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!

First Week Activities

Remember to bear with me for a while until I get my blog really going.  I'm still learning how to take good pictures of the ideas I'm using.  And I'm still trying to find the time to do so :)  The beginning of the year is so fast!

The first activity I have to showcase is our Get to Know You Bags.  I have friends who do this from Pre-K to 5th grade and all over the country.  It's very simple.  Send home a little letter (I will try to upload a copy soon) and a paper bag.  The instructions are to load it with 4 items to share with the class that let us know about you.  I went ahead and colored mine and added some of my most treasured things like friends, family, scrapbooking and the LONGHORNS!

                                                  

I filled my bag with my passport, my Brighton charm bracelets, and my digital camera.

Then the kids showcased their items throughout the whole first week.  I usually started and ended the class with three people sharing each day.
Daphne was so cute, she brought her dog's leash and had to make sure she took it home to be able to walk her dog!  A lot of the kids showed off their trophies, too.  A very great beginning of the year project!

I saved Friday as our Journal Decorating day.  I sent home a parent note (will see if I can upload at another date) and asked kids to bring pictures, magazine cut-outs, and scrapbooking supplies.  Some did and some just wanted to draw.  Then I covered them with contact paper thanks to an AMAZING parent who came in and helped two days in a row!

These are my scrapbook divas!  Merrick brought in a lot of stickers and ended up sharing them with everyone.  It was so sweet to see the kids sharing only after 4 days together.

The mom who helped me wrap my journals also donated ribbon from Hobby Lobby that most of the kids decided to use.  We did a strip anywhere on the page.  It turned out REALLY cute.  And, as you can see from Brandon's journal a lot of the boys decided to just draw and color on their journals.  What a fun way to wrap up the first week of school!

Love Me Some Dr. Seuss!

So, I LOVE reading.  Anyone that knows me knows that I know as much as most elementary librarians know about up-to-date children's literature and I'm a complete author stalker (in lite terms, of course)!  So when I decided on my travel theme this year I found lots of ideas for "Oh, the places you'll go!"  So I decided to do a co-theme of Dr. Seuss and Travel.  Indulging in my love of Dr. Seuss has been SO.MUCH.FUN.!  Just saying :)

My ribbon topiary was a lot of fun, and very easy to make.  Just wait until Hobby Lobby ribbon is 50% off and go to town!  I used wine corks to make the dots on the planters pot.  The color of the tool was right on key with my ribbon colors.  I just love it and I'd love to make more of these for the holidays, etc.

If you look closely you can see my ribbon topiary on top of the series section of my classroom library.  You can also see a lot of my Dr. Seuss stuffed animals that I got at Kohls, apart of their Kohls Cares program.

Picking my lunch box each year is a BIG DEAL!  I decided in early August that I really wanted an old-school tin lunch box.  One night I couldn't sleep and searched online for Dr. Seuss tin lunchboxes and found this one at www.lunchboxes.com  I love, love, love it!  And I've gotten a lot of fun compliments on it at school.  

And THEN, while searching for Leopard Converse I found......... DR. SEUSS CONVERSE SHOES!!!!!!  Can you say, "YES!!"  I mean, I was floored.  I couldn't find the perfect ones in women sizes on www.converse.com so I actually ended up googling Cat in the Hat shoes and found these from a company in Canada, www.bagginsshoes.com.  I also have my eyes on the Green Eggs and Ham shoes and The Lorax ones, too!  Christmas presents!!!

If you have any other ideas/resources be sure to comment!  I'd love to hear about them.  My students are really responding positively to my Dr. Seuss addiction. :)  It definitely brings life to the classroom!

Classroom Set-Up Highlights

I thought I would highlight some of the new things I've put in my classroom this year.  So far, (after 2 weeks) I love each of these!!

At the front of the room I put a schedule for the kids to write in their time tracker/planner each day when they come into class.  I put homework, important dates, and reminders on there.  The kids are doing very well with it!  I enjoy seeing the information too.

I got the idea to decorate your filing cabinet from Pinterest.  I just put black butcher paper on with rubber cement, with a border and poster that my friend printed my name on.  I put my UT Pillow Pet (!!!), Willow Tree Angels and picture frames that I've received as gifts on it.  My desk is hidden behind.  I don't ever need anyone seeing my desk (or me if I actually have a chance to sit at it during planning).

I decided to do two (somewhat) connected themes with Travel (OH YEA!!) and Dr. Seuss (YIPPEE!!)  I find the more I share of my interests the more the kids buy in.  So when you walk into my room you usually will notice our wall with everyone's names.  I used Ms. Lak's ideas on her travel theme to put up "Where learning takes FLIGHT!"  (The picture was taken before school started with the wrong word. LOL I had to fix it before Meet the Teacher.  On that note the plastic came off of my computers, too. Lol)  

And this was the beginning of my Super Improvers Wall.  I can upload the file once I learn how.  I used the original sports theme that I learned in my WBT conference.  I have yet to put the kids names up.  I went to Hobby Lobby and got the bronze, silver and gold glitter paper ($1.99 a page, ugh!).  I'll have to take a picture of the final product once I'm done.

And that's it for now!  I'm completely focused on content and curriculum at the moment.  This week I'm applying for Model Teacher for the district so I've got to get everything organized, cleaned up and put my Super Star Teaching into effect!

Summer Pinterest Fun

This summer I traveled to Ireland, St. Louis (to attend a Whole Brain Teaching conference that I'll explain later) and just relaxed at home spending time with family and friends.  But before I blinked my eyes it was August and I found myself anticipating school starting!  Truth be told I was studying to get into my masters degree program at the University of Texas and doing Pinterest activities was way more fun than studying for the GRE! So here I've got my very useful activities I created using the help of others.

 My first project was this handy teacher/craft organizer. I found it here.  I used the one that was from Garden Ridge and used some scrapbook paper I had and Modge Podge.  The hardest part for me was definitely thinking of just the right labels I wanted.  Lots of other teachers at my school have now adapted it for themselves, too.  It was a hit!

Then I used the idea found here for my objectives wall.  Lots of people use their white board but I treat my white board likes it's gold!  So I decided to put them on the wall in cute (Dollar Store) picture frames.  I put scrapbook paper on them and scrapbook letters for "Writing", "Reading" and "Social Studies" frames.  Later on my friend's mom added bows on the white hooks so that it's a bit cuter.  A week after school started the school secretary made me take them down to put up the fire exit poster (ughhh) but I just took off the "Objectives" sign and re-stuck the hooks up to put the three objectives frames up.  I've gotten a lot of compliments on them.  I really love them!  The dry-erase markers work perfectly and I have been highly motivated to let people know our objectives each day!

I also made my Book Hospital found here with a FREE printable.  This really helps me out because the kids know to put all ripped/torn books here instead of come up to me while in a reading group.  This being my 6th year teaching reading, my books are starting to show signs of old age so it's pretty packed just after 2 weeks of school.  But it's definitely something that takes 2 seconds to print, laminate and stick on a box/container.  I found this one for $1 at the Dollar Store.

And my last Pinterest project before school started were these little cute Quiet Critters.  I got the styrofome sheets and googly eyes at the Dollar Store.  They also had small puff balls for a dollar but I'm glad I got the larger puff balls at Michael's, though they were $5.  My students keep asking me if they can use them, because I have them on my shelf, lol.  But I'm saving them for a more special occasion-benchmarks will be here soon so I may use them during those weeks.

And once I figured out I wanted to have a Dr. Seuss inspired classroom I found this adorable ribbon topiary idea here.  It took me a few nights to make while I just watched tv.  It was super fun, though and SO easy!  I put it on my bookshelf that you can see above.

Yay to Pinterest!  I love the resources on there!