MP3 Players

Really loving the MP3 that I am using this year! It's been great! I purchased 25 cheap MP3 players ($18.00) a piece and every Sunday night I load them with lessons for the week. I "teach" my spelling list to my computer (record the lesson), a math lesson, and a reading lesson. The students have baskets that have plastic plates, a sock and a marker in it that they use while they listen to me teach on the MP3 players. They do so as a rotation in math and reading and in the morning as they arrive. The listen to those lessons multiple times a week. I tell them to get out their slates, white boards or plates, their marker and an eraser (sock). I teach the lesson letting them respond on the whiteboard. "Let's sound out the word: stage. Ssssss...T...A...G and a silent e on the end" They write the word, clap the syllables and spell the word on their white boards or plates.

I do the same for math facts or math lessons. I quickly call out facts and they write the answers. I do reading as well teaching Author's Purpose or Beginning, Middle and End. The students love it and it is doubling myself. I can teach two groups at once!  I am thinking about a way to put them on Teachers Pay Teachers so that you can get them too! I do an assessment review as well and load that on the MP3's for Thursday. it would work on a tape deck or CD player too in your listening center. It has been an awesome tool for me!! I hope to share it with you soon. Would this be something you could use? Let me know what you think!

Five Whole Brain Rules

These are my five whole brain rules. I have hand motions with them and the kids recite them each morning with a new student leading. I am on the third day of school and my students know them well enough that when one is broken they can point it out and recognize the offense and related it to the rule #.  Rule number 1 Follow directions quickly. Rule number 2 Raise your hand for permission to speak. Rule number 3 Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. Rule number 4 Make smart choices. Rule number 5 Keep your dear teacher happy. I made the signs then framed them and hung them on the wall above my smartboard like pictures.  I have a link to a class reciting the WBT rules. It really works. Love whole brain teaching! Best teaching I have done in years. My students love it and the scoreboard is amazing! But that is another post! Stay tuned!          Whole Brain Rules

Contact Clipboards

My Clipboards were getting nasty (writing on them) after many years of use. I decided to cover them so I took to Pinterest to find out what everyone else was doing. I found people paper mache "ing", putting fabric on them and a host of many other materials. It all seemed like a lot of work to me. Soooo I went in search of contact paper. Thought it would be easier. I was right. Took hardly anytime at all! I bought this dotted contact paper at Staples for about 3.24 a roll. One roll did about 8 to 10 clipboards. I then added some green and blue ribbon to the top and look how nice! It gets a little tricky above the clip but I figured out a way to patch it in first then hold the clip open, start the contact paper on the back and pull it around the clipboard pulling the backing off as I turn the board. Within about 2 minutes I had it done! I was surprised that it didn't wrinkle. Easy to work with! Love it!

Crate Bookshelves, Baskets, Plastic Plates and Socks

 

So I made the crates that I saw on Pinterest (I would give credit to whoever began them but I saw them everywhere and don't know who to credit!) It was surprisingly easy....not always what I find when I take off on a Pinterest craft wave. The hardest part was finding the crates all one color. I went with the blue crates from Walmart because they interlock. Now with that said the interlock is not stable enough for a classroom full of 7 year olds. I took zip ties and secured them. They are incrediblye stable now! I bought the green baskets at the Dollar Store. Two per crate. The baskets were $24.00 total and the creates were a little under $40.00 so it wasn't a cheap project however I created more bookshelf space in my room and it matches my color scheme! I use it for my students to keep their fluency books in it as well as their "whiteboards" markers and "erasers" and their data notebooks. I say "whiteboards" because this year they are writing on plastic plates. I bought a pack of 50 for $3.00. I then bought socks (Turbo the new kid movie out) for erasers. Last year I bought those cute little paddle whiteboards and they are just shot. They were expensive and now they look awful. The plates won't bother me if they are ruined they were cheap! I was surprised at how well this works with expos and how easy the sock cleans it! I chose blue plates and found that only red shows up well on it. The white plates would be a better option for you to be able to see but you know blue matches my room ;) The bookshelf fits perfect under my Smartboard. It was a great project, took very little time to complete. Quick and easy! It's the first thing someone notices when they walk in and they always say they love it and ask how I did it.

Behavioral Chart

So here is my behavior chart this year. It is the standard clip up clip down chart. I decided rather than the colored laminated paper with clothes pins like most of us use to do, I painted it right on my cabinet. The old clunky metal cabinet. I then bought some little hand buttons and glued magnets to the back. I put each child's number on the hands so I can use them year after year. I "pay" my students for their leadership jobs, good days, and for moving up the chart for being on task etc. So the chart above shows the money they get paid. This adding of the coins is a standard for us. Students can "bank" their money with the banker and then once a month they get to "shop" and buy things like lunch with our janitor (a class favorite), free homework passes, perform for the class, 5 minutes extra recess........  and many more non junky trinket items. At the end of the day, students record their color on a calendar in their homework binder that goes home to parents to sign.

Finished Classroom!

Well, it is done! The classroom! I still have things I need to do that I like (labeling student books, cubbies) you know the organization piece that keeps you sane when you fellow teacher comes in and says, "I need one small googly eye. Do you have one?" But other than that I have the room complete. I am going to post all the photos here then will do a separate post (in my free time) about each picture and the project with how tos. Just give me some times as school starts Monday! Ekkkk!

Blog Hoppin'

I am participating in Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week 13! For Monday you are to tell about yourself so here are 10 things you may or may not know about me!

10. I have been a camp counselor, dance instructor, girl scout executive, Ms. Charleston Showbiz, Director of a Boys and Girls Club, Assistant Principal and teacher!

9. I teach 2nd grade. I have taught headstart, 2.3.4.5 and college!

8. The most students I have had was 27 second graders including the first student in my area to have a service dog.

7. I was in a classroom during 911 in the DC area.

6. I was in a classroom during the sniper of VA period. Scariest thing I have ever experienced.

5.  I love to create assessments!

4. I have been teacher of the year and Walmart's teacher of the year!

3. I won a trip to Disney in a contest!

2. I have three beautiful children: a 21 year old and 18 year old twins who go off to college in one week!

1. I married my best friend from Jr. High School. I have known him since I was 13.