School has been in session for a bit now, and I am getting to know my kids more and more each day.  I have to say, they are a really fun bunch!  They are interested in so many of the things that I am that I thought they would really love to do a fun "Social Media" Get to Know you activity. So I created these fun little "iPad" looking templates, with four social media interfaces in them. There is the Instagram page, where I asked the kids to draw a picture of something they did over the summer that really told me about who they were.  This was to be something that wasn't mundane, like watching TV, but something that really got to the heart of their personality....like they went camping because that is how they bond with their family. The Pinterest page is all about the subjects they like and connect with at school.  The students were to draw a picture of four things they enjoy AT SCHOOL and then a brief description of that activity and why it is specia...
 I am going to bring you four ideas that I am using in my classroom for changing ordinary spaces into extraordinary ones.  Ok...maybe they won't go that far, but these things are working for me.  :) If you follow me on Instagram , you have likely seen these images before.  But, it doesn't hurt to see them again...right? ;) 1.  Bookcase = Teacher Desk Teacher Desk on a bookcase I have no teacher desk in my room.  Instead, I put all of my teachery stuff on a very slim bookcase and, viola, an easy to access place for my teaching essentials without taking up the space of a huge, bulky desk! 2.  Anchor Charts on the Windows Use Command Hooks and a chart pointer to create an anchor chart display area anywhere in the room. To use the dead space on my windows, I took some Command Hooks and an extra pointer (because, seriously, I have a million of them) and created an anchor chart holder there.  (I will be honest and say I saw a version of this on a bulletin board on Pin...
I find that having data on the students to begin the year is quite helpful in creating groups, gauging where to start with your students, and basically having a good grasp of the ability levels of your class as a whole.  (I know, everyone just let out a big "DUH" right now...) However, this past year while we are in transition to CCSS, we didn't have a state test.  I mean, we took a practice one geared to see how it would actually go on the computers and such, but we didn't have one that would give us any end of the year data on the kids.  Consequently, we don't have anything now that we can use to help us gauge our class.  There is just no major source of data in math and language arts for us to draw on. So I had to make something myself....and I wanted to share it with you. This is a 5th grade Beginning of the Year math assessment.  It has all of the 4th grade math standards in a multiple choice format just so I can see what the kids know and what they are...
I just wanted to share a little first day seating tip with you that I have been doing for years.  Actually, it didn't seem like much of a tip until I was talking to a colleague about it and she said that she had never thought of that before and it sounded like a blog post to her! ;) Where will each student choose to sit? Anyway, the first day of school, I intentionally leave all of the seats open.  I don't put name tags down at all.  I allow the students to sit next to whomever they wish and wherever they would like.  I know.  I gasp just went out amongst some of you.  How could I leave such an uncertainty up to chance?  What if the kids choose the wrong person to sit next to?   They may.....TALK!  Ahhhh!  Yeah, I know. But here is why I do it. By allowing the students to sit where they want on the first day, they are telling me a few things.  First, I am able to see who is an "eager beaver" and who is a "shrinking violet".  I can easily spot...
Here we are, in part three of the series on a Classroom Economy.  If you missed what to do on Day One or Day Two , just go read them and come back.  I will be waiting here for you.  :)   Day Three: Today, the focus is on expenses and fines.  Students are ALWAYS curious about this part, and holding them off until the third day of school is sometimes hard.  However, I really want to focus on the positive, so I tend to keep this part on the back burner for a little bit.  On the first few days of school, the kids are usually in the honeymoon phase.  They are very well behaved and on-task, so keeping the fines discussion until day three generally tends to be OK. By this point, they have *seen* the expenses and fines.  I have them posted in my classroom and they are on the Register Cards I give them.  But I haven't actually explained them in full detail (other than in the overview on day one, when I skim through it.) So we start off, of course, with reviewing how to enter m...
Procedures are a part of life.  We follow procedures for eating in the cafeteria, getting off a bus, playing soccer, and attending a movie.  The reason we have procedures in life is so that people can function in society knowing the acceptable and efficient ways other people do things. There are procedures in my classroom as well.  These procedures establish our classroom culture and allow us to function as a learning, cohesive group. To help the students better remember these procedures, I have created a "Procedure Manual", which the student keep in their desk as all times.  This is our reading material the first two weeks of school  We practice each procedure, model it, act it out, and generally run through them constantly in those first 2 weeks.  Periodically throughout the year, we review this manual, so as to keep the procedures fresh in their minds. It is my hope that by using this Classroom Procedure Manua l, my students will become self-su...