tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46846426692430061182024-03-14T02:25:16.499-07:00All For the Love of TeachingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-77393050995314328572015-01-02T22:19:00.004-08:002015-01-02T22:44:11.976-08:00Elf on the Shelf (Classroom Ideas) and Other Holiday Happenings (+FREEBIES!)<div style="text-align: center;">
Well friends, as my lovely Winter break dwindles in days, I have finally found some time to blog! I apologize for lacking in keeping up on it lately. I have just been SO. BUSY.<br />
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<i>*I apologize in advance for this extra long post!*</i></div>
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This break has been a wonderful time for me to truly stop and reflect on how much I love my job. Today I sat (for the first time all break) *cough cough* grading papers. I was astounded at how much my sweet firsties have learned so far this year. </div>
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I remember being so afraid during my transition from 3rd and 4th grade into 1st. I remember saying to my colleagues that first grade teachers , in my opinion, had a "Mary Poppins" like quality that I lacked. I wasn't sure I could handle such little people. Was I ever wrong. </div>
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These last couple months have been everything I could dream of and more. Through many hugs, tears, and hours of learning, my 22 little firsties have taught me wonderful things. I have fallen in love with their true love of learning. Seeing them grow to love reading has truly inspired me. I love their blossoming independence. To me, they are my world. I am so blessed to have landed this wonderful job, and even more blessed to be in the first grade. </div>
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In that respect, Christmas in room 16 was a BALL. I was able to truly enjoy Christmas in the eyes of the littles. We had a fully decorated classroom, christmas themed stations, and even a visit from Buddy, our classroom elf.</div>
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Here's what he spent December doing in our classroom!</div>
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This was the day he arrived in our classroom. I came early to school and put this wrapped box in the freezer. He was delivered by a special visitor at lunch time. Their faces when they felt the ice cold box were priceless! </div>
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Climbing our calendar!</div>
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Taking a dip in a bath of marshmallows.</div>
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Swingin' from snowflakes.</div>
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On this morning, he left a journaling page on each of the students desks for them to complete, he also did one himself!</div>
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My mom ( who is an amazingly talented artist) cut out this simply amazing snowflake depicting Buddy's self portrait! THE KIDS WERE MIND BLOWN! (so was I). </div>
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After a rough report from our gym teacher (3 days of indoor recess was rough on us :() Buddy arrived in the morning with a naughty and nice list in hand! </div>
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One of my sweet firsties spent his indoor recess writing Buddy a note telling him how much he loved having him in our classroom. He then proceeded to go sit next to him and read it. So, so sweet. </div>
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For our Christmas around the world unit, we made shoes to symbolize shoes that St. Nicholas fills. Buddy filled each one with sweets at night!</div>
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A little reminder from Buddy that he is watching!</div>
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Silly elf got into my sticker stash!</div>
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More reminders!</div>
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Buddy was feeling sleepy and ready for bed. On this day, be brought our class a book to read.</div>
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Another one of my mom's creations, she made this sweet tent and found this mini pizza box. The students thought this was SO funny to imagine that Buddy eats pizza just like us. This has to be one of my favorites. </div>
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This was on one of our read-in days!</div>
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On the last day, my sister came to school to help. She brought her elf from home. The students literally LOST IT when they came into our classroom and saw two elves! Buddy left a note saying goodbye and explaining that he brought a special friend to help watch extra carefully on the last day. </div>
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P.S. I got that sweet Sven on sale for 3 dollars! I mean, who can pass that up!?</div>
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I truly hate to see him leave just as much as the students do! He was a wonderful addition to our classroom. I loved seeing their reactions each day, and they loved hunting for him each morning.<br />
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<b><i>Do you use an elf in your classroom? Do you find that it improves student behavior?</i></b></div>
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I am thinking of implementing maybe a leprechaun in March?....... It is certainly a possibility!<br />
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We also made gifts for our parents! My students thrive at the chance to be creative. It is truly the quietest time of day in my classroom when I pull out the crafts! I love it! For our parent gift, we made these adorable snowman ornaments.<br />
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I had the students take their fingers, dip them in white paint, and stamp them onto the blub. When the paint was dried, we decorated them with sharpies. I love the way they turned out! </div>
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I packaged them into these foldable boxes and surrounded them with shredded construction paper (via a paper shredder! Talk about a simple packaging! ). </div>
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On the outside, I printed out the students name on a label, and attached a sweet poem. </div>
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*This whole idea was inspired by this awesome bloggers idea! Snag these sweet tags from her blog! <a href="http://fallingintofirst.blogspot.com/2012/12/snow-dough-ornament-factory.html" target="_blank">(linked here)</a><br />
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Here is the finished product! All 22 adorable memories packaged and ready to go!!</div>
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I love the way these looked hanging on our classroom tree. They were all so individualized! :)</div>
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For my parent volunteers, I made these little gift baggies! I created personalized cards to attach to them as well. On the back of the card, I took a class picture with all 22 of my students. I had the students in the middle hold up letters to spell "THANK YOU!". It was a sweet personal touch that the parents loved. </div>
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Here are some freebies for you! Enjoy!</div>
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Grab the "Helping Hand" cards <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_DySJAmC7-WWWZIU2JuY1BXYkU/edit" target="_blank">HERE</a></div>
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Grab the "THANK YOU!" signs for your students to hold in the picture <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_DySJAmC7-WdVpMSE1RNXp4a2c/edit" target="_blank">HERE</a></div>
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(I recommend printing these on card-stock for durability)</div>
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Well friends, on Monday morning we begin again! When I left my classroom on Friday, I had ripped down my Christmas Around the World bulletin board and had began to put up my January bulletin boards...... *sigh* they still need so much work. These pictures have found a home on my computer desktop to serve as a reminder as such. </div>
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Eskimos!</div>
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Penguins!</div>
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I plan to create a MLK wall as well as do some arctic animal research projects. Soon, all that empty wall space will be filled up! <b>(Bleh! Empty walls!)</b></div>
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<i><b>Do you have any fun bulletin boards that you put up in January? I'd love to hear your ideas! </b></i></div>
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As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am running a summer book club for twelve girls. Nothing is more rewarding then being around children who <b>love to read</b> and <b>thirst for knowledge</b>. It has been a summer full of deep thinking, questioning, crafting, and most of all; <i>LOTS OF READING!</i></div>
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I chose three books for us to read this summer. The first book that we read was <i>Flora and Ulysses</i>. This was an adorable and inspiring tale about a girl and her super squirrel! The girls absolutely loved this book. </div>
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This book was written with comic book inserts and illustrations throughout. In an effort to teach the girls about the use of onomatopoeia in comics, we created our very own pop art! By using paint and cotton swabs, the girls were able to create their very own works of art. </div>
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I have quite the group of artists! Here are some of their finished creations.</div>
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The next book we read was <i>The Penderwicks</i>. This was a story of summer adventure and the bond between sisters. The girls loved this book as well and they could all really relate to it. It gave us wonderful opportunities to make text-to-self connections. </div>
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The setting of this book was an adorable cottage with a beautiful garden. One of the main characters was a botanist! I wanted to do an activity that had to do with flowers, but it needed to be rather quick. This book required a lot of discussion and I knew the craft would need to be quick and easy. </div>
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We created flower pens! We used washi tape, artificial flowers, and ballpoint pens. As simple as this activity was, the girls LOVED it! They were so excited to use their new flower-pen creations!</div>
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The final book we are reading is <i>Everything on a Waffle.</i> </div>
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I have big plans for activities for this book! Stay tuned for updates on my next book club meeting! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-71032043974951047432014-07-13T16:50:00.001-07:002014-07-14T08:22:13.695-07:00Summer Projects<div style="text-align: center;">
With school fast approaching, I have been hard at work preparing for the new school year. I can't wait to see the adventures that this new school year has to offer! </div>
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It seems this year the back-to-school sales have come out sooner than ever! I woke up this morning, grabbed my coffee, and scanned the sales papers for good deals. I was able to find quite a few!</div>
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Scissors were 25 cents each</div>
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Highlighters were 1 dollar each</div>
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Pens were 1 dollar for 10. I bought green for proofreading and red for checking.</div>
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Crayons and Colored Pencils were also 25 cents each! I am fairly certain the cashier thought I had lost my mind, but when I pulled out my TeacherPerks card, he knew what I was up to. He proceeded to give me the run down of what would be on sale from now until the beginning of the school year. <b><i>How exciting is that! </i></b></div>
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This year, I wanted a way for the students to differentiate my supplies from their own. By mid-year I glance in the supply bins and notice that half of them are gone. I don't mind replenishing them, but I wanted to find a way to mark my class set. It makes it <b>so</b> much easier when we are working to clean up the room if we know which ones go in the supply bins and which go in their pencil boxes. </div>
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I bought a roll of chevron washi tape. I cut it into small pieces and marked each of the supplies. It will make things so simple this year and I am thrilled to see how it will work!</div>
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Here are my supplies all labeled! (eek!)</div>
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I came across this gem at a garage sale this week! It's a spinning scissor stand. It is <b><i>adorable</i></b> and will work wonderfully in my classroom. </div>
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I also was able to get a great deal on Expo markers this week. I often use whiteboards as a way to informally asses during my math groups, spelling groups, etc... Before group, I always have to pass out an eraser, Expo marker, and whiteboard to each student. I saw this brilliant idea on Pinterest last year and knew I wanted to do it this year!</div>
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Gluing a pom-pom to the end of the marker creates a built-in eraser. How awesome is that! I created a class set of these as well hoping to cut down on my supply pass out time. </div>
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I bought these adorable supply bins from Dollar Tree! They have so many different options, colors, and styles. </div>
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I also picked up the start of my borders for my bulletin boards! Here is a sneak peak of what is to come! Lots of chevron and polka-dots in the future!</div>
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I stopped by Target and got a few packages of crazy straws. This was yet another project I saw on Pinterest early in the year and I loved it! The birthday straw bouquet is a cute and simple birthday gift for the students in your classroom. </div>
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All you need is a pack of pencils, a roll of washi tape, a few packs of crazy straws, and some eraser caps. </div>
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I created labels for the gifts and laminated them. I am so thrilled with the way these turned out!</div>
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As much as I am enjoying summer, I am so very eager to get back to school. I miss it so much! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-44301092149572169122014-06-19T20:07:00.002-07:002014-06-19T20:14:43.238-07:00Summer Book Club Baskets (Plus Two Freebies!)<div style="text-align: center;">
Summer is only in its first week and I have been hard at work putting together my summer book club baskets for the girls book club I am running this summer. This club has been established for quite a few years before I came to the school I am at. This year I was asked to take it over and believe me, I have big shoes to fill! The teacher that did it before me did a wonderful job. I am looking forward to a great opportunity to work with these girls.</div>
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The book club has twelve girls in it and consists of <i>lots</i> of reading and <i>lots </i>of fun! We meet once a month in summer and each time we meet we discuss one of the three books we are reading (again, one book a month). I chose the books carefully keeping in mind the girls interests. I am so blessed that all of my students <b><i>LOVE</i></b> reading, including the ones in this group. The thrive on books; they devour them! The girls that are in my book club constantly stop me in the hallway in the last month of school telling me how much they are enjoying their current read. It is a wonderful opportunity to get together and discuss some great reads!</div>
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To get them even more excited about reading, I put together a summer reading basket! My girls each have a Smash-Book that they are asked to journal their summers in. I put together this basket to inspire them to take pictures of them reading and doing all sorts of things in the summer sun!</div>
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I tied this tag on the outside of the basket</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_DySJAmC7-WZDRTZDNlWGZKY1E/edit?usp=sharing">Click here to grab this basket tag freebie!</a></div>
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I filled the basket all sorts of fun things! Everything inside of these baskets was purchased from the dollar store or the Target One-Spot for a dollar. It was all very reasonably priced and turned out adorable! I died a poetic tag on each item telling the girls what they would need to do with the item. </div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_DySJAmC7-WR3A0N20zTW13N2c/edit?usp=sharing">Click here to grab this item tag freebie!</a></div>
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These were some of the things I put inside of the basket:</div>
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I created personalized bookmarks for each girl,</div>
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a cup with a swirly fun straw,</div>
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a package of chalk,</div>
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a pack of sticky notes (My kiddos go crazy for them!),</div>
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stickers, glitter tape, and other goodies for their Smash-Book,</div>
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and these adorable fun pair of sunglasses!</div>
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I am so excited to read and have fun at our book club this summer! I know my girls will love these baskets and I am so excited to share them with them!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-42234510533827252722014-06-19T19:23:00.001-07:002014-06-19T19:24:43.459-07:00The Last Days of School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well friends, the school year has come to an end and summer has arrived! </div>
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(How adorable is this mural they drew on our last recess?! A true work of art!)</div>
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It is always such a bittersweet time of the year. I am always sad to see my kiddos go, but excited for what summer brings. I am also excited to begin preparing for next year! (After all, that IS what we do all summer!)</div>
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I had a wonderful bunch this year and I was so sad to see them leave. They taught me so very much about who I am as a teacher. I love that I am always learning with them. </div>
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In the last few weeks of school, I am always trying to think of ways to keep them busy while still having valuable and engaging learning experiences. It is quite hard to achieve during the last few days! I decided to go to a old tried and true favorite; growing seeds!</div>
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So often we grown seeds in baggies with paper towels taped to our windows. I wanted to make something a little more portable that they could observe and document in their journal every day. I asked each of the students to bring in a small container (one that could fit in their hand) to place their seeds in. This would create a "mini greenhouse". I began by cutting sponges into thirds. </div>
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I then put two different types of seeds in a pie tin, tomatoes and beans. I then had them tweeze their seeds into their container. </div>
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It was interesting because we all hypothesized that the beans would sprout more quickly because of this large size. However, the tomatoes surprised us! Even with this microscopic size they sprouted within three to four days! It was amazing. </div>
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I allowed the kids to be the sole caretakers of these seeds. Through trial and error they found that they sprouted best when throughly watered and placed in direct sunlight. I love seeing them make discoveries! They had them placed all over the room and as the seeds by the windows began to sprout, <b><i>all</i></b> of the students moved their seeds to the window. </div>
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They were so very interested about what specific care their seeds needed. I posted the packages on our mini whiteboard so they could see what the package recommended. </div>
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It was really wonderful to be able to have them pull out their journals during that last week and log their discoveries. I felt like we were learning a lot even during the crazy days of the end of the school year. </div>
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I also ended the year with a popular Pinterest Pin for the end of the year. I placed the balloons on my board. Inside each of the balloons was a fun, exciting, and different thing that made that day special. Mine were things like: You make chew gum today, you may choose your seat, you will enjoy extra recess today, you will read outside today....etc. </div>
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The last day said "You will enjoy a special treat today!" On the last day of school, all of my kiddos received a pair of sunglasses with this adorable phrase tied to it that I found blog-hunting!</div>
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These were a huge hit with them and they looked ADORABLE on the last day as they ran out of my room as <i>fourth and fifth graders</i> wearing them. </div>
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It teared me up to see them leave on the last day, but I know they are off to do great things. Each and everyone of them!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-14793270660771614972014-05-28T20:13:00.002-07:002014-05-28T20:13:23.245-07:00Sensory Bags: Personal Narrative Writing Activity<div style="text-align: center;">
We are working on one of my favorite writing units; personal narratives! I feel like at this age, my kiddos have so much they want to talk about in regards to their daily lives, they just don't always know how to share it! I am thrilled to be teaching them the importance of detail in their writing. I feel that they are really starting to see the value in it.</div>
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One of the pieces we have focused on in composing our personal narratives is sensory details. I wanted to do something fun and engaging for my kiddos at this point in the year. I brought out 5 paper bags, filled them with random objects around my room, labeled them, and then presented my kiddos with a mystery! </div>
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<i>"I am going to walk around and let you reach into each of these bags without looking. You need to tell me whats in this bag without saying what it is. You may know what it is, you may have no idea! Either way, you need to use your sensory details and start writing!"</i></div>
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My kiddos went to town on this activity! We wrote a chart in our journals and left a space to brainstorm words used to describe what was in each bag. They were shocked when they learned the contents of some, and not-so-shocked when they learned others. This was an awesome and engaging lesson that had my kiddos sitting on the edge of their seats!</div>
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<i>P.S. I was doing some quick shopping at Meijer and I came across this gem. I have been thinking about it ever since.... I need to go back and purchase this beauty. It would make a wonderful reading chair in my chevron-themed classroom. How cute is this chair?!</i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-13386504630665691522014-05-28T19:49:00.001-07:002014-05-28T19:49:11.185-07:00Fraction Pizzas<div style="text-align: center;">
As I said in an earlier post, we have been working a lot with fractions in our room lately. The challenging part about fractions is it is a ever-building phenomenon. From now on, they will constantly be building upon what they know about fractions and how they use them.</div>
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<i>I explain it to my students as a giant game of Jenga. In kindergarden, students put the first few pieces of their "game" out, this includes numbers, adding, counting, etc... As they learn new material in other grades, they simply build upon what they know! However, it is important that you have a good hold on the information before you add it to your "tower" otherwise you have a rocky foundation. </i></div>
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I constantly explain math this way to my students and they really seem to get it. They even refer to it! They ask questions like, "Are we adding this to our Jenga tower?"</div>
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This week, we made fraction pizzas! I know this is a project that has been done many times, I just loved how they turned out and my kiddos really impressed me with how awesome they turned out so I had to share. I love seeing them really grasp a concept; it makes my teacher heart smile. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-27891063788276047262014-05-27T18:40:00.000-07:002014-05-28T19:42:02.861-07:00Math Manipulatives For All!<div style="text-align: center;">
The summer is <b><i>so fast </i></b>approaching and my time with my third and fourth graders is dwindling. It is so incredible to me that my first full year of teaching has already come and gone. Where has time gone?! I feel like just yesterday I was walking into the school, nervous for my first day, and now I am beginning to wrap up our year. I have learned so much this year and my 26 little ones have taught me <b><i>some of the most valuable lessons of my life.</i></b></div>
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I have decided to continue my teaching throughout the summer with a summer tutoring program (more on that later) but for now I have begun to create a wealth of math manipulatives for my collection!</div>
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I had to wrap up my lesson on time and measurement. My friends had a hard time with clock reading. For third grade, it is something that my students struggle with. I created a real clock to help them. So often my kiddos come up to me and ask, "how much longer until we go to special?" I always point to my labeled clock behind my desk and say, "You tell me!" </div>
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The problem with this clock is in order to reach it, I have to scale my heating vent to reach it. Not exactly ideal for math group teaching. I ventured my way to Target and purchased a clock! <i>$4.99 friends!</i> I printed off labels, got out my hot glue gun, and went to work! I put some string on the back and I hang the clock on my whiteboard so that the students can actually get up and touch it, see it divided into quarter hours, count elapsed time one, and all that good stuff! It has worked wonderfully and its a great edition to my math materials!</div>
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While my third graders were working on time, fourth graders were working on fractions! We have been using our kidney shaped table a lot lately for math groups and I am loving the small group atmosphere it adds to my classroom. It really allows me to work one-on-one with my kiddos and see who needs some extra help and who gets it. </div>
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I recently purchased a large magnetic whiteboard and easel to put behind my table. Eventually, I plan to mount the board onto the wall, but for now this works perfectly. Buying a magnetic whiteboard meant that i needed some magnetic math materials! I searched on Amazon but none of the materials were exactly what I had envisioned. I decided to create some of my own.</div>
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For this project, I downloaded some fraction circle clipart and copied it onto heavy neon card stock. I bought some magnets, brought out my hot glue-gun, plugged in my laminator (*ahem* best purchase of my entire life) and VOILA! </div>
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These can be used in so many ways. I taught improper fractions, decimal relationships, mixed numbers, and I even threw a few up on the board for a mini quiz the next day. The kids love them!</div>
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I also created these lovely little things as a very necessary edition to my classroom. On a recent trip to a teacher store I found the other version of these and was disappointed with the price. I decided to do my own spin on them.</div>
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During the testing season, my friends really need their own little workspace. They surprised me with how much they love these things! They beg to use an "office"!</div>
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All this project takes is two file folders, double sided tape, and a laminator. I decided to spice mine up a bit with washi tape and my Circuit machine. <b><i>I am in love with the result. </i></b></div>
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I picked up the container on sale at Target and threw on a cute chevron label!</div>
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So, that about sums up my month of creations. I will be so sad to see this year go. I am so lucky to be doing something I love so very much. I am reminded everyday why I love what I do, I started my week off with a little third grader at my door this morning, </div>
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<i>"I picked these from my garden for you!"</i></div>
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Roots attached and all, she held up the most beautiful bouquet of disheveled flowers I have ever seen. My heart melted. I went inside only to find that the only container I had was my math measuring cups. I love this picture, I love my students, I love my job.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-55829949264023086112014-04-08T15:20:00.001-07:002014-04-08T15:38:57.936-07:00The Rainforest<div style="text-align: center;">
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We just completed a huge unit on the rainforest. It just so happened that our theme for "March is Reading Month" this year was the rainforest. So we decided to incorporate many of our lessons with it! At the beginning of the month I put up a giant tree on our bulletin board outside of our classroom. Throughout the month, we added to it!</div>
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In its earliest stages, it was merely a leafless tree. However, after we started our unit on poetry it began to come to life! </div>
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I find that so often my students love reading poetry, writing poetry, and learning about poetry but really struggle when it comes to understanding the pentameter an rhythm of a poem. It is definitely one of the hardest things to grasp!</div>
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To start our unit, I had them each find a poem that had to do with the rainforest. they were asked to copy it word for word in their neatest cursive handwriting onto a leaf. They needed to pay special attention to the stanzas and spacing that the writer uses. </div>
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After they had completed their leaf, they read the poem out loud to the class during our poetry coffee house. We enjoyed hot chocolate, cookies, and awesome poetry. <b><i>It doesn't get any better than that!</i></b></div>
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After the students got practice verbalizing poems, it was time to start writing. In social studies students were asked to research an animal in detail and complete a graphic organizer about that animal. Eventually they turned this research into a poem! I shared many different types of poems and students each chose a type they wanted to create. They then had to draw an animal to add to our rainforest. I have <b>MANY</b> artists in my classroom. It is truly amazing how gifted they are. They were also allowed to trace the animal if they felt that would be easier for them. Our tree (and river for the amphibians) turned out amazing! I dread taking this beautiful board down. It has become quite the focal point in our hallway!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-89778942677825027782014-04-08T14:24:00.002-07:002014-04-08T15:29:25.086-07:00Math Madness!<div style="text-align: center;">
Ahhh spring break.... the sounds of birds chirping outside my window, getting <b><i>plenty</i></b> of work done, and lounging in sweats all day. <b>Most importantly</b> I get the opportunity to blog again! It is <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">oh-so-nice </span>to have some "<i>me time</i>" this week.</div>
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This post contains <b>math,</b> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">math</span>, and some <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>more math</b></span>. I love thinking of new ways to teach concepts to students who are struggling. I think be creative and teaching a concept a new way can really help a student grasp a concept that they may not have otherwise!</div>
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We have been hard at work with <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>geometry</b></span> in third grade. We learned a lot about quadrilaterals and the attributes that make them unique and different from one another. I had the students create "quadrilateral quotes". </div>
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In this assignment, the students were each assigned a quadrilateral. Parallelograms, rectangles, rhombi, squares, and kites were all in the mix. They were then given a quote bubble. In that quote bubble they needed to list things that made that shape what it was. On the last line, they told the name of the shape. Next, the students needed to draw the shape. It is important to stress that they use a ruler to measure and a straightedge to make straight lines. </div>
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The students LOVED this assignment and loved making their shapes unique. (I had some rockstar rhombi hanging on my wall! Mohawks and all!)<br />
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My kiddos are also working on memorizing their<b> multiplication facts!</b> This can be quite a challenge for some. I really find that making learning the facts fun is key to learning them. Students tire of reciting the "8's" off of a piece of paper. </div>
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<b><i>I have tried to think of some new fun ways to get them practicing! </i></b></div>
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One of the thing my students <b>love</b> most is our multiplication towers. </div>
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This is a very popular idea on Pinterest. It is a fast paced game in which students stack dixie cups with facts on the bottom of them as fast as they can. The key is that they <b>cannot</b> ad the cup to the stack<i> unless</i> they know the fact on the bottom. (If they need a reminder the answer is written on the inside of the cup). </div>
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My students literally beg to play this game. They battle to make the tallest tower in the shortest amount of time during indoor recess. They have even created adaptations to the game were a third player must write down the answers while the others stack the cups. I LOVE THIER CREATIVITY! Aren't kids the best?!</div>
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My next math tidbit for this post is about area and perimeter. My fourth grade friends have been working on area and perimeter for some time now. I wanted to think of a way to let them review what they knew. I wanted to do something tangible and fun! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HneKjhJqscE/U0RlR6qfKPI/AAAAAAAAAxc/WpG2ymIgO3g/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HneKjhJqscE/U0RlR6qfKPI/AAAAAAAAAxc/WpG2ymIgO3g/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" height="332" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used Cheez-Its as a way for students to visualize <b><i>1 square inch</i></b>. It worked wonderfully and the students really enjoyed it! </div>
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I began by giving the students the area (25 Cheez-Its) and having them find the length and width of the rectangle. Then, I reversed it giving them the dimensions and having them find the area. I did the same with perimeter. I even threw in some "missing-side" problems at the end! The possibilities are endless!</div>
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Lastly, since I came into the classroom as a long term sub, I really had wanted a way to gauge my students full understanding of the topics that had been taught thus-far in the school year. I wanted to do something fun! I created a bulletin board and what we call problem of the week. Once a week, the students get one math problem. Because it is only one problem, they are expected to do their absolute best. The problem requires a model, a equation, and a written explanation in which they must highlight their mathematical vocabulary. The problem gets turned in at the end of the week.</div>
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One of my favorite things about this is that if students don't get a problem I offer "mini-lessons" for help. I announce that I am holding a mini lesson and those students who feel like they need a little extra help are able to get a quick review on the topic. </div>
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It is amazing to see how far their responses have come on these people! They have improved leaps and bounds and their written explanations blow me away. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-19490810426229303772014-02-18T19:04:00.003-08:002014-02-18T19:09:26.279-08:00Mid-Winter Break Creations<div style="text-align: center;">
Well, <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>February break</b></span> has arrived friends. </div>
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A week full of <b>creating</b>, <i>cups of coffee</i>, and <b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pajama-wearing-days</span></b> is certainly in order! </div>
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Even over break, <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">I can't help but think about my kiddos</span></span>. I have already made a trip to the used book store to shop around for some <span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">new additions to my library</span>. My local book store had a awesome deal on all of their books this week! I bought a bunch of books and I was super impressed with their quality and selection. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eYd3plPl62A/UwQdWKpRpOI/AAAAAAAAAvs/zPOg5MCQ1co/s1600/IMG_3159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eYd3plPl62A/UwQdWKpRpOI/AAAAAAAAAvs/zPOg5MCQ1co/s1600/IMG_3159.JPG" height="372" width="400" /></a></div>
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I find that once your library grows, it can be hard to remember which books you own and which you don't (of course there are some titles that owning more than one copy of is completely justified). Whenever I go on a book-buying binge, <i>I utilize my all-time favorite library inventory app</i>: <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Book Crawler</span></b>. The app (available on iOS) allows you to <b>scan</b> the ISBN code right on the back of the book using your iPhone or iPads camera! Talk about simple! Immediately you can choose to add that book to your library. Whenever I am unsure of whether or not I already own a book, I simply pick up my phone and scan away. It tells me if I own the book, what other books I own by that author, and how many copies are already in my library. <span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I LOVE IT!</b></span> No more wondering, simply scan away!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sF1fgcW9-OU/UwQdSk3KC5I/AAAAAAAAAvo/RkpNs9UPNBA/s1600/IMG_3160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sF1fgcW9-OU/UwQdSk3KC5I/AAAAAAAAAvo/RkpNs9UPNBA/s1600/IMG_3160.JPG" height="310" width="320" /></a></div>
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On another note, all this <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">cold and snow</span> </b>this winter has lead to many indoor recess days. My kiddos have games to play, but they are getting <i>understandably</i> restless. I made them a promise the week before we left for break: If they could show me they could take care of the materials that they have, I would add to their indoor recess inventory! Let me tell you, they did an AWESOME job. </div>
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True to my word, I have created a indoor recess bin. I just love that everything fits neatly inside of this plastic crate! I can tuck it inside my cupboards and be sure that it is all in one place. <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OOOOOH THE ORGANIZATION!</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JidMVixYqhY/UwQb9vntoyI/AAAAAAAAAvM/RP18xiZr7AY/s1600/IMG_3156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JidMVixYqhY/UwQb9vntoyI/AAAAAAAAAvM/RP18xiZr7AY/s1600/IMG_3156.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the outside of the bin, I found this <b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">adorable poem </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">on another blog.</span> I plan to read it during our morning meeting on monday when we go back. I'm hoping it really encourages them to clean up after they are done playing. Download this poem by <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_DySJAmC7-WeG5peGt1Z004eVU/edit?usp=sharing">clicking here!</a></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7APhCHIkyLg/UwQb9uHPI_I/AAAAAAAAAvc/i8pVYxodDE0/s1600/IMG_3157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7APhCHIkyLg/UwQb9uHPI_I/AAAAAAAAAvc/i8pVYxodDE0/s1600/IMG_3157.JPG" height="341" width="400" /></a></div>
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I find that card games are a great way to keep them occupied and sitting down, however the boxes that they come in are <i>constantly</i> being torn up. Don't get my started on how many times I have found an <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Old Maid card</span></b> lying on my classroom floor. I took a trip to the<b> <span style="color: #38761d;">Dollar Tree</span></b> and purchased tiny plastic containers. I bought <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>two sizes</i></b></span> to accommodate to the many sized card games. On the outside of the box, I hot glued the front of the package. On the inside, I glued the instructions. This is a simple way to simplify a game. The students simply <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>snap the box closed</b></span> when they are finished playing. <i>As a side note</i>, I absolutely love the bulky snap handles on the side of these boxes. They are perfect for little hands. </div>
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<i>Also:</i> They stack! </div>
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I <b><i>can not wait</i></b> to see this new system in action! I know my kiddos will <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>love</b></span> all of the new additions. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-86834773362241830342014-01-28T15:41:00.004-08:002014-01-28T15:41:41.682-08:00Dreams Coming TrueAlthough I recently ended one of the <b>best</b> experiences of my life, I have since been given a new opportunity. I have been asked to be a long term substitute teacher in a 3rd and 4th grade classroom!<br />
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This subbing opportunity is one of indefinite length. It could go as far as the end of the school year.<br />
I am <i>SO </i>excited to be back at my school and working with such a wonderful staff and awesome students.<br />
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I have been <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>hard at work</b></span> creating things for my room. There are some things that I real wanted to implement and try out. I am thrilled to be starting soon! Now if it would just stop snowing..... <i>*sigh*........<span style="color: cyan;"><b> snow day #9.</b></span>....</i><br />
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One of the first things I created was something that we used in the classroom that I student taught in. It is a very simple project, but it makes all the difference in the world. I purchased a <b>large crate</b>. It is important to find the ones that you can hand the file folders inside of. You will know by looking at the ring that is inside of the perimeter of the crate. I then purchased <b>hanging file folders</b>. I needed 32 to complete this project.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dNjb4hn0tY/Uug8olFi6GI/AAAAAAAAAlA/YDjAg1mzTIw/s1600/IMG_3041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dNjb4hn0tY/Uug8olFi6GI/AAAAAAAAAlA/YDjAg1mzTIw/s1600/IMG_3041.JPG" height="373" width="400" /></a></div>
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The use of this crate is to store extra papers. So often we make "<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>a few extras" </b></span>when we are copying papers in order to ensure that we have some in case students make a mistake or lose them. Often times students are absent and are unable to get a copy until they return to school. This crate solves all of those problems! All of the extras from a particular date go into the corresponding numbered hanging file folder. <b><i>For example</i></b>, February 1st's papers would all go into the file folder labeled "1".<br />
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When absent students come to pick up their work, you simply go in to the labeled folder and retrieve their work. It truly takes the <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>confusion</b></span> out of finding extras!<br />
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I also created<b><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Absent Folders".</span></b> I store these in a hanging file folder at the back of the crate.These stay on the desks of absent students and go home with all of the work they missed while they were out. The students are pretty good about filling them with work for their absent friends. I'm in love with this system! I bought these adorable folders on TPT!<br />
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I also created a <span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>No Name Board</b></span>. This is a project that is all over <span style="color: red;"><b>Pinterest</b></span> and I have been dying to make one for quite some time! I love the way it turned out.</div>
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I used a piece of MDF board cut from Home Depot. I glued <b>black card stock</b> on to the board and finished off the edges of the board with wide, neon <b>washi tape</b>. I bought the question mark clipart on TPT and glued them on to card stock for durability. </div>
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I received a Circuit cutting machine for Christmas and have been putting it to good use! For the "No Names" text on the board, I used the Circuit Chalkboard Fonts cartridge. </div>
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To finish it off, I hot glued <b>clothes-pins</b> to the <b>question marks</b> and then glued them on the boards. I then <b>glued 1-inch ribbon</b> to the back of the board! <span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TA-DA</b></span>! No more messy piles of no-name papers. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-37898002762785774472014-01-28T15:10:00.003-08:002014-01-28T15:10:32.454-08:00The End to a Long JourneyMy last day of student teaching has long since come and gone. I have been quite the <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">busy bee </span></b>since then, and I have a whole lot to share with you all!<br />
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Let me begin by saying how much I miss my 5th and 6th grade kiddos. I have been back at the school subbing every day since and I still get to see them all the time, but I still miss being with them every day.<br />
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It is <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>adorable</b></span> how excited they are to see me. I am so excited to hear about their experiences and ideas. Nothing warms my heart more then when I see their faces standing in the doorway of whatever room I am subbing in.<i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> I truly miss them</span></i>. It is an end to a <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>beautiful </b></span>journey, and the start of a new one.<br />
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My class<b><i> truly </i></b>spoiled me on my last day. I received gifts, hand written notes, and lots of love. I cried, they cried, and it was a tough day.<br />
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The following Friday, after subbing there everyday since I ended my student teaching, one child approached me and asked, <i>"Why were you so sad to leave us if you have been back every day since?" </i>They are <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>wise </b></span>little ones. They sure <span style="color: #ffd966;">brighten</span> my day.<br />
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One of my absolute favorite gifts that I received is a<i> tall </i>directors chair for my classroom. It has an owl and branches painted on it. Each of the students stamped their thumbprint and created a "leaf". Inside of the leaf, they wrote a word of encouragement or inspiration. It is ADORABLE.<br />
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I also created "owl" cooked for them my last day. It somehow became our theme. </div>
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It was a bittersweet day that I will never forget. <i>Onward in my journey........</i></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-53472142472667053392013-12-12T21:31:00.004-08:002013-12-12T21:31:31.268-08:00Poet-Tree: Pun Completely Intended<div style="text-align: center;">
The <b>holidays</b> are fast approaching in our classroom! Since all of our fall activities have come and gone, it was time to bring in some fresh and new holiday spirit. I present you.....<i>drumroll please</i>...... our "<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Poet-Trees</span></b>".</div>
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Our <span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Poet-Trees</b></span> just happen to be a few very-well priced 3 foot <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Christmas trees</b></span> that were recently picked up from <span style="color: red;"><b>Target</b></span>. The trees were quite barren and needed a bit of<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> pizzaz</b></span>. Some good ol' 5th and 6th grade educational pizzaz. <i>Isn't that the best kind?</i></div>
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I gave each student a large ornament print-out. I asked the students to research and find a famous poet and a poem that he or she wrote. I specified a list of poets that I wanted my students to research only because I know my students know <i>plenty</i> about Dr. Seuss and other classroom favorites. I wanted them to step out of their comfort zone a bit and take a look at other classics.</div>
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After each student picked their poem, they signed up for a day to <b>present their poem</b> to the class. Before their presentation day they needed to <i>type the poem</i>, <i>decorate their ornament</i>, and get at least three signatures saying that they had <i>recited their poem to an audience</i>. This was wonderful because each listener had an opportunity to give comments and shape them into <b><i>better public speakers</i></b>.</div>
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Let my tell you I was<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> quite impressed</span></b> with my students! When it came time for them to present, they got up there with confidence and recited some classics. I <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">love </span></b>that this activity asked them to research poets and really take some time to understand the poem that they wrote. Many of my students came up with <i><b>more than one</b></i> favorite and had a hard time deciding. It has been great fun listening to them in class!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-81415113948812596432013-12-12T20:11:00.003-08:002013-12-12T20:11:31.817-08:00Thanksgiving Festivities <div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Ahh....</i> so I do realize that this post is a bit late on the arrival. However, better late than never, right? I have been so <b><i>incredibly busy</i></b> with student teaching winding down that I have not had a second to sit down and blog. I <b><span style="color: magenta;">pinky promise</span></b> that I will be more diligent now that I have more time. <b>I will</b>.</div>
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Anyway, <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Thanksgiving</span></b> was a few weeks ago. In my class I made it a fun-filled educational day. I am a firm believer that education on the day before Thanksgiving break is vital. As educators in todays world, we don't have a day to spare on the curriculum calendar. I packed the day full with fun activities, math games, and even a <b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Black-Friday</span></b> debate. The topic was <i>" How early is too early when opening stores on Black Friday?"</i> My students were FILLED with all sorts of ideas about the topics. We had a rather heated debate and I think that they raised some wonderful points! They were begging me to stay inside for recess to continue the discussion. </div>
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<b><i>Who says learning on the day before break can't be fun?!</i></b></div>
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In the morning I had a treat waiting on the students desk when they came in. I created <b><span style="color: #e69138;">rice krispie treat turkeys'</span></b> for the students and allowed them to munch on them while they were completing their bell work. They were impressed by my turkey creations! Thats exactly why I <b><i>love</i></b> my kiddos, they appreciate all of the hard work I put into it. Even if my turkeys do come out looking a little <i>less-than-turkey-like. </i></div>
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<i>(Did I mention I made 60 of them?!)</i></div>
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In the sprit of Thanksgiving, we also created "<b>The Diary of Plymouth Rock</b>". I read the book, <i><u>Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock</u></i> to my class. The book tells about the very interesting life of plymouth Rock. We learned how many times the rock was moved, the many places it was moved, the various monuments that were built to enclose the rock, and even its current resting place. The students were truly enthralled with this book. I was also impressed to learn so much about the history of such a important artifact!</div>
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We then created <i>our own diary</i> of the rock. I asked the students to complete a diary entry for the rock. They were asked to fill in the dates (located in the book) for the 6 important events in the rocks life. We have really been focusing on the <b>voice trait</b>, so the students were asked to use strong voice since the diary entry was from the rocks point of view. They turned out wonderfully! I decided to create a class book out of all of the wonderful entries.</div>
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Those are some of our Thanksgiving festivities, what are yours?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-71268365082188631592013-11-19T18:07:00.001-08:002013-11-19T18:08:16.994-08:00Pet Rock Persuasive Writing<div style="text-align: center;">
I believe that a huge part of a students learning in school is linked directly to the <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>experiences </b></span>that they have. Some of the best teachers that I had as a student still stick out in my memory today.</div>
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We recently ended a <i>very memorable</i> unit in our class. The students created their very own <b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pet rock</span></b>. They created a <b>house</b>, a <b>name</b>, a <b>personality</b>, and even a <b>Halloween costume</b> for their lovable friend. Let me tell you.... they had so much fun with it.</div>
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<i>Here is a home that one of my students created... completely furnished!</i></div>
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Our pet rocks lived with us in our room for about two weeks. In this time, the students were working on a <b><i>persuasive writing unit</i></b>. I asked them to write an essay convincing their audience that a pet rock was the best pet to own. After all, they are quite easy to care for! It was easy of the students to convince others that a pet rock was the best pet because they had become quite connected to them.</div>
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We worked as a class to <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">brainstorm ideas</span>, learn the format, and then write our very own essay. At the end of the unit, the students were able to do a<b> photo shoot</b> with their pet rock to add to the published version of their final copy. </div>
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Since the rocks lived in our rooms for so long, we were able to do a lot with them. We did journal prompts, and even wrote them letters explaining what was happening in our room. The students loved the experience of having a pet rock. I created a "<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">pet rock daycare</span></b>" so that our friends could be well cared for while we were busy learning. It was a great way to avoid distraction with the rocks. </div>
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It was a wonderful unit and a wonderful experience. I have to admit, I was a bit sad to see them go home this week!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-18028623090224691982013-11-13T19:26:00.001-08:002013-11-13T19:26:54.515-08:00Hamburger Paragraphs<div style="text-align: center;">
We have been hard at work in writing this week. We have been working on our pet rock persuasive essays. I can't wait to share more about this unit with you. My student's are<b><span style="color: magenta;"> LOVING </span></b>it.</div>
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I wanted to focus in on the creation of a <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"perfect paragraph"</span>; a topic sentence, 3 details, and a clincher sentence. I really wanted them to take the time to understand how to construct this paragraph. I decided to turn it into a mini project.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>We created hamburger paragraphs</b></span>.<i> What good is a hamburger without all the goodies inside of it? </i>If you stopped by your favorite burger restaurant and they plopped down nothing but a bun on your plate, you would be pretty disappointed wouldn't you? I know I would and my students agreed. In the same respect, A burger without a bun is nearly impossible to hold together and get a good taste of. This very same idea is true in writing. I love that my smarties could relate so well to this concept. </div>
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I had them write a sentence of their paragraph on each part of the burger. The <b><span style="color: #783f04;">topic sentence</span></b> on the top bun, the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">details </span></b>in the middles, and the <b><span style="color: #783f04;">closing sentence</span></b> on the bottom bun. The results were wonderful (<b><i>and adorable</i></b>)!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-79138066519471134832013-11-13T19:12:00.004-08:002013-11-13T19:12:57.695-08:00Veterans Day<div style="text-align: center;">
It is <b><i>so important</i></b> that students learn to reflect on the things that people have done to make their life what it is today. <b><span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Veterans day</span></b> is the perfect day to do that. </div>
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I run <b>Community Service Club</b> at our school. We have students from 1st grade all the way up to 6th grade in the club. We took the day and gave back to the people who worked so hard to <span style="color: blue;"><b>protect </b></span>us. We read an article, wrote letters to give to a local veterans home, and then created this masterpiece!</div>
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My students were so excited to create this! My older members worked hard at cutting out everyones hands, while my littlest raced their hands and glued them on to the flag. </div>
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I am thrilled with how this turned out and I plan to <b>donate</b> it to a local veterans home after it has visited our hallway wall for a bit. They are so proud of their work and so <b><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">proud </span></b>of the veterans' that worked so hard for our safety. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-73309826626014911152013-11-13T19:05:00.002-08:002013-11-13T19:05:16.166-08:00Math Games/Centers- Jenga, Guess Who, and Ker-Plunk!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Mathematics</b></span> is one of my absolute <b><i>favorite </i></b>subjects to teach. I love seeing my students enjoying math and saying things like, "<i>this is so much fun! Who knew math could be fun</i>?" It makes me <b><span style="color: #f1c232;">smile</span></b> to see them<span style="color: magenta;"> enjoying</span> their learning. It is one of the <i><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">many </span></b></i>rewards of this wonderful job.</div>
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I like to spend some time <b>reviewing</b> concepts after we have completed a unit. I find that a worksheet style review is effective in <i>many </i>ways, however I believe that <span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><u>every student learns differently</u></b></span> and many of my kiddos are<i> kinesthetic</i> learners, they gotta' touch, feel, and experience it to understand it.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I love this.</span></div>
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Many times, we play review games in a "<b>center</b>" style rotation. This week we spent some time reflecting on<b> percents, fractions, and decimals</b>. I created a few games by putting a spin on some old favorites that live in my game closet. My students <span style="color: magenta;">LOVED</span> every second of the review. Some even stayed in for recess to "study" for their upcoming math test. </div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b><u>Math Ker-plunk</u></b></span></div>
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I put sticky labels on the ends of<b> Kerplunk</b> sticks and folded them in half. The way this game works is you pull out the sticks one by one hoping that you DON'T make the marbles fall out by pulling your stick out. I had one student call out a fraction, percent, or decimal. The other student needed to find that particular stick equivalent version of what his partner called out. For example, if I called out 99%, my partner would need to find 99/100 or .99 on the sticks. (this could also work with cards that the students would flip over if you wanted this to be a bit more independent)</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: red;">Math Guess Who</span></u></b></div>
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Who doesn't love a good ol' game of Guess Who. This game works <i>very</i> similarly to the original version. Students choose a card from the deck and need to give the other student clues of "<i>what it is not</i>" by answering questions and narrowing it down until ONLY one card remains flipped up on their board. For example, if my card was<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>8/10</b></span>, and my partner asked <i>"Is is a fraction?"</i> I would reply <i>"yes"</i> and she would flip down everything on her board that <b>was not </b>a fraction. If she asked, <i>"Is it in simplest form?"</i> I would say, <i>"no"</i> and she would flip down everything that was in simplest form. In the end, my partner would only have<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 8/10</span></b> standing up on their board and they would win. </div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #bf9000;"> Math Jenga</span></u></b></div>
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Students give each other clues to direct them to which peg they need to push out of the tipping tower. They (<i>of course</i>) try to make it challenging by having their peers push out <b>CHALLENGING</b> pegs! If I saw that <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>9/10</b></span> was a tricky peg, I would say something like, "<i>Push out the peg that is equivalent to <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">90%</span></b></i>" (In the game I created, there was more than one!) It was so fun and stressful to watch!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-4708732241261038672013-11-07T18:57:00.002-08:002013-11-07T18:57:16.544-08:00Class Totem Pole<div style="text-align: center;">
In social studies we have been learning about <b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Native American traditions!</span></b> </div>
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One of the traditions we have spent a lot of time with is the <span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>totem pole</b></span>. We talked about how each piece of a totem pole is meant to <i><b>symboliz</b></i><b><i>e</i></b> a particular person. Usually, they were place in front of a home to represent that particular family. We had a discussion about what each <b>symbol </b>means, and how the<b> colors </b>that are used also represent something about the person it is symbolic of. </div>
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My students were<b><i> so</i></b> interested! <b>This got me thinking</b>. I wanted to know how they would represent themselves. How do they view themselves? What colors describe them and how? What are they proud of?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000;">I decided to make a class totem pole.</span></b><i> I took off the Michigan projects from my park sign kiosk project and I suddenly had a blank slate!</i> </div>
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I asked the students to represent themselves by <b>choosing an animal.</b> On the back of the paper I supplied, they would need to write a paragraph describing why they chose that animal and why it represented them.</div>
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They also needed to<b> choose unique colors</b>! In the same respect, they were asked to describe, in detail, why those colors were used on their section of the totem pole. They needed to write a paragraph explaining that as well. </div>
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When their creations were complete, I taped them on to the totem pole! I taped them as flaps so when our kindergarden friends come by, (they are our biggest fans!) they have a chance to read about our symbols. My students <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">LOVE</span></b> to watch as the little admire their creations. It warms my heart to see them learning and my students teaching. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-25551460259807786532013-11-07T18:44:00.002-08:002013-11-07T18:44:32.114-08:00Our Halloween Party!<div style="text-align: center;">
Ok, so I am a bit late on this blog posting. It has been a crazy week full of report card preparation and end of the quarter catching up but, better late then never?</div>
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We are so lucky to have wonderful parent involvement in our room. Our parents are eager to donate their time, supplies, and anything else they can offer to help us out with anything we need. </div>
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In our room, since we are in <b>fifth and sixth grade</b>, we allow the students to plan their own party. The way this works is by organizing a <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">committee</span> for each holiday (<span style="color: magenta;">Valentines day</span>, <span style="color: red;">Christmas</span>, and <span style="color: orange;"><b>Halloween</b></span>). These committees meet during recess and propose a <i>theme</i>, <i>games</i>, and various <i>food </i>choices. We, the teachers, then work to turn their ideas into a reality. It really runs quite smoothly!</div>
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So, for <b><span style="color: orange;">Halloween</span></b> this year, my students chose a <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>spooky theme</b></span>. We had a variety of games and food choices that were brought in and created, some spooky and some.....not so much. But it's the thought that counts!</div>
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He are some of our our spooky treats that one of our wonderful parents made!</div>
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We spent the morning listening to <b>spooky</b> halloween mysteries on the computer. The students also created a <span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>polygon pumpkin</b></span> at this time. It was a great way for them to come in, relax, and begin their day. They were asks to create a pumpkin using at least <i>8 polygon shapes</i>, keeping in mind what we had been learning about polygons this week. </div>
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They were also asked to <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>write a journal prompt</b></span>! In our room, we our working on a persuasive writing unit about <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">pet rocks</span></b>. Each students was asked to bring in a pet rock and they are in the process of writing to explain why pet rocks are the <b><i>best pet ever</i></b> (more on that in a later post). They are <b><i>so</i></b> thrilled about this writing experience, I can not even tell you! I believe that a lot of this writing activity is in the creation and experience. At the end of the day on the eve of <b><span style="color: orange;">Halloween</span></b>, I allowed asked them to dress up their pet rocks for their <b><span style="color: orange; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">very first Halloween!</span></b> My little creators went straight to work. The next morning when they came in, they were asked to write explaining to their rock what was going on in the classroom today. After all, they have no idea what Halloween even is and I'm sure our pet rocks were all very confused!</div>
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One of my <i>favorite</i> costumes. Can you guess what it is? </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The middle of our day was <i>filled</i> with a Halloween parade, a morning special, and a trip to a fellow teachers classroom to see their live wax museum in action! (Whew! We were sure busy!)</span></div>
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When we came back to class, we had about an hour to finish off our party. I decided to set it up in <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>centers</b></span> so that all of my friends could rotate through and get a chance to experience everything together.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">We had a Photo Booth!</span></b></div>
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Let me tell you this was by far the best idea I had. I had a few parents come in, set up a backdrop, bring in a few props, some big sunglasses, a camera, and <span style="color: #f1c232;">BAM</span>! <b>Instant fun</b>. All of my students were able to go out into the hallway and snap some pictures with their friends. They all turned out adorable and my parent volunteers even turned the photos into a CD that I was able to download and put up on our class website! Bonus: I was able to enjoy the party without having to worry about getting a picture of every single person. <b><i>It was wonderful</i></b>.</div>
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We also had <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>pin the brain on Frankenstien</b></span>. The students were able to play a Halloween version of pin the tale on the donkey. They loved this too! My winners we rewarded with candy.</div>
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We created<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> cheese-cloth ghosts! </span></b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>(disclaimer: these take two days to make as they must dry overnight. We started this project the day before Halloween) </i></span>We blew up balloons, dipped cheese-cloth into a water and Elmer's glue mixture, and laid it on top of the balloon. On <span style="color: #e69138;"><b>Halloween morning</b></span>, we popped the balloon and added the felt eyes. <b><i>They turned out to be adorable</i></b>!</div>
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All of my students also had the chance to participate in a <b><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pumpkin candy toss.</span></b> They were asked to stand on a tape line and toss <span style="color: #f6b26b;">candy corn</span> into plastic pumpkins. If they made it into the pumpkin, they got the candy that was inside. I also gave each pumpkin a point value. They then added the points up to keep track of high scores! <b><i>(I had to throw some math in there somewhere!) </i></b></div>
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Our party was a success thanks to our volunteers and my <b><i>cooperative</i></b> and <b><i>fun-loving</i></b> kiddos. They made it all worthwhile! <b><span style="color: orange; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It was ball.</span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-66864615466405663102013-10-27T19:05:00.000-07:002013-10-27T19:05:03.068-07:00Halloween Treats<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange;"><b>Tis' the season for creepy-crawly, spooky treats!</b></span></div>
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In our class, we chose to have a <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Halloween party </b></span>with a creepy theme; complete with me and my cooperating teacher dressing up as mad scientists! It's sure to be a spooktacular event!</div>
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I wanted to create a simple but cute treat for my class. We have <i><b>wonderful</b></i> parent volunteers that are creating so many delicious and spooky themed treats. I wanted to keep it simple, but add a unique touch!</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">These were so simple to create! </span></b></div>
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I bought a few bags of <b>Blow-Pops</b>, a pack of<b> googly eyes</b>, and a few bags of <b>pipe cleaners</b>. <i>Each spider requires two, full size pipe cleaners</i>. I cut them in half, and wrapped the four individual pipe cleaners around the stick. After they were wrapped around, I bent the legs into feet. As a finishing touch, I glued on the eyes! <b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">TA-DA!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Okay.</b></span> Ill admit they are more cute then spooky..... but I can't help myself! <b>I hope my students love them as much as I do! </b></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-66500274590185053392013-10-27T18:54:00.001-07:002013-10-27T18:54:04.464-07:00Figurative Language Poster Creation<div style="text-align: center;">
As is evident by my blog posts lately, we have been <b>hard at work</b> on learning how to use <span style="color: #0b5394;">figurative language</span> to enhance our writing. We have spent about a month going through the <span style="color: #3d85c6;">writers crafts </span>and learning how to use them effectively. I wanted to create a means to go back and review all of these <span style="color: #ffd966;"><b><i>wonderful</i></b> </span>ideas, as well as a means for the students to see them in the room and pull ideas from them into their own writing. </div>
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This idea is rather similar to the game of <b><i>musical chairs</i></b>. I created posters, each with a type of figurative language posted in the center. I hung the posters all over the classroom. <i>The more you spread the posters out, the better luck you will have with this lesson. </i></div>
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I broke the students up into groups of about 4 students per group. I then handed them each a marker, and instructed them to stand by a designated poster. I explained to them that this game would work a lot like musical chairs. When the<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b> music</b></span> plays, they would need to <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>write as many examples of that particular form of figurative language as they could on the poster</b></span>. The key here is they must<span style="color: #351c75;"><b> try not to repeat</b></span> any on the poster. When the music stops playing, they must quickly move to the next poster. </div>
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I even chose a "figurative language rap" song that I found on <span style="color: red;">YouTube</span> to play as the music during this activity. My students <span style="color: magenta;"><b>LOVED</b></span> this activity and did so well with it! These posters will hang in our classroom and will be a great tool to spark ideas when they need to spice up their writing. <b>They look great!</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-76882994208182979942013-10-19T18:02:00.004-07:002013-10-19T18:02:41.299-07:00Tall Tales<div style="text-align: center;">
This week in reading, we have been focusing on <b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">tall tales</span></b>.</div>
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My students are absolutely <i>engrossed </i>in the unit. They love laughing at the<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> hyperbole </b></span>and imagining the lives of these tall tale characters. I took a trip to the public library this week to get "<b><i>a few</i></b>" tall tales books. I find that although the students get a good feel from the tall tales in their reading anthology, I want them to get to experience <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">many</span> writing styles of all the wonderful authors out there! My trip to the library for "<b><i>a few</i></b>" books turned into me struggling down the library stairs with a stack 10+ books high. What can I say, I got carried away. I was even able to snag a few different DVD's to cater to my visual learners. </div>
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The kids begged me each day to read another one. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love seeing them excited about learning! </span>I made sure to place all of the books across the whiteboard and they were certainly the <b>hot commodity</b> to read during silent reading. They were so disappointed to see them go at the end of the week when they were due back at the library.<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> My little bookworms love to read</span></b>. </div>
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So to conclude our wonderful unit on <span style="color: red; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>tall tales</b></span>, I wanted them to write their very own! Keeping in mind the <b>hyperbole usage</b>, <b>character traits</b>, and <b>setting</b> of the tall tales we read, my writers got to work. What they came up with was amazing. To make this experience even more exciting, I put an emphasis on the <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>tall</b></span> part of tall tales.</div>
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I brought in receipt paper from a local restaurant (<i>as a side note, all restaurant depot stores carry this tape</i>) and created<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> two clouds</span>. We wrote our tall tales on this<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b> very skinny paper</b></span>, henceforth creating some<b> very </b>tall tales. I love how they turned out! </div>
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The students were hovered around the bulletin board in the hallway laughing at the hyperboles their peers had incorporated into their writing. It was certainly a hit with my class!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684642669243006118.post-7734964368465438182013-10-08T18:32:00.004-07:002013-10-08T18:33:58.537-07:00Park Sign Kiosk<div style="text-align: center;">
What better way to get students <b>engaged</b> in their learning then to put them completely in charge of it? With this activity, students become tour guides and park rangers for your particular state.</div>
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We spent some time this week reviewing what we know about our great state of <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Michigan</span></b>. The students took time to <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>reflect</b></span> upon what they have learned in third and fourth grade. It is important to recap these things and it can be a lot of <i>fun</i> doing so!</div>
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I wanted to do something different with the students'. I didn't want to pull out a worksheet and ask them to fill in a map of Michigan. Although these types of activities can be quite effective, my students have already learned this material and needed a refresher. <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I wanted a way to differentiate their learning</i></span>.</div>
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I created a <span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>park sign kiosk</b></span> that they would be in charge of decorating with facts and information about Michigan. Almost all of the students have been to a welcome center or a rest stop of any given state. Inside many of these locations is a kiosk that tells <i>information and attractions</i> about the area. I wanted them to create this for their own state! I explained that they would work in pairs to conduct research on given topics (<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>trade, resources, attractions, bodies of water, etc...</b></i></span>). Once complete, they would present their information to the class and we would display the kiosk in the hallway for passerby's to view.</div>
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After displaying our <span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>beautiful creation</b></span> this week in our hallway, we had a visiting kindergarden class come by to learn a bit about their state! I love that my students got to see their hard work being used as a teaching tool for younger students. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02848904457411425564noreply@blogger.com0