Elena's Adventures in Hubbell Elementary

          Monday, May 22nd ➽Activity of the day: Reading with different students     Mrs. Carlson was gone today so I read with students I typically don't spend much time with. The first one I read with is a jokester. Throughout the course of the year, I've learned how to keep control over him when we're working together. It is a delicate balance between joking with him and calling him out to pay attention. He's a good kid.     I enjoy the other student I  read with. She moved here from another country (I don't think she told me which one) and is awed by books. I love encouraging her to get lost in them and explore all she can.                         Wednesday, May 24th ➽Activity of the day: Blurt Out     The end of a semester is fantastic because you get to play games. I played Blurt Out with a group of five today. To play, I read a clue describing an object. The ki...

      Monday, May 15th ➽Activity of the day: Math     I haven't done math in a while! The girl I was doing it with loves  to test my patience. We were using counters to do subtraction. The thing is- she can do it without counters. She just doesn't want to. I know she can because she counted in her head/with fingers just a couple weeks ago. Throughout our time together, she asked five times if we were almost done. Each time I told her no, to sit down, and that she would be much closer to done if she put in the effort I knew she could. This girl is a bundle of energy!      Wednesday, May 17th ➽Activity of the day: Math and reading     It was a busy day! First, I did a group math activity with kids who are above grade level. They used a book which had several chapters of fun math activities. We were working with number lines and such. I'm seeing a pattern of kids saying they're not capable of doing something, or giving up. It's a confi...

      Wednesday, May 10th ➽Activity of the day: Reading     I read with one of my typical students today. She did fantastic! She answered the questions in the back of the book and avoided distractions like hallway traffic which usually serve as a disruption to her reading. I am thrilled with the changes I am seeing. She's starting to get the hang of what it means to be an active reader by sounding out difficult words on her own and making connects/inferences when reading.      Thursday, May 11th ➽Activity of the day: Reading      I read with one of my typical students today. I am ECSTATIC. Mrs. Carlson told me to be at grade level for reading, a second grader needs to read 70+ words/2 minutes out loud. She read 104. She is moving right along and becoming proficient. I am incredibly proud of her.      Friday, May 12th ➽Activity of the day: Reading      I read with a student I don't spend much time with. ...

          Monday, May 1st ➽Activity of the day: Reading     Today I read with a girl who is ahead of grade-level. I was able to see the progression of where my kids are- to grade-level- to the beyond. As this girl read, she was able to personify the characters of the story. Each character spoke differently and even had varying personalities! She was able to put herself in the mind of the individual. Further, she was able to analyze literary choices the author makes (why the storyteller put in repeating phrases, alliteration, etc.). I was thrilled to see the path ahead for my regular children!      Tuesday, May 2nd ➽Activity of the day: Life of a Flower     I worked with different kids today over the life cycle of a flower. They read a book over the different parts of a flower, what each part does, and what makes plants so critical for biodiversity. It was fun getting to see their young brains take in new information. ...

      Tuesday, April 27th ➽Activity of the day: Difficult book     I read a challenging story with one of my children today. She struggled- it was great! She may have had many bumps but she was willing to put in the work and I believe this was the  challenge she needed. If a word stumped her, she would sound out on her own- without me needing to remind her of strategies we use when stuck on words. I'm proud of her!      Thursday, April 29th ➽Activity of the day: Plant growth     I'm going to compare the growth of a plant to that of my student because we were reading about caring for sunflowers today. In the beginning, sunflowers require a lot of care for their seeds and roots to develop. This was true of my student- we started on flashcards at the beginning of the year she hadn't yet developed her base. After, the flower requires intent care each week. If you miss a week of water, they'll start to shy away. Similarly, my student nee...

          Monday, April 17th ➽Activity of the day: Popcorn read     Today was a partner read between the girl I've been struggling with for the past couple weeks and the one not mentioned in the Friday post. This pairing worked well. My girl making leaps and bounds was patient and wants the other one to succeed as much as I do. She was a fantastic role model and kept her friend engaged. The last pages of the book have questions for the student about what they read, connections they made, and inferences. Both nailed it! I'm proud of them.      Tuesday, April 18th ➽Activity of the day: Popcorn read     The activity was the same as yesterday, but the student helping her friend was replaced with my other regular. Unlike yesterday's pair, these two do not work well. They were trying to one up the other in who read what, or would work together to make my job more difficult. I've been struggling with this duo all year. My scolding the...

            Monday, April 10th ➽Activity of the day: Reading     Today I was working with the girl out of my typical three that I didn't work with last week. Her reading is getting smooth! Typically, she struggles with distractions. If anyone is walking down the hallway, she'll stop to watch them and I have to bring her back in. If her books or my stuff aren't "arranged perfectly" she'll stop reading to fix them. But today she stayed in her chair, not fidgeting more than the average second-grader would and read . She made few mistakes and was able to recall what she had read earlier. I don't want to jinx anything but I am extremely proud of her!      Tuesday, April 11th ➽Activity of the day: Reading     I read with my girl from last Wednesday. Last week I wrote in my entry that this girl tries very hard but is struggling to get over the hump to where she needs to be. In that Wednesday post, I noted I would try re...

            Monday, April 3rd ➽Activity of the day: Journeys     By now, I'm sure you're well acquainted with Journeys. It's the typical book my three main children use. Today, I was working with a child who made a lot of progress in the school year's second quarter but her fluency has slumped the past month. I'm struggling to get her over the hump. She reads quickly so I asked her to slow down- but she still missed words. Further, she isn't making connections at the rate I want her to be able to. I researched what I can do to be most beneficial to her and Scholastic told me not only is consistency key, but demonstrating my own fluency will help her to pick it up. I will take that advice and keep working away with her, partner reading with her every once in a while.     Wednesday, April 5th ➽Activity of the day: Journeys     Today was not great. I was with a different student than Monday. This one simply does not want to...

           Monday, March 27th ➽A note to the blog     Mrs. Carlson thanked me for all the progress the three children I typically work with have made. She said my reading and encouragement have helped them catch up to grade level. They still have some work to do but the leaps and bounds they have made are evident. I am so fortunate for the opportunities this year has given me.      Wednesday March 29th ➽Activity of the day: Journeys     Journeys is a textbook filled with many difficult stories. The child I was working with today was struggling with her Journeys book so we switched to popcorn reading every other sentence. I'm proud of her though. She tends to lose focus when work gets difficult but she was putting in the effort today. That's why I alleviated her reading and did half the work.      Thursday, March 30th ➽Activity of the day: Research project     I got to do something different t...