Sunday Scoop for February 15, 2015!

Have To Do:

For the past 5 years, I've taught at the local college.  I have taught education courses and supervised student teachers.  It's a lot of fun to work with college students who are exploring the option of a career in education.  While I returned to the classroom full-time this year, I decided to keep my hybrid courses at the college to see if I could manage balancing both of them.  After all, I put years of hard work and dedication into the program and I was reluctant to give it all away.  It has been tough to juggle both, I'll admit.  We meet face-to-face three times per term and the rest is done exclusively online.  This week, we have our last face-to-face session for the term!

I have so much work to put up in the hallways.  I just took down our onomatopoeia artwork and I have some fun math art to put up as well as some upcoming Dr. Seuss art.  We still have all of our Black History Month artwork up too so my section of the hallway is quite decorative and bright right now.  It's not always like that, trust me!

Gasp!  I have a blank bulletin board.  I really need to get it together and update it.  Perhaps that needs to be my priority for the week!?

Hope To Do:

I hope that my class gets their Dr. Seuss artwork done this week.  If you know anything about me, I hate pushing things at the last minute.  If we can get it mostly done, that'll give me plenty of time to focus on the students who need more time to finish it and get it hung without rushing to get it up in time.  

Then, there's that dreaded task of updating your clipart collections and backing up your files.  I am THE WORST at computer organization.  I just save everything into these folders that are bursting with files on top of files and I have to go in and reorganize and delete things that I don't need and restructure my filing system and then back it all up.  It takes forever.  I could make it easier by being better with my organization from the start but it's definitely my organizational weakness.

Happy To Do:

Seriously, how good does it feel that it's Sunday and there's another day off tomorrow?!  Three day weekends are beautiful.  I really needed this extra day too.  I've been feeling exhausted lately and I'm feeling so much better this weekend already knowing that I have some extra time to get things taken care of!  

Well, I'm off to hot yoga!  I hope that you head on over to The Teaching Trio and link up with us for Sunday Scoop!!

Best Seller Saturday & A Limited Sale!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wanted to do something extra special for you guys so, for today only, I'm offering my best selling product for 50% off!

This product supports students in reading multiple informational pieces, organizing their thoughts and then writing their personal opinion!  It's great for 4th and 5th graders and will help them prepare for some of the tasks that they will be required to complete on the Smarter Balanced Assessment.

Click the picture above to get it before midnight for only $1.50!!

Link up with us at The Hickman Five too to share your special holiday-priced products or random acts of kindness!  

Freebie Friday: Clean and Messy Desk Notes

Since you're reading this, I think it's safe to assume that you survived this Valentine's Day party edition of Friday the 13th!  I feel like I should cue some scary music here!

In honor of everyone who made it out alive, I'd like to link up with Teaching Blog Addict and share a freebie with you that went up on my store last night.  I was getting pretty overwhelmed with some of the messes in my students desks and I created these little slips that I can randomly leave on their desks to help hold them accountable for their mess or thank them for being clean and tidy.  The desk tags slip is for those students who pick at the tape and damage their name tags or other things that are taped to the desk.

I used them last week and gave the students with clean desks a treat.  The rest of the students had to clean up.  I felt so much better after they got rid of all of the junk.  Some of the students even joked with me that we should create a version of hoarders just for classrooms.  Wouldn't that be entertaining?!

I found some of the most interesting things...including a shoelace stuffed in someones book box.  Of course, you can imagine my questions here:

• So, were you just walking around with only one shoe laced?
• Where did this come from in the first place if you were not walking around with one shoe unlaced?
• Why on Earth would the best place for this be your book box?  Wouldn't you want to take it home and reunite it with its shoe?

Clearly, the list goes on! :)

Now, onto the freebie...click the title image to download it for free in my store!

I hope that you enjoy these and they help keep your students accountable in the classroom!

Five for Friday: 5 Products That I Used This Week!

Welcome, back Friday! Friday the 13th, at that!  This Friday, I'm going to share 5 products that I used this week in my classroom!  Let's be honest.  I'm doing a product share because I really just didn't get any photos this week.  Sometimes you win...sometimes you're just overwhelmed and miss the mark.

Of course, I used more door posters from Art With Jenny K!  These products are incredible.  I have a few of her products and I've been obsessed with every single one.  We're finishing up our Black History Month pack right now and I have George Washington ready to go for President's Day next week!

Also, I was featured on her blog last week as the VERY first Featured Teacher!  You should go check out the article if you haven't already.  Her blog is so fun and she always has awesome follower freebies!

Here's the most recent one that we posted!

Another awesome product that I used this week was a spontaneous project.  I saw this product come up on the "sellers that you follow have new products" email and I just had a good feeling about it.  I mean, if you're studying fractions and you see a project that integrates writing with fractions, it seems like a good plan to me!  I immediately picked it up from Melissa O'Bryan at Wild About Fifth.

Here's an example of one that a student made!

My students had a math test this week so we had a little extra time in the afternoon when we usually do our math groups.  I had my students make posters to put up around in the hallway explaining the concepts.  Since we've only learned how to add and subtract fractions and this pack also includes multiplying and dividing, there room for us to try this again after we've learned some new concepts.  It was great to see how the students illustrated their prompt and wrote about their thinking.  I thought that this activity also really allowed me to see what the students knew in a new way, it allowed me to get into their thinking a little bit deeper and it really provided me with the opportunity to give them extended practice for Smarter Balanced Assessments.

During my math groups, I use a lot of task cards.  Sometimes, I make them myself.  Other times, I just need something that's ready to go because I don't have the time to create something for my classroom. I keep a variety of cards in a photo storage box so the students can practice past skills that need more work or work on things that we're currently doing.  There are a ton of great "math games" on One Stop Teacher Shop and I keep them in regular rotation in my math area.  The students feel less threatened by the little cards and they do really help them improve their skills.  I'm using the "I Can Multiply & Divide Decimals" set right now since we started this topic this week!

Next, what's a new holiday without a new Melonheadz set?  I adore Melonheadz.  They're adorable, high quality and really transform the look and feel of any product. I picked up a new Valentine's Day set to use on some great Valentine's Day themed printables this week.  They're perfect!

Last, but certainly not least, I used this freebie.  These slips were left on students' desks to let them know that they either needed to come in at recess and fix something, or that they were doing a great job and thank them for their efforts.  The slips are easy to copy and cut into squares and they're super adorable.  My students are struggling to clean things up lately so I wanted an extra level of accountability for them and I'm hoping that this helps.

Thank you for reading my blog this week!  I'd love to hear what you used this week!  Leave a comment below and link up with us.

Sunday Scoop: February 8, 2015

I think it pretty much speaks for itself.  I have to spend a lot of time in my kitchen today but it will all be worth it when the fatigue sets in mid-week.

My students have a math test next week and I always give them at home practice and in-class practice so that they feel comfortable on the real test when it's time to take it.  I need to get their practice ready for both home and at school.

My reading groups have been loving reader's theater lately.  They keep asking me for it! I tell them that they can do it if they get their work done and we have extra time in the week.  They usually take me up on the offer.  I hope that they do again this week because reader's theater is so much more fun than reading comprehension passages.

Lastly, I am so ready for my root touch up later this week.  Being an unnatural blonde is hard work.

What do you have going on this week?  Link up with us and leave a comment!

The Sunday Scoop is hosted by Teaching Trio!

Five for Friday: Teacher Must-Haves

Hello!  I'm linking up with DoodleBugs teaching again for Five for Friday!

I want to shift toward a different focus for today's post.  Today, I'm writing about my five teacher must-haves!  

This first thing that I can't live without is my bag from 6 Pack Bags.  This bag takes me from home, to work, to the gym and everywhere in between with healthy food, great insulation and room for anything else that I need to carry around.  Plus, it's cute and always trendy.  I have the Renee tote in red.  I get tons of compliments on it!

The back of the bag opens to store your meals.  The top holds two ice packs and the sleeve on the bottom part that zips open holds another large ice pack.  Translation...frozen meals can stay frozen in here with all of the insulation and room for ice packs!  There's mesh net on the part that zips down for you to store your other items.

 Inside, you'll find a sleeve area to slip in your laptop.  There's also a supplement pill container that fits in the side pocket, a place for your cell phone and enough space to keep your wallet or whatever else you need.  I keep a small wristlet inside of the top part.  That way, if I'm just running into the store and I don't want to lug the entire bag, I can take out my wristlet and I'm ready to go...with both hands free.  I use a wristlet from Baggalini, which is a favorite brand of mine!

Look how cute it is from the front view?  I keep smaller pouches inside of the top zipper which hold my gym items (headphones, lock, etc) and the very front zippers are usually empty.  There are also pockets on each side for you to slide in items that you need quick access to.  

Isn't it pretty?  It's functional too!  This bag really helps me stay healthy on the go with the busy lifestyle of a teacher.  I can't live without it!

My second must-have item is MAC's Prep and Prime Highlighter and under eye concealer.  For those who don't know (which is probably everyone), I've freelanced as a makeup artist for years and I'm still employed with the brand as a freelance artist.  I will not try to hide the fact that I am a MAC girl through and through.  However, let me tell you...this under eye highlighter is amazing.  We all know that teachers never get enough sleep and tend to have dark under eye circles.  This under eye concealer is easy to brush on and pat out with your fingertips.  I also use it all over my eyelid as an eye base because I am super lazy in the mornings.  The shade that you need depends on your skin tone and I recommend asking someone at the MAC store or MAC counter.  I use Radiant Rose.  If you're extra fair skinned...go with that one.  It's just right.  Basically, I brush this under my eyes in the morning, pat it out and then look instantly more vibrant and awake.  It doesn't crease and has a great long wear for our long hours!

My third teacher must-have is Scentsy!  Seriously.  I always have a Scentsy warmer (or two) on in my classroom.  First, they're adorable.  You can match them with pretty much any classroom decor.  Second, they make your room smell great and you're certain to get compliments from people who come in to visit.  Also, I've noticed that when I warm relaxing scents, the behavior in my classroom changes for the better.  Who wouldn't want that?  I have a bright green one and red one in my room right now.  My favorite scents to burn are baking-related scents...apple pie, cupcakes, etc.  Yum!

How cute is this warmer of the month, by the way?  

What a great way to add seasonal decor to your classroom as well.

My number four spot goes to Sharpie Chisel Tip markers.  I spent years searching for the best chart marker.  I hate when they start drying out and your posters look boring.  I felt that pens either dried out too fast, had too fine of a tip, were too broad of a tip, etc.  When I finally tried Sharpie Chisel Tip markers, it was life-changing.  I teach using a lot of GLAD strategies so I'm constantly making posters.  I've had Sharpie markers for years and they're still going strong!  Try them!  You won't regret the purchase!

Last but certainly not least, my 5th spot goes to Sterilite containers.  I know, it's not that cool.  However, I do strongly suggest that you stock up on these shoe-sized containers.  I keep them labeled with everything imaginable.  Here's my supply closet below...

The easy-to-read labels make it so that it's easy for students to find anything that they need if I send them to the supply cabinet.  Plus, they can always put things away for me because there's no question about where each thing needs to go.  The containers stack perfectly on top of one another for instant organization and ease.  I've added a few more containers since this picture was taken and I couldn't live without all of the extra shelving space that these containers provide.  You can find pretty good deals on them at back to school time and Target frequently stocks them for back-to-school or college sales!

I hope that you loved this list of must-have items.  I would love to hear about your teacher must haves in the comments!!

Making Inferences in 5th Grade

This morning, I made up a quick anchor chart for making inferences.  Usually, I look all through Pinterest, search hashtags, etc. for the best anchor chart to fit my needs and then I adapt it for my teaching needs.  Today, I just went with the info that I had and put it all into a chart.  I'm not so thrilled with this chart.  In fact, I think that I want to type up some inference posters that are nicer, or make two charts.  One chart would include the definitions and the other chart would include steps for making an inference with examples of good inferences that we've made throughout the unit in class for reference.  Maybe that should be three charts?  Sometimes I just feel like we're on chart overload!

Anyway, here's the chart that resulted.  It's so hard to teach inferences!  What're your best tricks for teaching inferences?  I'd love to hear what everyone does with this complex task!