Five For Friday 3-27

Friday is here!!! This is an extra sweet Friday for me because it is the start to Spring Break! I'm linking up for a Five for Friday!

I was very lucky today and our district brought in someone from Teacher's College to discuss writing instruction. Sometimes it's littlest of ideas that we take away but know will make a big impact. Though my writing conferences more focused on one tip or strategy and my students can articulate their next step at the end of the conference, I had not found a not cumbersome way for students to keep track of their goal. The staff developer today recommended giving the students a post-it with their goal written on it and having them have a page in their folder (preferably in the 3-prong section) so they can always open up to see their goal.

I live in Chicago and am going to be taking a few days with my husband to go to NASHVILLE! I'm a huge country music fan. I'm most excited for it to be warm and sit outside and listen to music. Any suggestions about what we should do there on a 3-day trip?

Not sure if I have ever posted about this book, but if you haven't read it yet, I would recommend it. It's a perfect book for a time you need to just enjoy your students being KIDS and rolling on the floor laughing at second grade humor... I was laughing at how into the humor they were. One student even yelled out, "Man, this book just never gets old!" Of course, it is also good for teaching personification and voice.

 I'm on a huge high from Tech Tuesday! 8 seriously amazing teachers showed up. Teachers that I have stalked   followed for a while came and shared so many great tips. I learned about new ways to collect formative assessment data, an app for children's newspapers, a free app for making ten, a conferring app to stay organized, quizzing website, linky parties, and QR Codes for Writing. I can't wait to use some of these new ideas after spring break.

We were one brain break after the next here this week leading up to Spring Break and being stuck with indoor recess a bit. I found that sometimes the brain breaks have the opposite effect and they are all revved up afterward. I have started following a brain break with one of the brain exercises on Go Noodle to get them to concentrate again. They are about a minute long, and they are tricky!!!

Happy Weekend Teachers!