Mimio Wireless Tablets-Amazing Technology

This gorgeous little piece of technology is called a Mimio Wireless Tablet and I have four of them in my 3rd grade classroom. I worked on a grant last year with a small group of teacher buddies to fund our classrooms with these tablets, along with a document camera, netbook, projector, and Mimio Bar (this essentially turns your white board into an interactive whiteboard.) Our grant was funded and the fun began. 

These tablets are super easy to learn to use (we did it with minimal use of the owners manual.) The pen/stylus you see in the picture acts like a mouse allowing you and your students to hover the cursor wherever you want it and then simply click or write on the tablet. You can't see what you are working on by looking at the tablet so you need to have a good view of your board or wherever you project your computer. It comes with software that you install on your computer and then use to either create a lesson or borrow from the gallery of growing lessons. Using the tablets allows you to have proximity to any student throughout the lesson. I own four in my classroom but they can only be used one at a time. It is important to note that they toggle between tablets within seconds, allowing a student at one table group to verbalize and demonstrate their answer to a question and then allow another student at a different group to either rework and change the previous student's work, or erase it entirely and model their own solutions within seconds. 

I used my tablets weekly when I first got them. I put my spelling words along with some cloze sentences up for my kids to complete during Daily 5 (after direct instruction of course) , I created all sorts of word sorts that follow the current word study in my classroom, and I used them to solve countless math problems. After a week, my kiddos were experts at using all of the writing, coloring, and drawing tools.  Every lesson can be saved so if you have an absent student or just someone who needs to review the lesson you can just pull it up. 

Then I discovered the most amazing feature ever! It can record you and essentially enable you to make enhanced podcasts in minutes! After a particularly tricky math lesson, after my students have gone home for the day I go back to the lesson I was using during my direct instruction and record myself working through a few of the problems. Then I save the file as a video and upload it to my classroom site, but it can be uploaded to a class blog just as easily. I usually send a quick email to my families letting them know that I posted a new video so they can view it with their students. If you don't have a site or blog of your own yet, you can save the file and play it for the whole class as review or just for those who need it. 

These tablets are much more affordable than a SMART board, although don't get me wrong, I do LOVE what SMART boards are capable of too! Now as the school year approaches an end (13 weeks...YIKES!) we use our tablets on a daily basis. Plus, I must say these tablets have the cool factor that keep kids engaged. No, I'm not a sales rep for the company, just a passionate teacher who wants to get the word out about cool things you need to have!

Here is one of the videos I have created. You can view more of them on the videos and powerpoints page of my class site if you want to.  Please ignore my chipmunk voice. I don't really sound like that in person, I think.

Trade First Subtraction

Getting to post these videos for my kids and their families has been really beneficial. I still have kids who are in fourth grade now tell me that they have reviewed these videos at some point. We have also created three or four podcasts this year. If anyone is interested in hearing about how I created them with my students, let me know.

Literacy Block

I wanted to continue linking up with Mrs. Patton's Patch because I SO enjoy organization posts. Today's topic is organization of your literacy block. I did a post about my Daily 5 organization recently so today I am focusing on how I organize my actual reading groups. Just to give you a bit of background, I run three types of groups. Guided reading (provides the most support-word attack skills is a focus here), reciprocal teaching (teaching students to have thoughtful discussions while acting as a facilitator-vocabulary and comprehension are a focus here), and book clubs (teacher acts as more of a silent participant in real discussions-text analysis is a focus in this group).

Prepare for a picture overload!!

I thought I would start with a view of my reading table area. You can see my table, green tubs where I store my multiple copy books, my reading binder full of plans, blue magazine holders that house comprehension and response sheets as well as resources for word attack, etc., my table top white board that I bought this year (and it rules!), and lastly a mini tub of stickies, markers, pencils and reciprocal teaching cards.

This is my reading binder. I have divided it up into many tabbed sections. Each section holds my typed out lesson plans for my multiple copy books. Over the years I have developed these plans with essential vocabulary, right there and inferential questions (including page numbers on where to locate the answers in case I forget), ideas for culminating projects, and chapter summaries. In the front of the binder is a list of all of my personal multiple copy books along with their reading level so I can group students and pull books quickly. I love this system and it is awesome for subs to use as well.

Here is a picture of my green stacking tubs which I purchased at Walmart. They house my multiple copy books. I have labeled them all for easy identification. Also, this system has worked so well for me this year.

This little blue caddy holds basic writing utensils for kids to use during group, ample sticky notes of course, white board markers for use on my table top easel and my reciprocal teaching cards.

This shelf sits directly behind my reading table. I have the entire top row stocked with blue magazine holders that I have labeled. They house my word attack cards, reading strategy bookmarks, comprehension question paper copies, reading response copies, and a teacher copy of the current chapter book all of my groups are reading.

Directly above the brown shelf is a bulletin board. To the far right you can get a glimpse of my reading strategy posters that I make using interactive or shared writing. What I wanted to show you though was the reading group posters that I made on my computer and laminated. Each time I meet with a reading group, I record their next assignment so they can't use any excuses for forgetting what the homework was (I have my kids prepare for reading group in class during Daily 5 or independent reading so these posters are good reminders).

My students each have their own plastic magazine holders that I bought from Really Good Stuff. They were a huge expense but soooo worth it. Splurge if ya can! They store their current reading group book along with other books they have chosen for independent reading and they Reader's Notebooks (if this sounds familiar then you already know that Beth Newingham is da bomb!)

I use Reader's Notebooks to hold any comprehension and reading response forms, reading logs, book club notes, and a few other resources for having successful book discussions, choosing appropriate leveled books, and topics for writing a response letter.

I have tabbed the Reader's Notebook to include two sections, reading response and book clubs. Later in the year I have most of my readers engage in book clubs in pairs during independent reading time (Also a concept I learned about and tweaked from Beth Newingham).

Well I hope that provides you with some ideas if you are looking for some organization tips. Normally I change things up a bit every year but I am not messing with this system at all. It really works well for me.

Looking forward to seeing how you 

organize your literacy materials too!

T.E.A.M. Binders/Printables Included

I'm moving right along on this fabulous organization week link up hosted by Mrs. Patton's Patch! Today's topic is home communication. In the past I have used Friday folders with communication logs stapled to the inside of the folder. This worked fine, but as I moved up from first grade to third grade I wanted something that housed all of the tools my students used on a daily basis such as their planners (where they right important dates and homework assignments) and their homework folders. Enter the binder concept. I have seen lots of takes on the back and forth binder and I can't say that I really know where this idea originated but you can find lots of classroom sites where teachers explain how they use them. It may have come from Teaching is a Work of Heart-MOOSE Folders. 


Here is my take on the back and forth binder. First, I call it the T.E.A.M. Binder because I have a team theme going on in my classroom. In fact we call ourselves Team Randall. The acronym stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. I've seen really cute ones with acronyms that fit a variety of classroom themes. I have a page on my classroom website devoted to the T.E.A.M. Binders that looks something like this... 

 Here comes a ton of printables for you...

Here is the cover I use with my binders

A contract I include with my binders that kids need to sign and return

Third grade writing words I include in the homework helper section

Multiplication Table-I put this in homework helper section

Reading Bingo Board-also goes in the homework helper section to encourage kids to read a variety of genres as part of their reading homework

Homework Folder Cover-the folder is towards the back of the binder

I'd love to see how you organize your students daily communication so please click on over to Mrs. Patton's Patch and link up. 

Real Author Comment!!! Oh, and grab my button

I posted this exact post last week when I was on spring break but I didn't realize that my blog wasn't updating. I was going to just let it be but...Deborah Diesen, the author of The Pout-Pout Fish found my post and commented. I am totally star stuck about that! Anyway, I just wanted to repost it because I am quite proud. If you are interested in reading my post about The Pout-Pout Fish video I made with my son and checking out Deborah's comments, click Mr. Fish below. Just disregard it if you already read it.

                                             

Oh, also....Ta Da!
I made my own button! Grab it if you follow. 

<a border="0" href="http://randalllearninglibrary.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l627/KRandall24/Untitled1.png" /></a>

I'm still working on adding your buttons to my blog, but I'll get there soon. Promise.

Math Organization

I've recently posted about how I organize my math games and various math tools that my students use but I love that Mrs. Patton is hosting an organization week so here is a recap in case you missed it.

                                                         Please don't forget to check out



 this week to read about how teachers organize their many, many materials or just read some of her fantastic posts.
Back to math, here goes...

If you are familiar with the Everyday Math program, you know that there are a ton of great games that allow kids to practice the new concepts they are learning. I have taken my favorite games from the program that help develop some of the most important concepts (and provide the biggest bang for the buck as far as skills practiced while playing) and created a system for kids to check them out easily.

First I began by deciding upon which games my students would play a lot throughout the year. Then I made the directions durable. You can either copy and laminate the math masters provided in the teacher manual or type out the directions on your own before laminating all of the games you want to make available for your kids. Next I divided each game into baggies, one for the regular version and one for the advanced version. I included all of the materials needed to play the games such as dice, bags, tiles, cards, money, etc. Each game is then stored in these labeled blue magazine holders with the exception of my fact power games. I found that there are just too many great addition and subtraction games as well as multiplication and division games that I use (from the program as well as some supplemental games I made) so I created two tubs for all of them. I labeled them both Fact Power and then added the operation signs (+/- or x/%).

I have them all out at the start of the year but students are only allowed to play the games I have explicitly taught. After I have taught a game, I add it to a nearby math game chart for kids to refer to. Most of the time I assign a game and which level I want kids to use because I know what they need the most work on but occasionally I let them play a game of their choice.

Along with the great math games, the Everyday Math program provides a lot of math tools for students to use. I have seen teachers give each student their own "toolkit" to store in their desks but as space is limited in my students desks, I prefer to store mine in the blue tubs seen above my cubbies. Each table group has their own labeled tub that contains tiny tupperwares of coins, calculators, soapdishes of cards, mini erasers for use on games and wipeboards, clocks, mini hundreds charts, mini multiplication tables and tape measures. I used to store the pattern block templates here as well but the kids used them so often they preferred to keep them in their writing caddies on their desks so I let them. I label each math tool within the kit with the table number so that if something goes missing, I know which table it came from. I have never had any lost or unaccounted for tools with this system and it only takes 30 seconds for kids to grab them off of the shelf and bring them back to their tables. It also eliminates kids digging in their desks during my math lessons looking for tools.

Finally, in the background of this photo you can see a lot of red tubs on the shelves and a few of my larger white tubs resting on the shelves as well. There are enough for each table group to have one tub. These red tubs store pattern blocks and the white tubs store base ten blocks. Whenever I have a lesson that requires kids to use either of these tools, each table group can grab the tub they need and Voila! they are ready to go!

Can't wait to read about how you organize your math materials. Thanks for reading!

Literacy Center Organization

Hey there, I am continuing to link up with Mrs. Patton over at Patton's Patch to post about classroom organization. Today's topic...literacy center organization.

At the start of the year I called my literacy centers "Daily 5",  which in my classroom consists of word work, spelling, work on writing, read to self, and listen to reading. But, as the year progressed I found myself making changes to the format and becoming a follower of Debbie Diller's Workstations. You can read more on that post here if interested.

Anywhoooo, I start by keeping a master copy of all of my word work and spelling activities in a binder organized by divider tabs. I didn't snap a pic of the binder but here is a freebie of the cover if you are interested in starting your own binder. I keep my masters in clear plastic page protectors in the various tabbed sections of my binder for easy copying and reference throughout the year. I am currently working on a table of contents for each section of the notebook.



I store each word work or spelling game/task/activity in a plastic envelope. You can purchase these durable envelopes form Target or Walmart in packs of five, or through a teacher supply store as well. They have held up over the years really nicely.

I label each envelope so that I can easily go through my stash of games and activities to find the ones I want. At first my labels weren't holding up well against the regular wear and tear of classroom use so I bought these clear label protectors from Demco and I haven't had any issues.

 Here are my tubs that I store work station materials in. I pull out the activities that I want and place them in the large clear tub drawers for kids to use throughout the week or month (depending on when I need to switch my games and activities).

This is a view of the inside of my word work drawer. You can see high frequency words and small doodle boards in a baggie, a Can Do! word skill (synonyms and antonyms) game and the game Banagrams on the left side of the drawer. On the right you can see about ten plastic envelopes stored neatly for kids to grab throughout our synonym/antonym study. These have lasted for three years now and make clean up a breeze for kids. I have a huge stash ( I bought out the aisle at Target when they were on sale) of the plastic envelopes so that I can always add new games I make, purchase, or grab from my blogger buddies.

Looking forward to seeing how you manage your materials. I love peeking into other classrooms!

Ladybug's Dr. Seuss Themed Blog Giveaway

Ladybug is having an amazing giveaway! She is giving away a Dr. Seuss themed blog template for all of you bloggers (and myself including) looking for the CUTEST blog design ever made! Please go and visit her fantastic work.

Daily Organization-Mrs. Patton's Organization Post Party

  

I love a good party! Here are my favorite daily organization systems that I use.


This is my plan book binder. I keep all of my plans in the front half of it but I have tabbed the back half which I use to store my curriculum, rubric, and calendars in. I put this binder together this year after I got tired of constantly flipping through various binders looking for this same information so I decided put it all at my fingertips. It makes life easier on the weekends as well because I only need to bring one binder home. The curriculum section doesn't house my standards or frameworks, but my scope and sequence in all content areas.

I use these drawers which sit next to my desk on a shelf to house multiple copies, upcoming read alouds and general materials that I will need throughout the month. They are strong enough to hold about a months work in advance which is easy to prepare for spelling and math units.

Lastly, this little stacking tub system I got going has been a life saver this year. A friend of mine does something similar with her monthly files. My spin on her idea is that i only created tubs for my major units of study rather than my monthly files. Every time I get ready to plan a new unit, I can just grab the tub I need off of the shelf and bring it with me to my team meetings.

Repost of 6-Traits Mini-Units

Well, I gave it the ol' college try. I tried to link an image to some files but they just don't want to download for anybody so I am reposting them as embedded google docs. That should do the trick! I hope that you find some of these compiled lessons useful. If you are interested in reading my first post about 6-traits, click here. Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm looking forward to Mrs. Patton's Organization Party this week-I hope to see lots of posts on this topic.

Organization Mini-Unit

Word Choice Mini-Unit

Voice Mini-Unit

Spelling Homework

I have tried every form of spelling homework that has ever been invented... but I have finally found something that works really well for me so I wanted to share it.

Here is how my spelling program goes...

In my classroom, I give ten new words each week on the first day of school. My students read them, cut them out and find at least one way to sort them as part of their morning work. Then as a class we discuss the various patterns in the words and write them into our spelling notebooks along with a sentence that describes how the pattern looks and sounds. You wouldn't believe how powerful this discussion piece is, especially at the start of the year when kids only want to sort by initial consonant. We go back to our spelling notebooks throughout the week to complete practice tasks and other sorts that allow them to generalize the patterns to other words. During Daily 5 my kids get even more independent practice with a variety of activities that I have made over the years.

Heres how homework goes...

I do assign spelling homework for each day of the week except Friday. In the past I have handed out a different practice sheet each day of the week for kids to take home for homework but that was a hot mess....tons of lost papers and mass amounts of paperwork to look over. What can I say...I was relatively new. Over the summer as I was thinking about revamping my spelling homework, I decided that I wanted to provide my kids with choice so I stapled a sheet full of activities that kids could do to practice their words at home to the inside of a spiral notebook that kids took home each week and returned for me to flip through every Friday. Also, painful to look through for accuracy, etc. So one day on my internet travels I stumbled across these spelling task cards (see below) that I loved. I altered them just a tad to use in my room. I made a copy for each student and placed them in clear, plastic sleeves that live in my student's T.E.A.M. Binders (my homework folder, planner, etc. organization system) which can be reused next year. I also post them on my class website-just in case. Next I put together a packet, copied back to back that students pick up each week. It is only two pages long, is easy for my kids to organize their words on, stays together and is very easy for me to process. It starts with a cover sheet that has directions and a place for kids to record which spelling task they chose each day of the week from their task cards. Page two is copied onto the back of the cover sheet and is divided into three sections for kids to do their spelling tasks. No more shabby notebooks falling apart a few months into school! The last page is a practice test page for kids to use the night before the spelling test. I also have a reminder on this page about visiting our class spelling city site where I have loaded all of our spelling words. Each week I just post the current spelling week on my homework blog so kids know which list to study.
Here is my spelling homework packet:


I honestly can't remember where I got these amazing cards from but they were offering them up to me for classroom use so I know they wouldn't mind if I passed them along. Thank you for these fabulous cards!


On Friday (or the last day of the school week whatever it may be) I give my test. I tend to use only half of the actual spelling words my kids studied all week and then throw in five "curveballs" as my class likes to call them because if I did my job well and they practiced all week then they should be able to generalize the pattern to new words. The curveballs are usually words from the extension list provided in the spelling program I use or words I pick that follow the pattern. I have to say...my kids do great so I feel like this system is a success. One element that I added this year is dictation sentences. I created two sentences and jam packed them with 2nd and 3rd grade high frequency words for writing. I put a mini-rubric on the bottom of the test so my students know that I am not only grading the sentences for word accuracy, but conventions as well. Still not sure how I feel about this element of the tests. I thought it would help those who needed more practice with conventions and 3rd grade words but it doesn't seem to hold much weight with them. Any suggestions? I provide tons of word work activities during my Daily 5 for practice with the high frequency words but perhaps it is time to assign them as actual words to study each week...

My spelling test template...not super cute but it works for me. I have one without the cursive section for the first half of the school year but this is the form I am currently using.

The Pout-Pout Fish ( I Love-Love This Book!)

The Colorado Children's Book Award program (sponsored by CCIRA) allows students all over the state of CO to cast their vote for their favorite nominated picture book and/or chapter book as long as they have heard at least three of them. As soon as the nominees were announced I started reading the picture books to my class, one per day. It was so fun to just read for pure enjoyment-with no real lesson in the back of my mind, although a lot of the nominees presented great opportunities for teachable moments which I took full advantage of (clarifying words for meaning, fluency, word choice)! I loved listening to my kids buzz about their favorite books and try to persuade others to "get on their team" and vote with them. BTW, have you seen this on tPt created by One Extra Degree? I bought it and I love it!

One of the nominees was Deborah Diesen's first book and New York Times bestseller The Pout-Pout Fish. This book holds a special place in my heart because earlier this year I happened to pick it up at my son's book fair to read to my boys at home. It quickly became a favorite as I

The sequel...also very cute!

watched my two year old stomp around the house imitating the pout-pout fish with his cute little pout-pout face! Of course my five year old adored it as well and often re-reads it (with his own additions when he can't read a word) to his brother all the time. The expression "pout-pout face" is often used in my house to refer to anyone who is being grouchy.

After I shared it with my class (I was sure to include the backstory of this book to draw them into it) it became one of their favorites too! My third graders often use the same expression "looks like so and so has a pout-pout face today..." just to be silly. So of course I ran out (or purchased from Amazon from the comfort of my home) and bought the sequel right away.

I maintain my own classroom website that my students use frequently. They spend a lot of time on the students page so I thought I would surprise them with this video which I posted at the bottom of the student page...turns out they loved it and it was a hit so I thought I would post it. I made it sitting in front of my mac using iSight. Sometimes it is the little things that bring us joy! Here it is, a reading of The Pout-Pout Fish with special guest...Dylan Randall (2.5 yrs.-). He was so excited to see himself on the computer that he kind of forgot about making his pout-pout face but never the less, still cute (no bias of course).

                                              

Linky Party-Ten Things I've Learned from Teaching

Rowdy in First is having a Linky Party! I'm pretty new to blogging but I have to say that I am loving the linky parties! I have been teaching for ten years (minus two years that I took off when I had my boys). I started as a special education teacher for first and second graders in an inclusive classroom, moved to a 1-2 split, then back to first grade and finally ended up in third grade which I adore! After all these moves I have learned at least ten things I can share..here goes!

Ten Things I've Learned from Teaching:

1. I spend money on my classroom as if I were the CEO of a major corporation.
2. Last years plan book is a life saver the first month of school until I can regain my bearings and learn more about my current class.
3. Just because kids turn 8 or 9, it doesn't mean they don't like games and silly, interactive lessons anymore!
4. It pays to be organized, especially if you switch grades or move classrooms often.
5. I think there is such a thing as finding "your grade"...the one you were born to teach.
6. Kids really do use resources you post in your class or on your site if you teach them how to.
7. Your attitude and demeanor can make or break a day for kids. You must always be thoughtful.
8. Keeping a growing list of new ideas and changes you want to implement the next school year give you some great projects to start over the summer.
9. Cute font and clip art are a few of my favorite things.
10. Matching tubs, color schemes and themes make for an organized and fun learning environment.

Schema/New Learning Printable

Can you tell I'm on spring break? I made these cute new signs to post on my anchor charts next week when we start looking at the biography genre. If you laminate them then you can just reuse with any new unit/anchor charts you create.

Vocabulary and Word Skills

I teach A TON of word skills in third grade. It isn't the first exposure that my kids have had to all of the various word skills but it is the year that they are expected to take their understanding to the mastery level. They are asked to identify word types, add to charts, fill in the blank, etc. to demonstrate their understanding. I made this little study guide that I use in the Spring to review all of the word types we have practiced throughout the year. Each morning I have them define one or two words and add examples of each. They can be cut out and stapled into a little booklet when completed for easy reference.


Another review page that I have found useful to help review vocabulary words that come from my reading program is this word jar sheet. I have a large jar in my classroom that I made out of poster board where we "collect" interesting words and words from the program my school uses. I feel as though the words get limited use by my students though, even when we define them, doodle examples, use them in sentences, etc. They seem to forget them by the time I am ready to introduce new words. I assign the word jar sheet as homework occasionally if we have a particularly tricky bunch of vocabulary words. I'd love to hear how you incorporate your vocabulary words into your day. I love how Ladybug's teacher files posts the various vocabulary she uses in different content areas so I was thinking of giving her idea a try as well.

Original Titles-6 Traits of Writing

My school uses the 6 Traits of Writing for teaching writing. If you are familiar with the ideas behind it, I'm sure you've created tons of your own lessons like I have. I loved these two books that I bought from Amazon when I moved up from first grade to third grade. I've also pulled some great lessons from the Trait Crate. 

As with any resource, I don't love all of the lessons or picture books that the authors present in their books so I end up picking and choosing the ones I love and then adding to them whenever I see another great book that just screams "organization" to me. I have ended up putting together my own mini-units so that each year as I get ready to focus on a particular trait, I can pull out all of the best lessons I have compiled and revised and I'm ready to go! Feel free to check them out, print off, make changes, etc. I hope you find the ones I have posted useful! I have a great unit for Ideas/Content as well but it is stored on my work computer. Just let me know if you want it and I'll post it after my spring break. I played around with linking the google doc. file to an image but it only downloads if you click on the words under the image. Not sure how to correct that but let me know if it doesn't download for you.

Organization Mini-Lessons

Voice Mini-Lessons

Word Choice Mini-Lessons

 One area that I have struggled with finding resources for at all is how to help kids pick original titles for their writing. I've tried all kinds of lessons including only writing a line at the top of the page and then going back to add the title after the story is finished. I've modeled creating my own title every time I model writing for my class-which is a lot! I have come to settle on the fact that this must be a developmental piece that not all third graders are really ready to take on. As long as my kids have a title that matches their piece of writing then I think that is terrific. However I do have a chunk of kids who can think past titles that fit and need some instruction on creating unique titles that help pique readers interests.


This idea just popped into my head one day so I typed it up and tried it out. I created a two column list of titles. Column one has a list of modeled readings I have used in my class this year that I think have original titles. Column two is my own ordinary version of the unique title-I totally made them up to sound boring on purpose, but still fit the content of the book because my kids have heard them before. I started by showing them only column two which was the ordinary titles and believe it or not, they weren't that thrilled to hear me read any of the stories. They said it was because the titles were...wait for it....too BORING! I knew I was on to something and I couldn't wait to show them the first column with great titles. They were stunned when they figured out what I did and admitted that the first column sounded much more exciting than the second column.  It got a lot of my writers excited to revise their titles and those who chose not to are still noticing the difference between ordinary titles and original titles whenever I do a modeled or shared reading with them and I think that is a great start!