Bloglovin

Yes, I'm bloglovin! I have a plan to post something on my blog on a regular basis once we get back into school mode this year.  This summer I plan to learn more about making my blog page better with pictures and design.  Creating an engaging blog is going to require spending a lot of time looking at blogs and reading how others have gotten their blogs on the right track. This summer I also plan to post a couple of activities for ESL teachers on Pinterest to get some traffic on my sight.  When school begins I intend on giving my teachers all the back to school info (I normally give in a meeting) on my blog.  I want to have teachers leave a comment to help me know that they have received the information.  I think it will help teachers make the most of their time.  If I can help by giving them one less meeting to attend as they're getting back to school then I'll be happy. During the school year I plan to post twice a month on my blog.  I will get with you April about sending me reminders!  I have a goal of making this an engaging and useful blog (fingers crossed)!

Management Tip

One management tip for all the books in my classroom that I'm thankful I started doing is my book checkout system.  I have a hanging pocket chart with small pockets for each child.  I have my students names written on each pocket.  A couple of years ago I bought a ton of library cards and pockets.  When my student checks out a book we put a pocket on the inside of the book, write the name and author of the book on a library card.  The student then puts their card in the hanging pocket chart when they take their book home.  Anytime a student has a book(s) checked out I can look in their pocket and ask them about the books they have out and how the reading is going. It's a quick way for me to see what the students have checked out and hold them accountable for bringing it back. The card will stay in the hanging chart until they bring it back.  It is one of the best management helps for me on a daily basis and I would recommend it for anyone struggling to find a good system.

Book Whisperer

I can easily say the Book Whisperer is the most impactful recent professional book I have read.  I love how the author talks about talking about what she's reading and why with her students.  I think it's important for our students to hear and see us reading,  but also to hear why we are reading what we've been reading and how we made that decision.  I love the fact that she makes it okay for her students to start a book, but then not finish it if they don't enjoy it.  I use to think my students were just trying to get out of reading when they didn't want to finish a book (a few probably were).  Reading this book just made me realize the importance of giving the students skills to pick out the best books for them and then provide lots and lots of opportunities to read, even if it's on the way to another class, lunch or recess.  Reading this book gave me a better perspective on leading my students to become lifelong readers.

It's a whole new world

http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2014/05/debs-top-10-tips-when-you-are-assigned.html?m=1
http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-classroom/

Peek my (P)interest

Right now Pinterest is my "go to" Educational website.  I know.... it's probably not considered an educational website by many, but I love all the different ideas I find!  I can find ideas on just about anything I want to teach on Pinterest with examples!  I am a visually impacted person and so anything with pictures will surely solidify whether it's worth using or not for me.  I could spend 10 minutes on Pinterest and find something free or cost-worthy every time.  Although there are many wonderful Educational websites, right now Pinterest still continues to peek my interest! https://www.pinterest.com/

 

Sentence Frames Can Build Language Confidence!

I have noticed that many of my ELLs do not volunteer as much in their classroom as they do in their ESL pull out class.  After talking with teachers their seems to be a consistent quietness among ELLs because they are either shy or feel "less than" compared to their native English speaking classmates.  One way to help overcome this is providing sentence frames for your students. Sentence frames can give your student the confidence they need to share out on a topic and make all the difference in your classroom.  Here are just a few that I found on TPT.  You can download and print them for free.  If you would like me to print them off for you and laminate them I would be glad to do that, just let me know. I know there are other sentence frames out there that are helpful as well,  so let me know if you  would like specific ones.
  www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Critical-Thinking-Language-Sentence-Frames-Say-What-Aligned-to-Common-Core

Blog Inspiration

As a new blogger I have been looking at a ton of other blogs.  This Curtis Elementary Blog by their librarian is really inspiring and motivating to me. http://curtiselementarylibrary.blogspot.com/ 
When I saw this blog I thought "wow I wanna be like her!"  I like that her audience of the blog is parents, students and teachers.  So many school or teacher blogs are directed to one or the other.  This blogger clearly interacts with the students through the Maker Space program and other activities with students.  I love that she has videos and pictures to show what's happening with the library and how she is connecting educationally with students.    I love that she has a tab for teacher resources, a tab for students and all of it is inviting for parents to read and see what's happening at their child's school on a regular basis.  The only thing I would say I don't like about this blog (if I have to) is that there are so many archived items and links to blogs that it's overwhelming.  I didn't know what to click on first!  This inspires me to be more dimensional with my blog and not just consider one audience.  Her blog inspires students to continue reading and stretching their minds as well as inform and invite others to read what's happening.  As an ESL specialist I was considering my blog as a resource for teachers, but now I would also like for it to be a way to connect to my students through posting activities or links they can follow to grow as a learner!  So glad I read this blog!

Enjoy my Post (it)

What I can't live without?  Sticky notes are just about right up there with air. Just like you need air you need sticky notes to get through your day. I  don't know about  you, but my first thought when I pop out of bed is.....
#1 OMG I have to go to the bathroom sooo bad
#2 Where is my first helpful sticky note to tell me what to do next
#3 OMG where is my brand new unopened multi-color pack of sticky notes? (...and don't you agree there is nothing like the new smell of a package of sticky notes...?  If you answered YES you get 5 gold stars!)

Why Blog?

My role in education is an ESL specialist in our district.  I am anticipating using this blog as a tool to communicate with ESL teachers in the district.  It would be exciting to see this blog become a resource to provide new ideas to incorporate into teaching, share lessons and success stories, and be a place to inform teachers about ESL policies and procedures in the district that we need to know about.  I'm hoping to learn how to share links and photos as a resource as well.  Since I am a "newby" at this, I am extremely excited about the potential of this being a great tool for ESL teachers!

Blasting into the Blogosphere

I'm so excited to start the "Blasting into the Blogoshpere" course!  I want to blast into the world of blogging as a way to find new ideas to use in my classroom as well as share ideas and resources with other teachers looking for ways to effectively move ESL students to the next level.  I have come across many wonderful blogs by people going above and beyond to create challenging, yet fun ways to help students grow and learn.  This blog can be a resource for the ESL teachers in our district who struggle to find the time to find all these resources themselves and/or are always looking for new and exciting ways to engage ELLs in the classroom.  My hope is that this can be a way for ESL teachers to connect across the district in a way that will inspire, inform and encourage us all.  I anticipate that this can be a place of conversation to work together and  grow as a community of learners to empower ESL teachers to move to the next level of teaching with the help of the "blogoshpere".

Reading App

EPIC! is a great App to download for your students to read on the ipod or ipad.  My students will use this for D.E.A.R. time or any independent reading time during the day. I love it because you can select the age of the reader (ages 1-12) and the reader can also select what genre they like to read.  The student will then see many recommended books to choose from.  Struggling ESL students like this because there are usually a recommended group of books they can listen to rather than read themselves. For students that are reading below grade level, but want to read what their friends are reading, this allows them to do that. Try it out and give me some feedback on how you like it.  I would love to hear how else you might use this App with your students!