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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Pinteresting Ideas: Classroom Edition #2

Pinterest. What in the world did we do before it?! As I got my classroom ready for my new kiddios, I frequently checked the site for new ideas. You can you see my inspiration from Pinterest from last year, as well as what my room looked like. My classroom hasn't changed too much this year (I'll post pics soon!), but I did find some new inspiration on Pinterest that made it's way into my room. I put the "Pinspiration" first and my adaptation and an explanation below it. :)

Keep Calm and Teach On Sign

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I had a piece of wood left over from when Gaines and I cut new shelves for the coast in our office. I just lightly sanded the edges and spray painted it green (with spray paint I already had). Then, I marked off a smaller box inside and painted it black. I added the white sticker letters and some ribbon and ta-da!

Requiz Request

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I always struggle with what to do with students who fail a quiz. Should I have their parent sign it for extra points? Should I have them retake the original quiz? Should I make up a new one? Then I found the "Retest Quest" idea, which I LOVE! I just renamed it (since I want to use it for quizzes only) and put a bunch in a folder on my bulletin board. The plan is that students can grab one if they fail a quiz, fill it out, and get it signed by a parent. I'll then give them a new quiz and take the average of the two. Genius!

Current Event Template

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I'll be teaching two classes of gifted students this year (!!) and really, really want to push them to see the connection between what we talk about in class and the real world. One of my teammates found this awesome Current Event template on Pinterest, which makes students really think about how the article they found relates to their lives and the world they live in. I created a folder on one of my bulletin boards to house the handouts and am making each student turn in one current event assignment each nine week period. I am super excited about this assignment and can't wait to see the articles they decide to read about.

Ticket Out the Door Pocket Folders

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I had bought these four small pocket folders from the Dollar Section at Target last year and finally realized what I could use them for once I saw the picture above on Pinterest. I just used Command strips to adhere the pocket folders to my cabinets and am going to use them as a place for "Ticket Out the Doors," which are quick questions they answer or sentences they write to show me what they have learned at the end of class. Each one corresponds to a different class period, and I am hoping we get a lot of use out of these!

Hanging Solar System

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I loved the idea of a hanging Solar System and found a free set when we were cleaning out our hallway science closet during post-planning. My incredibly sweet (and tall!) husband came up to school one afternoon to help hang them, and I just love the color and dimension they add to my room. :)

Behavior "Think Sheets"

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In the past if a student misbehaves, I've told him/her to move to a desk in the back of the room, but I've realized over time that it sometimes just works better if they just leave for a few minutes. I already had a bunch of "Behavior Think Sheets" from previous years, but I plan on making copies of the original one I found on Pinterest instead. I bought a clear clipboard, added ribbon, and used Command strips to stick it on my bookshelf by the door. That way if a student misbehaves, I can send him/her with the clipboard to another class to calm down and think about what they did.

Inexpensive Prizes for the Prize Box

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To encourage positive behavior, I frequently give out cheap ticket stubs, which I call "Story Stubs," to my students. They write their name and the reason they earned the ticket and then put it in their classes' bucket. Every Monday I draw a ticket from each bucket and that student gets to pick out of my Prize Box. I usually just buy cheap prizes from the Dollar Store, but this summer I saw the idea for classroom passes. Hello! Why have I not thought of this sooner? I downloaded a free template and created six passes for my students to choose from (in addition to the other prizes).

P.S. I also bought two sandwich containers at the Dollar Store, which I labeled "Candy" and "Passes." That way, the candy and passes aren't just thrown into the bigger prize box and end up lost or crumpled.

Homeroom Whiteboard

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There are several times throughout the year that I have to collect certain papers from my homeroom students. I usually just print out a homeroom roster and mark off the names of students as they turn in the item, but I realized how much paper I was wasting by doing that. So I just put that same homeroom roster into a $5 frame and voila! I can mark off students' names with a dry-erase marker to keep track of who has turned in what and then erase and reuse the list later. So easy!

Mystery Walker

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We take our students to lunch, as well as the restroom twice a day, and sometimes I struggle with constantly reminding them to stay quiet. As soon as I saw the idea of a "Mystery Walker" I knew I wanted to use it. I write all of my student's names on large Popsicle sticks in case I want to randomly call on them during class, so I just decided to use that same method for the hallway. Before we go into the hall, I will pull a stick and secretly watch that student the entire time. If he/she stays quiet and walks in a line, they will get a prize once we get back. I think this will really cut down on hallway chatter, since no one will know who the "Mystery Walker" is until we return.

Colorful Printables

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This wasn't a huge project, but I wanted to update the numbers on my marker boxes and found the perfect, colorful option on Pinterest. I found the labels below last year, but thought I would re-share, since I think they are so cute. :)

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To all my teacher friends out there-- any other "Pinteresting" ideas you are loving this year?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Ten on Tuesday

1. A few weeks ago a group of us walked in the "Look the Lake 5K." Kristina and I continued our reign of "Winners of the Walkers," but somehow I managed to come in 1 second ahead of her, which earned me the bronze medal in our age category...that just shows you how few people actually participated. We vowed to run the next 5K, but I'm a little afraid she's going to trip me as we cross the finish line. ;) We continued our tradition of eating breakfast at Burke Perk afterwards with our husbands, and I'm not going to lie, I think that might be my favorite part.

2. Our little furball of joy turned ONE on March 18th. It is not only crazy how fast time goes, but it's crazy to look back and see how little she used to be. :)

3. Speaking of Molly, the first picture above was taken at the park the first weekend we got her. There had been a lot of yard sales that weekend and that afternoon a man, who had set up a booth at the park, gave Molly a pillow that said, "The dog and its housekeeping staff live here." It became one of her favorite toys to pay tug-of-war with. Well, one night she decided it would look better like this...

4. We went to D.C. over Easter weekend to visit Adrian, Jen, Chris, Demetria, Matt, and baby Charlie and had so much fun. More pictures coming soon!

5. When we were in D.C. we caught a rerun of "The Voice" at Matt and Dems' house one night. Gaines and I don't usually watch that show, but we got kind of addicted. Have you seen this performance by one of the contestants Sarah Simmons? She's amazing!

6. And speaking of amazing songs, Dems and Schniz pulled up this video shortly after of a song by Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill. Talk about goosebumps.

7. My parents came down for a visit this past weekend and even though they just left yesterday, I miss them so much already!! We had just had the best time with them and Gaines' family, and I'll definitely post more pictures soon.

8. This is kind of random, but I am obsessed with Instagram. Gaines jokes I have a problem, because I check it so often, but it's fun to see what people are up to without having to scroll through annoying status updates and Facebook ads. You can follow me @kathrynstory. :)

9. I got the idea of a "Word Wall Garden" from Pinterest this summer and set it up on the huge wall in my classroom. Before we started a unit, I would add key vocabulary to pieces of colored index cards and tape them around the flower. The ideas was that "the more we know, the more we grow" and the kids seemed to like watching the flowers "bloom" before a new unit. It is crazy, but before March was even over our Word Wall Garden was complete, meaning we covered all of the 6th grade standards.

And not only have we covered all of the standards, but my kids have already taken their five CRCT tests. The tests are usually administered after Spring Break, but this year they were moved up by about a month. I didn't get as elaborate with my treat this year as I did last year, but they all said the test was easy, so hopefully that's a good sign!

10. Our Spring Break always coincides with Masters Week and even though I don't usually enjoy watching golf, there is something so exciting about this tournament. Driving down Washington Road and seeing all of the signs, golf carts, and people always gets me in the spirit to watch... it's like a holiday around here. While my mom and I were shopping in a store on Saturday, a lady working even greeted us with, "Happy Masters Week!"

So, Happy Tuesday and Happy Masters Week!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Pinteresting Ideas -- Classroom Edition

Whenever Gaines would mention how lucky I was to not work all summer, I'd just point my finger at him and say...

Kidding. :) But I was admittingly on Pinterest a lot this summer getting ideas for my classroom. After being in a room that looked identical for the last three years, I figured it was time to switch it up a little. And thankfully, Pinterest was always at my fingertips to help me do so.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably seen a lot of these pictures before, but here are all of the new ideas that have showed up in my classroom.

A Crayon Wreath -- to add color to the door