Five for Friday: Classroom Friendly Supplies BEST Sharpener Giveaway

It's time to link up with Doodlebugs for Five for Friday (I think I might make it... just).

You might remember me telling about my sixers' buddies- the second graders- and how we meet periodically to do lessons and activities together. We had the opportunity to meet twice this week with our second grade buddies: once to do a non-standardized measurement lesson and once to TRY and complete the bat literacy lesson I had started two weeks ago and got interrupted by a fire drill, then was postponed due to my bout with the flu. Get this--in the middle of the make-up bat lesson, doesn't the administrator come on the PA announcing that we are going to practice our emergency evacuation procedure. You should have heard the groans from my kiddos. All's well that ends well... we did manage to complete the dang bats!

We managed to accomplish an AWFULLY LOT this week in all our classes. Phew! I am whipped just thinking about it. We completed setting up our Writer's Workshop in Fifth Grade Language Arts. This is what we now begin with each day. In Eighth Grade English we finished our discussion of "The Tell Tale Heart" by Poe and examined "In Flanders Fields" by McCrae. Since both pieces deal with conflict we used this element to write their choice of personal narrative or first person fictional narrative in which conflict is the central theme while focusing on the process of writing. WOW, WOW, WOW! is all I can say after hearing just a few initial pieces. One young lady is writing a Holocaust piece that IMO is publishable. She had us in tears. Meanwhile my sixers were finalizing their exposure to the major Literature Circle roles and practicing how a circle should run. Next week... a full-fledged Literature Circle using the novel "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George. And on top of this, my sixers spent the week delving into cell theory, learning the differences and similarities of plant and animal cells as well as 16 different organelles that compose them. There is a great CELL RAP video that has really helped them learn this complicated material; however, it is catchy... they randomly burst out singing, "Cells, cells, they're made of organelles..." not only in my classes but in their other teachers' as well.

To help my sixers learn all those organelles I created a ZAP game. We've had a great time playing it this week. Zap is a great game for engaging students in curricular material while having FUN! My sixers beg to play Zap all the time. I can hardly keep up with new games for them. Cellular Zap as well as Zap games for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Advent, and even St. Lucy Day are available in my TpT Store. Stop by and check them out, and if you'd like a copy of this ZAP game, just leave a comment below. If you are a no-reply blog commenter, please leave your email address so I can send you a copy of the game.

We're going on a field trip! YIPPEE! Well, it's not until December 5th, but I am EXCITED!!!! We're going to the Great Lakes Science Center to see the special Titanic Exhibit! I can NOT wait. My sixers don't know about this yet. I just finalized the arrangements today. They'll find out Monday afternoon when I pass out the permission slips. I'm waiting anxiously for their reactions. This is a heavily advertised, heavily attended, highly reviewed exhibit that we didn't think we'd be able to get into. I actually tried earlier in the year but there were no open slots until November and December. Let's just hope we do not get cancelled due to bad weather. You never can tell in NE Ohio at this time of the year!

FINALLY, I am so THANKFUL for this wonderful pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies, a company run by a teacher for teachers. I was able to obtain one and review it this past summer. It now resides in my classroom.

It is simply the BEST sharpener in the world! Just ask my kiddos! They leave other classes to come back to my room to sharpen their pencil. I've caught two of them this week. They asked the teacher if they could use the restroom. However, they popped into my room instead and sharpened their pencil. Luckily I had a planning period so no lesson was interrupted. Of course, the sharpener is SOOOOO quiet that it does NOT interrupt anything. My eighth graders pass it around during class. They love to sharpen their pencils for the day since it works better than any other sharpener in the building.

I am happy to offer you the chance to obtain your very own Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener in your choice of color (there is even a pink one available). Just enter the giveaway posted below between now and 11:59pm Nov. 27, 2013. On Thanksgiving Day I will announce the winner of the World's BEST Sharpener in a blog post and by email. The winner must have a U.S. mailing address. Good luck!


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Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6