The Boxcar Children

The Boxcar Children series consists of 127 books written by different authors. The books are about a family of four brothers and sisters during the depression era whom find an old train boxcar and turn it into a house. The series talk about the struggles that the family went through in order to survive and also taught the reader of great morals. The books expressed the importance of never giving up, no matter how tough the issue is and also that with the help of family, anything can be done. I think this is why I enjoyed reading these books so much because they have instilled the values of always giving my best and to make sure that I help others out whenever I can and that I make sure that I always keep strong bonds with my family. These are values that I hope to instill into my students because they are values that the students will be able to use all of their lives. I feel by having children and students read these books would help the children to understand these values.

Let's Talk About....

I'm planning on teaching preschool eventually, once I can add it to my degree. Until then I'm going to teach either kindergarten or first grade. At those ages there are several emotional, social, and mental lessons that the students must learn. When I was observing a preschool for two years the author Joy Berry helped many of the students with those lessons. She has six series equaling a total of 250 books to teach children-preteens about taking responibility for themselves and their actions. The stories are easy for the children to relate to and are to the point. I used the series called LET'S TALK ABOUT.. in the preschool class.


If you can't tell in the picture the series are:
I LOVE....: ages 1-3
LET'S TALK ABOUT...: ages 3-6
HELP ME BE GOOD...: ages 6-7
A FUN AND EASY WAY...:ages 7-10
GOOD ANSWERS...: ages 8+
WINNING SKILLS...: ages 11+

Courtney's Resource

I would like to share a very helpful website resource with all of you. I learned about this website while taking part in the Cadet Teaching program in high school. The teacher I worked with shared this with me and I have used it multiple times since. Enchanted Learning is an amazing website that includes activities, printables, lesson plans, and so much more. I have been able to log on and find exactly what I need in little time. I love the way the website is organized and I love the availability to print. I believe that you have to have a log on to use this website. Many schools sign up and allow their teachers and staff to use this as a resource for their students. My favorite thing about this resource is that the homepage is frequently updated. The website is updated at holidays, which makes it easy to find specific lesson plans, worksheets, or activities. I think that all of you will find this website beneficially! http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

A+ Math by Shelby

As a student, I have always struggled with math. I know I am not the only student who also struggles with this subject. The resource that I found helps students more than teachers. However, teachers can bookmark this resource and tell their students about it for homework and studying help. The site is AplusMath. The features on the site include flashcards, a game room, a homework helper and worksheets. The flashcards, homework helper and worksheets include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and some higher middle school math concepts. This resource would be able to help students when they are working on homework and studying at home. I highly recommend this website for students and for teachers to use in the classroom.

Website: http://aplusmath.com/

Froggy's Day With Dad

I love the Froggy books! All of them tell super cute stories of a precious little frog who doesn't really know any better. I chose to do Froggy's Day With Dad because I think it is a great story for kids to read, and it encourages them to spend more time with their fathers. Any of the Froggy stories are quite un-put-downable for younger students and I think any of them are a great read. Froggy's Day With Dad takes place on Father's Day, and Froggy has planned out a whole day of activities to do with his dad. It starts with breakfast, then some mini-golf, but as usual things go a little out of plan as they always do with Froggy.

I highly encourage reading this book around Father's Day with your students, and maybe even make the mug that Froggy makes for his Dad!

Morgan's Book Share

I would like to share with you a series of books written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. Yes, the "Fonz" is out writing children's books. The Hank Zipzer collection contains seventeen books perfect for a third or fourth grade reading level. The stories are based on the childhood of Henry Winkler. The first book, "Niagara Falls, or Does It," is about Hank's first week in fourth grade. He really struggles with the first writing assignment his teacher gives him, so he creates a "living essay" of his summer vacation to Niagara Falls to complete instead, but this plan leads him into some big trouble. Hank is a brilliant kid who just doesn't seem to know to apply it to writing or reading. The book gently discusses learning differences, and encourages the reader that different doesn't mean bad. One can find more information about this series by visiting this website: http://www.hankzipzer.com/books.html

Succeed to Read

 

 As future educators we all need resources that we can rely on to help teach to every child. A resource I have found to be wonderful in providing tips and ideas to help a child read is a website called Succeed to Read. Within the website there are several ways to break down the reading process. It breaks down alphabet sounds, puts different sounds together, separates phonics vs. whole language and much much more. I enjoy reading and I want my students to do the same. I feel that reading is going to be one of the most difficult areas of teaching because there are so many ways you can go about the English language. I feel that this website would be a great way to keep on track with what we are teaching and if we get stuck along the way it will also re-direct to the right direction.

Please visit the site at: www.succeedtoread.com