Writing Poster Freebie

Today I have a free product for you that I love using in my classroom. These writing process posters make tracking so very easy. All I've done is cut, mounted on blue paper, and laminated them. Then you need stickies with each student name. Then the students just move their name to where they are in the writing process. SO EASY and I can quickly tell who is where. I've used clothesline clips in the past, but when 24 students are all on Planning, the poster can't support them all. So stickies it is! Yes, I do have to replace them about twice a year, but it is completely worth it and easy. Click the pic to get your free copy! Please follow my blog and TpT store while you are at it! Happy summer!

Tracking the Writing Process

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year! We don't go back until Thursday, so I am trying to get my brain back in school mode. To start the brain transition, I am going to quickly share with you the way I track the writing process in my 4th grade classroom.

The tracking is super easy. All you need are your writing process signs and sticky notes! The kids move up and down on the chart depending where they are. I used to use clothes pins, but then I had to reinforce the posters time and time again because the weight kept pulling them from the wall. This year I made a heat of the moment split second decision and used sticky notes. BEST. IDEA. EVER!

That is all for today! Have a fabulous Monday!

Currently and Monday Made It: Writing Journals

Hey everyone! I need to start posting more than once a month :) Oh, life gets busy with a newborn, a 3 year old, and 6 year old. Maybe I should feel lucky I am posting at least once a month! Haha!

On to the post. I am doing a double-dip today with Farley's Currently and Tara's Monday Made It. I love both of these and am excited to go explore the link-ups.

I loved my students this year! One way this class was different from the other classes I've taught in the last 10 years is the way this class LOVED to write! It was fabulous! So I am going to link up with Tara for Monday Made It to share our writing journals!

One day we were talking and one student said they wanted a writing journal to keep all their "stuff" so I brainstormed aloud with them and this is what we developed!

Superhero Writing Journals! I made the covers and we simply put lined paper behind with a colored page on the back. We also made a little pocket on the back cover to keep "other" writing like posters and mini-books.

The students LOVED these! I made a bunch of different formats of the writing journals (half-sized, full sized, etc.) The kids get a different cover and journal each month to collect their writing. Sometime soon (hopefully) I will post on how easy my Writing Center is. 

You know what? I am in the giving mood :) if you would like a copy of my Superhero Writing Journal, leave a comment with your email and I will pick a few winners! Hope you have a fabulous day!!

Balanced Literacy - 100 Minutes

I am SO excited to be joining in on this book study! I have been read the first few chapters of Lisa Donohue's book and now that school is officially out (hip-hip!) I can sit down and devour the rest. Hope you join us in the awesome book study!

Students need time for:

-explicit teaching

-guided learning

-independent work

"Technology should never be an additional thing to teach...but instead be an integrated component of daily instruction." (p. 14) Love this! I get asked all the time by other teachers how they should teach their students to use a computer program or an app. I constantly tell them "don't" because all they need to do is show the kids what they should be doing and the students will catch on (with a few exceptions) and run with it. Our students know how to use technology better than we do most of the time.

"The concept of anything other than the 21st century is ancient history to our youngsters." (p. 14) 

Enough said.

"...routines need to continue to deepen and become richer as the year progresses." (p. 15)  This was an "ah-ha sentence for me. I constantly revisit our Daily 5 routines, but I seldom deepen them. Lisa Donohue, you are brilliant!

"Once routines become stale and mundane student engagement quickly decreases." (p. 15) Students need a variety of choices with "familiar routines."

Lisa goes on to talk about "The Basics" of the 100 minute literacy block. I loved this part of the book because I love, love, love seeing into other classrooms and that is what this section felt like to me.

100 Minute Literacy Block

Reading Time - Whole Class - 20 to 30 Minutes

(this is what I think of as Shared Reading in my classroom)

-introduce strategies

-model thinking

-student discussion

-question students (Blooms Taxonomy)

AWARD Time - Individual/Small Group Work - 40 minutes

-students work individually on skills or with the teacher

Writing Time - Whole Class - 20 to 30 Minutes

-introduce writing strategies

-model writing

-discuss writing

"Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." (p. 18)

Lisa ends with a section titled "100 Minutes in Action" that gives us a glimpse of this process over a couple months. This part is priceless! Can't wait for more :)

How to deepen my routines. This part made me think so much. I've started to come up with some ideas that will be shared later on!

I don't have a "100 minute" block of time next year. Sad, right? So I will have to figure out how to break this up in two sections. I can totally do it, but I wish I had that 100+ minutes.

-How do you all "deepen" your routines?

-What do daily schedules of other teachers look like with the 100 minutes built in?

Make sure to link up with Beth over at Thinking of Teaching with your thoughts and follow along with us on this awesome book study journey!

Monday Made It! Student picture frames

Linking up for the summer's first weekly Monday Made It!! Don't you love summer and gettin' your craft on?

So a couple months ago I found this CUTE bulletin board at Learning in Wonderland. I LOVE IT!

I LOVE this wall and want to do the same thing in my room next year. So I found these super cute damask frames on Etsy

I printed, laminated and cut cut cut! And here are some of the frames for my bulletin board which will be a bright blue background with white and black border...

My students will be writing about themselves and switching out the paragraph underneath their frame during work on writing time. I'm excited about the student recognition and the sense of belonging this will bring to my classroom. The writing about yourself to display for other students to read is also a great incentive for writing.

How do you recognize your students in your classroom?

Five for Friday Flashback!

Linking up with the awesome Doodle Bugs Teaching and amazing Amanda from Teaching Maddeness for Five for Friday and Friday Flashback!

ONE

As many of you know I am going back to 4th grade next year! This means moving buildings though. I don't know how or why but I completely totally lucked out because I am getting the biggest most recently painted room. I am SO excited!

TWO

I have a file case that is completely stuffed with lamination that needs cut out. I have been cutting and cutting all week!

THREE

We have been fighting colds at our house. Not a super fun way to start the summer, but at least school is out so I can take a nap after staying up with my baby all night. Even though the kids have colds they've still had a blast playing! We probably stay in our pj's too long everyday, but who cares! 

FOUR

Today is my anniversary! I have been married to my sweet husband for six years. We are going golfing today and out to dinner. I kinda really like him :)

FIVE

You need to check out this awesome buy from Tonya's Treats for Teachers! It has daily writing prompts and is pretty much amazing!

Summer bucket list-writing stations, jobs, math notebooks

I am so excited to be linking up with A Cupcake for the Teacher for the Summer Bucket List linky!!

What is on my summer to-do list?? Well, there is a ton! 

1. Read this...

Actually, I want to do a book study on it. Anyone interested?? I know it was done last summer, but I did Daily 5 and Cafe last summer. So leave a comment if you would like to study with me :)

2. Math journals...

I love the idea of cutting the journals in half! You need to check out Renee's blog too because she gives the super cute labels to you for free!!

3. I have a TONS of lamination to cut out! 

4. Get ALL the decorations ready for my room...

5. Unpack my classroom...

I have an AWESOME classroom this year! It is huge and was just painted! So excited. And yes, that is my son climbing all over everything :)

6. Make student job applications...

Every student in my classroom is required to do a job and they apply for the jobs they would like. Holly, from Fourth Grade Flipper, did an awesome post about this. You can find it here. I need to redo my applications that I used five years ago and get everything set up and ready to go for the first day of school.

7. Writing station...

I need to redo my writing station for my Daily 5 this summer. I have 10 binders (one for each month) and am creating 5 weeks worth of writing station activities for each month. HUGE PROJECT! I am also going to have a writing folder for each student like the cute picture above from Teach Junkie.

8. Math stations...

I just need to sit down and start surfing the web on this one. I have ideas floating around but nothing concrete. Any ideas or posts you could share??

9. This is the most important one of all! HAVE FUN WITH MY KIDS!! 

We have been out of school since Thursday and already had sleepovers with cousins, went fourwheeling, driven by the swimming pool 4 times and yearned for it to be warmer, and we are heading to the cabin tomorrow! We have camping on the list, swimming lessons, summer preschool (my 4 year old can't wait), hiking, reunions, lots of baking, gardening, and running through the sprinkler just to name a few!!

It is a New Year New Gear Kind of PaRtY!

When I saw this post I knew, KNEW, I had to link up. I'm all about starting to plan for the new year. Thoughts for the next year actually start bumping around in my head about mid March and attack me during April and May.

Since I'm heading back to the elementary school next year to teach 4th grade I had to start stalking a bunch of fourth grade blogs and try to remember what I used in my classroom 4 years ago. Here is what I have...

I or my students absolutely need...

1. Writing folders

Each student will have a writing folder that will always be at the writing center in this...

2. Mr. Sketch Markers

For anchor charts of course! Okay, I love just sniffing them too :)

3. Yellow Paper Pad

I'm LOVING the idea of using this for drafting when writing.

4. Binders

I am a binder lover my friends. 

There is something that makes kids feel important if they can 3 hole punch an assignment and put it into the binder. I divide the different subjects by giving the students colored paper and everything gets 3 hole punched and put in their binder. This also eliminates lost papers.

5. Math Notebooks

Wouldn't these be fun? But I usually get the boring black ones.

Anyway, using a math notebook is the way to go. AND it fits in the binder! Turn the composition book sideways and put the back flap into the folder pocket inside the binder.

Awesome blog find!!

Have you met Jennifer from Mrs. Laffin's Laughings??

Well, you need to. She is AMAZING! I love all the resources she is sharing and the fabulous ideas. Head on over to her blog right now!

Here are some of the awesome things I have found from my dear new best friend (even though she doesn't know it yet)

Math games using a regular old pack of cards. This book is only eight bucks from Scholastic. Steal, I tell you!

Autobiography writing pack for FREE from dear Mrs. Laffin

AR Motivation

Interactive math games

Go check her blog out and start following someone who is going to help you out a ton! Go there now.

Onomatopoeia, DVD White Boards, Reading Responses, Classroom Library

Onomatopoeia Ideas!


Fun art onomatopoeia idea from Ms. Crouse. The kids create their onomatopoeia using a batman clip, colored paper and newspaper.



Such a great idea to use in place of whiteboards. Store the glove inside. I wonder if small expo markers would fit as well? Hmmm...going to look into this one.



Have you ever heard of Wonderopolis? Well now you have :) Upper Grade Are Awesome just introduced me to this site and I can't wait to try it out with this freebie!



Amazing post on how to run and keep your classroom library in shape. I need to do this!

District Writing Assessment

Every year my district does a writing assessment across the entire district. Now, where I live we have a VERY spread out district that is relatively small in numbers.



Here is Utah and the bottom right corner is San Juan County. That is where I live (and love it)! Our school district is our entire county which is almost 8,000 square miles. We have only 12 schools (if I am counting right) in our district.

Anyway, we have an annual District Writing Assessment where each grade level is given a topic and they complete an essay. The essays are graded by a selected group of educators. The results of this assessment lets the teachers know the strength and weaknesses of their students writing based upon the six traits.

The parameters pretty much follow any type of testing such as no outside help, can only work on the assessment when directed, etc.

This week is the District Writing Assessment and my students will have five days starting tomorrow to complete an essay from beginning to end. I will find out the topic tomorrow morning when I look at my materials. All I know is my students are required to write an argumentative essay based upon evidence that will be given to each student. There will be one topic in which my students can make a claim either for or against the topic.

I will post more about our District Writing Assessment once it is over.

Do any other districts out there do any type of writing assessments??

Picture Prompts - My Students LOVE These!

THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO SHARE! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST, BUT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SHARE THESE ANYMORE. PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF SOME TIME AND DO NOT ASK, BECAUSE I WILL NOT REPLY.

So far the main purpose of this blog was to collect ideas for me to use in my classroom. But lately, I've wanted to start sharing my own stuff. So, here it goes :)

I'm joining PJ Jots for the Fall Blog Hop and I'm going to start by saying "I love fall time!" Now, here are my fun fall time picture prompts...

I would be more than happy to share! I have around 20 sets of 6 that cover everything from fantasy picture prompts to holidays. Leave your email and I will get whatever you want to you!

Sorry everyone! I no longer have this file...it has died along with a beloved computer. 

It is FINALLY Friday! That Means...FRIDAY FUN!!!

I have been waiting all week (since Tuesday) to post about the fun writing activity we did in my classroom and now as I am sitting at home on my computer, I realized I never emailed the activity sheet to myself! I've seriously been struggling this week. But, I will give you the source where I got the idea and explain it. On Monday I will add the activity sheet.

First of all, I want to thank Kelly from Teaching Fourth for hosting this AWESOME LINKY every week!



Now for the fun writing activity...

Please remember that I teach 6th grade and have my students for only 52 minutes a day. We shove a ton in every day! Every year my students tell me how much they dislike writing. Out of 106 students this year, only 5 told me they like writing. Isn't that sad? Well, since I do Daily 5 (Daily 3 actually) in my room, I needed ideas for Work on Writing and I came across this fabulous Making Lists idea at Walking by the Way. I turned the individual lists into one page with 6 lists and we had a blast! The list headings were:

-How to drive your mom crazy
-If you were stuck on a rocket ship for one year, what would you take with you?
-Classes I would like to take in middle school that will never be offered
-Items found in a pirate treasure chest
-How to spend $100
-How to keep a monster from moving into your house

Ever since this activity my kids have BEGGED to write! Love it!!! What do you do for writing fun in your room?