I'm the binder queen, it's true. When I interviewed for my current job, I had a binder with me, and the teachers that sat in on the interview say that's why they picked me. :)
I have a binder for each area of science (earth science, physical science, etc), one for language arts, handwriting, warm ups, small group activities, tutoring, extended learning activities, student information and classroom managers, and of course then there's my sub binder. I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking about right now (since it's SPRING BREAK and all).
Each of my binders have a cute cover. They don't all look alike, because that's boring. Rather, the font I used is somehow related to the topic of the binder, and then I print it out on paper with a cute border.
I have my binder covers on Teacher Pay Teachers for free. Enjoy.
Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Weekly Challenge
A few weeks ago I started a "Weekly Challenge" in my room. A little late in the year, sure, but oh well.
Each Monday, I post a new challenge, usually math related, and students have until Friday morning to take a guess. I make extra copies of worksheets so students can work at their desk (unless it's an estimation problem). I cut index cards into thirds, and that's where I have them write their name and answer. Once they have a guess, they put their answer in an old tissue box.
Some of the challenges I make myself, some I've found online, and some are just logic worksheets.
On Friday, I take out all the wrong answers and draw one winner from among the right answers. If it was estimation, I choose the closest answer. The winner gets something small as a prize, such as a mechanical pencil, eraser, homework pass, or small toy (play-dough, mini-slinky). When I did the goldfish estimation, the prize was the goldfish.
I put together some of my challenges into a PDF, as it's listed for free at Teachers Pay Teachers. You can download it by clicking here and going to the website.
Each Monday, I post a new challenge, usually math related, and students have until Friday morning to take a guess. I make extra copies of worksheets so students can work at their desk (unless it's an estimation problem). I cut index cards into thirds, and that's where I have them write their name and answer. Once they have a guess, they put their answer in an old tissue box.
Some of the challenges I make myself, some I've found online, and some are just logic worksheets.
On Friday, I take out all the wrong answers and draw one winner from among the right answers. If it was estimation, I choose the closest answer. The winner gets something small as a prize, such as a mechanical pencil, eraser, homework pass, or small toy (play-dough, mini-slinky). When I did the goldfish estimation, the prize was the goldfish.
I put together some of my challenges into a PDF, as it's listed for free at Teachers Pay Teachers. You can download it by clicking here and going to the website.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Neat Desk Awards
I don't do the whole "desk fairy" thing. Sure, some 4th graders may still like the idea of a magic fairy coming in the classroom at night and looking through their desk, but I think it's a little weird. I want my students to know I'M the one that thinks their desk is neat, that I'M the one that's proud of them, and that I'M the one recognizing them. Call me selfish - whatever.
So, today after school, I went around the desks to find the neatest ones. Yesterday, I actually gave them some time to clean out their desks, so most of them were neat enough (i.e. no random papers stuffed in there). But yesterday I also told my class that I don't like them leaving pencils sitting in their desk - I like pencils to be kept in their pencil bags so they don't get lost or stolen.
I waited until today to check for this to see who remembered. Five of them did. So five students got a little reward. And interestingly, 4 of those 5 students were boys. Who would've thought?
We're not allowed to give out candy, so I gave each neat desk a pink eraser and a pencil top eraser. Sometimes it may be a pencil, sometimes a red pen (those get lost a lot!), sometimes a pencil sharpener, or maybe something fun like a mini-slinky or play-dough.
I decided to open up a Teachers Pay Teachers seller's account to keep my freebies. I don't plan on selling anything, it's just a place for you to go to download what I have. I think it's easier than using Google Docs like I have been.
You can click here to get my Neat Desk Award. And this link will take you to my seller's page (aka freebie's page). I'll put more stuff on there whenever I have a chance, but for now, it's off to play hockey!
So, today after school, I went around the desks to find the neatest ones. Yesterday, I actually gave them some time to clean out their desks, so most of them were neat enough (i.e. no random papers stuffed in there). But yesterday I also told my class that I don't like them leaving pencils sitting in their desk - I like pencils to be kept in their pencil bags so they don't get lost or stolen.
 |
| I have no idea what made this picture look so weird. Must be the ghosts in my room again. |
I waited until today to check for this to see who remembered. Five of them did. So five students got a little reward. And interestingly, 4 of those 5 students were boys. Who would've thought?
We're not allowed to give out candy, so I gave each neat desk a pink eraser and a pencil top eraser. Sometimes it may be a pencil, sometimes a red pen (those get lost a lot!), sometimes a pencil sharpener, or maybe something fun like a mini-slinky or play-dough.
I decided to open up a Teachers Pay Teachers seller's account to keep my freebies. I don't plan on selling anything, it's just a place for you to go to download what I have. I think it's easier than using Google Docs like I have been.
You can click here to get my Neat Desk Award. And this link will take you to my seller's page (aka freebie's page). I'll put more stuff on there whenever I have a chance, but for now, it's off to play hockey!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Exemplars Math
This year, my district is encouraging math teachers to use Exemplars in the classroom. Exemplars consists of one real world related problem that students solve individually, in pairs, or in groups. Not only do students have to find the answer, but the whole idea behind Exemplars is that students prove what they know.
Without me getting into too much detail, I'll try to explain how I use Exemplars in my classroom. My grade level as a whole does one Exemplar each 6 weeks. I spend about 2 hours on it, spread out over 2-3 days. I require my students to use the district problem solving method to help them organize their work. This is a document I made that I show my kids on the SmartBoard whenever we do Exemplars to remind them what goes in each section.
The first day, I have students work on the problem on their own. They are required to make the problem solving chart I linked to above. Since writing is a big part of fourth grade with the state test and all that, I do require my students to write in complete sentences. It's a good habit to get in. :)
The next day, I put students in groups to discuss the problem. They'll make any corrections necessary, then put their answer on butcher paper using the same problem solving method. I assign groups, putting between 3-4 students in each group. I try to include one high and one low in each group, while balancing out any discipline concerns. I make different groups each time we do Exemplars.
The students really enjoy this activity, and usually do a good job with their posters. I encourage them to go into as much detail as possible. Some students are better at this than others.
The problem we are currently working on asks how many speeds a bike has if there are 3 gears on one handle and 7 gears on the other. Below are some examples of their work from today.
As students turned in their posters, I read over then to determine the "best". The "best", as I told my students, is the poster with the most detail and that does the best job explaining their strategy and answer. I gave the winners from each of my two classes a pass to not wear shoes in class for a day. It's free, and they were so excited about it.
We're going to spend one more day on Exemplars for this grading period. Tomorrow, I'm having my students do a gallery walk to evaluate the posters, both what was done well, and what needs improvement. Instead of having them look at all the posters (after all, they all say pretty much the same thing), I'm assigning each student to 4 posters. I picked out the two with the best explanations, and all of my students will be required to evaluate one of them so that they can see what a really good poster looks like.
Without me getting into too much detail, I'll try to explain how I use Exemplars in my classroom. My grade level as a whole does one Exemplar each 6 weeks. I spend about 2 hours on it, spread out over 2-3 days. I require my students to use the district problem solving method to help them organize their work. This is a document I made that I show my kids on the SmartBoard whenever we do Exemplars to remind them what goes in each section.
The first day, I have students work on the problem on their own. They are required to make the problem solving chart I linked to above. Since writing is a big part of fourth grade with the state test and all that, I do require my students to write in complete sentences. It's a good habit to get in. :)
The next day, I put students in groups to discuss the problem. They'll make any corrections necessary, then put their answer on butcher paper using the same problem solving method. I assign groups, putting between 3-4 students in each group. I try to include one high and one low in each group, while balancing out any discipline concerns. I make different groups each time we do Exemplars.
The students really enjoy this activity, and usually do a good job with their posters. I encourage them to go into as much detail as possible. Some students are better at this than others.
The problem we are currently working on asks how many speeds a bike has if there are 3 gears on one handle and 7 gears on the other. Below are some examples of their work from today.
As students turned in their posters, I read over then to determine the "best". The "best", as I told my students, is the poster with the most detail and that does the best job explaining their strategy and answer. I gave the winners from each of my two classes a pass to not wear shoes in class for a day. It's free, and they were so excited about it.
We're going to spend one more day on Exemplars for this grading period. Tomorrow, I'm having my students do a gallery walk to evaluate the posters, both what was done well, and what needs improvement. Instead of having them look at all the posters (after all, they all say pretty much the same thing), I'm assigning each student to 4 posters. I picked out the two with the best explanations, and all of my students will be required to evaluate one of them so that they can see what a really good poster looks like.
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