Five for Friday 9-6-13

Friday's Post:
5 for Friday
I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the 5 for Friday linky party.

#1:

The 100 Book Challenge

Last week I started the 100 Book Challenge with my students. I have been floored over the past week about all the progress they have made as readers. They are constantly begging me for time for them to read. I have one who has completed 50 books already.

#2:

Wayside School Books

Last year I started a tradition of starting the year off with the three Wayside School books as our read alouds. The students LOVE these books and always beg for more. I am all about things that get my kiddos excited about reading!

#3:

Daily 5

As I mentioned in an early post I have kicked off the beginning of my Daily 5 already, but will also be beginning my online training of Daily 5 this weekend. I am so excited to learn so much more and improve my Daily 5 skills.

#4:

Clutter Free Classroom Photo-a-Day Challenge

This challenge has been great. It has made me stop and think about these things that are happening all around us in the month of September. I know that at the end of the year I can look back at my documentation of this month and appreciate it. 

Yesterday's topic was paper and I did not get my picture posted, but I did take a picture of paper today. Here is what I posted for the Challenge:

I have a lot of papers to be grading this weekend!

#5:

Teach

I watched this amazing documentary on CBS tonight. I saw something about it on Facebook and quickly set my DVR to record it in case I didn't get to watch it on time. I started it half an hour late so I was grateful that I had DVRed it.

I wish everyone (not just teachers) would watch this and see some of the challenges we go through and what we do to overcome those challenges.

I am also linking up with Hoots N' Hollers for the Fabulous Finds Fridays Linky.

My fabulous find is the fact that Verizon gives a discount to teachers! My husband and I got a new cell phone plan last weekend through Verizon. Tuesday morning one of the teachers sent out a list of places that give teacher discounts and I notice Verizon on the list. I did some research and sure enough I was eligible. Our discount was applied to our bill today. So if you have Verizon and were not aware of this discount, get on it!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am linking up with Covered in Glitter and Glue today once again for the lovely What I'm Loving Wednesday linky. It has been awhile since I have linked up so I am glad to be linking up again.

First up,
I am loving that I have been approved to attend the Daily 5 online seminar. It is starting Sunday! I can't wait! For more information head on over to:
The Daily Cafe

Next,

I am loving that my first Donor's Choose project has finally been posted. If you feel like helping a class in need out, I would really appreciate it.

Magazines Help 3rd Graders Become Non-fiction Experts

Third,

I am loving The Clutter Free Classroom's photo-a-day challenge. I forgot to post my picture yesterday so today I posted two.

Here is my picture for Back-to-School

And here is my picture of my alarm

What's In My Book Box?

As promised I am bringing you a post about what can be found in my student's book boxes for Daily 5.

But first, I must share some amazing news that I got today. Last year about half way through the year I started doing Daily 5. At that point all I had done was read the book and looked up some information online. I found the Daily 5 for Dummies guide and used that to set things up. I loved Daily 5 and was determined to make it better. This summer I spent time researching it more and started from the beginning of the year.

I am subscribed to the Sisters weekly newsletter. Awhile back they had a little blurb in there about the new online seminars they would be doing. I had been unable to go to their other seminars due to the locations. When I saw the online seminars I forwarded the information on to my assistant principal (she is the one who makes the requests for the PDs we attend).

Today I learned that the request she put in for me to be able to participate was approved. I will be participating in the online seminar that begins this weekend. I am so thrilled to learn from the Sisters! The final webinar is actually put on by the Sisters themselves! I am confident that this 4 week online seminar will greatly improve my teaching of Daily 5.

Okay, now back to the book boxes. Today I will be giving you a tour of what can be found in the book boxes in my room. The pictures are all of the current book boxes, but I will also mention a few more things that will be added later in the year.

Here is the book box. We were lucky last year that we had a Classroom Granny (my wonderful mother). Not only was she a great help on Fridays, but she also bought her "grandkiddos" some great gifts throughout the year. This was my personal favorite. She bought a set of 20 book boxes (I already had six others, so all I needed was 20). I attached a label with a number on the front so that they don't have to be relabeled every year.

Inside there are anywhere from 3 to 7 books depending on the length of the books. This particular student really likes Junie B Jones (me too).

Inside the students also find a word journal. This word journal is used for Word Work. It contains every spelling list for the whole year so they always have a copy to use for practice. It also has a recording sheet for each letter of the alphabet. They will use this to write the words they have trouble spelling.

They have a writing notebook to used during Work on Writing. This is used when I give them free write. If I give them something specific to write about I provide a different paper for that. This notebook they use to just practice writing and to write independently. Last year it worked great, but this year I may have to make some changes with this bunch. I'm giving it time before making any decisions though.

Each box has a pencil pouch. The pencil pouch starts out with three sharpened pencils. All Daily 5 pencils have a special red and white striped piece of tape on the end. These pencils should only be used for Daily 5. The tape is to remind them. Anytime their pencil breaks they trade it out with one of their others. When Daily 5 is over they bring their pencil pouch to me and I replace the pencils in need of being replaced. Later in the year I also add pencil cap erasers and pencil grippers. They don't get to start out with these. Those items have to be earned.

Each box contains an individual packet of Kleenex. Students know that they can use these during Daily 5. After a round is over they may throw them away. This keeps them from using the excuse of needing to blow their nose during Daily 5 time.

Other items that will be found in the book box later in the year:

~A Daily 5 folder to keep papers in that help with Daily 5

~Bookmarks

~Book recommendations

~Resources that help them improve

So there you have it. A look inside my book boxes!

Big Theme Reveal,TPT Store Launch, Monday Made It, and a Giveaway! What a fun Monday!

Okay blogland, it is time for my big reveal of my classroom theme for the 2013-2014 school year!

Drumroll please!!!! Bum, bum, bum, bum....

ROBOTS! (And gears and lightbulbs as well)

My school is a PBIS school and our theme is You Have the Power and we have lightbulbs to represent that. I really wanted to incorporate the lightbulbs into my theme and I absolutely adore robots so it seemed like the perfect solution. The above picture is of all of the loot I scored at the teacher store when I finally made it there this past weekend.

As I previously posted I am now selling my items on Teachers Pay Teachers. I have posted many of my robot themed items already and will be posting more along with some non-robot theme items. Head on over to my new store to check it out!

Emily's Teaching Goodies

I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics on this fabulous Monday for my Monday Made It items. Head on over to her blog to check out the other amazing Monday Made Its.

4th Grade Frolics

Now for my Monday Made Its:

1- Rockin' Words

I've seen this idea many times throughout Blogland and Pinterest. I just took some simple glass stones and stick on letters and then attached the letters. I decorated the container with its name (Rockin' Words) and rhinestone letters spelling out ABC.

2- Story Stones

Another idea seen all over Blogland and Pinterest--story stones. I bought various stickers and stuck them on to rocks. Add a simple coat of Mod Podge and they are good to go!

3- Digital Papers for READ letters

I didn't get around to making my READ letters like planned, but I did make the papers that I will be using on them. Aren't they cute? I love them and can't wait to attach them to my letters!

4- Labels For My Standard Folders

This is one of my many products for sale at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Common Core ELA labels

Common Core Math Labels

Next Gen Science Labels

Labels Combo Pack

5- Ultimate Teacher Organizer

I created my robot themed Ultimate Teacher Organizer and printed it out. I laminated the front and back covers. Now all it needs is the tabs and then I am taking it to the local office supply store to get it bound.

This is my big product on TPT. It can be bought as a whole or purchased in individual sections.

Ultimate Teacher Organizer

This was a lot of work to create, but I love the some-what final product (it will be perfect once it has tabs and is bound)

And now if you have made it through this whole entire post without me absolutely boring you with my robots, I finally am announcing your opportunity to win my very first giveaway.

It's really simple to enter; all you have to do is follow my blog and then leave me a comment (containing your email). Wednesday I will announce the winner. And what is it you are winning, you may ask?

Well, it is my very own favorite product currently in my TPT store. You will be winning the Ultimate Teacher Organizer in the robot theme. I will even include personalization for you if you would like. Add details in your comment if you would like your name included in the product cover.

Thank you all for your support. I would really appreciate you following my blog and following me on TPT.

My First Monday Made It Linky

So I am a huge fan of Monday Made It hosted by 4th Grade Frolics. I watched it for many ideas last year and am hoping to find many more ideas this summer. I finally have decided to jump on the bandwagon and will be linking up with them this week! Heres to hoping my projects inspire others as they have inspired me! *Fingers crossed*

If you are not familiar with Monday Made It, head on over to 4th Grade Frolics and see all of the great ideas linked up each Monday in the summer and one Monday a month during the school year!

Now on to my Monday Made It. 

Monday Made It #1:

Okay so this was more of an organized with my new finds, but still linking it up. My kiddos love using the puff balls to spell out words for Work With Words in Daily 5. I had them in boring old baggies this past year and they seemed to always put them up full of air. I was at Dollar Tree and found these great pouches that are breathable (meaning no more bags of air) plus they seem a lot sturdier. So I decided this is how I am going to store my puff balls now. Next trip to Dollar Tree will result in me buying MANY more of these because I have so many ideas! I love that store!

Monday Made It #2/#3:
On the previous mentioned trip to Dollar Tree I also found these wonderful Alphabet tracing cards in both capital and lower case letters. I bought two sets of each and put them all in one pouch. I am also adding this to my Work With Words Section. The kiddos can use the cards to spell the words they are practicing.

 I also found foam sheets of letters both in capital and lower case letters. These were perforated and meant to be torn apart, but I decided to take heavy duty scissors and cut them apart instead (much quicker I might add).

The foam letters got me inspired to get plain foam sheets and make my own so I am sure that will be popping up on a Monday Made It soon!

Monday Made It #4/#5:

Another confession I have to make is that I am addicted to Pinterest. I spend hours on end pinning items and finding ideas for my classroom/house/life. One pin I came across awhile ago was to have a file folder for each standard and to collect the resources you use in it. I decided to get three prong folders and page protectors for my version. I have purchased the Third Grade Common Core Workbook from Core Common Standards. I printed off all of the standard sheets to be the front page of each folder. I also printed off the resources for each standard and put them in the second sheet protector. There are three other sheet protector to hold any other resources or notes I use to teach the standard. I will soon be making cute labels for the front of the folder and will share when those are created.

As I am sure you can tell from above I am a Daily 5 believer. I started Daily 5 in the middle of the year last year and fell in love with it. I am incorporating it from Day 1 this year. One thing I decided to create for my Daily 5 is the Word Journals for my students. It is a three prong folder containing two pages for each letter of the alphabet. They will record words that they have trouble spelling that way they can refer to it when they are stuck. After the alphabet pages I have added a copy of each week's spelling and vocabulary words. They tend to take those lists home after they get them on Monday morning and forget them so now they have a copy with them at school. Plus on Fridays they can look ahead and start working on the next week's words. Once again I will be making cute labels for these and will post when they are done.

Monday Made It #6:

Wow I didn't realize how busy I was this week. Okay I did realize it, but looking back I can't believe I actually accomplished all of this while still having a life...haha!

Moving on...this is my Bathroom Tickets jar. I had major issues with students going to the bathroom constantly this past year. I decided I had to put a stop to it. On one of my many Pinterest adventures I came across a pin that linked back to this Soaring Through Second. I modified the idea to meet my needs of my class. For the remainder of the year I gave each student a ticket each morning. They were responsible for putting their name on it and keeping track of it. If they had to go to the bathroom during the day they had to give me the ticket back. If they had already used their ticket once they had to owe me recess time. The best part was at the end of the day they got to put their ticket in a bucket. Every Friday I would draw out a name or two and those students got to choose from an assortment of Dollar Tree goodies. So I created this little goody for next year. I bought three packs of tickets from Dollar Tree and tore them all apart. I then put them in the cookie jar that I found at Walmart. Then I had these adorable letters that I found at JoAnn Fabrics. I added the name to the side and the front says TAKE ONE. This is the container to store all the tickets waiting to be dispensed out to the students.

Side Note: Yes I realize my letters are crooked, but I just could not get those darn boogers to go on straight; they were much too flimsy!

And there you have it...my first Link up! Now I am off to do some more blog stalking! My favorite summer past time!