Back to Shhhh.... Not Quite Yet!

 Well, friends, here we are! It's mid-July, and you know what that means... Back to School is just around the corner! In every friendly neighborhood store, school supplies abound! If you're like me, you have a mixed reaction. A new year, new students, a fresh start... it's exciting! But, it's only July! I want to relax and enjoy my summer.... who am I kidding? I'd be a lost soul if not for constantly dreaming/scheming/planning for the school year.

So, I plan. And plan. And plan. I'm starting at a new school this year (hooray for being gainfully employed!!) in Indiana... 4th grade here I come! It always makes me nervous to start at a new school, though, because I haven't yet learned where to make copies, who to befriend (other than the janitors and secretaries, that is), and where to find things. I'll get there.

I started with a rough sketch of my classroom...

where the desks will go, the library, my desk, the whiteboard, the computers, etc. Thankfully, I was able to get into my classroom a few weeks ago and snap a few pictures. I've got a great room to start with, but it's so very bare!!

So now I'm working on dreaming up bulletin boards to work in my space... I'm big on functional bulletin boards--not strictly decorative. For example, back when I taught 3rd grade, I had this board to record how the kids were progressing on memorizing their division facts.

They earned a "gumball" sticker for every set of facts they memorized and were quizzed on (out of order, of course!).

Or this one, that I used for reading (the kids filled out slips and earned a "kernel" of popcorn to put in their bag (paper kernels) for every 100 pages they read. Top two readers got to have McDonald's lunch with me!

But, I have to invent some more or steal some ideas from other teachers. :) The 4th grade team at my school is doing a reading "Passport" (pictures to come in the next several weeks), so no need to take up a BB with my popcorn board, and by now the kids SHOULD know their math facts...

Hmmm... Ideas, anyone? I'm always looking for new and exciting bulletin boards!

It's the Little Things...

So, I had grandiose plans about blogging like crazy while subbing this year... and you know, I just lacked inspiration most of the time! I really discovered that, while I love teaching... I hate subbing! After a couple of months I began to be requested by teachers at my favorite schools, so at least I got to know the kids a bit and the teachers, too. But I'm telling you what, it's nothing like teaching. I miss teaching.

And I'm glad. It means that I made the right choice to become a teacher, and I know I'm going to appreciate my own class next time so much more than I even did before! I won't take it for granted!

I may have a couple of leads on a job for the coming school year... but for now it's a waiting game. In the meantime I have two weeks of subbing left before I head to Virginia to help my cousin out with her kiddos for the summer.

I never seemed to collect enough information on one idea to create any quality posts, so I'm just going to make this a "random" post containing some of the fabulous ideas I've "collected" (a.k.a. stolen) over the last four months of subbing.

Idea #1: Kindergarten Table Trash Cans. Brilliant. The kids toss their paper scraps into their own table trash and then are responsible to dump them into the bigger trash can once or twice during the school day. As much cutting and pasting as kinder kids do everyday, this saved so much time and mess!

Brilliant Idea #2: iPhone Bulletin Board 
Now, maybe I'm an oddball, but I have been SHOCKED at how many teachers have non-functional bulletin boards in their classrooms. I mean, c'mon! The wall space is limited and precious, and you fill a whole wall with letters spelling "Happy Birthday" and balloons with the kids' birthdays on them? Can't you limit that to a poster in a corner of the room? I don't know, but I am really not a fan of the fru-fru kind of teacher decorating. I like functional.

Which is why I like this bulletin board so much!

 Each "icon" was inside a plastic sleeve affixed to the wall. It fastens on one side using Velcro so that it can be opened. Inside is a pocket with "tickets" that the kids attach to their finished work.

Each "icon" came with a file. These were on a bookshelf just to the right of the bulletin board. 

The kids pull one of the "Settings" activities, for example, out of the green folder. They complete the work (see example), and then return it, with the "ticket" attached, to the pink FINISHED folder. If the work is done well, the teacher returns the ticket to the student. The tickets were used as a sort of currency in this classroom. They could purchase rewards or have tickets taken away for irresponsibility or bad behavior. Because I already have a mini economy, I would either turn these into opportunities to earn money, or put the tickets into an end of the week drawing for a privilege the following week. 

 Cute idea #3: Presidential Reports

I just really liked these! I thought it was a clever way to display the kids' reports on the presidents.

Other Smart Ideas for the Classroom Walls:

 

 I hope this is the philosophy of every teacher. I like the way it's worded here, so I took a picture to copy it. :)

I really like these quotes, and then the breakdown of the teacher/student responsibilities. This was in the middle school, but the principles are great across the board.

As we celebrate kids' different learning styles, we can give them choices about their learning. The only choice they don't have, however, is to do
nothing!

I spotted these in a 2nd grade classroom this week and it made me smile. This is how I learned to add/subtract in 1st grade...using the dot system on the numbers! The funny thing is...I STILL tap the invisible dots when I add. It reminded me that sometimes we don't even have a clue what "sticks" with our students. But 21 years after the fact, I'm still adding this way, thanks to Mrs. Carver! :)

Electoral College... huh??!?

It may just be me (but I really doubt it), but I really have learned SO MUCH since I started teaching! There's just so much knowledge out there about all kinds of things! Politics have always scared me, especially within a school setting; you have to be so careful about what you say, and how you say it. So, I want to start off this post with a disclaimer:

I NEVER tell kids which political party I associate myself with, nor which candidate I choose to vote for. It's personal. I push patriotism and our responsibility as citizens to vote, but I also push a right to make your own decision. 

(Steps off soap box)

That being said, the world of elections is a very confusing place until you "get it." I have to admit, I didn't "get it" until probably 3 years ago when I was first introduced to some books that explain the electoral college clearly. My favorite of these is Grace for President.

Seriously... invest in this one. So today I started out 7th/8th grade history class by reading this book aloud.

Next, We looked at the map of how electoral votes are divided, and we looked at a map showing how the votes have been reapportioned since the 2010 census.

Then came the fun part. I gave each student a slip with a state on it.

 Actually, I gave them 2, since I have 22 students and there are 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. I let some of the other middle school teachers vote, too.

I gave them a few minutes to find their states on the map and shout or moan about how many/few electoral votes they have. Then I break out the soda.

Yes. Coke vs. Pepsi. Always a winner. I ask them to cast their votes.

And while they enjoy sipping on their choice of beverage, we pull up the interactive electoral map and begin to tally the votes. The site has a setting where you can choose for the map to be entirely neutral (it looks tan and only shows the states' abbreviations and # of electoral votes). Then, by clicking on the state you can choose whether you want it to be red or blue. In a typical election, red would signify Republican and Blue, Democrat, but in our election, we made red COKE and blue PEPSI. And here was our result:

[EDIT: I've had several people ask how to manipulate the map above. The website is www.270towin.com. Under the map is a drop-down box marked "Select a Starting View." Simply select "Blank Map." The whole map should turn tan. From here, you can click on each state. The first time you click, the state will turn red. If you'd like to turn it blue, click twice. Hope that's helpful!!]

Coke for the win! It was a landslide with 334 electoral votes to Pepsi's 194. And most importantly, I think the kids got it! We finished up with a short video clip from History.com.

I only had about an hour to do this with my middle schoolers, but when I've done it with my 5th graders in the past I've done much more....Red, White, and Blue snack, etc. I think it's important to help kids understand the importance of voting, and that our country is a Democratic Republic, not a direct democracy. (You know, "To the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God..."). I think kids commonly have the misconception that we're a direct democracy, electing a president based on popular vote. But we're not! We're a democratic republic. 

What do you do for election day in your class?

STOLEN idea.... you should steal it, too!!

I HAVE to share! I just came across this blog post on Classroom Freebies and I think it's AWESOME! I wish I wish I wish that I had my own inclusive classroom with which to implement this YESTERDAY, but alas... it will have to wait. I just think it's the smartest thing to use facebook as a writing motivator.

It's amazing, it's... well, just click and see! Trust me, you will.not.be.sorry.

Classroom Freebies: Facebook Fun In Your Classroom!: You know how Facebook can be so addictive? It's just as addictive for your students, too! That's why it makes such a great writing motivat...