Tieks...or other shoes!

I need some cute, but more importantly, comfortable shoes for the classroom.  I have looked for ballet flats that will not kill my feet.  So far, I haven't found any.  I am intrigued by Tieks, but not enough to take the $175 plunge without trying them on before buying.  I have also read mixed reviews about the comfort level.  The bloggers who sing their praises are either those who have received a significant discount, or those who have received a pair for free.  I am having a hard time finding reviews from people who did not receive compensation.  What shoes do you wear in the classroom?  If you are a Tieks owner, please chime in!  If you have something similar, or better, sing their praises!  Help me find some comfy shoes!

Word Crimes

Weird Al, I must profess my love for you. You are now the hero to so many frustrated teachers.  I can't wait to incorporate Weird Al's "Blurred Lines" parody into my ELA classrom.  Check it out--Word Crimes!  This is officially my classroom theme song.

Disclaimer:  Please forgive me for any "Word Crimes" committed on my blog.

In Summer...

I took the summer off.  Off in the sense that I am not teaching summer school.  I can't turn my brain off.  I am reading two professional books--Notice and Note and Falling in Love with Close Reading.  I have also spent some time going through our new textbook while attempting to map out the framework for next year.  My pinterest board has a new board called 2015 Must Dos.  Every summer I make myself a list of things that I must accomplish before returning to work.  So far, I feel like I've dabbled in a lot, but I haven't been able to really cross anything off of my list.

What do you do during the summer?  Do you take the summer off, and forget teaching completely?  Do you create a list and check it off one by one?  Please share your game plan!

Man Crush Monday with The Outsiders

One of my favorite units to teach is The Outsiders.  It's such a timeless story.  It always baffles my students when they learn that it was written in the 1960's.  The characters are still relevant to their lives today, and they love every minute of the unit.  We watched the film and analyzed mood through color, in addition to comparing the book to the novel.  I thought that they would gripe about the age of the film.  I didn't expect my girls to go gaga over the likes of Matt Dillon and Ralph Macchio.  Boy was I wrong.   Apparently, they were so enthralled with the gentlemen that played their favorite characters, that both Dally Winston and Johnny Cade made the cut for Man Crush Monday.  (If you aren't familiar with #MCM, it's a tag on Instagram and Facebook.)  The boys still have it.

Because we were reading The Outsiders on Valentine's Day, we created conversation hearts for the characters.  These are a few that my advanced kidlets came up with. My example was "Sodapop, you make my heart fizz!"  What unit do you love teaching?  Do you teach The Outsiders?

Well, hello there!

Starting a new blog can be a daunting task.  You gently ease into a blank space on the world wide web, not knowing what to expect.  You start by writing to yourself, because in most cases, a new blog doesn't have any followers.  I decided to start a blog because there aren't many middle school language arts blogs out there--or if there are, I can't seem to find them.  I plan to journal the 'happenings' in my classroom and to reflect on my teaching experiences.  I hope to give some insight to what it's like teaching in a Florida school.  If you happened to find me on an internet search, I hope you'll decide to stay a while.  What types of things would you like to see?