Holy Moly...200 Followers!

Hey all!

I peeked at my BlogLovin' page the other day and was surprised to see that I have 200 followers!
Holy moly when did that happen?! Thank you for following my little blog. It means a lot that you read my posts and comments.

As a thank you I uploaded my 4 freebies on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I uploaded them on my Facebook page for a limited time during my Birthday Extravaganza a couple of weeks ago. If you did not snag them, now is your chance. They are all FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

I had some problems uploading these products to Teachers Pay Teachers. If the files give you any problems or you are unable to find them, please let me know.

Behavior Management and a Freebie

Hello friends!

I am linking up with Laura from Where the Magic Happens... to talk about a subject that I struggle with every year...behavior management.

It seems every year, I try to figure out different ways to approach managing my students. Last year I tried parts of the Whole Brain Teaching model. I started by using the Super Improvers Wall that is used to encourage students to set individual goals that are specific to their needs.

Click on the picture to download this freebie.

I had students select their own goals to try to encourage more ownership. The goals could be academic or behavioral. For example, sit at the carpet correctly or turn in my homework every day. Every time I noticed a student doing this for the day, I would put a star on their chart. When the chart was filled, the student would made a new goal to work on. The different color cards reflect how many goals each student has made. The colors correspond to the signs on the left.

At first I had my doubts about how this would work in my class. After using this system for a year, I really like it. My students LOVE "beating" their goal. I made certificates for each student every time to beat their goal.

I found most of the students picked goals that they honestly knew they needed to work on. If they didn't, this was a perfect time to discuss why they picked the goals they choose. I got my signs for free from Tara West's Teachers Pay Teachers store.

In addition to the Super Improvers Wall, I also used Class Dojo. If you are not familiar with Class Dojo, it is an online system that you can use to help manage students behaviors.

I found about half way through the year, the students do not seem to really care about the Class Dojo scores. When they hear the cheerful dings of the positive points and the dongs of the minus points it doesn't seem to change their behavior one way or the other. Parents can also go online and check to see how their child is doing throughout the day. Unfortunately many of my parents do not have access to a computer. I started sending paper copies home every Friday but I still didn't notice a difference in student's behavior.

I love the idea of the Class Dojo system, however I am finding it difficult to make it work the way that I want. A couple of years ago, I tried the Clip Charts and I really liked them. My students also really liked the chance to move up for positive behavior too. I think I am going to try this system again next year.

Also I am reading Setting Limits in the Classroom this summer. I am only a couple of pages in and I already have made some great connections. Like for example, I give too many warnings. This book suggested that I am sending the message that they can continue to do the same behavior and they will just get a warning. I didn't even realize I was doing that! I can't wait to continue reading this book.

Reading while waiting for the ferry yesterday.

What are types of behavior management strategies do you use? Don't forget to link up!

I only have 3 1/2 more days of school left. I can do this, I can do this!

I got bit by The Whole Brain Teaching bug

Hello all!

Have you heard about Whole Brain Teaching? If you haven't, it is the brain child of Chris Biffle. The idea behind Whole Brain Teaching is "based on cutting edge scientific research, Whole Brain Teaching recognizes that students learn the most when they are engaged in lessons that involve seeing, hearing, doing, speaking and feeling." (Taken from the Whole Brain Teaching website: http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/)

Last year I moved into a new school, in a new city. Half way through the school year I realized I had used and exhausted all my "teacher tricks" and I felt that I was still not getting through to my students. At that point, I blogstalked my favorite blogs and tried to figured out how to incorporate strategies to connect with my students. This is how I stumbled across Whole Brain Teaching.

Here is an example of Whole Brain Teaching.



Rachel from The Tattooed Teacher, Amanda from Teaching Maddeness, Stephanie from 3rd grade Thoughts all have wonderful information on their blogs about Whole Brain Teaching. (Plus freebies to help you get started.)

After reading a couple of blogs and watching a tons of videos online, I decided to try some of the strategies in my classroom. I had immediate and positive responses in my classroom. My students loved it! The best part...the behavior was down to a minimum because all of my students were too busy doing the movements to talk to their neighbors! Whoop Whoop! Last year I only introduced the scoreboard, the Class Rules, and Class, Yes?.




This is a great video on introducing the WBT basics to your class. In my class, I probability won't introduce ALL of those concepts in the same day, instead I would spread them over the course of the week or two depending on how fast your students are catching on to these routines. This year I am going to try to incorporate more of the movements within the lessons and the Student Improver Wall. Chris Biffle does a wonderful job explaining the Student Improver Wall in the video below.



I really like this idea because it allows ALL my students to work on the skills that they need to work on while still being successful. The only concern I have is I am going to have a big class of 28 students next year and I don't really have a whole lot of room on my classroom walls. So I made these small name cards so I would have enough room to have all my students in the same spot.

As Chris Biffle said you can have the levels be named anything that will work with whatever theme you have in your classroom. I used the free Super Improver levels from Tara at Little Minds at Work. So the cards that I made for each student align with her levels.

Hopefully this made some sense. I am excited to get started.

As a side note: I am not getting anything from Chris Biffle or the Whole Brain Teaching organization. Nor am I an expert in any of these strategies.

Throwback Thursday

Hey all! I am celebrating my 1st couple of hours of summer vacation participating in the wonderful linky from Cara Carroll at the First Grade Parade. I have only had this blog up since January. So my archives are not that deep. Take a look at a post I wrote a couple of months ago about writing.

 I originally posted this on March 6, 2013.
During the times we are not testing, I have been trying to incorporate some fun, interactive activities. Here is a peek of one of the activities. I got the original from my grade-level team member however I know she got it from Pinterest. (What did we ever do before Pinterest?) If you are the original author, let me know so I can link it to your site.

First let me tell you that my students FIGHT me every time we try to do any kind of writing. I have been racking my brain trying to approach it in a variety of different ways to make it more fun. My coworker tried this activity called a “Squiggle Story” with her kids. I figured I would try it, because at this point I am willing to try anything to get them to write. They A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y loved it! All you do is put some random squiggle in the middle of the box reserved for the picture. The students turn the squiggle into a picture of their choice. Then they write a story about their picture. BEST IDEA EVER. They turned out so creative and all of them are different. I was so impressed with their creativity. Here are a couple of them. (We have actually done two of them already.)

Now for my teacher tip: I usually copy and laminate 3 or 4 sets of each center activity. When I first started centers I would get so frustrated because the center pieces were scattered in the wrong bin and left laying on the ground, etc. Then when they finally made their way back to the bin, it would get put in the wrong envelope and then one set would have a double card. Then who has the time to figure out which set has the extra and which set is missing a card. (AHHH!!!!! I am already getting frustrated just thinking about it. You get the idea.) One day, I had this great idea of color coding the back of each set. SO instead of going through each card, I can just look at the back and match the colors. So much easier and less time consuming on my end!

What are some of your strategies to keep your centers organized?

I am excited for the weekend but I have this pile of papers to grade this weekend. (Ugh…) This is only half of the assessments we are giving.

I also created this quick little freebie. It is just a true/ false activity for expanded form that you can download by going to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I also have double digit addition and subtraction true/false activity in my TpT store for free. 

Also...Elizabeth from Kickin' it Kindergarten is having a giveaway in honor of her birthday. Head on over to win some wonderful prizes.

Let's Get Acquainted Linky (Skittles Game)

Hello All! I'm linking up with Latoya for her "Let's Get Acquainted" Linky Party. 

This week it is all about the Skittles Game.

TOPIC - Skittles Game

 

Here is the code:

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Orange- Favorite Memory from College

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

Purple- Wild Card(Tell anything about yourself)

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

I love pistachio gelato. It is so creamy and delicious. Doesn't this look great? Yum!

 Orange- Favorite Memory from College

I grew up in Washington State. When it came time to go to college, I went clear across the continental United States to go to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, I found one of my best friends Katie. Living in Washington, sports are not really a big thing. (Not the case in Massachusetts, in case you're wondering.) Every Sunday we would watch the Pats, Sox, or the Celtics battle it out while we were doing our homework. 

At the Crab Pot in Seattle.

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

I LOVE the Seattle Sounders. I try to see as many games as I can. All of the fans are so involved with their team. We know all the chants, cheers, and players. I think it adds to the experience. I also love the New England Patriots.

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

I love Taco Del Mar. It is not the best Mexican food I have ever had but it is good for a quick fix. Plus their Taco Salad is delicious.

Purple- Wild Card (Tell Anything You Want)

I used to be a synchronized swimmer, a water polo player, and a competitive swimmer. (Do you sense a theme? :))

Today I also had my observation. I totally rocked it! (Whoop whoop) I introduced this QR code measurement game for my lesson. It actually went better than I expected. I am always nervous for observations but my kids were so engaged with the activity that it went so quickly. I barely noticed my principal leaving my classroom.

Here is the activity we did. Click on the picture to download the freebie. (There is a QR code and a non-QR code version too.)

Happy Monday!

Phew...I made it! And a Freebie!

Oy! What a day! Today was our first day back from Spring Break. Thank goodness it is over.

Have you heard of Class Dojo? I found out about this website last year. It is this wonderful online system that you can monitor from your phone or I-Pad. It is really easy to set up. All you need to do is input your class list and your class rules. As your students are following your class rules, they can earn points. At the end of the week, Class Dojo calculates the points for you and sends reports to their parents. I thought this would be a great way to inform my parents about their child's behavior.

(Rachel Lamb from The Tattooed Teacher has a wonderful tutorial about how to get started.) Last year, I couldn't figure out how to make it work in my classroom. The wireless was spotty and I didn't want to be tied to my computer to input the points. Fast forward a year later, I am in a new district and a better wireless system. I spent Spring Break trying to figure out how to incorporate this in my classroom. Then I get to school today AAANNNNDDDD no wireless Internet. No wireless Internet = No Classroom Dojo.  Darn the luck. Doesn't it always work that way? I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

Today we started our new math unit on measurement. We measured different places in the classroom using our feet. One student measured and the other student counted.

We made a great anchor chart of words that remind us of measurement.

It is a little hard to see but we also started our new science unit on plants. We started off by talking about what plants need.

Then we planted alfalfa seeds. Take a look!

I kill ALL the plants I have ever owned. I am a little scared that these ones won't last much longer. I am keeping my fingers and toes together and hoping for the best.

Now for the freebie. I have been playing with trying to figure out how to use QR codes. This is my 1st attempt at making an activity with QR Codes. Download your very own copy here. I will be using these next week.

 

 

I also included the same activity without the QR Codes.

 

Have a great week!