The year is winding to an end and I wanted to share a very easy end of the year reading project with you.  I called it a "Book Graffiti Poster" (for no real reason other than that is what came out of my mouth at the time) and it was quite successful in my class.  The whole thing took about an hour to do, so it is perfect for the end of the year when you have some time to fill and want to keep it academic. I asked the kids to take out a blank piece of paper and fold it into fourths.  We then reviewed the 8 novels we had read as a class together and I asked them to pick the four they connected with the most. On each of the fourth rectangles, the students were to create a "graffiti" style wall using pictures AND words that depicted the books they chose.  The students were asked to draw the title decoratively then add pictures and words that represented the book, what it meant to them, quotes, images from their visualizations...anything that popped out to them ......

Here we are, the fourth annual Open House post!  This is when I show off all of the hard work that my students have done the past few months with a plethora of pictures.  There are a lot of pictures below.  I have written a bit of text so you have some idea of what is going on, but if you click on the pink links, it will take you to a more indepth explanation of the project.  So, without further ado, here is Room 6! This is a full view of the right side of my room.  You can see the cabinets and student desks. A view from the left side of the room.  You can see several things here in this picture.  The Colony Balloons are hanging from the ceiling.  Our Walking the Colonies map is painted on the cupboard (on butcher paper) and the Paul Revere lesson is on the far left.  You can also see our letters to the First Lady about the Walking Classroom on the right. Above the cabinets, you can see student writing (we used a Paragraph of......

The beginning of the year is so full of hope.  Hope that your class will be great.  Hope that you will learn all you have to learn and more.  Hope that those ideas you seek out on Pinterest and through blogs will be the magic bullet that makes your year complete. Well, my year was filled with a boatload of hope.  I just knew all of the great things I was going to implement were going to be fabulous.  Now.....a year later....hope has turned into reality.  Some of those amazing ideas flourished, while others...not so much.  So I thought I would take a little time to reflect on what worked and what didn't. What Worked Math Workshop.   It went through many changes this year, but overall, I am SO excited with how it all turned out.  It is still a work in progress, and will continue to evolve next year (and the years to come) but it really is a happy spot in my schedule.  Here is a pos t I did about some of the changes (and it has even ......

OK...so I have started this post about 5 times, only to erase the sentence and begin again.  It is the end of the year, and this year, with me leaving for maternity leave and all of the new requirements with CCSS, etc....it has just been one of those years that leave me mentally drained.  So, I know if I am feeling this way, my kids are too. They have done so well this year, giving it their all with the new standards and new expectations, that I wanted them to keep with the high level and quality of work, while still having a little time to relax.  So I created this little Math Mat Glyph for them to use. If you were around Room 6 last year, you probably read this post about the Math Mats I made for fractions and multiplication.  The kids followed a path of their choosing, solving math problems along the way, then drawing a scene with pictures corresponding to the answers to the problems.  But this year, I wanted them to have a little time to think about the......

I am tired.  My belly hurts (though I did just go to the doctor today and everything is fine.  I just need more electrolytes and rest :) )  and my brain is a pile of mush by the end of the day (you know, prime blogging time ;) )  The end of the year this year really has hit me hard.  Anyone else feel that way??? I just wanted to share with you something I did in my room with my students that really helped to keep them academically focused, but allowed them to let their hair down just a bit and have some fun, which we all need at this time of year :) These are a few of the mats you can make. I created this Math Mat Glyph that focuses on the fraction skills we learned this year.  Basically, this is a "choose your own adventure" activity.  The kids start in one box, solve the problem, and then can choose which box to move to next based on the arrows.  They proceed this way until they reach the ending box.  Fun enough.  But then, th......

We are officially on countdown to the summer.  My 5th graders have all been accepted to their middle schools and, well, have already transitioned in their minds ;)  So we have been doing some things in class that keep up the rigor, but allow them a bit of fun. Hands-On Equations Have you tried this program?  Seriously, it is just fabulous.  I went to the training for it a few years back (maybe 10???) and was given a kit to use in my room.  I have used it every year since.  This is a hands-on way to get kids familiar and comfortable with linear equations.  The kids are so engaged when we are doing it.  They work together, are focused, and learn!  (as an added bonus, the lessons are already done for me, so I just have to "show up and teach" with it)  Here is a bit more information about the program itself.  (there is actually a free webinar about it coming up on May 23!) Root Word Eggs My kids are so into this lesson t......

The other day, while I was hanging out, watching some TV (and doing some professional reading of course) my door bell rang.  When I opened it, I saw a box with this neat little bag inside. Upon opening it, I realized what a treat I had sitting in front of me.   ETA Hand2Mind had sent me their  Home Team Advantage Kit for Grade 5 to check out and I immediately dug right in!  I was so so excited because going through college Cuisenaire Rods were THE thing...and this is the same company that makes them.  My expectations for this kit were high, and it truly did not disappoint. Inside this kit are some really great materials. The first thing I pulled out was a summer schedule.  Each day of the week, from Monday to Thursday, was on this schedule.  It is designed to keep the kids on track and learning throughout the summer, without bogging them down.  The organizer in me LOVED this feature :)  I do like to fly by the seat of my pants at t......

At the beginning of last year, I asked my students to fill in a "get to know you" questionnaire as they entered my room on the second day of school.  On it, I had some personalish (I know that isn't a word, but I am feeling rebellious today ;) ) questions such as list your favorite food, what is something I should know about you, what you do at home, etc...The purpose of this was just to give me a little insight into the CHILDREN that my new students were.  Here are a few of them. Now, you might be asking, what does this have to do with anything?  Well, let me tell you, I actually did use these for something!  At the end of the year, for my parting "gift" to my students, I used them to help me write "The Important Thing" pages for them! If you have been following my blog from the beginning (or even have just read back to the first few entries) you will know how much I love The Important Book . I do so much with it, from learning about reference ......