"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." Helen Keller
About Me
- Fran Richardson
- Welcome to my blog!I'm a teacher in a beautiful, small, rural town. I moved here a few years ago, but I have taught over 20 years in this same small town that is now my home. My experience is in teaching second, third, and fourth grades with one year in sixth grade. I am always reading, learning, and reflecting on what goes on in my classroom. I love the work that I do with the parents, my fellow teachers, and most all-my students.I hope you will enjoy reading my blog.
The Scholar, Age 5
I'm A Lifelong Learner...
I Still Love Learnin'!
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My Blog List
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NPM 2024 - Book Spine Poem 17 - For National Poetry Month this year, I am perusing my bookshelves and building book spine poems. I’m trying to love math Marvelous math the numbers ...19 hours ago
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Excellence in Action: Practical Ways to Overcome Procrastination - From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter Procrastination comes to us all. And sometimes, we don't have enough tim...2 days ago
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Just Published and 40% Off for the First 48 Hours! May Ice Cream Cones Counting Clip Cards! - Are you finding it difficult to find time during the school day for your students to have practice counting? These Ice Cream Truck Counting Clip Cards are ...1 week ago
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St. Patrick’s Day Craft Project - Your class will show gratitude for what they are lucky for during the month of March through this hands on St. Patrick’s Day Activity. It makes a fun and...1 month ago
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Character Affirmation Posters: Purposeful Reading Decor for Your Upper Elementary Classroom - As I've said in previous posts, I love decorating a classroom, but those decorations need to have a purpose. I leave a lot of empty space on my bulletin...7 months ago
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ATTENTION TO ALL WHO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL!! - image via Unsplash You will no longer be receiving email notifications for this blog because Blogger email subscriptions were handled by FeedBurner, whic...2 years ago
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My Latest BAM! Radio Show Is On Using Tech In English Classes - Ways to use Tech Effectively in English Classes is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio Show. I’m joined in the conversation by Jenny Vo, Jennifer ...5 years ago
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Getting Started with Interactive Math Notebooks - I have been using interactive math notebooks in my classroom for as long as I can remember. Math notebooks are a great place for students to take notes, re...5 years ago
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A Look Back: ADHD Diagnosis, Bullet Journal, Cube Timers, Brain Dump, Growth Mindset, Katie's Teacher Tea, & Encouraging Words - At the beginning of 2018 I had the goal of trying to a monthly post, but I had such a difficult time trying to keep up with posting on the last day of t...5 years ago
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Four years after... - Hard to believe I walked away from this for four years. I love words. I love to write. It's cathartic for me. Somehow, I let four years slip by. There ...6 years ago
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The Mini Greg - It has been a long time but finally, a new lesson plan template. A colorful and organized approach to guided reading groups. Originally created for Mr. Greg...6 years ago
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Ten-Frame FUN - Helllooooo! Yes, I am still alive. Yes, I am BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. But yes, I am still here! I think about this little old blog often but lately it has had to ...7 years ago
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Celebrate The Last Day of School and Happy Teacher Appreciation Week - Happy end of the year to you, phenomenal teacher! Hats off to you and the hard work behind all you do. Finish out the school year strong - and treat yourse...7 years ago
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I've moved! - Click the image below to be redirected to my new blog! Friends, I've rebranded. Thank you so much for following along over the years. I made a new blog...8 years ago
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I'VE MOVED!!!! - Hi my lovely, loyal readers!! Please note that Mrs. Mimi has up and MOVED to a shiny new blog with fabulous new content. Don't worry, I took all the old s...8 years ago
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How to Get Started With Genius Hour for Elementary Classrooms? - I believe that every single child is gifted and that every kid has a talent which we as educators should help uncover. This is not easy when you have a c...8 years ago
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Making Poetry FUN - Poetry can be so much FUN! My kids and I enjoy reading poetry, and we recently dove into a poetry unit, which included learning more about figurative lan...9 years ago
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New School Year! - Dusting off the shelves of this blog for another school year. I'd like to use this more as a personal journal for my schoolteacher life this year so what b...9 years ago
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Looking Back - I’ve just spent nearly all of an afternoon looking back on all the INK blogs that I’ve written, trying to get a sense of what I’ve been doing, thinking, an...9 years ago
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Exciting News! - We are excited to share with you our newest adventures! We are both opening up our own individual Teachers Pay Teachers stores, as well as our own indivi...10 years ago
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Auntie Claus Preview and our Polar Express Day! - I wanted to give a sneak peek at our Auntie Claus unit that my friends, Michele and Elana (Lana) and I are finishing up for teacherspayteachers. We are ...11 years ago
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It's a Lifestyle - I have noticed that everything I do is not a career or an event or even an activity/ chore.... it's a LIFESTYLE. The problem is making sure my lifestyle c...11 years ago
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Calling all teachers!!!! - Alright, this is kind of a poll... I'm about to *finally *open my TpT store, but I'd like to know from y'all what kinds of things you'd like to see first a...11 years ago
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Tennessee's Teacher Evaluation - What a mess! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/education/tennessees-rules-on-teacher-evaluations-bring-frustration.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&smid=fb-share12 years ago
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Five Friday Freebies - Week 22 - f you are not a TN member, membership is FREE. Here is a link to register so you will be able to download. *Teacher Notebook Registration *Click on log in...12 years ago
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Connecting Children With Nature: Learning About Trees - Our playground is surrounded by an abundance of beautiful trees, which always seem to captivate my very curious kindergartners. Who would have guessed that...12 years ago
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First WAS Fab...Second will be Super! - Thanks to all followers of this BLOG. I will be moving to second grade and will no longer post to this BLOG. I will, however, leave it active for viewing a...12 years ago
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Summer Book Club (for students!) - Our recent post on Teaching Blog Addict has me thinking.... I know I can't wait to read over the summer, but what about my students? How can I help preven...12 years ago
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New Year - New Plans - It's been a whirlwind end to 2010. My school was in the middle of a Quality Review when I received a call to take a position at another school. It was such...13 years ago
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Favorites:
FAN OF:
- Janet Allen
- Laura Robb
- Harvey Daniels
- Lester Laminack
- Katie Wood Ray
- Rick Wormeli
- Kelly Gallagher
- Tanny MacGregor
- Debbie Miller
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
“WOW-ed” on Wednesday
I told myself that I needed to take it easy on the professional books this summer ( after all I still have to buy groceries, pet food and keep that AC hummin’ hear in good ole SC) so I’ve indulged my thirst for professional knowledge by mostly following several blogs.
HOWEVER, because I do feel like I need to feed my mind in many different ways, I decided I would allow myself one or two professional books during my summer vacation, and with only a few days left of June, I made one of my first choices:
from http://www.literacy-builders.com/free-resources/quotes-we-love
If you are not familiar with Debbie Miller and her work with reading comprehension, you may want to view these videos to get a better idea of the authentic, literate, and purposeful classroom environments that she is speaking of.
These were a few videos of her teaching style in action on You Tube which were posted by Stenhouse Publishers:
As you think about what you want to go on inside your classroom, you may want to check out Reading With Meaning which is definitely one of my teaching “anchor texts” for teaching reading comprehension. My hard copy is now about ten years old, and I have a backup copy on my Kindle.
TEACHING INTENTIONALLY: Why Do We Do What We Do?
If your interest is piqued, you may preview several chapters of Teaching With Intention at the Stenhouse site like I did:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/millerpreview.htm?r=n144
In reading reviews of this book on Amazon, one or two reviewers said the book was “ a good summer read.” That kinda sounds like “fluff” to me, but after reading the first few pages, I understood what the reviewers intended: Summer is a good time to reflect on our classrooms not just the decorations and furniture arrangements, but our reflections should focus on what goes on inside those classroom walls. Everything we do, think, say, and believe as teachers should be reflected in our classroom: the arrangement, the overall environment, our lessons, our words- all create an atmosphere of who were are as teachers and what we believe in.
This idea spoke to me so strongly because it reminded me of the words that were spoken about what was important to my family as evidenced in my home.
Gary Smallen , an assistant football coach at Coastal University in Conway, SC, has for all intents and purposes been a big brother to me. He was a player for my father Don at Dentsville High School in the 1960’s. The two remained lifelong friends, mentor and student, player and coach, father and son until my Daddy passed away in 2005.I asked Gary to speak about my mother Iris when she passed away in March 2010.
Gary began his eulogy speaking about how you can tell a lot about people just by going into their homes. He said he had spoken with his son ( and my father’s god-son Jason, and the two men came to the conclusion that when a visitor comes into your home, it is almost like a profiler gathering evidence and information. And so a speech was born!
Gary said that anyone could tell a lot about my mother and me by the home I created that we shared for the past several years. ( I moved three years ago to the small town where I have now taught for almost 20 years, and bought my dream house- a nearly 100 year old farm house). Gary spoke of the old family photographs, the old sports memorabilia, the Biblical quotes, the old handmade objects like quilts and churns, the many books in almost every room, and how each object included and displayed in this home was something precious that held a story and was of some importance. But these objects in my home also reflected what my family held dear: our love of family and our past, our love of sports, our strong faith, and our love of knowledge. I cherished the words he spoke that day because now as I look around my home, I remember that each and every place I look- I see and feel LOVE.
When I read Debbie Miller’s first chapters, I felt like her words were speaking to in the same way that Gqry’s words did that day. They were powerful, strong, and thought-provoking. That’s what I want my kids to feel when they look around my room this year. My plans for this year must be done intentionally.
Some of the challenges and questions I had on my mind were:
So as I am preparing for my new school year, I need to be careful, selective, and thoughtful not only in how the room looks ( and Lord knows, we teachers LOVE to plan and decorate our rooms) but what goes on when my class arrives MUST BE DONE WITH INTENTION.
As I am picturing my room filled with children, I have to think “How am I going to get them to that place that is my ideal, my dream classroom?”
These questions have given me what I need to start.
HOWEVER, because I do feel like I need to feed my mind in many different ways, I decided I would allow myself one or two professional books during my summer vacation, and with only a few days left of June, I made one of my first choices:
TEACHING WITH INTENTION by Debbie Miller. This is just the kind of book I need to read this summer!
from Stenhouse
"I believe that classroom environments are most effective when they are literate and purposeful, organized and accessible, and most of all, authentic."
Debbie Miller,
Teaching With Intention
from http://www.literacy-builders.com/free-resources/quotes-we-love
If you are not familiar with Debbie Miller and her work with reading comprehension, you may want to view these videos to get a better idea of the authentic, literate, and purposeful classroom environments that she is speaking of.
These were a few videos of her teaching style in action on You Tube which were posted by Stenhouse Publishers:
As you think about what you want to go on inside your classroom, you may want to check out Reading With Meaning which is definitely one of my teaching “anchor texts” for teaching reading comprehension. My hard copy is now about ten years old, and I have a backup copy on my Kindle.
TEACHING INTENTIONALLY: Why Do We Do What We Do?
If your interest is piqued, you may preview several chapters of Teaching With Intention at the Stenhouse site like I did:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/millerpreview.htm?r=n144
In reading reviews of this book on Amazon, one or two reviewers said the book was “ a good summer read.” That kinda sounds like “fluff” to me, but after reading the first few pages, I understood what the reviewers intended: Summer is a good time to reflect on our classrooms not just the decorations and furniture arrangements, but our reflections should focus on what goes on inside those classroom walls. Everything we do, think, say, and believe as teachers should be reflected in our classroom: the arrangement, the overall environment, our lessons, our words- all create an atmosphere of who were are as teachers and what we believe in.
This idea spoke to me so strongly because it reminded me of the words that were spoken about what was important to my family as evidenced in my home.
Gary Smallen , an assistant football coach at Coastal University in Conway, SC, has for all intents and purposes been a big brother to me. He was a player for my father Don at Dentsville High School in the 1960’s. The two remained lifelong friends, mentor and student, player and coach, father and son until my Daddy passed away in 2005.I asked Gary to speak about my mother Iris when she passed away in March 2010.
Gary began his eulogy speaking about how you can tell a lot about people just by going into their homes. He said he had spoken with his son ( and my father’s god-son Jason, and the two men came to the conclusion that when a visitor comes into your home, it is almost like a profiler gathering evidence and information. And so a speech was born!
Gary said that anyone could tell a lot about my mother and me by the home I created that we shared for the past several years. ( I moved three years ago to the small town where I have now taught for almost 20 years, and bought my dream house- a nearly 100 year old farm house). Gary spoke of the old family photographs, the old sports memorabilia, the Biblical quotes, the old handmade objects like quilts and churns, the many books in almost every room, and how each object included and displayed in this home was something precious that held a story and was of some importance. But these objects in my home also reflected what my family held dear: our love of family and our past, our love of sports, our strong faith, and our love of knowledge. I cherished the words he spoke that day because now as I look around my home, I remember that each and every place I look- I see and feel LOVE.
When I read Debbie Miller’s first chapters, I felt like her words were speaking to in the same way that Gqry’s words did that day. They were powerful, strong, and thought-provoking. That’s what I want my kids to feel when they look around my room this year. My plans for this year must be done intentionally.
Some of the challenges and questions I had on my mind were:
- What do people see when they come into my room?
- Is what I value about learning evident?
- Does what I have displayed reflect my own beliefs about learning?
So as I am preparing for my new school year, I need to be careful, selective, and thoughtful not only in how the room looks ( and Lord knows, we teachers LOVE to plan and decorate our rooms) but what goes on when my class arrives MUST BE DONE WITH INTENTION.
As I am picturing my room filled with children, I have to think “How am I going to get them to that place that is my ideal, my dream classroom?”
These questions have given me what I need to start.
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