tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70921119224023637922024-03-14T15:38:10.504-04:00Plug-n-PlanThis blog is dedicated to making lesson planning a little bit easier for teachers who seek to teach with excellence (while still having a life outside of the classroom). This blog is primarily 1st grade focused.Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-75775952450859117142015-09-04T18:27:00.000-04:002015-09-04T18:27:20.258-04:00#randomOk. Let's face it. There are plenty of random (or seemingly random) things all around us, but sometimes it's the random things that make us smile. =)<br />
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I just ran across this "random" photo i took from the 1st week of school, and I still get such a kick out of it every time I see it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefxadxfuJowOyI6fj1PA3ZV84DsYVShimkM7R3-xex26rBI261uuoms9ShYq7qqtQqAY-6vXiLlAG3gDFVGdvIbh8nRyExklxmnCitN5AxP-3SyMEPkTQojqw3To6Jwsk-AwZ9fOzeOb3/s1600/Photo+Aug+18%252C+8+41+10+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefxadxfuJowOyI6fj1PA3ZV84DsYVShimkM7R3-xex26rBI261uuoms9ShYq7qqtQqAY-6vXiLlAG3gDFVGdvIbh8nRyExklxmnCitN5AxP-3SyMEPkTQojqw3To6Jwsk-AwZ9fOzeOb3/s400/Photo+Aug+18%252C+8+41+10+AM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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After my kids got settled in the morning I was making my rounds and started to laugh when this caught my attention. Totally not what I was expecting to see amongst the bookbags.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGPRuO8_G_ZwtVVVHybrcCrTnkNlgXnS6lpRoUVmWCCCmpHkDcr4QlUytVXpv8PRBM5i-mxG5IKaiCE4-0q2RyTwAjLlVpQ8_P5i6byLTQFOleJXaDhoItZqarGMPvNwV29j8wa-z313H/s1600/Photo+Aug+18%252C+8+41+05+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGPRuO8_G_ZwtVVVHybrcCrTnkNlgXnS6lpRoUVmWCCCmpHkDcr4QlUytVXpv8PRBM5i-mxG5IKaiCE4-0q2RyTwAjLlVpQ8_P5i6byLTQFOleJXaDhoItZqarGMPvNwV29j8wa-z313H/s400/Photo+Aug+18%252C+8+41+05+AM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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These are actually the 3 "Important Things" one of my boys brought in to share on his getting-to-know you day. I assigned each row a day when they could bring 3 things that were important to them to share with the class. After sharing I had students write a response in their journals about any connections or things in common they might have had with the students who shared that day. </div>
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When this little guy unpacked his bookbag he knew it wasn't time to bring his important things to his desk, so he lovingly (and creatively) stacked them in the back of the room under his bookbag. Love it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It's the random things . . . </span></div>
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Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-86214682871080745152015-07-31T11:53:00.003-04:002015-07-31T11:53:30.739-04:00School Year's ResolutionsIt's been ages since I've posted anything substantial up here on the blog. Maybe you missed it, maybe you didn't. Either way, I'm cool with that. The truth is: this just isn't my priority. As life developed and our family went from 2 to 3 to 4 members (5 if you're including the doggie) time just slipped away. Some things that were important to me in the past got cut out or replaced. (I think we all know what that's like.)<br />
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When I first started this blog, I had a 9 month old. In 2 weeks she will become my 1st Kindergartner. Wow. I have a Kindergartner. Attending my school. (Let's be real. I'm both excited and nervous about that one.) It's a big year! <br />
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This morning when I was returning from the doctor thinking about how right he is that I need to get more sleep, I started thinking about a bunch of things I need to work on. That's when I decided that I need to make some <i style="font-weight: bold;">School Year's Resolutions.</i> Many of you aren't heading back to the classroom for a few weeks, but as for me and my school . . . we go back for pre-planning on <b>MONDAY</b>! <br />
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So, here goes . . .<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">My 2015-2016 School Year's Resolutions</span></b></u><br />
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<b>1. I resolve to get more sleep (as suggested by my doctor).</b><br />
Yeah, I know. There aren't enough hours in the day. There's too much to do. How am I going to get everything done?!?! Sounds like it's time to prune some more things off of my <i>must do</i> list . . . which means more prioritizing.<br />
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<b>2. I resolve to be more efficient and use my time wisely.</b><br />
That's a hard one. (It also sounds like a report card comment.) School isn't just the place I work; I've got dear friends there, so I admit that I've spent a little extra time at school just socializing. I won't be cutting my friends out, but I'm going to have to make sure that I do as much as I can in the time that I have (and of course, more pruning). I have to figure out how to become more efficient so that my daughter won't be spending long after school hours at her school where she's been engaged in the fun of learning all day. <br />
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<b>3. I resolve to exercise more. </b><br />
Sporadic just isn't going to cut it. I've got to get into better shape. Not just for my waistline but for the sake of my family. <br />
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<b>4. I resolve to maintain a healthy diet.</b><br />
No, not a diet. Just a better overall diet to improve my health and energy for all the prioritizing and juggling and balancing that comes with life as all these growth changes take place. (I mean, really. Do my babies really have to grow up?) Change is serious business, and I'm working on getting better with changes.<br />
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My list could go on and on, but I'm just going to start with these. They're big. It probably won't be easy and I'm probably going to fall short quite a bit, but I'm going to try not to beat myself up over it. (Maybe that should be a resolution too. Take it easier on myself?)<br />
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So there you have it: My School Year's Resolutions. Maybe you'll find some activity on the blog or maybe you won't. I'll be working hard trying to stick to my resolutions, so we'll see what happens!<br />
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What about you? Do YOU have any School Year's Resolutions?<br />
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<br />Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-54197704944770860072015-04-22T20:27:00.001-04:002015-04-22T20:30:44.928-04:00Donors ChooseIt's a hard thing to ask for help. Sometimes. Well…a lot of times. I especially hate to ask for help financially.<br />
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Earlier this year I took a risk and set up a Donors Choose account in hopes to raise enough money to get a iPad for my classroom to increase technology use. My biggest hopes for an iPad was to utilize many of the educational apps I've been testing out on my daughter with the students in my classroom - apps that read with students, work on phonics, and could basically serve as a virtual tutor mainly for my non-English speaking students. </div>
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With 28 days left I've decided to finally put it out there and ask some of you to consider donating to our classroom. </div>
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Here's the link. Check it out! Any support is appreciated! Thank you!!!</div>
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<a href="http://www.donorschoose.org/project/teaching-with-the-help-of-technology-my/1475314/?timestamp=1429736221655&pma=true&pmaId=2787051&pmaHash=%252BrhNepriCqw%252B4EEjTxahXw%253D%253D&utm_source=dc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feedback_donationmessage_teacher&rf=page-siteshare-2015-04-project-teacher_2787051#13017622">Donors Choose Project</a></div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-71683615047157838352014-07-13T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-13T07:00:00.957-04:00IKEA Invasion!A little over a year ago my husband and I made the decision for me to leave the classroom to come home as we welcomed our second little one. I wasn't sure if I'd be going back to the classroom or if I'd be able to stay home during our little ones' early years, but in faith I packed up some of my stuff but gave everything else away. God knew what He was doing when He called me home and though it only lasted a year, I'm thankful for the time with my babies.<br />
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Having given away most of my stuff I'm starting fresh . . . and that's a GREAT thing. The downside is that I'm having to spend some moo-lah in order to get my class ready again. (But oh, do I love the chance to create a uniform theme in my room! The classroom I dismantled before going home was 11 years worth of collection hodge-podge.)<br />
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Today my family and I raided IKEA. I had 3 things in mind when I went, but I left with a whole lot more. Wanna see what I scored?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCe1U98-8rRHX3Z3xZJZ8upnhbzV_2i-ezlX1UTG1js5ZcQ_JVirMsO-syb_Z2UFLhTZUl7bVodH3G6-U3_mwoI6TjfhvUjoSHAE8v084K_yTPPFBCINRyRruUjhXc-2iSgTI4paSe25gX/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+5+36+18+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCe1U98-8rRHX3Z3xZJZ8upnhbzV_2i-ezlX1UTG1js5ZcQ_JVirMsO-syb_Z2UFLhTZUl7bVodH3G6-U3_mwoI6TjfhvUjoSHAE8v084K_yTPPFBCINRyRruUjhXc-2iSgTI4paSe25gX/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+5+36+18+PM.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
You know how I know teachers love IKEA? Well besides all the stuff that my teacher friends and I buy at IKEA, I overheard comments from other shoppers around me that told me that I was not the only teacher shopping there. I promise I wasn't listening in on other people's conversations, but when you're standing side-by-side with another shopper looking at the same product and they start talking you're gonna hear some stuff, ok?<br />
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No, I don't hang my pants at school! These hangers are AWESOME for holding chart paper! The neck of the hanger swivels so you can hang it from any ledge or hook, and the open/close snappy lever design of the hanger makes it really easy to add chart paper or posters while you're teaching. I got 4 so I can use them while teaching from chart paper and to hang anchor charts around the room.<br />
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These boxes come in several sizes, but I got the medium sized boxes. They're the perfect size for file folders and gallon sized ziploc bags. You know what that means, don't you? File folder games and bagged games/activities! I've got TONS that need organizing so I got one for Language Arts and one for Math. They have the clear ones too.<br />
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I stick these on the side of my desk for easy access to paper clips, rubber bands, and whatever else. The see through lid lets you know what's inside or you can make them all cute with a swatch of fabric or scrapbook paper in the window. See that heavy duty magnet on the backside? It's super strong, so don't worry about accidentally knocking the tin off the desk. It's pretty hard to do that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Zw5aGMi-YRW5AQ4DhLhfySKgxU7QUOZ3WhhenRnadaB0NParRF15upems8XaDeGpjw2VZ7DHQNaClWTMmEUVni1BUrZ4i_kjhaDpPad7YpmCzzRNdCM3iunTDs-tlMDMgofb-MtpbtDB/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+6+33+43+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Zw5aGMi-YRW5AQ4DhLhfySKgxU7QUOZ3WhhenRnadaB0NParRF15upems8XaDeGpjw2VZ7DHQNaClWTMmEUVni1BUrZ4i_kjhaDpPad7YpmCzzRNdCM3iunTDs-tlMDMgofb-MtpbtDB/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+6+33+43+PM.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
Big, powerful magnets for my magnetic whiteboard. You know . . . for those times you clip posters, chart paper, or whatever to your board. The best part of these is the angled top design that makes the magnet go "clip clop" when you press on it. Press the top of that angled magnet with your finger and the flat part tips open so you can slide your paper right underneath without removing the whole magnet. It's the little things!<br />
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Uh. . . . 'cause you can never have too many scissors! Besides, they always go missing, AND they come in 3 different sizes!<br />
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This big ol' plastic tray is supposed to be for flatware in your kitchen, but this baby is going in my top desk drawer to try to organize it! Maybe things won't go sliding around in there and I'll find things more easily!<br />
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Ok, so here's my idea for this - I want to use this as a dry erase board.This big frame has a plastic (not glass) face, so I'm not worried about it being broken and hurting anyone. Plus, that makes it super light. I've already tested it (just in case) and yes, you can use dry erase markers on it. I'm thinking I can blow up graphic organizers or just put a piece of solid butcher paper inside that can be used when I teach and then used in centers or group activities. My school has a poster maker, so I want to use that to create templates that can be switched in and out of the frame and used by the kids.<br />
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I used to use these to organize workbooks and notebooks. This year I got a ton of them so that each student can decorate their own book box. These cardboard boxes are fairly thick and durable. Maybe a strip of packaging or duct tape on the bottom to reinforce the closure, but other than that - fold and go! (At $1.49/5 that's about $.30 a box! Ummm . . . I got 6 sets. So that's 30. And if I go back to IKEA I'll <strike>probably</strike> definitely get more.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyKmyPpCS5hwLuzbHvvCOq1HXKb7Kt8lz2Aqt90JdT12x3kH9do2_AkGPC7cdoA6yLRCEVDOlQuvF2l7DXYQlHEMvWSx_4eg0ZVgYiFwAqZBoC7Dk8A59BbaS1r9EPrYzFLAF643hMfSo/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+7+02+55+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyKmyPpCS5hwLuzbHvvCOq1HXKb7Kt8lz2Aqt90JdT12x3kH9do2_AkGPC7cdoA6yLRCEVDOlQuvF2l7DXYQlHEMvWSx_4eg0ZVgYiFwAqZBoC7Dk8A59BbaS1r9EPrYzFLAF643hMfSo/s1600/Photo+Jul+12,+7+02+55+PM.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
Lastly . . . my little glass spice jars. SO CUTE! Tons of uses in the classroom, but I didn't buy these for my classroom per se. I won't say what I bought them for exactly because that would give away the little surprise. =) The uses, however, are endless! (They also have that flat side at an angle so the jars can stand as you see or slightly tilted for easy access!)<br />
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You wanna go shopping at IKEA now, don't you? <br />
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Hey! There are tons of other useful things there that I had to tell myself no to, but if you've got stuff you bought from IKEA please share in the comments! Tell us what you got and how you use it!!!!Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-25850525990287062932014-07-10T12:55:00.001-04:002014-07-10T12:55:39.997-04:00Back to School Already?!?!So . . . after a year off from teaching to be home with my 3 year old and newborn it's time to go back to the classroom. Although we don't officially start back until the end of July I've been preparing myself for months already. Go figure! Why can't I just sit back and enjoy the time I have left at home with my babies? It's totally me, I know, but I wish I could stretch my time at home out for a little longer! I know you teacher mamas out there know how I'm feeling.<br />
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Well as I get myself ready to get back in the classroom, you'd better believe that I'm busting this baby out!<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Prep-Pack-767418"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJFvondOE1z0v_csm8pxTclIGrGBz8I4LTV5DFdAT5s3O0fEdiVyglH3MZthvYdDB5Pt1u-4YsQ2ywyiDZnV38-MQuxl-_UhSR0_6X-6K-f-ywyXwTAT0A5bPutu21Zv-36hgChDXSdqu/s1600/Back+to+School+Prep+Pack+Preview.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Prep-Pack-767418" style="color: #015782; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; text-decoration: none;">TPT </a><span style="color: #820057; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px;">or </span><a href="http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/Plug-n-Plan/back-to-school-prep-pack" style="color: #015782; font-family: 'Coming Soon'; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; text-decoration: none;">Teachers Notebook</a></div>
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My friends, I hope you are able to sit back and enjoy the rest of your summer. I'm going to do my best to try, but after a year out of the classroom I've got a little anxiety over re-acclimating back to the the teaching life. If you've "been there, done that" and have any advice for me in regards to returning to the classroom feel free to share! I'm all ears!</div>
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<br />Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-36819044756672024292014-01-01T05:00:00.000-05:002014-01-01T05:00:06.223-05:00Happy New Year!<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="text-align: left;">One of the amazing things about the New Year is that you get this feeling of a blank slate. The chance to start fresh and doing things differently. Correct things that need fixing, and fine tune things that were going well.</b></div>
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<b>This is something I love to do with my kids for the New Year. Like most of you, I teach my kids about New Year Resolutions. It gives them a chance to focus on bettering themselves.</b></div>
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<b>Remember how we talked about goal setting before? I made this quick graphic organizer for you to use with your students to set a goal for 2014. I mean, that's what a resolution is based on after all . . . isn't it? </b></div>
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<b>Click the picture below to get this freebie. Or click here to get it from <a href="http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/Plug-n-Plan/2014-goal-ladder-graphic-organizer">Teachers Notebook</a>.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2014-Goal-Ladder-Graphic-Organizer-1036833"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDkXK1zO2pWMxjux598hSbYnGLBhYgosUpxk87wikWftBHC4mNd5fkkcE4BQ8MuHKo2AAPILJxfmKy-VzniYJr7ZABscpVKJTKjfaGT6nXViwdgkAiG0qlCFpbneQhfW8H3uFejxLqktM/s320/2014+Goal+Ladder+preview.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<b>Have your students identify one goal they have for themselves this year. You can chose whether you want them to focus on a classroom/school goal or if you want to do a generalized personal goal. This goes at the top of the ladder. Then help your students to determine 3 steps that can help them to achieve that goal. Here's a suggestion: start with a small, easier step to build momentum. That one will go in the bottom box of the ladder. Then build up as you climb the ladder to reach your goal!</b></div>
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<b>Here's an example:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDw1-tXh6IdfAzo1_xjFGyZ5ojcEkdEH7RRZ9X2aiMPqUQK7mmVZBfOp7NewfbAquATS7TnMBGV_3fm9Yeqp5Zt6ix21YtdRY6e5mGsxYrGnRi1rwdVdrTPnvpuLaAam__JpyUD-HFBsc/s1600/Photo+Dec+31,+6+03+05+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDw1-tXh6IdfAzo1_xjFGyZ5ojcEkdEH7RRZ9X2aiMPqUQK7mmVZBfOp7NewfbAquATS7TnMBGV_3fm9Yeqp5Zt6ix21YtdRY6e5mGsxYrGnRi1rwdVdrTPnvpuLaAam__JpyUD-HFBsc/s400/Photo+Dec+31,+6+03+05+PM.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy New Year!</b></span></div>
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<b>I pray that this year is an amazing year for you!</b></div>
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Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-75404195681639945062013-12-24T05:00:00.000-05:002013-12-24T05:00:08.717-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Designate Spaces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXf8fvIMDXmZiP5UzMlCDAepYMWdj96sCKEgR2NhL9K8LiYndDIYMAFkH59f9RlOZdK8AscSpck1nK5AHcaVnxheeZwovZxApaZHU-IrSwfuM3oZ8FoSTGqx2DYT-It7K906xd_39kZHoD/s1600/desktop+sorter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXf8fvIMDXmZiP5UzMlCDAepYMWdj96sCKEgR2NhL9K8LiYndDIYMAFkH59f9RlOZdK8AscSpck1nK5AHcaVnxheeZwovZxApaZHU-IrSwfuM3oZ8FoSTGqx2DYT-It7K906xd_39kZHoD/s200/desktop+sorter.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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When I found this baby at Costco many years ago I was psyched! I was sure this thing would help create a little more desk space and organization for me. You'd think it would, right?<br />
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Here's the trick to these great organization tools: You've got to have a plan and purpose for them if they're going to be used effectively!<br />
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As much as I'd like to say that suddenly my desk was clutter free and everything became easy to find that would be a total lie!<br />
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The best use I got out of this thing was the file folder sorting rack on top. I always kept my current skills file folders there for easy reference and activities. I also kept copies to use for lessons that week. THAT part I used effectively. (YEA for me!)<br />
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The drawers underneath were a totally different story. I mean, the folder rack on top was a no brainer for me, but I never really decided what I was going to use the drawers underneath for.<br />
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Can you guess what I ended up using the drawers for?<br />
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Well you know how sometimes you get copies of resources from friends, but you're not ready to use them yet? And sometimes you have extras of copies you use for your students and you don't want to be wasteful by simply throwing them away? Oh, and the pieces to centers that you're done with but don't have time to put away right now. Then there are those papers you get from meetings . . .<br />
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Can you see where I'm going with this?<br />
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Those wonderful organizational drawers ripe with potential ended up holding random stacks and stacks of papers. All blended together. Never to be looked at again until the end of the year (or a teacher work day if you're really lucky).<br />
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I ended up bringing this home and passing it on to my husband for his the home office he was organizing for his business. Let's just say that organization is not exactly his forte, so he's enlisted my help to attack the aftermath of month after month of piles and stacks left unorganized. I won't subject you to the horror a picture might depict.<br />
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Anyways, this is what I ended up doing for him with my organizer:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlEfZCr2YQR8mWrdi1t7GtSSyMFO7XycMA_PVzGRLY73UZl7YPr6l0ZWObVopWwzcriA9LjII_XtHydbKwV74qMiV_M5lTt0dkeJoUex6eSrXessrddUlMpY2sgpjL8f1LUVUF6Y5A8-0/s1600/Photo+Dec+12,+11+52+44+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlEfZCr2YQR8mWrdi1t7GtSSyMFO7XycMA_PVzGRLY73UZl7YPr6l0ZWObVopWwzcriA9LjII_XtHydbKwV74qMiV_M5lTt0dkeJoUex6eSrXessrddUlMpY2sgpjL8f1LUVUF6Y5A8-0/s320/Photo+Dec+12,+11+52+44+AM.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs98zz9P3mP9eWr74Y04-n-lgWYHa2soyj0EBsJDv0hEDSgfvXxLtPL_raQt5CkIbWUG_t6fjYvFKxq4tCqbp8680xlVa5WUqsLkMSGYTrKSMSHTofk-RM5rUzhnGVAr56IQBhf_K-YFw/s1600/Photo+Dec+12,+11+53+01+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs98zz9P3mP9eWr74Y04-n-lgWYHa2soyj0EBsJDv0hEDSgfvXxLtPL_raQt5CkIbWUG_t6fjYvFKxq4tCqbp8680xlVa5WUqsLkMSGYTrKSMSHTofk-RM5rUzhnGVAr56IQBhf_K-YFw/s320/Photo+Dec+12,+11+53+01+AM.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBln1g_zaYHCZHYWlavEPvS0E55wqSvlJWpNYk8Fwg4BrH5cSS8EKPphzOmloF7FTIq1ympQKT34-Sp38uFGhkiWyREihqbDJ7hOtIa4pOmWFvCh6co5v9cXpOyYihtpWKNx_8NqsVB5e/s1600/Photo+Dec+12,+11+53+09+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBln1g_zaYHCZHYWlavEPvS0E55wqSvlJWpNYk8Fwg4BrH5cSS8EKPphzOmloF7FTIq1ympQKT34-Sp38uFGhkiWyREihqbDJ7hOtIa4pOmWFvCh6co5v9cXpOyYihtpWKNx_8NqsVB5e/s320/Photo+Dec+12,+11+53+09+AM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I used scrapbook paper to create the little labels for each drawer, securing them by folding each over in half with foam tape in between to hold it together to the wire drawer. I used foam tape because the wire drawer creates a gap in between the top and bottom of the folded paper, so this makes for a cleaner label. A hot glue gun will work too, but there's a bit too much tension for regular tape to hold it to the drawer.<br />
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How I wish I had thought to designate a purpose for these drawers while I still had them in my classroom!<br />
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Now if you're thinking what I'm thinking . . . just think of how much more organized you can get if you designated a purpose for other areas or organizing systems and labeled them for clarity!Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-79334242156399495182013-12-12T05:00:00.000-05:002013-12-12T05:00:06.018-05:00Past Winter FreebiesSometimes I forget what I've got out there. If I forget then you might not even know it's available, right?<br />
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Here are some of my past Winter Freebies if you never picked them up the 1st time around!<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Punctuation-Penguins-Write-Around-the-Room-171062"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3DsrCGRGwk2S16WZr-WJHOa11bF34fq1hBtUK8OY1PaH_vAdQDN1_a3Xjv7k56ARu3BE-wNDDkNM1TR_FuxwHpgaidpeeAz3O_GAOmMIblaT7EeqJdX5DhVVEu1JO8cVcoAmEW4dObKr/s320/Punctuation+Penguins+Write+Around+the+Room+Preview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Theme-Writing-Prompts-174027"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPexoF0_qInjyd819fVQFSA1zxI3ju44jz4VqMtGo5pt12uX3YkRo3v-AmkBWhhf91qocxMSW46Ql5tt15cKvuiTvOYqFQBsBXWkUNrY4IZXlusjua809CR5Sx9tybUAZEeZbfEH50T7l/s320/Winter+Writing+Prompts+preview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Break-Incentive-Bookmarks-174790"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEN7TCzrgOXZWEBMPPf6ZmPOjCEVZkLKkKU6ywpEeeto9BZRxn4Nz54XEsvmExA4V3DIIm8_7_YvJOfGDJ0uVhw-BqV7bJxD6huA5O1fs1aDljqW-xSCrskIIYWRxmx_B4eoP7mBsFUVsy/s320/Winter+Break+Bookmarks.jpg" width="247" /></a><span id="goog_1210561315"></span><span id="goog_1210561316"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-48723347714429737142013-12-11T14:47:00.000-05:002013-12-11T14:52:56.004-05:00Cute and CraftyI was flipping through the Parents magazine that just came in the mail last night and saw this really cute idea-<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6U_NkOPCUKaYapLV9v3vCmzqQHAH_21DSIWmzad1RWlO5B1cgrlKBknXylE3yNlOkpBxaYHC3qar7JgbThyphenhyphenPBrcw9UIfX_GfWpXWHHPPQaLgBkyDGCnf3MqyrAFtb1fnZtKEdPjj7Wr-/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+1+44+45+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6U_NkOPCUKaYapLV9v3vCmzqQHAH_21DSIWmzad1RWlO5B1cgrlKBknXylE3yNlOkpBxaYHC3qar7JgbThyphenhyphenPBrcw9UIfX_GfWpXWHHPPQaLgBkyDGCnf3MqyrAFtb1fnZtKEdPjj7Wr-/s400/Photo+Dec+11,+1+44+45+PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the January 2014 Parents Magazine</td></tr>
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They call them "Jungle Book Ends". I thought this would be such a cute idea for the classroom, and it's such an easy way to make customized pieces to match your classroom theme!<br />
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Basically all you do is attach a plastic to jungle animal to a wood block and paint it. <br />
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That's it. <br />
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You're done!<br />
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How simple is that? I totally love that you just paint the block and the decorating object the same solid color. Simple and not overdone . . . and makes it so much easier to fit whatever color scheme you've got going on in your room (if you have one). <br />
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You can get the wooden block pieces from anywhere like Lowe's or Home Depot. I'm sure if you ask nicely they'll even cut those wooden posts to your desired size. Then you can find the decoration piece at garage sales, Goodwill, craft stores like Michaels, etc. I've bought those rubbery animals from Hobby Lobby before as decoration for my daughter's birthday party one year and they were pretty inexpensive. You can use a hot glue gun to attach your decoration, or if you want a really secure hold you might think about drilling up through the wooden block into the decoration and securing with a screw. That's if you're really, REALLY serious about a good hold! Then just grab some spray paint (in any color of your choice) and give the book end a good coat.<br />
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I rummaged around in my daughter's toy box and found these items as an example of some things you might even use!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6V-WZSRtxyGRBuW6k8IdjTDjHuzrWtPMVKbadmjhpbtihhRGFsj-DRZRJCx3GBC3K5XEI0Rfh-z3ptLI221Eom87Y3Go0Y06KzYN6QAHi4Tk1K8kaJNoQ9SNPfrqNVOJVITJDsozj1Qq/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+2+24+45+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6V-WZSRtxyGRBuW6k8IdjTDjHuzrWtPMVKbadmjhpbtihhRGFsj-DRZRJCx3GBC3K5XEI0Rfh-z3ptLI221Eom87Y3Go0Y06KzYN6QAHi4Tk1K8kaJNoQ9SNPfrqNVOJVITJDsozj1Qq/s320/Photo+Dec+11,+2+24+45+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is actually a bath toy we got her from Walmart. I think it was $1.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwpuW6l01TkHQnDEKuJ39QuXHy0OZC6HF68NPEyuZ7gWb0OLpHxOm_ocYduZAz8zVZFwSOzuEltvszIotqItnlHNcZUFRQCkrqwE_IFhrCAGxSD6HWhKtL14SmCD_L60fGkeBV8RUPq09/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+2+22+51+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwpuW6l01TkHQnDEKuJ39QuXHy0OZC6HF68NPEyuZ7gWb0OLpHxOm_ocYduZAz8zVZFwSOzuEltvszIotqItnlHNcZUFRQCkrqwE_IFhrCAGxSD6HWhKtL14SmCD_L60fGkeBV8RUPq09/s320/Photo+Dec+11,+2+22+51+PM.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toy bowling ball and pin. (Do you recognize these, Dana and Katie? LOL!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuO0Cqjb9SlaoeAiXjoZvKk-ir28ttEuoq5E_XEEfsO8hBmnbC9DA_Kba6OAMYvhPTVbj5tNPKOh6lr4BZxbhj6l7I-hDPzfXRxkfYzKhQ_0vSZWxQFGv8Zr4AgIsgWfAEQ8GeoXsEI-K/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+2+23+07+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuO0Cqjb9SlaoeAiXjoZvKk-ir28ttEuoq5E_XEEfsO8hBmnbC9DA_Kba6OAMYvhPTVbj5tNPKOh6lr4BZxbhj6l7I-hDPzfXRxkfYzKhQ_0vSZWxQFGv8Zr4AgIsgWfAEQ8GeoXsEI-K/s320/Photo+Dec+11,+2+23+07+PM.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubber Ducky</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpia23rEa9cQAhEv6QuTPNvp_lERFY_aQAv364RujvTF0_Hwt-BOda7HfgDXiFb5e8QYmwpzZmNEaDOGyfyN5dyQFXLLrX9Ke5enKq01Gdun8KpcKm7HNosnFYmzGD__eYQGSe2cDyjoP/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+2+23+30+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpia23rEa9cQAhEv6QuTPNvp_lERFY_aQAv364RujvTF0_Hwt-BOda7HfgDXiFb5e8QYmwpzZmNEaDOGyfyN5dyQFXLLrX9Ke5enKq01Gdun8KpcKm7HNosnFYmzGD__eYQGSe2cDyjoP/s320/Photo+Dec+11,+2+23+30+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tea pot and tea cup from her tea set</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GtUEx1FGJ8t7zO1XwVHT2MFC8vhjMVg8SMvjyWh1tX3lf3c3oXb8NFhtgUBClYjk2rVLcPjD0PEpls9RxZf2nGtPgHZeq5YhStc72QkHOY27vzbk1gu8F5NjnPtPaBEssbKBWdMp6mZV/s1600/Photo+Dec+11,+2+21+44+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GtUEx1FGJ8t7zO1XwVHT2MFC8vhjMVg8SMvjyWh1tX3lf3c3oXb8NFhtgUBClYjk2rVLcPjD0PEpls9RxZf2nGtPgHZeq5YhStc72QkHOY27vzbk1gu8F5NjnPtPaBEssbKBWdMp6mZV/s320/Photo+Dec+11,+2+21+44+PM.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh . . . this is actually my dog's squeaky hamburger to. I think it was from the Target Dollar section ages ago!</td></tr>
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You get the point. Have fun! Be creative! I'm thinking that a nice coat of silver, gold, or some kind of metallic paint would glam it up if you wanted to do something like this for your office.<br />
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<br />Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-52789799146097528202013-12-10T05:00:00.000-05:002013-12-10T05:00:09.100-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Hook 'em with HighlightersHave you noticed that anything new or novel has the ability to grab your students' attention?<br />
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Ok, so I guess it's not just the kids because I can be like that too. (Let's be honest . . . we're all like that to some degree.)<br />
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I'm not sure what tools and supplies you use in your classroom on a regular basis, but I find that reserving certain supplies for specific activities make my students a little more interested. For example, I use a special set of colored pencils just for editing writing. This helps many of my students take a little more interest in the editing step of writing.<br />
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Another tool I use for specific assignments are highlighters!<br />
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One year I had a parent donate a whole bag full of colored highlighters, so I decided to use these in centers. It's a quick and easy way to create a literacy center!<br />
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Oftentimes I'll make copies of a page in a book or magazine for each student to have their own. With these pages I assign my students a specific phonetic pattern, sight word list, or spelling pattern to look for. (Sort of like a highlighter scavenger hunt.) I write in the directions for the center for students to use the highlighters to find all the assigned words or rules. Here are some examples of directions I've given:<br />
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<li>Highlight all the "the"s in pink, "if"s in blue, and "was" in yellow. </li>
<li>Highlight all words ending in "ing" in pink and "ed" in yellow.</li>
<li>Highlight all words whose consonant is doubled after adding the suffixes "ed" or "ing".</li>
<li>Highlight all words that have a prefix blue and a suffix pink.</li>
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You get the point. This is a great activity for visual discrimination in text.<br />
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An easy way to differentiate this kind of center while having all students concentrate on the same skill is to choose texts that vary in difficulty or amount of print on the page. Then again, sometimes I even choose texts that are even a little bit above their reading level so that they will focus on the task and not necessarily the actual content itself.<br />
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Hope this one helps you create a quick and easy (yet purposeful) center for your students!Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-71197710712731484422013-12-03T05:00:00.000-05:002013-12-03T21:45:10.897-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Handy HangersI picked up this neat repurposing tip at a staff development several years ago. (This was not the point of the inservice, but this is one of the cool things I walked away with. Go figure!) <br />
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I don't know about you, but I've never had a chart paper rack/easel in my classroom. I've always wanted one, but they're just so expensive! Sometimes I tack my chart paper up to my bulletin board and write on it there, but then I have to take out the tacks and move the papers quite frequently. Same deal when I use magnets to stick it to my whiteboard. The solution for this?<br />
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Cheap Pants Hangers!!!!<br />
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I got these from IKEA.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4kn7FNdL723lvTpijCSsGaI92-JzqIes5AAB_p1D4ojuqtghh2xyeMTIbU5Zch-moAmOlhk9e-bNv-p_rpCi09cK2DtRjpnqycx5MhOh2m0e7X4YMkiRkkof17LcmXCC2IzFDXKD6Lvq/s1600/bumerang-pants-hanger__42332_PE137009_S4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4kn7FNdL723lvTpijCSsGaI92-JzqIes5AAB_p1D4ojuqtghh2xyeMTIbU5Zch-moAmOlhk9e-bNv-p_rpCi09cK2DtRjpnqycx5MhOh2m0e7X4YMkiRkkof17LcmXCC2IzFDXKD6Lvq/s320/bumerang-pants-hanger__42332_PE137009_S4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
They are the Bumerang Pants hangers that go for $.99 each. You can get them many other places, but these work great. They're easy to open and close and grab the chart paper really well. I just swivel the hook so that it grabs ahold of the top of the bulletin board or whiteboard. If I need to move it, I just pick it up . . . no fumbling with tacks or magnets. Plus, you can just stack your papers up on top of one another for the next lesson. <br />
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I had several of these around the room and could hang them anywhere. I moved them into centers for my students to use for reference as well. <br />
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Our instructors for the staff development used these to hold her anchor papers. Students could go back and flip through the old charts on their own! Easy Peasy! <br />
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Ok, now go raid your closet and take some of your pants hangers to your classroom.<br />
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(That totally reminds me of this funny picture I saw on Pinterest.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/12103492721139941/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=" http://www.pinterest.com/pin/12103492721139941/" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8YQ4S_YcRNqZCcHQHnwQtdsHKIbK2L9l5N_oiLeiuFQY2BtSWmydtYb3lHwD5i-TgBIvgjsnGKCiel03qrKDKeSt9Lb3p6-hYtgSIA7mTV8hQUusIosBsUxlD-gHXKvRfTRyZgbOovaX/s320/teaching+steal+from+home.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.pinterest.com/pin/12103492721139941/</td></tr>
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<br />Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-29556375146375017102013-11-28T06:00:00.000-05:002013-11-28T06:00:01.521-05:00Giving thanks with 10%!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">Everything in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Plug-n-plan">TPT store</a> is 10% off!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!</b></span></div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-27377856425479315322013-11-26T05:00:00.000-05:002013-11-26T05:00:09.530-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Give Thanks<span style="font-family: inherit;">We should never be too busy to give thanks. Ever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Believe me, I know how busy life can get. The "To Do" list never ends. In fact there are seasons when that list seems like it's multiplying out of control! But no matter what we need to somehow take a few seconds or minutes to recognize ways we have been blessed and give thanks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wonder if anyone can relate-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I recall numerous occasions when my colleagues and I felt like the list of demands as a teacher had piled up and felt overwhelming. In times like these I sometimes heard grumblings about how we would really appreciate a thank you or recognition for a job well done. There are other times when a thank you has come unexpectedly, and it literally felt like stress had melted off my shoulders and some of my stresses and worries disappear (even if just temporarily). I felt better about myself. Wouldn't it be nice to make someone else feel that way?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes giving thanks means taking a quick moment to smile and say thank you to a person for whatever deed has blessed you (whether in person, over the phone, or in an email). Other times you might set aside some time to do a more elaborate thank you…like a thank you gift. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's what I like to do: I keep a stack of blank cards or small thank you cards on hand. I ALWAYS have some in stock in my bottom drawer. Ok . . . no joke, I even keep a small pack in my purse. Your note doesn't have to be long or elaborate. It could literally take seconds. (If I use "literally" one more time I might turn into a Kardashian sister.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are tons of cute cards like these out there for really cheap. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRqQS_e4tLnTMfKj-BLzwo8oyPnIRh7FPvXAcL3iOTawz9cxVSXKGvBzxfrezomMluZpNBlaO3uPEZOsyrqpFuG_3NYb2UdCXUOWTmsWBuapKihpM14l3RUworyCIG_yvryE6S1w3XGeE/s1600/Photo+Nov+24,+8+20+53+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRqQS_e4tLnTMfKj-BLzwo8oyPnIRh7FPvXAcL3iOTawz9cxVSXKGvBzxfrezomMluZpNBlaO3uPEZOsyrqpFuG_3NYb2UdCXUOWTmsWBuapKihpM14l3RUworyCIG_yvryE6S1w3XGeE/s320/Photo+Nov+24,+8+20+53+PM.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love to pick up a pack in the dollar section at Michaels or Target. You can find them in the drug store or for really cheap at stores like Big Lots and Dollar Tree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Remember, thank yous aren't just for gifts you've received. Send a card to students, parents, friends, coworkers, administration, the custodians…anyone for kind words, good effort/attitude, or when someone has inspired or motivated you. Shoot…I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes people pop into my head and I will go searching for a reason to send a card. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bottom line - give thanks during Thanksgiving, but don't reserve it just for this time of year</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. Make an effort to give thanks and show thanks year round. For others' sake and your sake too. </span></div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-55992340417448175242013-11-19T05:00:00.000-05:002013-11-19T05:00:12.686-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Brain BreaksI admit that I don't have a lot of experience in the working world aside from teaching, but from tv shows and movies working adults (outside of the teaching world) seem to get "coffee breaks". In the Japanese work culture they often start the work day with exercise together. These kinds of breaks increase productivity and can build camaraderie. For our little ones we use Brain Breaks!<div>
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As you know it's hard to keep little ones focused on a single task for extended periods of time. Developmentally they're just not quite there yet. (Hey . . . sometimes I'm not quite there yet!) That's why it's good to break the day up and utilize Brain Breaks to help them get those ants out of their pants and give them a chance to re-engage. </div>
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One kind of Brain Break that my kids loved was when I gave them a chance to dance and sing. If you've got the ability to project from your computer this is something you might like. Do you remember how I had mentioned in a previous post how YouTube can be a great resource? Well it's a great resource for Brain Breaks too! If you search for "Just Dance Kids" there are tons of Just Dance Kids videos where the kids can sing and dance to fun songs with the video! After a few times they start to memorize the songs and dance moves. They absolutely love it! (Some might be shy, but they tend to get a good laugh from watching the others and usually join in eventually.)</div>
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One of the videos that my kids loved was the "<a href="http://youtu.be/m2lJTVGq-kI">Get the Sillies Out</a>" song. Lots of wiggling and shaking and laughing going on here.</div>
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I'd love to hear about some of the Brain Breaks you use in your classroom! Feel free to add them in the comments below.</div>
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Now go get those sillies out!</div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-88394914344099835352013-11-12T05:00:00.000-05:002013-11-12T05:00:01.880-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Scholastic and Mentor Texts<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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You've heard me say it time and time again, but here I go again…<br />
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I love teaching writing!</div>
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One strategy I use most often is teaching through mentor texts. </div>
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Children learn well by means of example. Whether it's teaching behavior, proper speech, problem solving, or writing students understand much better when they can see and year an example of what us expected. Mentor texts provide that good example for students in developing their writing, but in order to effectively use those mentor texts, you should choose strong and clear examples. It also helps to zone in on key areas of those texts and dissect the texts (in detail). </div>
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Sometimes I realize that certain books lend themselves well to teaching different writing craft in the midst of reading to my class. That's why I sometimes put a sticky note inside the cover and list what kind of craft the book would be good for and even make note of what page provides strong examples. </div>
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Although these sticky notes serve as a good reminder for me, it's not always the most convenient way of finding the mentor text I want to use for my lessons. It's a good thing that websites like www.scholastic.com have such great resources for teachers. One of those resources is a list of mentor texts! You can find that <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/mentor-texts-traits-writing">here</a>. </div>
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I encourage you to take some time to explore the Scholastic website in the teacher resource section.<br />
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They've got some really useful stuff in there. You just need to know where to find it (and then remember that it's there)! I found that bookmarking pages in my web browser helped. I'm queen of folders and sub folders. I have things bookmarked in sub folders like </div>
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Printables </div>
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--> Language Arts</div>
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--> Graphic Organizers</div>
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Makes it so much easier to go back and find!</div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-65018816927956067142013-11-05T00:20:00.001-05:002013-11-05T00:20:24.806-05:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Rubrics<h2><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Some people cringe when they hear the word "rubric". I have to admit, however, that I rather like rubrics! (Does that make me weird?)</span></h2><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Why do I like rubrics so much?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1- They let the students know what is expected. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2- They let the parents know what I expected and how I graded. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3- I have a standard across the board for my students to meet. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Reason number 3 is huge for me. It assures me that I've been objective in my grading (and also communicates that to the parents (reason #2). </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I used a rubric religiously when grading writing which can be such a subjective area. I really want to be fair and communicate well with my students and parents, and rubrics help me to do so. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Admittedly I spent a lot of time making the writing rubrics, but once made I just printed them off, used them to grade, and stapled them to the work graded. I also made many simple rubrics for other projects and assignments and saved them for future uses as well. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I know not everyone's as into rubrics as I am and most teachers don't really want to spend time creating them, but here's a solution for you…</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Rubistar!</b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></b></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Rubistar is a free websie that has ready made rubrics and also enables you to create your own rubrics using their templates. They've got templates for many different subjects, projects, uses, etc.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Here's the website:</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><a href="http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php</font></a></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Take some time to explore the website and it's functions. You might find something you can use now or something to tuck away for future use. Hope it helps! (Also hope it helps convert you to my Rubric fan club!)</span></div>Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-75620513111257323582013-10-29T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-29T05:00:00.509-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - The Power of PositivityHave you ever heard people talk about worker productivity? Happy employees perform better? <br />
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Did you know that they actually did studies on this? <br />
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I was thinking about my team and school and just decided to Google the whole theory. (I Google everything.) That's how I came across this great article in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/do-happier-people-work-harder.html?_r=0">New York Times</a>. 2 things stood out to me as I read the article:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">"In a </span><a href="http://pps.sagepub.com/content/5/4/378.abstract" style="background-color: white; color: #666699; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">2010 study</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">, James K. Harter and colleagues found that lower job satisfaction foreshadowed poorer bottom-line performance. Gallup estimates the cost of America’s disengagement crisis at a staggering $300 billion in lost productivity annually. When people don’t care about their jobs or their employers, they don’t show up consistently, they produce less, or their work quality suffers."</span></blockquote>
Part of the study involved workers keeping an electronic diary.<br />
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" <span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">In one-third of the 12,000 diary entries, the diarist was unhappy, unmotivated or both. In fact, workers often expressed frustration, disdain or disgust. Our research shows that inner work life has a profound impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment and collegiality. Employees are far more likely to have new ideas on days when they feel happier. Conventional wisdom suggests that pressure enhances performance; our real-time data, however, shows that workers perform better when they are happily engaged in what they do."</span></blockquote>
As teachers our productivity and performance probably measures differently than the workers in the study, but I think the results would probably still hold true. I think the 2nd finding I listed regarding creativity probably hits a little closer to home for teachers since we rely a great deal on creativity to reach our students.<br />
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Think about your work environment. Have you ever had times when your work environment felt negative? Maybe morale was down because of pressure resulting from less than ideal testing results. Maybe your team wasn't getting along so well. Or maybe no matter how hard you tried you still felt like your best wasn't enough. I know that I've faced times like these, and it's made it harder to make it through the day. It threw my focus off, and to be honest sometimes it made me feel like I just wanted to go home.<br />
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Then I think about my awesome team. It isn't always smiles and cheer, but when things are going really well the cheer is infectious! You can't help but take that positive atmosphere flowing from your "professional" side straight into the children.<br />
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Some of us are truly blessed to have a positive work environment. Perhaps it's been built into the culture of your school by your administration. Others might be a little envious, wishing their own work environment was more positive. If you're one of the latter, don't wait for someone else to make your work place positive. You have the power and the choice to do that on your own. Here are some things you could try:<br />
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<b>Team Building</b>- Try to incorporate small ways to bring positivity to your team and grow closer together. I could write pages about some of the great things we've done together on my team. Some things I've done in the past have included. . . <br />
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<li>"Secret Pals" (draw names and try to sneak little $5 or less gifts to your pal once a month with a big reveal at the end of the year. Want more details? Just let me know and I can post more details.)</li>
<li>Afterschool outings (early dinner or a quick round of shopping)</li>
<li>Quick notes of appreciation or encouragement</li>
<li>(Cheesy but sweet) group time to share words of encouragement choosing one person from the group to tell them an example of why you think they're doing a good job</li>
<li>"Surprise" Birthday Breakfasts/Snacks on your team members' birthdays</li>
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<b>Celebrating Wins - </b>Take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate progress. This could include good test results, coming up with a new plan/strategy, or awards or recognition from outside sources, etc. Go ahead! Give yourselves a pat on the back! You deserve it.<br />
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<b>Smile</b> - Don't underestimate the power of a smile. Make it your 1st expression towards others whether or not they reciprocate. It will at least boost your spirit!<br />
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<b>Stay away from the drama</b> - You know there's always drama somewhere. Try to stay away from it. Whether or not it involves you, if you get caught up in it it can bring your spirit down.<br />
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No matter what kind of environment you're placed in, you have the power to create a positive environment. In the off chance that your positivity doesn't rub off on your co-workers at the very least you will create a positive classroom environment, and I'm confident that it will impact your students.Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-11353723274237445132013-10-15T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-15T05:00:08.856-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Engaging with Media Part 2Last week I talked about using Discovery Education as a great online resource to incorporate media into your lessons to engage your students. This week, let's talk about YouTube.<br />
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Most of us automatically think about funny or moving videos when we hear the name "YouTube". (Younger generations might think about Justin Bieber . . . you know! Because he was discovered through YouTube!) Have you ever thought about using YouTube in your classroom? Up until last year I never really considered it because we weren't able to access it due to the county's firewall. Last year, however, they actually gave us access to YouTube (but not for the purpose of sharing one of the incredible performances of one of the contestants from last night's episode of The Voice). When I started looking into how I might use YouTube in the classroom I found that the range of videos you could find on YouTube was incredible! I was able to pull up tons of resources for openers for lessons!<br />
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Now here is the part where I admit to you one of my weaknesses - I am a TERRIBLE singer! This is to the detriment of my poor students who learn so well through song. Every once in a while I would teach them a song like the Water Cycle Song or the "There is no 'a' in 'they'", but for the most part I shy away from singing in public. Know what I found on YouTube that was perfect for my students? The Electric Company! I think I must have used an Electric Company video for almost every one of my word study or phonics lessons. My students LOVED these videos and songs that helped them to remember rules to the English language! Really though, while the Electric Company is absolutely wonderful for the classroom, I found much, much more on YouTube that I could use in my lessons for all subjects.<br />
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WARNING!<br />
If you do decide to use YouTube please, Please, PLEASE screen the contents of the entire video before showing your class. You will probably even want to cue up the video and pause it before sharing it with your students to avoid showing them things that are unsuitable for their young eyes and ears. Oftentimes there are advertisements prior to videos that only allow you to skip after the ad has been playing for a while that may contain things you wouldn't want them to see or hear.<br />
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There are ways of making YouTube safer for young audiences including "Safe Mode". (Go to<a href="https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/174084?hl=en"> this link</a> to see how to turn it on/off.) <br />
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I've even seen that there is a way you can type in the web address that engages safety features, although I don't remember how to do this. (Sorry!) Either way, you should still preview the full content just to be super-duper safe.<br />
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Another option you have is another website called <a href="http://www.teachertube.com/">TeacherTube</a>. This site is safe from unsuitable content, but the resources are not as vast. This site also features videos that other teachers and classes have made and uploaded. Who knows . . . maybe you and your students want to make your own video to share here as well!<br />
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If you have suggestions of other similar sites, please mention them in the comments. Share the wealth (of knowledge)! =)Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-45204066605449332362013-10-08T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-08T05:00:02.605-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tip - Engaging with MediaWhat strategies do you use to engage your students and grab their attention?<br />
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An increasingly popular means of hooking your students is through the use of multimedia and technology. </div>
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Years ago I went to a Summer Science Conference offered in my county where I was introduced to United Streaming. The name has now changed to Discovery Education. <br />
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<a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieZ0tUw0BHXff58OwfO2zCyGUarQYF54aLI-5DfYABpVdgrbNJQElRXkBtOHSPevHSBt554wEbFek6V_WVY3seBIa9KRK73eiKcaB3djeGzhCwZmF3WS1V-NLUSazyYngDkNvsVD3dF1i/s320/Discovery+Education.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This resource blew my mind! Discovery Education gave me access to video clips, full videos, photographs, and other forms of media for so many different subjects! I found it especially useful when it came to Science and Social Studies which I had limited resources for. I was able to give my students visuals for concepts that I previously had to describe with my own words and illustrate myself (not the best means of explaining with my skill set!). Naturally, the students loved it! Finding information in manageable bits created for their level of understanding was incredible! I use the resources offered here to introduce topics, dive deeper, and review as well. Sometimes I use a video we have already watched at the end of the unit and give the students a graphic organizer or some sort of response form to complete in order to review. The kids are engaged . . . and they're learning! It really seems to stick.</div>
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Of course such a gem of a resource wasn't completely easily accessible because you need a pass code to set up your own account to retrieve these resources. Lo and behold - one of my instructors told me that every school in our county had its own pass code so their teachers could access it! Well why hadn't anyone ever told me about this before????</div>
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If you've never heard of or tried using <a href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/">Discovery Education</a> before ask your media specialist or administration if your school has a pass code for it. If not, it's definitely a resource worth your school's investment! I've passed this information on to my coworkers year after year ever since I found out about it. </div>
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Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-58849863030948974152013-10-01T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-01T05:00:06.368-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Goal SettingWe talk about "setting goals" with our students all the time. We teach them that setting goals will help them to grow. It gives them something specific to focus on . . . something individual that benefits them instead of a blanket statement for all students which may or may not apply to their personal needs. We know goals are important for our students, but have you thought about goals for yourself as a teacher?<div>
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As professionals we are always seeking to grow ourselves to become better at our trade. We are even required to accumulate specified amounts of professional development hours in order renew our licenses. Those required professional development sessions are great for your growth, but just like our students we need to focus on our greatest needs to grow ourselves into the best teachers that we can be. That means we have to take inventory of our own personal strengths and weaknesses and do some focusing of our own.</div>
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I remember talking to a friend on my team last year about working on getting a good grip on teaching the new grade level she was in. After being bounced around from grade to grade each year she found that she was lacking confidence in her strengths at teaching in many areas. Thinking about all the areas you want to improve upon all at once can be very overwhelming. Not only that but you can start to really beat yourself up about your skills and authority as a teacher! What she decided to do was pick one subject area that year to pour her energy into and try to grow and refine her teaching in that area. Once she became stronger and more confident in that area she would switch her focus to something new. Don't get me wrong . . . she did <i>not</i> neglect the other areas! She still continued to work on teaching those subjects, but most of her energies (researching, planning, studying, observing, etc.) were focused on that one chosen area.</div>
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Sometimes when we try to work on too much at once it seems like we don't make any headway. We feel like we're struggling or stagnant in everything. Focusing on one area of weakness and building it up into a strength will give us the confidence and momentum we need to continue pressing on in the next areas and eventually increase our strengths across the board.</div>
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Take one manageable step at a time. Build yourself up with each manageable step until you reach the top . . . and then keep going! After all, isn't that the advice you would give your students?</div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-45664622878610002412013-09-24T05:00:00.000-04:002013-09-24T05:00:07.283-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Take it Personal!You know how sometimes comments are made and people say, "Don't take it personal!" Think about that . . . why would someone say that? Because if you take something personal, it hits close to home and stirs up emotions. Once emotions are stirred up you open up the floodgates!<br />
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Well this time I'm telling you to TAKE IT PERSONAL! </div>
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In writing, that is. =)</div>
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I'm encouraging you to encourage your students to take their writing to a personal place as often as possible. </div>
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Writing prompts are great. Some can even push students into a personal direction and tap into some great creative juices, but sometimes writing prompts can make your students feel limited.</div>
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One of my favorite subjects to teach is writing (because I LOVE writing so much). I actually incorporate a variety of ways to teach writing so that my students are exposed to different writing styles and techniques. They need to be able to write on a given topic, but they also need to know how to self start. I often reserve writing prompts for writing centers or writing benchmarks (to keep writing uniform, comparing apples to apples at the beginning, middle, and end of the year between students). When I do Writing Workshop, however, I try to lead with a genre or style of writing but then let students choose their own topics. Some kids have difficulty doing this, so when I confer with them I try question and lead students in finding something that is meaningful to them.</div>
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Personal writing (experiences, likes, dislikes, wishes, and opinions) get people excited. When you're excited you take interest and often get wrapped up in the task at hand. You can get worked up and then . . . the floodgates open! Now imagine <i>that </i>in a student's writing. Imagine the floodgates opening up right inside their notebooks on what was once a blank piece of paper. I can't even describe to you my joy and satisfaction when I see that happen, or even better - when I ask students to stop to clean up because writing time is over and I hear the disappointment vocalized simply because they truly wanted to keep writing! (Oh, how that touches my heart!)</div>
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Anyways . . . you get the point.</div>
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When it comes to writing remember to . . . </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Take It Personal.</span></i></b></div>
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Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-85485310799838214332013-09-17T05:00:00.000-04:002013-09-17T05:00:04.818-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Team UpYou know those sayings, "Work smarter, not harder." and "Divide and Conquer"?<div>
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They're worth a shot. Really! </div>
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Unless you're one of those really tiny schools, you probably have at least 1 or 2 other teachers on your grade level team. During my 1st year of teaching we had 10 1st grade teachers on our team. The smallest my team ever got was 5 teachers. Regardless of size you can make your teaching life a whole lot easier by collaborating with your team.</div>
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Everyone has their own teaching styles and preferences, but collaborating doesn't necessarily mean giving up your teaching style.</div>
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Here's one easy way to help each other out-</div>
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Every week our team got together for at least one planing period to go over what we were teaching. One year we decided to start a folder for each skill we covered. Every time we met, we collected lesson plans, ideas, activities, and assessments that we either made or found and placed a copy in the folder. Our grade chair kept the folder in her room in a designated spot. Whether you were ready to peruse the file now or needed some time to catch up, you always knew where to find the file. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had one folder for each subject area. We even kept the past skill folder in the organizer for a little longer in case someone was behind and needed to catch up.</td></tr>
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Obviously the 1st year required the most work since we were starting from scratch. We actually assigned/volunteered for different subjects to focus on and bring materials to the table for our weekly meeting (but were free to add materials to any of the subject areas at any time). Each subsequent year we dug the skill file out of the grade level file cabinet, reviewed what we already had, and then added our new materials. Everyone was free to use what they wanted (or what suited their teaching style) or leave it if it didn't particularly appeal to their teaching goal. We just built it into our personal lesson plans as we saw fit without any expectation to use any/all available resources. That's all it was, really . . . a relevant resource we built for ourselves.</div>
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It was great to be able to simply go back to the file each year to get a quick starting point for each skill we taught. It was even better for those new to our grade level because it took some pressure off of them and made teaching a new grade level a little less overwhelming.</div>
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A few years ago our school switched over from a shared drive to using OneNote. Our grade level then started saving files and links that we used for our skills onto OneNote for everyone to access. It was basically a digital shared version of our grade level hard copy folders, but we continued to use our hard copy folders in conjunction with OneNote as well.</div>
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Another perk to these shared folders was that it helped us to build camaraderie. If you are not fortunate enough to be on a team that enjoys sharing (because I've heard stories of teachers who don't like to share with others), start a grade level folder anyways and host the folders in your room. Extend the invitation to your teammates to come use the materials if they choose. Remember we reap what we sow, so even if they are not receptive to your kindness you'll find yourself rewarded in other ways. Besides you will be using the materials whether or not they do and will likely use them next year too. And who knows! Next year your team might be more inclined to work together, and they'll be grateful that you already got the ball rolling. </div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-27280433658116092102013-09-10T05:00:00.001-04:002013-09-10T05:00:05.103-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Word WallWord Walls are intended to be dynamic . . . ever changing. Right? <br />
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Ever feel like yours is . . .stagnant?<br />
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Several years ago I realized that I didn't really use my entire whiteboard. I was blessed to have a very large magnetic whiteboard that runs the length of an entire wall. As lovely as it is I used only a portion of my board, so I decided to use half of it for my Word Wall!<br />
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Up until this point I kept my Word Wall on my bulletin board. This meant I needed to write new words on sentence strips, cut them, and staple them onto the board. Not such a big deal, but that little bit of effort combined with the little bit of effort required for the long list of other things I needed to do seemed to result in a Word Wall that rarely changed.<br />
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When I moved my Word Wall onto my whiteboard I made little signs for each letter and posted them up with a magnet stuck to the back of each sign. When I needed to add a new word all I needed to do was write it under the corresponding letter. I even used different colored dry erase markers to color code words on my Word Wall for different subjects. (I coordinated the colors with my Essential Questions which I also wrote in one corner of my whiteboard.) The Word Wall can even become interactive for different activities. Sometimes we did class activities using sentence strips that we posted up with magnetic tape after cutting out the shape of the word (to emphasize small, tall, and fall letters). If my Word Wall become too crowded or we wanted to remove a more "seasonal" word, all we needed to do was erase!<br />
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Making my Word Wall more accessible on the whiteboard brought new life to my Word Wall. The "final" perk of a whiteboard Word Wall comes at the end of the year when all you do is erase! No need to tediously pry out all those staples from the bulletin board any more! Yeah . . . it's the little things! =PMelissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-62671016383596652602013-09-03T05:00:00.000-04:002013-09-03T05:00:08.277-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Teacher Time ManagementTeaching can be an all consuming profession. I always found it so hard to separate myself from the job. I feel like teaching is a way of life and not just a job. People always say that you need to be able to leave your job at work, but I personally have never been able to do that. I think about the job but especially the kids and my coworkers and friends all the time when I leave the school campus. <br />
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Well while I may not be able to fully separate my thoughts from my life as a teacher I can at least get myself off campus, right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3_ODI3v2y0jTGOI7fasxLVyA3N9Cy5fMpN2yAzPzi4BMBpP_eoMkEcKGXwUFJ6-FMS7WA1VVqyqeekol-enMVlz7-s0Zz0YliYAgPRL7tpyQSwldyYxgbb9UrGibzmAx7jY9T3femLl5/s1600/pbs+kids+time+management.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3_ODI3v2y0jTGOI7fasxLVyA3N9Cy5fMpN2yAzPzi4BMBpP_eoMkEcKGXwUFJ6-FMS7WA1VVqyqeekol-enMVlz7-s0Zz0YliYAgPRL7tpyQSwldyYxgbb9UrGibzmAx7jY9T3femLl5/s400/pbs+kids+time+management.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Ever feel like this? Found this amusingly accurate picture on PBS Kids!)</td></tr>
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Over the years I've surveyed other teachers/friends trying to find a way to gain some balance. After having my first baby I was in desperate need of such advice. I needed to drastically cut back on the amount of work I did from home and on the amount of time I spent in school after the set work hours. Here's some of the best advice I got for teacher time management and a few things I figured out worked for me in the process so that my teacher life did not consume my life outside of the classroom.<br />
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<b><i>Getting Off Campus:</i></b><br />
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<li><i>Set a time</i> (ideally 1/2 hour - 1 hour after school hours) <i>as a deadline</i> for you to leave the school campus</li>
<li><i>Set a timer</i> after the kids leave to do your work. When the timer goes off it's time to leave . . . no matter what you are doing. Just stop where you are and say bye-bye!</li>
<li><i>Allow yourself 1 day a week as a late day</i> to stay as late as you want/need. Make arrangements ahead of time for any other responsibilities (kids, appointments, other duties, etc.) so that you can stay late and get "everything" done on that one day without hindrance.</li>
<li><i>Schedule your responsibilities out ahead of time</i> for particular days so that you tackle a little bit at a time. For example: Divide your students into groups and assign each group a day to turn in journals or work in to you. That way you are only checking a few journals/assignments each day and it won't feel as overwhelming. Or maybe Mondays you check journals, Tuesdays you check Math work, etc. </li>
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If you're like me, however, it's not just the work that you do at school that is all consuming. I could spend endless hours working on stuff that I took home. You know . . . teacher "homework". </div>
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<b><i>Once You're Off Campus:</i></b></div>
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<li><i>Set a timer </i>and allow yourself only that time to work on the things you bring home. Try to make sure you have portioned that part of the day off to focus on just the work you brought home if possible. When the timer goes off . . . that's it. You're done!</li>
<li><i>Set aside 1 day during the week</i> to dedicate a few hours to concentrate on that take home stuff. My husband tried to give me one night a week to myself when he would watch our daughter and I could run to Starbucks or somewhere of my choice to have some "me time". Honestly the time was supposed to be for me to relax and take time for myself, but I found myself overwhelmed with work that I had to do or felt I really needed to do so I ended up using my "me time" to do school stuff. In a way it was sort of "me time" because if I got that stuff done I felt less stressed out. If you have kids to look after I hope you've got a spouse or friend as wonderful as mine who could grant you that kind of time.</li>
<li><i>Schedule in some daily homework time for the family.</i> No matter where you are in life there's always room for growth. School aged kids usually have homework and reading to do, but adults like your significant other/roommate/friends have areas they can grow in too. If you section of a time in the afternoon or evening for everyone to take time to do some "growth work" then everyone becomes productive and concentrates on their own work! ("Growth work" might include daily Bible reading, personal reading, study, professional development reading/activities, etc.)</li>
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I'm interested in hearing some of your strategies for Teacher Time Management. If you have any ideas, they're definitely worth sharing! What works for one may not work for others, so throw those ideas out in the comments below so others have more options to try out.</div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7092111922402363792.post-87723269212118662152013-08-27T05:00:00.000-04:002013-08-27T05:00:05.618-04:00Tuesday Teaching Tips - Tackling RTII've heard rumors about some schools having staff members that have the specific duty of helping teachers take data and do progress monitoring. If those rumors are true and you're one of those lucky teachers who get help with their data and progress monitoring, then let me say that I am so jealous!<br />
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Every year you'll get a handful of students who need to be taken through the RTI process. It's inevitable, so you might as well embrace it and find a way that works for you! Now if you're like me you really appreciate the data to analyze and confirm your personal observations, but you don't necessarily enjoy the process of collecting all those numbers. The best tip I can give is to take the time to organize your data collection materials ahead of time.<br />
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Two of the biggest assessments we use for RTI at my school are DIBELS for Reading and CBMs (Curriculum Based Measurement) for Math. Here's how I organized it:<br />
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<li>I kept the hard copies of these assessments in a huge 3 inch binder I labeled for Data Collection. In the front of the binder I kept the benchmark levels by grade for the assessments we used so I had easy access to them. </li>
<li>Then placed the DIBELS manual, teacher scripts/assessment pages, and other assessment pieces behind these reference pages separated with labeled dividers. (For example: a section for DIBELS Nonsense Words, DIBELS DORF pages, hard copies of CBM computation pages, etc.) </li>
<li>In the back of my binder I kept hard copies of the DIBELS student recording books. (Take a highlighter and mark the cover page with "Master Copy" so that you don't lose your hard copy. When you run the book through the copy machine to record individual student progress, the writing done with your highlighter does <i>not</i> show up on your copy!) This way your original copy doesn't go missing.</li>
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If there are any other assessments you use on a regular basis for RTI, add more dividers and give them their own section. Setting this up ahead of time makes it easier and quicker to get started and keep going. If it's all in one place and ready to go, you waste less time! </div>
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I try to set aside one day a week to sweep through all the data collection with my RTI kids. That way I'm on a routine and less likely to forget to assess. The other perk is that my data is more consistent. I just grab my folder, run through my assessments, and then it's back to business as usual. No searching for forms - they're all right there!</div>
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(Oh, and I also keep individual student booklets in an accordion folder/plastic envelope tucked into the back of the binder, so I don't lose any of that precious data or forget to assess a student!)</div>
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Happy Data Collecting!</div>
Melissa http://www.blogger.com/profile/15562337640715801854noreply@blogger.com0