I'm BAAACK!!!

Wow, that was TOUGH staying away from blogging entirely (especially going into Bloglovin once a week to mark almost 200 posts as read without even glimpsing at the titles), but I can definitely say that I am refreshed and ready to go!

Today was our first day back from Spring Break, and it's crunch time for us. We have 3 1/2 weeks before SOL testing begins, and there are only 8 1/2 weeks left of school. Eek!! I have so much left to teach and review!

Right now, I'm working on context clues with my 3rd and 4th grade students. I bought this book a few years back, and it's great! The book focuses on eight different strategies to help, so I went through and made copies of the ones my students tend to struggle with the most. They have already shown some growth, but we still need to practice a LOT.

In 5th grade, I began a poetry/figurative language focus before break. I bought Kathleen's (Middle Grades Maven) Poetry Analysis booklet that has been the perfect review. The kids are really enjoying the poems, which are just the right level for them. And the questions really get them to think more in-depth about what the poem is trying to say. They still can't label most of the figurative language on their own, but I'm just excited that they can usually explain what the author meant by it!

On the blogging end, I'm going to start getting everything ready for my big giveaway (right now I'm sitting at 850 followers - wow!) and hope to post it by the weekend. I've already got some amazing blogger friends signed up to help, but if you would like to join me in the celebration, the form is here. I will, of course, list your blog and hopefully send some new followers your way!