Wordless Wednesday: Post-It Notes

Time for Wordless Wednesday hosted by Miss DeCarbo of Sugar and Spice... LOVE this linky!

Do you use Post-It Notes in your classroom? If so, how?

Tried It Tuesday: IHWH

I tried something new... well, sort of new so I am linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tried It Tuesday linky party.

A few months back I tried implementing "I Have, Who Has" activities into my Language Arts classes. I first discovered them via Deb of Crafting Connections when I was reviewing subjects and predicates with my eighth graders. Deb has a free "I Have, Who Has" activity available in her TpT Store to help review this needed skill. I had heard a little about IHWH activities from blog posts that I had read, and Deb's description and thumbnail images of her product provided the oomph to get me to try one.

I am so glad that I did! My eighth graders really enjoyed the activity and benefitted not only from the subject/predicate practice but also from the active listening needed to successfully complete the activity. I picked up several more IHWH card sets on TpT by using the site's search feature and used them with all of the grades/subjects that I teach. All that is except religion. Sooo...

I decided to try my hand at making a set of "I Have, Who Has?" cards to help my students review the Stations of the Cross, something we have been studying during this Lenten season. I'm very pleased with how they turned out and made them available in my TpT store.

My sixth graders absolutely LOVE IHWH activities and when they found out about this one, they were so excited to try it. I was not disappointed with their performance. IHWH is the one time that all of the students are attentive and quiet... this is no small feat with my current crop of kiddos! They BEG to repeat each IHWH in order to improve their completion time. The Stations of the Cross IHWH was no different. Take a peak at how well they did with the activity... this is their second run-through. The first time took them just over three minutes.

Before we left for the day, one of the boys asked if we could do it again. I asked him why. His response... I LIKE IT and it helps me remember! YES!!!!!! "I Have, Who Has" is a winner in my book.  I'm so glad that I tried it!

Triple Linky Friday

What a great week this was! I'm linking up with Doodlebugs for her Five for Friday linky to showcase what's been happening at The Teacher's Desk 6.

It was testing week... WE ARE DONE!!!!

Spring has sprung! I am delighted!

I've been thinking about the beauty of creation all around me.

Spring's beauty helps to Fuel My Faith so I am linking up with Jessica from Joy in the Journey for her weekly linky.

Spring plus the beauty of creation reminds me that Earth Day is around the corner. In between testing we've begun a few fun Earth Day activities, among them this ZAP! game that helped my students practice identifying parts of speech using Earth Day related vocabulary. Since it's Freebie Friday, I'm linking up with Teaching Blog Addict and offering this freebie for you. If you'd like a copy to use in your classroom you can download it HERE or by clicking on the first pic of the product.

Finally, I received my teaching contract for the next school year. It's signed and sealed already and will be delivered on Monday morning... year 34, here I come!

Think about It Thursday

I'm joining Comprehension Connection's new linky, Think about It Thursday. The topic this week is one that makes me groan...well, at least smirk! HOMEWORK. It is necessary, but often a HASSLE!

Sixth graders are experts at homework, and experts at avoiding homework! By this point in their academic career they have perfected the routines of school, and homework is no unchartered territory. When I first began teaching, the majority of students completed homework without question and generally by themselves. Most would begin an assignment the minute it was announced using spare moments throughout the day to finish items.

Not so today. MANY of my students do NOT complete homework, and often bring notes from home with some excuse for why they didn't get it done. Some of these excuses are even of the" my child forgot" ilk and ask for extended time. They can't seem to understand why they don't get good grades and question why they don't get credit for their work because mom/dad wrote them an excuse... sigh! This is a topic for another day!

Over the years I've developed one method that helps handle some of these homework hassles with my homeroom students, and one method that was gifted to me by our school. The gift came in the form of an online grading system. All work is documented and recorded. Assignments can be posted ahead of time, allowing parents to see what their student has completed and still needs to complete. It is easy and immediate for parents and students to see the correlation between completing work and improvement or failure. Of course, this online grading system also requires teachers to stay on top of all assignments, getting materials evaluated and logged in a timely fashion.

The homework helper that I've come up with over the years is extremely simple, but it helps me avoid MANY a hassle, particularly the excuse of "I didn't know I had to do that." It's as simple as writing all homework on a board, in plain sight for all to see. I use to just write the assignments in chalk on the blackboard, assigning this job to a student each week. We would pause throughout the day to write assignments as they were given and do a final check at the end of the day. Students were encouraged to write the assignments in their planners (provided by the school). Habitual offenders were required to have me check their journals to make sure ALL the assignments and proper due dates were recorded. If so, I'd initial the day's entry. If not, the student made corrections until it was accurate.

This simple method worked well but did come with two drawbacks:

1. I would sometimes forget to point out the assignments and encourage journal use. We all have those busy days when it seems like there is no time to even breathe. Inevitably after a day like this I would have at least one student who didn't do his/her work say, "You didn't remind me!"...sigh!

2. Sometimes, somehow an assignment or two would ACCIDENTALLY get erased, and I would hear, "But it wasn't on our list!"... sigh!

Thus, what I use now, pictured below... a portion of one of my bulletin boards. On it are laminated signs, one per subject area. Throughout the day, assignments are recorded with dry erase markers. The signs are high enough that even the tallest student can not ACCIDENTALLY erase an assignment.

Is this method foolproof? No! Does it eliminate missing work? No, but it sure has elminated a lot of the excuses. There is a LOT less homework hassle for me nowadays! I'm looking forward to reading more of the blog posts about this topic, perhaps picking up some new pointers to help me in this area. Be sure to stop by Comprehension Connection and check out all the posts for this linky.

Wordless Wednesday: Fun Art Projects

So lovin' this linky hosted by Miss DeCarbo of Sugar and Spice!

What kinds of fun art projects do you do with your students?

Five for Friday... Out of Touch edition

I just realized that it is was Friday! Time to link up with Doodlebugs for her weekly linky. Be sure to stop by her blog when you finish here to read more Five for Fridays!

I am was on Spring Break this week! Do I need to really explain? I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my time off, especially the NO alarm clock aspect.

I spent time this week with my family. One of the things that we did was to go through some of my sister's notebooks. She wrote notes ALL THE TIME and kept them in binders and folders! I never knew this about her. Her daughter, my  niece, never knew this about her. When she passed away two years ago, we found them in a box, quickly looked at them, and put them back in the carton. This past week we started going through them. 

Some of the notes were messages she had written to her husband (he couldn't hear so she would write to communicate with him when he couldn't read her lips), some were notes she made about crafts that she saw on TV, and many were recipes that she had seen on TV. My sister was quite the baker. My niece found one recipe while going through the myriad notes that was for a streusel coffee cake. My sister had even put a date on this recipe... a few weeks before she passed away.  It looked really easy, using a box cake mix, and it sounded tasty. My niece decided to make it for our weekly family dinner. Let me tell you... the BEST cake I've had since my sister died! It was like she had baked it for us, just like the old days.

And speaking of recipes... I found a crockpot recipe that is the NEW family favorite! Sooooo yummy! Sooooo easy! If you like Mexican and are into crockpot recipes, this one's for you. I doctored it a bit by adding a yellow pepper as well as the red and green, and I threw in a can of black beans. We topped our helpings with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream. YUM! There was not a bite left! Just click on the pic to read the complete recipe. You're going to want to make this one!

I did do some work this week. I finished up several teaching items that I had begun and made a few new ones as well. They are all available in my TpT Store. Just click HERE or on the pic to read more about them.

One last thing that I did this week was to catch up on TV shows and movies. I just LOVE the on demand feature that my cable company offers, couple this with my Roku and I become a real live sofa spud. Here're a few that were on my must see list this past week. Can you name them?

Well, it's back to work on Monday! I have to dust off the alarm clock, find some real clothes, and locate the book bag that contains things that I brought home to work on but didn't. Monday won't be too bad, however. We'll catch up on where we left off and talk about our break. Reality will set in on Tuesday when our TESTING begins... sigh!

Wordless Wednesday (on Thursday)

I just found this REALLY COOL new linky... LOVE it! Thanks to Miss DeCarbo of Sugar and Spice for hosting it!

Do you use task cards with your students? If so, what is your favorite way to use them?

What's Happenin' Wednesday? Pin-it to Win-it!

I just finished creating two new ZAP! games and thought it might be fun to share them with you. You can read more about each by clicking on the link below the graphic. If one of these looks like something that you'd like to try with your students, just pin the image below, and leave the pin URL in a comment. Pin both if you like, just be sure that each is in a separate comment. Then sometime tomorrow evening, April 3rd, I'll randomly select a number. Whoever is the author of that numbered comment will win their choice of Easter ZAP! game. If you are a "no reply" blogger, please leave your email address in your comment as well so that I can send you your pin-it to win-it prize!

HAPPY PINNING!!!!

Easter ZAP! (secular words)

Easter ZAP! (religious words)

My kiddos LOVE ZAP! They are constantly begging me to play it, so I find myself creating new games on a regular basis. Most of my ZAP! games are designed to help my students practice Language Arts skills, just as the two new games above. I invite you to check out the complete inventory of ZAP! games that I have in stock by clicking HERE. There are a few math games and even one science game among them.

If ZAP! looks like an activity that you would want to do with your students but you can't find a particular skill that you need, please feel free to contact me at The Teacher's Desk 6. I'll be happy to try and develop a game just for you and your students.


UPDATE... And the WINNER is......................

April Currently

Like I said yesterday, when I am on break I lose track of time. I had no inkling that today was April first until I checked in with my favorite blog list and saw all the "April Currently" posts. I perused the posts then headed over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade to link up my own.

LISTENING... Daisy Mae and Lulie Lu are having a grand time today, playing with each other. Well, at least Lulie is playing. I think Daisy is being her incorrigible self, actually chasing and trying smack the little one for pestering her. It's never a dull moment in this house!

LOVING... Do I even need to explain this response? LOL!

THINKING... I normally do my taxes online using the free version. I can't seem to figure out how to add my TpT earnings. I'm thinking I may need to seek out a tax service. I'm giving it a go one more time this week using some advice I read on the TpT forums. Fingers crossed! I don't want to spend what little refund I am due on a tax service.

WANTING... It snowed again yesterday!!!! Today however is already 60 degrees... YES!!!! The question is: Will it last?

NEEDING... I'm still waiting for my contractor. He is VERY good! But I really NEED this bathroom!!!

HOURS AND LAST DAY... This is subject to change, depending on how/when our snow days must be made-up... sigh!

Now it's your turn. Head on over to Farley's blog, Oh' Boy 4th Grade, and add your own April Currently!