Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

Historians culminated their study of the brutal winter at Valley Forge by writing acrostic poems. Many were truly outstanding, as evidenced here...

I am proud to say that I completed all thirty September @TeachThought Reflective Teacher posts! Having said that, for some reason I'm struggling with completing the October reflections. The challenge for week 3 really speaks to me, though. Week 3: Why is it important for educators to be connected? Educators need to be connected in order to grow.  A recent example of this for me is Twitter. I'm new to Twitter and am absolutely astounded by the opportunities for collaboration--it is like nothing I've ever experienced. I'm curious by nature (my cousins and sister share this trait) and it's simply who I am.  A colleague started regularly tweeting me earlier this year, sending article recommendations and sites to visit. Her preferred form of communication challenged me to become more comfortable with it and, even though I have much to learn, I quickly realized I'd be missing out on so much by not jumping in and learning more about it. (I even researc...

Student Historians are learning about how significant the battles of Saratoga and the winter at Valley Forge were to the American Revolution.  The Saratoga victory was a turning point because France and Spain decided that maybe the Continental Army could, in fact, win and began to send desperately needed supplies and people to train the American soldiers. Tomorrow students will analyze the impact this boost had on the outcome of the war.  We will also begin to study the winter at Valley Forge, using a diary entry from Albigence Waldo, a surgeon that served there. Valley Forge was an incredibly challenging time for the Continental soldiers and Thomas Paine's words from one year earlier help to shed light on the difficulties for these young men:  These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man a...