FRIDAY FREEBIE: Scientific Method Handout!

In the spirit of Science Week that I'm seeing all over the blogging world, I thought I'd post a Science freebie this week!  Now, I don't have a whole lot of homemade Science stuff..I still feel like such a newbie to teaching!  BUT I do have this bad boy--a handout to help teach the Scientific Method! 

 On the backside, you'll notice a handout for an experiment I used to accompany teaching about the Scientific Method. (I totally stole this idea from What the Teacher Wants!)  My students LOVED the Diaper Experiment last year. I only wish I took pics! And do you know how many corny jokes you can come up with when you're working with diapers?  SO MANY!  It's great! 

 Have a great weekend! :)

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.)

Management Monday: Teaching Respect!

Respect seems to be disappearing.  What happened to it?  I know I'm a young teacher and that certainly impacts the way I'm viewed by students, but holy moly--sometimes I'm surprised by the things they say/do to myself and others. They say a picture's worth a thousand words.  I'll let you determine what the following two thousand words are.

These two examples (of many) fall right in line with the "logical consequence" model of teaching.  If students can't handle it, they can't do it.  So far this year, we've had A LOT of logical consequences.  It seems as if many of the GREAT items that I worked very hard to make/purchase for my students are disappearing one by one.  This is really too bad because I DID work very hard on these items. But I must do what I have to do to instill respect in my kiddos!

Regarding respectful behavior, well, I model it like WOAH!  I never yell and I always use "the magic word."  I keep calm but coach and encourage students often.  It's already paying off.  I see many of my kiddos rephrasing their statements to each other. ("Shut up!" --> "Could you please stop talking so loudly?") But it's certainly a process.  In my room, whining = more work for you. We've lost a lot of opportunities in the first few weeks too--but they're quick to learn how to keep their mouths closed if they have something negative to say! :D I was a little scared the first few days of school, but I'm learning that 3rd graders really can be "molded." It does take a LOT of patience and smiles and correcting and encouragement, but my goal is to produce 20 respectful youngins!

Now...what other great tidbits can you fabulous educators out there give me on how to instill respect in today's children?  

Sunday Teacher Routines!

Sunday is my prep day for the week!  It's a full marathon of cooking, cleaning, laundry, & mental preparation.  Once Monday begins, my body is so physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted that anything extra pretty much takes a back seat to ...well...survival.  I make sure I have an "easily-assembled" food supply on hand for the week. 

Now, I'll be honest--even though I'm a vegan, I do practice/suffer from the "see food" diet--I see food and I eat it. This especially happens when I come home at 4 or 5 pm (or 6 or 7 these days) and I'm STARVING.  (Hey, I eat breakfast at 5 and lunch at 11:30...I recognize I operate on a senior citizen's meal schedule, but don't be hatin'!)

C'est moi!  (Apres 4 pm)

 Someone very close to me once compared me to a raccoon raiding the cupboards. Cute, eh? 

So today I made some soup, veggie burgers, a taco salad, and a fruit salad.  I brewed a pot of decaf coffee to take me through the week.  (This is progress--I used to drink a full pot of regular coffee EVERY DAY!) I went to school to finalize some plans and packed up my lunch for tomorrow too. (See my favorite container below!)  I feel like a real life adult!  It feels good to have a plan of action for the week.  The past few weeks have been more "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-esque."

My FAVORITE salad container (and other counter goodies)!

 

 

What's your Sunday routine like?

FRIDAY FREEBIE: Story Elements Note Page!

Oh my goodness--it's Friday!  I adore Friday.  I adore Friday even more than Saturday and Sunday, but only because the possibilities of the weekend are such much more enticing than the ACTUAL weekend.  Saturday is pretty good too and that's tomorrow--so YAY! 

My motto for this weekend!

After today/this week/this year, I want a big ol' glass (or mixing bowl) of wine and I want to celebrate another week down!

Come join in on the fun with your own mixed beverage of choice (bowl optional) and download this story elements note page!  (I know--there's no connection between these two items.  Please forgive all lack of creativity.)

PS--There's only one day left to catch the 20% off savings at my TPT and Teacher's Notebook store! :)

You guys are the best!

It's been a rough couple of weeks here on my end and, quite honestly, it's going to be a rough year for me.  Despite the hardships of my job, I come home to great blog comments and inspirational emails from my followers and readers and these just make me so HAPPY!  I'm completely honest when I say that this is what's keeping me going right now. I get major warm fuzzies! :)  Jordon over at Life is Better Messy nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award and Kel over at On the Brink of Something Beautiful even gave my blog a shout out!  You guys help to make the world a better place--thank you!

Onto the responsibility portion of the award....

7 Little Known Facts About Me  
(Well..to you...maybe not people who know me in real life...)

1. Despite my blog title, I actually gave up coffee this year.  I miss it like WOAH!  I drank coffee every day for over 10 years.  (I know--that's crazy.  But this explains why I'm short....)

2. I'm a vegan!

3.  People seem to think I'm really organized and on top of things.  In reality, I almost always feel frazzled and disorganized.  My secret?  I'm good at tucking piles away... ;)

4. I love to create things.  I'm seriously looking into side jobs that help me to harness my creative nature more.  I love to bake, cook, draw, write, and make anything really.  I want to publish a children's book before I'm 35!

5. I have the best nephew in the world and I miss my family terribly!  I stayed in the area after college and I am 2 1/2 hours away from them.  I have a HUGE family and I'd love to be able to see them more than I do now!

6. I pretty much live on peanut butter, roasted garlic hummus, and pita bread these days.

7.  I love that moment when you first get into a warm car--no matter how hot it is.  Sunny trips alone in the car are great too--with me singing off-key at the top of my lungs, of course.  I never sing in front of people but my rear view mirror gets quite the show. :) 

So I'll pass on my award in a future post, but in the meantime, because of my Warm Fuzzies, check out my TPT store and Teacher's Notebook store--where all of my items are 20% off until Friday! Just my little bit of payback to you other great individuals out there!

Management Monday: Students' Birthdays!

Kids love their birthday!  It's only the most important day of the year for them.  I try to acknowledge birthdays without feeding into the chaos too much. Here's what I do for my kiddos on their special day:

1. Birthday Banana!

Kids eat a lot of junk on their birthday.  I like to think this helps to balance it out!  It's kind of goofy, yes, but the kids actually like it.

2. Birthday Shirt

I put this shirt on the back of the student's chair for the day.  Every year someone accidentally thinks it's theirs to keep and I get to send a polite note to the student to please return my shirt.  Hey--no management strategy is perfect! :D

3. A Card from the Teacher

I give each student the card shown above along with a Free Book Pass inside! 

 The kids love this and I find these cards stuffed in students' desks all year long.  (I like to think it's because they value the card from me so much they don't want to throw it away.  We all know how loving and sentimental 3rd graders are.) :D

4. A Birthday Balloon

Students get to pick up one of these babies too!  They really do love funky straws.

So after typing all of this out, I feel like I give students a lot. But hey--they're special!  What do you do for student birthdays??

Facebook Lovin' Party!

Did you know that you can get even more Caffeinated goodness via Facebook?!  You can subscribe to Caffeinated Conclusions by simply liking my Facebook page! How easy is that?!  So while you're stalking checking up on your friends, you can also get super great blog updates!  Click below to join in the fun! (You should also know that I do Facebook exclusive giveaways from time to time too--all the more reason to join in on the fun!)

Head on over to The Lesson Plan Diva to like all of your other favorite blog pages!  (Don't worry--I already know I'm not your one true love. This is probably due to my blogging laziness as of lately.  It will get better--I promise.)  :)

I wish you a happy Sunday evening!

FRIDAY FREEBIE: Literature Circle Lesson Plan

Happy Friday!  Today's Friday Freebie is perfect for any teacher who uses Literature Circles in the classroom!  I loved doing literature circles, but, sadly, with our new Reading Series and my new grade level, literature circles just aren't happening this year!!  Use this lesson plan template wisely, grasshopper! :)

Have a phenomenal weekend my friends!

Regarding a Third Grader's Heart

I feel unlike myself.  The first few weeks of school I have to turn into a teacher I don't like a whole lot.  I smile less than normal, I can't joke around, and I have to constantly correct behavior.  Usually I'm more of the warm, fuzzy, touchy-feely sort of person, but hey--I've gotta lay down the law.  Last night, the internal conflict got the best of me and I had a bit of a breakdown. It's so hard in the beginning and I'm reminded of this every year.  So, last night I cried.

And then today happened. My job sometimes leaves me feeling crazy.  Last night, in between sobs, I considered searching for another job because I'm pretty sure another 30 years in this occupation will leave me cynical, single, and crazy. Today, that idea COMPLETELY changed and I wanted to cry because of how PROUD I was of my students.  How do they always know when you need a good day?  It's kind of amazing really.  Their behavior was better, they worked hard, we even got to laugh together a couple of times.

I picked up my students after lunch and I noticed one of my kiddos following me around.  I turned and asked him what he needed and he, as proud as ever (and with the biggest, goofiest grin), handed me a bag of Funyuns. "Here, Ms. N...I bought you these as a present! I really like them and I thought you might too." And he continued to wear a grin large enough to split his face in half.  It was the sweetest, happiest moment of my whole year (so far)....followed by a GIGANTIC hug that made it even better.  What an amazing little boy.  I suppose maybe I'm not screwing up their life so badly after all....