Last Visit To Hamilton

On April 2, 2010, I visited the rest of the Hamilton classrooms. Students were finding the 15 errors in the Tallest Animal paragraph. After reading the paragraph a couple of times I was able to find all 15...whew! Additionally, there were several spelling tests taking place since it was Friday..I do remember those days from teaching 5th and 6th graders. And last but not least, a group of 6th grade students were playing "Eggs in the Basket," in PE where not only PE skills were required, but also Math and problem solving were in the mix as well. It was a great time. Five classes visited and that makes 183 classes visited so far. The next three weeks will be spent at Stevens Middle School to wrap up my visitations for the 2009-10 school year.

March Visits

As I continue my trek around the District I am now visiting Hamilton Elementary School where again great things are happening for students. My first visit to Hamilton was March 5 and I was able to catch students meeting their goals for reading, writing and math. Additionally, I observed the Kindergartners reviewing their calendars, the weather, their numbers, and following directions. I also was fortunate enough to be int he classroom when the book, Kermit the Hermit, was being read to another group of kindergartners. It is so encouraging to see our soon to be six-year-olds so excited about learning.

On March 19th I was in a classroom where letters from Mickey the Leprechaun had written to the students. In a third grade Math class students were trying to figure out how many bags of popcorn one cup of popcorn would pop. And in another 3rd classroom students were creating a visual representation of pounds to ounces. My last visit of the day was to a classroom where students were working on inquiry based science experiments to determine if they could put together an electromagnet. I have now visited 178 classrooms this year, with one more round at Hamilton and then on to Stevens Middle School.

Jefferson visits

It has been a while since I have posted my visits. In February I began visiting Jefferson Elementary School, and on the 19th I visited seven more classrooms. I observed Literature circles taking place, division being learned, and shared reading between students. Additionally, I I participated in the number corner and watching as Kindergarten students were able to identify their initial sounds and remember their months of the year. It was great.

Additionally, I was able to return to Jefferson and see Response to Intervention in Action a few days later. Students learning their vocab words, reading passages or practicing other skills they need to have in order to be fluent readers was taking place in small groups of four or five. The intervention model is working as students are reading fluently and interested in tackling more difficult material. So far I have visited 164 classrooms as of February 25.

February...Hard to Believe

On Friday, February 5 I was able to observe 1st-6th graders at Jefferson Elementary School. I visited 7 classrooms and saw students writing in their journals, working on Science experiments, utilizing their circle time, finishing a math test & asking great questions, and gathering information about an animal they were interested in learning more about this week. I have now visited 153 classrooms with one more visit to Jefferson on February 19, and then onto Hamilton and Stevens Middle School. Slowly but surely, the goal is being accomplished, and what great things are happening for the students of Port Angeles each and everyday.

Welcome to 2010

On January 15, I was able to visit Lincoln High School and observe students wrestling with religious issues in Contemporary Issues, read and discuss literature in their reading and English classes, and estimate and measure in Math. It was a great day for a visit, and I completed 5 classroom visits which adds up to a total of 146 classes visited.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to everyone. I finished my visits with Dry Creek yesterday, December 15, 2009. The week before a two-week break is always an exciting time for children, and I was able to play math games with a couple of second grade students, be a word detective with fourth graders, and watch whales take shape in the second grade classroom. In addition, a mulit-cultural calendar gift for parents was being created in the 5th grade, and Rudolph was coming to life in the Kindergarten. The first graders and I listened to a holiday story about Danny, and in the other kinder room, activity time was in full swing. Since there will be a strings concert this week, the students were preparing by practicing their violins and violas. What a treat to visit with everyone and engage in all of the learning taking place at Dry Creek.
I have visited 141 classrooms and have 126 to go!

I want to wish everyone a relaxing and happy holiday season!

See you in 2010!

Dry Creek

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit eight more classrooms at Dry Creek Elementary School. I was able to watch students measuring shapes, dividing seven brownies equally among four students, estimating answers to math problems, with one class was even taking a Math test. Additionally, I saw students writing their stories about the storms we had a few weeks ago, and the impact on their families. Another group of students were making new words by changing the first or last letter. Additionally, students in a sixth grade class were reading science articles about plants and pollen. It was a fabulous visit and I now have visited 126 classrooms with more visits scheduled next week at Lincoln HS and Dry Creek before the holiday break.
287-126=161 classes to go!