Five for Friday

Hi Everyone, It's Saturday, but I am going to link up with Doodle Bugs for the Five for Friday link up. I didn't have a terribly exciting week, but it was pretty busy.

 So here are my five random things from this week. Sorry, but they actually aren't all school related.  

 1) My week started out with a fun visit to our favorite place to hang out and let go of some energy- Monkey Bizness! We had been telling my son that mommies and daddies aren't allowed in the bounce house because it is just for kids. Then some young momma who was about the same size as her kid (LOL!) got in and was bouncing away. We drew straws and my husband lost. I wish I got a pic of that, but instead here is one of my monkey climbing through the top obstacle.

 2) I spent Thursday night at the grocery store with about 60 kids and 15 teachers. Our Media Specialist and Math coach put together an awesome event to explore Math in the real world. Each child that came had a scavenger hunt with grade appropriate math problems to complete with their family. Teachers were scattered throughout the school to assist. It was a fun event and Publix (the grocery store) was an awesome host. All of the kids left with goodie bags and smiles on their faces. I'm happy to work with so many teachers who will give their time to make a difference for our families.

 3.) I spent Monday and Tuesday hooked to my TV watching The Voice. I'm not sure about you, but this is my favorite talent competition. They are actually pretty awesome singers. I'm a little soured on Idol now. Watching Adam Levine and Usher definitely adds to my enthusiasm with the show.

 4.) I'm a winner! I love Kristen from Ladybug Teacher's Files. I entered her 5,000 follower giveaway and won a $15 gift certificate to spend in Maree Truelove's Etsy store.  I've got my eye on a few clipart sets for a few projects I'm working on. But, I haven't finalized my choices yet.  Check out Maree's blog and see some of her fab graphics.

5.) FCAT is here! On Monday we start our state assessments- the FCAT test! I have been working with  several groups of 3rd-5th graders over the last several weeks in small groups to give some additional assistance with their reading. I can't believe how hard they and their teachers have been working. I hate testing days but I know our students have a lot of growth that will show when our scores come back. I gave my kiddos these little treat bags to give them some final words of encouragement.

Well that's my five random events from this week. Have an awesome weekend!!!!

Linking Up

Happy Sunday Friends,
I have been MIA lately.  Last Sunday we had our family leave. We've had visitors since February 15th! While I'm glad to get back to my regular schedule with just the hubby and my son, I do miss my family already!  Needless to say, time with family has kept me from getting on the computer at night.

So, I'm getting back into the swing of things by joining up with a Linky Party. I love Latoya from Flying Into First and am excited to join up with her.

This weeks topic is "Stranded on an Island-What three things would you have to have with you?"

1. Definitely have to go with the husband and kiddo- they provide my entertainment on a daily basis.
2. My IPod- what better way to pass the time than with some good tunes. Rolling Stones would top my playlist- plus I can use it to tune out the hubby and son when they start wining at me- LOL!
3. Pillow/Blanket- If I'm stranded, I might as well be comfortable. I do love me some sleep!!!

How much fun is Latoya- hop on over and get acquainted with some other bloggers.

One of the things I did on my weeks away from blogging was spending a week at the beach with my parents and my sister and her family. Our children had a blast and we made some good memories. My little niece Ryan is going through a tough time right now, so I was looking through some of the pics from our trip to bring a smile to my face. I'm awful at baking, but Ryan loves it and Frankie (my son- green shirt) and Cooper love to cupcakes, so we attempted to make cupcake ice cream cones. I will leave you with some pics to enjoy- the kids sure enjoyed it.

On the school front, one more  week left until FCAT testing- how are you preparing your kids for state assessments?  

Hall Pass & FREE 4 All

I am joining up with TWO linky Parties tonight. The first is my lastest favorite blog- All Things Upper Elementary. They are having another FREE FOR ALL linky. Click on the pic below to see all the awesome freebies for Grades 3-5

The FREE item I am sharing are my Dr. Suess posters. There are 3 posters included that highlight my favorite quotes from Dr. Suess. 

 I also wanted to share a website that has tons of bulletin board ideas for Read Across America. Click on the pic to take you there.

Next I am linking up with Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits for her Hall Pass linky. She is just so darn creative. If you haven't checked out her blog head over there RIGHT NOW!!!! Wait until you see her classroom. If I could I would move there now to put my son in her class.  You can get to her blog and see the other bloggers who have linked up by clicking on the Hall Pass

Product: My favorite product is so hard to decide. I'm going to have to go with it being a tie between my Owl Theme set and my Circus Theme Set. They are so cute. I love the graphics and hope that other teachers can use them in their classrooms.

Area: Well this year I do not have a classroom since I am a Reading Coach, but I will highlight my favorite spot in my room.  This is where I keep my professional resources for teacher check out. The books are kept in white bins that I found at the Dollar Store and added black and white ribbons to them.  The cabinets above have inspirational quotes about reading and/or writing. 

Signal: I don't really have a signal that I use right now, but I have a few classrooms where I use the Whole Brain teaching "Class? Yes!" signal. My favorite is "Classity Class? Yessity Yes!"  My son's teacher says "Peanut Butter?" and the kiddos respond "Jelly!"  I thought that was so cute. We actually have started using it at home.

Sanity: I am an EARLY riser.  I like to be up, showered and dressed at least an hour before I leave for work. That way I have plenty of time in the morning to catch up on the news and spend some time with my little guy. I have to be at work at 7:30 so I leave around 6:50, so I am usually always up by 5:00  So, my sanity is a BIG OLD VANILLA ICED COFFEE from McDonald's. I can't go without it!

Give-Aways & I'm a Winner

Quick posts this Monday morning to share two FABULOUS Give-Aways going on. First, Taming My Flock of Firsties is having a Mid-Winter Blues giveaway. 

I am happy to be part of this along with some awesome fellow bloggers. I contributed my Owl Theme  set for the occasion!

 

And, to celebrate 800 followers, My Life as a 3rd Grade Teacher is hosting 2 contest. You can win one of those FAB "Quiet Sharpeners" or a TPT $25 Gift Certificate. Stop by, congratulate Lindsay and enter to win!

I am so excited that I have FINALLY won a give-away myself! I just love Kristen from Ladybugs Teacher Files and Haute off the Printer and today my blog stalking paid off- I won her Oh What a Storm article writing packet. It includes graphic organizers and a teacher's guide. What a great way to start the week. Thanks girl!
Happy Monday my Friends!

Fun 4 All- Text Mapping

I am once again linking up with my favorite blog, All Things Upper Elementary, for their Fun 4 All linky party. This link up is all about LOVE! So I am sharing about a strategy I LOVE! And also about a NEW LINKY Pinterest party I am LOVIN- see below!

Many of you know that I am a Reading Coach and work with the teachers and students at my school as we focus on reading achievement. A few weeks ago, one of our ESE (special education) teachers came to me about a workshop she had attended on engagement strategies for readers. She showed me what she had learned about text mapping and I was excited for both of us to get started and try it out with our kids.
I worked with a group of 4th graders, and we had so much fun- I think anytime we had markers to a lesson it seems to add a level of fun for the kiddos. We also pushed our tables out of the ways so they had some room to work.  Text mapping is a scrolls-based graphic organizer technique that can be sue to teach reading comprehension. . The basic gist is that you copy text and make it into one large scroll then the children box off or circle pieces of the text that go together and color code them. This makes the reading of the text easier for the kids to do (because they know the chunks that go together). It also helps them to see how each of the smaller parts goes together to make the bigger picture.
To learn more about text mapping, you can visit The Text Mapping Project website. Here are some pictures of my kiddos at work, and be sure to read to the end to grab a FREEBIE to use with your own students.

Here is the anchor chart we made to remember our codes. Click on the pic to download your FREEBIE.

Now for all of you bloggers out there. Check out this new linky party that combines my two favorite online things- Blogging and Pinterest!

That's it for now! Have a Happy Sunday!

What's in Your Cart?

Happy Sunday! I have a full day today. Lesson plans for my 4th grade groups for tomorrow, weekly bookstore visit with my son, grocery shopping and then off to a friends for a Super Bowl party! Although I have to admit that just last night I asked my husband who was playing. My father would be quite embarrassed if he knew. I have been excited for this weekend mostly due to the TN and TPT sales going on. Right now everything in my TN store is on sale. Click the link below to take you there.

 

Here is a peek at some of my most popular items:

   

 

I have a few items in my cart to purchase later today. I have a few more items to add, so I'm not checking out quite yet. I have two carts going- on at Teacher's Notebook and one at Teachers Pay Teachers.   Click on the name of the product to check it out and clicking on the author's name will take you to their store.

1.  Alphabet Phonics Headbands- from The Moffatt Girls to reinforce the letters that my son is learning in Preschool. Everyday he comes home and says "what's your letter?, what's Teddy's letter" He is asking for the letter our names start with:)
2.  Editable Chevron Binder Covers from SchoolGirl Style, just because I love me some cute binders, and because Melanie is awesome!!!
3.  Find Us a Forever Home by Tracy Tegeler. I love Tracy's shop and I can't believe I just found her. This is perfect for 2nd graders to reinforce reading for details.
4.  CCSS Information Text Grades 5-7 US History by Mark Aaron- This is to add to my text collection. As a bonus for me, Mark has created text dependent questions to go with them.
5. CCSS Comprehension Task Cards by Jen Bengel. Jen is one of my favorite bloggers. I follow her own blog and I also follow her on All Things Upper Elementary. This is a great reference to have at the guided reading table, or to use when conferencing with readers.

Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear what is in your cart (or carts). Leave me a comment about what item you have to have during these awesome sales!

A Schema FREEBIE

I am linking up today with my new favorite blog, All Things Upper Elementary, to bring you this freebie. 

We all know that students are more successful with reading when they have background knowledge to support the reading. But, sometimes we make the mistake of activating too much of their background knowledge by asking a blanketed statement like "What do you know about penguins?" This open ended question leads the kids to discuss anything they know about penguins instead of the topic they will read about in the text.  Instead, thinking of a question more directly related to what they will read may keep the conversation on the text. We might try asking "What do you already know about what makes a penguin an unusual bird?"

I love Debbie Miller's File Folder Schema lesson from Reading with Meaning.  It does just that, activates the appropriate background knowledge for the text that will be read.  Here's where my FREEBIE comes in, I created a handout that is similar to an anchor chart that we make when we first learn the strategy of activating, building and revising our schema. The handout can be made available for children to practice the strategy when reading their own informational text. Click on the picture below to download it from my Teacher's Notebook Store 

Be sure to check out All Things Elementary for some other fabulous freebies for Grades 3-6 teachers.

And don't forget to enter for your chance to win a FREE TABLET from Teacher's Notebook