Hi everyone! I am a second grade teacher from Louisiana. I attended the WBT conference in Alexandria, La. last week and I'm hooked! I will start my new experience on my way to being a Model Classroom! I teach at Morse Elementary. It's a rural school in South Louisiana. We have small classes and VERY high test scores! I will be posting on this 2nd grade forum and on many other interesting forums on the WBT website weekly! Anyone else new out there and doing model classroom!!??? OR any great ideas to share?? I also have a blog that I'm just getting started...go and follow me at:

www.erica-elementaryexcitement.blogspot.com

Hi and welcome, there seem to be a lot of us who are doing model classrooms across the US. You have landed in the cloud formation around teacher heaven. This forum is the BEST you will find a way to answer any questions and throw out ideas tried, failed and successful. My advice, is start slow. Watch the videos, learn from the experts (you got to see them in person, lucky you). Of course ask, ask, ask.

Annette

Thanks Annette,
I would love to keep in touch through this forum. We could share experiences..good and bad...to help through this wonderful process!! Any more advice or suggestions...or even just blowing off steam would be great! Keep in touch! I've posted a sentence ladder that I've created, you can see it and download it at my blog!

Erica
www.erica-elementaryexcitement.blogspot.com

Wow Erica, that is one fancy word ladder. I can see my students really relating to this. So-ooo those of us who did not get to the conference (ya'all lucky ones)was there one specific sentence ladder or did we envision one each?

Annette;)

That ladder is my vision...in break out session Deb Weigel drew a ladder on chart paper and did basically the same thing..not as fancy..but to the point! You can get as detailed as you like. You can go all the way up to Mega complex sentences (I think thats what Coach B called it) That would be something like.... My brown dog, Rover, ran around the yard and Sprinkles, the neighbors cat, ran from Rover. That sentence has An appositive with adjectives then conjunction with another independent clause about Sprinkles, and another appositive. It incorporated every part of a sentence all combined into one Mega Complex sentence. This would be more for high school. The levels I went up to is what I plan to do with my 2nd graders for good sentence structure. This will lead us in to our 4square writing lessons to form paragraphs. Hope this helps and hope I answered your question!

Hi and welcome to WBT Erica. This will change your teaching life. I visited your blog. You have a lot of wonderful things happening in your life. I'm glad WBT is one of them. I can't wait to hear how the rest of 2011 goes for you.

Susan Floyd
WBT Intern, 2011-12

Hi Susan,
Thanks for checking out my blog! I will be posting classroom pics (as soon as it's finished) and videos of me practicing WBT with my children and their friends..I would like some positive critiques..we'll see how that goes..may be quite funny to begin...but that's why I will practice practice practice!!

Erica
www.erica-elementaryexcitement.blogspot.com

Hi Erica,

I'm so excited (very excited) to see posts relating to 2nd grade! I have implemented WBT in November 2010 and read, reread, and read again all the posts and downloaded almost all the e-books. I am addicted to WBT. I attended 2 conferences in San Diego where I had the honor to meet/chat with Deb W. She was not presenting but part of the audience and of course I couldn't resist picking her brain! I also had the opportunity to meet Annette!

I have used ALL the power pix this year and they were powerful. We reviewed them daily and throughout the day. The student leader loved taking charge of this activity. I also purchased leadership buttons. Chris R. was right, the students were so proud to wear them and show them off (even the boys). I felt the students were so confident and prepared for the state test and I am looking forward to seeing their results.

I am also hoping to do some filming this year. However, technology is a challenge for me. I did make a "simple" i-movie for open house and I was extremely proud of myself. I see myself as The Little Engine that Could...

Karen