Ms. M's Tales of a Teacher: My Personal Teacher Blog

 Recently I've been learning and reviewing a lot of information about conducting a read-aloud successfully. From podcasts to reading, from reviewing notes and conferring with my great thinking partner Renee, I knew I had to reflect on this exceptional topic here~  Please visit  Read. Write. Think. With Renee  on Youtube to learn more about her and the amazing work she does with classroom teachers as they navigate through Readers' Workshop.  For me, a read-aloud has always been a part of my classroom literacy lessons. What I've been confirming is the importance (and more recently vital necessity) of exposing students to stories and hearing them out loud. Episode 8, November 2019 of The Reading Teacher's Lounge podcast was a clear reminder that selecting books is a notable part of a read-aloud. Educators need to rely on each other for title suggestions and testimony for a book's theme, topic, etc., that can be used. We serve as each others' greatest resource. With...

When I approach the writing of my blog, I always ask myself, "what can I share with my audience today?" I'm always eager to share new information, show my excitement through my writing, and challenge readers to think outside the box with their own teaching.  Truthfully today, I need to share my thoughts for me . While I hope that my words reach the eyes of all those who need to see them, today, I aim to provide myself support in a safe space to help me re-energize myself.  With the uncertain and complex opening of school quickly approaching, I have been attempting to prepare for next week. It's left me tired, less focused, and feeling overwhelmed at times. I look back at what I didn't do today, become more frustrated, and so the vicious cycle continues it's vacuous swirl, drying out my spirit, and my mind. I took a few minutes today to clear my mind and review my thoughts. I realized that there are two key components in assisting yourself with times like this....

Today I finally took another step to prepare and advance communication with families. I've presented on this topic, viewed the work of others, listened to other educators' suggestions, and reviewed all the information and ideas I gathered.  I created an initial parent survey to distribute next week. I created this in Google Forms, assuming all my families will have access to technology this year. I am prepared however, that I might have families that do not have this access, or have other preferences. I have plenty of envelopes and stamps readily at had to meet the diverse needs of new families this year- whatever it takes!  Taken from my newly acquired knowledge and recent presentation, I compiled a simple list with my top questions to select for a survey. Please note that just like each one of us, each family is unique, diverse, and has varying needs.  - How would you like to be addressed?  - Tell me something unique about your family. - Do you consider your child ...

I often think about the disconnect between what I hear and learn in many of my professional development experiences, and what's expected of me as a teacher in the classroom. From workshops to podcasts and webinars, the re-occurring theme seems to reflect how teachers need more autonomy in their instructional delivery. Educators need to be empowered and encouraged to be creative.  When we go to a doctor, we trust him or her to make the best decisions based on our individual, specific needs, and their knowledge base. So, why is it that teachers cannot do the same for their students? Truth is we can, however many educators do not feel entrusted to do so. So much of our work is mandated that finding time to try newly learning strategies, technologies, and lessons seems impossible. Isn't meeting the diverse needs of our learners what our collective goal is? I get to know my students, their needs, and make informed decisions for instruction from there. That's the purpose of diffe...

One of my earlier blog posts focused on finding the "why" in what we do. Based on Simon Sinek 's book Start with Why , he advocates that we must know what drives us to excellence in our field. Another voice that echos powerfully is Dr. Mary Howard . What I admire about her work is her focus on teachers, and the emphasis being on "if we as teachers are passionate about our work, our students will be too. " For example, if a teacher admits he/she is not a reader, how can we expect our students to be avid readers? It's just not logical. So much of what we do extends from our modeling, that we cannot rely on our words to inspire our students, but our actions! Our students deserve to have the best versions of us arrive into the classroom everyday. While I remain with my feet planted on the ground here acknowledging that we won't be perfect all day, everyday, it's still of vital importance that we find joy in what we do. That joy is what shines through and...

My blog post today is more of a personal story than it is a reflection on resources, strategies, or concepts. I want to show my readers that I, too, have my own struggles as a teacher. No doubt that challenge, struggle, and therefore resilience are all synonymous with what we do and the passion in our hearts for education, but sometimes... we fall. The key is to get up, better than before and continue forward.  Although I'm grateful for my experiences thus far in my career, various opportunities, and an amazing network of teachers (thank you especially to KDP for that!) I often feel... stuck. I smile thinking of the meme "there are two types of teachers" with the picture of the messy art cabinet, and the perfectly organized one. Those who know me well can attest that I could probably make the organized cabinet look messy if I had to... after all, I love a challenge! But for me, I'm always looking head at what's next for me. I am a perfectionist (as many are) and a...

 The concept of a web is a common image that is used to describe a variety of things. I find using a web as a tool to describe communicating with families to be valuable for teachers to use as a graphic organizer and a visual.  When I think of a communication spiderweb, I picture the smaller strands as our frequent correspondences: short messages, weekly reminders, simple Q&A. These strands however, pose an important necessity to maintaining consistent communication. Without it, the gaps between the larger strands would not be connected.  In a similar way, the larger strands are branched out- thicker and more sturdy. In my perspective, these thicker strands are the larger, more in depth communications that might demand more of our time planning such as conferences, Back to School Night, or other engaging events. Despite the time needed to plan and organize, the results of these are large, expanding the web further as families often look forward to these events/ times ...

In a recent blog post, I shared a short review of the book   Indelible Leadership: Always Leave Them Learning by Michael Fullan . In my post I shared my reflections on the book, lessons learned, favorite quotes and sections, as well as how it is changing my perspective on leadership.  For today, I'd like to start with a quote from the book; "A painting is not thought out and settled in advance. While it is being done, it changes as one's thoughts change. And when finished, it goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it." - Picasso  This quote struck me even more today during my walk while listening to my podcast choice for today: Teaching Today,  July 23, Coaching and Connecting with Adult Learners. The connections I made charged my energy and my thinking about leadership and coaching. As I listened I noticed the concepts in Indelible Leadership wove seamlessly into the conversations in the podcast, and the panelists mirrored Ful...

 For all the reading teachers out there, I'm sure you can relate to this question...  What happens to the reader in-between? Teaching young readers is full of challenges, such as balancing phonics instruction with comprehension, transferring ideas to writing, and introducing vocabulary and grammar. One issue I often witness is my readers who have graduated from simple picture books with basic plots and characters are not yet ready for full chapter books... which often leads them to empty-choice shelves.  I wouldn't exactly call my learning experience today a "discovery," as that indicates something new and revelational, however I was exposed to information I did know on a deeper level.  For my podcast choice today I selected Scholastic's July 18, 2019 Growing Readers with Branches and Acorn . Honestly, the title intrigued me, as I did not know the implication. Being an advocate for Scholastic, and (bragging rights!) Red Apple teacher, I feel I'm well versed i...

I am feeling quite accomplished from this weekend because I am excited to share that I finished the book Indelible Leadership, Always Leave Them Learning by Michael Fullan. I highly recommend this book for teacher leaders who have been in the field for at least three years or more, are involved with leadership at their school, or even (as in my case,) an educational related group or honor society chapter.  I'm certainly not professing to be a book reviewer by any stretch of the imagination, however my excitement for this book cannot be contained. Truthfully a dear friend of mine recommended it to me when we were having a conversation about my current leadership position with my chapter of KDP, and in general at the school/ district level. I cannot thank her enough for this recommendation. My hope is have you feeling the same and wishing to read it after this post.  Unapologetically, I'm always yearning for more when it comes to growing as a teacher and leader. The timing of m...

Today I spent some time reflecting on a few different things which I am excited to share here.  I feel the true spark of determination of what to write about came from watching a video on differentiated instruction (as told by Hollywood teachers.) You can view the video here in the link, Hollywood Teachers . While this video is aimed at striking humor, and believe me it does, there were a few principles within it that rung the bell of truth.  When we as educators take the steps to connect with our students, make content relatable, use familiar vocabulary, allow student choice, recognize the talent of students, and recognize that we are actually the ones that have learning to do, we create a trusting classroom climate that will make a difference. Personally, I feel that if these factors aren't the forefront of what we do and are accomplished first, what's the sense in moving on with instruction?  At the end, one of the final lines was most prominent of all... "I learn from...

I'm thankful today I'm able to reach out and write, as many of my friends and colleagues are without power from the storm that occurred yesterday. Thankfully we were spared here and I can offer my home to anyone who needs accommodations until their power is restored.  Today I'd like to keep it simple with a reflection on a topic that I love to talk about with new teachers, and veteran teachers (both for very different reasons) because of the perspectives from all sides seeming to find a similar conclusion... One of the best things about summer is the fact that I can self-direct my own learning and discover what I find interesting. I can also use multiple outlets such as social media and the KDP website (through KDP U and KDP Global ) to network and meet educators from all over the world. And the best part? It's at my own time, my own, place, and my own pace. I read an article through ASCD (a while ago) about teachers leading their own professional development, and th...

I thought I'd take some time to do a replay of two podcasts I've highly enjoyed listening to on my walks this week. I took the liberty in skimming through them again and taking notes. Most are direct quotes from the host and guests ( I want to make sure correct credit is given to these amazing people!) I personally made many connections between the two. I feel that the overlay of each was similar in that the guests were both researchers/scientists that are invested in supporting educators with core knowledge that we as educators need to hear. Although Daniel Willingham focused more on aspects of reading, and Jared Horvath focused more on applying research, conclusions can be drawn from both.  Feel free to skim my notes, take your own, find what sticks out to you as an educator, and then let's compare our thinking!  *Please note that although I dedicated time to editing and revising, my intent here was to present exactly what I meant: notes . Not all of what I composed inc...