Pass the Prompts, Please!

Usually when I make an anchor chart, it's for students. This one, however, is for a special group of educators I'm presenting for at an upcoming convention. I thought the resources were too good not to share!

Sentences vs. Fragments

It's time to dust off the old blog and freshen it up with some new resources! As I've probably mentioned in previous posts, one of the expectations I hold my students accountable for throughout the year is writing in complete sentences. As intermediate elementary teachers, this is something we are all capable of doing; regardless of our content areas. Through mini-lessons or modeled writing, I'm always showing my students that complete sentences must have a subject and predicate. I also try to find opportunities to show them,

"Don't let the LENGTH of a sentence fool you! A complete sentence can be just two words long!"

This can be tricky for them to retain, but it's vital knowledge. I created some task cards to help me reinforce complete sentence skills to my students.

Download it here from my TpT Store!

In the fall, I'll use these after reviewing "subject + predicate = complete sentence," but before introducing compound sentences. Since I'll also be teaching science this school year, the content of the task cards is weather-related! Horay for cross-curricular resources!

Happy summer and WRITE ON!

Please Take 20% Off!

Before all the back-to-school hoopla begins, I wanted to show my blog/TpT followers some appreciation and offer you 20% off my entire TpT Store!

All resources, including my Back to School Bundle, will be 20% off Tuesday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 20. Thank you for supporting me, and more importantly, your lucky students! WRITE ON!

Sprinkle Inspiration

I love the fact that I've had this blog for a few years now, and 90% of my posts have been written in the months of June, July, and August! What does that tell you about how busy we are as teachers?! Summer break is surely a well-deserved gift that bestows upon us the 3 Rs: relaxation, refreshment, and reflection. (I disregarded "rest" because I have a 2 year old son, and like many other teacher-moms, that "R" has been R-emoved from my life for now and the foreseeable future!) Anyway, as I spend some time reflecting this summer, it becomes clearer and clearer to me how ALL children, regardless of their home/family life, could benefit from more personal guidance and character education. Sometimes I have to think back to myself as a fourth grader to truly remember just how impressionable, yet insightful, they are at that age. They also thrive so much on structure and appreciate little classroom traditions that their teacher has in place just for them. I thought a sweet way to address both needs would be to post a different "Quote of the Week" in the same spot in my classroom this year. As I change it out each Monday morning, I want the words of someone else other than just me to motivate them. I want my students to do some reflecting of their own by simply looking in the same spot each Monday for a new, positive, thought-provoking message and be able to chew on it throughout the week and (hopefully) beyond. As I assembled my collection of quotes, I was sure to work in the ones that have always resonated with me, like my favorite teaching mantra:

...as well as a few words of wisdom that were quoted by current, recognizable-to-anyone role models. I even worked in Taylor Swift! Michael Jordan, Maya Angelou, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Abraham Lincoln are just a few of the greats that are included. Of course, I also had to throw in a quote that inspires the art of WRITING!

So, whether it's a "Quote of the Week," a set of writing nudges, decor for a peaceful classroom environment, or just a pick-me-up for you to keep at your own desk, I hope that you can use these posters, too, to sprinkle some inspiration into your classroom in the upcoming school year. Just be sure to get in your 3 Rs (or if you're lucky, all 4) first!

CLICK HERE to download all 28 posters!

If you've made it all the way to the end of this post, please build on the inspiration by leaving a comment with YOUR favorite quote! Spread joy!

TpT Sale-ing

How is August only two days away?! In the spirit of back-to-school, of course I had to join in the upcoming Teachers Pay Teachers sitewide sale!

CLICK HERE to see my whole store for 20% off August 3-4!

To sweeten the deal, once I the blog reaches 300 followers, I think it's time for some FREEBIES! Happy (almost) August!

Back to School Bundle!

In addition to the few beginning-of-year resources I have in my TpT Store, I needed to make a few more things for this upcoming year. I thought, "Why not roll everything into one back-to-school 'bundle' so other teachers can load up?" (Somehow I keep seeing and hearing the word "bundle" everywhere... why is it such a buzzword right now?) So, that's exactly what I did!

CLICK HERE to check it out!

In addition to the tried-and-true icebreaker activities, the bundle includes a couple forms to help get you organized at the start of the year. (If you're like me, the beginning of the year is when you are MOST organized! It's a great feeling that may not last too long!) One of those forms is my "Parent Contact Quick Sheet."

I know there are a lot of these parent contact sheets already out there, but I wanted mine to include the parents' preferred method of contact. Are they married to their email? Are they always on-the-go and attached to their cell phone? Or is the home phone number a sure way to get in touch? One of my goals this year is to communicate with parents in a manner that is most convenient for them. Of course, sometimes a mid-day call on the cell phone is necessary, but how nice would it be to follow an "at-a-glance" guide reminding me how each parent prefers to hear from me? This will be a great start to building a positive rapport. 

Talk About 'Em Tuesday!

I'm linking up with Little Lovely Leaders to celebrate and promote fantastic small businesses!

I dedicate this "Talk About 'Em Tuesday" to a very special fourth grade teacher! After harassing asking her to start putting her (good as gold) resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, my good friend, Elissa, has finally launched her own TpT Store:

Feeling Fab in Fourth!

Elissa has activities for all subjects; ranging from themed print-outs ("Franken-fractions," colorful birthday certificates, etc.) to hard-to-find fourth grade reading resources (1st vs. 3rd person narrator, anyone?) Although she is super creative in making all of her products beautiful, you will find that the content and "meat" of all her instructional materials is truly the best part! She has several freebies, and everything else is priced very reasonably! I hope you keep Feeling Fab in Fourth in mind as you stock up on teaching goodies this summer!

Summer of Stocking Up

I adore summer! It's a well-deserved break, I get to spend more time with my sweet boy, I lose track of what day/time it is, and I finally have time to update the ol' blog! I also love "stocking up" over the summer. This usually consists of spending countless hours on Etsy, TpT, Pinterest, and of course, my long-awaited annual trip to IKEA! (This is where I really need to show some self-control, so I always bring a sensible friend!) This year, my must-have is a new "Roberget" desk chair for my classroom. It goes right along with my picnic theme and matches my folding chairs, too! Check out this beauty:

Photo courtesy of www.ikea.com

How cute is that?! 

What are you stocking up on this summer? If you're already on the hunt for beginning-of-year activities, I've created a new version of my #1 favorite: "Four Corners!" This low-prep, highly engaging ice breaker has proven to be a student favorite year after year! After posting the "4 corners" signs around the classroom, the teacher reads aloud thought-provoking statements (included in the download). Students then move to the appropriate corner to show their position (agree, disagree, strongly agree, or strongly disagree) on the topic! Once the whole class has moved to a corner, you can invite students to share their positions and use it as a way to introduce some classroom expectations and goals. This is a great way to get to know your new students and help build an open, positive community. You can also keep the signs posted throughout the year for students to respond to future statements (informal quizzes, reflection activities, brain breaks, etc.) 

CLICK HERE to download the ready-to-go activity on TpT!

As you know, it's better to have too much planned at the start of the school year than not enough. "Four Corners" has always topped my list of things to do on the first week of school with my brand new class. Have fun soaking up the sun and stocking up on teacher goodies this summer! (An IKEA trip wouldn't hurt, either!)

Picnic Perfect

Now that I finally have some time to update my lonesome blog, I am so excited to show you my newly-minted, picnic-themed classroom! For the past six years, I sported a black and yellow theme. I adored it, especially since yellow is my favorite color, but I felt that it was just time for a change. I still have so much more I want to do/buy, but my budget forced me to hit the brakes. Anyway, here's what I have for now! If you're interested in incorporating the picnic theme into your classroom (or any room), be sure to read the bottom of this post for more inspiration!

 

Mrs. McMurrough's "Office!"

 

I had to bring my family to school! Burlap frame from Target

 

The Writing Process on a wall

 

Since I'm self-contained this year, I went ahead and labeled my books by genre. I found these great labels by Cheryl Smith on TpT.

 

I had a similar "Writer of the Week" nook before I changed up my theme. The silk bouquet is actually my matron-of-honor bouquet from my best friend's wedding.

 

I love these colorful, user-friendly parts of speech posters by Colleen Analiz on TpT. Pages from a mini-notepad make for cheap and precious locker tags! My local Mardel had a great "sunshine" one.

 

Here's where I have to toot my own horn: "TOOT TOOT!" Download these writing traits posters from my TpT Store!

 

It was so easy to turn paper plates plates, plasticware, and scrapbook paper into the tastiest table numbers I've ever seen!

 

The 3 most important posters in my room!

 

Got this "antsy" idea from a Pinterest pin,which linked here!

 

If you follow my blog, you know that the picnic theme was born with this bulletin board! This is one of the few spots where I display student work, which is so important! Burlap borders make a huge mess when you put them up, but it was totally worth it!

 

A cozy spot for read-alouds! I love my bandana whiteboard eraser and FRODE chair, which was only $10.99 from IKEA!

 

Talk about a storage solution! Picnic baskets at each table give students quick access to the supplies they'll need for the day! (Plus, they're adorable!) I ordered mine online from World Market.

 

The pencil caddies were a lucky find from the Target Dollar Spot.

 

Focus boards are great for self-contained teachers! I love posting objectives right above anchor charts to keep everything in one place. The kids always know where to look.

 

Hard work paid off! I LOVE the picnic theme, and my kids do, too!

 

It's the little things...

...and the sweet things. These buddies were yet another great IKEA find.

Thinking about a picnic theme? Here are my top 5 reasons why I've grown to love it:

1.  Picnics are like classrooms; the more variety, the better. Everyone brings something different to the table (no pun intended) in our classroom community. On the first day of school, I shared this metaphor with my new homeroom class right after we played the Picnic Name Game. I hope to make this a little tradition.

2. Who doesn't love food?! Seriously.

3. Picnic baskets are fantastic storage solutions for the "little things" such as scissors, glue sticks, pencils, sorting cards, flashcards, etc. that you don't always have time to pass out. I love being able to say, "If you reach inside your picnic basket, you will find..." I'd like to think it gives the students a little extra anticipation to learn.

4. Speaking of ANT-icipation, ants are a fun accent! I bought an ant stamp from JoAnne's Fabrics, and he appears on student work, agendas, and at the bottom of parent letters from time to time.

5. You can whip out a bottle of ketchup as a visual anytime your students need some "catch-up" time on their work! (Strangely enough, the whole idea of having "ketchup time" is WHY I adopted the picnic theme in the first place!)

Do you have a classroom theme that you're crazy about? I would love to see it! Please feel free to comment on this post with a link to your blog or photos of your classroom.

"Ant"-icipating Purposeful Changes

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" This is such a contrast to how we think about education these days, but am I old-fashioned for agreeing with it most of the time? I just think if something is proven successful, the only change that needs to be made is fine-tuning. Sometimes the wheel is reinvented so many times it doesn't even fit the car anymore. I don't hate change. Change just has to have a purpose; especially in education!

I'm going into my seventh year teaching fourth grade in Room #314, and two big (and more importantly, purposeful) changes are taking place this year! We are going self-contained, so I will be going to the dark side (A.K.A. teaching math) for 90 interesting minutes per day. Thank you for your prayers. My team and I decided that we need to make better connections with our kids and their parents, and I love that they were open to this idea when I threw it out there at one of our team meetings. 

I'm also changing up the theme of my classroom. You're probably thinking, "So what?!" You don't understand... I was MARRIED to my black and yellow classroom! I even blew up Pinterest a couple years ago with pictures of my decor. I still love it, but it's simply time for me to look at something new every day! A classroom should be inspirational to the teacher as well as the students. My new classroom will be PICNIC-THEMED! 

You might be disappointed in how I got the picnic idea. Towards the end of last year, my students had a lot of unfinished work and a few minutes to kill before the end of the class period. I gave them some time to catch up on whatever they needed extra time on. They exchanged confused glances with each other since "extra time" in class was so rare. Right then, I randomly wished I had a ketchup bottle so I could put it in front of the class and announce, "It's 'ketchup' time!" How fun of a visual would that be? Ketchup made me think of condiments, condiments made me think of a picnic, a picnic made me think of cute little paper ants scattered all over the room, and then it was all over. Just like that, a change was born.

Stay tuned for pictures of my new and improved picnic-themed classroom! For now, this is the only thing I have to show off:

I also found this epic duct tape at JoAnne's Fabrics a few months ago:

I can't believe how just redoing a bulletin board had me beside myself with excitement! I was smiling at a bulletin board by myself in my classroom. Either I have finally lost it, or this confirms that this change is a purposeful one. It's probably a little bit of both. 

Midsummer Night's Freebie

I have been quite the absentee blogger, but as any teacher knows, spring is the most chaotic time of the school year! I simply had no time! It's funny how I always anticipate school being out for summer, only to spend all summer thinking about the upcoming school year! I think that's a "teacher thing." We start a mental countdown of days left, take all the posters off of our walls, and battle for the first place in line to get our cumulative folders done and rooms checked. Not even a week later, we find ourselves "window shopping" on Pinterest or at our favorite teacher stores to gain some new inspiration. I think it's just a weird sign that we truly love what we do!

If you're like me, you've already been gathering up some new goodies for next year. The first item I always send home is a Student Information Sheet for parents to fill out. (I love announcing on the very first day of school, "Okay, I'm passing out tonight's homework! Make sure every page gets done..." just to provoke a reaction!) I created a new Student Information Sheet for next year's group. As a consolation for my lack of blog updates, I thought I'd share it as a freebie! Enjoy and HAPPY SUMMER!

CLICK HERE to download the FREEBIE from my TpT Store!

Parts of Speech Sort

Are you ready to go back to school? I'm starting to get antsy at home, but I am not ready to give up sleeping in! I'm not even going to tell you what time I woke up this afternoon morning. The most important grammar objective that I want my fourth graders to master at the beginning of each year is forming complete sentences. Later in the year when they're still having trouble differentiating complete sentence vs. fragment, I always kick myself for not spending enough time at the beginning reviewing basic parts of speech. (You have to know nouns and verbs to understand subject and predicate!)

I found this great sorting idea on Pinterest about a year ago, originally pinned from education.com...

I thought it'd be fun to make some back-to-school themed sorting cards for this paper bag activity. I included 54 words comprised of various nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I hope to do this with small groups during the chaotic first week of school! Check it out:

Click HERE to download all 54 cards!

If you have the pleasure of teaching these same objectives, don't forget about my Subject & Predicate FREEBIE! It's ready to print and go. I am thrilled to have almost 200 followers. It might be time for another freebie pretty soon! Any requests? 

Absences & Lizards

"But you never gave me any make-up work!"

"When did we do that page? I didn't get a copy."

"<Insert name here> was supposed to get my work, but he lost it!"

"I lost my homework. Can I have another copy?"

Sound all too familiar?

One of my favorite procedures (found via Pinterest) I implemented last year is definitely a keeper for next year: the "I Was Absent" Folder. I recommend it for anyone who teaches intermediate grades because it's accessible as students come and go, and it really teaches them responsibility. I always make extra copies of work, and they always end up inside the "I Was Absent" Folder instead of the recycling bin. Kids in all 4 of my classes know to pick up any new work upon their return and then get it turned in ASAP.

One folder in the same designated place throughout the school year leaves no room for confusion or excuses. It's also an easy, no-fuss way to retrieve an extra copy of something whenever the need arises. In case you can't tell, I absolutely love my "I Was Absent" Folder!

In addition to writing, I will also be teaching science and social studies next year. So as an end-of-year project, I asked my students to write me a persuasive letter about what kind of class pet I should get for next year's fourth graders. They had to choose between a tree frog, bearded dragon, and Chinese water dragon. The Chinese water dragon won the vote by a landslide, so it looks like I have some shopping (and research) to do! Stay tuned for pics of the little guy.

We've Got Big Plans!

Today was the fourth day of school, and I feel like we're off to a great start! One of my favorite activities we did as a homeroom class was determine our "big plans" for fourth grade, the rest of our school careers, and adulthood. First, we read Big Plans by Bob Shea. The story itself is a fast read, but it's full of subtle humor, silly scenarios, and unique illustrations that the students loved. Although the book is all about how a young boy rises to power because of his "big plans," the conclusion is open-ended; the author never reveals what the his "big plans" actually are!

After the read aloud, I asked my students what their "big plans" are. It must have been a long summer because it took a while for even one hand to go up! Once one or two students finally chimed in with what they want to be when they grow up, the others were eager to share. We then discussed our goals for fourth grade and how reaching them will eventually help us achieve our goals for adulthood. It was the perfect time to get our "big plans" down on paper! Here's a look at the foldables we created:

  We made big plans for fourth grade, our school career, and adulthood!

 

Curious to see what some of the "big plans" were?

These will mean more than just a hallway display. On the last week of school, the students will get their foldables back. I'll have them reflect on their fourth grade year and ask themselves if their "big plans" are being executed. Now if only I can file them away in a spot where they won't get lost in the abyss... staying organized is one of my "big plans!"