After posting my last post, even though it wasn't much, I found something that may be able to turn our teacher jobs into more of what things would be like the first day of school. The Washington Post has a really interesting article...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/
This article has really made me think about my classroom and my teaching style. Yes, my ideal room would be having my students sit down and not say a word so I can talk the entire time....
However, that may always be the best solution. I want to encourage all teachers whether you teach middle school or high school to read this! It may put a different perspective on teaching! :)
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Despicable Me
http://giantgag.net/teachers-be-like-minions/
Despicable Me is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I mean come on...who doesn't love the minions!? :) As teachers, we all have had the despicable moments of our career or even of our week. We love seeing our students everyday and love seeing their smiles each morning (well after a skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks) but mostly seeing them grow throughout the year. Anyways, now that it is the end of October, I think/know we all feel a little burnt out and a bit despicable. So, I want to let you, teachers, know that you are not alone in your job! Everyday counts and does makes a difference in your students life...even the days that can feel a bit despicable!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
6th Grade Science- 3D Animal Cells
My 6th grade class just finished learning about plant and animal cells! I really wanted to do a hands on activity with cells, so this past week we created 3D-models of an animal cell out of jello and candy. My kids LOVED IT! In my opinion, they looked okay and I probably would make a few adjustments for next year, but like I said the kids had a blast! I mean come on, what 6th grader doesn't like artificial colors, sugar, and getting a bit messy!? So here is what I did before we completed this lab.
Materials: (A great project to do around Halloween!)
Before lesson:
Over the weekend, my oh-so-kind sister helped me make the jello and put the liquid jello in each snack sized plastic bag. We figured that about 3/4 cup of jello was a good amount for each student. I bought 8 packages of jello for my 30 students and it worked perfectly.
After making the jello and putting them in the individual bags, we put all the little 30 zipped bags in the fridge to fully gel. Then, we distributed all the candy the students would need in bags (dixie cups would work well too) so there wouldn't be 30 hands in the nerds box, skittle bag, raisin bag, etc. After placing all the candy/material in individual bags, we took a break and ate some of the left over candy! Please, don't forget that step! ;)
Here are a few pictures of the prep work!
Lesson:
After going through an example, I passed out the individual jello bags and then had a student pass out the candy bags. After passing out the bags, I had a poster and we went through the names and functions of each part of the cell. I was really surprised how much the students remembered the functions and the names of each part of the cell. Once we got to the golgi body, I had students all take their twizzlers out and fold them like a wave to really make the golgi body stand out. Finally, I had my students write a lab report and examine their 3D animal cell! I did not let them eat it in class, but would have to wait till they got home to eat it! Hope this is helpful and make's your students smile too!
Pictures soon to come!
Materials: (A great project to do around Halloween!)
- Snack Sized Zip Plastic Bags = Cell Membrane
- Yellow/Orange Jello = Cytoplasm
- Nerds = Ribosomes
- Skittles = lysosome
- Jelly Beans = centrosome
- Gopstoppers = vacuole
- Peel and Pull Twizzlers = Golgi Body
- Raisins = mitochondria
- Gummy Worm = Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Sour Gummy Worm = Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Palmer Wrapped Eyeball Carmel Chocolate = Nucleus, Nucleolus, and Nuclear Membrane
Before lesson:
Over the weekend, my oh-so-kind sister helped me make the jello and put the liquid jello in each snack sized plastic bag. We figured that about 3/4 cup of jello was a good amount for each student. I bought 8 packages of jello for my 30 students and it worked perfectly.
After making the jello and putting them in the individual bags, we put all the little 30 zipped bags in the fridge to fully gel. Then, we distributed all the candy the students would need in bags (dixie cups would work well too) so there wouldn't be 30 hands in the nerds box, skittle bag, raisin bag, etc. After placing all the candy/material in individual bags, we took a break and ate some of the left over candy! Please, don't forget that step! ;)
Here are a few pictures of the prep work!
Lesson:
After going through an example, I passed out the individual jello bags and then had a student pass out the candy bags. After passing out the bags, I had a poster and we went through the names and functions of each part of the cell. I was really surprised how much the students remembered the functions and the names of each part of the cell. Once we got to the golgi body, I had students all take their twizzlers out and fold them like a wave to really make the golgi body stand out. Finally, I had my students write a lab report and examine their 3D animal cell! I did not let them eat it in class, but would have to wait till they got home to eat it! Hope this is helpful and make's your students smile too!
Pictures soon to come!
Saturday, October 11, 2014
A Bug in the Drawer
Bugs are totally gross...I get it! Trust me! If I mention the word "bug" in my classroom, I have more students (yes...boys too) on the desks than I have ever seen before! It's so crazy how we are so BIG and yet afraid of something SO small. This past week, I noticed that when I open the top drawer in my desk, there is this small beetle like bug sitting on my reward tickets! Every time, I try to inch my way into the drawer and move my hand to pick up the reward ticket (with the bug sitting there), this little stinker goes back under the drawer where I can't get to it! I have attempted to remove this bug for three days and have had no luck. You are all probably thinking, why don't you just empty your drawer and take the drawer out? Yes, I could empty everything out of the drawer and remove the drawer and then get this bug, but I have realized that this has turned into a game and one day I will win this game and put this bug in a better place for him which will be outside!
Now almost finished with the first quarter, this bug got me thinking. We all have bugs or little aggravations or little moments in our school days that we don't expect. Lesson plans don't go as well, a last minute meeting scheduled, common core standards that need to be taught, curriculum maps that don't quite match to today's date, or basic concepts/topics that need to be reviewed which takes time that should have been mastered the first week of school! Good grief, where's the bag of chocolate!? :) But yet, we still make it through each school day and school year seeing students/teachers succeed, smile, share, learn, and grow!
Hebrews 10:24 KJV
Now almost finished with the first quarter, this bug got me thinking. We all have bugs or little aggravations or little moments in our school days that we don't expect. Lesson plans don't go as well, a last minute meeting scheduled, common core standards that need to be taught, curriculum maps that don't quite match to today's date, or basic concepts/topics that need to be reviewed which takes time that should have been mastered the first week of school! Good grief, where's the bag of chocolate!? :) But yet, we still make it through each school day and school year seeing students/teachers succeed, smile, share, learn, and grow!
Hebrews 10:24 KJV
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works"
Sunday, September 14, 2014
First to the Finish Line
I'm not sure about you, but as a teacher I get the frequent, "I'm all done with everything, what can I do?" I absolutely hate this statement and tell my students that I have another assignment and then they usually respond with "No, actually I have something else to do! because they know that something "boring" and school related is coming there way!
So this year, I really wanted to try to limit this as much as possible and keep all students occupied with something to do. Plus, give them a choice of what to do!
For those who finish there work well, I will sometimes give students 1 point extra credit if they complete a "fast finisher!"
Here is a list I came up with for those "fast finishers"....
1. Boggle
I found a freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers for a free Boggle Board with letters. After printing off the letters I laminated them and then created a Boggle Board in my classroom! I try and changed the Boggle board every week and have a competition for this! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
2. Math Money Dollar/Hundreds Words - This actually came from another blog who has awesome ideas! She uses this in her 4th grade classroom and for her it seems to work very well. Here is the link to her freebie!
http://fourthgrademathnut.blogspot.com/2013/06/inflation.html
3. Big Kid Geometric Coloring Pages
This website, Geometrip, has free downloads to really cool geometric design coloring pages that would keep 5-8th graders busy for a while.
http://geometrip.com/free/coloring/designs/
4. Word Searches
My students love word searches and there are several websites that provide free printable word searches.
5. Highlight Seek and Finds
At Barnes and Noble, I bought a Highlights for Kids Challenge Seek and Find book, and so I don't ruin the book, I put a transparency over the top of a page and use large binder clips to keep it in place. Then, I give the students a dry erase marker to complete it!
6. Silent Reading
In the back of my classroom, I have a "library" that my kids love to pick out a book and just read!
7. Color
My 6th graders love to color! I try to keep crayons and scrap paper out at all times.
8. Puzzles
In the summer, I try to stock up on games/puzzles that I find at Target or at The Dollar Tree. If any one of my students finish, they love to go somewhere in the classroom and sit and complete a puzzle.
:)
So this year, I really wanted to try to limit this as much as possible and keep all students occupied with something to do. Plus, give them a choice of what to do!
For those who finish there work well, I will sometimes give students 1 point extra credit if they complete a "fast finisher!"
Here is a list I came up with for those "fast finishers"....
1. Boggle
I found a freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers for a free Boggle Board with letters. After printing off the letters I laminated them and then created a Boggle Board in my classroom! I try and changed the Boggle board every week and have a competition for this! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
2. Math Money Dollar/Hundreds Words - This actually came from another blog who has awesome ideas! She uses this in her 4th grade classroom and for her it seems to work very well. Here is the link to her freebie!
http://fourthgrademathnut.blogspot.com/2013/06/inflation.html
3. Big Kid Geometric Coloring Pages
This website, Geometrip, has free downloads to really cool geometric design coloring pages that would keep 5-8th graders busy for a while.
http://geometrip.com/free/coloring/designs/
4. Word Searches
My students love word searches and there are several websites that provide free printable word searches.
5. Highlight Seek and Finds
At Barnes and Noble, I bought a Highlights for Kids Challenge Seek and Find book, and so I don't ruin the book, I put a transparency over the top of a page and use large binder clips to keep it in place. Then, I give the students a dry erase marker to complete it!
6. Silent Reading
In the back of my classroom, I have a "library" that my kids love to pick out a book and just read!
7. Color
My 6th graders love to color! I try to keep crayons and scrap paper out at all times.
8. Puzzles
In the summer, I try to stock up on games/puzzles that I find at Target or at The Dollar Tree. If any one of my students finish, they love to go somewhere in the classroom and sit and complete a puzzle.
:)
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Animal Kingdom Classification Tree Project
Well, I have to admit that I am not a science teacher by any means. I am a teacher, but not a science teacher. I can plan lessons, stay organized (well 90% of the time), and provide something for students to do.
This year, I have been given the opportunity to teach math, science, and social studies to 6th grade. Math is my concentration and obviously the easiest for me. However, I thought science wouldn't be too difficult since it has a lot of connection with math and it is very black and white...well I was wrong..science in 6th grade is very difficult if you have no idea what they are learning! Right now, I am teaching them about the biosphere, adaptation, and classification. I remember doing all of this in 6th grade but to actually TEACH this material....it has been much more of a challenge than I thought.
Anyways, I have really been struggling finding assignments for them to do independently that go along with what we are learning. I don't have a teacher's manual so I have been working hard at creating my own lessons and Googling like crazy for ideas.
This year, I have been given the opportunity to teach math, science, and social studies to 6th grade. Math is my concentration and obviously the easiest for me. However, I thought science wouldn't be too difficult since it has a lot of connection with math and it is very black and white...well I was wrong..science in 6th grade is very difficult if you have no idea what they are learning! Right now, I am teaching them about the biosphere, adaptation, and classification. I remember doing all of this in 6th grade but to actually TEACH this material....it has been much more of a challenge than I thought.
Anyways, I have really been struggling finding assignments for them to do independently that go along with what we are learning. I don't have a teacher's manual so I have been working hard at creating my own lessons and Googling like crazy for ideas.
ANIMAL KINGDOM TREE
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Math is beginning to FALL all around us...Order of Operations Style
This week in math, my lovely 6th graders have been working hard on understanding Order of Operations. One of the worksheets they completed was a "color by number" sort of activity but rather than numbers they had to solve mathematical expressions. Here are the pictures of the worksheet. I also posted just the leaves picture because this could be used for several math lessons. :)
Sunday, September 7, 2014
DIY Star/Sun Mirror
Star/Sun Mirrors are super cute and super simple to make. Normally, I am one that would go to Target or Anthropologie and just buy one, but I really wanted to do some sort of easy crafty project this week. So I decided to make one and it was all for $10.00! Among JoAnn's, The Anderson's, and Michael's, I bought all the supplies.
Supply List:
- Paint Pallet Sticks x 40ish (The Andersons)
- Wooden Wreath (Michael's)
- Gold or Silver Spray Paint (The Andersons)
- Elmer's Wood Glue (JoAnn's)
- Sand Paper (The Andersons)
- Big Pot of Water
BEFORE GLUING anything to the wreath...I recommend sanding the paint sticks down to remove the clear coating that the manufactures put on the paint sticks to prevent paint absorption. Don't spend a great deal of time on this because you could drive your self crazy doing this. (I spent about 10 seconds for each paint stick and the paint stuck just fine!)
After sanding all the paint sticks down, I glued one layer of paint sticks down and then set a big pot of water on top (acts like a clamp) until the glue dried. After this layer dried, I added another layer and then repeated this again for a third time. One you have this "crazy looking wooden glued paint stick star like thing"...say that three times fast...you are ready to paint!
I took my crazy paint stick star out to the backyard (do this the day you are planning on mowing the grass so your grass doesn't turn gold for too long). I applied several THIN coats of paint to mine. Once the paint dried, I glued a smaller wood circle on to the middle with the wood glue so that the mirror would be level.
Once the wood smaller circle was in place and the mirror circle was glued in place, I hung my beautiful mirror! :)
Supply List:
- Paint Pallet Sticks x 40ish (The Andersons)
- Wooden Wreath (Michael's)
- Gold or Silver Spray Paint (The Andersons)
- Elmer's Wood Glue (JoAnn's)
- Sand Paper (The Andersons)
- Big Pot of Water
BEFORE GLUING anything to the wreath...I recommend sanding the paint sticks down to remove the clear coating that the manufactures put on the paint sticks to prevent paint absorption. Don't spend a great deal of time on this because you could drive your self crazy doing this. (I spent about 10 seconds for each paint stick and the paint stuck just fine!)
After sanding all the paint sticks down, I glued one layer of paint sticks down and then set a big pot of water on top (acts like a clamp) until the glue dried. After this layer dried, I added another layer and then repeated this again for a third time. One you have this "crazy looking wooden glued paint stick star like thing"...say that three times fast...you are ready to paint!
I took my crazy paint stick star out to the backyard (do this the day you are planning on mowing the grass so your grass doesn't turn gold for too long). I applied several THIN coats of paint to mine. Once the paint dried, I glued a smaller wood circle on to the middle with the wood glue so that the mirror would be level.
Once the wood smaller circle was in place and the mirror circle was glued in place, I hung my beautiful mirror! :)
Classroom Charm
This year, I am teaching 6th grade math, science, and social studies and am absolutely loving it! Over the summer, I have worked really hard to incorporate all three subjects in my classroom and make it noticeable to visitors that this is a place for 12 year old scientists, mathematicians, and historians! Plus, really trying to make it a homey place where everyone feels welcomed! :)
Friday, September 5, 2014
Flower Power Grading Pens
I am sure we all have seen silk flower pens before at either a friends house, a business, or even at home. Silk flower pens have literally changed my school year and my kids LOVE them!
One of my biggest challenges with the students last year was grading their paper with another color pen. The students I had last year were very clever and tried every trick in the book with me and it came to a point where I was grading the majority of their papers and they didn't have the opportunity to check and review their work. However, this year, I made a promise that my students were going to do the majority of the grading and have the opportunity to correct their mistakes. Also, I have become a bit smarter, since this is my second year, and now my students don't have a choice but to use the "FLOWER PENS" when grading their papers! Lastly, these pens make a very cute decor addition to my desk!
So now when we grade papers, they all have the same red daisy pen and I can tell exactly who is grading their paper and who is not! The best part of this is seeing all these red daisies around the room!
The flower pens I made, were not as nice as the picture below...(I will post a picture when I get a chance), I ended up going to the DOLLAR TREE and picked up some red silk flowers. Then, at HOBBY LOBBY, I picked up some green duct tape, and lastly, at TARGET, I bought a huge box of red pens.
Within the hour, I had 18 or so beautiful red daisy pens that looked/look amazing! :)
After seeing my kids just love these pens, I actually went back to the DOLLAR TREE and picked up more of these flowers and taped them around several pencils. I leave a huge cup of flower SHARPENED pencils, so during class, if a student needs to sharpen their pencil they may just grab one of mine! Also, this has eliminated the noisy pencil sharpener during guided practice times! :)
So now when we grade papers, they all have the same red daisy pen and I can tell exactly who is grading their paper and who is not! The best part of this is seeing all these red daisies around the room!
The flower pens I made, were not as nice as the picture below...(I will post a picture when I get a chance), I ended up going to the DOLLAR TREE and picked up some red silk flowers. Then, at HOBBY LOBBY, I picked up some green duct tape, and lastly, at TARGET, I bought a huge box of red pens.
Within the hour, I had 18 or so beautiful red daisy pens that looked/look amazing! :)
After seeing my kids just love these pens, I actually went back to the DOLLAR TREE and picked up more of these flowers and taped them around several pencils. I leave a huge cup of flower SHARPENED pencils, so during class, if a student needs to sharpen their pencil they may just grab one of mine! Also, this has eliminated the noisy pencil sharpener during guided practice times! :)
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Pets in the Classroom
Teachers! Have you ever thought about getting a pet for your classroom? Well, I'm not sure if you have heard of "Pets in the Classroom," but it is a organization out of DC that provides teachers with a pet for their classroom. A few weeks ago, I applied, and today I received the paperwork as well as coupons to use at Petco for a free aquarium! The link is below, if anyone is interested!
http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/
-Laura :)
http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/
-Laura :)
Friday, August 22, 2014
Phone Communication Log
Relationships, relationships, relationships and documentation, documentation, and documentation are two things that teachers constantly think about. Last year, I made it a goal to not only build relationships with my students but with the families as well. For where my school is at and the families who support us, a phone call is essential in building relationships. For the past year, I used a phone communication log to document the conversations I had with them. This year, I found one on the internet but I didn't like the way it was set up so....I created my own! Please feel free to print this if it will benefit you! :)
Friday, August 15, 2014
Painted Laminate Sink Project
I love decorating and "fixing up" furniture. One of my latest projects was fixing the sink area in my classroom. This sink area looked like it had about 100 years of wear and tear and about 20 years of dirt. I honestly didn't really know what to do with this sink or what options were cheap and easy. First, I tried to cover it with contact paper but it didn't looked the way I thought it would. So my next idea was to paint the counter tops, sides, and inside with black laminate paint and actually it turned out really well! I was really surprised! To restore a laminate/wood counter/cabinet...
Materials:
- 1 can of the laminate paint (tinted to whatever color you would like...I chose black)
- 1 can semi-gloss spray paint for the peg board doors (again..I chose black, but whatever color you would like is fine)
- 2 inch angled brush
- sandpaper
- painters tape (i never used it...i really HATE taping things off...)
BEFORE:The doors and sink area. (I realized I didn't get a picture of the entire sink area with the doors on but just imagine a small ugly sink area...)
For the doors, I actually took them home, sanded them quickly, wiped them off, and then spray-painted them. Once they were spray painted with 2 coats, I just let them dry and they were done.
I honestly have been only teaching for a 1/2 year and I had no idea what was under my sink...until now...I found stuff from the 1960s under there!!
Anyways, before I painted the sink area, I sanded down all the sides and counter quickly with sandpaper and then wiped everything off. Once everything was clean and ready to go, I started painting. WARNING: OPEN THE WINDOWS AND BUY A MASK!! No one, told me about how smelly this paint was and I didn't take the time to read the label for this paint (...nobody got time for that...).
As I started painting, I was really struggling with brush marks. This paint was really thick and sticky...it was not like acrylic or oil. It almost seemed like old nailpolish. I suggest a think coat, but not too think where you have to go over the wet paint again. Once the paint is on the counter, it's on. DO NOT PAINT OVER IT AGAIN (this was a difficult concept to get through my mind as well)!
DURING THE PROCESS: It's starting to look good!!! :)
**I will post a final picture once the second coat is painted on.** :)
Materials:
- 1 can of the laminate paint (tinted to whatever color you would like...I chose black)
- 1 can semi-gloss spray paint for the peg board doors (again..I chose black, but whatever color you would like is fine)
- 2 inch angled brush
- sandpaper
- painters tape (i never used it...i really HATE taping things off...)
BEFORE:The doors and sink area. (I realized I didn't get a picture of the entire sink area with the doors on but just imagine a small ugly sink area...)
Anyways, before I painted the sink area, I sanded down all the sides and counter quickly with sandpaper and then wiped everything off. Once everything was clean and ready to go, I started painting. WARNING: OPEN THE WINDOWS AND BUY A MASK!! No one, told me about how smelly this paint was and I didn't take the time to read the label for this paint (...nobody got time for that...).
As I started painting, I was really struggling with brush marks. This paint was really thick and sticky...it was not like acrylic or oil. It almost seemed like old nailpolish. I suggest a think coat, but not too think where you have to go over the wet paint again. Once the paint is on the counter, it's on. DO NOT PAINT OVER IT AGAIN (this was a difficult concept to get through my mind as well)!
DURING THE PROCESS: It's starting to look good!!! :)
AFTER: This is after 1 coat. I still need to paint the back of the cabinet as well as the left side.
Once I painted the majority of it, I let it dry for a few days. For now it will stay like this, until I go to my classroom where there isn't anyone. The fumes were bad and when I first put the first coat on the lady down stairs wasn't feeling well. Until then, I will just have to keep decorating and getting ready for another wonderful school year! :)
Monday, August 11, 2014
Fun Fonts
I don't know what it is about fonts but I LOVE them. One of my favorite websites to download fonts is dafont.com. All the fonts are free and they are very easy to download.
A few of my favorite...
Ani Beatrice Cursive by Barbara Nixon
A few of my favorite...
Ani Beatrice Cursive by Barbara Nixon
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Save Water...Drink Wine
Today I saw a shirt on Facebook that said, "Save Water...Drink Wine," and of all days, today would probably be the best day to actually drink wine, wear the shirt, or heck, do both! :) As seen on CNN and Fox News, I'm sure you are all aware of the "water algae crisis" occurring in Northwest Ohio (and yes I am one of the 500,000+ affected) which prohibits all drinking of tap water. So this morning, I decided to go get a case of bottled water. Well, another 1,000 people had the same idea. I never imagined a day in August to see thousands of people at the grocery store all to buy something as simple as water! It was as crazy as Black Friday except you weren't able to get your cup of coffee through the drive through at McDonalds or go to Bob Evans for breakfast.
Something to Smile About
Welcome! I am so excited that you came and hope that you will learn a few things, laugh a bit, and leave with a smile. As a teacher and and EMT wife, life has it's crazy moments but in the end, my day ends with thanking the Lord for each and every moment.
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