Lori and I are thankful for many things. This blog has overwhelmed us with friends, ideas, encouragement. For that we will always be thankful!
We are thankful for:
Teacher who are willing to take risks in order to do what's best for students. Taking risks is scary and time-consuming. Thankfully, you are tirelessly looking for ideas and resources to help students build strong readers and writers.
Higher standards for students and ourselves- Quality instruction requires greater more time- from the preparation to the assessment. Thank you for the time you give to holding students to higher standards and and helping them to reach higher expectations.
Active learning- We are thankful for classrooms where students are up and moving. They are talking and learning from one another. You know that students must be active and engaged in order to learn.
New thinking- I'm thankful for deeper thinking about excerpts versus reading whole texts and focusing on plot, classrooms that celebrate writing risks and promote student voice. I'm thankful for shifts away from binders filled with what we did last year and toward what's best for these unique students now.
Know-how from excellent authors and resources. I'm thankful for people like Gretchen Bernabei, Kelly Gallagher, Smokey Robinson, and Kylene Beers (among others) who have added tools to my teaching toolbox and improve classroom instruction.
Student growth and success- We can't get enough of those "Aha!"/light bulb moments. For students, they are a sign of learning. For teachers, they enable us to better meet the the needs of students and promote learning.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
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