Since moving back to 4th grade last year, I went back to using notebooks for my students to record notes for both ELA and Math.  In 3rd grade, it became too much of a hassle, but now that I am in 4th, the notebooks came back out.  I decided to use dividers for each domain to make sure we were at least a little bit organized.  So I whipped up these easy peezy dividers for my students.   There are 5 dividers for each notebook, each printed on a different color of cardstock.  Since each piece of cardstock contained two of the same divider, I cut them in half and then distributed the pages to my students.  The 4th graders then cut the pages along the outline themselves , and glued the dividers into the notebook using my instructions for how many pages to leave in between.  The kids glued them to the top of the lined paper inside of the notebook, and when the notebook was closed, the dividers lined up nicely.  (I did walk them through this step by ste......

This summer I was INFLUENCED!  I kept seeing these thermal label printers all over TikTok, primarily being used by sellers to ship their wares, and I knew I HAD to have one for my classroom.  There was just so much possibility in that little thermal bundle of joy! First, here is why I wanted it.  The label printer uses heat to print, not ink.  I use SO much ink at the beginning of every year to create folders and other things that instantly I knew this would be a money saver for me.  The labels themselves were on sale for $15 for 500 ...which is plenty to begin my classroom for 25 students.   I have been busy making all of the labels, anchor charts, iReady Trackers, and other things that I need for my classroom.  I also have been posting about them over on both TikTok and IG, so many of you have seen those items.   Which is where this post comes in.  I thought I would put up all of the things I have been making here in one central place for......

I know that for many of us, the end of the day routine can be a time that causes anxiety and worry. Sometimes, no matter how much we intend to get away from it,  this time of day can be completely chaotic.  I was one who definitely felt the chaos for many years until I set in place a routine that cut down on that running around like a chicken with his head cut off energy and have us end with calm.  Here is what I do. I start about 25 minutes before the dismissal bell rings.  I begin by announcing that I am "looking for people who are ready to go home."  This is students' cue to sit down, clear off their desk space, and look at me.  Then, we have our 60-second clean up (I wrote in detail about that here ), our 15-second cubby clean out, and our 15-second furniture straighten.  Yes, you read that right.  My students clean the room, clean their shared cubby space (that is just a little box on their desk) AND straighten their furniture in less t......

Nothing mindblowing today but I just wanted to share with you my end-of-the-day clean-up routine.  I know that sometimes this time of day can be completely chaotic, but I have tried my best to cut down on that and have us end with calm.  Here is what I do. I start about 25 minutes before the dismissal bell rings.  I begin by announcing that I am "looking for people who are ready to go home."  This is students' cue to sit down, clear off their desk space, and look at me.  Then, we have our 60-second clean up (I wrote in detail about that here ), our 15-second box clean and our 15-second furniture straighten. This is an old picture.  They also have POTW! Then, I ask the kids to take out their planner and we go over the homework.  I have the assignment written on the board, and used to just have them copy it down, but I have found that if I *also* say it aloud, the kids have a higher rate of writing it in their planner and not missing any homework......

On the first day of school, I like to have all of the students' supplies (ie: pencils, pens, erasers, etc...) ready for them so that I know they have the tools they need to function on the first day of school.  So, since I was getting things prepped for the first day of school anyway, I thought I would share this very simple Bright Idea with you! Such a simple way to distribute school supplies to the students AND to make sure they stay organized. Starting day one, each student entering my room is assigned a number (based on alphabetical order of last names.)  This helps with organizing everything from where they stand in line to knowing which papers have been turned in.  Another thing it helps with is knowing which supplies belong to which student.  Now I don't know about you, but due to budgets, I know that many of my students won't come to school on the first day (or any day after that) with the supplies they need to be an active and productive student in ......

Every time I show a picture of my classroom as a whole, I get questions about the little boxes I have on the students' desks.  So I thought it was about time that I wrote about them. :) Can you see the black boxes on the desks??  That is what this post is about :) They truly are something very, very simple to make.   All you will need is: cardboard pencil boxes (flattened into the net) contact paper scissors brads I will have to say upfront that these cardboard boxes are given to me by my district.  They have been provided by every school I have worked at and went to (I went to school in the same district I teach for ;) )  But you can get them at any school supply place that sells things in bulk.  However, oddly enough the Velveeta box (you know, the cheese??) is the exact same shape.  You can ask your students to bring in those boxes at the beginning of the year and do the same thing with it! Anyway, once you have the bo......

I have been doing a form of Math Workshop (we call them rotations in my room) for a few years now.  It has worked just fine, but I felt that I wasn't really holding my students as accountable as I could.  I also wanted to work in a bit more small group time for myself and my aide, so I changed my "two rotation" system to a "three rotation" one.  Math instruction takes place in my room from 10:35 to 11:40am (with an added 20 minutes after lunch.)  I have a full hour and a half.  I know I am very lucky to have this time, so I use it.  :)  Here is what my Math time looks like: 10:40 - 11:00am    Rotation 1 11:00 - 11:20am    Rotation 2 11:20 - 11:40am    Rotation 3 Lunch 12:20 - 12:40am    Calendar Review/HW Review There are three stations that the students are rotating through each day: Mrs. Moorman (that is the teacher station) Problem Solving Calendar/Skill/Choice I have broken......

One thing that I have always instituted in my classroom is a consistent routine when it comes to entering the room.  No matter the time of day, my students know that when they come into the room there is ALWAYS something to be done.  Never do the students come in and sit around, talk to their friends, or wander.  So I wanted to share with you what exactly my kids do when they come in to maybe give you some idea of what you can do (in case you need ideas :) ) In the morning: There is actually quite a lot going on during this time.  Students are moving into small remediation groups with my aide or myself, they are getting homework checked, they unpack their things, they are recording their daily attendance money from our classroom economy into their registers, and they are working on their morning work.  But through all of this, there is not a word to be heard.  Everyone knows where to go and what to do, so they are productively working within 5 minutes o......

Seems to be the summer of the linky party, huh?  I am just loving all of the opportunities to link up with other bloggers and learn some great new ideas.  So I couldn't pass by the Organization Party with my two favorite friends Kristen at Ladybug Teacher Files and Elizabeth at Fun in 4B .  This is something I have shared before (about a year ago....crazy it has been that long!), but wanted to reshare, just in case you missed it. You can see the different lists for different work piles This is something I have used since the beginning of my teaching career.  Now, this is not mind blowing.  In fact, my master teacher did a handwritten variation of this when I was student teaching 15 years ago.  When I have a bunch of work that has been turned in, I take a list of the students and just cross off who has turned what in.  Each pile of work gets a separate list. Using the Flow Map really streamlines everything. On days that I just *......

Every summer the internet does me a great favor by showing me all of the AMAZING things that I just HAVE to be doing in my room to make me a better teacher.  I read about how to implement the latest and greatest idea and about why it will make my students the top of the list (which, I know by the shear nature of me having a blog, I am contributing to in no uncertain terms) Well, THIS summer I saw the most FABULOUS, MIND BLOWING, MUST HAVE for my classroom.  This Teacher Tool Kit.  Here it is when I made it this summer after seeing it on Pinterest (which, could NOT be more addictive during those summer time hours)  Awesome right? The intention was to use this instead of a teacher desk.  This would free up some space in my room and allow me to have not one but *two* rugs.  Instant love. Here is what it looks like in my room now. So, was it worth the time it took to spray paint the box and cut the labels (which you can find the template on Elizabe......

Last week we had our annual Open House.  This is a night in the spring when parents come to see all the hard work that the students have done over the course of the year.  To be honest, until I started blogging, I thought this was a normal occurrence.  I have been a part of the same district my entire life (went through my own education here, and now back to teach :) ) so Open House was just something we did.  Now I see that not everyone takes part in this outside of my own little bubble ;) Since you all don't get a chance to see the entire thing on a daily basis like I do, I thought I would take time to show off my room to you.  There are no lesson ideas here...just pictures of my room.  LOTS of pictures of my room.  All of the things here I have written about on my blog in the last few months or so though, so they can be found (and I will link them soon, I promise!)  So, without further ado....Room 6. From the front to the side of the room......