Math Notebook - Bar Graphs

Well, the beginning of the year is creeping closer every day, so I have been productive. I have the first 2 units ready to go in my "teacher" notebook. I want to share the unit on bar graphs with you today.

I am not sure why we start with bar graphs, but we do.

Yesterday I shared my math journal set up. If you missed it, you can see it HERE.

So I have packed quite a few activities onto a few pages of our notebook.

Day 1: We will discuss and highlight the labels for page 1. Then we will talk about the steps in reading and answering a bar graph question. This will be on the first day of school, so I am keeping it short.

Day 2: Our class will pop in the other 4th grade classes to gather some data on favorite desserts. Then we will graph our results on page 2. We will do the first one as a class, I will help them set up their second graph and they will fill in the information with their group.

We will also work on page 3 of our journal. They need to hear the higher order thinking questions as soon as possible. I have also included a QR code to a video describing double bar graphs. This will be for review later on when we have our iPads.

Day 3: We will complete the graphs and questions on page 4 along with a QR code activity. (below)

Day 4: We will work on pages 5 and 6 in our notebooks. The blank graph on page 6 will be an assessment. Either we will gather data in our class for them to use, they can use leftover data from the favorite dessert activity, or they can make it up.

Day 5: This will be more of a worksheet practice day. Ugh. I hate that, but it is a necessary evil.

Nothing too fancy, but I think it will anchor our learning. We will use our textbook and a few other resources in class. There are some great games online that I will have them play when we go to the computer lab.

So, there you go!

Click HERE to download all the notebook resources!

Click HERE to go to the post where you can download the QR activities.

My next unit is place value. I will post about that next week!

Let me know what you think about my bar graph unit!

Math Notebook - Set up

I am starting to shift my focus from decorating to lesson planning. 

Lesson planning is not as fun... Oh well.

I have decided to step up my math notebooks this year, so I have been planning. I really want to tackle our math notebooks (the planning process) unit by unit. This gives me a broader perspective. Now that I have a year under my belt, I know where they need to be in the spring. This knowledge is really influencing my planning. Last year I "knew" what they needed to know because I knew the TEKS, but I didn't have a working knowledge of the types of questions and level of understanding my students would need.

So when I sat down and began planning out our notebooks, I wanted to keep a few things in mind.

1. How do I want the kids to decorate their covers to personalize it?
2. How detailed do I want the Table of Contents to be?
3. Will I follow the customary notebooking rules?
4. Where will I give the students feedback on their notebooks?
5. How will I "grade" these?
6. How should they be organized?

I do want my kids to personalize their notebook covers. This is a great beginning of the year activity. I found these awesome content area coloring pages that will be perfect for their covers! Go check them out.

I will also be adding duct tape to the spines for extra reinforcement and to color code. This makes it easier for students to grab the correct notebook out of their desks.

Now on to the inside...

I am not artistically inclined, so I made the "My Numbers" page on the computer.

My kids last year loved reading my comments. They would get their notebook from me and read the comments on the way back to their seat. 

I will try to remember to find my math chart from last year. It is covered in math information. I had my kids practice adding the information to this sheet. We will be focusing more on it in the fall this year, than we did last year.

HERE is your copy of the pages if you want them!

So, nothing too special, but I do think they are going to be very organized!

I will be posting my first unit, Bar Graphs, tomorrow!

With freebies, of course!

iBook is PUBLISHED!!!

WooHoo!!!

This was a labor of love, you guys. I am so happy to share it with anyone and everyone. You do need an iPad to view the book, that is the only downside with publishing through iBooks Author.

I posted a few videos of my book HERE if you are interested.

You can go to the iBookstore on your iPad and download it now!

:) I am so happy about this. I am working on one for Life Science next. I will let you know when that one is available.

What do you think?

Photo Update

Just a few pictures and links...

Post with freebie

Post explaining the clips and outlines for anchor charts

More anchor charts

Post with freebie

Have a great evening!

Sterilite Organzier

So many of my projects begin with a pin...

I have been wanting to do something like this all summer. I love all the teacher toolboxes that are out there, I just don't need one. I couldn't justify it to myself.

Sooooo, I decided I could do a miniature version that would come in handy every day!

I only let me kids sharpen two pencils a day. I sharpen them first thing in the morning. I have many reasons for this but the main ones are (1) I hate the sound of the pencil sharpener, (2) kids need to be responsible for their pencils, and (3) it helps my students to take care of each other. When a student needs a pencil in the middle of the day, they must ask their classmates if they can borrow one. This shows them that I am not the only source of help in the classroom.

Stepping off my soapbox.

:)

Eek! I love it!

Drawer #1: I try to sharpen at least 5-10 pencils each morning before my students arrive. This way when students need new pencils that morning, I can just hand them a new one. 

Drawer #2: My students go through glue like crazy. I am tired of students not having glue, so instead of passing out my supplies and never seeing them again, I am going to wrap washi tape around the 5 glue sticks and 2 bottles of glue that will go in this drawer. The tape will identify them as my supplies and the kids will know they need to be returned. I am planning on just letting kids grab them as needed and them returning immediately.

Drawer #3: Same story as the glue. It is impossible to do an activity together in a timely fashion when 5 kids are waiting on someone to finish their cutting so they can borrow their scissors. I am going to place about 5 scissors, add my washi tape, and put them in this drawer.

I think it is going to work out!

You can download the labels HERE.

Let me know what you think!

Reading & Writing Notebook

I have been thinking about how to structure our reading and writing notebooks all summer. With the help of Pinterest and several awesome bloggers, I have my notebook set up!

I am so happy to share this with you!

The very first thing you will see is a personalized page. I am not artistically inclined, so I made mine on the computer.

You can see the tabs on the side. I used card stock, glued them down, and reinforced them with tape.

I do pick up journals and "grade" them every other week or so. This just gives the kids some feedback, shows them that I am holding them accountable, and gives me some more grades in the grade book. :) (True story...)

This is a great idea I found through Pinterest on a blog called the Life and Times of a Third Grade Teacher. Go check her blog out, you won't be disappointed. I cut some cute card stock into a triangle, glued the outside edges down, and then reinforced the edges with tape. So easy and now they have a pocket to hold spare pieces of paper for each section. Genius!

The first section (10 pages) is reserved for their reading logs. The kids will have these pages to glue into their journals. The log is simple, just the title, genre, and a rating system. The genre codes come from the Genre at a Glance resource on the left. I found this at IBTeachNU Language Arts blog. You can go check it out if you want it!

The second section (about 50 pages) is for student writing. This is going to be the bulk of the notebook. They will be responding to their reading, writing from their hearts, and writing from prompts. I found the adjective lists at Create Teach Share. Go grab your freebie!

The third section (about 30 pages) is for notes we take during reading and writing lessons. This is the most nebulous of all the sections to me because I won't have a format for it. This will look different for every lesson.

The last section (10 pages) is reserved for words. I created these boxes for mini-word walls. I had a student last year with accommodations and one of them was a personalized word list. I loved that idea and kicked myself for not using it with all my kids all year long. So... we will have one this year. I am going to encourage kids to look up words instead of asking me and then record them here. I will also have students record vocabulary words here and difficult spelling words, too. At the end, I added some synonyms for nice, good, bad, sad, happy, like, said, and looked.

These notebooks will sit in student's book boxes instead of in their desks. I don't want the tabs to die a sudden death within a few weeks! This notebook is going to be utilized during our Daily 4, so it will need to be stored with their books.

Are you ready for your freebie?

You know I wouldn't show you all this and then not give you the resources, right?

:)

Click HERE to download the pdf. Email me for the editable copy!

What do you think? Do you use interactive notebooks in your classroom?

******Side note******

I have started my journey to becoming a cyclist. I DO NOT have the body type or the fitness level to be a cyclist yet, but I am working on it. I really want to be one of those cyclists you see all decked out, riding down the street with intensity! Anyway... I started last Monday. This was the first time I had been on a bike since elementary school. (I tend to be a lazy person.)

Here are my distances last week:
Monday - 3.89 miles
Tuesday - 4.21 miles
Wednesday - 4.29 miles
Thursday - 6.09 miles
Friday - 7.04 miles

WooHoo! I was so proud of myself!

Here are my distances for the last 3 days.

I am getting better every time! Although I did think I was going to keel over on Monday...

Manic Monday & Monday Made It!

I love both of these linky parties, don't you? 

Summer is coming to an end... sigh. I have 3 more weeks until staff development. It always goes so fast, but I do enjoy all the back to school stuff. Not the staff development, but everything else! 

I accomplished 2 things this weekend: our class jobs board & our specials cards. Last year I didn't post who was assigned what job. I meant to do it, but you know how it is. I just never got around to doing it. This is what I have come up with.

I bought a large foam board at Hobby Lobby, the pockets are from Mardel, and I made the labels and the title with PowerPoint. 

I will insert the student's name after I assign jobs. These are kids I had last year, I just wanted to make sure I had the formatting correct for the size of the inserts.

I feel like this is a simple way for us to see the class jobs. I also like that it is portable. I am pretty sure I will put it on a wall somewhere, but I have the option of placing it anywhere I want. I like options!

Here is the pdf file for the labels. As always, if you want the editable ppt version, just email me! I am always happy to share.  :)

I also "created" our specials signs. I say "created" because it just pieced them together with fake times. These won't be finished and printed until we get our school schedule the week before school starts. I just inserted the times I had those specials last year as place holders. I downloaded the clipart from Ladybug's Teacher Files. I am sure you have seen her amazing blog! She is a rockstar and my role model. I love everything she creates! 

I can't share these cards with you, but I am sure you can download her signs (FREE) and make your own with little fuss.

When I moved to 4th last year, I didn't post our specials times because I gave each student a schedule to put in their STAR binders. Well, I still got the questions about when we were going to gym or art, so...

This year I will be posting these in our classroom by the door. I will be able to just point when asked those questions. Anything to save myself a few words.

*Side note: Is it just me or do you try to save words? During the school day, I feel like I speak constantly. These past two years I have really tried to limit my speaking to when I am teaching or giving directions. That way when kids hear my voice, they might tune in a little more. I don't want to be one of those teachers that just drones on and on. I give looks, use hand gestures, and point instead of talking sometimes. I don't do it to be rude. Does this make sense?

Anyway...

Back to the "Specials" cards. I created the lunch clip art because I wanted one and Kristen didn't include that in the download. I love those circle labels! I created them so that 2 fit on a page when in landscape mode. I want to see them from across the room.

Happy Monday! Go check out all the links and link up your projects!

Let me know what you think of mine. I like to hear feedback!

Brag Tags Part 2

I am joining the Brag Tag team! Check out my first post about them.

Brag Tags Part 1

I was inspired by Miss Nelson. Go check out her post!

These are mine:

You can get a copy of them HERE.

You can get the new ones HERE.

I was able to get the ball chain necklaces at Hobby Lobby. It comes in a large roll. I just have to cut it and add the clasp! Plus it is on sale for half price right now.  :) That's a win!

Here is the finished product!

They are all spread out and I don't have a name tag on here, but you get the general idea!

 Students will earn the tags through good behavior, extraordinary effort, or by making good grades.  I am excited about these!

♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥

Enjoy your day! Leave me a comment if you have any ideas for brag tags that I am missing!

Notebook Giveaway!

I was contacted by a representative of these companies to review a few of their products.

Color Me Products

The notebooks are so cute! They are perfect for kids of any age. Just grab a few sharpies and you are ready to customize your notebook! I will be offering these in our first class auction this year.

Sugar Cane Notebooks

The notebooks are an environmentally friendly product that is made from sugarcane. They are durable with bright colored, poly covers. These are perfect for middle school, high school, and college students.

Cross Over Book

I think these are my personal favorite. I would have used these and only these in college! After I took this picture, I realized I have a right-handed bias. The spirals are not in the way for people who write with their right hands... I think this is a great idea for spirals! I always hated writing on the back page.

I am giving away some of these to my wonderful followers! Enter for a chance below. I will pick 2 winners on Friday and they will each receive a Genesis notebook and a Cross Over Notebook!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Made It ~ iBooks Author Style

I still have 5 weeks until school starts for us. Well, 5 weeks until our week of staff development. I am not planning on getting into my room until August, so I haven't really started printing things yet. I am still trying to enjoy my relaxing summer!

★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★

I am so excited to share my iBook with you!!!!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

(Sorry this is in so many pieces! I made the videos with Screenr and the free version only allows 5 minute videos.)

I have been working on this for a few weeks and it is almost finished! I just have to tweak a few of the glossary items.

This has been quite a project, but I love how it has turned out!

My plan is to share this with all my students at the beginning of the year. I want them to be able to work through it during reading time or when they finish their work early. This will give them a strong knowledge base for when we do our experiments in small groups. I will have specific time where we work through parts of the book together, but I want this to be an individual resource.

When I publish it, I will send out the link for anyone who would like to use it.

What do you think?

Teaching Kids to Blog

Good morning!

I am linking up for Manic Monday!

Do you have a class blog? Do your students have individual blogs?

Since I will be implementing a 1:1 iPad classroom this upcoming year, I will be having all my students set up a blog. They will have the Blogger app and an account set up through our school district. 

Scary? Just a little... Or a lottle...

This is my husband's new thing to say.  :) Cute, huh?

So the logistics of having my kids create and use their own blogs is a little overwhelming. We will have to start things on laptops so they can choose their layout and all that. I do want to spend the time letting them personalize it, because that is half the fun!

I really want to incorporate their blog into our writing during the year. I am hoping that they will produce 2-4 posts a week. Maybe more as they become more comfortable with it.

Their blogs are going to be interactive because I am going to use the RSS feed feature in Edmodo to subscribe the class to all the blogs. I have a page all set up called We Blog. I will give the kids the code at the beginning of the year. Once I add the blogs, they will get a link to each blog post! Yay!

Part of our blogging with be commenting on other blogs. I want this to really be a positive experience. I feel like last year I had the kids do a lot of writing, but I was the only one that saw most of it. When I took the time to have the kids share their writing, they learned so much more! The downside is that it is SO time consuming to do that! Now they will have access to each other's writing all the time! They can go through and read them anytime and leave comments. Real world reading and writing practice! 

Love it.

I have been thinking about the elements I want to see in their blog posts. Here is a visual I created:

This is the Blogger app view of writing a post. This is what we are going to mainly use, so I wanted it to look familiar. I have also adapted a Blog Post Rubric to fit my needs. 

You can get your FREE copy HERE.

Heather at HoJo's Teaching Adventures posted a rubric that I modeled mine after. She was gracious enough to allow me to use hers as a template. She has tons of great resources on her blog for all elementary levels, you should go check our her blog!

What do you think? Do you have any tips for successful student blogging?

Numbering Backpack Hooks

Do you number your backpack hooks? These are mine. These numbers lasted all year, but I wanted to change them this year. I want to streamline them, so here is what I have come up with.

Free copy HERE!

They are going to be about 2 in by 2 in. I am going to print them on yellow paper and use a Xyron to transform them into stickers that I can just stick to the shelf with the hooks.

Have you used or seen the Xyron products? I want ALL of them!

Check out a fun video.

I have the 1.5" sticker maker, but I really want the larger sizes. My Hobby Lobby has these products and I drool over them every time I go. It really is as easy as the video makes it seem. Just run it through and you have a sticker! 

Do you have one? What would you use it for? Let me know what you think of the numbers. If you want the editable copy, email me!

Idiom of the Week

"This job is a blessing in disguise."

"I wish he would get that chip off his shoulder!"

"Good intentions are a dime a dozen. I want to see results, after all actions speak louder than words."

What do all those have in common? 

(Other than my students don't understand them?)

They are idioms!

I really want to focus on idioms this year. It can really break down comprehension when a student comes upon an idiom without realizing it is a phrase with a hidden meaning. My goal is to hear my kids use idioms in their daily language and to see it in their writing. So I have devised a plan!

We are going to focus on learning 10 idioms every six weeks. I don't want to do too many because then they would forget as we move on. We are going to be doing our best to integrate these idioms into our  classroom vernacular. 

We are going to start our discussions with a QR code scan that takes them to the meaning and examples. This is just a way to give them an idea of how that idiom is used. Then we are going to discuss it together, in small groups, and as we are working throughout the week. Towards the end of the week I will have them scan the activity code. The activities could be a blog post, an Edmodo post, an Educreation video, or writing a short story. I am trying to be creative! 

As we progress through the year, I plan on having them take more control over their activity, but at the beginning of the year, we will still be learning how to use most of the apps on our iPads, so I want them to have more direction.

This is what the pages look like:

You can grab your copy HERE 

(Free of course!)

I will be working on more and I will post them when they are finished!

Do you teach idioms? What do you think of my idea? Let me know if there is a great website for idioms that you have found!

It's a SmartFab Giveaway!!!!

SmartFab contacted me about reviewing their product and I was happy to agree. They sent me 5 rolls to experiment with! (pink, yellow, black, red, and blue)

I haven't seen this type of fabric before. You can do anything with it. Watch the video below to see what I mean.

Click HERE to see their website.

They have plenty of pictures detailing the ways people have used their products.

Click HERE to become a fan of their Facebook page.

They have give aways and share ideas.

Click HERE to follow them on Pinterest. 

They have some great pins!

They were nice enough to send me 3 large rolls (yellow, pink, and black) and 2 small rolls (red and blue). This is what I made:

Wreath Instructions: (if you are interested)

1. Cut the fabric into 6 inch strips then cut that in half so you have 3 inch strips.
2. Take each of those strips and cut them so they are 6 inches long.
3. Now you have strips that are 3 inches wide and 6 inches long.
4. Tie each individual strip onto the wire wreath frame.
5. This is very time consuming...
6. When you have a section finished, fluff the fabric so it fills the space.
7. Tie on the ribbon as decoration!

I love that this fabric doesn't fray! The edges are pretty without me having to do anything!

The material is the perfect material to work with in your crafts. It is easy to cut, bend, twist, and tie. I am going to use the rest when I go back to get my classroom set up.  I am going to use it for wall decoration, maybe a border, as curtains, and maybe to decorate my desk! I will share pictures in August when I am in school mode.

I love that the colors are so vibrant.

Are you interested?

How would you like to get 3 FREE rolls? 

Enter my giveaway! I will announce the winner on Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway