Stop Think Points

During this past semester I learned about a reading technique called Stop Think Points. Stop Think Points are places in a story where the teacher has the student stop and think about something. These can be made into a bookmark which each student will receive before beginning to read. 

This can be a great way to teach reading to the whole class. The teacher is able to have the class read a book and even with the different reading levels they are able to participate and do the same activities. 

When the students stop the teacher has a lot of options they can have the students:

•  think about a question and be ready to discuss 
• summarize what they have read
• draw a picture
• etc

This activity can be used for any grade and some Stop Think Points can be more challenging for the students who are reading above grade level. 

I used this activity in a second grade classroom where I taught a guided reading lesson. I had the children read a couple pages stop and pick out certain information to share with the group. This activity really worked for me and the children were all on task!

Here is the Stop Think Point I made :

This is a great  way to keep children on task and to see if they are fully understanding what they are reading! 

Why Why Why Why Why!?

Let's talk about the biggest question I get...... WHY? No I don't mean from the children either... I mean adults. They are constantly asking why.. "Why do you work with kids?" "Why don't you work some where that you would make more money?" "Why not work where you can get more hours with school?" If someone has thought about it they have asked!

The big answer is....

 because I love what I do. 

When you wake up and honestly get excited about something at work you are lucky! 

If you are not excited about work you probably are not in the correct field.

When I get to work I walk through other rooms in order to get to the room I work in. When the children see me they usually scream my name and run over and give me hugs. Even on a very bad day they are able to put a huge smile on my face =).

People might think working with children is difficult and they are right. At times it can be very stressful and hard but it has been the most rewarding experience that I have done in my life time. They say the best medicine is laughter and they are right! Even a crazy day filled with unhappy screaming children can be so rewarding when a child begins to laugh. :-)

Just the other day I came to realize that an infant I watched when I first started working in a daycare is now 3. 

Where has the time gone?

It is an amazing feeling to watch a child grow and turn into a great individual. A lot of the time you are there for the child's first. Their first steps there first crawl their first word. Parents are often working 40 hours a week during that time child is with you, the childcare worker.

If you are in childcare or a teacher or on your way ..Why did you get into this field? 

Let's Power Down!

Having no power for over 15 hours really gives someone a lot of time to think!

While in the dark without cable, internet, computer and cell phone I had an idea for a history lesson for children.

While teaching about the light bulb being invented you should have a historic week. During this week you would need to:

1. Turn off all lights

      This will help the students see just how big of an impact electricity and the light bulb has had on our country

2. No electronics in the classroom this week!

       This will allow the children to see how children learned before there was all this technology around. This might even allow them to appreciate what they have now.

=)

I cannot wait to do this for an entire week with my class! I would love to use candle light to teach during this week but I do not think the school would approve of it. I would try and talk to them and maybe the board to explain why. If not then I can find an alternative to the candles.

Hugs for Teachers

 I recently read the book Hugs for Teachers which I highly recommend for any teachers or those who want to become teachers. This book of stories, sayings and scriptures to encourage and inspire allows the reader to see exactly how a teacher can reach their students.

This book is broken down into seven different chapters. Some of these chapters really spoke to me I have listed them below.

Chapter one is titled Redeemed by Love. In this chapter they have a quote written by a little boy named Daniel who is 8. I really love the fact that the quote is spelled exactly as this little boy wrote it! Children use inventive spelling all the time and we as professionals need to make sure that we can read and understand what the child is trying to say to us. If we do not they can get very frustrated and lose interest in reading, writing and spelling.

The main story in chapter one really shows how big of a difference a teacher can make in a child's life. There is a little boy Alex who is transformed from a trouble maker with reading, academic and social problems to a fluent reader with support and encouragement from the entire class. I really think this story is inspirational and is something that I know I will see when I have my own classroom.

Chapter Three is titled Remembered by a Child. In this story a teacher is shopping for groceries when a little boy comes and stands near her and runs away. Later on she sees the boy and his mother again, this time the little boy says that is the lady who saved my life. The teacher does not remember this little boy at first but then remembers that the day before he was walking in the hall with his teacher and he was choking on hard candy. Without hesitation this teacher picked him up loosening the candy from his throat so that he could breath. In the little boys eyes she really did save his life but in her eyes she was just doing her job by protecting and helping a child. This story was very meaningful to me yet again because it shows how something small can make the difference to that child.