Ms. Knight Reads- August and September 2017

I had one blogging goal this year, and that was to post once a month about the books that I've read each month. FAIL. Try, try, try again though right? Since I'm so late on getting these out, I'm not going to do my normal review of each, but I loved ALL of them!

HAPPY READING!

Cassie

Ms. Knight Reads- July 2017 Edition

While I had a FUN and busy July, I was still able to get a lot of reading in this month! If there are any books you want to know more about, please let me know in the comments!

Tapper Twins Run for President

The Poppy Lady

The Wall

A Day's Work

The Woman in Cabin 10

Posted

The Seventh Wish

Grimly Jane

A Long Walk to Water

To learn more about Global Read Aloud, check out the website. This is a great way to connect your class with others through the love of reading. I would love to talk with you about GRA and help you get started if it's something you're interested in! :-)

Falcon Wild

The Kingdom of Oceana

The Last to Die

As always, please let me know if there is anything you would like me to differently/add to make this a better resource for you! What did you read in July? Share below! 

Cassie

Ms. Knight Reads- June 2017 Edition

To say it's been a long time since I posted a blog would be an understatement. The one about Follow the Moon Home? Yeah. That one was written last year, and I forgot to publish it. OOPS!! I did update it with information about it being a nominee for the 17-18 Texas Bluebonnet Award though, so I feel like that counts for something.

If yo've ever had the chance to talk to me about books or follow me on Twitter, you know that I'm a part of an amazing group called #BookVoyage. We are a group of 10 educators across the country that read books, share our thinking on post-its (our Post-It game is STRONG), and use Voxer to share our love of reading and our lives with one another. While I've never met them in person, I consider them some pretty great friends! It's nice to know how many people love to read as much as I do! This has given me the opportunity to read and review some fantastic books before they are published, but I wanted to have a way where you could go back, see what I've read, and not have to scroll through 1,000 tweets to find something. As I move forward, I'm open to suggestions to improve, so always leave feedback in the comments!

For the month of June, I didn't read near as much as I planned to. I spent 2 weeks in Italy (swoon), and then came home to move 6 days later! As I write right now, I am surrounded by boxes and bags that I just can't bring myself to unpack just yet. ALL OF THAT TO SAY- here's what I read this month, that I think you should read, too!

 Let me know if you want me to continue doing this once a month, and how I can improve it for YOU! :-)

Cassie

Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau & Deborah Hopkinson

When I go to public library, I love to pull out random picture books to read, because you never know what you're going to find! This book, Follow the Moon Home, did NOT disappoint! To make it even MORE exciting?! It's a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee for the 2017-2018 school year! Here are some resources for the book (and others) compiled by the TBA Program Committee! 

I love how this book perfectly aligns with Challenge Based Learning, which is the initiative that my school has taken on! It shows that, yes, even kids can make a huge difference in our world and encourages learners to become environmental activists!! 

Here is how Goodreads describes it:
"Acclaimed Activist Philippe Cousteau and renowned author Deborah Hopkinson team up to offer a story of the powerful difference young people can make in the world. Meet Viv, who has a new home and a new school by the seat, and follow her as she finds her way in a new place and helps bring together a whole community to save the sea turtles of the South Carolina coast.

When I read picture books, I want to 1) enjoy the book and 2) think about how I can use it in my classroom! Here are my thoughts:

Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Idea:
Big Idea: Environment
Essential Question: How can we protect our environment?
Challenge: Be an Activist

While you never know all of the guiding questions your learners will come up, you typically have a good idea, so you can start pulling some resources and creating guiding activities to help them! 

Science Ideas:

• Learn more about Sea Turtles
• The book offers several resources for further investigation in the topic! 
• Life Cycles
• Tides
• Adaptations
• Animal Research 

ELAR:

• Types of Print
• Predicting
• Questioning
• Making Connections
• Inferences
• Drawing Conclusions
• Summarizing
• Sequencing

What ideas do you have for this book? Share in the comments! 

The Best Laid Plans

After attending #cisdlitcamp, I had the best intentions of reading, blogging, and growing myself as a reader and writer in order to grow my learners in August. I was doing great at first- I was reading books, I wrote my first blog post in over a YEAR, and was doing research for my 2nd one... and then I got the call that my Grandpaw was in the ICU and it was unlikely that he was going to survive.

I took the first plane down to Houston on Friday, June 24, and was there for 2 weeks, until he passed away on July 5th, 2016. While I know one day I will feel ready to write about what happened, today is not that day.

My Grandpaw and I over Memorial Weekend

Today is just simply to say that I'm back and ready to dive back into the world of books and writing. 

While my summer hasn't gone exactly as planned, I did still go on my trip to San Francisco and Las Vegas! If you've never been to San Francisco, I highly recommend it! It's one of my favorite places!

Joe and I with Bay Bridge

Me in a Tree :-)

The PRETTIEST PLANT! IF you know what it is, LET ME KNOW! 

Cassie

Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming

At our #CISDLitCamp, we have been given the opportunity to 'fall in love' with reading and writing again. Reading is NOT a problem. You tell me to read and I am ALL ABOUT IT. 

Writing, on the other hand, is HARD.  I am not the one that can just sit and start writing about anything just because I was told to. I enjoy a prompt, a picture, anything to spark an idea in my head. You can probably tell, since the last time I blogged was over a year ago. OOPS. 

So I figure why not combine the two and write about reading?

As a 4th grade educator, I am constantly reading books and thinking what I can teach my learners from a book. One book that I got to read today was Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 

This is a story about Imogene, who is quite passionate about history, and how she stands up for the importance of history in her small town, Liddleville, when the mayor wants to tear down the Liddleville Historical Society to build a shoelace factory.

I love this book because Imogene stands up for what she believes in, even when it feels like everyone is against her and gets quite the surprise at the end of the book! 

This is a great book for a simple read-aloud, but there are lots of other things you can do with it as well!

Some of the ideas I thought of while reading:

• Launch a Biography/Autobiography unit- The end pages have Imogene's "Historical Tidbits" with information about important Americans, and throughout the book she quotes some of these people. You could give the learners the choice to pick one of her favorite people to do more research on or tell them to pick someone that they are passionate about! Many different ways to go with this!
• Write a Paper (Biography/Autobiography)
• Biography Book Clubs (Genre Study)
• Passion Project- Imogene is passionate about history and saved the Historical Society. Learners can decide on something they are passionate about and educate others about it! 
• Transitions- this book is full of ways to move the story along through time in a natural way, AKA not first, next, then, last. :-)
• Word choice- there are so many great words in this text! Some of my favorites:
• snorted, immortal, galloped, snatched, stomped, armed, trudged
• Mentor Sentences- We use the information given in Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson to teach grammar and craft through mentor texts. This book is full of different sentences that could easily be used to teach almost every type of grammar!! :-)

Have you read the book? What ideas do you have? Please share in the comments!

Currently- February

I am linking up with Farley for this month's Currently! I would love to blog more about all the fun and excitement going on in class... but for now, this will have to do! :-)

Listening- Currently watching/listening to the Super Bowl. I'm still bitter that the Cowboys aren't in it, but I'm rooting for the Seahawks! I'm also QUITE excited for the Katy Perry halftime show. No shame.

Loving- My plans for the week! They involve some of my favorite books to read aloud and talk about, and we are starting new stations to maximize my small group time!

Thinking- I REALLY need to get my running life together. I have my next 1/2 marathon in ONE month, and I do NOT feel prepared for it.

Wanting- To sleep in. It's a permanent want. I love sleep so, so much!

Needing- a maid or the desire to clean. I have a ridiculous amount of clean laundry to put away... but I just can't bring myself to look at it.

Pageant Title- I am GREAT in front of kids... put me in a presentation situation with adults? HOT MESS.

I hope you have a FABULOUS week! Tomorrow is a good day for a GOOD day!

Cassie

January 2015 CURRENTLY

I am linking up with Farley for the Currently Linky Party! I can't believe 2015 is HERE! This year is going to be filled with many joys, surprises, and growth. 

Listening- Did you know Friends is on NETFLIX now? Between this and Criminal Minds, I need at LEAST 2 more weeks of winter break. 

Loving- Winter Break. Y'all. I've worn pajamas for the majority of my break. Embarrassing? Maybe a little. I feel TRULY relaxed.

Wanting- Another week of vacation. Don't get me wrong. Part of me is always ready to go to work... downside to loving your job... but the other part of me? Is loving being a lazy lounger. My day consists of Netflix, puzzles, my new KEYBOARD, reading, and doing home things for my sweet man friend. :) I wish he was able to take some time off to spend with me, but this is one of their busy times, so that's a NO. Oh well. Chicago is only two months away!

Needing- I need to start figuring out my life for school. Which means I need to go up to the school... but I'm going to push it off a couple more days. :)

2015 GOALS-

YES- I took the time to fill in my goal journal for 2015. I started this last year, and it really helped me stay on track. It's like  diary... but more bullet point style. :) The one I'm most excited for? Running 300 miles this year. I think I can easily do it. Running brings me such joy/relaxation- 99% of the time at least. 

Maybe- I would like to keep my room/bathroom from looking like a broke college girl... but I spend so much time at work, I really enjoy my downtime when I get home. 

I Wish- I seriously don't know how people do everything they need to do during the week AND plan amazing lessons for the next week. I've yet to be able to do it. If you can? PLEASE TELL ME YOUR WAYS! 

Here's to a happy and healthy 2015, y'all!! 

Cassie

TIme After Time...

WOW! It's been more than 3 months since I've posted a blog! Epic.Fail. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

I am hoping to get back into the blogging world now that we have survived the first 9 weeks of school! Life finally feels like it is slowing down a bit (for now)!!!

"Just keep moving, just keep moving..." This was my mantra for my FIRST half marathon ever this past October. The Chosen Marathon is a fabulous organization that helps families trying to adopt ad bringing awareness to the fatherless. My goal this time last year was to run a 10k. Not only did I meet that goal, I kick that goal's butt! 13.1 miles. Do not let anyone fool you that 13.1 miles is easy; especially this course. I swear I was running uphill the entire time. I can't WAIT to do it again next year. :)

At school, my class has pushed me to try new things and to constantly reevaluate what we are doing and how we can make it better.

One of the things I am the MOST proud of this year, is our interactions for the Global Read Aloud. Our entire 4th grade read One for the Murphy's along with thousands of other learners around the world. If you haven't read it, it is a MUST READ, but make sure you have a box of Kleenex with you!

 For 6 weeks, everything we did revolved around this book. We Skyped with a social worker, a foster parent, and are currently working on a challenge to "Be Someone's Hero." Check out our class website to see a sample of some of our work. At our school, we are not with other 4th graders, so having a common experience allowed them to connect with their peers even without seeing them everyday.

I can''t wait to get back to school tomorrow after a week off! It was much needed, but I miss my babies!

See you soon blogger world!

We are FamiLEE- New Dreams

I haven't blogged a lot over the summer mainly because I didn't feel that I had much to say! My days were routinely normal, and had little to do with school/education. Now that I'm back? WATCH OUT BLOGGING WORLD! :)

Today was the first day for the staff of Lee Elementary to come together as whole and GET TO WORK! We got a lot of things finished, but the best part of today? TEAM BONDING! And what better way to bond then (than? I swear I'll figure it out one day) with a scavenger hunt!?

If you want to check out our adventure as a house, click the following: Purple House Hunt!

It was the perfect way to get to know each other, and really see how we work together as a cohesive group! We think a lot alike in many ways, but have unique differences that I believe will allow us to push ourselves in ways we never thought possible. 

To me, Lee elementary is the embodiment of this quote. We are redefining what education should/could be. Are we going to make mistakes? I HOPE SO. Mistakes means we are trying things we haven't done before. 

We ended our day by taking a tour of our ALMOST FINISHED building! 

We have been told over and over how many visitors we are going to have, and I hope that if they take away anything from our school, it's that we are a group of LEEders who are willing to take risks, fail/succeed, and try again. For admin that come? I hope they go back to their schools/districts ready to let their staff try things without the fear of, "I'm going to get in trouble if I fail." Can't visit our school? Follow our journey on Twitter- @netzerolee and #rjlyear1

It's time education sets new goals, new dreams, and starts putting those goals and dreams into ACTION. 


Here's to making our dreams a reality with our famiLEE!!

July is HERE!

I am linking up with Farley's "Currently"

I can't believe July is already here! This summer has been productive, relaxing, and FUN! My birthday is just a few days away, and I can't wait to celebrate on a patio with a few of my friends.
I signed up to run a 1/2 marathon this October and what happens?! SHIN SPLINTS. I've been working really hard to rest and use the ICE method to hopefully get better quickly. I miss running already.
After a visit with my grandparents today, I am realizing the importance of photos and how they can bring back memories. I have thousands saved to my computer and online, but have very few that are actually printed. It's my goal to start printing them off and putting them in REAL photo albums!
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!!
Cassie 

x

The More I Run...

... the more I love myself.

This 2013-2014 school year, my mantra was the word BALANCE.

My first year of teaching (2012-2013) was hard. The kind of hard where I called my mom in April and asked if she would be ashamed of me if I left the education field. The kind of hard where if you found my LinkedIn profile (for your sake and mine... don't), it has my butchered attempt of making an education resume more "business-ified." The kind of hard where I applied to several different secretarial positions, fashion industry positions, and even considered becoming a full-time waitress.

Before those of you reading this who have never felt this way get all self-righteous on me.... it wasn't because of the kids. I was working 12-14 hours every day, seven days a week. I wasn't eating, I was barely sleeping, and I lost contact with a majority of my friends. My only saving grace was the fact that I adored my learners, and I had a roommate and a boyfriend that listened to me and encouraged me as best as they could. They kept me going during my first year.

Thankfully, my mom convinced me to take the summer to breathe and get away from it all, and still see if I felt that way come August. As always (don't get a big head, Mom), she was right, and I promised her I would give it one more year before making a  final decision.

August '13 came around and I knew I had to do something different. I gave myself a schedule. I was allowed to work as much as I wanted Sunday-Thursday... but Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning/afternoon were mine for FUN.

In December, I decided to make real goals for 2014. I'm not one for goal-making, so it took me a long time to come up with goals that I knew I could achieve.

If you notice, I have "Run a 10K." Why did I put that? I have no idea; probably because it sounded healthy, and that's what you do for the new year, right?! Before I started running though, I wanted to make sure I was consistent with my workouts.

I signed up at Rob's Fitness to work with a personal trainer and made it a goal to workout 2 times per week. Minus a few crazy, hectic weeks (you ALL know the kind of weeks I'm talking about), I managed to keep this time frame. Having set appointments with an actual person has helped hold me accountable for working out... I even ENJOY it now! Go figure.

I started running (slow jogging with a LOT of walking) in April; barely two months ago. I ran 1.24 miles, and by the end of it, I swore that I was going to collapse onto the ground and never get up.

On 6/16/14 I ran my first 10K. It wasn't a race and, let me tell you, it HURT... but I did it, and I will probably do it again. and again. and again.

I am so glad that I didn't jump out of this crazy, roller coaster of education... but I am glad that I found other things to help me with my keyword- BALANCE. I can't wait for this next school year to come around. :)

I am going to be running a half at the Chosen Marathon in October with my sweet friend, Katti. You want to read a beautiful and heart-breaking story? Check out her blog HERE. I am blessed to have her as a friend (AND SHE RUNS!).

Cassie

Storify My Life...

I went in this morning ready to learn from George Couros, and what happens? I GET A KEYNOTE SHOUT OUT FROM HIM. After the first few minutes of wanting to curl up in a ball from embarrassment, I realized that this.was.COOL. I also realized that I have to blog and reflect if he is going to tell all of my coworkers I am blogging and reflecting!

The only logical thing to do next was to go to his next session on blogging! I went to his breakout session where he again pulled up my blog, but this time I was ready to learn. He gave me some solid advice on how to use my blog to share my learning AND to showcase what I am doing as an educator.

At the end of the session, George challenged me to create a Storify with tweets from #iDesign14. I skimmed through over 1900 tweets (I have a lot of free time in the summer) and chose ones that meant something to me, and that I would like to reference back to. I hope you find it useful!

Live Life Out Loud.
Cassie

Go Fo(u)rth and Learn- iDesign Coppell

Here's the deal. When @RafranzDavis says she can't wait to learn more from you, and to share/blog your journey? You go straight home, set up a Blogger account, and START BLOGGING. I don't feel the need to introduce myself (Cassie- @SoVeryCassie), because if you're reading this; you either follow me on Twitter or you're my mom. 

Hi, Mom! I love you!

The past 2 days (and tomorrow!) I have attended iDesign Coppell; a 3-day technology BRAIN DUMP-and I say that in the absolute, best way possible. There is/was every session you could imagine about the latest and greatest ways to use technology to CREATE and PRODUCE; taught by educators. Not people trying to sell you something; REAL people that are in the trenches just like you. So I figure my first blog can simply be to brain dump everything that I'VE learned on YOU. You're welcome. 

Brain Dump #1- Augmented Reality
Ok. I've used this in my classroom. I could see it's potential.. but it didn't work perfectly for me the first time and then I pushed it to the wayside because LIFE. Now that I've had it brought back to the front of my mind? I can't wait to use it. 

Augmented Reality adds a digital element to the physical world. If you need more information on it, please GO HERE for a WEALTH of information! 

Ways I imagine using it in my classroom:
*Book talks
*Explain anything and everything!
*Role Play
*Recite a written poem/writing piece
*GIFTS 
*Front-loading vocabulary
*Reviews
*Introducing our class to the many visitors I foresee us having this year! 

Brain Dump #2- Digital Storytelling in MATH
You might be thinking to yourself, 'Cassie, honey. Digital storytelling isn't anything new!' You would be right... but I've never thought to use it for MATH. Mainly because this coming year will be my first time to teach math, but that's an entirely different blog post. 

Www.tackk.com/mathstories will take you to the presentation by the fabulous person who made me feel obligated to start this blog! :)

Here is the example my fabulous mentor and I created. No, I'm afraid that it isn't my voice that you hear! :)
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/536228164628643841

Seriously though-app smashing, digital storytelling, and MATH all in one! It's my techie dream-come-true!

Brain Dump #3- Kevin Honeycutt (@Kevinhoneycutt)
Follow him on Twitter. He is awesome. That is all. 

Brain Dump #4- VIDEO ASSESSMENTS

Video Assessment- This is the resource that was used to teach about a variety of ways to use videos to assess your learners! They use a format called Blendspace that has so many ways you could use it! Once I've explored it more, I will write a blog about it. :)

Our learners, and I can assume yours as well, are crazy visual. They are bombarded with social media, movies, tv, video games, etc. every day. It makes sense that they would be engaged by these things in the classroom. So, why not? 

Ways I imagine using this in the classroom:
*flipped lessons
*assessments 
*front-loading

There it is. My brain. I hope you follow along on my journey, and I hope that you will teach me something along the way.