Schedule Cards Owl Theme

One of my teacher friends saw my camping schedule cards and wanted some owl ones.  So alas, I went to work making owl cards for her.  Her cards were customized for the headings she wanted and a slightly different color scheme, so I had to tweak these a bit.  However, they came out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!  I used 8 different backgrounds and there are 56 cards in all.  I wouldn't expect anyone to use them all.  I mean, after all, who does Language Arts, English, and Grammar?!  Surely they call it one thing and then call it a day.  But since I know different people call the same thing by different names, I included a variety of choices.

 

 

To purchase these check out my TeachersPayTeachers store!

Schedule Cards Camping Theme

Yippee!  One more thing crossed off my list of things to do for the first day of school....my new schedule cards for this year's theme! I used 3 different backgrounds (camouflage, stripes, and stars).  I've got 52 cards in all.  I don't use all of them by any means, but I wanted to put them in my TPT store so I tried to add extra ones that I thought other teachers might like.  I hope you like them!

 

I'm very excited about how great these are going to look up on my assignment board!  To purchase these check out my TeachersPayTeachers store!

 

 

Mini Chart Stand

How many anchor charts do you have hanging on walls, on chart stands, or rolled up somewhere in your classroom?  Well, if you're anything like me the number is high!  Last year I made smaller versions of my charts by either redoing the anchor chart on my computer (or sometimes by hand) or taking pictures of the original chart.  Then I'd shrink it down a bit, print it, and put it in 8 X 10 magnetic picture frames I had that looked something like this...

 

 

 

That worked out ok, but they were a little time consuming to slide in the frames, I only had so many frames, and I was limited on  how many magnetic surfaces I had to put them on.  Not to mention, students weren't very independent using them because they weren't really set up for that. 

 

Like many of you, I find Pinterest is my best friend!  While wasting time on perusing Pinterest, I came across several little mini chart stands.  I made a few design changes, and thought I my husband can make those!  So this summer my husband cut some PVC pipe for me, and I made a bunch of mini chart stands, one of which has already been hijacked by one of my teacher friends for her classroom! The stand holds 8 1/2 by 11" paper horizontally or vertically.  I use a 3 hole paper punch to be sure that the holes are the same distance apart on all charts.

 

I plan on having more than one chart stand around the room that my students can use.  I'm thinking at least one for science, math, English, and reading.  I am thinking of painting them (or using washi tape) to coordinate with the colors we use for each subject so they can easily remember which stand to go and look at when they have a question!

 

If you want to purchase one of these for yourself, you can visit my TPT store by clicking here.

 

 

Or if you want to make one on your own...I used:

5 - 12" long

4 - 3" long

6 - elbows

2 - tees

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Tabbed Book

I don't know why, but I love teaching this concept!  Maybe it's because it's so hands-on and fun!  I like to let my students explore WED using hands-on activities with sand.  I put sand in shallow containers (like 9 X 13 baking pans) and then they can explore weathering, erosion, and deposition with a straw (wind), water in a spray bottle (precipitation), and ice cubes (ice).  I also put sand in a paint tray with water in the bottom to represent waves.  After they explore these ideas we put together a tabbed book I made.

This is what the book looks like. It's available on TeachersPayTeachers if you are interested in using this in your classroom! There are two versions of the text (one more simple than the other) and there are options to include or omit the clipart.  My students like it, and I like having something simple for them to refer back to at home!  We read more complex text, but this is to the point, which I think is important, too!

 

 

 

Winter Treat Bags - Bag Topper

YAY!  I finally finished my winter treat bags and they came out super cute if I do say so myself!

 

I have different versions of these toppers for sale, and even some for FREE!!  Keep reading to find the freebie!  The Winter Treats, some are shown above, can be found on Etsy or TPT. 

 

Clean Desk Snowman

 

 

 

 

For the most part my students keep their desks neat and tidy, but there's always a little room for improvement. During each month I like to have a clean desk "friend" stop by to help us keep our desks clean.  I had a Clean Desk Turkey in November and Clean Desk Reindeer in December.  During the different times my students are out of the room, our Clean Desk friends stop by and find a desk or two to leave a little note on. Once they get a note, they leave it on their desks. At the end of the week our Clean Desk friend leaves a little treat bag for anyone who has a note on their desk. I don't do these every week, just about once a month. However, since implementing this students have gotten into the habit of keeping their desks clean the majority of the time. Their desks typically look nice and neat and they tend to put things away when they are done using them. I used to take time each month to have everyone pull their things out of their desks, organize, and discard, etc. but now I don't have to! It's win-win! I don't always give food treats. I often give coupons, little erasers, whatever I think will keep them interested :D My goal is that EVERY student gets a treat every time we do it, and so when we get to the end of the week if there is someone who I don't think is going to earn one I might say something like, "The Clean Desk Snowman mentioned earlier that he notice a couple of desks that had random paper in them instead of paper being in folders." This helps those students pinpoint what they need to do to earn their note.  FREEBIE ALERT!!! The Clean Desk Snowman can also be found on TPT, but it's FREE!! 

 

Snowman Soup

 

 

Oh, no!  Mr. Snowman has melted!!  I also did some bag toppers for snowman soup!   You can fill with just marshmallows, white jelly beans, etc. or fill with marshmallows, pretzels (snowman's arms), Junior Mint (snowman's hat), candy corn (snowman's nose), M&M's (snowman's buttons), chocolate chips (eyes and mouth), etc.  You can find this one on Etsy.

 

I hope you enjoy your freebie :D  Happy teaching!

 

Thanksgiving Time

It's Thanksgiving time...by far my favorite holiday of the year!  There's no gift exchanging, no stress....just quality time spent with those you love, being thankful for everything you have...and did I mention there might be some yummy food, too?! 

This year in my classroom I had some fun with the "Clean Desk Turkey".  For the most part my students keep their desks neat and tidy, but there's always a little room for improvement.  For about a week before Thanksgiving, every time my students went some place the Clean Desk Turkey stopped by and found a desk or two to leave a little note on.  It looked like this:

 

FREEBIE ALERT!!! 
To get a sheet of the Clean Desk Turkeys....
just click on the picture above!

I told them that the Clean Desk Turkey wanted me to be sure to tell them to leave the note on their desks.  They wanted to know why....I acted all mysterious and said I didn't know why.  Before I knew it desks were looking nice and neat.  Things were put away when they were done using them...it was great!  By the end of the week most everyone in the class had little notes on their desks.  We had school the Monday and Tuesday before break, and by the end of Tuesday everyone ended up having tidy desks and a note on their desk.  We have PE last thing in the day, so while they were gone, the Clean Desk Turkey visited and left them little treats.  They looked like this:

I use these treat bags frequently for different things...for my own children's teachers, for my own children's classmates, my students, my co-workers, my husband's employees...just about anyone!  I love them because you can vary the size of the bag, just by stapling them lower or higher!  Here's how to make them:

The first trick is to get bags that can close.  I actually get mine in the jewelry department at our local craft shop.  My favorite size are 3" X 4", but any size will work.  I think I pay about $3.50 for 100 bags.

 



Then I simply staple my bag topper on the opposite end of the zipper closure.  By doing this I can get them all ready to go ahead of time and then just fill them a day or two before I want to hand them out.

 
In the next two pictures you can see how by changing where I staple them I can make the filling area bigger or smaller....(in case it's hard to tell - the first one is smaller, the second one is almost twice as big...same exact size bag!).

 

 
Here are some of the other treat bags I did this year for Thanksgiving.  I also have them for Halloween and Christmas...and plan on making ones for other Holidays as they come up, too!

 

To purchase these treat bag toppers, please
visit my TeachersPayTeachers store!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

 

 

Homework Tickets and Reward Coupons

This year I've had a lot of students coming to school each day without their homework completed.  Now mind you, I don't actually give homework to my students.  The only thing they get for homework is any work that was assigned in class that they weren't able to complete during the school day. I can't explain why so many of them aren't getting their work completed in class, never mind as homework. I've never really had this problem with so many students in one year before.  I'm doing things the same, so clearly it's the students changing and not me.  Do you know what that means?  That it's time for ME to change, too!  Just because I've done something in my class for years, and it's worked for years, doesn't mean it's going to work for every class that comes through my doors.  Every class comes with its unique challenges, and apparently this year it's homework completion (and attendance -but don't even get me started on that one!)  So I did some brainstorming with my sweet hubby and have decided to reward those students who come to class with their homework done.  Each day when students come to class, if they have everything down that they should, they get a homework ticket.  They write their name on the back of the ticket, and drop it in our Homework Bucket.  You only get a ticket if you are completely current.  If you were absent and have makeup work, no ticket.  If you have corrections you haven't completed, no homework.  Basically nothing can be outstanding. Here's what the homework ticket looks like (you can click on the image to download the entire page of tickets).

 

At the end of each week I draw one ticket (sometimes more depending on what I think will work best for that week).  Whichever student gets their name drawn, gets to pick one of our classroom rewards.  I have lots and lots of reward coupons they can pick from.  Here's a small sample...if you'd like to see all of the coupons, I have them up on TeachersPayTeachers.  There are 35 individual rewards and 10 class rewards, plus some blank coupons, too.

 

 

 

Besides homework coupons, the other way to earn a reward coupon is to have your name drawn off our BINGO board.  Our BINGO board has 100 spots.  Once the board is filled we draw to see which student will earn a reward coupon of their choice. Students can get their name on the board for just about anything...showing kindness for another student, finding a vocabulary word in their independent reading books (and being able to define it or use it properly in a sentence), finding a spelling word in their independent reading books (and being able to spell it properly), dressing up for a spirit/color day, and lots more.  I look for reasons to let students sign their name on the board.  We pretty much fill a board every other week or so.  In addition to getting individual names on the board, they can also get 5's (because they're in the fifth grade) on the board.  The earn a 5 by being complimented by another adult in the building, getting 4 checks in PE (a classroom management system our PE teacher uses), working quietly when they are in small groups, etc.  Again, I look for reasons to let them put a 5 up on the board.  If a 5 is selected, then the entire class gets a reward.  Here are what some of the BINGO charts I've used look like...

 

 

 

 

New Products on TeachersPayTeachers

Ok, so here's what I've decided...being a full time mother and teacher leaves very little time for blogging during the school year!  I have the biggest class I've had in the last few years.  I only have 23 kiddos, but last year I had 13 so this is a BIG difference.  Last year's class also had 5/13 students in the Gifted and Talented program, so academically it was a very strong class!  I've also been working really hard to get more products up on TeachersPayTeachers.  There's just something about knowing I've helped another teacher reach their students that really warms my heart!

Here are some of the projects I've completed since school has started...

Properties of Addition and Multiplication Foldable Graphic Organizer

Social Studies Explorers of the New World Foldable Graphic Organizer

States of Matter Foldable Graphic Organizer

Odds and Evens Addition Game

Back to School Sale!

The much awaited TeachersPayTeachers sale is now underway!  Click the picture below to go to my TPT store!  Make sure to use the coupon code BTS13 for an extra savings!

Morning Meeting Activities

YAY!  I finally finished my first set of Morning Meeting Activities to go along with my Morning Meeting Greetings!  If you are interested in seeing a preview of this product just click on the picture below.  If you like the preview you can purchase the entire set at my TeachersPayTeachers store.  It'll be 28% of on Sunday and Monday, August 18th and 19th!

 

 

Spelling with Spoons

A while back, and I do mean a while, I saw a really neat idea on Pinterest with spoons and the alphabet.  I've been wanting to make a set, but really had no reason to do so as I teach fifth grade.  WELL...my youngest is going off to kindergarten this month so I thought to myself - what a great back to school gift for his teacher!  So after a bit of searching for white and clear spoons that were both the same size (which was not as easy as I thought it would be!), this weekend I made five sets for his teacher.  I put uppercase stickers on the white spoons and lowercase stickers on the clear spoons.  I will say I'm not thrilled with the lowercase "a" or "q", but I think students do need to be exposed to both styles.  It'll be up to her to decide if she wants to use them or replace them with other stickers.  I've given her blank spoons just in case.

 

It was late when I finished, so I just put them into five different bags and left them on the table to take care of in the morning.  This morning my son came downstairs and wanted to make words with them (which gave me another idea...but we'll hold that thought for a few more minutes.)  So he gets them out and the stickers are already falling off!  YIKES!  I'm so glad he wanted to play with them.  So I pulled out my Mod Podge and coated every single last one of those 260 spoons!  Problem solved and they're all back in their bags!  YAY!

Now onto the light bulb that came on when my son asked to make words with the spoons (he already knows his letters, so matching upper and lowercase letters isn't something he's interested in doing.)  Now I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of this on my own - but DUH...sure, my fifth graders know their letters, but why not use them for spelling words?  I mean currently I have a pretty good great collection of activities for my students to use to work with their spelling words that I'm constantly adding to.  Why not add this one to it?!  So here are some of the spoons I made for my classroom. 

 

And here's the direction sheet students will get.  You can click on the image to download this fun Freebie!

 

 



 

Here are some of the other direction sheets for a few of the extensions we do.

 

 

 

If you're interested in purchasing the entire set, you can get all 30 Spelling Activities as well as forms, tips, and other resources in my TPT store.  Just click the image below.

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for more freebies then check out Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies by clicking on the image below.