What?! I'm postin' again on a MONDAY!!!

 I have been spendin' countless hours up at school to get 

ready for Orientation and the First Day of School 

this week, but I'm takin' some time out

to share some made-its that have popped up in my room

because I'm crushin' on them big time!

What better way to show them off than to link up

with my sweet friend Tara from 4th Grade Frolics

for Monday Made It!

My podmate, Jeanne, came up with this fabulous idea

 to display student work in our hallways and I get

giddy every time I walk out into our hallways.

I can't wait to hang some stuff up their 

to show off my kiddos' creations.

My sweet friend Elizabeth from Hodges Herald

also did somethin' else similar 

last week for her Monday Made It.

They are laminated pieces of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper.

Clothespins are hidin' under the 4 inch circles

that are also made out of scrapbook paper.

The three different colors match each of our classrooms.

Mine: The bright colors with black circles. 

I will place rockstar pictures of my kids on the circles.

Jeanne's:  The blues, greens, oranges, and grays.

Anna Catherine's: The reds, grays and blacks.

*I wish I would've taken a close-up photo of their

circles, they are all differnet colors of scrapbook paper also.

 This year my 5th grade team has chosen to have

Learning Goals & Scales boards.

We put up ELA, Math and Science/Social Studies.

After we have discussed the standard and learning goals

that are in an "I Can" stament, the kiddos

will move their number to reflect their

level of understanding.

Students are able to move their numbers as

we become more familiar with each standard until

they have mastered them.

Standards and progression scales are printed on Astrobrights paper

and displayed 

in sheet protectors.  

Numbers are backed with adhesive Glue Dots

to stick on the fabric that covers the board.

This is my favorite part of my room this year.

ELA: Fireball Fuschia paper

Math: Lunar Blue paper

Science: Terra Green paper

Social Studies: Solar Yellow paper

*5th Grade Florida Standards
(ELA, Math, Science & Social Studies)
 by Teaching Ambrosia
 and Math Vocabulary
by Alyssha Tomphson-
Teaching and Tapas
are also hangin' on binder rings
for students to pull down and use.

  

 My biggest question I was askin' myself when we started 

printin' all our standards was how in the world 

was I goin' to store all of the papers? 

The lightbulb went off when I was in Walmart.

I found these expandable files and have separated

out the standards by sections so they each have their own pocket inside.

Example:  Math

1) Numbers and Operations in Base Ten

2) Operations & Algebraic Thinking

3) Number and Operations: Fractions

4) Measurement

5) Geometry

 My last made-it isn't somethin' I actually made, but

I had to share because they are cute!

I am notorius for checkin' Jane.com's daily mornin' email...

sometimes before I'm actually fully awake.

This display is the result of one of those early mornin'

email browsin' sessions.

I bought 4 packs (pink, yellow, green, blue)

I have my very own Flutterby Butterflies flyin' on my wall!

This just makes me smile!

Happy Monday, friends!

Follower Appreciation Giveaway...come on in and enter!

My sweet friend Lisa from

Mrs. Spangler in the Middle 

is havin' a 

Follower Appreciation Giveaway

and she invited lil' ol'

me to participate.

Just look at all the 

the other amazin'

bloggers I get to join forces

with to make 

Mrs. Spangler in the Middle's 

giveaway a success.

You don't want to miss this!

Be sure to enter to win!

Click HERE!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

*Insert Witty Title*...Monday Made It

Here I am again on a Monday...
Sadly this might be my last Monday Made It of the summer
to link up with my sweet friend Tara from 4th Grade Frolics.
I am headin' back to my classroom
shortly and when that happens...I don't
even know what day of the week it is.
For today...I'm happy for Monday.
This post has Math, ELA, and Science all-in-one.
Boom...educational!

My first Monday Made It is a 

FREEBIE...but you HAVE

to read my big long post to get it.

I know...oh...the torture!

 If you've been around for awhile...you KNOW

I love to SLEEP.

I nap
ALL.THE.TIME.

I feel no guilt about sleepin' in the afternoons.

None whatsoever.

I can lay my head down at night and sleep just fine...

even if I've had an afternoon nap.

That's what you do at night...you tuck yourself into

bed and you go night-night.

Well guess what...the stuff in my classroom...

it likes to go catch some Zzzz's too.

"Everything" has a home and "Everything" likes to sleep there.

*I don't really know if it likes to sleep or not...that's just

the lines I feed my kiddos because it sounds good and less

creepy than "Everything" runnin' around in our class

in the middle of the night.

So..."Behavior Bucks"
now have a home that 

I made for them this week.

"Behavior Bucks'" first home was

a bank bag that was too dark and had no

windows to peek out of.

"Behavior Bucks'" second home was a Ziploc bag

that got dirty and grimey and often fell on the floor.

Meet "Behavior Bucks" new home....a jewelry holder

that is bein' recycled...I'm so genius!

There are windows...and all the little "Behavior Bucks"

get their very own bed to sleep in and they fit...just right.
*Jewelry Holder purchased at T.J. Maxx awhile ago.
It also has pockets on the back...not shown.
This is goin' to match perfectly in my classroom
with all my bright decor!

How are Behavior Bucks used in the classroom?

That's easy...for lots of stuff.
It's Math.

You got your agenda signed...get a buck.

You sat down on the carpet quietly for read aloud...get a buck.

You were thinkin' outside the box...get a buck.

You taught me somethin' new on the 'puter...get a buck.

You understood the idea of what I'm talkin' about here...

GET A BUCK!

Can you lose bucks?

YEP!

Don't have any bucks?  

You should probably find a friend to borrow one from because

you are not allowed to owe ME any bucks.

Nope, nope, NOPE!

What do I do with my bucks?

Be responsible for them, count them...and
spend them...of course!

What do I spend my bucks on?

Whatever you little heart desires...as long
as it's on the chart.

What chart?

This FREEBIE CHART right HERE that
also has the numbers, behavior bucks and titles included.

Why?
Because I love you.

I also made a Book Buzz that my sweet friend Kelli from

Tales of a Tenacious Teacher created a few weeks ago.  

Don't you just love her vibrant colors she uses?

This is so good that Tara ALSO made this for one

of her Monday Made Its this summer.

So...of course I had to make one TOO!

It's ELA.

I printed out my Book Buzz Tabs on Astrobright paper

usin' my NEW printer that you might have seen on 

my Instagram.

I scooped up a cutie green basket, some lil' owl stickers, 

and some pretty curlies from Dollar General.

Love how it turned out!

I am so excited to implement this with my readin' Nerd Herd!

I already made sure to tuck in my first book suggestion for them.

I wonder who will find it first.  

They are goin' to...get a buck!

I was surfin' through my phone

(I uploaded the Snapfish app and can 

now get 100 free prints a month for a year!)

and stumbled upon some photos from this past year

of my students presentin' their Science Newspapers.

They worked together to design their own Science newspapers

to showcase their learnin' at the end of all of their Science units.
It's Science.

My students worked for a little over a week on these durin' 

our Literacy Center time.

I decided to take my idea official and created

Design a Science Newspaper to put into my TpT store.

This packet includes questions the students may

have, student response pages and a rubric for gradin'.

Be sure to scoop this up in the TpT sale if this fancies you.

Don't forget to use the code: BTS15 to receive up to 28% off!

As always...super excited to see what everyone else has created.

Happy Monday, friends!

Collaboration....Workshop Wednesday

Oh my goodness...only two more days after today until I am free...

and the kids are free from me!

It needs to HURRY UP already...no really...it does.

I'm linkin' up with my super duper awesome friend

Jivey from Ideas by Jivey for 

Workshop Wednesday.

Today's Topic: Collaboration
*I'm sorry I don't have pictures...I had to leave
school suddenly this mornin'.
Jerm's dad is in the hospital in Dothan
and I'm passin' time in the waitin' room.
(I'm thankful for free wi-fi)
I'm not a good waiter...so, I am armed with
Macbook, iPad mini, iPhone and
chargers for all of them!

Back to collaboration:

Oh man...this is one of my FAVORITE things

to do and talk about.

You've heard me say a million times that I 

live in a pod settin'.

Several years ago, I was movin' from 1st grade

to 3rd grade.  I did not want to move classrooms

even though I would be next door to a Kindergarten class.

A colleague told me it was inappropriate to have a testin'.

grade next door to a little kid class.

I looked at her like she was CRAZY.  

I think I might have even told her as much.

This made NO sense to me.

Why would someone:

#1: Tell ME what to do?

(I'm bossy...bossy doesn't work on me)

#2: Put boundaries on a class?

I'm not an "inside the box" type of thinker.

I am goin' to push the limits as much as possible.

So...knowin' that...I'm sure you can imagine

what my brain was doin' thinkin' about bein' a

3rd grade teacher next door to a K class.

*We could have readin' buddies. (Win-win for both groups)

*We could be fire drill buddies. (Big kids wouldn't have time

to talk because they would be worryin' about lil' buddy)

*My kids could run stations for K as a reward. (Teaches

responsibility and supports positive behavior)
*K kids could have someone to look up to (role-models)

I didn't get my way though and I had to divorce my pod

and move to another pod.  

I was NOT happy.

Luckily, my best friend was in the divorce with me 

and we actually got to move
together to a new pod. 

We liked our old home...it was a hard move.

Since then...our grade levels have changed a few times.

The bestie went back to little kids 

and I went to even bigger kids.

We have proven EVERYONE wrong.

You absolutely CAN have big kids next door to little kids.

We had a 1st and 5th grade class with the accordion wall open

a majority of the time.  

The 1st graders and 5th graders fell in LOVE with one another.

Everyone snot-sobbed when the big kids graduated 5th 

grade and moved on to middle school.
The kids learned so much from one another
and more importantly...we were able to model
for them all the time what it was like to work with a friend.
As they say...two heads are better than one.

Here's my chance to brag on someone else...they
aren't bloggers and they haven't made products,
but they have made a difference...in me!
I would not be the teacher I am today without
my bestie and podmates.
We are all different.  

That's the beauty of it.
We can share an idea and they can piggy-back,
branch off of it, or shoot it down altogether.
We think together, we discuss, we collaborate.
Collaboration helps creativity.
I'm convinced.

Some of the best teachin' moments I have had, have occured

through collaboration.

Collaboration with teachers, collaboration with classes,

collaboration with students, and collaboration with parents.

My kids sit at tables...yep, even in 5th grade.
Why?

Because we are 21st Century Learners
(my bestie wrote this list for our class websites
and posted them for us)

*Students are workin' in teams
*Workin' collaboratively to realize products created by a team
often can be better than those made independently
*Simulatin' today's workplace with a balance of
teamwork and self-reliance
*By workin' together, students are contributin' members
of a group yet recognize their own individual
strengths and talents
*Solvin' problems by participatin' in group discussions
respectfully, acknowledgin' others and their thoughts
and comments
*Sharin' a workspace to promote teamwork, problem solvin',
and social skill development
*Learnin' to use technology and resource skills together
to become critical thinkers and learners

Pretty much the only time kids aren't collaboratin' in my room...
durin' testin' and silent readin'

That's it.
I'm a believer of collaboration.
I don't think anyone could ever get me to shift my thoughts on this.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

QR Code Adventure: Mammals...Tried it Tuesday

It's Tuesday, but I actually wrote this on Sunday.

I surprised myself and got a jump start.

It's time to link up with my sweet friend Holly from

Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday.

Tried it Awesomeness: QR Code Adventure: Mammals

Do you know my other friend Matt from

Digital: Divide and Conquer?

He's awesomeness and probably 

one of the most creative and innovative people

that I've never actually met in person.

His wife and girls are lucky to have 

him around all the time because 

he is full of all kinds of knowledge.

I learn so many things from readin' his blog

and he never disappoints in the humor department.

Matt knows how to make learnin' fun and 

just about always incorporates technology

into his lessons and products.

Do your students love learnin' about mammals?

Mine definitely do.

My rockstars tried Matt's QR Code Adventures-Mammals.

I started out this activity whole group, so the students would 

know what to expect when we use these again in

small groups or individually.

 I gave each child their own card with a QR code and 

their correspondin' class number.

Every one that had a phone or device that day with a QR code scanner

on them placed the device on my table to share.

We then split up into five groups.

The groups worked together to scan the QR code and 

watch the video or read the text.

 Then the boys and girls worked together to complete some 

question cards from the video or text that they encountered

with their QR codes.

Here's the description for QR Code Adventure: Mammals

QR Code Adventure: Mammals combines

technology, science, reading, writing

with analyzing and comprehending to create

an interactive lesson kids won't forget!

There are 30 QR codes that send students all over the

internet bringing back facts, articles, videos,

and live video streams of MAMMALS

from around the world.

Students will learn about and see lemurs, leopards, 

little bear cubs, and elephants crashing a pool party,

just to name a few.

The idea is for students to analyze what they are seeing,

reading, and hearing.  Then deconstruct, ask questions,

look for answers, and expand their ability to ask questions,

analyze, evaluate, and create.

There are over 25 questions for students to answer that are

based off of Common Core expectations.

Each question is on a half-sheet of regular sized paper for

easier printing (the same question is on a paper twice).

Questions are labeled TEXT or VIDEO.

These QR codes are also great for class discussion

and/or simple opportunities for students to take brain breaks.

You should definitely check this out!

Also...
my friend Courtney from Polka Dot Lesson Plans
is celebratin' her Blogiversary.

She is givin' away an Erin Condren $50 Gift Card.
Be sure to check it out here.

I just realized this is my 102nd published post!
Neat stuff!

Happy Tuesday friends!

Monday Made It that Sparks Student Motivation...Valentine's is on the way...

This week has been a blur.

I'm behind on readin' blogs and commentin', but

I know all my sweet friends out there will let it slide.

You see...this week somethin' very sad happened

for my school...we lost one of our own 

to the awful "C word".

Mary Martin's laugh could be heard

anywhere in the school.  

She had the best sense of humor and

was the strongest person I've seen dealin' 

with this sickness.

She came to school every single day without a complaint,

even when goin' through chemo.

Mary dedicated her life

to all the babies she ever taught, her daughter,

and the rest of her family and friends.

On Friday, her sweet second graders let go 

of ballons with a message to Mrs. Martin in Heaven.

Their sweet innocence while gigglin' left many

teachers and older students with flowin' tears.

Yesterday we celebrated her life and it was beautiful.

Mary was a huge Auburn football fan.

Everyone wore orange and blue and it made my heart smile

when everyone shouted "War Eagle, hey!" for Mary.

She will be missed, but never forgotten.

This was hard, but I was happy to see 

my school band together, as they always do

when one of our "family" is hurtin'.

To any of my co-workers readin' this...

I love you!

Since I'm behind...I am doin' two link-ups at once.

Thank you Tara for hostin' Monday Made It

and Joanne for hostin' Spark Student Motivation Saturdays.

Love these ladies.

I wanted to do somethin' sweet this week for my babies

that would cheer everyone up and keep them motivated throughout

the week of Valentine's Day.

I made a little pit stop at Dollar Tree today 

and picked up a few things (Joanne...are you proud?)

I got enough for our 3rd grade buddies also.

 I'm goin' to have the kids write their names on the lil' heart boxes

where they will store the pink heart gems 

they earn throughout the week.

I don't really have a set plan for what they will earn them for,

but I'm sure they will have some ideas when they see them.

The table scatter hearts are for the tables durin' our 

Valentine's celebration.

 On Valentine's Day I will let them buy a special treat

with their gems.  

Maybe these will work?

Again, I will let them choose what 

the gems are worth.

The kids are more creative than I am

and it will be interestin' to see if they agree with me or not.

1 gem=treat bucket

2 gems=ten minutes free time on device

3 gems=extra recess time

4 gems=free choice

I am goin' to let them keep the gems to take home.

 I also bought these pink glitter stickers and a

 photo frame to stick them on.

I'm goin' to give this to my best friend's niece

just because I love her and she likes sweet treats.

We took this picture yesterday on our way to the funeral.

She was adament about goin' with us.

She was ready four hours before we left.

Here's a Valentine's freebie for any of you that use 

Behavior Beads 

in your classroom.

Don't know what Behavior Beads are?

Read about them here.

"You melt my heart!"

"You're top dog in my book!"

"I'm "berry" proud of you, Valentine!"

Valentine's Behavior Beads

Be sure to check out 4th Grade Frolics and Head Over Heels for Teaching

to see everyone else's ideas.

Have a great week friends!

Hug your loved ones and your babies at school!

Teachers on Pinterest...Did you Know?...

HAVE YOU SEEN IT?  Do you know what I'm talkin' about?  It's the Teachers on Pinterest board(s)!  Isn't it so excitin'?  As far as I'm concerned, it's a teacher's DREAM come true!  One spot for all of those fabulous pins out there that are just waitin' for you to repin and use in your classroom.
  
I am a pin-a-holic and find all kinds of amazin' pins that I have to immediately pin for future reference.  I am a very visual person, so I love gettin' on Teachers on Pinterest boards and checkin' out all the nifty pictures and creative ideas.  I can honestly say that in the past few years that I have been incorporatin' Pinterest ideas in my lesson plannin', it has provided me an opportunity to be more creative in the class and the students LOVE when I give them somethin' fresh.  Pinterest allows for me to not have to spend so much time creatin' lessons on my own because chances are someone has already done the plannin' and shared it with everyone else.  I love teachers!

In my Pinterest life, I've used videos to stream for lessons, found games to match a concept we were workin' on, integrated anchor charts and pictures into all subject area lessons, and gotten ideas for classroom decor...all from the different pins on Pinterest.  I can walk around my school campus into hallways and classrooms and immediately tell who also adores Pinterest as much as I do...simply by lookin' at their doors and walls!  I am quick to exclaim, "Hey, I saw that on Pinterest!  That looks AWESOME!  Do you mind if I try that in my classroom as well?"  

Right here, right now, I'd like to thank each and every teacher out there that has opened up their doors and classrooms by sharin' pins with the rest of the teachers around the world. YOU ROCK!

You seriously need to go check out all of the boards.  What are you waitin' for?  GO NOW!  You can choose to only follow the boards that are of interest to you, or Follow All like I have chosen to do.  I believe the more pins the merrier!  Thanks to Matt Sutton at Digital, Divide and Conquer for introducin' me to these boards.  You can find me pinnin' under Literacy, Math, and Sensory Learning as Alison Rose.