Playing Catch Up!

I thought this was appropriate....especially for a Sunday night! I am busily trying to complete everything for the week ahead and get caught up on grading. I know many of you are doing the same. Good luck! :)

Wishing all of my teacher friends a good week!

Five For Friday

So glad it's Friday!! I am looking forward to a weekend full of lots of rest and relaxation. :) I am also (finally!) linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for a fun little linky. I have seen this linky floating around for awhile now but now I am officially linking  up. Hop on over and link up too!

1) Martin Luther King Jr. Posters 

I love seeing our MLK posters in the hallway. My kiddos worked so hard on them! I love their portraits of Dr. King! My poor photogrpahy skills/camera phone really don't do these justice. :) 

2) Zombies in Love 

 I started pulling out my Feburary resources and found my favorite Valentine's Day book. Makes me smile everytime!

3) Poetry Unit

We just started our poetry unit. My fabulous student teacher created the first week of  the unit and today the students were able to recite some of the poems that they explored during the week. Two of my kiddos rapped "Smart" by Shel Silverstein. They were so into it! :) Makes my teacher heart happy.

4) Magic School Bus 

We have been working on benchmark tests ALL week. My kids are totally burnt out by lunch so the afternoons have been crazy  ineteresting.The Magic School Bus for Luch totally saved our afternoon Thursday and also hit some major science standards. Gotta love that!

5) Factor Samuri

Our new favorite app! Feels just like fruit ninga but there's some math in there (it sneaks in all ninja-like).

Hope you all had a fabulous week!! I am sending you good thoughts for a relaxing weekend!!! I know that  am looking forward to blog stalking this weekend....

Monday - Must have Apps

 I am linking up with Nikki over at Sent from my iPad for a fun little technology linky.

So my apps are kinda random and by no means am I an expert at anything techie related but these are a few apps that I enjoy....

Educreations


Love, love, love this app! Especially because I don't have a smart board. I use mostly to create lessons that I post to my classroom blog that way my kids can access and review material from home.

iMotion

This is a super fun app that allows you to create stop motion animations (Think Coraline or Wallace and Gromet).

Our art teacher showed this to all of the teachers this summer at a workshop.  It is so much fun to play with! My students recently used it to create a stop motion video about ancient Egypt. How cool is that?!?!?

Edmodo


Love using this on my iPhone. Keeps me connected even on the go.

Sushi Monster


I use this app as a station during math roations. So cute! And a good way to practice multiplication.

Well, I think that's it for me. If you get a chance link up!   If you don't already follow Nikki, hop on over. She always has lots of fun technology tips!

I am one tired teacher. This first day back kicked my booty. I'm going to do a littlle blog stalking and then heading straight to bed. :) Have a great week!

Reading Response Froms and a FREEBIE

2 more days before I'm back in my little classroom with my favorites....Goodbye break! Goodbye sleeping in! Monday's gonna be rough!

While I am sad to see it go, I am also eager to begin a new year with my kiddos. I've spent the last couple of days getting some lessons together and looking at ALL we still need to cover before May 31st. Kinda crazy how much we still need to do!

I've also been adding a couple of products to my teeny tiny TpT store. I wanted to share (but am a little scared of coming off like a used car dealer!). Bare with me and I promise there will be a  fun freebie at the end!

Up first...

 

I have been using these graphic organizers and reading respomse sheets in my classroom FOREVER and had them saved in random files all over my computer. I finally took the time to compile my most used forms in one handy-dandy file a couple of months ago.

 I have come up with 20 or so forms that cover a variety of reading skills (i.e. sequencing and main idea) and reading stratagies (i.e. making connections and visualizing). These are skills and strategies that need to be reienforced over and over again and, so, I use these forms all.of. the. time.  The pack also includes several reading repsonse forms (i.e. responding from the point of view of a character.

I use these forms for whole class instruction, with small groups, as homework, etc. My kiddos are super familiar with the forms and can use them independently with very little instruction.

For my own organization in the classroom, I have organized the forms in page protectors in  a binder. (Excuse the glare!)

This makes it super easy to pull for absent students,  leave as a resources for subs, etc. Sometimes I even send my students to the binder to pull a sheet when they have finished an activity early.

Here are some examples of completed forms:

In all the pack contains 20 + activities and it's ready for you to download on TPT for just $3.00.


And now for the FREEBIE!!!

I have compiled a mini pack with several sheets that specifically target the reading strategy of visualizing. All of these sheets are included in Forms For ANY Novel pack but I have bundled these to share with you all for FREE. My kids really L-O-V-E these activities!!! I love them too!

In fact, these are such a favorite in my classroom that I devoted a whole blog post describing how I used one of these forms in detail. Read more about it  HERE. 


 Here are some examples of the sheets found in the FREE PACK.

All of the graphics from both of my products are from mycutegraphics.com. My favorite free resource! :)

Well I think that's it! I hope that you found some of this useful and that it didn't sound to sales pitchy! :)

Let me know if you decide to download! I'd love to hear what you all think. :)

Have a fabulous and restful weekend!

Winter Break Recap & A Currently

Can you believe it is time for another currently already?!?!?! Time flies when you're finishing classroom crafts, throwing those last few assessments, wrapping presents, shopping like a maniac, driving all over the state having fun!

In all honesty, this last month has been oh so busy but also oh so fun! I had a very California Christmas with my family in Central Coast and snapped this picture on Christmas day.



As I have crisscrossed the entire state of California over the last week or two, I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by good people and have a job that I love! I am also so blessed to have a two week break so that I am able to visit my family and friends and celebrate the holidays with the ones I love the most!

Oh and I need to pick your brain for ideas! My mom gave me  Cricut for Christmas! I am so excited to start using it! I have been out of town so much that I haven't really had a chance to play with it yet but I am planning to carve out some time tomorrow to make a few new things for the classroom.

 Do you have a Cricut?

 How do you use it for classroom stuff??? 

Any must have accessories? Favorite cartridges?

I need ideas! 

Without further ado...my currently: 

If you haven't done it already, go link up with Farley and join the currently party! 

Wishing you all a happy & healthy 2013!