Day One at SDE Conference

Well I made it through Day One in Vegas and right now I don’t know where to start with everything that took in today.  

First my day started with a great session presented by Cara Carroll.  She discussed how she implemented Reader's Workshop with the kids in her class.  It was very energizing and exactly what I needed to hear.  I feel like I have gotten away from following the standards and have been following the reading series provided by my district more.  Well let's just say I have never been a series person and I don't like what I have been doing in my classroom.  This session I feel is going to get me back on track for the way on did and want to teach in my classroom.  The session was fun and energizing.  I immediately went and bought one of the two books Cara suggested during the session.  Below is a link to the book.  If you are looking to do reader's workshop in your class I would recommend this book.  Even though I have only skimmed through it I really feel it will be a great resource for making sure you cover the CCSS in reading as well and enjoy teaching your children to read and comprehend stories.

The second and last session I went to today were presented by Reagan Tunstall.  She presented one session on Writer's Workshop and another on Becoming a Guided Math Guru!  I really enjoyed both of these sessions.  The session on math really made me think about how I have my math work stations set up and what I need to do to make sure I work with my students each day in a small math group setting (just like when you meet in your small reading groups).  Check on Reagan Tunstall's blog.  She does a much better job of explaining these two areas than I would.

A last session I went to was on interactive notebooks.  The session was presented by Renee Dooly.  She did a great job of giving examples of why to do interactive notebooks and the different ways that they can be used in the classroom.  She also recommended a couple of books on interactive notebooks.  The links are listed below.  Also, if you want to check out her blog she has done a series on her blog about interactive notebooks.  Renee Dooly's Blog- Fantastic First Grade Froggies

Well I will stop sharing for now.  I hope that you are able to get some information from these wonderful session presenters.  I know that I did and I can't wait to go back tomorrow for more fun and learning.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Check back tomorrow for some updates on what I learned and bought.

Chat soon,

Leslie