Come See the New Room!

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to the 2011-12 school year. I know things haven't officially started yet, but I'm back at work and am working to have everything ready by September 6 at 8:30 a.m.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but this year I've switched rooms. Our "home" at school this year will be Room 316 (Mr. Wetherbee's old room). I'm very excited about it. Fifth grade is a wonderful year and I'm honored to be a part of it.

I'll save all my big ideas and announcements for future posts. If you have any questions, please email me or call the school.

I would like to invite you and your child to come in and see the new room. I'd also like to hold Learning Team Meetings BEFORE the start of school this year. AND I'd like to complete as many reading benchmark tests as possible before the start of the year.

If you can make it in next Thursday, between 10:30 and 3:30, please fill out the form below to select an appointment time. I look forward to seeing you and getting off to a great start with a wonderful group of fifth graders!

Don't Forget to Write!

Hope the summer is going well!

There hasn't been much activity with Kid Blog or Edmodo. Just wanted to offer an early July reminder that those two things are great for students this summer. Have them write on Edmodo about the books they are reading. Have them write about their summer adventures on Kid Blog!

Remember our Kid Blog site is http://kidblog.org/mrcurransclass . Their username is in the drop down menu and their password is the same as their Edmodo password.

AND don't forget that the Summer Learning page has all kinds of stuff, including spelling lists and book recommendations!!! Have them blog about the sites they use from that page, too!

Looking Back

Wow, this year went by quickly, didn't it? Some days it seems like it did. What a great year it's been, though. Did you know this marks the end of my TENTH full year of teaching? Talk about going by quickly!

Maybe it's because it's the most recent one, or maybe because I'm in a reflective mood, but I feel like I've learned more from this past year about teaching than any other. Although, when I think about it, I'm pretty lucky because it seems that each year of my career has taught me many new things. What have I learned in 10 years? I'm glad you asked!

• Parents Make All the Difference--I have to put this one first because it's most important. Having caring, involved parents makes the learning environment so much better. When you think about the number of hours you entrust me with your children each week, each month, etc, it's mind-blowing. Without your support--the contributions to the classroom, helping with homework, nagging about homework, chaperoning field trips, checking the blog, prepping for Exhibitions, and so on--my job is a million times harder. Thank you for all that you do!

• Be The Right Kind of Teacher--I try to be two kinds of teacher, actually. I try to be the kind of teacher that I would have wanted as a kid (fun, challenging, engaging, caring) AND the kind of teacher I'd want my own children to have (challenging, engaging, communicative, empathetic, honest, etc.). I not completely there yet, but I'm trying. 

• Keep Evolving--When I was a kid, the teachers taught the same grade every year. And they used the same lesson plans, activities, and worksheets every year. Year after year. Decade after decade. I just can't be that kind of teacher. It's important for me, and for the students, that I keep trying new things to help them learn. Sure, some successful projects get reused, but that's because they were successful in the past, not because I'm lazy. And even when they get reused, I always look to make them better the second and third time around.

• Communicate!--Parent-Teacher communication used to be a huge weakness for me. Weeks would go by without me sending notes or newsletters home. Then I had kids. I became a better teacher in a lot of ways after that (see second bullet point above), but one of the most noticeable ways was that I became much better at communication. I hope you've enjoyed the blog. Most importantly I hope the blog has made you feel connected to your child's classroom and their learning environment. I hope it's made you feel like you know what's going on. Because that's why I do it. Did you know I've blogged over 150 times this year?!? Thanks for reading!

Seriously, thanks for reading this really long post. And thanks for a great year. I've definitely learned more than 4 things in 10 years, but those are the big ones. One thing I like about my job is that I'm constantly learning new things. I love learning, I really do. Getting students to do the same is a rewarding challenge for me.

I'm really looking forward to fifth grade already! Enjoy the summer!

Give Calculation Nation a Try This Summer

I've found a great site for math games, Calculation Nation. I like it for a few reasons:

1. It was created by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, so it's based on important math standards.
2. The games are really fun.
3. Students can play the games "against" each other.

The only catch is that you have to sign up for an account. So if you want your son/daughter to use Calculation Nation this summer, go to their site and register today!

Summer Learning Page Complete

Just in time for the end of the year, I've completed the summer learning page. In my humble opinion, it's pretty awesome. It includes:

• A reminder to use Edmodo for discussing summer reading
• A list of totally awesome books recommended by ME
• Spelling and Vocabulary learning activities
• Math games and learning activities (Please check out Calculation Nation, which is pretty sweet. But you need to create an account for your child)
• Link to the Kid Blog writing project (see my earlier blog post about this for instructions)
• Ideas for building technology skills. (including a new idea about using Vocaroo to make a podcast...see my earlier blog post for instructions)

Speaking of technology skills, the students have a pretty deep toolkit that they've developed this year when it comes to technology. Anything they learn can be turned into a blog post, a Google Doc presentation, a section of their wiki page, a Glogster project, and more. 

So now it's up to you to keep them busy with all of this. You can find it all by clicking on "Summer Learning" at the top of the page. Maybe a schedule will work best for you--perhaps an hour or so a few times a week reading and playing math games and blogging, etc. I think if you do this, their learning will definitely continue throughout the summer months.

I'll try to blog a few times each month, too, just to say "hi" and to share any ideas I have. I'll be checking my email all summer, too, so feel free to drop me a line.

Happy Summer!

Podcast This Summer with Vocaroo

Here's a site that students can use to make their own podcasts this summer: Vocaroo. It's free and sooo easy. They can make a podcast about anything: their books, their travels, their thoughts, you name it, the sky's the limit.

Here's how to do it:

1. Go to Vocaroo.com 
2. Click the button that says "Click to Record"
3. In the alert that pops up, click "Allow" to give Vocaroo access to your computer's microphone.
4. Start talking
5. When you're done, click the "Stop" button.
6. Click the bar that says "Post to the Internet." That will give you a web address that they call the "Vocaroo Link"

7. Highlight the Vocaroo link and use the edit menu to COPY it.
8. Paste this link into an Edmodo post or a Kid Blog post so we can all access it.

That's it. Super-easy podcasting. Give it a try...I can't wait to hear what they have to say this summer!!!

Great Summer Writing Idea

When most teachers talk about working on skills over the summer, they usually focus on reading and math. Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not like most teachers. In fact, I think a good summer learning program should focus on reading, math AND writing. And I think I've found what could be a great project for summer writing...blogs!

I love blogging. I currently have 3 blogs (this one, my blog about poetry, and my blog about using technology in the classroom). I really enjoy the satisfaction of writing for an audience. Knowing that someone out there (even if it's only one someone) is reading what I write makes me try to be a better writer. I think this can work for kids, too.

So I've found a safe and free website that allows me to create blogs for each of my students. My idea is that each student should try to blog once a week (or more!) about what they're up to this summer. Doesn't have to be anything exciting, just write. Hopefully they'll keep in mind that they are writing for an audience and that will push them to write their best.

I'll be going over all of this in class tomorrow, but just so you have them, too, here are instructions for students on how to write a blog post:

1. Go to www.kidblog.org/mrcurransclass
2. Click "Log In" in the upper right hand corner.

3. Choose your username from the drop down menu. Then enter your password (it's the same as your edmodo password)
4. To make a new post, click "New Post" at the top of the page.

5. Then give your post a title and type your post in the text field. When you're done (be sure to proofread) click the "Submit for Review" button. No one will be able to read your post until I review it and approve it.

So now that you know HOW to blog, the question is WHAT should you blog about??? Here are some ideas:

• Write about places you visited
• Write about things you do
• Write critiques of movies you see
• Write critiques of songs you like
• Write critiques of websites you use
• Write a post about something that's your favorite. (example: favorite cereal, favorite restuarant, etc.)
• ANYTHING YOU WANT

My best advice for starting your blog is to check out this blog that's written by a 6 YEAR OLD boy in Iowa: http://haganssummerofawesome.blogspot.com/  Once you read it, you'll definitely understand what to do. 

Just remember, two things...

1. Your writing can be viewed by everyone with our blog address. Make it your best! Especially capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.

2. Nothing you write will be posted until I approve it. I'll do my best to approve it quickly, as long as I feel it's your best work.

Finally, students are able to view each other's blogs and leave comments. From the blog homepage (http://kidblog.org/mrcurransclass), click on any of the student names in the list:

Then you can read what they're writing and leave friendly, positive comments or ask questions, just like on Edmodo.

I can't wait to read what students write. Please encourage them to spend some time blogging about their awesome summers. I'll be following along very closely and leaving lots of comments.