Monday Made It: Back to School

Here's my FIRST Monday Made It, hosted by Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics.

 

This week's projects are all classroom related now that the Back to School crunch has begun. And now, without further ado...

(insert drumroll and blaring trumpets)

 

I finally  finished my Language Arts Center Tub...well, I did find/think of a few more ideas I want to add, but the tub is ready for exploration when school starts. Some ideas came from my head, some from The Mailbox, and some were freebies from 3rd Grade Gridiron . The ziplock bag contains an Irregular Verbs Milk & Cookie Memory game; the cup and cookie patterns are from The Dollar Tree.

 

Throughout the school year I would get mobbed by students needing help, especially during Writing Workshop. So when I found these pencil pattern freebies at All Students Can Shine I let out a big WOOT! After laminating them, I decorated a library pocket, purchased at Hobby Lobby, to store them in. When my mom saw them she cracked up and said Writing Workshop will resemble the deli counter.

 

Speaking of pencils, mine would be gobbled up by the 2nd month of school and I would have to replenish them numerous times throughout the year. I found this idea on Pinterest. I placed duct tape flags atop each pencil so they're easily identified. I also put a strip of tape around the cup and hotglued the label onto the strip so it would stay. Easy peasy and cheap.

 

 

 

My old writing process display got faded by the sun  so I made this new one using construction paper I glued together. It's now laminated so looks a lot smoother than in the photo.

 

Instead of a Morning Do Now, my students write a journal entry after they arrive to school, unpack, and write/submit homework. I got tired of having to write the steps every day so created these labels, which match my homework labels. I display them side by side on the classroom whiteboard and divide the categories using Wasi tape.

 

That does it for my 1st Monday Made It. Happy learning!

Snow Day Scoop

Two back to back snow days is the perfect opportunity to catch up with blogging.

We traveled back in time when Mr. Davidson from the Cranbury Historical Society Museum visited our class to teach us about Native Americans and colonists who once resided in our community. Mr. Davidson, dressed as a colonist, brought maps and pictures, which brought to life the stories he shared with us. We especially liked his tricorne hat and learning about the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Davidson's stories integrated what we've been learning about in reading, social studies, and science.

 

 

We've been learning about pronouns in a variety of ways, including playing the "Pronoun Pockets" game. Each student received a card with a sentence written on it that contained a noun. The student then placed the card in the pronoun pocket that could replace the noun. For example, "The mom made spaghetti for dinner." was placed in the "she" pronoun pocket. The way I created the pockets was by gluing envelopes on to posterboard.

 

To encourage good classroom behavior I recently introduced a "Class Reward Jar." I purchased the small plastic jar at A.C. Moore, then decorated it with letter stickers and curling ribbon. When the class is exhibiting good behavior it earns a marble...and, sometimes more than one. 

I gave the kids choices for a reward: one night of no homework, a special snack, or a movie. The class voted for a movie. And, the "desk fairy" continues to leave treats for students who keep their desks organized and neat.

Finally, I'm not sure why, but Blogger refuses to display my uploaded photos large after the 1st one. However, if you click on a photo it should open in large size in a gallery.