Target Finds

I love, love, love Target! I mean who doesn't! So the other night I was bored and went to play.  Before doing some grocery shopping, I played in the dollar spot and browsed the other departments for some school finds! I am linky up with Kristen Ladybug's Teacher Files for her Summer Shopping pary.  Join Here!

  I got this to put on my kidney table for small groups. One cup will hold pencils, one will hold highlighters, and the other will hold scissors.  That way my students can have whatever they need for reading and math small groups right there.  The best part-it spins!

These little guys were found in the Dollar Spot.  I am going to put crayons in these.  At the end of the day, each table can get a bin and color in their behavior chart.  This way we don't have to get our crayon boxes out while we are packing up to go home.

This one will hold all my Sharpies and other markers.

I got these dry erase boards for my niece and nephew.  One side has the handwriting lines and the other side has games.

For my niece

For my nephew

Those are my most recent finds! Happy shopping!

Guided Math Chapter Four!

Welcome to Guided Math Chapter Four: Using Guided Math with the Whole Class.  Believe it or not, this is my very first time to host a linky party.  I am very nervous and hope I have lots of guests! I created a quick summary of Lanny Sammons' ideas from chapter four.  I agree that there is a time and place for whole group instruction.  I also think that whole group should never been the only type of instruction for any subject. Kids need that small group time with the teacher to correct misconceptions, build trust, and learn with guidance.  Kids also need to work with their peers to learn communication skills and explore math concepts.  I loved the sample mini lesson in this chapter and the different ideas for mini lessons too!

I am co-hosting this chapter with Sweet Seconds.  She has made some super super cute items to use with Guided Math and is offering them for FREE!! You must go get them ASAP. That cute!

ch4: Guided Math

The frame and font are both from Lettering Delights

Awesome Giveaway!

I hesitate to tell you about this awesome giveaway because I really really really want to win it! However, I will be sweet and share.  The Tattooed Teacher is celebrating her bloggy birthday and 500 followers! She is practically giving away her TpT and some great bloggers have added products from their stores! Hurry over and enter because it ends soon!

Fiction Friday!

One of my favorite bloggy friends is hosting a great new series called Fiction Friday! Amanda's goal is to share great new (or old) fiction for kids.  My Amazon list is growing every week! Head over to the Teaching Thief and get some great suggestions.

My first pick is Stuck by Oliver Jeffers.  This is a picture book for kids of all ages (including grown-ups)!  This is a cute story about a boy whose kite gets stuck in a tree and his unique way of getting it "unstuck."  Love this one!

I first heard this book when my co-operating teacher during student teaching was reading it aloud to her 4th graders.  I read it aloud to my class for the first time and they loved it.  This is the story of a young boy named Marty.  Marty is really close to his Gramps who just moved to a nursing home.  In this story, Marty deals with this big change in his life by writing letters to dead people.  It gets really interesting when they start writing back!

*Note: This book is out of print but it can be purchased used for $0.01 at Amazon!

Guided Math: Chapter Three

Sorry for my bloggy absence.  My sweet grandmother passed away Saturday night.  The past few days have been very difficult.   Please keep my family in your prayers.  I decided I needed to focus on something else for a while today so I read Chapter Three of Guided Math.  The lovely ladies over at Making it As a Middle School Teacher and My Second Sense are hosting this chapter.  Head over and read what other people thought of Chapter Three and link up.   Here are my thoughts:

This chapter was about the importance of meaningful morning math routines.  I agree with the author, Laney Sammons, that kids need this time to transition from home to school.  However, this time needs to be MEANINGFUL! Ah there is that word again.  Meaningful.  Say it with me now...meaningful!  Don't feel too bad- I am guilty of morning busy work too! After reading this chapter I have a few tricks up my sleeve for this upcoming class.  Laney gives us some great ideas to get kids thinking.  My favorites are the number of the day, What's Next?, and How My Family Used Math Last Night.  I encourage you to read this chapter to learn more about these MEANINGFUL routines.

  Note to teachers: Remember these are routines that need to explicitly taught and modeled for your kids in order for them to get the most out of them.  They are going to require some careful planning to kick start prior knowledge, aid in mathematical connections, and engage kids.  I plan on setting up a weekly schedule with some of the morning math stretches as a guide.  Not only will this help me plan and stay accountable- it will help my kids know what to expect (and we all know they need that!).

 Oh and don't you just love how Laney connects a lot of these skills to reading! I do!!

Remember- I am hosting Chapter Four starting Sunday!

Guided Math- Chapter Two



Third Grade Gridiron is hosting Guided Math: Chapter two.  Head over to her blog to see what others are saying about Chapter Two.  I will be co-hosting Chapter Four starting on June 24th!

I just finished reading the second chapter of Guided Math.  For years, we have spent so much focus on reading and we finally found that Guided Reading works for a lot of students and classrooms.  It now seems so silly to me that I did not make the connection between Guided Reading and teaching math.  I can use some of the same strategies, set-ups, and procedures to be more effective.  DUH!  That being said, a lot of the information in this chapter was not new to me.  However, applying it to math instruction was kind of new to me.  I always strive to create a warm, safe classroom with lots of access to books.  This year, I want to make sure my students also see the math when they walk in our classroom for the first time.  I am not exactly sure how I want to achieve this yet but I am pondering a math word wall.  I always leave a lot of blank space on my walls for all those anchor charts we will be creating too!  This year, I will be using math journals and I want to keep them in a basket so I can get to them easily.  Here are some other things from the chapter that stood out to me:

1.  The students look to the teacher to determine how to respond to each other

2.  Explicitly teach how to locate, use, and replace materials

3. Incorporate measurement into visualizing! Love, love, love it!

4. Turn on my math radar for connections

5. MODEL, MODEL, MODEL- expectations, procedures, thinking, writing, problem-solving, connecting...

Organization and Classroom Make-Over Update

 I was playing on Pinterest last night(like the addict that I am) and decided to review my School Ideas board.  While doing this I am across a pin for a desk top organizer from Miss Kindergarten and decided it was something I def. needed to do. 

I found this image on Pinterest but it belongs to Miss Kindergarten

Organization has always been a struggle for me despite my buddy Brooke's attempt to train me.  Anyways, I have a desk top storage file (from Target) I can use and plenty of file folders.  I love love love how she used rings to attach her lesson plans to the front.  Thanks to Miss Kindergarten for the idea. 

I found this at Target last year and loved it. I put notepads, my grader, and other items I use frequently in the front compartments.

I used binder clips to label my file folders.

I lost my planner in the move to my new classroom so I had to get a new one today.  I was going nuts without it.  I am sure I will find it now that I got a new one.  I also got a matching notebook.  Each new school year, I get a new notebook and take it with me to all my grade level meetings, faculty meetings, and workshops.  That way all my notes are in one place. 

I did work in my new classroom today.  I am still helping the teacher who lived in there last year remove all of her materials from the walls.  I did get my book baskets on my shelves, started putting away supplies, and arranging a little bit of furniture.  Check it out.

I "borrowed" this metal shelf from an empty classroom.  Don't tell!

My table and some storage.  My computer is on that counter behind the kidney table.  I plan on putting some of my supplies in the drawers under the counters and then putting classroom supplies in the other.  A co-worker of mine had a room like this one year.  She said she put a green sticker on the drawers that students were allowed to use and a red sticker on teacher drawers.  Or I could make a little curtain.  Have not decided yet.

My carpet will go in front of the board.  My Elmo will go on that little desk so I can sit and model.  There is storage for some Teacher Editions in that desk too.

All my desks.  Sorry it is blurry.  That ladder display is not mine.  Still working on getting it down.

My library center with a bunch of chairs in it.  I cover my books during the summer so they do not get as dusty.


I have a long way to go but I am excited about the small steps I made today!