The theme of my classroom as of late has been hard work.  Seriously.  My kids have been impressing me one assignment after another....and this is just the latest one to have me thinking, "Wow, that was a rather difficult thing I asked them to do, and they did it!" So, what did we do this time?  We learned how to add, subtract, and multiply mixed numbers. One of the new things that I found myself teaching this year in greater depth than I ever had in the past was operations with mixed numbers. We had talked about it in past years, but I really never concentrated on it.  But when I saw the released questions when we were practicing for our new computerized state test, I actually had a mild panic attack. Mixed numbers are just hard to deal with.  They have rules, but the rules seem to be just *slightly* different than regular fractions and regular whole numbers.  They are just different enough to make kids (and their 5th grade teachers) shutter.  Which is probably why I ne...
About 15 year ago, I went to this awesome art show we have in my area called the Pageant of the Masters.  Basically, people come together, get all painted up, and transform themselves into actual famous paintings.  They stand still, altogether, and you literally can not tell that it is a bunch of people standing on the stage instead of the actual artwork itself.  It truly is amazing. Thank you Ladybug's Teacher Files for this awesome button! I have always wanted to do something like that in my own classroom and this year, I just went for it. I collaborated with Susie, The Panicked Teacher on this one too....so we both did the same lesson, without our own little twists.  Here is how it turned out in my room. (then head over to her blog to see how hers turned out) We have been focused a lot on historical artifacts and their accuracy as far as actual history goes (see our lesson on Paul Revere here.)  So for this lesson, I chose three paintings about the American Revolutio...
So this post has been a long time coming.  If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram , you know that we read Wonder by RJ Palacio as a read aloud this year.  My students were captivated by it...especially the Julian chapter. In the book, a major storyline revolves around the precepts that Mr. Browne, a teacher, teaches the students each month. These are short quotes that become sort of "rules to live by".  At the end of the story, Mr. Browne asks each of the students to write their very own precept and send it to him on a postcard.  So that is what we did. I first had each student create their own "Wonder picture".  You see, each of the chapters are broken up with a picture of the child telling the story.  The picture is drawn with very little facial features and only using black ink.  So that is what we did.  Here is mine I used as an example with the kids. Then, I asked them to choose a precept that related to their own life.  This could be a famou...
Let me preface this post by saying that what we did here in this lesson is HARD.  There is no way around it.  It was just hard.  But, that didn't stop the kids from not only learning the intended objectives, but really learning it well.  I am so ecstatically over the moon about the outcomes in this lesson, that I am practically bursting at the seams here! So what is this hard lesson, you ask?  The midnight ride of Paul Revere. Paul Revere is an American legend.  He is one of the first "super heroes" born out of our quest for independence and freedom from England.  But the inherent nature of being a legendary superhero is that much of the story we love and cherish are, in actuality, myths. Myths?  Paul Revere?  WHAT??? As I approached this idea with the students, they honestly had no idea what I was talking about.  Paul Revere is the guy who rode in at midnight, alone, screaming "The British are coming!  The British are coming!"  I mean, that is what we s...
Teachers.  The group of people I hold most dear to my heart.  Not just because I myself am one, but because I know first hand the time and effort you put into educating young people.  I know it takes hours of preparation and constant reflection.  Teaching is not easy. So, thank you.  Thank you for all  you do. To show you how much I appreciate you, I am joining with a few of my blogging friends to bring you a care package filled with fun teacher treats and resources that will help to make your job a little brighter. All you need to do is comment on my blog telling me what you LOVE about teaching.  What is it that gets you up in the morning and propels you through your day of instruction?   Then, fill in the Rafflecopter by May 5 at 9pm PST and you will be entered.  Once the Rafflecopter closes, a winner will be chosen and I will send the entire Teacher Appreciation pack to one teacher by mail! What is awesome is that you will immediately get a $25 giftcode for TpT to use in t...