Yahara Learning is Going Strong!

Starting Thursday, Sept. 26th, I will get a chance to work in Intervention groups with some of the students at Yahara.  Our group work will revolve around the curriculum area of Reading.  We will meet once a week for 4 weeks and then we will review the groups and may restructure for some Math Interventions.  I look forward to working with classroom teachers to challenge students to "learn beyond their limits'.  

Interventions Have Started!

It was great to have students walk in the door of my classroom again!  Today I started Interventions at Community School.  Interventions are done on a 5-6 week schedule. My plan is to offer a TAG Pull-Out Program to students who excel in three different areas of the curriculum:  Reading, Writing and Math.  I will offer accelerated learning activities with students that meet the criteria establishedd by our district.  After a "curriculum strand"is complete, the group of students may change and a new "curriculum strand" will begin.  Our goal is to strive to meet the academic needs of all students and this program will assist in accomplsihing this goal.   Please encourage your children to read and share the literature they have chosen.  More to come soon about "TAG TIme"......

Getting Started!

This week I have spent many hours analyzing data and reading test results from our District MAPS Testing.  Soon learning groups will be formed and I will get a chance to bring together students with like academic abilities and give them an opportunity to learn from each other.  First I plan to excel students in the area of reading, revisit effective discussion techniques and expose the children to new literature that may illicit thinking at a higher level.  Writing will be an integral part of our literacy workshops.  I look forward to posting highlights and curriculum developments as we get rolling.
More to come soon.....

Happy First Day of School!

The 2013-2014 school year is off and running!  What a beautiful day to start this exciting year.  I do have to admit that I had a strange morning.  After 25 years of being a classroom teacher, it was rather odd not to have children coming in to my classroom this morning.  I stood out in the hallway and greeted a few students but they were not "mine".....yet!  I look forward to having students walk through the doors to my classroom.  I am busy looking at test data this morning so we can start making some decisions about the students that will need an altered learning plan.   Here's to a great school year and many days of "Learning Beyond Your Limits!"

Madison Conference

Recently I attended a Reading and Writing Conference in Middleton.  The key note speaker was Kelly Gallagher.  He was a fantastic speaker who reminded me how important it is to read like writers and write like readers. As I get ready to start working with a variety of TAG students in the reading and writing areas, I hope to use many of the examples he shared to effectively instruct my kids.  I also want to read his book, Write Like This.....a book that emphasizes how important it is to model effective writing and to use mentor texts.  I look forward to starting my new position and using a lot of old and new knowledge!

Reading and Researching

The past two weeks I have spent a few hours here and there reading and researching different approaches to educating TAG students in and out of the regular classroom. Some authors that have sparked my interest are Richard Cash and Karla Wood Ray.   I have been very interested in some of the conversation pertaining to children's writing.  Karla Wood Ray has an excellent book entitled,  What You Know By Heart.  She reminds me to read as a writer and to write as a reader.  I really hope some of my reading with help with the development of my new position.

Science Fun!

Everyone can be a chemist!