First Week Teacher Tired

Is this a hashtag yet? Tell me you don't feel it, ladies?!

It's Thursday and I have been met with, dragged around, called for help, given advice, drawn on for inspiration, admired, envied, and many, many more things in just this one tiny week. In a word: chaos!!!!!

As I have mentioned a few times, my district has adopted a new reading program. I went to a training for it ALL DAY yesterday. As valuable as I'm sure that time was for some people...I happen to luckily been born with two eyes and a decent understanding of technology. Therefore, it was a 7-hour waste of my very valuable pre-students time. I came back today feeling like I had a million things to do and still spent hours in meetings, planned and impromptu!

What did I accomplish today?

1. Nametags are finally taped and numbered on desks. 

I always wait until late in the week so that if I get any new students I can fill them in to the lineup in alphabetical order. I hate to have a random "John Bencher" at number 26...it just irks my nerves. Doesn't really even matter in the end because we all know we're going to get some kid later in the year with a last name that starts with C anyway! #amiright?)

2. Book baskets are done

I was expecting a students of mine from a few years ago to come and help out today, but I got an email early in the morning not to count on it. I was bummed mostly because I couldn't see her, but just a TEENSY bit because I was looking forward to her extra set of hands!! #imtheworst! She was going to be in charge of cleaning my book baskets and cutting out name-tags for them and tying them on with string. Either way, I got it done and they look adorable. If I remember, I'll take a picture tomorrow for you and post it!

3. Math plans finished

I updated my plans from the first week last year to include the new Place Value Detective activities I bought during the TPT sale. If you want to check them out, they are by Mary over at Teaching with a Mountain View and can be viewed on TPT HERE. Technically, in my state, place value is not an official fifth grade strand, but it's so important for them to continue to develop their understanding of place value, since it is the BASIS for all math calculation pretty much.

4. Pre-assessments for 5th grade reading and SMART Goals organized

I don't know how many of you know about SMART Goals, but they are BIG in my district. They stand for Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and  Timely. Do you write these? My school is currently acrredited with warning in reading. Because of this, our SMART Goals are going to be completely centered on reading, as is our 30 minute remediation block in the mornings. To have a remediation block the second week of school you need.......???? DATA of course. What better way to attain data than to give a pretest to students?! Naturally though, those pretests needed to be created. After our fifth grade meeting this afternoon where we analyzed last year's data and looked and fourth grade's data (to gauge where we're starting this year), we discovered that no one had a valid and reliable assessment to give us this data. I bit the bullet and made this my charge for the rest of the day, and I, "Got 'er done!"

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It was a productive day, and yet I still have so much to do. A teacher's work is never done. We'll see what Open House brings tomorrow! I'm getting excited!

Brianna

An Exploration of Genre

Hey everyone!

Happy Sunday...otherwise known as my last free-of-school-Sunday!! I head back to work tomorrow. I am both excited and terrified...probably also a little depressed. My summer was (as yours was) way too short!

Today, I've been going over my first 15 days of school I mentioned in an earlier post that my district got a new reading program. It offers a "First 30 Days" similar to "The First 20" of Fountas and Pinell. My principal feels that 20 days (much less 30) is far too many days to spend on classroom cohesion and prepping for the reading block for the year so we get a condensed NINE days. That means, roughly three mini lessons a day. I have no problems fitting this in because there is no small group reading during this time while we test the students to see what level they're reading at after the summer. Still, though, it's a LOT of information to try and squeeze into 20 minute blocks. Not to mention I am a Daily 5-er and I like to start my stamina building DAY 1, so I have to fit that in too!

In any case, to help get a leg up on the year, I also try to squeeze in a genre review during these first couple of weeks also. Since I use an interactive notebook for each of my subjects, Genre is the first thing to go into Reading.

Because this isn't actually a full blown unit, I needed to make something that got me the biggest bang for my buck. Fifth graders are expected to have a good understanding of genre already and I like to bring in some more sophisticated subgenres like memoir and the individual fictions instead of just going with the generic Fiction (realistic) vs. Nonfiction (informational).

First things first....the Genre Overview. For this I used a t-chart to do a broad comparison of fiction and nonfiction. I left room for notes as well as a listing of subgenres. I know not everyone makes as comprehensive list as I do, so I made two versions to suit.

Now we get into the specifics! I created a Fiction Overview and a Nonfiction overview to detail out each chosen subgenre...

I would use the one with with ALL my subgenres listed. This is the more generic version for those people who maybe wouldn't cover quite as much as I will. I did create similar versions of each that are not showing in the pictures above.

I then created two versions of Venn diagrams for each of the comparison subgerenes. I like to compare:

1) Realistic and Historical

2) Mystery and Adventure

3) Fantasy and Traditional Literature

Here are two examples...

You see that the first has a cut and paste (similar to the drag and drop option on our state tests!) and the second has an open-ended written response question based on a situation prompt.

I also created a page for Science Fiction where the student reads a summary and decides whether that IS or IS NOT SciFi and explains why.

For nonfiction, I made one organizer for all of it since most of the subgenres have many things in common. 

I'm excited to use these because I know that they are far more in depth than a lot of genre overviews out there. Using them as a quick reference guide will be perfect for my students when labeling book genres in their 40 Book Challenge log. If they have any questions, they can simply refer to these for help! 

If you like them, join my blog below and I'll send it to you for free for the next week! If you get to this post too late, fear not, there are in my TPT store HERE.

Brianna 

Fast Finishers: MATH

Hey everyone, and happy Tuesday!

Random fact for ya...did you know that Tuesdays boasts the label of LEAST likely to schedule services or appointments in the United States? That's right, Tuesday is the least popular day to go to the doctor, have Home Depot come measure your flooring, have your teeth cleaned, or get your therapy on. I know it's the least likely day for me to do it because Tuesdays are faculty meetings at my school!

Anyway, moving on. Today, as I worked to label my remediation station folders, I thought about how my remediation block went last year. Specifically, I tried to think of any "Wishes" or "Suggestions" that showed up on my informal evaluations for that time period. Academically, it went swimmingly. The only thing I can remember my administrators saying is that they thought that my students were finishing too early and that meant my stations weren't rigorous enough. Now, mind you, I work with some of the higher students in the building, so I could give some of them Algebra I or Moby Dick to read, and they'd still be done before 30 minutes was up! Needless to say, however, I needed a fix for this.

I put that set of thoughts on the back burner for a few minutes while I attempted to organize some math materials on an extra set of shelves I have over by my desktops. They were dusty from lack of use. I was standing there thinking to myself how VALUABLE these resources are, but sometimes I just feel like I have SO MANY resources, it's impossible to use them all, and I constantly am forgetting about these because they're not able to fit in with the rest of the resources in my large cabinet.

BAM!

It hit me.

Clearly what I needed was a fast finishers area. I know a couple people in my school have some QuickWrites or flashcards for fast finishers, but I wanted something more substantial. These extra math resources were the answer I had been waiting for! I hardly ever use them during ACTUAL math, and there are such a variety of options, the kids would be able to choose a different activity every day of the week if they finished early all five days.

Here's what I decided to offer...

This first shelf has a variety of math games in that magazine rack on the left that can be played by one to two players. The next set of folders to the right of it are resources I got from Lakeshore. Here is an example of one of the folders.

Inside there are 4 different scenarios, each with two different question cards. These are all Real Life types of of questions. It also comes with two other pieces to help students answer the questions, and an answer key. This particular one discusses money (decimals) by talking about neighborhood jobs students can have. I also have a set for fractions/decimals/percents, measurement, geometry, and another number/number sense. These are perfect for one person, AND they're entertaining!

The last thing on that shelf is Math Literature. I am a firm believer in Real Life Math and that students needs to be exposed to math in more ways that just solving problems. Math Lit. helps this and the kids really enjoy it. This is where I keep all of my Sir Cumference books, etc., for those of you that use them. I actually recently added Math Literature as one of my Guided MAATH Rotations. You can check that product out HERE. It's one of my best sellers!

On the second shelf for Fast Finishers we have....

On the left, I have several games that were designed as take-home games for students who need continued work in a skill. They come with a two-sided gameboard, pieces, die, question cards, and a letter to the parents explaining why they are receiving the game, how/when to return it, and the instructions for how to play. This particular kit is Level D, which equates to grade 4 (which is what I taught when I purchased it). I cannot TELL you how valuable this kit has been to me even though I have NEVER sent it home with a child. It's excellent for building math stations stamina where children are learning how to control volume during math stations, not to mention just the skill review it offers. Games like this are 2-4 players. If you don't like to have noise, then these are probably not for you. Onto the next!!

These are AWESOME, one-player, all inclusive file folders (also from Lakeshore). I have one for Fractions/Decimals, Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry, and this one for Data and probability. It comes with ten individual folders with the title and skill covered on the top tab. Inside each folder it comes with cards and coverall pieces as well as a self-checking answer key for the kids. They LOVE these. I have actually used these as Fast Finishers before for my math stations. They can just come over, pick a topic they like and play!

I forgot to take a picture of the third shelf up close but here are some of the games I have one it. All for individuals.

Caps Off!

I forget where I read about this, but several years ago I decided to try it in partners and it worked really well, but collecting, cleaning and labeling like ten sets of bottle caps (let alone keeping track of them) was frustrating and time consuming. So I combined them all together and let the kids dump them all out in the circle, face them the right way and then begin collecting. For ever one they pick up and get right, they get to keep like points. Anyone can join in and begin collecting at any time. I would say no more than five players though.

Grocery Shopping

For this one, I laminated several grocery store circulars and give the kids a sheet to record their exact prices and estimates. You wouldn't believe how excited the kids get about buying their OWN food, instead of tagging along with their parents (which they all hate...shocking, right?). If you are interested in money computation or estimation, check THIS and THIS out.

Oh Snap!

I also forget where this one came from because I have been using it so long! Let me know if it's yours!

This is basically like the game War except the winner is not the higher card, the winner is the person who can add, subtract, or multiply the fastest. The only thing the kids need to know other than that is that all face cards are 10 and aces are 11. They can also use three "Checks" where they make their partner prove it. I have even made this a little higher in the past by requiring partners who have been CHECKED to create a pictorial or written explanation of why their answer is correct. Partners can also use Checks when they thing their opponent is wrong.

Time's Up!

This one is also an easy setup. All you need are flashcards and a timer. This is designed to help students master their math fluency. Students take ten cards at a time and time themselves adding them up. Then they take the same ten cards and flip them over trying the other side, recording their times on a sheet of paper. Then they do a second round with each side to see if they can beat it. They are so proud of their scores when they improve!! If you are into math fluency, you should check out WBT's site and see their game SuperSpeed Math. It is also a great Fast Finisher that I have used in the past. The only thing I have have a hard time with is that for each student to track their own progress, they really need their own binder with it and that can become cumbersome! 

Okay, so there you have it. Tons of Fast Finisher Options! Some of them cost a little more than other (Thank you DonorsChoose), but some are easy to throw together at the last minute that aren't the "same old thing."

How do you handle your fast finishers?

Brianna

Reading/Writing Notebooks and a FREEBIE!!

Every year since I began teaching I have used a Reader's/Writer's notebook.

Every year I change it.

Some things work, some things don't, some things work only part of the time. It's frustrating. I desperately want to find something that work every year so that I can stop reinventing the wheel in THIS particular case, and begin reinventing the wheel in a different area !:p (Sidebar: when are they going to invent emojis for blogging??! #whoiswithme?)

The first couple of years I went with a five-tab model
1) My Stuff
2) Reading
3) Writing
4) Vocabulary
5) Response

My stuff was(/is) mostly like reading log, Daily 5 reminder posters, quick reference genre chart, and R/W Notebook rubric for when I grade it twice a quarter.

The Reading and Writing tabs were where we put all our mini-lesson work for those subjects. This, of course, was BEFORE I was introduced to Interactive Notebooks (INBs) and all their glory.

Vocabulary is self-explanatory.

Response was where I was having my students write their weekly letters to me. This year I have put them into journal format which you can read about and see more about HERE.
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The next couple of years I went with a three-tab model
1) My Stuff
2) Vocabulary
3) Writing

Everything was mostly the same, except since I had introduced INBs for Reading and Writing mini-lessons I eliminated them from the binder and left a writing tab only for drafts and other pieces student's were working on for a grade (for organization purposes). I also took out Response because I was having a hard time monitoring it and chose to do it in small group with "Think Marks" (More on this in a different post).
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This year I have settled on a four-tab model with the following format
1) My Stuff
2) Response
3) Vocabulary
4) Writing

All tabs from the three-tab model above have the same purpose, and I am still using INBs for Reading and Writing mini-lessons. Now, I have gone back to a Response tab, but since the creation of my letter journal mentioned above, I'll be using it a bit differently. My school wants students to be responding to their reading every day. Sometimes this can be difficult when you're only being given an hour to get all small group work done AND you favor a Daily 3 model which requires working through a variety of other components other than just independent reading. I have decided that this year, my students will respond with me IN small group twice a week (using their Think Mark) and respond in their notebooks on the opposite two days that they DON'T see me in the Response section of their notebook. I created a new Reading Response Record form for this purpose trying to combine all the elements of response logs that I've seen that I liked. Tell me what you think!

If you have read Word Nerds then you understand why I've got a Word Nerd Alert section. I am CRAZY PASSIONATE about kids being crazy passionate about words. I like for them to look for interesting/unknown/cool words every time they read. That section may be full or empty on a given day, but at least it's there for them to be reminded of their Word Nerd Mission!

If you're interested in it, click on the picture for a link to it.

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With all this reinventing of the wheel, I needed to update my rubric as well. It is featured as one of my freebies in my TPT shop right now so make sure you grab it! If you like the style and you want me to customize it for you, I'd be happy to do so! Email me and I'll see what I can do for you. Click the picture below to see it in my shop!

As with each year's changes, I get very excited that THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL LAST FOREVER. Well, we'll see about that, won't we! How do you set yours up?

Happy Hump Day,

Brianna

Back to Life, Back to Reality...

I was on vacation this week in Colorado. Man, it was beautiful. Initially we decided to go there for a concert that was happening at the ever-popular and truly magical venue that is Red Rocks. If you have never heard of Brandi Carlile, do yourself a favor and listen to the snippets of her music here. The idea that SHE would be playing THERE was too good to pass up

This is my panoramic view from my seat right before her set. Tell me that doesn't make you go "ohhhhhhh!"

So, combine that venue and that artist and we were signed up with a quickness. We also got the opportunity to head to the small ski town of Breckenridge, which is super adorable and I can only imagine how crazy it is when there is actually snow on the ground. We hiked, we ate, we hung with friends...the only thing we didn't do was indulge in the *AHEM* dispensary goodies...though the shops were conveniently located every couple blocks!

While we were in Breck I bought these...

(These are SERIOUS contenders for FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL socks. Usually I wear my pencil socks, but these are adorbs!)

...and put this on my birthday wishlist...

(Who doesn't needs a new Very Bradley bag in their lives?)

UGH! It was hard to come home...but I was a little excited too. Coming home meant it was time for our 5th Grade Summer Summit. Each year my principal invites the teachers of each grade level to a meeting with her to discuss the scores from our state testing the year before, introduce changes that have been made over the summer, and ask if we have any suggestions or questions before we begin the year. The meeting was ultimately pretty uneventful, but I always enjoy it because it gets me back in the swing of collaboration! (*NERD ALERT!*)

Being the afore-mentioned nerd that I am, I of course, spent the hours of the day NOT in the Summit in my classroom. I lost hours again, guys. I was in there a long time, but if you asked me what I got done I wouldn't have a clue. I mean...I know I did tons of stuff, and I certainly never had a moment at rest, but I couldn't give you a list of my accomplishments if I tried. I just get so absorbed in what I'm doing!

I can tell I'm getting close to the end of my list of Things To Do though because I've started creating piles of papers for my first week (which is still three weeks away!). I always do copies last. I've found myself struggling this year though, because I have so many amazing resources and I just want to be able to use them all! How will I fit them all in?!

What's crazy is that I'll be purchasing even more resources tomorrow at the follow-up TPT sale! My entire store (and everyone else's) will be on sale. Check it out by clicking on the TPT window in the right margin or clicking HERE.

With that, I'll leave you with a view from the top of one of the mountains in Colorado.

Brianna

WARNING: The Back-2-School TPT Sale is Dangerous!

First blog post ever, and boy, it's gonna be a doozy!

I don't know about you folks, but I like to spend money like it's going out of style WATER when there is a sale going on at Teachers Pay Teachers! There are too many products for too many uses by too many exceptionally talented educators. Good Lawd, SAVE ME from all the damage I can do...to my paycheck that is.

I scored some amazing goodies this past weekend. Here are a few that I picked up... 1) Comp. Files (Aug/Sept) from Ms. Leslie Ann over at Life in Fifth Grade

This product is going to help me take my morning remediation stations to the next level! I've decided to set them up similar to her suggestion using a file folder, but I'm going to laminate and hole punch the tops of the folders twice so that I can insert binder rings. Then I'll print all of them out, mix them up and stick them inside the folder, looped into the binder rings. During remediation, the students who are at the Comp. Files station can work through them at their own pace for the whole month of September. Then **HOPEFULLY**, by October, I'll be able to pick up a new set from Ms. Leslie Ann and start the process over again!

2) Math Sorts (4th and 5th Grade) from Jennifer Findley at Teaching to Inspire in 5th

These two sets are going to help me make my interactive notebooks that much more interactive. I couldn't decide between the two sets because there was so much to offer, so I just got both!!

 3) Practice and Assess for Poetry and Grammar by I'm Lovin' Lit

I have already purchased ALL of her Interactive Notebooks and a couple of her other Practice and Assess pieces, so I thought it was high time I gather the rest of the collection. Seriously, I use her notebook pages for almost EVERYTHING I do in my reading and writing blocks. They are creative and spot on with the skills I teach. Even if they weren't, she gives you the templates to make changes if you need to!
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When I say that's not even half the stuff I bought, I'm not kidding. Insert "KID-IN-A-CANDY SHOP metaphor here.

I am one of the few who haven't gone back to school yet. Believe it or not, I can't even get back into my classroom until next Monday!!! I can't help that tourism is a large industry in the region where I live. Schools don't re-open until after Labor Day for that exact reason. Some might consider me lucky, but those of you who are already back, just remember, you'll be done several weeks before I am.

If you are already back in school, I' hope it's been a great first (or second) week and that you see incredible potential in the little minds in front you.

Happy Hump Day!
Brianna