Teachers Pay Teachers

I had too much fun with this!

August 2, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 16 Comments

Really, I did.

I had a lightbulb moment for my lightbulb moments.

I was work on first week activities, and was working on craftivities related to my “rules to live by” — one of which is “use your brain: be a learner” and represented by a lightbulb.

I was almost finished and then I realized, ohmyword, this is the perfect companion to the stress relievers.

So then I decided to make a sample and see if it made sense in action.

Then I thought… well, what if I laminate these and students keep them to refer to? But I wanted something to display, too… so…

When students have a breakthrough or a “lightbulb moment,” we celebrate it. And one way to celebrate it, is to commemorate it and display that accomplishment (because it is an accomplishment).

(It’s totally like one of those perpetual mirrors. I had a lightbulb moment in Target about lightbulb moments and then had a lightbulb moment about my lightbulb moments.)

I’m going to have a focus area in the classroom to display all of the moments that allowed kiddos to join the “Thomas Edison Club” — where hardwork and determination yields successful “lightbulb moments”! Of course I’ll have to explain who Thomas Edison was and what he invented first… but that’s part of the fun!

So there you have it! Two lightbulb craftivities to use with your kiddos! I’m working on a “world of possibilities” version for my husband’s classroom (since their social studies focus is geography, and well, I took all of the lightbulb stress relievers for myself!).

If you’d like to pick up this craftivity for yourself, I’ve listed it in my TPT store for $1.50! There are multiple options included, as seen below:

A big congratulations to posters #16, #23, and #41 on my Monday Made It post — Amber, Laura, and Cristy, I will be e-mailing you your word wall packs shortly! For everyone else, I’m putting it on a flash sale for $2.50, so head on over and pick it up!

I can never resist a giveaway, so the first three people to comment below will receive the lightbulb moment craftivity in their inbox — make sure you leave your e-mail!

What day is it? (Mondayyyyyyyy!)

July 30, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 48 Comments

Another Monday! On the upside, I get to spend a good chunk of my Internet time today looking at all of the amazing things bloggy friends have come up with. On the downside, this means I’m running out of time. Eeeeeeek! I know some of you are heading back into the classroom much sooner than I am, so I don’t feel too bad, but I’m starting to get a bit nervous. I even had my first school-related nightmare! (I showed up at the wrong school and wrong classroom on the first day and it. was. a. trainwreck!)

So: word walls. Let’s talk about them.

In some of my practicum experiences, they were just kind of there. They weren’t talked about or used, they just kind of took up space. In some of my practicum experiences, they weren’t there at all. There wasn’t really an alternative, either, so it was a constant struggle of students not being able to have the independence they craved during writing.

There were some awesome word walls I saw, however, and the ones that were awesome were used. Frequently. They weren’t just an “if you don’t know it” reference, either, they were a centerpiece of learning and kind of the pulse of the room. So that’s what I had in my head when I started on this project: something that is, above all, going to be supportive for my kiddos (especially my ELL’s), and something that made sense with what my goals are this year (see the trusty sidebar).

I need a dynamic word wall.

First, I made these:

*sigh* These colors make me happy.

These are my headers for my word wall, which is going to be placed above the windows, here:

I still can’t believe I have a classroom.

While that’s a readily accessible place from anywhere in the room and has plenty of space for lots of words, it doesn’t quite hit the mark for what I want to do alone. Enter this:

You knew it was going to be Oz-related, right?

The idea is this: my students need to experience independent success in their writing, and I want to remove as many obstacles to that as possible. At the same time, I want to support my ELL’s that may need some visual cues, while also encouraging my wordsmiths to expand their vocabulary. This is where my mobile word wall fits in!

Clear plastic pencil pouch, blank color-coded cards, A-Z dividers, and trading card protectors.

Smaller versions of the word wall headers are on each divider to create a visual link.

Students can have the independence they need and can contribute at their own pace, on their own time using this resource. They can encounter a word that they think should be added — perhaps a content area word or fabulous vocabulary word — and select the correct colored card, write the word, and then add a visual or other thought to make a more concrete connection.

Front of the cards; note the color-coding for content areas.

Back of the cards, with a visual or example.
This can be expanded to include a definition, a sentence, etc.

The color-coded cards open up a lot of possibilities; they can be used to denote spelling patterns, level of difficulty, or as I’ve used them — for content areas. I’ll be taking the lead from my content-area binders and using purple for science, green for math, blue for social studies, and then using red, orange, yellow, and black for the various parts of speech.

These are the blank mobile word wall cards for student use.
There are matching larger cards for the full-sized word wall.

I got through all of the words on my district’s list for second grade, and am now working on expanding it to include words that I know will come up during the year for the various units. The full-size words are more of an undertaking since I’m laminating them for durability.

The mobile word wall will not start out the year with us, but will slowly be introduced as we begin to use our word wall and I model a lot about how to use it to my students’ advantage. This will work well with my implementation of Daily 5 and CAFE, as I can see this hanging out in our word work or writing center!

Whew! That was a lot of post. If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I’ve packaged all of my materials and listed this Dynamic Word Wall pack (including editable PPTs for you to customize with your word lists) on my TPT store. Here’s what is included:

I would love to give this word wall set away to three people! Leave me a comment with your e-mail, and I’ll choose three random winners on Wednesday night!

(Speaking of winners, a big congrats to The Meek Moose for winning the Discovery poster — I look forward to seeing it in action in your school!)

Check!

July 26, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 17 Comments

Another project off my “to-do” list! I’m steadily making some progress, which is good, because I have less than a month to go!

I had pinned this a million years ago from Mel D. at Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations and kept coming back to it. As I would go on my “errands” and see things that would be perfect for a traditional treasure box in the Dollar Spot or bargain aisle, I kept trying to decide what I wanted to do in terms of rewards in my classroom.

During my student teaching, I tried both approaches. I used a treasure box in one placement, and rewards like these in the other. The kids responded the most positively to the rewards that, I felt, meant something. That’s not to say treasure boxes aren’t valuable or important if that’s what works for your classroom — I think it’s important to do what works for you and your students! These kiddos, however, really liked the additional classroom privileges and duties that they could earn.

I’ve been brainstorming for a few weeks now — off and on — what rewards I could possibly implement. I came up with 12 to start with, knowing that I’ll likely tweak them once I get to know my kiddos and what they value the most:

The reward I’m most excited about my students earning and redeeming is definitely the “be an expert” reward. I look forward to collaborating with students on a mini-lesson that they’ll teach to their peers… I definitely think that will be a big hit and something valued by all my kiddos!

This system is within my “Be Oz-Some” behavior plan, so of course I had to make a label to that effect! I’m planning on creating a quick log for me to check off what reward a student chooses, and then write when they redeem it — that way I have some data about what’s working and what isn’t.

I would love for you to head on over and pick these up for FREE in my TPT store if you think they would be useful in your classroom! Not every reward will fit your style or classroom system, but I hope that a few will — and of course, there’s two labels to choose from too. (When I create my reward log, I’ll post that as a Google Doc freebie as well.)

Better Late Than Never!

July 22, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 9 Comments

I finally finished putting together my planner pack for 2012-2013! This project started out as just a personal project, but then I realized that it might be useful to other teachers, and so I kept going!

While I love my rainbow theme, I also know that it’s a bit ink heavy — which is why I ended up doing a blackline version of the planner pack to be printed on bright paper (this is what delayed it a bit).

I’ve already printed it out and set it up in my organizer for the year, and I am so so pleased with it! I’m a wee-bit of a post-it note hoarder, so this agenda (which is laminated for durability) is going to be very useful for me this year!

I’ve already started adding things to my August calendar because August is less than two weeks away! I cannot believe how quickly this summer has gone by, and really need to kick it into high gear because my to-do list keeps growing! I have my orientation on the second of August, and then my first day of new teacher orientation is August 22nd. (I just realized that’s a month from today. Wow.)

Despite how overwhelming my to-do list is, I couldn’t be more excited to see everything coming together. I worked so hard for so long to make this (my own classroom) a reality, that the late nights and sleepy eyes when my little guy is calling “Mommmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyy!” in the morning is just another part of this joyful process.

While I’ve listed this planner pack in my TPT store (it’s only $3.00!), it is the much-promised freebie for all of those that entered my giveaway! ~~I’m going to go-through the Rafflecopter entries tonight and tomorrow and e-mail it out in batches.~~ Check your e-mail if you entered the giveaway — I have officially sent them all out! I hope that it will be useful to those of you that entered!

It’s Monday (So Of Course I Made It)

July 16, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 39 Comments

… and I’ve been dying all weekend to show you. Really. I’ve been working on these off and on since I decided on my classroom theme. They’ve gone through a few different iterations, but I’m settled. Finally.

When I chose the Wizard of Oz as my theme, I did so because I felt like I could really use it to my advantage when it comes to classroom management — and starting off the year. I plan to read (an appropriate version of) the book to my kiddos on day one, and do some community-building and foundational activities surrounding it.

So, then, the first thing I have to do is decide what I want my kiddos to focus on. In Room 108, what are the most important things? This was the answer:

I want my students to embody the journey through Oz — I want them to use their hearts, their brains, and their courage each and every day, and I want them to do it together.

While I’m still working on more in-depth “first week” activities, I did fashion-up the anchor charts to go along with these “rules to live by” and vision statements. I’m going to project the color version on my SmartBoard to discuss and write about as a class, and distribute a reproducible version to each table group to complete together prior to our whole-group discussion.

Because I want these “rules to live by” to really stick with my students throughout the year, I also made some bookmarks that they can utilize during Daily 5 or at home, and plan on making sticker versions that they can put on their journals or whatever my team ends up utilizing.

If you think you could utilize my Oz-Inspired “Rules to Live By” in your classroom, head on over to my TPT store (or click the preview below) — it’s on sale for $2.50 until I remember to put it back to non-sale price sometime on Wednesday!

And don’t forget to enter my giveaway — it ends tonight, a minute after midnight! If you win (remember, FIVE winners!!!), you’ll not only get my Oz-Inspired Binder Set and “Rules to Live By,” but ALL future products in my TPT store! I’m excited to find out who I’ll be e-mailing attachments to until the end of my teaching career (and then some)!