Data, Data, Data

I AM A DATA GUNKIE!  There I said it, it's out in the open.  I can't hide from it any more.  Everything is about data.  In a way, it makes me sad....there was a time when I focused just teaching..oh, I could always tell you where my students were at, who needed to work on what and who had mastered what. But now, now I sit anaylize everything! (Can you tell it's been a data weekend?)  And my Firsties can too.  They know that data is important..it's our first math unit (graphing) and we talk about it every day.  They talk about it everyday.  They support each other in their learn through it, we celebrate when a Firstie moves reading levels, we talk about/write rubrics and we use them.  Each of my Firsties has a "Data Portfolio". Inside their portfolio, they have a graph for their DRA2 level, sight word levels, and "red word" levels.  The Firsties are the "caretakers" of their portfolio..oh they don't keep it in their desk but they are responsible for making and interpreting their data.  Unknowingly, they take their scores and set goals for themselves.  We have a "Great Readers Have Great Goals" wall.(oh, what a great mini-lesson to share with you!)  On the wall, each Firstie has their picture up and every month they write a new reading goal knowing from our Reading Workshop conferences and what the data "tells" them would be a good focus.  It's interesting how many of them pick the goals I would write up for them.  It makes me feel good to know all of the stress love of going through the end of our 2nd trimester data is worth it...my Firsties will love adore the new color coded bar graphs I made for them!

What happened?

The 5:45am phone call on Thursday was a great surprise..No School! The back roads in my area were to icy for travel.  Ok, your thinking "that's nice, a day off" but it was extra nice since it was a 4 day weekend due to President's Day.  Four days morphed into 5-woohoo! The list of what I could get done, the list of what I could do was longer...put the brakes on...in comes the creeping coughing, earache, sore throat that most majority of the Firsties had either had or complained of during the past 3 weeks.  It was with me at home and was staying for a 4 day weekend visit.  Deep sigh Horrified sigh!  Two days in bed, third day thinking I could emerge from my daze turned into an urgent care visit.  So long is the 5 day weekend, which nothing was accomplished, no posters made, no errands run...nothing absolutely nothing!  And tomorrow well, back to school and  hopefully a classroom of healthy Firsties.

Technology Crazy!

We've gone technology crazy in my room...really crazy!  My school has been very fortunate to have received a grant to purchase iPads.  Each of the lower elementary classrooms has at least three new iPads..a wonderful thing indeed!  I've spent a good part of evenings after school--at home--searching iTunes for the best apps for the Firsties.  Now there are more teaching apps on MY iPad then music, books, and games stress releasing activities.  The Firsties love adore their time on one.  Even blog stalking has taken a backseat to my app stalking. Don't worry, I'll catch up...well, after all of our sight words are on the sight word app..only two more iPads to go!

I'm taking the plunge!

Ok...I've thought and thought about and I'm doing it. I'm taking the plunge.  Here I come the world of blogging.  

I've been a stalker...a blog stalker.  I admit it.  I love blogs. I follow so many. My teacher voice keeps repeating "I wish I could do that" so here it goes.  Out from the blog stalking world I come..look out world.  As I tell my Firsties...there are no I can'ts only I cans...I can, I can.