Daily 5 Center Rotation

I was reading a post at the Wise Guys blog, when I was inspired to write one of my own.  If you haven't checked out their blog, you should: http://wiseguystpt.blogspot.com/

I was finding that when students were given the choice of centers, they were picking their favorite and never completing any of the rest.  So when I came across these Daily 5 rotation bookmarks, I was ecstatic! 

You can check out the originals at http://randalllearninglibrary.blogspot.com/2011/04/daily-5-bookmarks.html

If you laminate them, you can have the students check off the categories as they complete them with Sharpie.  It wipes off easily with rubbing alcohol.

The "Must-Do" at the top for our class is to read for 15 minutes from their buddy books.


As I mentioned in a previous post, I keep the literacy center activities stored in hanging pockets beneath my chalkboard.  I got these pockets from Really Good Stuff.  They're pretty sturdy and they keep the centers visible.

I keep the Daily 5 labels in the front of each pocket so kids know which activity they are completing.  I also staple one of those labels onto the activities so they make it back into the correct pocket.

Center Organization Linky Party

Two things I've really been working hard to try to incorporate in my classroom this year: The Daily 5 for intermediate grades and organization.  So, when The Lesson Plan Diva started hosting a linky party for center organization, I was more than happy to participate.

Check it out for yourself:

http://www.lessonplandiva.com/2012/01/center-organization-linky-party.html

So far my organization isn't fancy or ingenious, so I'm happy for any suggestions you might have.

These are the color codes I put on my classroom library books. This is based off of Beth Newingham's system.  Check it out at http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/library%20Organization.htm

I also use her basket labels that help students find different book genres more easily.  It's kind of hard to see the labels, so you can check it out at http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/basket_labels.htm

The double copies of books (buddy books) are in the baskets on top.  They're organized by the last name of the author.

This is the rack where I keep my "Hot Reads" (the books I've recently read and enjoyed). 

This shelf is half listening center (the white and blue baskets) and half student supplies.  The white baskets are portable tape players (known as walkmen for all us products of the 80s) and the blue are the portable CD players.  I wrote numbers on the CD/tape players in Sharpie, and hot-glued the corresponding number on the basket.  That way, students know which players belong in which basket.

This is a close up of the table that houses the hanging bags that hold the books on CD and books on tape.  Both the book and the CD/tape are in the bag.  I try to keep the CDs and tapes on seperate hanging racks.  There's a pull-out drawer on wheels below.  I keep the extra books and listening equipment down there.

I got the hanging racks at http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/product/store+more%26reg-+wire+works+hang-up+totes+storage+rack.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search for $20.00. 

Here's my "Literacy Center."  I'm trying to divide the pockets into various Daily 5 categories, but I'm not all done with that yet.

This is a close-up of some the cards I'm using to help the kids differentiate between the stations.  I also try to include these on the activities themselves, so everything returns to its rightful home at the end of the day.



Here's where I store extra center materials, particularly the bulky ones.

Clutter Free Challenge Week 4

http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/01/teacher-work-area-clutter-free.html

My personal goal goes along with this week's challenge extremely well.  I got rid of my desk, and so far I'm not having any separation anxiety.

I know it doesn't look like I did a ton of work, but let me assure you that I did.  Today was a TWD, and I spend about 85% of it decluttering and arranging this area.

I also fixed my "big honking cord across the middle of the room problem!"

The cord is now covered by the rubber strip that I was apparently supposed to have when the Fire Martial came last month (oops!).  It also travels a much shorter distance, and over half of it is located under a computer table.  Booyah!

Also of note:  The cubbies are sorted, labeled, and decluttered.  The top of the cubbies contains the bare essentials.  Love!

While I'm sure I'm not completely done here, I have made a huge step in the right direction.  I still plan to put a semi-table skirt around the table and to spray paint/polka dot the tin cans I've been collecting as pen holders.  Alas, that will have to wait at least a couple of weeks until I'm caught up on other things.

Here's the next disaster area I'm tackling:

Can you tell what it is?  I'm not sure I would be able to if it weren't my own little monster.  That, my friends, is a closet buried under a sea of there's-nowhere-else-to-put-it-so-I'll-shove-it-in-here.  I have no misconceptions, this is going to take some serious planning and time, but I will do it!

Teaching Elapsed Time

I need to teach a basic understanding of elapsed time to my fourth-graders. 

While there are many excellent center-type games, what I'm really looking for is word problems or activities I can put on the interactive whiteboard.

Here's an example of something my kids would have trouble with:
Kyle started his homework at 4:05 p.m.  He has football practice at 5:45.  How long does he have to complete his homework before he has to go to football practice?

Do you have any good word problems, web sites, or whiteboard activities to help with this?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Peer/Buddy Conference Posters for Writing

I made some posters to display during writing time because my students seem to zip through the editing/revising stage of writing without giving it much thought.

Here's one for the student who is getting edited (the writer):

It's available in my TPT store for free: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Buddy-Writing-Conference-Rules-Poster-for-the-Writer

Here's the one for the student who is the editor:

It's also in my TPT store for free: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Buddy-Writing-Conference-Rules-Poster-for-the-Editor

Clutter Free Challenge Week 3

Visit http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/ for the details on this and previous blogs.

Here are the prompts for this week:
How much were you able to escort out the door this week?
Well.....
The biggest achievement is that I got rid of the desk!

Going....

Going.....

Gone!

Here's a pic of the wonderful new "filing" drawers that will further help me to get rid of that clutter behind the table.

How did you feel while you were purging?
In a word, accomplished!  I was hot glue gunning the heck out of my classroom labels and donating unused materials like crazy.  It kind of felt like the beginning of the year when I run around and try to organize everything.

Now here's where I need help:
What do I do about the big honking cord that HAS to run underneath my newly located table?

If I put the table skirt on as I previously planned (see below), I'm worried that the kids will kick the cord out of the wall accidentally.

Is there an easy fix to the cord problem?  Any ideas?

Liebster Award!

I am honored to have been given this award by Jan at Third Grade Etc!  Check out her blog at http://www.thirdgradeetc.blogspot.com/.

Since I also recently blogged about receiving The Versatile Blog Award, I won't repost all my information (the rules for that award are really similar).  You can check that out at http://begborrowandteach.blogspot.com/2012/01/nominations-but-not-for-president.html if you would like.

I'm going to repost five "newer" blogs that I follow (even though they're listed in that posting).  Check them out, they're pretty cool!

http://literacymathideas.blogspot.com/

http://teacherpark.blogspot.com/

http://www.thesciencepenguin.com/

http://teachinginroom6.blogspot.com/

http://teachingmycalling.blogspot.com/

http://www.simplycenters.com/