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End of the Year Survival Guide

May 24, 2016May 24, 2016By astutehoot

Let’s face it, at this time of year, we all feel like the owl on the right. Keeping students engaged at the end of the year is like running a three-ring circus, leaving teachers tired and exasperated. Use these 8 tips to survive (and enjoy) the end of year countdown:

End of year collage

1. Create portfolios: Showcase students’ finest work samples with student-made portfolios. Make durable portfolios by folding pieces of poster board and stapling along the sides. Students can draw a detailed picture with crayon and then add water color to make a beautiful crayon resist effect. While the class is working, help students individually determine which pieces to include in their portfolios. Be sure to include rubrics and learning scales that accompany each piece.

Creating portfolios

My students used this owl template as a table of contents for portfolio contents. They colored and added craft feathers to owl and glued onto the dried portfolio after completion.

Owl portfolios

Portfolio 3

Portfolio 2

Students wrote Author’s Notes on the back of portfolios that provide a short biography and current picture. We studied several examples from our favorite authors first. Students were so proud to have their very own version just like many authors they studied throughout the year.

Meet the Author notes

2. Reflect on learning: In the beginning of the year, my students completed reading and math attitude surveys, giving me vital information about their background knowledge, strategy application, and confidence level. I was surprised at how many lacked strategies and self-help skills. I gave the same surveys at the end of the year and the growth was tremendous. Students could easily explain strategies they used and all were very confident. I included a picture of one of my favorites. When asked what students do when they need help with reading, the student responded, “I use my strategies, obviously!”.

Students can also track their own assessment data on bar graphs, creating a meaningful visual of growth throughout the year. My students graph their DIBELS fluency scores, monthly Morrison McCall Spalding spelling tests, and Saxon fact assessment scores. Tracking growth helps students take ownership in their learning and is a great way to celebrate success.

Reflection 1

Reflection 2

3. Create end of year journals: Use This Year Was A Hoot! to reflect and record key highlights from the year. This customizable journal includes A Note From The Wise Old Owl (write a special note to your class), OWL-Stars (place for class photos), Branching Out (students record what they learned, became, who they met and how they felt), HOO-Ray! (students write top 10 events of the school year) and much more. My students loved OWL of these activities! Parents enjoy seeing the end of school year journals too.

Pages from ThisYearWasAHootEndofSchoolYearJournal

4. Review with sidewalk chalk: Review and practice important concepts using sidewalk chalk. Give students a story problem to solve or a reading response question and allow them to use sidewalk chalk to complete it. Chalk is perfect for spelling and fact practice as well. Plus, it washes off easily with soap and water.

Sidewalk chalk

5. Hold an awards ceremony: Celebrate accomplishments with a classroom awards ceremony. I purchased these inexpensive plastic trophies from Party City and used address labels to make these customized awards. I award trophies for top reader, most improved reader, good citizenship, perfect attendance and much more. Students LOVE them and some actually think they are real gold.

Trophies Party City Trophies 6. Plan cooking projects: Find recipes for a theme-based snack or a craft project to use as a culminating activity. Students love these and they provide an opportunity to read functional text. We just finished Charlotte’s Web so my students read a recipe to create these cute pig cupcakes.

Cooking projects 7. Make review bags: Create review bags that include worksheets, games, and text at students’ instructional levels. Encourage students to read and review for at least 30 minutes daily. During the first week of school, I provide a reunion breakfast for students who completed the summer review bag. This is a great incentive to review throughout the summer, plus it provides a wonderful opportunity to catch up with former students. I use a Bashas’ brown bag to hold materials because the sturdy handles allow for easy transportation.

Summer review bags

8. Provide an end of the year gift: Books make the best gifts and there are always great deals through book orders. This year I made these adorable owl gift bags and added our decoding and comprehension bookmark from Really Good Stuff and an owl lollipop. I can’t wait for them to open them!

OWL Treat Bag Owl treat bag materials

Have a great end of the year survival tip? Please share below. Enjoy your last few days with students–we can make it!

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You Deserve a Discount!

April 24, 2016By astutehoot

By popular demand, we’ve bundled all of our strategy resources into 2 different Site License options to give you the best possible deal! The Astute Hoot Reading Site License contains over 20 complete decoding and comprehension units and the Astute Hoot Math Site License contains 12 complete problem-solving strategy units. Both options include THOUSANDS of pages the following components:

• Suggestions for use

• Detailed lesson plans using the gradual release of responsibility method

• Built-in assessments and learning scales

• Graphic organizers and reproducibles

• Anchor charts and posters

• Templates for hands-on tools

• I Can statements

• Game boards

• Flash cards

• Customizable problem-solving or reading comprehension journals

• Discussion prompts

• Hazel Meets the Strategy Animals book

• Bulletin Board Set

• And much more!

Using these resources and tools, the most reluctant students blossom into motivated, enthusiastic learners; make solid connections to the strategies, and most importantly, become proficient readers and mathematicians. Used in classrooms around the world, these innovative tools awaken the joy of learning and spark enthusiasm in all students while providing research and standards based resources for students in grades K-3.

Get an early start on Back to School season by downloading the Site License options from our website or from our store on TeachersPayTeachers. Each Site License download includes so many great files and resources that the zip file you will be downloading is close to 300MB. Thank you!

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Teach Central Message & Theme with Dr. Seuss

February 29, 2016By astutehoot

Students love Dr. Seuss books because of their engaging, rhymed text, memorable characters, and whimsical illustrations. But, Dr. Seuss books are so much more. They are the ideal tool for teaching central message because each one focuses on a specific theme or life lesson. Plus, the majority of students have had multiple exposures with these books; they are familiar with characters and sequence of events. This background knowledge and literal level of understanding makes it easier to determine the central message, a higher-level comprehension skill.

During our Dr. Seuss study, I preselected books which have the strongest themes and central messages. Students had the opportunity to read many books during guided reading group and independent reading time. I used Sharon the Summarizing Squirrel to teach central message and theme (read more about Sharon’s strategy here). We discussed these messages and themes during reading group time and students cited textual evidence that supported these themes. Students used Sharon’s Central Message Anchor Chart to help them summarize each message or theme.
I found Dr. Seuss quote posters in Target’s Dollar Section and purchased 4 as a central message culmination activity. I posted the posters around the room and students took a Quote Walk, silently reading each quote to determine Dr. Seuss’ message. They recorded their central messages and themes in their Reading Response Journals. They colored in the strategy animals used during each reading response entry. Sharon the Summarizing Squirrel helped students summarize each central message and theme while Vern the Visualizing Vulture helped them visualize each quote. Check out the quote posters and students’ central message jourmal responses:

Dr. seuss sign 5.5 central message 4.5 Dr. Seuss sign 3.5 central message 1.5 Dr. seuss sign 4.5 central message 2.5 Dr. Seuss sign 2.5 central message 3.5 Looking for additional Dr. Seuss activities? Download our FREE Cat in the Hat Snack recipe and read our latest blog, Celebrate Dr. Seuss In Style. Happy Read Across America week!

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Create President Reports in 3 Easy Steps

February 21, 2016By astutehoot

Since it was President’s Day on Monday and we are reading and writing biographies, my class studied the life of Barack Obama this week. They loved learning about his childhood, interests, schooling and more. This study prompted them to ask questions about other presidents, so we completed these cute, easy presidential reports. Download this FREE project here.

PicMonkey Collage

Follow these 3 easy steps to create the presidential reports:

Select appropriate presidential research. I found the presidential fact card deck in the Target dollar section, but also used a variety of leveled text as sources for research to differentiate for all learners. Pre-select the cards, picking presidents that students would find most interesting (cool nicknames, facts, etc.). Remove cards that would be difficult to read and understand. (Remove Nixon as his nickname is “Tricky Dick”.)
Complete president report. Model how to use information from the fact card or leveled text and think aloud as you go. Then have students complete the research; this is a perfect activity to complete in small groups. Differentiate the report according to students’ needs. Partner students or have students work individually to complete the report.
Draw presidential portrait. Give students white paper and have them draw a pencil sketch of selected president. Trace with Sharpie and then color with crayon. Cut out and glue on top of report. You can glue on black construction paper (to look like a suit) and add arms and legs if you desire.
Be sure to share reports with class. Possible discussions include similarities (most were lawyers), differences, occupations, facts and achievements. Your students will love learning more about the presidents!

Strengthen Mathematical Understanding in 4 Easy Steps

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016By astutehoot

Mathematical understanding means that students understand the story problem and follow the problem-solving steps. Understanding story problems can be very challenging because it requires multi-step, higher-level thinking processes. Students are required to process several pieces of information before starting any mathematical operations. If students do not understand the problem, they will solve it incorrectly, even if they have a strong repertoire of strategies. Strengthen your students’ mathematical understanding with these 4 easy steps:

1. Scaffold instruction: Mathematical understanding includes many steps: identify question; identify key information; get rid of erroneous information; determine the operation; solve using an appropriate, efficient strategy. Since mathematical understanding involves so many steps, teachers should teach each step explicitly and introduce the next step after proficiency is demonstrated. This allows the teacher to isolate individual steps first and then gradually integrate the steps together.

2. Incorporate multi-sensory activities: Allow students to act out the problem and use manipulatives to help students build understanding. In my classroom, students use Upton Understanding Fish to help them complete the problem-solving steps. I purchased a inexpensive, yellow Webkinz fish from Ebay to use as our classroom Upton.

During direct instruction, I model each of the problem-solving steps, thinking aloud as I go. I hold Upton right beside me and will often talk to him during my think-alouds. The students think it is funny, but it keeps them engaged. During guided practice, I toss Upton to different students, asking them to help me complete one of the problem-solving steps. Students also take turns using Upton to assist during independent problem-solving time.

Reading with Upton 2

The stuffed Upton fish has become a pivotal piece of my problem-solving instruction because it helps kids feel safe to take risks and discuss problem-solving steps. In fact, a few of my students have even asked their parents for their own Upton as a birthday or Christmas gift.

3. Use discussion questions and prompts:Students are more successful at solving math problems when they monitor and reflect upon their thinking and problem-solving steps as they work through problems. We often assume that students know how to thoroughly discuss their mathematical thinking and problem-solving steps, but like an other concept or skill, this must be taught in depth. Teachers must model the self-questioning process and provide multiple opportunities and support for students to practice it until they can use the questioning strategies independently.

I use Upton’s self-reflection questions and peer discussion prompts to facilitate mathematical discussion. I introduce one prompt or question at a time and add additional prompts in subsequent lessons.

MathProblemSolvingSelfReflectionandPeerDiscussionQuestions.pdf-6 (2)

During lunch (before our problem-solving time), I leave the new prompt or question right by Upton as if he is presenting it to the class. When I pick the kids up for lunch, I tell them that Upton left us something and they get so excited to read his new question or prompt.

4. Provide anchor charts: Post the problem-solving steps in a prominent place in classroom. I add a visual cue for each step to promote understanding. As you teach problem-solving, refer to these posted steps and encourage students to do so when solving independently as well.

Download our Upton Understanding Fish problem-solving unit and accompanying self-reflection and peer discussion questions and prompts to help build mathematical understanding in your classroom.

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5 Tips to Survive Science Fair

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016By astutehoot

The Science Fair usually brings a mix of emotions. Students love the hands-on learning but for teachers, the Science Fair can be nightmare. What project(s) should the class do? How can I organize students’ work samples? How do I involve parents? Use these 5 tried-and-true tips to survive the Science Fair.

PicMonkey Collage 1. Select experiment: Since my students are required to learn the life cycle process, I bought caterpillar and tadpoles for them to study. I also picked a variety of leveled text on butterflies and frogs to use during my guided reading groups to make it a cross-curricular project. It may to tempting to choose an experiment that just seems fun and interesting, but always be sure that it aligns to your grade level standards and curriculum. This helps to extend learning and create a richer learning experience.

Butterflies 2. Provide scientific tools: Use a variety of hands-on tools and materials. Allow students to use magnifying glasses and rulers and they observe their specimens. I bought a few men’s white button-down dress shirts and called them “lab coats’ which the students absolutely loved. They felt like real scientists!

Science tools 1.5 Lab coats 3

3. Teach journaling skills: The Science Fair is the perfect opportunity to teach vital journaling skills. My students learned how to tell time to the nearest minute, write a detailed observation in complete sentences, and draw a scientific diagram. They also highlighted new vocabulary terms which they compiled into a glossary. Plus, I used their observations as writing grades. Download this journal here

Journal 2.5 Journal 3.5 Butterfly procedures 1.5 Science glossary 1.5 4. Showcase students’ work: Dedicate a bulletin board or showcase table to display students’ learning and scientific work samples. Creating a portfolio of their work is another great option.

Showcase student work My students made these “Meet the Scientists” for our Science Fair night. They were a huge hit!

Meet the Scientist 1.5 5. Invite families: Have students create a formal invitation inviting families to the Science Fair. This is a great opportunity for students to share their new learning; parents are always so proud and impressed. You may also want to consider providing probing questions for parents to ask their children and an activity for children to showcase their skills. Be sure to provide refreshments (I bought inexpensive cookies from Target).

Invite families I’d love to hear your great Science Fair ideas!

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The Owl Has Landed…

May 4, 2015May 26, 2015By astutehoot

‘OWL’ of our hard work has paid off! We are thrilled to announce the launch of our products at Really Good Stuff, a leading educational catalog company that sells high-quality, innovative teaching tools. Really Good Stuff discovered us and were impressed by our inspirational mission of awakening the joy of learning in all students. Driven by this mission, we created a unique line of hands-on, strategy-based resources. Sharing a common goal of making a difference in the lives of teachers and students, Really Good Stuff and Astute Hoot formed a partnership and got right to work.

Our journey took flight as we collaborated with the fantastic Really Good Stuff team to turn our digital resources into hands-on products. We’ve learned so much along the way about product development, manufacturing, merchandising, and distribution. One year later, the boxes of sample products finally arrived.

RGS box

Opening the boxes was better than Christmas morning! It was such an amazing feeling to see how years of dedication, passion, and perseverance came together and turned out better than we could ever imagine! Our dream of bringing multi-sensory tools into the hands of students and teachers around the world has come true!

Opening RGS box

Our products support, enhance, and integrate well with any reading and math curriculum program. They help teachers effectively differentiate for all learners. Best of all, students love them!

Hazel Learns to Read

We are delighted to help awaken the joy of learning and to contribute to the creation of proficient readers and mathematicians everywhere with these innovative products!

Meet our strategy animals and see how they come to life in our newest video. Check out our complete line of products at Really Good Stuff along with our digital resources available on our website to bring some magic into your classroom!

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Teacher Appreciation Deals 2015

May 3, 2015May 3, 2015By astutehoot

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! To honor all of our fellow educators, we are having a 25% off sale off all of our digital downloads with coupon code 123teach. Get $10 off of a $50 purchase at Really Good Stuff, plus a summer coupon for back-to-school shopping with coupon code RW15T.

Check out these other fantastic deals to add a little sparkle to your week:

Clothes: 30% off at New York & Company for all teachers and nurses! Show any school I.D or pay stub and you can receive 30% off in stores through Wednesday, May 7. Redeem online with promo code 9818.
Coffee: From 5 a.m.-8 p.m. on May 5, teachers can stop in at McDonald’s and show their school ID and buy a McCafe Beverage – in return, they will score a free small McCafe beverage keytag, valid for a free small McCafe Beverage daily through 12/31 – while supplies last. McCafe beverages include Iced or Hot Coffees, Premium Hot Chocolate, Iced Mocha drinks, Frappes, Latte’s, McCafe Shakes, and real Fruit Smoothies.
Chick-fil-A: During the week of May 4-8, select Chick-fil-A stores are offering a free chicken sandwich with a valid school ID.
Check out this complete list of 2015 freebies and deals from Capitally Frugal.

Thanks for OWL of your hard work and dedication! I hope you have a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week!

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The Life-Changing Moment of My Teaching Career

April 5, 2015By astutehoot

Before Spring Break, I announced to the class that there would be a big surprise when they returned. Some guessed it would be different seats, others said new name tags, but I had a much grander revelation in store. After a year of collaboration and production, all of our Really Good Stuff tools and products finally arrived and I couldn’t wait to share them with the class. Our reading and math strategy animals are an integral part of my classroom as they support and enhance the district prescribed curriculum. Students have such a connection with the animals; some even believe the animals are real so I knew they would be delighted to see the accompanying hands-on tools. I decided to host a Premiere Party to share the exciting news.

First, I added the new decoding and comprehension banners to the Reading Roost (my guided reading area) along with the problem-solving strategy banners at Problem-Solving Pond.

Reading Roost center

To enhance the surprise, I added these special reveal curtains using plastic tablecloths and a winking Hazel as a special clue.

Reveal curtains

Next, I planned special centers in which students would be able to explore all of the new hands-on products and tools.

$Math Tools$ Finally, I made these adorable owl cupcakes and wrote a special note on the door as a hint to the big surprise.

Owl cupcake

Reveal sign

When the class walked in, they were silent, staring at awe at the new room arrangement, balloons and cupcakes. I announced that we were having a Premiere Party to reveal a huge surprise. I explained that Really Good Stuff, a company that produces and sells teaching products, found our strategy animals online and loved them so much, they turned them into hands-on tools. I showed them the Really Good Stuff website with all of our products and they oohed and aahed. As I scrolled through the products, I explained that they would get to explore each one in special Astute Hoot centers and they squealed in delight.

Reveal

Briana watching video

As students rotated through each Astute Hoot center, I was so moved by their excitement and enthusiasm. They were truly captivated by these new tools and demanded to know when we were going to use them “for real”. Their comments were so touching. “I’m so proud of you, Mrs. Murphy! You are amazing!” and “Mrs. Murphy, I am so lucky that you are my teacher.” My favorite was, “I know you are going to be famous so I better get your autograph.”

Rereading racoon

Reading Hazel books

Hazel Books

Modeling Mouse Counters $Math mats$

Problem-Solving Poster

Problem-Solving Journals

A few students even asked to write reviews and testimonials of the products. They are truly our biggest fans!

Erika Testimonial

Connor Testimonial Brody Testimonial

Briana Testimonial

Josh Testimonial

These pictures don’t fully convey the true joy of learning I saw as students explored all of the new materials. This was definitely the most monumental moment in my teaching career and one that will stay with me forever. Not only are my students getting to use these new, innovative tools to help them learn, but they witnessed that with drive, determination, and dedication, dreams do come true.

Check back each week to see these exclusive Really Good Stuff hands-on in action. Download See What The Hoot’s About, a comprehensive sample file that contains a glimpse into the magical world of Astute Hoot, guaranteed to spark enthusiasm in your classroom.

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Create Your Own Magical Guided Reading Strategies Roost

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015By astutehoot

Do you love our reading strategies animals but aren’t sure how to incorporate into your classroom theme? It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! You don’t need to have an owl or woodland theme at all. Create your own personalized Guided Reading Roost in 3 easy steps:

Hazel's Reading Roost collage 2

1. Determine Reading Roost location: Display reading strategy animals in a prominent location near the guided reading table, carpet area, or on a large, central bulletin board.

Determine location

2. Create the magical tree: There are many ways to create the magical tree in the reading roost. Purchase a silk tree from local craft store or garage sale to use as the focus of the Reading Roost.

Create a magical tree

Lightly dust with gold glitter spray paint and cut out glitter foam leaves for a magical look.

Hazel's Reading Roost 2

Use a pre-made tree like this one from Really Good Stuff. Simply purchase and assembly; add extra leaves as desired.

Pre-made tree before

Premade tree after

Make your own tree by crinkling brown butcher block paper to make a large, textured trunk and branches. Add green butcher block paper leaves or purchase fabric leaves from local craft store to complete the look.

Homemade tree BEFORE Home-made tree AFTER

3. Print strategy animals: Use a color printer to print reading strategy animals on thick, durable cardstock and laminate for durability.

Print strategy animals

Place self-adhesive Velcro to the back of each animal and accompanying place where each animal lives (i.e., leaf or branch of Reading Roost tree). This allows you to pull appropriate strategy animal(s) to greet the students and teach the lesson.

Here are a few helpful tips to make our reading strategy animals fit into any “habitat” or classroom theme:

1. Pick a tree that works with your classroom: My classroom has a woodland theme, so the silk tree with the large, green leaves works perfectly. However, if you have a jungle, pirate, nautical, or tropical theme, a palm tree would be best for your roost. Trees are an integral part of most habitats and locations so it is natural to see one in any type of setting.

2. Add your own touch: Add minimal, themed items to enhance your tree. For this pirate themed, classroom, I found a variety of fun decorations at Hobby Lobby and added them to give it a personal touch.

Pirate accents

Hazel’s eye patch is my favorite feature! This pirate-themed Reading Roost is just one of the many possibilities.

Pirate Hazel

Other suggestions to incorporate into popular classroom themes include:
Ocean – Make a tropical palm tree and add shells and beach decor around base of tree with the saying, “A Sea of Strategies”
Bees – Add a bee hive to tree and hang a few buzzing bees around the tree with the saying, “We Are Buzzing With New Strategies!”
Sports -Add a few balls or sports-themed items around the tree with the saying, “Strategies Are A Ball!”

Get creative and think outside the box! Download our Guided Reading Strategies Bulletin Board Set to get started. Need suggestions or ideas to get started? Email me at jessica@astutehoot.com — I would love to help you bring the magical world of Astute Hoot to your students too!

Check out our complete reading strategy units here along with our hands-on resources and posters available from Really Good Stuff.

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Whooo’s Hazel?

March 8, 2015March 8, 2015By astutehoot

Hazel Hoot, an adorable green screech owl, is a struggling learner as she lacks the strategies needed to help her succeed. In our charming book, Hazel Meets the Reading Strategy Friends, Hazel stumbles upon a magical tree in the forest.

Magic Tree

Out of the tree appear 10 colorful woodland animals that each introduce a research-based, standards-aligned reading strategy. These animals guide Hazel to become a proficient reader.

Astute Hoot's Reading Strategy Animals

In the sequel, Hazel Meets the Math Strategy Friends, Hazel swoops down to catch her dinner at the local pond when she grabs Upton, an enchanted fish.

Hazel's Problem-Solving Pond

Upton oversees Problem-Solving Pond and promises to introduce Hazel to his animal friends, all who teach a special problem-solving strategy. Using these strategies and Upton’s guidance, Hazel blossoms into an accomplished mathematician who is able to tackle problems with ease.

Problem-Solving Pond

Astute Hoot’s unique cast of strategy animals make learning safe and fun while teaching critical strategies in a child-friendly way. Students make an immediate connection to the animals and relate to Hazel’s struggles. These delightful animals and rhymed text motivate the most reluctant readers and alleviate math anxiety.

Take a glimpse into the magical world of Astute Hoot by downloading See What The Hoot’s About, a comprehensive file with samples of our most popular resources and tools. Check out our store at www.astutehoot.com for complete units guaranteed to spark enthusiasm in your classroom.

See What The Hoot's About Preview

Informational Text is a Hoot!

January 11, 2015January 11, 2015By astutehoot

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to incorporate additional informational text and shared research into my classroom so I created Owls Are A Hoot: An Informational Text Unit to meet these these needs in an engaging way. Before the unit, I gathered a variety of leveled informational text sources, purchased owl pellets from amazon.com and created these cute owl folders to hold student work. I set up a an owl research center as part of our daily reading rotations.

Owl research center

Leveled informational texts

Owl folders

Before starting the unit we brainstormed a list of questions and students completed a foldable KWL owl.

Owl foldable KWL

Owl KWL bulletin board

During reading time, I grouped students by instructional level. I provided a variety of owl informational text sources including brochures, books, poems and magazine articles. The sources provided were at a variety of levels–most were at students’ instructional level, but I also included more challenging text to increase stamina and push students to read complex text. I’ve found that when students read high-interest text, they are motivated to tackle difficult text, even if it is slightly above their level.

Owl research 1

Owl vocabulary

Students read to find answers to their owl questions, citing textual evidence with owl pointers. They recorded their information on the owl report template.

Owl pointers

Owl graphic organizer

Students edited and published their own owl report, adding craft feathers and googly eyes after completion.

Owl report 2

Owl report 3

Owl reports

During science time, students worked in groups of 2 to dissect an owl pellet. They formed hypotheses, discussed observations and recorded conclusions in their own Owl Pellet Investigation Book (included in the unit). I gave them ‘lab coats’ (a.k.a. men’s white button down dress shirts) to wear during the investigation which they absolutely loved!

Owl pellet predictions

Owl pellet observations

Owl pellet dissection 1

Owl pellet conclusions

After a thorough hand-washing session, I passed out these owl pellet snack bags using the owl treat bag topper included in the unit.

Owl pellet mix

As a culmination to the unit, students played an owl review board game. Students answered all questions on white boards, citing textual evidence to support answers.

Owl Game 1

Students had so much fun and learned so many new facts during our owl study. I wanted to display this in an engaging way so I created our O.W.L: Observe, Wonder, Learn door.

OWL door

I started with a large piece of white butcher block paper and sketched the owl using a projected image from my document camera. I used white paper because my classroom door is brown and I wanted a contrast between the two. I added large googly eyes (from Target dollar section) and colored craft feathers. I then cut brown flap feathers to hold and display our new facts. After completing the L from our KWL foldable owls, I had each student write his/her new fact(s) on a white square and glue inside one of the brown feather flaps. I then glued all of the brown feather flaps on the owl and used a glue gun to adhere the owl to our classroom door (don’t tell the janitor).

Owl Q&A door 2

Students, teachers, and parents have all stopped by and read our facts as they pass by our classroom. My students are so proud when they see someone stop to read our owl. This was a powerful closure activity, one that my students will always remember.

Download the complete unit to get your students to hoot and holler over informational text and shared research!

Owl Informational Unit

Check out some other great lessons linked up on the “Loved that Lesson” Linky!

http://www.theteacherstudio.com/2015/01/loved-that-lesson-january.html

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Olive the Other Reindeer to the Rescue!

December 13, 2014December 13, 2014By astutehoot

There are still a few more weeks until winter vacation, but Santa, stockings and sugar are the focus of children’s minds! Olive the Other Reindeer is coming to the rescue! Our adorable Olive the Other Reindeer Unit will capture students’ attention while engaging them in integrated reading and writing activities aligned to Common Core Standards. Olive the Other Reindeer is one of my favorite holiday books and my students always come to love Olive each year too!

Activate background knowledge and build excitement: To begin the unit, make a foldable reindeer KWL. Discuss why it is important to think about what we know before starting a lesson, ask questions about what we want to learn and summarize our learning at the end of the unit.

Introduce key vocabulary terms: Teach key vocabulary terms using vocabulary anchor charts and accompanying graphic organizer.

Olive the other reindeer vocabulary

Make predictions with Peter Predicting Possum: Teach students how to make predictions using background knowledge and text features and use textual evidence to confirm or revise predictions.

Making predictions with Peter

Introduce Peter Predicting possum and read his poem to teach predicting strategy. Explain that good readers make predictions before and during reading. They stop to confirm or adjust predictions based on evidence from the text. This makes reading more enjoyable and helps build comprehension.

Peter Predicting Possum Poem

Model prediction strategy by using the cover of the book. Think aloud as you explain, “I’m reading the title, Olive the Other Reindeer and looking at this picture. I see a dog hanging from a sleigh, but I know that reindeer guide Santa’s sleigh. I think that Olive is a dog who will serve as a reindeer on Santa’s sleigh. I will have to read to see if my prediction is correct.As I read, I will look for clues and evidence that support my prediction or will help me change my prediction. Then read the first two pages of the text and discuss. “Based on what I’ve read, I am going to confirm my prediction. Olive thinks the song says, ‘Olive, the other reindeer’ and so she thinks she is a reindeer.

Make predictions on the following pages:

Read until Olive gets to the North Pole just in time. Make a prediction–will Olive join the sleigh? Ask students to support prediction using clue from the text. After confirming that Olive will join Santa’s sleigh, brainstorm a list of dog behavior and discuss how these behaviors might be helpful to Santa.
Read until the sleigh crashes into the tree. Have students read the first 3 paragraphs of the page and discuss. Refer back to dog’s behavior list and ask what behavior might be helpful in this situation Students will make a prediction and then pull Post-It to read, confirming or revising prediction.
Turn the page and show students only the picture of falling gumdrops. (You can cover the text on opposite page with a large Post-It.) Use background knowledge about dogs to help make a prediction about how Olive will keep the sleigh safe from falling gumdrops. Remove Post-It, confirming or revising prediction.
Turn the page and have students stop right before, “Olive had to howl louder than the wind instruments. Cover this sentence and rest of text on page. Repeat prediction process using background knowledge.
Read the first paragraph on the page with North Pole Fog (the rest of the text should be covered). Repeat prediction process. Lift Post-It, read and confirm or revise prediction.
Read the last page and have students stop right after, “There was just one present left. It was for Olive.” (The rest of the text should be covered). Repeat prediction process.

Cover text with Post-Its

Remove Post-It to reveal answer

Students’ reactions are priceless as they reveal the Post-It to confirm or revise prediction.

Prediction reactions

Prediction reactions 2

Integrate informational text: Each student uses his/her question from KWL reindeer and records it on the question and answer reindeer printable. I set up a reindeer research center with key vocabulary terms and leveled reindeer text where students can read and research to answer the question.

Reindeer research

Reindeer question and answer

Have fun: Students can read and follow directions to make Reindeer Munch while practicing key measurement skills.

Reindeer munch

Wear your hair in a bun and add googly eyes, pipe cleaner antlers, and a red pom-pom for a festive hairdo.

Reindeer hair

Download our complete Olive the Other Reindeer unit and Reindeer In The Room Holiday Behavior System to bring these ideas to life in your classroom.

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Glitter 101: How to Survive Glitter in the Classroom

November 23, 2014By astutehoot

For most, glitter evokes the holiday season, but for elementary teachers, just the thought makes their toes curl and sends shivers down their spines. Glitter is messy, time-consuming and ever-lasting (hence those few pesky sprinkles lingering around at the end of the year). The messiness discourages many teachers from incorporating glitter into art projects, but it is something every child should experience. Here are 6 tips to help you survive glitter in your classroom:

1. Set up space: Determine a large, easy-to-clean space that allows children to spread out during the glitter process. Plan a drying space within steps of the glitter location. I use my large, rectangular table by my classroom library. I pull the table away from the books, stack the chairs and place needed materials on the table. I set up a large canvas drop cloth at the carpet area (right next to the glitter table) where children place their masterpieces. The drop cloth catches any loose glitter and prevents children from walking across the room to the counter space, which is a glitter disaster just waiting to happen.

Set up space

2. Use glitter grabbers: I provide children with the leaf trays (as shown in picture) or large plastic tubs to shake off extra glitter. Lunch trays, copy paper box lids, and dish pans (found at Dollar Store) are all perfect glitter grabbers. Plus they stack easily for storage.

Glitter grabbers

3. Make glitter dispensers: Avoid flying glitter by creating these inexpensive glitter dispensers. Simply purchase clear, squeezable condiment or paint bottles and fill with glitter. Cut the tip at the base to make a wider hole. Children squeeze glitter over desired area, providing more precise distribution of glitter.

3. Organize by color: I have 4 different colors of glitter on my rectangular table and each color has its own glitter grabber. This allows you to recycle extra glitter without creating a large container of ‘rainbow’ glitter at the end of each project.

Organize by color

4. Modeling is a must: This week when I mentioned the words, “add glitter” my second graders squealed with joy. One child shouted, “I’ve never used glitter!” Shocked, I asked the rest of my class if they’ve used glitter before and only half raised their hands. While planning this project, I assumed that all had used glitter, thus assuming that they all knew how to use it as well. However, as teachers we must never assume that children have required background knowledge or previous experience. Glitter, like anything else, must be modeled explicitly. I first show how to use the Elmer’s glue by saying, “Dot, dot, not a lot.” I then show how to gently shake a SMALL amount of glitter over the glue and gently shake to cover all glue spots. Then I carefully tap excess over the glitter grabber. I talk aloud through each step so children thoroughly understand each step.

Dot Dot Not a Lot

5. Set a limit: I only allow 4 children to glitter at a time; this gives students plenty of space and access to all of the necessary materials. I also set a timer and give a reminder half-way through to ensure that every child has equal glitter time. If you don’t limit the time, you will have a few who will try to spend all day there.

Set a limit

6. Thank your custodians: Even with these tried-and-true tips, children can get a little zealous with the glitter, causing a little extra work for your custodians. Let’s face it, school vacuums aren’t the most powerful machines out there. I always give my custodians a small, special treat to express my gratitude. They love this gesture and it prevents them from cursing my name after glitter sessions.

Thank your custodians

Have a glitter tip? I’d love to hear from fellow glitter gurus.

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The Classroom Party Everyone Will Talk About

October 25, 2014October 25, 2014By astutehoot

Does the thought of a classroom party make you cringe? Recruiting parent volunteers, planning engaging activities, asking for donations, keeping students calm….it’s a lot to juggle. Here are 6 tips to create easy, stress-free parties that everyone will rave about:

1. Plan organized centers: Depending on your class size, pick 4 to 5 center activities for students to complete. Students will rotate through these activities just as they would for reading and math centers. These activities should be structured, (somewhat) academic, and take the same time to complete. For my Bat Bash, students read directions to complete a bat craft, conduct pumpkin science experiments, decorate a bat cookie, and sort and graph bone candy. I use center icons to label each center and students move in the same direction as they do during regular centers. This adds necessary structure and routine to an unstructured time.

Organized centers

Make sure necessary materials are provided at each center (i.e., glue sticks, scissors, napkins, etc.). Post center directions as well. Be sure to review and practice center procedures and expectations before parents get there.

2. Recruit parent volunteers and donations: For years, I sent home a letter to parents asking them to volunteer and/or donate for the classroom party and without fail, parents would all sign up for the same items, sprinkles and napkins. I had to send additional letters for items that I was missing and keep track of all of those pesky RSVP forms. What a headache! Now I use Sign-Up Genius, a FREE electronic sign-up system. You build a custom sign up, send email invites to your selected group and your group members sign up when convenient. Sign-Up Genius notifies you via email when someone signs up; you can customize reminders so that members receive them via email or text.

Sign-up Genius

I use Sign-Up Genius to coordinate weekly parent volunteers, request classroom donations and plan all of my school events.

3. Buy decorations: Inexpensive, cute holiday decorations can be found everywhere! I especially love Target’s dollar section and The Dollar Tree as they both have a wide selection. Be sure to get there early–many items sell out quickly (I’ve learned the hard way).

Dollar store decorations

4. Provide center bags: Provide center bags to hold student work as they rotate through centers or party activities. When students complete their work, they put right into bag which prevents ‘missing’ projects and materials. I label each bag and include pencils and extra activities for early finishers so students won’t feel the need to rove the room or get off-task after they are finished.

Bat bash bag

5. Organize Bingo prizes: Most teachers include Bingo as a party activity and include prizes at the end for all players. However, this can be a major headache as students usually take a long time to pick prizes. Select 4 or 5 prizes and organize them into individual, labeled containers so students can easily see the options, making selection a breeze. I include visuals on the labels as well.

Bingo prizes

6. Provide treat bags: At the end of the party, I had out small theme-based treat bags with candy and a homework pass. I also hand out treat bags for the parent volunteers and they love this gesture. I found these bat bags at The Dollar Tree.

treat bags

Have any great party tips? Please share them below.

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It’s Fall Y’all! 50% Off Sale on EVERYTHING on Website!!!

October 15, 2014October 15, 2014By astutehoot

The holiday season is quickly coming upon us! To show our appreciation for your support we have marked every single product 50% off when you purchase directly from our website. Click here to check out our store! Hurry…sale lasts from October 12-18 only!

While you are at our website view our newest video here to see our prodcuts in action and download FREEBIES here. Our specialty is intervention and special education resources for grades K-2. We’d love to hear your comments and feedback!

See what the hoot’s about….

Halloween Black Lagoon Literature Study
“Absolutely LOVE it & thanks so much for including photos of the finished products. This makes things so much easier and eliminates the guess work. :)” ~Nicole S.

Ultimate Special Education Survival Kit
“This was amazing! I feel so organized and ready for the year thanks to this! Some of the things in here felt like fun and creative super tools. I am still a fairly new Sped teacher and after going through this I feel like a have a rock solid foundation for the year in several areas (behavior, back to school, and even reporting out intervention plans in a more effective, clear, and concise manner). Thank you, thank you, thank you!”~Meliss G.

Reading Intervention Essentials Bundle
“A phenomenal resource that will allow my students to improve their reading abilities. I am looking forward to using this. This will be one of my life savers for guided reading next year. Thank you so much for sharing!” ~Sonia R.

Math Problem Solving Unit
“We have just embarked on our journey into the Problem Solving Pond. The students are loving it and I am loving the results. Thanks so much!” ~Kim T.

Intervention tools for RTI and Special Education
“Amazing resource for intervention planning! It’s so nice to have it all in one place and ready to go at my fingertips. Thanks!” ~Lauren G.

Phonics Intervention Essentials Bundle for Multisyllabic Words
“Super cute! My kiddos enjoyed the chipmunk! It was easy to do as well because everything was made for me!” ~Shayna R.

RTI Resources: Secrets of Successful Teams
“I absolutely love all of the forms included in this packet. I think they are going to work great for our RTI committee next year!” ~Kelli F.

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2014 Halloween Bash Blog Hop

October 10, 2014October 14, 2014By astutehoot

Welcome to our 2014 Halloween Bash Blog Hop, hosted by Teaching 2 Ste p! To celebrate our first Blog Hop, we are having a HUGE 50% off sale on our products this week only until October 18 here!

Halloween in in the air and students become consumed with costumes and candy. Keep them engaged in learning with our Black Lagoon Halloween CCSS Unit, our 2014 Halloween Bash Blog Hop featured product!

hazel and the black lagoon_cover_NEW

In this 103 page unit, students learn critical comprehension strategies such as summarizing, determining cause and effect, comparing and contrasting characters and text and analyzing character traits. Students also create a new Black Lagoon character and make their own Black Lagoon story. Here are some of my favorite highlights:

Retell Bus:
Students love reading the Black Lagoon books so they are perfect for teaching key comprehension skills such as summarizing and retelling. Make a Black Lagoon Retell Bus and chart story elements after each read-aloud. I made this large retell bus using butcher block paper and enlarged Black Lagoon characters. I added some green tulle, dragon tails and other swamp plants to give it a lagoon effect.
Black Lagoon retell bus-- Halloween Blog Hop Black Lagoon Pocket Books:
Make these easy Black Lagoon pocket books to store and organize student work. I used 2 large pieces of black construction paper for each book and made a 5′ pocket on each piece by folding and stapling paper. I added these adorable covers and labels on each.
black lagoon books Halloween Blog Hop black lagoon books 2 Black Lagoon Books:
In this unit, students brainstorm new Black Lagoon characters, select a new character, and write a narrative based on typical Black Lagoon story structure. Students then make a crayon resist cover as a finishing touch. Students draw a detailed picture of their monstrous character in the center of the cover and then paint character with black watercolor. The crayon will resist the watercolor, giving it a textured effect. Once dry, students can outline character in thin black Sharpie.

Black Lagoon covers Halloween Blog Hop

Laminate covers and bind to create published books. Place published books in a Book Browse center so students can read each others’ books. To increase accountability, include a graphic organizer for students to complete.

black lagoon published book Halloween Blog Hop

black lagoon book browse

Grammar from the Black Lagoon:
Print grammar monsters (included in unit) on color printer. Cut out and laminate. Glue small magnet strips on the back of each one. I put the grammar monsters in a small black cauldron (found at Target dollar section). Print out Black Lagoon grammar posters on color printer and laminate. Place near game for student reference. Purchase (or make) a fishing rod. I found my fishing rod at Walmart in the toys section, but it can be easily made. Set up a lagoon. I covered my horseshoe table with black paper and glued Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives labels on swamp-like ferns.

grammar fishing

Students take turns fishing from the black lagoon (cauldron). They read the grammar monster(s) and determine if they are nouns, verbs or adjectives. Require students to justify response.

grammar fishing 2

Black Lagoon Cups:
As a culmination to the unit, students will read and follow a recipe to make Black Lagoon cups. This functional text activity requires 3 ingredients (pudding cups, crushed Oreos and gummy candy) and minimal preparation, but one that students will remember.

Looking for more Halloween ideas? Download our FREE Going Batty unit here!

Thank you for joining the Teaching 2 Step Halloween Hop. We hope you enjoyed our post. Be sure to follow like us on Facebook and Pinterest. Hop through more Bash Bloggers below.

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Does Anyone Hear Me? The Art of Active Listening

August 16, 2014By astutehoot

Does anyone hear me? Am I speaking English? Why aren’t my students listening to me?

Do these questions run through your mind frequently? I found I was repeating myself over and over like a broken record and ready to bang my head against the wall. I finally realized that I was making a costly oversight that was hindering academic achievement and testing my sanity.

Listening is such a critical skill, yet I never took the time to truly teach it. I expected that my students would walk into my classroom with the understanding and ability required for active listening. When they didn’t listen, I would punish them for something that hasn’t been taught.

Listening, like any other concept or skill, must be explained, modeled, practiced and reinforced, especially the first few weeks of school. Students must know what listening looks like, sounds like and feels like.

ALP example

Now I introduce active listening on the first day of school in 3 easy steps:

1. Create a common definition: I give each student 3 colored Post-Its. On the first Post-It, I ask them to write down what active listening looks like. I call students up to the board and each student shares while I sort and label students’ responses. After all have shared, we come up with a consensus and repeat the process for the sounds like and feels like indicators. I record these on my Good Listening Poster.

ALP looks like

active listening behaviors collage

2. Practice active listening indicators: Next I share my Alert Listening Position (ALP) poem that teaches specific active listening behaviors and we practice these behaviors several times. Students are actively engaged in learning as they chant the second line of each stanza and model the listening behaviors with their bodies. We also practice non-ALP behaviors such as slumping in seat, head on desk, no eye contact so students can understand non-examples. While we are practicing, I rove the room and take pictures of excellent ALP examples and post to my ALP poem to use as visual reminders of expected behaviors. Students also get a copy of the ALP poem and add visual cues to help them remember active listening expectations.

ALP

ALP poem student example

ALP class page

3. Reinforce and provide regular feedback: During the first few weeks of school, we say the poem together before each lesson to ensure that all students are active listeners. As students become proficient, we recite poem in the morning only and I will give active listening reminders before each lesson by saying, “Let’s do an ALP check,” and provide feedback as necessary. I also share this with specials’ teachers as well as cafeteria aides so that students understand that I expect active listening throughout campus, not just in my classroom.

ALP poem class

Need suggestions for teaching other routines, procedures and transitions? Download our Back to School Teacher Toolbox: Routines, Procedures and Transitions that has engaging activities and lessons to teach 10 critical classroom routines.

PREVIEW Routines and Procdures_Page_1

Happy New Year!

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Golden Keys to Success, classroom management plans, behavior modification

Flash Friday Freebie: Classroom Management Keys

August 15, 2014By astutehoot

It’s our Flash Friday Freebie! Download the free Golden Keys to Success Classroom Management Plan and purchase the accompanying Golden Keys to Success Lesson Plans to start your year off on a golden note.

Do you every feel as if you are a glorified manager, simply trying to control the herd and maintain peace? Your classroom management plan is to blame. Most of the current, trendy behavior plans focus solely on teacher-based management. In these systems, the teacher directs and tries to control students’ behavior with little student involvement or ownership.

The clip system is the perfect example. Each student has a clothespin labeled with his/her name on it and begins the day in the middle of the chart on green “ready to learn.” During the course of the day students have the opportunity to move their clothespin up and down the chart according to their behavior choices. Positive behavior choices allow the student to move up a level and inappropriate behavior choices cause the clothespin to move down a level.

This system is extremely laborious as it requires constant teacher monitoring and feedback. What happens if the students didn’t move the clip when asked? What happens if you forgot to tell the student to clip up or down? What do you tell the concerned parent when you forgot why her son clipped down? How do you handle the student who “lost” his clip? Everyone who’s used the clip system has experienced these scenarios, probably more than once as in my case. These issues occur because we are trying to dominate students’ behavior rather than make them accountable.

The Golden Keys to Success Classroom Management Plan and accompanying lesson plans are your answer! This program teaches five critical life skills: be respectful, take care of self, be prepared, be prompt and participate. Students learn how to apply them to the classroom and transfer them to new settings and situations.

Golden Keys to Success, classroom management plans, behavior modification

In this program students learn the definition of each key and practice the specific, accompanying behavior indicators. Furthermore, it provides daily home-school communication as students are required to get parental signature on the Keys to Success chart nightly. If an infraction occurs, parents can easily read the marked indicator to understand what happened.

Golden Keys to Success, classroom management plans, behavior modification

The Golden Keys Success also provides weekly reflection; on Fridays, students write a Glow, an achievement, and a Grow, a short-term goal for upcoming week. A colorful, parent brochure explains the system, positive and negative consequences and essential questions about classroom behavior.

Golden Keys to Success, classroom management plans, behavior modification

The best part? It’s our Flash Friday Freebie! Download the free Golden Keys to Success Classroom Management Plan and purchase the accompanying Golden Keys to Success Lesson Plans to start your year off on a golden note.

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Blast Off Back to School Sale!

August 3, 2014By astutehoot

As veteran teachers, we know that the beginning of year often means countless meetings, endless hours of preparation and a great deal of stress. Let us alleviate some of your stress with our tried and true back to school resources guaranteed to help you work smarter, not harder. Plus, everything’s ON SALE!!!!

Best of Back to School Lesson Plans & Activities: This unit focuses on establishing procedures, explaining expectations and building classroom community while creating an organized, efficient schedule with minimal preparation. Our comprehensive first week lesson plans include 50+ interactive, engaging activities with objectives & detailed instructions, homework ideas,daily math lessons and art projects.

Best of Back To School Preview

Golden Keys to Success Classroom Management Plan: Golden Keys to Success is an efficient behavior management program that builds character, promotes self-monitoring and ensures high behavioral expectations. This program has made a huge difference in my students’ behavior because it teaches them to be responsible for daily choices. Golden Keys to Success focuses on 5 important life skills and qualities that students need to become successful citizens. This 90 page unit includes 21 detailed lessons with essential questions and quality literature, 34 engaging activities and projects, a Weekly Responsibility Chart (for students) and a parent brochure with overview of program, consequences and helpful parent tips.

Preview Keys to Success_Page_1

Common Core Math Problem-Solving Essentials Bundle: This ultimate bundle provides an entire year’s worth of differentiated Common Core problem-solving activities to give students the strategies they need to solve word problems. Perfect for general education, special education, RTI and math intervention! This 636 page file has all of the lessons, activities, worksheets and printables you need for comprehensive problem-solving instruction. It is the perfect supplement to any existing curriculum or can be used as a stand alone resource.

Problem solving bundle preview

We hope that these products reduce that dreaded back to school stress and make your life easier.

Happy New Year!

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Master Meet the Teacher & Conquer Curriculum Night

July 22, 2014July 23, 2014By astutehoot

Just the mention of Meet the Teacher or Curriculum Night makes most teachers break out into a cold sweat. Why is this? We speak in front of people all day, every day, but the difference is their age. Children will still love us if we make a mistake, get nervous or act silly (they especially love when this happens). Adults by nature are more judgmental and harder to win over. Stop the dread and take back control with these easy tips:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare: Plan your handouts and student activities at least 2 days before the big event. Don’t wait until last minute–that’s when the copier breaks or the computer runs out of ink. Not sure what to say at Meet the Teacher and Curriculum Night? Download our Welcome Back to School Parent Packet for several important customizable letters and forms.

2. Post directions & agenda for the night: Write specific directions for parents to read as they come into the classroom. Make sure they know they must fill out transportation form, room parent slip and student information card. Plus it gives them something to do (other than staring at you) while waiting for the presentation to start. Many parents must attend more than one Meet the Teacher on the same night. Help these parents by posting an agenda (with times) for the night so they can determine the best time to quietly exit and go to next session.

3. Serve refreshments: It is polite to serve refreshments for guests in your home and the same etiquette applies in the classroom. I purchase inexpensive cookies (from Target or Walmart) and place on serving trays. Add decorative napkins and flowers as a finishing touch.

4. Provide engaging activities for students: At the beginning of the night, I need to address just the parents and don’t want students talking or running around the room. While parents are completing necessary paperwork, I gather students (and their siblings) and bring them to the carpet area where I give them a word search, pencil and white board. I explain directions and set expectations for their behavior. I also pass out lollipops to eat–this keeps their mouths busy while I am addressing parents. Be sure to put a garbage can there as well or you will have wrappers and sticks all over the room.

After I speak to parents, I give the kids a scavenger hunt with 9 boxes of items to find in class. I glue small, round stickers to each scavenger sheet; students place a sticker on the box after the item is found. When students are finished, they get to help themselves to refreshments (I set a limit on number of cookies or you will have a couple that will try to take the whole tray–trust me, I’ve learned from experience)

5. Create suggested supplies visual: Each year students come in with random bags of supplies and rarely want to share them with the rest of the classroom. To alleviate this problem this year, I listed specific supplies I wanted to students to bring and then created a visual of what the supplies should look like. I simply purchased a medium-sized pencil case and glued the requested supplies inside and showed it during the presentation, reminding parents to unwrap items and place inside case as shown. This year all the students brought their prepared pencil cases just as I had shown and it was a HUGE time-saver! They simply put inside their desks and we were able to move on to other procedures.

6. Make a Giving Tree: Parents love to donate supplies at the beginning of the year, so write down each item on an apple and post on a Giving Tree. Remind parents to pick an apple or two before they leave for the night. They return the apple with donations during the first week of school.

Most importantly, remember to smile, breathe and believe in yourself! You’ve got this!

Back to School Organization 101

July 20, 2014By astutehoot

Does the sight of this classroom make you shudder? Unfortunately for many teachers, this is reality during back to school season. As soon as we sign our contract, we become immediate hoarders, stock piling supplies purchased during those great back to school sales. But once we get in the classroom, we realize there’s simply not enough space for 100 boxes of crayons. What is one to do? Here are 4 easy storage solutions to get your year off on the right foot:

1. Book Boxes: These colorful cardboard book boxes are perfect for any type of paperwork. I purchased several to hold daily work as well as quarterly copies of behavior charts, writing paper and reflection forms. I also use them to store my centers; each box holds a specific concept (i.e. ABC order, antonyms). They can also be used as writing portfolios to organize students’ writing pieces.

2. Plastic Bowls: I purchased 4 bowls from Target clearance section to hold small items that I need throughout the day. These bowls are perfect for staples, rubber bands, paper clips and push pins. Simply label and place on desk.

3. Silverware Caddy: A silverware caddy is the ideal desk storage solution because it has multiple spaces to hold a variety of items. I use the first 3 sections to store scissors, pens and . The back section is much larger, perfect for stickers and notepads. I label each section to help ensure continued organization (especially if students use).

4. Tupperware Storage: Inexpensive tupperware is a great solution for small items such as googly eyes, jewels, beads, cotton balls and clothespins. Plus they stack easily, making organization a snap. Add labels to find items easily.

Have an innovative organization or storage solution? I’d love to hear from you!

Keep Calm and Teach On

July 17, 2014By astutehoot

We’ve all had that dreadful teacher moment–the time when a student vomits all over you or your behaviorally-challenged student forgets his meds during a full moon. It’s that moment that sends shivers down your spine, makes you question your career choice and urges you to head for the hills and never look back. However, those 25 bright, shiny faces are staring at you, waiting for your reaction and depending on you to remain cool, calm and collected.

In times like these, rely on your Keep Calm and Teach On board, a special reflective space that helps you de-stress, regain composure and focus on the big picture. This board should reflect your personality, interests and favorites. Fill with special pictures, mementos, dreams and aspirations.

Board Set-Up: First I gathered several of my treasured pictures and mementos and then narrowed down to my absolute favorites. I measured my dimensions of my allotted space and replicated my board on a large table, rearranging several times until I found the perfect arrangement. It took only about 10 minutes to hang (thanks to my trusty glue gun).

Here’s what I included on my board:

Believe: This is a powerful reminder to believe in myself and stay focused on my aspirations.

Travel: My husband, Brett, and I love to travel; this is a picture of us in Napa (one of our favorite destinations).

Teacher Barbie: Brett bought this for me as a Back to School gift one year because I love Barbies and this is a personal replica (I even have a similar outfit).

The Beach: This is definitely my happy place and a great visualization in times of stress.

Kitty Perry: As many know, I love cats and Katy Perry; this card is the perfect blend of both.

Sawyer & Jack: Here’s our two “babies” as tiny kittens.

A Crayon: I love art and creating new things–it’s probably my favorite part of teaching.

High Heels: I have a love affair with shoes (I’m working on it) and you will find me wearing high heels everyday, no exceptions.

Besides providing some stress relief, my Keep Calm and Teach On board helped organized my desk area. I moved all of my important, yet unsightly school paperwork (staff phone list, parent directory, special notes, etc.) and taped to the inside of my cabinets right behind my desk. Now I’m ready to tackle any classroom challenge that comes my way!

I’d love to hear your Keep Calm and Teach On ideas! Please share your suggestions and comments below.

Vegas Baby!

July 13, 2014July 20, 2014By astutehoot

We just wrapped up our first TeachersPayTeachers conference in Vegas and we had a blast! We learned so much, especially about Pinterest, data and marketing and we are so excited to apply it as soon as we get back. All of the presenters were so inspiring and informative. The best part was meeting other teachers who share our passion and creativity. We look forward to collaborating with them in the near future! Some other fabulous TPT sellers we met were:

S.T.E.M.agination Station
Diapers, Dollars, and Diplomas
Surfing to Success
Second Grade Sugar and Spice
Journey of a Substitute Teacher

There were a lot of fun scavenger hunts going around; we loved the idea and created our own. We had the BEST people watching spot at Cabo Wabo at Planet Hollywood. Here are a few photos we took from our scavenger hunt:

A "celebrity" siting — **A “celebrity” sighting**

(And a few other unpostable items….)

After the conference ended, we were ready to dance and ended up The Bank at Bellagio. It was the perfect ending to an amazing weekend!

Check out our upcoming Back to School Bootcamp blog series that will cover such topics as Organization 101, Mastering Meet the Teacher & Curriculum Night, Dress for Success, Keep Calm and Teach On and many more!

Jennifer’s Summer Story

July 9, 2014July 10, 2014By astutehoot

Wow! This summer is flying by so fast. My boys attend a school with a modified year-round school schedule so that means that their first day of school is right around the corner on July 21st! Although I worked managing Teacher Development Coaches at a summer Pre-Service Training for new teachers throughout the entire month on of June, I still had a chance to squeeze in some summer fun with my family.

We had an incredible time visiting the Grand Canyon for the very first time. The boys were amazed at its grandeur…and I was freaked out each time they got close to the edge! We went on an exciting jeep tour and learned a lot about the history of the Grand Canyon.

Before we left, the boys picked out some cool souvenirs; a bow and arrow for Jake and a dream catcher and pocket knife for Alec. We also bought an awesome book called Whose Tail on the Trail at the Grand Canyon? . The author, Midji Stephenson, signed a copy for us too! We had so much fun reading the book when we got home as we had to guess which tail was on the trail as we turned each page. The book has beautiful illustrations and fun rhymes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has visited the Grand Canyon.

Whose Tail on the Trail at Grand Canyon?

Now that we are back from vacation and gearing up for school, I realized that I needed to start getting the boys back on a routine and provide some structure into their days because they have been acting like wild animals Alec and Jake helped me put together the following visual schedule for our remaining two weeks of summer break. We have it posted on the fridge and I see them referring to it throughout the day. I wish I put this in place earlier in the summer! Children crave structure and routines. Using a visual schedule and daily routines are great ways to support this for all children.

A great resource for putting strong routines, procedures, and transitions in place for the beginning of the school year can be found here.