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A Go Figure Debut for a Retired Teacher That's Long Overdue!

Michele's Store Logo
Meet Michele from Roanoke, Virginia. She retired from teaching in 2013 after teaching for 44 years, mostly first grade. She did teach second, third, fourth, and fifth, but her true love was first. She taught in urban districts in Baltimore County, Maryland, and for 35 years in Roanoke City Schools in Virginia.

She always taught students who were labeled as “slow learners” in reading and math. Since she had training in Math and Science in AIMS education, she integrated her curriculum with hands-on learning activities to motivate her students. To promote their learning skills, she used centers and stations and involved them with reading books in all subject areas. She was delighted when she could read stories of fantasy, such as stories about leprechauns, or Santa, and or whimsical times. It was a magical time for her students who didn't have much of this in their own homes. Michele described her first grade classroom as in constant motion, alive and active.

Michele loves to travel and has been able to travel to Australia and New Zealand four times with the People to People program. She took 5th and 6th-grade students, and they were able to visit schools in those countries. It was a wonderful experience for her to bring back to her own home. Michele also loves going to the beach and traveling to visit friends and family wherever they may live in America.

Michele has two adult children, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter who will be one on her birthday, April 1. What a gift that was last year! Michele's spare time is spent having fun with the grandkids, ages 10, 14, 16, 24, and one, playing with her dogs, and traveling. She loves Scottish Terrier dogs and has always had one since she was 21.

Michele’s TPT store is called Mickey's Place. She currently has 185 resources in the store, with 53 of them listed as free. Basically, her products are for PreK-2, but she does have a few third-grade grammar and sight word activities. The goal for her store is to share some of her experiences from teaching with other teachers. She has taught classes to fellow teachers, so now, through TpT, she hopes to reach others and then, through them, reach students.

Her featured free item is entitled Spring Has Sprung.
It includes a set of 20 puzzles for students to practice their number sense skills and is appropriate for grades PreK -K. Students match
  • Ten Frames
  • Numbers
  • Tally Marks
$5.00
Her paid resource is called Oh the Places We Can Read. This resource provides a concrete way for students to be involved in reading and writing by creating a class book of rhymes. Students make a list of places in the school where they can read, but they must be able to create and add another place that rhymes.

For Example: She can read in the hall; she can read by a wall.

Then the teacher takes a picture of the students while they are reading. Each student signs their own page, and the printed pictures are added to the pages in the class book.

In addition, Michele has a blog. I love her quote at the top of it, “Sit Down and Read.” Here are three reasons we should all sit down and read.
  1. Reading is an excellent way to gain knowledge.
  2. Reading improves your vocabulary and language skills.
  3. Reading keeps your mind sharp and active.
Don’t we wish more students and even adults would do this? Check out Michele's Store and find some ways for primary children to sit down and read.

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