This weekend was a weekend of writing lesson plans. Not the fun and exciting lesson plans that I worked on last weekend for Dr. Seuss Day:
- Lacing ten beads (or “Truffula seeds”) onto a pipe cleaner with a colorful pom-pom hot glued on the top (better known as Truffula trees) and then skip counting by tens.
- Writing something the Lorax would say in his speech bubble and then puffy painting the Lorax with a mixture of shaving cream and glue tinted orange (adding tufts of yellow yarn to make a handsome mustache.
- Creating a new addition to your McGrew Zoo by drawing a picture of it, naming it, and writing two interesting details about your creature
- Writing in alternating colors of red and white on a Seuss hat rhyming words and then water coloring, in red paint, the strips where the white crayon was used to watch the words “pop” out at you.
- Using random recyclable items, create a creature that lives in our classroom, and name it Wocket-in-my-Pocket-style, writing its name on a name tag.
No, this weekend was spent writing lesson plans for the edTPA. I will keep my opinion of this assessment that I “get” to do to myself but if you want to learn more you can read about it here or here. Regardless of what I think about it, the edTPA is a very large, high stakes portfolio of sorts to “prove” that I am qualified to become a teacher in the state of Washington. I must past it to get certified.
The people who will be grading my edTPA care not for Truffula trees or the Lug and the Wug and the Zug that happen to live under our classroom rug. They look for a central focus, academic language, discourse, differentiated instruction, student engagement, learning targets, student reflection – the list goes on and on and is assessed using 18 handy rubrics.
Part of the weekend Husband took the kids out of the house so I could work. The rest of the time, I created crafts to keep them busy.
Today they worked creating crazy Seuss hats (their school celebrates Dr. Seuss Day tomorrow), their workspace cluttered with fun bobbles and whatnots.
Today I worked creating non-crazy lesson plans, my workspace cluttered with papers, an amazing amount of electrical cords, and a random Seuss inspired bracelet Carter made for me.
I do not have an office, nor a desk. I use my mom’s old sewing machine table which is tucked in the corner of our living room. It used to suffice for my computing needs but I find that I am rapidly outgrowing this workspace of mine. It is cozy and I make it work.
I can not tell you with certainty the level of quality of my lesson plans, the first solid drafts of these five all important lesson plans.
As for the Seuss hats, they turned out wonderfully.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
I love your Seuss Day lesson plans! Angel will have hers today at school…can’t wait to see what they do!
Our current favorite book is The Sneetches – which one(s) are the boys into?
Thank you. The Seuss Stations, as I liked to call them, were a smashing success. Fun was had by all and the students even got some practice skip counting by 10, handwriting, and playing around with words to make them rhyme.
Cody and Carter really like The Lorax (maybe it is because of the creaky crazy voice I use when reading the Onceler’s parts) and Oh the Places You’ll Go. The Sneetches are pretty cute too and have a great message. I am sure Angel will have a wonderful Seusstastic day! 🙂
Using your mother’s old sewing machine as a desk. Wish my mother’s were still around–I’d steal your idea. It’s lovely. Peace, John
I really like the way it looks and the compact size of it. Plus all the memories of my mom sewing on this table (the old sewing machine is still tucked away just under the tabletop too. With all the extra time I spend on the computer now that I am back in school, the space it a bit small but the pros outweigh the cons.
Thanks for the comment!
I like the idea of Seuss hats. I think it’s something that we should do at work for a day.
When I read “I do not have an office, nor a desk.”, I thoughthe next line would rhyme, Seuss-style..
Oh, I like that idea – Dr. Seuss Hat Day in the Workplace should be a thing.
I do not have an office, nor a desk
Not a single place for my pen to rest
The clutter it stretches from far to near
Can someone please, oh, please help me get out from under here!
How is that? 🙂 Just for you.
Perfect!
Awesome, my kids are all grown so Dr. Seuss day isn’t on my radar. 😦
I am glad to still be in the Dr. Seuss days of my life and if I end up teaching the lower primary grades (K-3) then I imagine Dr. Seuss will be in my life for a very long time. 🙂
Congrats on getting your teacher certification! I didn’t know you were in WA. (I’m in the Renton area). And those hats look fun. Haven’t been by your blog in awhile…look forward to catching up.
Oh, well don’t congratulate me quite yet. I should complete all my course work and be certified by the second week in June.
Wow – we are practically neighbors! I had no idea you were in WA either.
“As for the Seuss hats, they turned out wonderfully.” Now that’s a day well spent! Good luck with the planning, I’m sure it will turn out great.
Any day in which you get to glue pompoms to a paper had that has been painted with glue and food colored shaving cream is a great day!
My planning is going well but I will sure breath easier when this assessment piece is completed.