This is the view from my hammock. When I look up from my book, this is what I see. The word on the street is that I read a lot. True.
The word on the street is that I don’t like to teach math. Not true. I love patterns; I love helping people find the perfect solution; I love games. I love finding multiple avenues to solve one problem. I love showing how numbers, like words, can tell a story. I love playing a part in building math confidence. Parents tell me that they’ve heard on the playground that I don’t like to teach to math. It simply isn’t true.
The word on the street is that I love to teach children to write. This really is true. On the first day of school I gently lead my students into a vale of voice and meaning through story. I explain that when we tell stories we are “writing in the air.” When we write down our stories, we are putting our voice on paper. I loved hearing the “Quick Write” notebooks crack open for the first time last week as I turned on our writing music. Did they all punctuate? Did their ideas hang together? Was their spelling correct? No. One of the joys of being a third grade teacher is watching it come together. And it will. These children are going to write well and love writing. That is the word on the street. And it’s true.
Write Now. Write Here. 
oh, annie! i cried through the WHOLE video…I love you! you inspire!
I love you Mrs. Campbell…you’re the best teacher EVER! (from Izzie)
What beautiful kids! And what lucky parents to be able to have the added dimension of multimedia. I’m speechless!
Thanks so much for sharing the joy of your classroom!
WOW! were are all of those photos taken from your iPhone?? Loved the background music, too.
That was wonderful! I loved getting a glimpse of your classroom.
You and your students are creating a special type of magic every minute in your classroom. Thank you so much for sharing it with us! 🙂
Your students seem so engaged in their writing. What lovely candids! I’m sure their parents will treasure these pics as well. 🙂
This is going to be a great year for the students of Room 204!!! The pictures are great!
You inspire me…
Mrs. Campbell and Room 204,
Thank you for sharing this video. It gives others a glimpse into the World of Room 204.
I especially enoyed seeing the writers at work!
I can’t wait to see the outcome of their wrting. Keep up the good, hard work, students. You have a teacher who will help you find the author in you. I look forward to reading your books at the Creative Writing Festival in April.
Mrs. Campbell,
You have been inspiring students to find the “write” words since you first came to Fox in 1990. How many lucky students have come to love who they are and what they can create under your loving guidance! Keep up the good work!
What a treat . . .thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful slideshow. This is very special. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing the video. This put things all together for me on why I love teaching and why I’m pursing to be a teacher.
Thank you 🙂
First of all the video is a great creative way to give a gift to your students and parents alike. I also thought your point that, while it’s not the only thing you like to teach, teaching writing is what you love. That passion is well evidenced across your blog and it encourages me to follow my own passion to teach and help students learn. This blog is a gift to all who are privileged to read it.
These look like fine writers! I personally enjoyed the “writer’s play” portion. I believe that “play” is one of the roots of ideas!
Writing our thoughts, ideas, experiences… about us on paper is simply perfect. We can express ourselves simply by using pencil and paper. It is amazing how talented you truly are. Good writers develop over time and it takes practice. Your students seemed very interest in writing. 🙂