Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Writing Station

 Teaching students to use colorful words in writing is a difficult task.  I found all of these great mini posters to help students with their writing.  Each one focuses on a different topic: editing, revising, synonyms, character traits, strong verbs, adjectives, etc. I created a writing station which holds all of the mini posters so that students can access them whenever they are needing inspiration while writing.  I have a rule that only two students are allowed at the writing station at one time so that they don't spend their writing time lingering at the bin.  I also laminated each of them for durability.



 This editable label can be found here.



You can find your copy here.


Here is another awesome freebie!


Here is your copy!


Enjoy another freebie here


Transition words can be found here!

I hope you enjoy creating your own writing station with these fabulous freebies!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Peek into my Closet- March

Dress: Forever 21
Sweater: Target
Belt: Target
Leggings: Target
Boots: Payless
Necklace: Express

Keeping Your Students Organized

It drives me crazy when papers start spilling out of desks and nothing is in the correct spot! I found this great idea to have the desk fairy and desk police visit every few weeks to leave a treat for the tidy students and a message to clean out your desk for the messy ones. For desk police click here here and desk fairy .



Sunday, March 2, 2014

Peek into my Closet- March

Great for weekend wear or casual Friday!

Shirt: Kohl's
Jeans: Wet Seal
Shoes: Payless


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Peek into my Closet- February

Sweater: Dress Barn
Necklace: Forever 21
Black Pants: Kohl's
Boots: Target


Monday, February 24, 2014

Baby Girl Shower!

My cousin is having a little girl and there were some fantastic ideas that I had to share with you!  


Using paper lanterns is a cheap and very cute way to decorate for a shower!



 Instead of playing games at the shower, we decided to decorate onesies and bibs.  This ended up being one of the most fun things that I have done in a long time!  There were several iron-ons to choose from, onesies ranging in sizes, and permanent fabric markers to use.



Here is the onesie that I decorated!  Of course, it's an owl! 


Here is the bib I decorated using an iron-on "E" and the fabric markers.


My cousin decorated this bib with a necklace look.  


We signed all of our bibs and onesies with our names so that she knew who decorated what and to be able to send us pictures of the new baby in the clothes.  


This onesie was signed by us all!


I thought this one was humorous! (And true!) 


We had to get chevron in there! Plus, this is a great quote for a baby!






Peek into my Closet- February

Shirt: Old Navy
Sweater: Old Navy
Pants: Kohl's
Shoes: Payless

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Peek into my Closet- February


Shirt: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Forever 21
Pants: Kohl's
Shoes: Payless

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Peek into my Closet- February

Scarf: Etsy
Shirt: Charlotte Russe
Pants: JCP
Boots: Target
Leg Warmers: Payless

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Student Dividers

To avoid curious eyes and ensure students' privacy during assessments, I made these dividers out of two file folders and a word doc. I laminated them to keep them durable. Students love using these because they claim their own space and they say that it helps them concentrate.  It's also nice when they are taking a test and I can just glance to see who is still working if their divider is still up.  I have heard them called both student dividers and student offices.

I made this "Do Not Disturb" sign on Word and glued it on.  


I have seen some dividers that have all sorts of information for the students to reference, however, I like to use these for assessments so I thought the smiley face would work best.  I just got it from clip art and printed them off.  It's so cute because sometimes I catch them smiling back at it! 




Monday, February 10, 2014

Friday, February 7, 2014

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Be a Text Talker Anchor Chart

In preparation for the state standardized tests, I made an anchor chart that has several sentence starters for the students to use in extended response questions.  



Peek into my Closet- February

Necklace: Forever 21
Sweater: Kohl's
Pants: Target
Boots: Target 


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Absent Student Folders

Keeping track of absent student's work throughout the day can get time consuming!  I found these absent student folders on TPT and love them!! Basically, it is just a laminated folder that all of the papers that the student would have gotten throughout the day goes in.  Instead of the student coming back to their desk covered in papers, they all stay contained until they complete the work.  Once the work is complete, the students turn it in in the folder.  I made about 8 just in case a few disappear.  Here is the link for the absent folders.   If you are not into the owls, there are several others to choose from!

 






 I don't try to cut the pockets, I just lay the work inside.



Here is another design I used before I found the owls:





Sunday, February 2, 2014

Peek into my Closet- January Recap

Even though I love my winter wardrobe, I am ready for it to be warm out! Here is a recap of my outfits from January.  Click on fashion to see more outfit ideas!





Thursday, January 30, 2014

Reasons to Write Anchor Chart

At the beginning of the year, I helped my students brainstorm reasons why we write.  I keep this chart hung up in the room so that whenever they say, "I don't know what to write about" I just point them in the direction of our chart.  It was also a great into to author's purpose.


Valentine's For Students

Each year I decide to do something different and I wanted to find something that I could use year after year.  My friend actually whipped these tags together and I printed them off and bought Valentine's pencils at the dollar section in Target.  A pencil does not fit through one hole punch, so I had to punch four holes together. I find it easier to not write their names on these so that I can easily pass them out.  








Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Peek into my Closet- January

Sweater: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Old Navy
Blake Jeans: Kohl's
Shoes: Payless




Shirt: Kohl's
Necklace: Forever 21
Jeans: JCP
Shoes: Payless




Shirt: H&M
Necklace: Forever 21
Pants: Kohl's
Shoes: Payless





Sweater: Target
Cami: Kohl's
Nacklace: Old Navy
Jeggings: Kohl's
Shoes: Payless



If you like these posts, check out my fashion link to see more!




Monday, January 27, 2014

Guided Reading Basket


 When working with guided reading groups, there are certain things that I need readily available so that there are no interruptions or distractions as I am teaching.  In my guided reading basket, I have everything that gets me through all 5 groups and even my math small group!


Items (from back to front): (behind the white board) Reading Conference Binder and Guided Reading Binder
2 sets of reading comprehension spinners
Daily 5 CAFE cards
Writing prompts flip book
2 sets of task cards that fit with any book 
Tin Cup: markers, pens, pencils, highlighters, and dry erase markers
Sticky notes
Story comprehension dice (the kids love these!)

Reading Comprehension task cards that fit any book. 


Reading Comprehension Spinners (can be found at United Art and Education)