Word Walls

This is a subject that I have spent WAAAAAY too much time thinking about. I've tried different things. I've tried different locations......I have even tried NOT having one (that lasted a week).
It has uses (if you SHOW the kids how to use it.....and hold them to it!)
I'm talking about word walls.
I have a bulletin board I COULD use for it.
That is, if I didn't mind climbing over 7 computers to post words on it.
( I do, by the way, mind that!)
My acrobatic skills are not what they used to be.....and principals tend to go into spasms when they walk in my room and I am perched and climbing like a howler monkey!

THEN,
I saw THIS.....

On pinterest, which took me to a blog called Kindergarten Smiles.

I liked the way she categorized the words. I could do that! I liked the way the folders were accessible to students when they needed them, but not taking up precious wall space. I could do that too!

I am considering making a 2nd grade version of this. I am also debating making a word wall to use with my interactive "not as smart as yours" board.

See?

I told you I was spending WAY too much time on this!

So, how do you use word walls in your classroom??? How often do you change them? Add to them?

How do you categorize them?!?

This thinking is giving me a headache. I think I am gonna go grab a Diet Coke and a few Oreos (the diet coke will cancel out the oreo calories, right!?!) and take a brain break!!!

If I Get Hit By A Bus....

One of my former principals used to love to say, " If I get hit by a bus, the person replacing me should be able to come in and pick up where I left off." One of THE hardest jobs on the planet is a substitute teacher. I know. I've done it.
You come in to someone else's routines and rules.
You come in to a sometimes not-so-willing audience.
You are often time given busy work to dole out and its not the most engaging work in the world!
This is the time everything will go wrong.....fire drill, kid throwing up, quiet kid turns into class clown, new student enrolls....you name it...Murphy's law is in full effect when you are the sub!

My hat goes off to them! I have been BLESSED with some REALLY good subs! I've also had a few who left me scratching my head wondering why they bothered to show up!!!
I TRY not to be absent...but, hey, life happens!
And when it does, I want to be prepared.....and make it as easy for the person filling my shoes as I can!
So, I have a sub binder. It is the go-to resource for any sub I have. Now, I will say that my sub plans are usually VERY detailed...but the more information you can leave them on your students and routines, the easier it will be. This is the sub binder from last year....there will naturally be some changes, but this will give you an idea of what I put in it!

How do you prepare for subs?

Teacher Binder- Part 2

This is part 2 of what's in my Teacher Binder.
I put more thought into this tool than anything else (besides lesson plans) I use because it is SO important. One of the main things I try to teach ALL my kiddos is the importance (and effectiveness) of being organized. Of course, it's not a "Do as I say, not as I do" thing....I try to show them also and this binder is my main source of organization!!

So, let's pick up where we left off:
4. Lesson Plans- Our district has a curriculum department that has planned each aspect of our curriculum to make sure:
* Everyone is on the same page
* All the TEKS are met

Their planner is a 'guideline' and we are free to supplement with anything that meets our kids needs AND is curriculum appropriate.
SO, I DO supplement....big time!
But, our team meets once (sometimes more than once) a week to go over the lesson plans, and throw out ideas of what we are going to do. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my team! These ladies are opened to trying to new things and have some of the BEST ideas!!
Anyway, our lesson plans are kept online (for the boss lady to look at when she needs/ wants to/ needs some reading material for her spare time) but I always print a copy off and keep in my teacher binder incase of memory loss, computer crash, substitute or whathave you!
Here is a sample of our template this year (going with our grade level theme)

5. IEP goals and Accommodations- Each year, I have more and more students that are classified as SpEd. My oldest son has Down Syndrome and graduated High School in June along with my youngest son.

 The one thing that lead to him being successful in school, the one thing that made a HUGE difference in how he felt about school and him feeling accepted is all the WONDERFUL teachers he had that, when mainstreamed, made him feel like "just one of the other kiddos". They followed all of his accomodations, but did so without any big deal!! Cody loved school and I am SO grateful to all of the teachers he had!! I want to make sure that I give my best to all my students, but also that if I have a student with accomodations that I follow them to the letter to give them the absolute BEST opportunity to succeed. But if you are like me, it is sometimes a juggling act to figure out who gets what and am I following ALL of them???

By law, we are given a full copy of each SpEd students' IEP. I three hole punch them and keep them in a section of this binder for quick reference. But I needed something to tell me WHAT I am supposed to be doing for my kiddos at a glance without me having to shuffle through a gazillion pages of each IEP.

So I use a seating chart that I color code with the most common accomodations...and a small writing space for anything 'special'. (I make sure a copy of this is in the sub binder because of a fiasco I had with a SpEd student and a sub years ago---I'll save that for another post). Here is an example of my seating chart and what it looks like:

 6. Daily 5 Section- This is the section I keep all my 'stuff' for the daily 5. The first thing I keep in this section is my Check-in Calendar. This way I know who I need to conference with and when! This is my September calendar:

The next subsection of this is the Conference sheets-

And then the Strategy Group Sheets-

Anything else Daily 5 related will also go in this part of my binder.

7. Calendar- Our office manager puts out a monthly calendar wth all important school related functions filled in (field trips, assemblies, etc). I keep a copy of it in my teacher binder so if I have a meeting/conference with a parent, I can schedule around all the other 'stuff' I sometimes forget about until I look at my calendar!!

8. Committee/ Team notes-  This last section is reserved for any team planning notes I have or notes from our Leadership Team meetings. We have several committes and 'teams' we are on and I find it more convenient to keep everything in one place!

Well, that is a look at my binder! How do you keep your things organized??

New Blog Design and Teacher Binder- Part 1

Did you notice?
I decided to change up my blog template AND I created a blog button! Yay me! We won't talk about how long it took me....but it's a fresh change and I am LOVING it! Thanks to the FREE, (my favorite price) templates at  The Cutest Blog on the Block, I customized it my little ol' self!

Okay...enough about that....here's my original post:

It's my right hand man.
It's my go-to-guy.
It's my brain most of the time!!!
I'm talking about my Teacher Binder.

I am a binder person.
I know....some of you prefer files or something else....I've tried other methods, and ALWAYS ,,ALWAYS, ALWAYS go back to my binder system!!!

It's my quick reference for....
*Emergency Numbers
*Parent Contact
*Testing data
*IEP goals
*Lesson plans
*Calendars
*Anything else I can think of!!!

This is such an important tool, I am going to be posting info on this in several parts! TODAY is the first part.

I purchase a BIG binder (I bought purple  eggplant for my whole team),

 tabs,

(Love these because you can write on them with sharpie!)
 and sheet protectors and pockets.

 I start out by deciding what sections I want. Here is what I am doing this year:
1. Emergency contacts- this is where I keep the sheet I have the parents fill out on Parent Orientation Night. It tells me everything I need to know in a pinch. Here is the paper:

I got the idea for this last year, when I was blog stalking happened upon Mrs. Carroll at The First Grade Parade...and she had her info sheet listed as a freebie!! I took some of the questions from hers and tweaked them to fit my needs, added my own fonts and clipart...and this is what I came up with!

I run these front/back on two different colors (one for boys, one for girls, just because I LOVE color coding) and I print a label with the student's names AND STUDENT NUMBER  for the first blank at the top of the paper.This way, once the parents fill them out for me (legibly, I hope!) I can take them up, put them in number order and that section is alphabetized and color coded by boy/girl so I can quickly find what I need on each child!!!

2.Parent Communication- This is where I am keeping my Parent Communication Log. (My principal stated when she walks in our classroom this is the ONE thing she wants to be able to access rather than lesson plans...because of COURSE we are teaching our district curriculum!) I also bought one of those dividers that serve as a pocket (See above). This is where I will keep all the notes from home!

(Incase you missed it, my Parent Communication Log is two posts ago!)

3. Awards and Checklists- We give several awards in our school, grade level and in my classroom.I've already talked about the Postive Referrals. (I keep a sheet protector in this section with extra postive referral forms) In our grade level, each week, teachers choose a "Star of the Week". (I'll post more on this in the future)We have a grade level meeting and make a big deal about it.....they get  got a poster(that is SOOOO last year) to take home on Friday and bring back Monday.THIS year....they will get these little gems to take home...

CUTE!!! I found them at Really Good Stuff.

They are about 8 bucks for 24....and SO worth it because if I DO go with my Red White and Blue theme, they will fit in perfectly!! CLick HERE for the link to the product page.

We post them in the hall and they have special 'events' they get to have each day that week. This year, I am contemplating going with a Red, White and Blue theme in our hallway..(THIS is the picture from Clutter Free Classroom that inspired me)

..making our bulletin board a GIANT American flag (like the picture only making the stripes run horizontal rather than vertical) and putting stars all over our walls down the hallway. I've been so consumed with my classroom theme,I haven't given much thought to our hallway/grade level theme (and no, I don't like them to be the same because I would get sick of them very QUICKLY!) and with this year being an election year, Olympics and all, I am thinking the American theme will be cute..but that will all be worked out on another post..after July 23rd when I can get into my building.

ANYWHO, In my classroom, I also give a clean desk award (weekly) which consists of a certificate and usually a pencil or something.... and a CUTE idea I got  from Denise at Sunny Days in Second Grade but, basically you go to the dollar store (love me some dollar store!) and buy cheap kid socks (designed are the preference)....but any will do! Then you print these cutesy little tags (she has some but I made my own to fit my theme) and attach them to the socks and give it out as an award weekly to a student who has done something outstanding! THANK YOU DENISE!!! I love this idea and am SO excited about using it!

Here are my tags: ( I plan to keep them in a cute boot planter I found at some dollar store--picture to come later)In my class, the day they wear their 'special socks' they can take their shoes off in class...which is a BIG deal in my classroom!!!

Now, to keep up with who has had what award, in my teacher binder, I keep a checklist. Here is my template. Feel free to grab up!

I will date when each child has won an award so I don't get into that all-too-easy habit of picking the same ones over and over and forgetting someone!!!

Well, this post is long enough for now...and I may have overwhelmed everyone...so I will post more of what is in my teacher binder later...because there is a LOT more!

(If you need pdf or powerpoint form of any of my documents, email me and I will send it to you!)

 Time to go grab some food!

,

Daily 5 chapter 3

Okay.....I admit it!
I've gotten pretty behind on my Daily 5 book study!
So, today I am catching up with everyone else and putting my two cents in on Chapter 3, "What's the Difference? Key materials, concepts and routines for launching the Daily 5".
I TOTALLY plan to implement this system from day ONE!!
The sisters talk about......
* A gathering place- I have ALWAYS had a gathering place in my classroom. At first, I called it 'the carpet' as in " Class, come to the carpet please." and out of habit, I did that after the renovation,to which one of my little darlings pointed out, " Ms. Skipper, the carpet is EVERYWHERE".....so I had to rename it (and even harder, had to RETRAIN myself to call it something different)....so now it's our "Meeting Spot". No matter how many times I rearrange my room, I always make sure that spot is in the same place...accessible to everything I  will need .

*Good fit books- I previously posted my poster (made to fit my theme) and plan on doing the 'shoe lesson' (complete with cowboy boots).... just like the sisters talked about! They are GENIUS for coming up with this concept because I always had those little darlings that walk around with Harry Potter while they can't even decode See Spot Run simply because they want to 'save face' in front of their friends. This lesson lets everyone know that just like shoes, we all have our own needs/preferences/styles of books and its NOT okay to comment negatively on someone else's choice!

'*Anchor charts- While just a  few of these will be pre-made, most of these will be created with students and then (due to lack of wallspace) will be 'shrunk' into a regular page size (and cutesied up) and put in my anchor chart holder (aka a towel holder) which I got the idea off of Pinterest....(sorry, but the pinterest link to the original source doesn't work, but here is the picture)

*Practice and using the correct/ incorrect models- I can only IMAGINE how many incorrect example givers I will have to choose from!!!

*Calm signals and check in- I have been on the lookout for cheap chimes.....and found this....

for $11!!!! That's cheaper than what I found at Wal-Mart and Target.......if you want the link, click
here.

Happy shopping!

Parent Contact

It's the one thing, that as a teacher, can truly effect your reputation in the community. It can make you be known as "That teacher who never calls" or "That teacher who calls over EVERY little thing".
There is a fine line you walk when handling it....I'm talking about parent communication.

Thanks to technology, we have several means of communication- phone, email, websites, good ol' fashioned notes, and in person!
We've all had those unplanned, tried to hide from you but dang you saw me, spontaneous parent conferences in the cereal aisle of the local grocery store. I've been cornered by parents at church, at football games, at the movies......

But how do you maintain a healthy parent/school line of communication without being that teacher who calls to the point that the parents are looking at the caller id before they pick up your call (or not!)

Not every parent WANTS to be involved. Not every parent WILL. But we have to give them the opportunity from day one, and the continued chance to jump in there at any point in the year in hopes that they do what is best for their child (like WE'RE trying to do!!)

One of the things my new principal really pushes (and excels at) is parent communication. She finds every opportunity to involve parents in what is going on in their child's day in hopes of strengthening that home-school connection. She has teachers fill out "Positive Referrals" on students and every morning on the announcements, she reads their name out over the television and invites them to come to her office to 'celebrate' their referral. The referral can be for anything....academic, behavior, etc. The student gets to select a 'prize from the principal' and she calls the parent to let them know what their child did worthy of an office celebration. The kids LOVE it! The parents LOVE it!

She requires teachers to make 3 positive contacts a week. At first, admittedly, I was hesitant......wasn't quite sure how that would be received. I have to say, it went over very well!!! Parents loved it....especially the ones who were always expecting the bad calls and were surprised it was a good phone call!! They began to look forward to it.

This year, she wants us to document our parent contact. Not to make sure everyone is doing it...that's not her style....if she needs to call someone out, she WILL! But she wants it so if we have a parent with an issue and they say " I never heard anything from the teacher" she has the documentation to back up how that wasn't true!!! So, I created this document and am going to run it front and back, and put in my teacher binder (which I will post more on later) . Feel free to grab if you want!

How do you document parent contact?

Meet the Teacher Night

It is probably THE most dreaded night of the year. Moreso than Parent Orientation Night ( I think some of you call this Parent Information Night) . Moreso than Open House. It's "Meet The Teacher" night.

Now, I probably shouldn't do TOO much complaining here. For one thing, in our district, each school sets their own timeline and 'rules' for Meet The Teacher. Our principal is electing to keep it low-key.....THANK YOU!!! Ours is only an hour..(some schools in our district have a 3 hour window)which has its good points and bad points. But then again, that hour is WHIRLWIND!!! This is how ours goes:

Usually (or at least in the past) we do not get our class list until Wednesday or Thursday of the teacher workweek back because of all the 'new' kids that register that week and the 'switching around' of kiddos to keep our classes balanced.(We start the Monday before the kids). On Thursday afternoon, we are asked to call and personally contact each student to:
 1) let them know we are their teacher and
2) personally invite them to Meet The Teacher so they can, well, meet us and see their classroom which we have been feverishly trying to put together in between trainings and inservices and professional developments!!

THIS is the first part of this routine I hate....the phone calls. I am not much of a phone person...unless I can text. Part of that is because of a near-fatal case of spinal meningitis as a child, and numerous ear infections, I have difficulty hearing. I'm not deaf. But there are certain situations that make me realize how much I depend on lip-reading rather than hearing someone. The main situation that makes that astoundingly clear is talking on the phone. Our phones have volume control....and mine is ALL the way up. Still, this is particularly difficult to understand some people....especially some of our sweet little ESL parents, on the phone.

Now, I have had some HILARIOUS  (and not so funny) conversations with parents at this time. I had a parent pick up the phone last year while I went into my usual dialogue....something like this:
"Hello? Mrs. Bob? This is Ms. Skipper with ____ Elementary. I am calling to let you know that I am SO excited that little Phillip Johnny is going to be in my class this year! I also wanted to let you know that from 3-4 tomorrow afternoon, you and little Phillip Johnny can come up to the school, see his classroom, meet me and bring his school supplies up if you'd like."

(At this point I wait for a response) ...that is my USUAL routine.
 However, last year with a particular parent, once I explained who I was, she began HUMMING. as in singing to herself without words
. And about halfway through my spiel, I had to stop.
 I wasn't sure if she was being rude (Did she NOT want me as a teacher?) or if something was wrong (was she being held hostage and trying to get a message to me.....yeah, my mind went there!) or WHAT was wrong.
So, I stopped in the middle of my script and said, " Um, Mrs. Bob? Are you OKAY?"
She immediately gasped and began laughing hysterically while trying to explain that she thought I was a recording because of the school phone service...and with 3 kids she gets SO many recorded calls from the different schools that she thought I was one of them.
She was mortified....I thought it was hilarious!!
I have had parents make statements before like " Oh, darn....we wanted Mrs. So and So" (dagger to the heart)
or " Well, you REALLY have your work cut out for you" (thanks for the heads up)
or  " Hope you're better than Mrs. So and So from last year" (um....okay? I'm not bashing a colleague over the phone OR in person....sorry!)
I've also had some SWEET comments...but for some reason its the ones that make you feel bad that sometimes stick with you!
ANYWAY, the phone calls are the first thing I hate about MTT night.

Second is the double edged sword....the time. It's in the afternoon....usually 3-4 on the Friday before school begins on a Monday. While it is nice to only have parents and students there for an hour, its also very CHAOTIC.
They line up outside our school early....like they are trying to get into a rock concert or something.Then when they 'release the hounds'....it's every man for himself.
CROWDS of people come in....parents, siblings, your student, sometimes grandparents.....it's a LOT of people.
Half of the time I am trying to figure out which kid is my student and trying to put a face with a name, and HOPE I can remember it all the while parents are trying to tell me EVERY important detail they think I need to know about their little darling!!! (Like I will remember!!)

Our school also offers prepackaged supplies.Another double edged sword. It's a great thing because all the supplies are uniformed.....everyone has the same thing....that is, everyone who BUYS it. But because of the cost, many people have elected to buy their own supplies and bring them.....which leads to someone buying things NOT on the list.....which, as a teacher IRKS me!!! Then the fight is on about why little Suzie has her GINORMOUS box of 300 crayons while everyone else has 24...and of course, little Suzie doesn't want to share!! This year, we made GREAT effort to reduce our school supply list and make it even more affordable!  And because of that, I am going to stick to my guns and have the rule of " you get what everyone else gets or keep it at home". (I know, mean, but cuts down on the arguements!)
I got our list down to a mere $30, which I think is VERY reasonable!!! This year, we are doing binders instead of folders. I'm hoping this helps my little darlings with their organization skills....since that is something that drives me NUTS!!! I'll post more on our binders later!!

Because of the choas that ensues with so many people coming in so quickly and me trying to remember exactly what they told me about if they brought supplies or not, how they go home, if they are buying lunch and put money in their account and what allergies or special notes I need to know immediately.....I created this little gem! I run it front and back and it is my 'go to' list that first day!! Our Parent Information Night is the 2nd night of school, so at that time I have the parents fill out an emergency form for me!!! But THIS lets me know what I need to know quickly for the first day! I also got the WONDERFUL idea from a teacher blog last year (or maybe it was pinterest)....I honestly do NOT remember the source, but thank you whoever you are....of going to get big brown grocery bags (begging the local Tom Thumb!) and writing each student's name on it. Having them put their supplies in it, and stapling it up and putting it at the back of the room so I can sort it out later when they are gone!!! I LOVE that idea!!! Then I don't have to spend a ton of time having my students go through their things, put things in different spots in the classroom while their siblings destroy my room!!!
Here is my freebie! Feel free to grab!( I didn't make it pdf because most of you will need to 'tweak' it, I assume!  FYI: Pasar is our after school daycare hosted on campus.) If you need the powerpoint version of it, email me and I will get it to you!