Teacher Organizer Laid Out For Ya

One of my most popular items that I've put into my classroom is my teacher organizer.  I got the idea from Pinterest, (obvious, huh?)  It's funny because I actually ended up doing this around 5am in the morning one lazy summer morning!  

So here's my journey...

The person who made their organizer I found got this specific organizer at Garden Ridge.  (There is one you can get at Lowe's/Home Depot as well but it's a bit different.)

 So ta-da!  Here is the shell I started from... The example I found on Pinterest they spray-painted the black part white but I prefer the darker.  To me it helps the drawers pop (on the finished product).

So I made small Microsoft labels of all the items I could think of.  These were the larger drawers.  I glued the labels on scrapbook paper I had left over.  (I am a HUGE scrapbooker!)  I then mod-podged them on the outside cover of each drawer.  I really did complete it quickly.

Then I color-coded the smaller drawers with scrapbook paper and mod-podged them as well to the outside of the drawers.

I just let it dry for half an hour and voila!!  I absolutely love it this year.  It's on my desk and I use it probably every day.

And there's my desk (at the beginning of the year-covered computers).  I wish my desk looked that nice but the organizer helps tremendously!!

Word Work Trials

This year I plan on working on my Word Work more.  I choose to use Words Their Way because I understand the program and feel comfortable using it effectively.  Right now we're using our district common core spelling words for 3rd graders.  You can find them at http://www.cfisd.net/dept2/curricu/ellang/Core%20Spelling%20-%20Teacher%20-%20Grades%201-5.pdf 

My team decided they wanted to do spelling words every other week.  So it gives me time to find more things to do with our words, and gives me time for handwriting too.  The first thing I tried with my students was Spelling Roll-a-Task by Teaching Third.  I printed table copies and put them in plastic sleeves.  Then I gave each table a jumbo dice.  The kids seemed to really enjoy it.  They stayed on task and I really enjoyed reading some of their answers.

Fluency Practice

After a few weeks of school our language arts department does a district-wide language arts benchmark to record where our students are coming in at.  One of the biggest (and longest) parts of the process is finding their independent reading level.  We use the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System now.  That was a change from the DRA system that I liked.  

Before I have the children read with me I do a week-long FLUENCY review where kids work with their peers to practice reading aloud and using their retelling skills.  

I began our week by working on reading aloud appropriately and explaining what fluency was.  I put on an anchor chart that we were focused on:

• Stopping at periods and commas
• Reading with expression (especially when we see question marks and exclamation marks)
• Reading at a quick speed like we are having a conversation

Before practicing with our reading partners we first watched Tim Tebow read Green Eggs and Ham on YouTube here.  This is a great way to grab the attention of the boys in your classroom, especially during football season!

(Side note: I have the SWEETEST kids in my room.  I told the kids that I was Tim Tebow's future wife and would have to call me Mrs. Tebow soon so when we did an assessment later in the week one of my sweet girls drew this:

LOL!!

Later on in the week we used our basal online system, Think Central, so practice reading troubled words.  Then we practiced retelling and reading while thinking.  

So far the kids are doing great on their independent levels.  We've got work to do but we're off to a great start!

Student Birthdays

My math/science partner and I are both ADDICTED to Pinterest.  So during the summer we basically pinned each others' ideas almost each day, lol.  One of the fun ideas we found were these birthday crazy straws from Teaching in Flip Flops.

One of my kids had a birthday the second week of school so I went ahead and made them all.  Although I've got some new kids lately so will have to make more.  But the files are all FREEBIES!  So be sure to thank Christie at the above link!  I sure appreciated them!!

Pinterest Lunch Alternatives

So, I got my brand new Dr. Seuss lunch box and I'm really working on packing my lunch this year for school.  Last year one of my best teaching friends was pregnant so we went out ALL the time!  And mornings are just not my friend (never have been).  So I went on Pinterest to look for some alternatives.

The first place I found was: Easy Lunch Boxes (I haven't bought any of their products but I love their ideas!)  

#1-Was the chicken nuggets, cheese, peaches/grapes, corn/tomatoes.  I packed an orange and a 100 calorie pack of Snack Wells.  This adorable, pink container didn't fit in my lunch box, though.  (Sad)

So I ended up putting them in small pink containers but they were kinda leaky for the peaches and corn.  And had to have my Mountain Dew to keep my caffeine up for the first week of school!  (Side notes: store brand of the no-sugar added peaches had a weird, syrupy sauce so I would definitely go with the individual, single containers by the name-brand companies. Much easier.

#2-This was the turkey/cheese in the tortillas but I went with the jalapeno/herb wraps.  Not good with turkey and cheese.  It was really overpowering and made my lunchbox smell nasty.

I also found this pin where I made my own 100 calorie packs for cheap.  So far I've done the clementines and the Cocoa puffs.  Both good choices :)


So, stay tuned for my lunch alternative adventures!  I'll be sure to post what I've done.

Team Gifts

This year we (practically) have a new third grade language arts team and a new member of the math/science team.  Everybody had so much going on before school started so I saw these blue buckets in the Target Dollar Spot so I decided to get my white paint pen out and make Team Gifts!  I gave them to each of the teachers on the first day of school.  Happy First Day of School!!

Since we have 8 third grade teachers filling the buckets started to get kind of expensive so I went with:

• Individual CheezeIt bags from Costco
• Snack bags of M&Ms
• Hair ties (cuz you always need those throughout the year!)
• Fun pens
• Packs of gum

 On one side I wrote. "3rd grade" and then the teachers' last names.  

 I put tissue paper in the bottom and sides to make it look like more of a gift.

And TA-DA!!!  I had 7 of these to get to school, lol.  Good thing I have a huge utility tote by 31 to carry them all :) 

The teachers loved them.  And I was glad to give them a smile on the first day of school!

Five Finger Rule and Helen Keller

Five Finger Rule

Last week my students worked on finding Just Right Books.  We did this by reading: 

The author, Jackie Mims Hopkins is a former Cy-Fair librarian and we just love her book!  Goldie Socks goes into the Three Bears' house looking for a just right book.  She tries out lots of books, using the five finger rule, and looks for the perfect place.  She leaves things all over the place, which adds to a great lesson in returning books/pillows to your classroom library!

 Adrian and Alexis using their Five Finger Test strategy to make sure their books are Just Right!

Helen Keller

This year we are integrating our social studies curriculum into the reading and writing workshop.  I use method at the end of my class to review concepts using a combination of reading, writing, buddy reading, etc.  One of my favorite things to teach is history and significant social studies skills.  When last weeks' lessons introduced Helen Keller I got all excited and set out to plan a fun lesson!

We began by watching the Animated History series video on www.discoveryeducation.com.  Then I brought in books from the public library with Braille.  These picture books had the Braille words and on the corresponding page had the words that the kids could read.  They loved reading through the stories in this unique way.  

Then we read the picture book of Helen Keller's life: 

And we wrapped up the day answering 10 multiple choice questions about all the information we had learned during the day.  What a wonderful, significant person for the kids to look up to!