bodner093

Dismissal. My absolute least favorite time of the day. 10 minutes or so of what has the potential to become total chaos. Anyone else out there feel that way? For years- even after tirelessly practicing our end of the day procedures- those last 10-15 minutes of the day always came with the possibility of spiraling out of control. We could have a great day... and then after going through the process of getting ready to go home I would feel beat down and in total survival mode by the time the bell rang and I got them out the door.  Until... One year I started doing a really simple thing that made my dismissal life SO MUCH EASIER! We started getting packed up about an hour before it was time to go home. That particular school year we had our afternoon recess about 75 minutes before dismissal. So about 5 minutes before it was time to go out we would start our packing up. Kids would get their mailbox papers, coats and backpacks. They would hang their backpacks an...

When I was at the library the other day I happened on two "new to me" books. First I picked up A Castle on Viola Street by Dyanne DiSalvo. I was familiar with Dyanne DiSalvo's work- as her story City Green was one that I really enjoyed in our reading anthology.  I stood in the shelves and opened A Castle on Viola Street - I was hooked after reading a letter located at the beginning of the book. This is a book with an important purpose. I tucked the book into my library bag. As I continued to hunt for the books on my list, I stumbled across the book The Old House by  Pamela Duncan Edwards. I love books that students can make all sorts of connections to and with- and this one paired really well with the DiSalvo book, so into my bag it went, as well. So back to A Castle on Viola Street ... This is a story about a hard working family who live in a small apartment. They dream that one day they might have a place of their own. They discover that an organization is ...

A few weeks ago I published a post with books to use if you are teaching a unit on food chains.  I love finding great books to go along with different units of study- it is one of my favorite teachery things to do!  So after coming up with the list of food chain books- it really made me start thinking about the huge AMOUNT of TIME it takes teachers to plan out their units- from books to videos to websites to anchor charts to student resources... and on and on.  And an idea was hatched... I want to create a place where teachers can look to find a list of resources that they can use when teaching various units- I love the research and planning phase and I want to help busy, tired teachers by giving them a list of planning ideas that might save a smidge of their valuable time. So... here goes! You will have to let me know what you think- and give me ideas of anything you think I might want to add! FOOD CHAINS- take 2! BOOKS: Food Webs: Who Eats What? by Clair...