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!

Everyday Math Games and Tool Organization

I am on Spring Break this week and I am planning on doing a little spring cleaning and organizing at home so I thought a fitting topic would be to continue along on my classroom organization posting streak!

 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!

Please let me know if there are other classroom organization systems you are interested in seeing that I could post about. I know I am always interested in seeing how other teachers house their materials in efficient ways and I always seem to be in the middle of a new project. Right now I am in the process of reorganizing my mass amounts of word work games from sitting in a huge messy pile in one of my large filing cabinets to labeled plastic envelops I found at Target.

Linky Party-My Nest

Ohboy3rgrade is having a linky party in which teachers share their favorite (and not so favorite) areas of their classroom that they consider their "nest." I must admit I don't really spend that much time at my desk other than right at the end of the day (if I don't have a meeting) trying to keep on top of my grading/reviewing or planning. I like to keep it organized with an easily accessible open area for my kids to play math games on in pairs. Here goes...


THE GOOD...

This is where I keep my plan book, and the teacher manuals that I refer to most often throughout the week. The other manuals/resources are in the big cabinet next to my desk. I also keep my grading book (where I enter grades and then transfer to an online system when I have time) and my Focus Student binder handy. In the light green file holder I store a mini-binder that I grab on the way to staff meetings, last years plan book-just in case, my crisis binder for emergencies and some of my files that I use often such as rubric masters for my class blog, contracts and work samples, etc. In the back you can see a metal file holder which houses a few more of my most used files for easy access as well as laminated folders I put on kids desks when they are absent so that I can just slide missed work in them as the day progresses. And finally, my big ol'cup of joe!

Here is the other side of my desk...nothing special to look at here. Just my little drawers for sticky notes, gum, chapstick, etc. And oh...what's that? That little tri-colored pad? Oh, that's just my favoritist (thats a word I bet) purchase from Really Good Stuff ever! It has three sections for me to categorize my to-do list. I tore off the pages to make it look neat but trust me, it is super handy.

More of the other side of my desk, tape and staplers (don't ask me why but 3rd graders tend to love using these items for just about anything they can think up so I have plenty on hand for them), a black wire basket where I store items needing my immediate attention such as items to copy, read, sign, file, etc. and lastly my "in-box" where kids turn in their work.

A better view of my "in-box". I used little frames I bought at Pier One years ago to hold funny little reminders for kids to put their name on their paper, etc. I used a little sticky-gum stuff from Office Depot to make sure they don't topple over every time someone turns something in.

Next to my desk I have a huge set of cabinets and these wire shelves above my sink. I bought these stacking tubs from Walmart and used them to house my materials for all of the major units of study I teach.

These desktop file cabinets sit on the shelf next to my desk. I labeled them with different content areas and use them to store copies I need for upcoming lessons. I'm thinking of going to a Monday-Friday system next year and using the leftovers for storing large quantities of copies for further out lessons. There is no reason that these are different colors, other than I got them at different points in my teaching career. It bugs me though. I have a bit of self-diagnosed OCD, maybe.

THE BAD...

This is a small area next to my desk where I store my spelling files and file folder games. Also, it is currently housing some literacy games that I haven't gotten ready for the kids to use yet that I got through a Donor's Choose project request that was fully funded. Yeah! If you want to know what is behind that curtain you'll just have to use your imagination. There was no way I was going to show that off. It is a jumble of posters and anchor charts that I use. I can't stand the way they look all mixed up on the shelves so I covered it with cute cloth from the fabric section at Walmart. There...now doesn't that look better?

OK, this seriously isn't that bad but it is where stuff goes to "eh hem" die when I can't figure out what to do with it. Yes, it usually finds a home but for now my huge crate of books on cd and my cutest little mini-fridge (perfect for yogurt) live under my desk. That purple bucket...that must have died recently because I don't know where it came from or what to do with it.

Well, there you have it. People tell me I'm a very organized person but if they only new what really lies beneath that cute fabric cloth they might think twice!

Daily Five Organization

I'm on a roll now with the organization posts so here goes another one. I implemented CAFE and Daily Five mid-year last year and then made some major changes to it for this school year. I had a very hard time sticking to the sample schedules provided in the books.

I tried. I really did, but I found myself slowly moving away from word work lessons, then word work practice, etc. and back to a larger block of teaching time where I covered all of my skills along with guided practice and provided my independent practice of those same skills while I pulled my reading groups. I struggled with making that change to my schedule because I felt like I was compromising the integrity of the Daily Five but I finally gave in to what felt better to me and seemed to work better for my kiddos and just ran my Daily Five activities like centers. Even though I still called it Daily Five, my kids were really only getting to approximately three activity rotations. I didn't feel as though this was too big of a deal as long as they were learning and being productive. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions or stories welcome here of course.

When I taught first grade, I felt the need to support my kids with center rotation charts. However in third grade I knew I could trust my class to make the right choices during Daily Five, be productive and improve on their literacy skills. For this reason, I did away with center rotation charts. As the first trimester progressed, I noticed the same few kids sticking with the same activities everyday. It was hard to monitor them while pulling groups and be certain they were getting a well rounded practice of skills. So in lieu of the traditional rotation chart I made giant bookmarks! I made one for each student in my class. As you can see below, the bookmarks have all of the Daily Five rotations listed in various orders. I have my class pick out one bookmark, start at the top and work their way down to ensure they hit up all of the activities I have. They can turn in their bookmark to the big bucket for a new one with a different order when they have completed all five for the week. This happens at different times for different kids throughout the week. The bookmark system has proven to be successful in managing not only how many kids are trying to work on a specific activity, but it also helped ensure kids would in fact reach all of the activities each week, some more often than others depending on how quickly they work. The bookmarks make it easy to make "on the fly" accommodations by simply writing on them with vis-a-vis marker or attaching a clip to help students keep their place and know just where to start the next day.

* I apologize for the glare but I can't seem to take a photo of a laminated object with out it *

I started the year off having my kids record their choices on this chart. Under each activity title, I listed some of the choices that kids could pick. They were the same ones that we added to our anchor charts when I introduced each activity. As the year progressed and I changed the timing and format, the sheet changed as well. I shrunk it to half a page, added a reminder to check the board for must do's (typically something left from morning work or a specific vocabulary assignment) and finally reduced the amount of recording kids had to do. Instead of listing what strategy they used while reading or what topic they wrote about, I had them check it off. Some kids really needed this structure while others were able to phase it out once they established a solid routine. Here is the original version.



After all of that rambling... it turns out I don't love Daily Five. I know, I know....gasp! I DO love the theory of it, but I am definitely more of a Debbie Diller Workstations fan. I feel like when all is said and done, I followed the Workstations format to a tee! So... alas I will be making changes for next year as well. I would love to hear from you so drop me a line about what systems work for you.

Note-see my Shelfari bookshelf at the bottom, right side of my blog to take a look at the books I mentioned in this post.

Reading Group Organization

The teaching blog community that I subscribe to has started an organizaition blog party of sorts in which teachers share some of their favorite organizational systems they have developed over the years. This is a topic near and dear to my heart so I plan to share some of mine over the next few posts. I hope you find something that is useful to you.

Organization of the many, many ....things teachers need in their classroom is a hot topic among my teacher friends. We are always looking for new and efficient ways to organize the sheer amount of teaching tools we have in our classrooms. One of the projects I took on last year towards the end of the year was my multiple copy books that I use for reading groups. I am fortunate enough to have a very well stocked book room at my school which houses tons of leveled books for teachers to use for reading groups, but as I am a tad OCD in nature, I have purchased my own through Amazon and Scholastic so that I never have to hunt down a missing copy or god forbid...wait for a set (these types of snags frustrate me as I like to have things as soon as I realize I want them). The books I have purchased tend to be the ones I have found success with in third grade so I developed thorough plans for them which live in my reading binder. This way, each time I rotate through my groups I have a set of plans to base my lessons on which include summaries for each chapter (in case I have a substitute run groups), vocabulary words, literal and inferential questions, and culminating projects. My book sets range in levels to accommodate for the various abilities and skills of my kids. I also add to my collection and tweak my plans each year.

Shelving is very abundant in my classroom so I used to just house my sets on them near my reading table. This worked...but I wanted them to stay grouped together and look neat and organized. I ran across these green tubs in a friends classroom. She used them to house her cd player and books for Daily Five. I loved the way they stacked so I went to Walmart and cleaned out their stock.

These are my tubs, labeled and looking neat!

One more thing that I wanted to share that I developed this year is this chapter book summary sheet. I have my kids complete one box for each chapter that they read. This has proven to be very helpful in guiding our discussions and forces kids to clarify for meaning as they read. It also gives me a great indication of student comprehension for those group members who are less inclined to verbalize during group. If you copy it double sided, it can last for 8 chapters. Much better than sticky notes all over the place. I three hole punch it and have my kids pop it into their Reader's Notebooks. During independent reading, my class often has their notebooks open to this organizer so they can record notes, etc. while reading and it is all stored in one place. It has also proven to be a great record of progress as far as the detail kids can take note of as their reading skills develop.

*Still playing with embedding google docs...let me know if this doesn't work for you and I'll keep trying.

Another great organizational tip from a teacher blogger... why didn't I think of this? 

Happy Friday everyone!