Let's Play a Little Game...

I'm 37 week pregnant today...and I am sorry for you, my blog readers, but I have baby on the brain right now. Instead of fighting it, I thought you could embrace it with me by playing a little game.

My due date is July 29th. The doctors have said that they will not let me have baby girl late, due to the health stuff they have been watching us for, but they haven't set an induction date yet. So the question is...

When will Abigail arrive?

How to play: In the comments section of this post, leave the date you think Abigail will arrive. The person with the closest date or correct date will win any item (excluding bundles) from my TPT store. If more than one person picks the correct date they will all win an item from my store. You can only pick one date...

Happy guessing! Right now your guess is as good as mine!

Happy 4th of July-Giveaway Winner Announced

Happy 4th of July everyone! It is a rainy day here in PA due to Hurricane Arthur churning off the coast, but I'm so thankful for what this day represents and to have my husband home today.

I am happy to announce the winners of the Simulation Giveaway!
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Congratulations Ursula and Elizabeth! Please check your e-mail for an e-mail from me so you can pick your prizes!

Just a reminder, if anyone has an simulation suggestions for what I should make next I'd appreciate them. If I use your idea (and you are the first to suggest it) you will receive a free copy when it is finished!

Monday Made-It Nursery Edition

Happy Monday everyone! I'm excited to link up for Monday Made It this week. It's been so long since I've "made" something to share for this linky.

Technically, I didn't exactly make what I am going to share today, but I did help to build (Actually, I just held things for my husband) and I did organize/decorate...so that counts....right?

Many of you know I am very pregnant. My little girl is due at the end of July, although we had a big scare about a month ago and thought we may be having her two months early. Thankfully God is in control, and she is still "cooking." She will be 36 weeks tomorrow, so we are just about full term, and if I am honest, it is fine by me if she comes anytime.After our scare, we went into full setting up the nursery mode. We had everything, just needed to finish washing, building, and organizing everything. With the help of my parents, we were able to finish it in a weekend. So here's our little girl's room...ready for her whenever she decides to make her appearance!

Don't mind my yoga ball...

All that is missing is a view of the large bookshelf that is full of picture books already...my husband thinks I may have a book addiction problem. Don't tell him, but I think he may be right.

What have you made recently?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway I'm running this week!
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Social Studies Simulations Giveaway

When I was a student in high school, one of my favorite teachers was a history teacher, because he was the first teacher that made history come alive for me. When I decided to become a teacher, I knew that I didn't want my students to have to wait until they were in high school to have social studies come alive.

This past year, I discovered that most of my class (all but one if I am honest) hated social studies through a graphing activity I use in the beginning of the year. I decided I needed to do a little more to liven my curriculum up even more than I have in the past.

Early in the year the students had their first experience with an Underground Railroad simulation that I found on TPT the year before. It was a perfect way to make things come to life in a short time period.

Throughout the year I made three new simulations for my students to enjoy:
Pilgrim Dice Simulation

Oregon Trail Dice Simulation

Gold Rush Dice Simulation

Each of these simulations comes with a list of suggested books, a writing prompt, and the actual simulation. The simulation takes about 15 min, (it may take longer if you have a larger class.) I normally use the rest of the class period having the students work on their writing prompt and debriefing from the activity. I use these simulations as a wrap-up for our unit...however some teachers prefer to use them to kick off a unit. It is totally teacher's choice!

It can get a little crazy with all your students walking around the room at the same time, since they move from station to station at their own pace, so it is really important to lay down some ground rules before you start. I have found that the simulations do leave a lasting impression on the kiddos. They remember their results of the simulation more than other things we do in class.

Since I've had such a great experience using simulations, I want to give you all a chance to use them as well! I'll pick two winners on Friday, they will be able to choose any two of the three simulations for themselves.

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One more thing...
Now that I am taking time off to start a family, I'd love to make more simulations. What topics would you love to have a simulation for? If I use the topic you suggested you will receive a free copy of that simulation when it is completed as a thank you!
 

A Cold Day Home...and a Giveaway!

Happy Tuesday my friends! I am home today on a "Cold Day." To see the joy on my students' faces when they found out yesterday afternoon that school was cancelled today, you wouldn't have known that they had two weeks off!

Have you heard about a fabulous giveaway going on right now? Two of my favorite bloggers are doing an amazing giveaway! Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, and Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper are doing a HUGE giveaway to celebrate having 1,000 followers! If you stop over there today you can enter to win my Informational Writing Unit as well as other great TPT products and an Amazon gift card!

Hope those of you in the north are staying warm today!

A Peek at My Week-September 2-6 and Currently

 Happy Monday! I hope those of you that have the day off are enjoying it as much as I am. I'm excited to link up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade again this month for Currently!

The last section is three things that you want to do that would make yourself happy. Exercising 3 days a week and tracking my food on Weight Watchers goes hand in hand with keeping me healthy. I've slacked a bit since I started setting up my classroom and working at school. I need to get back in the habit! Reading for pleasure is something that relaxes me and helps me manage stress. With blogging I've found I am reading less...I need to still carve out time to read for pleasure each day.

I am a little late, but I am excited to link up with Mrs. Laffin's Laughings: A Peek at My Week.

Monday-Labor Day, a glorious day off at the start of the school year. I'm planing on doing some baking. Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread cookies are on the agenda.

Tuesday-Even though we have been in school for almost a week we are just starting math on Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to introducing my kids to a Math Workshop approach to Math. It will be my first year doing it, but I am really looking forward to it. I'm also going to have my kids use these task cards from I {heart} Recess to evaluate what they remember from 3rd grade.

Wednesday-My student teacher starts on Wednesday. She will be with me until the middle of October. I will also be setting up our Interactive Language Notebooks with my kiddos.

Thursday-Back to School Night...the day that scares me the most of the entire school year. The night starts off with a whole school session in our gym...then we classroom teachers hold two 20 min. sessions with the parents where we try to communicate the important information to them and answer any major questions. Give me a classroom full of kids to teach, no problem...20 adults and I am shaking in my boots!

Friday-I'm going to begin to teach my kids the five domains on Writing (Focus, Content, Organization, Style, and Conventions.) We will look at Focus. To do this I love to use the book Zoom by Istvan Banyai. I actually "read" the book backwards to my kids (It's only pictures.) When you look at it backwards it zooms in and has you focus on one thing-which is what I want my kiddos to do.

 

My giveaway also ends on Friday-so be sure to enter while you have a chance!
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What does your week look like?

Language Arts Mentor Text-Dirty Joe, the Pirate

I love the first Sunday of every month...it means I get to link up with Collaboration Cuties and share a favorite Language Arts Mentor Text. (I apologize now for my probable double post today...Currently will be out later today and I wouldn't want to miss it.)

The book I want to share with you today is one that I normally have my husband read on National Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19.) You see, my husband has a great pirate voice...so it makes it so much more exciting. Since he started a "real" job this summer the kids may be stuck with me reading the book to them this year.

 

Dirty Joe, the Pirate: A True Story by Bill Harley is a fun loving story about the pirate "Dirty Joe." He sails the seas in search of dirty socks! The kids get the biggest kick out of the story and find it absolutely hysterical when Stinky Annie comes on the scene looking for dirty underpants. The story has a bit of a surprise ending when you learn that Stinky Annie is Dirty Joe's older sister!

I love the language in this book. I use it to talk about word choice, alliteration, tongue twisters, and surprise endings. It is a book that the kids love to hear again and again. They laugh every time they hear it and enjoy "working" with the book because it is so fun.

Do you celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with your class? What are your favorite Pirate books to share with your students?
*Update-After talking with a few of you I am going to hold my first linky party on Sept. 19th. It will be open for the weekend following Talk Like a Pirate Day. It will be a place to show what you did with your classes. I hope you will join me.

Only a few more days to enter my Back to School Giveaway!
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Spark Student Motivation-Graph Yourself

It's Saturday! I honestly believe I forget how glorious Saturdays are during the summer (probably because almost every day feels like a Saturday.) So when back to school hits I remember that there is something so sweet about sipping a cup of coffee and catching up on my blog reading on a Saturday morning!

In yesterday's post, I shared that my students graphed themselves, and I received quite a few comments and questions about it so I wanted to elaborate a little bit more today. The activity is very motivating for my kiddos (and for me) so I am going to link up with the fabulous Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching.

Those of you that have read my blog for a little while know that my school is big on differentiation. Earlier this summer I briefly shared about the graphing activity and the book that it came from, you can check it out here.

It is a quick and easy activity that really allows your kiddos to get to know each other, and for you to get to know them quickly. I start by giving giving each student a piece of graph paper that has been set up to create a bar graph. Along the Y-axis I have the graph numbered 0-10. Along the X-axis I have the following subjects written down; math, reading, science, social studies, writing, spelling, and art. I also have three blank spots where students can fill in activities/subjects they would like to add to their graph.

Before I allow the students to make their graph, I graph myself. I model my thinking and explain why I scored myself a 7 in math, a 10 in reading, and a 4 in spelling (I was an awful speller as a kid and it is still my weakest area.) The kids are always surprised that I score myself so low in spelling. (I'm also low in art, I give myself a score of 2!) The fact that I am honest in my graph with them encourages them to be more honest about their graphs.

I have them silently graph themselves, reminding them to be honest about where they think they are on the graph. 10 being really strong, 1 being very weak. As they graph, I walk around and get a quick look at where they think they are in the major subject areas.

When everyone is finished I have them share with the entire class their two strongest categories (normally at least one of them is one that they added-which lets me quickly hear and see something they really enjoy doing.) Once everyone has shared, I ask the kids what they notice-they normally notice that everyone has different things listed as a strength.

Not sure if you can see it, but this little boy wrote help under his two weakest areas.

We then share our lowest two (I don't ask them to share the number they gave it out loud, just the name of the subject.) These are normally both academic subjects. I ask the kids what they notice again once everyone has shared. Everyone has different weaknesses is normally what we are able to come up with.

At this point, I ask my students what should I do as I teacher? How should I teach them if some of them are strong in one topic, but others are weak? They normally tell me that I need to spend time working with the kids that struggle a little more than those that don't. They also come to an agreement that they may be doing different assignments than the person next to them based on their ability! This is where I talk with them about how important it is to be kind and encouraging in our classroom. I remind them that we are a family and we need to support each other. We will never laugh when someone makes a mistake, because our classroom is a place where it is "Okay to be wrong." After our discussion I collect the graphs so I can get a good look at them.

I like doing this activity so early in the year because it really lets me get to know my kids, and it establishes the tone for our classroom. This activity helps them understand differentiation at an age appropriate level, and helps them understand that fair isn't everyone doing the same thing, but it is everyone getting what they need.

Do you have your students share their strengths and weaknesses with each other? How do you build your community at the start of the school year?

Don't forget to enter my Back to School Giveaway!

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Five for Friday-First Week Down and a Giveaway!

It is Friday, we made it! For some reason every year I forget how exhausting the first week of school is. I can't believe my last post was Monday! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday linky.

Back to school is always a busy time. My students and I spend most of the week setting up our interactive notebooks, working on our Penny Book Project, and establishing our classroom community.

We saved Fred.

We graphed our strengths and weakness and brainstormed how they think I should teach them based on their graphs. (It really is brilliant what kids can come up with if we give them the chance!)

We also learned how to play SCOOT using these task cards.

I've also been busy creating. I purchased a lot of great Common Core aligned items from TPT, but I haven't found a culminating assessment that contains all the standards for that topic in one "test." So I decided to make my own. So far I've only created assessments for Number Base Ten and Operations and Algebraic Thinking. I'm planning to work on the Fractions Assessment this weekend. You can check them out in my TPT store.

I'm also excited to hold a Back to School Giveaway! You can win your very own Quietest Classroom Sharpener.

My new class is LOVING our sharpener, and I am excited that you can get the sharpener in pink! You must live in the USA to win the sharpener (sorry international friends!)

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What have you been up to this week?

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you are all having a fantastic day.

I'm very excited to announce the winner of my giveaway!
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Congratulations Tina! Be sure to check your e-mail! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Technology linky party x3, another giveaway prize, and a Freebie!

It's August! I can hardly believe it. Where has my summer gone? This is the last week for the Tune into Technology linky party. Thanks Kristin, Amanda and Aylin for hosting such a fun linky party.

 I'm also linking up with Erin from I'm Lovin Lit for Thursday Throw Down.

 

 Finally I'm linking with Tracey at The Teacher's Chair for her School Week Linky.

 

This week's topic is QR codes.

QR Codes

How I love thee

Let me count the ways: 

1. They are easy to create. If you aren't sure how to make them you can read more about it in my post here.

2. They can be used in centers. Students are able to work quietly and check their own work. This is key when I am working with a small group of students. They are able to stay occupied without needing me.

3. They can be hung around the room and used as another tool to help get kiddos out of their seats and learning. My students will happily complete 24 QR code problems without complaint when I hang them around the room. If I gave them the same 24 problems on a worksheet for them to do at their seat, I'd never hear the end of it!

4. You can create QR codes to get kids to video websites. You can read about my experience with this here.

5. If you don't have time to make them, there are tons of great products on TPT. Some of my favorites TPT stores to pick up QR codes from are: Kristin Kennedy's TPT store and Flapjack Educational Resources.

If you haven't used QR codes in the past I'd encourage you to try them out. I have a few free products that you can download in my TPT store. I just updated my multiplication and division properties QR codes. You can grab them for free here.

One final reminder to enter my Giveaway. Another prize was just added to the prize list. Vincent Mastro author of Aesop's 1st Book of Childhood Adventures is donating one of his books to my giveaway.  Winner will be announced Friday!