Week of November 23-27

This is a great week! We only have school 1 and 1/2 days and we get to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families!

I am thankful for so much: my family, my students, my school! I hope you have a lot to be thankful for!

We had a great time seeing New Moon this past weekend. The movie followed the book so well. It is awesome to see a book we've read come to life. Now we can get ready for The Lightning Theif to come out in February!!!!

Week of November 16 - 20

We are sooo excited this week. The movie New Moon based on the book by Stephenie Meyer comes out at midnight Thursday night! We have read the Twilight series in class and can't wait to see the second book brought to life on the big screen!

I went to a workshop on Monday where I learned about Multisensory Grammar. I'm very excited to learn about this new approach to teaching the parts of speech.

The students at Tioga got to see a presentation by the Gunter Robotics Team! It was awesome to see something that the students will have a chance to participate in when they get to high school. We really enjoyed seeing the robot do it's job! Some of the students even got to drive it!

Week of November 9-13

My sixth grade reading class is finishing up Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. The sixth grade English class will do some writing activities that go along with the book.

My 7th grade English class is getting ready for the writing TAKS test. We will be doing some brainstorming and writing activities.

Elementary reading classes are getting those AR points in, while the writing classes are using the 4-square method to brainstorm and organize their writing.

The elementary math classes are working with graphs and learning about probability.

What are we up to?

This year my middle school reading classes are going to focus on nature. We will be reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. We will also read New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.

My elementary classes will focuse on decoding and writing skills, as well as basic math skills. We plan to read a few books as a class too. We are working on our AR goals!

Special Ed Questions

How does a student get into a special education class?

Students must show an educational need and be referred by their teachers. The referral goes through The Grayson County Special Education Co-Op. The student is evaluated and if found to have a disability that affects his education, an ARD meeting will be held. ARD stands for Admission Review and Dismissal. The meeting would involve parents, evaluation representatives, and school staff. This ARD committee would make decisions regarding the student's education.
What is an IEP?

IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan. Each special education students has an IEP. This plan shows what the student needs to learn that year according to his or her own ability level.

What is Resource?

Resource is a special education setting for students with minor learning disabilities. Students in this class are taught in a one-on-one or small group setting. The programs used in this class are different and most often are multisensory to accomodate all learning styles. The goal in resource is to catch the student up so that he or she can return to the mainstream setting.

What is Content Mastery?

Content Mastery, otherwise known as CMC, allows students to go to the resource classroom to get help on tests and other work. CMC lets students be in a general education classroom for instruction, but still get the help they need.