Veteran's Day Freebie

Looking for something for your students to do for Veteran's Day?  This freebie lets students show what Veteran's Day means to them by writing an acrostic poem.

Click HERE to download.

Currently November

I have seen this fun idea for a couple of months from Oh' Boy 4th Grade, and I'm finally jumping in.  Here is what I'm currently doing in November!

Linky Party for Cancer Awareness

Six letters, that’s it, which makes one of the most feared words CANCER. We have all spoke the word, more than likely known someone who has owned the word, and if you are one of the unlucky, you may have the word. 
 

Here is MY story:

I am a 33-year-old wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher, you name it. I encompass many roles. For the second time in two years I have been told I have cancer. Are you ready for the crazy part? Its cancer of the tongue, yes you read it right, tongue. I have baffled doctors. People like me don't get a diagnosis like this. I don't smoke, never have. I'm certainly not even close to 60-years-old. You hear of all kinds of cancers, they are all over the spectrum. Oh, but not my kind! When I tell people my story, I get the perplexed look, the questions, and I've never heard of such a thing. But it's true, not once but twice. The first time was not a joy, but I was told that the likeliness of a reoccurrence was slim if not impossible. Well, this one is for the doctors! You were wrong! Maybe the stubbornness runs in my blood. Maybe I'm the one who was meant to prove them wrong :)! So, yes it is rare but nonetheless I have cancer again.

Am I scared? You betcha! Where will I go from here? Not, sure. It's early but all I know is nothing will get in my way! What about my girl?  How will she deal with this? Will I miss much in her life? Nope, she'll be just fine. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to make up for this little glitch. What about my husband? He is my rock, the one who will hold my hand the entire way without a doubt! What about my faith? This may be just what I needed, a kick in the behind to rekindle that faith. Is this a bump in the road, or a flat out block? Oh, its definitely a bump, not the first, and as we all know not the last. Do you talk to me about it? You better! It is not going to define me, I'm not going to dwell, but to ignore it makes it seem like you are afraid it will upset me.

So right now it seems I have it all figured out. I think right now, it's what is keeping me going. I look like I'm strong and sound like I'm strong, but deep down the uncertainty can be overwhelming. I can't let that get to me right now. I may not always be this strong, but it's what I've got RIGHT NOW!

So here is a party for all those who have fought, survived, known a loved one with cancer, or simply want to join in celebrating the four letter word
L-I-F-E.

The only stipulation for this linky party is to link-up and if you wish, you may grab the lavender ribbon button to represent your support for cancer awareness!

Here is to you!

Team Signs - Freebie!!

Whenever possible I always have my teams set up in groups of four. In an ideal classroom that's great, but as we all know that doesn't happen all the time. I never have a team of less than three or more than five. If I had the choice of having a team of three or five, I would say I like the team of three better. Why? Sometimes I feel like the fifth person gets left out. I like the team of three for a couple of reasons. One, I feel that buliding a relationship happens better in a smaller group. Also, I would rather have a team member doing double during a structure rather than having others sitting idle. Of course, when all is said and done, what works better for the students is what we all need to consider.

Here is a new set of signs that I created.  I hang these from the ceiling to identify team numbers.

You can download them HERE from my TpT store for FREE!!

Color Editing Checklist

Just posted:  A new freebie!!!  I have created a color editing checklist to go with my color editing poster.  I hope you find it helpful!

Click HERE to download from my TpT store for free!

In case you missed it, you can download the poster HERE from my TpT store for free also!

T-Chart Factors

I have been teaching factors for a long time now, and it wasn’t until I came across a picture on Pinterest that I had an Ah-ha moment!  The T-chart!  Why have I never thought of this before?  I have always modeled finding factors by listing them horizontally.  Today, I used this with my 4th grade students and they got the hang of it pretty quick.  It was a GREAT visual!

Have you used the T-chart to help students list the factors of a number?

K-W-L Alternative

The traditional K-W-L is not only boring my students, it is boring me!  I decided to get my students moving and interacting with each other.  What used to be raise your hand to tell me what you know then tell me what questions you have, turned into a Carousel of an event. 

I wanted to know what my students knew about solids, liquids, and gases.  Using three pieces of chart paper, I posed the three questions:  What do I know about gases, what do I know about solids and what do I know about liquids?  I divided my class into 3 groups and assigned each group a specific color that they were to use when recording responses.  I then appointed each group to a poster.  Each group was to appoint a recorder in which their job was to write down the things that the group knew about the topic.  After a few minutes, students then rotated to another chart.  They were to read the responses that the team before them had written.  After reading each response, they put a checkmark beside them stating that they had read them.  Then, they recorded their own responses to the new question.  This continued until all groups had been to all charts. 

After all groups had carouseled, they returned to their seat.  For accountability, each student wrote down one “what I want to know” on a sticky note, discussed with their groups, then as a class we recorded our thinking.

The standard K-W-L was transformed into an all-in-one K-W-L for the kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learner!