Spark Student Motivation: Owl Pellets-Gross or Cool?

Want to motivate your students with something REALLY fun??

With only five days left of school, I have to try to keep the attention and interest of my students! At the end of the school year we study food chains in science and I read Poppy (a fantasy book starring a bully owl), so owl pellets are the perfect integration!
This book is awesome! Such interesting facts about owl puke!

 

Kidwings is a fascinating virtual owl pellet dissection. Students remove the fur and then match up the bones from the pellet. This is the perfect introduction before dissecting.

 They come packaged like this:

I lay newspaper down and give them tools (toothpicks and paperclips) to dissect their owl pellet.
At first, many of my students are pretty grossed out, but it doesn't take long for them to really get into it!

As soon as one student finds a skull, then everyone gets excited! They all want to walk around and show everyone!

Scientists hard at work!

Some pellets contain 2 skulls, where some pellets have none. I let my students trade and share to make a complete skeleton of their own.



As they find bones, they use their bone identification chart to categorize their findings.

I'm not sure that everyone likes our hallway display (LOL), but the kids who walk by think it's pretty cool!

Here are some close up pictures: Some pellets contain more bones than others, so not all sheets have the same bones.

 This is a fascinating experience for students and if you have the chance, you should try it!

Answer to the post question gross or cool???

COOL!!

So cool in fact, I put the two extra pellets in my prize box!!!

**I definitely recommend purchasing the larger pellets, it's worth the extra money.

 

I hope you had a wonderful week! Please link up any lessons, ideas, tips, tricks, incentives, ANYTHING you do get your students motivated or excited!

Don't forget to grab my button and link back to this post!

Check out all the wonderful ideas from my friends who link up and don't forget to leave some love by commenting....we LOVE comments!
***Please include the topic in the link up with your blog name.

Spark Student Motivation: Reading in the Bathroom!

It's S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y!!! And a 3 D-A-Y W-E-E-K-E-N-D!!

Not that I want to promote my students spending a lot of time in the bathroom, but they may as well be learning right??!! This picture is the before of my classroom bathroom...boring & bland.

Now, see the improvement? Bright and colorful AND high interest reading material! What is this reading material? Appropriate reading material for a bathroom of course! Facts about pee and poop! LOL! These books have lots of non-fiction text features too: timelines, subheadings, photos, captions, information boxes, bold print, index, table of contents, etc.

This is one of my favorite pages...knowing about poop can save your life! Important tips for survival! :)

I've blogged about using The Truth About Poop  as a mentor text, but it's perfect bathroom décor too! My students love it!

I took excerpts out of each of these books-it may seem a little gross, but students LOVE when teachers say, "POOP"! Which results in 100% engagement and active listening! Even if it's gross, students can't help but listening to these interesting facts!

Geese (pooping factories) poop every 12 minutes! WOW!

Sloths do everything slow, including pooping, only once a week!

Vultures poop on themselves to keep cool!

Elephants pee up to 13 gallons a day!

These books tell us the information textbooks don't tell us! (How does a knight wearing 50 pounds of armor go to the bathroom? Why was there a huge pile of poop beneath the window of that tower in Bohemia?

 

It may not be for everyone, but I wanted to share some interesting reading material with you! At least if they're in the bathroom, they'll be reading and learning! One of my students came out a few days ago and said, "Mrs. Miller, do you want to know what I learned in the bathroom?"

Score!

 

I hope you enjoy your long weekend! See you next week!

I hope you had a wonderful week! Please link up any lessons, ideas, tips, tricks, incentives, ANYTHING you do get your students motivated or excited!

Don't forget to grab my button and link back to this post!

Check out all the wonderful ideas from my friends who link up and don't forget to leave some love by commenting....we LOVE comments!
***Please include the topic in the link up with your blog name.

End of the Year Organizational Tips

My BBB Diane is hosting a linky party that will help us stay organized at the end of the year!
And, any tip to help us at the end of the year is a good one!!!

 

The end of the year evokes so many emotions, but the one we feel the most as teachers is stress with all of the "last minute" things that need to be done. It seems like everyday we have some kind of paperwork due, parties, celebrations, field trips, awards, field day, meetings, etc., along with our normal daily routines. Well, when those last couple of days come around sometimes we just rush to throw everything in a box or in a file cabinet just to get it done.
I mean, other people do that right??!!

Stop...take a breath...and a picture!
 

Depending on your school, depends on how much you have to "pack" up your room for summer cleaning. If you have to take down your bulletin boards, but it's one that you use year to year and you like the spacing or order of the posters, then take a picture so you can refer back to it for easy set up.

We have to unload our bookshelves so they can wax the floors, and it seems I can never get the books/materials to fit just right again after I unpack them. So...I take a picture so I can remember how I liked it organized.

 

I have several bulletin board signs and letters that take time to sort through, so for my reoccurring bulletin boards I store them in a binder for easy access.  

My welcome back bulletin board  and Happy New Year Banner are temporary bulletin boards, but I use them each year, so I store them in a page protector and label the page.

If you haven't taken down your bulletin boards, room décor, or room arrangement and you're happy with it, take a picture so you can reassemble your room quickly at the beginning of the year.

**These pictures might also inspire you over summer to find other décor to coordinate with your room or to change some things you don't like.

 

Either way, I hope these tips help you during the end of year craziness!

 

The winner of my Motivational Reward Bracelets is...

Mrs. Decker! (check your inbox!) 

Congratulations and thanks for pinning! :)

Spark Student Motivation: Reward Bracelets

It's Saturday and at this time of year we need to motivate each other more than ever! We need to pull out all of our magic tricks!

At the end of the year there are still a few goals trying to be met, tests to be taken, and still some new learning to take place...well, many students think it's play time or don't want to give their best effort. So...Mrs. Miller pulls out her motivational reward bracelets! Like, many of my "introductions" to my class, I leave the new item on my desk to spark their curiosity.

As soon as they saw this pile of bracelets sitting on my desk they were selecting which one they wanted! I had to inform them that they weren't for them to pick, they had to earn them! :)

These two ladies accessorized their outfits! The one on the left has been reading so much at home which is fantastic, but guess what else she's been doing? Making her own graphic organizers while reading to be an active reader! (Her favorite skill to practice is cause & effect!) Who does that?
The other fashionista scored a 100% on her big math district test and it was a doozie! Whoop Whoop!

This young man sporting his "I'm Amazing" bracelet worked his hardest to score an A on his math test! Hard work pays off! And, my two princesses earned Reading is Magic on the last day possible for Reading Counts! They're walking the runway with "My Teacher Thinks I'm Incredible!" bracelets. Our media specialist has a special incentive for all students who earn 140 points. And, they did it! My entire class is attending!

 

 If you think these accessories would make a great addition to your classroom, enter to win below! :)

I know these Motivational Reward Bracelets will get your students excited! I'd love to give a pack away to help you end your year or start your new school year off right! Pin any of the images above, copy and paste the URL into the comments. Please make sure if you're not a blogger that you leave your email address so I can send your prize!

I hope you had a wonderful week! Please link up any lessons, ideas, tips, tricks, incentives, ANYTHING you do get your students motivated or excited!

Don't forget to grab my button and link back to this post!

Check out all the wonderful ideas from my friends who link up and don't forget to leave some love by commenting....we LOVE comments!
***Please include the topic in the link up with your blog name.

Spark Student Motivation: Mother's Tea

You made it! It's Saturday! :)

One of the most motivating events in my classroom is my Mother's Tea!  I've been hosting this tea party since almost the beginning of my teaching. It's an immense amount of work, but so worth it! Of course along with academics, I think it's equally important to teach our students the importance of appreciation and kindness.
My Mother's Tea is a tradition in my classroom (always the Friday morning before Mother's Day), so I give my moms the date at Open House, then I send out Save the Date magnets about 1 1/2-2 months before the tea, then official invitations 2 weeks before. I like to give long advance notice for my working moms to assure every student in my class will have someone to represent them.

I set up as much as I can after school the day before and when my students walk in the next morning, they are so surprised and excited! I've collected linens and tea cups for years and have a large enough collection for all of my class sizes that have ranged from 21-32.

My students dress up and arrive early because they are so excited about our long awaited event!

After the mothers have checked in at the front office, each student takes a flower to escort her back to the room. They wait anxiously for me to tell them their mom/grandmother/step-mom is here-this is the first group to go! 

 All of the food is set up on each table for our guests to serve themselves. My students are in charge of getting their drinks (drink menus are on the tables). We practice carrying the teacups so we don't have any accidents! :) (Zero breaks this year!)

After our guests eat, students are welcome to say something to their mothers on the microphone. (Not all students are brave enough to do this, but I allow the opportunity for those who want to). I also open it up for the mothers to say something special to their child (if they're brave enough too).

**This is when the tears start flooding the room! It's all unrehearsed, which makes it more touching. 

 I just LOVE this picture of my student and his mom! Absolutely gorgeous! Precious memories and a time for my students to appreciate the importance of the role models in their lives.

These pictures were sent to me after the tea with sweet thank you messages.

 

 My students write "The Best Part of My Mom" based off of the book "The Best Part of Me" (thanks AMC). These heartfelt messages are keepsakes and treasures!
These messages bring an awareness to my students and their mothers about what they appreciate most!

After the tears are already flowing, I show our end of the year video which brings on more tears (happy and sad). I LOVE my Mother's Tea and I love appreciating my families of my classroom!

I hope you had a wonderful week! Please link up any lessons, ideas, tips, tricks, incentives, ANYTHING you do get your students motivated or excited!

Don't forget to grab my button and link back to this post!

Check out all the wonderful ideas from my friends who link up and don't forget to leave some love by commenting....we LOVE comments!
***Please include the topic in the link up with your blog name.

Tried It Tuesday: Seating Arrangements Made Easy!

We're almost half way through the week! I'm linking up with the one and only, Holly, for her Tried It Tuesday!

I wanted to share something I've TRIED and WISHED I would've thought of earlier in my teaching career!! Here's a quick tip that I hope will save you some time! :)

 

Several years ago I thought I was so clever creating a template of my seating arrangement...every time I would change desks, all I had to do was whip out my handy template and fill the names in. I could do it from home, in the car, in my classroom...great idea, right?

Well, isn't it a pain when you realize you've written someone's name twice, or those two students shouldn't be together, or let me go through the list to see who I've forgotten because I have one empty desk?! And, NO, I can't put her in that spot, they'll talk too much!

 

Here's the easy and quick solution:

(I'm disappointed and embarrassed I didn't think of this until last year with my HUGE affection for Post-Its!)

Write each of your students' names on a post-it (once, and ONLY once the entire year!). Make sure you keep these Post-Its and piece of paper in a safe place in your desk drawer, and when you want to change desks, manipulate your Post-Its! So clever right?

You're welcome! :)

 

 

 Now, I color-coded mine for girls and boys so I can get a quick visual for each group. But, as you can see, I'm very girl heavy this year, so I can only separate them so much. So easy and I don't dread desk changes as much!

Check out all the other great Tried Its at Fourth Grade Flipper!

 

 

Don't forget the big Teacher Appreciation Sale on TPT!

My store is 20% off, plus an additional savings of 10% off from TPT.

 

Spark Student Motivation: Motivational Water Bottle Labels

It's the first Saturday in May, which means everybody is counting down...
Let's share our tips/tricks to keep our students motivated until the end of the year!

Who would've thought a cute label with an inspirational saying would be so exciting to students??!! After using the water bottle labels from my Testing Goodies Pack a few weeks ago and seeing my students' excitement, I knew I had to finish this product ASAP!

I've made motivational bottles for my kids over my years of teaching for different occasions and they've always been a hit, but I also use other incentives as well (candy). It wasn't until I started blogging did I realize how many schools/districts aren't allowed to give out candy or sweet treats. Here is the perfect healthy reward!

 

 

I always introduce new incentives, books, games, etc. in my classroom by leaving them on my desk or the table next to my desk for students to see. This always SPARKS curiosity in my room! :)

This is when I hook them! They all wanted to know how they could get a water bottle! (Love!)

The students above received the following motivators:

Brain Juice-to help her dig deep for those tough questions

Smarty Pants H2O-scored an A on his big district math test

Congratulations-he has 1,200 Reading Counts Points!!!!!

Happy Birthday-well, the adorable party hat explains that one

**Best part...they keep refilling them and leave them on their desk for days!

 

Bottle labels are in color or blackline masters. Printing on bright colored paper makes it really pop!

Blank templates are included for you to write your own message or students to give to each other.

I've included something for every occasion: open house, welcome to school, summer, thank you, and lots of motivational sayings to get your students thinking and excited about being in your class!

These will be on sale today and tomorrow-bring these water bottles to your classroom Monday and wait for the squeal! :) Click here to purchase.

Of course, I always like to give some away to my sweet readers!
PIN TO WIN! Pin any of the images above, copy the URL, and paste in the comments. Make sure you leave your email if you're not a blogger.
TWO winners will be emailed their prize tomorrow!

I hope you had a wonderful week! Please link up any lessons, ideas, tips, tricks, incentives, ANYTHING you do get your students motivated or excited!

Don't forget to grab my button and link back to this post!

Check out all the wonderful ideas from my friends who link up and don't forget to leave some love by commenting....we LOVE comments!
***Please include the topic in the link up with your blog name.