Creative Classroom: Seatwork Folders

In my third grade class, there are several boys who struggle with organization, unintentionally losing and crumpling many of their unfinished worksheets and other important papers in their chronically messy desks. I saw a solution on Pinterest—a great idea shared by a 2nd grade teacher on her blog 2ndgradesandcastle.blogspot.com. I relayed the idea to the teacher I assist, Mrs. D, and she was eager to give it a try. 

In the featured picture (from the blog), the teacher taped the file folders on the front of the students' desks. However, since we have aisle space between our desks, we taped the folders to the side of the desks.  We also let the children decorate their own folders before we taped them up.

Right now we're only two weeks into our new system, and I'm curious to see how durable the folders will be. I used scotch tape to create the pockets, but I think I should have used packaging tape instead. Today I stapled them, for reinforcement.

I love our new system! Not only is it much easier now for the kids to organize their unfinished papers, but also it's much more convenient for Mrs. D and me to keep track of the students' progress. With a mere glance around the room, we can easily tell who is finished, who has a little bit of work yet, and who is lagging with lots of work piled.    

Cheers!

Creative Classroom: Q is for Duck

At my last visit to the public library, this book caught my eye. Q Is for Duck: An Alphabet Guessing Game by Mary Elting, Michael Folsom, and Jack Kent is an amusing read. Many of my third graders love telling riddles, so I thought they would enjoy this book. Today at lunch I read it to them. Sure enough, they had a lot of fun with it.

The riddles in the book are very easy for third-graders, which I think makes this book a good inspiration for the children to create their own alphabet riddles, using their vocabulary and/or spelling words. What a fun and creative way to practice vocab!

Creative Classroom: Super Soldiers

As a newbie teacher's aide, I have been learning many things this school year. One of my big growing experiences has been getting my 28 third graders (18 of whom are boys) to keep a good line whenever we walk through the hallway. We've gotten a lot better since September, but there's still room for improvement. If you're an elementary teacher, what are your secrets for keeping your class "in line"?

Earlier this week, at the end of one of our restroom breaks, as the children were finding their places in line, I praised one of the boys who was the first one ready: "I like how Eric is standing in line like a soldier."

"Eric reminds me of a trip I took to London, England, when I was about your age. I got to see soldiers on duty, guarding Buckingham Palace. Do you know what? Those soldiers stand straight with their hands at their sides, and nothing distracts them from what they're supposed to be doing. They don't talk; they don't even smile or laugh. Now, I bet we can be like those soldiers. Except that we can smile. Let's be smiling, silent soldiers!"

The kids loved my little story, and they got excited about being soldiers in line.

Then I had another idea: "Oh! Smiling, silent soldiers! These words all start with the same sound, "s." Remember, in Reading we just worked on words that have the same beginning sounds. I wonder how many "s" words we can think of to describe the way our line should be."

The kids got into it! As a class we came up with this motto: Super, Silent, Serious, Straight-stepping, Smiling, Student Soldiers. =)

Creative Classroom: Alternative Assessment Alphabet Books

Alternative assessment is one of the buzzwords in education today. Because students have different learning styles, abilities, and disabilities, typical paper tests are not always the best means of assessing students' knowledge. Alternative assessments provide more creative, authentic, and meaningful opportunities for students to demonstrate their mastery of subject content. I love the idea of Alphabet Books that third grade teacher Ms. Battista recommended on her blog. She points out that an Alphabet Book project could be adapted for any grade or subject. Students could work independently, in small groups, or as a class by assigning each student a letter. There are lots of possibilities!
 
Sleeping Bear Press has a wonderful series of Alphabet Books on a variety of social studies and science topics, for inspiration.

"Waltz and Multiply by Three" Song

My third graders are learning multiplication facts, and I just found this cute multiplication song from songsforteaching.com, called "Waltz and Multiply by Three." I've copied the lyrics below; to hear a sample, click on this link. The tune is a waltz, and the lyrics cover the 3s facts of the times table. I love this song--it's easy and catchy. What's more, a waltz often has 3 beats to a measure. I think it would be fun to insert a little music theory and social studies along with those math facts. =)

Waltz with me; multiply by 3;
Multiply by 3; waltz with me.

3 x 1
3
3x 2
6
3 x 3
9
This is waltz time

3 x 4
12
3 x 5...
.....

Tap your toe.
Do some more!
3 x 9...
....

Come and dip with me!
3 x 11...
.....

This is not the end.
Please bow and do it again.

(Song repeats)

Our waltz has reached the end.
Now bow to your friend!

Rounding Numbers Song

I've been inspired lately, as I've been finding great teacher's websites through links shared on Pinterest. Wow, there are so many wonderful teachers, who are creative and dedicated in their teaching! I'm glad we have the technology to share and spread our ideas.

I just came across this Rounding Numbers math song, posted on 3rd grade teacher Jessica Winston's website. I love this! I would even add gestures. The kids would have fun crouching down (while holding up four or fewer fingers) and jumping up (while holding up five or more fingers), along with the lyrics.

Rounding Numbers Song (tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
Verse
If you’re rounding to the [tens] place, look at the [ones].
If you’re rounding to the [tens] place, look at the [ones].
If you’re rounding to the [tens] place, then always look at the
[ones] place.
If you’re rounding to the [tens] place, look at the [ones].

Chorus
If that digit’s four or lower, you round down.
If that digit’s four or lower, you round down.
If that digit’s four or lower, then the number will be smaller.
If that digit’s four or lower, you round down.
If that digit’s five or higher, you round up.
If that digit’s five or higher, you round up.
If that digit’s five or higher, then the number will be bigger.
If that digit’s five or higher, you round up.

I love this craft idea, featured on Marthastewart.com. Making pasta skeletons would be a great manipulative activity in a science or health class.

Reading Corner: Silver Seeds

Silver Seeds by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer.

Silver seeds
Tossed in the air
And planted in the sky,
Reaching out of the darkness,
Sprouting wonder.

"Is the night sky really filled with stars, or are they silver seeds?" (from the inside jacket) This book of nature poems could be an excellent example to use when teaching about acrostic poetry. Each spread is a beautifully illustrated acrostic about everyday things in nature.

Reading Corner: Paddle-To-The-Sea

 Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling is one of the classics I grew up on.

A young Indian boy dreams of traveling to the ocean. but doesn’t have that opportunity. So he carves little wooden figure which he names “Paddle-to-the-Sea” to travel for him. The story, in pictures and text, follows Paddle’s journey through the Great Lakes all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

This book enriches studies in geography, natural history, and social studies. This book could also be used in the classroom to highlight the character qualities of creativity or patience.

Reading Corner: Sheep in a Jeep

"Beep! Beep!
Sheep in a jeep
on a hill that's steep. . . ."

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw is a rollicking rhyming book featuring the adventures of bumbling woolly friends. The short, simple rhymes, accompanied by lively colored-pencil illustrations make this book a fun enrichment for phonics and/or spelling lessons. This week in spelling my third graders are studying the -ee word family, so I read this story aloud to them today during lunchtime. They loved it!

This book could inspire students to write their own short stories or poems using their weekly-assigned, word-family spelling lists.

Reading Corner: My Shadow

My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson illustrated by Ted Rand is one of my favorite picture books from my elementary school days. With its playful rhymes and vivid word pictures, Stevenson’s poetry is enchanting to young listeners and readers. Accompanied by Ted Rand’s vibrant water-color illustrations depicting children in various settings all over the world, this picture book is a delightful experience. This book could be used in science as an introduction to a lesson on light and shadow. It could also be used in a social studies unit celebrating differences and similarities between children from different cultures.

Reading Corner: Our Enduring Spirit

Our Enduring Spirit: President Barack Obama's First Words to America, illustrated by Greg Ruth. This book is simply stunning. The text, adapted from President Obama's January 20, 2009 Inaugural Address, is brought to life by stirring illustrations.


I could see this book being used in a variety of content areas. It could be used as an example in a speech class of how to craft a speech for a specific occasion and audience, as well as how to choose vivid word pictures. Of course this could be an excellent book as part of a history study in American Presidents. The illustrator's note at the back of the book also makes an outstanding resource for an art class; as demonstrated in his illustrations and explained in his comments, artist Greg Ruth shows how art simultaneously records history, promotes ideas, and expresses feelings. I could even see this book being used in an undergraduate marketing class. As illustrator Greg Ruth explains in his illustrator's note, this book was created out of his and his publisher's mutual enthusiasm for Obama's presidential election. Their political agenda packaged in a beautiful picture book is a prime sample of marketing—winsome, disarming, persuasive, memorable.

Creative Classroom: Recycled Poker Chips

Place value disks,
available from Schoolsuppliesatoz.com

 

My case of Math Chips,
with place value card

I recently came across these foam, color-coded-by-place-value disks. How great these would be to use with my third graders, who are learning about place value, renaming, and regrouping.

This afternoon I happened to drop by the thrift store. What should I find on the board game shelf but two cases of plastic Poker chips for 69 cents each! For a fraction of the cost of commercially-produced manipulatives, I was able to easily make my own. It only took a few minutes to write the numbers on the chips, with a Sharpie marker. I also made an accompanying place value card, for stacking the chips. So far my collection of Poker *ahem, Math* chips only has three place values, but for now that is sufficient for the 3-digit regrouping problems that my third graders are currently learning. I'm excited to see how this new manipulative will help my students to better grasp the math concepts.

Fast Food Math

Check out these engaging fast-food themed math manipulatives! Give your students a good taste for math concepts such as fractions, place value, and decimals, with the Fraction Burger, Base Ten Fries, and Decimal Dog. Available from Delta Education.

Reading Corner: Count Your Way Across the USA

Sleeping Bear Press  has a wonderful series of picture books called Count Your Way Across the USA.  These delightful books take a number tour of the United States, integrating nonfiction reading with math and social studies. Counting the landmarks, the traditions, the history, and the people that make each state unique and special, these books would be excellent to use in thematic unit studies. Click here on Amazon to view the entire series.

Blurt!

Blurt! is another game that would be easy to adapt for use in the classroom as a review activity. Referring to facts highlighted in their textbook, students could make their own Blurt! cards to use in whole-class or small-group review.

Update (December 27, 2011): I just read this post by Nancy, a winsome and creative 5th grade teacher, describing how she uses Blurt! with her students to practice their vocabulary. 

Picture This!

This past weekend I stopped by the thrift store and found some kids' board games, in very good condition, for only 99 cents each. =) They'll be nice to have in the classroom for indoor recess days.

One of the games I purchased was Pictionary Junior. Perusing the box to see what pieces were present or missing, I had an idea. It would be very easy to adapt Pictionary into a review game. All you would need to do is make custom Pictionary cards listing vocabulary from the lesson. While this is something the teacher could do, this could also be a good enrichment assignment for gifted students.  The students would be instructed to skim the text and select key words, to make the Pictionary cards.  I could see this visual-kinesthetic activity being especially valuable for reviewing science terminology, such as "nucleus," "solar system," "invertebrate," etc. 

Using Pictionary in the classroom reminds me of another "Picture This!" activity. Back when I was in twelfth grade, one day my English teacher, Mrs. M--, assigned each of us seniors one word from our vocabulary list to illustrate and show in class the following day. That next day Mrs. M-- numbered and posted our pictures around the room. When we entered the classroom, we were each given a blank numbered list. Viewing the illustrations, we wrote out the corresponding vocabulary word on our lists. It was such an interactive and memorable way to study our vocabulary! Ten years later, I still remember putting a lot of thought into visually describing my assigned word, as well as appreciating my classmates' interpretations of the other words. In my mind's eye, I can still see taped on the chalkboard the pencil-drawing of a harp sitting on a grassy hilltop with music notes floating in the air, to illustrate zephyr.

Most children seem to enjoy drawing. Why not capitalize their artistic interests to help them increase their motivation, comprehension, and memory of content-area vocabulary?

Reading Corner: Punctuation Takes a Vacation

Who says grammar is tedious or boring? There are a number of lively picture books that cleverly illustrate rules of proper grammar. No need for punctuation to take a vacation when these fun books are around! Featured here are some of my favorites:

Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed (2003).
"Oh no! Mr. Wright's class can't believe it. Every single punctuation mark in the classroom has gone on vacation! What will it be like without question marks, apostrophes, periods, and commas?" (from inside front jacket)

This story creatively demonstrates each of the punctuation marks in action. One of my favorite parts about the book is the post cards that each of the punctuation marks send, highlighting their individual personalities (i.e., their functions in grammar). A possible extension project/creative writing assignment to go along with this book could be to assign students particular punctuation marks and have them write post-cards to each other in the personalities of their given punctuation marks.   

 

Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed (2006).
"It's Field Day in Mr. Wright's class and not just for the students. Nouns and verbs want to play their own games, such as tug-of-words and three-legged races. But wait! No one is getting anywhere. First nouns and verbs will have to learn about the kind of teamwork needed to make a sentence" (from the inside front jacket).



Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! by Lynne Truss (2006). Lynne Truss has also written several companion picture books to Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes! (2007) and Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts! (2008).

Extension project idea: Students could make their own picture book like one of these by Lynne Truss. Each student in the class could select one punctuation rule to design an original sentence and illustration. Then the teacher could compile all the students’ contributions into one class  notebook. This project could easily be tailored for upper elementary through high school English classes.

If You Were an Adverb (Word Fun) by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Sara Gray (2006).  "If you were an adverb, you would often end in "ly." You could tell people how things happen, how often things happen, and when things happen. What else could you do if you were an adverb?" (from the back cover) This colorful book could be excellent to use in a lesson introducing adverbs.

This book is one of the Word Fun series, which highlight the various parts of speech.
 

Under, Over, By the Clover: What Is a Preposition (Words are Categorical) by Brian Cleary, illustrated by Brain Gable (2003). Brian Cleary has written a whole series of fun books about the parts of speech.  The cartoon-y illustrations and tongue-tickling rhymes keeps learning about grammar light-hearted.

Extension project/creative writing assignment idea: Students could compose their own tongue-tickler rhyme about one of the parts of speech they have learned.