Get It DONE!!!

Holy guacamole, the kids at my school only have 7 days of school left!?? 7 DAYS!!! Oh my goodness! Teachers have 2 more days after that to get stuff done, but the end of the year is a time when so many ideas are swimming in my head, I have got to have a list to keep organized. There's stuff I want to make sure happens before the kids leave (a small gift, an award, a slideshow, etc.), and stuff I am required to make happen before I get to leave for the summer (report cards, PDU documentation, check out duties, etc.).

This year, I decided to make a "End-of-the-Year To-Do List" to help me get it done! I have also made it a FREEBIE at my TPT store! Check it out by clicking on the link below.

The list contains 4 categories: Classroom, Organization, Paperwork, Etc.

I have also included a blank sheet with the same categories for you to write in your own to-do list! 

I hope this helps you wrap up your school year so you can RELAX this summer!

:) Jenny

Favorite 5th Grade Read-Alouds!

In my last post I wrote about my daily schedule routine. I am kind of obsessed with posting the daily routine, both for the sake of my students and my sanity. And thinking about my schedule, there is really only ONE thing that absolutely, positively, must must MUST happen everyday (besides lunch, I guess!)... and that is read-aloud.

Read-aloud time is one of those fantastic low-floor, high-ceiling times of day. As a class, we can tackle challenging text that many students wouldn't be able to decode or comprehend by themselves. It is also a chance to expose kids to books they wouldn't normally select. I am a strong believer in reading aloud even to upper grades kids, and the research supports it, as well. Check out some of my favorite read-alouds below (I've linked each picture to Amazon if you want to buy any!). Woot woot!

 Current Read-Aloud: Crash by Jerry Spinelli

I was first introduced to this read-aloud when I was student-teaching back in 2003. Alas, I was finally introduced to the freakin' wonder and awesomeness of Jerry Spinelli. Having never read his books when I was younger, I never realized what I was missing! I love that many of his stories have a focus on the outcasts, because as we all know, the outcasts are the ones who are actually cool in college and forevermore after that (It gets better guys!!!). Crash is a book about bullying, and it's unusual in that it is written from the perspective of the bully, rather than the victim. It's funny, heartfelt, and completely memorable.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I just read this book for the first time with my students, and they seriously LOVED it. When we finished, I asked the kids how many of them liked it and would encourage me to read it to my class next year, and their hands instantly shot up! Part mystery, part friendship story, part coming-of-age story, and ultimately, part science fiction, this is a page-turner that has it all. Plus, it's a Newbery Award winner that I don't think many kids would choose on their own. I like to expose my kiddos to high-quality literature they might otherwise never pick up, and this is the perfect example of that.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo

I have a bone to pick with my grade-level team about this book. They are not fans, but this book makes me feel so many things, I just don't understand how one couldn't love it! It's about a spoiled, self-centered rabbit doll who gets separated from his family through a freak accident, and moves from family to family through the years, learning lessons about love and life. It will make you laugh and cry (I guess most people anyway!) and I absolutely ADORE IT.

The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant

I've used this story to help my students practice the strategy of asking questions during reading. It is about a magical cafe run by a man and his young daughter, and in each chapter something intriguing and mysterious happens. It is a sweet, beautifully written story that makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. Plus - hello- Cynthia Rylant is a superstar.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

This is my favorite read-aloud to start the year with. It's about a school that has one classroom on each of 30 floors, instead of one floor of 30 classrooms ("The builder said he was very sorry."). Each chapter stars one of the teachers or kids on the 30th floor. It is absolutely ridiculous and completely hilarious. One teacher I worked with used to replace the names of the kids in the story with the kids in her class (super fun, although I could never keep all that straight!). Super awesome book to express to kids the joy that can be found in reading. 

So there you have it! Five of my faves. What are the books you tend to read again and again, year after year?

:) Jenny

Schedule Cards!

I sorta have the attention span of a fruit fly, so it is really nice for me to make lists! I love to check things off my to-do lists, and sometimes I even add things to my lists I've already done for the simple pleasure of getting to check them off! Amiright?!?

The most important list I create every day is my classroom schedule. Here's what it looked like on the first day of school:

Next to each Schedule Card (which I have attached magnets to the back of - makes it so easy to move around quickly and cleanly!), I write the target for the day's lesson in kid-friendly language. For example, "I can use an area model to solve multi-digit division problems." Sometimes, I will even write targets for recess ("I can show good sportsmanship as I play today." "I can take turns politely.") or lunch ("I will use good manners in the cafeteria." "I will respond to the attention signal."). I try to read the targets aloud with students as often as possible. Many come in and look at the schedule first thing every morning!

I have created a variety of different Schedule Cards designs that are for sale in my TPT store. Each set includes 45 different pre-labeled cards (3 per page), multiple background choices, and one EDITABLE page. BOOM! Check 'em out by clicking on the images below!



   

       


Hooray for ORGANIZATION! Aaaannnd... cute things! :)

:) Jenny

New Twitter Account!

I LOVE twitter, and while I have a personal account, it has taken me until today to get together a professional one! Please follow me: @MsCaptainPlanIt! I plan on posting links to my products, blogposts, and general thoughts and wonderings I have about teaching! I have pretty random thoughts often, but also some pretty good ones! I'd appreciate you checking it out! :)

The Spookiest Time of the Year!

"Do they dare?" .......... "Yes, they dare."

-The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain

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I love this ~spooky~ time of year! The air is getting crisper, routines are falling into place at school, and the seasonal candy is, of course, delicious!

I created a new product for grades 4-5 just for this time of year!

Here's all it includes:

Math Activities (most with answer keys!)*Multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10
*Adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals
*Powers of 10
*Reading and writing decimals
*2 pages of multiples (skip-counting) practice
*Rounding decimals
*Place value practice
*Multiplication facts review 0-5
*Multiplication facts review 0-10
*Division facts review
*Order of Operations 

Brain Break Activities:
*"This or That?" game
*Word Scramble

Literacy Activities:
*Thank you letter and stationary
*Halloween essay prompts and stationary
*Partner interview
*Editing practice
*Halloween figurative language
*Halloween facts and opinions
*Analogies
*"Evidence Expert" story and questions

Plus a Student Packet Cover in with 2 background choices!

I thought these pages would be great for morning work, stations/centers, homework, or practice pages to accompany your lessons. This would also be perfect to copy some pages from if you need a substitute this time of year!

It's only $5, and here's the link to my TPT store:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Printer-Friendly-Halloween-Pack-Math-AND-Literacy-Activities-Grades-4-5-1483405

I also created some Halloween-themed Division BINGO!

The BINGO set includes 32 different cards (plus a blank card), and a teacher "call list." It's only $2. Shazam!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Division-BINGO-32-different-cards-Halloween-Theme-1491580

We just had a BINGO night at my school this past Saturday. The kids had the greatest costumes! (Although the dead bride FREAKED ME OUT.) I wore my Ron Weasley sweater I got from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, but I don't think most people got the reference... maybe next time I need to wear a red wig. :)

Happy fall!

:) Jenny

Welcome Back to School!

Oh, helloooooo again school! (And this blog, which I have neglected for a bit - Whoops!)

Every year, I create a bulletin board right outside my classroom door with the kids' names on it. Last year, I did hot air balloons, but this year I wanted a brand-new idea! Even when things would be new for the kids, I am the type who likes to change things up to keep ME interested and invigorated!

I turned to my studly husband for advice, and he suggested I do something based on his favorite movie, "The Wizard of Oz!" (I'm glad he didn't suggest his other favorite movie... "The Shining"....that would have been interesting... a little too interesting for me!).

So next I turned to my other favorite place for ideas... Pinterest! I found a few cool ideas, and combined them into.........THIS!

I ended up writing the first names of the kids on the yellow bricks! I went back and forth on what the title should be, and while "If I Only Had a Brain" (he he) was a close second (okay, not really!), I went with "There's No Place Like Fifth Grade." Aaannnnd.... I love it!

What do you like to do for "Welcome" bullletin boards?

Here's to a super year!

Books We've Shared!

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” 

-Lemony Snicket

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I LOVE to read aloud to my students! I really make an effort to do it every day, even though the days are mega-packed as it is. 

When we share a story, I like to use it as an opportunity to understand genre. I have genre posters (from "Really Good Stuff" - here's the link) that I have posted on the cupboards in the back of my room. When we finish a story, whether it's a regular read-aloud or a story we have all shared from our reading textbook, I like to post a photo of the story next to the genre poster it belongs to. I used to just write the title and the author with overhead pen (you know I have TONS of those left since we got our document cameras!) but I think it is more helpful to kids to have the visual. You can either print an image of the cover off of your computer, or literally just make a black-and-white copy using the regular old copy machine.

I prefer to discuss with the students the genre after we finish the book, and some years I am better at that than others. If we don't get a chance to discuss it, I will still post it on the cupboard. Check out the examples below!

We started the year by reading No Talking by Andrew Clements. It was pretty cute and entertaining.

My new favorite picture book author is Oliver Jeffers. You can see three of his books in the photo above. If you haven't checked them out, I would highly suggest it! His books are just so charming.

I also heard of an idea a few years ago about letting the kids vote for some of their favorite stories from the year to reread as school begins to wind down for the year (picture books, of course!). I might try it!

Do you have a way of keeping track and/or celebrating of what books you read together as a class? How do you teach genre?

:) Jenny