Sale! Sale! Sale!

It's that time of year- the TPT back to school sale will soon be here! TpT is holding their annual back to school sale from August 18-19th!!! Run and get those items you've had your eye on!! I will be taking advantage and getting some bundles I've been eyeing!

My entire store (yes!!!! Bundles too) will be on sale!! Don't forget to use the BTS13 promo code for additional savings!!

P.S. my store will be having a sale from August 18-20th!!

Happy, happy shopping, everyone!!!

My new favorite poem

Ever since I was little I have always been fascinated by dragons! (My favorite animated movie is How to train your dragon!!!)
Tonight, while my Baby was watching Disney Jr. they ran their 'A poem is..' segment and I heard the most amazing poem EVER!
'Once they all believed in dragons' by Jack Prelutsky. It is narrated by Doctor Who and Downtown Abbey actor Matt Smith. It has a beautiful animation to go with it. Watch it here. I am definitely adding this little treasure to my list of poems to teach :)

 Just wanted to share! 

Begin with goals in mind!

August already?! :(
I've had a great time staying home this summer and even though I love teaching, I'm not ready to go back! I think that setting some goals will steer me in the right direction. Here I go!
I am linking up with I Heart Recess to share my Back to School Goals.

 

 Personal: I will be leaving work no later than 4:00 PM! I don't want to miss moments with my family at home anymore, therefore I have to learn to prioritize to get things done! I plan to do this by running my copies for lessons a week ahead, filing paper as I go, and utilizing EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE of my planning time to get work done!

Organization: Ok, so I've created my DIY teacher binder with dividers to help me stay organized- this will help me not waste time looking for stuff in a pile of paper! I am also using binders to store my lessons for each subject so that I have them to refer back to and they are not just piled behind my desk. I'm going to use a crate with hanging file folders to keep my students' work, documentation, etc so that I have it handy when I need to speak to a parent, admin, refer for interventions, or any other need that may arise.

Planning: I've done some planning this summer, specially in science and language arts and I plan to stay at least 2 weeks ahead of the game. I'm revamping my math this year so I'll be learning as I go- I'm going full on with Math Workshop this year. I've done bits and pieces in the past, but this year it is on!

Professional: I'm going to attempt to integrate technology into at least one subject I teach on a daily basis. We have access to ipads and computers and I want to ensure that my students are exposed to technology constantly. I want to go beyond apps- it's a lot to take on, but I'm up for the challenge!

Students: I will consider it a huge success if I can teach my kids to collaborate with and respect others. That is my main goal going into my classroom this year. I want every kid in my class to feel empowered, safe, respected, and to be thoughtful of others.

Motto: "If you think your teacher is tough, wait til you get a boss." Well said, Mr. Gates. I do love my students and I by no means want to be Mrs. Mean, but I do aim to make them problem-solving-working-doers (too much Mickey!!!). They will become self-sufficient and will need to make decisions to empower themselves as learners. Responsibility will bea repeated often.

Reading Centers/Stations in 5th grade

I'm getting ready to finalize the stations I'll be using in readers workshop this year. Our state assessment for reading includes passages in different genres (poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction), therefore, I decided that our stations are going to reflect that. I'll be using the following stations:

1. Poetry/drama: in this station students will read either the assigned poem or drama and complete a graphic organizer. I use these graphic organizers during my reading instruction and then during my stations. For this station I gather, copy, and laminate poems I find in books, Internet, and our released state tests. I usually put about 4-5 poems and allow students to choose one for their station assignment. The dramas I use come from our textbook adoption. I rotate one week a poem and a drama the following week.

2. Fiction: in this station I include myths, fables, tall tales, and any other type of fictional text I can find. I use the same organizers from the poetry station. The texts I use in this station include picture books from my classroom library, copies of short stories I find, myths from several Scholastic resources I own. I usually have a bin with several books/readings to allow my students some choice in what they read for the day.

3. Non-fiction: this is by far my students' favorite station. For this station I use Super Science magazines, National Geographic, newspaper articles, and Science A-Z readings. I try very hard to include text my students will find engaging. For this station, I use my non-fiction graphic organizers (I choose the one with the skill I want my kids to practice).

4. Word Study: we begin this during our mini lessons and then students are required to finish this in their station. In this station I target prefixes, suffixes, and figurative language. They usually complete a 4-tab foldable or an idiom of the day. I provide resources for them to complete their assignment.

5. Independent reading and response: for this station, students read a book of their choice and respond using prompts I have created according to the genre they read.

Tips!!!
Stations management:
-use bins to store readins and graphic organizers
-kids will need 15-20 minutes to complete the reading and graphic organizer (provide a visual of time)
-use a pocket chart to show the station rotations
-be consistent- keep up with the stations so that your students are constantly exposed to various genres
-be flexible! Allow room to grow, reflect, and change!

How are you running your reader's workshop?

Liebster Award!

I am very happy to have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Catia over at Always a Teacher & Forever a Mom. I look forward to sharing my experiences with teaching upper elementary self-contained class. 

The Liebster Award is given to blogs who have less than 200 followers but that deserve to have many more. 
The rules for this award are as follows: 
1. Thank the Liebster-winning blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Post eleven facts about yourself.
3. Answer the eleven questions your nominator asked.
4. Create eleven questions for your nominees.
5. Nominate 5 to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.
6. Display the Liebster Award logo.

Here I go:

Catia- Thank you bunches for the nomination. I truly appreciate you including me :) Be sure to check out her TpT store. She's got some adorable FREE frames and lots of other great items!!!

11 Facts about Me :)
1. I am a Mommy to a beautiful soon-to-be 2 year old.
2. I have been a happy wife for 7 years.
3. I speak English and Spanish.
4. I have taught grades 4-6. 
5. I am passionate about equality in education- I firmly believe equality means every students deserves the education best suited to their needs.
6. I am obsessed with reality TV!!
7. My favorite book is Great Expectations-Dickens.
8. Disney's 'How to train your Dragon' is my favorite animated movie.
9. I love dragons.
10. I want to go on an African safari.
11. I LOVE handbags!!!

Catia's questions:

1. Where are you from? I am from Mexico. 
2. How many languages do you speak fluently? 2-English and Spanish.
3. If you could learn a new language, what would it be? French! I am working on this!
4. What is your favourite thing to do when you need to relax? READ!!!
5. Name 3 people that had a huge impact on your life and tell us why. 1) My mother taught me to be strong and ambitious. 2) My Dad taught me to love unconditionally. 3) My Baby Boy taught me to never take life for granted (he had a scary first month of life).
6. What is the dream you most wish to have come true? I want to own a business- a cupcake shop or go into professional photography.
7. Favorite animal and why. Dinosaurs- strong and ferocious!
8. Coffee, tea or neither? Coffee. I am an addict!!!
9. Where do you usually go when on holidays? Beach, camping, cruise….? Stay home- I love hosting family gatherings.
10. Something or someone that makes you get up in the morning with a smile. My Baby Boy- he changed my life.
11. If you could describe yourself in one word, what word would that be? Determined. If you want something-make it happen.

My 11 questions:
1. Mac or PC?
2. Do you use an iphone?
3. Do you like to read on a tablet or book?
4. Favorite subject you love to teach?
5. Who do you admire?
6. Are you a DIY-type of person?
7. What has been your greatest accomplishment so far in life?
8. Do you like cupcakes or a slice of cake?
9. What is the last book you read?
10. Who is your favorite superhero?
11. Tell us your favorite food!


Blogs I am nominating:
http://knjkreations.blogspot.com/
http://innovativetothecore.blogspot.com/
http://eltigger.blogspot.com
http://mrstretbarslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://specialneedstasks.blogspot.com/
www.123kteacher.blogspot.com
http://polliwogplace.blogspot.com/

Happy Bloggin'!!!

Some of my favorite science resources

One of my very good friends just got a 6th grade science job!!! I told her I would share with her some of the resources I use when planning for science.

One of my absolute favorite science resources is Science A-Z (our school has a membership-we've had it for years and NO ONE knew about it!!!). I am unsure about how much it costs but check with other teachers at your school to see if your school already has a membership OR checkout the website for some free samples. I use Science A-Z to get reading material for my reading AND science stations/centers (I will be blogging about what stations I do a bit later on this month). They publish monthly science-related magazines, offer short and long science leveled readings and MUCH, MUCH more. One of my favorite things on the site is the Scientist and Inventor packs. There are several collections of various scientist and inventors. We used them in my class last year to springboard into an end-of-year science research project. You just have to check out Science A-Z (there is also a Reading A-Z equally great!!!).

Another science resource I love to use is Discovery Education.  Your school will need a membership but let me tell you it is well worth the $$$. There are videos on science, social studies, math, and any other topic you can think of. I use it daily in my technology center as a way to teach my kids to take notes from media.

Who does not LOVE Study Jams?! A free site from Scholastic with an abundance of science and math short videos. My kids LOVE them!! The videos usually offer a karaoke song and a quiz at the end. This would be great as a supplement to a lesson.

Lastly, I use a lot of technology in my classroom so I provide links for my students to log on to, take notes, and report back on their learning. This NASA one is a great example of free resources on the web (I always preview the content). The link is one I use to review the solar system.

These are some of my favorite resources I use to supplement my science lessons. What are your favorite resources?

 

Back 2 School Bulletin Board

I'm already busy thinking about back to school. I'm undecided about having a theme in my class, but I definitely know what my welcome back bulletin board will be.

I'm going to have a "Rock Stars" welcome board.

I've created several options for the students to fill out with their information.

We are going to make this into mini guitars. 

If you like this bulletin board idea, check out my store. You may also want to look @ Pinterest for some awesome classroom themes and bulletin board ideas.

New Math Teks

Hold on tight Texas teachers!!! TEA is rolling out new math TEKS for the 2014-15 school year. 

Some teachers are already being asked to implement the new TEKS in their classroom (YIKES!!!). I attended a Lead4Ward (I LOVE their snapshots!!!) training and left a little dizzy and overwhelmed by all the information, but after having some time to think it over, I think anything is possible!!! In my school, we are being asked to use the current TEKS to guide our instruction for the 2013/14 school year (since those are the ones that students will be tested on) AND integrate the new TEKS where we feel they fit in order to minimize gaps for the following year (there's also a team of teachers working on a document to help teachers close gaps due to students 'missing' instruction on new s.e's). 

At the moment I plan to analyze the new TEKS at my grade level and find places where I can introduce some of the new TEKS into my lessons for this coming year. I think if we all take the time to analyze the new teks and fully understand them, then we will feel empowered and be able to breath!!! I came across this fantastic resource that provides information on the new teks using a side by side comparison with the old teks. 

blogloving

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Check them out!

I dedicated a couple of hours today to make a banner for my blog and a couple of cute pictures for my TpT and Pinterest links. I had TONS of help doing this!! First of all, my chevron background on the banner is from Fun For Learning, the cute hearts I used to make the links and on the banner are from Graphics From The Pond (FREE!!!), and the striped pencils are from Ashley Hughes.  All of these are FREE!!! If you are looking for great frames and art visit these awesome TpTers! Also, don't forget Camping Teacher has created 2 tools to help bloggers TpTers jazz-up their stuff. Check out The Cutest Blog On The Block for many tips and tutorials for bloggers. Another site you simply must visit is Mycutegraphics.com (adorable clip art for free!!! Lots and lots of content area clip art).

TWH :)

Thank you Camping Teacher!

Just wanted to say a big, big thank you to Lynn over at Camping Teacher. She is a fellow blogger and TpTer and has created 2 great templates: banner for blogs and banner for tpt stores. Check out her cute blog and adorable tpt store.

TWH

Math Journals

I wanted to blog about my love of math journals. I have implemented math journals for 5 years now and I still continue to learn new tips and strategies to use them. I firmly believe that math journals are very beneficial to students because they offer opportunities for students to think critically and reflect on their math learning journey. I have created "Getting started with Math Journals" to help those are just getting started or are looking for new ideas to add to their math toolbox. Check out the pictures and start implementing math journals today!

I've included some ideas for input and output. It is very important for students to reflect on their learning.

These are some of my math journal entries for this. I treasure my old journals because they help me reflect on what works and what can be improved for the coming year.

A sample interactive graphic organizer.

Get yours today :)