Summer School aka Dress Rehersal... The Classroom Economy in full force

Today was our second week of summer school already (and there is only 4!)

I am LOVING the fact that I am having the opportunity to not only meet some of my future students (I am teaching 4th grade summer school and 5th grade next year) but I am getting a sneak peek at what works with these guys.

I am still in primary mode and I was super nervous that I would either be too cheesy for them, or that all my smilies and saddies and the coupon store wouldn't work out for them. Lucky for me, kids (at any age) will do ANYTHING for extra recess :)

I am also getting to work out all the kinks as far as our classroom economy goes! With help from my absolute FAVORITE teacher blog Teaching in Room 6 I set up the basic Earnings and Fines (with a little tweaking.) What I wasn't sure of was how to keep track of everything -without having a student do it, because summer school is only 4 weeks long and we just don't have time to 'train' a merchant.

So I came up with The List:

At the end of the day, I input the list onto a spread sheet which, HALLELUJAH, does all the math for me reaaal quick. I then copy/paste the day's pay onto the weekly payroll spreadsheet, another one that adds everything up for me, and on Friday Payday I am ready for payroll.

I also created a mail merge with Microsoft Word to create paychecks! I will have them practicing writing numbers in word form before they can 'cash' their paychecks with our bankers.

Please stop by my TPT store and support all of my hard work :) I just uploaded the CLASSROOM ECONOMY SUPER PACK - it includes all of my spreadsheets, the blank check books for a mail merge AND 11 different colorful coupons <3

Thank you!!!!

Field Trip Madness!

THANK YOU MRS.CERVANTES!!! My master teacher during my last semester as a student teacher numbered her students, they used their numbers for EVERYTHING but mostly they always always always line up in number order. If it is one thing that has saved me countless headaches this year it was lining up in number order - not once did I ever hear "SHE'S CUTTING!!!!" 

But no day has it ever been more important to have my kids in number order than today.... field trip day. I am so paranoid that one of my students will go missing that I literally track them in my head all day, looking for them in number order - when we are ready to leave, I call them in number order..... number order.... number order. 

Their classroom jobs are assigned.... you guessed it, number order :) 

Everything in number order

And the best part is, I don't have to make new class sets every year - files are re-used, nametags are re-used, book boxes will be re-used. I don't know why no one ever brought this up in our mandatory classroom management class o_o

Routines and my daily schedule

Ok, when I first started last year I HAD NO IDEA wasn't sure where to start planning my day. I blog stalked my life away and while I found a TON of awesome lesson ideas and materials what I was really looking for was an actual schedule - like a touch of OCD detailed type schedule. I never found one, so I thought I would share, also this might be sneaky quick way to prepare for a sub if I need to :)

One more thing! I need to share that once I had a routine - and a procedure for EVERYTHING, literally even for cutting and gluing - my day went by so much more quickly and smoothly!

 

Rather than write the time down next to each activity - I move the star down, it really helps as a visual reminder and organizational tool for my kids :)

 

8:30-8:45              Calendar Time

8:45 – 8:50           Morning Work – Students work independently while I take roll. The backpack helper does not have to do morning work he or she collects all the backpacks and hangs them up. I have had a lot of issues with toys and such, putting the backpacks away really takes care of that – also, they are not allowed to go into their backpacks at all once they are hung up – they can choose to move their clip down if it is absolutely necessary to go into their backpack.

8:50 - 8:55            I help with morning work for 5 min

8:55 – 9:00           Finish up morning work independently – students glue their work into their notebooks (ONE DROP OF GLUE! – Seriously I had to teach them this explicitly, also teach to open their notebooks to the FIRST OPEN PAGE) Early Finishers can READ TO SELF or WORK ON WRITING

9:00 – 9:30           Monday: Art, Tuesday and Wednesday: Science or Social Studies (6 week units), Thursday: Reader’s Theater, Friday: Enrichment (We play the same game every week)

9:30 – 9:45           Recess

9:45 – 10:15        PE (my prep period)

10:15 – 10:30      Sight Words and Sounds (Phonics song while the class gets a water break, Snap Spell the week’s sight words, use the document camera and sound spelling cards students come up for 30 second race we say all the sound together)

10:30 – 11:00      Lunch

11:00-11:30         Students come inside in number order, they grab THEIR whiteboard and find THEIR spot on the carpet. They work on either flash cards or Mental Math problems while the rest of the class finds their boards and sits down.

Math focus lesson: ON THE CARPET

11:30 – 11:45      Math Independent Practice – students cut and glue work into their MATH journals, they wait for a stamp from me.

Students ALL go to their seats, they put their whiteboards on the CAPTAIN’S NEIGHBOR’S DESK – because the captain has to come get the independent practice work from me. The captain’s neighbor is the student who will be captain tomorrow… they put all the whiteboards away TOGETHER by their colored star.

11:45-12:00         BUILD – Math centers  (the first student to finish in each group goes and gets the BUILD basket with their group’s colored star on it – I rotate these daily)

12:00-1:15           Language Arts: ON THE CARPET

                               

Vocabulary focus lesson: ON THE CARPET

DAILY 5

                       

Comprehension focus lesson: ON THE CARPET

DAILY 5

1:15- 1:30             Recess (this is when I give them the extra recess if SMILEY points are winning)

1:30 – 2:20           Students come inside in number order, they grab THEIR whiteboard and find THEIR spot on the carpet. They work on the week’s spelling sound – which I display on with the document camera while the rest of the class finds their boards and sits down.

Word Work: ON THE CARPET

Stretch and READ whiteboards are FROZEN on the ground in front of them. I point to each sound, at this point in the year I only have to segment, they blend then tell me the word, how many sounds, and how many syllables.

Stretch and SPELL: Students pick up their white boards, I segment each word and then we check together. I usually ask what letter they had and where, “Did you say T?” “Did you say R?” Did you say UE?” I say “When I erase” they say “we erase” ….. repeat J

GRAMMAR –I play a grammar song while the kids put their whiteboards away – the song gives the rest of the class something to do: no time to misbehave! They go row by row and have to put their whiteboard with the rest of their teams – again matching their colored star. The rest of the lesson takes place…. you guessed it : ON THE CARPET

WORK ON WRITING: Either an interactive writing lesson – if I am introducing a new concept or independent writing time at their seats.

2:20 – 2:30           CLEAN UP AND CHECK OUT

                I say “1 Minute” they say “Clean up” They come to the carpet and snap spell while every one else sits. I pass out the homework, then the teacher’s helper and supply manager pass out homework folders. Getting you folder is your ticket off the carpet. We had to talk about the procedure like 3 days ago – and it’s FEBRUARY L but hey, I am not about to let craziness ensue.

1. Stack your chair

2. Go get your backpack

3. Get in line- in your spot

4. THEN put your folder into your backpack – we had a problem with friends wanting to put their folders away right in front of all the backpacks and causing a traffic jam.

The longest..... most necessary.... post ever. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT!

Classroom management is by far the most difficult thing I had to deal with when I first started teaching last year. I started late in the year, November, after a week of different subs everyday and no lesson plans AND after a week off for Thanksgiving and with 32 first graders o_o not the ideal situation for a first year teacher, but hey! No Excuses! Last year was my trial by fire year, I tried so many different things, tickets-stickers-team points-sitting out for recess- I sat on the floor of my classroom and cried after school, and finally when I had some kind of routine (and with a lot of help from Miss Villalobos - thank you forever!) everything fell into place.

I wake up every day and I am excited to see my kids, they are my pride and joy this year and they never cease to amaze me with how insightful and honest they can be.... Take J for example.... Me "J are you making smart choices?" he replies "No" and we figure it out together every time. He was moved into my class mid year after multiple office visits. Today, I am happy and proud to say that I haven't sent him to the office EVER :)

The biggest lesson I have learned - KEEP IT POSITIVE! Six and Seven year olds do not respond to being yelled at - you will only escalate the situation and end up with that student who refuses to come in from recess and holds the whole class hostage or hides underneath a desk and shuts down.

Also, not rewarding my class with a 'treasure box' or candy or any kind of treat this year has not only saved me money (thank God!) but it has helped my kiddos develop a sense of intrinsic motivation. More on that in a bit....

• I started with the rules of the class - what is great about these is that they pretty much apply to any possible situation and you don't have a list of 10 rules posted somewhere for the kids to forget about.

I googled my life away last year looking for management ideas and I came across WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING, now while it seems that some teachers or parents out there might see it as very robotic - certain aspects of whole brain work VERY well for me, you can call my kids robots ALL DAY if you want, but they are engaged and they are learning.

In any case, the rules of the class are straight out of WHOLE BRAIN. I found this awesome video, from which I borrowed the song, kids won't ever forget the rules if there is a song involved!

I did make one change- from keep your dear teacher happy to keep your dear team mates happy - I am ALL ABOUT creating a team. You can download my Rules of the Class posters HERE!

• Up next, tracking individual student behavior.....

I use a clip system of classroom management, students each have a clip with their name on it. Every day, their clips start at READY TO LEARN, clips can move UP or DOWN through out the course of the school day. I like this system because there is a chance for students to think about the choices they make. 

OUTSTANDING

GREAT JOB

GOOD DAY

READY TO LEARN

THINK ABOUT IT

TEACHER'S CHOICE

Now, one of the MOST important things I have figured out - learn to ignore - I have a few kiddos who like to 'test' their limits, seriously every day, grrr. I have gotten very good at ignoring the little things (I especially ignore crying! Obviously unless someone is seriously hurt, otherwise I don't respond to it, I let the whole class know that they are not babies and that when they are ready to speak to me like big smart kids then I will be happy to hear from them) but I digress, take R for example - if he is just NOT handling himself, I will ask his neighbors to move THEIR clips up, rather than giving him my attention. Keep it positive! Once you ask one kid to move their clip up, every body else straightens up reeeeeaaaal quick, it's almost funny to see.

Fortunately - you will always have those shining stars, those kids that just always make smart choices and wouldn't dream of having their clip anywhere below outstanding - rewarding this consistent behavior is my favorite part of the day. I award SMILEYS for every time a student is on outstanding and is asked to move their clip up again. I even do it outside, at lunch, in the hall etc etc etc. They DON'T forget, they keep very good track of how many smileys they are owed :)

• And finally.... THE CLASSROOM ECONOMY - I am no longer focusing on extrinsic rewards. Students can earn a 'dollar' for every day their clip ends on OUTSTANDING - these dollars are good at our coupon store. Coupons range from recognition rockstar and teacher's helper to no homework passes and pajama days. 

I purchased THESE coupons from the fabulous MelD, I definitely don't use them all and they have taken on a life of their own... I think I'll post all about them soon.

And that is the bulk of it, it works for me, it works for the little ones and we all have happy, productive, days every day :)

Class is where the heart is

I've been on vacation for a whole two weeks.... and I'm definitely ready to go back and hit the ground running to get my all stars ready for the CST. Today I made what was supposed to be a quick trip to my classroom to get everything set up for next week, and of course I ended up staying for at least 2 hours. On a happy note, I finally have the room organized the way I want! on a sad note, it took until December to get it going haha. It didn't help that when they gave me my keys in August the room was twice the size, then due to super high enrollment they literally built a wall and split my room in two - needless to say we are pretty pressed for space, but we are making it work and I am in LOVE with my classroom :D Here it is!:::!!!:::

Our classroom library, the book boxes for Daily 5 were the best dollar store find ever! check out the tupperware aisle. We've got the book return basket (blue) and the book hospital (green), pillows that the kiddos can take to be comfy during Daily 5 and our teddy bear, aptly named Someone - for when there is an odd number of students reading to someone.

The catch all corner - whiteboards/markers/erasers, Listen to Reading station  (love these wireless headphones!) writing paper, lit circle folders - each team has one, stoplights - my SOLO cup management system, BUILD math tubs, math manipulatives and extra reading anthologies.

Word wall - I printed each letter Capital and Lower case on a different colored  sheet of paper and laminated them.

Words with the sound of the week and sight words.

I only added this picture because I want to brag about the number line a little - it has really helped students who are struggling with comparing numbers.

The math corner - green pocket char holds examples, I'll put up random notes on the white board, the rest is student work - I have their hundred charts up right now.

I have a few kids who KEEP ME ON TIME! probably helps to have these above the door :)

PUBLISH - We are in between writing prompts - as you can see - this is the are reserved for publishing Star Writing :D the clothespins on a line make it super easy to put work up quickly. Each star has a students name on it.

laminated and stapled to the wall - not the prettiest most 'pintresty' thing in the world but it's working :)

My corner - I gave up the giant teacher desk for two student desks, shoe organizer, and my hanging files. I absolutely love how it is working out. Of course all my all stars names are right behind my desk :)

I attempted to add labels to my hanging organizer buuuuuut .....

A little bit of whole brain teaching :)

Classroom jobs rotate in number order.

A little bit more whole brain teaching. 

Part of our morning routine using our calendar and counting the days we have been in school.

Take Home Folders UPDATE!

I have been brainstorming ideas for the take home folder for a while *** a little bit of over thinking I'm sure *** but I am preeeeetty excited to say that I have come up with the best idea! I even kept my student's folders over the holiday break so that I can make the change.

First, I am going to re-name them to the CHAMP folder

Here's the best part! I am geeking out about it little, can't you tell?!

C - Correspondence
H - Homework
A - Assigned Reading
M - My Clip is Where?! (behavior tracking form)
P - Parent Communication Log

I am loving this sports themed classroom and I am in LOVE with how my acronym turned out. For now, here are links to some of the files I use in the folders, I also made labels happen, they are all set up just print on AVERY 4030 labels:

My Clip is Where? - Behavior tracking sheet with room for a parent initial
Parent Communication Log
CHAMP Folder labels

The Take Home Folder.... keeping me sane

I am so happy to finally have this homework business figured out, seriously homework and the bathroom are two things that you don't realize are super important to get under control until you are in the thick of it!

Last year I did the weekly packet deal, I DREADED Monday mornings because I usually had to scramble to get the packet together, that is until I figured out/organized my homework.

This year I am going back to daily homework (much better!) and I have made one huge change for the better.... from homework folder to..... wait for it..... Take Home Folder. This has been working so incredibly well for me this year, not only is it keeping me on track with homework but it has turned into my most powerful classroom management (and parent communication) tool!

I start with the plastic folders, need those brads in the center, and you can't beat not having to laminate 20 individual folders! Add a cute name tag with the students name and # (I assign every student a number, works for EVERYTHING and anything in the classroom and keeps me so organized!)







Next, I write on the inside pockets HOMEWORK on the left side and COMMUNICATION on the right.
In the center I add:

1. Am I doing my homework? 
• Tracking sheet, I stamp this when checking homework in each day, I made sure to have a separate place to stamp Spelling and Math
2. Sheet protector - holds Monthly Calendar on one side and Daily Fluency Passage on the other
•  (I found all of the calendars HERE!)
3. The Take Home Folder (info sheet, laminated - hoping to reuse these next year) 
• Includes everything you need to know about the Take Home Folder on one side, Rules and Expectations, Student Behavior, and Rewards and Consequences on the other side.

As you can see the COMMUNICATION pocket always has my behavior management form for parents to initial. I want to keep this post just about the folder itself, so I will save the classroom management aspect of the folder for another post :)

I also include the weekly newsletter here, any communication the school, etc

Procedures/Routines
The first thing the kiddos do is come in and sit on the carpet, they keep their backpacks with them but take their Take Home Folders out. Right after Calendar/Morning Meeting I excuse students to their seats for our morning work, this is when they turn their folders in to me **** side note, the backpack helper puts away all the backpacks while everyone else works on their morning work.

During my prep period, I check each folder for the homework (1 page double sided, spelling on one side and math on the other) stamp the homework tracker, highlight their behavior chart (from the day before) and give out 'dollars' to the kids who were on outstanding (more on this to come).

At the end of the day we come back to carpet (seriously we live on the carpet) I hand out the folders one by one, this excuses them to stand - get their backpack - stack their chairs - and line up (all while the lining up song is playing btw)
It's easy to know who didn't turn their folder in that day because they are left on the carpet last, these guys and gals get a "I forgot my Take Home Folder" slip for their parents to sign, it basically just says that they will have two homework assignments the next day. I am NOT handing out homework without a folder.

So there you have it, Oh I love the Take Home Folder so <3

Hooooooray! Now to really start planning

I had an interview last Thursday at a small charter school about 30 min from home. The interview went so well! --a special thank you to Mrs. Wheeler at mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com) whose 5 finger Retell came in handy for my demo lesson--



Well, I am happy to report that I got the job!!!! Oh HAPPY DAY! I happened to be at Sea World with my family at the time, people must have thought we (my hubby and I) were crazy jumping up and down after we got the news!

So now, I am happily in full blown planning mode - today's tid bit: The rules, the rules, the rules of the class...

I made these little posters for my class rules. I really fell in love with the whole brain teaching rules, there are just 5 of them and they cover everything in a simple and fun way - my students last year loved the song/chant and moves for each rule. Ps. I tweaked the rules a little to go with my sports theme next year - well, I just changed keep your dear teacher happy to keep your dear team mates happy and added MVP to all of my clipart - because I am going to make a HUGE deal out of being the Most Valuable Person.

Get your own copy of the rules HERE and check out the song HERE

It's way too noisy!

So, I don't technically have my own classroom right now.... but that isn't going to keep me from organizing, preparing, reading, and researching! I saw this on the Organized Classroom blog (SEE THEIR VIDEO HERE).... using Solo cups as a management tool... and when I walked into the store today, there they were! in every color I needed!

 Added bonus, my little guy is loving his new toy! lol 

Keeping a record of INTERVENTIONS

Not something you want to have to do, but let's be honest our kiddos come to us with issues that may impede their learning. One thing I have definitely learned this year, unfortunately late in the year, (that for some reason was not covered -enough- in TeacherEd) is that keeping a record of interventions is crazy important!

Having these written down will only help my students in the future, should they eventually need/receive services outside of the classroom, it will help keep me sane and will be very useful for SSTs, conferences, etc.

But Oh Jeez! All those little notes I write down, and trips to the office, detention........

So here is what I came up with, I write down ANYTHING that happens, ANYTHING I do to intervene on a small post it note, make sure to include students name! I stick the post its inside a folder that I have on my desk labeled behavior. At the end of the week, or day - depending on how busy I am, I transfer all these little notes to my Record of Interventions file, click HERE for your own copy. 

I keep this online - GOOGLE DOCS: make it your best friend! So that I can access it from anywhere (make sure to keep the setting PRIVATE of course!)

And that is..... or will be.... how I keep records from now on.