January Monday Made It

It's that time again!  Monday Made It with Tara.  I enjoyed it so much this past summer - those Mondays that I could just blog hop from one website to another pinning all those fabulous ideas.  Then school started and I can't just relax in my pj's anymore - yes, I'm still sad about that - Christmas break was wonderful!

Well this past month I have been filling up my little store on Teachers Pay Teachers.  That's mainly what I've made.  I've created quite a few things for my kiddos - and they seem to be appreciative.  The other day we were playing Scoot with our Mid Year Math Review and they asked me where I got the game from.  I told them that I made it myself (since for the majority of the fall my answer was from other fabulous teachers).  They actually thanked me!  After I picked up my jaw off the floor, I decided that I WAS a creative type of person who really does enjoy making things.  Yes, I finally convinced myself. 

Okay, so here is some of the stuff I've been making:

  

Banners for Whole Class Incentives - They spell the words on those special weeks to earn a class prize.  

 

Math Review - Double Digit Multiplication, Long Division, Math Facts, Mid Year (Factors, Rounding, Place Value, Division, Multiplication)

There are other things that I've uploaded too over at the store.  

Thank you for your support and encouragement!  

The other big thing that I did for school was changing around a wall and creating a brand new word wall.  In the past 2 1/2 years that I have been in this classroom I have despised this section of the wall.  They moved my TV over to this area 2 years ago and it has always been a weird set up as some of it is tucked behind it.  Not to fear though - what a difference it has made with bright paper.  The ABC cards on it are actually Tonya's Portable Word Wall from TPT.  I had bought it planning on making it portable, but then they were the perfect size. 

I hope you have a wonderful day!   

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January Pins (Writing, Science, and Math)

I don't get onto the actual Pinterest website as much anymore.  I am more pinning things from websites and blogs that I need to remember.  Love that "Pin It" button on my screen!
Every once in a while (usually the beginning of the month) I feel the need to make sure I'm using the ideas that I'm pinning.  Here are 6 things I want to remember to work into my planbook for January.
With any of the pictures - just click the links to take you to the pin so you can repin or head to the original website.    

Writing Sick Stories
Snow Globe Writing

Mug Writing

Mini Volcanoes

Volcano in a Mug

Ordered Pairs - I did this last year outside using sidewalk chalk.  It lasted all week for all different types of lessons and the other classes could also use it.  I just need to remember to bring enough chalk, wear gloves, and tennis shoes (no heels this year) the morning I draw it.  
I hope these give you some ideas for your own classroom!

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Planning for Dr. King's Birthday

For Dr. King's Birthday, I like to have my students think of their own wish for the world.  We discuss what Dr. King's dream was, and then we brainstorm together what our own wishes are.  Coming off of Christmas when the students are so focused on themselves and what they feel they need, I try to guide them into thinking of things that will help the entire world.
For example:*Clean water for all*Peace*No wars*Medicine for anyone who needs it
We discuss and then they write a multi-paragraph essay about it.  We are working on details, so they will need to not only state their dream, but also a solution that could make that a reality.  Of course the solution may not be a real life possibility, but in their eyes it could.  
When they are ready to tackle the final draft I will give them a paper from this packet.  There is a full sheet with clip art, as well as a 1/2 sheet with clip art.  It's free, just click the link!  

The new year means I'm also starting out a new incentive thing in my classroom.  My kids are spelling out words to earn whole class rewards.  We tried doing something like this the week before Christmas break using Tara's "Be Merry" banner, and they really were motivated to earn the letters.  We still do warm fuzzies, but these are mainly used those weeks that there is something special going on and we need a little extra motivation to make good choices (staying on green, walking in line, etc).  

I made up a DREAM banner (and also a SNOWMAN , and then a Love Bug one), and this weekend am planning on getting the rest of Winter complete.  I'm making up 2 sizes for each banner since I want to use the full sheet for the Writing wall and the smaller 1/2 sheet for the board.  They are in the same set for convenience.  
Do you do something for Dr. King's birthday too?  Any other activities you could share with me?  Sometimes it seems that I get so trapped in the regular routine that I forget about all the thematic stuff that helps to supplement their learning.     

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My Snow Day Plan - Freebie

I live in California and where I live we don't get snow.  At all.  Not even a bit near our houses.  So my kiddos never get a chance to have a snow day at school.
Now, as I was sitting at home over vacation I saw that Tara from 4th Grade Frolics had a snow inspired day for her winter party.  I was jealous for a moment, and then I decided to have a snow day as well - to celebrate January and coming back to school.  
So I chose some of the activities and crafts that Tara mentioned, and added a couple of other ones that I enjoy.
Here's how I planned my day:
Snow What Fun (Read Aloud)  To first get the kids thinking of what the snowmen might do if they were alive, I will read the book Snow What Fun.  I know it's supposed to be the night before Christmas but the kids won't care.  If a snowman came to life, I'm sure it would want to have some fun.
Snowman Narratives (Tara's idea) Her idea of having the snowman come to life for a narrative inspired me to have my own students create this same project.  Every morning from now until March my students will be completing quick writes complete with our Rainbow Edits (for convention practice).  My students will write about their own personal snowman and what would happen if they were to wake up someday to find it had come alive, or what their snowman would do if it was alive.  As the students finish with their Rainbow Edit they will have a chance to illustrate their final drafts complete with their own snowman.  I made up this freebie.  Just click to download.  

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Snowball Fight (Math Facts)I have a box of paper scraps - each page is around 8x8 in. and the perfect size for a snowball.  The kids each will take a page and write their name on it (small print to the side).  Then they will write a math fact on it.  On the count of 3 we will toss them up in the air, and then grab another snowball from the floor.  We won't toss it to another person, we will just throw them.  When we grab another one the kids will have to answer the math problem and write their initials next to it.  Then they have to come up with a different math problem to write on the paper.  We will crumple them up again and throw them.  We will repeat the process until we can not fit anymore math problems on the papers (or 10 minutes - whatever comes first).

 Fraction Snowflakes (Math - Tara's idea)This project uses qtips, dark construction paper, and white glue.  They create a snowflake using qtips and then had to calculate the 2 fractions.  I'm going to have my students write the fraction of how many full qtips/total number, and then another fraction of how many half qtips/total number.  I think I'm going to give them a total of 20 full qtips to do what they want with them - break or use full.
Making Snow (Science experiment)We just did the Orbeeze experiment yesterday, so I don't want to do an entire write up again.  Instead I'm just going to make snow (with them watching) and they will predict what will happen - how the snow will look and feel compared to real snow.  Then we will create a Venn Diagram using our senses and background knowledge.  I will tell them what this pretend snow really is made from.  The diaper ingredient always grosses them out - especially after they have all touched it.  It's not like it was a dirty diaper!!
Snowflake Bentley (Read Aloud)Don't you love this book?  I love how there are so many facts included and that it stresses that each snowflake is unique.  This will be our after lunch Read Aloud for today.  

Creating Snowflakes (Art)I had every intention of sending snowflakes to Conn. but they don't need them anymore.  So we will do it for fun, to practice following directions, and to decorate our own classroom.  After reading Snowflake Bentley I want them to create their own unique snowflake.
Glitter Playdough Snowmen (Art - Tara's idea) I used the same recipe that Tara shared and will give each student a little amount to create their own 3d snowman as they finish their snowflakes (and have picked up all their tiny little scraps of paper off the floor/desk/chair).
I love Winter!!!

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Orbeeze Science Experiment - Freebie

This week we are reading "Emily's Hands On Science Experiment" in my classroom.  It's about a girl who creates a Science experiment that eventually gets published in a medical journal.  It's a tough story for kids to understand since it talks about Touch Therapy - which is a tough topic in itself.  Yes, we talk about it, but I focus more about the steps of the Scientific Process that she went through to do her Science project.  It's something they can relate to.  
Since it's a very short week (3 days) and the story is only 4 pages long, I decided to use time to complete our Orbeeze Science Experiment.  Orbeeze are these tiny little pellets that expand in liquid.  This lesson is a very simple experiment that helps the students understand the steps to the Scientific Process.  It's something that we observe all day.Materials Needed:*Orbeeze - the package comes in 3 colors, 1/4 tsp. of each color*3 containers - I use empty plastic water bottles (since I have plenty in my classroom's recycling)*3 liquids (1 cup each liquid) - It doesn't matter what liquid you use, just make sure they are basically different compositions and that they are clear.-Water-Distilled Vinegar-Soda (Lemon Lime Soda)-Clock
First, I give them one of these papers.  It's a basic form that allows them to fill in the information.  It's a freebie over at TPT - just click the picture and it will take you there.  

We go through each step together in filling out the form.  I have them focus on putting down the details (which ties into what we are focusing on in writing as well).

Ask a Question:  How large does Orbeeze grow in vinegar, water, and soda? We all wrote this down together.

Make a Hypothesis (Guess):  I think vinegar will make the Orbeeze grow the largest. (Yes, I specifically guessed WRONG for the experiment. I wanted them to see that it's not the end of the world if you guess wrong.)  The students created their own guesses.

Conduct the Experiment:  The students wrote out the Steps/Procedures 

Step 1:  Pour 1/4 tsp. Orbeeze into each bottle.  One color per bottle.

Step 2: Pour 1 cup of liquid in each bottle.  

Step 3.  Label the bottles with the type of liquid.

Step 4:  Observe bottles and Orbeeze every 30 minutes for 5 hours.  

Collect Data:  We made a chart - which tied into our math lesson of collecting and sorting information.

Instead of me typing everything up again - I'll just share what our charts looked like afterward (I typed up the class results for an example).  As we were observing we did not open up the containers of liquid.  We did not measure the Orbeeze until the very end of the school day when we used a ruler to measure diameter.  We made graphs on the back of their papers.  

Analyze Information/Summary/Reflection:  Students wrote the final results in this section.  They had to turn their charts of information into words.  They compared the balls and wrote their findings.  For example one student wrote, "Water turned out to be the biggest.  Vinegar turned out to be the smallest.  Soda was in the middle of water and vinegar."  They then had to go back to their Question & Hypothesis to see if they guessed correctly and if we did answer our question.  I also had them write a reflection of what they learned as well.

It's a fun experiment that gets results quickly.  I have found the Orbeeze near the play dough in Target (toy section).  Hope this helps someone!

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Seating Arrangements

I like to change desks on the last day of the month - or more like the last Friday of the month.  It's a chance for the kiddos to clean out their desks - really organize everything and get ready for a brand new start.  Every month I usually change to a different seating arrangement as well.  Of course this afternoon I'm changing because, well... before vacation I ran out of energy to come up with a new seating chart.    
At the end of last year I found my most favorite arrangement - the Double U.  Getting prepped for this new school year I had everything set up for this group of kids, my husband did the zip ties on the desks, and we were ready to tackle the year.  Then I met the kids and realized that this group needs to switch desks a lot.  I mean a lot!  I needed to have quite a few of them as my desk buddies, or as islands, or as a chance to move away from the group to be able to focus.  This group can not handle sitting in table groups, and many of them need to be facing forward - not having their desks sitting sideways from the board where they could possibly see another child.  Of course there isn't a lot of room in my classroom to have everyone as an island all the time.  Having no room to walk around or losing carpet space drives me nuts.
So I wanted to share all the different ways I arrange my room.  I made up a packet so you can see how I transition through the year.  I know everyone's class is different, but if you would like to download this from TPT you should be able to just write in the names.  These arrangements are based on 32 kiddos.  

Table Groups Ideas*groups of 3 (these look like ladybugs to me)*groups of 4*groups of 6*groups of 8*groups of 10 and 12 (not enough space in my classroom for this one)
*Link Ups - sides connected, everyone facing forward.  This one is great for when students really need to focus and get distracted by others.
*Islands - everyone separated into rows
*E reverse E - students facing forward except side students (10 students that are capable of looking at other students)
*Double U - 20 students on the outside U, 12/13 students on the inner U.  This is great for when you only want 2 rows of students.  It feels like a huddle, no one is too far away.  
  If nothing else perhaps it will give you some ideas on how to move around your kids.  

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Planning for the 100th Day and FLASH sale

I'm joining up with a bunch of other bloggers to ring in the New Year TPT style.  One day only 20% off until midnight on 1/1/13.  
Thanks to Hope for creating this cute graphic!  
Click the picture to check out my store.  :)

Last January for celebrating the 100th day of school I brought in one hundred Hershey Kisses. We were at the math lesson where we needed to compare and order fractions, so I wrote the fractions 1/1 to 1/100 on the bottom of all the kisses and then hid them around the classroom during prep.

When the kids came back they had to find all the kisses throughout the classroom. Each student was responsible for finding 3 chocolates, the extras we found together. They kept the chocolate on top of their desks (with the directions of NOT eating them), and we started to organize them on the whiteboard marker rack. We started off pretty simple - who had 1/1 and who had 1/100. We put them on opposite sides of the board. Then the kids started to come up and place the labeled chocolates in the correct places of our make shift number line - ordering and comparing as we went along. Once everyone worked together I went through and did the final check. It was a great activity and the kiddos really took responsibility for putting their fractions in the correct place.

I wanted to have that same fun with using different types of numbers, but without the need for chocolate temptations every time, so I made up this number bundle. It comes with whole numbers, negative numbers, fractions, and decimals.  It's over at TPT if you are interested!

Hope you have a good day!  It's the last day of vacation and I'm actually excited about seeing my school kiddos tomorrow morning.  I am NOT excited about setting my alarm tonight though...

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