I just spent the better part of the evening reading and commenting on my students’ blogs. Wow! That’s all I can say…wow! The growth, the desire to write and publish, and the enthusiasm I am reading kindles the fire in me to want to read more, to see what stories these budding young authors will come up with next. They are truly putting their “best word forward.” When I read lines like:

• Can you imagine not being able to sleep good for two months waiting to hear if you passed?
• I kept looking at the clock to see if it was morning so I could open my presents. It’s not! I thought. I still have to wait five more hours. 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00.
• That’s why my little crystal eyes felt puffy like I’m going to cry. I felt a little clear tear roll down my face. “Don’t cry, Breeana Nicole Ruelas.” I thought.
• I was so excited that my eyes were stretching like a rubber band looking for my gift.
• 1….2….3…. good-bye world,” I said to myself. And everything about it. “Well let’s… gulp!… do this. aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”
• My favorite place to go to is a secret , just guess for a second . . .
• One day I was so warm in my bed covers. ” Boom”! my brother and my mom said “It’s snowing!”
• She was making a picture that I can understand. “Oh, I get it,” I thought to myself.
• I was soooo excited, my bones felt like popping out of my body.
• Rebbecca was so surprised she started to jump up and down like a kangaroo!
• I looked all the way down. Wam! We all went down, dashing like a roadrunner.
• G-R-R-R!!!! Ah-h-h-h!!! Some dog was chasing me!! I ran, ran, and ran as if I were a cheetah!
• The soft one was light green and orange. I wonder why they were different colors?

I begin to realize that these young writers are really starting to enjoy putting their stories on paper for others to read. Each of them shares in their own unique way, their own special story. Each one breathes life into their words. I feel their excitement, their wonder, their fear and their joy in every piece I read. And I tell myself, “Ginny, all their hard work, the planning, drafting, revising, rewriting and editing is beginning to pay off. They are feeling successful, and the more successful they feel, the more they want to write. Now, I just need about 20 computer stations in my room…but that’s another story!

Mr. Mattson, I want to say “Thank You” for creating the benchmark tutorial which the students were able to use as an additional tool/resource to help them with math. I can just imagine the time and effort that went into that project…working each of the 40 problems in order for the students to be able to “see” the problem being solved as you explained it at the same time. It was as though each student had their own individual tutor. They were able to see what the correct answer was, whether or not they had worked the problem like you, and in the event they got it wrong, they were able to decide whether they had: made a silly mistake, got it now or were still confused. I was so impressed that I asked my daughter to help me do “one” problem at our house. I could hardly write in the correct spot on the tablet let alone talk through the problem at the same time! But, I will keep trying! Again, thank you so much. The kids loved it and I appreciate it!

I was trying to decide how to incorporate teaching about explorers and Native Americans of Texas at the same time during Social Studies. I decided to assign a Native American tribe and an explorer to pairs of students. With 20 students in the class, we could cover 10 tribes and/or explorers. Each pair of students spent a couple of days gathering information on their subject. We used our textbooks, library books, books I had purchased and the Internet. Each group was allowed to design a poster and then they were required to present their information to the entire class. During the presentation, students were required to take notes in order to study for the 10-question quiz to be given following all the presentations. As an added bonus, I allowed each pair to write one question from their presentation (information) for our quiz. The students’ enthusiasm with this project is fantastic! They’re asking me, “When can we research an animal for science?”