I wanted to share something that I shared on Classroom DIY , but never here with you guys!  It is a student work display that allows the students to show off their work in a fun, attractive way, while at the same time allowing them to show their own growth in writing.     To create the display backdrop, the students will need the following materials: construction paper 11" x 14" tissue paper paintbrush glue lamination two prong fasteners  hole punch  After gathering all of the materials, the students will use the tissue paper to create a collage on the construction paper.   To create the collage, brush glue on the paper.  Then place a piece of construction paper over the glue.  Brush glue on to the tissue paper.  Then layer another piece of tissue slightly on top of the first piece and brush glue over it.  Continue in this manner until the entire paper is covered. Be sure to cut off any hanging pieces of tissue paper and laminate.  This l...
Do you have kids who fidget and wiggle all day long?  I am sure that the answer is yes.  I know I do (heck, I tend to wiggle and fidget when I have to sit down for too long of a stretch!)  So when Scott Ertl contacted me to try out one of his Bouncy Bands in my classroom, I was definitely intrigued. Bouncy Bands are basically large rubber bands made out of recycled tires.  They hook on to your student's chair, using pvc pipe as anchors to keep them from falling down.  The student is then able to rest his or her feet on the band, bouncing away, releasing all of that energy, and helping to keep the student's focus on the work at hand. I have to say that the student that had the band on his chair really enjoyed having it there.  He would tell me, "Mrs. M you should get some of these for everyone!"  He liked having somewhere to put his feet during the day and found it a nice, relaxing way to let off steam. The band was also really interesting to the other students. ...
This week we began our new class novel, Gregor The Overlander (Underland Chronicles, Book 1) by Suzanne Collins (the fact that this is the same person who wrote The Hunger Games is a HUGE plus for the kids...they were so excited!) This is a fantasy novel and, so far, fairly easy of a read for the kids.  It gets right into the action, and has hooked the kids from the beginning.  So far, so good!  (and a big thank you Jen for recommending it!) I wanted to share with you a few of the response activities that we have done so far.  While they are specific to Gregor the Overlander, they could definitely be adapted to fit any novel that you are reading in your class. Novel Folder This is SUCH an easy thing to do, but the kids loved it.  We just created a folder (using a 24" by 18" piece of construction paper folded up) and the kids decorated the cover.  They had to include details that came from the first five chapters (that we had already read.)  You would think th...
I have said this before, but writing is not my strongest area as a teacher.  It just always seems to get the shaft when things need to go from my schedule.   It is always such a struggle of a topic for me to teach.  No wonder though...it is just hard.  Trying to convey your thoughts about any given topic in a coherent, organized manner takes even seasoned authors draft after draft after draft to do.  So it is no wonder that our students (and teacher bloggers ;) ) struggle with it.  (I have written this introduction myself about 5 times trying to get it just right!) So last year, I decided to try and make writing a bit easier for my students (and help them actually get some writing time in daily) with Paragraph of the Week.  And what do you know??  It worked!  The kids' writing became so much clearer and organized, and they actually started to think of writing as an EASY task! But, as you all know, I teach 5th grade.  Writing one, single paragraph, no matter how good it is, is...
When I tell people that I have a rug in my 5th grade classroom, they look at me as if I suddenly sprouted two heads.  "What do you mean a rug?  Like the kind the little kids sit on?  What could you possibly do with a rug with FIFTH graders????" What I do with my rug is simple....everything.  The rug is a place we regularly use in my class.  I pull small groups to the rug.  Kids work in partners or triads.  When they need to get closer to the board, they sit there.  When reviewing Calendar, or reading a story in our basal, the students come to the rug.  The rug is used in my classroom 2 or 3 times a day.  I honestly don't know how I would survive without it! The next thing people usually say is, "How do you fit the rug in your room with all those kids?" (because we all know that the upper grades are overflowing with children...another post for another day)  It all boils down to space planning.  I had 36 children in my room a few years ago and still h...
We are nearing the end of our study on elements, so I wanted my students to do some sort of little project to bring home the point that everything in our universe is built from the elements we find on our periodic table. My friend Susie, The Panicked Teacher , found this awesome periodic table that had pictures of things made from each element and then words with items made from the those same elements.  I made copies of the tables for each of my students. I then asked my students to draw a "scene" in the world.  You know those pictures that can be found in Highlights magazines?  Where there is a picture of a park and some kids are playing in the sandbox, some are riding bikes on the path, others are climbing the monkey bars, and still others are having a picnic?  That was the kind of scene I wanted the kids to draw.  It could be anywhere in the world, but needed to include lots of vignettes. The kids then cut out "windows" to 10 different spots on their p...
Yesterday I told you about our week long dive into the themes and messages found in some well known Dr. Seuss books (you can read about them here . )  Today, I wanted to share with you a little craft we did in class as well.  And like I said yesterday, I use the term "craft" loosely ;) I asked my students to find the "main" quote from each of the Dr. Seuss books they were reading. For example, the Horton Hears A Who! group chose "A person's a person no matter how small", while The Lorax (Classic Seuss) group choose, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, things aren't going to get better.  They're not."  The students discussed what they thought the quote meant and then wrote a small response to the quote. I took a picture of each child and printed them out.  The students then colored their pictures with identifying features for each book.  If the students had Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories , they drew ...