A place to share thoughts, ideas, gadgets, and giggles from my classroom. 💜

Showing posts with label Freebies. Show all posts

Five For Friday: Happy Fall!

I'm so excited to be linking up with {Doodle Bugs Teaching} this fine Friday to tell you what we have been up to in my class!
This week we worked really hard on getting things ready for our October bulletin board! Let me preface this with, " I HATE doing a bulletin board..." It's my least favorite thing ever, honestly. I'd take parent/teacher conferences and PD the day before school starts any day over trying to make my bulletin board cute, but this month is different! You know it's a big deal when your teacher neighbor calls you out on Facebook! 
We started with making a pumpkin using a glyph that I loved! It came from {Teacher's Take-Out}. We read the directions, and highlighted our answers. Then out came the construction paper! We wrote a rough draft describing our pumpkins, and typed them up today! I finished my board this afternoon! 
My favorite part is my "Happy Fall" banner! Get it {here} for free! {KG Fonts} are my absolute FAVORITE! 
Like I said earlier, we typed our first paper today! I cannot believe how smoothly this went! The kids opened Word, indented, typed, and many of them changed the font and size all by themselves! I was very impressed and proud of my kids for either already knowing these skills or picking them up so fast!

My friends over at {Classroom Friendly Supplies}have some exciting news to share soon!
Clipart from Melonheadz
I can't spill the beans yet, but you won't want to miss it! Keep your eyes open! If you haven't heard about the quietest pencil sharpener, click {here} to read my review!
Since we have happily ended our relationship with Accelerated Reader, my kiddos have been working hard on getting in the hang of their new reading routine. I have been slowly introducing them to the different things they are going to be doing with the books they read. I can't wait to really get started and start making commercials and hosting book talks! If you want to check out this pack, head over to {my store}!
This may have been me a little this afternoon. We have been reading the story Super Storms, which is one of my favorites because I love storms.  We watched YouTube videos of hurricanes, blizzards, tornados, and lightning storms. We ended the lesson with a little Ms. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus. These are so fun and even a little educational! 
Head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching to find out what everyone else is up to!


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Welcome to my Classroom 2015

Well it's that time of year again...

We go back MONDAY. Yes, you read that right, Monday, this Monday, the one after tomorrow. That Monday. Usually I'm more than ready, but this year, I am one big procrastination! It's coming, whether I am ready or not! I better get prepared! I have been in my classroom working all week. Here is what I have so far! 
I added balloons to my classwork clips....One has already deflated, see the green one!? It must have had a hole in it. The desks are all set up with the name tags, books, and folders. If you look across the room, I still need to get my stability balls blown up! Our PE teacher is usually pretty helpful with that! I only have 16 kiddos this year, so far! I haven't had this small of a class in a couple years. It will be a nice change!
I also start the year out with Play-Doh. It makes dealing with supplies and incoming students so much easier. It's probably one of my favorite {Pinterest} ideas!
I'm doing my homework plan a little differently this year. When they turn their homework in to the tray(which is right below the last magnet strip), they will take their number and put it on the Homework Hero board. This will help me to take a quick check of who has or hasn't brought their homework. 
The Hero board is a pizza pan from The Dollar Tree that I spray painted gold last year. This will be my first year trying this, I'll keep you updated if it works!
I have a new "cool down" area in my room. I already know I have a few kiddos with strong emotions. I'm so excited that I was able to find a place for them to cool off when they need a break. The rug and pillow are from Ikea. 
Inside the tote are:
-{One of Those Days} by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
- 2 journals(for the 2 kids that may utilize the space most)
- crayons
- pencil
- eraser
- 3 minute sand timer
- two stuffed animals to comfort and squeeze
{Number of the Day} is a freebie in my store! 
I'm very proud of my subject areas that I have started this year. I tried last year, but I just couldn't make it work. This year, I nailed it! I am even letting them use one of MY(that was bought for them in the first place!) pointers! That is a big deal! 
This is my writing board. I think in the blank area I want to put what "Writer's Eyes" do, but I'm still looking for ideas. We have our "Fancy Words" at the bottom instead of taking up a whole board(even though it was super cute) like last year. Students can also keep track of which part of the writing process they are on. I am very excited to work this into our lessons!
This is about the same as my board last year, but I needed to add more prefixes and suffixes! I love {Melonheadz} clipart! My room is full of it! The pencil was made by one of my students who I was fortunate enough to loop with a couple years ago! He did wayyyy better than I would have! Oh! and see that princess light!? It is from the Dollar Tree too! When the light is on, students cannot talk to me, unless they are bleeding, barfing, or not breathing. This works amazingly during small group time! I just love it! 
So that's what I'm working with so far this year! There are a lot of changes from {last year}, and I believe they will better the flow of my classroom and the learning environment for my students. 


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Online Communication:Blogging in the Classroom

If you have followed me for a while, you know I am crazy about kids blogging in the classroom. I cringe with I see Facebook posts or other online articles written with poor grammar. I think blogging will help students learn the proper way to communicate online and help with their writing skills while doing it!
I have went on and on and on about the site {KidBlog}. I have blogged about in my summer {Techy Tuesday} posts, if you missed it, be sure to check it out! I have a great freebie about how to get started in your own classroom. 
We have finally begun our own paper blog in class!
I tried to make their paper blog look like the actual blog post page. The white sheets are their blog papers, the post its are the comments! Students must use a complete sentence in their initial post. Then the comments need to be more than one word. 
Some of my favorite comments:
Love the invented spelling!
They were so positive and loved making comments.
O.M.G i Love it. -what more can I say! 
If you want to start your own paper blog, draw it up on poster board. Then use my {free blog post paper} and gather up some Post-its! We began the week before Halloween and after Thanksgiving break will be going online, live! This kids and I can't wait!!


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Fall Free and Fun Hop

The Fun and Free Hop has started!! Head over to Facebook to begin gathering up your freebies! 
Start your hop by clicking the map above! 
Be sure to stop by my page and grab my Fall Noun Sort! 

Happy Hopping!
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Five For Friday- Giveaway Weekend!

This has been a big week for me! Here it goes! 

Click here to see more Five for Fridays!

I instituted classroom jobs this week. My students have loved taking on the responsibility. Our amazing custodian is probably loving it too! 
I gained another computer for my kiddos this week! Now I have seven for my students to use!! I can't wait to finish getting it hooked up. This will be such a great asset when we finally get to start using Kidblog! OOH I just CAN'T WAIT!!!
Click here to keep that number rising!
AHHHHHHH!!! I am pumped!!! I have reached 1,000 Facebook likes on our Taking on Second page! This is soooo cool! I am so appreciative of all the people that have helped me do this, and to the people who like us! I just hope I don't disappoint them! 



Whew! What a week this has been blogwise! I have {three freebies}, two of which you MUST check out if you do any type of Daily 5/Reading groups through out the day. I told you all about how I run {Daily 5} in my classroom. Be sure to check it out if you are new or old to Daily 5! Did I mention there is an awesome giveaway too? I told you it had been quite the week! I'm giving away my Superhero Word Work pack AND my Independent Reading Response pack. These are two of my best sellers! They are time savers and a must have for reading groups! Be sure to head over and enter!


Tomorrow I am linking up with Ms. McClain for another You Oughta Know About...BUILD Math groups! If you use math groups through out the day, check out my way of working through them!  

I have a wedding this weekend in Indianapolis, so I am out of town all weekend! I hope you enjoy this weather and have a fabulous weekend also!



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A day in the life...Daily 5


In our classrooms, we use the Daily 5 as part of our literacy block. I love Daily 5 time. It encourages students to learn more independently, while giving me time for more one on one time with small groups. Students are held accountable for their work.
Here is how it works in my classroom! There are also several (3 I think) great freebies if you read closely;)
On Monday, students check in for their Daily 5 group order. I am finally getting to know their numbers better, so I move the ones who put themselves in groups with their BFF. That is just asking for trouble for everyone!

Students are given a folder for their Daily 5 activities. They are given the activities each Monday. Students have to finish their activities in the groups before they can do the regular group work. I know, confusing right? They have to get their buddy activity done (with a buddy) before they can just read to someone.  I write them on the board next to the group to save my voice a little!
Read to Self: In Read to Self, students are given an activity to do alone. Once they finish their activity, they keep it in their folder until I collect them on Friday. One of my favorite read to self activities is task cards. Students love being able to move around to do their work. I hang up task cards around the room, and students grab a clip board and get started.
Students work on vowel task cards. 
Students also can get on www.myon.com to listen to books during this time. Another option is working on AR. They have to complete their assigned work before they can work with the other options. 
Read to Someone: This is our buddy group. Students work through their assigned activity with a buddy in their group. When they finish they buddy read any book. It does not have to be an AR book. We have been working on vowel sounds lately. Students have been reading their decodeable readers and highlighting words that have the vowel sounds we have been working on. 
Students can also buddy read when they get their work done.  I don't make my students use AR books all the time. Our AR time is mixed in with morning work, so students can grab any book they decide on with their partner. 

Working with Words:This is my FAVORITE group to introduce to the students! There are sooooo many fun activities that the students can do during word work. We have one rule: You have to use your spelling words to practice first. Then students can use words around the room or words from the word wall. I have a group of cards that students can use to pick what they want to do. These cards are on a binder ring. This saves time and lets students see the options first!
My kids really like stamping their words this year. Last year, it was not so popular. I have one boy that really is working, but boy does he make a mess!
He always cleans it up when he is done, so whatever gets him to work is fine with me! Often I have students use my super word work packet! It has Superhero Hangman, Texting, Boggle, stamping page, and a dice word sort page for students to practice their words.  Here is a {sample} just for you! If you want to check out the whole pack, click the picture below!
Click here to head to my TPT store to check it out!
Listening to Reading:Students normally have to listen to our reading story on Journeys website and do a {response sheet}. When they are finished, they have several options! We use Tumblebooks a lot at our school. Tumblebooks is a site that has a ton of online books for students to listen to. They even have some chapter books I believe. We use the { Bartholomew County Public Library} site to access it. Scroll to the bottom and you will see Tumblebooks. When you get click it, the next click is story books. They you are off to read! Students can also get on {MyOn}. This is a FREE site provided by Glenda Ritz! The students LOVE getting on MyOn to listen and read books. The most popular ones are nonfiction, believe it or not! They can use the computers or one of our five iPads to access the site. 
The rainbow cart is where I store my Working with Words activities!
I hope you found the freebie hidden in the listening to reading paragraph! If you would like to check out the full product {click here}!
I let my students sit around the room to read. Their are specific spots that are off bounds, such as in front of door ways and under the counters, but the most popular spot is...
They love sitting under there! It is a race everyday to see who can get there first! 

At the end of the week, students turn in their Daily 5 folder. Each group is worth only two points. I want them be grow to be responsible for getting their work finished and work on time management. I don't want Daily 5 to make or break their grades. Since I use writing as a separate time, they also get two points for staying organized and having all their papers in the folder for a total of ten points. 
Click here to get your copy free!
How do you do Daily 5? I love getting new ideas and tips! Be sure to enter my giveaway for my Independent Reading Response pack AND my Superhero Word Work pack free!



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