tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80012264056743836452024-03-15T20:10:11.824-05:00The Teaching ChameleonA blog about the demands of modern teaching.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-10315382561079288592016-05-21T18:34:00.001-05:002016-05-21T18:35:09.911-05:00Summer is Here; Now What? - The Importance of a Planned Foundation Summer has arrived, or at least the end of the school year has. As usual, this year flew by! I know I haven't kept up with my blog as I had wanted, but I have a good reason! Baby girl #2 arrived in mid-December and it has been a whirlwind ever since. <br />
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Adapting to life with two kids and being a full time ELA teacher was a challenge, but I got through it due to the planning I did beforehand and along the way. I know I didn't keep up with the blog, but my family is an important part of my life. Therefore, it was something I let "slide". You have to decide what is important to you and plan around those things. I know people rush off to the pool, camps, vacations, and Netflix right as the summer begins. However, I make sure that I have my ducks in a row for the next school year first.<br />
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In true Chameleon-fashion, I am going to be not only changing grade levels, but will be changing to a resource position next year. In order to get ready for this, I spent time with the teacher who will be leaving getting on the same page about students who are on plans, undergoing evaluations, or need help in general. My first month in the job will be full of transition meetings, student accommodated testing, and getting up to speed. <br />
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To make MY transition easier during any year, I fill out my teacher planner's calendar, put in standards for the year, and try to put together my pacing guide/curriculum map together for the year. This year, the only pre-planning in that sense that I can do is fill out my calendar (preliminary) and print of the standards for K-8 as those are the grades I will be teaching. <br />
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Here's how I got through the last 4 months of pregnancy as a classroom teacher:<br />
1. <b>My calendar</b><br />
My calendar and planner were pre-filled in with the important dates for the year. This allowed me to see what was going on each month and week at a glance and I could plan accordingly.<br />
2.<b> Curriculum Map</b><br />
I have an idea of where I want to be and when. Teaching the same grade level, I knew from the past years where I "should be". This is why I used #3...<br />
3. <b>Last year's lesson plans</b><br />
I always save old lesson plans. I've referenced them to jog my memory on how I taught certain things and when. This was especially helpful with the mommy brain fog! <br />
4. <b>Meal Planning</b><br />
This was a necessity as it saved me time in order to grade, lesson plan, create flipped lessons, etc. I use a few things to help with this. Wildtree has great freezer workshops that I did 2 of (20 meals) before I had the baby. I still plan on using them along with the Deals to Meals service. It's 4.95 a month and gives you a shopping list, recipes and what's on sale in your area. <br />
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These are just a few of the things that helped me pre-baby, but you might find helpful in general. I also use my weekly planning sheets and check in monthly on where I am and where we are going.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-80228255090328377292015-11-03T15:24:00.001-06:002015-11-03T15:24:41.947-06:00Flipping My ClassroomIt has been a very long time since my last update. I am currently 8 months pregnant and frantically getting ready for my long term sub. <br />
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I did, however, want to post a little update on something that I have been doing in my classroom this year: flipping. For the uninformed, flipping is the process of making the lecture/learning portion of the class period homework and then making the practice (used to be homework) portion in the classroom. <br />
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So far, it is going very well. I am currently flipping the grammar portion of my language arts block. I have found that it is giving me more time to help students understand the material. Here is a little run-down of how it works in my classroom:<br />
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Twice Weekly Video Assignments<br />
- I assign two videos a week. I currently assign videos on Tuesdays and Thursdays. <br />
- Assignment videos are posted to YouTube and our school homework pages. I tell the kids on Monday the videos for the week if they want to work ahead. Many do! <br />
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Question and Answer Sessions<br />
- I assign a Your Turn assignment that is much like an exit slip. Students that watch the video know what the assignment is and show it to me in their notebook the next day.<br />
- I ask if anyone needs clarification on the previous evening's assignment before moving to the in class work. <br />
- Students that did not complete the assignment or forgot their Your Turn assignment are required to watch the lesson during the question and answer session. I also reduce the points given. <br />
- I circulate around the room and answer questions during the in class assignment time.<br />
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Pros<br />
- I have found that I have more time to answer student questions.<br />
- Students are able to stop and rewind the videos as many times as they want. Pause even helps! <br />
- Parent feedback has been great. I have only heard one complaint and that was through another teacher. <br />
- Students seem to enjoy the method, and they know how to access the videos on their own. <br />
- Student scores are the same or better than previous years. <br />
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Cons<br />
- I have about 5% of students that routinely do not complete the assignments. Their grades definitely reflect this. I am brainstorming ideas on how to get them to work on it at home.<br />
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Method of delivery:<br />
I use the ScreenCastify.com screen recording service. I then share the videos to YouTube and download the video to my PC to upload to our homework site. I have half go to YouTube and the other half accesses the videos from the homework site. <br />
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Video slides are created with Google Slides. I use Google Slides, because I can access between home computers, as well as, my school computer. Execution is easy as long as I don't get interrupted by my two year old or the occasional visitor. I was a perfectionist at first, but I think that students should see that I am human and make mistakes just as much as the next person. I leave my flubbering and fix my typos right during the presentation. I point out my mistakes or ask the kids if they can figure them out. I will go back and fix those mistakes next year. <br />
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Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised with the results. Sometimes, I find it hard to keep up with the videos, but it's really the slide creation that takes the most time. <br />
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Do you flip your class in any way? How is it working for you? <br />
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ColleenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-5489092657748877722015-05-03T16:45:00.003-05:002015-05-03T16:46:49.109-05:00Teacher Appreciation Sale<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr"><img alt="MyTeachersPayTeachersStore" src="https://mcdn.teacherspayteachers.com/img/sale_superb/sale_300_250.jpg?rand=023657" /></a><br />
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Enjoy up to 28% off regular prices as a thank you! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-6749460700234152262015-04-06T13:40:00.002-05:002015-04-06T13:44:00.113-05:00 As part of our 4th grade unit on the revolutionaries of the past, we look specifically at poems and non-fiction texts that address the key people of the American Revolution.<br />
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We read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson's poems about the Battle of Lexington and Concord. We compare and contrast the form and content of both poems in venn diagram or In Regards To graphic organizers. For example, students compare length and time period written. <br />
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We also read these texts in small groups: (Click on individual pictures to find the books on Amazon (Affiliate linked).)<br />
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Students choose which texts appeals to them and they read them aloud together. The groups get to decide which way they read---either choral or taking turns. </div>
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As they read, they take notes on the important people in their books. In <u>Heroes of the Revolution</u>, there are multiple people, and I have them write notes on each. </div>
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After they complete their reading, I have them synthesize their notes into a poster. They choose facts to share about their character and draw a representation of the character. Here are just a few examples of the work I get. </div>
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I have students create the posters on easel paper. I keep a stash in my room at all times for days just like this one. I just cut off how much I need and go about my day. That way if students make mistakes, I have the paper right on hand, and I don't have to run to the workroom for more. (Affliate link).
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thetea046-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0823420175" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thetea046-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0698114167" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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The students really like learning about the American Revolution and the stories behind the people. <br />
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Colleen
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<br />
We read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson's poems about the Battle of Lexington and Concord. We compare and contrast the form and content of both poems in venn diagram or In Regards To graphic organizers. For example, students compare length and time period written. <br />
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We also read these texts in small groups: <br />
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Students choose which texts appeals to them and they read them aloud together. The groups get to decide which way they read---either choral or taking turns. </div>
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As they read, they take notes on the important people in their books. In <u>Heroes of the Revolution</u>, there are multiple people, and I have them write notes on each. </div>
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After they complete their reading, I have them synthesize their notes into a poster. They choose facts to share about their character and draw a representation of the character. Here are just a few examples of the work I get. </div>
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I have students create the posters on easel paper. I keep a stash in my room at all times for days just like this one. I just cut off how much I need and go about my day. That way if students make mistakes, I have the paper right on hand, and I don't have to run to the workroom for more. (Affliate link).</div>
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The students really like learning about the American Revolution and the stories behind the people. <br />
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Colleen
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Hop on over for 20% your savings at my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr">Teachers Pay Teachers Store</a>. All of my store will be 20% off on April 5th only! </div>
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Is it time to open your own TeachersPayTeachers.com Store? Use this link to get started. </div>
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Hoppy Easter! </div>
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Colleen</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-71150510652010408782015-03-26T06:00:00.000-05:002015-03-26T06:00:06.713-05:00Joy in a Jar<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">On my desk, a small glass jar sits. Each day, my students fill it up with notes to me from students and with what we call virtue tickets (or good news prize tickets). Notes range from nice to know things like “I like your dress and please copy my essay for me” to need to know like “Suzy hit me or Johnny is being bullied”. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePOFyZl7RSDoryGtRrpmV8vvKJ02oS7kTQtWWtCJ2qk1wf1qpeaRh399QsTqdIJG2fk2qrLL46-E2WqBq-VPPVLTJZ4ouqHBATGh6vh9bwjlbHaFWd_8F8-N82YqBeuM6Rz6GkCsGmm9y/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePOFyZl7RSDoryGtRrpmV8vvKJ02oS7kTQtWWtCJ2qk1wf1qpeaRh399QsTqdIJG2fk2qrLL46-E2WqBq-VPPVLTJZ4ouqHBATGh6vh9bwjlbHaFWd_8F8-N82YqBeuM6Rz6GkCsGmm9y/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.38;">Students mostly feel comfortable enough with me to write their names on their notes and if they don’t in case someone else sees it, we have code words that are picked at a different time. The little notes are our little secret unless of course it’s something that needs to be addressed. It’s nice in the hussle and bussle of our day to have a place students feel comfortable expressing themselves. It feels good to be heard even if it’s by a paper ear. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.38;">To my surprise one day recently, a student left me a larger than normal note . Most are scrawled on paper scraps or sticky notes. This particular note was handwritten in Sharpie on a piece of full sized notebook paper and was addressed with “Please Read” and even requested “Please Retern”. This in itself intrigued me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6sFgtNK_TamKwu69fHsfKS-vqWnfmQQ0distio5jAe_eMzjKeDPMD0bmcaHvn-9L0iOWs7EttsmtgT1k2qOo7OPFIfuHgv7egjuWUNwvXPsPhnW9LHSO8cZOG5cAN8bQRaN6V1Bb2w7i/s1600/FullSizeRender+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6sFgtNK_TamKwu69fHsfKS-vqWnfmQQ0distio5jAe_eMzjKeDPMD0bmcaHvn-9L0iOWs7EttsmtgT1k2qOo7OPFIfuHgv7egjuWUNwvXPsPhnW9LHSO8cZOG5cAN8bQRaN6V1Bb2w7i/s1600/FullSizeRender+(1).jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I opened the carefully folded paper and found it was a story written by the student. I read the title which suggested a scary story was about to be told. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read the story word for word. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38;">I was so impressed with this student’s willingness to share this with me. I was even more impressed with how it ended. I would not be able to come up with a more suspense-filled ending to a scary story. I am hoping this young author continues the story. Or at least leaves me more! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38;">For this language arts teacher, it was like finding a little love note. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.38;">Do you have a system for your students to tell you things? What are some ways your students leave you little "love notes"? Leave me a comment with your answers. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-73819966170679393382015-03-16T11:13:00.000-05:002015-03-16T11:38:37.307-05:00Which, That and Who versus WhomRelative pronouns and adverbs may come easy to some people; however, they often allude many. Take for instance who versus whom. It is one of them most misused elements of grammar, yet there is an easy way to remember it. <br />
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I teach my students who versus whom by giving them the hint that who replaces he/she and whom replaces him/her. I point out that him ends in m and thus needs whom. I tell them to replace him with her if it's a female and then revert back to him. </div>
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It's little tricks like that that make studying these nuisances of the English language more bearable for the faint of heart (or patience). </div>
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In discussing relative pronouns, we look at the difference between which and that. That is used when the information is necessary to the meaning of the independent clause. The pronoun which is used when the information is not necessary. This dependent clause is offset by a comma in front of which. </div>
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A little trick I use to help my students remember if it's which or that is if it's need to know info or not. I liken it to reporting versus tattling. You need your teacher to know THAT something is not safe. I explain the information in the dependent clause with the pronoun which is often something nice for the reader to know instead of what they must know right now (just like in tattling). I also reference the comma that when tattling the teacher doesn't always need to know so you could sometimes wait to tell him/her. A comma is a pause so I let them know that a comma is like the waiting time to tell the teacher. Silly and sounds complicated, but they really seemed to get it. </div>
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I have placed my Clauses, Relative Pronouns, and Relative Adverbs on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clauses-Relative-Pronouns-and-Relative-Adverbs-Notes-L41A-1765454" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers</a>. It includes definitions, hints, and examples. I use these notes in my students grammar interactive notebooks. They just cut around the border and glue right in. The corresponding slide presentation can be seen here: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clauses-Relative-Pronouns-and-Relative-Adverbs-Slide-Presentation-L41A-1766042">Relative Pronoun and Adverb Slide Prentation</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clauses-Relative-Pronouns-and-Relative-Adverbs-Notes-L41A-1765454" target="_blank"><img alt=" TeachersPayTeachers Link" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-K_5EDYOioET9s-gs2reD8dOr7bVKxPRP9Fya8bHzhzHL7VDAghZXE1r7kaEYWmlctjYrN2xxJhVvHPiXlZXr9La6dEwtAFk0_kd4HP3r2m2B9a_C6fVe8STMCb1HRA3_9C7z19DqO0c/s1600/Relative+Pronouns+Gif.gif" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-81873322199184698662015-02-01T16:53:00.004-06:002015-02-01T16:53:52.004-06:00Sink or SwimI drive about an hour everyday to and from my school. It gives me a lot of time to prepare for the day and reflect on it on the way home. I had a meeting recently about a student and on the way to school that day, I was thinking of what I needed to share and I thought about my ultimate goal for the child -- independence. <br />
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One thing I always find in these meetings is that everyone involved wants what's best for the child, but may differ in what we feel is best. <br />
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I also got to thinking about how sometimes children are puzzles. They cannot always tell us what they need, but their actions usually will give us some clues. For some, it's that their distract-able and that impacts their learning (or lack there of). Others, it shows that they might have cognitive impairments that get in the way. Sometimes, they spend so much time processing things, that they get overwhelmed and melt down. Occasionally, they just refuse to even start for fear of being wrong. <br />
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As teachers, it is our job to determine student needs and help meet those needs within the confines of the system we are in. Most of the time, this is relatively easy. Other times, especially in the area of cognitive deficits, we are tasked with a daunting task. The data suggests one way, parents another, and teacher instinct another. How do we reconcile this? <br />
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I liken it to when I used to work in a summer daycare. We would take the kids to the local high school for swim lessons on a weekly basis. I did not care for this day, because inevitably one of the kids would freak out and nearly drown me. I love water, but I have nightmares of drowning. I have a feeling it has something to do with my brother dunking me under whenever he got the chance when we were younger. But I digress . . . At the end of the summer, the treat for the kids that excelled at their lessons was to allow the off the diving boards. We were tasked with "catching" them or at least making sure they came back up. One particular time, a kid jumped off the diving board, freaked out and clung to me for dear life. In the process, he pushed me underwater and it was difficult for me to get him back to the side of the pool without injuring myself. I succeeded, but it took some extra effort. <br />
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Some children take that extra effort in school. They are afraid if they are expected to be independent that they will fail (or drown). So instead of working on their lessons by themselves, they expect us to "save" them. It's sometimes hard to determine if they need us to catch them or to do the work with/for them. Do we chance it and pull farther back or do we allow them to be dependent a little more than we would normally and maybe they'll "float". <br />
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Our ultimate goal as teachers is to "raise" independent young adults who can think and do for themselves. But what about the ones that still need us to rescue them? What service are we giving them? Are they eventually going to be come independent? Where do we draw the line? <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-65346749658597985052014-07-10T10:24:00.003-05:002014-07-10T10:24:55.467-05:00Summer Slide I like a break just as much as anyone else, but to hear kids say that they didn't do any reading or math over the summer makes me sad. I was the kid that ate up the public library's reading contest each summer. It's interesting how much I found the bookmarks and all of the other trinkets so motivating. I also believe that is how I began to love reading, and I probably wouldn't have read classics like <u>Little Women</u> otherwise. <div>
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I have heard many arguments against summer assignments like "let kids be kids" and "Johnny, doesn't like to read so I don't make him". However, we are doing Johnny and everyone else a disservice. I have my students read at least 20 minutes a day. I don't care if it's the back of a cereal box or a comic book as long as they read. Dr. Seuss was right. "The more you read; the more you know. The more you know; the smarter you'll grow." Think how much farther those that read and practice their math facts are by the end of the summer. </div>
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You can only get better by practicing. Do we let our kids take a break from piano for 3 months straight or from baseball or other sports? Most often than not, NO! Then, why do we let them from academics? </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-22572829656904671122014-06-08T15:22:00.003-05:002014-06-08T15:22:54.540-05:00Do you work in the summer? <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">“So you don’t work in the summer?”</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-3874b3d0-7d1d-f916-0c34-fdca3332f0a2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This phrase and various other versions of it are said to me each and every summer. It is my version of fingers on a chalkboard, and it sends me reeling (even though I try to hide it). Just ask my husband!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">While I know there are lots of teachers that sit around the pool all summer, I am not one of them. I also know lots of teachers that spend their summers nannying, tutoring, and doing other “2nd jobs” just to get by on their small salaries.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">So do I work in the summer? </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Before having my daughter, I was tutoring ALL summer or teaching summer school. Now it isn’t full time, but that doesn’t mean I take a break from learning all that I can about what’s new in our profession and various other things related to work.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I read, plan, and create all summer long. It isn’t stressful like it is during the school year. I start the summer by organizing my lesson plan book for the year. Then, I fill in the calendar information, and I start planning the design of my classroom and map the curriculum out for the year. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I spend time reading through the teachers manuals of new programs we are implementing and I even attend workshops and webinars. I find supplementary materials to go along with what we are learning.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">While it’s usually stress-free, it is still related to my career, so I still call it working. Do I go out of town on vacations and spend some time outside and at the pool? Of course, but I am never completely away from my work and I like it that way. It helps relieve the stress of starting the school year, and it keeps me organized. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">So what do I say in response? Yes, I still work during the summer, but it’s more preparing for the next year (and yes, that entails some R&R mixed in).</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also am creating products for Teachers Pay Teachers. Check out my summer sale: </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUHF80GGCqHanmpN-CVnBneCWLWIiCLNf62BPv9z_QDed8MQ9FtfSJii3zYcOir8m9zeigEgw_UwKJ9TqX3eAIsbWK-nrM1mU3SelXdHGfHqixro8EQS9I6OyrDFGSXjNpANBgBQJ9lSt/s1600/10173790_495785167190328_986474981666705246_n.png" height="247" title="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Blessings,</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Colleen </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Impact; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-62693684367159375342014-06-02T15:55:00.002-05:002014-06-02T15:56:53.193-05:00Letting Go of Perfectionism<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing I love about teaching is being able to stay at home with my daughter during breaks. Am I off the job? Never, but at least we get to figure out our own schedule. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, we decided to “color” with the crayons she got for Easter. Being not quite a year and a half old, crayons are a new concept to her. but she learned quickly how to get color on the page. When we were done, I had her put her colors back in the box. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See I am a perfectionist when it comes to a lot of things, even if my house is still a mess. I like crisp corners on my books; dog-eared pages make me cringe. I like books to be put back on the shelf spine out. AND I like my markers and crayons to be put back pointy or cap side up. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My 1 year old helped me to see that sometimes we just have to let go of the perfectionism and just celebrate that the crayons were returned to the box, and the books have been returned to the shelf. She put them in willy nilly, but they made it in the box. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This got me to thinking about my classroom and the things that eat away at my perfectionism or drive my OCD tendencies nuts. Pencil shavings left around the sharpener. Notebook metal spirals sticking out. Classroom library books placed on top of the baskets instead of in them. Should these things be taken care of? Of course, but they don’t need to ruin my day or anyone elses. It’s not about having the perfect classroom. It’s about the learning being done. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So going into the next school year, I hope that I can put these things into better perspective and not let them bother me so much. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy Monday,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colleen</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejpphoto/2343228722/">EJP Photo</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com/">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-86040274740592567912014-05-29T09:43:00.000-05:002014-05-29T21:31:55.769-05:00Why I Don't Use Reading Logs<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I no longer use reading logs in my 4th grade reading/language arts classroom. When I say reading log, I am talking about the ones listing the title, author, and pages read each day. Why would I not, you might ask? I have a number of reasons that I will outline here. I still LOVE the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Whisperer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and what she outlines in her book, but the logs just weren’t working for me and my students.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason 1: It’s not going to help the love of reading.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now don’t get me wrong. I was a kid that LOVED to read and found it very motivating to fill out the summer book contest logs from the public library in order to win prizes. However, the lists we did in school was just a chore and took away from my reading. </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason 2: They are a paper waster. </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What happens to all those paper logs after the kids are done with them? They end up in a pile on my desk or glued in a notebook just taking up space. What do the students do with them after I hand them back? They end up throwing them away or, at best, recycling them.</span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason 3: They are a time waster.</span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What happens to those pages and piles? They end up cluttering my desk and taking up my time being graded. Completion grades are a thing of the past anyways, so why grade them in the first place? Who’s to say they didn’t just make it up anyways? </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what do I do?</span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I assign a minimum of twenty minutes a night of reading. Is it an honor system? Yes and no. Do I randomly ask how far they got in their book or what they read about? Yes. </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a big talk about how 20 minutes of reading a day will get you farther I also assign Accelerated Reader Goals for each quarter. The good majority of them meet and exceed their goals. The ones that do not meet their goals are usually pretty close. I check in with the periodically throughout the quarter. I suggest they take notes as they read so that they do not forget details and my accommodated students are allowed to use those notes on their quizzes. I do give opportunities for rereading and if their books don’t have a test, I allow them to write a report. AR even keeps a digital record of the books that they have read for me. </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are my reasons bulletproof ? Of course not. Do they work for others? Of course. So take this with a grain of salt, but know it’s ok to not use them. </span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy Reading,</span></div>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colleen </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-67641598728999319602014-05-11T21:29:00.000-05:002014-05-11T21:29:13.640-05:00Trades of HopeAs a teacher, we see families of all walks of life. I work in an area that is one of the most affluent in the country, yet there are still families that have been hit by economic downturn and are still struggling to make ends meet.<br />
<br />
However, these families often are able to stick together and make things work without having to split families up. Unfortunately, this is often not the case in many countries around the world.
One such place is Haiti. In Haiti, half a million children are orphaned each year not just by death and disease, but by poverty. Many women give up their children to orphanages in Haiti, because they are unable to feed their children on the average income in Haiti, $400.<br />
<br />
Being a mother, I could not imagine having to give up a child. As a child of adoption, I know the power of what a family can bring. I am so blessed to be with the family I was adopted into. These things are what led me to a company named Trades of Hope.
The motto of this company is empowering women out of poverty and other destitute situations such as the sex trade.
Trades of Hope offers fair trade items such as necklaces made by a group of women in Haiti that works to help keep children with their own mothers. Trades of Hope sells their fair trade items in the US so that these women can take their children to work with them or send them to school. We are these women's voices in the US that allow them to sell their wares for fair prices 3 to 4 times their worth in their own economies. We offer them hope of financial stability.<br />
<br />
To learn more about Trades of Hope or to purchase incredible fair trade items made by artisans around the world, please visit my website at : http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNk2pqPvvdDIKG702XotD1lBFufR2JiM7gkcY8qbSGXUCxNyuaECY_YGvQXid5k5ZwFlXO5aExAVd7I2UKw3xMbLEfF5khQFiIeTXqj0J2k7jWxMAjG89HjhsjT0z89kFMLNg5ycgE2D_f/s320/notcharity.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr">http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-30261538964769103442014-05-08T20:34:00.001-05:002014-05-08T20:34:52.337-05:00Defying Expectations<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
After finishing up a disabilities unit last week, the other 4th grade teachers and I decided to share this moving video (which happens to be a Powerade commerical) with our students. We had just had another teacher's brother who was born with cerebral palsy come to talk to the students about the challenges he faced and overcame. <br /><br />
<br /><br />
Well, long story short, the student, who I would have thought would be the must unsympathetic because of all of the hard knocks he himself had been through, was moved to tears. I felt really horrible for pegging him as not being able to empathize with either the speaker or Nico in this video. It goes to show that people will surprise you each and every day.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
It's fitting that the title of the video is defying expectations as that is what this student did for me. <br /><br />
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Take a minute (or 2) and watch this inspiring video. You might have a student that needs some uplifting or encouragement. <br /><br />
<br /><br />
Colleen<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Need a Mother's Day Gift? Give a gift that pays it forward:<br /><br />
http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.mytradesofhope.com/parties3598"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CqG6XsVM12V60jvxlOEebVdPUmacx1ICmk0FxmseStoEXPINRO1wLgNTk2MkADgP9YcPsbJT8phidMMp0GNaTEZ_Q6sxQ7gkHkV7fF15SK_KqhnwJt__SnwkLezrT1P7e3hlteRlB2sY/s1600/Mother's+Day.jpg" height="640" title="http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mytradesofhope.com/ColleenZehr"><br /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-85990502684609490312013-04-25T19:24:00.004-05:002013-04-25T19:24:41.364-05:00Writing Using Illustrations from Picture Books
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you have reluctant writers in your classroom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What have you tried?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why are they having trouble?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> O</span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ften times, I have found that students get writer’s block
when they are left up to their own devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know if I am told to “just write” during writer’s workshop, I too find
myself having the dreaded writer’s block.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes I just need that little nudge to get my creative juices
flowing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last year, my school began using Lucy Calkin’s Writers
Workshop series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed the modeling
aspect, because it allowed me to use what was familiar to me to help my
students pick out what stories from their lives they wanted to share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also made the process more “real”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anything that we can do to give our students
a connection to their “real” lives outside of school, the better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This series concentrates on non-fiction
writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the students keep asking
me when we are ever going to be able to write fiction stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always let them during Working on Writing
part of Daily 5, because they are craving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Though, this was not always true for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what do I do for those little authors that
have trouble writing on their own?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cover up the words of fictional books that they already
know and tell them to tell the story in their own words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can mean a number of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can rewrite their stories to tell a
totally different story, or they can write rewrite the story in different words
(such as a summary).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I LOVE to see what
they come up with and they have something to share with the group just like all
of the other authors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The beauty of this way is that they can work on
summarization and retelling skills as well as their own craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One book I have used with my older students
in 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> and 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grades is the <u>True Story of the Three
Little Pigs</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is always fun to see
what they come up with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A story that I
have used with my 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> and 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Graders is Dr. Suess’ <u>Green
Eggs and Ham</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try using old fairy
tales, bedtime stories, and nursery rhymes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their twists are often a hoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Often it’s best to start in a student’s comfort zone and
help scaffold them to a new height.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-13974943192963211612013-03-17T12:10:00.001-05:002013-03-17T12:10:46.595-05:00Buzz: a Multiplication GameWhen I was in third grade and beginning to learn my multiplication tables, my teacher introduced my class to the game of Buzz. To this day, I use that easy game to introduce multiplication to my second grade enrichment group but also to my third grade intervention groups. <br />
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How to play:<br />
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Participants sit in a circle. The teacher or adult announces the fact group for the round and starts the round with saying the number 1. The next player continues counting with two or buzz depending on the fact group. For each multiple in the fact group, the player whose turn it is on a multiple of that number must say buzz. If they do not, they are out and the very next player must say buzz. You continue until you get to that number times twelve or one player remains.<br />
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A sample round: <br />
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Teacher say threes facts and starts with one. Next student says two, next says buzz, next four, then five, then buzz. The next player must say seven, but they say six so they are out. Numbers that are buzzed may not be said aloud. <br />
<br />
Players only get one chance to get it right. If they start to say the wrong number, they are out. Also if the wrong number is "buzzed" they are out.<br />
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I always do a practice round using the multiples of two. All players that are out in one round are allowed back in the next. <br />
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I have played this with my nephew at the dinner table, and it can be played with just two people. Try it in the car or during class bathroom breaks while you wait for kids to return.<br />
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Have fun!<br />
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-73132658197717979162013-03-04T03:11:00.002-06:002013-03-04T03:11:36.146-06:00Free Grammar Ebook and a Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today I am officially back to the grind. I have missed the routine of being in the classroom and the students, but I am sad to see my time with my daughter go! Time flies by so fast, doesn't it? Today is our first go at daycare and this mama is a nervous wreck! To make myself feel better about it, I am offering 10% off at <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr">my TeachersPayTeachers store</a> and this <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Subject-Noun-Safari-Mini-book">Subject Noun Safari ebook free</a>. Here are a couple of sample pages of this very basic ebook showing examples of subject nouns: </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Subject-Noun-Safari-Mini-book">http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Subject-Noun-Safari-Mini-book</a></td></tr>
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Have a great Monday!</div>
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Colleen</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-63026895168524241902013-02-25T21:48:00.003-06:002013-02-25T21:48:51.994-06:00Making a ComebackI apologize for my long absence. I have been taking this precious time since December to care for and get to know my little girl. I wouldn't have traded it for the world! I just wish I could stay home with her all of the time. We can teach other people's kids from home right?? I wish that was the case, but alas it is not. I will be going back to work Friday. Wish me luck! <br />
<br />
To celebrate my blogging comeback I am offering a St. Patrick's Day Freebie. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DBl40FU48SyzmT_U6Y7JNPLkLHPN0hpvmfH9Pyp8Fg8_QbJbvult_PqlSBmcJdjwzYjEE0iDswukcW182rzQ1QeYhEhXEK6alncmjyW5hphfG2jxPwYbeDYMcefxbjzpB6js7GTzEiVT/s1600/sight+word+shindig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DBl40FU48SyzmT_U6Y7JNPLkLHPN0hpvmfH9Pyp8Fg8_QbJbvult_PqlSBmcJdjwzYjEE0iDswukcW182rzQ1QeYhEhXEK6alncmjyW5hphfG2jxPwYbeDYMcefxbjzpB6js7GTzEiVT/s200/sight+word+shindig.jpg" title="Shamrock Shindig Sight Word Game" width="158" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright Colleen Zehr theteachingchameleon.blogspot.com</td></tr>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByxA2fk4LQJieG15RV83ZnhXQ0E/edit?usp=sharing">Download this freebie!</a></div>
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This is a sight word card game that's great for a center or small group activity. Game includes 2 different sets of sight word cards according to the levels Pre-Primer and Primer. It contains Dolch Sight Word Cards and blanks for vocabulary words you would like to add. <br />
<br />How to Play: <br /><br />Choose card sets to use. There are 2 sets of words. You can use 1 or more sets per game. Select at least 3 Uh-Oh cards for the game. <br /><br />Place cards face down in a draw pile. Players take turns reading a card from the draw pile. If they read the card correctly, they keep the card and any cards in the discard pile. If they read it incorrectly, the card goes into the discard pile. If a player draws an Uh-Oh card, the player must discard all of their cards into the discard pile. The winner is the player who holds the most cards when time is called. <br />
<br />Warning: This is a game that does not end unless a time limit is provided. 5-10 minutes per session is a good place to start. <br />
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I have used this game in the past for different holidays. For Halloween, we played boo. You take ghost cutouts and write the sight words on them and include cards marked with boo to be used like the Uh-Oh cards. We play Gobble for Thanksgiving. <br />
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A larger version including sight word cards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd is available for sale at TeachersPayTeachers here: <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sight-Word-Card-Game-Shamrock-Shindig-Sight-Word-Recognition-Game">My TeachersPayTeachers Store</a><br />
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Thank you loyal followers and I hope you'll be seeing more of me soon! <br />
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ColleenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-22227073163033944532012-10-14T18:50:00.002-05:002012-10-14T18:50:09.238-05:00Student Motivation and the GiftedI had the priveledge of attending the Kansas Associatoin of the Gifted, Talented, and Creative conference here this past week. There were many wonderful speakers at the conference. <br />
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One in particular (Scott Hobson) got me thinking about how even gifted students need a push sometimes in motivation. We don't always equip them with ways to cope with things that don't come easy to them. He said that we often let kids give up way too easily. One way to accomplish this is to give logic stories such as the Stories with Holes from <a href="http://www.storieswithholes.com/">http://www.storieswithholes.com/</a>. You don't give the kids hints and you don't give the story a deadline. You read it to them, let them come to their own conclusion and only give yes or no answers. These are great for critical and out of the box thinking. <br />
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Something I find with my high ability/gifted students is that they are often only motivated by the things that interest them. (Isn't that true of most people?) But getting them to go beyond their comfort zone can be a challenge. Mr. Hobson says we aren't doing kids any favors by making them "comfortable". He isn't saying abuse the kids or try to bully them, but you try to get them to go out of their zones of comfort in ways that show it's ok to be wrong. No one is perfect, so it's exhausting trying to be. It's ok to fail as long as you learn from it. <br />
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I just wanted to share with you these little thoughts as I have been thinking a lot about them this week. <br />
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ColleenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-41023745634173017132012-09-17T05:59:00.002-05:002012-09-17T05:59:59.322-05:00A Cute StoryEvery year, I forget how little kindergarteners really are when the begin school. I am quickly reminded when I have to gently coax them out of their cars at the beginning of the day or watch a napping child while the rest of their class goes to specials. <br />
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I was again reminded the other day when I was administering a Math CBM to a kindergartener. We were doing some addition, a skill to which many in K have not yet been introduced. When approaching a problem such as 3 + 4, this little boy put 3 fingers up on one hand and 4 on the other. Then, figuring out he didn't have any more fingers to point with, he proceeded to use his nose to point to each finger as he counted! He continued in this way with other questions. It definitely brought a smile to my face.<br />
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His simple strategy guided him to the correct answers, while reminding me that there are numerous ways to solve problems. They might not be the way that we expect, but they can be just as effective. <br />
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Happy Monday and remember to keep an eye out for those student-created strategies! <br />
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Colleen Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-6587510392622779822012-09-09T14:15:00.004-05:002012-09-09T14:15:38.842-05:00Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3Pre-testing season has wound down finally after 3 weeks of MAP testing and DIBELS testing. While I like the amount of data we get from these tests, I do not like the amount of time that goes into getting them completed! <br />
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I much prefer the one-on-one of DIBELS testing to the mass testing of MAP, but this year we only DIBELed Kindergarten and the progress monitored kids from 1, 2, and 3. If we hadn't, we would still be testing another week or two! <br />
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<strong>I have had many teacher friends that have been surprised by the fact that we even pre-test the way that we do. Are we in the minority here?</strong> <br />
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I found their responses interesting when I meantioned I hadn't started my K-3 math remediation groups or my K-6 enrichment groups. We use the data for differentiation, and that's how my groups are formed. You definitely can tell who had the summer slide or really worked on their summer requirements. (We require reading and math StudyIsland.com assignments.) <br />
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Once I get back in the swing of teaching groups, I should be posting more (baby willing!). <br />
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ColleenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-28208379216165181272012-08-18T15:58:00.001-05:002012-08-18T15:58:07.693-05:00Rekenrek Have you ever heard of a <strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">rekenrek</span></strong>? <br />
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It is much like a abacus, only it is used differently. It can be used to teach number sense. <br />
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My weekend project was to make these for my small math groups. The idea came from the book <u>Number Sense Routines.</u> Students learn to recognize numbers in relation to 5 and 10 by sliding the beads across the pipe cleaner. See the link at the end of this post for a complete guide to using the rekenrek. <br />
Here is a sample of the ones I made with materials and directions to follow: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3-SVRj5s4Tdk3T-tBIrmvVz5DzbNbRzgtO4-_fZcQtMjpDOOiVGFEqBMKU6bKDz1ST6jqKmUouym_dnkvVlQxFRGYaBvFegueWvjYhw_fT_4lMvkMwJHcgdmBSu5zb6AiZ8vnYx9twcP/s1600/DSC_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3-SVRj5s4Tdk3T-tBIrmvVz5DzbNbRzgtO4-_fZcQtMjpDOOiVGFEqBMKU6bKDz1ST6jqKmUouym_dnkvVlQxFRGYaBvFegueWvjYhw_fT_4lMvkMwJHcgdmBSu5zb6AiZ8vnYx9twcP/s320/DSC_0040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Materials: <br />
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pony beads (10 of two different colors for each board) - White and red are traditional<br />
foam board (I used 4x6 squares cut from 8 by 6 foam)<br />
pipe cleaners (2 per board)<br />
hole punch<br />
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Hole punch four holes into the foam board about an inch square from each corner. <br />
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String 5 red beads and 5 white beads on a pipe cleaner and insert the ends into the holes long ways. <br />
Again string 5 red and 5 white on the other pipe cleaner and insert the ends into the remaining holes. Twist tie the ends of the pipe cleaner like so: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-Av_B-vdn888iA5nNg1W7ZA5FdhHyDJcsnr0igFeJNOccFuKuuWm-REh5VlDkLuOsNiD9RYghNwBYv4kaMzbc57eqzpzr5Ovm2FFJko4NRIQHry_GH_y4ccGQbwjJzdak9YAngxEDacd/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-Av_B-vdn888iA5nNg1W7ZA5FdhHyDJcsnr0igFeJNOccFuKuuWm-REh5VlDkLuOsNiD9RYghNwBYv4kaMzbc57eqzpzr5Ovm2FFJko4NRIQHry_GH_y4ccGQbwjJzdak9YAngxEDacd/s320/DSC_0041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The following website has a great book about how to use the rekenrek. <a href="http://catalog.mathlearningcenter.org/files/pdfs/URVM_0610.pdf">http://catalog.mathlearningcenter.org/files/pdfs/URVM_0610.pdf</a><br />
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Colleen<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-13070354863354176002012-08-16T17:55:00.000-05:002012-08-16T17:55:07.048-05:00First Day of SchoolToday was the first day of school! I don't know where the summer went, but here we are. In my new role, I do not have a class of my own. I got the priveledge of helping herd students and their parents into the building. Lots of sleepy faces, but lots of excited ones too! I always forget how little the kindergarterners are at the beginning of the year or how much the older kids grow since the previous year! <br />
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I did not miss the first day of school as a classroom teacher in that I didn't have to be stressed about supplies, bulletin boards, etc. I spent the day preparing for our first day of MAP testing (tomorrow). Seating charts, accommodation lists, directions to proctors, etc.---who knew how much goes into prepping for testing!?! It's interesting to be on the other side for once. <br />
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When do you start testing? Do you pretest? We pretest, monitor and post test the primary kids and we pretest and monitor the upper elementary/middle school kids. We then post test the ones that are remedial on the state assessments. Good luck in your beginning of the year endeavors!<br />
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Colleen<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11852164758003250912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001226405674383645.post-66196696678053853382012-08-09T08:28:00.003-05:002012-08-09T08:28:39.083-05:00Back to SchoolBack to school always reminds me of Snow White's dwarves when they sing, "hi ho hi ho, it's off to work I go...". Inservice starts for me tomorrow and the kids come back on Thursday of next week. Where did this summer go? I think I say that every summer! <span style="color: blue;"><strong><em>When do you go back to school?</em></strong></span> <br />
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Please Note: Those of you that have subscribed to my newsletter, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up with its demands and will have to stop sending out the monthly newsletter. Instead, I will post my freebies here. With my little one on the way, this makes the most sense for me at this time. Thanks for your understanding.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Exciting Sweepstakes and Sale News:</span></strong><br />
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Both TeachersPayTeachers and TeachersNotebook will be running big back to school sales this weekend. <br />
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On <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.teachersnotebook.com/backtoschoolbonanza%22%3E%20%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.teachersnotebook.com/images/btsb/btsb_shop_badge_2.png%22%3E%20%3C/a%3E">Teachers Notebook</a>, sign up to win a gift certificate and check out my own store for a giveaway opportunity! The sweepstakes only runs <u>until tomorrow</u> (<strong>August 10th</strong>)! The sale itself is <strong>August 11th-13th.</strong> <br />
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On <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Zehr">Teachers Pay Teachers</a>, enjoy a sale on top of my own store's sale! This sale goes from <strong>August 12th-13th. </strong><br />
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