Throwback Thursday One Year Ago

Are you ready? Let's get started with...

What is Throwback Thursday? How does it work, you might ask? Simply look through your PURR-fect Previous Posts, perhaps a particular favorite of yours, and re-post it! Then add the TBT badge to your post and include your link below! Purr-fectly easy and simple! Your post doesn't have to be from LOOOONNNGGG ago; it can be from last month or even earlier this week. And if you don't have a post to share, perhaps an old photo or two from WAY BACK will do! Even a favorite pin is PURR-fect! Just join in the Throwback fun!

This post originally appeared August 13, 2013, during my PIN EVERYTHING IN SIGHT phase... LOL!

I'm loving that Pinterest is now featuring Teacher Boards, one per grade level and specialty area.

Of course, I love the sixth grade board the most!



I love the many great teaching and back to school ideas floating around on Pinterest...








I love the terrific fall recipes I've been finding lately on Pinterest...






And I love the funny comics that have been posted on Pinterest...




And I love all things cats...

It's your turn now.

Wordless Wednesday Masterpiece Giveaway

It's time for...

I LOVE to read aloud to my kiddos! One of my all-time favorite read aloud authors is Patricia Polacco. Here is her brand new, just released yesterday book!

It's a little like Thank You, Mr. Falkner, but I won't tell you more. It is SOOOOOOO good! You'll have to read it for yourself. 

To help you out I'll send you your very own copy. Just leave a little message below about the "stuff" you like to read to your students. I'll select ONE name Thursday, Aug. 14th after 6:00pm EST from the comments at random to receive Patricia Polacco's BRAND NEW book Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece. Please make sure that I can contact you via email to get your mailing address, so "no-reply bloggers" make sure to include your email in your comment.

Be sure to visit Miss DeCarbo's blog for more fun Wordless Wednesday posts by other teacher bloggers.

UPDATE... 8/14/14 at 9:00pm EST

AND THE WINNER IS...

Two for Tuesday

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune for...

This week I'm offering two bundles for 50% the regular price. This makes for a substantial savings since my bundles have a built in saving to begin with.

First is...

3-2-1 ELA Back-to-School Bundle

Are you looking for FUN and ENGAGING Back to School themed ELA activities to review or introduce key language arts concepts? Look no further! This bundle contains SIX products to help your intermediate students practice identifying parts of speech and kinds of sentences, as well as recognizing fragments, sentences, and run-ons. Included are THREE Zap! games, TWO Mystery Pictures, and ONE pack of Scoot cards. Normally selling for $7.00, today you can purchase it for only $3.50. That's just a little more than 50 cents for each item. WHAT A BARGAIN!

The second is...

Halloween Scoot Bundle of SIX Scoot Games

Halloween is often a wild time of the year to try and squeeze learning in. These Scoot games provide essential Language Arts skills practice while having FUN! The following skills are contained in this bundle.

Simple Subjects and Predicates
Nouns, Verbs, or Adjectives
Prepositional Phrases
Sentence Structure
Sentence Type
Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses, Phrases

This bundle normally sells for $8.50. Grab it today for only $4.25. WOW! Six Scoot games at less than one dollar each.

Be sure to stop by The Teaching Tribune for more great bargains on terrific teaching items. And be sure to stop back on Thursday for...

Better yet, why not join me with a TBT post, pic, or pin in just two days? I'll be watching for your throwback ideas!

Anchors Away! Starting Point

The leisurely pace of summer is drawing quickly to a close. I only have three days of summer left before I HAVE to go to work. This Thursday I report for an official faculty meeting... sigh!

I've already begun 'working' in that I've begun to seriously plan my introductory lessons and materials. One of the first lessons that I do with seventh grade Language Arts students is that of recognizing and writing compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. I've already worked with this group of students for two years so I know they have the background skills (independent vs. dependent clauses) to prepare them. I'm planning on creating an anchor chart to serve both as a memory guide and an introduction to the types of sentences so I'm joining Deb's linky at Crafting Connections this week.

I found a great post about anchor charts over at Minds in Bloom. The post details a best practice for creating anchor charts. Boy, did I need to see this! I especially like the description for how to place information on the chart. There is even a sample template provided.

I'm not very artistic and don't always have a good sense of how I should design a chart. This template is a terrific starting point, breaking down the key areas of the chart and what information to include in each. I believe that if I follow a similar pattern on each chart that I create this year, my students may find my charts easier to read and use. Thanks, Minds in Bloom, for a great starting point; I'm actually looking forward to starting this one!

Be sure to stop by Crafting Connections for more blog posts about anchor charts.

Throwback Thursday 8.7.14

Are you ready? Let's get started with...

What is Throwback Thursday? How does it work, you might ask? Simply look through your PURR-fect Previous Posts, perhaps a particular favorite of yours, and re-post it! Then add the TBT badge to your post and include your link below! Purr-fectly easy and simple! Your post doesn't have to be from LOOOONNNGGG ago; it can be from last month or even earlier this week. And if you don't have a post to share, perhaps an old photo or two from WAY BACK will do! Even a favorite pin is PURR-fect! Just join in the Throwback fun!

This post appeared on Instagram earlier this week. It was my shopping cart prior to checkout for the big TpT Back to School Sale. Did I purchase all these items? You betcha, and then some! AND I STILL keep finding MORE and MORE and MORE that I want to purchase!!!!!

I can NOT wait to start using all these terrific teaching products. I so enjoy adding new materials to my curriculum. I'm especially looking forward to teaching sixth grade science this year as I'll be working with a chemistry professor from our local university branch. I'll be blogging about our partnership throughout the year. I grabbed a few science items at this week's sale to make our lessons a little more fun!

Now it's your turn.

Wordless Wednesday: Reading Interruptions

It is time once again for...

I'm not really complaining, but this happens every time I try to read no matter where I am. Right now, I'm reading, or attempting to read, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids by Chris Biffle. Good thing, right? I've got a challenging kid (sort of) of my own.

Does anyone else have interruptions to her/his reading?

Don't forget to hop over to Miss DeCarbo's blog, Sugar and Spice, to see more Wordless Wednesday posts. I always look forward this fun linky each week!

Something else that I look forward to is...

I hope that you'll return tomorrow and link-up your PURR-fect past posts, pics, and pins. I'll be sharing shopping finds for my TBT post this week. I wonder what you'll share!?!?!?!

Tried It Tuesday: BB Background

It's time for another Tried It Tuesday with Holly over at Fourth Grade Flipper. Be sure to visit her blog and check out all the great Tried It ideas when you're finished here.

I tried something new, well, sort of new this week. I had read on several blogs about using plastic tablecloths to cover classroom bulletin board backgrounds. Plastic ones, the thin plastic ones, I thought? Hmm? I've used flannel backed tablecloths, fabric, paper, but the thin plastic cloths? I wasn't convinced, but those teacher bloggers and their followers swore by them, so......

WELL!!! They work beautifully!!!!!! And better yet.... el cheapo! I paid a whole 97 cents for the one in the pic above and I cut it in half and got two board backgrounds out of it. The green is the plastic cloth while the blue is still the fabric from past years. I changed up my color scheme a bit, yet kept the teal blue. 

There is one thing that you do need to watch out for as you're working with the plastic cloths: They can easily tear, so be sure to be a bit gentler with them than the standard background materials. This is not a material that you want to use if you change your boards frequently but like keeping the same background. Not gonna work! However, if you're like me and put up a board for the whole year... PERFECTO!

Now the next thing that I need to try and do is this...

I have several of these piles in my classroom and several more still at home... sigh!

YOUR TURN... Something for YOU to try is a wonderful giveaway going on over at Mixing It Up In Middle. Lori is celebrating 100 Followers with three terrific prize packages. Stop by Lori's blog to congratulate her on her milestone and to enter one, two, or even, all three of her Rafflecopters!

Something else for you to try is Throwback Thursday, especially if you haven't yet. Thursday is the PURR-fect time to share  your previous posts, pics, and pins. It gives you a little bit of a break from blogging since throwback posts are simple to plan and prepare. Perhaps you'll share your TPT Back to School Sale experience this week... that's my plan for a throwback! Hope to see you link-up with me on Thursday.

Sunday TPT Share 3 + 1

Are you ready? Tomorrow is the beginning of you-know-what... the event we wait for all summer long!

My store is all set and waiting for shoppers. EVERY ITEM (including already deeply discounted bundles) is on sale for 20%. TPT adds another 10% at checkout if you remember to use the special promo code...

BTS14

I've been hopping around the bloggy world, seeing so many great teaching products. I'm glad that bloggers share particular items on their blogs prior to the sale. It helps me find some items I might not with just a search through TPT.

I thought I'd highlight three items and one category from my store to help you with your shopping.

BEST SELLER: Poetry Task Cards.
This set of twenty cards is perfect for early finishers or students needing a challenge. They introduce over a dozen poems to students while encouraging them to be creative. Included also in the pack is a set of pencil toppers, an INB foldable, and a wordsearch puzzle. Additionally, this pack is part of a special adoption fundraiser that you can read about HERE. One dollar of every pack purchased during the month of August is donated to the fundraiser.

MOST WISHLISTED: Homework Management System.
In this packet you will find a complete homework management system consisting of three parts: punch cards, brag tags, and no homework coupons, Together the system will encourage homework responsibility in your students. Easy to set-up and implement, this system will soon have you and your students bragging about their good work!

MY FAVORITE: 3-2-1 ELA Bundle.
Are you looking for FUN and ENGAGING Back to School themed ELA activities to review or introduce key language arts concepts? Look no further! This bundle contains SIX products to help your intermediate students practice identifying parts of speech and kinds of sentences, as well as recognizing fragments, sentences, and run-ons. Included are THREE Zap! games, TWO Mystery Pictures, and ONE pack of Scoot cards. Each item is available separately in my TpT store...

Back to School Zap! Fragments, Run-ons, and Sentences
Back to School Zap! Kinds of Sentences 
Back to School Zap! Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs
Mystery Picture Schoolhouse
Mystery Picture Apple
Back to School Scoot Revising Sentences

... and if purchased individually would be much more costly. Add the discount from the sale... and WOWZA! By purchasing the bundle, you save a considerable amount!!!

A category of products that I am most proud of is my religion materials. 

I teach in a Catholic school and try to incorporate our faith in every subject throughout the day whether it be Language Arts, Science, or just school in general. Currently there are twenty-three religious based items in my store (I have MANY more planned so check back often). You can view them HERE. 

If you are on Instagram you can see more TPT-er's best sellers, most wishlisted, and favorite products by searching #tptshare3. Come on over and add your own!

Have a grand time with the Back to School Blast Off Sale on Monday and Tuesday! For Throwback Thursday this week I'll be sharing what I purchased, a throwback of only a few days but still a throwback. What are you planning on sharing for TBT this week?

CURRENTLY Lots Going On!

I almost missed the first of August! I think it's actually denial. Once August rolls around, I know that I must begin to think about school. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching! However, I don't like alarm clocks and strict schedules. Anyway there is CURRENTLY a lot going on here on my blog.

First up is the ever popular monthly linky hosted by Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade called... CURRENTLY! Here is what I've got currently going on...

Be sure to stop by Farley's blog to check out more CURRENTLY pages.

Before you leave, please check out these other activities happening at The Teacher's Desk 6

*Support for the Journey Blog Hop and Giveaway...

Consider helping out blogger Jen Engel with her adoption fund. You can read more about this beautifully inspiring teacher and her family HERE and enter a terrific giveaway.

*2014 Back to School Blogger Product Swap...

Are you in the market for some new teaching materials to spruce up your lessons or jumpstart your classroom learning environment? Be sure to check out all the products featured in the annual blogger product swap. Over 30 products have been reviewed and are featured HERE.

* Finally, are you ready for the Back to School Sale being held on Aug. 4-5th at Teacher's Pay Teachers? TpT is offering a 10% discount on ALL purchases and MANY sellers are holding sales of their own (me included). You'll be able to save up to 28% off your total purchase if you use the special promo code when you checkout. You've got a couple of days to DO SOME BROWSING and fill-up your wishlist!

Support for the Journey Blog Hop/Giveaway

We teachers know all about journeys.  Many of us are getting ready to journey back to our classrooms to prepare for the new school year.  Each school year becomes a journey of sorts, with its own set of students, challenges, and rewards.

We teachers also know all about support.   Year after year, we give so much of ourselves to help our students learn, build confidence in their abilities, and empower them to become the future our world needs.  We also support our fellow teachers, our families, our communities.  In the midst of it all, it becomes easy to forget that, simply put, teachers touch lives.

Every. Single. Day.

Graphics credit to Melonheadz;  Font credits to Hello Literacy, Miss Tiina, and DJ Inkers.  Thanks to Joey Udovich for designing!

While many of us are thinking of back-to-school, Jen Bengel and her family have been preparing for a journey of another kind.  They will soon be traveling to Uganda to adopt a child!  Check out Jen’s blog post HERE! (Prepare to be inspired!)

A number of fellow teacher-bloggers have joined forces to offer a measure of support to Jen and her family as they prepare for their special journey.  Each of us has chosen a resource from our store that, between now and August 31, a portion of each sale’s proceeds will be donated to Jen’s adoption fund!

This is the resource I have chosen:

Between now and August 31, I pledge to donate $1 of each sale of this resource (my best seller!) to Jen’s adoption fund.

Hop around to the blogs featured below to see what my friends are pledging!

Apple Slices

Apples & ABC's
Beyond the Worksheet
Crafting Connections
Create Teach Share
Flapjack Education
Learning with Mrs. S
Miss V's Busy Bees
One Stop Teacher Shop
Tales of a Teacher
Teaching Trio
The Teacher Desk 6

We hope you will find this to be a win-win opportunity, where you can purchase some great resources for the upcoming school year, knowing that you are supporting a meaningful cause at the same time!

Note that Jen also has a fundraising bundle available at her store. Don’t miss checking this out, too! 

Finally, to make it worth your time to check out all the resources, we are also hosting a raffle giveaway!  The winner of the giveaway will score a great prize package, full of resources from our team – just in time for BTS!

From me, the giveaway winner will receive:

Homework Management System

So, hop around, check out some fantastic resources, support a cause, touch a life!

a Rafflecopter giveaway