It's Been Forever....

I am terribly sorry for my sudden MIA-ness. What with all the Sandy Hook happenings, Winter Break craziness, Polar Express Day, the holidays, house hunting and being sick I feel like I am FINALLY getting back into the swing of things. So I do apologize for being gone for so long!

I am working on a few things right now:
1. The biggest and most important is my second big pack dealing with ... FRACTIONS! I have told many other teachers that I work with, that creating these packs has made planning and teaching extremely easier and just plain fun. When you're the one creating the materials you really know the stuff and the kids can tell you feel comfortable with it which in return makes them feel comfortable (which should in return help them succeed - it's an endless cycle you see!).

2. Reading Bingo Sheets for Q3. Last year my team and I had the students complete a Reading Bingo Sheet for the quarter. It helped them achieve their reading goals, expand their book selection, and respond to their reading in numerous ways. We had them use Edmodo, Wordle, Tagxedo and a variety of different Reading Response Sheets. I'll post that one later tonight as a freebie for you to check out. So I just changed one up a bit and will have the students help us come up with the rewards for the Bingo's they accomplish next week. 

3. Math Homework. Does anyone else give Math homework? If so, what format do you use? My team and I decided against a Menu since we use them frequently in other areas and didn't want for our students to suffer from Menu-OVERLOAD. We were thinking just a few questions about our current subject being taught, and then spiral in stuff we've learned from the beginning of the year. I am just still deciding what type of format I want to put this together with.

4. Problem of the Day for Q3. We do a daily Problem Solving in Math and the kids seem to really love doing it. In my school district we do what is called UPS Check. One of my fellow teammates found a cute little song to go with it (to the tune of Ten Little Indians) and my kids will NOT let me know go a day without singing it. Anyways.. off on a tangent again as I do so often... I need to create more of those for this next Quarter. At the end of the year I am looking forward to compiling all of the problem of days that we have used and posting a years worth for my fellow teachers. Heck.. I can't wait to just have a years worth in my pocket already as opposed to creating new ones every other week. 

Whew... procrastinate much Amanda? I'm lucky our district has Monday as a Teacher Work Day. This way I can get some extra time in to get my room back to how it should be and get things ready for the week before the craziness ensues on Tuesday. Also, our school has some pretty legit leaders that are holding another Lesson Plan Design PD. I know I sound like a dork, but it really helped us focus on the actual goal of what the kids need to learn.. not just throwing this and that in there because it's "cute". Cuteness doesn't hurt but if it's cute and not covering what needs to be covered, then it can definitely go by the wayside. 

Alright... 1 thing down ... 3 more to go! Wish me luck!