Welcome, Mrs. Hartley's 5th Graders!

Good morning to my wonderful 5th graders!  I hope you all had a great summer and are ready to get back in the swing of school.  Please watch the video real quick, so I can say hello in person! :)

 

I've gotten to visit many cool places the past two weeks.  Right below are some of the places I was able to visit while in Washington, D.C.

On our first full day in DC, we visited both the Lincoln and Washington Memorials.  Look at how tall the Lincoln Memorial is compared to me!

Below is a picture of the Capitol building in DC.  This is where both the House of Representatives and the Senate meet.

 This was as close as we could get to the White House.  Pretty, isn't it?

If you want to see more pictures from DC, click on the Washington, D.C. pictures link on the right hand side of the Blog.  You can also talk to me if you'd like (click on "No Comments" below then write me a line or any questions you have for me).  

I can't wait to hear from you!

Standing on Top of the World

Today at our writing workshop at the Teachers College at Columbia University we were able to hear Ralph Fletcher speak about the use of mentor texts in the writing curriculum.  Not only is he an incredible author, but he's an inspiring speaker.  Finding powerful mentor texts to share with students and adults alike can inspire us to write so many different things.  I can't wait to take back what I learned today and share with my students!

This evening Jennifer and I went to Rockefeller Center to eat dinner at Del Frisco's Grille.  After what has been the most delicious meal I've had on this trip, we walked around Rockefeller Center snapping pictures of Radio City Music Hall and the NBC Studios.  Then we took the elevator to The Top of the Rock.  It's an outside observation deck, well three decks actually, at the top of Rockefeller Center.  We went up at the perfect time.  The sun was setting, so we got some phenomenal shots of the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, The Crysler Building, and Central Park at dusk.  While the concrete jungle can be intimidating from the street level, the beauty of the city shines through when you're standing on top of the world. 

Let the Writers' Block Begin!

Today was our first day at Columbia University. We both found it especially hard to stop our learning excursions and focus our minds on curriculum (and sitting in the classroom) again. We shouldn't have been worried, though. The Writing Summer Institute is full of movement and exceptional speakers. We (1000 teachers, administrators, and coaches) started at Riverside Church surrounded by amazing stained glass windows. Lucy Caulkins was our keynote speaker. She did a great job of getting us psyched about starting our new writing units. Her key phrase was, "Don't waffle. Go for it!"  In other words, even if it seems overwhelming, just jump in and get started.  Everything will come together once you decide to take the first step.

Following our keynote, we divided into a group of about 200 and talked about writer's workshop and the writing process, which due to our early summer training, we were already comfortable with the lingo (thank you Debbie and Jennifer). Our afternoon small group sessions were amazing.   My instructor, Cornelius, is a classroom teacher in Brooklyn. You could tell he loves teaching just by observing the energy he put into modeling a lesson for us today. It is amazing how much we learn by observing each other in regular teaching settings!  Our day closed with homework assignments (ugh) and a great feeling about the rest of the week.

Empire State of Mind

The concrete jungle has been messing with my sense of direction.  To get off the subway at the South Ferry Station, we had to be on the first five cars of the train.  I made sure Jennifer and I were in the first five cars when we got on our subway stop by the apartment.  The only problem was thanks to my awesome sense of direction, or lack there of, we ended up on the last five cars!  Awesome.  So for the next several stops we spent our time train hopping.  The doors would open, we would jump out and run up to the next car or two and jump back in before the doors closed.  We decided to take a break with about 10 stops left.  When we got down to the last 5 stops, we jumped off again only to realize that the car we were hopping into was the front car. 

Once we got to the South Ferry Station, we exited and made our way over to one of the ferries that transports people to the Statue of Liberty.  We were able to get to the top part of the ferry that is open and took some amazing pictures of the New York skyline and Lady Liberty.  The skyline still seems so bare without the Twin Towers there, but it's so good to see One World Trade Center standing tall and proud.  We wanted to visit Ellis Island, but it is still closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy.  Upon arriving at the Statue of Liberty we realized we had made a terrible mistake.  We forgot to buy tickets to go onto the podium where Lady Liberty stands!  They don't sell tickets on the island.  So we walked around the base of the island taking lots of pictures and visited the gift shop to buy books about The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for our classrooms. 

Once we got back to Manhattan, we took the subway to 34th Street and made our way to The Empire State Building.  While the building does a have a romantic feel to it, dismiss those An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle ideas of running in the building and being whisked away on one elevator to the 86th floor.  The line moved fairly quickly at first, but then it slowed down as we took a couple of escalators, two elevators, and traversed the labyrinth inside the massive building.  I felt like a lab rat making its way through the maze.  The treat for finding your way to the exit was the incredible view from the top.  It reminded me of being on top of the South Tower at the World Trade Center.  The streets were lines with little yellow taxis that looked like yellow ants scurrying around on the ground.  The Statue of Liberty appeared to be the size of a golf pencil, and the wind blew our hair about like we were in a tornado.  The experience was exciting, dizzying, scary, and breathtaking all at once.

Our final outing for the day was to see The Lion King on Broadway.  Wow!  It was absolutely amazing!  I have been dying to see this musical since it was released back in 1997.  After waiting 16 years to see it, it did not disappoint in any way, shape, or form.  As a teacher, I wish I could take my students to see more musicals and experience more of the arts.  While I completely understand and support that students need to know the core subjects, I'm afraid what many students in the country are missing when the arts are cut from the curriculum.  I wish all students could experience the museums, memorials, and performances Jennifer and I have had the privilege of going to on this trip.  I know our lives have forever been changed for the better from all these experiences.