Papers to grade!!

Last week I spend A LOT of time grading papers! I came home from school changed into some comfy clothes and made myself a gradig nest on the floor. Nothing goes better than a funny TV show and papers to grade.
Here is a photo of my "grading nest"...

The LARGE stack of papers I graded....

WOW I am never putting grading off like this again!

Hope you all have a great week!!!

Let’s talk books

So I came across this article and it made me mad! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/top-reading_n_1373680.html#s805920&title=20_Marked_A

I am not a big fan of No Child Left Behind but I am also not a big fan of one article telling the world that ALL high school kids are reading at a lower reading level. I think when a child picks up a book there are other factors that need to be considered not just the reading level.

At my school we use AR so I am very familiar with the book levels they are talking about in the article. As I scrolled through the most popular book list I noticed that at least 7 out of the 25 books, my students are currently reading or have read! That makes me feel good. J

Now there are some books on that list that I would NOT allow my 5^th grade student to read because it requires much taught and understanding of the subject to fully understand the storyline. In order for a student to get a full meaning out of a book there needs to be questions asked, discussion and comparing and contrasting it to another book. So maybe the reason a high school English teacher is choosing lower level books so they can help guide those conversations and questions that arise while reading some of the book on this list.

I know that Americans want someone they can point to finger too and say this is why we suck…but guess what I don’t think it is the teacher this time.

Another thing that burns me from this article is the fact that a good chunk of the book on the list are series including Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson….all of these book now have a movie to go along with them….and guess what if you were to survey the American population I can guarantee that you would find that MOST people over the reading level of 5.3 have indeed read these books! They are popular! Give me a break do you want the kids to read? Then why are we criticizing them for reading so low when the entire country is also doing it?

This article just made me mad! I am a teacher and I am trying with ALL my MIGHT to get my students interested in reading. Yes, my students are in 5^th grade so these more popular books do fit their reading level most of the time. But there are some instances where I think you need to step back and see it from a teacher’s perspective. Those popular books might be a part of the curriculum but I can assure you they are NOT the curriculum. Also you can read ALL you want but if you don’t understand and comprehend what you’re reading you are NOT a good reader….do we want our children to read just to read or do we want them to read and understand?

I promise I won’t get on my soap box for a while…this just really made me upset.

You've Been Sentenced!

So it has been a while. Quarter grades are due sometime soon and I have been a little preoccupied with school and my current job search.

Well I thought I better share something with you all. Have you ever heard of the game You've Been Sentenced? Well this is a great game for kids and adults! A fellow teacher let me use it last week while some kids were missing from my class due to sickness. My kids had a fantastic time playing this and they will now ask to play it with the down time we have. CRAZY!


This game helps them work on sentence structure and reasoning. Wonderful game. I can even say it would be fun to play with adults at a party. Everyone is involved and there are so many options on how funny the sentences could be. My kids have realized you don't want to play with me because I make GOOD sentences! haha!!

Have a good week!!
link to buy the game http://www.amazon.com/McNeill-Designs-5511848-Youve-Sentenced/dp/B000EVLZ9U