make it monday: place value paint strips.

Place value was something my students really struggles to grasp this year.  They could not dissect the number and break it down in to tens and ones… the concept was just too abstract for them.  I like using visuals to show the kids the place values in a number and display tens and ones while still presenting the standard form of the number in front of them.

This idea can also be paired beautifully with my love of using paint strips in the classroom (you would not believe how many uses you can get out of these free, colorful wonders).

Behold:

Simple, genius, and oh so helpful!

for me friday: teacher pinning.

It is no secret that I get almost ALL of my ideas from Pinterest.  If you have been on Pinterest, you know how overwhelming it can be.  There are millions of pins to sort through, you don’t have time to read them all in-depth right when you pin them, and one idea is approached in countless ways that make it difficult to figure out just how you want to tweak it to make it right for you.

Well, this may make it a little easier… Teaching Blog Addict is on to something.  They are working on categorizing teaching pins and pinboards in order to make life a little less chaotic for those of us who can’t get enough ideas from Pinterest.  While I don’t think it has reached its full potential quite yet, and there will still be millions of things to sort through (I, for one, would not want the options to be decreased… the more ideas, the better!), I like the idea and direction they are going, and if you need something really quickly without having time to think of and revise searches, this is the place to go!

http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2011/12/teaching-pinterest-pin-collections.html

thoughtful thursday: what kind of teacher do you want?

I love this idea for a first day of school activity.  It is so easy to relay our expectations to our students without even considering their expectations for us.  It will be a great way to get to know each other, and it will give quick and immediate insight in to the various kinds of learners you have in your class.  Even if it is impossible to be all of these things, at least you will know what students want and how you can reach them.  With older students, I would love to do it as a chalk talk when they first entered the classroom with their names by it so I could record it for future reference with a picture.  Chalk talks are something I would love to do as a part of morning routine if I had an older classroom, so this would be a great way to get that going from the beginning!  With younger students, you can record it for the students as this teacher did.  It would allow for condensing like thoughts and depicting obscure meanings.  Some of these things can be addressed immediately while others will come out as character traits throughout the year!

tidy tuesday: common core planning sheet.

In Georgia, we are switching to the Common Core standards for the 2012-13 school year.  While it is throwing everyone for a loop, I am excited about them!  I think they will be a step in the right direction, and I for one am grateful that I am starting out my teaching career with them while at the same time still being familiar with the GPS through my practicum and student teaching experiences.

Since many other states are also using Common Core, I decided to share this planning sheet template for my Tidy Tuesday post.

It is a little difficult to see, but it is a free digital download from TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers), so you can see a bigger image there!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Common-Core-Planning-Sheet

While it would be a bit tedious to fill out for EVERY lesson all year, I think it is definitely something I would like to use at least for my first couple months since I am just starting out and just getting familiar with the standards.  This will be such a quick and easy reference guide if I need to glance at it during a lesson, and it would be something great to hand to administrators for observations and whatnot.  While it is an extra form, if you create extensive lesson plans anyways, this will be super easy to fill out.

Coming from a recent grad, I would also recommend this for teachers who have student teachers.  Whether you want to fill it out for them or just provide the template and allow them to fill it out from your plans, it would be SUPER HELPFUL for them.  Taking over subjects can be unnerving at first, especially when there is a university observation planned.  It is also great for them to discuss with their university supervisor afterwards as well as provide evidence of their work throughout the week.  I liked printing out something similar for each day and including copies of relevant student work… it made putting a portfolio together so simple, and it gave me a great item to share with future student teachers.

Happy planning!  Enjoy this last month of summer!

**P.S. Wonder Wednesday will be taking a break this week in honor of July 4.  I will be experiencing my first time on a boat/lake. Wish me luck!**

make it monday: lucky charms treat.

First, let me start off by apologizing for my absence last week.  It has gotten very hectic in my life lately.  I still have not gotten a job, so I am sadly starting the move back home.  I am still not giving up by any means… I am hopeful that something will open up prior to the school year!  I am still going at the job hunt full force!  That being said, you can imagine how busy it is working, traveling back and forth moving belongings between cities on time off, AND finding time to write, email, and deliver cover letters and resumes.  All while pursuing non-teaching jobs just in case since most counties are not even hiring substitutes at this point.

No matter… on to Make It Monday!!  Since I am still hoping to have a classroom on the first day of school, I had to share this cute idea.  This teacher packed little snack bags of Lucky Charms with little notes saying “I am so lucky to have you in my class.”  As a student I was all for food and treats (I think I have said this before), and as a teacher, I am the same way.  Since I plan on having the first days/weeks focusing on routines and procedures rather than strictly academic work, there will be time to munch on a little snack here and there.

Simple, cheap, easy, caring, fun!

**P.S. Remember to check for allergies prior to doing ANYTHING involving food!!

for me friday: wallpapered filing cabinet.

How precious is this (?!):

If you know me, this is right up my alley.  I love anything vintage-y or lacy, and most of all, I LOVE plain colors (think whites, grays, and navys).  The only thing I might change on this is adding gold hardware (something I used to hate but have become obsessed with over the last two years).  I really like how this hardware looks, too, though, so who knows.  But I diverge…

The point is, my vintage, plain colored style is not appropriate in the classroom.  Somehow I don’t think children would appreciate it like I do.  That is for the home, school style is for the classroom.  But this is such a great opportunity to bring some of that in without being imposing.  And it covers up those scratached, paint scraped metal cabinets.

Now I am not sure if magnets would stick on the cabinet through the wallpaper… that is something I would have to find out.  I don’t like wasted space in the classroom, so I use magnetic things like letters, lunch choices, attendance, etc. on the sides of cabinets.  If magnets can’t stick through the wallpaper, I would just have to do the drawers and leave the sides be.  In any case, I want some version of this.

That being said, it looks pretty complicated to make for me.  Pretty in-depth stuff.  But then again, I am not yet handy.  I have all these crafts and renos I want to do, but I have to learn how to use power tools and stuff first.  So if you are handy, it may be way easier for you.  Either way, here is the link for the DIY instructions.  Enjoy!!

(P.S. Obviously you can use any wallpaper you want, so if you are big in to classroom themes or what have you, I am sure there is something perfect our there for you!)

thoughtful thursday: character/discussion books.

For the millionth time, I am a huge fan of incorporating literature into everything.  There are just so, so, so, so, SO many great children’s books out there… how could you not?!

Anyways, I found this list that I really liked of children’s books that broach topics like character, feelings, conflicts, etc. in a way that draws children in and sparks discussion in a non-lecturing way.  I don’t want to say don’t do this and don’t do that… I want kids to understand why we should aspire to obtain the morals presented in these stories.

I know there are tons of lists out there like this, but this is my favorite one that I have found.  It is a very diverse list with books of all genres, so each student will be attracted to at least one (I would hope).  My favorite thing about it, though, is the amount of books I have never even heard of.  I absolutely love that.  So often we hear of the typical books for the typical issues when there are so many out there that approach one matter in several different ways.  Don’t fret, though.  It also has some classics that you just can’t pass up like It’s Mine and Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni, The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, and No! David by David Shannon.

My only complaint is that the list does not include a quick summary or even word describing the main idea of the book if you want to find a particular book for an issue in your classroom.

Check it out, anyways!  Here is the link.  Save it as a resource!  It is always nice to have a couple checked out at a time in case there is some unexpected time in the day where it would fit in nicely.

wonder wednesday: oobleck.

Who has ever heard of oobleck?  I certainly have not, but apparently it is a well known thing.

It is a mixture of corn starch and water that acts as a solid when it is played with quickly, and it is liquid-y when it is played with slowly.  SO interesting.  I will provide you with a link at the end of this post where you can see the stuff in action.

This would be a great (and fun) lesson to discuss the different properties of matter and all those in-between stages that are so hard to define.  It will really get kids thinking critically and questioning the facts that have always just been presented and accepted before.  It will allow them to discover these properties on their own through their personal and motivated inquiries rather than through a textbook or SmartBoard resource.  I LOVE things like this.  I am all about those authentic experiences and kids discovering rather than me telling.

Again, it is a cheap resource and would be an especially great thing to do in small groups if you had the means to do it (parent help, parapro, volunteer, or we were lucky enough to have FOCUS students who were teaching science from the university).

Here are directions for how to make the oobleck:

Now, in the link I am sharing to the blog where I first learned about oobleck, she goes a step further with her kids and mixes in food coloring (not something for the classroom given the stained hands afterwards) and puts it on a cookie sheet on a subwoofer.  The oobleck actually moves depending on the audio tone!  It looks like so, so, so much fun and would be a great transition lesson in to sound waves, etc., but I am sure if you do not have the resources, your students will be perfectly happy to play with the oobleck and simply discuss matter.  I guarantee it will lead to other conversations and learning topics anyways 🙂

Blog with dancing oobleck: http://www.housingaforest.com/dancing-oobleck/

There is also a Dr. Suess book called Bartholemew and the Oobleck.  Obviously I have never read this since I had never heard of oobleck, but you can bet I will look in to it to further enhance the lesson.  I suggest you do the same… I will always put a plug in for incorporating literature in to lessons (!!!!!!!!!!).

Also, I had to throw this last picture in for kicks.  HOW MUCH FUN DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?!?!  I would love to go out in the backyard (if I had one) and do this right now!  I can’t wait to babysit my niece and nephews for a day… I get to go home and leave the mess.  Even better!  Take a look:

 

tidy tuesday: binder bags.

Have you ever sent books, flash cards, pamphlets, etc. home with students and they come back the next day with only half of them?  I have tried everything… baggies, rubber bands, binder clips, staples.  You name it, I’m pretty sure I have tried it.  Yet the materials miraculously vanish in to thin air after their second or third trip home.  Student doesn’t know, parents don’t know, bus driver doesn’t know.  Mysteries.  This may be because I have worked with only younger students, but I am going to go ahead and assume it happens to older students, as well.

So let’s avoid the problem all together.  In a cheap way (you know I’m all about that by now).  Here is what you do:

Take a gallon sized Ziploc bag, run masking tape down the whole left side of it (besides where it opens, obviously).  Then, hole punch over the masking tape and stick it in a binder.  It is better than a sheet protector because it holds more and closes at the top, and the masking tape keeps it from ripping and falling out of the binder.  I would probably put masking tape on both the front and the back of the left side, myself.

I know there have been so many times I have sent home flashcards, cut up letters, scrambled sentences, and whatnot never to see them again.  I am really confident this will help alleviate that problem.  I also think I will use it in homework and communication folders, providing spaces for those tiny, tiny slips of paper with library/lunch dues, fundraiser pamphlets, picture order forms, etc.

SUPER EXCITED!! 

make it monday: phonics phones.

Most of you have probably already seen this, but they are definitely something I want to make for my classroom, especially if I am working with young readers.  A lot of the students I have worked with in the past need to read aloud in order to comprehend and stay on track with what they are reading.  It is difficult for them to decipher words and figure out what sounds right if they are having to read silently.  It is not realistic, however, to have twenty something students reading aloud, especially when they are still too young to monitor their voice levels while reading and focusing on other things.  Add in the students (I have noticed this especially with ESOL students) who are reluctant to read aloud in front of others, and it can become a huge dilemma very quickly.

Hence the creation of phonics phones.  I know the students I have worked with would be even more motivated to read when they had something personal and fun like this to work with.  It will be especially helpful for those of you (us, when I have a classroom) who implement the Daily 5.

I especially like the cute ones above.  I have said this before about designed/patterned things, though… children will fight over which one they get, and if they are not happy, it can ruin the whole point of the resource and create a much bigger problem than the original one.  That being said, I think it is great to present the children with their options and let them pick their pattern for the year if you have the time and resources to do that (let’s say if you have a parapro).  If you are like me, though, and will have a MILLION things to make all at once in the span of a week or two, this is not realistic.  In that case, I will find a friendly pattern that should be good for everyone and get going on all of them!

Here is the link on how to create these custom phonics phones if you would like to give it a whirl!  Video tutorial and everything!

http://www.classroomdiy.com/2012/05/diy-phonics-phones.html