Thursday Tip: GIVE LOVE!

Take the time to appreciate your students as children, not learners.  Hug them and love the little squirts unconditionally!!

Albert Einstein (a man with intelligence comparable to my own... :D) once said "Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will go its whole life believing that it is stupid."  Wow!

Watch me!  I'm inspiring!

Be awesome! 

That is all.

THURSDAY TIP: Using RAFTs for Cross-Curricular Projects

How many of you use RAFTS in your classroom?  A RAFT is a writing project that outlines the assignment in a concise and organized way.  You assign students the RAFT by selecting the Role, Audience, Format, Topic, and a Strong Word.  You can use RAFTS for larger writing projects or as a method to check for understanding. One of my favorite RAFTS that I use in my room is the Pumpkin RAFT.  Here's the project:

ROLE--Pumpkin
AUDIENCE--Children
FORMAT-- Persuasive Essay
TOPIC--Please don't carve/smash me!
STRONG WORD--annihilate 

I use the five-paragraph essay format for this project. Kids enjoy taking the perspective of a pumpkin.  I usually do some "inspirational activities" before the writing project begins to help them think like a pumpkin, namely "babysitting" one for a while.  We even adopt one for a class pet for a week. Good times! :)

RAFTs can be used for anything though!  Teaching about the circulatory system?

ROLE--Red Blood Cell
AUDIENCE--Other parts of the blood
FORMAT--Thank you note
TOPIC--Thanks for your help with doing my job!
STRONG WORD--collaboration

Teaching place value? 

ROLE--A comma
AUDIENCE--3rd Graders (or whatever grade you teach)
FORMAT--How-To Guide
TOPIC--How to place me in between periods
STRONG WORD--placement

 The possibilities are endless! :)  Here's the rubric I use for my Pumpkin Persuasive Essay! (Note: This is from my work with my former 5th graders.  I will modify the assignment this year for my 3rd Graders.)

THURSDAY TIP: Using Vistaprint in the Classroom!

I discovered Vistaprint last May.  In a mere 16 months I have gone from semi-curious browser to full blown addict. When I first discovered Vistaprint, I used their provided templates. As I became more "proficient" with the site, I began designing my own items and uploading the creations.  This has allowed me, especially this year, to furnish my classroom with the designs that I truly adore.  I ALWAYS wait till great deals come along (especially shipping deals) and pay next to nothing for each product!

So you might be wondering...Just how addicted am I?  Well let's take a look.

 

Let's start with the view from my classroom as you first walk in the door. Here you see one banner from Vistaprint and that's IT!  (There's another one on the other side though that you can't see that says "Student of the Month.")  I guess that brings our count to two. 

When you walk into my classroom you see this.  Now, this only LOOKS like 5 items, but it's actually closer to a fifty (if not more!)  Those bins are holding a LOT of items.  There's a bin there for all of my Stamps, Business Cards, Postcards, & Notecards/Magnets/Other small random items. My behavior clip chart is also from Vistaprint! This brings our count to...oh I don't know...100?

Front of my classroom...From left to right...poster with "Strategies for Success", my Writing Idea Jar and Treat Jar were made using Window Decals for  labels, a mug to hold my student sticks, and my "Today's Schedule" & "Planner & Agenda" signs on the board are Car Door magnets! New total? 106(ish).

I like banners the best, especially for putting stuff on the wall!  From left to right: my Treat Bag is a tote, my desk name plates are actually Rack Cards, and all of the other highlighted items are banners that I created! 112.

In the back of the classroom (by the student cubbies), I have this old boring filing cabinet that I spruced up with some Car Door Magnets.  These also serve as friendly reminders as to what students should be doing when they get to school and before they go home. (115)

Now these are just a small portion of what I actually have made for my classroom, but it gives you a visual as to how I use these items!  To see MORE of my creations, check out my Vistaprint Goodies album HERE!

THURSDAY TIP: Managing Questions!

You're a teacher.  You know how it is. You plan a great lesson.  You're teaching said great lesson.  Your students are attentive and lively and learning lots. Then a student raises their hand.  You call on them because they have a lovely smile on their face.  (They MUST have something profound and interesting to say!) And they do.

"When's lunch?" 


GAH!  

I know--it happens daily!!  So how do you help to control it?!  Well, kids will be kids. They will always ask when lunch is, even if it's 9 am. They will always interrupt your Author's Purpose lesson to inquire about a bathroom trip.  And they'll always stop your Read Aloud to alert you that there's a staple on the floor.

In order to assist with everyday chaos control, I use the palm vs. fist strategy in my classroom.  When I'm teaching a lesson, if a student has a statement OR a response to my question, they raise their hand.

Notice question in sea of answers!

If they have a QUESTION (of. any. kind.), they raise a fist.

I ALWAYS go to questions last because it helps to control the flow of the lesson.  (Plus the question may be answered by the time I'm done.)  Also, if it's a non-related question, it doesn't interrupt the "meat" of the lesson.

This technique also requires student metacognition. They have to first decide if what they have to say is a statement or a question.  During the beginning of the year, you will have LOTS of "jerky arms" and scrunched up foreheads as they figure this out. (Hey, I get my fun in when I can. :D)

But that's not all!  Because kids are "naturally curious," I also use this in my classroom.

Meet Perpetually Pondering Pig. 

Perpetually Pondering Pig (or P.P.P, for short) is a fun little tool that I use in my classroom!  He is, essentially, a question jar.  Any of those RANDOM questions that students LOVE to ask while you're teaching go inside of P.P.P.  He can also be used as a great motivator for students who need a little confidence boost when they're working on an extra hard task.  Sometimes I just set him on the corner of their desk (he IS Perpetually Pondering after all).  Whenever we get some free time (we all know how often that is), I pull the questions out and answer them...assuming that a) I can and 2) they're appropriate!

I'd LOVE to know how others help to control the questioning chaos in THEIR rooms!

THURSDAY TIP: Going deskless!

A couple of days ago I posted about organization and how very difficult it can be!  I'm sticking with that theme this week!  This year, I did something CRAZY!

See this teacher's desk?  Some of you might be thinking..."Oh my..yes... I do.  How adorable!"  And I'm thinking..."I know!  I took lots of time to decorate it and make it look nice!"

Yeah...well...I got rid of it!  I peeled off the letters and those adorable polka dots and kicked it to the curb!

<Insert shock and gasp here.>

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I DID get rid of my desk. And it was a GREAT feeling.  So...why go deskless?  I'm fortunate enough to have a fairly large room.  Last summer though I struggled to determine the "perfect placement" of aforementioned desk. I could never get it in a place I liked.  I always felt that I was cutting off the flow of traffic.  I like using my corners and keeping the center space available for kiddos and myself to move. Then the year began.  I looked at the desk often, but never ONCE sat at it!

If I was sitting to do work it was either in the front of the room with my kiddos (above) OR I was on my computer doing one task or another.  So...the desk became a great place to stack papers. Or store confiscated toys.  Or lose things in. I value space over stuff so I gave my desk away!

Now,  how on earth am I going to survive?! 

See this?  This is my new "desk."  It's actually a table.  If you look closely, you'll see drawers on either side of my new "desk."  The white sterilite container is where I store my "teacher essentials"--labels, envelopes, more pens, tea, stickers, etc. I also have more out in the open now too.

Against the wall, I have these drawers (with labels--of course!). This will help me to organize all the PILES that I tend to accumulate.  In the background, you'll notice my "supply buckets" to keep track of my F.U.S.'s (Frequently Used Supplies...yeah..I know..some things shouldn't have acronyms...) You'll also notice my subject binders.

This adorable little cubby that I added this year helps to store all of my Vistaprint goodies that also went inside my desk.  (It's also a great home for decorative elements--keep the balance, you know?!).

So how am I using my new space?  My desk USED to be placed in front of the radiator.  I got rid of the desk and made the space look like THIS!

That rug is sitting EXACTLY where my desk used to be.  Now students have MORE space to work, I have a location to organize and place student's Reading Schedules, and no more traffic interruption!  Totally worth it.  I'm not missing my desk at ALL.  (Well that's probably because everything inside it found a new home--lucky ducks!)

You are ALSO a lucky duck!  Wanna know why?  Cause I'm giving you THOSE labels too. Yay!  Happy Thursday! :)

THURSDAY TIP: Making Your Own Bulletin Board Letters

Welcome to the first post in my Thursday Tip series!  Every Thursday, I'll post a tidbit of helpful information.  This Thursday Tip was brought to you today by bulletin-board-making stress!

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to how things look. I like things to match.  This summer, I found the CUTEST of wall decals at Michaels. I adore wall decals. They're clean looking and require no laminating or cutting.  (Score!) So I couldn't pass up the kits that were on CLEARANCE FOR $4.99.  (Add a 15% discount to that and I was one happy lady.)  I love(d) the pirate kit, seen in the above bulletin board. 

This is where my dilemma began, however. I only own one set of (albeit) adorable pop out letters for bulletin boards.  That would be this set from Creative Teaching Press.

 

While I ADORE these letters, I felt they were too "cutesy" for the rough and tough sword-slingers on the wall.  And so I set out on a journey to make my own using my computer and photo paper!  The letters you see in the bulletin board are the letters I created using the following steps. This may seem a little labor intensive but sometimes you have to go through great lengths to have great bulletin boards!!!

1. First, open up your creator of choice.  Photoshop, scrapbooking software, and PowerPoint are good options for this project. (As you can see, I use My Memories Suite.) Choose the font or alphabet that you'll be using. (I went with Freeze!)

2. Type out every letter, making one HUGE letter to every page. 

3. When you're done, save the document as a JPEG. 

4.  Upload your image to the photo printing site of your choice (ex: Walmart, Target, Shutterfly, etc.) and order your prints!  (I guess you could put them on a jump/thumb drive and take them to the store as well! Or print them at home if you have lots of photo paper laying around and you're rich.) I went with 4x6's--a great size for bulletin board letters!

5.  Pick up/receive your prints. 

6. Cut out your letters. 

7. Slap them onto wall.  

8. Marvel at your work. 

Here's another cute set of letters that I made for my bulletin board display in the hallway!  (As you can see, I was trying to get the most bang for my buck with this one! ;)  

And just because I like to share, here are the 4 pages that I put ON the bulletin board! 

Happy letter making!