Mrs. Sam's Room! Writers and readers are sprouting up everywhere!

Each student has time with Mrs. Sam as she guides them through the process of learning to compose, spell, and then read what they have written!!  Kudos to all of the young authors and their mentors!!

Pre-K is moving ahead with their acquisition of spoken, written, and read texts. Their focus has also been developed as well as their self-discipline. Kudos to all of class -- teachers and ed techs as well! This is an exciting time of year!

A read aloud during circle time!  Students listen - predicting, comparing, and contrasting - as they listen to a mystery!!

Visual images are paired with written messages throughout the room - supporting students as they transition to written text!

Students learn numbers as well and focus on this symbol system as they build these concepts!

A helpful list for those working on the ELA CCSS. Enjoy!

This is an interesting artilce that impacts all of us.

Poverty in the U.S.: The 10 Worst States for Student Homelessness

www.takepart.com

Maine experienced a 58 percent increase in its homeless student population, which rose from 991 to 1,564. Experts say that in any given year 7,500 Maine students will spend at least one night on the

Can you tell where the CCSS fits in?

 

What does a 21st-century learner look like to you? What skill is missing? Learn 3 strategies for a 21st-century global curriculum: http://bit.ly/1eSe8my. ‪#‎21stcentury‬ ‪#‎learning‬

As we great 2014 and increase our implementation of the CCSS, here are some effective ideas for increasing the use of nonfiction texts in the classroom. Courtesy of ASCD SmartBrief.

How one middle school naturally incorporated more nonfiction texts
The implementation of the Common Core State Standards means a greater focus on nonfiction texts in the English language arts curriculum -- a task that special-education teacher Pauline Zdonek says her middle school worked to accomplish organically. Among other things, she writes in this blog post, teachers taught nonfiction texts that read like fiction, such as the memoir "Night." Teachers also used nonfiction texts that incorporate pictures and selected one day each week to focus on those texts, she writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (12/26)

Here is one school's solution for focusing on the CCSS "subjects" and shifting towards integration. Courtesy of ASCD Smart Brief.

Texas middle school nearly doubles instruction time for core subjects
A Texas middle school has adopted a schedule that nearly doubles class time for core subjects -- math, science, English and social studies -- to 85 minutes from 45 minutes. Officials said the change is intended to help students better grasp core subjects and allow more time for remediation. The schedule limits students to one elective course daily to allow for the additional instructional time. Commerce Journal (Texas) (12/17)