POSTED NOVEMBER 2011: This year, I have been focusing on my new Blogspot weblog a great deal. Have you seen it yet? There are nearly 100 posts, including photos and videos of this year's class! There are also links to new printables as well as wonderful ones I have located.
If you haven't visited (or even if so, because I have updated quite a bit lately), click here to view "Jasztalville: Where Inquiry and Creativity Rules". Some topics I am promoting for you are...
CLASSROOM TOUR FROM LAST YEAR: 2010-2011 Classroom Tour- slideshow with video- CLICK HERE!
Enjoy for the class environment unit:
Congratulations, class of 2011! Welcome to fifth grade. Class of 2012, I am ecstatic to be your teacher this year!
Hello, my name is Ms. Jasztal, and I am in my eighth year of teaching fourth grade in central Florida. Two years ago, I was the teacher advisor for grades 3-5 for Scholastic.com. At MES, I am the secretary of the School Advisory Council. I feel honoored to teach my students for the 2011-2012 school year.
Our fourth grade class gets to participate in a lot of exciting activities. A few of the best experiences we have are launching model rockets and traveling to St. Augustine to meet our pen pals. Our class also publishes books, puts on a play at the end of the school year, and records podcasts that are featured here on Teachingvision.org. Yet there is so much more to school- I hold my students to a very high standard and believe in their accomplishments. My students achieve, and I care about them a great deal. I get to know their families by attending sporting events and inviting parents to participate in various events. I feel extremely privileged to teach every student.
I have realized over time that I love teaching every subject. Writing has always come naturally to me. I have written stories from the time I was in first grade, and this past year, I wrote my first chapter book for intermediate students. In our classroom, I utilize a variety of strategies so my students feel strengthened as writers. I bring in many components from Lucy Calkins, Melissa Forney, and Writingfix.com, though I feel like I also bring in a lot of my own original resources.
Every other subject is significant as well. Mini-lessons and Reader's Workshop are a daily part of our learning in Reading. In Math, we utilize hands-on materials from the Scott Foresman Investigations series. Science is enriched with experiments every week, and Social Studies is a time where students are encouraged to be creative with art, writing, and acting.
The best part, in my opinion, is that I teach an Advanced class. I loved any opportunities for enrichment as a child, and it invigorates me even more in the classroom now. At the end of the school year, though, the most important thing for me is that my students realize where they are strong and want to continue expanding their knowledge in a variety of areas.
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