Saturday, August 31, 2013

THEME!

Need a fun way to teach theme?  Make sure to check out my latest blog post over at Adventures of Room 129!  A fun freebie is included :)  I'd love to hear how you teach theme in your classrooms!  Comments highly encouraged!  


Click on the photo above to go to the post!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

-Ciera

Friday, August 30, 2013

Organizing All that Paperwork


The 50th item in my TpT store will help you get all that paperwork organized. Plus a Math 3-2-1 Freebie!

Head on over to Learn with Me in Grade Three to check it out!

See you there!
Delena


Poetry! Poetry! Poetry! Freebies! Freebies! Freebies!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!
We have been out of school all week for our Fall Break. Our town is home of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration and we get out for the show after being in school for about three weeks. I got a quick girls trip to the beach in and am ready to start thinking about next week.

I've got two poetry freebies for you....both focusing on setting.
I did the first activity with a class of firsties.
I read the poem, "Over in the Meadow," to them. We talked about the vocabulary and the pictures they saw in their mind as I read.


After reading, I sketched out a rough meadow on large paper. I divided the class into groups and gave each one a different verse of the poem. They had to illustrate the setting of the verse. We glued the verse next to their drawing.
Click on the pic of the poem above to visit my blog for more info.

The second activity is based on a simple, yet eloquent, poem by Walt Whitman.


Click on the pic above for the freebie.










Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Changing Seasons

     I truly believe that Fall and Spring are my most favorite seasons. They are neither too hot, nor too cold. They are also the two prettiest seasons, in my opinion. In the Spring, flowers are blooming and baby animals are running around. During the Fall, we start to see the leaves change colors. Oh, it's just beautiful!
     I also believe that Spring and Fall are the best times to start teaching kids about the changes that we see in each season. Kids enjoy hearing how plants grow, and learning about the colors changing on the trees around them. If you are like me, and like teaching kids about the many changes during the year, then you might want to check out my latest freebie: "All 4 Seasons Word Wall Set".
    This packet contains 3 pictures and matching words, for each season. These can be used together for a "Season Thematic Unit", or separated into different categories. Either way, I know your kiddos will love them.



     To grab yourself a copy, you can either stop by my TpT shop or my Tn shop. I also have more freebies over at my website. Feel free to stop by, and give me a shout out!


Mommy and Me Creations

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Back to School Freebies!

This will be short and sweet!

One week ago, I started in my new school and my room has been an utter disaster up until today. (yikes!)

 We have our Open House tomorrow afternoon, so I WILL finish tomorrow morning!
 
If I say that, it comes true. Right?
 
:)
 
Well, as I was putting things together, I realized that I needed a couple of things.
 
So, I made them.
 
If I need them, you get it for free!
 
Hope you can use these!
(Please leave some tpt love, if you do!)
 



Need more back to school fun?!
I have more freebies on my blog today, so swing on over, when you get a chance!
 
Good luck to everyone kicking off the school year!
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, August 18, 2013

Back to School Revue



Need Some Class*y Additions for Your Classroom?

In honor of the HUGE Teachers Pay Teachers sale this weekend, a few of the ladies here at A Class*y Collaboration wanted to showcase some of our Class*y products!!  Hopefully you'll find something to interest you and your little ones :)

First up is Brenda, from Primary Inspired.





Her Calendar Math Pack is a huge hit!  It's orginially $6.00 but with the sale it will be $4.68!  What a deal!
Check out the rest of her store my clicking on her blog button above!


Next is Kathy Law from First Grade a La Carte!



Kathy's Capture the Facts is an adorable packet of activities for Addition and Subtraction math facts!  Originally it's $8.00, but with the sale it's only $5.76!  Can't beat that! Check it out by clicking the picture below.  To go directly to her store by clicking her blog icon above!


Up next is Sabra from Teaching With a Touch of Twang!  (Love her blog title!!)


Her Class*y product is her Editable Back to School has everything you need and want for Open House and Back to School.  It's super colorful and super cute!  Originally it's $5.00, but during the sale its $3.60!  That's a steal!  Click above to go to her store and below to check out the item!


Next is Jacque from Mommy and Me Creations.  


She's sharing her adorable Alphabet Posters.  They are the cutest colors and are perfect for ANY classroom!  Their sale price is only $4.25!  Better hurry and get these!  


Another amazing seller...Rachel from Sub Hub!

Her Class*y Contribution is her 3rd Grade Common Core Emergency Sub Plans!  This has EVERYTHING you need for those emergency situations!  Fantastic?  Yes, it is!!  On sale it's only $3.60!  I don't know about you, put I can't put a price on being prepared for that winter bug that always hits...  But if I did - it would be $3.60 on sale!! :)  Click above for her sale and below for the product!  



Last but not least, ME!  Ciera from Adventures of Room 129

My Class*y product is my new Vocabulary Voyage Year Round Test Prep Activity.  I've been using this with my kids and in 2 weeks, they are already becoming more confident and their ability to answer standardized test questions is greatly increasing!  And, even better - they LOVE how we're learning it all!  Originally this product is $6.00.  But for the sale it will only be $4.32!  I seriously wouldn't pass this up! Click above to see my store and below to learn more about the program!  

Well, I hope you found something to interest you!  Don't miss out on this sale - it only comes every once in a while!!  

Happy Shopping!!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Meet the Teacher Night!

Meet the Teacher last week was such a big success!  Not only because ALL of my students and parents showed up (that has never happened to me before) but I was also super prepared with cute goodies that got so many compliments!  If you want to check out what I did and some great ideas, head on over to my blog and check it out!  Click on my button below to take you there :o)


 
Sabra
 


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Pronouns, Paragraphs, and Photographs - Oh My!

Hello there!  Ciera here from Adventures of Room 129!  So I'm finishing my THIRD week of school now.  It's been a success so far!  I loop from 2nd to 3rd grade so this year is super easy because I already know my kiddos!!  It's such a blessing to come into a room and already know the kids, their parents, and their strengths and weaknesses! It helps us get to work right away :)  Which is what we did!!

We've been doing a nice review on parts of speech this past week.  We did a lesson on pronouns and the kids loved it!  Basically, the students went around, each with a pronoun in their hand.  They all had to find a sentence that their pronoun could be placed in.  It was super simple, but loads of fun!

The pronouns were written on 1/2 pages of construction paper and then folded in half.  When the kids found their sentence, they were able to physically drape the pronoun piece over the noun in their sentence.  





So I'm always looking for new ways to showcase our lesson objectives and standards.  As most kids are, mine are very much into technology.  So the artist in me....(that's a joke - you'll understand when you see the photo!) tried to make a large iPad and used the title iKnow iCan for our objective board.  It's not bad...  I guess it does the job!  


One of the routines I like to instill into my kids is to reflect on their learning.  I have them do this with every assignment they turn into me.  They do it in many different ways, but the most routine way is by turning their paper into a specific colored tray.  Green, Yellow, and Red.  I've got questions and the stoplight reflection visual on a bulletin board behind the trays for them to refer to when they turn something in.  This is a great way to check and see how the students feel and think they did.  Great conversations happen because of this!  





Just thought I'd share a few other spots in my room while I'm at it.  :)  

This is the very popular - Show What You Know board.  It's not in the picture, but after I took the photo, I added a label into each square with the kids' names on them and a small magnet (behind it is the vent)  The kids use this to turn in any type of post it not work we do.  It's fantastic to have and easy to use!  You can have the title graphics for FREE!  :)  Just click the photo below!  Hope you like them :)  


Here's how I organize all of my manipulatives.  I like having them out and ready so the kids can use them as they need for different activities.  


I like to hang my task cards that I want the kids to focus on right next to the manipulatives just in case they need them for their cards.  I use them as early finisher activities.   


Here's how I organize my teacher resource books and teaching materials.  I try to keep everything I have (which is a LOT) as organized as possible.  I keep everything in specific categories.  Next to each basket is a bin of books that match that topic.  So in the photo below, there are nonfiction activities in the basket and then nonfiction books in the bin to the left.  This has worked out to be great not only for me but for other teachers who borrow resources.  




And finally - my newest product.  I was super happy. This was product #81 in my store.  I can't wait till I hit 100!  Lots of work ahead...  

I'm doing a week long mini unit on paragraph writing next week and want to start my students off by being able to distinguish the difference between what IS and IS NOT a paragraph.  This is a simple sorting activity where the students use a checklist of attributes and then read cards and decide whether it is or is not a paragraph.  It includes 16 cards (8 paragraphs and 8 not), a recording sheet with follow up questions, student directions, teacher directions, and an answer key.  I can't wait to use it next week.  It think it will really help them see the differences especially when they're almost there!!  Click on either picture to learn more!



Whew!  Long post - but I had lots to share!  Also, as many of you know - the Back to School TPT sale is coming up on August 18th and 19th.  My entire store will be 20% off along with the 10% that TPT is offering.  Don't miss out!!  Happy Shopping!


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Back to School Freebie: Parent Volunteer Sign-Up Sheet

     I think it's a given that all teachers appreciate having volunteers come into their classrooms to lend a helping hand. I volunteered in many classrooms, while I was going to college. It was one of the best experiences in my life. I learned so much from it, and made such wonderful friends with the teachers that I worked with.
The only problem that I saw was a few teachers didn't have a sign-up sheet for their volunteers, and didn't really know when to expect them to arrive. I made it a goal for my classroom to have a volunteer sign-up sheet, and actually used one when I taught.
     Since it is a beginning of a new school year, I thought it would be nice to provide you all with a free parent volunteer sign-up sheet. I encourage you to hang next to your classroom door to invite your parents to volunteer. Having a volunteer, myself, helped me tremendously. And, I was ever so grateful for the help too.
     At any rate; this printable includes spaces for your parents to write their name, the date they'd like to volunteer, and spaces for their desired start and end times. I hope this printable will help you stay organized, and know who to expect to enter your classroom each day.

  
     Before downloading, please understand that this printable is for personal and single classroom use only. Please do not alter, redistribute, or claim this printable as your own. Like I always say, "I am just sharing some love. Please send some back to me." Thank you!



     I have more free printables on my website, I would like to invite you to stop by and see if there are any that you could use. I would love for you to stop by, and leave me a comment or two. I really enjoy hearing from each of you. Thanks again!


Mommy and Me Creations