This year has been one of the most challenging years in my teaching career, and I am happy to say that this is a good thing. It has also been one of my most rewarding school years to date. Why? Teaching in a school that places an emphasis on learning outside of a textbook, worksheet, and scripted curriculum creates outside of the box planning and thinking. When you finally put the textbooks away, and I mean really away, you find that you have to really rely on those higher level teaching skills. Group-work, hands-on, music, movement, the works. This kind of learning is not only more fun and meaningful for my students, but for me as well. I'd like to share my five tips on managing the curriculum standards without relying on a textbook.

Photo: You won't find these directions on solving algebra problems like this in a textbook. I am including information on ordering the hands-on materials for this unit.

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Well, that was last week for me. I was out for an entire school week, sick. As you can imagine, I am still feeling like I am catching up. And oh, the emails . . . the emails! So, with all this said, I am hoping my readers from last year will forgive me for posting one of my blogs from "back in the days."

If you are looking for a neat activity to do during Halloween that allows your students to dress up AND learn unique vocabulary words in the process, look no further.

Come back later for a bonus post on math in our classroom. I have some great resources and plans I'd like to share with you. . . . 

Last year I shared a story about a teacher that stopped me during an in-service presentation on building, developing, and organizing your classroom library. I had just shared the number of books we should have in our room when this teacher blurted out, "How can you afford that?!?" My response was, "How can you not? They're the tools of our trade." And although I still believe this to be true, I have also reached a point in my teaching career where I cannot afford to spend a lot of money. It's called a budget, and I am being monitored by a friendly spouse who means business and a financial guru named Dave Ramsey. With that said, here are some methods I am using this year to teach on a limited budget.

Nonfiction reading material can be a powerful tool in grabbing the attention and interest of otherwise reluctant readers. However, it seems resources that provide reading lessons often focus primarily on fiction features (plot, character development, etc.). With this in mind, I thought it might be useful to share some of the resources and materials I have used in my classroom to help readers learn to read, interpret, and eventually write nonfiction texts independently.

Photo: You can download four printables in this post, including the nonfiction conventions posters shown above.

So it's a new school, new grade, and new classroom for me this year. I think it's time to have a virtual open house! For good measure, I am also adding in photos with some captions and two downloads of things that you see on my walls. 

Greetings from Tennessee! My name is Angela Bunyi (like Daniel Boone-yee) and this is my 10th year of teaching. I grew up in the Los Angeles area, but I’m happy to be living and teaching in a beautiful suburban community outside of Nashville now. I’m currently a 3rd grade teacher at Discovery School at Reeves Rogers in Murfreesboro, a school for the gifted/talented and high achieving. This is a change since my time serving as Scholastic’s Grades 3–5 Teacher Advisor in 2008–2009, but I am excited to venture out into this rewarding, challenging territory.

And speaking of my school move, I’m not afraid of change. I’m always up for a new challenge or adventure, and this has led me to some amazing opportunities. These include a teaching internship in Sweden for six months, participation in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund trip to visit and learn about schools in Japan, and an education that is just short of a doctorate. I hold degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as well as Tennessee State University. My degrees range from a BA in Psychology and an MS in Elementary Education with a concentration in Urban Multi-Culture Education to an EdS in Administration and Supervision. I have taught grades 2–6 and served as a literacy coach for grades K–3. Each experience shapes who I am as an educator.