Classroom Improvements

I'm linking up with Lucky Little Learners & Schroeder Schenanigans in 2nd for the #2getherWeAreBetter!  

This month they're focusing on Classroom Improvements.  I don't officially start in my classroom until 20 July and I'm taking over a classroom where the teacher encouraged me to make any changes if needed.  So I'm going to list the 3 things I want to implement in my upcoming class.

#1 - CAFE & Daily 5

I never got around to fully implementing this in the classroom before moving to Australia, but I did do parts of it and found it beneficial.  I taught 8-9 year olds and I'll continue to work with that age group, so I'm liking the chance to implement these as a Reading Rotation.  It allows me to work with students in small groups and one-on-one.  I have seen the Daily 5 book as a book study on some education blogs, so I bought the book to really read up on it.  I know it'll take the students a few weeks to really get into the groove of this, but I know it'll benefit my classroom.  (I got my Daily 5 signs from Ladybug's Teacher Files!)

#2 - Math Games & Groups

Like Reading Rotations I'll also work on using Maths Groups & Rotations.  One thing that REALLY helped my class from TPT was all the maths games!  My students loved SCOOT & I Have... Who Has? games.  I just purchased "I Can..." Maths games from One Stop Teacher Shop and I know these will be great in my class.  The best way to make sure your students really retain & understand most math skills is through regular practice through a variety of outlets.  I usually start each lesson with a math word problem that students solve as a class, explore the lesson, and allow a rotation of practice skills.  I'm hoping to add more hands-on exploration with these Maths Games and improve maths lessons. (You can get the "I Can..." games at One Stop Teacher Shop on TPT!)

#3 - Daily Affirmations

Follow Stephanie's board ED: Class Affirmations on Pinterest.

One thing I enjoyed that the teacher did with the class I'm taking over is having students do daily affirmation responses in their morning journals.  Students would write a daily goal and reflect on the previous day, upcoming day, and so on.  I plan to keep this rhythm, but I'll be giving students a daily quote/affirmation that they would respond to and explain what it means to them, then write a goal based on that quote.  I'm hoping this will get students in the right mindset for the day and their lives! (Check out my collection of Class Affirmations Board on Pinterest!)

Currently: July 2015

Linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade!

Listening

I've got a 40 minute commute to work and I'm constantly TRYING to change up my music from Taylor Swift.  This week I've been listening to my College Music Throwback playlist which consists of music from 2002-2010ish.  Think: Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, The Good Life/Cursive, and so much more. 

Loving

My NEW Erin Condren planner packet!  It was just under $10 for shipping to Australia, so PLUS PLUS PLUS! It is SO amazing and I can't wait to really get into using it regularly.  I had been using my Google calendar for months, then POOF it all randomly deleted.  Not to mention individual appointments deleting here and there.  Sometimes it is just best to stick to a hard copy. 

Thinking

I start my full time position after the school holidays and I'm thinking about all the things I want to prepare and organize in my classroom.  

Wanting

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS is nearly here!  I'm ready for this 2 week break!  I'm looking forward to some down time for me, myself and I!

Needing

Got to gather materials for the new class.  I'm off in a semi-regional area and I'm off to the city for the first part of the break.  I will definitely be picking up some materials for the classroom.  I'm thinking this girl will need to buy her own personal laminator.  Aussie teachers, got any recommendations?

All Star

One thing that REALLY worked well and stuck with me in my previous 6 years in the classroom is staying organized!  I make sure the students AND MYSELF put things (and papers) away in their designated area!  Once I kept doing this and putting things away everyday I realized how much of a difference it made in my day.  I never felt scrambled and knew where everything was when someone would pop in and ask for some paperwork.

Weekend Warriors: 3-2-1 Teacher Bio

I'm joining Primarily Speaking for the Weekend Warriors Linky Party!

I love getting a chance to read more about the teacher bloggers and their lives, it's a great community of educators who truly enjoy sharing their ideas!  After this post, I'm off to read more about the individuals in this community! 

#1 - I've been teaching for a while, but at times I still feel like a newbie.  One thing I truly love about teaching is that I'm still learning new things myself each year.  I found out what works for me and my class and what doesn't.  My teaching style has definitely changed since my first year of teaching, but I have always stayed true to myself.

#2 - One lesson I had done a few years ago for my formal observation was on congruent shapes.  Instead of introducing the concept, I showed digital cards that followed the "definition" (or RULE as I called it) and some that didn't.  I had students tell me what they could see, then I showed them another set of both following and not following.  The students told me their new observations, then they were given cards that they had to decipher if it followed the rule or not.  Then I asked the students "What does congruent shapes mean?" and they all were able to give the definition in their own words.  This was something the NEVER forgot throughout the year.  I truly believe that since they discovered and investigated it on their own that they could easily retain the information.

#3 - This is another big reason why I love the teacher blogging community, you get a chance to get exposed to new ideas!  I had never heard of SCOOT and I tried it once in math with my kids and they absolutely LOVED it!  I changed up my reading groups and applied Daily 5 and my students (and myself) enjoyed our reading block more and got more out of it!

#1 - I was a child of a Military family, but luckily didn't have to move THAT much compared to others.  I grew up in Hawaii from Kindergarten to 6th Grade, then moved to Florida.  I think that getting the chance to live in Hawaii, which was at the time VERY different to lifestyle in the rest of the "mainland" as we called it, gave me to bug to live overseas one day!  I had looked into teaching overseas at one point, but I actually ended up getting a teaching job nearby.  (I wasn't ready to move away from my family at that point.)  But after 5 years of teaching, I made the decision to move to Australia.  It was scary and I didn't realize how big of a move it was!  After being here for over a year I'm still loving it and finding myself really being "at home."  Let's hope my permanent visa goes through and I can stay here!

#2 - Thanks to my dad I'm a HUE technology nerd.  I had 2 iPads, an iPod Touch, current iPhone & an old iPhone, my MacBook and so on.  Really, should I say I'm an Apple/Mac nerd?  (Did I mention I also have an AppleTV?)  Either way I use EACH item in my classroom at some point!  I'm asking all my friends that if they're getting rid of their old iPhones to donate them to my class to use as an iPod Touch! We live in an age where technology is taking over, and I love incorporating it in the classroom!  (But only to a certain extent!  No terminator problems arising in my classroom please!)

I was all about moving and teaching overseas for years and I finally achieved it! (I'm still shocked I went through with this!)  My next goal is to take this blog to the next level!  I want to make sure I post regularly (and schedule posts ahead of time) and possibly get the chance to attend a meet up of some sort!  (Teacher Bloggers of Australia, think we could arrange this at some point?)  I'd love to collaborate more and participate in more of these linky parties! It exposes me to new blogs and bloggers!

Five for Friday!

Five for Friday is a weekly teacher linky party where you post five random things from today or this past week and on your blog. Check out the linky party at Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Getting Ready for Full-Time Teaching!

So excited to get back into the classroom regularly and have my own class again!  I have got so many new ideas I'd like to implement into my class.  My favourite at the moment is having the class update our classroom Twitter account with things we have learned throughout the day.  I got to meet with my class this week for a day of observation and meet with the team of teachers I'll be working with.  So anxious to get started in 3 weeks!

Teacher Bucket List

Got this from MyDayinK and wanted to quickly share my own Teacher Bucket List.  I've been teaching for 6 years now and I'm getting to the point in my career that I'd like to take on some kind of leadership role, mainly among the lines of helping other teachers through a workshop or something.  I'd like to go back to school and get a Master's in Reading Education (specifically) because I know there's so much more that I can learn.  And finally, I'd like to implement more class projects since I know these are the things students love most and can get the most out of it.

Engineering Process

I had a relief day where they asked me to come up with a lesson to do with a variety of ages.  I only had 50 minutes with each class and I was allowed photocopying time, but I opted out from worksheets and more of a hands-on lesson.  The students used tape and straws to build a structure to stand during our make shift earthquake.  I was worried about the Year 1s, but they did awesome!  Look at this one!  Great structure and done all by themselves!  That was a good day!

The Day the Crayons Quit!

I did a small reading group activity using this book about describing characters.  We described the boy in the story, which was interesting because all we knew about the boy was from letters from each crayon.  It was amazing how much we could tell about the boy without ever meeting him!  Loved this book, I'm definitely going to look out for more from this author!

School Holidays!

In just a little under a week I'll be on school holidays!  I'm ready to spend some time reading up on Daily 5 & Teaching with Intention, once my books get in.  I can't wait to get into my classroom and organize some things and look over information I need to know.  Nice to get 2 weeks off to restart!

Technology Tips: Flubaroo & Google Forms

I love spending some downtime on Pinterest, you often find some amazing ideas.  I recently came across using Google Forms  & the add on "Flubaroo" to grade work.  

Now I don't often give worksheets/quizzes to give to students, but I will give one every once in a while to assess and/or document progress.  (Unfortunately, our system focuses a lot on data.)

Why waste time on grading multiple choice work when you can a script to do that for you?  

I came across this idea through this Tech with Jen post & she has a great tutorial for how to set up Flubaroo!  Check out her post and video, I found it very helpful.

Here's a video featured on their website:

Add your technology tip!

An InLinkz Link-up