A Rockin’ New Classroom and Some Rockin’ New Units!

I can’t believe that summer is coming to an end! I have to admit that this summer has been wonderful! Every year since I have started teaching I have taught summer school. This was the first year I was able to have the summer off! I. loved. every. minute.

With that being said I am so excited to get back to the classroom. I have missed it and my students. I know that I mentioned that I will be looping to third grade this year. That means I will be able to see the same sweet, smiling faces in two weeks. I am thrilled and I know they are too!

When my third graders come walking thought that door I want them to love the room! So I decided that a decor change was in order. Not to mention that I had to move rooms….that was an experience. I went from the front of the school on the first floor to the back of the school on the second floor! Can you say, exhausted? So- needless to say- I have a ton of decorating to do!

I decided with my students that we would do a rock and roll theme for this year. So as soon as the last day of school was behind me I started to get ideas, create materials, and craft, craft, craft! I will have a ton of new classroom photos to share with you once I can get into my classroom! That is not until Monday! I am freaking out just a little okay a lot! I was able to sneak in two weeks ago before they started cleaning. This is what I did!

I printed, cut, laminated, cut again and then added ribbon to Hope King’s word wall cards. One of her classroom decor units matched my theme and has the same background that I used in some of my decor products! I totally scored on that one! Cute and matching, what more could a teacher ask for? =)

Here is how I decided to hang my word wall! I had the perfect amount of cabinets to hang all the letters! Don’t you love when things work out? I know I do!  I placed two letters per cabinet door, so with 13 doors each cabinet has two letters. I plan on using the Velcro dots to add the words on the ribbon.

I also finished putting up a number line on my very skinny bulletin board! The numbers are from Hope King’s decor unit (the one I mentioned  earlier) fit perfectly in that space! Sorry this picture isn’t that great… I will take a better one next week once I can get into my room again! I just loved the visuals she put with each number!

I also started to put up my Rockin’ Responsibilities unit. I didn’t get to finish putting up all the elements yet, so there is still more to come. I have cute little decor elements that need to be added, plus the kids names. I know that I am looping but at my school the population tends to move a lot, so I don’t totally know what kids ended up staying! I am crossing my fingers all of them did. So to save on time and ink I haven’t printed their names yet!

The unit is in a Power Point file so it is all editable! I know I like to customize my materials so now you can too! This is also great because each year when you get a new group of kids you can just open up your file and edit away!

In the unit you will find a description of how I plan to use the responsibilities in my classroom. I love when everyone has a responsibility, so I created eighteen different jobs. You can choose the ones you like, use all of them, or redefine the ones I have. It is totally up to you. If you have more than 18 students, some of the jobs can allow for multiple students doing the same job. For example, equipment manager cleans up materials. Well, you could turn this single student responsibility into a multiple student responsibility by simply assigning one student from each table this title. So this one job is now four jobs. The file is in Power Point so you can write your own job descriptions that fits your classroom and students. A great way to get the older students involved is by having them come up with the descriptions they will be responsible for!!

In addition there is matching job display cards, a job application, and an employee of the month display poster! The employee of the moth is a great way to motivate students to do the best job they can at their responsibility! They will love seeing their picture up there!

I also did a little door decor. I purchased two bulletin board collections that I laminated and hung up. I loved the  diverse group of kids that are rockin’ out! You can check out the bulletin board collections from Amazon by clicking here and here.

I am also so excited to show you my new room sign. Julia over at Creative Designs finished my sign! I love the way it turned out and it totally matches the bright stripes in all my other room decor elements. I can’t wait to hang it up! If you need a room sign make sure you check her out!

So to keep up with my rock n roll theme, I have created materials like CR-A-ZY! Here is a look at some of my new resources.

I have created a behavior management materials for a guitar clip chart. I originally saw this idea over at the Inspired Apple. Abby definitely inspired my creativity for these materials.  Her guitar was so cute I knew that I just had to create one.

I created editable parent reference guides that go over each level of behavior. This image shows you two different filled out version of the reference guide. However you do have the option of creating your own reference guide to fit your classroom needs.

I have also taken the time to create all the templates you will need to create your own guitar clip management system! That was not easy, so I hope you really love that I made a guitar base template! Also I made 3 color combos for you to choose from and a black and white version that you can use with colored paper! I tried to make it super easy for you to make fit your classroom decor!

To make rewarding your students for great behavior easy, I have included classroom cash and wallets! My school hands out money to students as a school wide behavior management system and they love it! I do have a classroom store where the kids use their classroom cash to buy things. It creates a great understanding of money management and they love when they get their cash, especially when their wallets start to get thick! My students were in love with the wallets. They are the perfect size to fit in their pencil boxes and it makes them feel in charge of their money, even if they do spend  a lot of it!! =)

Alright, so moving grades sounded like such a great idea until I started thinking about how many things needed to change! EEkkk! right? Something else that I revamped was my guided or small group reading materials. All of my books are changing! New grade = new levels and new levels means I need new labels! So I have created a unit will materials for you to organize your groups as well as materials!

In here you will find twelve different group names. The group names are centered around the idea of music genres! Each group name has a mini display which is the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper or a group header with corresponding student name labels is provided. Then I made rotation pieces for each group and days of the week labels so you can create a rotation display board. It’s perfect for pocket carts or bulletin boards. Not to mention it is great for when you need to make changes to your schedule! Everyone including the students, classroom aids and administrators that walk through will know what is going on! Oh I almost forgot to mention that it is all customizable! You can type your student’s names right into the group and then print it out and laminate it!

I have also made assignment check-off sheets for easy reading group grading. I also included a little listen and go assessment sheet that I use with my students to quickly check in on their reading. It is easy and provides documentation for when I need it! They best part about it is that it’s fast, I can usually complete this in three minutes (plus or minus a few depending on the student, each student  is different).

So remember how I needed to create new labels for my guided reading books, well here they are. I included two options for labeling your books. You can use the DRA levels A-Z or the Fountas and Pinnell A-70. I am not really familiar with the Lexile system of leveling texts but if you need that and can help me though how you level it, I don’t mind creating a Lexile set.  There is really a ton of materials in this unit! I don’t think I showed a picture of it, but I do include an editable binder cover as well.

Because these units focus around one great theme, I decided to offer all the materials in a mega rock and roll bundle! If you are interested in all the material plus MORE, you can pick that bundle up by clicking on the cover below! It’s even at a discounted price! =)

I think I have overloaded you all with enough for one day! Have a great night and enjoy getting ready for your students! If you already are back with your kids, I hope you enjoyed ever second of your first day!

Do you have a room sign? Check out this store....Plus a mini SALE!

Hey everyone! I hope, if you are on summer vacation, you are enjoying  your time off! If you are teaching summer school, thank you for keeping our students practicing those much-needed skills and strategies!

I wanted to share a cute store with you today that one of my teacher friends has started. She is so talented in the classroom as well as with a paint brush and blank canvas! =)

I don't know if you are like me but I love a classroom sign. There is something about hanging a sign outside your room that makes it feel like YOURS. Plus what teacher doesn't love a cute and custom sign? It's pretty hard to resist if you ask me.

So I know most of you are familiar with my classroom sign that I have posted in the "dive into my room" tab at the top of the page. If not, this is what I am talking about...

However, this sign was pricey and not to mention the other problem being that she isn't making teacher signs anymore. I figured I was going to just take it with me and well, just deal. If you are like me, it is really hard not to have everything matching. Believe me at first I had convinced myself, but then my OCD kicked in and I had to do something about that sign!

Then I remember my wonderful and talented friend Julia! We had her paint a sign as part of a gift for our intern's graduation. It turned out amazing and she loved it! Check it out...

It's so bright and colorful! I just adore it and so did our intern and kids! =) I got to thinking (which is never a good thing.. ha!) about my sign dilemma and then it hit me.... Julia! So I started putting together a few ideas and talking with her. Now no more worries because my new sign is in the works! It's not done yet, but as soon as it is I will post a few pictures! I am so excited to have a new matching sign for my new room theme.  It's the little things right?

In the meantime, if you are like me (in need of an adorable sign)  you can check out her store! You have time before the school year starts up, so it's the perfect time to order one. Yes, that's right she has opened a store and you too can have a creative one of a kind sign for your classroom!

You can click on the store sign above and it will take you right to her store on Facebook! I am telling you she is so creative and the best part about it is that she is a teacher like you and me! So she totally understands the idea of matching! =)

BTW if you are not a canvas kinda teacher and want somethings extra adorable she also paints letters to spell out your name! Check out this cute sign! I have also seen teachers put the letters on desk fronts or on the wall in their classroom. They really are cute and the design possibilities are endless!

So if you are in need of a sign (what teacher isn't) then make sure you give her store a little visit. Interested?? Just send her a message to start the ideas and design process!

Before I head out for the day I wanted to update you on the Mentor Text Units! Yes, the answer is YES, they are coming! I have been so busy with family gatherings and house decorating =) that I haven't had much time to produce all the units as fast as I had hoped. But they are in the works! I promise.

Right now I am working on:

AND

My goal is this weekend! It's always good to set a goal! =) RIGHT?

So in the meantime I decided to put my finished and uploaded Reading Mentor Text Organization Unit on SALE. For one day only I have put my newest organizational materials on sale!  Click on the product cover to pick up a copy at my TPT store. You can read about all the materials you get in the unit here. Trust me it's a TON!

Alright that about does it for me! Hope everyone has a great day.  It is finally not raining here in Florida so I think I might head out for a bit of sunshine!

Organizing Mentor Text {Reading Edition}

Oh-kay.  Let's just say this year I have not been timely consistent. It just wasn't in the cards this year. Despite all my attempts to make it to the computer life just had other plans for me. It has been one CR-A-Z-Y year, especially this last month. I have to admit that I didn't think life was going to get any more hectic than moving... and then it DID! It totally did. Sadly my husband hurt his back which meant I took on another role hat. So recently I was wife, teacher, mover, organizer, cook, cleaner, blogger and then rehabilitator. I was an emotional mess! The first two hats I am used to but the others only come out sometimes. Lately I have had all these hats stacked on, making me feel a little bogged down. Thankfully, God has helped us get through this and Mark is almost 100% better.

With the end of the school year behind me and new chances in the horizon I am eager and a little anxious for the future. Yes, I did say changes. Next year I am going to loop up to third grade with me students. I am so excited to see them grow another year. However, taking on a new grade, moving classrooms, and leaving my teammates was and still is challenging. Professionally I am ready to take on new experiences to help me grow as an educator. It's like a double-edged sword. New opportunities with content are exciting but the pressure of state testing is not. But I don't back down from challenges and I do have my partner in crime looping up with me! So let's just say two heads are always better than one and these two heads are ready for third!

With all this moving going on (my home and now my classroom) I am determined to be organized! So I am linking up with Ladybug's Teacher Files! I love her blog and now that I am moving into an intermediate grade I am obsessed with her blog and Ideas! I mean, just look at her cute little button! You can click on it to check out her blog!

One area that I am reorganizing is my classroom library. With a new grade level I need some new texts and new organization. So I purchased Hope King's Reading Workshop Unit. It's pretty great, even though I am not new to the reading workshop and feel pretty comfortable in my instruction here, the unit offers other ideas and organization tips. I am not done organizing yet, so when I have pictures I will post them! I promise!! You can check it out by clicking on her unit cover.

Now that all my resources for the classroom library are taken care of, that left my mentor texts. These are the texts that I go to when I model reading skills and strategies as well as teach writing crafts and elaboration techniques. These texts I usually keep on a special shelf and I don't allow the kids to put in their bag of books. They are my "special" texts. I use them over and over for different subjects. However, you would think I would have them organized right? WRONG! They are a HOT mess. You think I am joking well take a look at my spare bedroom! It is a collection of my mentor "teacher" texts and my classroom library texts for the kids. H-O-T mess!

So my mission this summer was to provide organization that would cut down my planning time as well as optimize the texts I have to use in my instruction. So I have created resources for Mentor Text Organization! I am so excited to show you want I have done. Here is a look at the resources I have made.

So far I have finished the reading edition to this organizational tool! I plan on making one for writing, science and possibly math. I don't have as many math texts so that one isn't as much a priority.

First I took a look at my text mess! Then I thought about how I would want to use them when I was planning. Once I considered that I decided to make a mentor text list! The lists are grouped by skill or strategy. Then within each sheet I have included title, author and page numbers. Really thinking about saving time, I wanted to write the page numbers I use in my think aloud! Talk about remember what works and modifying what didn't!

Here is a close up of the lists I created!

Now that I addressed my planning needs I wanted to tackle organizing the texts! Nothing a few labels can't fix! I organized them by color and skill or strategy! I used the address labels by Avery. With 30 per sheet I will be able to organize and be able to store more labels for future mentor text purchases! I don't know about you but I love buying a new text!

Once you have all your materials organized you can label your text. I like the Address labels for this because they are small. This means you can have more than one label per book. I don't know about all of you but I usually reuse a text for multiple skills and strategies. For example you can use it to teach inferring but then revisit it to teach attributes in writing!  The size of label is great! Now I decided to stick the labels on the back cover. I did this because I wanted to have the color seen from the edge of the book as well as the back. Also I like the location of the back cover because I don't like to obstruct the cover or title.  Another Idea that I considered was to put it in the inside and cut the label in half. If you did it that way you would have double the labels (60 instead of 30)! It is really up to you.

I am almost done! I still needed a way to organize the texts as well as my new organizing materials! So I wanted to stay cheap but organized. So I thought 3-ring binder and sheet protectors! That allowed me to keep the list of texts I have and the matching labels to be in the same spot! Then I put them in the binder in ABC order so I could quickly find the reading skill or strategy!

Last I made labels for bins. I ordered magazine bins from Really Good Stuff. I love their colors, price and quality. That way all my mentor texts have a home.

I think that does it! I haven't posted the unit yet! I am still formatting all those address labels! It is SOOO time-consuming! As soon as it is done I will upload the unit! My goal is to have it done by Friday..... I did include 21 reading skills and strategies. They are:

Authors Purpose, Cause & Effect, Character Traits, Clarifying, Compare & Contrast, Connections, Determine Importance, Evaluate, Fact & Opinion, Genres, Inferring, Main Idea, Metacognition, Predicting, Questioning, Retelling, Sequencing, Story Elements, Summarizing, Synthesizing and Visualizing

If there is a strategy or skill that you want and don't see, just leave me a comment and I will add it before I post the unit!

Well I am off to get this unit finished! I hope all of you are either enjoying your summer off or just enjoying some sun!

I know, it's been awhile!

Boy do I have a ton of things to share with all of you! Not only has my classroom been very busy but my personal life has too! I think I started writing up this post a week ago but just have not had the time to read over it and post it. So instead I have been adding classroom happenings as I go. So I am going to take you through a ton of classroom action.

First up I have to show you a better picture of my Daily 5 wall! I could not believe that the one I last shared was blurry! I felt so bad I could not show you a good picture! So here you go… a new and might I add, clear picture!  I even added my shoe pictures around the I PICK poster so the kids remember to read books that are a "good fit."  If you want to know where you can get these I added them to my Daily 5 Classroom pack for FREE a few weeks ago so make sure you grab the updated pack if you haven’t!

I have also started adding poster to my anchor chart wall. Right now I  have had a ton of reading anchor charts because of the Daily 5. So this flip chart storage idea has really come in handy.

Speaking of Daily 5 I wanted to show you some of my D5 rotations and set up. Two aspects that I struggled with when reading the Daily 5 was that 1. I have computers as part of centers and I have to have my below level students do Istation every week as part of an intervention and 2. I only have 3 listening spots. So to solve this dilemma I decided to make a rotation for computers and listening center then allow the students to choose the other centers throughout the week. The idea of choice was important to me because I want them to know that I do trust them to make good choices however my interventions are really important and I felt like I needed to make sure the students that needed the documentation were getting it. I took some pictures of the organization.

 

I have each computer labeled and then I made a chart with the days of the week and then two spots under each day. If the students name is in the first spot they go to computer 1 and if their name is in the second spot then they go to computer 2. A piece of cake! It make me feel so much better knowing I am getting the documentation I need. Behind the rotation chart is the computer program sheet (must do - can do).

 For listen to reading I did the same rotation chart as the one for computers. I put it in a folder at the center. I also added the poster for how to set up the tape along with the response pages. I do not copy the response pages for the students, instead I just have a spiral notebook at the center for the students to record their responses to their listening. It is a good comprehension check since all the words are read to them.

I still have a bunch of pictures to take of the other centers so I will be sharing more with you soon.

As far as reading instruction goes my little second graders have been visualizing, making connections and learning about nonfiction in the last 3 weeks. I have been so proud of their thinking. My teaching buddy Diana Patrissi has a super cute anchor chart for visualizing that we used. We both made one two years ago... mine was a scuba mask but the letters for visualizing feel off so we used hers! Its so cute! If you are wondering what inspired us to make them it was our room themes! You need a scuba mask to see in the ocean and you need binoculars to see in the Jungle. I know we are pretty ridiculous!

One of my favorite read alouds to use for visualizing is The Salamanders Room by Anne Mazer. The words used to describe the story are amazing for visualizing! Also to get them using their 5 senses I use the book Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan. If you want to check them out click on the images below!

After visualizing we moved into connections. We started off teaching connections with some concrete examples. One of the activities we used involved puzzles. Yes puzzles, but not the kind you are thinking of. We wanted then to see and experience the pieces connecting in the puzzle however what makes a great connection is when students use the text. So I created 4 different puzzles with sentences on them. Each sentence evoked a different feeling the students can connect to. Let me just tell you this lesson worked! I think it made them really understand how to make connections! After that we did some thinking and recording in our HERO notebooks.

They referenced this page throughout our week with connections. It really helped them make meaningful connections and provided them with thinking stems for connections.

If you are interested in the materials I used for teaching connections you can click on the product cover from my Concrete Connection unit and it will take you to my TpT store.

After Connections we moved into nonfiction. I just love teaching nonfiction. We started off by using a resource from Scholastic! If you don't have this resource I really suggest getting it. It is basically a nonfiction book that you use to teach nonfiction! The book has every nonfiction feature imaginable in it. If you click on the picture it will take you to the Scholastic listing.

We also made a chart that I found on Pinterest for before, during and after reading. I changed it a little because i wanted the students to be writing and responding to our reading, so I added symbols for sticky notes so i knew what strategy the students were using in their responses. It worked out great. Here is my anchor chart and some samples of their work.

Look at my good little reader! She asked a question and then when she found the answer she wrote it down! AWESOME!

I am in the process of putting together all the resources I use to teach nonfiction so I will have them available soon!

Speaking of available, I wanted to let you know that I updated my CAFE Pack and it now includes the expand vocabulary section. Just click on the product cover below to update your copy!

Before I go I want to share a little writing activity that I did a few weeks ago! It really got the kids up and moving. We started learning about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We took our kiddos and split them into the 3 different parts of speech groups. We each took a group (Diana, Ms. April our Speech and Language specialist, and myself) around the school and found nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We took pictures of the things we found around our school that they found! They were so cute posing with their finds. Then they had to write a sentence with their word once they found it. Everyone was definitely focused on their team's task.

Team adjective rocked! It was tons of fun! If you are interested in this unit you can click on the product preview below and pick it up at my TpT store.

I have so much more I want to share! With that being said, I have already shared a ton, so I will be saving more for later. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Until the next post.