Monday Made It - Reading Records, Bathroom Passes, and Organization!

The last Monday of summer.  Next Monday kicks off our school year (no students until Wednesday).  Of course, I'll be in my classroom all day today and at training for most of this week.  But, I'll pretend it's still summer.

The rapidly approaching school year has kicked my butt into productive mode though, so I've got a few Monday Made-Its to share!

First up, Bathroom Passes:

At the beginning of each month, I give each student a bathroom pass with the word "bathroom" on it.  Each letter is a pass.  When they need to go, I cross out a letter (of course, we still have the talk and expectations about when appropriate times to go are).  At the end of the month, unused letters become tickets for our raffle.  This is the system that all 4th grade has used at my school the past two years.

I like to have the name of the month on the bathroom passes.  Some of my teammates just rotate through the colored paper we have, but I could never remember which color I was on.  So I made one for each month.  I'm going to copy them all as soon as our copy machines are up and running so I am ready!

Next, Reading Records:

I gray out the days that they do not have to get their log signed (weekends, including Fridays, and days off of school).

Parent signed reading logs are expected at my school. My first year and a half, I used a half sheet of paper each week that students had to write how many minutes they read each night and have a parent sign.  I HATED collecting them each week and would often forget to make sure I had copies each Monday.  So, part way through last year, I switched to monthly logs.  It's still just minutes and parent signatures, but I only have to collect it once per month.  Most of the kids really liked the calendar aspect of it! I made the fonts match the bathroom passes and I'll copy them on the same colored paper (one of those cute, but doesn't matter things, I know).

Would you like to use these too?

Click HERE for the link to the bathroom passes and reading records.  All days are white on this reading log since I don't know your schedule :)

And last, some cute organization:

Label shape from Ladybug's Teacher Files; Font: Oh {Photo} Shoot
I used lots of Mod Podge to stick those cute papers on!
They match my turn-in boxes nicely (though I wish I had found this paper before I made those!)

I decided to do Copy, File, Laminate instead of Copy, File, Grade for a couple of reasons:

1. It's just not realistic to think that my grading will all fit in that drawer :(
2. I feel like I always have some small little thing that needs laminating but doesn't seem worth turning on the laminator, so I save it for later, when I have a bigger job.  BUT, then I forget or misplace that small thing.

Alright, I'm off to my classroom now to see if I can get it ready enough to show you all tomorrow for Teacher Week '13!

School Supply Shopping!

I did it.  The big back to school shopping trip is DONE.  I'm sure there will be plenty of smaller ones to come, but none that fill up my trunk like this one did.

What did I get, you ask? (all photos found via google search - my things are packed in my car ready to head to the classroom)

From Office Max:

For Writing Notebooks

Two backs of black and one of blue - I'm taking bets on how long these will last!

Tune into Monday Made It next week to see what this turns into!

From Walmart:

105 of these babies.  35 each of purple, green, and black.
Does anyone else feel like a crazy person searching through bins for a bunch of the same color?
I just want to turn to everyone and say "You don't know how much time it saves
over the year to be able to say Get out your green notebook!"
But of course, I don't, because then I'd seem actually crazy!

33 of these - I'm going to try having each kiddo keep a clipboard in their
desk so we can transition from desk to carpet quickly.

 

My first time buying fun duck tape.  I'm excited!!!!

A must have for setting up my classroom and student supplies.  This, and masking tape!

35 blue ones - trying a new system for spelling this year!

For making whiteboards

For ????  I don't know, they just called to me.

Dry erase dots.  I got 9 of  them in a couple of colors.  Again, not a specific plan but they were 3 for a dollar!

Check back in the coming weeks to see what I do with all of this loot!  For now, I'm off to get my classroom keys ...

What's on your back to school shopping list?

Monday Made It - Clips Galore!

After a summer of slacking on school things (and just organizing when I wasn't), I finally took on the biggest and most important crafty project of my summer - making all of my behavior clips!  I've posted about my behavior chart before here and here, but here's the quick run down:  When a student ends the day on "Excellent Effort" (side note: I'm thinking about switching the order of Role Model and Excellent Effort - what do you think?), he/she gets to put a sticker on his/her clip.  When there are 6 stickers on the clip, he/she gets a new clip.  The new clip is a new color.  My kiddos last year loved it!

And ... now I am all set for this year, even if every single student gets all the way to the elusive GOLD GLITTER CLIP!!!

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made-It to show off my work and give you some tips if you are planning to color and glitter any clips!

First, I dyed the clips using Rit dye.  If you're using warm water, it takes 15 minutes to an hour to get good color (depending on how much dye you put in and how deep you want your color to be).  If you're using room-temperature water, it takes a LONG time (overnight worked well).  I used warm water from the tap for the first batch of each color (so the dye would dissolve) and then reused the same dye-water for the rest of the batches.

Note: Wood floats.  Don't be like me and think that if you make it deeper, it will cover the whole clip.  

It won't. You've just got to turn then every once in a while.

Then, they had to dry.

Next up, GLITTER (for those superstar students who get to their 5th or beyond new clip).  

Because of the glitter I had, I used two different methods.  Here are my pros/cons of three methods (one I did last year as I scrambled to make clips mid-year):

Hot Glue and Loose Glitter:
Pros: Fast
Cons:  Doesn't look as great, some glitter falls off

White Glue, Loose Glitter, and Sealant:
Pros: Pretty
Cons: Count the steps and supplies needed (put on glue, spread it around, put on glitter, shake off glitter, let dry while you painstakingly try to clean up the glitter, spray with sealant, let dry)

                   

 
 

And ... maybe it is the sealant I chose or my spraying technique 

... but my fingers were still covered in glitter after handling these.

Glitter Glue:
Pros: It looks pretty and there's no glitter to clean up.

GLITTER GLUE FOR THE WIN!

Seriously, I don't think I will ever do 

any more clips with loose glitter.

The loose glitter and glitter glue ones drying in peace (and some plain black ones sneakily preparing for the next step).
Side note: It seems like the poor red ones always got left out of the pictures :(

Last, glue on numbers so they are good and ready for your Behavior Superstars (I actually did this before the sealant on the loose glitter ones and it worked just fine).

And, without further ado, the finished product:

Each color is in number order on a scrap of cardboard.  I think this will keep them nice and tidy.
Students get a plain clip on the first day of school (upper left), then black, blue, green, red,
red glitter, green glitter, blue glitter, silver glitter, and finally gold glitter.

I have at least two extras of each color (I guess I wasn't so hot at counting on this ... but extra extras can't hurt!), so I'm clear for at least two new students to come mid-year.  Being prepared will make it not happen, right?!?!

What have you made lately?  

Head over to 4th Grade Frolics and link up!

P.S.  Really, do you think I should switch Excellent Effort and Role Model?  I'm torn!

Back to School Goals

Goals, Goals, Goals

I am always good at setting goals and having my students set goals, but not always at going back and reflecting on them later (or having the kiddos do that).  So I'm linking up with I {heart} Recess for Monthly Goals: Back to School Edition.  Maybe having them on here will get me to look back later on.  Hey, it's worth a try.

Personal:  Last summer, my boyfriend (now fiancé) and I started working out regularly and eating healthily.  We both lost about 30 pounds.  We managed to keep it going until early November.  Then we lost the momentum and rarely worked out and ate worse and worse.  We're back on track now, and I want to keep it going all year long.  And, of course, I've got a wedding to plan!

Organization:  For the past two years, once I've made copies of something, I've just put the master copy in a big, unorganized box.  I'm really working on getting that organized this summer (I'm about half way done and summer's more than half way over -oops!)  My goal this year is to keep on top of the organization system I'm creating.

Planning:  I always spend basically my whole weekend planning and grading.  I've got to stop that!  It drives me crazy!

Professional:  We're switching to Common Core this year.  I think that keeping up with that is enough of a professional goal.

Students:  So many of my students, both really good students and struggling students, have said they hated learning or hated school.  I really want to help my students find something they are interested in.

Motto:  This goes for me and for my students!

What are your back to school goals?

Monday Made It - I Can! (Freebie)

Where, oh, where has this last month gone?  It has been a blur of wedding planning, family vacations (I met a ton of my fiancé's cousins that he hasn't seen since he was little or had never met), and general relaxing. 

I feel like I've hit school count down mode now - one month from today is the first day back with the kiddos!  Yikes!

I know I won't get everything done that I had hoped to this summer, but I've got a few things that I still really want to get done:

1. Organizing master copies (hard copies and digital files) - I know this will make my life easier.  Plus, I have two friends who are switching from kinder and first to 4th this year, plus two teammates new to 4th grade, and I want to be able to help them!
2. Map out Language Arts - I kind of hodge-podged language arts together last year.  With switching to common core, I don't think I can do that this year!  I need more structure.
3. Make behavior chart clips - see my post here
4. Make "I Can" objective statements for all four subject areas.

Yay! One thing crossed off of the To-Do list.  I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It to share these with you!

I typed out all of the CA Common Core Language Arts, CA Common Core Math, CA Social Studies, and CA Science standards as "I can," "I know," or "I understand" (I tried to avoid these last two as much as possible because they aren't actions students can show, but the way some of the standards are written, I couldn't figure out how to get around it).  

As I read each standard, I tried to picture teaching it and what baby steps we'd have to take to get there. I put those on separate cards.

Once I can get back into my school, I am going to back each one with colored construction paper, laminate, and put a magnet on each one.  I'm not quite sure where I will display these, but it will most likely be on  the whiteboard.

                      

                       

                  

Do you want to use them too? Click on each subject you want:  ELA, Math, Social Studies, Science

Typing all of these up really helped me realize how much we teach in a year! Wow!

Where/how do you post standards/objectives?  How do you/students interact with them?  I'm going to try to post and use them much more this year than I have before, so I'd love your tips!

An Apple A Day - Whole Group Instruction

I'm here with another link up to The Applicious Teacher's An Apple A Day Linky.  This week's topic: Whole Group Instruction.

This past year (and continuing on into next year) my goal is to consistently make whole class lessons short - no more than 15 minutes.  This is really challenging for me for two reasons: (1) I usually have a lot of ideas (from the curriculum, from my teammates, and from myself) that I want to include, and (2) I want to make sure that they really get it (otherwise 25 hands go up the second they start working - something I'm going to work on with my class next year).

But here are some things that work really well for me:

1. Pair-Sharing - I try to have students talk with a partner every couple of minutes.  My desks are in groups of four, which gives us three easy pairings - elbow partners, face partners, and back partners (the kiddos on the ends have to get up for this one and go across the classroom).  Having three different pairing options keeps them engaged with pair-sharing.
2. Notes - Taking notes makes them know that they need to be doing something during the lesson and gives them a reference for later.  Bonus:  I can easily look out over the classroom and see who is paying attention.
3. Get Up Activities - At some point during each whole class lesson,  I try to do something that gets the kiddos out of their seats.  My two go-tos are: "Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up" for a pair share or "Corners" (I ask a question with four possible answers and designate each corner as an answer.  Students go to the corner they think is the correct answer).

What are you tips and tricks for whole group instruction?  Link up with Leigh at The Applicious Teacher and share!

Five For Friday

I am linking up up with DoodleBugs for Five for Friday for the first time.

This week, my five might be relatively boring and not education related - after all, it is the first week of summer, so RELAX has certainly been the theme!

ONE

We put a deposit down on our wedding venue!  (Unfortunately, the contract is not quite signed, so I am not allowed to "advertise" that we are getting married there, so I can't even post a pic for you)

Okay, maybe I'll post a rather non-descript pic.
(Photo by Terry Way Photography, found via google search)

TWO

I printed (most) of my binder covers and put them in the binders.

THREE

I started working out after about two months off.  My body is SO SORE!  But, oh, does it feel good!

Plus weights and swimming

FOUR

I cleaned my apartment.  Does your house/apartment get crazy messy at the end of the year?  With all the crazy to-do lists and cleaning the classroom, straightening my apartment was the last thing on my mind.  It feels so much better to have a clean apartment! 

FIVE

I started watching Gossip Girl on Netflix.  I put it on mostly thinking "let's see how bad this is" (with a hint of curiosity) ... and even though it is a very ridiculous show, I'm a bit hooked!  Perfect, mindless, summer fun.

What have you been up to?