MOVING 02/20/2012
Add Comment Book Look 02/20/2012
My class does learning centers at least once a week. This is an easy time for me to get small groups reading while other students are engaged (and quiet). One center I often have is a listening center. In my classroom I have 3 iPod touches and 1 iPad, so my students use them for listening center. I use TumbleBooks, available free through our local library. You can also find lots of books on YouTube, but I only use those on the SmartBoard so that kids don't click on any not-so-great links. In the past, I have instructed my students on one must-watch book and then they could pick others if there was time left. This was working okay, but I wanted to make sure that my students were getting something out of this center. So, this weekend I sat down and make a couple of reflection pages. I think I will let students chose which sheet they want to fill out. This will teach them to reflect on stories they read, not just rush through them. If you are interested, you can find them on my Teachers Pay Teachers account, for only $1. Great, huh? Since I'm so new to this and I'm trying to get some followers, I am giving away one of these packets to anyone who leaves a comment! If you would love to have one, just leave me a comment and tell your favorite book to read to students. Thanks and enjoy! New Math Meeting and Morning Attendance 02/08/2012
I am blessed with a SmartBoard in my classroom. I use this almost all day, everyday. My students love it and I love that they are so engaged in our lessons. For about two week now, we have been completing our Math Meeting (calendar time) on the SmartBoard. The student of the day goes up and prepares the meeting while the rest of the class works on math facts. Once the meeting is completed, we all go over to the board and the student of the day leads our meeting. I love watching the student of the day lead the meeting. It is so cute and funny to see how the mimic what I do and how I speak. I also think it has really made them aware of how student misbehaviors can really be bothersome. Often, I will watch as the student of the day asks another to "sit on your bottom" or "please get quiet". You go, teach! Another reason I love doing Math Meeting on the SmartBoard is that is saving space! I took down a lot of what I used to have on my whiteboards (I left a few things up for quick reference). I now have room to expand my word wall and I will have a bulletin board I can change from time to time. I will attach the Math Meeting file we are currently using below (I plan to revise it soon, and I will update it here also). **Updated on 2/20** 
Since Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, I have another file to share. It is also done in Notebook (SmartBoard software). Students can place his or her "Valentine" into my heart to show they are at school. Hope you enjoy! 
Reading and Spelling Centers 01/22/2012
One great thing about having a class of 13 is the ability to do more hands-on activities with my students. I am up to two days a week doing a center time during my guided reading groups. My goal is to be doing centers and guided reading three days a week by the end of the month. That being said- it takes more planning and more work. I was able to sit down over Christmas break and get my next four weeks planned- which has been WONDERFUL, I tell you! Since I have my basic planning finished that gives me more time to pull additional activities and extensions into our day. Another thing that makes center time absolutely awesome are our iPods and iPad. It makes for an engaging, educational, and fun center for students! They LOVE getting time on the iPad and I love that they are practicing some great reading and math skills. Here is a list of centers that I either have used, or plan to use soon. Hope you enjoy. Reading/Spelling Center Ideas
al alw alwa alway always I am always finding more ideas so I might add more later. Let me know if you have any great ideas to share! Check back soon for my mat 
Scott Foresman Reading Street 09/25/2011
It's been awhile since my last post. I've been busy trying to finish up my Master's degree, moving, and just getting back into the routine of things! Our school uses the 2008 version of Scott Foresman Reading Street for the main part of our reading curriculum. For the most part I like our series, but I do leave some out and supplement with some of my own materials. The biggest thing I have been working on this year is making Power Point presentations for each week. Since we now have a SmartBoard in our classroom (YEAH!) I love using it every chance I get- and the kids do too! Here are the PowerPoints that I have (mostly) completed for this year. There are a couple that I didn't do a complete 5 days on because we've had short weeks. However, if you do use this series it should give you a really good start on things. I will also try to post my spelling test pages that I have made sometime soon. Hope this is helpful! 
Lesson Plans 08/18/2011
It's that time again! We have almost made it through our first week of school and things are going pretty well. Now it's time to get my "official" schedule put together. This week I had a basic outline with a list of tasks that I wanted to get completed. Since we are getting out an hour early each day this week, it's hard to really get into a routine. So, next week the real planning scheduling starts. (Trying to find the time for everything I want/need to teach is another post in itself- as I'm sure you all know!) So that had me thinking... How do other teachers plan? Do you use a lesson plan book with the boxes? Do you make your own template? Or do you only plan online? At our school, we have the freedom to make our plans in the format we choose. I like to make almost a fill-in-the-blank schedule for my plans. (Feel free to open the files below to get an idea of what I use. My template for this year is still a work in progress, so ) I choose to do this for a couple of reasons: 1. It gives a substitute extra details. This means when you wake up at 3:00 in the morning feeling sick you don't have to try to write out details for a substitute. (I'm also working on a new substitute folder - I'll post it when I'm finished.) 2. It saves time- lots of time! By making a template, I don't have to re-write the same details each week- I just fill in story titles, page numbers, etc. So, how do you plan? I would love hear your ideas! 
Inspiration and Freebie 08/14/2011
Most teachers that I know love Dr. Seuss. He was such a fun author! I found this quote today and decided that I need it in my classroom. "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if you only try!" -Dr. Seuss How true is this? Sometimes I think we, as teachers, get stuck in the rut of following our pre-made curriculum. They are the same day, after day, after day.... ugh! Sometimes we (and our students!) need a break from the ordinary. Now, I know this feeling won't come for awhile since we'll be begging for a routine to get established in the coming weeks. However, when that routine is set and boredom is threatening your classroom- remember this quote and break out of the ordinary! Here is the freebie I promised. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to share it!
 Back to School! 08/13/2011
As if i'm not busy enough with getting things ready for back to school time, I also thought it would be fun to start a teaching blog! I hope to share my ideas and experiences with other people. The first thing I would like to share was inspired from a blog post from Blackboard and Beyond. I love the quote that she had on her bookmark and decided it would be a great to give to parents at the beginning of the year. Each bookmark looks like the picture on the left. Please feel free to print it out to use in your own classroom! I plan to punch a hole at the top and tie a cute ribbon to it. I also plan on having my students write his or her name on the back. I think I will laminate them so they can be used and treasured for a long time. You can download below or by clicking here to open in Google Docs. Hope you enjoy!
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