Saturday, May 26, 2012

The things kids listen to these days

I had a moment this week where I realized how desensitized our kids are to certain things in society. One of my coworkers that I have worked with for 6 years has recently announced that she will be moving to a new school next year. She told the kids as next week is our last week of school. One of my students wrote an entire play and wanted to get the kids involved in parts so they could perform it and dedicate it to the teacher. (Awesome!)

A group of my boys thought they were too cool for a play and decided they wanted to make a song for her. They are used to me taking popular songs and changing the words to fit our AR celebrations in front of the school and so they asked me how I do it. I told them I print off the lyrics and then start changing it to fit my needs. I've done songs from YMCA to Respect by Aretha Franklin. I told them to choose a song and I will print it off for them once I check out the lyrics.

So, the boys get excited and come tell me their song choice. They shuffle their feet and eyes dart a little before telling me that there is one or two cuss words in the intro part but if I would just cross those out when I give them the lyrics then they can change it to a science song.

O...m...g. The song they chose was "The Motto" by Drake. I'll give you a second to Google the lyrics to the song before you continue reading...
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(Enter choice shocked expression)
Uh... right? That's what I said when I started reading through the lyrics. That entire song would be one long black line if I crossed out the unacceptable stuff.

I have come to conclusion that they never really paid attention to the words and only liked the catchy chorus and beat along with a few choice lines they thought were cool in there. They write the word "YOLO" on everything they touch so I know they worship this song. When I gasped in class and told them there was no way I was letting them use this song they were shocked.

"But it's on the radio Mrs. Richards!" And it is... all they do is blank out the worst of it. Why is this junk being played on the radio constantly for listening ears? Young listening ears... I get that songs have their place in society but I think our radio community has a responsibility that they are not taking seriously. Popular stations that play pop music are playing songs repeatedly like the one above... pausing out the "naughty word" isn't enough.

Of course, PARENTS NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE LISTENING TO! Please, parents you HAVE to listen and look at what your children are listening to. You have to be aware that many songs have suggestive content that your children are quoting, listening to, and surrounding their lives around!

The fact that these kids actually suggested to their teacher to print off this song tells me surely they did not truly know what all the words were saying... but it concerns this 5th grade teacher when I see mention of parts of the song in all that they do.

What do you think?

Saturday, May 12, 2012

AVID-ly Awesome

Our school is now in their 3rd year of the AVID program. If you haven't heard of this program, it is spreading across the country and is lighting the education program on fire! The long term goal of this program is to get children college-bound and ready. It focuses on organization, note-taking and study skills among others. It is more developed in the junior highs and high schools but for the last three years we have been enjoying it at the elementary level!

In elementary our students focus on:
1. Having a binder that contains all of their classwork and homework divided by the different subjects
2. An assignment notebook that stays in the binder and this is where they write down classwork, homework, and extracurricular activities daily. Parents are expected to sign and be involved in the monitoring of their student's daily activities.
3. They learn how to take 2 and 3-column notes and eventually Cornell notes.
4. They focus on the writing and reading processes and strategies for success

Our students have been working extremely hard in mastering all of these skills and we recently rewarded them!

4th-6th grade is where AVID is implemented at this time and each 4th-6th grade teacher chose 10 students out of their class that showed the AVID skills and shined. These were placed in a grade level box. 4th and 5th drew for a gift card from Target while 6th grade drew for a  Kindle! There was also a $500 scholarship awarded from our local university and more! There were guests speakers and 4th and 5th watched a movie and munched on popcorn to celebrate their hard work this year. There are a lot generous people out there and I would love to thank AVID and the private individuals in our community who donated amazing items to reward our kiddos!

Here are some of kiddos having an AVID-ly awesome time learning this year!











Friday, May 11, 2012

In a sharing mood?

I'm calling all K-6th grade teachers to help me out with a little "Better meeting your needs" project! If you would be so kind as to fill out the short survey below, you would make this teacher's day!

* Once you have submitted your survey, I have a special thanks waiting for you! Thanks again for all you do to improve the education of our kids!

Please click the link below to share your amazing insight :)

Click here to take the survey!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Teacher Appreciation Week and a TPT JACKPOT TODAY ONLY!

Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up! It is an important time to let your child's teacher know how much you appreciate what they do for you and your child! Take some time to let your teacher know that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

Some ways to show your teacher you care!

* You don't have to shell out the bucks! A thoughtful handwritten note goes a long way!
* If you are determined to buy your teacher a gift make it one he/she can use and enjoy in the classroom! (I've never met a teacher who didn't like a gift card! lol)
* If you are a pinterest nut like me... :) you will find a plethera of ADORABLE ideas for teacher appreciation!
For example I think this is just plan awesome! (Hint Hint my 5th graders... lol)

 




 



This is a cute idea as well!


However you choose to show your favorite educator... have fun with it!



Teacher Appreciation Jackpot!

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Sunday is sure to be your lucky day! Announcing the very first BLOG HOP with over 130 participants!
We wanted to show our appreciation for you in a BIG way, so we've all agreed to give away one of our TeachersPayTeachers products for free on that day! Each free gift will be valued at between $3 and $8, so the total jackpot amount is estimated to be over $500!

Because so many bloggers are participating, this event will be divided into three grade level groups. Each of those smaller events is being coordinated by one blogger as shown below:

TPT will also be throwing an ADDITIONAL 10% OFF if you use the code TAD12! So take advantange of this deal as many sellers will be putting their items on sale as well! (Including myself :))
Thanks so much for all you do! We appreciate your commitment to your students and your dedication as an educator!

Below you will see the BLOG HOP! Here you will be able to hop all the blogs who are participating in the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot! There are TONS of FREE materials! There are over 130 blogs participating! Talk about a JACKPOT! So get downloading!!

This item is no longer free but don't worry if you missed the blog hop!  Most items (including mine) are still on sale until Tuesday night AND you can get the additional 10% using TAD12 at checkout! My product is My Reading Skills Detective Game. If you like what you see, please consider following my store or blog for product updates and more!

Click here to download! (Don't forget to leave some feedback if you feel like sharing the love! :) )