Ready for Anchor Charts

Instead of buying new ribbon to outline my anchor charts, I decided to use the yards and yards of white border I had in my classroom. #winning

I am only teaching writing, math, and social studies this year. My teammate will be in charge of reading and science! I am pretty excited about it.

Yay! I sewed my new curtains yesterday at my parent's house and I think they work well in the space. I am so glad to have the cluttered shelves covered.

A great place to hang our work.

I will be pointing to this board pretty often.

"Mrs. Morris, I'm done. What should I do now?"

I saw place value bubbles on Pinterest and knew I had to make them.

This was my inspiration:

Click to view her post.

Click HERE to download the place value bubbles. Please leave me a comment if you download them. I like knowing they are being used.

I will be back at school tomorrow. There are always things to do. I am almost ready to start making copies for Back to School Night! Our teacher inservice begins this Friday, so I only have a few days of summer left.

Writing Journal Resources

Click HERE to download yours for free!

I have these set up to print 4 to a page. They will be for my kids to reference in their writing.

After these lessons, I will supply these small cards for the kids to tape into their journals.

If you haven't visited this blog, you should. She is a great teacher and posts a lot of teaching resources. She uses Gretchen Bernabei's methods for teaching writing. I got these from her blog post HERE.

I have to say that I am excited about teaching writing this year.

:)

Grammar Cheat Sheet

Click on the picture to download.

I was lucky enough to attend a Gretchen Bernabei Writing Workshop last week. I feel like I learned so much about who to break writing down into manageable pieces for my students!

I think I am pretty good at breaking math down into the basics. There are plenty of steps to follow and I feel like it is just a process to getting kids where they need to be. I have been wanting to know how to do that with writing.

I have a confession to make.

I am not a good grammar teacher. 

Sad day.

Gretchen Bernabei gave me some tools to help me be a better teacher and my kids better writers.

You should definitely check out her website and blog. She posts all kinds of free resources. Her chart is posted there, so I felt like I could share my version with you guys. I took a few things off that we really don't need in 4th grade and made the boxes a little larger to accommodate kids with large or sloppy handwriting.

We will be taping this onto the inside of the back cover of our Grammar journals.

This chart is for the proof kids will write to help them write correctly. Here are some examples of journal entries. We did these during the workshop.

She teaches grammar mini-lessons every day. Then challenges her students to use the proof in their writing. I can't wait to do this with my kids. Here is a list of all the proof she teaches kids.

This is a great way to teach kids to figure out if something is a complete sentence. I will be using this without a doubt! I have been a broken record just asking kids, "Is that a complete thought?" That doesn't really help, but I didn't really know what else to do. Pitiful, I know.

My grammar instruction is going to rock this year!!!

What do you think? Would you use any of this?

Google Docs - Part 3

How often do you talk to parents? Email them? Do you send home notes every day?

I guess that depends on the grade level you teach. When I taught Pre-K, I wrote in their folders every day during nap time.  :)  (Oh how I miss nap time.) I at least saw 90% of the parents every day after school. When I taught 2nd grade, I still did daily folders, but it was a lot less detailed. I only saw a handful of parents every day at dismissal. In 4th grade, I do not have much contact with parents. If I need to talk to a parent, I will call or email them.

I feel like I have good relationships with parents, even when we do not have a lot of contact. How do you feel about that?

My parent communication goal for next year is to keep a detailed log of parent calls.

Here are my tabs to make that possible:

These aren't anything special, but I like them because:

1. They will be on my computer.

2. I can't lose them.

3. They will be neat and organized.

4. I will have easy access to family information.

I also take all the emails addresses, make a contact group, and then send out mass emails for things like upcoming events and monthly newsletters. I also use Remind 101 because some parents do not have email addresses.

I am thinking about using a website I found the other day called Class Messenger. Have you seen this? If you have used it, please leave me a comment.

I tried to find a video to explain this service, but I couldn't. So here is a screen shot of my dashboard. It is empty because it is summer and I don't have a class to input. I just found it the other day.

Google Docs - Part 2

Last year's version

These are examples of what my spreadsheet looked like at the end of the year. I would input each student's grades on our district level tests so I could see trends. These were taken over the course of the entire year. We have tests every three weeks. (Excessive? Yes.)

Color coding (because I just can't help myself)

     Green - Commended or Advanced 85+

     White - Passing 70-84

     Yellow - Almost passing 60-69

     Red - Struggling lower than 59

We also use iStation as a documentation tool and an intervention tool, so I kept a record of their overall reading scores. Again with the color coding. Green is Tier 1, Yellow is Tier 2, and Red is Tier 3. I am pretty happy with our progress over the year! I have noticed a trend over the last 3 years. My kids always score the highest in December. I don't really know why that is. Maybe because they aren't tested to death at the point in the year? Maybe it is because we all enjoy the fall more than the spring? Not sure. If you have any ideas, please share!

Next year's version

We are keeping the same testing schedule, that is testing every 3 weeks, so I went ahead and made my Checkpoint tab. I have a place for math, reading, writing, 4 Social Studies, 3 Science, and ISIP every month.

I also kept a tab last year for STAAR accommodations. Those accommodations had to be met in class and during all our testing, so it was important that I have easy access to that information. (I have already enumerated my difficulty with keeping up with paper copies.) I can't share that one with you due to privacy laws, but here is my blank one for next year.

Things like extra time, a dictionary, read aloud, and using a math folder are things that have ARD paperwork and have to be provided to certain students. Using a whisper phone and testing in a small group are accommodations we can give any student who needs them.

Teaming and sharing grades

So I will be team teaching with another 4th grade teacher next year and I am beyond excited!!!! I will be teaching math and social studies to both our classes. She will teach reading and science to both. We will each teach writing and spelling to our homeroom group. One of the things we have been thinking about is how we will get grades to each other.

I don't know right now if we are going to have access to the other teacher's students in our online grade book. That would be the easiest solution. We won't know about that until the beginning of the year, so here is my plan as of now.

We will assign each class a letter. For example, my class might be Class A and hers Class B. Then each student will have a number. We will create a shared Google Spreadsheet with 2 tabs. One for Class A and one for Class B. We will just list the numbers down the left hand column, input the name of the assignment across the top, and enter each student's grades. That way we can access our homeroom student's grades for the subjects we don't teach.

Let's just say I hope we can use the grade book!

What do you think of Google Docs? Do you prefer Evernote?

Part 3 will cover parent communication records.

Google Docs - Part 1

My school district has given all teachers and students access to google accounts and I love it!

I wanted to share a few things I changed this year so that I don't go crazy. It seems that there is so much we have to keep track of during the year and I am notorious for losing papers. There is something about paper and me. I love paper, but I can't seem to keep track of them all year long. It is a problem.

I am also trying to keep things digital, so I started using my Google drive more often. I have tons of storage space.  :)

I chose to use Google Spreadsheets because it is easy to keep things organized and I like being able to have multiple tabs for navigation.

This is last year's everything spreadsheet. I have learned some things and I am streamlining this upcoming year. I am also going to make my tabs look nicer. :)

These are my tabs so far for next year's spreadsheet.

Part 1: Organization for phone numbers, emails, & dates

This is my family information tab in Google Spreadsheets. It is all ready for information to be added in August! I don't like our system that tracks family information of our students, so I put this together. It only holds the information I need on a regular basis. Short and sweet!

I know that many of you like to use Teacher Planners from Erin Condren or others on Etsy or TPT. I yearn for one of those, but I don't think I would put it to good enough use to justify the cost. (pout, pout, pout) This is my teacher planner and I just wanted to share!

Do you have any suggestions?

The next part will be about my testing tabs!

Teaching Kids to Sincerely Apologize

I read this blog post a few weeks ago. Go check it out because this isn't my idea.

How do you feel about requiring kids to apologize to each other? What about forgiveness? Do you make them forgive each other? Doesn't sound so hollow when we do that?

Are we teaching them something good or bad when we do that?

I have been pondering that since I read the article I mentioned above. You should really read it.

I am looking forward to doing this with my class and even in my life. These 4 steps really make you think about what you did, why it hurt the other person's feelings, how you will act differently in the future, and asks the other person to forgive you. I also agree when she says that you shouldn't force kids to forgive each other.

I want to give kids a way to work things out with each other. I hate that so many of them don't or won't think through what they did and realize why it hurt someone else.

Do you have something like this that you teach your students or kids?

You can download my signs for free HERE.

Writing a Research Paper in a 1:1 iPad Classroom

Fun days! The end of the year can be a difficult time for teachers and students, but we are really enjoying our research project. 

Requirements

Each student will turn in a research paper to me and then present their research to the class using an app on their iPad.

Rubric

I am being pretty specific on these, so they know exactly what I am expecting.

Process

1. Research - We have access to encyclopedias through our school library webpage. My students are using these resources to gather much of their information. I also said they could look up zoo websites or other websites, but I am not letting them use Wikipedia. We had to talk about that because they wanted to use it.

When they found an article they wanted to use, I showed them how to copy & paste the information from the article into the Notes app along with the MLA citing information. They have it cited for you! At the bottom of each article, you will find 3 different methods of citing resources all formatted and ready to go.

    I recorded that mini-lesson using AirServer if you are interested in seeing how I showed the kids what to do. Click here to see the post.

2. Images - I have talked about using Britannica Image Quest and how great a resource it is. We are using it again for the picture on our cover page and the images in our presentations.

3. Writing the research paper - We had to really discuss how to use the research to guide our writing. Some students just wanted to copy & paste straight into their paper! It took quite a bit of explaining and rephrasing to get my point across. I always found this to be a difficult part of writing a research paper. 

     My school district bought Google Apps for all students and teachers, so my kids have access to Google docs. (After downloading the new Docs app, which was launched May 1, we were ready to get started.)

    Key features of Google docs & why I chose it for their writing

• Web based for seamless transition between devices - We are doing the bulk of our writing on the iPads, but I will have them polish it in the Computer Lab before they print.
• Basic formatting is available
• Sharing settings allow me to view their work in progress
• The commenting feature is a great way for me to help them edit and revise their work in real time.

Here are two student examples:

When you highlight a word or words and click the comment button, you can help your students make a change. 

You can see our comments back and forth on this paper. She sent me a question and I answered. Then we were able to talk back and forth. There are many more comments, but I couldn't show them all.

4. Creating a Presentation - I have 2 kids who are finished with their papers. They are working on a presentation. Mostly they have been playing around with different apps, trying to decide which one will be the best. I told them they could use any app other than Tellagami (it is too short), Puppet Pals (no images), and PhotoCard (too short and only 1 image).

I know they are going to present some awesome research. I will share their final products after they present. Do your kids like research? How have you used an iPad to facilitate research?

Any suggestions?

Recording with AirServer

I am linking up!

Do you use an iPad with AirServer in your classroom? Did you know you can record it? You can!!!

It is an awesome resource. I did one today and I thought I would share. We are beginning a research project and I was explaining to the kids how I wanted them to cite their sources. I wanted to record this and post it to our Edmodo page so I wouldn't have to repeat myself. There were a few kids out of the room and I know that a few will need a refresher tomorrow and later in the week.  :)

Click HERE to watch the video via my Dropbox.

AirServer

Never heard of it? Want to know more?

It isn't a free service, but you can purchase a few licenses for around $10. I love being able to show my kids exactly what to do on their iPad by showing them mine. I need to use the sharing feature more often. The kids can share their screens with the class. They really get a kick out of that!

How have you used this in class? Any good ideas to share?

Writing About Inferencing

We did one of my favorite activities today and it was such a success!

Lesson Frame:
We will use inferencing to draw conclusions.
I will write a question about the video for my partner to answer.

I had the students get out their Reading & Writing Notebooks and gather around the Promethean board. I explained that an inference is something we do all the time. We look or read something, add our thoughts and experiences to it, and draw conclusions.

Then we began to watch this Pixar short film:

I stopped the film about every 30 seconds and posed a question.

What are the birds doing?
What do you think the clouds will do?
What makes this cloud different?
How does the cloud feel about his creations?
How does the bird feel about the cloud's creations? Why does he feel that way?
What can you tell about the bird?
How would you describe the bird?

And so on...

Guys, my kids were writing machines! I would stop the video, ask the questions, and away they went. ALL of them! YES! This is exactly what happened last year, too!

They were using words like devastated, jealous, revenge, feeling betrayed, good buddy, and gear. Their sentence structure is really starting to improve.

Most of them ended up writing more than a page! Mission accomplished!

Here are some examples of what my students wrote.

Have a great evening.

Oh my goodness...

I don't want to jinx it, but from what I saw today...

I have a GREAT class!!! 

I am so excited! I am sitting 19 students right now, which is a good number.

I over planned for our first day. It always happens that way. Better to be prepared, though. We started the day by sorting school supplies and I gave them the doodle sheet for math. These will go on the front of our math notebooks. You can download them for free HERE! They aren't my creation.

Then we went of the WBT Class; Yes and the 5 rules. I really love the rules and the hand motions. The process grabs their attentions and creates anchors in their minds for the rules.

The highlight of our day was working on our Peek Face Portraits. They are so unique. I love that we put more thought into our goals this year. They had to choose a behavior, academic, and personal goal. Take a look!

Do you see that she wants to learn different languages? Isn't that awesome!

I love how a few of the boys decided to use a pattern for their background. :)

We got our math notebooks mostly set up, but since we had two specials, PE and Music, we didn't get it all finished. That is ok. We will have time tomorrow. I think.

I am sad to say that I chickened out on starting the Daily 4 today. Ugh. I will be braver tomorrow!

I lose confidence in myself over the summer when it comes to commanding the classroom. Does anyone else feel that way? It usually takes me a few days to get back in the swing of things.

I will see you later in the week!

I am planning on getting my kids set up on Edmodo and MyKidsBank for us to play on tomorrow. They will start XtraMath tomorrow as well. We will use the iPads for a QR code activity on Wednesday.

Here's to starting strong!

I hope you enjoyed your first day back at school this year.