St. Patty's Day Craftivity Giveaway!

So I finished my St. Patty's Day writing craftivity!  It's a leprechaun with a Bag O' Tricks! I thought this would be the perfect thing for my kiddos.  This year I have a group that is so silly!  They will eat this thing up.  I'm pumped to see what they come up with as their leprechaun tricks!

You can snag it at my TpT store OR you can enter for the giveaway!  I'm giving away the Bag O' Tricks craftivity to one lucky winner!  All you have to do is follow my blog and leave a comment below.  I will pick a winner on the evening of March 1st (this Thursday)!  :)

Stay tuned for a new Biography Unit!  It's in the works!  It should be up this week because I will need to USE IT this week!  Ha! :P

Teacher Binder and a FREEBIE!

Ok, for real I'm back.  You see, my computer kind of bit the dust.  Sooooo....we got our tax return money on Friday and went out and bought a Mac on Saturday.  :D  This is one happy girl right here.  That means so much more time for blogging!  Yahoo!!!!

Real quick...I posted a 5-W worksheet in my TpT store.  I was glancing through the Common Core Standards and noticed how it mentioned the 5 W's a couple times, so I whipped something up real quick.  It's nothing special, but it's a resource!  The best part?  It's FREE!  Man, what a good day... You can get it here!

I don't know about you, but I'm so Type A it isn't even funny.  No really, it's pretty annoying.  Everything has a place, everything has a label, everything is color-coordinated, everything is straight, everything is written down, everything is...perfect...well, you know that's not true.  It can't be.  But boy do I do everything to try to make it happen, therefore driving myself CRAZY in the process.

So I got this nifty idea to create "Mrs. Kirby's Teacher Binder" where I keep absolutely everything in one place, all spelled out.  If I ever have a sub, she/he needs to look no further than this thing.

In the front left pocket I keep my checklist of things to do each week.  Things to create, things to copy, things to update...it helps keep my brain in order.  :P  Then the first section is "General Procedures".  I have a sheet for every possible thing they may need to know about during the course of a typical day.  There is a sheet for Basic Classroom Information, Homeroom Seating Chart, Math Seating Chart, Morning Procedures, Reading Intervention Procedures, Math Procedures, Centers Procedures, Specials Procedures, End of Day Procedures, and a 2-Hour Delay Lunch Schedule.  Yep, that about covers everything!

Next is the Technology Information section.  I put together "A Sub's Guide to the Promethean Board" with basic info on how to run the thing.  That's first.  Then I also have usernames and passwords for Study Island and AR, iPad info, AIMSweb directions, and a PowerTeacher Quick Entry Tips section.  Remember, this binder is also for me!  Anything I would need to know on any given day is included in this binder.

Then we have the Lesson Plan section!  You guessed it...lesson plans.  I use a template created by Beth Newingham.  You can find it here.  You have to go down the "Miscellaneous" section and you can find it under "Lesson Plan Template."

The Calendar section is next!  At the front of the section is our district calendar.  Then I have monthly calendars.  Busy Teacher's Cafe has the cutest printable calendars to fill in and print for FREE!  Check it out!

Student Information is next.  In this section, I have a copy of AIMSweb scores for my class, writing scores for each unit for each student, a reading fluency progress chart for each unit, and weekly fluency scores.

Next is a section simply for notes from Staff/Student Meetings.

Finally we have the PLC Notes!  Whenever we meet together as a grade level, I jot down some notes and then can find them easily.  :)

There we have it!  My daily life in one spot!  Hopefully I've inspired some of you to get a little more organized and be a blessing to your sub!  Being organized makes you FEEL good!  :)  And who doesn't want that?

Blessings...

Student-Led Conferences (and we have a WINNER!!!)

First of all, I know you're all excited to see who our winner is!  Nobody can see it, but you all have "invisible numbers"...I have to copy your comments, paste them into Word, and THEN I can see the numbers!  :P  Something to do with the new "nesting" of comments...

Ok, moving on!  Drumroll.......the winner is....

Which means our winner is Ms. Chrissy B!!!!!  Congratulations!!!!

If you'd still like to snag a copy, head on over to my TpT store! :)

Now on to Student-Led Conferences...

We had them tonight and will have them again on Thursday.  Here's how I run them in my room.

We send home time request slips about a month in advance.  Being student-led, I schedule 3-4 students at the same time.  I circulate around the room as they go through their list of things to do.  They show their parents everything!  I am there to answer questions, address concerns, and just mingle with the families.  It's very laid back for me and very informative for the parents!

I post a schedule outside my door so that the parents can see a reminder of when their time slot happens to be.  They can also see if there are others scheduled before or after them...it helps them keep to the time limit a little bit better.

When they come in, everything is ready.  We practice during  the school day so that they know what to do when they come in.  Data binders, books, and conference sheets are on their desk waiting.

On our Promethean Board, I displayed a PowerPoint image to show what the agenda is for the evening.  The students can reference it to make sure they complete all the tasks that they are supposed to do with their parents.

The first thing up is a conference sheet.  I fill out things to show their current grades and what their successes and struggles are in certain areas of reading and writing.  They go through this with their parents and identify what they need to work on.

Next, the students share their data binders with their parents.  They have a class mission statement and a personal mission statement that they go over with their parents.  The students also have graphs with baseline data from the beginning of the year.  We track  extended response (writing), sight words read in 1 minute, and fluency.  They love looking at their growth (or think really hard about why they might NOT be making any growth...I love hearing them come up with solutions with their parents)!

Next, they read a portion of a book to their parents.  I use the leveled readers that come with Reading Street.  I choose one that they've already read so that they're familiar with it.  They read just a couple pages so their parents can hear them read.  Sadly, some parents never listen to their child read and I feel like it's SO important.

Then they show their Study Island graphs to their parents.  Our school participates in the Study Island program on the computers to prepare them for testing.  If the kids (any of them in the whole building) get all blue ribbons, they are rewarded with a skating party at our local skate place at the end of the year.  I graph how many blue ribbons they have and then the parents get to see how far along their child is coming with completing it.

Finally, I have them do their "Hunks and Chunks" for their parents!  Ohmygoodness y'all (sorry...Southern excitement coming out here!), the parents LOVE THIS!  It's SO entertaining!  If you're unfamiliar with The Phonics Dance, you HAVE to check it out!  I went to the workshop this past summer and it has CHANGED the way I teach phonics!  It's such a fabulous and fun way that really sticks with my students.  It will be SO worth your time and money!  Guaranteed!  The parents get a kick out of the little chants and motions that go with each hunk and chunk.

So there ya have it!  In a nutshell.  Our Student-Led Conferences.  :)  Ok, I'm tired and out...it's been a LOOOOONG DAY!!!! :)

(Now I get to come back to school in 10 hours to present my blog and TpT store at our staff meeting!  Ay, ay, ay...my stomach is in knots, but I'm PUMPED!  :P)

Markers and Paper and Book Rings, Oh My!

This is one of the most exciting parts of the year for me...supply orders for next year! I don't know what it is, but there's something so refreshing about filling out an order form of new things to add to my desk drawers or box of lesson materials. I'm sitting in bed flipping through the catalog for next year and I'm in HEAVEN!

Hopefully you teach in a district that is fortunate enough to allow you to order supplies each year. The school I student-taught at in Mississippi gave each or their teachers $300 each year for supplies!!! Man...must be nice. :P We get $100...and as you all probably know, it can add up quick! It's all about figuring out what's top priority to order and finding the best deals. I know I have my "favorites" that I look forward to getting each year. My very favorite item is MARKERS! Last year I ordered some Mr. Sketch scented markers (they take me back to my childhood!). This year I need to order more flip chart markers. I think it's the variety of bright colors that just makes me happy. :)

Do tell...are you able to order supplies through your district every year? How much do you get to spend? What are your favorite items to order? Is there anything new and exciting that you're planning on getting for next year? I can't wait to hear about your orders! :)

P.S. Don't forget to scroll down to enter my Mardi Gras Madness giveaway! The drawing happens tomorrow night after I get home from parent-teacher conferences! :)

I'm really bad at this...

Ok people, PLEASE don't think I'm crazy...I'm in the midst of trying to upload a new background and header and I have to go to a basketball game.  I will get back to this later, I promise!  But until then...I apologize for everything being so disoriented.  :P

Mardi Gras Lesson and Giveaway!

I just finished my Mardi Gras unit and I have to admit...I'm pretty excited about it!!!!!  It's 24 glorious pages of games, group projects, and writing activities!  And the cool part...the kids get to create their OWN nonfiction book all about Mardi Gras!  I'm definitely pumped.  You can snag it at my TPT store, or.....

I'm doing my first giveaway!  Here's how to enter:  Simply recommend my blog or TPT store to someone else, become a follower, and leave a comment below!  Be sure to leave your e-mail address in case you're the winner!  I will randomly pick a winner on TUESDAY NIGHT!  Woohoo!

And I'm trying to figure out how to number comments...if someone can help a sista out, I'd appreciate it. ;)

Changin' It Up

I'm sure I'm not the only one...please tell me I'm not. :P

There gets to be a point in the year where I reassess and need some change in my classroom seating arrangement. It always happens around tis time of year. I don't know if it's because we are at the halfway point or if it's because it's winter and we're stuffed inside all day, every day. So I just totally moved all my desks. The group thing was just old. And if you wanna know the truth, after a couple hours, I moved them AGAIN! :P. Still not completely sold, but I do love all the space I just gained (now what to do with that new-found space is a different story...

So this is my arrangement...for now. ;)

Ok, so now I don't know how to load pics from my iPad...ahhh...

Stay tuned! A Mardi Gras Madness unit will be available on my TPT store later this week! Woohoo! :)