Who, Where, Why, When, What???

Happy Saturday everyone! 

I just finished my first week back to work--and wow--I am tired! 

So glad Kristi picked up the slack and blogged EVERY day. 

Can you believe it?

I'm going to chime in here (and link up with Blog Hoppin') with what may be picture overload, but hey...I know I love picture-filled posts so here goes...

This is me and hubby--attempting to take a selfie. We need a little work, I think. :-)

We've been married almost 18 years! We were "high-school sweethearts" except we didn't go to the same high school. We met at church. We have lived in the same small-town area all of our lives--except when we went to Phoenix, AZ for hubby to go to school at UTI. Talk about culture shock! Still miss the weather there though--loved it!

Here's our kids on the first day of school:

Last year, I started teaching at the elementary school I attended for K-6. One of the things I love about it is how close I am to work...

Now for a peek in my classroom...

Now remember I said this is where I went to elementary school...SMALL classrooms. When I went here, we had combo classes (1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, and 5th/6th) and there were only 6-8 kids in a classroom! Now the two towns that make up our district combine for K-2 here in my town and 3-12 in the other town.

I only have 16 students this year! Hooray!

Last year with 23 it was so crowded!

Here's just a couple close ups because I really didn't change a whole lot this year. You may have seen these birthday cupcakes that took Pinterest by storm last year...

These are the same ones! All I did was swap out the candles. If you want directions on how I made them, see this post from last year. Weird Side Note--my class has no summer birthdays (the one in July is mine) and I have two different sets of two students with the same birthdays.

As far as decorations go, this is really it. I added "Seuss Club" which is really Mastery Club. I found the editable documents in the pack were not very user-friendly--but here is what I came up with...

I will put stars on their name tags as they complete a challenge. When they get 16 stars, we will move their name tag below the Hall of Fame words and add their picture. I love the idea of this, and I really think my kids are going to enjoy it. 

For the why of my post, glance back up at the pictures with my desk groups. Each group is a color team. You will notice the blue team has blue book boxes, but down below they also have a team tub of supplies and a math tub. I started this last year and it works so much better for me. There is less waiting to get out supplies. This year, I also added dots to my desks inspired by this pin (click the pick to go to Owl-ways Be Inspired and read about them):

I love these dots! In two days of school, I have already used them several times. For example, I might say, "Green dots get your team's supply bucket out," or "Yellow dots please come help me pass these out." LOVE IT!!!!

Also loving that I got rid of my job chart, but I'll post more about that later.

Now here's a peek at my schedule:

All I can say is that I can't wait to actually be using this schedule! The first two days were...well, you know. Basically a list of things I hoped to accomplish! 

Finally, what I love to teach...I don't even know how to pick just one thing! I absolutely love teaching--and I love my new class! Thursday was by far my easiest first day--ever. :-)

Thursday-Back to School-Teacher Linky

Welcome to Thursdays link up with Blog Hoppin Back to School:

Today's topic is when......your schedule and a look into your day.  The following is my schedule:

8:10-8:40-Morning Duties-Students come in and hang up backpacks, do lunch count/milk count, change shoes for PE, write their name on their desk.  We will then go over our rules (whole brain) and start our day.

8:40-9:00-First Reading Lesson-Daily 5 group 1-I work with a group while the others do either read to self, word work, work on writing or listen to reading.   I work with groups on skills in the Treasures Reading book.

9:00-9:30-Reading Groups-We are a Title 1 school and our title reading teachers will help us during this time.  I break students into groups and with the help of our Title 1 teachers, we do pathways to reading during this time.  

9:30-9:50-Second Reading Session-Daily 5 round 2

9:50-10:10-Third Reading Session-Daily 5 round 3

10:10-10:20-Clean up/Restroom

10:20-11:00-Music/PE

11:05-11:35-Lunch

11:35-11:55-Deskercise/Restroom

11:55-1:00-Math-I teach a whole group lesson with Everyday Math and then we break up into 2 groups.  One group will be working on their math book page and the other group works on Mountain Math.  Then we switch.  If they finish early, they work on fact practice with games or on the computer.  

1:00-1:30-Computer Lab-Half of the class goes to computer class and does Connect Ed (Treasures Reading) on one day and on the other day they do Everyday Math games.  The 1/2 of the class that doesn't go to computer stays with me to work on skills that they may need help with.

1:40-2:10-MTSS (Reading)-We work on reading skills that they may need reinforcement in.

2:10-2:30-Recess

2:30-2:50- Milk/Story/Pack Up

2:50-3:20-Science/S.S./Writing-This is the time that I will use weekly readers as well.

3:20-Dismiss

Have a great day!

Schedule Tweaking...

Well, I made it through my first full week last week! That said, I'm oh, so thankful for this Labor Day! I definitely needed the extra day to rest and relax. I spent some time playing volleyball with my kids--in the pool and out of the pool, baking Banana Oatmeal cookies for hubby, and making sure all the laundry was done for the new week.

 

I also ran out of coffee...this is not good. Those of you who have read our blog very long know that I have a "coffee drink" every morning. You may be thinking...go to the store! Well, I live about 25 minutes from the nearest grocery store and I didn't want to make the trip. I did call the gas station and found out that a small can of coffee would be $6.29. Um, no thank you. I will survive...maybe!

Last week was all about getting used to my schedule...which looks like this on paper:

7:40 Contract time begins

8:00-8:30 Plan time*

8:30-10:00 Reading*

10:00-10:30 Recess*

10:30-11:40 Math

11:40-12:10 Lunch*

12:10-12:40 Writing Workshop*

12:40-1:00 Science/Social Studies

1:00-1:30 MTSS (or RTI if you aren't in Kansas)

1:30-1:50 Kindergarten Music

1:50-2:10 1st Grade Music

2:10-2:30 2nd Grade Music

2:30-3:00 Snack/Story/Pack-Up*

3:00-3:30 Plan time*

3:50 Contract time ends

All those little * mean something, of course, so let me explain...

First plan time from 8:00-8:30 with no secretary (praise the Lord I think we have one now) who is also the nurse means one of those mornings, I spent that plan time in search of ice packs and baking soda paste for two of my little sweeties who were stung by wasps on the playground.

At 8:30, we meet in the gym and say the pledge and have any morning announcements before stopping by our lockers and then heading to class which means I don't have nearly enough time to teach reading. This is something I'm going to see about tweaking...

Recess - Each of us takes one week of recess duty at a time so I haven't had duty yet and I don't this week either. Woohoo! That being said, I think when I have duty it is going to be rough not having that little break!

Lunch is not so much lunch as it is getting ready for music. :-(

Writing Workshop doesn't start on time because of a restroom break after lunch...

Snack/Story/Pack-up should really just be called chaos. I HATE strongly dislike this time of day. I tried reading the story while they are eating their snack, but they are just done and ready to go home so I feel like I'm wasting my breath. However, the reading prevents the talking. Beginning next week (not tomorrow), we are starting Mission Possible Math with our "calendar time" so I am strongly considering moving it to this time of day. The kids will be busy with something they enjoy...we will see.

 

And then plan time again...which after that crazy afternoon schedule is more like sit and stare at the wall time, trying to get up the energy to think about planning.

 

As I read back over this, I realize it sounds very...negative. So let me tell you the positives of my new school and schedule.

 

1. My new teaching team and I are having a lot of fun together!
2. Small school - means the "team" includes everyone. Everyone pitches in to help out when needed.
3. No morning duty (unless someone gets stung by a wasp).
4. Did I say small school?
5. Fitting reading AND math into my morning.
6. You guessed it! Small school!
7. The morning meeting in the gym... There are only around 60 students in the entire school. It is pretty neat when we are all saying this school pledge:

 

Today, I will try my best,

to do my best.

I will listen.

I will follow directions.

I will respect the rights of other people.

I can learn.

I will learn.

Say it, and do it!

*Pam and Debbie - Forgive me if I messed it up. I'm still learning!

 

Sorry, no pictures...that shows how my week went. I will try to do better this week! We have started Read to Self, Word Work, and Read to Someone. We're going to keep practicing them this week before adding our other Daily 5 components. This week we're starting our reading series--2008 Reading Street. I'm so excited about this website I found with LOADS of resources for it!

 

Have a great week!

 

 

Happy Bday to Me (and Reading Comprehension)!

It's true. Today is my birthday! I sort of have a tradition of celebrating my birthday for an entire week...which basically means I use it as an excuse for the week to not do anything I don't want to do or to do things I don't normally do.

 

Here's a few examples I've used in years past...

 

"I don't want to make supper. It's my birthday."

"I don't want to exercise. It's my birthday."

"I want to take a nap. It's my birthday."

"I'm having dessert. It's my birthday."

 

I know you're thinking these seem very reasonable on my birthday, but these are things I might say several times the week of my birthday. Ha! My husband teases me mercilessly over this, which of course, has prompted me to make it even 'bigger.' I can come up with all sorts of things now... ;-)

 

Maybe I should try...

 

"I don't want to watch another car show. It's my birthday." :-)

 

Anyway, this year has been a bit different because I'm still having the gall bladder/stomach issues. I have to have another test tomorrow... I did make supper for my father-in-law on Tuesday, which was his birthday. I even ate some of it and didn't feel too bad. Tonight the kids are making me grilled hamburgers, fries, and Smores pie.

 

I found the pie on Pinterest. Not my normal request, but I know the kids will love it (since I probably won't eat much of it). I'll let you know what I think.

 

Okay, I really wanted to keep linking up with Kelli for her schedule spotlight series. This week's topic is comprehension.

 

 

 

I'm afraid I might diappoint a little here. We have a basal--which I love--and I base my comprehension strategy and skill lessons off of that each week. I know some of you don't like to be tied to a reading series, but I like the direction it gives me.

 

I'll just share some of my favorite things for a few of the things on Kelli's list.

 

Main Idea and Details - Give students each a picture that leads to one big idea...for example: flip flops, beach ball, sunscreen, and beach towel. Then ask what all the pictures have in common. What is the 'main idea' of the pictures? This really helped my kiddos this last year. I had several different sets of pictures and they had to agree on the main idea. It was very interesting to hear their reasoning.

 

Making Predictions - The biggest challenge I have found on making predictions is getting the kids comfortable with making an incorrect prediction. They always want to be right! I keep reminding them it is just a guess of what we think will happen next.

 

Making Inferences - Kristi does an amazing job with this. The first time we teach it each year (with the basal we spiral back around several times within the year), she has her room all decked out with "bird prints" and bird seed...all leading to a paper bag and a note. Of course, I try to copy her because she is the Super Teacher! I have seen a crime scene pin on Pinterest that looks pretty fun too.

 

Summarizing - I like to ask, "When you go home tonight and tell your mom or dad about the story, what will you say?" It really helps them get the idea that they have to make it SHORTER!

 

Visualizing - "Take a picture in your mind. What do you see?" This seems to work well for me. A lot of times when I'm reading during story time after we've focused on visualizing, I will read a few pages without showing the pictures. They love trying to visualize what is happening and then check to see if they were right.

 

That's all I've got today...after all it is my birthday! Hee hee...

 



P.S. Did you notice we are really close to some follower milestones? Almost 400 on Bloglovin' and almost 200 on Google!!! Kristi and I are thinking...giveaway! Stay tuned for the details...

Psst...Coming Soon...and Schedule Spotlight Series - Writing!

Okay...okay...enough with the suspense. Here's the big secret I've been keeping.

 

 

Did you see that? Second Grade bloggers... As most of you know, our blog has become a 1st and 2nd grade blog with Kristi still teaching 1st and me moving to 2nd.

 

Still feels weird not to be a firstie! 

 

You are not going to want to miss this freebie hop! There are so many great bloggers teaming up for this, I know the FREEBIES will be amazing! While we are targeting second grade, there will be some freebies that would work for multiple grades. The hop will start on Saturday so check back here for directions on how to get started.

 

And if you are a FIRST GRADE teacher, don't worry. Kristi and I are planning something just for you, too!

 

Now on to...

 

When you're done reading, click the picture to go check out all the other great writing ideas!

 

Writing!

 

I have been waiting for this one! I have done my writing differently every year I've taught (3 years) and am already planning changes for next year.

 

Let me give you a quick history (in first grade)...

 

Year One - Taught writing using the basal (Treasures) and was not at all happy with the lack of growth in my kiddos.

 

Year Two - Writer's Workshop! Loved this...mini-lesson followed by 30 minute block of writing time.

 

Year Three - Insert Daily 5. Not enough time for seperate Writer's Workshop so it became their "Work on Writing" time and I required students to do it daily. I did my mini-lessons in the afternoon with no immediate practice time for the kiddos. Did not like this!

 

Next year...regardless of grade, I would have went back to a seperate Writer's Workshop time.

 

Here's what I'm thinking my schedule will look like next year in 2nd grade:

 

8:30-10:00  Reading Block - Daily 5

10:00-10:30  Recess

10:30-11:40  Math

11:40-12:10  Lunch

12:10-12:40  Writer's Workshop

12:40-1:00  Science/Social Studies Extension

1:00-1:30  MTSS (or RTI if you are not in Kansas)

1:30-2:30  Specials

2:30-3:00  Snack/Read Aloud/Pack Up

 

Obviously, it is not finalized yet... The one thing I know is that I will definitely have a seperate Writer's Workshop and "Work on Writing" in Daily 5 will be more 'fun' types of writing...choosing to make a card, write a letter, etc. By making my main writing seperate from Daily 5, I won't have to require students to do "Work on Writing" daily so I will be able to rotate kids through more of the Daily 5 activities. I will also be giving the kiddos time to practice immediately after the mini-lesson which is what I thought was so successful my second year teaching.

 

As for resources, I have been using Mrs. Meacham's mini-lessons and writing workshop ideas. I'm in the process of begging my district to buy this for me:

 

 

Well, I think that covers it. If you're still with me, I'd love to hear from you. How do you teach writing in your classroom?

 

Do you have Lucy Calkins' Units of Study? If so, what do you think of it?

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Schedule Spotlight Series - #4 PHONICS

Hello! We have linked up again with Kelli for her Schedule Spotlight Series. This linky is so great because it is helping me get new ideas on how to arrange my day better.  This week's topic is Phonics.

 

For the past years, I have always taught phonics sometime in the morning with the reading.  We have the Treasures Reading Program and I have adapted it a little to try and keep those little ones attention.  It takes me about 10-15 minutes to complete the phonics lesson. 

 

I have made up little characters (they are just printed off on paper).  For example, for the short o I use Mr. Olive the Ostrich.  This is just a picture of a Ostrich on it.  Before I introduce our visitor, I will give the students clues of what they like and what their favorite things are.  For example, I would tell them that this visitor likes to swim in a pond.  His favorite animal is a dog.  He sleeps on a cot.  He loves odd numbers.

 

After giving them several clues, the students try to guess the sound that our visitor makes.  After they guess, I introduce the visitor to them (even though it is just a piece a paper, they always seem to get so excited-like it is a real visitor LOL!).  We then discuss the different ways to spell the sound and I write it on the board. 

 

Once the visitor has been introduced and we have discussed all the ways to spell this sound.  I tell them that the visitor has brought his/her favorite song with them.  This song comes from the CD's Funky Phonics.  I tell them that they will hear a lot of our visitors favorite sound in the song.  We then listen one time to the song and then on the second time they can sing the song. 

 

 

During our transition times, I will often play the song again for them and by the end they are supposed to have followed all my directions.  This just helps them to learn the song better and practice the sound that we are working on for the week.

 

Later on in the mornings, we break up into reading pathways groups.  We are lucky because we have Title teachers that come and help us during this time.  It is a 30 minute period where we have groups of about 5-6 students and we do our pathways reading program.  Each title teacher takes a group as well as myself. 

 

The pathways program is a phonics program that uses more hands on materials and visuals to help the kids learn various phonics sounds.  It helps them to learn the rules for the sounds and also provides them with practice of sounding out and spelling words. 

 

Last year, we started doing Daily 5 and being the first year, I felt like I didn't spend as much time on our visitors as I have in the past.  The kids really like it and I plan to try and take the time to do more of it again this coming year. 

 

Make sure you head over to Castles and Crayons and link up so I can see what you are doing for phonics.  

 

 

http://castlesandcrayons.blogspot.com/2013/07/schedule-spotlight-series-4-phonics.html 

 

 

 

Schedule Spotlight Series - #3 MATH

Good morning! I'm linking up again with Kelli for her Schedule Spotlight Series. I love this linky because I'm always looking for new ideas on how to schedule my day and make it better. This week's topic - MATH!

 

As far as scheduling...there has only been one year (out of 3) that I have been able to squeeze math into my morning. It was by far my *favorite* year though. The kids just seem so much more alert and engaged before lunch.

 

Anyway, last year was not that year. We came in after lunch, did Deskercise, calendar time, and then started our math lesson by 12:00. We used Everyday Math. My whole-group lesson would be about 15 minutes.

 

Then we would break into what I called "math teams." These were not levelized groups - instead I tried to spread around the kiddos who needed extra help (though I will probably change that this coming year). I had three stations and would rotate the students through about every 15 minutes. This was my first year trying it and definitely an "experimental" year with math stations. However, I loved it and so did the kids!

 

I'm going to be a little lazy and link to a more detailed post about my math teams. I will say...my rotations had ZERO prep work on my part (other than sending one sheet down for copying)!

 

 

I'm very excited about math this coming year for a few reasons...

 

1. It is in the MORNING! Hooray!

2. My new school uses Saxon!

3. Math rotations with (hopefully) a little more independent 2nd graders!

 

Well, head on over to Castles and Crayons and link up.

I can't wait to read about your math schedule.

Schedule Spotlight Series #1 and #2

Oooh...what a great linky! I love "visiting" other classrooms and seeing how their schedule works. Kelli at Castles and Crayons is having a Schedule Spotlight Series this summer. I just stumbled upon it, so I'm going to "catch-up" and post about the first two topics at once (hope that is okay). Better than breaking the rule of more than one post a day, right? :-)

Okay, the first topic was Morning Work. I have taught for three years and done something different each year...searching for a good solution.

 

My first year, the students came in and found a worksheet of some kind waiting for them on their desk...such as Minute Math or Daily Language Review. I *hated* this! Too much grading--and my kiddos who struggled would potentially have 5 pages at the end of the week that they needed to correct. Ugh!

 

My second year, I used the Correct the Sentence daily journals. I liked these better than the worksheets, but they were a bit hard for the beginning of the year for my first graders. Then I noticed the kids started "guessing" more than thinking... They would turn them in to me after rewriting the incorrect sentence so I would make editing marks to help them figure out the problems. I felt like a mean teacher when I started just handing them back with a shake of my head...

 

Last year, I started the Daily 5. I decided to skip the "morning work" and instead started my first round of D5 immediately. I met with my high group first and left them an activity at the back table that they could start on while I did attendance and checked the agendas where they write in their homework. I loved not having any "busy work" to grade, but it was kind of weird not having my morning meeting until after one round of Daily 5.

 

Next year, I'll be changing it up again. At my new school, the kids will be coming in at different times due to busing and the timing of breakfast. I'll be reading up on this linky and forming a plan as we get closer to school starting.

 

This week's topic is Calendar.

 

The past few years, I have had a calendar helper who leads our calendar time. The calendar helper gets to have my stuffed dog, Duke, help him or her. We go through the normal calendar things...month, date, days of school, money, time, etc. At the end of calendar time, if the helper gets to choose someone to take care of Duke for the day. The kids love calendar time, but I get bored with it...

 

So, again, I'm changing it up for next year. My new school uses Saxon Math and "The Meeting" is an important part of it. I was so excited to find:

 

 

This is how Hope King (2nd Grade Shenanigans) makes "The Meeting" a not so typical morning meeting. Her post inspired me... It makes even me excited for calendar time! :-)

 

I'll be working on my Meeting bulletin board, but like Hope, I want to do some of the activities on the Smartboard to make it more engaging and free up space. I'll have to share more about that when I get it all organized.

 

Well, I don't know about you all, but all these great linkys are making it really hard for me to get anything done around here! Go link up and share your schedule with us!

 

I'm headed out for some pool time. Yeah!

 

Have a great day!

 

Crystal

 

P.S. If you use Saxon and have anymore tips and/or suggestions for me, I'd love to read them.

Come Be a Fly on my Wall!

Wednesday?

 

Only Wednesday?

 

This has been a long week already. Kristi and I have morning duty (which we strongly dislike love). We supervise students from 7:45-8:10 when the first bell rings. Ugh...

 

My own children had track meets on Monday and Tuesday. They had to reschedule three due to the crazy Kansas spring weather here. Next week, we get to have meets Monday, Tuesday AND Thursday. It is fun to watch them compete, but the last two days here have been really COLD! Last night, add DRIZZLE and RAIN to the COLD and you have a MISERABLE track meet for participants and their dedicated parents who came to watch. I told my kiddos they should really appreciate me - sitting by the track in LAYERS with WINTER COAT, HAT, GLOVES, BLANKETS, and an UMBRELLA!!! Ha!

 

And we have our school concert on Thursday! Busy, busy...and this is only the beginning. The next 25 days (but who's counting?) will only get more crazy. :-)

 

Anyway, I saw this super fun linky from Jodi at Fun in First and thought I'd link up. I love the idea of visiting other classrooms and seeing how its done!

 

 

We pick up our kids at 8:10 from the library or gym and head to our classrooms. I greet each kiddo at the door, and they head into the room and check out the board for the morning routine.

 

 

I use the Morning Routine signs that we have as a FREEBIE in our TPT store. On Wednesdays, it is just:

 

1. Choose lunch (kids move sticks under sack lunch or hot lunch).

2. Take out homework (kids clip their helmets on their paper so I can tell very quickly who hasn't turned it in -- a pinterest idea).

3. Daily 5 (my first group gets started at the back table while they wait for me--today they were playing the Read and Roll fluency passage game that Kristi makes for our Treasures series--also in our TPT store).

 

 

Daily 5 - You can kind of see my rotation chart above computers. The students check the board and then get started. We did not have Word Work today, but they were busy with everything else!

 

 

Morning Meeting - After one round of Daily 5, we gather at the front for what I would call a morning meeting. We go over points - a friendly competition between me and the class and the boys versus girls. Then we go into our words of the week. I use the power points that we made (Treasures again - available in our TPT store). I read the clue and the kids whisper the answer to their shoulder buddies. If it is a spelling word, we get up and exercise while we spell it out. Then we go right into our grammar lesson - again using power points we made to go with our series. I like to do this Mix-Pair-Share. You can see the kiddos paired up and raising their hands. That tells me they have come to an agreement and are ready to share. After this, we do Mountain Language (forgot a picture), but it only takes about 5 minutes. Then we go back to our Daily 5 rounds.

 

Also, forgot a picture of Reading Groups...9:30-10:00.

After reading groups, we do two more rounds of Daily 5. Then we have recess 10:45-11:05. Kristi and I take turns doing duty each week. Duty free lunch from 11:10-11:40.

 

 

 

After lunch, we usually do Deskercise before math. Today we had to skip it because we had program practice.

 

We got busy right away on our math rotations. One group is working in their math books. One group is doing Mountain Math at the back table (forgot picture). One group plays Fact Dash on computer (or another math game). We rotate about every 15 minutes. When they are finished, they get some time to work on other work or read their AR books.

Usually, I will teach a whole group math lesson and then go into the rotations. Math is from 11:50-1:15, followed by milk/story time, and then social studies or science.
 

Today as soon as we were done, it was time to leave for the high school for music concert practice. What an adventure!

 

Normally we would have had our specials during that time (2:10-3:15). Library (M, W) and computer (T, Th) are from 2:10-2:40. During that time, I pull kids who need extra help or for individual conferences. They go from computer or library to music and PE every day (2:40-3:15).

3:20 Final bell rings!

 

Okay...that is what today looked like for me! Go link up with Jodi. I can't wait to check out all the classrooms this weekend when I have some extra time. :-)

 

Have a great rest of the week!

 

Crystal

POM POM CRITTERS

Here they are-aren't they cute?  :-)
Every year I have given each student a little stuffed animal and told them that their job was to teach their animal.  I tell them that they need to teach them rules, math, reading, etc.  I let them know that they have a big responsibility and if they aren't doing their job, I will have to take the animal and do it myself.  They love this, but I always think they take up too much room on their desks-SO this year I decided to do little pom pom critters.  They are a lot smaller and won't take up as much room on their desks.  I hope they like them!  Check them out:

Thanks so much for all the thoughts and ideas about keeping to a schedule.  I have decided that I am definitely going to need to invest in a nice timer this year to help me out!  :-)

Hope you have a great night!  Kristi

STICKING TO THE SCHEDULE

The countdown is on!  Last Monday off before going back to school.  We start back next week on the 13th.  How much time do you have left before you go back? 

I am a little nervous and excited at the same time due to a lot of changes that will be occurring this year.  Here are the changes:

1.  Starting Daily Five
2.  Starting new behavior plan-going to the clip chart
3.  Adding in more MTSS
4.  Math Rotations

YIKES!!  I am definitely one that doesn't like change and likes to have a routine-so this year is going to be a little challenging for me.  Although, I will say that I believe that once it is all going and a routine is established-I think I'm going to really like it!

So, my question is this-with all the changes, I know that I am really going to have to stick to the time schedule.  In the past, I have had a really hard time sticking to the time schedule :-(.  I know how important it is to do so this coming year and was wondering if anyone had advice on how you are able to do it?  Do you ever set a timer etc.?  Anxious to hear your input and ideas on this! 

Thanks! 
Kristi

a MVP or an MVP? and Random Thoughts

a MVP or an MVP?

Well, I just realized this morning that my behavior chart may have a grammar mistake. Help!

I had "You're an MVP" at the top of my chart (see pic below). It sounds good, but as we all know that is not grammatically correct. It should read "You're a MVP!" 

Or so I thought...but then I found this here:

Abbreviation verbalised

By this rule, if the abbreviation starts with a vowel-sounding letter, the article used is "an"; if it starts with a consonant-sounding letter, it takes an "a". This would give "an NHS hospital" and "a BBC documentary".

vowel-sounding letters (take "an"):A E F H I L M N O R S X

consonant-sounding letters (take "a"):B C D G J K P Q T U V W Y Z

So what do you think?

Should I keep it with "You're an MVP?"

I already re-uploaded my charts on TPT with "You're a MVP." Should I switch them back?

UGH!

Donor's Choose

Awhile ago, I posted my first Donor's Choose project to try and get a nice set of "book boxes" as I kick off Daily 5. It is so close to being funded and nearing the "expiration date!" Check it out  here (and send all potential donors that way - ha ha).



Math Schedule

Kristi and I are exploring options for how to structure our math block. We will have math from 11:50-1:10. Here's our thoughts:

11:50-12:00  Calendar Math

12:00-12:20  Whole Group Lesson

12:20-12:35  Session I

12:35-12:50  Session II

12:50-  1:05  Session III

The three sessions will be a rotation of Facts Practice (computer), Math Games, and Math Journal (with us). That way we are able to help 6-7 kids with their math page as opposed to 20--many waiting for help.

Thoughts?

Last year we were both frustrated with the way our math block worked...so any ideas are appreciated!

Happy Friday!

Crystal

Questions About Anchor Charts, Schedules, and Obedience - D5, Ch. 3

So I must be the only one who wakes up at 6 a.m. ready to blog...Ha! I always get my D5 post ready and then...

wait...

wait...

wait to link up!
So I'm publishing and will link up later when everyone else is up and going! :-)
What can I say? I'm a morning person even in the summer! :-) I wake up with hubby to do P90X, make him breakfast (he is spoiled in the summer), check blogs and/or blog, then go right into my Bible study and prayer time. Remember that book I'm writing? Well, after a difficult chapter three, I'm on to chapter four and finished half of it in one day! Praise the Lord! BTW, the book is related to Bible study time because it is a devotional book...thought I should clarify because according to my husband, I tend to say things assuming people know what I'm thinking. LOL!

On to Daily 5...Our hosts are:





Gathering Place - check! My whole group teaching area is at the front of the room and I tape balls (sports theme) on the floor and assign students a seat the first day. For the last nine weeks, I rearranged and had students assigned by their shoulder buddies (I gave new ones each nine weeks) and that worked great!

Good-Fit Books and I PICK - Loved the mini-lesson with shoes. What a great illustration! I have to admit that I haven't had a huge part in this before as my students go to the library for books and she has her own way of teaching them how to choose books.

Book Boxes - Still wondering how I will get the books I need in my classroom...think this may be my #1 obstacle. :-(

Anchor Charts - I've seen so many great anchor charts on Pinterest! Do you all have an easel and large chart paper pad? I've been looking online for what I would need to purchase... Anyone have a picture of their anchor chart pad and how they are hung in the room? When I use this idea, we usually write on whiteboard and if it is something I really want the kiddos to remember, I later make it into a poster of some kind...takes more time for me that way.

Repeated Practice - Like I said last week, I have not taught "stamina" intentionally. I like the idea though. I don't know that I agree with this statement from page 38, "Even though it was not three minutes, the one student who was unable to stay in one spot gave us all she was able for the moment...it was the best she could do at that time." Here's that skepticism coming out, I guess, but some students just don't want to OBEY and this statement sounds a little like making excuses for them! Am I the only one who feels this way?

Signals - Signals, check. I use lights off anytime students are spread out and there is some noise in our room (from working together). They know when lights go off they freeze and look at me for an announcement. We also use the "give me five" signal school-wide and in my room when they are working quietly, I will say, "First graders, you have 3 seconds to have your hands on your hips and eyes on me...1, 2, 3."

Check-In - I've used the thumbs up/thumbs down in several ways before. Good thoughts on why it should be thumbs to the side instead of down...

Correct Model/Incorrect Model - I do this already as we go over classroom rules; however, I am the incorrect model. I had never thought of having them do that! Something to consider...

Okay, on to my schedule questions about D5...

Here's my schedule for next year:

8:10   Students in Classroom
8:30   Reading block (90 minutes), tricky part here is that 30 minutes of that will be reading groups using Pathways to Reading with my Title help so really I have 60 to myself for D5.
10:00  Tier 2 Reading (MTSS - our school is doing it swarm style, so all available adults will swarm K-3 at this time, students are grouped by needs, and worked with in small groups.
10:30   Recess/Restroom
11:00   Lunch
11:30   Deskercise/Change Shoes/Math TT
11:50   Math
1:10     Story/Milk/Writing
1:50     Science/SS
2:10     Computer/Library every other day (not Fri.)
2:40     PE/Music
3:20     Dismiss

I have 60 minutes to myself during reading block for D5...I had planned my writing workshop at 1:20-1:50, that could be another D5 block???
That would be 90 minutes. Is it possible that students would get through D5 each day? My thought is to take basal series and do it in small groups while D5 is going on so it would be necessary for me to see all groups each day...I'll have approx. 20 students.

Tier 2 time - during this time Tier 1 students must be engaged in reading activity (could they get extra D5 time?)...

Just thinking outloud, I guess. D5 users, please HELP and comment below with your thoughts!

Thanks,
Crystal

Go to Chapter FOUR