The Way I Teach

I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for a Monday Made It and I am sad that I have only made it to 1 out of 5 Monday Made It's. Does that mean I am not being productive? Oh boy. For me it has been a little difficult to start planning because I have been in limbo with jobs and not knowing what grade I will have plus we are moving sometime soon. If you like coffee here is my Monday

I made a cold coffee drink I actually like and it tastes oh-so-good! I have been on the hunt for a cold coffee drink and every drink I have tried has just been - okay. I do think the drink tastes much better without the protein scoop but hey, I am trying to lose a few pounds so I am using it as a meal supplement and because I do like coffee - I don't feel like I am dieting at all. I would definitely try it without the protein first to see if you like the texture and taste before you go investing in protein.

1) I made the smallest cup of coffee that my Keurig would allow to make sure it was really concentrated (I used Starbucks coffee)

2) Here is my weakness, I used um, well, about 1/3 of creamer in the drink and I don't like the sugar free (tomorrow I will be trying artificial sweetener instead of creamer).

3) So layered like this: creamer, 1 scoop protein drink, a handful and 1/2 of ice cubes, coffee.

4) Blend on Smoothie - it does make a difference. It ends up being frothie which I like.

Note: That is chocolate flavored protein which I probably would do vanilla instead but that's what I had on hand. Overall it is pretty good and I stay full for about 4-5 hours.

I really wanted to show other things and ideas I had for my upcoming students/class but since I didn't really know what grade or school I would be at I haven't been able to plan or prep so I have been revamping and adding to a few teaching units that I already have. I recall Erica's post over at Erica's Ed-Ventures saying at some point (not in her own words I am translating here) you will look at some of your first products and think, "did I really put that out there?" I thought, "No, I won't think that." Well, hey, I opened up one of my units and I was

E-M-B-A-R-A-S-S-E-D

so I redid. I added 6 sheets of color word freebies in the preview too if you download that. I feel so much better and the unit has doubled in size. So forgive me for it not being a DIY project but there is a good freebie for you.

Storytown high frequency words 1st grade

Story Town High Frequency Words 1st Grade Resource

Oh yea, I have been playing with this blog too. I remade the header, button, and side-bars but they are a work in progress and I am learning as I go. I love making them! It's relaxing to me.

I know this isn't a tangible made it but I drove 2 1/2 hours away to an interview and I was offered a Kinder position. I made it! I made it! Okay, but now I am scared to death because I have taught 1st grade for 8 years and 2nd for 2. I can't get into the room until August 1st, haven't seen the classroom, and have a zillion questions. I will definitely be doing some KINDER BLOG STALKING. I now have a direction - sort of (I don't know what the classroom looks like, resources, or furniture that I will have and won't until August 1st). Talk about an emotional roller coaster.

Head over to 4th Grade Frolics for more inspirational and DIY ideas!

Happy Monday!

First, let me say my 1st year of teaching I refer to as boot camp for teachers and I sure wish I knew what I know now!

I feel a lot of behavior systems don't address student behaviors but mask it. I am constantly,
every year,
every year,
every year,
given the students who have issues, autistic, mainstreamed, need nurtured, because from what I understand . . . I am patient. Patience alone is not a CURE ALL that's for sure.

I tried the other clip chart, reward coupons, turn a card, prize drawer, group points and they all have their pro's and con's in my eyes. So here is what I came up with and why. At the bottom of this post I have included a free download with instructions and the hanging clip chart. If you click on the picture below it will take you to whole unit.

Classroom Management First Week of School

Behavior Management first week of school

thewayiteach.blogspot.com

Reflection, reflection, reflection,

I only started thinking differently after completing 2

years of research in my master's program.

Here it is in a "NUTSHELL." Plus, if you ever need to do a 504 plan for behavior - BOOYA! DOCUMENTATION and INFORMED parents is what this system helps with.

· RESEARCH: In my master's program I spent 2 years researching self-regulating students. The research made me think and reflect on student behaviors. I actually was not going to do a system at all last year but the parents are trained on these charts and rely on them for communication about their child. There were 2 reasons I was not going to use a system:

1) I read a quote from a leader in education (can’t recall where but I believe it was from Finland). I just remember it stated, “when you add accountability, you take responsibility out.” That statement resonated with me. What I took from that statement was students need taught responsibility if they aren't doing it on their own. Flipping a card and moving a clip doesn't teach responsibility nor does it teach being respectful or safe.

2) Having students move a clip or card during instruction, carpet time, etc. was more of a disruption as all the students looked at them and the student left more instruction to go move their card or clip so I came up with a nameplate with individual clips. If you used the other clip chart, you could always add mini self-stick gems to the clips if they get on outstanding.

Behavior is one of the domains in self-regulating students. If a child does not learn or is never taught how to be successful it is very unlikely they will self-regulate. Worse – it follows them their whole life!
Like I said, it is only one aspect of self-regulating behaviors. Nevertheless, I created this chart that is more specific to help students see and recognize the behavior that keeps causing them issues. I created the tracker so I could see the pattern. It is more work but then if the behavior isn’t remedied it allows me to see more clearly what behavior modifications are needed or a plan can be made with the student to help them be more successful. I also feel that the younger the child the better the chance a teacher has at helping them be successful with the behavior they are having issues with.

If you are still with me after all that here is the download for the
hanging clip chart and instructions for how this system works.

I linked up with Laura over at

for a CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT LINKY. Check it out and be prepared my friends. Lot's of freebies at the different blogs too!

UPDATE:

You can get a Long I spelled i_e Word Search by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

I have been making these units to help with teaching the sound spelling. We followed the pacing guide with our Hartcourt HM Storytown this year but have definitely switched the pacing for next year! If you look below, the silent E was just taught (I taught it earlier but what the heck! April of first grade to teach silent E? Anyhow, I may get 1 or 2 more of these units completed before the end of the year but the others I will have to do in the summer since we get out JUNE 4TH! HOOT! HOOT!

Here is an outline of what is included in the unit. It does not show the ice cream recording booklet for your kiddos.

My kids favorite activity was making the ice cream craft- of course.
They charted the long i words on the correct sound spelling. Many of the activities are interchangeable to fit your teaching style (small group, whole group/stations/centers/homework practice/independent practice). Here are some more pictures of the unit in action.

This was their favorite activity. Some built their ice cream scoops 1 on top of the other while some made old fashioned looking scoops. Looks great on the walls and is a great visual reminder for students.

This is the recording booklet for 7 activities. some we completed whole class and colored together because we were short on time. They are half sheet booklets. I credit this booklet for keeping my class 100% engaged 100% of the time (that says a lot considering my class dynamics! Let me just say 27 Kiddos, 4 ADHD, 1 Schitzo, and of course the mixture of EL's, high, medium, and low students. They were ALL engaged. I was so happy and so were they! They wanted ALL their scoops colored and of course they wanted the REAL ice cream that they get when all activities were complete. The ice cream craft can be used with the long i tree map so the kids conquer 2 activities at once.

2 students decided to play a matching game then record the words in their ice cream booklets. They can also play go fish and memory with this cards.

Here students put ice cream cones in ABC order. They work together and record their words.

Here students sort ice cream scoops by long and short vowel sounds. They then record their words under long and short vowel sounds in their ice cream recording booklet (they can record in a notebook as well). If you are having them record the words, the green scoops are easier than the scoops with pictures set. The scoops with pictures are for higher students as they have to spell the words on their own. This set also comes with cones to build ice cream cones.

Here students are recording their words in their booklet.

We did a lesson on changing y to i and adding es and ed. They then completed a y to i tree map independently and colored scoop in their booklet.

Game 3 shown below. Students move game pieces to long or short i depending on the card they picked. It is amazing to listen to all students regardless of academic level play this game. You can here them stretching the word slowly to hear the sound. My lower students are able to learn from my proficient and higher students as they watch and listen to them (one of the reasons I do partner work with stations and centers even though quite honestly, it is not my favorite thing). I know it is important. I spent 2 years researching self-regulating students and peer/partner work is so important.

Game 1:

Students take turns spinning the spinner. They move a matching word to the picture on the board game (these games target sound spellings and vocabulary development. Not to mention the very important skill of taking turns and working together. Those red circles are cherries to put on the ice cream. I just taped them to water bottle lids. So easy and cute plus it gives a 3-D element to the game.

I did not include pictures of all the activities or any of the independent practice sheets.

You can click on any of the pictures or HERE to take you to the Long I unit.

HERE is the LINK to the long I word search with long i spelled i_e I promised.

If you are looking for long i activities, I created these differentiated phonics games. These games are my favorite because kids can play independently or with a partner and there are 3 different levels. They can play all three games or choose the one that is a "good fit." I love using these in small group because kids can play while I read with kids one on one and then they switch.

Best of all . . . These games were designed so there are NO LOOSE pieces. Everything is attached! I think that helped me more than the kids. It actually saves set-up time and clean-up time so kids have more time to play and practice.