Things to Do

This is my Classroom To Do Lists!
Do the computer thing!
Do the TAKS thing!
Do the mandatory tutoring thing!
Do the talk-to-the-sports-coaches thing!
Do the home visit thing! (Already got one!)
Do the ask for UTEP Dr. Reyes thing!
Do the planning thing!
Do the 15 minute thing!
AVOID the referral thing!
AVOID the boring thing!
Do the experiment thing!
Do the listen to my students ideas thing!

Good First Week!

We made it through! I got a cool schedule! I got some great kids! I got some that still need to make better choices. I had a great experience with one of the ones that needs to make better choices! That's my pay right there!

Issues with Google Gmail

I was hoping to set up gmail accounts for all my students, but I think the district has the servers restricted. So I will try to set my students up by hand. The great thing about having my students using their gmail accounts, is that they get to practice their reading, writing, grammar and THINKING!
I will also have a backup plan for when things don't go as planned.

Second Day of School

Awesome! I have some really awesome students! I am going to do my best to help them pass the TAKS Reading. Some of them are really smart. All of them need to be really smart.
I had to go to a training for the reading program we are using, so I lost half a day with my students, but gained some knowlege of how to implement the reading program.
Anyway, good start to the year!

Reading Survey WiggsMS

Hi boys and girls! Welcome back to school. I need to find out how you feel about reading. This will help me to teach reading more effectively. It will also tell me something about you!
Since we seem to be having server issues, I will do this by hand!

Alice Nine and Dr. Westerburg Academic Vocabulary

I was happy with our inservice today. Alice Nine and Dr. Westerburg were condensing a lot of information into half day sessions, but I think we got the gist of what they were trying to say. Alice Nine says students can learn to read and write using grammar. She says students can write better by "Aping the Writing". We copy authentic writing and modify it to better comprehend what the author intended and to better understand the power of what we read. See the examples below.

"Any sign of Sun Chief?"
"Not hide nor hair." McCarthy dug into his saddlebag for a strip of jerky and began chewing on it. from Louis L'Amour North to the Rails

"Any sign of Jesus Teran?"
"Not hide nor hair." Luther dug into his saddlebag for a strip of jerky and began chewing on it.

"Any sign of Luther?""Not hide nor hair." Solis-Williamson dug into her saddlebag for a strip of jerky and began chewing on it.

Old Faces, New Faces, and Older Faces

I have seen my own older face and those of several of my colleagues. I have seen the new faces and I have seen the old faces. But what I have seen in every face is that we love what we do, and that we want to make the world a much better place through the young people that we encounter.

Whatever It Takes!

That is our new mantra for this school year. We almost got recognized last year. Last year's mantra was "Our Time is Now". I think we could actually be recognized, but like my boss said we have to collaborate.
I have a classroom with computers. I have some insanely great ideas to try with my kids!

This is a Reflective Teaching Blog

I want to improve my skills as an educator. I want to be excellent. This blog is a way of reflecting on what my practices are and how to improve them.
I care about my students. I care about what, how and why I teach. I care about myself also. I want to maintain a win-win situation.

Make Comments

At the bottom of each post, you are able to make comments by clicking on the word comments. If you need help setting one of these up, e-mail me at LJonesLJones2@gmail.com. Thanks!

One Dozen Roses

I entered a contest for my photos at www.captureelpaso.com. I am trying to win a Canon Camera. This photo is one of mine. Go to search and look up Jones for my pictures. Join in, make a comment, and click on I dig it! Thanks!

Welcome Back to School!

I hope you all had a great summer! I did. I will tell you more in future posts. This is my blog, which is short for web log. It is an online journal, but a little bit more than just that. Can you say EXPERIMENT?!
I tried doing some of this through Learning Village, but this is quicker. Send me your thoughts, comments and ideas to my new e-mail address. Here it is:
LJonesLJones2@gmail.com.
Please use this e-mail to send your "interesting stuff" to me. I still have the district business e-mail at ldjones@episd.org.
Have a great year!