Shark Week: Take a Bite Out of Learning

It's that time again! I am so excited to be hosting this year's Shark Week link-up with Matt from Digital: Divide and Conquer.

I'm a fourth grade science teacher who used to work as a reading specialist, so I am always looking for ways to incorporate a little reading into my science lessons. One of our standards asks kids to look at how fossils are used to tell us about the past, and I love to get kids comparing prehistoric creatures with similar ones alive today.

Of course, kids LOVE to read about a giant shark called the megalodons- so for Shark Week, I'm sharing this quick freebie with you! On this "Then vs. Now" passage, your kids will have a chance to compare and contrast great white sharks and megalodons using the color-coding strategy that's been so popular in my Text Detectives- Find the Text Evidence resources.

Better yet, this asks them to go beyond just color-coding and use text evidence to write an essay that compares and contrasts these two sharks. I hope your kids really enjoy learning about these amazing animals! Click on the photo above or click HERE to download.

Be sure to go on to Heather's blog at Learning with Mrs. Langley and check out her freebie. You can follow the hop around or look at the Inlinkz below to find some great resources for your classroom- but hurry! These JAWSOME freebies may only be free during Shark Week!

An InLinkz Link-up

Classroom Supply Organization for Departmentalized Teachers

Back-to-school time is always a little crazy, but a few of my upper elementary blogging friends have teamed up to share some of our back-to-school tips and tricks!

Last year, I moved into a departmentalized 4th grade classroom for the first time. I love getting a chance to really focus on teaching science, but seeing 125 students instead of 25 really changed the way I set up my classroom! Today I’m sharing supply organization tips specifically for departmentalized teachers (although many of them would work in any classroom!)



I set up these Sterilite drawers at the end of each table, and they are a lifesaver! Everything my students need on a regular basis is in these drawers. Because they switch classes, it’s really helpful to have the glue, scissors, markers, and crayons here (rather than having them carry their own). The bottom drawer holds our science textbooks (the drawers struggle a little with that much weight, but we don’t actually get them out much), and the top drawer holds small whiteboards, dry erase markers, extra pencils and erasers, and sets of markers.

  

Having the markers in individual “sets” made it so much easier to find text evidence in the passages from my Text Detectives (for 3rd grade and now 2nd) and Colorful Close Reads. This year, I’m keeping an eye out for travel soap containers so I can store my crayons in  similar way. I love Crayola, but those boxes just do NOT hold up!



Last year I used shower caddies instead of these smaller craft caddies. They held a little more, but they hung over the sides of the white drawers and sometimes my students would bump them… and of course, everything would fall all over the floor.

  

My solution this year was smaller caddies and Velcro on the bottom. (I start with both Velcro dots on to make sure they will line up.) I’ll keep you posted how it works!



My kids have science notebooks that stay in our classroom, and sometimes last year one was left behind. Despite sticker labels, it sometimes took a little time to figure out where it belonged- so this year, I’ll be using duct tape on the spines to help easily see where it goes.

I can use the same color-code for almost everything in my classroom, too!



I store my notebooks in these Dollar Tree bins. The same color of duct tape helps students identify the correct bin quickly, and once the school year gets started, I’ll write the homeroom on the frog, too. All of the bins sit on the floor under the whiteboard, in the order of when I see each class.

Since my students come in and start their day with a Science QuickWrite, I have a couple of students pass out the notebooks at the start of class. As I dismiss groups at the end of class, each group can drop their notebooks in the bin on their way out.



With 5 classes of science and 1 class of social studies, I occasionally struggled to keep up with make-up work. While my students were supposed to come pick up their work independently, it rarely happened- and then I spent time later trying to figure out what was missing.

Putting these open folders up on the cabinet in the back of the room helped me so much! As my students get started on their QuickWrite, I take a moment to catch up with any students who have papers here- whether they are absent work, papers to re-do, or pages I kept aside for reteaching.



Being a science teacher, I could spend so much time handing out materials. As much as possible, I try to keep common supplies at the supply stations and any special supplies (such as those for a lab) in a bin at the front of the room. I can simply call up one student from each group and most materials are ready within a minute!

This also helps because I see my classes every other day. (Our kids go to reading and math every day, but during their third block, they alternate between science and social studies.) This means that I teach the same lesson for two days in a row- so being able to keep all materials in a bin makes for easy clean-up at the end of the day, too!



While the “stuff” can be overwhelming when you see six classes, the paperwork can be even worse! The students each have a binder with tabs for each class, and my teacher binder has tabs for each of my classes, too.

Once the papers are turned in, I group them together with Clip-Rite BinderTabs (shown above). I use a small class checklist to mark off whose I have, whose I’m missing, and what the scores are. (Makes it so much faster to put grades in the computer!)

  

As soon as I have copies made, I keep my papers that I’ll need for teaching in the purple, blue, and green plastic drawers. (I love that they’re the 12x12 size so I can put one stack horizontally and then the next vertically!) I use the top black tray for the kids to turn in regular work, and the bottom tray for the kids to turn in anything late (make-up work, late work, redone work, etc.). I love having a central spot for any other supplies a kid might need (stapler, tape, hole punch, etc.) so they don’t have to ask me!

There is so much to do this time of year- but hopefully these tips give you some classroom organization ideas! For more tips on starting the year off right, I hope you’ll check out the rest of the Back to School Survival Guide.



And to thank you for checking out our blog hop, we’re EACH giving away 2 gift cards to TeachersPayTeachers. If you could use $25 to spend on back to school goodies on TpT, be sure to enter the giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’d like a few more Back to School ideas (and more chances to win $25 gift cards!), please be sure to check out some of the other blog posts. Good luck as you start another school year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Daily 5 Book Study- Chapter 1

My first year in my own classroom, I spent so much time looking for free center activities and then printing, laminating, and cutting.

In the first chapter of the Daily 5 book, the “two sisters” talk about all the “things” done during literacy time. They say,

“We had spent the majority of our time preparing for
and reviewing the children’s busywork.”

And, um… guilty.

When I read the Daily 5 book for the first time, I remember feeling a little underwhelmed because it was all so simple. It’s just a framework- a way to set up your literacy block- and it involves so many less reading “things,” and so much more actual READING.

(Did I also mention that this means you don’t have to spend every waking moment cutting out laminated centers?)

I picked up a copy of the 2nd edition of Daily 5 to join in a book study with Brenda from Primary Inspired and some of my friends. We’d love to have you join us, even if you’ve read the first edition of the book!

The second edition of the book goes into so much more detail about each individual lesson you teach to set up your students for success, and it talks about how to do a similar framework in math. The back of the book has about 30 pages of helpful templates and lesson plans, too!

Compared to the first edition, this one gives you a little less of the “why,”
and a little more of the “how.”

The first chapter does delve into background of the Daily 5, though… and I love the way the authors, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, use research to justify so much of what they do!

Probably my favorite thing about Daily 5 and the two sisters is that it is FLEXIBLE. I’ve never been one to read someone else’s theory and copy it exactly in my classroom- because every class is different, and every teacher is different… and because these two authors are actual teachers, they get that.

“The Daily 5 is not a prescriptive program to be followed blindly, the same way each day, month, and year. Instead, we as educators need to respond and react to the diverse needs of our own students.”

Wait—is that ACTUAL RESPECT FOR EDUCATORS AS PROFESSIONALS? Is that TRUSTING us to make decisions that benefit our kids? Awwww yeah!

As I read the Daily 5 this time, I’m sort of looking at it through a different lens. I’m not a self-contained teacher anymore, and I primarily teach science now.

We do teach a reading RTI block, though! This year, my group was around 20-25 students, so I’m hoping that next year I can use an adaptation of Daily 5 to give my kids a lot of reading time and small group instruction… so this whole flexible, go-with-your-kids’-needs philosophy is perfect!

If you’ve never used the Daily 5 framework before, it’s made up of two main parts:

• Mini-Lessons
  • less than 10 minutes (based on brain research)
  • based on strategies from CAFÉ (the 2 Sisters’ companion book)
• “Rounds”
  • teacher meets with small groups or confers with individuals
  • students choose between five options:
    • Read to Self
    • Read to Someone
    • Listen to Reading
    • Word Work
    • Work on Writing

In my classroom, it worked so well- because my kids were engaged in real, meaningful reading tasks… and probably most importantly, they were systematically taught how to do these tasks independently.

And because they were independently engaged in activities they chose, my kids didn’t interrupt my reading groups or conferences.

The first time my principal observed during Daily 5, she was blown away. She said she kept trying to find kids off-task… and couldn’t.

That’s the power in the Daily 5. It’s huge. And best of all, it’s flexible to you, your students, and the things your admins require of you (usually!).

We are so excited to read this book together and share our thoughts! If you’d like to get a copy of the book, you can get one here.  {affiliate link}

We would love to hear your comments and questions along the way! You can also go to Primary Inspired to read more about chapter one from the other teachers in the book study.

Do you use the Daily 5 in your classroom? If you do, what do YOU love about it?  :  )

Currently… loving summer!

I just have to thank you for the love on my last couple of posts. I’m going to step off the soapbox for now and share a little more lighthearted look at the last few days!

I spent a lot of hours (over 25 for sure) from Monday- Thursday working on my classroom. I worked on organizing my classroom library (again)… and spent a lot of time going through the supplies left in my closets when I moved in last year. Sooo good to do a little purging and get it all packed up!

A lot of hours at work for the first week of my “summer off,” though!

Definitely shared a lot with #teachersummerwork  : ) Thanks to those of you who have joined me! (Not sure what I’m talking about? Read more here!)

Now that I’m done in my classroom for a bit, I’m linking up with Farley to share…

{listening} – Yep, I love Netflix. Suggestions for my next show are very welcome : )

{loving} – My husband works 2nd shift, so we don’t usually get a lot of time together during the week. My dog is also loving a little extra time with her people!

{thinking} – I need to set some goals or I won’t get everything done! The To Do list is so, so long… including lots for my class, even more for home, and some TpT projects, like a few updates to Text Detectives, finishing Text Detectives Jr., and creating a new product series!

Hint, hint…

{wanting} – There’s a teeny chance we could be moving and I hate not knowing for sure! Fingers crossed that I know soon!

{needing} – To get healthier again! I’m back to tracking what I eat- just makes me more aware- by using MyFitnessPal, and I use my FitBit to track my daily steps.

In full honesty, I should mention that today I ate Graeter’s ice cream… and the kids’ families gave me about $30 more in gift cards there.  So… ice cream is gonna happen. But I’m going to try for balance!

Why yes, those are chunks of peanut butter cookie dough and chocolate... love me some Buckeye Blitz. #graeters #summermeansicecream #teacherlife #teachersummer

A photo posted by Jenny (@luckeyfrog) on Jun 7, 2015 at 6:44pm PDT

 

I’m so excited to blog more this summer! I’ve missed writing about teaching and connecting with other teachers. Thanks for reading along and commenting!

You Are Appreciated- Grab Box Giveaway!

Teachers, lots of people are using this week to say that they appreciate you, and it’s nice. But let me say this… I GET IT.

I know you get to school early or stay late on a regular basis. Or both.

I know you will spend nights lying in bed wishing there were something more you could do for that one kid.

I know you bring home a very full bag and feel at least a little guilty if you let it sit all night while you actually spend time with your family.

I know you will feel crushing defeat when your kids don’t get it, or a lesson falls apart- and yet, come back and try again the next day.

I know how the littlest moments of triumph make your day or your week.

I know a significant amount of your paychecks through the year will go towards something for your class.

I know you spend most of your TV time catching up on grading or cutting out laminated stuff.

I know you want to not worry about the tests, but you can’t help it.

I know you will spend at least part of your summer “off” scouring Pinterest for ways to make your classroom better next year, and then many unpaid hours actually making it happen.

I truly, truly get it.

As a teacher, you probably spend so much of your time doing things for the kids- but I’m teaming up with some other bloggers to do something nice for YOU.



I’m sending one lucky teacher a thank you “grab box” full of surprise goodies to help you make it to the end of the school year!



I’m including a flash drive of some of my favorite TpT resources, like my Reach for the Stars Fluency Folder, May Text Detectives- Find the Text Evidence  for 2nd grade and 3rd grade, and Nonsense Word Context Clues.



You’ll even get a hard copy of Summer Fun! A Multisyllabic Word Game for Prefixes- ready for your students to play!

There’s more! I’ll send the winner a $25 gift certificate to TpT  right away so you get to take advantage of the TeachersPayTeachers sale on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6!



Finally, I’ll fill the box with some of my favorite things that I know other teachers will LOVE. I’m keeping them mostly a surprise, but I’ll share a few hints (and you might catch a few more on Instagram, too!)

           

Getting excited yet? You can enter to win my grab box in the Rafflecopter below. (Sorry, I can only ship this one within the U.S. and Canada!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even better? Enter for the chance to win a grab box of goodies from some other teacher friends here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Whether you win or not, THANK YOU for all that you do. I see your late-night grading, your hurried lunches, your creative plans, and your love for your students- and it makes me proud to share this profession with you!

Five for Friday- It’s Been Awhile!

What a week.

I am worn. out.

Here’s why:



1. We spent the weekend seeing two of our good friends (top right) get married! It was fun to get all dressed up and see people we hadn’t seen in years (like my old college roommate!)



2. Annnnd Monday morning, after about 10 hours of driving over the weekend, we got to start THIS.

On the plus side, I had my 10,000 steps for the day before lunch on Wednesday!



3. This week we brought out some ‘real’ science containers. It was amazing how much my kids were instantly excited- even by things as simple as water dyed with food coloring.



4. More things that get kids excited to learn?  The Titanic- and any copies of primary sources, like this newspaper set from The New York Times that I got last year! Even though I teach science and social studies this year, every teacher has an RTI/ Enrichment reading group- so I (thankfully) still get to teach reading, and I get to choose our resources (like Polar the Titanic Bear) to make it engaging without having to worry about giving them a grade.



5. I sat down and put all of the weird end-of-the-year stuff on my planning calendars, and holy wow. With all that we have going on and us alternating science/ social studies with A/B days, I have ten lessons left to teach each class. TEN.

Cray-zee-town.

I’ll admit- we’re getting to that point of the year where my kids are like family. And by like family, I mean they love each other and I love them to PIECES, but some of us are starting to drive each other a little crazy. But, that said, we’re also at the point of the year where I FINALLY feel like we’ve got a groove going… and I’m not ready to let go of these kids yet!

I just counted and I think we have 24 days left.

Anyone else feel this way? I’m simultaneously excited for summer but sad that my time with these kids is coming to an end. It is just TOO SOON!

How many days do you have left?

{ I linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching here.}
{Note: This post contains affiliate links.}

My Teacher Hero

I think most teachers can look back and remember at least one teacher who led them to where they are today. Can you?

When I was in elementary school, I hated math. It was this series of random steps, it wasn’t creative, and I just plain had to work harder at it than any other subject.

Looking back, I wasn’t “bad” at math- but I thought I was.

In 7th grade, I started pre-algebra… and I was worried. To a math-hater, algebra is a scary word- and my teacher was pretty old-school.

We had timed tests to learn decimal equivalents of fractions. He taught mainly through lecture at the board. But Mr. Wall was more than that.

He pushed us to think and to see math as a puzzle. We weren’t following rote steps, but we were using what we knew and trying to problem solve. And it was okay if we weren’t getting it right so long as we were THINKING.

Maybe the best thing about Mr. Wall was that he knew us, and he made it clear he was there for us. If we were stuck or wanted help studying for a test, all we had to do was ask- and he would come early or stay late to help us study.

By the middle of the year, he had me- this previously math-shy kid who is NOT a morning person- arriving at school an hour early every Friday morning to work on math problems that felt near-impossible as part of MathCounts. I did it by CHOICE- because he’d made tackling a difficult problem and struggling through to get to an answer FUN.

The donuts (which I’m sure he bought with his own money) helped, too.  : )

He changed my view of math. I went on to learn math as high as calculus, and probably would’ve gone further if I had stayed a science major. And even better? I didn’t hate it anymore. I saw math completely differently- and I saw myself differently. I didn’t believe I was “bad at math” anymore, and learned that it was okay for something to feel difficult at first. And now when I teach math… I teach it so differently than I was taught.

And it’s all thanks to Mr. Wall.

--

I had MANY great teachers as a child, and I firmly believe that TEACHERS ARE HEROES. Does it mean we’re all perfect, or even all good? No. But I’ve known many, many teachers- and the vast, vast majority give so much more than they’re given in return. If you’re reading this (a teacher blog, most likely on your own time)- you are one of those heroes who goes above and beyond for kids.

Thank you…

for giving hugs and encouragement and love to kids who might not otherwise get it.

for going in even when you’re sick because you don’t want to do sub plans.

for doing grading and planning on your weekends and snow days.

for thinking about your students when you’re off the clock.

for teaching so much more than academics.

for everything you do for the kids.

Someday, at least one of those students is going to remember you as their teacher hero. And even if they never write a blog post about you, you will be part of the reason they are who they are- and that, my friend, means you have absolutely made a difference.

THANK YOU.

TpT wants to thank you today- and I’m joining in. All items in my TeachersPayTeachers store Luckeyfrog  (including March’s Text Detectives Jr.) are 20% off.

You can save an extra 10% in any TpT store with the code HEROES.

It’s not enough- but I know this money usually comes out of your own pocket, and I hope this sale helps you pick out something to make your life a little easier!

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For a little more inspiration, read about some of my friends’ teacher heroes- and share the inspiration with your teacher friends who need a little reminder of how awesome they are!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Idea: Happy Journals

Time for a bright idea for teaching your students to be happier!



A few years back, I worked with a student who was constantly negative. She would constantly tell me everything that had gone wrong with every day, and her very self-centered worldview made it hard for everything not to seem like some kind of personal injustice.

I worked with this student after school, and thankfully her parents understood that their child needed emotional support as much as she needed academic support.

I wanted to encourage some positive self-talk and giving the student an opportunity to reflect on the positive things going on in her day, so we created a Happy Journal!


I gave her complete control over the cover. I drew “Happy Journal” on the cover to get her started, but otherwise I let her fill in pictures and words of things she loved, and a few stickers too. I wanted it to feel like HERS- and show all the things that made her happy.

On the inside cover, I wrote her a personal note about the purpose of the journal. I’m an optimist at heart, and I truly believe in the power of forcing yourself to TRY to think positively, even when you don’t feel like it! Looking for the blessings is a powerful thing.
Every day, I asked her to write 3 positive things about her day or about life. Occasionally, she could even think of more.

Having a reason to look for those good things (and meeting with someone to stay accountable) made a huge difference in this child.

I wasn’t picky about spelling, punctuation, or even complete sentences- this was all about taking the time to notice good things in life. It also helped me (and her parents) to see some of the things that helped her mood.
After doing this as a sort of intervention for one student, I think that it would make a great end-of-the-day activity for ALL of my kids after they pack up for the day.
A Happy Journal made a huge difference for this girl. Hopefully, it’s an idea that could come in handy in your classroom, too!  : )
If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out another Bright Ideas post on how I organize progress monitoring data and anecdotal notes. Please consider following me on Facebook, Instagram, and Bloglovin!
You can read lots more Bright Ideas for your classroom here. Be sure to check the grade level and topics!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Ideas- Post-It Races

Sure, we’ve all used Post-Its, and loved them- but today I’m sharing a way to use Post-Its that you might not have tried before!

Welcome to the April edition of the Bright Ideas! As always, this link-up is meant to help you discover some amazingly simple, absolutely free ideas… and some awesome new blogs, too!

Two years ago, my students were learning the names of the continents, and some were really struggling. Our map didn’t make it easy to read the continent names, so I made labels using Super Sticky Post-It Notes.

To practice identifying continents, we simply mixed up the Post-It notes and I challenged students to put them on correctly as quickly as they could. We called it the Post-It Place Race- and the idea could work for identifying continents, countries, states, etc.

This year, I started looking for ways to apply this kind of interactive practice with Post-Its in other ways. Some ideas:

• matching vocabulary to definition
• matching shape/ solid names to their pictures
• matching color words to colors
• matching number words to numerals
• labeling parts of a book (cover, table of contents, title page, etc.)
• labeling text features in non-fiction
• labeling parts of a plant, cell, human body, etc. in science
• labeling parts of a friendly letter
• labeling or matching basic classroom nouns for ESL students
• filling in “missing” spots on a hundreds chart or “missing” letters
• ordering the days of the week, numbers, story sequences, etc.
• fun test prep!
• and… anything else you can think of!

This year I’m really enjoying using this strategy on an anchor chart- so it can hang in our room as a reference, but still be used for practice at a center, during whole group instruction/ review, or with small groups who need extra reinforcement of a concept.

I do recommend the Super Sticky notes because they tend to hold up a little better to repeated placing and removal : ) but other than that, the possibilities for this simple teaching strategy are endless!

I’d love to hear your ideas for using Post-It Place Races in your classroom!
Interested in more ideas to simplify, organize, and inspire your teaching? I’d love to connect with you on Bloglovin, Facebook, and Instagram : )

Make sure you browse the rest of the Bright Ideas Link Up below, too! 150 bloggers are sharing helpful ideas, labeled by title and grade level to help you find the perfect ones for YOUR classroom. Read, pin, and get inspired for the home stretch!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Ideas: Tips for Organizing Progress Monitoring Materials

It’s time for another Bright Ideas Blog Hop!



Last time I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge shared, so be sure to hop through or browse through the linky at the bottom to find some new ideas to make your life easier as a teacher!

This year, I’m a reading specialist for 2-6 one half of the day, and a Title I teacher for kindergarten the other half of the day (at different schools). Organization has always been a challenge of mine, but this year it’s been impossible not to keep my progress monitoring materials and data organized.

For progress monitoring, I keep a binder for each measure. For instance, we share a big binder for AIMSweb passages at one of my schools. We have tabs to separate grade levels, and then we keep the ORF student copy on one side of the page protector, and the teacher copy (with numbers) on the other side. At my other school, I organize my EasyCBM Letter ID and Letter Sounds measures back to back, so that all of my week one materials are in one page protector and I just have to flip it over in between assessments.



I keep track of my official data for the class on a data sheet like this one I made. (Picture from last year, when we used DIBELS. Yes, I know ALL the tests now, haha.) I know this feels like one more thing to do, but like with my lesson plans, making the form that fits what I need at the beginning of the year is so helpful!



I also keep a sheet in my teacher binder for each student that I update just around grade card times or before conferences. It is absolutely vital for parent teacher conference organization!

For anecdotal notes, I kept it very low-tech and used basic supplies you already have:



I flip the index cards over and write the students’ name or number on the edge of the card.



Then, I tape it down from the top on the very bottom of the file folder.



I layer the next card over it so just the name is showing.



And keep going…



And finally, I put a cover for the teacher’s name (or group time, boy/ girl, etc.) on the top of each group.



When I am finished adding for each class, I can easily flip to the kid I need- but the notes are always covered & secure.



When I fill a card, no problem- I just put a new one in its place and file the filled one away in my student folders. I might also use scrapbook paper and/ or washi tape to cute this up- but I was in a hurry and this only took me a few minutes to pull together!



All of my notes fit in this one folder for the entire afternoon- and if a teacher asks about that kid, it’s easy for me to instantly flip to that kid’s notes.



This could work for academic notes, behavioral, workshop/ CAFE conferencing, or pretty much anything YOU need- but it’s a simple way to keep anecdotal notes at your fingertips!

Next up in the link-up, you can find some new, fabulous writing ideas from The Bubbly Blonde.

Thanks for stopping by!

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up