The Countdown is ON!!

First of all .. forgive me for this is my first post all school year ... insert awkward face here.

Don't want to bore you with all the reasons so I'll get right down to the post.

Since I've been teaching third grade this year and I looped with my kiddos, we are both facing this whole "state testing" thing for the first time together. In a way it's nice to be able to go through this experience with my class but on the other hand I wish I could answer more questions for them and soothe their little worried minds a little bit better.

So I decided to do a little something to get them to look forward to coming to school each day before the big day. Since I teach in Texas, we will have the dreaded STAAR test on April 22 and 23.

Since the day we got back from Spring Break my team has split our kids based on ability for 2 short 45 minute periods to do Flex Group in order to better prepare each student in both Reading and Math. Last week due to other circumstances we finally got an entire day with our class again and I was blown away by how hard they have been working. So I took their hard work + an idea that I got from Hope King at 2nd Grade Shenanigans at the end of school last year to find a way to get them to keep up their momentum.

Here is what Hope inspired me to do at the end of school last year that she did with her kiddos.

Click on the picture or here to see her post about her balloon incentives.

And in my classroom...

I tried to think of as many free prizes as I could because you know, teacher budget here, but there's a few others in there such as new pencils, colorful pens, bubbles, donuts and a few more, most of which can be covered by one trip to the Dollar Store.

It might be a little late in the game for some friends in other states who have already taken their state tests but if anything maybe it will inspire you for next year. Simple click here or on the picture below to check it out in my Teachers Pay Teachers store to get your copy and get those kids excited about the big day!

Enjoy and Happy Countdown!!!

I heart QR Codes!

As I am getting in back-to-school mode and the closer and closer summer comes to it's end, I find myself wanting to do more and more with QR Codes.

I had the pleasure of meeting someone yesterday who really inspired me to start working on stuff again. I have really been in a lull lately when it comes to creating things (non-house-related at least), and this woman had an excellent idea. I'm 98% positive a little cartoon light bulb appeared over my head when she explained her idea because I thought "Why didn't I think of that?"

This morning I finally got back to a little structure - drink my coffee, watch one show, work a little, watch another show, work some more and before I knew it I had completed it all in one day! It's not much but I'm feeling pumped!

Alright, alright. I'm sure you're ready to hear what it is that's got me all excited about QR Codes, so here it goes...

This past year I changed my system half way through the year because we started using Class Dojo (if you'd like to know more about that please email me!) as our award system. The students could buy prizes with the amount of points they had earned as we kept a running total. I printed a new list out each Monday so the kids new how many points they had and they could add their current weekly total to their previous total (that way they're were held accountable to do the math too). I really liked that system and the kids did too BUT since I am now in third grade with the same kiddos and they each get an iPod touch I needed to step things up a little.

To change it up a bit - we will come up with a point system in a way that lets them earn enough points to make it to the bucket where all the QR Codes will be held. I think it's important that you do this with your kids, that way they are the ones who set the expectations too and we share the responsibility. For example, maybe it takes 20 points to pull 1 card and 30 to pull 2. A student can go as soon as they have earned 30 or maybe they can save up and pull 2 at a time. As long as you have a simple QR Code reader it's as easy as pie. The name of the prize will pop up as shown below and in case you were curious my class uses "Scan".

I plan on laminating them and reusing them because I'm all about saving ink and cardstock! I tried to make them look very similar so the kids would be surprised with what they got. I am positive they are going to LOVE this! You can click on the picture above, here or see my store on the sidebar to get to it.

Now that I am back in the swing of things - of course I would be leaving for one more vacation for a week but can't complain too much right? Michigan and Chicago here I come!

Whew! If you read all of this, the first person to comment with their email address will receive a free copy the QR prizes! Thanks and Happy Hump Day!!

I apologize and some BIG news!

O my lanta ... I can't believe how long it has been since I've been on here. I have some valid reasons though.

• Buying a house.
• Moving into said house.
• Furnishing said house.
• Painting said house.
• Decorating said house.
• Finishing up the year with my sanity.
• Emotionally preparing myself for summer (aka being student-and-schedule-less).

Whew. Basically the house thing took over and I was just trying to adjust to being a first time home owner with new bills, responsibilities (like mowing a yard for my first time ever!) and SO much more room to work with. 


Now the BIG news I have for you is that I am no longer teaching second grade but instead I will be LOOPING up with my same kiddos to third grade. I am beyond excited and am absolutely thrilled to not only have my class again but to have my entire team loop up as well. We are basically all-stars and my students were kicking some serious bootay when it came to data. I am nervous to officially be in a "testing" grade but aren't all grades testing grades in a way - if not the actual test than prepping them for it, yea?

Either way - I've got a lot planned this summer when it comes to creating things for the new TEKS/Curriculum I get to cover. I am super excited to be able to go more into depth in certain subjects and to break out more of those chapter books! I will be aligning all of my stuff to the Common Core as well (since Texas just has to be different and go with the TEKS) to make it useful in other classrooms as well so be on the look out.

Have you looped with a class before? I would love to hear your feedback, likes, dislikes and suggestions about it all! Please comment or email me to fill me in on what you think! 

Thanks all! Hope you're having a wonderful summer and fun Friday!

Fractions of a Set AND a Whole?!

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately but a little update on things. 

• The Mr. and I are closing on our first home NEXT FRIDAY! It's all happened so fast yet all at the right time. 
• Every time I start to feel on top of things (school-wise) I get right back behind it all.
• Second grade has already hit the ground running with fractions AND multiplication.
• Spring Break is almost here!!

So here's a look into our past few weeks via pictures.

We used pattern blocks to help show improper fractions.

The kids made their own "Circles and Stars" booklets to show "Groups Of".

The students used the iPads to scan QR codes that took them to multiplication word problems.

They were SO engaged. Who knew problem solving could be so fun?

Here is an example of the work I expect them to do/how I modeled expectations.

I've just recently discovered the world of Number Fill-Ins... EXCELLENT for early finishers and high achievers. 

We also did an adorable readers theater. Wish I could show their sweet little faces :).

Also... I finally got it. My first prank.

They thought they were so clever...

So that is a just a sneak peek at how busy we've been. Can I just say that we have started our first Book Study on "Maybelle in the Soup" and it is the cuuuuuutest book ever. I read it in 20 minutes and the kids LOVE IT. We are doing 3 chapters a day and should be done with it in a week. Every chapter really leaves the kids hanging and wanting more. What more could you ask for?

On another note, here is a mini set I've put together that deals with fractions as part of a set and of a whole. I think it's really important that students see that fractions are not just "pizzas" and "candy bars" but fractions of a set are just as important. This can be anything from number of students in a classroom to cookies in a jar. Either way you can represent these numbers with fractions and this little set helps students see that. Click here or on the picture below to check out more at my TPT store.

Click on the picture to check it out in TPT.

Until next time... Thanks for stopping by! 

Valentines Day Coupons

I just love Valentines Day when it comes to little kids. My students have been so giddy for the past few weeks and it's contagious. 

I couldn't decide what I wanted to get/make for my class until the other day. Coupon Books! I used to make them all the time for my dad when I was little, and now my kids can have one too. They are gonna love some of these options. You can get some for your class too. Just click here or on the picture below. There is also a blank one in there for you to handwrite some of your own incase the ones I chose don't quite suit your class' needs. Let's face it, not every class is the same!

Enjoy and have a Happy Valentines Day on Thursday! 

Problem Solving...

What more can I say?

That seems to be my biggest area of concern/what I wish I could focus all day. Technically we do throw it in there in all subjects but I feel like I've had so many epiphanies lately when it comes to how to teach problem solving.

In the past 2 weeks I've gone to 2 Professional Developments and my favorite part of them has to be hearing what other teachers do in their classrooms. Get this... Today a fellow 2nd grade teacher in my district, on their second week of fractions, gave her students this problem:

"Sarah has 348 gel pens. She gives 3/4 of them away. How many pens does she give away?"

In my mind I'm thinking there is NO WAY my sweet little babies could figure this out and we are on our third week of fractions. But then again, isn't this the level of questions we SHOULD be asking of our students? All we keep hearing is Rigor Rigor RIGOR. Well, it's just like it was back in the day when we changed from TAAS to TAKS. People would say it's "too hard" and "we're asking too much of these students". Now look at us. If only the TAKS was still around. It's the STAAR we dread. It's always going to be something new and I'm sure in a few years we will be wanting the STAAR back. 

The rigor is always increasing and as an educator we are only doing our students a diservice if we don't give them the opportunity to succeed instead of doubting their capabilities and saying "that's way too hard". Sure it may be hard but confusion is a step in the right direction. It means they are trying. I don't know about you but the best tool that has helped me learn thus far is the mistakes I've made along the way. 

I heard the same teacher relate problem solving to gaming. Our students will continue to play a level where they fail and fail, time and time again. They are determined to beat that level and after awhile they do. I can't wait to have my students make this connection and preserver until they can get a hang of certain strategies to use to make problem solving that much easier for them.

So speaking of problem solving.. I am going to compile all the of our Daily Problem Solving problems that we have done in Q1 and Q2 and get them ready for this weekends Super Sale for the Super Bowl! Check back WEDNESDAY for their debut!

Penguin Palooza & Classroom Goals

We have literally hit the ground running this year. My kids and I decided that we needed some Goals to strive for. They literally come up with these on their own and wanted to do ALL of them. I was thinking 3 or so, nope.... they wanted 5. But I made sure they were all attainable if they worked hard so here we go!

They're posted at the front of the room so we can refer back to them throughout the year.

2nd graders have to read 15 Caldecott books to become a Caldecott Kid.

We have 4 Fact Fluency goals for the students to meet by the end of year. To differentiate and give everyone a fair chance we chose to have them focus on moving up at least 2 ranks. Check out more here. 

We are definitely Bucket Fillers, individually and as a class.

Here's our FILLED bucket as of lately!!

Our district uses iStation as an Reading Assessment tool and let's just say my kids are both rocking it AND have high expectations for themselves. (That would mean 11 out of 16 kiddos on Tier 1.)

Check out our growth so far. If you can't tell green is good, and I've still got one baby waiting to test  for January but as of right now I've still got 9 on green. So I would definitely say 11 is attainable.

I love that my kids came up with this one. This helps everyone, at every reading level,  have a goal to work towards.

 On another note, every second grader in our district is starting our huge research project called Penguin Palooza. Technology plays an enormous role in their final projects and the kids will get to choose how to they want to present it. There will definitely be more on this to come. 

 To get them excited about penguins I had them write what they want to know about penguins on a piece of paper, crumble it up and throw it as far as they can towards the front of the room. Then they each got to come by and grab a paper (that wasn't theirs) and share the questions aloud. I recorded them all and we went over all the things we were excited to research. Here's a sneak peak of that:

 That's all I got for now. 

Here's a nice little pic of my cat Buster to make the rest of your Hump Day the best it can be!

This is what it looks like ... Facetime-ing with my kitty.

Reading Bingo, Math HW and House Hunting

Alrighty. So I have crossed off 2 out of the 4 things on my previous to-do list, all while watching HGTV and house hunting with the wonderful hubby. 

Here are the 2 things I have taken care of.

1. Reading Bingo Board. I will collaborate with my team tomorrow and see if we all agree on the things listed and then make any revisions necessary. (Stop. Collaborate and Listen...Vanilla Ice anyone?) Either way here is a freebie of what I threw together. Feel free to see if it works for you and your students and please email me if you'd like for me to edit anything for you and I'd be more than happy to send one your way. Click either here on the pic below to download it as a Google Doc.

2. Here is a preview of how I decided to format the weekly Math homework for second grade. You can also download this freebie as a Google Doc by clicking here or on the picture. I figured they didn't need too much on their plate since they already have Spelling and Reading HW, so a little of what we've recently learned as well as some stuff from the beginning of the year should be a good fit. 

On a more personal note, the husband and I have already experienced some house hunting drama. We found a house listed in a great neighborhood nearby and from the photos, looked like it had great character. We looked at it this morning, found so much to like about it: the layout, room size, chimney and open flow of it all. Found out someone had already put an offer down on it and that we had to decide if we were really serious. So of course, we called in the BIG GUNS... the mother-in-law haha. She is very well educated on home improvement DIY projects and is basically our second-mommy-version-realtor so we knew she'd be able to tell it like it is and gooooooooood thing. She came in guns hot and found a lot of stuff we didn't even bother to look at (of course an inspection would've shown these things too, but she saved us the stress and trouble of worrying about competing with another buyer). So ladies... give your mother-in-law a nice hug (we bought her lunch) and depending on your relationship with her, ask for advice if they know what they're talking about. 

I'm ready to be a home owner and get back into the swing of things school and schedule wise. 

Speaking of schedule ... my TV schedule is about to get WAY busier. 

• Sunday: Biggest Loser. 
• Monday: BSC Championship, The Bachelor, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules. 
• Tuesday: Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game and New Girl. 
• Wednesday: Modern Family, Property Brothers. 
• Thursday: Grey's Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, Glee, and 30 Rock. My goodness.. can you tell I don't have children? 

What shows will you be watching this season? Happy Sunday!

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!

Day of Silence

Honoring everyone affected by yesterday's tragic event. Especially the little angels. 

Some Elves and Math Stations

Here are the rest of the elves I've hid these week! Today's elf was definitely the trickiest. They couldn't find it till about halfway through the day. I'm so sneaky!!

Now here's a look at the BEFORE sneak peek of my math stations. I'll show you how I organize it all and what I actually do for stations and maybe it'll help you out or spark a new idea for your classroom.

Trust me when I saw every class is different. I know you already know that, but honestly what works with one of your classes will not always work with your next. I thought my stations worked perfectly with my last bunch. We did 2 20 minute stations a day covering 4 areas: Manipulatives, Application, Technology and Games. I love collaborating with my fellow teachers any chance I get. So when I hear a good idea, I think "I totally want to try that!". So I decided to start the year off with 3 stations a day: Teacher Table, Fact Fluency, Partner Play. This way I would see every student in a small group setting and not have to deal with a whole group lesson where some are bored and some are lost. Love the idea... didn't actually work out how I had planned. I found having groups of 5 or more in a small group was too much for me at the beginning of the year. Then I tried to use what worked for me last year... didn't quite work this year because I forgot to take into account that I taught only Math/Science so I had an entire 1.5 hour for my Math block where this year our Math block is cut in half by Lunch/Recess. It's not the best schedule but it gives them a nice break. Anyway.. I needed something new.

So, after more collaboration with fellow teachers, the fabulous fifth grade teachers shared with me their old way of math stations. To my current students and I, it's the perfect combination of getting in those lessons, really reaching your students through small group instruction, holding students accountable, giving the students choice and making it fun and enjoyable for them. See and print the actual schedule HERE.

• Monday - Introduce new concept and activity
• Tuesday - Review new concept and activity
• Wednesday - Day 1 of Stations
• Thursday - Day 2 of Stations
• Friday - Day 3 of Stations.

Wednesday - Friday I constantly pull my kids in the back and do whatever is needed. It may be fine tuning this weeks lesson, going way back and hitting a concept we've already covered but the student is still struggling on or getting in some Tier interventions. It has been working wonders and here is are some photos that showcase how I set them up as well as picture of each station for this week. Feel free to email me to ask any questions or you'd like me to send you copies of some stuff I have. Thanks! 

Station D is computers and I have no clue what happened to the picture I took of Station B... So please forgive me. It's been a long couple of days. Enjoy and look for pictures of the "during" and "after" tomorrow!

Day 3 of Elves and "I Can Find"

Today was a great Monday back. My kids were rather calm .. I want to say it was the drastic weather change here in Texas. Yesterday it was high 60s and then this morning it was snowing!

On to school stuff.. My kids needed to be up and moving so I was excited for them to do the Subtraction with Regrouping "I Can Find" from my 2-Digit Addition and Subtraction Regrouping Pack (you can check it out here). I hide them around the room so the kids have to get up and moving, find them and solve. I had them check their work 2 times before handing it to me! It paid off for some of my kiddos :).

 And for the Day 3 Elf...

I know I promised Math Stations last week but I realized this after my students had used it all. So this week I will take a picture of the before (how I set them up), the during (students hard at work) and the after (student work samples). For real this time.. stay tuned! 

Day 2 of Elves!

See where I hid today's elf... The kids are loving it!! The first thing they told me was "I can't wait to find the elf"(obviously breaking the first rule of the elves). I figure the excitement of the elves is all still new so after today I'll get more serious about the rule but for now.. I'll just let them be giddy. Not too late to pick up some elves to hide in your classroom too here.

Check back later today for another post on how we do our math stations!

1st Day of Elves!

Today marks the first day of my 12 Days of Christmas Elves! My students will be will be on the hunt starting today for a new hidden elf each day. The first one is ... pretty obvious. 

You can click on my store to the left or the picture below to purchase it. Today marks the first day but it's okay if you jump on the bandwagon a day late. No worries!

Not sure what they even are? A few days before school is out for the winter break can be pretty hectic, so this just adds a bit of fun for everyone. They need to find the Elf of the day that you have hidden around the room and write it down on the corresponding recording sheet. The one and only rule about the Elves though is "WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE ELVES!". The reason is that at the end of the 12 days I like to see how many Elves they found and then put their name into a raffle that many times. Everyone gets at least 3 because I make the first, second and last one the easiest to find. Stop by the Dollar Store and grab a few nicknacks and then celebrate at your holiday party the day you get out!

Happy Thursday!

I will post tomorrow about how we do our Math Stations so check it out manana!

My First Linky!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to showcase what I bought from the Cyber Monday sale on TPT.

I don't know about you but I love checking out other people's closets when it comes to clothes.. so why should it be any different when it comes to TPT? Check it out here and here.

Also, a little shout out to my new friend Anna from Simply Skilled in Second Grade for being chosen to participate in Lory Evans' 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. If you're a second grade teacher you MUST check out her page. She's linked up with a ton of great gals/teachers that I definitely aspire to be like and even better.. they're giving away amazing units!

You can also click on the picture to take you to Lory's page.

On a silly note, I'm almost embarrassed (but not really because we know how much I love Bravo) to admit that I'm totally psyched about the Shahs of Sunset premiere tonight haha.

Have a Happy Sunday night!