Tech Signs for Managing BYOT

I am SUPER excited that myself, along with one other 5th grade colleague, are about to embark on the BYOT journey! Our HS and MS just began this year, and we are using a county-wide user agreement (so all of that tough paperwork is mostly taken care of - phew)! In the past few years, I have slowly integrated tech more and more... Now that we are the 'pilots' at our school, I am hoping that others will jump on board. A little team (5 folks) from our school visited a wonderful school system that has been implementing BYOT for a little while. If you have not looked through the resources at Forsyth County's website, you are missing out - take a look:

In preparation for the upcoming adventure, I have been thinking a lot about how to manage SO many devices. I will of course model, model, model procedures, as I do at the beginning of the year. One way I will manage the devices are by using signs/posters. The posters I created below immediately show students whether or not they will need their devices for instruction/etc. on any given day. They simply look for the sign and comply. The turtle sign is something that I tweaked a little from a response on the Cornerstone site. When I taught Kindergarten, I had students come in and have "Turtle Time" (invented by Bobbie Starcher - my wonderful mentor teacher), which they put their heads down for a bit while everyone had a turn for water. Well, it made me think of turning the devices over where I can only see their 'shells.' When the turtle time sign is presented with a "Turtle Time" from the teacher, students must turn devices over and give attention to the teacher (kind of like an attention getter saying - 1, 2, 3, eyes on me... ). Hope these work out for YOU!! 

You can get these here!

Christmas Carol Puzzle (neat bit of history)

A few years back during a faculty meeting, our principal pulled out an old Christmas Carol Puzzle for us to try and figure out. Of course, there was a little prize for the first group to correctly solve each puzzle. Now that Christmas is quickly approaching (and because I want to do something fun with the kiddos these last 2 days before the holiday break), I revisited this little puzzle. I thought it would be interesting to see which carols the students know! I did adjust the puzzle slightly and do not take credit for the idea. If you want to know about the history of this puzzle and the many variations throughout the years, please visit this website: http://ssqq.com/archive/christmaspuzzlemore.htm

(Also have a word scramble below - no answer sheet - good luck!)

Since I have just begun selling my items, I am in the process of creating Paypal buttons for all items. Until then, please email me if you would like to purchase something, and I will send a Paypal invoice.

Christmas Carol Puzzles $0.50

 

Christmas Scramble $0.50

Quality, not Quantity

It has been some time since I have posted. 5th grade is going GREAT! In the past, I have posted more often, but I am one who wants to try things out first, see how they work, and then give you all the best I have... quality, not quantity is important to me... you? Over the past couple of months, I have reflected on my lessons, tweaking things here and there, and having fun while learning! Of course, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, so I always consider that each day.

I wanted to give you a few things I have used lately.

During our first quarter of school, we worked relentlessly on Opinion Writing. Many of my students had difficulty with generating ideas and keeping those ideas organized. For this reason, I created this organizer to assist them. In addition, MODELING for students is HUGE, and I do this constantly. I am a visual learner, so I feel it is very important that they SEE what it is they will be responsible for doing on their own. I have included a sample with this organizer.

You can get these here!

In addition to this organizer, some had a tough time getting this information into detailed paragraphs, using transitions. For this reason, I created another organizer. It was really an eye opener for many (even my gifted students), as they THOUGHT they had enough detail until they began placing their rough draft into this organizer.

One last thing I want to share is my revising/editing sheet that students used during the writing process:

Hope to share some more quality items with you during Thanksgiving Holidays (when I have a little time...haha)!

Formative Assessment - Before you go, "tweet" what you know...

I am loving 5th grade, the curriculum and the conversations I have with the students about learning! Although I have been extremely busy teaching and learning the new curriculum, I wanted to share what my professional development goal is this year: use more of Marazano's Nine in my classroom. I have found a ton of resources online (mostly digital tools) that can enhance and engage student learning. Of course one way to assesses the knowledge of my students it to conduct frequent, on-going formative assessments, which drives my instruction. Differentiating for our students is critical, so I must know what they know and do not know and adjust accordingly.


Although I always formatively assess, I would like something tangible from time to time to show parents. There are a ton of formative assessment techniques out there, but this week I want to focus on Exit Tickets. I have asked higher-order questions at the end of lessons to check for understanding or have given a sample skill for students to perform, but I want to know what they are thinking as well - to see if they know whether or not they get it! Here is a little exit ticket I will be using this week: I tried to incorporate hash tags and twitter.

You can get these here!

Conjunction Junction...

I am getting my feet wet in 5th grade now... phew!

This week, I will teach a mini-lesson about conjunctions and using commas in a series and with conjunctions. I have NEVER had a Smartboard until this year (yes, I know... you can breathe now...)!

I made my first attempt to create 2 Smartboard lessons: One about Conjunctions & one about Comma Usage. You are more than welcome to use them if you wish (see below)

(Freebie)

First, I will introduce conjunctions with the School House rock video: Schoolhouse Rock 

Then, my Smartboard lesson/practice & ticket out the door. (above)

Later in the week, I will introduce the use of a comma with this video: Comma Story

Then, use my Smartboard lesson/practice & ticket out the door. (above)

I just hope it goes well:) We are also finding a lot of textual evidence with our novel, Steal Away Home.

Pointing in the right directions -->

Have you seen these?

They are one of my new 'gotta have' items in my room. The kiddos love them, they are bright colors, and they focus my students' attention on important announcements! I wish I had more photos to show, but for now it is important to just know what I use them for:

• Highlighting important announcements
• Due dates
• Learning Targets/Objectives/Standards
• Pointing out important Parts of Speech in sentences
• Pointing out specific vocabulary
• the list goes on...

Where can you get them? Here: 

Currently September

I have SERIOUSLY neglected my blog - which will probably be the case this year, due to having to learn a new curriculum. So far, 5th grade is going great! I have a great team and great kiddos. I am one of those teachers who cannot do enough... so I work and work and work at trying to get better for my students. With this, I am very tired after the first few weeks! Of course, I do not know any differently. I just cannot let things go, which I need to work on...

This month will go by fast, I am sure:

• Hubby's 40th b-day
• Daughter's soccer games begin again
• My first time entering grades (eek) O_o
• plus more...

Here is my currently for September: (be sure to link up with Farley)

Listening: Well, any time there is a SpongeBob marathon, we just have to watch...LOL. My hubby loves it more than anyone!

Loving: I am SO grateful for today off of school! I needed a day to NOT think about it (much)!

Thinking: There is just so much to do to continue to stay 'caught up.' It will all work out in the end, I know!

Wanting: I need to catch up on things: housework, unit plans, etc. 

Needing: I am pretty good at taking it one day at a time, but learning a new grade level always makes you feel a tad behind. I have never given grades, set AR goals, etc. so there has been so much to learn in such a short time. 

Love for myself: These three are pretty self-explanatory:) I need time for all the things that are MOST important to me!

Five for Friday :)

This is my LAST weekend before I head back to work Monday O_o


I am taking a break from making classroom items and designing blogs to post (feel like I am neglecting my blog...lol). Anyway... I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Neglected posting my Teacher Tour Tuesday... pooey. I did get to work in my room several times this week & the pictures for that will be coming next week!! Here is my video of what I came into last Saturday!!!

Yikes, I know!! Trust me, it is much better now ;)

Been doing some creating more things for my room, laminating, and cutting...

I finally broke down and got my hair cut! I like it long in the summer (so I can throw it up). 

Been doing a LOT of designing blogs for others, but am going to take the month of August off (once I finish up the last two I am working on!!). Been grateful that this has given me a little spending $ for my classroom, since I do not sale my teacher made items. 

Cannot WAIT until college football season!! Go Clemson!!! 22 More days!!

Back to School Goals #b2s13

Well, it is always good to set some reasonable goals. I am not sure if these are SMART goals, but I have a few more weeks to think it over!! I am linking up with I {heart} Recess for our B2S Goals!!

I have been teaching for 10 years, but there is ALWAYS room to grow, improve, and learn! This is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching :)

Here are some of MY goals for this year (as I embark on a NEW adventure going from Kindergarten to 5th grade... yikes..LOL - this was MY decision after all *what was I thinking*...haha)

Personal - It is always my goal to walk more closely to Christ. Through reading God's word, I am who I am and am very grateful that He saved me!!! I want to read more of the Bible, pray more deeply and walk more closely to my Heavenly Father:)

Organization - Folks tell me I am pretty organized... I am not always so sure..LOL!! Last year, I went through all my Kindergarten files and aligned them to the CCGPS. I now have the lovely job of creating the same thing for 5th grade! It makes sense for me to file things this way!!!

Planning - A colleague and I have met twice and mapped out a good bit of our first unit. My goal is to take "One day at a time"... sweet Jesus (have you ever heard that song?...LOL)!! I am learning a new grade level, so I am not going to stress.. I am simply going to take it slow and learn more and more each day!

Professional - There are a lot of things I would like to do (one of them is going through the Lucy Calkins books - which will be part of my professional learning this year). I want to hold off on going into a lot of detail with that just yet, as I am getting my feet wet this year. I will love to incorporate what I learn this year through the PL into next year's units. For this reason.... I would like to get more familiar with the 5th grade standards, so I plan to use lots of LOTS - Language of the Standards. :)

Students - I pray that I can be a role model for these children. I want to build positive relationships through trust and also make learning as fun as possible!! I want them to know that learning can be a life-long tool!

Motto - I always tell me students that they need to "Be the best YOU, YOU can be!" If nothing else, you need to give something your all, your best... That is all that I can ask of them!!

Something a little different... Prayer Journal

Do you want to pray for everything and everyone, but you seem to forget someone or something from time to time? We are human after all.. right?...LOL. Anyway, I wanted to do a little more focused prayer and more detailed prayer, so I wanted a calendar to keep me in line! Here is a copy in case you would like to do the same:

(FREEBIE)

#teachertourtuesday

Don't forget to take a short clip of one part of your classroom to share. Link up below:)

Here's what to do...

1- create an Instagram Video clip of a section of your classroom
2- post your video on Instagram with hashtag #teachertourtuesday
3- write up a post on your blog about your video (direct them to join your Instagram)
4- in your post, link back to this page with the Teacher Tour Tuesday sign
5- link up your site below ONLY your post link (not your whole blog:)  - this is how others can view your post:)

Sadly, I cannot get into my classroom until next week *panicking* I will join in next week!! If you already have some done, please share a little portion each week by linking up:)

Remind 101 - Student/Parent/Teacher Communication

Need to send a quick message about a homework assignment? or maybe need to remind about an upcoming event...? Remind 101 is a wonderful app/online tool that teachers can use to text their students/parents (without the hassle of giving out your personal contact information). It is also very easy to use.

@Remind101 #R101LOVE 

Back in the Spring, I conducted a Professional Learning session trying to introduce Remind 101 and Class Dojo to our staff. Here is a link to the presentation - PLEASE view the PowerPoint. 

You can use this resource online: https://www.remind101.com/

or through their app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/remind101/id522826277?mt=8

I set my account up online, but truly love using the app to send the quick texts to parents/students. 

What is the BEST feature??? I love how you can set the date/time for the message to send out. I always forget unless I type it right away and set the date/time for it to send out!!!

Please consider trying this teacher tool! 

Businesses Helping Teachers...

Many businesses are trying to give teacher discounts as a way to help out their classrooms. Here is another one of those great opportunities. Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts is providing a Teacher Rewards program to help educators out with creative items to spice up your classroom.

Here are the program details:

Jo-Ann Teacher Rewards � Registration & Benefits

Teachers and educators can register at http://www.joann.com/teach2014 or in-store to receive discounts on classroom craft and sewing projects, classroom d�cor and organization products. Benefits include:

• Free discount card for 15% off every purchase.
• Bonus coupon for 20% off any one total purchase when you enroll or re-enroll in the program.
• More money-saving coupons as a Jo-Ann Preferred Customer.
• Personal notice of the latest sales offers, crafting trends and inspiration.

Please head on over to Jo-Ann's to find some lovely items to make your classroom super organized and ready for back2school! 

SMART Goals for Data Folders

I want to post a lot more about this during the school year, but I wanted students to have something to place in their Data Folder (click here for the Data Folder sheets) about how to set SMART Goals.

 S
You can get these here!

Figurative Language Posters

I have so many things, but I have yet to get or make some items for figurative language. I didn't want to do chevron on these, as I don't want EVERYTHING chevron...LOL. I pulled in some of the colors from my other items in hopes it will all blend nicely.

You can get these here!

Oh... and I forgot to post a pic of my new curtains...

I got these (this is a stock photo) at Walmart about a month ago discounted. They are microfiber. They are regularly online for $16.00 -- I got them on clearance for $7.00 :) Yay!

Limited time only... 50% OFF!!!

50% off of a custom blog design...

This is a great deal, considering how much time goes into designing the overall look of a blog. I offer tons of items for FREE on my blog. I hope you will help me out by ordering a custom blog HALF off the original price. This is for a limited time only. Don't miss out on a chance for a CUSTOM designed blog.

Please email me if you are interested... (click my email @ link in my pennant above) :) Thanks!