We do! Our’s is “What I Am” by Will.i.am (Sesame Street). It’s a great song to play in the morning as students are coming in/end of day when students are waiting to leave. My kids like to act it out as they’re singing. For example, when they hear the word stronger, they flex their muscles. Sometimes I Youtube the lyrics…
Read More
Using a Focus Wall, Highlighting Current Reading Strategies, and Classroom Walkthroughs
I was Pinspired by reading focus walls that were popping up every where on Pinterest over the summer. A big push in our district is inclusion and posting objectives so that anyone, especially students, can know what they will be learning. I also wanted a designated place for my current anchor charts. I do not have enough wall space for…
Read More
How I Stay Organized with My Teacher Binder
Organization is something I have to work at. My desk begins the day clean and organized, but by the end of the day, it looks like a dumping ground of papers, books, markers, pens, etc. The only thing that keeps me sane is my Teacher Binder. The one place where everything has a home. Finally, I can go to…
Read More
Using Sticky Notes as a Formative Assessment
Conferences are this week so I’ll be using the grand old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” to get my point across. I like love using Post-it® Notes as a quick formative assessment for just about anything. I’m sharing two ways I have most recently used these colorful wonders in my classroom. I’m sure every teacher who…
Read More
Common Core-ifying My Classroom Using Rubrics and Student Anchor Papers
Common Core is upping the ante for student performance. This is a bulletin board I used when introducing our personal narrative unit. It was Pinspired by a pin I saw that was geared for younger students and I adapted it for 4th graders. Rubrics are very important and I must admit that prior to attending Common Core Workshops I was…
Read More