Currently -- February & MLK Day!

Thank you to Deana over at Primary Punch for the fantastic MLK Printables free in her TpT Store... get them HERE! They are an excellent companion to your Martin Luther King, Jr. or Black History Month studies!

My kiddos and I have loved working through them! I have been working with my students on utilizing multiple sources for their research. As I have mentioned before, I absolutely LOVE


for its ability to present a plethora of information at an emergent reader's level. We have been working with this website for much of the year as it does take some time for the kiddos to be able to master all components and really take ownership of how to search for articles, etc...

Well, I decided that now that we have reached the approximate mid-point in the year, I would work with my students to help them in compiling information from multiple sources. Through use of Deana's Comprehension Mini Read on MLK as well as our Weekly Reader article on "How Walking Changed the World", I engaged my students in a Socratic Seminar. We used the comprehension questions which Deana provided with the mini-read as our guiding questions to get the conversation started. It was fantastic!

Next, we used her ALL ABOUT MLK JR. page to dig deeper. Each student was required to site their source for each answer, like in a scavenger hunt! The kiddos has a BLAST doing it! And it was great to see how different students relied on various resources.
Weekly Reader does a great job of integrating videos and other media using their online tools!

I love eavesdropping on their conversations :)

As you can see, our Chromebooks are a HIT


I'm excited to get started on our next projects! Stay tuned!

....while you're waiting...


Yay! Time for "Currently" with Farley again! 
Click HERE to check out the rules and join in the fun!

Listening: I've mentioned it before, but I am just a total reality TV junkie! Sometimes it is just so nice to get sucked into something that takes NO THOUGHT WHATSOEVER! Especially when I have all of this work to do!

Loving: This week has been absolutely horrendous. Furnace blew and needs to be replaced... locked my keys in my car (with the car running!)... locked myself out of the house in the snow... blah blah blah! Through it all, Dave has stood strong and I am so very blessed to have him by my side. Even with all of this stress, we are stronger than ever together. Definitely need to make sure he knows that he is appreciated.

Thinking: Because of the snow day this past week, the deadline for report cards was extended. Normally, I try to have them done a couple of days in advance, but.... with all that has gone on this week, I just haven't focused in on them as I normally would like to. I really need to get my comments finished ASAP.

Wanting: Who wouldn't want to just go to sleep at 12:35am?! Please... why am I up this late doing work on a Saturday night?! Grrrr

Needing: Redundant. I know. But, it's the truth. :(

Pageant Title: Princess Silly Sparkles. My kids think I'm a big ol' goofball. They tease me about all of my sequined, sparkly wardrobe choices. I always tell them, the more sparkle, the better! Because... why not? :)


I hope everyone's ready to enjoy the big game tomorrow! Let's see how much snow gets dumped on us this time!



16 comments

  1. I love your pageant title! Yes, the more sparkle, the better! On a side note, I am so thankful I'm not working on report cards right now, I feel your pain!

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    1. Hahahahahaha! Thanks, Heather!! I have a serious obsession. I'll have to post some photos of the sparkle craziness sometime!

      I am super jealous. I loathe report cards!! Especially since we have to assign letter grades to kiddos so young...

      My husband says I'm being melodramatic, but I think they are actually hurting me to complete! Argh!

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  2. Oh goodness! Report cards aren't even on my radar right now! We finished right before the winter break, and I've got several weeks before I have to think of them again. Best of luck!

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    1. Lucky lady! Ours always come right at the end of January... our dreaded month of testing. And every single year they get pushed off because of snow. Usually, I'm done nice and early. This year, no way, Jose! So many comments to write! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  3. I love reality TV. I am a huge favorite of Duck Dynasty and also of Total Divas. Have fun watching that!!

    Jasmine
    The Dots of Teaching

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    1. Hahaha! My husband cannot stand that I watch so much reality. He always says, "How can such a SMART person enjoy such DUMB things?!" and I laugh... it's just nice to shut off the brain sometimes!

      Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  4. I'm working on report cards this week too. I hope it all goes better this next week for you.

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    1. Good luck to you, also! And thanks for your well wishes. Good vibes are always much appreciated! Thanks for popping over! :)

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  5. I love PebbleGo! It's been such a terrific resource for my second graders! I too need to finish my report cards.... ahh! :)
    Melissa from Mrs. Dailey's Classroom

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    1. I am oh so glad that I convinced my Principal to get it for the school this year! I find it to be invaluable! Such great information at their level. And they really are learning how to do online research. Like I said in my post, I just LOVE listening in on their conversations! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  6. I love your pageant title! I'm not a sparkle kind of person, but I love to be surrounded by people who are sparkle spreaders. :) Good luck with those report cards!
    Kimberly
    http://funkyfirstgradefun.blogspot.com/2015/02/currently-february.html

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    1. Hahaha! Thank you! Sparkle and shine! That's how I roll... thanks for the well wishes and for popping on by! :)

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  7. I haven't watched Dance Moms in a while-I'm assuming they are all still pretty crazy! :) I love your title as well-I'm sure the kiddos love all that sparkle! You really have a cute blog!

    Not Just Child's Play

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    1. Dance Moms is insane. I just want to yell at every single one of those adults. And my kiddos are crazy for the sparkle -- even my boys who pretend that it's girly :)

      Thanks for visiting my little blog! :)

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  8. Ugg...Report card are on my to do list too, but I am dreading them (hence, my title: Princess Procrastination). I love that you are so cheerful and sparkly!

    Thanks for sharing!
    Teaching Momster

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    1. Love your title! Trust me... I thought about something like that, but again... I don't even want to think about them, so Silly Sparkles, it is!

      Thanks for popping on by! :)

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