Many Thanks & Setting up Interactive Notebooks

Before I begin, I need to thank EVERYONE who took the time out to read the last post on Ruby-doo. Thanks to everyone's efforts, we raised over $3900! Thank you Thank you Thank you for your generosity! Her mother was surprised and speechless. She wanted us to share her gratitude!

The newest craze in education a few years ago was moving towards interactive notebooks.

I am only going to focus on the general notebook for the post. If you have taught at any level of elementary school, you know that children have a very difficult time staying organized. In the past, I have tried folders. Unfortunately, 4 months after school has started those wonderful folders begin to fall apart. I have tried binders because they were more sturdy. Nope, that didn't work because then I would find sheets of paper in the wrong section, paper in a desk, or even the occasional work period on the floor.

So... this was my solution to the madness!



Because I have two classes, I use different duck tape to separate the two classes. I place a strip of duck tape on the left side of their composition notebooks.

The second step is placing a label. One thing I have learned about composition notebooks is that the front cover is not very pencil friendly.

Depending on the subject, I spend the first week of school setting up notebooks. All of the notebooks have a table of contents. Table of contents are great. It keeps the kids organized, they know where to look for topics, and they are held responsible for keeping track of it.

The Table of Contents below is from Writer's Workshop. (By the way, I always model, model, model. Modeling is a HUGE step!)



In the past I have separated notebooks by topics. This year, for readers and writers, I separated the notebooks by units. However, for skills (grammar) I separate them by topics like nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.

There are many ways to separate pages. This year I used post it tab dividers. In the past I have used small Post its. To use the sticky notes, place the sticky on the bottom and write the title on the top. It works the same as Post it Tabs, except they are not a sturdy.



I have really enjoyed using these in class. My next few posts are going to be on how these are used in the class and different ways to make them special. I use these for Reading, Writing, an Grammar/Skills. It has been a work in progress, but in the end they have been the best option for keeping everything organized and together.

My next blog post will probably answer questions like: Where do they place worksheets? What about a project or page they are working on?

No worries, stay tuned, and hopefully I will answer all of your questions when it comes to use these in ELA.

Happy Blogging

A Place For Peace Fundraiser

One year ago, I lost one special little angel to Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In honor of her, I am dedicating this blog post to Ruby.


I am not sure where to begin. It is a very difficult subject for me to talk about because I am a NO emotion kind-a- girl. It is hard to believe it has already been a year. The emotions are still raw. I have sat here for hours writing, deleting, writing, deleting, trying to find a way to express how much Ruby touched my life.

Four years ago, I was introduced to a sweet, darling child by her third grade teacher, Abby (from Third Grade Book Worm). She came with an open mind and an eagerness to learn. What I didn't expect was how much I would learn from her. Her parents welcomed us as family. I spent many "ordinary" and extraordinary moments with her.

Many people come in and out of our lives. I know Ruby had a special mission for being in our lives. Her sassy, positive attitude and plethora of knowledge and advice will never be forgotten. She will always have a special place in my heart (and many others.)




We recently learned that her parents were not able to afford a headstone for her grave. Her family is struggling to pay off Ruby's medical debts. My friend Abby at Third Grade Bookworm and I want to help give them the ability to give Ruby a proper "place for peace."






I cannot thank Abby enough for taking the time and putting this fundraiser together. Please take a moment to visit her blog for more information, Third Grade Bookworm and contribute if you feel a calling to do so.



Here's how this will work:

You donate $20 via the PayPal button at the bottom of this post.
Tell your friends, blog about it, and help spread the word.
Abby will send YOU the bundled files within 72 hours (hopefully faster!) to the email attached to your PayPal account. If you want them sent to a different email address, please note it when you are checking out in the "message" box. You can also email Abby at thirdgradebookworm@gmail.com

After the fundraiser is over, Abby will give all of the money raised (minus any PayPal fees) to Ruby's parents. They will be able to purchase a headstone for our sweet girl.
The total value of the files donated to this fundraiser is over $120!

If you'd like to donate, please remember the following:
You must donate a minimum of $20 in order for me to send you the bundle of goodies.
All donations are going through my PayPal account. PayPal has created a code that will tell me you have donated towards A Place for Peace. This helps her to keep all of the fundraiser funds separated and it makes it easier for me to verify your donations.

She will use the email provided to me through PayPal to send you your goodies unless you send her a message at the bottom of your transaction or you email her directly at thirdgradebookworm@gmail.com.

The donation button (located at Third Grade Bookworm) will be active for 1 week: April 17th - 24th.

Once you donate, please give her 72 hours to send you the link to your goodies.
Once the fundraiser is over, she will remove the donation button and give all of the funds to Ruby's parents. We promise to let you know how much we raise and pass along any messages from Ruby's parents.



If you have made it through this long post, thank for your time!

Long Needed Break :)

Apologies for my LONG needed break. I don't think I would have survived the past few months without my friend Abby over at Third Grade Bookworm. We just finished performing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of the Black Forest! Hee hee... well, we didn't perform it, we just guided our students in preparing for the show. We had an AMAZING group of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students (28 total)perform a full 2-act play. Every show sold out! Insane!!!


Here is the BIG BAD BOY I have been working on for the past 2 months...




We could not have made the show a success without many people. I need to give many thanks to the people who have made this years' play a success!


Thank you Thank you Thank to Crystal who made our Playbill cover! It looked FABULOUS! Please hop on over to her blog, The Library Fox and her store.

I think of myself as a secret blogger :) so I am sure no once will see this, but I truly am very grateful for ALL of your help.

Now....it's time for me to get all of my stuff together and update this blog with some new goodies and classroom updates.

Goodbye to spring break :(

Happy Blogging!

Freebie Anchor Charts & St. Patrick's Day Game

The testing season is slowly but surely creeping around the corner. When you combine the stress of state testing and spring fever, it doesn't make a nice combination. In spite of all the fun, I have been working on grammar anchor charts for my kids. I LOVE making these! Anchor charts are charts used to introduce a topic. They are also a great reference to look at when you review. I created an anchor chart for antonyms and synonyms. I usually print a half page copy for each child and have them place it in their interactive skills (grammar) notebooks. Believe it or not, the kids actually do go back and look at these during writing or skills block. Especially if they are working on a skill in writing that they are trying to transfer over from skills. I use my skills block time to teach individual skills. For example, if we are learning about compound sentences, I will teach in isolation what are compound sentences. Children need to know how to identify the sentence before they can create their own. Later on in Writer's Workshop, they will practice creating compound sentences in their stories. Here is a look at the antonyms and synonyms anchor chart.



GRAB this FREEBIE Anchor Chart IN MY TpT store

The free pack includes 4th & 5th grade standards anchor chart, reference pages for students, and a generic anchor chart for all grade levels.



Saint Patrick's Day Themed Parts of Speech Card Game

I have recently started working on a strategic card game for my kids. I just finished my first set. Since testing season is approaching, we are doing lots of review. The first thing we are reviewing are parts of speech. This pack includes subjects, predicates, adjectives, and adverbs. My students love this game because they have to use a strategy while playing. The goal of the game is to make a stack. The kids have to figure out the appropriate time to place the third card so they can win the stack. The game lasts about 15-20 minutes. It depends on the students and how well they know the parts of speech.



GRAB THIS Saint Patrick's Day Parts of Speech Review Game in my TPT store.

Enjoy your weekend! Happy Blogging!

Oops.. I haven't quite figured out how to set the timer on my posts. So, it is a little late.

The time of year I dislike has arrived. The huge state test is right around the corner and I am feeling a little overwhelmed trying to decide what is most important to teach. Here's this months Currently from Oh Boy fourth Grade.



Listening: I usually have background noise of some sort. My house is a little too quiet tonight.

Loving: I am EXCITED tomorrow is "Friday"! Ok, not really. It's really Thursday, but we don't have school on Friday because it's a four day weekend. We no longer have our week long February break. Even though I am furloughed tomorrow, I'll take it. I need a good long restful week. I feel like the winter break went by way to fast.

Thinking: It is currently 11:47 PM! It is waaaay to late for me to be up. I have to wake up at 4:45 AM. I have to beat traffic in the morning. I know there's a teacher at my school that travels everyday from Ellijay. That's 2 hours from our school! I wonder what time she leaves every morning? Yikes!

Wanting: I REALLY need to finalize my honeymoon to Puerto Rico! Actually, I have gone as far as choosing the package & hotel, but when it came time to pay ... I get cold feet! I'm afraid I am going to end up in a scary, shady place. I need to just click it and be done with it!

Needing: Clearly I need sleep. Ha, Ha..for some reason I have already deleted my currently. I don't know what I was thinking. I usually save them, so that I can edit them. When I went to blog about needing, I had clearly not deleted my the copied text. So, I had to use a text box over my original text.

Pet Peeves: Agh! My husband is really bad at this. Please tell me I am not the only one who feels this way. The sound of the teeth on silverware is just as horribly equal as the sound of nails on a chalkboard. Eek, just thinking about it gives me the heebeejeebees :)


Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!

Happy Blogging!

Aileen

Ignore the Dust!

Yikes! My blog has been collecting dust! I have been away for too long. With the large class sizes and double the literacy work with the new common core, I have been swamped! I have working on two things.

I just finished up a super cute Valentine's Day game! I can't wait to have my kids play it tomorrow. It's a spin off a math game my math partner uses.


VALETINE'S STACK'EMS CARD GAME

I debated whether or not to make this a freebie. I finished it too late...Especially since Valetine's Day is tomorrow.

The other thing that has been occupying my life it this enormous Topic Sentence pack. A few months ago I realized my students weren't understanding topic sentences (from finding them to writing them. I have had to take a break because our Drama Club is getting ready to perform Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of the Black Forest.

I apologize for the short post, but I intend to clean up the dust within the next few days.

Happy Valentine's Day :) Don't eat too much sugar!



Happy Blogging!

New Year, New Giveaway, New Author

How else should I kick off the New Year? A giveaway of course! And hopefully a new blog look!(I'm perusing the market for a new blog design)

Almost one month ago my friend published her first children's book. I thought I would get her started with this new venture with an author Q&A. I like the idea... Hmmm maybe I have an idea brewing in my mind for a recurring blog title. The only problem I might come across is finding authors to support the thought.

Without further ado, I introduce Leigh Anne Hainline, the author of The Day I Used Orange

1. Where did you get the idea to write this book?
We were asked in an art class while earning my Masters, to create a children's book. I knew I wanted it to teach something but not the average lesson. I knew rhyming words would be good for elementary students and teaching non-rhyming words would be a nice twist. The plot emerged from there and led me on a fun journey as I created the story line.


2. What is your target audience?
Pre-K to 3rd, (early elementary)

3. Do you plan on writing another children's book?
Yes! I have some ideas running through my head for another children's book. I'm thinking of continuing the series of teaching unique lessons through color words. (Plus after a book reading at a local school, some students gave me a list of book ideas they want me to write about, so I definitely have inspiration.)
During my 8 years of teaching, I kept a journal of funny student quotes and am considering compiling them for a book that will bring laughter and joy to teachers... because "Students Say The Darndest Things".

4. What was the most difficult thing about writing the book?
The most difficult part of writing this book was learning to have patience as it went through revision after revision. The writing process is there for a very important reason, but having to edit and revise so many times was taxing. It was totally worth it when I received that first edition print in the mail though. :)


5. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I really enjoyed collaborating with the illustrator during the writing of this book. Hope Knight is such a talented artist and school art teacher. She was able to bring life to my words on each page that would capture the interest of the young reader. It was an amazing feeling seeing my dream become a reality in print!


6. Is there anything else you would like to share?


My favorite children's book is "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf. I read this book so many times, I can almost recite it from heart. That book captured me and got me interested in reading and telling stories, which has led to writing as well.



Interested in her book?
https://www.createspace.com/3949011?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026



And last but not least! THE GIVEAWAY!!! A copy of Leigh Anne Hainline's book: signed by author & illustrator.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Happy New Year!!