Michelle TeGrootenhuis's Blog – February 2009 Archive (3)

So I know this certain teacher that is just an absolute inspiration to me and I want to tell everyone why. Here's my very HUMBLE and highly inadequate attempt to do so. I don't want to embarrass her too much, as I think she would be by such types of public praise, so I will just call her "Teacher" which is a term she holds dear anyway.



Teacher,

You simply amaze me. I wish I had a clone that could spend every day in your classroom and just soak up your passion and love… Continue

So we went to the computer lab today for 1/2 an hour and I gave them this assignment.



Visit http://www.scholastic.com/kids/stacks and check out any book or author page you'd like. Then write down at least FIVE new things you learned from visiting those pages.



The kids were like, "We can visit ANY author on this page?" and, "We can look at ANY book site on… Continue

I'm getting rid of my teacher's desk this week.



I've TRIED to manage without a "reading table" for a year and a half now and I just can't get past the PSYCHOLOGICAL need for one. I'm in the middle of my second year teaching fifth grade after twelve years at second grade, and I just can't go another day with out that kidney-shaped fixture in my classroom.



I tried meeting with fifth grade groups around my rectangle table, but that just is not conducive to get… Continue