Make the Most of Your MInutes

We all know how fast the days fly by and how much we have to teach in just a few hours.  I'm here to give you a few quick and easy-to-implement tips for maximizing the time you have with your students during instruction!  

Transition time can eat away at your day in no time!  Teaching your students the expectations of transitions can help you add a few minutes to your instructional time.  Choose a signal.  I like to use music. I choose a new song every week.  I like to choose theme songs from TV shows because they are about one minute long.  By the time the song is over, students should have their things cleaned up and be in their spot ready for the next set of instructions.  I like to keep the same song for a week because it allows the students to become familiar with it and know when it is coming to an end.  

People, these make my stomach hurt or 2 reasons.  They are a management nightmare for me.  

"Stop talking."  

"No, you may not knock on the wall to the classroom behind you."

"Girls, hurry up in there!"

BUT HERE'S THE KICKER:

If you take 2 bathroom breaks during the day that last roughly 10 minutes each, that is 100 minutes every week.  Let's say your calendar allows for 6 hours of time with your students for 180 days....those bathroom breaks translate into SIX DAYS OF INSTRUCTION.  

So let them go when they have to go and teach on.  

You might call it something different at your school, but basically this is a place for students to write down a question or thought they have while you are working with a small group or individual.  When you are finished with your instruction, you answer the questions in the parking lot!  This can be something simple like a spot on the board and the students use a dry erase marker to write.  No supplies needed and no interruptions take place!  

THIS has saved my life.  I keep the step by step directions for an activity on the SMART board while the students are working, that way they can refer to them if they have a question.  You can also display the options for things they can do when they are finished to eliminate the "I'm done!  What can I do?!"

Maybe this should have been number one because it is SO important.  If you are spending your instructional time cutting out supplies and sorting materials, you are wasting precious moments.  I like to lay out my plans and materials I need for the next day in the afternoon before I leave.  Obviously life is not perfect and sometimes I'm downright TIRED, but it helps so much!  Then I don't have to stress about rushing to school in the morning to be the first person to the copier!  

I know these tips aren't rocket science, but I hope they help you make the most of your time with your learners!  

Happy Tuesday!!  I am sure many of you are already a couple of weeks into school like I am.  I remember being a new teacher and setting up my classroom and doing all of the things my school expected of me, I barely even had time to think about a big picture for my year, I was so focused on getting through those first blurry weeks!  Today I'm here to help out a bit.  I have 5 tips that I still use to help me stay on track and remember what's important.  

I put this one first for a reason: this is ESSENTIAL.  If you say you're going to do something, always make sure you follow through.  Whether it is for a student consequence or reward or when speaking to parents and colleagues.  Make sure you stick to what you say.  Your students will catch on really quickly if you say you will do something and you don't actually do it.  

Some students come from hard lives and they aren't given praise, these might be the students you have to really focus on giving them positive feedback because they will only know how to get negative attention.  And in a totally different area, find a colleague who will help you avoid negative talk.  Being a teacher is HARD work.  It's so easy to get sucked in to someone else's negativity.  Try, with all of your might, to avoid that kind of talk.  You will be so happy you do! 

As a teacher, you will have an infinite amount of things on your mind to distract you. Once you step into your classroom, set it all aside and focus on what's most important: your students.  I promise, they will notice and they will love you that much more.  

Keep lines of communication open with everyone you interact with: parents, students, administration, colleagues, and support staff.  Everyone working together makes for a smooth and effective team!  

This one is kind of silly but....I loathe piles.  They stress me out and give me anxiety.  Don't be a paper-piler!  If you use it, keep it, if you don't, get rid of it.  Once you're done with it, put it away.

That's all folks!  Wishing you a smooth year!

HAPPY TEACHING!! 

5 New Read Alouds for 2016

Hey there!  I know there are plenty of great books out there for the first days of school and I know we all have our favorites, but sometimes I need something new to spice things up a bit!  And I'm so excited to tell you about some of my new favorite books I found at Barnes and Noble today!  Most of them are geared toward primary grades, but in my opinion you're never too old for a fun read aloud!  

#1: The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak 

This is PERFECT to introduce reading to the younger kids and instill a love of books without pictures for those readers transitioning to higher levels.  It's also great to practice reading with expression, because the whole book is all about how the words make books fun even without pictures!  So when you set up your reading time, this is a fun one to add in!  

#2: Monsters Love School by Mike Austin

This one is just plain cute and the monsters look a little bit like the ones on GoNoodle so I thought the kids would enjoy it that much more!  

#3: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires 

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!!!!  It is all about a little girl who is trying to invent something magnificent.  It takes the reader through her journey and ends by her enjoying her perfectly, imperfect invention.  It gives you ALL THE FEELS!!!  If you do STEM or a Maker's Space in your classroom, this would be perfect for that!  

#4: Watch Your Tongue Cecily Beasley by Lane Frederickson 

Poor Cecily has the WORST manners.  But luckily in this book, she learns her lesson!  Perfect for introducing your rules and expected behaviors.  

#5: Journey by Aaron Becker 

This book has no words, but it is still amazing.  Sometimes I love to just show the pictures of a book and let the imaginations run wild.  It's all about the character's journey through a magical land.  It would be great for interactive story telling and for introducing expectations for students during read alouds to practice sitting quietly on the carpet.  You could also do PLENTY of crafts with this one!  

Interactive Notebooks FREEBIE!

Hi there!  I can't believe that summer is winding down so fast...where does the time go?!  Just one week from today I'll be back in school ready to start another year!  

While prepping things for back to school I got to thinking about my interactive notebooks.  I know for younger kids it's so hard for them to keep all of their supplies straight and sometimes we don't require them to bring in a notebook for every subject.  Also, sometimes I find the notebooks crumbling about halfway through the year.  

So I've decided to combine all of the interactive notebooks into one notebook.  I created some tabs and a cover page that is printable on Avery Labels.  The labels work with 3.5" by 4.75".  You can also just print it on regular paper.  I like to wrap the notebooks in contact paper, I think it holds them together longer!  

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Notebook-Tabs-2689503

I also printed the labels on cardstock so they hold up a little better too!  I didnt count the pages in between each tab...I just kind of eyeballed it....I might regret that later, but....details.  

Click either picture or HERE to get your own FREE COPY!!

Enjoy your last days of summer!  

Office Tour

If I'm being totally honest, I RARELY sit in here and work.  The couch seems to be where I do my best thinking and multi-tasking (working and tv watching, of course.)  Maybe if I get an actual office chair, I will do more work at my desk?

I'm here to tell you that it is possible to get a cozy work space to fit your needs on a budget!  I'll break down my costs under each photo!  Enjoy!

I found my desk in someones trash one night.  My husband carried it home for me and I stained the top and painted the bottom white.  I found my lamp at a thrift store for $3.  My chair came from a thrift store for $5 and I spray painted it white and recovered the cushion.  I got my printer for about 75% off when an office store was going out of business in my area.  The white shelf was a wedding gift from Crate and Barrel.  

I made the banner using my silhoutte and some glitter cardstock.  The clipboard was a gift and it has 10 different prints that I can change out for the season or my mood...I love it!  

The book shelf was $25 from a garage sale.  I changed out the handles and cleaned it up a bit.  It works perfectly for my space.

The red chair and ottoman was $10 from a thrift store.  Yes, ten dollars!  I bought the same fabric and recovered the chair to match the room.  The two canvases came in a two pack and I used some black paint to make a quick simple pattern.  The glass table was a hand-me-down from my grandparents and the silver and white lamp was on clearance at Pier 1.  

Thanks for swinging by!  

Friday Finds: The Dollar Tree

Earlier this week I stopped in one of my favorite places to load up on goodies...The Dollar Tree.  I went in for a Garage Sale sign and found many other wants needs.  I'm here today to share with you what I found!

Clothespins: 

I use these all. the. time.  I use them for lunch count, to hang student work in the hallway, to hang anchor charts, behavior charts...and the list could go on.  

Baskets and Bins: 

These really speak for themselves.  I love the baskets from the dollar tree. The best part is that this year, they have purple!  I refrained from buying any though, because this year I counted my baskets and bins...I have 136.  TOO MUCH!!  

Baker's Twine: 

This is perfect for stringing banners on your bulletin boards.  I have also used this to tie my book bin labels to each basket.  

Finger Lights: 

PERFECT for those emergent readers needing to work on one-to-one correspondence and tracking!  

Bingo Marker: 

I use these for bingo obviously, but I have also used them for reward charts in place of a stamp or sticker.  Easy peasy.  

Tote Bags; 

I know you might be thinking  I'm a little crazy for putting this on the list, but one year I used these for student book bags instead of book boxes.  I let them decorate their bags with Sharpie markers before filling them with books.  Then each student had a spot around the room to hang their book bag.  It was fun but I haven't found them for $1 in forever so I was so glad to see these!  

Neon Starbursts: 

I thought these would be cute for a bulletin board display.  Or you could laminate them and use them as labels!

Thanks for reading, now get to shopping!!

Partner Talk Bookmarks

Hi there! I hope your week is off to a great start.  We celebrated the 101st day of school today....so needless to say it feels like Friday and it's only TUESDAY!!  But that's ok because we still have plenty of learning to do this week!! 

Recently I finished my partner talk bookmarks and we are loving using them in the classroom during partner reading and book clubs!! 

There are 3 different types of bookmarks.  One type has a question for each story element and is organized by level. The 2nd type is organized by story element and has different leveled questions about that specific story element.  (These are perfect if you have a student who struggles with comprehension in one or two specific elements!) The third style has basic sentence stems, which is perfect for those students who are still learning decoding strategies and are just beginning partner talk.

I first introduced the bookmarks during my reading group time.  This way the students were given the bookmarks that were appropriate for their needs and level.  We were able to practice together and get really good at using them. Now the students keep them in their book boxes and are able to flip through them when the time is right!  

The Faux Flipped Classroom: What is it?

I get asked often what the Faux Flipped Classroom is...my answer is simple: a fake flipped classroom.  I know, I know, not the answer you were looking for because you already knew the meaning of the word faux!  In reality, it was my way to bring the flipped classroom into an elementary classroom.  

During PD and district wide meetings I kept hearing teachers discuss the use of their google classrooms to flip their classroom.  They talked about all of the success they were experiencing and all of the extra class time they were able to utilize.  I immediately wanted to give this a try in my classroom, however, I found myself encountering many hurdles as I began to plan.  My students are only in 2nd grade and many of them do not have computers or devices to use at home yet.  Because of this, it would require plenty of parental support.  I also didn't want to remove myself completely from being involved in the introduction of new material.  

So I enlisted the faux flipped model.  The students are still responsible for most of their learning, but instead of watching the lesson at home, they watch it at school.  There are a few ways students are able to do this.  Much of the time, students will be split into small groups and be moving to stations, especially during math workshop.  They will view the video at the technology station, then they will be given time to apply their new knowledge and work with other students.  They will also be expected to show me, the teacher, what they learned and mastery of the skill.  

 Another way to approach the faux flipped classroom is to show the lesson to the whole class at once, then give students time to interact.  I have found that by recording my lessons ahead of time, cuts down on instructional time and then this allows students to go back and view the video again if they need clarification.  It eleminates interruptions and allows for students to deepen their understanding.   This is what works for me.  If you have a 1:1 classroom it might look a little different for you.

I would love to hear from you if you try to implement this in your own classroom!!