My Life as a Fifth Grade Teacher
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sale in My Stores
Check out my stores at Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook. I am holding at 10% off sale of many items in both stores - and at Teachers Notebook you can also register for my giveaway! Who knows, you might be the lucky winner? :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
MIA & Problem/Solution Freebie Game
So I've been missing in action all week - spent the week in the hospital - so not fun. Of course, this is my "haha" for lesson planning all the way to Thanksgiving break the day I went into the hospital. So much for trying to get ahead. I still don't know quite what's wrong, but I am going to try to go back to work on Monday. Hoping all stays well and that I can survive the week until I can get in for a follow up with my own doctor on the following Monday. While I was sick, I apparently picked up some new followers so I am giving away my newest game to the first 3 people who comment below with their name and e-mail so I can send it your way. Made this game up today since I am working on problem and solution in class next week. Thought this would make a fun center game.
You can also purchase these at my teachers pay teachers store or my teachers notebook store.
Hope everyone has a great week. :)
Friday, October 12, 2012
Great Day
Love days like today when I can just thoroughly enjoy my class.
We had a great play this morning to go to...each year our school does a program we call PARP - Parents As Reading Partners. In this program, the kids log minutes reading weekly for 6 weeks. They get small prizes for participating each week and a bigger prize if they do at least 5 out of the 6 weeks. However, the best thing about it is always the plays the teachers put on. The teachers kick off the program with a play the Friday before the kids start reading and introduce a problem that the kids can solve by reading the required amount of minutes. The program always closes with the second act of the play which is what the kids REALLY look forward to. I have never been in it myself (even though I love the stage) due to the time constraints of my second job I would have no time to attend practices. However, I really must give KUDOS to my fellow teachers who do this each year (and yes it is almost the same teachers every year). The play always goes along with our theme, and this year it was written by our wonderful media specialist. Since our theme is "Diplomat is on the Case of Learning" (secret agents, mysteries, etc) she created a very cute play of Scooby Doo and Crew solving the case of why the Big Bad Wolf was so upset all the time (and tied in many storybook favorites - Sleeping Beauty, Hansel & Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Belle, Goldilocks, and Little Red Riding Hood). The play was fun for kids and teachers too! The cast really did wonderfully.
We then came back to our room to make fun campaign posters for Judson Moon the boy who would be President from the book we are reading The Kid Who Ran for President. The kids are loving this book and their posters were truly original.
Finally, best part of the day was a compliment party. The kids elected to watch Shiloh Season since we had just recently read Shiloh and watched the movie they wanted to know what happened next. I crazily allowed them to bring in any fun snack they wanted and a soda to go with it. I have never done this before, but they were so AWESOME about it. They truly worked hard for this compliment party and deserved every minute of it. I thoroughly enjoyed our day and hope they did too. This class makes teaching fun! :) I LOVE IT!!!!
Just had to share because it's so easy to get bogged down, but when you have a day like today it's nice to share with fellow teachers because it's really what it's all truly about.
We had a great play this morning to go to...each year our school does a program we call PARP - Parents As Reading Partners. In this program, the kids log minutes reading weekly for 6 weeks. They get small prizes for participating each week and a bigger prize if they do at least 5 out of the 6 weeks. However, the best thing about it is always the plays the teachers put on. The teachers kick off the program with a play the Friday before the kids start reading and introduce a problem that the kids can solve by reading the required amount of minutes. The program always closes with the second act of the play which is what the kids REALLY look forward to. I have never been in it myself (even though I love the stage) due to the time constraints of my second job I would have no time to attend practices. However, I really must give KUDOS to my fellow teachers who do this each year (and yes it is almost the same teachers every year). The play always goes along with our theme, and this year it was written by our wonderful media specialist. Since our theme is "Diplomat is on the Case of Learning" (secret agents, mysteries, etc) she created a very cute play of Scooby Doo and Crew solving the case of why the Big Bad Wolf was so upset all the time (and tied in many storybook favorites - Sleeping Beauty, Hansel & Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Belle, Goldilocks, and Little Red Riding Hood). The play was fun for kids and teachers too! The cast really did wonderfully.
We then came back to our room to make fun campaign posters for Judson Moon the boy who would be President from the book we are reading The Kid Who Ran for President. The kids are loving this book and their posters were truly original.
Finally, best part of the day was a compliment party. The kids elected to watch Shiloh Season since we had just recently read Shiloh and watched the movie they wanted to know what happened next. I crazily allowed them to bring in any fun snack they wanted and a soda to go with it. I have never done this before, but they were so AWESOME about it. They truly worked hard for this compliment party and deserved every minute of it. I thoroughly enjoyed our day and hope they did too. This class makes teaching fun! :) I LOVE IT!!!!
Just had to share because it's so easy to get bogged down, but when you have a day like today it's nice to share with fellow teachers because it's really what it's all truly about.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Algebra Games - Exponents & Equations
My kids are sooooo excited to be doing algebra...we are such BIG kids. Poor things have been stuck doing long division since school started at the beginning of August so no wonder they are excited about it. And boy are the GOOD at it. Because I love having kids practice skills using games, I made these cute "I Have, Who Has" games for my teacher pay teacher store and also have posted it at my teachers notebook store. Because I am now just 1 follower away from 40, I am giving it away for FREE to you!!! If you think this can work great in your classroom for a review, just comment below with your name and e-mail address and I will send it your way. Thanks for following. :)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Fall Favorites/ New Item Freebie/ Currently Linky
I love Fall. Even though I live in Florida and fall is just an illusion (especially with the heat and crazy stormy weather we've been having lately), I love the season. I just got my classroom all decorated for fall (the kids love it, but they ain't seen nothing yet - Christmas is even more fun).
Right now I am reading The Kid Who Ran For President by Dan Gutman with my 5th graders. It is on the lower end of the 5th grade Lexile range, but I am finding so much to teach from it. First we have talked about the election process, the rules of government, the ages/rules etc. for the different offices. Second, the book is rich with idioms and figurative language. Then, an unexpected teaching lesson came about. I have a few old copies of the book and bought 17 new ones to make a class set since 17 of my old ones walked away over the summer. Well, interestingly enough the book isn't EXACTLY the same as the original. Names have been changed to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent. LOL Instead of jokes about Arnold "The Terminator", now the jokes are about Chuck Norris. The new book references Google, You Tube, texting, etc., while the old one references calling directory assistance and using a video camera. Why? Well the book was originally published in 1996 BEFORE all that stuff came out. What a great lesson for my kiddos who think that stuff just always existed. We even turned it into a center where they looked up the dates the stuff was invented - and get this - they actually asked to do that! I LOVE it :) SO much better than just reading a boring old textbook story, they are actually diving in and getting to know characters and learn about real life, plus they are developing a love for books.
In keeping with the fall theme, I just made a fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving center at my teachers pay teachers store for the younger grades (2-4) for practicing ABC order, making words, and finish a story prompt. Check it out at here. Comment below - first one to comment favorite fall memory will win a FREE set. PS - I will be holding a 10% off sale on all my fall items and a few others October 8-10 at teachers pay teachers.
Finally, I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her Currently October Linky Party. She has also created a cute set of Currently's for use in your classroom. Check them out at her blog.
Right now I am reading The Kid Who Ran For President by Dan Gutman with my 5th graders. It is on the lower end of the 5th grade Lexile range, but I am finding so much to teach from it. First we have talked about the election process, the rules of government, the ages/rules etc. for the different offices. Second, the book is rich with idioms and figurative language. Then, an unexpected teaching lesson came about. I have a few old copies of the book and bought 17 new ones to make a class set since 17 of my old ones walked away over the summer. Well, interestingly enough the book isn't EXACTLY the same as the original. Names have been changed to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent. LOL Instead of jokes about Arnold "The Terminator", now the jokes are about Chuck Norris. The new book references Google, You Tube, texting, etc., while the old one references calling directory assistance and using a video camera. Why? Well the book was originally published in 1996 BEFORE all that stuff came out. What a great lesson for my kiddos who think that stuff just always existed. We even turned it into a center where they looked up the dates the stuff was invented - and get this - they actually asked to do that! I LOVE it :) SO much better than just reading a boring old textbook story, they are actually diving in and getting to know characters and learn about real life, plus they are developing a love for books.
In keeping with the fall theme, I just made a fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving center at my teachers pay teachers store for the younger grades (2-4) for practicing ABC order, making words, and finish a story prompt. Check it out at here. Comment below - first one to comment favorite fall memory will win a FREE set. PS - I will be holding a 10% off sale on all my fall items and a few others October 8-10 at teachers pay teachers.
Finally, I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her Currently October Linky Party. She has also created a cute set of Currently's for use in your classroom. Check them out at her blog.
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