Teaching from the Home {a reading nook}

There are few things more difficult than creating a Pinterest-worthy Disney Princess room- trust me, I've tried. However, there is one thing harder.

Creating a reading space that your busy-bee toddler wants to visit over and over again.

Countless research shows the importance of reading to child, so my daughter has been hearing stories since before she left the womb. Since she was born, reading has been an integral part to our daily activities and nightly routine. As she is growing older, I am thinking more and more about the importance of creating an area in my home that ignites that intrinsic desire to read through those worlds of imagination.

Needless to say, I scoured the Internet and began my journey: Disney Princess reading nook.

So far- Mission accomplished.  I finished the nook on Saturday afternoon and have been sitting under it every time we read together. I have since caught her "reading" to her stuffed animals and flipping through her favorite picture books multiple times. PARENTING WIN!

So, go ahead! Create your darling daughter or son that perfect space to curl up and truly enjoy a good book!

Oh, you don't have children? Guess what? This is awesome for a classroom of any age as well! 

Get those kiddos reading!

Stay tuned for more, teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with Veterans {student teaching placements}

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived-- student teaching placements are finally in!

I am proud to say that I will be completing both of my placements in the Henry County School district which I have grown to love throughout my career as a student at UTM. I have had the opportunity to complete practicum work in the classrooms of both of my cooperating teachers. 

I will begin my student teaching experience at Lakewood Elementary School in Pre-Kindergarten through First grade inclusion. 

Mid-October I will do a complete role reversal as I complete my second placement at E.W. Grove High School as a Freshman Algebra Inclusion teacher. 

If you are interested in upcoming lessons and teaching strategies for these grade levels, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and keep check of my blog posts! My Pinterest account can be found my clicking the link under, "Connect with the A.M.," on the right sidebar. 

Stay tuned for more, teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with a Reference Library {an ecosystem lesson}

Reading is not limited to the English Language Arts classroom. Reading has a place in every subject area, including science. By using literature in all subject areas, teacher can easily enhance the learning experience of students. Today, I have used the power of literature to enhance my sixth grade student's understanding of ecosystems.

Enriching my student's learning experience with literature was simple. After a quick browse of the library, I found a collection of books for my reference library which will support a fun, hands-on lesson regarding ecosystems. 

This lesson incorporates technology, speaking and listening skills, reading, and science through a kinesthetic, auditory, and visually appealing lesson. 

Get the complete lesson here, Ecosystem Lesson {sixth grade}, along with the complete reference library list. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more, teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with the H Brothers {complete lesson and game}

Phonics skills are essential in the education of all children. Not only do phonics skills necessary for students to become strong, fluent readers, but these skills also contribute to spelling skills, reading comprehension, and decoding skills.

The bottom line: phonics skills are important.

One of the most difficult phonics skills for students to master is digraphs, also referred to as blends. Because of this difficulty, digraphs are often taught in sets which focus on particular letter combinations. One of the most popular digraphs are consonant digraphs with the letter h (sh, wh, th, ch). These digraphs are known in my world as "The H Brothers."

This lesson is a hit with students and my evaluations are always awesome when I am observed incorporating this lesson (hint, hint).

All of these materials, H Brothers Slide Show and complete Team Lesson Plan were all designed and created by me, so please give credit if you decide to use this fun lesson in your classroom!

If you want the complete TEAM Lesson Plan with scripted Bloom's questions, a catchy sing-song, and instructions for a complete H Brothers lesson, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store store and purchase for only $2!

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M. 

Teaching with Sharon Creech {the boy on the porch}

I have finally finished Sharon Creech's newest book, The Boy on the Porch. I have one word to describe it: AMAZING! By the time I finished reading, I was sobbing. I provided a brief summary in my earlier post, Reading from the Porch {my newest read}, so be sure to click the link to find out more about this must-read.

The Boy on the Porch is definitely a must-read whether it will be incorporated into your classroom or not. The book has components that could enhance a variety of Common Core standards, and, amazingly, Sharon Creech's website has discussion questions and activities all of which correspond to Common Core standards. 

To view these discussions and activities, click here The Boy on the Porch {discussion and activities}. 

Kudos to Sharon for providing these teaching tools for the majority of her books!

Explore more of her teaching resources on her website, Sharon Creech.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching Diversity {pigs might fly}

     I left home for a long day on campus without my Kindle, so I had to put a pause on finishing my newest read, The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech. Instead of wasting my spare two hours between classes, I headed over to the library and found a great little book titled Pigs Might Fly by Dick King-Smith. 

      Pigs Might Fly tells the story of a runt piglet who is also born with hoof deformities. After noticing the runt and the deformities, the farmer sets out to "take care of the dag piglet." By some miracle, the dag makes its way back to its mother who determines he is a special pig who will do special things. This story allows readers to join Daggie Dogfoot through an adventurous tale where a runt pig does some unimaginable things. Who knows; he might even fly!

      Inspirational to all who have overcome some hardship in their lives, Pigs Might Fly would be the perfect hook for a lesson on diversity, overcoming difficulties, and discussing how handicaps and disabilities do not mean that one cannot do something special.

      Over the next few days, I will be developing some Common Core aligned activities that can accompany the reading of this book in the fourth grade classroom. 

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Reading from the Porch {intro to my newest read}

In honor of the newest book that I am diving head deep in, The Boy on the Porch, I am spending the night reading on my front porch while my husband and daughter splash around in the sprinkler.

     I had the pleasure of listening to several author studies discussing some amazing, award winning authors, one of whom was Sharon Creech. The presenter noted several of Sharon's books, but spoke most highly of her newest release, The Boy on the Porch. The Boy on the Porch tells the story of a non-verbal boy who has been abandoned on the porch of an amazing family who takes him in as one of their own.

     Being the nerd (or smart jock as I like to say) that I am, I ran straight to my Kindle and made the $6.99 purchase. It has been totally worth it so far, but I will elaborate more in the next few days as I have the chance to finish.

     If you want to hear a little more about The Boy on the Porch, listen to Newberry Medalist Sharon Creech read the first page here, The Boy on the Porch {Sharon Creech Read Aloud}.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with Laurie Halse Anderson {an author study}

     This week, I have conducted an author study on the New York Times bestselling author, Laurie Halse Anderson. After reading her book, Speak, I could not wait to learn more about this amazing author.
     Although she is most well known for her young adult novels, Laurie also authors several children's books and historical fiction novels. I will be starting one of her historical thrillers this week called Fever 1793. If you want to learn more about Laurie Halse Anderson and her wide variety of books, check out my complete author's study presentation by clicking the following link. (Laurie Halse Anderson {an author's study})
     All information and book summaries were gained by visiting Laurie's webpage, Mad Woman in the Forest.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with Speak {by Laurie Halse Anderson}

 

With the chaos of summer classes, a rambunctious toddler, and an always-working husband, I rarely find the time to do much more than homework, cooking, and cleaning. Somehow, I found the time to read an entire book over the weekend. Trust me, I am as amazed as you are.  

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was a National Book Award Finalists and was popular enough to warrant the creation of a Lifetime movie. Despite its obviously high merits, I dove in not expecting much more than a typical young adult novel about love and romance. (I hadn't seen the movie or read much about it.) I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how captivating, raw, and completely honest the book is from cover to cover.  

Speak tells the story of Melinda, an incoming freshman, who has a horrible drunken experience the summer before beginning high school. In the panic following the trauma, Melinda calls the police resulting in teen arrests and most importantly- utter hatred towards Melinda by the majority of the school. As Melinda deals intrinsically and silently with this trauma, her voice falls silent, too. That is, until, another encounter with the teen rapists leads Melinda to speak out and, moreover, finally be heard. 

Despite its fourth grade reading level according to Accelerated Reader Book Finder, Speak is more appropriate for students from eighth to twelfth grades. Not only does it tell a story that every young person needs to hear, but it also shows victims that happiness, resolution, and relief does not come until you speak. 

 If you ever find yourself in a high school classroom, share this book with your students and encourage them to find their voice when dealing with whatever trauma or situation they may be dealing with. 
You never know what difference one book can make in the lives of many. 

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with The Ugly Duckling {a kindergarten lesson on similarities and differences}

   

          The Ugly Duckling is creative, animal tale that allows students to understand that physical differences exist, but are not reason for judgement, mistreatment, or negative behavior. By selecting text that is likely familiar, students will be more engaged and more responsive to prompting and support while asking questions about key details, themes, and other story elements.

           I will be using this classic story to teach a lesson that satisfy a variety Tennessee Standards for Kindergarten Reading and Social Studies with the primary focus being on understanding diversity. To see the complete lesson plan with questioning, activity planning, and other lesson essentials, check out the full TEAM format lesson, Similarities and Differences, here.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with Fables {The Lion and the Mouse}

The Lion and the Mouse is a classic fable that allows children and adults alike to learn a variety of life lessons. It shows us that no act of kindness is wasted, no matter the size, and even the most unlikely or smallest friend is worthwhile. However, the applicability of this book in the classroom does not end with teaching about morals of a story or fables.

     This week, I will be using the classic fable to teach these life lessons as well as a lesson on sequencing targeted towards third grade. Students will be given an envelope with various strips inside. Each strip has a one line description of a key event in the story. The students will put these strips in order, and we will check our work on the board using a PowerPoint presentation. 

    The great thing about this activity is that it is easily differentiated. Students can be paired heterogeneously so that low-achievers are paired with on-target or high-achievers. Additionally, students can complete the activity independently and the number of strips or complexity of the sentences can vary according to the students ability level. For example, high-achievers could be given ten strips, on-target students could be given seven strips, and low-achievers could be given five or fewer strips. 

Standards: 

RI 3.8 Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence.)

RI 3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. 

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

The Sweet Smell of Summer {School}

    Some call me crazy, and some call me an over-achiever. I am not sure which I am, but I do know one thing. Five summer college courses can feel rather overwhelming! This is the first week of classes and I am already waist-deep in a variety of assignments. 

    This week I am tackling one key assignment, a research paper on the effects of social media on the social development of pre-adolescents and adolescents. It sounds a bit complicated, but I found the information to be overwhelmingly interesting and highly applicable to teaching. If you are interested in teaching or currently teach middle or high school, I highly recommend exploring some of the positive and negative effects that social media is having on students in these grade levels.

    If you are interested in learning more about the impact of social media on the social development of today's youth, feel free to read through my research paper, The Effects of Social Media on the Social Development of Pre-Adolescents and Adolescents. As we all know and as Diane Barth notes after her research on this subject, we have to learn how to teach with "this sometimes overwhelming, but clearly permanent aspect of contemporary life." (2014)

Stay tuned for more teaching in the A.M.

References

Barth, F. (2014). Social Media and Adolescent Development: Hazards, Pitfalls

and Opportunities for Growth. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 201-208.

Meet the Blogger

          My name is Amanda Mason and I am a senior Special Education major with an endorsement in Kindergarten through Sixth Grade General Education at the University of Tennessee at Martin. I will be student teaching in the fall and I cannot wait for the opportunity to learn from some amazing veteran teachers!          
     In addition to being a full-time student, I am also a wife and a mother. I have been with my amazing husband, Tyler, for three years, and we have a beautiful little two-year-old daughter named Paisley.We live in a small town outside of Paris, Tennessee called Springville.  We enjoy boating, board games, and just being together!

        I can't wait to share my experiences as a student and future teacher. 

Stay tuned for more Teaching in the A.M.