Left Brain / Right Brain
Teaching For Historical Literacy by Anne Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey
In the  article Teaching for Historical Literacy the statement that the curriculum has become a mile wide and an inch deep really hit home for me on the importance of subject integration and thematic units.  If we do not combine subject areas there is not enough time to cover all the curriculum.  I know some teachers that are stressed out trying to cover everything by teaching in blocks of 20 minutes for handwriting, 20 minutes for Health, 20 minutes for Social Studies, etc.   We need to integrate as much as possible.  In this article,  I also enjoyed reading about Matthew Reif's 5th grade classroom.  I'm sure he does not have a lot of disciplinary problems because of the interest level of the children and how actively involved the students are on the subject matter.   The term "thinking intesive" was new to me. His students are making meaningful connections and really thinking about the subject.  I would love to observe his classroom.  The mantra by Eleanor Roosevelt I strongly agree with and will post in my classroom.  "Every effort must be made in childhood to teach the young to use their own minds.  for one thing is sure, if they don't make up their own minds, someone will do it for them. (quoted in Beane, 2005, p. 75)

Using Brain-Based Teaching Strategies to Create Supportive Early Childhood Environments that Address Learning Standards by Pam Schiller and Clarissa S. Willis
I have my Early Childhood/Elementary certification and strongly agree with a lot of statements in this article.  The first statement that I feel was important was that teachers need to know that the standards are not intended to fence in creative teachers or to become obstacles for learners with special needs.  I know teaching is standard driven but there is still flexibility to be creative.  I know that I combine art projects into centers that relates to something we are learning.  One teacher I work with made the comment there is no time for holiday projects or fun art anymore.  I disagree.   You have to tie in Art  with the subject matters you are teaching.  I love teaching Art and I'm very much a messy hands on teacher.   Children need a safe environment to learn is absolutely true.  My students know that if they did not eat breakfast they can come to me for a granola bar , pretzels, or animals crackers to hold them over until lunch.  There mind won't be on learning if their basic needs are not met.  If they are scared or a child is bullying we work on this right away.  It is important that all my children feel safe and that my environment lets them feel comfortable to take risks out of their comfort zones.  I have pet  fish in the classroom.  We do life cycle projects with baby chicks and butterflies.  If any child has any fears we work through them before these units are started.  I am learning a lot about Responsive Classrooms and it relates very well to this article.  The children learn a lot about social skills and each other through a morning meeting.  It has a been a wonderful experience implementing some of the strategies that we sometimes overlook such as shaking hands and eye contact when saying good morning.  Looking at the person who is speaking and asking questions related to what the classmates stated.
I also use a lot of multi sensory practices to help the  children make sense of the learning.  This was number 3 in the article.  I'm not sure if any of you  heard of Jack Hartman but he has wonderful cd's for primary age children.  I learned about him at a Kindergarten conference and just love his cd's.  We learn about the Zero Hero which incorporates counting and music.  All the children enjoy his songs.  It makes learning fun and gets them up and moving.  He even has a great transitional cd for lining up, clean up, good morning, and end of the day.   Meeting all the special needs through planning I feel is also important.  It takes planning and a little more time but the pay off is tremendous.  We need to plan for learning support, speech, ot and pt, culture diversity, and divorce to name just a few.  By taking an interest in all our students lives and what is happening with them before and after school will help us help them learn.