I Can Board... Pinterest inspired Post 2

Hey guys! This is the second post of my pinterest inspired classroom posts! I hope you enjoy!  Last year I created an I Can Board that I really liked. However over the summer we found out that we would no longer be departmentalizing and so I needed to reconfigure some of my boards. Here is the link to last years board. Click Here!

This is the new board I went with. I didn't change much except now I have 4 picture frames instead of 2, I changed the paper in the picture frame, and I gave the picture the illusion that they were being hung by the string. (The string is really just decoration, it was hung using command strips.)

The red background is fabric from Hobby Lobby. The teal and brown board I got from a local teacher supply store. The picture frames are from the Dollar Tree. The I Can Banner was adapted from a School Girl Style Banner that I edited.

I was really pleased with my results! Do you have an I Can board in your room? I'd love for you to leave pictures in the comments!

Back to School: Putting Up Supplies

Hey guys!! Today, I want to share with you one of the new things I tried this year for back to school. In years past, students came for a full day the first day of school. This allowed me plenty of time during the day to take up each child's supplies individually. However, this year we started school with a "Meet the Teacher Day/Drop Off School Supplies Day" which was an abbreviated day.

Some of the obstacles I faced in trying to decide what to do were... 1) We are departmentalized in 5th grade and we were going to switch on the 1st full day. This left me very little time to put supplies away on the 1st day. 2) We have tables and share schools supplies, so I needed to store most of the supplies while leaving a few out for use.

I decided that I wanted all the supplies put up on the 1/2 day, so that on the 1st full day we were ready to begin.  However, with it being a drop in day, I didn't want to repeat the directions on how to put up the supplies 30 different times for every child. I decided to set up boxes around the room that students would put their supplies in. I also put the instructions on the board, so that all I needed to do after meeting the parent and student is direct them to the directions on the board.

Here are the boxes I set up. I used the boxes that my workbooks came in instead of spending money on cute boxes. After the Meet the Teacher Day was over, I stored the supplies where they belonged and recycled the boxes. I did use a few baskets that I already had for smaller supplies like glue and pencil erasers.

                                             These are the instructions I had on the board.

Over all I felt that this approach was very successful. It was super easy to put all the supplies in the correct storage area after the Meet the Teacher Day. It allowed me to have all the supplies ready for the 1st full day, without taking time out of that day!  I did find that some parents and students didn't follow the directions and I still needed to explain the process to them. I've thought about next year, on top of having the directions on the board, giving them a check list of things to do. That way they have a copy in their hand.

Have you used something similar for putting supplies away? OR Have another way completely? Leaving a comment, I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Updates and I Can Bulletin Board

 Hey guys! So life has been CRAZY!!! After 6 years in 4th grade I found out this summer that I was moving to 5th grade math. I am very excited about this new adventure, but it has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I had to learn new curriculum and move classrooms, in what felt like a very short amount of time! I just finished my room and will do a blog "show and tell" of my new accommodations. Here is a preview...

Since I had to move classrooms, it has given me an opportunity to try some things I haven't had a chance to yet. For example, I have wanted to make an I Can Bulletin Board for my I Can statements and standards for 2 years. I found a super cute one on pinterest from 3rd Grade Pad that I loved and had to try it! I only teach math, so I just used a small bulletin board, but here is how it turned out!

I have also spent some time this summer updating some of my teachers pay teachers products. Here are the ones I've had a chance to work on...

 

    Area War

 Fraction War

 

 Decimal War

Our first day of school is Friday!  This is going to be a fun new adventure and I can't wait to share some ideas! 

So You've Lost Your Voice and You're A Teacher... Now What?

Hey guys! I don't know about you, but recently I have been watching Hack My Life on TruTV. If you weren't aware I am a major nerd and love education/informational TV. (Not to mention my Doctor Who and Sherlock obsession!) On Hack My Life they do a segment called "Now What" where they give different scenarios of hacks. So today I ask you.. So you've lost your voice and you're a teacher, NOW WHAT?

When your a teacher, your voice is one of the most important tools. When it's gone, it can be very difficult to instruct, question, and to maintain good behavior management. I know I can't just take 5 days off to "rest my voice" like my doctor always seems to recommend. Adapting is the name of the game and here are a few things I do differently when I've lost my voice.


Getting Their Attention:
On a normal day I love a call and response attention getter such as the famous "Class, Class..Yes,Yes". When I've lost my voice this seems nearly impossible! In this case, I love to use a service bell. I ding my bell twice as a replacement of my normal "class, class". This works well because it's loud enough that they can hear it.

You could also use preemptive measures by not using a call and response attention getter. You could implement the clap call and response, where the teacher claps and the students echo the clapping pattern. If this was already in place, the teacher wouldn't need to change anything. I personally just prefer a vocal call and response!

We try to make quick transitions between one activity to another. Our goal is to be at our new destination and ready in 7 counts, but we have to 10 counts before we get in trouble. (See The Essential 55 by Ron Clark) I usually count out loud the numbers, but I have been known to just count using my hand. I use American Sign Language to count to 10 because it only requires 1 hand. The kids love it, and I don't have to strain my voice to count!

Behavior Management:
Class Dojo is a great behavior management tool that works whether you have a voice or not! Some things I love particularly when I don't have a voice are;
                           It gives a noise when you give or take away a point which reminds the kids about 
                           their behavior.
                      
                           I can display it on the ActivBoard so students can monitor how they are doing.
                      
                           I can give or take points on my ipad and it shows up on the active board.
                      
                           One thing I love, whether I have a voice or not, is that when I'm teaching, Class 
                           Dojo is not up on my board, but will still make a noise when I give or take points
                           Students  have no idea who I am giving or taking points from, but they automatically
                           begin self monitoring their behavior!


Teaching:
When you don't have a voice it's a great time to use peer tutors. I love using peer tutors often anyway, but it comes in handy to let them help me "teach" their neighbor the concepts!


These are just a few ways that might be able to help you! Don't forget to drink lots of hot tea! Do you have any hacks that help you get through a few days with no voice?

5 Things I Want to Try in My Classroom This Year!

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you the 5 things I want to try in my classroom this year.  Last year we went full common core in math and reading. After a year of getting my feet wet, I'm now ready to dive in and see how it goes. Here are the 5 things I'm wanting to try during my "diving in" process! 

Number 1: Number Talks 

During a recent math conference this book was brought to my attention as a great way to work on fluency and math strategies with students. This book has common core connections and is for grades K-5.  I have talked my school into purchasing the book and am waiting very impatiently to get my hands on it! 

Number 2: A Carpet 

This one may seem strange but hear me out! In my school only K-3 grades have a carpet in their classrooms. It was always thought to be "too young" for 4-5 grade. To better implement number talks from above I need a "meeting place". Thus I would really like to get a carpet this year. I have read many blogs about intermediate grades using carpets successfully. Of course when I go searching for them again, I can't find them. ::sigh:: Once I have implemented the carpet and number talks I promise to come back and report how it is working! 

Number 3: Desk Organization 

I found a blog that had a really neat idea on how to keep desks organized when students switch classrooms. I am really hoping to try this this year to help keep the desks from becoming black holes. This idea can be found here: http://www.ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Number 4: Fractions 

During a recent math conference, this book was recommended to me for teaching fractions. In 4th grade CCSS fractions are a major focus. I really want to make sure I am teaching it in a way that my students will understand and comprehend, not just know how to find an answer. 

Number 5: I Can... Bulletin Board 

I am really wanting to turn my small bulletin board into an I Can.. CCSS Bulletin Board. I have been posting my standards on my white board, but now that summer is here, I am ready to tackle the bulletin boards. There are MANY cute ideas on how to decorate or organize an I Can bulletin Board. I'm juggling ideas around in my mind and have decided that I will decided on July 1 (when I am allowed to go to the teacher store and purchase items for the new school year) what route I want to go. 

What are some ideas that you are hoping to try this school year?

I hope you enjoyed!

New Products and a Freebie!

I have recently added several new scoot games to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. If your following my store you may already be aware of the new items, but if you aren't here is what you may have missed. 

Multiplication Comparison Scoot Game

2-Digit by 2-Digit Multiplication Scoot Game

4-digit by 1-digit Scoot Game

Addition & Subtraction Scoot Game

And last but not least don't forget to grab this cute free bookmark! 

Fall Into a Good Book bookmark FREEBIE!

Teaching Complete Metamorphosis

Hey guys! Today I want to talk about one of the activities I did when I was teaching complete metamorphosis this year! In fourth grade, students need to know the difference between complete and incomplete metamorphosis. They also need to be able to visually identify which metamorphosis an insect goes through. For this activity I had students compare and contrast the life cycle of a butterfly and a ladybug. I have a real specimen of a butterfly life cycle and a plastic specimen of the ladybug.

First, I had the students draw the different stages of both insects.

Second, they had to answer question comparing and contrasting the butterfly life cycle with the lady bug life cycle. 

Here is a picture of my students examining the ladybug and butterfly life cycle specimen. 

Classroom Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you a fundraiser that we have been doing at my school the last couple of years. Each class receives a pumpkin and they decorate it however they like. The pumpkins are then displayed in the hallway and voted on. The class with the highest votes get a pizza party. Each vote is worth one dollar. Last year we used real pumpkins and ended up with rotting pumpkins in our hallway, which I do not recommend! This year we used fake carvable pumpkins, which have turned out really cute. Here are some of the great pumpkins the classes came up with this year!

cowgirl pumpkin

mummy pumpkin

mickey mouse pumpkin

Uncle Si pumpkin (1)

Uncle Si pumpkin (2)

2 sided minion pumpkin

Good side

Bad Side

basket ball and goal pumpkin

Merida pumpkin

Cinderella carriage pumpkin

kitty pumpkin

rainbow fish

lady bug

bass drum pumpkin

I hope you enjoyed!

Accountability Talk Posters

With common core implementation, we as teachers, have been asked to have our students use accountable talk in the classroom. To help implement accountable talk, our Special Education teacher created these posters to help prompt students during lessons. She has been so gracious as to allow me to share these posters with you also.

I printed my accountable talk posters on colored card stock, cut them out, and hung them around my white board. I hope you enjoy. 

Click here to download the posters.