May is swiftly moving by and June is almost here!  Too bad my district ends school on the last week of June this year.  Oh well!  I am sooo pleased with the confidence my kids exuded after taking the state test.  When all the kids come up to me afterwards, excited to share the strategies they used and how it “was easy”, it just warms my heart!

I don’t know about everyone else, but the common core standards might have been the best thing for my teaching confidence.  Although they are not as complex as our previous state standards, the CCS (to me) are much clearer and less overwhelming.  This year has been the year I have felt most confident as a teacher.  In part, it’s having really great kids, in part, it’s having internet resources (and inspiration) more handy, but in general, everything seems much more clear this year.   Does anyone else ever have a year that just makes sense?  Last year I felt in over my head with super behavioral kids in my Resource English class and never knew if I was really teaching the right thing.  This year, I know what I need to do and life is just easier. 

Ditching a binder has also been one of the best things for me to do!  My kids are so organized and I’m so psyched to fully implement the Interactive Student Notebook for next year.  (I’ve already written out sample lesson ideas and “post-it-noted” pages in my own sample notebook.)  I’m planning on using a marble notebook for reading and one for writing.

I’ll post again soon with pictures of our class’s “fun-end-of-the-year” activities soon, but for now, here’s some pictures of my kids working on writing persuasive essays.  PRE-state testing feels like ages ago, but it was really only a few weeks!!

 Btw- how cute are these kids?  

One of the girls had already had a one-on-one conference with me and taught the other how to write a full circle ending! <3 I could cry!!! 

(Btw again- This is my resource English class/classroom-which is why there are not a lot of students.  I have all of 5 in my class.  They come to me as their regular English class, it's just taught at their level.)