Organizing All Your New TpT/Pinterest Resources and Planning Long-Term

I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with everything that I have going on, everything that I want to do, everything that needs finished, and especially with all the new ideas I want/am/need to implement this coming school year.

How do you deal with all the stress?

I have seen so many amazing ideas out in blogland this summer. My mind is constantly spinning with new ideas and how I can implement them in my classroom.

After talking to my bestest teacher friend last night, I finally think I have something that will help ease all my fears.

Today's post is going to focus on all the new teaching elements I will add to my classroom this year, plus how I plan on organizing my ideas/brain.

Here is goes....

First, here are all the resources I have worked on over the summer to get my littles started on the right foot. I wanted to get as much completed this summer as possible. Now that I am a new mom, I know I won't have as much time once I get home from school to work on grading and creating as much I have been able to do in the past.

 

These question cards will be printed on colored card stock, laminated, and placed at my guided reading table. We will use them during reading groups to check for understanding of the texts that we read.

I am trying a more positive classroom management tool this year. This year my little ones will be able to move up or down the clip chart depending on their behavior. They will be able to win good behavior tickets to pick out of a coupon book I purchased on Tpt (see below).

 

Our first grade team has always implemented interactive writing. I just jazzed it up a bit. I added writing sheets for each student to follow along. I only have the fall set ready to go. Each student will have a folder where they place the pre-typed writing or their writing piece in the folder. Just depends on how it's going.

 

My Grammar and Punctuation Rule Book worked wonders for introducing/practicing grammar rules. It only took 15 minutes, one day per week to implement this. I plan on doing it again this year. I just changed the font and some wording for this year.

 

Making Words is something that our first grade team did as well. I just made homework practice sheet with the letters all ready to go. Last year, I didn't send this home for homework, but this year I plan on sending it home every Wednesday night for homework, then on Thursday we may or may not do it again together in class. Just depends on how the week is going and what else we are doing in the classroom.

 

I can't wait to try out my Pirate vs. Princess Book Study Unit. This is something I did during student teaching. Now, I just have all the resources ready to go. I plan on implementing this sometime in September to get my little ones really into reading fiction books.

 

In first grade we spend some time learning about pumpkins. Last year I didn't have the resources I would have liked to have so I created many graphic organizers and activities to do during that time.

 

These Reading Response Sheets will be a great addition to reading groups and homework. I plan on teaching my little ones how to use the response sheet in reading group then I will occasionally send them home for extra comprehension homework.

 

My school purchased a new math curriculum for us this year. I made this pack of resources to go along with the first two chapters of the Go! Math series. I am adding a math focus board to my room this year. It is behind my guided reading table which will also be used for guided math. On the board, I will put these essential question cards and vocabulary cards. There are also several activities to be used during partner time when we have whole group math.

 

As part of my writing block, I created a writing keepsake. I will use this for monitoring my little ones writing and to send home at the end of the year to their parents. This is something that my little ones will complete on the last day of each month.

 

Writing has probably been my biggest change so far. Before our writing block only consisted of writing prompts and whole class writing. I hated it! So this year, I am doing writing workshop. I have purchased several different writing resources on TpT (see below) that I plan on using to jazz up my writing block.

Here is one of my last big changes. My littles ones will have a word work menu that they will use during Daily 5.

This is by no means a promotion of my products. I just thought with being overwhelmed it would be a good to reflect on everything by writing and sharing it with other teachers.

Second, here are all the amazing resources I have purchased from other amazing teachers out there. If you click on the pictures it will take to that product for you to get for yourself.



I plan on using this resource from Laura Martin as independent practice during my math groups.





These guided reading and math starter sticks from A Modern Teacher will be used for just what they say...to get my little ones started at guided reading and guided math.

(For some reason I can't find the link to these resources. I will keep checking.)



These classroom coupons will be used as a companion to my classroom management clip system.



This writing pack is my biggest addition to writing. I plan on having my little ones choose what they want to write about once narrative, informative, and opinion writing as been introduced to them.





I've already blogged about they two resources, but they will be used during Daily 5 at Work on Writing.

 

Lastly, here is what I am currently working on at the moment. I created these blank calendars and long term planning sheets to help me organize all the new resources that I have gotten over the summer and to plan long-term for lesson units and the Common Core Standards.

 

Click here to get your long-term planning calendars and the blank calendar so you can start planning out how your going to implement all your new ideas this school year.

 

 

Now, I can't wait until school starts so I can finally put everything into action. Once the school year starts I will be putting up more classroom happening pictures.

 

 

Yours in Teaching,

Classroom Behavior Management: The Clip System

So, I have never really been to fond of the clip system. The school I work at uses it but you can only move your clip down and there is nothing positive about it.

 

 

 Last year, I used a combination of the green, yellow, and red clip chart, and I also gave out stickers for positive behavior. The "sticker winners" system worked wonders. But this upcoming year I want to make a change to how I manage my student's behavior.

 

 

My goal is to combine the clip system with positive reinforcement like "sticker winners". I have done tons of searching on some great blogs and finally came up with a system that I think will work for myself and my students.

 

 

First, I needed to update my clip chart. I want my students to be able to move up for great behavior but still have them move down for bad behavior choices.

 

Here is a glimpse at what my behavior chart will work like. On the side of the picture is what my chart will end up looking like.

 

 

 

My chart has six different spots that my little ones can move to. Everyone will start on green (Ready to Learn). Then it is up them on where they will move to. I am a stickler for good behavior. I DO NOT just hand out prizes, stickers, rewards, etc. for little things. My students have to really show me that they are making the best choices possible. The same goes for bad behavior choices. I don't let my little ones slack. I hold them accountable for all the choices they make. (Wow, I sound like a meanie!) I'm really not that tough, but my students learn how things roll in our classroom. :)

 

 

My students can move up to purple (Great Day) and pink (Outstanding), which is the highest spot possible. They can also move down to yellow (warning), orange (Think About It), and blue (Teachers Choice).

 

I do like rewarding my students for their good choices and behavior. I have opted out of doing "sticker winners" this year. Instead, I have recently purchased Laura Martin's Classroom Rewards Coupons to Reward and Inspire from Peace, Love, and First Grade. I absolutely love these coupons. It was exactly what I had in mind and she saved me tons of time in creating for everyone to use! 

 

 

Just today, I purchased a great binder to place all the coupons in and I finished my Classroom Behavior Management: The Clip System Packet. I am well on my way to being behavior managementized! All I need to do it print, laminate, and make! (I am waiting until August to start putting things together.)

 

Here is my fabulous polka dot binder I bought from Wal-Mart. (BTW...I went to the store to get some things for my little man and BAM! school supplies were out! I about had a heart attack. Needless to say, I walked out of the store spending $50 more than I had planned. Oops)

 

 

 

In my behavior management packet, you will find tickets that I have created to give to my students who have made good behavior choices. These are the black and white version. There are also colored tickets to use too.

 

 

 

Here is my plan:

 

1. Any student who is on green, pink, or purple will get a ticket at the end of each day.

 

2. I am going to use my blank and white version of the tickets to save on color printing.

 

3. If a student is on green they will get one ticket. If they are on purple they will get two tickets. If they are on pink they will get 3 tickets. {Remember, I have very high expectation so they will have to work really hard to be on purple and pink.}

 

4. On Fridays, my students will have the opportunity to "cash in" their tickets for rewards.

 

5. I will have a "treasure box" with prizes that value 5 tickets each.

 

6. The classroom coupons will start at 10 coupons and go up.

 

7. Behavior calendars will go home each night in their take-home folders. (I was really bad about having them color in their behavior each day.)

 

 

 

8. I will keep track of why students moved their clips up or down for conferences sake.

 

I am also going to send home my family letter that explains my classroom's behavior management system.

 

 

There is also another version of the family letter that does not include the reward system if you do not implement that in your classroom.

 

I am really hoping that this system works and that my little ones will really enjoy it and thrive in my classroom.

Click on the picture to get our own Classroom Behavior Management: The Clip System packet.

 

 

 

Don't forget about my Just Because Giveaway! I will pick a winner to choose any item from my TpT store Friday morning.

 

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

What a Week! And A Weekly Homework Recording Sheet {Freebie} for Throwback Thursday

OMG! This has been one of the craziest weeks I have had in a long time.

 

First, the hubster went to fix a leaky toilet and found mold in our bathroom. Disgusting! So now we are currently working on redoing our entire bathroom. I'm secretly excited to get an updated bathroom. No more 90's pink and white tile and walls!

 

Then, it is like monsoon season here in Ohio. I'm pretty sure it rained for like a month straight. Our yard flooded multiple times and our basement flooded! :( Luckily, we only had junk on the floor so nothing important got ruined.

 

Also, the hubster has been working tons and I've been stuck at home with the little man for 4 days without internet! It's finally fixed so now I can get back to work on school things. What did we do without internet!?!? I thought I was going to go crazy.

 

Anyways, here is a little something that I have been working on and I'm using it as my throwback Thursday. 

 

I was looking back at how I managed my little one's at-home reading. It worked fine but to be truthful I only looked at the date on their reading log to make sure that they did their homework.

 

For this year, I want to hold them a little more accountable for their reading at home. This homework recording sheet was inspired by my teacher friend at school. It is basically the same one they use in second grade, but I will only have my little ones writing one sentence all year. Where as in second grade they write one more sentence each quarter.

 

On Mondays and Tuesdays, my little ones will be required to read for 10 to 15 minutes then write one sentence about the book they read. Easy Pease Lemon Squeezy.

 

Right now I thought I would have them complete math homework on Wednesdays, but I am pretty sure I am going to change that to something else. I am currently working on something amazing for my classroom that I will add to my TpT store. Which will probably turn into their Wednesday night homework. I just can't finish it until I can get back into the school.

 

Thursdays, I just want my little ones to focus on their spelling/word wall words. I still expect them to practice every night, but this will be their only focus on Thursday nights.

 

I also updated my parent letter that will be sent home the first night when they are required to complete their homework. I think we start school August 21st and I won't send home this homework sheet and the parent letter until September.

 

 

You can click here to get the Homework Recording Sheet.

 

Here is my original post from July 2012

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading at Home for Firsties!

The other day I made a July and August checklist hoping to be a little more organized in completing my projects, instead of jumping around from one unfinished project to the next. I'm just so excited that I want to do everything at once! Ahhhhh!

The last couple of days I have been working on getting ready for the first 6 weeks. The first thing I made was a Home Reading Log. I wanted to really keep track of what type of reading my little ones are going to be doing at home. So, I included a spot for the parents to mark which ways they read together and a spot to mark how well their little ones did at the retelling. Hopefully this will work!

I am hopeful that the parents will be honest when marking how well their little one did on the retelling. I made three ways that the parents can evaluate their child.

They can mark:

E - Excellent Retelling

S - Satisfactory Retelling

D - Had Difficulty Retelling

There are 20 spots on the reading log to fill in. Once a student fills up a whole page they will get to place a sticker on an incentive pad that I will have displayed somewhere in the classroom. Once I can get in there to set up I will post pictures!!! Hopefully they finish waxing the floors soon. Eeek!



I also created a parent letter to introduce the home reading log. I tried to explain the different ways they can read together to stress that young readers become confident as readers and fluent by also listening to good readers read. They don't just have to read themselves.

You can get a copy of my Home Reading Log and Parent Letter here as a freebie!

Tell me what you think by leaving me a comment if you take my freebie! I always get excited knowing that other teachers are using my items!

 

 

 

 

Favorite Pins...Classroom Organization

 

For this post I am going to focus on my ten favorite classroom organization pins that I would like to incorporate into my classroom next school year.

 

I like the idea of only focusing on one topic at a time. My brain is flowing and I need some way to manage it. :) This coming week I am only going to work on creating organizing things.

 

So here they are. My top ten favorite classroom organization pins to focus on this week.

 

 

 

1. I have the perfect bookshelf to do this with. My plan is to place my word work centers that will be out all year in the file folders. I can't wait to see how this will work.

 

 

2. I like this idea and I think it looks super cute. I just don't know if it will work for me. I might just have to make it and test it out to see.

 

 

3. I love this frame notes idea. I was recently cleaning out my basement and I found the perfect frame that would work for this. I plan on writing important reminders on it each week.

 

 

4. This drop box will work wonders. Last year my littles would be so excited to hand me important notes right when they walked in the door. Even though I told them to keep them in their take-home folder they still felt the need to hand them to me. I'm going to try this and see if it works better.

 

 

 

 

5. I like the idea of having everything displayed. It just seems to make sense. I have a spot for this at the front of my room. We will see if it works out with the new layout I plan on doing.

 

6. I am constantly changing my reading groups. I waste so much paper righting the groups out, rewriting them, and then writing them again to make them look nice and neat. This will save me tons of time and paper. :)

 

7. Having everything at your finger tips makes everything run smoothly. I love the idea of having drawers with manipulatives just for me at my finger tips. It makes the idea of principal walk throws less scary knowing that I won't have to stop and search for something that I need to continue a lesson.

 

8. Last year my anecdotal notes consisted of a piece of notebook paper and I wrote names and notes all on one piece of paper. But when it came time for grade cards or conferences it was just a mess and hard to find notes about a particular student. This will be great and it will help keeps my notes organized.

 

 

 

 

9. I have had this idea pinned since last summer. I never tried it but I think it will be a life saver. I had so many littles not put names on papers last year. Like, there were so many that I ended up just throwing their work away because no one could claim there work. This will NOT happen again this year! I REFUSE! 

 

10. Remember how I said I had a not so well behaved class last year. I'm hoping it was just that group of students and not a first grade thing. But I am going to do everything in my power to not let things get out of control. I am going to pick a mystery walker each time we head out into the hallway. It's just one more way to keep my littles under control. Wish me luck!

Now, just for a little humor....

 

I can only hope! :)

 

Be sure to link up with Cara from the First Grade Parade's Favorite Pins Linky Party.

Yours in Teaching,

 

Optimum Organization...Teacher Planning Binder

I can't say enough how much I like enjoy LOVE organizing. I just sent a text yesterday to my teacher friend that said "I love organizing!"

The linky party Optimum Organization was just made for me!

 

 

My organizing tip for this week is how to create and organize a teacher planning binder. You can click on the picture below to get your own copy of my planning cover pages.

 

 

 

Here is the cover page to my teacher planning binder. Right now it's just in a page protector until I can get a binder that has a cover page slip. It's a lot harder to run errands with a 10 week old than I ever imagined.

 

Tip #1 - Get a binder with a cover page slip. This allows you and other teachers to know which binder and who's binder they are looking at or found if you tend to miss place things.

 

Tips #2 - Have your daily lesson plans as the first section in your binder.

 

I look at my lesson plans multiple times in one day. I find it is easiest to have my lesson plans in the front since that is what I use my binder for the most.

 

 

 

Here is what my lesson plan format looks like. And yes! Those are plans for the first week of school. Can you believe I already have the first two weeks planned out!

 

 

If you're like me you always write on your last copy of what seems like everything without even knowing it then this is the best teacher organizing tip I could ever give! This picture is my lesson plan template in a page protector.

 

Tip #3 -  Behind all your copies put a master/original copy in a page protector. This keeps you from writing on your last copy and then you know it's time to make more copies. This organizing tip has saved me many a times!

 

Tip #4 - Include any curriculum mapping in your teacher planning binder. That way when you are doing your lesson plans you have a guide right at your finger tips. Keep them both in the same place and it will save you time when planning.

 

Here is my curriculum mapping that I am currently working on. I have about the first 6 weeks finished. I'm going to work on the rest during school.

 

Tip #5 - Curriculum Mapping: I have included spaces for reading, spelling/phonics, math, writing, and science/social studies. I use this map to house any mini lesson, craftivity, or theme project for one week. By no means do I use everything on that page in one week. It is just a guide to help me plan my lessons. It just gives me some ideas.

 

Also in my planning binder, I include a copy of the first grade common core standards. Every once in a while I like to look over them to make sure that I am covering everything that I should be covering.

 

One of my teaching goals for the next school year is to stay in contact with parents more. To help with this goal is my next teaching tip.

 

Tip # 6 - Keep copies of all whole class parent letters in your teaching binder for easy access.

 

This will help you greatly from year to year. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel each year. Keep original copies of all your parent information letters to refer for years to come.

 

Below are some of the letters I have included in my planning binder.

 

Next I always keep my class lists at hand. This section also has parent contact info.

 

This part is where I keep my more formal guided reading plans. Below you will see what I use to plan out my guided reading groups. It is super simple.

 

My last section is where I keep all the original copies of my writing workshop resources pack. Since they are originals they are all in page protectors as well.

 

 

 

 

Yours in Teaching,