Students get really excited to see the questions they wrote in the next Kahoot too - it increases student ownership as well as engagement and they also write the most hilarious distractor answers.

The just “Pittsburgh” with no state attached is so yinzer of the NYT. I love it.

More reflection:.-I knew a lot more about the topic than I could say in Spanish. The more detailed I got the more difficult the grammar, so I chose to intentionally keep it simple.-cognates helped A LOT.-I had 1-2 sentences starters I was comfortable with and stuck with them.

What I learned:.-I was SO much more nervous to speak in Spanish and I’m English. -Presenting to native speakers was also more nerve-wracking than presenting to other language learners.-it felt safe to make mistakes bc they were so gracious and willing to help my pronunciation.

My students have been working on research presentations, and we’re getting ready to present. Today, I surprised them by giving my own presentation, but in Spanish. They’re all prepping these presentations in their second language and I wanted them to see me take a risk too.

My group of students just finished reading A Long Walk to Water. They are all immigrants themselves, arriving between 2019 up to just 2 months ago. They were able to make so many connections with Salva’s journey and shared them in their Mind Mirrors

First week back we ease our way back into learning with our Top 10 lists. I share mine first and then students make and present their own of whatever category they choose. This years lists included pizza toppings, Marvel characters, body builders, & most popular: soccer players

The past two days we’ve opened class by playing and it’s really a great language exercise. Gets kids thinking about synonyms and descriptive words.

I deleted my school email app for break and it did *wonders* for my anxiety. I just begrudgingly redownloaded it but instead of a massive to-do list, I was met with an email from one of my former HS teachers wishing me well and suddenly going back doesn’t seem that terrible.

Fav Xmas memory: the year my dad lost his job, my mom was upset on Christmas Eve that there weren’t many presents. My sister and I decided to wrap random items around the house to surprise my mom. We spent Xmas morning cackling as everyone opened rolls of toilet paper and bananas.

I saw Wakanda Forever last night and then read this section today and it truly felt like just the perfectly paired texts.

“Grief isn’t a competition. It’s not an identical pain that we all meet one day when death finds us. It’s a monster, personalized by our love and memories to devour us just so. Grief is suffering, tailored.” -Bloodmarked by @tracydeonn.

IT’S HERE!

Student: *sees picture of teenage me* Miss, how old are you here?.Me: 16.Student: No. Wait. How old are you now?.Me: 33.Student: Dannnnng so that was like 25 years ago.Me: ….

I’ve seen every episode of Murder She Wrote, probably twice. My grandma loved Angela Lansbury. So when I spent a year caring for her before she passed we watched it… a lot. Gma always told me who the murderer was before the end & watching together was the highlight of her day.

“Why does everyone make fun of Janine’s clothes? I think she always looks cute!” -my mom. #AbbottElementary.

RT @BornAKang: My immune system trying to fight off sicknesses:

RT @FixingEducation: Why Are Teachers So Tired All The Time? 😴. Research shows we make about 1,500 decisions a day! The constant requireme….

Crying and laughing at the same time #AbbottElementary.

In Pittsburgh, your marriage isn’t legally recognized unless there is a cookie table present.