Starting Five For Friday (a day late)

This week has been crazy busy - just like the other three weeks!! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my very first Five for Friday (a day late)!

1.

AMSTI Science

 I am loving AMSTI Science and so are the kids. So far we have learned about three different types of clouds while making them with shaving cream. We have discussed what the weather is like in Daphne right now and graphed if we like hot, cold, or warm weather best. We have begun learning about the water cycle by making puddles in pie plates. The kids were astonished when all that was left was a blue stain 3 days later. The kids and I both are learning a lot!!! I am now working with a wonderful teacher from AMSTI to incorporate Talk Moves into my science lesson. (More info coming soon! Talk Moves mini posters here.)

2.

Rockin' in Our School Shoes / Digital Renaissance

 We LOVE Pete the Cat and we are in the process of finalizing our very own Rockin' In Our School Shoes video. We are using Garage Band and iMovie to put together our own version of our favorite cat's book! It has been a slow process. I am still learning how to really edit music and video in both Garage Band and iMovie while letting the kids help as much as possible. We also found out that making projects like this is about to get a whole lot easier. Our school board voted to extend the county's Digital Renaissance, which has previously put MacBook Air laptops in the hands of student 8th-12th grade, to K-6th grade as well. All K-2 students will be receive iPads to use in class while all 3rd-6th grade students will receive MacBook Air laptops. How awesome is that! So, if any of you have any great lessons you teach using iPads, PLEASE feel free to post!

3. 

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Soy Protein Shake

 First, please, do not judge my messy desk! My teacher neighbor introduced me to these FABULOUS coffee flavored protein shakes. I have recently learned I am allergic to dairy and very sensitive to gluten. I have felt a little down over how hard it is to eat anything other than meat and fresh fruit & veggies. Don't get me wrong, I love those things but finding filling breakfast foods I can eat on the go has been hard (I can't eat eggs either). These shakes are now my new addictions and are really filling. I usually drink mine around 7:00 and I am just getting hungry at 11:45 when we go to lunch.

4.

piZap - Free Online Photo Editing

I have been using Instagram and the many different apps associated with Instagram to make collages and edit pictures I take on my phone. However, tonight when I wanted to make some collages using pictures already on my computer, I realized that my Instaframes app was not going to do me much good. I did a quick google search and tried the first site that showed up. piZap is a free online photo editing tool that is so easy to use. I am not an expert in photo editing so someone more picture savvy might feel differently. In my oppion this site (and app!!) is a lot of fun. I think it might even be easy enough for my kiddos to use. The picture of my beautiful puppies above is a little on the obnoxious side but I just wanted to show some of the different features of the site. The other collages in this post are also from piZap.com as well. You can make collages, edit filters, add text, backgrounds, and stickers all for free. You can save your creations or post them to the site (I think) or to Facebook and Twitter. I did not spend a lot of time of the site - I was watching a very tense football game (we won by 4) and just played with the parts I needed for this post. I will definitely use it again!!!!

5.

Scrappin Doodles!!

I have an unhealthy addiction to all things Frogs! I discovered Scrappin Doodles this summer when I decided to redo my room decorations/arrangement from the past 8 years. I have learned how to use PowerPoint to make really cute numbers, letters, calendar sets, and more for my room. It has become an obsession.  Thanks to the TOAD-aly cute Froggy series at Scrappin Doodles I can no longer use just any kind of sign in my room. NO! I have to make them myself so I can add frogs to it. I am now working on making Daily Five signs. (Update: Here is a link to my Daily 5 signs!)

Thank you for stopping by for my Five for Friday!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Melissa

Catching up with Teacher Week '13 Taming The Wild!

 Taming the Wild! Classroom Management

(I just figured out how to make a collage!!)

Left - Super Improvers Chart, Top Right - Five WBT Rules, Bottom Right - Froggy Power Chart 

I am so excited about my classroom management this year! (kind of weird I know!) This year I am using Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) techniques. I began implementing some of the methods last year and saw unbelievable results! This year I am trying to really implement the techniques fully. With Whole Brain Teaching there are five classroom rules 1. Follow Directions Quickly 2. Raise Your hand for Permission to Speak 3. Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat 4. Make Smart Choices 5. Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy. As simple as these rules are, they are also effective. WBT also encompasses the way lessons are taught. There is a lot of movement and talking. We take "Brain Breaks" where we all get up and dance. I had very little behavior problems last year when I used these strategies.  There is also a super improvers chart that I will be using this year. Any time a child shows any type of improvement they earn a sticker on their 10 frame chart. Once they fill the chart, they move up a level on the super improvers wall. I also use the WBT scoreboard. Please check out the WBT website and YouTube channel for more information.

I also have a "Power Chart". Each day every student starts on green/full power. They can move their pins up to super power and maximum froggy power for making good choices. They move their pins down to low power and no power for making bad choices. Pins can move up and down all day long.

Here is some of the information I give to my parents...
Our Classroom Rules

Follow Directions Quickly Follow all directions quickly, the first time they are given. We want to utilize all our time learning. Raise Your Hand to Speak Raise your hand to speak so that everyone has a chance to speak and listen to each other. Raise Your Hand to Leave Your Seat Raise you hand to leave your seat while we are learning. There will be plenty of “planned” and “free” times to move.

Make Smart Choices Do your Best. “It’s ok to not know, it’s not ok to not try.” Be respectful and kind. Be in charge of yourself! Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy The only thing that makes me happy is for every student to learn. If you are hindering learning, I am not happy.

“Power-Up” with Good Behavior Classroom expectations are handled with a “Power-Up” behavior scale. On the first day of school I will have a discussion with our class about how we all make our own choices about behavior.  Some of our choices are good and give us power and some of our choices are poor and can decrease our power. Here is how the system is set up: Each day your child will start on “Full Power” (green).  If your child is making good choices he/she will move up the power scale to “Super Power” (gold). If he/she continues to make good choices he/she will move up to “Maximum Froggy Power” (purple). However, if your child makes poor choices, he/she will move down the scale from “Full Power” to “Low Power” (yellow) and if the poor choices continue he/she will be moved to “No Power” (red). Your child may move up or down the scale depending on the choices he/she makes all day. The goal for your child should be to end at “Full Power” or above each day.

Rewards/Consequences: Maximum FROGGY Power (purple) – EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR! The student will retrieve a treat from the treat bucket. Super Power (gold) – SUPER BEHAVIOR! Full Power (green) – Good Behavior! Low Power (yellow): WARNING! WARNING! – Rule Broken (recharge): The student will loose 5 minutes of recess and conduct sheet will be marked. No Power (red): Empty – Rule Broken (x2) (reflect/recharge): The student will loose all of recess time. This time will be spent reflecting on the poor choice that was made and what the good choice would have been and conduct sheet will be marked. I will track their behavior daily, and then record it on a behavior chart. This chart will be in the FROG folder. Please initial the box for that day so that I know you have seen your child’s chart.

WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING!!!

As the year progresses, you may notice that our classroom doesn’t run like other classrooms. We will be learning through Whole Brain Teaching, a research based system that utilizes all areas of the brain, keeps children engaged throughout their lessons, and helps them retain much more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.

Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember specific vocabulary.  While students teach each other, the teacher walks around the room to discover who understands the lesson and who needs more instruction.

Research shows that children retain more information when they have an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key instructional units …plus, it’s amazingly fun! For more information about Whole Brain Teaching please contact me, schedule a classroom visit and/or go to www.WholeBrainTeaching.com.

What are some of your methods for Taming the Wild?

Catching up with Teacher Week '13 Now Teach!

It has been a hectic week getting ready for school to start tomorrow and I have fallen behind on my posts. So, I am taking this rainy day to play catch up. Here we go...

Now Teach! Organizing for Instruction

Lesson Plans

I use a template that I found on Jessica Meacham's wonderful website years ago, here! It has worked for me for the past six or seven years. I like using the different fonts for different subjects, it helps me find the plan I might be look for. Plus, it's just cute! 

Daily Lesson Materials

Beside my teaching area I have a six drawer container. The top drawer is labels Teacher Materials. I keep markers, seating charts, sight word cards and anything else that I use on a daily basis. The next five drawers are labeled with the days of the week. In each drawer I have the books, worksheets, and most other materials I will need for the day. I put them in the drawer in the order I will be using them. This has really helped me eliminate the need to continuously checking my lesson plans for what I should be doing next. 

Weekly Plans

To keep my stress level down, I TRY to plan a few weeks in advance. Right now I have planned through the end of September and I hope to be able to stay ahead all year. It doesn't always work out this way but one can hope! In the past I used a large basket and file folders separating the days. This year, I am trying something new. I took my old daily planning containers that were in the top of my closet, painted them black and numbered them. Now number 1 holds next week's plan and most of the materials I will need. If I need to pull something extra, I have placed a sticky note on the counter in front of the box. I think this is going to work well. Fingers crossed!!!

Organizing My Kiddos

In order to keep me and 20+ five year olds organized, we use a lot of different methods. 

F.R.O.G. Folders (inspired by Jessica Meacham's Bee Books)

F.R.O.G. is an acronym for        

Fully Responsible 0rganized and Growing.

This folder houses EVERYTHING students and parents need to keep up-to-date with what is going on at school.  Folders should be sent to school daily! Students who do not have their folders two days in a row will move their pins to yellow.

Gone are the days of wrinkled papers and lost notes, newsletters, or calendars.  No more searching the house to find paper in order to write a note to school.  Everything you need is in one notebook!

FROG folders are important!  They help students to establish good organizational skills - skills that can carry on throughout their time in school.

Money Pouch		This pencil pouch will house money for book orders, lunch, milk, and field trips. Don’t forget to send money is sealed envelopes labeled with your child’s name, my name, what the money is for, and how much money is enclosed. If you are sending lunch money please add your child’s lunch number to the envelope as well.
Front & Back Pockets		School notes, field trip permission slips, and completed work, will be placed the front pocket.  Please check for items that need to be filled out and sent back. In the back pocket you will find your child’s behavior contract. Please review and initial EVERYDAY! *Class newsletters will be available online and thru email. A paper copy will only be sent if requested.
Monthly Calendar		Each month I will put our classroom calendar in the front sheet protector of the FROG folder. This will list almost everything going on in our class or at DES. Please leave this in the folder extra copies will be sent by email & are online!
ABC Chart / Sight Words		Your child will learn many high frequency words in Kindergarten.  We call these words sight words. A listing of our sight words is included in the FROG folder (behind the calendar) for review at home.  This will be updated monthly! FAt-home practice is highly beneficial (and recommended)!
Schedule		A schedule will be kept in a plastic sheet protector for you to reference, when needed.  Please note that the schedule is tentative and subject to change. If you are interested in visiting our class, please schedule a time. We love visitors!!
Class List / Contacts Page		Ways to contact me and other staff members will be shared on the contacts page.  Please keep the contact’s page and class list in the FROG folder.  It will be updated, if necessary, during the course of the year.
Parent Notes		I will provide notebook paper in each folder. This paper is for you to write any questions, comments, concerns to me. I will respond back either on the same sheet or on a different page. If it is an urgent question or concern, email is the fastest way to get in touch with me.

Student Paper Trays 

I seem to have missed these when taking pics! But, if you look real close on the left side of the picture, you might be able to see them.

I use the clear plastic office paper trays. I use binder clips clipped onto the front of each tray to label the tray with the kiddos names. 

After I check the kiddos F.R.O.G. Folders, they put them in their paper tray. During the day, any completed work goes in the tray. Any notes from me or the office is put in the tray by my folder helper. At the beginning of the year, I pack the folders but by November or so, I have taught them to pack their own folders. 

Attendance / Lunch Choice Promethean Flipchart

As the kiddos come in, they move the frog with their name to choose it they are getting a lunch tray or if they brought their lunch box. Any names left at the bottom tell me who is absent. They love using the Promethean board and it takes one thing off my to do list in the morning. 

These are my favorite organizational tools! What are some of yours? Let us know in the comments section.