Flipping in Fifth is Moving to Third!

I once heard that the only one who welcomes change is a wet baby.  I don't think that's necessarily true.  Change can be a good thing.  Change revitalizes us.  Change helps us grow.  At least that's true for me.

Flipping in Fifth is Moving!

Next year I will be flipping in third grade.  That's right!  I will be teaching third grade next year.  I must mention that it's the only primary grade I have not yet taught.  So, that means I will need some fresh new ideas, not to mention a new blog name.  I thought about Flip with Fish.  Friends refer to my husband and my boys simply as "Fish".  There's a Big Fish, Little Fish, Fishx2, and just Fish.  I think I will leave that for the men in my life.  Anyway, I am trying out some new names: "Flipping with Fisher", "Flip with Fisher", "Fisher Flips" or maybe even "Fisher is Flipping".  (Insert smiley face) Not quite sure yet.  The URL address is still the same (Flipping in Fifth) for now anyway. If you have a preference for my new blog name, please post it in the comments below.

I am excited about this new change in my life.   I have been watching videos on The Teaching Channel for new ideas. I will also be looking for some third grade blogs to follow for other great ideas.  And of course, there's always the awesome new team that I will be working with.  We are our greatest resource! 

See you next year!

Finding Gems



The Hope Diamond

While reading literature in our class, we are always on the lookout for GEMS: sentences that catch our attention, sentences we would love to imitate in our own writing. Basically we are looking for great examples of writing.  I started doing this in my class after reading Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson.

Well, just recently I have found another GEM, something worthy of imitation, The Teaching Channel.  Here you can find actual videos of classroom teachers who are masters at their craft.  You can find videos by subject, grade level, or topic.  If you are confused about the Common Core, there are videos to help you sort through that as well. 

Someone once said:  "The best teachers are made by the teacher next door".  When I first started teaching more than 30 years ago, that teacher for me was right across the hall, JoEllen French.  Whatever she did in her class, I did in mine.  She was a GEM! 

Now we can find GEMS who are literally thousands of miles away. If you haven't already visited The Teaching Channel, I encourage you to spend some time there.  You never know what GEMS you will find!