I LOVE these flowers!!! I also think this may be my new favorite art lesson to teach! 2nd Graders did such a fabulous job creating them– SO proud of their work!! Step-by-step directions with…
Creative ideas to get kids excited about reading deeper.
Learn about the library for kids with cute, FUN, and free printable book scavenger hunt activities for elementary and middle school kids.
Beautiful ways to decorate those little corners around our homes.
How should I setup my classroom library? Here are some MUST-READ ideas to organize your books, how to create an inviting space for your students, and how to help fund your classroom library!
If you're anything like me, I've changed my class library checkout system quite a bit over the years. I could never quite find something that worked well, that students followed through with and that was simple. Today, I've finally FORCED myself to sit down and write this post. I've been wanting to share my checkout system here on the blog for the past few years...but just haven't made the time to write a post. This is the simplest system EVER and I would never go back to any other system I've used before. Traditional class library checkout systems didn't work for me for various reasons. One of the classic systems, placing a shelf maker in the spot you borrowed a book from did not work for me because I wanted my students checking multiple books out at one time. I also tried having them fill out a class library log, but only a handful of students filled it out consistently and accurately. Not to mention, it was just too much of a headache to constantly monitor (especially that returned column). The second best system that I had was when I used Classroom Booksource. Image from Book Source. I blogged about that here. When I first used it back in 2012, it was really new. Now that it's been around awhile, I'm sure it is much more user friendly and easy to use. What I liked about using this site was I had an inventory of ALL my books. All I needed to do was scan the barcode on each book. Students would log into their account and check books out. This was good because I could see what books I had on hand as well as who had a book checked out if I wanted to use it for a lesson. I could also figure out who the missing book on the floor belonged to when nobody in the class would claim it lol. Although this system worked well for me, my students did sometime run into issues where they couldn't find a book they were checking out in the system. It was also time consuming for students and the setup was SUPER time consuming for me. It took me forever to get my entire class library uploaded into that database. All you need for this NEW and IMPROVED checkout system is a phone/iPad/tablet, books, and kids. You good?! I had a rotating schedule on when students could bookshop. Each day of the week, a different colored group would get to book shop first thing in the morning. They were allowed to choose 4 books and would keep those books in their book bags until the next time their book shopping day came around (the following week). Once they chose their books, they would simply come up to me, spread their books out and I would snap a photo of them on my phone. Even if I was in the middle of something, it took less than 5 seconds for me to snap their photo and delete their picture from the previous week. This system allowed me to see who had what book and monitor what was checked out. If a kid wanted to keep one of the same books and get a few new ones the following week, they would just choose their new books and come to get their picture taken as normal. If they wanted to keep all their books, they would just come and let me know and I would keep their old photo. Because I only had a few students shopping each day, it was totally manageable. I could also see this working as a class job. PRO TIP: Another thing that helps this system work seamlessly is by having an organized classroom library. This ensures that students can quickly and easily find books that they're interested in. I have all of my library books in bins and they are organized by favorite authors, popular book series, and genre. It makes it easy for my students to find books that they like and they can also quickly put back the books they are retuning (books are labeled so that students know what bins to return them to). Click here to check out the labels that I use to organize my library AND snag the free labels that go along with this organizational system. Are you just starting out building your classroom library? You may be interested in this post where I share Ideas on Expanding Your Class Library on a Teacher Budget. If you decide to try this system out, I'd love to hear about how it's working for you and your students. Feel free to leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram @Teachinginparadise :) Short on Time? Save this post for later!
It's that time of year again and as teachers we are torn between soaking up the last days of summer vacay and prepping our classrooms and resources for another school year! Let it be a great one! To help you get your year off on the right foot, here is a freebie for you! Classroom library labels by reading level and by author & themes! These leveled classroom library labels will help you organize your collection of books. 60 labels included: Leveled labels from A (1) to R (40) Fiction labels for series and Author Studies (please see preview to view the complete collection) Sorting your library by reading level promotes reader's confidence and growth. These labels measure 3x3". I have also included author study bins. You can find them at the shop: Leveled Classroom Library Labels Enjoy!
Learn how to play the Kaboom game in your classroom to make practicing math facts, sight words, and more a blast for your students!
Handy free printable leif erikson for kids worksheet and coloring pages to make into readers to learn about famous early explorer!
When my kids came into our room today, this "mystery box" was sitting on the end of my desk.
This sheet goes with the book, "Gingerbread Man Loose in the School". After reading the story aloud, have students fill out this sheet to help find their missing gingerbread.
springtime, math, freebie
If you are wanting to teach kids about countries around the world this is a fun, free printable to teach kids about 18 countries - perfect for preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd gr
Kids will be WOWED with this hands-on, fall science experiment where they will explore Why do Leaves Change Color for kids! Fun Leaf Activity!
springtime, math, freebie
This printable Alphabet poster set features favorite books and their beloved characters. The PERFECT way to decorate your classroom or library. This resource includes 64 different posters (please see the 2nd photo for what's included). *Posters are sized to print on 8.5x11 paper.
Hey y'all! Over the past couple of weeks I've had some questions from teachers about how I use Class Dojo in my classroom and utilizing my Class Dojo Super Pack. I had done a blog post back in February when I first ditched the clip chart, but I've changed a few things since then and didn't quite explain it all clearly the first time, so I'm back to try again! In the past, I've kept all my behavior charts and/or Class Dojo materials on the closet door at the back of my room. This year, I've moved it to one of the square bulletin boards at the front of my classroom. Here is my new bulletin board: This Class Dojo bulletin board houses pretty much all of our Class Dojo "stuff". In the bottom left corner, you'll see my Dojo Store. I chose 12 items (tangible rewards and experiences) that my kids will have to choose from at this time. I will change these out every few weeks - take some off and add some other rewards - there will most likely be some that will stay for at least 2 "cycles" in a row, if not more. The reward tickets were printed and are housed in regular sized library pockets. The library pocket covers fit just over top of the library pockets and I used some velcro dots to attach them to the library pocket, as well as put a staple on each side of the pocket cover so that it would lay flat. My plan for the tickets is for the kids to bring them to me when they want to purchase that item/experience so that I know what they are purchasing as well as take it off of their Dojo Credit Card balance. I will then put the tickets back in the pocket to be reused later (saving some copies!). Above my Dojo Store, I have my Class Dojo Leader of the Week. Each Friday when we are packing up, I will see which child had the most points during the week and they will get to be the Leader of the Week for the next week. I have printed out little Class Dojo monsters from Class Dojo's online resources - the Leader of the Week will get to choose one of these monsters and I will use a sharpie to write their name on this monster and add it to our bulletin board. The Leader of the Week also gets a Brag Tag and a certificate - if they are LOTW multiple times, they get a brag tag each time they are LOTW! Going up the right side of the bulletin board, as well as kind of taking over the top, is my Class Dojo point club. This is something new that I'm adding this year! Every couple weeks I will check on my kiddos' total points in the Class Dojo Reports and use printed mini Class Dojo monsters to show which club the kiddos belong in. For each level of the club, they will also receive a Brag Tag! 100-1000 point club certificates (printed on colored paper) and brag tags. Their Class Dojo credit card is a laminated card with their name on the front and their signature on the back - like a real credit card. I have them sign their cards before I laminate. Since it is laminated, that allows me to use a sharpie and a Mr. Clean eraser to write their balance and erase to change the balance as they add to or take from their balance. When I give my kiddos their credit cards, I explain to them that this is like a real credit card that their parents may have and that they have to be responsible to take very good care of their card. I explain to them that if they lose their card, they can't just "get" another one. There is a penalty for losing their card. I know this isn't quite how it works in the real world, but they have to learn some responsibility sometime! When I find credit cards laying on the floor in the classroom, I take them and hide them from the student until they come to me and ask for their card. When I give them their card back, I explain to them that it is very important to take care of their card and that there is a monetary penalty for losing their card and getting it back - I usually take 10-15 dojo dollars for returning credit cards. Call me mean - but I want them to treat their credit cards just like real money. I also only let them spend the money that they have loaded on their card - no racking up a big credit card bill! **Note - Clipart on credit cards IS NOT included on the set in my TPT store. You will have to download the clipart and add to the credit cards if you want the look I have above.** Q&A: When do your students cash out their Dojo points to add to their Dojo Credit Card? I have four tables in my classroom and I have assigned each table one day of the week that they are allowed to cash out their points. I allow them to cash out their points during morning arrival and morning work time and then again during lunch (we eat lunch in our classroom so this works for me). So, I should have around 6 students cashing out each day. When they cash out, I quickly add/subtract the points they have on their behavior graphing sheet, total them up, and use a sharpie to add this amount to the back of their credit card. This takes about 1 minute per student, so it really is not taking up much time during the day. If a student (or myself) is absent, I either use our extra day during the week, or let them cash out on a day other than their table's assigned day. When can your students purchase items from the Dojo Store? I let them purchase items/experiences any day of the week - but it has to be during morning work time or lunch time. I don't want this to be interrupting instruction, so I restrict it to these times of the day. If your kiddos stay in our room during dismissal in the afternoon, you could do this during that time while they wait for their bus or car. Why do you reset your students' points daily? This is something I have always done. Previously, when I had my 7-layered clip chart, my kiddos would start out each day on green. Once they had 3 positive points they would move up to blue, 6 points they would move to purple, and 10 pink. So, I would reset to 0 daily because of this. I also like the idea of a fresh start each day. I know that all my kiddos aren't going to be perfect and there are going to be some that are not going to have a great day once in a while. If they leave with negative points, I want them to come in the next day with a fresh start back at zero. Otherwise, they already feel defeated before stepping into my classroom and that is NOT how I want them to feel about school. Class Dojo is all about noticing the positive things that your kiddos are doing rather than just focusing on the negative, so I try my best to do that as well. If you reset your points daily, how do you check their totals for the 100-1000 Club and Leader of the Week? Class Dojo is super great for reports! First, click on the Reports page at the top of our Class Dojo screen. That will take you to this page. Then, you'll want to change the date to your desired date. For LOTW, I change it to that current week. For 100-1000 point club, I choose All Time. Then you'll want to go over to the student column on the lefthand side and use the drop-down box to choose Highest Combined. This will take into account both positive and negative points and will sort them from most points to least points. This way you can see who is the Leader of the Week each week and check the total points for each student for the 100-1000 point club. How do you get your parents and students to set up online accounts? You may (or may not) know that Class Dojo will send out weekly reports to your kiddos' parents each Friday to parents who have set up an online account. Fortunately for me, I am at a great school with lots of parental support. This year, I had every parent set up an account. Did all of them monitor the accounts on a regular basis? No, probably not. All but one of my kiddos had their own account as well. It was much easier to get the kiddos to set up an account because they want to be able to personalize their monster and that is the only way they can do it. I also encourage my parents to set up accounts and will pester email them until they do so - haha! They don't have to set up an account online, but it is very beneficial for them to be able to track their students during the day and get the weekly reports - in addition to seeing their child's daily graph that I send home in their COLLEGE notebook. Yes, I've had parents who monitor their child's behavior during the day and send me messages on Class Dojo messenger about what their child is doing and messages that I need to relay to their child to straighten up! What other questions do you have? Please ask them below and I'll add them to the blog post! How did you get the Class Dojo Monsters on all the items you have pictured above? The set you have on TPT doesn't have the monsters? The set I have listed on TPT includes editable parts. I had to remove the monsters from the set after I originally posted it because of copyright, so I made the set so that you can add the monsters if you wish. There is a set of pages in the pack on TPT that does not have the monsters and then there is an editable file that has space on the items to add pictures directly from the Class Dojo website. The link to these items is included. So, you have the option to add the monsters or not. Now, I'm giving away one of my Class Dojo Super Pack sets to one lucky reader! Complete the Rafflecopter below to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway Be sure to check back on July 21st, August 1st, and August 5th! I've teamed up with Class Dojo to share some new features that they will be releasing on these three dates - they're going to be great!!
Do you teach how to write realistic fiction in your first or second grade classroom? See how this first grade teacher has students creating characters,
Are you looking for a fun way to teach describing characters and character traits? Try this! Fold each side of a horizontal sheet of paper to the middle. Have the kids draw a picture of the character on the front. Put words to describe the outward appearance of the character on the outside. This can be things that are obvious from the text. Next, open the page up and write character traits and words to describe the character's emotions on the inside. These are things you have to infer about the character's traits based on the evidence from the text. It's pretty fun and these make a great display!
These worksheets for main idea and supporting details are a great way to build reading comprehension in young students. Grab the free sample.
Use this collection of Vincent Van Gogh teaching resources and complete Famous Artist Unit lesson plans for elementary art classes.
STEM becomes STEAM as we integrate science with art in these awesome science art projects for kids! Get ready to get your mind blown!
20+ shape puzzle template cards to make with shape blocks. FUN, hands-on shape activity for kids with pattern block printables!
Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet Recently my 1st grade classroom has morphed into a K/1 combination classroom and then resulted in HUGE gaps (academically, socially, & emotionally) between my s…
FREE Call Backs and attention getters for the kindergarten classroom! Great classroom management tool!
Amazing things can happen with just one dot.
Hi! I’m here today to share with you a meaningful art project for your younger students. This would be good as as a “getting to know you” activity. The following examples were all made by kindergartners near the end of the year, but I would think this lesson would be suitable for kids through grades 2. Many art teachers have taught about the artist Faith Ringgold and had their students create paper quilts. I have a free printable for you … Read more... →
Thank you to Diane for submitting this fun book report poster. It’s legal size (paper) worksheet and is great for lower grades (or as an easy project for upper grades). Great end of the year …
Hello Everyone! I thought I would share a couple of our classroom anchor charts. These were created at the beginning of the year with the kids' help. We started brainstorming all the different things we read during the day and came up with an amazing list!! Sometimes I think we forget about the print all around us (environmental print). Kids are often able to read words like "WalMart" and "Skittles" before they even know many of the sight words we work on daily! We also made an anchor chart (through the same brainstorming process) about all the things we write during our day. Again, we take for granted all the writing involved in our daily lives! It's good to have this visual as a reminder of how important writing is!! Kids have more schema for reading and writing than we realize. Helping kiddos make connections is so important! What do we read? What do we write? I have so much more I want to share with you!! Stay tuned! Thanks for taking a peek into our Wonder-filled classroom! Joyfully! Nancy
Looking for free library lesson plans for elementary? 4 free lessons, resources and MUCH MORE per grade level Kindergarten to 5th grade!
An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.
10 significant reasons to read aloud to students on a
Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...
This year is the 10 year anniversary of International Dot Day and the 15th anniversary of the publication of The Dot. People all around the world celebrate creative expression, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book, The Dot. Every year, Dot Day falls on or near September 15. I’d like to share how I helped my K-2 students explore their own creativity this year for
Classroom tips,teaching ideas, and resources for the upper elementary classroom. Teacher Giveaways
A blog about elementary education crafts photography first grade Miss Nelson teaching tips Monday Made It
Okay teacher friend. It’s finally here. And I’m so excited! I’ve had this resource collecting dust on my computer for years now. I’ve been using this strategy in my classroom for the last few years, but haven’t had the energy or time (teacher life + mom life is exhausting, am I right?) to put it all together so that it’s ready to go for busy teachers like you! Well, it’s finally finished and I finally get to unveil it to you! Did you know I have a FREE downloadable reading response menu board that you can print now and use in your
