Parent-Teacher Conference MUST HAVES!

Hey guys!  It's Angie from Lucky Little Learners and I'm back to bring you some Parent-Teacher Conference MUST HAVES.  I love parent-teacher conferences ONCE I AM READY FOR THEM!  It's such a great time to connect with my families face to face!  All of my students' data and projects go into a folder or 9x12 piece of construction paper folded in half.  On the outside of this portfolio I like to attach a conference folder cover sheet.

 I decided that since I made them for my classroom, I should make a set to work for YOUR classroom!  Introducing my Conference Folder FREEBIE...

 I hope you find this useful and time-saving! 

Meet Mrs. Olson

Hey everyone!  My name is Angie Olson and I am so excited to introduce myself to you as the newest blogger that has been added to the Class*y Collaboration!  I'm a 2nd grade teacher from Minnesota.  I have been teaching for ten years and I have taught kindergarten, first, and second grade in those years.  I blog over at Mrs. Olson's Lucky Little Learners.  I love blogging about Interactive Math Notebooks as these have become my specialty!  Feel free to check out some of my favorite blog posts that I have written!  I have even done an interview with Sheila Jane teaching where I shared a bunch of Interactive Notebook Tips and Tricks!  I'd love to connect with you and if you use INB's in your classroom, let's chat!!!

On the personal side of things, I have a husband named Brandon and a 3 year old daughter named Molly.  We moved back to our hometown after being away for 12 years and it has been so nice to get reacquainted with old friends.  I am now teaching in the same school that I once attended as a child.  I love being able to teach with teachers who taught me.  It feels so good to give back to the community that helped to provide me with such a solid foundation!  Here are some photos of my family...

Now for the fun part!  In celebration of this recent collaborative opportunity, I'm sharing a sample of my Addition Interactive Math Notebook with YOU!  I'd love to hear what you think of it!  Simply click on the image below for a direct link to the product listing in my TPT Store!

#39 weeks

Hello November! I'm just popping in really quick to let you know about a couple of freebies I have recently uploaded into my store :)

My due date (I have a scheduled cesarean) is in a few days and I just finished up this little pack of printables as a FREEBIE! If you download, please remember to be kind and leave feedback :)

I created a set of clipart to use, which you can purchase by clicking below if you're looking for more baby things:

Another FREEBIE I'm excited about is these Kindness Elf notes!

I recently read a blog post (click below) and it inspired me to create some clipart and a little set of note cards to use. Check out the blog post and see what it's all about :)

And here are the FREEBIE Kindness Elves!

The next time I post, I'll have a sweet little newborn to tell you all about :) Until then, I hope you have a great November!

easy peasy writing workshop anchor charts

Yowza. October. I can't believe how quickly this fall is going! Maybe it's my pregnancy (I've got 5 weeks left for this bun), but it seems like time is going by super fast at this point. So, I've got a lot on my mind, but thankfully, I'm a pretty organized person so all is well!  Something I've been working on really hard this year is amping up my Writing Workshop. For the last 4 years, I've developed a pretty good routine that I am very pleased with. You can read more about how I run my Writing Workshop here. One thing I was sick of doing was putting a lot of energy into making an anchor chart, laminating it and only once in a while getting a decent lamination job (can I get an amen or is our laminator the only one that sometimes sucks?!).  Then there's the whole #aintnobodygottimeforthat portion. So, I decided enough was enough. I'll make something that I can easily print off and not freak out if it gets ruined or I want to add something later. Voila! I've got over 10 done so far and will be adding more soon!

 
I put them on sale for the next few days, so if you are looking for an easy way to introduce a minilesson, grab them now!  And, if you'd like to check out how exactly these bad boys work first, you can click below to download this FREEBIE!

I hope you have a fantastic week!

The 5 W's of Exit Tickets

While in New Orleans at the Reading, Writing, Math and More Conference, I had a lot of questions about my Exit Tickets.  So I figured - Hey?  Why not do a blog post!   So Ta-Da!!  Here goes nothing! The 5 W's of Exit Tickets.  Hopefully I can help give you some new and fresh ideas and maybe answer some questions you may have lurking around as well.  :)

What:     What ARE exit tickets?

Exit tickets are a quick and easy way to gather immediate data at the end of a lesson.  They can be formal (something you found online, paid for, printed, etc) or they can be very on the spot and informal.  The exit ticket is like a snapshot of what the students learned from the lesson that is about to end (or begin, but we'll get to that in a bit!)  They can easily be differentiated as well.  My informal exit tickets are always on post it notes.  Students pull them out, I write a question on the front board, they answer and bam, we're done!  The great thing about exit tickets is that you can ask ANYTHING!  They can be used in any subject and can contain work or more open ended writing type answers.  Basically, there's no need for students to take more than 5 minutes to show you what they learned.  If they can show you in 1-4 questions or 1 open ended writing question, then they've got it and you've got the data to use to decide where to go next with your lessons!

WHO:     Who are exit tickets for?  

Most teachers think that exit tickets are for the teacher - which is very true, but I see them as being not just for me but also for the student.  How are they 'for the teacher'?    Exit tickets are a FANTASTIC way to get immediate proof as to whether or not your students have grasped the concept you just taught.  This give the teacher data to use as soon as they need it.  No more waiting until 'the test' to see if your kids understand what you've been teaching.  By then, its too late!  If I'm going to spend 20-30 minutes on a lesson, I don't want to move on or walk away from that lesson without knowing what they got and what they didn't.  So yes, they are for the teacher.  But - they are also for the students!  How?  What better way to open up a lesson than with showing the students their exit tickets from the prior day's lesson.  Boost some confidence by putting a few students' exit tickets under the document camera and 'review' the concept by showing their amazing work.  Or - do the opposite, cover up the name of a student's exit ticket who didn't do so well and review those mistakes that this student made to the whole class (not identifying the student of course).  Show the students the data you collected - they'll understand it.  It will help them answer the question of "Why are we still learning this?  We just did it yesterday!"  Another idea - pass back the exit tickets and have the students pair up to grade them.  Analyze the data together to give your lesson opener a meaningful kick!  So you see, they are for both the teacher and the student!

Where?  Where to go after giving an exit ticket?

One problem I know a lot of teachers have is where to go after they've given an exit ticket.  Congrats - you gave one, now what?  Giving the exit ticket is just the first step of the process - its what you DO with the data afterwards that makes them meaningful.  I've ALWAYS said to other teachers - if anyone ever wanted to observe me teaching they would need to stay until I leave school because a lot of the 'magic' happens when the kids leave and I'm going through exit tickets for the day and revamping plans for the next day.  You can't just give them and walk away or let them go to the bottom of your 'to grade' pile.  Then they're meaningless.  The purpose of an exit ticket is to have that immediate data to use to guide your next lesson, whether that's the next day - in small groups - or in a few weeks when you revisit the skill.  Before I leave my room, you better believe my baskets are emptied out and I have sat and gone through them.  What do I do with them?  Before I found this GENIUS way to sort them, I simply used paperclips and post its to write notes on who has it and who doesn't.  But take a look at this amazing and easy way to sort your exit ticket (brought to you by Teaching with Simplicity).  Place a few paperclips and boom - you've got them saved, sorted, and ready to go!  Now you have your groups ready for small group lesson.  Now you know who to conference with.  Now you know who to push on and give enrichment lessons to.  USE YOUR DATA!!  

When:  When do I give exit tickets?  

99% of the time, exit tickets are given at the end of the lesson.  Makes sense.  But let's talk about a few other ways you can use them.  Why not at the beginning of the lesson?  I do this a lot more in math than I do in reading.  I'll post one problem on the board and give the students 2-3 minutes to complete.  As they bring them up to me I sort them.  Then, during my entire lesson I know who to ask specific questions to, who to give higher order questions and problems to, who and how to group the students during practice.  It makes the the lesson go so strongly and with a purpose.  And all data driven!  Or - what about in the middle of a lesson?  Who is to say you can't stop a lesson at about the 1/2 way point and ask a question, collect, and use the data to end your lesson.  Same process - just now end your lesson with a BANG!  

Once I have given the tickets (if at the end of a lesson)  I have the kids do a quick reflection on how they think they did.  This is simply added data to use and discuss with them once I've analyzed the data myself.  Check out this adorable and easy set up I plan to use this year.  

Here's what I did with my exit tickets last year.  Each child had their own square and a small magnet (not shown).  When done, they posted it to their space.  Easy peasy!  Click on the photo to grab the "Show What You Know" posters for free!  

You can also use this really fun and easy way to collect them!

Why:  Why?

I think the better question is - why not?  Why would you not use SOME form of an exit ticket after knowing all of the rhyming and reasoning behind them.  They are a part of that teaching 'magic' that takes place.  It's one thing to teach - its another to use data to drive your instruction and give each child their individual and meaningful education they deserve.

So there you have it.  Idk if you learned anything new or not - maybe I'm preaching to the choir?  I'm in the process of putting all of my new exit tickets in one binder (with a cute cover and tabs of course!) for easy access.  Download the cover if you'd like a copy!  Just click on the photo below.  

So if I've "Sold" you on the concept of exit tickets - I'd love for you to check out my new exit ticket packets I'm working on.  So far I have an entire set of Grammar exit tickets with over 30 different grammar concepts all in one bundle!  AND I just added my Number Sense Exit Ticket packet with over 50 pages of exits - great for grades 1-4 and they'll really help with differentiation! There are 4 (same) to a page so they're small and don't take a lot of paper either.  I LOVE them!!   Great for back to school!  Both have previews available with tables of contents so make sure to download the preview to check them out!  (I'm working on having ones for all of the other math concepts as well - computation should be up in the next few days so make sure to follow me on TPT so you're notified when they get posted!)

Well, that's all for me now folks - TTFN!

-Ciera from Adventures of Room 129

The 7 Habits, Behavior Management, and Data {with a FREEBIE!}

I am lucky enough to teach at a school that has become a part of the Leader in Me family. We are getting ready to enter our 3rd official year as a Leadership School, and I cannot wait to see the impact this program will have (again) on our students and staff.

When we made the transition and began to incorporate the 7 Habits into our daily routine, I knew it would have an impact on my classroom management strategy. You can read about that decision here.

When we entered this year I found myself with a rather (ahem) challenging group of kiddos. They kept me on my toes and taught me a LOT about patience, love, and perseverance. I also got to know a lot of parents very well, very quickly. :) One of the tools I used when I was talking with parents was this editable clip chart data form.

I filled in the dates for each month across the bottom of the page. At the end of the day, my clip chart coordinator would shade in the box beside each kiddo's name. The clip chart coordinator brought it to me to check after they were finished. This let me keep track of how everyone ended their day.  It also became a great conferencing tool when I sat down with parents and kiddos alike. The kids kept track of their personal behavior on a calendar that went home each day.

When we needed to, I sat down with kids one-on-one at the end of the month and helped them set goals for the following month. We checked in with each other once a week (in the mornings, before school started) to see how they were doing in making progress to meet their goal.

You can grab either of these freebies by clicking on the pictures above or by visiting the 7 Habits page on my blog!

Enjoy!

Cause and Effect Throwback

Hi! It's Mary from Pitner's Potpourri again. Checking my stats on my blog, I found some of my most popular posts were on cause and effect activities.

One of my favorites is my Cause and Effect Treasure. Click on the pic below to get the freebie!

Have a great weekend!

Super Hero Writing Throwback

Mary from Pitner's Potpourri...

I've got another Throwback for you.

Instead of Math, this one is all about writing.

If you use Writing notebooks or folders with your kiddos, this post is for you!

Click on the pic above or my logo below to see the freebie!

Throwback Nonfiction using Sticky Notes

Happy throwback week! Today I have two blasts from the past to share with you.

It was fun going back and looking over my old posts to choose one to bring back today. I wanted to go way back to 2011, but I couldn't find one that would be relevant to this time of year. So I went with two different but related posts from 2012 and 2013. I know some of you are already done with school, but we still have a solid 3 weeks left. This post comes from May of 2012 when we were working on reading  nonfiction. This was before I had heard about close reading, but as I was looking back, I realize that what we were doing was very similar to what we do for a close reading lesson. Well, parts of it anyway. :)

#1: Click here or on the picture below to go back in time to 2012 and read about how I used sticky notes while reading nonfiction and to get a little freebie:

 

#2: Then you can jump back to my post from last year. It goes into more detail about how I use sticky notes for research:

Hope you enjoy these posts! Have a great weekend everyone. :)

Throwback Some Math!

Mary from Pitner's Potpourri here....
Hope you're having some fun with the throwback posts from our authors.

Here's my blast from the past with a math theme.

Click on the pic below to download some fun games with dice for your classroom.

One of the most fun games we play uses cards to practice math fluency.

Click on the pic above to learn how to play.

And here's one more....

Combine drawing snowmen with multiplication practice and you've got a fun activity.

Click on the pic above to get the fun!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for more Throwback Fun!