Gratitude Journal

Last fall, I did a Gratitude Journal with my students. Every day, for 42 days in a row, they had to write down 3 things they were grateful for, or write about how they were grateful that day. At the end, they did two short reflections. For students who are used to only having homework Monday through Thursday, there was a bit of a grumble at the beginning when they had to do work on the weekends. But by the end, many were sad to see the project end. Here are a few things my students said they were grateful for during the six weeks:

-My parents pay for my school
-I have a cozy bed to sleep in
-My dog was very good today - I love him and he protects me
-My mom/dad made me a good dinner
-A good education
-We have enough money to live and do the things we like
-Finishing my NaNoWriMo story
-I have a computer
-My dad who tells me that I can do anything
-My coaches and great teammates
-The bright sunshine
-I was sick, but now I am better
-The right to believe what I want to believe
-My homework wasn’t too hard tonight
-My friend wasn’t mad at me, even when I broke a promise
-I live in the U.S.A. and there are laws here to protect everyone but they don’t make everyone do what the government wants
-I am really good at sports
-Going camping with my family
-My family has enough money that we can donate some to help others
-Someone took time to play a board game with me
-The telephone - to call my dad when he is away on trips

The students also made up their own gratitude quotes, which I printed, laminated and hung on their lockers. A few examples:
-Be grateful, not hateful.
-You might not get what you want, but you should be grateful for what you have.
-Gratitude is what you have, not what you don't.
-Always be positive, even at the worst times.

Overall, this was a great project that I will definitely continue to do every year. I'm even considering doing a smaller version of it again at this point in the year as a refresher!

If you'd like to get a copy of the journal, you can find it on my TpT store!

Brag Tags

We have a program at my school where students are encouraged to set weekly goals, and long term goals. I find that after a while, kids set the same goals week after week. "I want to pass my math fact test" or "I want to read x number of minutes." I am also a teacher who likes to present extra optional challenges to my kids, and sometimes they are accepted, and other times ignored. We also do the MindUP program, which encourages qualities such as optimism, gratitude, perspective taking, happiness, etc. Some tricky concepts for some children! If only I had some way to motivate them... and then voila! A friend introduced me to brag tags, which she will be using with her kids for their goals this year. So, here are my first few sets of tags for homework and their weekly/monthly goals. I am super excited to start using these this year!

UPDATE!
I have created SO many more of these as the year went on, and I've added many to my TpT store. To see all of the sets, click here.

Weekly and Monthly Goals
Work Habits (Handwriting, Cleaning up, Determination, Focused, etc.)
Character Traits (Character traits from A to Z)
Books Read (20, 30, 40, 50 book milestones)
Mindfulness (gratitude, optimism, generous, persistent, etc.)
Homework
Interactive Notebooks
Egg Drop STEM Challenge
... and more!

I've also decided that I like to call them SWAG Tags instead of Brag Tags... It fits my classroom better, I think.

I also have sets created for Geography, spelling, math, pencil challenges, genre challenges, NaNoWriMo... the possibilities are endless! They're easy to get set up, too. I print out the sheets, laminate them, cut into strips, hole punch with a super small craft punch, cut into individual tags and store. Time consuming to hole punch and cut, but it's easy work that can be done in front of the TV while binge watching the latest show that I'm into.

Here are a few photos of them in my classroom!

Each child has a hook for their chain. They start with one tag with their name on it.

Just a small sample of the tags in my collection!

My storage bin... I picked this container up on clearance at Staples and they fit PERFECTLY with little dividers made of cardstock.

The SWAG Tag sign

Everyday Math Chapter Review Cards

I finally finished my goal of converting all of my review cards for the chapters into digital files. I've been using random sized index cards with hand drawn pictures and scratched out errors for long enough, and my summer tutoring along with the TpT sale days were enough motivation to get me to finish the digital conversion!

Each chapter has a set of task cards, an answer sheet (and answer key), and a set of mini-cards to send home for students to study from. You can get one chapter at a time, or buy the bundle (only chapters 1-11 though... I usually only get to a lesson or two from chapter 12, and I'm more focused on year-long review than the chapter 12 assessment.) My kids loved the little hand drawn pictures in the corners of my cards, so I kept the idea with my digital files. Here is what the set looks like.

If you are interested in purchasing the bundle, you can find it in my TpT store. Enjoy!

Biography Partner Projects

My students recently finished a biography partner project, which was designed not only as a reading and research project, but also to help students work on their organization, time management and cooperative skills. I wanted to stress the process and quality of work with this project. I used the ‘Who Is/Who Was’ series of biographies, since they are all about the same length, and they include a starting place for the timeline requirement. The entire project took 4 weeks, with children working on this both in class and for homework.

I started by grouping students into pairs, keeping in mind their work habits and organizational skills. Each group looked through the list of famous people and chose their top three, and from those lists I assigned books. The first task was to work on reading the book and taking notes as they went. They had to set nightly reading goals with their partner, but I gave a general guideline for when their book should be finished. They were also working on the ‘Looking Back In Time’ sheets, researching other events that happened during the decades that their famous person was alive. I gave the last 5 minutes of each class for students to set new goals, split up tasks, and update their Time Management planners.

Once a group completed the reading and note taking, they moved on to organizing their notes into topics. This step was time consuming, but it was since mostly useful for those doing reports or flip-flap books, I think I would only use this as a tool for those students who needed it.

Projects were the next step. Students were required to do the timeline, including both events from the life of their famous person AND events happening in the world at the time. They also had to choose which project(s) to do. They could either choose to do one writing and one art project, or a mixed writing/art project. Students then worked on writing up steps checklists for each project and a list of needed materials before drafting or working on the project. The rule was that both partners must work on each project so that they had to communicate their ideas and find a way to evenly distribute the work.
 
On the due date, students came into class with all of their projects and materials from the process. They had to grade themselves on their grading sheet, organize all of their notes and planning sheets, and then highlight their actual contributions to the project on the steps checklist. They turned all of these items in, along with their Time Management/Materials sheet. We then spent the next few days presenting projects and even invited the first grade class to see our projects, since they were doing biography projects, too! Here are a few of the projects.

Cereal Boxes

Flip-Flap Book

Poster and Report

Museum Display

Accordion Book Timeline

Shape Timeline

I have put the packet of instructions, planning sheets, examples etc. up for sale on TpT.  Included in this packet are:
Instructions
Grading Sheet
Looking Back In Time (research/notetaking sheet)
Time Management Planner
Materials Planner
Steps Checklist
Notetaking Sheets
Notes Organization Sheets
Project Overview Sheet (Projects noted with *)
*Timeline Instructions
Timeline Planning Sheet
Timeline Template
Timeline Sample Page
*A-Z Booklet Instructions
A-Z Template
*Interview Instructions
*Flip-Flap Book Instructions
*Cereal Box Instructions
*Biography Hanger Instructions
*Poster and Report Instructions
*Museum Display Instructions
Museum Display Explanation Card Template
*Scrapbook Instructions
Scrapbook Planning Sheet
*I Am Poem Instructions
Teacher Checklists (3 versions)

I hope you find it useful!

Student-Led Portfolio Conferences

November is a time for Parent-Teacher conferences, which I must admit are not my favorite. I spend so much time trying to think of everything I need to say to a parent, organizing my ideas, gathering work samples and finding just the right way to phrase some of those difficult messages. And inevitably, the minute a parent leaves or an hour later it hits me... the one thing I forgot to tell them!

Spring is another conference, but this time around students are leading the way. Over the next few weeks I will spend time reflecting with my students, sharing in their joy of obstacles overcome and looking at what challenges still lie ahead. It is hard enough for me to organize my own thoughts, but to get students to do it and share it with their parents is even harder! The students have individualized short and long term goals, but that is just the start!

Last year, teaching third grade, there was one standard sheet that the students had to fill out for every subject area they reflected upon. While I think it was good to get the kids into the mindset of reflecting upon their own work with the same questions over and over, the drudgery of the same sheet of paper with each reflection wore some of them down. So, this year I decided to spice things up a bit and create a mix of forms for the kids to use. A few self-assessment sheets where they get to fill in smiley faces or number bubbles, some charts and lists, and then a few written responses and goal setting sheets.  We will spend the next few weeks reflecting, organizing, and preparing for conference day, when the students will take the lead and share their own assessment of their progress so far this year. I am looking forward to their thoughts, opinions and reflections!

I have tweaked a few of the sheets so that they are more generic for any other teachers who may be looking to do something similar with their own students, and I have placed them in my TpT store. Included is a long-term goal sheet, a short-term goal sheet, and a full set of printable sheets for students to use as a reflection tool for a student-led portfolio conference. Reflection sheets are a set of questions that a student can answer related to that area, and can be used in conjunction with work that they have pulled from the year. Sheets include:
*Cover Sheet
*Student Checklist
*Math Self Assessment (4th Grade Everyday Math topics up to Ch. 7)
*Math Reflection Sheet
*Reading Reflection Sheet
*Writing Reflection Sheet
*Spelling Scores Recording Sheet
*Science Reflection Sheet
*Social Studies Sheet
*Work Habits Self Assessment
*Growths and Goals Sheet
*Goal Setting (with parents) Sheet
*Special Area Reflection Sheet
*Generic Reflection Sheet

Birds of a Feather...

One of my biggest pet peeves about classroom jobs is the kids not doing them regularly (my custodian agrees when the trash cans aren't put out into the hall at the end of the day!) So, when I started the year, I decided to put job descriptions right on the job cards! I also wanted to include some more challenging jobs for students who wanted to go above and beyond in the classroom. And so, a new set of jobs was born... 9 regular jobs (green with yellow name tags) which would be changed every two weeks, and the 5 specialist jobs (pink) which would be changed every month.

The 9 regular job titles have all students rotating through them. Some jobs can or should be held by more than one student:

* Movement Coordinator - 1
* Caboose - 1
* Attendance Secretary - 1
* Office Supplies Manager - 1
* Librarian - 1 or 2
* Homework Secretary - 1
* Substitute - 1
* Bloggers - 2
* Clean Up Crew - As many as needed

There are also 5 specialist jobs which students can apply for if they feel it is an area of interest. A 6th job was added when we studied the 13 Colonies and American Revolution. I wanted to tax the students to give them a sense of what it felt like to be a colonist, so I first had to pay them! A banker job was the perfect way to hook them into the ticket payments, and the job was taken away soon after the tickets and taxes ended. In order to hold a specialist job, students must first apply by filling out the application form. I must say, I have been really impressed with some of the answers the kids have given! These jobs were revealed a few weeks into the school year, once students were comfortable with their regular jobs and had a chance to apply.

*Classroom Photographer
*Technology Specialist
*Absence Assistant
*Receptionist
*Deputy
*Banker

Here is my original "Birds of a Feather WORK Together" board in August before the kids names were put up, and before the specialist jobs were revealed.

If you would like to use these jobs in your own classroom, I have shared them on TpT. I have included all 15 jobs cards and blank name cards, 2 extra blank job cards so you can create your own jobs, the Specialist Application, blogging instructions, a reminder card to hang by the phone, and a title card for your bulletin board.

STAR Binders and Agendas

My students have a S.T.A.R. (Students Taking Active Responsibility) Binder where they keep all of their homework, goal setting sheets, reading logs, spelling assignments, notes to home, etc. We started the year with a simple agenda sheet where they would write down homework, and the agenda has evolved as they have come up with different ideas of what they would like to include to help them stay organized.

Throughout the year, the students have given suggestions on how we could change the agenda to make it more useful. I have put together a file with all of the different iterations of the agenda (a one-page weekly homework sheet, and 3 different two-page versions) and the STAR Binder cover sheet. The agenda sheets should be copied front to back and stapled together to create a small booklet. I usually copy extras of each sheet one-sided to make the front and back of the booklets. There are spaces to write in helpful websites (class websites, school lunch menus etc.) on some of the forms before copying.

If you would like to use them with your students, you can find them in my TpT store. Enjoy!

The Dreaded Basic Math Facts

I knew at the end of last year that there would still be some students who really struggled with basic facts.  Watching a child sit there adding 7+7+7+7+7+7 on their fingers can be almost painful, so I wanted to try doing the 1 minute timed tests this year as just another technique that might help reach some students.  I spent the summer putting together a set of multiplication/division tests, but alas, it seems that many of my students need to brush up on their addition and subtraction!  So, I put together a smaller review set of +/- timed tests and added it to the multiplication/division packet I had already done.  That means there is now a total of 54 tests with answer keys, and student and teacher recording sheets.  If you are interested in purchasing the new, extended version, I have it available on my TpT store.

Graphic Organizers

Moving to third grade this year, I needed some different graphic organizers, and it was one of those projects I kept wanting to do, but never got around to... creating a new set of graphic organizers!  Now that school is out, it was an easy summer project to get started with! I'm sure I will add more as time goes on, but it's a good start! Click to view the file in my TpT store or in my Teachers Notebook store.

So here it is, a compilation of 22 graphic organizers, covering story writing, research, comparisons, timelines, the 5 W's and much more. Nothing fancy, but sometimes that is just what our students need to keep them from being distracted! Here are the pages included:
- 2 Story Webs
- Clock (sequencing time events)
- Story Star (5 W's)
- Character Traits (planning sheet)
- Character Planning
- Planning Sheet (audience)
- Conflict Planner
- Problem & Solution Chart
- Tic Tac Toe
- 2 Cluster Webs
- Fact & Opinion
- Timeline
- The 5 W's
- KWL
- Observation Chart
- Time and Order Chart
- Persuasion Map
- Step by Step
- Venn Diagram
- E-chart

Anchor Charts - Take 2

Well, it's been a busy few months, and I've added a few anchor charts to the list as the months have gone on, and finally got around to putting an updated version on TpT and on Teachers Notebook.  The new charts include:

Reading:
Homophones

Writing:
Their, There and They're
y to i (adding endings)
Crazy for Commas
When Do I Need a New Paragraph?
Fiction Writing

Math:
Math Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Anchor Charts

Am I the only one who dislikes making those big anchor charts? Inevitably, I run out of space somewhere, or smudge marker when the poster is all but finished. Well, no more for me. I've started moving all of my anchor charts into small, digital format. With the Apple TV (which I LOVE by the way), I can put the digital copy up on the TV for my mini-lesson and then print a copy to put in our class anchor chart binder. Some of the charts I can print for individual students to keep in their own writing binders, too. Yes, I know. They aren't all hanging on the walls, but maybe I'll still put up a few of the more commonly used charts. Anyway, I'm sharing what I have done so far on TpT. Below is the description and a link to the download page. Enjoy!

Anchor Charts
This is a collection of printable anchor charts that can mainly be used in Second through Fourth Grade. I got tired of making the large anchor charts for the walls and finding places to store them, so I began moving my anchor charts into digital format. I can introduce them by showing them with a projector/apple TV connection and then just add them to our class anchor chart binder.

I am working on moving all of my old anchor charts into printable format, so this file will continue to be updated as I add more. It currently includes:

Reading:
I PICK (available as a separate download)
Figurative Language

Writing:
Writing Process (available as a separate download)
Nouns and Proper Nouns
Other Ways to Say Said
Story Starters
Proofreading Marks

Math:
Subtraction Poem
Mean, Median, Mode and Range
Math Key Words
Equal Fractions Hopscotch