Finally, It's Monday and I Made it!

Happy Monday friends!  I'm linking up with Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics to show off some of the things I made for Back to School.  As many of you know, I'm totally NOT a crafty girl, but I've seen a ton of great posts this summer from crafty people, and I had to through in my two cents.

For my first Made-It, I was a guinea pig for my BBB Joanne.  She is pure inspiration, and Head Over Heels for Teaching is full of amazing ideas.  I read Joanne's post a few weeks ago about "fancifying" your name calling sticks.  You can read her post {HERE}.  She was super crafty and created colored paper to cover her craft sticks.  Joanne printed out her student's names and is using them when she has to call on students in class.  We spent a few days talking about this crafty project, and I volunteered to be her guinea pig for reading and following directions.  Here is my project:

I didn't print names on mine because I'm going to use them as a chore chart.  

Basically you print out the sticks that are already sized for the jumbo craft sticks. and use your paper cutter and scissors to cut them out.  Then you modge podge them to keep the paper on the sticks.  Super easy, even for the non-crafty type like me!

Instead of printing student names on mine, I glued names and numbers to the tops so I can put them into library pockets for jobs.  I haven't quite got that set up yet.. so I'll blog with pictures when I do.

You can go to Joanne's TpT store {HERE} She is posting these bad boys early this week!

My second Monday Made-It project was inspired by the first.  I found super jumbo craft sticks at Hobby Lobby,  AND sparkly duct tape.  I covered the sticks with duct tape and again, used my class numbers on the end.  I am going to put these as book holders in my library.

My library is currently a COMPLETE MESS because I have no book shelves.  I was granted a Donor's Choose project for two books cases, and I'm currently waiting for them to come in.

Next I put together the goodies for my Meet the Teacher night.  I always like to have a little something when my students come in to meet me and drop off their supplies.  First I made signs so they would know where to put everything.

I also created a sign asking parents for a few extras.  Things like Ziploc bags, and extra paper.  I ask my parents to "Lend a Helping Hand" and take a hand if they can send something extra in.

Then I used my Back To School Goody Pack and printed labels for water and popcorn.  I'm going to put these on my student's desks.  It will be a great snack for them later at night.

Thanks for sticking by me through this LOONG post.  It's not often that I'm crafty. Thanks also to Tara for hosting! Make it a great week friends!

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Multiple Choice Task Cards for Algebra and for Whole Number Operations

A few weeks ago we had a grade level data team meeting to discuss some results that were seen on our state assessments from last year.  Surprisingly, we found our students scored lower in the area of multiple choice questions than in constructive response.  Specifically, we found the questions in Expressions and Equations were difficult for them.  I'm thinking part of this is because it is the first unit that we do in the fall, and students tend to forget the little ins and outs that can easily be skipped on multiple choice questions.  I made a set of task cards for my smarties to start practicing this type of question.  I tell them they are looking to Beat the Multiple Choice Menace.  

I'm going to bring these cards our during out Core Lab time.  Basically this is the last period of our day when chorus or band meets.  Between A and B days I will see a majority of my students for a little extra practice over the next 6 week before we take our state assessment.

 I am going to have my students put the cards into their Interactive Notebooks so they can review them throughout the spring.

My plan is to have students work through the cards 4 at a time two or three times a week.  I'm also working on a set of cards about Ratios and Rate that I can mix in.  If you teach 6th or 7th grade, these cards might help your students.  You can find them {HERE}.  There are 48 in all.
If you happen to teach grades 3-5 I have also created a set for whole number operations that include question distractors.

 I'm going to throw these in the mix as well.  I think the distractors are important not only in the QUESTIONS, but in the multiple choice ANSWERS as well.  There are 32 of these.  You can check them out {HERE} if you are interested.

I"m linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It Edition.  I didn't really make anything for my home this month. I'm still cleaning out after Christmas, but I've been focusing in math on the task cards for school.

Have a great day!  Stop by and visit Tara and see what everyone has made!

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Monday Made It September Edition Getting My Back to School Craft On

Today starts are first full week of school!  I have a few things to share today, because Tara has started her Monday Made-Its as a monthly link up, and that gives me time to actually finish what I am working on.

First, I made these clipboards:

I have to show off a little of my Gator pride when I am not in Gator Nation.  I am still looking for Syracuse duct tape, to make 2 more, I may have to order it online.  This project was relatively simple for me. I use one sheet of duct tape for the blue in the center.  I found it on sale at Staples for $0.25, and I figured that would be easier than running the lines of tape all across the board.  I knew I would never get them all straight!  I made two of these clipboards, and I'm going to keep them separate from the ones I give my kids to use.  I'll use them for my grades, and data collection, and as my clipboard for busing at the end of the day.

Second are these numbered clothespins.

 I am going to attach magnets to the back of these and have my students use them when we put writing or projects up in the hallway.  All of my students are assigned a number, and by using these, I will easily be able to tell who is finished or not finished with a particular assignment.  I love the ease of washi tape!

Speaking of washi tape:  Here is my third project:

This is my fastpass board.  Because I work on a team, I convinced my teammate to number her students with different numbers than I did, so that we could create and collect data on all the kids without having 2 number one's.  She is totally crafty, and created a really cute board for exit slips using library pockets. This way, we don't waste as many post it notes. Our district will print pads of paper for us, so our students will answer our question for the exit slip, and put it in the library pocket.  My teammate is a Disney fanatic!  So her board is made with a cute Mickey ear stamp.  Keeping with the Disney idea, we decided to call it a FASTPASS station instead of a ticket out the door.  Since I am all about the converse sneakers, I made mine with chucks.  I created the board using the library pockets, and old diskette labels... DISKETTE!  Found them at a Goodwill for $1.00  I can't beat that!

Lastly, to use up the labels I found at that super low bargain price, I made Smartie Locker reminders for my kids for the first day of school.

After I got  my locker list, I added student names, locker numbers, and combos to the list, and my students keep these in the plastic pocket of their agendas until they memorize the combos.

Do you have anything fun that you have made over the past few weeks? Stop by and visit Tara, and link up to share!

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Monday Made It and Read Read Read

It's Monday and that means I'm linking up with two wonderful gals:  Fourth Grade Frolics and Kellee at Unleashing Readers for their linky parties.  This is a quick week on both accounts.  We are in FULL on SOFTBALL mode and spending our weekends traveling to tournaments.  Nine games of softball in four days takes a little recovery, and I'm too tired to be super crafty!

This week I made some cute push pins for my bulletin boards.  

I found these wooden school shapes at AC Moore, and simply glued them to the back of a push pin.... real creative, I  know.  One of the bulletin boards in the front of my room stays basically the same all year long.  This is where I will be placing agendas, and work for absent students, and I'll be using it for my math group board and ticket out the door.  The push pins just simply make it more fun.  They were easy to create, and I may make a few more using magnets for the rest of my walls.  Be sure to use a high heat glue gun so they stay on.

I also made a Common Core Checklist for my math standards that will hopefully save me a little time and keep me on track in the classroom.  You can go {HERE} to check them out in my TpT Store, or {HERE} to see the blogpost I wrote.

To Link up with Kellee at Unleasing Readers, I read Gingersnap by Patricia Riley Giff.

Here is the summary from Good Reads:

It's 1944, W.W. II is raging. Jayna's big brother Rob is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle Theresa, the recipe book, and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.

Honestly, This book didn't do much for me.  I was interested because WWII was the setting, and I am teaching that this year.  I was looking for a few books that I could recommend to students while I was teaching this part of history.  I will still mention it to my students, and I may have a few girls who pick it up because it shares recipes that Jayna's cooks as she is waiting for her brother, but overall, I felt the writing was quick and forced.  I didn't really connect with the characters, and as much as Giff was attempting to draw me in to rooting for this family to come together,  I felt there could have been better connections and back stories told.

Stop by and visit these two wonderful ladies to get your craft on AND find a few good books to lose yourself in this week!

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Monday Made It and Mentor Texts

Wait a minute.. It's Monday AGAIN!  This summer is flying by on me.  I can't believe it! I'm linking up again with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics and Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts to share what I've managed to read and make for the week.

First stop is what I MADE since that is what I'm amazed I managed to do by myself!!!  I mentioned last week that I was making a trip to Ikea while I was visiting family out of state.  I <puffy heart>  IKEA.  We don't have one even remotely close, so I am always pumped for a visit when I go see  my family.
So since I've been spending more time with my computer because of Coffee Cups, I decided I needed to make a few changes to my desk area.  Right now it is basically a card table in the middle of my living room.  As much as I would love to have an office to myself, until my hubs finishes his PhD I'm stuck with the living room.  But!  That doesn't mean I can't get rid of the card table and use an awesome cool desk.  So this weekend, I managed to put it together ALL BY MYSELF... Can I get a Woot Woot!!!

What I really like is the fact that I can put up only one side.  The picture above shows both sides up, but I'm going to leave one side down and hide my bankers book boxes underneath.  I love the drawers in the middle.  There are 3 on each side.  

Next stop is visiting with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.  Be sure to stop and see what everyone has read this week.  A great way to find new books.  Jen and a few friends are giving away a KINDLE FIRE! so be sure to enter for that giveaway too!!

This week I finished Kate Messner's book Capture the Flag.  Kate Messner is one of the author's who is sponsoring the Teacher's Write Summer Program.

Here is the summary from Good Reads:

Three kids get caught up in an adventure of historic proportions!

Anna, José, and Henry are complete strangers with more in common than they realize. Snowed in together at a chaotic Washington D.C. airport, they encounter a mysterious tattooed man, a flamboyant politician, and a rambunctious poodle named for an ancient king. Even stranger, news stations everywhere have announced that the famous flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been stolen! Anna, certain that the culprits must be snowed in too, recruits Henry and José to help catch the thieves and bring them to justice.

But when accusations start flying, they soon realize there's more than justice at stake. As the snow starts clearing, Anna, José, and Henry find themselves in a race against time (and the weather!) to prevent the loss of an American treasure.

What I really liked about this book was the idea that it is the first adventure book for these kids.  Messner does a great job of showing how different the three kids are.  Each one brings strength to the group in his or her own way, which allows them to solve the mystery by collaborating together.

This is definitely a book I will be sharing in the fall with my librarian and my classroom.  In Teacher's Write, we have been talking about microtension.  I'm going to use this book 

Next week I'm going to try to read Gingersnaps by Patricia Riley Giff and a few picture books I've had my eye on.  I've also got a another Monday Made It project in the works.  It's just taking me awhile to finish it.

What are you reading and making?  Let me know so I can stop by and visit you!

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It's Monday! What have you Made? What are you Reading?

I love the summer time for teaching blogs.  There are so many wonderful things to read and reflect on.
Today I'm posting double duty and linking up with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics for two fun links!
First, every Monday,  Jen hosts a link about What are you Reading?

I found Jen's blog from my bloggy friend Shannon at I Run, Read and Teach and from Teacher's Write. 

                                           

This past week I read A Long Walk to Water by Newberry medalist, Linda Sue Park.

This is a powerful 120 page dual narrative!  The book tells two stories in one.  The first is about Nya who lives in the Sudan and spends her entire day, seven months of the year, walking to a pond to fetch water for her family.  She walks for 8 hours a day!  The second narrative focuses on Salva who is forced from his home by fighting rebels in Sudan.  He becomes part of the Lost Boys who eventually make their way to the United States.  Without giving away the whole "cow," the end of this book is amazing, and I never saw it coming.  I know my sixth graders would even enjoy this as a read a loud, and I am thinking of all the connections I can make to our social studies curriculum.  Best of all for me, Salva relocated to Rochester, NY which is my state!  I think my students will really look forward to this book, making a geographical connection!

I also made my daughter who is an eigth grader read the text.  She loved the dual narrative, and this book gave her a really interesting perspective on what life may have been like for her two cousins who were adopted from Ethopia.  I LOVE when books pull at your heartstrings and MAKE YOU THINK!

Secondly today, I am linking up with Tara for her Monday Made It.

This year we were fortunate with printing.  Our district allows us to send PDFs to the district print shop for copying.  They will copy in color, and cardstock with  no charge to us.  I am in love with this!  Right at the end of my school year, I discovered they will also make posters.. and... wait for it.... THEY WILL LAMINATE THEM! Woot!

Although I didn't get one made in color.. an option I didn't know existed until I picked up my posters, I did have several posters made for my classroom.

These are poster's I'll use with Daily 3 in my room.  I know that writing expectations at the beginning of the year is part of the process, but bear in my mind, I teach 6th grade, so these Smarties have already heard this and know basic expectations, and I only have an 80 minute block for my whole ELA time.  I would rather spend that working on the STAMINA pieces.  That was a huge focus for me last year, and I am hoping it paid off with our ELA scores.

Have you made something awesome? or READ something you just have to share?  Stop by and visit the gals above and link up and let them know!  Also, leave me a comment or two and let me know about another great book you are reading!  I'm trying to get through at least one a week along with the two PD books I'm working on!

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Monday Made It: Pencil Containers and Calendar Numbers

Happy Monday friends!  Today I'm linking up with Fabulous Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics to show what I made this week.

 It was my last week of school, so what I created wasn't elaborate or all that original.  But it was a NEED in my room.  Our school colors are white, red and black.  Next year with my love of all things converse, I'm going with those classroom colors.  I made numbers for the large chalkboard calendar that sits in the front of my room.

To go with it, I made new pencil holders using the red/white/black theme.   I took two small Folger's coffee containers, and added mustache duct tape to the outside.

Then I added my SHARP and DULL Pencil labels, and covered that with clear package tape.

 I'm happy to have gotten these completed before school ended, because I could leave them at school and not store them at home over the summer.
Did you get a chance to make something over the week?  Link up with Tara and share what you've made.  If you need the labels, or you are going with a red/white/black theme, you can go {HERE} and download.

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The End is In SIGHT! Monday Made It!

Happy Monday all!  This is my last Monday of the school year!  I have been so busy lately.  School has kept me really busy these last few weeks, trying to finish up my math curriculum, and prep my smarties for the two exams my teammates are giving.  We have had a lot of added pressure this month because all of our APPR information is due.  My evaluation is 40% based on my state assessments, which of course haven't come back yet, but that doesn't stop people from creating a TON of paperwork that has to be completed.  Where would the world be without paper work!

This past week was particularly crazy because I had to get a few end of the year gifts ready for the smarties on our team who met the 25 Book challenge.  Out of the 84 students we have, 20 read 25 books this year.  I'm not sure how proud I feel that only about one quarter of our students met this goal. Maybe ask me next week when I've absorbed more sun.

I'm linking up with TARA at 4th Grade Frolics and her Monday Made Its. Her Instagram pictures helped me get through the week, I swear!  Especially after my computer CRASHED and I lost like EVERYTHING!!! But I'm not ready to talk about that yet.

I made my Smarties each a gift bag containing a water bottle, pass to mini golf (THANK YOU PTA), candy, Summer Book Its, and a bookmark.

On top of having to get school related items ready to roll out with my smarties, we traveled this weekend for softball.  My daughter, 24, had a few really great games both catching and in the outfield.  She had an ESPN worthy dive to catch a ball which I am still pretty impressed with, and a throwout at home from a bunt behind home plate.  Summer softball has begun!

How has life been treating you lately?  Are you finishing up with school, or have you been lounging pool side for awhile?  Leave me a note below and let me know I'm not the ONLY ONE STILL WORKING!!!! And stop by and visit Tara and share what you made this week!!

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