Name Tents

Around this time of year my name tags start to get kind of ratty so I made these name tents for my students who need a new one. The great thing is they can be folded and stored in their desks! They are blackline masters and could be printed on colored cardstock with their name simply written on them or you can print them on white cardstock and allow the students to decorate them. These name tents would be great for visitors to your classroom (substitutes, guidance counselor, guest speaker, etc.). These tents come two to a page and are double sided, making it easy to see from all angles. Have a great week! Enjoy free here!

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Luther King Jr. Activity

After reading the picture book Martin's Big Words, I take Martin's Big Words (his quotes from the book) and have my students illustrate the different quotes to make posters. I love to see my students' different interpretations of each quote. This activity really gets my students thinking! I love all the different representations of the quotes, all different, yet all accurately portrayed.

Here are a few examples:

 

It makes such a wonderful hallway display!

 

 

Didn't they do a nice job? Simple, but POWERFUL! So much can be learned from a small picture book! They loved the book, the discussion, and the project!

 

Find these quotes here.

 

 

Don't have a copy of the book? Click here to direct you to a read aloud version of the book.  

 

 

Count Down To Writing Test

In Florida, fourth graders take a big writing test in February. What better way to count down and get my students excited than with this countdown paper towel roll I made! It's actually a great reminder for me too! Maybe this visual will put a little pressure and excitement in all of us!

Each paper towel sheet is a numbered day counting backwards from the day of the big event. At the beginning of writing time, we tear one more off until we get to the last day...

And I wrote them a special message for the day of the test.

This could be used for many activities: Countdown to Christmas, a family vacation, last day of school. Can you think of any other ideas? Please post them-I'd love to hear from you!

 

I saw this quote on  Lessons With Laughter (my new bloggy friend) and knew I had to make a poster for my classroom. One, because I love sparkles {it's my favorite color} and two, I think it's a great message for anti-bullying. No one should ever feel any less because of someone else...so it's hanging in my classroom! I had to bling out the word sparkle with some jewels!

 

 

 

Biography in a Bag

One of my favorite projects is Biography in a Bag. My students have been presenting all week and I couldn't be more impressed! I modeled on Monday with a biography of Rosa Parks. We brainstormed and discussed all the parts of the project using Rosa Parks as the example. Then students chose a famous person from my biography library-I have over 60 biographies varying in level of difficulty. Students have to bring in items/objects that symbolize/represent their historical figure in a bag. (This builds excitement because their audience is waiting to see what they pull out). Some objects are very obvious like a football for a football player or a pencil for a famous author, but then there are the ones that WOWed me!

• A bulldozer for Helen Keller because nothing could stop her.
• A remote for Jackie Robinson to "mute" out the mean things people were saying about him.
• A soccer ball for Marjory Stoneman Douglas because she achieved her goals.

What?! Isn't that incredible? This project really makes them think and they get the opportunity to learn about so many other people when their classmates present. It's a creative and engaging way to research historical figures and it's aligned with Common Core.

The beauty of this project is that my class learned about 25 famous people while only researching one! Even more exciting...I had several students ask to "borrow" another student's biography! This is available at my TPT store for just $1 and it includes a rubric!

Monday Made It-January

I'm linking up with Tara for Monday Made It-January!

Sub Tub: I always have good intentions of making an emergency substitute folder each year, but don't always follow through-who has time to make extra sub plans (just in case)??!! I saw these scrapbooking containers at Michael's and thought they'd be perfect to hold all sorts of goodies!

 You know how you run worksheets that you don't always get to? Put them to good use by placing a post-it with the subject/time on top, throw it in your tub, and voila! Ready to go in case of emergencies! I've also included a class list, clinic passes, referral slips, emergency drill procedures, and tickets for great behavior (always have to have a carrot!). The cover on the tub is a full page label.  **These make great gifts for your teammates and children's teachers!

Not really a "made-it" but an organizational tip...Ever say after Christmas, "What do I do with all these photo cards (because you don't want to throw them away)?" I hole punch the corner of each card and use a book ring to hold them together-easy peasy! Great keepsake!

Close up photo

As you can see, I've been collecting these cards for several years-my children love taking them out of the drawer to look at all our friends and family. It's neat to see how much children grow year to year!

 

Thanks for hosting this linky party Tara! 

Resolutions Writing and 100 Follower Give Away

As a prewriting activity my students will organize their thoughts on this Resolutions Sheet. We are working on expository writing so I developed this writing template in order to help my students develop a variety of transitions. The sentence starter in each box will prevent students from writing typical leads such as "The first thing I want to change..." or "My second resolution is...". In addition, looking back at 2012 will help my students focus on what needs to be improved or learned for 2013. In the center I've included some famous quotes to get them inspired! Pick up this freebie here.

Jessica is having an amazing 100 Follower Giveaway with lots of goodies! Hop on over to see her adorable blog and enter for a chance to win!

Happy New School Year!

Permission to shop! This idea will not be used until next school year but you have to shop now while these items are on clearance! As I was shopping at Publix and saw these items in the clearance cart I thought... they'd be perfect to have a Happy New School Year Celebration to welcome my students back to school! How fun right? I asked the manager if they'd discount them more for such a GREAT CAUSE and they gave them to me for practically nothing! (I have enough for 3 years!) The best part is they don't have a year so I can use them anytime! What a great welcome to students!

   

Here's a display of the favors for students.

 

The box has enough favors for ten people and is easily stored.

 

Seriously, who wouldn't want to be part of this celebration??!!