"My Brain Might be Different Than Yours, But it's Still Amazing"

Happy, Sunday, folks!  I am here to share a little inspirational video that I stumbled across while sipping my tea this morning.

We need to listen to what our children are saying.  Best take home from this video?  "My brain might be different than yours, but it's still amazing" I just love all these little children and the messages they provide.

There is so much we can learn from our children.

Here's to a good start of the week.

Dear Teacher
With a new school year starting, over 60 Brain Highways kids collaborated to write a “Dear Teacher” letter—which they then turned into a short (under two minutes) “Dear Teacher” video. School does greatly influence how kids are viewed by others and how they view themselves. So, while it may take years to change laws or how health care addresses mental health issues, these kids hope their message will be shared with as many educators as possible—knowing that teachers can truly make a huge difference, starting TODAY. www.facebook.com/kidswhynotcampaign
Posted by Brain Highways on Monday, August 24, 2015

New Motivation System for Learning Sight Words

As you already know, our students LOVE video games.  For sight word practice, I decided to create a prize system that has different levels to beat, much like a video game.  Here's how it works. 
Each sight word list is broken down by grade level.  Within that grade, there are five different levels of words.  Students never receive more than 12 words at a time.  They are given their word list on a ring.
The word lists are specifically targeted to each student's ability level, and the children never know what level another student is learning.  This helps keep everyone differentiated and motivated. 

The lists are kept in little pockets in the writing center.  Students know they can always grab their list throughout the day.
Next, I created my themed prize boards.  Students all begin at the bottom with level one, regardless of which sight word list they are working on.
When a child masters his or her list, that student receives the prize for that level, then proceeds to move up to the next level.  Once the entire class masters all five levels on the board, the entire class gets the grand prize for that motivation board.

For this movie themed board, the students will win a movie afternoon once the whole class masters all five levels on their list.

Newsletter - October 26th-30th

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