Classroom Management

I am linking up with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations for this post!
http://seusstastic.blogspot.com/2013/07/classroom-management-linky-party.html

With the upcoming year approaching I am beginning to prepare for this year. It is time to reflect on my classroom management and begin to make changes for next year.

1. Last year I had a basic clip up and down chart. We started off using jewels if a student ended on outstanding that did not work at all. The jewels kept falling off. I also gave Outstanding tickets daily to students who finished the day on Outstanding. This took a lot of time and I will not be doing this next year. 

This year I will use the same basic chart from last year. We will track and document where we finish each day on these handy calendars. They are free so please download them and let me know what you think.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2013-2014-Calendar-for-Behavior-Management-767352

Students who end on outstanding will receive a sticker to place on their clothespin. For every 5 stickers they will get a new clothespin. I plan on using Washi Tape on the clothespins to make them fun and different for each level. 

This idea came from Stephanie at 3rd Grade Thoughts. This is the blog post that explains how she is using her clip chart. 

2. Late last year I discovered Class Dojo. This free tool is amazing! I do the majority of my classroom management using this tool. I have my class set up along with my class rules. During a lesson I can award points for positive and take points away for negative behavior. I do this all without having students leaving their seats to clip up and down. At the end of the lesson I decide who will clip up or down. It is different every time, 1 positive point does not always guarantee a clip up and 1 negative point does not always guarantee a clip down. Now onto the data part! It keeps track of data for every student. At the end of the week, I print off the data sheets and staple them to Friday Letters. Parents can see what behaviors students need to work on! How awesome is that!

So that is my plan for next year!

Tammy

Summer Organization

This summer has been a busy one for me! I have been busy working hard trying to organize my classroom. My goal for the year is to start and stay organized! Ha!

Well I have decided to do a few things this summer to help with that.

1. Clean out cupboards!

I should have taken a before and after picture of all the cupboards. I am very lucky to have many whole class books. The problem was they were taking up two shelves in my cupboard and I only used them once last year. The storage wasn't efficient at all. I decided to box them up and then label the boxes. I have the title, author and reading level of each book on the side of the box. I also took one book out from each set and put in my classroom library so the students have access to them.


I decided to use my file trays to organize my paper this year. I filled those up rather quickly.

I still had lots of odds and ends that needed a home. Reallygoodstuff.com to the rescue. I am in love with this site. I purchased my book boxes and mailboxes from them last year. They had green and pink plastic organizer bins on sale for $6 for 6 bins. I bought 3 sets and decided they would be a great way to organize my cupboard.

Aren't they super cute? I love that they are stacking. Also since they are in cupboards with doors the colors did not matter.

2. Classroom Library

My classroom library drove me crazy last year. I had white bins from the dollar store. It always looked messy. After some debating, I have decided to try having the books on the shelf. I went ahead and bought the garage sale stickers, I used the rectangle ones. I labeled the books by reading level and they are color coded. This should make finding the right level very easy.

I think I will add some bookends to help keep them looking nice. These books took up 3 shelves the old way, now they fit on one. I can't wait to finish the rest of my library and be able to add new books to my library. 

3. Have Units pre planned and ready to go!

I am still working on this. I have been able to start planning my launch and first units for reading and writing workshops. I am excited to show them to the other 3rd grade teacher and make some tweaks. 

I have found an amazing website that has both Reading and Writing Workshop ideas and lesson plans. Yes, I said Lesson Plans. They have a whole year plan with some lessons having links to lesson plans. If you haven't been to the site, you really should check it out. 

http://www.wrsd.net/literacy/launch.cfm

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Bloglovin

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Common Core Math

Last year we implemented Common Core in our school. It was a year that I learned a lot. It also was my first year teaching third grade. Our professional development focused on math and math strategies. We learned about MDI's or Meaningful Distributed Instruction. You choose a focus for the year when writing these problems. For 3rd grade we chose multiplication and division. We have two short story problems for each day. These problems should be able to be solved in 30 seconds to a minute.
After the first problem, I have three students come to the board and model how they solved the problem.
Then we choose one way of solving the problem, discuss it and then try to solve the second problem using that same strategy.
I love that we are doing story problems at least 3 times a week. I also love that the whole thing takes about 5 minutes, once you have your routine down.
I have created 60 MDI's for your use. Each one comes with two story problems. You could use them as an MDI or just use them as story problems.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/3rd-Grade-MDI-or-Story-Problems-Multiplication-and-Division-683035

I also am unsure if anyone sees or reads this. I am also unsure how you would subscribe to follow it. Anyone to comment on this post, to let me know you are seeing this or to help me figure out how I know if people are following my blog can have this for free!

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Math Time Task Cards

So the end of the year is almost here. 16 more days! So much left to do, though. We have been working with time to the minute and story problems here recently. I decided to make some time task cards.
Math 3.MD.1 Time Task Cards
I am so excited for these. You should really take a second and look at them!

New to Teachers Pay Teachers!

So, I finally listed something to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I will admit, that I am still learning how to do everything. Inserting the pretty clipart is something I am new to, so my first products certainly reflect that.
I uploaded some government worksheets including a test that we just finished using in our classroom.

You can find my resource here!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Government-WKS-Packet-including-Test

We have been using MDI's this school year in math. Meaningful Distributed Instruction is MDI. These are very short, they should take about 5 minutes total. To be honest, when I first started they took about 15 mins, now we are down to 5. Students are presented a story problem and they are to solve it. Every student has to try. The focus is on how they solve the problem, what strategy they use. I walk around and choose 3 students who hopefully used 3 different strategies. They come and explain their thinking to the whole class. My job is to help them make connections to things we are learning in class. Then I choose one strategy, go over how it is used, and then present students with another problem. They then use that strategy on their second problem. I choose one student to come model. We try to figure out if the student used the strategy that was modeled and chosen. 

Well since we have been using these this year and will continue to next year, I made a file to help keep me organized. We do 3 MDI's a week. It has 60 MDI's, with a focus of multiplication and division. The packet includes a list of all the story problems. I also print two sided and cut in half. First problem is on the front and second problem is on the back. Students write on their paper and then into their mailboxes they go. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/3rd-Grade-MDI-or-Story-Problems-Multiplication-and-Division

Hope you Enjoy!

ScootPad

Have you heard of this gem? I recently learned aBout it through Pinterest.
Here is a link to the blog where I first learned about it.
http://www.lessonplandiva.com/2013/02/do-you-use-scootpadcom.html

Now here are my thoughts on this gem. First of all I set up my whole class in about 10 minutes. I did have trouble signing up using their google feature. I had to end up using a different email. After I was actually signed up and logged in, 10 minutes to put my kids in. I could even choose their usernames if I wanted. I didn't bring their username and password list home with me, so at the moment the computer generated them. However I love that I have the option to make them the same as the ones we use at school. Total plus. Also you can print out cards with their username and password.
Next I was able to assign homework based on common core standards. Honestly this was tricky for me. It took a day and I had to delete my original homework assignment before I was able to get it to work. Most likely user error. It was pretty self explanatory.
One thing I did do was make my own student account to try out to make sure everything worked.
In addition to the homework they have a self paced learning path also. This goes through the common core as well, but allows you to adjust the level of common core for those that need easier and harder practice
Now the big question, how will I use this in my room.
First of all, there will be one homework assignment per week for math and reading to complete. We have 2 computers, 2 iPads and access to laptops. We will go to our computer lab once a week to give time for this, if needed. Since not all my students have Internet at home, the homework section will be completed at school. The self paced section may be completed at home. This will give me more information on what my students can do and where they are. It also gives them added practice.
My referral link is posted below if you would like to try it out. It is free for the first 30 days, then $5 a month.
I will post more as we use it in class.
http://scootpad.com/247142