Scholastic Dollar Deals

In case you haven't heard, Scholastic Dollar Deals is going on this week. I generally find at least three or four ebooks that I can use... and for $1 a piece, you can't beat it! This is a book of reproducible stories that work with Greek and Latin roots... fun practice for standardized tests. I'm thinking morning work or centers.

There are tons more (850 or so!) so be sure to go on over and check it out!

SUPER SIMPLE organizational tip

Have you ever had someone share a very simple tip with you that turned your teaching on end? I have. I was student teaching in Warsaw, Indiana when a teacher took 20 seconds to explain a priceless tip to me! I don't know, maybe you all know this already, and I was just ignorant, but in case you don't know... I can't in good conscience NOT share it with you.

Take a yellow highlighter (yes, any old yellow highlighter will do)

On each of your "Originals"--the papers in your file that you use to make copies-- make a notation. I write "O" for "Original", but you could write anything, really! 

It's a bit hard to see, but can you tell that I have a faint yellow "O" at the bottom of this paper? 

When I make copies, the yellow doesn't show up, so it becomes a clear copy for my little friends. 

This way, I'm never confused about which is the original. It helps to prevent me from having three "originals" that make their way into my file.

Do you have any SUPER SIMPLE tips that have changed your teaching life? 

Favorite Read Alouds

Swimming into Second is having a Favorite Read Alouds Linky Party

There are so many good read-alouds that I almost don't know which one to pick! I think my favorite thus far is reading Stone Fox aloud to my 5th graders last year.

 It has some beautiful imagery in it, and it definitely keeps the kids "hooked" without being a mystery. To me, this is always a sign of really good writing. The kids were BEGGING me to read it aloud each day. It's a short read, but there are so many mini-lessons for Reader's Workshop that work well with this book! AND, it's a perfect book/movie to use for comparing and contrasting the book with the movie once you've finished reading it!

Mixing Art and Technology

I'm really still struggling with K-2 computer class... there's no curriculum and it's so hard to figure out what to teach them during our 45 minute class. I've googled the heck out of it, too, and there aren't really specific objectives for computer class, other than the vague national technology objectives... sigh.

The other day I decided we needed to focus on the "Fill Bucket" tool in Kid Pix. These kiddos are really struggling with fine motor skills, so I thought drawing lines and filling boxes with color would exercise their fine motor skills. (**Seriously, have you ever seen a kinder kid use a mouse? They can't figure out how to pick it up and move it when they run out of space on the desk!**)

Have you ever seen artwork by Piet Mondrian?

It's classic and easy for kids to reproduce. So, I had the kids log into Kid Pix and use the drawing tool to create some lines on their screen. Using our projector, I displayed some of Mondrian's art pieces for them to see, and then they used the fill bucket tool to create their own masterpiece. 

Some kids did better than others creating straight lines. It's hard for them!

 Some kids made lots and lots of lines...

 Others had fewer lines, therefore bigger squares.

Overall, this was an extremely successful project. I felt like it was valuable to be able to integrate art and technology. Art doesn't always have to include paint or glue and scissors. I think it's important to teach kids about famous artists and types of art. I definitely didn't learn enough about it as a kid, and I wish I knew more! 

Most importantly, the kids were super successful and they had a great time!