tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61216532681535559142024-03-13T07:01:55.569-07:00Orange Polka DotsKaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-46681174884574694602014-07-09T15:00:00.000-07:002014-07-09T15:00:02.297-07:00Paperless AssessmentsSo, as I mentioned before, I got to play quite a bit with Google Chrome this school year. That came in handy when a group of us went to the CUE Conference in Palm Springs in March and learned that "Chrome is the New Black." I am very far from being an expert, but it was nice to see the incredible places that educators have already gone using this system!<br />
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The first place my mind went involved getting rid of some of the paper in my room. I am the queen of piles. As the year goes on and there is more to do, the piles get bigger and bigger. Once those little chromebooks arrived, I immediately knew what I wanted to start with.<br />
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Some of you may have the same thoughts: this whole common core thing is killing my students with writing and explaining! We transitioned this year into comprehension questions for each Houghton Mifflin story that involve collaboration and communication. They encourage the students to think more critically and, in some cases, creatively (see what I did there??). The problem we found with these questions was that they took the students forever and a day to write down the gist of what they discussed with their table groups. Enter: Google Forms.<br />
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I had dabbled in the basics of Google Forms and sort of knew what to do in terms of setting one up. So, I took the comprehension questions for that week and began to enter them into the Forms template (which provides options for longer/shorter responses, multiple choice, etc...)<br />
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*Note, make sure to include a name section when you create a form so that it will tell you who owns each response. Google creates a spreadsheet of the answers.</div>
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The confusing part became sharing the completed piece with my class. At first, I shared the form with all of them but immediately realized my mistake: they were all working in the same document. After some trial and error, I settled on creating a Google Doc that contained the links to each set of comprehension questions. I shared that doc with my class and they were able to access the links from there. </div>
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I feel that there is a lot more that I can do to utilize this technology, but for now (and for computers shared with about 8 other classrooms) I am living in a very basic world in order to downsize my counter piles. Plus side: handwriting is much easier to read when it is typed into a spreadsheet!</div>
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<img src="http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u378/designbychristi/blogs/katiesig.png" />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-46255106752629245272014-07-07T15:13:00.000-07:002014-07-07T15:34:58.304-07:00It Only Took Till July...Hello, my friends!<br />
I welcomed myself back what feels like ages ago, but here I finally am!<br />
The moment school got out, I jetted off to vacation and left behind all of my classroom thoughts! While all sorts of things happened over the course of vacation and the time following, I have finally found my brain again. I know you're all very excited!<br />
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I have not yet begun all of the crafting that summer will entail. It is coming, but for the moment I am fairly preoccupied with the fluffy rug that came home with me a few weeks ago:<br />
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I don't quite trust Miss Puppy-Head enough for me to bust out the paint or the glue gun yet. For now, I thought I would chat to you about my technology experience this year. It was sort of a doozy for me.</div>
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Back in August, I was asked to be a technology representative for our school site. This job entailed attending meetings and discussing district tech needs and the future of this crazy world we've created. Alongside of that job, I became the go-to on our school site for basic troubleshooting needs. Ironically, much of the tech that I was being asked to help with was not even installed in my classroom! But everything changed during the winter with the arrival of....a whole cart of ChromeBooks!</div>
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I'm sure most of you are familiar with the teeny tiny lappy computer that runs primarily as an internet delivery system. </div>
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The device runs Google Chrome and is incredibly simple to use...and I suddenly had 36 of them in my classroom! </div>
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Chromebooks offer the option for users to log in as a "guest," (which we utilized in our upper grades more when time was of the essence) but the students were all given individualized Google accounts that had the social components deactivated. This meant that we could create digital portfolios using Google Drive! We could build presentations using Google Sheets! I could assess my class using Google Forms! We could make spreadsheets about the school's track team using Google Spreadsheets!...oh, that was just me.</div>
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Suddenly, amazing doors were open to me! I had always been a Safari user, so these devices gave me the motivation to begin playing with the Chrome Browser and research ways to use it in my class. I can't tell you how exciting it was to have the opportunity to play with these things for a couple of months before having to share!</div>
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The thing that was the easiest to play with and is so nice to incorporate even without personal computers in your classroom was <a href="http://kidblog.org/" target="_blank">KidBlog</a>. This website gives classrooms the opportunity to build a blogging community and teach students internet rules and etiquette. A usual morning in my room would include the assigning of a high-interest informational article (lengths varied) and giving a free response question on the blog. The students were always given the opportunity to positively comment on each others' writing; however, in the early stages of third graders having computers...typing skills are minimal and responses generally took a very long time.</div>
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I would encourage you to try out the site. It was very easy to set up and it offers a certain level of security. Students can only enter your blog with a specific password to your specific blog URL. That limits their ability to have things widely read across the wide, dark interwebz. </div>
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Cosmetically, KidBlog has some work to be done, but the fidelity of the idea is there. </div>
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<img src="http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u378/designbychristi/blogs/katiesig.png" />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-74809090963844299112014-06-10T18:09:00.003-07:002014-06-10T18:09:35.056-07:00Welcome!<br />
Hi there!<br />
Welcome back, Kaytie! It's been a year!<br />
...basically.<br />
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Once upon a time, many moons ago, I switched classrooms. This year has been a combination of rebuilding and getting used to living in a new room with *gasp* actual storage. As we come up toward summer here in a couple of days, I am looking ahead to teaching not only third grade, but also second at the same time. If I classified myself as "rebuilding" this year, I have a feeling "surviving" will be a largely used word next year. </div>
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For now, I am grabbing a billion fonts that I love...I am looking into nerdy quotes to put on cute little chalkboards...and I am looking at more efficient ways to collect and catalog classwork and homework next year. </div>
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Look forward to summer and actual blogging (promise). </div>
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This sweet little girl and I will be planning and crafting together all summer long <3</div>
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<img src="http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u378/designbychristi/blogs/katiesig.png" />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-90404283630509755982013-07-17T15:15:00.001-07:002013-08-18T15:28:14.964-07:00Too Many DevicesI have decided that I don't enjoy blogging on the iPad.<br />
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Coming soon: An iPad learning experience write up!<br />
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For now, I am packing to head off to Comic-Con San Diego. I know, I know...I've kept the fact that I am a huge nerd super under <a href="http://orangepolkadots314.blogspot.com/2012/09/ewok-about.html" target="_blank">wraps</a>....I don't have an ewok in my classroom...<br />
This is my first experience with the whole Comic-Con world. My friends have gone for years and have watched it get bigger and bigger. Last year when they were there <strike>waiting in line for the Firefly panel </strike> enjoying themselves, I realized how super jealous I was. So now, I have all of my best digs laid out and ready to go:<br />
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But the one thing that surprised me is that there are legitimate panels for educators at this massive event. Things like:</div>
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and...</div>
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and finally...</div>
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Basically, I've decided that I deserve professional development units for this. </div>
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Not only is the sci-fi /fantasy nerd in me incredibly excited for this event; but also, the educational geek is totally stoked to hang with some of these educators that probably have enjoyed a sci-fi day or two in their classrooms over the years. </div>
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Spirit day in my room at the end of the year....Love, LOVE that this amazing kiddo dressed up as the 11th Doctor!</div>
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Having all of those panels in mind, I will try and keep my blog updated through the duration of this trip. It may be iPad blogging, which either I haven't figured out (and hate because of that) or is really lame (and I hate it because of that). </div>
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For now, back to packing because this is happening:</div>
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and I need to stop blogging and playing Candy Crush at the same time.</div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b>Do you do any sorts of exciting professional development over the summer?</b></span></div>
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<img src="http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u378/designbychristi/blogs/katiesig.png" />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-13428126150408593302013-07-16T10:17:00.001-07:002013-07-16T10:17:36.888-07:00Twitter in the ClassroomThere are about 5,000,000 things I <i>should</i> be doing right now...namely, actually getting my act together to leave the house...not happening anytime soon...because one of the things on the "should be doing" list is "blog." It just doesn't feature prominently at the top of the list!<br />
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At this point in the summer, a lot of people in the bloggy world seem to have access to their classrooms. If you remember from last summer, I have to turn in my keys before finally going on holiday...and we can't pick them up for another month. So while so many of you wonderful teachers out there are busily working on your rooms steadily, here I sit thinking about my room...<br />
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Thought is a powerful thing; however, it doesn't seem to get the job done. I mentioned before that we had a couple of days after the official end of the school year in which we had to go in and do some work. During that time, I moved my classroom and did very little more. Which means that I have not yet gotten to set up any of the features that I loved about my room last year. Namely, I've been thinking about my Twitter Wall.<br />
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This wall was something that featured fairly prominently in my language arts program this year. Each child was given a space and a "username" to go with it. I had printed out those pieces, laminated them, and then used my <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ihandy-carpenter/id293621500?mt=8" target="_blank">leveling app</a> to make sure that they were straight...no OCD here.</div>
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My mistake at that time was that I had run out of card stock and just printed on regular paper. Because of that, I wound up sending each kiddo home with their final tweet of the year and plan to re-print on card stock this go around. </div>
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At the beginning of each story, I would ask the students to embody one of the characters and give them a specific topic to tweet about. For example, in the story "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Dragons-Jerdine-Nolen/dp/0152165363" target="_blank">Raising Dragons,"</a> I told the class that they had just walked into a cave and found a dragon egg (just like the main character)...tweet your reaction. </div>
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They would head to the back of the room with a dry-erase marker, and write out their tweets underneath their own username. My students loved it! Especially when they could write messages to their parents for Back-To-School-Night and Open House. </div>
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I also linked up an actual Twitter account for my classroom that I used to tweet out homework reminders, compliments for the day, spirit day ideas, etc...This was something that I had sort of idealized in my head this year. I love the idea still, but I let it fall flat when other things were more important. Also, I didn't encourage parents to follow as much as I should have.</div>
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It is my intent this coming year to make a point of asking families to set up an account, even if they are only following me. This will be a quick, easy way to keep the families appraised of what's going on. </div>
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Things to note:</div>
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-Tweeting will never take the place of a phone call or email to parents if there is something important going on. Even though we live in a very tech-available world, not every student or family has access to the internet and tweets shouldn't be used to pass along super-important information.</div>
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-Much like on my blog, I avoid using student names or faces. Twitter is still the wide-open-interwebz, and what you put there is around forever. Even if your students' family signed off on the photo-release for your school, it is probably wise to keep their faces and names private.</div>
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And finally, I did make an update this year and created a new account. Last year's account was my school/room number....but as I've mentioned several times...I moved rooms! So now I have a slightly more generic one....</div>
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Okie doke. Here's to text-heavy blogging with coffee in hand. Off to work on some of the things on my list!</div>
<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-46956284074873571082013-07-14T23:00:00.001-07:002013-07-14T23:00:47.483-07:00Cupcakes Over PDFsThis time of year, going to the Central Valley is probably a bad decision. However, when you're having a family gathering, I guess it's okay. <div><br></div><div>Instead of doing any of the work that I planned on doing while I was there, I made cupcakes instead. Cookies and cream cupcakes, mind you.</div><div><br></div><div>For the first time, instead of a teaching post, I want to share this recipe with you! It makes some nice vanilla cupcakes with a fairly light cream cheese frosting...but here's the kicker: add Oreos. </div><div><br></div><div>You will need:</div><div><b>Cake</b></div><div>1 3/4 cup cake flour</div><div>1 1/4 cup all purpose flour</div><div>1 3/4 cup sugar</div><div>2 1/2 tsp baking flour</div><div>1 tsp kosher salt</div><div>1 cup butter (cubed and at room temp)</div><div>4 eggs</div><div>1 cup milk</div><div>2 tsp vanilla</div><div>1/2 cup Oreo crumbles</div><div>24 Oreos</div><div><br></div><div>(Recipe adapted from <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://tinyurl.com/</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">pn39cua</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">)</span></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Frosting</b></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3/4 butter (cubed and at room temp)</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">4 oz light cream cheese</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tsp vanilla extract</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3 1/2 cup powdered sugar</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 tbsp milk</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Extra Oreo crumbles</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ok, so I've been playing with cookies and cream cupcakes all summer. While I've been fairly happy with the result, I've been looking for a cake recipe that yielded a sturdier cake. This wins. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">*Note, food processors work really well for crumbling the cookies. I forgot I had one at first and made some really crazy looking models the first time.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">**Note #2: I always use a bit more vanilla than called for...who doesn't like vanilla?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Start by lining your cupcake tins with liners while your oven preheats to 350. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Add a whole Oreo to the bottom of each liner. This makes each one have a cereal box prize in it! </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This was my favorite part of the recipe...dump the first five ingredients into a bowl and combine them with a fork. Easy peasy. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(I used a stand mixer here, but arm mixing is just as effective.)</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Drop in small-ish portions of the cubed butter and stir to combine each portion.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Mix in the eggs one at a time. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Pour vanilla into the milk and pour the solution into the rest of the batter in small splashes (a whole lot of sloshing happened when I got a little excited mixing.)</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Once everything is combined, fold in your cookie crumbs. Your batter should look like this:</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M1o0Ml00oSw/UeOQCzzlG0I/AAAAAAAAAaY/tYFwcdAaFbk/s640/blogger-image-1642010255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M1o0Ml00oSw/UeOQCzzlG0I/AAAAAAAAAaY/tYFwcdAaFbk/s640/blogger-image-1642010255.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">To fill my tins, I love my old, beat up, hand-me-down ice cream scoop. Fill each tin (on top of the pre-loaded Oreo) about 2/3 full. I probably could have gone more, but was worried about massive conjoined cupcakes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0yrXGYRGqvo/UeOQCDkIXJI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/u9JsJRmk4rU/s640/blogger-image-1136607965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0yrXGYRGqvo/UeOQCDkIXJI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/u9JsJRmk4rU/s640/blogger-image-1136607965.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Remember how you pre-heated? Load these guys in the oven for like 15-20. Don't be surprised if it takes longer...at 18 minutes, there was not yet any golden brown happening. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">While they baked, I made the frosting, which consisted of washing the mixing bowl, dumping all of the frosting ingredients in, and turning the mixer on. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk. I've adapted this recipe a few times, and this combination has so far turned out the best. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">At this point, you should have cooling cupcakes and completed frosting. All that's left is to frost and then sprinkle some extra cookie crumbs on top. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Cupcake success!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ImA4fpKMp0w/UeOQDlDvqFI/AAAAAAAAAag/XmkCdW3wnZg/s640/blogger-image-1552907042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ImA4fpKMp0w/UeOQDlDvqFI/AAAAAAAAAag/XmkCdW3wnZg/s640/blogger-image-1552907042.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'll get back to real teacher blogging soon...but for now, I have cupcakes to eat!</div><br></div><br></div><br></span></div>Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-2572573535671893582013-07-11T23:40:00.000-07:002013-07-11T23:40:55.802-07:00Random Summer Mash-UpMy dear friend, Becky, over at <a href="http://musingsfromtheforeignteacher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Musings From the Foreign Teacher</a> has been putting me to shame....<br />
Don't worry, I'm busily planning my trip to visit her as we speak...rather than blogging...or really doing much of anything.<br />
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School got out ages ago, and I have spent a lot of time looking at the file box that is lingering in the back of my car waiting to be sorted into a lovely orange binder that will spend lots of bonding time with the other binders I made last summer. However, the amount of work associated with that project has left me with little motivation to do it, and lots of motivation to plan for Boyfriend's and my trip to London.<br />
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Similarly, I have been trying to get back on the running bandwagon ever since I got back from visiting a friend in Scotland over spring break. So my Doctor Who socks and I have been spending a lot of miles together on the treadmill.<br />
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I've also avoided work by doing mindless work! </div>
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This year, our district started the process of adding in days that had been previously removed due to budget issues. For the moment, this consisted of us teachers coming in and putting in two full days after the kiddos had left the building. When all was said and done, I really enjoyed this process. In the past, we have had a deadline of 4pm on the last day of school to be over and done and closed up for the summer. With all of that extra time this year, I could have procrastinated a lot more! </div>
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But instead of procrastinating, I had the joy of moving my classroom across the hallway and into a much more spacious/storage-ready center room. Having lived as a crazy minimalist (or as much as a teacher can) for the last two years, I found that I have more empty cabinets in this new room than I do filled ones!</div>
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Much to my OCD's dismay, I wasn't able to completely settle in or get totally unpacked. There wasn't much of a point. All of the desk-y things needed to be stowed away no matter what, so a lot of my "unpacking" consisted of shoving things into a file cabinet and locking it.</div>
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This is why there are no pictures yet.</div>
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Instead, I slowly set to work trying to figure out what I wanted to do in order to semi-cover the windows that connected me to the classrooms of six other teachers. Originally, I had wanted to put cute contact paper up on said windows to create bulletin board spaces that separated my room from the next (there are two windows and a door for each of the six rooms)...however "cute" and "contact paper" didn't wind up working together in the merry land of the interwebz, so I started over.</div>
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It came to me at a one year old's birthday party....bunting flags. </div>
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I love them. They're adorable. They can suit any space. They're easy!</div>
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I like it! So, since I'm being super frugal and going to Michael's just about every week; I popped over there and grabbed some books filled with cute scrapbook paper.</div>
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If this blog has done anything, it has brought to light my tendency to go overboard...having purchased my scrapbook paper, I fell in love with two different sets of color combos. (i.e. two different forms of orange/pink/teal...but mostly orange...) Being me, I set up to cut out enough flags to re-do my windows a few times this year.</div>
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Start by making a triangle template out of cardboard.</div>
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The best decision I made for efficiency purposes was to fold the 12"x12" scrapbook page in half and therefore got 6 total triangles (based on the size of my template) out of each page.</div>
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I pulled out my trusty cutting board, traced a billion triangles, and used my slide cutter to cut them all out.</div>
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Now I have an over-achiever amount of triangles.</div>
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This was the time that I high-tailed it over to Lakeshore to laminate all of the crazy triangles...because, go big or go home. Plus, the ladies at Lakeshore always like the ridiculous projects that you laminate at their big laminator, right?</div>
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So this is the projected final product. I am currently in debate over whether I want to use the orange yarn that I have here (out of cheapness) or to get plain white ribbon...</div>
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Currently though, I have been getting majorly distracted by lame things like Candy Crush Saga and Facebook and still have a bunch of triangles to cut out of the big lamination sheets. Doesn't help that blogs like <a href="http://skinnyrunner.com/" target="_blank">Skinny Runner</a> keep pulling me away from actual teaching productivity with their shiny awesomeness.</div>
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I am looking to figure out how to add PDFs of some of the adorable chevron printed Daily 5 pages I've been making on here...while it feels like I am being counterproductive, I am actually doing a good amount of reading/making things dealing with that system. I'll keep doing my homework and update as I go!</div>
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And also, mostly because I need to catch up to <a href="http://musingsfromtheforeignteacher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Becky</a>, I will work to blog tomorrow and answer all of the things she assigned to me with the Leibster Award.</div>
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More on that tomorrow!</div>
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For now, here's a cute puppy:</div>
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-36459892696083189562013-05-21T15:00:00.000-07:002013-05-21T15:00:06.828-07:00QR AdventuresOkay, so we had a big technological adventure last week in preparation for our Open House. Several months ago, one of our wonderful third grade team members visited a technology conference and came back with a myriad of seriously amazing ideas. One of them was implementing QR codes in the classroom somehow. <div>
Since this was our first experience with QR codes, we figured Open House was a good time to debut them; rather than using them during class time. So as Open House drew closer, we really had to focus our thought process and decide <i>how</i> exactly we wanted to use these codes. </div>
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Because we are third grade teachers, the solar system plays a gigantic role in our spring curriculum. Through the solar system unit, we do a bunch of different projects with a large focus on a research-based planet powerpoint presentation. Now let me tell you, teaching third graders how to use powerpoint is its own adventure....something I would like to block out for about a year....However! The end result was pretty nice. </div>
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The kiddos researched their assigned (i.e. drawn out of a bag) planet and filled out an outline in order to have their slides managed early on. Upon completion of the project, we teachers created a dropbox file for the documents. </div>
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We figured that <a href="http://dropbox.com/">Dropbox.com</a> was a simple to use, safe place to store the students' digital documents. We even went so far as to ensure that there was a specific account for the documents so that they were secure, though I don't believe that that is entirely necessary if you have our own Dropbox account. From there, Dropbox will assign each file its own URL, which is necessary in completing a QR code. </div>
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All you need to do is right click on the file and select "Share Link."</div>
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This will open your link in a new tab and allow you to copy and paste the link into the QR generator of your choice. For our purposes, we used <a href="http://qrstuff.com/">QRstuff.com</a>. This website is incredibly easy to use and allowed us to pop out about 115 QR codes for the grade level in a school day.</div>
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Just copy your link from Dropbox into the appropriate box, select the color of your code if you wish, and then hit download or print. Again, for our purposes, we downloaded everything into a Word document and wrote their names underneath.</div>
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Because this was for Open House, we printed the codes and mounted them on cute paper for the parents to scan with their phones or tablets. All of this worked to great success! The parents were happy and the kids were stoked to see their presentation live on a tablet!</div>
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Most QR zapper apps work just fine, but we loved using <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zapper-qr-code-scanner/id505847168?mt=8" target="_blank">Zapper Scan</a> in our rooms. The application takes you directly to the Dropbox file in order to easily download or save the presentation.</div>
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Next step....Dropboxing for the whole school! </div>
Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-77921482843464067462013-05-19T12:44:00.004-07:002013-05-19T12:51:06.338-07:00Triumphant Return!It has been established that I am really bad at keeping up on my blog....or that I have super-powered ADD sometimes...<br />
So here I sit, in front of one amazing episode of Firefly, reliving the events of the past several months at school and realizing that I don't feel like I've even had a moment to sit down until right this second...and even then, I am (very importantly) multi-tasking with Nathan Fillion.<br />
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In any case, we are sprinting head-on into the end of the school year (Literally...I'm the track coach), and I'm looking into carrying out some new traditions I've enjoyed seeing. Last week, we had Open House...which occurred approximately 4 school days after state testing was completed. Needless to say, everything was pretty rushed; however, everything pulled together and went off without a hitch.<br />
Waaaaay back on the first day of school, I had taken pictures of the chickadees in which they had told me what it was that they wanted to be when then grew up.<br />
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Being as sneaky as I could, I hid these pictures away until last week...when I posted them on the wall with a caption "When We Grow Up...Class of 2023."<br />
I had seen a similar idea on Pinterest last summer, but had to wait for ages to finally put it all together. For the end of the year, I plan on writing them little yearbook-esque notes on the back...but I am a procrastinator and still haven't gotten that far.<br />
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In addition to that whole Pinterest-y activity, I also decided to try a nice compilation picture where all of the kiddos made a heart out of their hands. This took quite a bit of hilarious orchestrating and me standing on a table...which was super fun when they were in the perfect position and then the classroom phone rang....But the result of all of the staging and squished bodies worked out really nicely, and I do believe that I will do this picture every year!<br />
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And I'll leave you with my final activity planned for the end of the year. This is something that I've seen all over Pinterest, and even in a few coworkers' classrooms as the year has gone on: a <a href="http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/originals/a1/10/5e/a1105e49bbe8e7a03063c585142a8904.jpg" target="_blank">thumbprint tree.</a> Should take a short period of time to paint the tree, but then I can use it for years to come. I love the idea of documenting each year of students with their thumbprints....my only sadness is that I didn't find this activity during my first year of teaching!<br />
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Anyway, as we move into summer, I will try very hard to be a better blogger....cross my heart!Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-40917317672659129762013-03-06T21:31:00.001-08:002013-03-06T21:32:12.793-08:00On Days Like Today....Or on weeks like the last few weeks, it is important to dwell on those wonderful little things that help you get through the tough times.<br />
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These kids are amazing. They are talented, adventurous, excited, and filled with curiosity...and even though there are times where it is hard to remember all of those things, it is important to have little reminders in your life.<br />
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I've been brainstorming blogs about biomes, velcro, and food lessons for months...My blogging policy to myself is to not blog unless I feel like I have something important to say, and this week has given me plenty of times to count my blessings and move on from a lame post about velcro-ing pencil boxes to things.<br />
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Below is one of those things that I keep handy to remind myself how much I love my class:<br />
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They were responsible for becoming experts about the African Savanna...and boy did they come prepared! I set up the background of this mural, and the rest was their creation....including that amazing elephant....and the idea to play the initial musical component from "The Lion King" to introduce their presentations.<br />
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<i>This</i> week, we have been reading "Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip," which is a cute little story in our reading anthology about a little girl and her grandmother visiting family in Korea. This inspired a couple little chefs in my room (or their families were coerced, who knows) to bring in some Korean food. So today, before math ended, we passed out plates and kimbop to everyone. The deal was: no matter how different the food looked, no matter what you already think you know about the ingredients, you have to at least give it a little try.<br />
The initial complaining was kind of silly..."But I don't like seaweed," "What if there is something weird in it," "But I <b><span style="font-size: large;">don't</span></b> like seaweed!" you know...those sorts of things...However, for the first time this week they were good little direction followers and everyone tried a little bit of the kimbop (including me).<br />
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And rejoicing was heard throughout the land!<br />
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Not one of them didn't like it :) Gotta love the end result after all of the build up.<br />
<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-78548855503736605602012-12-14T17:53:00.001-08:002012-12-14T18:01:43.865-08:00HeartMy thoughts and prayers go out to each and every family touched by today's tragedy in Connecticut. <br />
There are no words to describe the grief that they are experiencing, or the sadness left in any of their hearts. <br />
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My eyes keep welling up at the thought...I am grateful for each day that I have with my students and my gratitude has been compounded after today. <br />
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Sending love and prayers to Connecticut. Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-10807344528608606492012-12-08T09:24:00.001-08:002012-12-08T09:25:11.032-08:00A Teacher's Brain Never SleepsSo as I sit her, mostly conscious, on a Saturday morning....I find myself having to run through all of the things I need to do this weekend. What strikes me is that most weekends include a longer list of school-related project than anything else. <br />
However, amidst all of the report cards to fill out and the weekly selection tests to finish grading, occasionally you find some gems to get you through to the next one. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T3K0kagV85Y/UMN3yxLaA9I/AAAAAAAAAWk/uOpr8vghruU/s640/blogger-image--1285130585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T3K0kagV85Y/UMN3yxLaA9I/AAAAAAAAAWk/uOpr8vghruU/s640/blogger-image--1285130585.jpg" /></a></div>Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-43814613631196874322012-11-19T18:48:00.001-08:002012-11-19T18:48:53.694-08:00Blogging on the GoOk, so I got all kinds of motivated a week ago to post a blog (and for tradition's sake, apologize for being such an intermittent blogger), buy the site was down. Here's to iPhone apps that allow me to post on the run!<br />
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Bear with me as I try to figure out the ins and outs of the app....<br />
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I wanted to do a short little post about conferences. We finished those babies up a few weeks ago, but I know some schools in our area are waiting to do conferences until the time of first report cards. <br />
In general, conferences are not a particularly enjoyable experience for me. Not that I dislike talking to the families, but I have a harder time talking to adults comfortably in my professional capacity. Fortunately, for nearly every difficult conference, I had two or more really positive conferences to balance them out. Nothing beats the feeling of singing the praises of a student who has been working particularly hard. <br />
Last year, I kept a pile of student files on my desk in order of conference time. Call it inexperience or whatever else you like, but I didn't get deeply into the file as the conference progressed. I decided to blame the folders and switch my brainwaves for this year. Instead, I organized a binder by student number and filed each piece of conference paperwork behind that number. By having only one binder to deal with instead of 24 folders, I was able to keep my table far neater and to keep track of all additional paperwork that came up through the course of the meetings. <br />
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Add in a vase of tulips (orange, of course) and there you have it! Thankfully, conferences went off without a hitch, and now we are on to a lovely Thanksgiving break! <br />
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Here's hoping that another post pops up now that I have no excuses! <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Fcx_9WvSvzE/UKrvjybnLyI/AAAAAAAAAV8/6JqpACdZl0c/s640/blogger-image-1371769395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Fcx_9WvSvzE/UKrvjybnLyI/AAAAAAAAAV8/6JqpACdZl0c/s640/blogger-image-1371769395.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f37oY1oQLb4/UKrvkR8D8AI/AAAAAAAAAWE/6SNz6fsRcK4/s640/blogger-image-1608182361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f37oY1oQLb4/UKrvkR8D8AI/AAAAAAAAAWE/6SNz6fsRcK4/s640/blogger-image-1608182361.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Dvpu-a9e1ic/UKrvk4-2bbI/AAAAAAAAAWM/8LUeqZeyJJs/s640/blogger-image-549151163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Dvpu-a9e1ic/UKrvk4-2bbI/AAAAAAAAAWM/8LUeqZeyJJs/s640/blogger-image-549151163.jpg" /></a></div>Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-72451162712528504412012-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:002012-09-24T16:00:04.609-07:00Weekly OrganizersAt the beginning of summer, I posted <a href="http://orangepolkadots314.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-start-your-summer-vacation.html">here</a> very lengthily, about keeping my classroom master copies organized. This is a process that will inevitably be helpful and convenient if I ever mosey on back to second grade some day. It has already helped a close friend who moved up to second grade at a different school and didn't know where to start.<br />
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However, as I have known since I started the project, and many have commented about since, this is not a convenient process for the day-to-day organization.<br />
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I don't know about you, or your school's policies, but we are quite strapped for copy uses. This means that I try to save master copies as much as possible throughout the year. That was one of the main motivators when I found out I wasn't teaching second this year. I wanted to ditch the extra copies and condense a huge file drawer down...but when it comes down to it during the year, I want to hoard as much as possible.<br />
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Generally, I keep extra copies of things in that aforementioned file drawer. They are in hanging files organized by month and within the month are folders with subjects. I paperclip multiple copies together and just drop them in where they are needed. With 24 kids in a class, I always make 25 copies so that I can have an emergency master to go back to if necessary.<br />
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But what about the copies for each day of the current week?<br />
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This summer, I found a small rack with 6 hanging folders in it. Of course the orange rack was what sold me, but with 6 folders, I have put it to good use. There is one folder for each day of the week and one for "next week." As a team, we try to stay pretty on top of things and make copies in advance where we can. Those copies get stored in "next week" and divvied up on Friday afternoon. This makes each day simple.<br />
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In the morning, I go to the folder marked for that day and pull all the copies I will need for the whole day. I even try to put in blank writing paper, or spelling test half-sheets, etc. in the files so that those are all in one place when I need them.<br />
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All in all, so far this has proven far more convenient for me than my stacked racks from last year. I doubt that it is the rack's fault though...and rather that I am more experienced in what I need to do; however, it is nice to have everything at a glance for each day!<br />
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<i>What do you do to keep your daily self organized?</i>Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-2268931800380495152012-09-23T13:59:00.000-07:002012-09-23T13:59:33.187-07:00Ewok-AboutIn my quest to become organized this year, to get to know my kids, to assess their needs, and to still be super-teacher....I have merely thought many times about blogging...rather than sitting in front of the computer and actually blogging. But! Here it is, as promised! A quick walk-about of my classroom (as it looks now, even with kids involved!) and all of its orange, polka-dotty goodness!<br />
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My wonderful friend picked me up an Ewok from Disneyland this summer, and it has a place of honor in my classroom...so he also got a place of honor in all of my pictures. We talk on the first day of school about ourselves and our procedures and all sorts of things, so I like to have a couple of pieces that represent "me" on my walls/desk/etc. Last year I printed a small photo-collage and put that with a picture of my family. This year I added a little Harry Potter and Firefly reference. I found frames at the dollar store and printed "posters" from my computer. I dug out my t-pins and used them to hang the frames on my wall. Worked well with bulletin board walls - questionable with hard walls, I'm sure. <br />
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Starting next week, we will finally begin classroom Boggle. The kiddos are super excited about it, which must mean that I am a great salesperson! It will be nice, as I have many high-achievers who are naturally very quick at certain activities. Boggle will not only give them something extra to think about when they're done, but it will also be a nice, "Hey, thanks for bearing with me while we slowly learn procedures" reward.<br />
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I had to laugh at Back to School Night this week! A few parents asked if I got my ideas on Pinterest :) Must be that obvious! But these little dollar store objective frames have already been a wonderful piece in my classroom design. I change the objectives each day, and write the vocabulary up next to the frames for reference. <br />
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Covering my storage cabinet with paper was one of the best decisions this summer. It not only covers the off-colored cabinet (since everything has to match), but it also provided a nice place to do a magnetic job chart. I found my chart pictures at <a href="http://flipflopteacher.blogspot.com">Teaching in Flip Flops</a>.<br />
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Ahhh, the 9-hour birthday wreath! It currently hangs in a place of non-honor as it waits for Tuesday and the first student birthday of the year!<br />
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Last year, when I got my job, my parents brought bunches of things that were taking up space in the garage to my classroom. (not everything's out yet, sorry Dad.) This year, I spruced up some of those things. To make my drawers look a little more cohesive, I put scrapbook paper on the inside of them facing out. This way, you can't see what's in the drawers, and they look much more "together." Pardon the post-its...since I can't see into the drawers, I label them....but I haven't changed my summer post-its to the nice labels yet.<br />
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My Twitter wall! The kiddos are <b>LOVING</b> tweeting so far! As we get into more stories, I have ideas floating around in my head...but for now, it has been pretty subdued. They had a blast leaving tweets for their parents to read at Back to School Night though.<br />
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It has been nice having the kids highlight their name as they turn in papers. While it hasn't cut back on unfinished work, it has cut down on nameless work. Since we did a lot of text highlighting in second grade, I didn't anticipate having any trouble with name highlighting in third grade...which means that I have now had to backtrack a smidge and teach the class that "highlight your name" does not mean "trace every letter with a highlighter."<br />
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Over at <a href="http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com">Clutter Free Classroom</a> I found the idea of putting up student work with a scrapbook paper backing. Last year, I had to measure and level everything I put up. This year, I already have a place of honor for each student's writing, and will never have to level anything! Plus, it leaves a nice space for a name label and a picture. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QoDEkX0SuV8/UF90ep_8KRI/AAAAAAAAAVA/9adkIytF3LU/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QoDEkX0SuV8/UF90ep_8KRI/AAAAAAAAAVA/9adkIytF3LU/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" /></a></div>Right now, we have first day of school pictures up :)<br />
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As I mentioned before, I have the 4 C's of common core posted in my room. Collaborators, Communicators, Creators, and Critical Thinkers. These are the four things that we should be teaching our students to be by the time they are out of school. On top of that, I am in love with my orange polka-dot ribbon that I used to make the frames! So much fun! The only ribbon I bought this summer that was not from the dollar bin...and totally was worth it!<br />
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Finally, my wonderful and amazing new backpack racks! I am in love with these things! They have made my life easier on so many levels and I get a smile on my face every time I look at them! Last year, we kept backpacks on a bookshelf at the back of the room, and later on the backs of chairs. In the shelf, they were more often on the floor than put away; and on the chairs, I was more often tripping over them than anything. This year, I was given these beautiful racks and the organization factor is huge!<br />
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So that seems to be it for the classroom walk-about. Probably there is more...I know that I am always adding more...but for now, it still looks like it did before school started (a feat which I am proud of now that kiddos are in the picture). With luck, things will stay nice and organized all year...cross your fingers!<br />
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Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-41034402066509007362012-09-08T19:13:00.001-07:002012-09-08T19:13:58.801-07:00Orange Polka Dot LoveMany, many apologies, Blogging world! My absence has no excuse...except, wait...I redesigned my whole classroom.<br />
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I think I have mentioned before that we turn in our keys in June and don't get them back until the end of August. This means that all of the 150 hours I did over the summer for my class work was in no way actually about putting my room together.<br />
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It probably isn't an exaggeration to say that I spent like 120 hours in my room when I got my keys...<br />
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But it worked out! I did this:<br />
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I marked everything that was from Pinterest....There will be a whole tour of the room coming soon, but above is only pieces. <br />
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Over at <a href="http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com">Clutter-Free Classroom</a> there is a wonderful post from the summertime that inspired classroom jealousy in my heart. Because of that post, I spent an entire eight hours stapling sheets to my walls! And man, oh, man...am I happy with my sheets! As you can see from the photo above, the sheets go precisely from ceiling to floor. Anyone who has their classroom in a portable understands how difficult (and annoying, and time-consuming, and patience testing...I could go on) it can be to "define" your bulletin board space. If anyone is as OCD as I am, then they likely have a leveling app on their phone or perhaps an actual level in their classroom handy to do boards....the sheets took all of that away! <br />
Following her directions though, I did let the sheets go through the dryer first to get the wrinkles out. My sheets were so successful that they seem to have inspired sheet-usage in friends' classrooms :) To additional great successes!<br />
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At the moment, the front of my classroom is my favorite thing to look at! I borrowed the idea for a homework hotline (under the whiteboard) for this year. In the new world of Thirdgradia that I have entered, we collect homework most days. This is different from Second Grade Land where it was only on Fridays, so checking things in was not a difficult task. In order to keep up with the homework papers, I have the kids clip their work to their number on the ribbon (another OCD moment where a ruler and a level were involved), which allows me to immediately check and see who did their homework and who did not.<br />
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Note: If one of my lovelies did not turn in their homework, they take a little field trip to the back of my room and write to me why it isn't at school in my "No Homework Folder." I foresee this being a valuable asset at conferences next month. <br />
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I also am proud of my magnet board that I made by putting bulletin board paper over the ugly tealish-blue of my storage cabinet. This made a perfect wall for my job chart, since I made all of the pieces magnetic. <br />
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Finally, I am really proud of the common core C's up above the board. My wonderful coworker came up with the idea of listing out the over-arching concepts now (before we fully turn over to common core) to really ensure that we are leading our students to be communicators, critical thinkers, collaborators, and creators. Plus (even though you can't see from this picture), I found orange polka-dotted ribbons to use as boarders around the 4 C's! How could that ribbon not be purchased? <br />
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I will do detail pictures and a whole classroom tour next week, now that kiddos are coming in and getting settled. <br />
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After three days of school, I am so proud of my class that I am gushing about them all the time! This should be a wonderful year!<br />
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Oh, and a quick P.S.<br />
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If you're looking for a great blog to follow, check out my lovely friend over at <a href="http://musingsfromtheforeignteacher.blogspot.co.uk">Musings from the Foreign Teacher</a>! An American teacher in England who is quite possibly the reason for my love of polka dots <3Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-85228600443193549252012-08-01T21:23:00.000-07:002012-08-01T21:23:31.852-07:00Birthday Wreath-viewWow vacation! The whole last month has been a whirlwind! I look up and it's August. Good grief, there is too much to do!<br />
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If you are like me, throughout this summer much of my to-do list has consisted of projects I discovered on Pinterest...trying them out, seeing if they work, wondering if they will fit the different aspects of my classroom. So far, all of those projects have been very successful (can't ask for more!), but I finally found one that I'm not so sure about.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, it is cute, it is exactly what I was trying to go for, but it took about 9 hours to complete....<br />
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The Birthday Wreath.<br />
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If you've seen the picture on Pinterest, it looks pretty easy to accomplish: foam circle wreath, curling ribbon, scissors...go team! Maybe I'm just slow, but curling that much ribbon was incredibly tedious. <br />
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Below is a tutorial of everything I did to make the adorable project. Let's just say, I am super glad that it turned out well, because otherwise I would be pretty upset with the amount of time spent sitting on the couch curling ribbon.<br />
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Start with your favorite colors of curling ribbon. I wanted to toss in a turquoise, but it wasn't available where I was shopping and I was really impatient. I also got a 6" styrofoam ring from Michaels for the foundation. <br />
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I chose to gather a length of each color, fold the cluster in half and tie it together with a shorter length of ribbon, then curl. This allowed me to tie the clusters of ribbon to the styrofoam ring. The tutorial that I read recommended using staples to attach the pieces of ribbon...again, impatient and I didn't have staples at home. <br />
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I think the tying worked better than staples would. Plus, the added benefit of not needing to hide anything. Just curl the length you used to tie, and it hides itself!<br />
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After a while, it starts to look like this:<br />
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Remember my mentioned impatience? <br />
At this point, it was hard to see progress and that bored feeling started to kick in. In an effort to feel like more progress was made, I pulled some of the fluffy, curly ribbon further down the ring and tied it in.<br />
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While that made the wreath slightly less puffy, the effect wasn't lessened, so it was a process that continued throughout. <br />
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Flash forward, to completing the ribbon (as I have said the words "ribbon" and "curling" too much up until now)....I filled the final part with a cloth ribbon to create a hanger. <br />
I plan on hanging this wreath on the front of the birthday-students' desks, so a hanger is perhaps important. <br />
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(This was the point where I accidentally broke the wreath and had to pin it together. Should you decide to be bold enough to create this time-consuming project, I recommend keeping some pins on hand. They also would help to pin down those annoying pieces that fall slightly out of line.)<br />
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The wreath was cute, but I wanted a little something more to complete it...I headed for the scrapbook paper and made a template for a birthday hat. <br />
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I rolled it up and used scrapbook adhesive to keep it together. <br />
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For the final touch, I added a little bobble at the top of the hat. <br />
I tied together a little bunch of green ribbon and secured it with a long length of orange. <br />
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Just thread the ribbon through the top of the hat until that little bit of green sticks out the top. <br />
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Finally....finally, (this, I swear, was 9 hours later) use that length of ribbon to tie the hat onto the wreath. <br />
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The hat is not incredibly secure and may fall off at some point...I will be waiting with pins to attempt to reattach! <br />
OR, I might just tie a big, big bow onto it for that "something more" and call it a day. <br />
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Like I said, cute project! Turned out nicely, fits the purpose....took far longer than I anticipated. <br />
Make sure that you have tons of time on hand, and tons of patience. <br />
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Alright, I now have a date with my new pink/white polka dotted glue gun and some clothespins!<br />
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Happy summer projecting!<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-79092666285042861992012-07-19T17:28:00.001-07:002012-07-19T17:30:26.397-07:00Pinterest AddictAlright, I'll admit it:<br />
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I'm addicted to teaching blogs and pinterest.<br />
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Big time. <br />
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I think it has something to do with the fact that I have a lot of rearranging that I would love to be doing in my classroom, but my keys are turned in and locked away. Sigh.<br />
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As I've mentioned a million times before, I love, love, love <a href="http://www.ladybugsteacherfiles.com/">Ladybug's Teacher Files</a>; however, she is on vacation right about now. Her trip is perfectly timed with my mental obsession about my classroom reorganization...and now I am pouring over the <a href="http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/07/so-i-ironed-wall.html">Clutter Free Classroom </a>!<br />
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The post that is linked is what has inspired a whole lot of online shopping: using sheets as bulletin board backgrounds.<br />
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Genius.<br />
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Ages ago, a former teacher of mine recommended using fabric to cover boards. While I also agreed that this was a fantastic idea, my OCD kicked in and I could see crooked edges...which would drive me nuts. So, I just finished a date with AnnasLinens.com that resulted in three brown sheets (to match my <a href="http://www.creativeteaching.com/p-4385-2-dots-on-chocolatesupsup-designer-letter-stickers.aspx">dots on chocolate</a> colors) for $20! I shall report the results once I have returned to the land of the classroom.<br />
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Otherwise, I just finished today's Pinterest project of the day, and it worked out perfectly! With that Pinterest obsession I mentioned, I've seen a whole lot of pins where cheap frames are used to display lesson objectives. Seemed easy enough!<br />
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Math Teacher Friend and I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and Michael's today to buy scrapbook paper and frames. <br />
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Michael's was having a 50% off sale on their scrapbook paper (plus the teacher discount), so I got very adorable paper to frame! (Sadly no polka dots, but awesome orange patterns.)<br />
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After dismantling the frame, I traced the cardboard insert so the size would be marked properly.<br />
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In order to have sharp lines, and create enough layers so things wouldn't slip around, I opted to fold along my pencil lines rather than cut. It worked out really well, since the $1 frames needed a little extra help to make everything fit nicely. <br />
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And look! Cute little dry erase board! Perfect for writing eye-catching lesson objectives on and sticking on the white board! I do anticipate using black markers when they're actually displayed; however, blue is all I had on me. <br />
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Now all that is left is to figure out a nice configuration and to get them onto the white board! I'm also tossing some pink and blue in with my orange this year (again, to match the dots and chocolate), so I made sure to make the "objectives" sign in a different color. <br />
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And again, I leave you with the tease of my interactive notebooking research. I've been in the trenches looking, but I have not yet convinced myself that I want to implement it into my math program. We shall see! <br />
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-37641701040706786292012-07-16T14:50:00.001-07:002012-07-16T14:51:01.652-07:00Anchor Chart AcademyOh summer....you are far too wonderful!<br />
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I have been enjoying my days playing with markers, colored pencils, and posters. Posters, posters, posters...<br />
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This 150 hours of classroom work thing has been rather successful so far (80 hours down) as I prepare charts, decorations, and documents for myself and my coworkers. My circle cutter and I did some bonding way back in June, and I finally got those circles adhered to their respective posters.<br />
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As promised: CHAMPS Posters!<br />
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I've mentioned it before, but we use CHAMPS for our classroom management program. Throughout the activities of the day, we make sure to explain our expectations for (C)onversation, (H)elp, (A)ctivity, (M)ovement, (P)articipation, and (S)uccess. These expectations are displayed on the board for students to reference when they need a reminder.<br />
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This summer's CHAMPS party consisted of creating these charts for our whole third-grade team. (dibs on orange!) One of my teammates came up with this great format last year, and we really wanted to keep our expectations the same across the grade level while we also use the Walk to Learn model this year. Her format is particularly wonderful because it prominently displays all of the expectations, and each one can be mixed and matched by moving clothespins around in their respective areas. <br />
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Additionally, I've been avoiding the focus wall chore and drawing up some posters that I found on Pinterest. All that art training I have under my belt has helped me to make some very accurate recreations!<br />
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We do a huge focus on writing in third, so I really wanted to have a cute chart up!<br />
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Way back during the school year, I posted <a href="http://orangepolkadots314.blogspot.com/2012/03/thinking-about-my-thinking-cap.html">here</a> about our whole school learning about metacognition. One of those strategies involves using paint chips to help students classify how they are feeling about certain assignments. By marking the darker color on the chip, students show that they are not feeling 100% (in the "dark"); marking the lighter color, students show that they are confident in themselves ("it's all clear!").<br />
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Yes, these can be flipped around and used in whatever color gradation you wish...but the point is, I want to implement this strategy with the previous poster so that the kiddos can explain how they are feeling throughout the many different concepts of the day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4lxCzpd4-yM/UASKUmuOZMI/AAAAAAAAAM8/HO34lHSZKws/s1600/IMG_0234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:center; float:center;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4lxCzpd4-yM/UASKUmuOZMI/AAAAAAAAAM8/HO34lHSZKws/s320/IMG_0234.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aS_c7f7LTYs/UASKo-GOYUI/AAAAAAAAANI/jhAHs1QeNqI/s1600/IMG_0207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aS_c7f7LTYs/UASKo-GOYUI/AAAAAAAAANI/jhAHs1QeNqI/s320/IMG_0207.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_JIJvq9_o4/UASLObFCQ0I/AAAAAAAAANU/UOvL4Nug2u0/s1600/IMG_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_JIJvq9_o4/UASLObFCQ0I/AAAAAAAAANU/UOvL4Nug2u0/s320/IMG_0216.JPG" /></a></div><br />
There are several more academic ones sitting on my desk, but I risk being too picture-heavy this time around....plus, I just wanted to toss in the birthday sign for my friend's baby...because that was fun to play with :)<br />
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Soon to come: Exploration of the interactive notebook...and more posters...possibly another focus wall...!<br />
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-56512263076671263972012-06-24T13:41:00.000-07:002012-06-24T13:41:04.159-07:005 Things You Need to Know About Me....Holy cow! Two days in a row with a blog post?!<br />
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Actually, I wanted to post about this yesterday, but got all caught up in the bindery-goodness. And now, this is the perfect time for a teeny-tiny blog as I hydrate for a quick run :)<br />
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At the very end of the school year, in the midst of struggling to keep the attention of my class as well as keep quiet the fact that we were all moving up to third grade...I decided to adapt an assignment that many teachers do during the last week of school. The norm is that each student writes a letter to the up-and-coming kids for next year's _____Grade class...However, since next year will not be the same grade in my room, I had my class write down 5 things that next year's class needed to know about me.<br />
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The results were amazing!<br />
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Here is a smattering of some of them:<br />
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*Try to whisper when the door is open. (We are in a very cemented hallway that kinda echoes when the door is open)<br />
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*Have fun with art projects.<br />
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*Be a fantastic, excellent Stallion. (I now plan on telling everyone to "stay excellent" next year)<br />
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*Don't yell so loud that everyone can hear you. (yell quietly, please)<br />
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*She is super smart.<br />
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*She can see <i>everything</i>. (Remember that!)<br />
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*She pays attention to you.<br />
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*Be nice to each other.<br />
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*Don't be silly...but sometimes.<br />
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*Do not punch. (clearly kicking is okay)<br />
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*Never tell on other people, only if dead or dying in class. (HA!)<br />
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*Do not do things wrong on purpose. (only on accident is acceptable)<br />
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*Don't act like a first grader.<br />
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And my favorite.....</b><br />
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When you go to a play in the MPR, don't talk to your neighbor or else she will give you the eye.<br />
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I am indeed well known for "the eye." <br />
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Perhaps that is why this strange illustration appeared at the end of one note:<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLTyq8hZyZU/T-d7IYVR3NI/AAAAAAAAAME/iwtgf555SX0/s1600/IMG_0168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLTyq8hZyZU/T-d7IYVR3NI/AAAAAAAAAME/iwtgf555SX0/s320/IMG_0168.jpg" /></a><br />
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-39041447453399171932012-06-23T11:05:00.001-07:002012-09-23T14:21:02.792-07:00How to Start Your Summer VacationOk, let's see if we can get through this post without my computer getting all screwy!<br />
(*UPDATE: By the end of this post, I had to hook up my laptop to my television so that I could use it as a monitor.)<br />
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Yes, I am terribly consistent at blogging (ha), but between the project I am about to share and Apple telling me that I need a new display for my laptop, it feels legitimate that I haven't blogged in two weeks.<br />
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Oh, and summer.<br />
Let's not forget the pull to do nothing...that's a big factor too.<br />
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In any case, I have been in the midst of a massively gigantic project: organizing all of the master copies for second grade.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4XiP9SA63e4/T-X7kRpnXII/AAAAAAAAAKU/xc_iTDAgvPE/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4XiP9SA63e4/T-X7kRpnXII/AAAAAAAAAKU/xc_iTDAgvPE/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Two file boxes of papers have now been condensed down to two 3" binders. Hooray! I anticipated this job to be simple, as I already had my papers organized by month and subject. While typing the information for the labels and printing them took about an hour, the remainder of the project took somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-20 hours to complete. <br />
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Mind you, this is because (as we know) I am ridiculous and wanted to create all of the dividers myself. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkGeN36enU/T-X8cdcsPWI/AAAAAAAAAKg/4RuGGnPP3AU/s1600/IMG_0133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpkGeN36enU/T-X8cdcsPWI/AAAAAAAAAKg/4RuGGnPP3AU/s320/IMG_0133.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Start by creating a circle design in powerpoint, and type the divider labels into the template. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEcPbgaLoPM/T-X921qhHeI/AAAAAAAAAKs/GGtLM6Ac4Q0/s1600/IMG_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEcPbgaLoPM/T-X921qhHeI/AAAAAAAAAKs/GGtLM6Ac4Q0/s320/IMG_0134.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Next, place post-it notes over the circles in whatever pattern you want. I color coded my binder so that each color reflected a subject.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pLZLSgJGf_s/T-X-LelVe8I/AAAAAAAAAK4/GQuHLRPq0sk/s1600/IMG_0135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pLZLSgJGf_s/T-X-LelVe8I/AAAAAAAAAK4/GQuHLRPq0sk/s320/IMG_0135.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Now for the fun part! Stick the post-it-noted paper back into your printer! Best idea ever! Thank you <a href="http://www.ladybugsteacherfiles.com/">Ladybug's Teacher Files</a>! Now all of my tabs matched in size and in handwriting. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBTurZKIz8A/T-X_NiFlHZI/AAAAAAAAALE/vaWRpgQpNeY/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBTurZKIz8A/T-X_NiFlHZI/AAAAAAAAALE/vaWRpgQpNeY/s320/IMG_0136.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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At this point, the ridiculousness sort of began. I now had labels for months, as well as labels for every subject that we covered for the whole year. They were all printed nicely on post-its and looked beautiful....but all of these had to be cut out. Yay. The trusty circle cutter came out for this big job. Circle labels are my favorite. They turn out so consistently. Sometimes I have issues with my straight edge slide cutter because things don't line up properly and lines aren't entirely parallel.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zxdk9ZyH7Yw/T-YAoOj6lJI/AAAAAAAAALQ/aTLS9eIQfNw/s1600/IMG_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zxdk9ZyH7Yw/T-YAoOj6lJI/AAAAAAAAALQ/aTLS9eIQfNw/s320/IMG_0137.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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From where I sit, I am about 20 minutes away from the nearest laminating machine. Cost of gas and cost of lamination taken into consideration, I had some HD Clear packing tape handy and opted for that cheap form of fake-laminating. It actually wound up working better than if I had laminated them because I was able to leave a strip of the sticky post-it exposed. This allowed me to store them neatly together until I was done, as well as to carefully position them onto the card stock divider sheets in perfect alignment.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IieeUsNLezg/T-YCdXdh--I/AAAAAAAAALc/429kNfrRa8k/s1600/IMG_0141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IieeUsNLezg/T-YCdXdh--I/AAAAAAAAALc/429kNfrRa8k/s320/IMG_0141.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Toss in a handy cover sheet, and now we are all ready to load it up! <br />
That's right! Up until this point, the hours of organization were spent creating the framework to organize! Hooray! <br />
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From this point on, it was just a matter of sliding my masters into sheet protectors and placing them into their respective binder category. Which took a good amount of time sitting in front of the TV...practicing my multi-tasking...<br />
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In the end, one binder was not enough, and I had to make another trip to Staples to pick up a second....and if we're being realistic, I probably over-squeezed into both...because having a third binder that didn't match in size was not an option.<br />
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And, for all of you who are thinking, "Why not scan all of this?"<br />
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I thought of that. <br />
About 3/4 of the way through making the dividers. <br />
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Plus...I would have to print out a master copy anyway when we got to needing that activity in the future. Ultimately, I am not teaching second grade next year, and my classroom doesn't have much storage. So now, instead of storing two file crates full of junk, I only need to find space for two binders stuffed with junk!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHqYZNhM5VI/T-YD_nKQNzI/AAAAAAAAALo/PrzzdYxzH-s/s1600/IMG_0161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHqYZNhM5VI/T-YD_nKQNzI/AAAAAAAAALo/PrzzdYxzH-s/s320/IMG_0161.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Now on to the next 125 hours of my 150 hour independent study! Bring on the grade level CHAMPS posters!...and some more circle cutter bonding.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-811cW-eRCDI/T-YESMma_GI/AAAAAAAAAL0/8MirUs7T9nI/s1600/IMG_0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-811cW-eRCDI/T-YESMma_GI/AAAAAAAAAL0/8MirUs7T9nI/s320/IMG_0127.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-84521224119374821932012-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:002012-06-08T18:21:57.170-07:00Now For Some More Work!What does one do with the first hours of summer.....hmm...go to lunch with friends? (check) Sit on the couch? (check) Watch kind of dumb television? (check) Get blog guilt when you realize you haven't blogged since March? (check) Start thinking about fonts for my focus wall? <br />
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Wait? What?<br />
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Having titled a blog something to the effect of "Why I Need to Teach Second Grade Next Year," I clearly jinxed my workload and am now moving up to teach third grade next year.<br />
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This will be a really good thing! Minus the fact that I will be spending some good quality time with my focus wall again - since now there is a whole new grade level to prepare for...and about ten seconds ago I realized I forgot my amazing magnet things in my classroom drawers. Sigh. <br />
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In any case, I brought all of my second grade files home...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F0SH4E6pNWM/T9KhH995XpI/AAAAAAAAAJY/bFLb4Lk7GPs/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F0SH4E6pNWM/T9KhH995XpI/AAAAAAAAAJY/bFLb4Lk7GPs/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" /></a><br />
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which led me to consider what supplies I needed for creating a severely comprehensive and OCD binder detailing all of the aspects of this year in second grade in chronological order....which of course led me to <a href="http://www.ladybugsteacherfiles.com/2011/08/all-in-one-teacher-binder-printable.html">This lovely blog</a> that I have spoken about before.<br />
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I linked the page about a comprehensive binder because I love the idea, plus, it has exactly what I was looking for: circular tabs!<br />
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In addition to spending time with my focus wall this summer, I shall be spending time with my circle cutter!<br />
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Looking at the tabs set my brain on a ridiculous and untimely journey that has inhibited my laziness slightly. (only slightly, however, as I continue to sit on my butt....I have however moved from my couch to my deck - progress!) I noticed fonts that I wanted. Very seriously wanted. <br />
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I mean, when you're considering a focus wall that you have to look at all year long, the font better be fun, right?<br />
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The previous link mentioned <a href="http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/">this</a> website as where the cute fonts for the tabs came from. It was amazing! I may have gone a bit overboard and had to walk away....but! If you're looking for cute new fonts for things this summer or for next school year, I highly recommend it! <br />
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I also recommend perusing Ladybug's Teacher Files too. Her ideas are marvelous.<br />
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And now, I leave you with a few pictures from when my classroom looked together and pretty: Open House. In an effort to walk away from my room as quickly as possible today, I did not take a picture of how blank and sad everything looks now (or the corpse of a freakish spider that is currently stuck to my big bulletin board thanks to my kids). Photos courtesy of my mom, as she and my dad came to visit my classroom that day!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1owRnCBtZr0/T9Kjfusll9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/oEXW9EEqT-o/s1600/535201_3352361687393_765090866_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1owRnCBtZr0/T9Kjfusll9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/oEXW9EEqT-o/s320/535201_3352361687393_765090866_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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Looking across the room. Desks stuffed full of portfolios, etc.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qmN-LPjRuWc/T9KjsKFVteI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/28B5iTTLlHk/s1600/558515_3352366607516_1148055745_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qmN-LPjRuWc/T9KjsKFVteI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/28B5iTTLlHk/s320/558515_3352366607516_1148055745_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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Painted Lady Butterfly Pictograph: When Did My Butterfly Emerge? (Oh, during STAR Testing Day 3...no big)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIXXDfrRClk/T9Kj6i_FttI/AAAAAAAAAKA/bxpUZr-e6W0/s1600/480922_3352370527614_1924528124_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIXXDfrRClk/T9Kj6i_FttI/AAAAAAAAAKA/bxpUZr-e6W0/s320/480922_3352370527614_1924528124_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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Finally, the completed Angry Verbs wall!<br />
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<br />Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-16593409176801838422012-03-09T19:35:00.009-08:002012-03-20T17:11:24.278-07:00Thinking About My Thinking CapSo many things to share! <br /><br />In my immediate procrastination upon sitting down to blog, I had to share that I love <a href="http://shenanigansinsecond.blogspot.com/2012/03/contraction-surgery-and-assembly-lines.html">this</a> blog! Hope King is fantastic; but even beyond that, the post that is linked is such a great elaboration on what I attempted last week...I will have to do that next year. <br /><br />We completed our own contraction surgery in class during Week 2 of reviewing for our summative test....which was fun and engaging and such, but we didn't have surgeon masks and supplies. Next time. Next time. <br /><br />I teased before that we have been discussing metacognition in regards to reading comprehension. School-wide, teachers have taught lessons to show that "Real Reading" is a combination of both thinking and reading. This leads to discussions that cause the students to really consider how they are thinking about what they read, and how they are responding to the literature. All of these ideas are listed and discussed in <a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS290&q=comprehension+connections&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7240950972690488407&sa=X&ei=CtBaT9bEDOqOiALE15GmCw&ved=0CDwQ8wIwAQ#ps-sellers">this</a> book. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i2ybpbs8sE0/T1rQY2OaOII/AAAAAAAAAII/RL3WR4JVzGg/s1600/9780325008875.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 178px; height: 223px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i2ybpbs8sE0/T1rQY2OaOII/AAAAAAAAAII/RL3WR4JVzGg/s320/9780325008875.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718111802191657090" /></a><br /><br />Most things are scripted, but you kind of run with what you've got when your kiddos are listening. Mine enjoyed it so much when we got started that they ask to do "reading salad" nearly every day during our read aloud. <br /><br />Before I get into the posters, let me first explain that I didn't feel like I had an ideal place to hang the posters that go with this concept. Then, let me also explain that the only tape with any lasting quality that I have in my room is neon orange duct tape.<br /><br />Proceeding.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xFWxPgmN688/T1rUoWdF_BI/AAAAAAAAAIU/tx0126DmDSY/s1600/IMAG0795.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xFWxPgmN688/T1rUoWdF_BI/AAAAAAAAAIU/tx0126DmDSY/s320/IMAG0795.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718116466587728914" /></a><br /><br />Having completed the introductory lesson to metacognition, together you create a venn diagram that shows students they must think about what they are reading to really get something out of it. The salad activity illustrates that by using different colored papers to represent "text" and "thinking," and you put one or the other into a big bowl if you do it while you're reading to them...another demonstration of the same concept: You have to think to really read. <br /><br />All of this connects into several Thinking Stems that we use to encourage metacognition. I positioned these posters on my back window, which just happens to be behind me when we are on the carpet.....hint hint. "Hey kids! Look at me! I am the way you are supposed to start your sentences!" The thinking stems are fantastic! We have been integrating them into nearly everything that we read....this also includes using them in sentence frames during science and social studies lessons. As a whole, it is incredible to see some of the thinking that comes out of their shiny brains sometimes!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MtZl_aRBG80/T2kXppgpnaI/AAAAAAAAAIk/73uvr-Qyi4g/s1600/IMAG0794.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MtZl_aRBG80/T2kXppgpnaI/AAAAAAAAAIk/73uvr-Qyi4g/s320/IMAG0794.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722130805835799970" /></a><br /><br />We have been using white boards to take notes using these thinking stems/sentence frames while we read our Scholastic News these days. I put a frame on the board (ex: I'm thinking __________________, because I'm noticing _________________. <span style="font-weight:bold;">or</span> I'm noticing _________________, because I'm seeing ________________) and have them fill it in using their own words. Some, like my ELLs, write shorter sentences, while others fill up the board with their notes. <br /><br />Finally, for today, back to my poster-hanging implements: Binder Clips and Duct Tape! <br />Oh, how I make my father proud! All the daily uses of duct tape in my classroom are amazing :) This was my particular favorite. <br /><br />As I said, I have limited space for posters where they will be easily accessible for regular reference. Also, I wanted to be able to move and change the posters as we add to them. For instance, we have been using a lot of opinion phrases these days,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrTStAx77Rc/T2kbl_rOPNI/AAAAAAAAAI8/52OdcKLZWz4/s1600/IMAG0793.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrTStAx77Rc/T2kbl_rOPNI/AAAAAAAAAI8/52OdcKLZWz4/s320/IMAG0793.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722135141112757458" /></a><br /><br />but I may want to add our inferencing poster on top when we do that activity. This also helps with some of the storage issues that I have in my portable classroom. <br /><br />I have read about using binder clips with command hooks to store sentence strips or bulletin board borders, but I didn't have any command hooks handy (where are they when you need them) and I needed a place right away. To the duct tape! Who cares if it is neon orange!? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgw8dAfv04E/T2ka8kBI03I/AAAAAAAAAIw/Jkgwmk55fN4/s1600/IMAG0796.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgw8dAfv04E/T2ka8kBI03I/AAAAAAAAAIw/Jkgwmk55fN4/s320/IMAG0796.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722134429313848178" /></a><br /><br /><br />That's that! My excitement of weeks and weeks consists of metacognition and duct tape. Oh, and Pi Day....but that would be too much for one post. Perhaps I will Pi Blog this week....that would be impressive of me! In my blogger defense, it was report card time, so I sort of lost track of life outside of a correcting pen and my classroom for a while.Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-67926069892421287642012-02-23T18:14:00.007-08:002012-02-25T19:40:42.577-08:00....and I get to spend time with this EVERY weekday!There are some days where I sit down after all of the kids have vacated campus and just think back on the ridiculous things that happened. <br />Seriously, some of the things that come out of their mouths are amazing. Some are hilarious. Some make me want to put my head on my desk and never look up at them again. <br />Honestly, it amazes me that the short weeks actually feel the longest, but I have moments and comments to get me through....oh, and <span style="font-style:italic;">fantastic</span> classroom neighbors.<br /><br />Favorite moment of the week requires a small amount of backstory. Two of my students are best friends. Both have been Star Student already this year, and both plan on being Paleontologists (like Indiana Jones) when they grow up. They are going to do it together, because they're best friends. One of them, H, lights up like it's Christmas when the topic comes up. A grin spreads across his face and you can tell that it is radiating from his soul. <br />This week was writing central. We worked on our summary of "Ants," having spent Tuesday creating our graphic organizer; <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8U0NOdpSvSc/T0mY8MFMQ9I/AAAAAAAAAHw/mSGEH7NIc24/s1600/IMAG0792.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8U0NOdpSvSc/T0mY8MFMQ9I/AAAAAAAAAHw/mSGEH7NIc24/s320/IMAG0792.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713265762098758610" /></a><br /><br />We wrote a letter to <span style="font-style:italic;">this</span> week's Star Student; and we ended the day writing to our pen pals. During the final writing of the day, it seemed quiet enough (what?!) and controlled enough to put on a CD, and in thinking of H, I knew the perfect one. <br />This called for "Here Comes Science!" brought to you by They Might Be Giants....particularly the song, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7zo2zY1Zqg">Paleontologist</a>" in honor of H. When he started listening to the lyrics, that smile from the soul spread across his face. Kind of amazing!<br /><br /><br />The real question is: how is it that the spazzy ones are ultimately the sweetest? I mean, really. Most of the time they drive me crazy, but then they do something that puts a smile on my face and keeps them endeared to me. <br /><br /><br />The desk fairy made another appearance this week too. There is apparently some sort of story that the whole class has concocted about this fictitious individual....I guess she has an evil counterpart who steals stuff from desks and moves it to other tables (personally, I think that would be another specific student....) In any case, I found that it was difficult to find different desks that were deserving of a visit from the desk fairy.....so pretty much all the same kids got the note. So much for equity when it comes to neatness! I tried.....really. Problem being, most of them believe that papers just naturally migrate into desks at the end of an assignment or at a transition....which makes me so wonderfully happy.....<br /><br />I have so much to share. Literally, I have to keep reminding myself that things do not have to all go in one post. It will especially help me to post when I feel as though there is nothing else to write about, so I am saving them until later....I can tell you that it will be about how every kid in our school (kindergarten through fifth grade) will know what metacognition is. <br /><br />Finally, I shall leave you with my Valentines. They were cute, and I am happy to share what I stole from Pinterest!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BpLgXZ-Alk/T0maEY7SJuI/AAAAAAAAAH8/qaTvkPN7GMw/s1600/IMAG0788.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BpLgXZ-Alk/T0maEY7SJuI/AAAAAAAAAH8/qaTvkPN7GMw/s320/IMAG0788.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713267002497443554" /></a>Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121653268153555914.post-4443867232314769932012-02-20T10:55:00.001-08:002012-02-20T11:16:18.513-08:00Four Day Weekend!Time to celebrate the conclusion to a much-needed and very relaxing four-day weekend!<br /><br />For the amount that I have thought about my next post, I do hope that it is not underwhelming. I sat down to write it a couple of times and then scrapped everything because I was utterly unsatisfied. Let's try again.<br /><br />So here it is:<br />Angry Birds!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gQ51gTNkUzs/T0KXg4E89iI/AAAAAAAAAGo/QKyQlq1UO54/s1600/IMAG0784.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gQ51gTNkUzs/T0KXg4E89iI/AAAAAAAAAGo/QKyQlq1UO54/s320/IMAG0784.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711293868523976226" /></a><br /><br />Context: I painted Angry Birds to go on my bulletin boards. One day we had a rainy day schedule. That is what I got.<br /><br />What did I do when I got the call that I would have a job? I painted birds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wbT4o62kjJA/T0KYgZPxIoI/AAAAAAAAAG0/65KdV9YEivs/s1600/IMAG0465_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wbT4o62kjJA/T0KYgZPxIoI/AAAAAAAAAG0/65KdV9YEivs/s320/IMAG0465_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711294959759467138" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaIJSJ0nhlI/T0KY1Cj8k2I/AAAAAAAAAHA/r_sgXl0xR_0/s1600/CIMG4457.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaIJSJ0nhlI/T0KY1Cj8k2I/AAAAAAAAAHA/r_sgXl0xR_0/s320/CIMG4457.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711295314447340386" /></a><br /><br />and pigs....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oM7E36geiNc/T0KZFuVftBI/AAAAAAAAAHM/9_KKhojsfiE/s1600/CIMG4458.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oM7E36geiNc/T0KZFuVftBI/AAAAAAAAAHM/9_KKhojsfiE/s320/CIMG4458.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711295601075794962" /></a><br /><br />But in all of that, I was missing one wonderful and idea-creating thing: Pinterest.<br /><br />I saw a picture on Pinterest last week that caused a very massive face-palm moment. One of those, why-in-the-world-did-I-not-think-of-that moments. We studied verbs ages ago, and they illustrated their verbs so very nicely....but nothing would have been so wonderful as this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDL8BB2hK0I/T0KZoplHEoI/AAAAAAAAAHY/jwFiHCQ4z8k/s1600/97249673173439353_dN4lHkgA_c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDL8BB2hK0I/T0KZoplHEoI/AAAAAAAAAHY/jwFiHCQ4z8k/s320/97249673173439353_dN4lHkgA_c.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711296201094533762" /></a><br /><br />ANGRY VERBS! This will certainly have to be re-created as a review day and whatnot. Write a sentence using an amazing verb on your bird or pig. The kids seriously are obsessed with Angry Birds. All sorts of hats, clothes, valentines, toys, etc. They would eat up the idea of Angry Verbs....Plus, I have been trying to think of a good open house board configuration....since I am being lazy and leaving up my fun Ancestor Board all the way until then.....because it is cute and it took a lot of effort to get things in the right place....and I would rather just do surgery on the pieces that fall off than recreate the whole thing in May....look at me justifying my laziness.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pkS8RYRoSsY/T0Kan67eFRI/AAAAAAAAAHk/2Wni0mOHoIU/s1600/IMAG0576.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pkS8RYRoSsY/T0Kan67eFRI/AAAAAAAAAHk/2Wni0mOHoIU/s320/IMAG0576.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711297288083477778" /></a><br /><br />Pinterest will ultimately be the death of me. I find myself perusing whenever I have time and there are far too many lesson ideas to fit into just one school year. In addition to that, there are far too many options of everything to fit into one lifetime. <br /><br />In conclusion: Angry Birds.<br />The end.Kaytiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937399082068830475noreply@blogger.com0