Manic Monday Again!

Happy Monday!!

(If you say it with enthusiasm it will make it better right? LOL)

I am linking up with Classroom Freebies for their Manic Monday.

Here is my freebies for today... it's a PowerPoint of 7 writing prompts used for narratives and descriptive writings along with a writing rubric you can adjust for any type of writing.

I used these prompts last year and the students had so much fun with them. I left it as a PPT so that you can edit as needed and also add more if you wish.

I hope your students enjoy them as much as mine did!

Here is the rubric I used which worked well for me.  It is saved as a .doc so you can adjust as needed to suit you.

I'm having trouble displaying the rubric here... Google Docs is not cooperating with this file.  Go HERE to check it out! :)

Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think. :)
Luv ya!
*~Sarah~*

New TPT products: Unsolved Mysteries, Banners, & more!

Hi guys!

I have been working on some new products for my TPT store.  Check out what I have posted!

I finally finished with the Unsolved Mysteries project.  I posted about this back in July.  This is the project that helps students draw their own conclusions based on evidence they gather about unsolved mysteries in the world.  Here is what some of the unsolved mysteries are: Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, Atlantis, and many more!

This is what you receive with this product:
Powerpoint with an outline of the project
Directions in PDF format
Stationary in PDF format for the final draft of the research report
Labels for the students research folders
Folder cover in PDF format

The project has 6 parts to it.
Research
Map of Research Site
Interview
Evidence from Site
Research Paper
Presentation - done in partners or group

There are many ways you could run this project and adapt it to your class.  Last year I had the students work in partners or groups of three right from the beginning, but this year I'm going to keep it independent until the presentation where they get together as a group to reveal their findings.

This is a fun and very different research project than what the students are typically used to.

Check it out at my TPT store for $4.00!

I also made some pennants and banners! :) I was so excited when I finally figured out how to make them.

You saw them in my classroom pictures post here and then I posted them for sale in my TPT store.

Here's what I made (which I'm very excited about if you couldn't tell already) :)

I took the pennants and placed them together for the sample file so everyone could see how it goes together.  The letters are to be printed on a 8.5 X 11 inch piece of paper. 

This product includes the following pennant files:

1st grade          2nd grade              3rd grade          4th grade          5th grade      6th grade

History        Math        Reading       Science        Spelling        Writing

Go check it out HERE and download the sample file.  If it's something you would like, I just dropped the price to $3.00.  If you want something added to the set just let me know. :)

I also have PowerPoints that are for Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia that have reading response questions and quizzes for only $2.00.  I am currently working on Dollhouse Murders and City of Ember.

Where the Red Fern Grows Reading Journal Responses and Activities

Bridge to Terabithia Reading Journal & Quizzes

That is all for today! I'll be back tomorrow with an awesome freebie for Manic Monday!! :)

Luv ya!

*~Sarah~*

Monthly Made It - September

I'm finally making it to the Made It Mondays again :)  I have made so much for my classroom thanks to all the wonderful ideas from Pinterest.  Here is what I've made so far.

#1 - Hall Pass

Loved this on Pinterest then put my own spin on it. :)  I got the plaque from Michael's for $1.00 then wrapped it with fabric.  The letters are stickers from the scrapbook section, then I mod-podged the whole thing.  I hotglued the pawprint ribbon on the back of the plaque then hung it with the smaller black ribbon.

This has worked so much better than the traditional hall passes I used to use... and much cheaper to replace too. :)  I use this in conjunction with the hand sanitizer bottle labeled "Bathroom Pass" and it has worked out wonderfully! I love it!

#2 - Pennants/Banners

I loved all the pennants and banners people were making so I took my shot at it :)  I really like how they turned out and they certainly brighten up my room.

 #3 - Pom Poms on Dry Erase Markers

Okay so I loved the idea from Pinterest to hot glue the pom poms to the tops of dry erase markers.  I was so excited to use them and not have to worry about the kids messing with paper towels or rags... but I was kind of disappointed.  Mine did not erase well.  I'm not sure if anyone else has had this problem or if it's maybe just my older whiteboards.   The idea was great though and thankfully it didn't take me too long to put together. :)

#4 - Class Expectations

I have been reading and learning about the Whole Brain Teaching and also about other ways of discipline.  I learned that rules were made to be broken and that a class should have expectations.  I made these cute little signs to show the kids what I expect out of them.  It's worked out very well so far, especially the behavior clip chart (which I think is magical with the way my students respond to it).

Well that's it for this month! I hope you liked it :)

If you liked the pennants/banners I have some for sale on my Teachers Pay Teachers account here:

Leopard Print Pennants

Green/Brown Polka Dots

Luv ya!

Sarah

Extreme Makeover - Classroom Version

Here is one of the things I have been most excited to share!  School started on August 22nd, but I went back during the week of August 13th to begin setting up my classroom.

I was so excited that my tables were in and ready to use!  This was going to start my year off right. :)

There was only one problem....

The desks were still in there, so instead of arranging my furniture like I typically do this motivated me to clean out all of my cabinets!  It was crazy how much stuff I got rid of. :)  It's nice and refreshing though to have so much storage.

Another view of my room...

And another....this is one of the views of where I stand to teach from my podium with my document camera.

This is what I see looking out at my class every day from my podium

Prepare yourself... I even surprised myself with some things I put together! :)

I made my own pennant sign!! I was so excited about it :)  Sorry for the glare, this is on my window which faces the outside hallway.

And a cute sign for my Math wall

Then my pennants for my ELA wall

Here's the full view from the back of my room. :)  I got crates and put hanging files in them for my students to keep their notebooks and workbooks in.  My goal this year is to lessen the transition time by keep as much as possible near them.

Side view of my room facing outside. :)

Close up of my counter with my quotes in picture frames. I got that idea off of Pinterest :)

My Twitter wall!  I really need to get different sentence strips though... I just laminated them and taped them to the wall.  I haven't used it yet, still trying to figure out my new routine with everything. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? I was so excited about it but I'm kinda not sure anymore...

 The back of my class.  Yes that's a fish tank, no there are not any fish left... silly things died one after the other at the end of last year... during class!!!  I kept hearing "I think something's wrong with the fish!".  Thankfully they're 5th graders so we were able to kind of laugh about it since I have no clue what went wrong.  The pet store told me my water was perfect!  Oh well... :)

My AMAZING behavior chart (this will come as a separate post soon).  I absolutely LOVE the clip chart though :) and then next to it are my class expectations.  I have started reading about the Whole Brain Teaching and reading about discipline and the difference between rules and expectations.

My ELA wall with my standards posted as well as the steps to help the students in a lesson.

Well that's it for now! :)  Thank you for hanging in there with me. I appreciate it.  I will be posting again by Sunday, at the latest.  Let me just lead in saying that this first day of school was the best ever in 7 years.

Luv ya!

Sarah

Apology

I just want to sincerely apologize for the massive lack of updates here.  I have had a lot of personal and family things going on here.  With all of that I have been physically and emotionally wiped out, along with having to put on a happy face for school.  I'm sure A LOT of you can relate with me on that one. :)

ANYWAYS!!!  I am back and feeling good! My school year got off to a great start. I have a wonderful class and am ready to share all sorts of fun things with you.  I will be posting again to show you before and after photos of my room.

I really hope you stick with me and enjoy the upcoming posts.

Luv ya!!
Sarah

Freebie Friday... a day late

I know... it's late Saturday night... but better late than never right? :)  But then again I'm 2 days early for the Manic Monday LOL

I really think you will like my freebie.  I noticed that so many people were jumping on board the Organized Teacher Binder, but I had yet to find any binder covers that could be downloaded.  I decided to make my own and share it with all of you wonderful followers!

Here are the covers I made, click on the link below to download the zip file.

I used digital paper from aestheticaddiction. Be sure to check out their shop, there's some amazing paper!
The frame is from The 3AM Teacher.

Click HERE to download the zip file containing all 6 covers.

Enjoy! Be sure to leave me a comment if you liked them!

Don't forget to check out the other freebies at

    

Tell Me More Linky Party

I know I've only been blogging since January, and only seriously since June, but I wanted to join this party and share some more about myself. :)

Here we go!!

1. I am a MAJOR Geek!  I love reading comic books and watching all the comic book related movies.  I also love reading Manga (Japanese Graphic Novels) as well as watching Anime.

2. Seriously... I am just a kid trapped in a 29 year olds body.  I love watching cartoons.  My favorite channel is the Disney channel.

3. I LOVE to go to Disneyland!  I would live there if I could.  I've always dreamed of being a Disney princess there. :)

4. I love animals.  Back in May I had the joy of bottle feeding 4 kittens that were abandoned in my front yard.  It was a lot of hard work but totally worth it.  They are the sweetest kitties I have ever had.

 Here are my babies:

This picture is a bit washed out but here are there names going clockwise (closest kitty to the tennis ball) Trixie, Otter Pop (all stretched out), Mitzi, then Wolf (pure black).

5. In my spare time I like to read and also write stories. I have posted bits and pieces of a story I am currently working on in here, but am getting more serious about my writing.  I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the past 4 years and have "won" the past 2 years.  Winning means that I wrote a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. :)

6. I love my pressure cooker!  I used to use the slow cooker all the time until I was introduced to the pressure cooker and found out that I could cook frozen chicken in 15 minutes!  I was blown away.  Now I'm addicted to using it. :)

7.  I am addicted to shopping on QVC... gotta love easy pay right? LOL

8. I am a newbie couponer and am proud to say that I saved $10.00 on my last shopping trip.  I was very excited about that.

There's part of my exciting life! :)  Be sure to go join the party!!