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

 Greetings everyone! I am thrilled to share with you today some strategies I've been geeking out on in my car as I commute to work the past few weeks. I've been listening to podcasts from Heinemann , my go-to for all things teaching! Side-plug for Heinemann- I've used many books to supplement my training and and the materials that often come with it are amazing because the video libraries are great ways to see experts model strategies!  Getting back to literacy and math, I've been trying some new strategies during math lessons that connect with literacy to help my students through word problems. The podcasts were a big help hearing from Jennifer Serravallo and Marilyn Burns how they cross-connect literacy and math using what their students already know and modeling in similar ways across the subjects.  This year I've been trying out comparing the word problems to the stories we are reading in class and applying strategies from Reading Workshop to help solve them. Re...

 Today I want to focus on Teacher Leadership. It's a term that many use but I often get asked "what exactly is Teacher Leadership?" There are many definitions of teacher leadership, and my first suggestion would be to check out a great book as your first stop as a resource: The Power of Teacher Leaders . I have educator friends who have chapters published in this book, and it personally was my launchpad for understanding teacher leadership, and for my own journey as one.  To me, being a teacher-leader goes beyond the textbook definition of being a leader at your school or in your district. Although leading your team at school and working closely with administrators to create a positive culture is certainly a part of leadership, there is more to it to explore.  I've found for myself personally, that exercising my leadership skills (and continuing to grow as a leader) comes from other areas in education. Consider the different teacher organizations you belong to, and if...

 This weekend I had the pleasure of listening to two great presenters for the Teachonomy Teacher Summit. Dr. Chris Hobbs and  Joshua Stamper both had excellent sessions that I learned a lot from. It's fairly easy for me to find professional development in other areas such as reading intervention, special education, and anything that pertains to being a classroom teacher. When it comes to leadership, it hasn't been that easy.  I'm in the unique position that I'm not studying to be an administrator or serving in a quasi-administrative role. For those that know me best, they know that leadership in education is one of my passions, and I fulfill that role through Kappa Delta Pi. Serving as Associate Counselor has been a blessing the past 7 years, and I've learned many lessons in leadership because I was given the chance to serve.  That's why I was beyond grateful for the leadership sessions Teachonomy offered during the summit. They were a perfect fit for me, yet t...

 Notice something missing in the title? Although it's early in the year, I decided to change the title slightly now that we are well underway with our school year. Although the title has transformed, the purpose of my blog today hasn't! I am excited to share the next topic in my mini-series on Writing Workshop.  This month I am taking a four-part workshop through Heinemann with conferring guru Carl Anderson! Prior to the first session, I started conferring with my students on their first writing pieces. I admit that conferring makes me nervous because I don't feel confident in my abilities to confer the "correct" way. I found out through my first workshop day that I was even using a term incorrectly (hand slap to the forehead...) What I am learning through this process is exactly this... it is a process for everyone.  During conferences I've been trying to have students lead the way with their writing by asking them a few simple but important questions: How i...

 As our school year progresses, I feel more in the groove with starting Writing Workshop. This is my celebration moment because even though I'm a veteran teacher, I too get nervous about starting new curriculum, programs, methods, etc. I'm finding what lessons work well, what mentor texts I want to use, and, above all, I'm connecting writing to reading.  Over the summer I listened to a Stenhouse Teacher's Corner Podcast from Season 2: Streamline Your Instruction with The Literacy Workshop.  Of course I listened to this podcast before I began Writing Workshop, but now as I work through it, it makes sense.  Like every other teacher, I only have certain allotted time to teach both reading and writing, and it's often hard to fit in all aspects of both models. The beauty so far has been in those moments when reading and writing cross over and create a true literacy workshop.  For example, I've been mindful to select books for read alouds that serve as teaching texts ...

 This past summer I had the privilege of joining the writing leadership team at school to write the curriculum. After the few minutes of celebrating that I would have this opportunity I realized one thing... I had to actually write the curriculum for a brand new method we were implementing... (input scary music of choice here...)  I was fortunate that we had amazing trainers throughout the year last year to introduce us to Writing Workshop. On my own time, I conferred with previous trainers we worked with for Reading Workshop, and I am forever grateful for their guidance. Knowing myself as a learner, and taking my own advice I'd give my own students, I knew that I needed to continue my own self-directed learning in order to even attempt fully grasping the essence of Writing Workshop. I am excited to say I joined Literacy Partners Membership, purchased many books from Heinemann on Workshop, and I've been learning more everyday.  I'm noticing during my Launching unit for R...

 I recently decided that I was going to do something special for my fellow teacher friends on Sundays. Although I wish I could do a grand gesture such as magically grade their papers or write their lesson plans for all of them, I'm aware that I have my own to conquer, and that's plenty for one person! I've decided that on Sunday I'm going to share a little bit of inspiration with the teaching community, and I hope that it reaches many teachers who need it. I'm calling it "inSpiration Sunday."  I recently heard on a podcast The Jeff Bradbury show, that often times the greatest idea starts off, well quite messy... and if we have an idea, we need to simply put it out there and try it. Work on it, tweak it, and see how it develops and changes over time. With that spirit in mind, I decided to express my thoughts in my Sunday post. Right now I don't have a specific direction or topic, but rather I'm simply speaking what's on my heart and mind through...