In the Classroom: Would Your Rather...??

Where do venomous jellyfish, vomiting wild dogs, trampling hippos, and cold blooded pythons come together?  In my classroom of course!

I love getting my students excited about learning and what better way to inspire them, then to give them choices and a little bit of "grossness"

That is what I did with my new opinion writing unit, "Would You Rather... Opinion Writing"

Complete 4 week, 50 page unit is for sale in my TpT store..

Would You Rather... Opinion Writing Unit

Every day was a new and exciting question for student to share their opinions on...  "Would you rather wrestle a black bear or an alligator?", "Would you rather have a pet chimpanzee or python?"  After students had a chance to express their opinions in groups, we used the mentor text "This or That Animal Debate" to learn more about the topics.

Great book with small, two page spreads about each of the topics. 

For each "Would you rather..." question, students filled out organizers, planning out their opinions and supporting reasons with me modeling and guiding each step of the way.

Just a small sample of the 50 page unit.  

Then came the big day!  Students got to choose which one of the questions they wanted to write their essay on.  Even my most reluctant writers were excited to share their opinions on these topics!

Working their way through the writing process, students learned how to hook their readers,  choosing transitions, and ways to end an essay.

Unit comes with posters, student forms, checklist, and CCSS writing scoring rubric.

In the end, students had a chance to share their amazing writing with the class and we displayed all of their essays in the hall for other students, parents, and staff to enjoy.

If you would like to see more of my "Would You Rather... Opinion Writing Unit"  Please visit my TpT store for full preview, product description, table of contents, and thumbnails.

Happy New Year and Happy Writing!

Friday Favorite:

There are some things in my life that I couldn't do without.  They make my life easier, more fun, less stressed, and more productive.  One of those things is the simple...  STAPLE REMOVER!

Now, I didn't realize the impact a good staple remover had on my life until I lost one of mine and the other broke.  You might be saying, "Well, just go buy another one!".  Good point, but if you are a teacher like me, you know that sometimes it isn't that easy.  I am busy, busy, busy and when I do get to a store that would carry such a product, buying one slips my mind.

The dreaded Snake Fang staple remover.

So, I went a whole year and a half using a broken staple remover.  I mean the kind that looks like a little letter opener...  not the snake fang looking one....  I REALLY dislike using those.  It wasn't until right before Christmas, when I was taking down A LOT of artwork from the wall, that I decided that enough was enough!!

Luckily, one of my families got me a gift card to Office Depot for Christmas.  I was so excited... Finally I would get my staple remover...

I added wash tape to give them a little pizzaz.  

And WOW!  What a staple remover it is!  Did you know that they now come with comfort grips and are ergonomically designed for easy staple removing?  Well, I didn't!

It is a masterpiece...  a true testament to fine design...  all for under 4 bucks!

The only thing that would make it better is if it had GPS... cuz these little suckers are bound to walk off.

Do you have a favorite thing?  Something that makes your life easier?  If so, feel free to share in the comment section. I look forward to hearing from you!

In the Classroom: August Organization in December

I realize that I am posting about August organization in December...  I tend to be on my own time line on occasion.  But, actually, this fits in a way.  January is a time of new beginnings.  People renew their resolutions, update their goals, and reflect on the year that is gone.  I tend to do the same thing for my classroom organization.

Homework return basket and attendance sticks as students walking the door.  Last year I had supply drawers and book boxes for each student.  

First day packets and "Future Fourth Grader" letters from last year's students.  Letters are full of helpful "tips for success" for my new students from former students...  the experts!

I love late August...  right before the students walk through the door for the first time.  Every shelf organized, every book in its rightful place, every detail PERFECT...  

Reading and study area.  It is great to have table space for students to move to if they need more room to work.  

I love my color scheme here.  This organization didn't last long, but it sure looked lovely.  

...and then the first day of school hits.  

Boxes of tissue, canisters of disinfectant wipes, book bags, crayons, reams of paper, and pencils teeter in piles in every box and flat surface.  Students fill in all those quiet empty spaces.  

The school year has begun.  

So during winter break I stop, take a breath, and take a look at these pictures to remind myself of how it was in the beginning, before the chaos.  I also reflect on what didn't work in my "perfect plan". 

Science table with microscope donated by Donor's Choose donors.  My language arts wall.  I put my anchor charts here, one on top of the other, for students to have access to when needed.  The blue sentence strip holders are for my CCSS "I Can..." Statement strips.  Birthday bags are in the back, up high... pre-made for students because I am awful at remembering birthdays.  

I actually look forward to spending a quiet day or so in my classroom this couple of weeks, just me and my dictionaries, cleaning, organizing, and sorting through piles of papers.  Once again my space will be perfect and welcoming.  

Happy New Year!

In the Classroom: Shrinky Self Portraits

The holidays strike fear into the hearts of many a teacher....  Parties, emotional outbreaks, gifts, sing-a-longs, performances... Oh my!  Those of use who love order and routine have a really hard time with the chaos that the holidays bring to a classroom.  Ok... maybe that is just my perspective, but I'm sure someone out there feels the same way.

I think my biggest issue with the holidays was parent gifts.  Do I? Don't I?  Do we have time?  What should we make? Will it turn out?  on and on...

I have had my serious flub ups... the year we tried to make photo holders out of mini clothes pins... major disaster!  But last year I had one of my all too infrequent bright ideas...  Shrinky Self Portraits ornaments.

I had an annual art project that I did with each of my classes at the end of the year... self portraits sun catchers.  I decided to take that idea and use shrink film instead of transparency sheets.

 I took photos of each student and printed them out in black and white.  When I looked into Shrinky Dink film, it was very expensive.  Luckily, while searching Amazon.com, I found Graffix Shrink Film.  They have clear or opaque.  Last year I used the opaque and it worked out really well.  This year I accidentally got clear, which worked fine, but I like the opaque better.

Student put the shrink film over their photo and used Sharpies to trace and color.  The key is make sure that students trace the outline SHAPES of their features.  When coloring with Sharpies, students don't need to completely fill in their pictures.  The color will concentrate as the film shrinks.

If you plan on using these for ornaments, make sure you hole punch the film before you put it in the oven.

Before putting in the oven.

Follow the directions for shrinking the film that is provided on the back of the package.  It only takes a few minutes for each portrait.  You have watch the film carefully as it shrinks.  I had a couple curl in on themselves and I had to wrestle them apart with a fork and a knife.  Not a fun time.

In the oven...

Taa Daa!  SHRINKY DINK!

The film shrinks into the perfect size for an ornament.  I had students put ribbon through the holes and tie to finish them off.  I wish I had a picture to share, but I didn't take one before the students took them home.

Last year I had students write Dear Santa letters and write them on the bottom of their portraits.  They had to ask for something for someone else and it had to be something money couldn't buy.  It was wonderful to see some of the ideas the students came up with.

I know this post is a bit late for you to do this project for Christmas, but it would also be great for Mother's Day or end of the year memory gift.

Happy Holidays to you all!

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At Home: My New Passion, Clip Art

I've always considered myself an amateur artist.  I dabble in this, and I dabble in that, and then when I get bored, I'll move onto something else... I'm a Sagittarius. I'm built this way.  Lately, I've been floundering... looking for my new art fix.

So, I'm planning a trip to Vegas this summer and I'm trying desperately to save up the money ahead of time.  Do you know how much I've saved? That's right!!  $0.00!  So, where can I earn some extra cash, share my teaching passion, and be creative?  TpT!  For those of you who don't know what TpT is,  it is a great website where Teachers create products and sell them to other teachers, thus the name TeachersPayTeachers (TpT).

I had purchased from TpT before and there are some wonderful products out there.  I took the leap and became a seller... and I sat on that for months.

Here were the snags for me:
1.  You have to put out a free product first.
2.  You have to make sure all clip art, borders, and images are copyright free (no random copying from the Internet)  Yikes!  I knew I could buy clip art, but UGH!  Brick Wall.

Finally, before Thanksgiving, I posted my first two product:  Turkey Notes and Life Skill posters.

Turkey Notes and Life Skill Poster title pages.  

So, here is where the artistry comes in.  I've been making my own clip art and borders.  It is something totally new to me and I love it.  I'm a puzzle person and putting together a piece of clip art is like putting together a puzzle. 

It Takes Patience and time!

Making your own clip art is a HUGE lesson in problem solving, too.  I'm not much of an instruction reader...  I'm more of a DO IT AND IF IT DOESN'T WORK THEN FIND A VIDEO person. 

 Pssst...  by the way, my wonderful husband is a tech geek... whenever he starts talking, all I hear is Charlie Brown's teacher, "Waaaa, Wa, Waaaaa, Wa."

The above graphics are some of my very first attempts at making clip-art.  Here is a *FREEBIE* I made for the Holidays:

And a collection of holiday clip art and borders:

A collection of clip art and stationary you can use in your own products, blogs, etc.   $3.50

And here, Da-Da-Daaa,  is my latest posted endeavor:

Rounding for 3rd Grade - 10s and 100s Place (click on product for a link to it on TpT)

 I think the graphics have really come a long way!  I'm working on a project right now that I can't wait to share and post on TpT.   It is a bit artsy, but I can't do it any other way.  

So, If you have never attempted to make your own clip art, give it a try!  But be warned!!!  It is an addictive hobby.   

Okay, I do have a confession to make... I have spent hours upon hours working on my seven "amazing" (at least I think so) products and I have only sold one item.  :)  But I am not daunted!  I am having so much fun making my products, and being creative in the process, that the fact that I only have $2.00 for Vegas seems like a small (very small) price to pay.  Well, I've got to go.  I have a Rattlesnake to Round-up! 

In The Classroom: Watercolor Trees

If you are new to my blog, Living a Teaching Life, welcome!

I am always amazed when I work with children and art.  Every child is unique, just like their artwork.  Some children are methodical and careful, others are carefree and take risks and the results are always amazing!

This week I want to share another great watercolor project my students completed!  While searching through Pinterest for winter watercolor projects, I came across  Abstract Trees  from Art Projects For Kids.   It called for very few materials and was perfect to put into practice some of the watercolor techniques my students have been exploring (see last week's post).

Here are some of the finished masterpieces:

Thank you for visiting!

Thanksgiving - Teaching Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is fast approaching.  You see the sentiment everywhere from Facebook to Twitter.  

What I am Thankful For...

Well, I am thankful for a lot of things, especially the fact that I have a great career and get to work with children everyday!  

I have been talking to my students about being thankful and showing appreciation for the things they have in their life.  It is an important lesson. 

On Friday, my students wrote what they are thankful for on turkey tail feathers and then put them around the body of a turkey they had colored and cut out.  I think this would be a great activity for almost any grade level.  Students could only choose up to 8 feathers so they had to prioritize their "thankful for" lists.  It sure gave me a lot of insight into my students lives.

On Monday we will be helping our younger "buddies" complete their turkeys by gluing the "belly feathers".  We got the three dimensional feathers by wrapping small squares of tissue paper around the end of a unsharpened pencil or the eraser end, dipping it into a bit of glue, and then pressing it down on the turkey belly.  You have to make sure you get the "feathers" close together.  

I plan on following up this activity next week with these great "Turkey Notes" downloaded for free from my Teachers Pay Teachers  store: Teacher Tidbits.

  

I don't know abut you, but I love getting thank you notes.  It is nice to know when people appreciate what you are doing.  I hand students a page of 3 notes and let them write quick little thank you notes to classmates, teachers, school staff, etc.  We hand them out throughout the day.  The kids feel good about giving appreciations and the staff get to smile at the cute things kids say.  

Here is an similar thank you note I got a few years ago.  It made my day. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here's to good food, family, and friends... and to taking a moment to appreciate  the blessings in your life.  

Cheers!