Community Service: 🐩Making Dog Toys in the Classroom 🐶

🐶TURN A T-SHIRT INTO A DOG TOY🐶

I am disappointed in myself for waiting until the last week of school to incorporate community service projects into my class. The parents and students were so willing to help and were so thrilled to be serving the animal shelter pups in our community. If you are looking for an easy and FREE service project to do in your classroom, I highly recommend this! 

Working in a low income school, I try to avoid asking students/parents to bring anything in that costs money. Therefore,  I asked students to bring in an old T-shirt that they don't wear anymore. I emphasized that I did not want them to go out and buy one. Many kiddos brought in bagfuls of shirts, so students who didn't have one were covered.

 I used the blog here for instructions on how to make three dog toy variations. From trial and error, my students and I learned to first cut off the sleeves (inside the seems). Then, cut off the collar in a straight line so that you are left with a square (or rectangle) of material. Next, cut both side seems which will leave you with two squares of material (the front and back of the shirt). Cut into strips 1" thick. Cut shirt in whatever way will provide you with the longest strips. Students found that when the strips were too short, it was difficult to tie into a knot.

Between my co-worker and I, our classes were able to make over 60 dog toys in one day and we donated them to our local animal shelter. I am already thinking of ways I can incorporate at least one community service project a month next year. What service projects do you do in your classroom? I'd love some new ideas!

For the Love of Students (and dogs), 

                                                             Emily

   

VOCABULARY POWERPOINTS

Vocabulary PowerPoint 1
  Vocabulary PowerPoint 2
This past school year, I have been reflecting and thinking a lot about the answer to closing the academic achievement gaps in students. As an educator, it is always a challenge trying to accommodate so many different student needs. I am always on the search for answers. I want each of my student's school year to be as beneficial and appropriate to them as possible. My reflection has led me to....VOCABULARY. Now I am sure many of you are thinking..."well duh,"  but emphasizing grade level vocabulary was never a huge focus in our lesson planning. We did vocabulary lessons here and there, but nothing consistently. I plan to change that!
 I decided that for next year, I want to incorporate a vocab-a-day into my routine. I know many teacher's who do this, and find huge success in it. I searched the internet and found a list of 6th grade vocabulary words that have been commonly found in standardized tests, textbooks, and activity books for 6th grade. My plan is to take no more than 5 minutes per day introducing the word and its meaning. I am going to have my students keep a running list in their interactive notebooks of the words and definitions, so they can refer to it all year and even incorporate them in their writing.

The powerpoints I have created, you can find here and here.
Below is a sneak peek. I am keeping it fairly simple, so it is easy and quick to read.

MY CLASSROOM!!! :)

DIY Organization: Never Lose Markers Again!

Markers are like bobby pins. They disappear and can never be found; or, the lids get lost and the markers become useless. This is a trick I learned that will help marker sets stay together and not get lost or accidentally stolen. 

All that you need for this project is markers and duct tape. I evenly lined up the markers on a flat surface. Then, I measured and cut duct tape a little longer than the length of the row of markers so that the tape would wrap around the two end markers just a little bit. Stick the duct tape along the length of the marker lids. At this point all the markers will be fairly secure. Then, flip over the set of markers. Fold over the tape on the top of the markers. Finally, I cut one more piece of tape to cover the other side of the markers.

*Make sure part of the lids stick up over the tape so that color of the lid is visible. 

I love how nice and neat this storage is (I got it at Walmart for a dollar or two). I had no clue when I bought this container how perfectly the marker sets would fit; but I was so happy when I realized the "puzzle piece" fit :) When the marker sets get returned to this container, I will know all the markers will be there and if they aren't, it will be obvious. 

Hope you enjoyed!

For the Love of Students,

Emily

Organization DIY: School Supplies

I have to admit that I am not always the best about organization! However; when I am organized, I feel so much better about myself and want to spend time in the organized space. Since at least a third of my life will be spent in my classroom, I want a space that I will be happy in! I'm hoping that being more organized in my classroom will help save precious time that would otherwise be wasted on searching for lost papers/items. If everything has a place, and is returned to its place :) , the students and I will know exactly where to find things. I plan to share more about the organization in my classroom in future blogs. :)

I got this multiple compartment storage unit from Lowe's. It's meant as a tool box I am sure, but I think it is PERFECT for storing school supplies. It cost my around $15, but I know they go on sale because my friend just bought the same one for $10. 

NOW...to GLAM it up!

• Fun paper. I bought a mini scrapbook paper book at Target and cut the paper to fit inside each compartment. 
• White sticker labels to put over the colored paper so that category name will be visible. 
• Double stick tape to adhere the paper to the inside of each little drawer.
• Marker to write each category name

I purposefully left some containers empty so that there is room to grow my supply collection. Also, I may  realize new categories I would like to add in the future.

I got this container at Walmart. The reason I wanted this container, apart from the other, is because the drawers are deep enough to fit writing utensils. 

This container is for the students to access. The top drawer is for extra homework pages for the students who were absent or misplaced their homework. Then, there is lined paper for the students to use when they run out of writing space in journals, on tests, etc. Finally, in the bottom drawer, I will put papers without names so that students can find lost papers.

Cheers to DIY projects and cheers to staying organized! :)

For the Love of Students,

Emily

Mascot Management: Reduce Noise in the Classroom

      I have been given advice from multiple teacher friends that a great way to eliminate a noisy classroom is to take away a portion of the students' passing period time. This idea really only will work for middle school and older, assuming that elementary students do not have passing periods.

HOW IT WORKS:
      Using your school's mascot,  spell out the mascot letters on the board where it is visible to all students. When students get too noisy, start counting down from five. If you get to zero before all the students are quiet, one letter of the mascot is erased or taken off the board and the students lose 10 seconds of their passing period. For every letter that is removed during a given class period, multiply by ten and that's how many seconds after the bell the students must remain in the classroom.

WHY IT WORKS:
       It's simple, middle school students love socializing! Taking away the few times during the day where they are able to talk with friends will motivate them to cut the chatter.

I plan on giving this tactic a try in my classroom this year. I am always looking for an excuse to craft and I love glitter so I came up with this. Obviously my school's mascot is the Jaguars and our school colors are green and white. 

WHAT I DID:

I bought wooden letters from Hobby Lobby. They were around $1.25 but HALF OFF! Score!! I then painted the letters green. Once the paint dried, I sprayed mod podge over each letter and sprinkled on green glitter. Finally, I used hot glue to adhere heavy duty magnets to the back. I used two magnets, however, one may be enough.  I wouldn't recommend magnet tape because it is not strong enough to hold up the letters.

I love how it turned out and cannot wait to hang them up in my classroom (photo to come!). It's purposeful and incorporates school spirit in the classroom. WIN.WIN.

For the Love of Students,

Emily

Ten Pin{terest} Linky: Classroom Decor

What was life for a teacher before Pinterest?!...It is undeniable that Pinterest is just overflowing with AMAZING, innovative ideas. I have been all over Pinterest in the last few weeks and would like to share my top ten classroom decor tips.

1. So I am throwing around the idea of doing a technology themed classroom with my sixth graders; hence, a few of my top ten will probably be related. I'm loving the whole iPhone apps decor. What I specifically love about this board is that the author gears it towards digital citizenship and even includes QR codes for articles, videos, and quizzes on being a good cyber citizen and how to use the internet safely.

2. I love the idea of hanging this on my door or in line of first sight when students enter the classroom. I want my students to know they are loved by me everyday. Some students may not be told these things enough!

3. Anything that will help me be more organized, I am ALL about! This is a wine rack holder with cheap plastic cups from Walmart. The options are endless for the types of supplies that can be stored in this: pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, etc. 

4. This seems like it could be an effective management strategy for upper grades. SWAG suggests being "cool" right?...So, doing these things is cool then? A teacher can hope. :) I am not entirely sure what the points go for at the bottom but it seems to me like the class is rewarded for everyone following the rules; therefore, creating self-motivation among students to not let down their peers.

5. Easy, cute, and out of the way. Enough said. :)

                                                                                                                                                

 

6. In my class, I would change the word "math" to "reading/writing," but I like how this board creates an area where students can look for recent anchor charts. I would laminate the iPod so I could always be changing what's "Now Playing" to align with daily targets. Plus, this is just super cute.

7. I love this "building character" quote. This website has loads of FREE downloadable classroom quotes!! 

8. I love the idea of taking old or even new cabinets, shelves, etc. and spicing them up a bit with patterns and paint.

9.  WHOAH! I am a sucker for a little lot of glitter!! This is so incredibly easy to do and will stand out in the classroom. Just spray Modge Podge, pour some glitter, hot glue gun a magnet to the back and voila! I'm sure the janitors will love me!

10. Yet again, another technology themed decor post. You can't say you weren't warned! :) This is simple but I like that it sticks with the theme. These little text-looking blobs are a great place to post homework assignments, announcements, and upcoming news. Students can be trained from day 1 to check these blobs as soon as they get in the classroom and before they leave the classroom for the day. No more excuses that they didn't know what the homework was.

I had a lot of fun browsing Pinterest and coming up with my top 10 decor list. Writing this blog got me all giddy and excited to start decorating my classroom. Thank you Ashley for creating this!

For the Love of Students, 

Emily