debor002

 To help us work towards our school goal of purposefully implementing  the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning (sometimes referred to as "Backwards by Design", "Understanding by Design", or "Planning With The End in Mind), my principal has provided our staff with a copy of  Dr. Jennifer Katz 's book,  Teaching to Diversity: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning . As I make my way through the book, I will be summarizing my learning as a means of organizing my thoughts and getting clarification on particular ideas. Teaching to Diversity Cover. (Accessed 2014). Uploaded to Amazon; Portage& Main Press.  Available online at: http://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-Diversity-Three-Block-Universal-Learning/dp/1553793536 Link between Emotion and Academic Achievement - Students need to feel comfortable and safe in the classroom  environment   in order to be socially and emotionally prepared to learn - A child ...

     August is almost upon us but I am not back in my classroom quite yet. We actually have a significant amount of construction happening in our school this summer (redoing the roof, redoing exterior walls.... AND a brand new science lab directly beside my classroom!) so I am unsure of when I will actually be allowed back in my classroom. In fact, depending on how the construction goes, there is a chance that I may not be back in my same classroom at all; I may be relocated for part of this year until everything is back to normal.      Luckily for me, I was only in my classroom one year and I had very little storage area so I did not accumulate much stuff if I do have to move rooms. Regardless of what room I am in, however, I have been eagerly shopping around of some new furniture to add to my classroom. My husband and I are actually remodelling our home this summer and have chosen to install an IKEA Kitchen System while they are hosting their "kitchen eve...

     Our summer holidays started about two weeks ago but I am only just now feeling like the holidays have began. After a busy year of go-go-go it took way longer than I thought to finally catch up on sleep and begin to relax. It probably doesn't help that it rained pretty-much straight during the first week of July and then we went right into my sister-in-laws wedding, which was a very busy time with lots of family visiting. With that being said, here is what a day in my life looks like now that the holidays are under way: Sleep-in! I am not a morning person at all so I am loving that I can sleep until 10am! Feed our dogs and our one bottle-fed calf, Simon. Ours dogs are always trying to steal milk from the cows and now from Simon's bottle! Go to the gym. This is something that I didn't do ONCE during the school year and  it definitely showed when the year was up. I am trying to get into a good routine this summer so that I can maintain that through the school year....

    To help us work towards our school goal of purposefully implementing  the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning (sometimes referred to as "Backwards by Design", "Understanding by Design", or "Planning With The End in Mind), my principal has provided our staff with a copy of  Dr. Jennifer Katz 's book,  Teaching to Diversity: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning . As I make my way through the book, I will be summarizing my learning as a means of organizing my thoughts and getting clarification on particular ideas. Teaching to Diversity Cover. (Accessed 2014). Uploaded to Amazon; Portage& Main Press.  Available online at: http://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-Diversity-Three-Block-Universal-Learning/dp/1553793536 Universal Design for Learning (U.D.L.) - What "ramps" are available to us to ensure that all of our students can   access the curriculum and gain the same experience/be actively ...

     So I know that I am a little late to the game, being that it is already the third (oops!), but I thought it is better late than never! After almost two straight weeks of miserable rain, we are finally enjoying sunshine and normal weather so, needless to say, blogging has not been on my radar. I also have a new bundle of joy to keep me busy as we have a new calf that needs bottle-feeding on our farm! Meet my new baby (for now), Simon!      If you haven't encountered a " Currently " post before, it is just a fun post at the beginning of each month that serves as a way to share what is Currently going on in your life! You can link up and share your own " Currently " post by visiting the wonderful  Farley  over at  Oh' Boy 4th Grade . I am also participating in the Canada Day Blog Hop , hosted by  Desiree  at  Reading with Mrs. D .  Check out my post to grab some awesome FREEBIES including classroom posters and resources ...