when I look at a group of kids and realize, “Oh! They’re not third graders anymore. They’re fourth graders waiting to happen.” Or, “Yesterday I was looking at fifth graders. Now I’m looking at middle schoolers.” Really. It happens in a day. They just…turn, transform, evolve.
Author Archives: Lainie Levin
Story Challenge Day 8: Broken Brain Blues
My thoughts are jumbly,Tumbled around. I can’tPin them down, andMy brain hurts… My hair is pulled back,To help me think better,And it usually works, butMy brain hurts. I’ve scheduled and rescheduled,Checked and re-checked,Emailed and emailed, andMy brain HURTS. I’ve played whack-a-moleWith all my to-do lists,Trying to get through butMy brain HURTS!
Story Challenge Day 7: Class Assignment
My fourth graders are experimenting around with poetry. We started out by journaling how we were feeling. I joined them in the writing (and no, I didn’t get distracted this time). Here’s what I wrote: Then I demonstrated my thought process for how I might choose which words go on which line. (More on thatContinue reading “Story Challenge Day 7: Class Assignment”
Story Challenge Day 6: School Chores
I’ve been thinking about chores lately.
Maybe it’s because the dog hair dust bunnies have officially turned into tumbleweeds down the hallway. Maybe it’s because I could take time to clean under the couch, but let’s just not go there. Maybe it’s because I know (but would rather not tell you) what’s in my junk drawer.
All of these jobs I do around the house…they’ve got me thinking about all of the tasks I do as a teacher. Some I relish and look forward to, others I dread. So, just for fun, I present to you my very official SCAT: My School Chore Analogy Table. (Rolls up sleeves) Here goes!
Story Challenge, Day 5: There Are Worse Things
Some days, words are great. Sometimes, pictures do just as well.
Today, despite the uproar and chaos that still envelop our world, I was able to carve out some moments of joy. So I’ll just share those.
Story Challenge Day 4: More Dispatches from the Classroom
It was another good day.Yes, I had a lesson plan.Yes, I had objectives for the day.Yes, we pretty much did them.And my students, as always, brought so very much more to the table. We discovered that when ideas stretch across multiple texts, we call those universal themes:-Greed stinks, gives you tunnel vision-Adults are sightless, kidsContinue reading “Story Challenge Day 4: More Dispatches from the Classroom”
Story Challenge Day 3: Teaching Detour, Told in Real Time
From time to time, folks ask what it’s like teaching a classroom full of gifted-talented children. What does a day in your room look like? This post, I think, says it all. Where it starts, what my intentions are, and where it goes – all of it – puts what I do in a nutshell.
Slice of Life Challenge Day 2: Once a Lovey, Always a Lovey
I’ve been teaching a while. Twenty-seven years, in fact. And when you’ve been teaching twenty-seven years, and you keep up with some of your former students, there’s something amazing that happens. You get to see them grow up. You get to see them step into their lives, into the world as adults and selves inContinue reading “Slice of Life Challenge Day 2: Once a Lovey, Always a Lovey”
Slice of Life March Writing Challenge, Day 1
I ask my kids to write all the time. Sometimes they feel like it, sometimes, they don’t. But they show up for me, for themselves, for the classmates – every time.
So this March, my daily writing practice is dedicated to my students, who are some of the best sports I know.
Slice of Life Tuesday: On Power
Been thinking lately about power structures, and how they are often perceived as a zero-sum game. I’m not sure I’m convinced. So today, I let my Flair pens speak for themselves…
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 