As of late, my class has been less than kind to each other. I have noticed them leaving each other out, ditching partners, having unkind inside jokes at the expense of others, and just generally being mean to their classmates.  At times, I am sure some are unaware of how unkind they are being.  They are just following along with the rest of the class.  But there in lies the problem.  So I decided to do a 5 day mini-unit on kindness.  Using picture books as our start, the intention of these lessons was to refocus us all on how our actions affect others and how being kind/nice/polite to others is an intentional choice that we make. Day 1:  Empathy and How it Feels to be E xcluded Book:  The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig Goal of the lesson:   For students to recognize that exclusion and ignoring others is hurtful, even when it isn't loud bullying. I began by telling the students that I had noticed that in our class people were being left out. that th......

One of the big ideas in 4th grade science is looking at how plants (and animals) have various structures that help them to survive.  We have looked at videos and read textbooks, but I thought we could use a little hands-on experience with it.   In my classroom, we are lucky enough to have a Lettuce Grow Farm Stand.  Since this planting season they each are observing one of the plants we have in the stand, I had them cut one leaf off of their specific plant to observe, diagram, and measure in a science journal.  I wanted them to look at the *structure* of the leaf, not only focus on the color and feel.  So I whipped up this little science journal template for them to use that would keep them on track with their observations. Since they were journaling, I had them start off with the basics.  They drew their leaf as accurately as possible, keeping in mind to keep the picture big so that they could label with proper vocabulary.  I walked them through the ......

I have really be into using my windows as an additional project display.  Taking what is otherwise dead space and making it something pretty is just up my alley as of late.  So, using clear contact paper and sharpies, we created this amazing art project that really had some awesome WOW factor!  Honestly, there isn't much to this project. The kids looked at the original painting (we did a narrative writing project with it) and then drew their best rendition of it on a 12" x 17" piece of clear contact paper.  They then used colored sharpies to color it in.  Since we don't have white sharpies, I did buy white paint pens.  Those weren't super successful (they peeled off when I put them on the window) but the rest of the colors looked great! Would you like to know more about the narrative writing assignment my students did in connection with this art project?   You can read what we did, as well as pick up the printables, here. ...

One of the typical, and very specifically Californian social studies units we learn about in 4th grade is the Mission System.  Here are a few things we have done these past two years since I moved back into the grade level. In class, we learned about the mission system, how and why it was started, and how it affected the native Americans who were living there.  We spent a great deal of time on the impact the entire system had on the indigenous people while discussing the system as a whole.  This year, because of time, we went simple and to the point.  We read the social studies book, watched a few videos, and did a little research on the mission system itself.   We also did a small research report and accompanying art project on the individual missions.   Each student was assigned a mission to learn about.  I gave them this report template to help them gather their information.  This was actually rather difficult for them, which I wasn't prepared......

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......

When the year begins, I love to get student work up as soon as humanly possible.  Filling our bulletin boards with the work that students produce creates a space that they can be proud to call their own.  So, with that idea in mind, my brain is always churning with easy, yet worthwhile, activities that the kids can do starting day one in my classroom.  This 3D " Light Bulb Moments " project was just PERFECT for that.  I began by telling these students that they would be thinking about who they are, what they want to accomplish, and what they would like to share with their fellow classmates so that we could all get to know each other a bit more.  To do that, I told them, we would be creating this fun little All About Me project in the shape of a light bulb.   I passed out three pretty self-explanatory light bulb shaped worksheets to the students.  Basically the kids need to fill in their generic personal information (name, age, favorite color, etc..) a......