My overall theme this year in fifth grade is that we "Think, Create, and Do".  I want to instill a growth mindset into the students and challenge them to be innovators and creators.  So I went with a lightbulb motif throughout the class.  You can see a bit of that lightbulb theming here. One of the first projects we did was think about how we would "think", "create", and "do" over the course of this year.  I asked the students to brainstorm on divided circle map the different things that they could "think" of this year.  This could include subjects we would learn, projects they would make up, problems they would solve (which then lead into our opening discussion on Genius Hour).   For "Create", I asked them to write down all the objects or ideas they would create.  Projects, inventions, friendships, etc...  This one was probably the hardest because I asked them to be a bit abstract in their thinking.  Finally, fo......

Today was our first day of school (my 20th first day!) and I wanted to share a short, yet fun activity to get your kids engaged in academics right off the bat, yet still throw in a little fun along the way.  So I saw an idea to use First Day Jitters and Emojis online and ran with it (I can not, for the life of me, find the original post...I think it was in a FB group...when I find it I will link it.) I read my students First Day Jitters (Mrs. Hartwells classroom adventures) . (affiliate link) In the story, the main character doesn't want to go to a new school on the first day because she is nervous.  At the end of the book, we realize that the girl is actually the teacher.  Even teachers get nervous! When the book was over, I shared how I was a little nervous about starting the day as well.  I mean, what if the kids were out of control?  What if they didn't listen?  What if they hated me?  But I also said that I was excited to meet them all. ......

Let me preface this by saying that this is a LONG post.  But bear with me.  There is a lot of information and a lot of useful stuff for you...plus a surprise at the end.  It is worth it.  I promise :) For me, one of my biggest summer stressers is getting my first day of school planned out.  I always want to make sure that I have enough activity to keep the kids engaged and occupied, but I also want to set up my rules and set the tone for our year long classroom culture.   It is tough balancing classroom management, rigorous academic pursuits, and fun.  (I mean, I do want the kids to WANT to come back :) )  So over the years, I have tried my hardest to refine what I do on the first day of school so that we are productive and exciting, all rolled into one. What I thought I would do here in this post is lay out my schedule for you.  I will go hour by hour, heck, minute by minute and show you exactly what I do on that all important f......

Notebooks and journals are expensive.  I mean, $0.50 isn't ridiculous, but if you multiply that by 34, then again by the three or four journals needed throughout the year for the various subjects that are taught...well, that is just a lot of money out of my pocket.  And usually, I spend it, grumble a little, then move on because I know it is good for my students and a necessary cost. Then, the year goes on and, come the end, I realize that I haven't even filled half of many of the notebooks for whatever reason (I got lazy in my interactive notebook gusto from the beginning of the year, most things didn't require me to have the kids write it in the notebook, we didn't take that many notes....who knows) So this year, I decided to try and cut down on both the out of pocket cost and the lack of filling the notebook space and try something a little different.  I combined two notebooks into one, by flipping it upside down. The front of my notebook is for grammar.  Al......

My first few weeks have been filled with a lot of activities designed to get to know my students both as people AND as learners.  I have done some really simple things, like have the students fill out a quick survey for me to give me some insight into who they are as kids, but most of what I have done is rooted in the standards in some way.  You see, just because we are in the "honeymoon phase" doesn't mean the standards take a back seat in our learning.  So I wanted to share a few of the standards-based activities that we have been doing in our room that have helped the students to learn a bit more about each other, but also get a kick start on the huge amount of standards we need to learn this year. If you read my blog at all, you know how much I love The Important Book .   I use is all.the.time.  It is just a great, great book that can be applied to so many different things.  So we started off the year reading this fast read and discussed what make......

School has been in session for a bit now, and I am getting to know my kids more and more each day.  I have to say, they are a really fun bunch!  They are interested in so many of the things that I am that I thought they would really love to do a fun "Social Media" Get to Know you activity. So I created these fun little "iPad" looking templates, with four social media interfaces in them. There is the Instagram page, where I asked the kids to draw a picture of something they did over the summer that really told me about who they were.  This was to be something that wasn't mundane, like watching TV, but something that really got to the heart of their personality....like they went camping because that is how they bond with their family. The Pinterest page is all about the subjects they like and connect with at school.  The students were to draw a picture of four things they enjoy AT SCHOOL and then a brief description of that activity and why it is specia......

 I am going to bring you four ideas that I am using in my classroom for changing ordinary spaces into extraordinary ones.  Ok...maybe they won't go that far, but these things are working for me.  :) If you follow me on Instagram , you have likely seen these images before.  But, it doesn't hurt to see them again...right? ;) 1.  Bookcase = Teacher Desk Teacher Desk on a bookcase I have no teacher desk in my room.  Instead, I put all of my teachery stuff on a very slim bookcase and, viola, an easy to access place for my teaching essentials without taking up the space of a huge, bulky desk! 2.  Anchor Charts on the Windows Use Command Hooks and a chart pointer to create an anchor chart display area anywhere in the room. To use the dead space on my windows, I took some Command Hooks and an extra pointer (because, seriously, I have a million of them) and created an anchor chart holder there.  (I will be honest and say I saw a version of ......

I find that having data on the students to begin the year is quite helpful in creating groups, gauging where to start with your students, and basically having a good grasp of the ability levels of your class as a whole.  (I know, everyone just let out a big "DUH" right now...) However, this past year while we are in transition to CCSS, we didn't have a state test.  I mean, we took a practice one geared to see how it would actually go on the computers and such, but we didn't have one that would give us any end of the year data on the kids.  Consequently, we don't have anything now that we can use to help us gauge our class.  There is just no major source of data in math and language arts for us to draw on. So I had to make something myself....and I wanted to share it with you. This is a 5th grade Beginning of the Year math assessment.  It has all of the 4th grade math standards in a multiple choice format just so I can see what the kids know and what they a......