It's basically summer break...

via Mrs D's Corner

I just found this image from Mrs D's Corner,  but the gist of it has been running through my head for the last month for two reasons: 1) who doesn't feel like they need a little summer break at this time of the year & 2) the more the school year seems to be winding down, the more I realize how much stuff we have to cram into the remaining time.

Today is our first official day of spring break (side note: yay!), but before I left the school last week, I was planning and realizing that it will basically be April before we get back into the curriculum. With field trips, assemblies and fun events, June is usually a write-off, so that means we have April/May to get everything finished. Yikes!

Before we focus on the next few months, let's have a little recap of what we've done lately.

We had a little down time last week, so we did a directed drawing that I found on Art for Kids Hub. Lucky for me, this one had a video and step-by-step images.

via Art for Kids Hub

During the past month, we have had way too many indoor recess days. Just Dance videos to the rescue! Here's a new, fun one:

Since we are out so early for spring break this year, we don't return until after St. Patrick's Day and Easter, so besides the leprechaun directed drawing, we kind of glossed over those two holidays. If we did have more time, leprechaun traps seem like a fun idea…

via Our Thrifty Ideas

…and these pastel pysanky eggs would make an adorable Easter card for students to make for their parents.

via The Elementary Art Room!

We finished up a class novel study and I'm really hoping all the work we did on comprehension sticks as the students move onto independent novel studies. If you need some novel ideas for your students, I wrote a post about it {HERE}.

Now, onto the next few months. One way to make the most of your time in the classroom is by using morning work. Just a few questions of daily review are so important to make sure students do not forget what you've been working on throughout the year.

Click {HERE} to check out spring morning work for more grades.

But, before you even start worrying about the next few months, you've got to get through the first few days back. To help you cope as you re-adjust to the school day, I've got a fun, little spring break-themed freebie.

Grab the freebie {HERE}.

Whether you're on spring break or not, have a great one!

6 Book Series for Reluctant Readers

Let's kick this post off with a quote that I wholeheartedly believe…

For me, finding books that students love, regardless of genre or topic, is probably my number one priority. I want my students to love reading and I try my best to model and encourage that every single day. When a student tells me they don't like reading, my standard response is:

Today's post was actually inspired by one of my students today. After months of being apathetic towards reading, he actually asked if he could take a book home for the weekend…I felt like I had won the lottery.

So if you are having a difficult time finding chapter books for some of your struggling readers, I've got a list of six book series that have been read and reread by my students over and over again during the past few years. Initially I was going to write this post about book series for reluctant BOY readers, but as I was composing my list of books, I realized that most of these books are enjoyed equally by all my students.

All images via Amazon

1) Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Did I really need to mention this series? I thought I had finally stopped hearing about "The Cheese Touch"…until a student mentioned it just the other day. This series has been going strong for years and will hopefully engage reluctant readers for many more.

2) Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

I am constantly being asked by my students to find more books from this series. The boys and girls in my class are fully obsessed.

3) Stink by Megan McDonald

I've known about Judy Moody for a few years, but I just discovered the spin-off series for her brother Stink. The length and reading level of these books makes them perfect for struggling readers who want to move onto chapter books…and what kid can resist reading about a character named Stink! Bonus: they are illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, the author & illustrator of some of my favourite picture books.

4) Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Another no-brainer for this list. Rick Riordan now has a bunch of other similar or spin-off series, including the new Magnus Chase series. My students freaked when I told them about this new series before it was released in October.

Another great thing about the Percy Jackson series is that they are now available as graphic novels, a format that my students adore.

5) Bone by Jeff Smith

Like I said, my students adore graphic novels and I know they are not alone. Our school library has multiple copies of these books because they are always checked out.

6) Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

What can I say? Another graphic novel favourite.

Do you have any other series that would make great additions to this list?

Thanksgiving Math Mystery Phrases & Freebies

Can I just say how lucky we teachers were that Halloween was on a Saturday?!

We really dodged a bullet this year! Alright, now that I've said that, we can move on to the next holiday, Thanksgiving!

Of course here in Canada we have already celebrated Thanksgiving, but since I missed the blogging boat for that, this post is for next year...or for all my American friends!

First up, freebies. A few years ago I created a few random freebies that you may find useful during the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

You can click {HERE} or the picture above to check them out.

I love incorporating the holidays into my lessons wherever possible, so I just finished up a new set of Thanksgiving Math Mystery Phrases.

My favorite thing about these? The addition of the mystery phrase to each printable adds a self-checking feature that allows students to double-check their work. Click {HERE} or any of the pictures above to check out the mystery phrases. I also have mystery phrases that are not holiday related available {HERE}.

Finally, let's talk about art. I love trying new art projects and this post by Craftwhack has some great ideas for autumn.

via Craftwhack

These ideas aren't strictly Thanksgiving-themed so they could be done throughout the autumn months.

I think I hear some leftover Halloween candy calling my name…enjoy the rest of the week!

Halloween Brain Breaks

Well, now that October has begun, Halloween fever seems to be in full force. Let's jump on the Halloween train and talk about a few Halloween-themed brain break videos, shall we?

In no particular order:

1) Calling All the Monsters

2) This is Halloween

3) Monster Mash

4) Thriller Animation

5) Ghostbusters

6) Spooky Scary Skeletons

7) Day O

8) Becky G "Problem (The Monster Remix)"

In other Halloween news, I just finished up a new Halloween-themed Math Mystery Phrases pack that I'm really excited about.

This is my first mystery pack that covers various standards: rounding, expanded form, written form, basic multiplication & division, double-digit addition & subtraction, triple-digit addition & subtraction, skip counting, multiplying multiples of ten by single digit numbers.

Not only does the mystery aspect help engage students, but the addition of the mystery phrase lets students self-check their work.

If you're interested, you can click {HERE} or the pictures above. If you'd like non-holiday related Math Mysteries, I have a bunch available {HERE}.

Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Daily Review: A key to success in elementary math

The first few weeks of school have been pretty great. We've done a ton of team-building/getting-to-know-you activities and I think the students are really starting to bond as a unit. We are slooowwly inching towards the more academic side of things and I think it will prove to be quite interesting. The learning needs of this year's students are extremely diverse, so incorporating differentiation daily will be a must.

One routine that I think will be key to math success for all students this year is a daily review.

Original photograph via Free Images

But, why is it so important to review daily?

One reason for me is, frankly, our math program. Is yours like ours? Split into separate units with seemingly no overlap? I feel like that segmentation just doesn't work for us, because that is not how math works. We don't learn place value at the beginning of the year and then never see it again - we see it constantly.

From place value to basic operations, we constantly have to rely on those foundational skills that we learned weeks, months, or even years ago. Just like any other skill, math skills need to be used and practiced to keep them in top form. If our math program does not provide students with the opportunity to practice the basics, we must find a way to give students that opportunity, and daily review is a perfect example.

Because it reviews previously taught concepts, a daily review also provides students with plenty of opportunities to fill in gaps in their skill set. Not all students are going to grasp each concept the first day it is introduced, but by continuously seeing that concept and working on it through the year, a daily review allows students to experience success at their own pace.

So, how to incorporate a daily review into your schedule?

To be honest, you've just got to make the time. I know that for me, it seems like a constant struggle of trying to fit in all the things we have to do throughout the day, but I find a daily review important, so I fit it in the schedule.

The first thing to do to make it work is set up a routine at the beginning of the year. Whether you do a review as morning work, at the beginning of your math period, or at some other time of the day, if you get the students familiar with the routine, early on in the school year, you will save time throughout the rest of the year. I give out a few weeks of review at a time for students to keep in their books and then when they come into math class each day, they've already got the review and they know where we left off, so they can get started on it right away. Since I keep my reviews short and to the point, it really only takes up a few (15 max.) minutes of our class. The students work independently and then we quickly go over the questions and move on to the day's lesson. The review is a great way to get students settled and only takes up a small fraction of our class time.

If you're interested in trying out a daily review with your students, click the buttons below to head to the best packets for your grade level:

All the above grade levels have individual & bundle packs available. I am currently working on the fifth grade version and have individual packs available for Back to School, Fall & Winter. For those packs, click the picture below:

Do you use a daily review in the classroom? I would love to hear your opinions on the topic.

First Day Student Name Tags

A great idea for the first day of school is to have students create their own name tag for their desk. This provides them with a sense of ownership over their desk and new classroom and provides a low-key art activity for the first (or second) day of school.

Most of the students I will be teaching this year (*note: we have not yet started the school year) already know each other. In fact, I already know/have taught the majority of them, as well. This means that, although we will still be doing some important community building/icebreaker activities, the students will also need some informal getting-to-know-you/reconnecting-with-old-friends time. It also provides me with a great opportunity to circulate and chat with each student - so important!

One more bonus for this activity . . . it is low prep! If you teach older students, all you need is some pre-cut card stock (as small or large as you prefer) and a teacher sample. You can give your students the freedom to write & decorate their name as they choose, or give them a sample to follow, so all the name tags look uniform when displayed on their desks.

There are a ton of great name art examples online to inspire you, but here are some of my favourites:

*I love this idea from the blog of Rob Golombek Jr. Art Teacher. Have students write their name in bubble letters and fill the letters with a pattern of their choosing:

Via Rob Golombek

Via Rob Golombek

*Have students create a rainbow name tag like these from The Happy Teacher:

Via The Happy Teacher

*I love the look of these 3-D names from Art with Mrs. Seitz and they're super easy to read which is perfect for name tags:

Via Art with Mrs. Seitz

*If you teach primary, you could always have the students' names pre-written in block letters and then let them color them in, like these from 4th Grade Frolics:

Via 4th Grade Frolics

Now I'm off to do more back to school planning!

My Favorite Resources & a Back to School Freebie

I've got a few more glorious weeks of summer and then it is back to the classroom for me. I have to be honest, I have not been having as many back to school nightmares as I usually do, but I'm sure they'll start soon!

Today I want to talk about my favorite resources for the classroom, so let's just jump right into it.

1) Morning Work

I said morning work, but really this system could be used at any point throughout the day. Typically, morning work is used in the morning to help settle students and provide them with a little language or math (or both) review. I like to split that up and have the math review at the beginning of the math period and the language review at the beginning of the reading/writing block. However you do it, I think the important thing to take remember is the routine & the review.

Students (and teachers) often thrive on and need routine. That doesn't mean you can't switch it up every now and then - by all means, keep it interesting - but I find that students (especially struggling learners) really work their best when they know what is expected of them throughout the day. Plus, establishing this routine early on will cut down on all those "What should I be doing?" questions during the morning or the beginning of a period.

Now routine is important, but let's not forget about the review aspect. I will never forget when I was student teaching and my mentor teacher and I decided to give the students a little exit ticket on place value. We were not working on place value at the moment and oh boy, it was an eye opener. This was when it really hit me, how important it is to incorporate review into the daily schedule. Students not only need to review the new material with which they are being presented, but also those ever-so-important basics that form the foundation of their learning.

When we talk about a daily review, I don't think it should be extensive. That can waste valuable class time and be counterproductive. I mean a simple, daily review, where every student can feel successful. I created Daily Math and Daily Language reviews that are super easy to use (just print and provide to students) and with only five questions per day, do not take up too much time or overwhelm students.

If interested, you can click the picture above to be taken to the 3rd Grade Daily Math Bundle, or click {HERE} to check out the other grades available. I've finished 1st through 4th and am currently working on a 5th grade version.

I also have Daily Language available:

Again, you can click the above picture to check out the 3rd Grade bundle or click {HERE} to check out the rest. I've finished 1st through 3rd (bundles and individual packs available) and am currently working on a 4th grade version.

2) Formative Assessment

Like I said, I have yet to head back to school, but one question I know I will be needing to answer soon is "Where are my new students at?"

When I was in University, the professors could not speak enough about the importance of formative assessment and that is something I always try and incorporate a ton of into the classroom. Before you start working on the new curriculum for the year, you really need to find out what your students know and what they still need to work on. This year, I've created a Back to School Ready pack (available for 3rd & 4th) of 10 printables (5 math and 5 language) to get a good idea of where the students are at, based on the previous year's standards. This will give you a great idea of your group's strengths and weaknesses, which is essential when planning for the year.

Click the pictures above to head to the 4th grade version and {HERE} to check out the 3rd grade one.

3) Reading Comprehension Printables

Reading comprehension strategies, where do I begin? Through teaching reading and doing learning support, I've come to realize that reading comprehension strategies are kind of like mental math strategies. Some students just get it, some students get it but can't explain why they get it and some students need to be explicitly taught it, sometimes repeatedly. I've worked with struggling readers in the past who had to use a certain printable to show their thinking. The problem? They didn't understand how to use the printable, so of course they didn't know how to show their thinking.

I created two packs of printables, one set to be used with picture books and one set to be used with novels. The great thing about these is the age range is flexible and they can be used over and over again, with any book. Work together as a class to teach students how to use these at the beginning of the year and then they become an independent tool for students to re-use throughout the year to show their thinking as they read.

Click the picture above to check out the picture book pack and the picture below to check out the chapter book pack.

So, those are some of my favorite year-round essential resources, but now it's time to switch gears for a back to school freebie! If you've already been back in school for awhile, you can always tuck this away until next year!

Help your students get to know you with this fun, editable freebie! Fill in 10 facts about yourself and let the students decide which are true and which are false. Go over as a class and blow your students' minds with all the details (or only a select few!) about your life. Works best if you've led a fascinating life!

Share a classroom? No problem! I've also added a printable where you fill in the facts and have students decide whether they apply to one teacher, both or neither.

And finally, if your students had a blast discovering facts about your life, they'll probably love telling you about themselves, so I've also included a student version.

Click any of the pictures above or {HERE} to grab this freebie.

If you're interested in any of the resources I talked about, make sure to pick them up tomorrow during the one-day-only Teachers Pay Teachers Boost Sale. My entire store will be on sale and if you use the promo code "MORE15" you'll save even more! Just what I needed, another excuse to do back to school shopping!

Thanks for reading!