Welcome Back!!

Yes, it is that time of year already! School starts in about 2 weeks!

August 16th ~ First Day of School

I have added two new pages to the website. 

The "What's Happening!!" page will house the Welcome Back letter with supply list as well as monthly newsletters. I will also try to include school happenings, such as late starts and conferences. I think this might be a little more effective than the 'calendar' page from last year.

 

The second page is called In Pictures ~ Room 220. This page will be a picture blog - no words, just pictures of the students, classroom, activities, etc. My goal for this picture blog is to give you glimpse into the classroom from the students' eyes. At first, I will be the one taking and posting the photographs. Eventually, I would like the students to begin taking ownership. I want them to be able to have a say in what they want you to know about our classroom. I will allow them to choose what pictures to take as well as guide them in taking and posting pictures so that you can see Room 220 ~ In Pictures!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email. I will be at school periodically over the next couple weeks. If you would like to schedule a time to have your child come up for a visit, let me know and we can work something out.

Global Read Aloud 2012

Global Read Aloud 2012 ~ featuring Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Photo Credit ~ Wikispaces

I am very excited to have the class signed up to participate in our first Global Read Aloud. 

Now, I know what you are thinking, 

What is the Global Read Aloud?? 

The Global Read Aloud was founded a few years ago by Mrs. Ripp. It is an international literacy project in it’s third year. On her blog, Mrs. Ripp describes the reason behind this project: 

“I founded the project because I believe books are powerful. Books, by themselves, spellbind people, particularly children and allow them to travel to new places. Books become such a personal experience that to take a book and have children listen to it around the world at the same time, could open up the world. They would understand that the experience they were having with the book was perhaps the same experience as another child in another place was having. My students understand through this project that they are part of something bigger, that other kids were just like them even if they were so far apart. Even if the sun didn’t rise at the same time or the seasons were opposite, they were the same because they loved the same book.”

I was intrigued to be a part this project after a fellow teacher, Ms. Kolis (@Room5Friends), told me about the experience with her classroom last year. I am very excited to have the students participate in an event that will allow them to showcase the great things we do here at Evendale. I am also excited to get our classroom connected to students from across the globe. Last year, we connected with students from New Zealand and the student enjoyed learning about the culture of the students. The Global Read Aloud will provide us with yet another opportunity to learn from and about others.

Photo Credit ~ Coloring Pages for Kids

Here are the specifics about The Global Read Aloud. This year’s book selection for the younger elementary students is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. The project officially begins October 1st and will run 4-7 weeks. An international group of teachers are currently in the planning process for the 4 weeks of lessons. I will modify the lessons and the timeline to fit the need and abilities of the class as well as organize additional resources as needed. During this project, we will use a variety of technology tools to engage in the book, collaborate with other classes, participate in discussions, and create projects revolving around the book. Some of the websites/technology tools that we will be using for this project will be the classroom blog, edmodo, twitter, and wikispaces.

Most of the project will take place at school; however, I will also be asking you to complete some activities at home. I will be posting information to the class blog about our activities as well as the Global Read Aloud in general. I encourage you review the blog posting and engage your child in discussions about the book. It would be a great idea to get a copy of the book to also read at home with your child. As I create modified curriculum materials for the book (such as visuals, flashcards), I can also provide you with copies for home as well. When checking out the classroom blog, you can easily find the Global Read Aloud postings by searching the tags “Global Read Aloud”, “#GLRead12”, or “Charlotte’s Web”.

Photo Credit ~ Coloring Pages for Kids

Thanks in advance for your support and cooperation as we take part in this amazing international literacy project! If you have any questions, please feel free to email or post a comment. If you are interested in volunteering to help with part of the project, let me know that as well. I’m sure we can find a way to help you get involved.


Are you a special education teacher participating in the #GLRead12? I would love to connect our classrooms. Leave a comment or find me on twitter (@teachwtechbrox).

~Melanie

Holy Cow.....my blog hit 22,000 hits!!

A quick thank you to viewers new and old....my classroom blog has hit over 22,000 page views in less than a year and a half! That is amazing and humbling to a mid-west special education teacher who started this blog in order to share the cool things that her students were accomplishing with the parents. Over the past year, it has become so much more. We have used it to connect with students from other countries, educators have emailed me about class projects, but most of all, the students enjoy seeing their successes captured for others to see.


Thank you for stopping by! As a small celebration, I will be giving away a $10 iTunes gift card as a thank you! Check out the Rafflecopter giveaway below on how to enter. Entries will be accepted starting tonight at midnight.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you! (again!)

I just wanted to send a quick update about the Big Lots Lots2Give grant for which I was begging for votes! Voting had closed and now we......WAIT!


According to their website, "Your votes have been cast! View the winning videos beginning Saturday, August 11, Big Lots Teacher Appreciation Day."


If I hear any more, I will be sure to pass on the information. In the mean time, enjoy the rest of the summer! Look for Back to School posting starting in a couple of weeks!!


~Melanie

Dear Mrs McKenzie and B4...

The One World Games banner from our field day

Dear Mrs McKenzie and B4,
This is Mrs. Broxterman. I am writing on behalf of the students. Sorry it has taken me a while to get back with you, but the end of our school year was May 30th. We were really busy finishing up our school year and were so excited to have you answer some of the questions. I appreciate it so much. The students enjoyed hearing about your favorite foods and we even did a little research about some of your answers. 


Here were few reactions from the students (and teachers):


Did you know that in New Zealand children usually start school on their 5th birthday? So children are starting school all through the year, not all at the same time. Do you think you would like that?
The students thought that sounded like a good idea. The teachers thought it would take getting used to. In the States, everyone starts school at the same time; however, the ages can vary. Students can usually start Kindergarten (their first year of school) at age 5 or 6, but depending on when a child's birthday is, a child can start at age 4.

The Australia/New Zealand flag from our World Games Field Day

The students were very interested that you live in a rural area as we live near a large city. We do not have many farms around the area and rarely do the students see cows unless they visit a farm as as part of field trip.


The students were excited to see they you liked the same foods. We didn't know what "Cheezels" were so we googled it and think they are very similar to "Cheetos" we have in Ohio.


The students also enjoyed learning about rugby, which is played in the USA but it isn't very well known. They also thoughtthat netball sounded a lot like basketball. We were all surprised with find out through our research that there was an International Federation of Netball Association.


Thank you again for sharing a little bit of your part of the world. I know that my students enjoyed it. The students are on vacation for the summer so they won't be able to answer any question. However, my daughter is 6 (almost 7) and will be in 1st grade next year. If you have any questions, she would be more than happy to answer them I'm sure.


Have a great school year! We will definitely chat more when we start back to school in August!


Thanks again!
Mrs. Broxterman and Room 220