Rose / 2 - We have agendas here, too. At my daughter's middle school, the kids get punished if the parents don't sign them.
eilene/3/il - (We just finished that book) Great for t-s connections.
brad - okay, eilene, thanks. (by the way, I said that last year to my thirds about cursive)
brad - What do you think of that Alta?
eilene/3/il - especially for me. My handwriting is terrible! and I have to teach it again
sylvia/ca - eilene, that muggy maggie is right! I tell my students that when they have been practicing how to do it right for about 10 years, THEN they can write any way they want to ... and I promise them I won't try to correct them! LOL!!
brad - hate teaching handwriting.
Mrs. J - Oh, I should let my daughter read that. She always has problems with her handwriting. It's good enough for me and my mommy . . .
eilene/3/il - that's exactly what I say too! It's so ridiculous
sylvia/ca - I say we should all be able to type EVERYTHING!!! LOL!!
Mrs. J - Who says what's right?
Alta Rose / 2 - Personally, it's not been an issue for our family, because the first thing I do when I get home is sign agendas, and my kids check every morning. But for others who don't make it a priority, it's not fair for the kids.
brad - I wish, maybe in the future, sylvia
eilene/3/il - Why should I be directed to teach cursive, when most of these kids can't get a firm grasp on the printed word?!?
sylvia/ca - My penmanship is atrocious!!!!!!! LOL!! And I just hate it when kids say I wrote some letter incorrectly! LOL!! I have to be sooooo careful when I write for them!
Sadie T - I agree, Alta!
brad - My kids know outright how I feel about cursive. As long as you can sign your name, I don't force the issue. I teach it though (and most seem to really enjoy it)
eilene/3/il - Well, Sylvia, if we're too type everything, then we can't be lazy and forget our caps and correct punctuation. Forget about chatspeak (LOL, rotfl, etc)
Mrs. J - Why should you have to teach cursive when no one uses it as an adult--except to sign their name
sylvia/ca - I wonder why we teach cursive since every form they ever fill out says lease print plainly!
brad - last year, I kind've made it a "tables" contest, alta. That way no one was punished if their parent was lax
Alta Rose / 2 - One of my collegues (who used to work at the middle school) told me that a mother came in furiously with her child's agenda, initialed every space until the end of June, slammed it down and shouted, "IT'S SIGNED!"
sylvia/ca - eilene, but all I know is chatspeak!! even when I write out short note I'm tempted to add 'lol'!!!!
Sadie T - I used to be at a school where students were marked truant if their parents didn't call and leave a message on an answering machine system... many parents wouldn't call. It was a complicated "press 15 to speak to a real person" kind of thing, and some of the parents really couldn't even figure out what to do. I hated that.
eilene/3/il - My cursive was chicken scratch to start with, but then after college... it went downhill from there
sylvia/ca - lease?? PPPPPlease! LOL!
Alta Rose / 2 - Kind of defeated the purpose, I thought.
sylvia/ca - The only thing we REALLLLLLLY need cursive for is a signature! Can anyone think of any other time when cursive is a must?
eilene/3/il - well, I'll accept lol, but if I see Cya one more time.....
brad - Alta, I can believe it. I had a couple last year (first year used) that would sign for the entire week at once. I kept having to explain, "Please don't sign until after you've seen their COMPLETED homework. It's a check between me and you."
eilene/3/il - When we teach it?
sylvia/ca - Ohhh!! Okay, eilene! C'ya!!!!!!!!! LOL!!
brad - Sylvia, have you ever been talking to someone in real life, thought something was funny, and said, "LOL" to them!!??
sylvia/ca - brad!! Same here!!! That's very frustrating!!!
Alta Rose / 2 - Now that I'm looping, my parents are already "trained" from last year. Lol!
sylvia/ca - brad, my family teases me with 'L.O.L' all the time!!!
eilene/3/il - We have those homework/agendas too. I believe the bought the wrong type. way too many graphics and games. and it's optional for my kids, at the cost of 3.00 apiece, so i don't enforce it
eilene/3/il - sylvia..... Uuuuuuuuugh!!!!!!!
Mrs. J - Have you ever considered that parents might not see the same value in it as you do?
Sadie T - Brad, how to you pronounce "LOL" when you say it? (Acronym Coordinator is wondering about this)
brad - eilene, I agree, Too many graphics. The pages are confusing (especially for second's) and they're always asking "What page do we turn to?" I try to explain, it's not a page, it's a date. ANd those @#$% flimsy bookmarks don't help.
sylvia/ca - Ohhhh!! I WISH I was looping!!!!!!! I did that for 10 years and now that I'm at a different school, they don't loop because 'other teachers don't want to have to change what they do each year'!! ARRGGHH!!!! Now THIS is a sore subject for me!!!
brad - spell it out.
Mrs. J - I think I might get tired of it, honestly
sylvia/ca - oops! is eilene mad at me?????? I C U eilene!!!!!!!!! LOL!!
Sadie T - Yes, and ours have page numbers, but they have two sets of page numbers... "Turn to page 16... no, the SECOND page 16..."
Mrs. J - I think I am the only teacher on the planet who does not like to loop
eilene/3/il - On some boards, kids today write come as c u m. Ack!! I wish they would just take the time to type that extra letter
Alta Rose / 2 - I just use a scribbler. I call it a Message Book. It suits the same purpose, and kids glue in little notes or write short messages / reminders.
sylvia/ca - BRANN!!!!!!! Hi!!!!!!!!!! hey, girl! You're good at tracking me down!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!
Mrs. J - Well, I feel like it (obviously others don't, based on your post)
Brann - I came here only to see if you were around!
Alta Rose / 2 - No, Mrs. J. I have collegues who don't believe in looping.
brad - I consider it all the time, mrs. j. I don't force it as much as I probably should. In fact, no one does. It's a little bothersome for primary. In another school I worked in, they didn't hand them out till fourth grade. I think this is a good idea, by the end of last year, my thirds really had the hang of it and started to see the point. Right now, with seconds, five minutes after filling it out, my kids come up and say, "So do we have any homework?"
sylvia/ca - eilene! that could be dangerous! LOL
Brann - Mrs. J I don't like it at all
sylvia/ca - I don't use an agenda... I type up a list each week...
Mrs. J - It's not that I don't believe in it. I understand the reasoning behind it, I just don't like it personally
eilene/3/il - I've never had the opprotunity to loop. I would like to try it someday. right now, i need to get a handle on teaching third grade (this is my second year teaching at all)
brad - I think it becomes valuable when they move to middle and secondary in keeping track of six or seven different classes.
sylvia/ca - I absolutely love it! You always have about half who teach the others how to get things done...
Alta Rose / 2 - It's particularly nice this year, when because of cutbacks I ended up with a class of 26. (19 last year.) But there are only 8 that I don't know.
Mrs. J - I like the idea of the planner in upper el as a tool for organization--it's the signing by parents every night I'm not sure about
brad - I'm still talking agendas; i know we've moved to looping
brad - Michelle, where have you been, girl?
Michelle/3/or - you all still here?
eilene/3/il - Well, you can keep talking agendas, brad. Hey, Michelle!!
Alta Rose / 2 - Hi Michelle.
diane - hi guys!
brad - Diane, too!!
sylvia/ca - HI Michelle!
Sadie T - Hi Michelle!
Michelle/3/or - I actually had some real-live plans tonight. Imagine that!
sylvia/ca - Hi Diane!!!! oops.. diane! LOL
diane - i thought i slept through the chat...can't believe you're all still here...lol
Brann - lol Brad....we have them at my school....I like them cause they are easy to show parents that their child is not being responsible
Sadie T - No, Michelle, we're not here. We left a long time ago....
Sadie T - Hi diane!
eilene/3/il - yes, sylvia, get with the lower case thing. hey, diane!
Mrs. J - We're not real enough for you, Michelle?
diane - end of the first 3 days today...i am wiped out...
Alta Rose / 2 - I ask my parents to sign our Message Books. (Remember, they're just scribblers.) That way,if I have to write a personal note to a parent, I know they've seen it with their initials. I do the same if they write a note to me.
Michelle/3/or - what's the hot topic for tonight?
sylvia/ca - diane, I had forgotten it was Friday night... I just realized it a few minutes ago! LOL! BUT I never forgot it was Friday alll day! LOL!!
Sadie T - diane, how did the first 3 days go?
diane - lol, i do answer to Diane...(:
brad - Michelle, tell the truth. You were catching up on Boss Hogg. Those were your "real life" plans
sylvia/ca - i will not abuse upper case letters.... i will not abuse upper case letters.... i will not abuse upper case letters.... i will not abuse upper case letters.... i will not abuse upper case letters....
Michelle/3/or - Oh...I was thinking of our talk from last week while watching American Idol Wednesday...."It Takes Two" Donnie and Marie live on!
eilene/3/il - lol, i hope you cut/pasted that, slyvia
diane - oh, sadie, they seem sooooo little...we've got A LOT of work to do...plus, they NEVER stop talking...but they are truly sweet and respectful of each other
brad - I think Love Boat might be on TV Land. Nothing like Charo on a Friday night.
Mrs. J - "They never stop talking" seems to be a recurring theme here!
sylvia/ca - I think I'm the only person in the whole world who has not seen American Idol... I only figured out what it was a week ago!! LOL!!
Alta Rose / 2 - brb
diane - michelle, lol, my husband just about keeled over dead and ran screaming from the room..."ahhhhhhh, donny and marie..."
Michelle/3/or - I had my first sub of the year yesterday....she loved my class, said she couldn't believe how well they had already settled into a routine. I was so glad because last year I got several subs who just couldn't handle my kids.
sylvia/ca - eilene.... nope! typed every last dot! (not! )
Brann - ui haven't seen it....so there are two of us Sylvia
brad - michelle were you ill or just professionally developing?
sylvia/ca - Ohhh! Brann!!! *high five to Brann!*
diane - glad to hear i'm not alone, mrs. j...
eilene/3/il - Oh, nice turn of phrase there, brad!
Mrs. J - Don't worry. They are planning another one already
Michelle/3/or - I only saw maybe a total of 3 episodes of American Idol, including Wednesday, so don't feel bad.
sylvia/ca - LOL@Brad's 'professionally developing' question!!!! I never heard of it as a VERB!!!!!!!
Michelle/3/or - I took my son to the doctor yesterday.
eilene/3/il - I've only seen American Idol twice. So... who knows what my point was
brad - If you watched all 2 hours of the finale, you basically "saw the show"
sylvia/ca - what's that called? ????Something Progressive... it's a something progressive verb.... developING...
brad - everything's fine, michelle (didn't know you had children)
Michelle/3/or - present progressive
Michelle/3/or - yes, brad...remember me going on about Cutie and Bunny with erin?
eilene/3/il - all I know is a gerund, I think.
Sadie T - And is it an active or passive verb?
brad - OOH, Michelle is grammar queen!! (another almost unimportant thing like cursive)
Brann - sylvia...can you email it to me?
brad - yes, Michelle
eilene/3/il - brad, you don't think grammar is important?
Michelle/3/or - I had to take grammar classes for my Writing specialty and my Reading Endorsement (read: not my fault!)
Sadie T - LOL, I've never heard anyone apologize for taking grammar classes before.
Mrs. J - Grammar is important, but is knowing "present progressive" important?
diane - i think you should be appointed head chair of grammar for the esia, michelle
sylvia/ca - oooh! Michelle knows her verb tenses!!
Sadie T - Or for professionally developing.
eilene/3/il - oh, mrsj, no, that is not important. I may have misunderstood brad
sylvia/ca - brann, just send whatever it is you need translated and I'll send it back to you translated with all the PC codes for the spanish markings