Mrs. F and "Danish Rounders"

While subbing for middle school PE we played a form of kick ball called "Danish Rounders." This game is definitely different, however the 7th and 8th graders really enjoyed playing. I hope your students do as well!

Mrs. T & Mrs. P and the Daily 5 Centers

I've been to two classes recently that use Daily 5 during their Literacy Block. I found a few good ideas for setting up and carrying out Daily 5 routines that I'm going to, hopefully, remember for the future!

In the first classroom, Mrs. P had a bulletin board for her Daily 5. She has her first grade students select their Daily 5 choice by moving a mini clothes pin that have their name on it. My favorite part of the bulletin board were the specific posters for each choice. Listed on the poster was a description of the choice and then two columns of instructions. The first column listed what the student does when selecting that specific center and the second column lists what the teacher does. I especially like the part about what the teacher does, it reminds students that we are ALL working during Daily 5! 

The second classroom was third grade and Mrs. T had a Daily 5 Report the students fill out each week. There are 15 Daily 5 sessions a week and she has come up with a way to monitor who goes where and when. What a great way to ensure that students are rotating to each center!!  

To interpret the Daily 5 report, Mrs. T has 3 twenty minute sessions a day, 5 days a week. That's 15 sessions :) The students rotate to 3 different centers in one day and check them off on their report as they go. The number of times a student visits a center is preassigned by the teacher. The tickets are turned in every Friday and graded. I love that Mrs. T uses this card to manage where students can/should go to accomplish Daily 5 choices! Her system can be implemented into any classroom, changing the centers and stats would be easy to ensure these Daily 5 Reports have the "just right" fit for your Literacy Blocks!

Mrs. T and the 3rd Grade Zooland

Today, I subbed for third grade, walked into the classroom and this was the first thing I noticed...

No, this isn't stuffed animal jail but a project for their Animal Unit. This idea is going to be short and sweet, all I have is a few pictures, one poster and a discussion from 3rd grader about Zooland.

Me: I'm curious, what are all these stuffed animals doing in the classroom?

Student: We're starting Zoo World! (Later I found out it was Zooland)

Me: That sounds fun, what is Zoo World?

Student: We all brought an animal to study and then we're going to invite other classes to our zoo and teach them about the animal we've been taking care of.

 She didn't elaborate much about their study and/or lessons. I did find the letter sent home about Zooland...and will hopefully have the chance to create a zoo someday!

Mr. P and the Bathroom Pass Notebook

Having students leave class to use the restroom is never convenient. No matter how many times you remind them to use the restroom before school, during lunch, at recess ,etc. it's always going to be a hassle. For teachers who choose to monitor the restroom ins and outs, I've seen two ways to do this...

First, the Printed Bathroom Pass. Here are a list of reasons why I'm going to pass on bathroom passes.

1. Having to print them out.
2. Watching students frantically search for their pass.
3. "I lost mine and I really have to go!"
4. Tearing off passes one at a time.
5. "I don't have any more and it's an emergency!"
6. Printing them again.
7. "I had a bathroom pass but then I traded someone who really needed it and they didn't give me one of their new bathroom passes like they said they would." 

Second, the Bathroom Pass Notebook.  I saw this in Mr. P's 4th grade class and thought it was a great way to monitor bathroom in and out's. It works like a sign out sheet, here is an example.

• Bella has 3 bathroom passes for the week. 
• She may leave the classroom at a teacher-approved time.
• Before leaving, Bella finds her name and writes the date in the first column. 
• The two empty columns indicated she has two more bathroom passes that week.

I like the notebook because I don't have # 2,3,4,5 and 7 happening during a lesson! I don't throw away little pieces of paper I spent time printing and cutting out! (Okay, #5 WILL happen, but a teacher can tell a real emergency from a fake one!)

•  Laminate one sheet, rinse and reuse!
• Keep it in good view! Wouldn't want a little rascal signing out on another student's name...
• No roll over minutes ;)
• I'm sure there are many more...let me know if you have one to share!.

P.S. The picture of the toilet paper comes from my favorite inspirational speech about teachers...

Mrs. S and Battleship

While substituting for a Middle School PE class, I observed a game called BATTLESHIP. I love this game for many reasons! First, this game requires teamwork. Second, this game can accommodate for many different class sizes. The class I observed had 42 students and I tried this with a 5th grade PE class I substituted for that had 26. Third, this game is separated into teams - the teams get a break now and then, but the play is quick enough that they stay have to stay on their toes and be ready. Last, the game is like Dodge ball - what student doesn't like Dodge ball?!

If you're looking for a fun game to play with your PE class, a new game to play as a class incentive, or for a rainy day activity..try BATTLESHIP! Lesson plan attached below...

Ms. M and the Color Coded Classroom

After teaching 4th grade for a number of years, my first experience outside of 4th grade was in Middle School. I taught an 8th grade block class. I had three, 90 minutes block classes teaching language arts and social studies. I thought I did pretty well organizing the hundred plus students I was working with but that was until I substituted for Ms. M's 7th grade social studies class. She definitely takes the gold in organization! She has a grand total of 163 students separated into 6 different classes. Her classroom organization is AMAZING!

The very first thing I took note of was her folder...

As a substitute I absolutely love having this as a reference. In addition to a detailed lesson plan and prepared materials for your sub, you NEED this reference! It helps big time! Ms. M's Seating Chart and Class Lists Binder is above and beyond, it no doubt took her a few hours to organize, but well worth the time! I believe this is a great resource for middle school teachers as well as elementary teachers. Elementary teachers...this won't take you hours! :) Included below are photos and a few notes for creating a Seating Chart and Class List Binder like Ms. M's! 

1. Print out a picture of your classroom layout for all classes you teach.


2. Label each classroom layout. The "4" you see in the pictures represents 4th period. For elementary teachers, this will only need to be done once.

3. Assign a key in the bottom left corner that you can highlight. Some options may include IEP, ESL/ELL, TAG, + (for medical notes), Resource, etc.

4. Laminate the classroom layouts.

5. For each class, print out a class picture roster. Cut out each picture so the name is included.

6. Label each student's picture. Highlight first names according to your key, use white out to write your notes. Ms. M wrote everything down from how to pronounce names to what the student is allergic to.

7. Place a 'peel and stick' glue dot on the backside of each picture. They stay on the paper, but allow you to move students on the laminated layout to create new seating arrangements.

8. Arrange all students on the layout.

9. Buy the heavy duty sheet protectors and place each classroom layout inside... the fancier the better, you'll be flipping through these a lot!

Back to the title of this post... 

...Ms. M's color coded classroom! She begins with color coding her classes, then has those colors match color coded schedule posters, assignment collectors/returns, assignment organizers, Popsicle stick containers, and even magnet clips! Take a look below how color coding can help 6 different classes stay organized!

One last note, Ms. M taught me something about her Popsicle stick containers. She told me that on the top and bottom edges she put a mark on a student's Popsicle stick if he or she should not be called on to read aloud. She said she shuffles them around, grabs two or three, then drops the one that has the color. Students who feel uncomfortable reading in front of the whole class, have a speech IEP, etc., will not be accidentally called on, which is great...and you won't have to explain why a student  was "skipped!"

So many little things learned from Ms. M's classroom that have added up to ONE BIG Blog post! Thanks, Ms. M! 

Mrs. C and Notice and Note Bookmarks

I first saw Notice and Notes Bookmarks in Mrs. C's classroom while I was substituting her 7th Grade Language Arts class. Each student had a bookmark (on the left) to fill out as they read their book report book.


Mrs. C also had these 6 posters around her room (on the right), no doubt a visual from a lesson with her class about Literary Signposts where you Stop, Notice and Note as you read!

While teaching 4th grade, I loved book reports! I was always trying something new. When I saw Mrs. C's bookmarks I didn't think "book report." Instead, I thought they'd be a great tool to check student accountability when they are silent reading during centers. It's hard to monitor if the student is actually reading while you're meeting with groups, etc. This is the perfect assignment for students to do independently and turn in at least one a month for their center grade...requirements adaptable to grade levels of course! This could even take the place of book reports...I'm sure parents wouldn't mind at all :)

If you like this idea, I'd begin at the beginning of the year with a class read aloud. Together we'd practice the procedures and have mini lessons focusing on each literary signpost. You could implement this into every read aloud and then students will be confident and comfortable with this assignment when it's time for them to complete one on their own!

After visiting with Mrs. C about her signposts and bookmarks, she told me that this came from a training she went to recently! This was all new to me and as I Google"d" Notice and Note, I found a lot of resources as well as the source! I look forward to learning more about Notice and Noting and thought I'd share with all my teacher friends out there! Good Luck, and if you try this, let me know how it goes!