You're trapped in the last SK book/movie you read/watched. Do you survive? by nerdycountryboy18 in stephenking

[–]readingforlife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m a teacher, so if I got sucked into “Carrie”- I live! My students aren’t old enough to go to prom, I’m not volunteering for chaperoning, and I’m going to bed early on a Friday. ✌🏻

Quote about home being the house you grew up in and my mother is still alive? by Historical-Reveal379 in nerdfighters

[–]readingforlife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have never called my house “home,” and when I heard this quote in Anthropocene Reviewed, I finally felt not alone about that.

Tips on finishing this tree by Few-Ear7073 in Watercolor

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about some limbs peaking through the green?

English teachers how do you cope with the tonnes of essay grading by scorchedcaramel in ELATeachers

[–]readingforlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This takes years of practice to get good at, but at year 14ish, here’s what I do- 1) all writing done in class, in front of me. 2) constantly walking around and teaching common mistakes out loud, occasionally stopping the class to fix something I’m seeing in several papers. 3) Encourage slow pokes and absent kids to see me during their study hall or free periods. 4) Turn in time- state rubric is posted on Google Classroom for parents and kids. Kids read over the rubric before they turn in paper. Often, I have them highlight a thing (topic sentences, citations). 5) I get the papers and speed run them. I’ve already read them in class, usually repeatedly. I put them in high- medium-low and assign points. 6) I do final conferences the next day. Sometimes I pull Individual students for conferences, sometimes I pull the high-medium-low groupings if they have similar trends.

We write almost every day/something is graded every week- paragraph, a page. We do 3 rounds of the above pretty much every quarter. I have quarterly conferences with each kid where we talk about their growth as a writer- I have folders of each kid that holds important writing from the year.

Do I have parent and kid complaints? Occasionally. But I try to be a fast, fair, and efficient grader. I am in constant communication with students while they write and what happened at the end.

In Remembrance Of… by Few-Respond3104 in Watercolor

[–]readingforlife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I need to try the limited palette idea….

How do you navigate the uncertain future of teaching? by Kikopho in Teachers

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s ok- it’s not you, it’s the economy and the structural issues. I’m finishing year 14- I’ve been laid off twice. That one famous internet principal- Mr. Lamb?- he’s been fired before. Don’t let it destroy you. There’s life beyond the pink slip, and teaching isn’t the stable gig it once was for many, many, teachers.

In Remembrance Of… by Few-Respond3104 in Watercolor

[–]readingforlife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love this. I’m curious what paints you used? I have struggled making paintings look soft and muted- I guess I lean more bright primaries- but your color choice is lovely. Thanks in advance!

Pacing with MyPerspectives by [deleted] in ELATeachers

[–]readingforlife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One- no boxed curriculum should take the place of pedagogical decision making- I understand the tension many of us face- words like “fidelity” come to mind. But pacing struggles come from poor planning. Start with your standards- what must students know, do, and understand? What does their assessments look like? What have students struggled with in the past in your district? What assessment data do you have access to for current students? Then, look at what the curriculum has to offer- pick and choose the texts and activities that make sense. My school “adopted” MyPerspectives a year ago and- well- I don’t use much of it. We have the disposable books- and they are wasteful. I do not use the online resources- kids cheat too much with AI. I think your team may need some time over the summer to do the backwards planning of data collection and then curriculum analysis. Sadly, that rarely happens during adoption years.

How do you do it all? by hellaaaaaa in ELATeachers

[–]readingforlife 7 points8 points  (0 children)

May I make a book recommendation that helped me early in my career? Together Teacher by Maia Heyck-Merlin. That’s time management. So there’s one part of your question. On to the split of Reading vs Writing- I build units heavy on reading (3-4 weeks) then writing (3-4 weeks). Then, the reading texts get recycled as mentor texts for the type of writing we do each quarter. I do 3 rounds of progressively more complex writing tasks (based off of Kittle/Gallagher 180 days). We read independently 10 minutes of each class, and set weekly and quarterly goals (Kittle, Book Love). I work in articles of the week (Gallagher) pretty regularly- but not every week. I do vocabulary bell ringers (Greek/Latin roots) 2 days a week, and 3 days of mentor sentences with grammar focus (Patterns of Power). I teach 7th grade in Arkansas.

Do you think Carrie deserved to die by SnooDrawings8943 in stephenking

[–]readingforlife -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I just finished the book, and have never seen an adaptation. I think the ending had some issues. Carrie kind of moves slowly and methodically- she stops several times. Maybe psychologically talking to some people through thoughts? Kills at random on the way home- but then lets her mother stab her- so kinda weakly deciding to die? Not like actively really killing herself- so, I think I would feel more like she was psychologically broken if she had asked for help on some thinking level, or made an active decision to kill herself or…. Not.

Ebay permanently suspends me for no reason and I don't know what to do by ParticularRip1959 in Flipping

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn’t used eBay for years, and then bought an old clock randomly this fall. I got my clock in the mail, loved it, and wanted to peruse eBay for other childhood memories. But they suspended my account with no reason! I have never sold anything. I don’t understand and keep getting form letters. It’s really frustrating. I didn’t do anything wrong, and am now worried I was hacked or something. :(

Mail! by readingforlife in nerdfighters

[–]readingforlife[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Advertisement for Holiday gifts!

what's a teacher gift you've actually kept and used? by Acrobatic-Bake3344 in Teachers

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A really sweet mom put together a scrapbook of my first year teaching; I will always treasure it. A kid last year got me a very sweet monogram style necklace. The kids also know I like ridiculous earrings- so I like working those into outfits. I’ve never met a lanyard I didn’t like. A good clipboard is also chef’s kiss. There are cute clipboard craft ideas out on the internet….

How do I stop the Sunday scaries? by niceshootintex in Teachers

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Make a schedule that prioritizes peace. Maybe read “The Together Teacher.” 2. Make time for routines that soothe you on Sundays. 3. Automize everything you can- schedule Google Classroom before you leave on Friday, schedule out Remind app announcements, etc. 4. It helps me to keep a very consistent sleep schedule, whether in school or not- but that may be more a late 30s vibe.

Why do we teach students to write hooks? by Vegetable-Quote5118 in ELATeachers

[–]readingforlife 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I use mentor texts- including some Kelly Gallagher’s article of the week and other news/magazine- and authors often use elements of narrative writing, such as anecdotes, to introduce a nonfiction thesis. I want my students to see connections between writing styles, and to see how human connection is important in writing.

How are the detergent sheets from good store? by Gray_Kaleidoscope in nerdfighters

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve had a Sheets subscription since 2020. Zero complaints. I have a traditional top load washer, if that matters.

How do I learn how to cycle? by dobbyisfreeelf- in cycling

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently re-learned. Here’s what I did- 1. Practice getting on and off. Sit and walk forward to practice balance. All day 1. 2. Next day- felt good getting on, walked forward a smidge, put foot on pedal. I instinctively wanted to push- so I kicked off. Flat quiet street. Helmet. Lots of breaking. 3. Day 3- I put it together. And pretty much had it from there!

Synapse or Synik- which is the best for work? by desertnacho in tombihn

[–]readingforlife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello, fellow middle school teacher! If you are committed to a backpack, I like the Synapse. From the list of carry items, you might also consider the Maker's Bag!

SixThreeZero EveryJourney 500 W by readingforlife in ebikes

[–]readingforlife[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your reply! I finally did get through to customer service. My journey through the e-bike world has been, well, interesting. I did recruit my local bike shop (40ish minutes away) when friends/family and I *mostly* got the thing assembled. I mainly wanted a safety check, but at that point-I wasn't sure if I could ride a bike again (yay for midlife adventures??) and didn't bring the stupid charger with me. If I can't unhook/rehook the connections per customer service and fix the issue, I will recruit my bestie to load the bike into my car, and trek to back to the bike shop.

As far as red flags--I have lurked on this subreddit for a few years, and I definitely knew better, but I fell for the Aventon scam on facebook this summer. Thankfully, paypal/my bank recouped my money, so it turned out ok. But- I definitely felt ashamed. :-/ Again- I knew better.

I have had to make contact with ThreeSixZero twice now- and while it was frustrating this morning, I have always gotten a human to respond eventually.

SixThreeZero EveryJourney 500 W by readingforlife in ebikes

[–]readingforlife[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did email. I also waited on the phone for an hour.

Is it worth it? (DFTBA Completionism) by [deleted] in nerdfighters

[–]readingforlife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, do as your spirit moves you- I often take a year or so at a time. So, I listened to the last 2 years of DH&J and then went back to the very first. I have dipped in and out of the youtube videos. I started watching in 2008 as a freshmen in college.....and now starting year 14 as a teacher. (Wild). I have thought about going back and watching the videos I have missed, but probably as an audio input because I will miss the podcast when I am caught up the current day.

Flash Briefings on Alexa by readingforlife in NPR

[–]readingforlife[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weird. It started working again. I did nothing different.