After a painfully long bus ride, we arrived at the river village outside Shanghai. There was a family with two Chinese girls, maybe 2 or 3 years old sitting next to us in the bus. Throughout the entire ride they were yelling, fighting, and crying. I had my ipod on with the volume pretty high, … Continue reading Adventures in Shanghai
Month: September 2010
Aha Moments on Teaching Personal Narratives
This summer during the Teacher's College Writing Summer Institute I had a few good "aha moments". I was in a week long workshop with Mary Ehrenworth (She's amazing!!!) on teaching nonfiction to students and I learned so much. Some of these moments came out of the writing sessions with her. Aha Moment #1: Model a … Continue reading Aha Moments on Teaching Personal Narratives
Hooked on Twilight?
The other week, one of my students borrowed New Moon from our school library. The next day I asked her how the book was going and she started gushing about how she can't stop reading the book and she wants to know what will happen. She told me it's not like other books she read … Continue reading Hooked on Twilight?
quote of the week & finding balance
I'm a strong believer that as teachers, we need our down time as well! I feel like teachers in general work really hard, around the clock. I always struggle with finding the right balance between work and everything else, because I do love my job and want to do all that I can to be … Continue reading quote of the week & finding balance
Celebrating Chuseok
This week, we get the whole week off for the Chuseok which is the Korean thanksgiving holiday. It was really nice of Elaine to invite the faculty over to her home for a traditional Korean Chuseok dinner. We got to enjoy a great home cooked traditional Korean Chuseok dinner. It not only looks good, but … Continue reading Celebrating Chuseok
Teachers as Principals?!
This is such a fascinating experiment that I read about in the NY Times. I can not imagine having the responsibility of being a teacher and principal at the same time. However, if it works, why not?! Take a look at this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/education/07teachers.html?ref=education
The 100 Locker Problem
This is probably one of the best math problems I give my fifth grade students. It goes like this: There are 100 lockers in the long front hall of our school. Each August, the custodians add a fresh coat of paint to the lockers and replace any of the broken number plates. The lockers are … Continue reading The 100 Locker Problem
No More Excuses
It was a little after 6pm. In my head I made every excuse I could think of to not go. I had a long day and I was really tired. I had a lot of work to do at home as well. I deserved to leave "early". I was about to leave my classroom, but … Continue reading No More Excuses
quote of the week
In the book Half the Sky, they end one of the chapters with this well known story: A man goes out on the beach and see that it is covered with starfish that have washed up in the tide. A little boy is walking along, picking them up and throwing them back into the water. … Continue reading quote of the week
Remembering 9/11 in the Classroom
These past two years, in remembrance of 9/11, I read the story 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy to my students. This book is based on this amazing and inspiring story of the Massai people in Africa and the responses they had after hearing about the 9/11 attacks. They decided to donate 14 … Continue reading Remembering 9/11 in the Classroom
