Super Easy Review Activity!

So many times, we'll read something one day,

and then I want to do a quick recap the next day.

I wanted to get my kids engaged in our review from the previous day,

so I came up with this SUPER EASY review activity. 

I asked them to take out the reading from the day before.

They had to write down 4 words that they

thought were important from the reading.

Then, on the board, I made a list of all their words.

The kids came up and put a tally mark under

the four words they had written down.

Was it CRAZY up at the board?

Yes!

But they loved getting up and marking their choices.

Finally, we looked at the results and circled the top 4 choices.

It was fast, easy and we were able to review what we read the day before.

What are some other ways you do quick reviews in your classroom?

Tips and Tricks - Teacher Week 2013

Drink lots of coffee!

 

Okay, that may not work for everyone.

Here are a few tips/tricks that you may

find useful in your classroom.

 

#1:  Get a good joke book.

At random times during the week,

tell your kids a joke.

It gets everyone laughing

and is a nice little break.

 

#2:  Play Rock, Paper, Scissors.

This idea was a brain break

that I've seen shared in a few places.

I play teacher against the whole class.

I'll stand at the front of the room facing my class

and away we go.

My kids LOVE this!

Do some of them change their choice

so they can beat me?

Sure, but it's just for fun.

WARNING:  It can get loud!

 

#3:  Have students give a 2-word summary

about their weekend.

I use this activity on Monday and Friday.

The students get a chance to give a 2-word summary

about what they did/plan to do on the weekend.

I actually read about this as a way

to work on main idea.

We discuss that we need to be able

to figure out the activity from the two words.

 

Good example:  Grandma's house or birthday party

Bad example:  had fun or did stuff.

 

What are some tips you can share with us?

Be sure to link up so we can hear them!

 

Also, be sure to come back on Saturday for my link up:

Five for Friday - Looking for lots of advice and suggestions

Five for Friday is back

and I love their new button.

1.  We are taking my daughter to another carnival today.

It has a Ferris wheel and she can't wait!

She read a book about a little girl

who rides on one and now she wants to go.

I hope it lives up to her expectations.

 

What's your favorite carnival ride?

 

2.  I was able to get into my classroom yesterday.

Here are some pictures of how it currently looks.

I got a bunch done and can't wait to go in

on Monday and get even more accomplished.

 

You see that picture in the top left?

It has that really ugly gray electrical box

and it can't be removed.

Another teacher suggested I put a desk

in front of it and then cover the desk with fabric.

Then I could use the desk to display something,

but who knows what?

 

Do you have any other suggestions on how to cover that gray box

or

what I can display on the desk that I might end up putting there?

 

3.  I want to add some chairs or benches in my room this year.

I saw this at the store, but wasn't going to pay $60.

Any suggestions about benches or chairs?

I don't want anything with fabric.

I'm looking more for wood or wicker.

 

4.  400 Followers...almost!

I'm two Bloglovin' followers away from 400.

I notice that some people still sign up

to follow me with Google Friends,

so technically I'm over 400.

 

So my question to you is:

How are you keeping track of your number of followers?

 

5.  I just ordered our vacation photo album from Shutterfly!

Instead of working on school projects,

I created our album.

Once all the family members added their photos,

we had over 500 pics.

I can't wait to see the printed project.

 

Have you been working on any non-school related projects?

 

 



 

 

 



Quick Tip Linky - Keeping Track of Student Work

Today was a great day at school.

All morning was Field Day.

The kids just love the time to be outside

and play games with their friends.

Of course, they love having their teacher join in on a few of them.

 

Today is also a day to link-up with Jean and Angela for...

This really is just a "quick tip" that I use in my classroom.

 

I make a bunch of copies of my class list.

Then I label them as assignments need to be turned in.

The kids are in charge of checking off their names

as they complete an assignment.

When I need to know who hasn't turned in their work,

I just look at the list.

 

 

This is my list.

I like it because one sheet of paper has five lists.

Copy, cut and check!

 

How do you keep track of your students' work?

 

Five for Friday and a Freebie

I found this fun link-up called Five for Friday.

I get to list five random things that happened this week.  So here they are for you!

1. I started my new math centers.  I've posted about them earlier, but I am really excited about the results so far.

2. Some of the cabinets in my classroom got a good cleaning.  I donated a bunch of books to the teacher's lounge and now there is more space for me to fill up with new books.  Take a look at them now!

 

The Cabinets After

3.  I tried some new suffixes activities in my classroom and the kids actually cheered by the third day.  They were excited for the assignment.  Check out this product that I made for them.

4.  Here is a personal one - I watched with delight as my 3 year old, almost 4, learned how to hula hoop.  I laugh because I can't get that thing to go around once.  She stands there for about a minute and it just keeps going.  It really is super cute!

5.  I found the time to add a fun freebie to Tpt.  It's a St. Patrick's Day theme, but that is coming up so fast.  Maybe it is something that you can use.

Thanks for taking a look at my list.  I'm interested in taking a look at what everyone else was doing this week.

Have a nice weekend!

A Busy Week

It's Friday already?  This week went by so fast.  It helped that it was only four days and I was busy trying some new things in my classroom.

The first big change was my math rotations.  I talked about them earlier this week and I'm still happy with them.  The biggest difference in my new rotations was not having a whole class lesson.  I now teach the daily lesson in small groups and it is working out so much better.  I can slow the lesson down for some kids and speed it up for others.  Why didn't I ever think of this before?  The three rotations are: meet with teacher, paper/pencil and games/manipulatives.  I was inspired by some posts on another blog: www.3rdgradethoughts.com.

Another change was the space in some of my cabinets.  I posted last week that I was participating in The Clutter-Free Classroom Project.  This week the assignment was to streamline our teacher resources and create an organized place to store them.

I am so fortunate to have a bunch of cabinets in my room, but sometimes that can be a bad thing.  I end up holding on to books and papers because I have the room to store them.  This week I went through all my books and got rid of about half.

My philosophy was: If I haven't used it in the last two years, get rid of it.

I laughed because I put them all in the teacher's lounge at 8:00 A.M. and by lunchtime they were almost all gone.  I wonder how many of the teachers that took books will end up putting their new treasures in a closet and forgetting about them just like me?

Here are some before and after shots of the cabinets.  There are not big changes, but I can tell there is a lot more space available for new books!

The Cabinets Before

 

The Cabinets After

The cabinets and math rotations were different organizational changes, but both made me feel like a better teacher.  If you are interested in joining The Clutter-Free Challenge, click below and start organizing!

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Math Rotations

I don't know about you, but I'm always trying to figure out the best way to meet the needs of all my students.  This year I have a wide range of math abilities in my room.  Helping each student reach their full potential in math has been my goal all year.  Last year I started having math rotations to meet my needs.  Here was my hour long math schedule:

10 minutes: review/math timed test

20 minutes: mini-lesson

30 minutes: math rotations

My class was divided into three ability groups and participated in three rotations - teacher/paper/pencil, manipulatives and games.  My inspiration for this format was Beth Newingham.  If you get a chance, check out her site.  She has some awesome ideas!

http://hil.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/

 

As I continued the rotations this year, I ran into a few problems.

1. I didn't have enough time with each group.  I helped students as they worked on their paper/pencil sheet, but I wasn't able to have small group lessons.

2. Many times I was rushing through the last rotation.  My high acheivers worked on paper/pencil during this rotation and I always wanted to give them something more challenging.  By the time I explained it to them, there was only about five minutes left.

3. Math was starting to take over an hour each day.

4. I was having a hard time coming up with new games as the kids were getting bored.

Just as I was starting to question the rotations, I received a blog update from 3rd Grade Thoughts explaining her math rotations.  I decided to rearrange a few things and try this new format.  Check out this great blog that has some very helpful information about the rotations.

Now my math schedule is:

 

10 minutes: review/timed tests

50 minutes: rotations

 

My new rotations are:

Meet with teacher: I am able to have teach the lesson of the day in a small group setting.  It gives me a better idea of who understands and who needs some more support.

Paper/Pencil: The students complete some practice problems related to our lesson.  Then comes the part I love!  My high acheivers start with paper/pencil and meet with me last.  I give them their assignment when they meet with me and they finish it the next day during their first rotation. 

Games/Manipulatives: Each day I will let the students know if there is a game or they complete a manipulative activity.  Some manipulatives I have used in the past are tangrams, pentominoes and Logic Links. 

 

I've been using these new rotations for a couple of days.  I feel I am getting more quality time with my students and meeting their needs. 

I really would love to hear about how you teach math.  Are you using rotations?  If not, what makes your system work?

Have a great evening!!  

An Organized Desk

I LOVE organizing, being organized and helping others organize.  So this summer when I found the blog and website, Clutter-Free Classroom, I was super excited.  I discovered so many new classroom organization tips and theme ideas.  It was wonderful!

A few weeks ago, I received a blog update about the 2013 Clutter-Free Classroom Project.  I have received many comments from colleagues about the organization in my room, so I figured I wouldn't be participating in the project.  Then an email came on Monday about the newest challenge - organizing the teacher desk/work area.  I looked at my desk/computer area and this is what I saw:

I didn't like all the files on my desk, many of the binders on the shelf I wasn't using on a regular basis and the bulletin board was getting crowded.  So I decided to take the challenge and make some changes.  The biggest move was I brought over some file cabinets that were on the other side of the room.  Then I moved all the files into the file cabinets.  I put away the binders I wasn't using and got rid of some papers on the bulletin board.  Here is what my desk looks like now:

I feel so much better when I see this picture.  I make sure my desk looks like this every day before I leave school.  I only keep out the binders I really need every day and make sure papers get filed as soon as I am done with them.  What do you think?

If you are interested in this challenge or getting some awesome organizing tips and ideas, be sure to check out Clutter-Free Classroom.