I'm very excited to be linking up with Nick's first linky party, Tunes Tuesday ! What a great resource to teach grammar! He's so clever! ...

I've read about choice menus forever, but never tried it until just recently. I decided to created a menu to use during social studies review when students finish with stations early or we have a few extra minutes in class. I introduced the menu a week ago and you would've thought I'd given my students gold! They were thrilled!! I asked if they'd seen a menu before and we talked about a fast food restaurant menu. Then I asked what they would buy if I told them they had $5 to spend at the fast food restaurant. We played around with that a few minutes and then, with great drama, I introduced the social studies menu. I told them they had 50 points to "spend" and they were beside themselves - some even wanted to know if they could "spend" more! As we were going over the points values for different items one students even said, "All the fun stuff costs more points, but the boring stuff doesn't cost as much." I really had to pinch myself! How did this happen?!?! We've had a week to work on the menus and they have really been successful so far. I've been amazed at the creativity my students have shown. It's also been really interesting seeing which people and time periods they choose to work with. I think this is a strategy I will try to use again. Maybe next time I'll try something with reading - after a class novel or maybe even for their self-selected texts. You can click on the picture to download a copy of the menu. It is specific to 4th Grade Virginia Studies, but it might be a good place to start for a menu specific to your social studies standards. I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for another great Tried it Tuesday linky.

I’m linking up for Tried It Tuesday with another fun activity to do with kiddos to encourage “voice” to come out in their writing! Thanks to my awesome BBB Holly for hosting each week! :o) Last week, I linked up an activity for voice and point of view- check it out if you missed it. […]

First Tuesday of May! Are any of you experiencing great spring weather like we are, yet? It's almost going to feel like summer here in the Pacific Northwest ast he week goes on, with highs in the 80s. I've already turned off the furnace - it's not getting cold enough to cool the house down at...

Box Breathing, also known as four square breathing is a simple and powerful breathing technique that can help reduce stress, relieve anxiety, create greater focus, and improve overall mood and wellbeing.

Time is flying! I can't believe that we are well into May. ELA and math state tests are done and we only have science to go. We still have almost 40 instructional days to go…but who's counting?! :) It's Time for Tried It Tuesday! What have you tried at school or home? If you've never linked up with Tried It Tuesday, just link up any idea school or home related and what worked or didn't work. Simple! My Tried It: Pencil Challenge Our fourth graders are OUT OF CONTROL this year with pencils!! Last week mechanical pencils were officially BANNED from the grade. We always write on the school supply lists "no mechanical pencils" please. Now I remember why! We started getting relaxed on this rule and before we knew it, students had mechanical pencils everywhere!! I wish I had taken a picture of some students desks filled with them. There wasn't just the issue of them constantly breaking and students playing with the lead. I had the problem of about five boys who would crowd around each other's desks anytime it was time to line up and look at each other's pencils! One boy said he bought pencils himself at Walmart with his own money. However, he bought the wrong size refill lead and that was another issue, trying to find pencils and trade to match his lead! Ugh! So, now with mechanical pencils gone, we are focusing on another pencil problem! Since we are departmentalized, students from two other homerooms come to my room everyday for math. I keep book boxes of math materials in my room complete with a pencil case to store a "back up pencil" and highlighters. Students should just come to class with their homework folder and a pencil. Lately it seems that half the students never have a pencil (or a back up one in their box in case one breaks). Students can only sharpen pencils during morning work time, snack time, and at the end of the day for management issues. We all know students who would sharpen pencils all day to waste time. :) I've had these containers for two years, but with 50 students in and out of my room everyday, students just take pencils to borrow them and never return them! I can't keep extra ones in there! Possible solution? Start a pencil challenge! I read about pencil challenges in the blogging world last year. This is the deal: I gave everyone a pencil with their number written with a Sharpie on a piece of duck tape wrapped on the end. The picture above is actually for my block 2 class and the picture below is block 3. I had to use different tape for each block because the numbers repeat three times for each group. I used another different tape for my block 1 but I didn't get a picture before passing those out last week. The students can save their pencil and not use it or use it everyday. They just have to still have their pencil by "pencil reward day" which is Wednesday for my homeroom. They received their pencils last Thursday. Today I asked how many still had their pencil and EVERY student raised their hand! I didn't tell them what the prize would be, but said there would be a reward. I'm going to mix it up a bit and sometimes give lunch in the classroom or outside time and other times a prize from my prize bin. It's close enough to the end of the year that I think I can keep it going all year and it will save my sanity these last weeks!! By the way, my Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener I first blogged about in January 2013 here is going strong! Here is a picture of my pencil sharpener yesterday. I had it wall mounted in a creative way. These are my pencils sharpened with the Classroom Friendly supplies sharpener. These were sharpened with the electric sharpener. :( I will update on the pencil challenge soon and let you know how it is going. Have you ever tried a pencil challenge? An InLinkz Link-up

This week, Elijah’s sloppy eating habits have sent me on a new laundry quest: How to get grease stains - even set-in – out of clothing. I found an answer.

Well folks, here in sunny Queensland it is HOT! We are smack bang in the middle of a Spring heatwave - it's supposed to be 32 degrees today, and up to 34 tomorrow. Luckily the humidity hasn't kicked in for the year yet, so it's not as bad as it could be. As soon as I'm done with this post I'm off to the beach for a swim. :) I'm linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday to share something I'd been wanting to try for a while. After endless trips to dollar stores to buy clear plastic envelopes and folders to store my games and activities I wanted to find a storage system that was a) cheaper and b) fulfilled my need for everything to match! I decided to try laminated envelopes as a way to get rid of this mess: First step is to grab some heavy duty envelopes. I bought both A4 and A5 sizes. If you're in Australia, this is the brand I bought from Office Works. Either print the cover pages for products you've made or bought or make one for others so you know what's in each envelope. Glue them to the front. Now this is the only tricky bit. When you put the envelope in the laminating pouch, put the bottom edge at the sealed end of the pouch. Make sure you leave at least a 1cm border of film around the envelope so that it seals really well - you don't want it peeling when you pop your games in and the envelope gets fatter. :) I had to use A3 pouches for my A4 sized envelopes. Make sure the flap of the envelope is open, and take the paper off the glue strip. Carefully smooth the top of the film down and it will stick to the glue. You can see what I mean in this photo: When it's been through the laminator, all you have to do is trim around the edges (remember to leave a border of laminate!) and run a sharp knife along the opening of the envelope. Magically, you will have a little pocket! I have a paper slicer that scores as well, so I ran that along the fold so I could easily close each envelope. There you have it! Sturdy, matching storage! :) The most time consuming part of this is sorting out a cover for each envelope and if you were so inclined you could probably just write on the front to save time. I know this was not the most thrilling of posts, but I had to google to find out the tips and tricks to make this work, so hopefully this tutorial will help someone else. I'd love to know if you're going to give this a try! Beach time for me! Have a wonderful day. :) Lauren

When you're pregnant, everyone wants to know, "Are you having a boy or a girl?" I tested out 19 old wives' tales & myths for predicting your baby's gender.

Today I'm linkin' up with my buddy Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday. Shh...don't tell her I was up until 12:30 on a school night writin' this post because I was so excited. I'm just goin' to give you a fair warnin'...this post is goin' to be all over the place because I tried all kinds of stuff this week...YIPPEE! #1 Awesomeness: Last year I saw this pin on Pinterest(wouldn't you know after scrollin' through 2,000 pins that I can't find it) and tried it out with my kiddos. It was so colorful that we left it up all year. I HAD a picture of it before, but I had a phone incident and lost all of my pictures. I'm just full of excuses aren't I? Since I have looped with my kiddos, I decided I wanted to do it again to see how different their answers would be for this year. They didn't disappoint. Plus, I have a love relationship with Post-It notes...win, win! Anyways...here's this year's picture... I have 6 different questions hangin' on the door. The students responded to the question with the matchin' Post-it note. Example question: What will Ms. Rose need to do to help make 5th grade successful? Don't you just feel happy lookin' at all those pretty Post-Its? Thought so! #2 Awesomeness: Last week I saw THIS fabulous idea on Teaching in Room 6. I LOVED it so much that I decided I needed to quickly sneak it into my plans. Why is it that I feel this need to get every creative idea I see over the summer shoved all into the first week? For some reason I forget that there are 180 days to try out everything. I imagine I'm not the only one that feels this way! Stephanie's obviously way cooler than I am because she was actually able to locate the pin she found on Pinterest. Stephanie used a circle map with her kiddos. I decided to use this 50 Things I Love Graphic Organizer that Nick from Sweet Rhyme-Pure Reason is offerin' for FREE: The students filled out 50 things that they love and then put them into illustrations on their hands. Here's my class' rendition of the project... I love how bright and colorful they turned out. Everyone's is so very different. The pictures just don't do it justice. It's way more awesome up close and personal. Here are all 22 hands together. The kids think I should have turned the hands upside down, but it's stayin' this way because I like it. It almost feels like they are reachin' for the stars! ROSE'S ROCKSTARS ARE HANDS DOWN A ROCKIN' CLASS #3 Awesomeness: The next idea I tried was from THIS post that Courtney at Polka Dot Lesson Plans posted this summer for a Throwback Thursday. It is all about "Tamin' the Paper Monster". I think Courtney thought I was either jokin' or nuts when I told her that I was immediately goin' to Wally in the middle of the night to get folders for this activity. I'm sure by now those of you that are frequent readers of my lil ol' blog know that I did indeed go in the middle of the night to scoop up 24 folders. It was cheaper to get the pack of 8. I hung the folders up with blue sticky tack(it's the only kind that works as far as I'm concerned). After a week of papers flyin' in and out, they are still on the wall. I'm impressed. I am usin' them for Unfinished Work because I don't send home paper homework. Here's a close up shot. We are workin' on Self-Portraits, so this is an example of an unfinished piece of work in the folder. I used the numbers that Tara from 4th Grade Frolics offered this summer for FREE. #4 Awesomeness: Every year we have a bazillion(okay, maybe I'm exaggeratin' a little)website log-ins and passwords to keep up with. In the past, I have used two different ways to keep track of this. I have used one sheet per student and typed in all of the info, placed it in a plastic sleeve and had the students store it in their binder. The past two years, I have actually cut out each square and used packin' tape to tape them in the front of each child's agenda. If I print the whole sheet, I have to reprint every time we add a new site. If I tape in agendas, I still have to print, cut and tape. I don't know which way is easier, but I do know that it is a LIFE SAVER. This way, if we go to the Technology Lab, the students can either carry their binder or agenda and I don't have to waste time lookin' up their log-ins(chances are I've left my thumb drive in my room with all of MY log-ins and there is no way I can remember one single one of my own without lookin' it up first). Since both items go home each night, the students have easy access to all of their online info. I find that usin' different colored highlighters helps locate the websites easier at a quick glance. It's not necessary, but something that I just do. I made this file several years ago on Publisher. It took me about two minutes to add the boxes and text. I considered droppin' this into a PDF file for anyone that wanted this, but then that would defeat the purpose because you couldn't add text. Then I thought about transferrin' it into a Powerpoint file, but addin' the text boxes would have been a pain, so I ditched that idea. If you don't own a Mac, and would like the Publisher file, I can send it via email. That way you can add which ever sites you use in your classroom. Leave a comment with your email or you can email me at [email protected] with the subject: Website Log-ins and I will send it to you...if it's even something anyone is interested in havin'! #5 Awesomeness: I didn't get to try out Jennifer from Mrs. Laffin's Laughings new linky party A Peek at My Week, but I will be this Sunday and you should too(if you haven't already)! I hope everyone is havin' a great week. You'll all be surprised to know that I only took a ONE hour nap on Monday instead of my normal first week-three hours. Gettin' better!

Today I'm linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday. Tired of your students running up and telling you every little thing? Trouble with tattling? Do you have students that need a Band-Aid for a teeny-tiny speck? Teach your students the 5 B’s! The 5 B's is a classroom management tool meant to reduce off task "teacher telling" and tattling. The 5 B’s help your students know when it’s appropriate to go to the teacher and what things a teacher needs to know about. What are the 5 B's? The 5 B's are Bleeding, Broke Bones, Being Sick, Bee Sting, and Bullying. I start this at the beginning of the year, but it can be started at any time. I literally teach my students the 5 B's and what they mean. I always give them examples such as a teeny speck on their finger that really really hurts but doesn't need a Band-aid or a bee sting is different from spotting a bee. We review the 5 B's every day for the first week of school (or the first week you introduce it). As the year goes on, you can just refer back to the 5 B's. When my students come up to me at recess, for example, I hold up my 5 fingers and ask if what they are about to say is one of the 5 B's. Most of the time, they just go back and play. Fabulous! I have used this for a number of years and in a number of grades. It works! Check it out at my TPT store! Let me know if you have used something similar!

Hello everyone! The theme this fortnight at Try It On Tuesday is 'My Friend' , it could be human, animal or imaginary. Be sure t...

Use high-interest content based paired texts to help students understand how to close read, integrate, and comprehend information found in two passages.

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and the wonderful Amanda from Teaching Maddeness to share some highlights of my week. I apologize for being so MIA this week! I am missing all these great link ups during the week because well, life, has been getting in the way! Falling asleep on the couch every night while trying to get my schoolwork done is getting O.L.D.!! I can't wait to have a break from daily planning and grading (then, I can have more time for blogging! lol). My little girl turned SIX on Wednesday! We were thrilled because her checkup after her tonsil/adenoid surgery was the morning of her birthday and she was cleared to go back to school! Daddy brought her into school with her birthday treat and all her friends ran up to her and gave her lots of hugs and love. I wish I could have been there:( She had her family birthday party on Sunday. Her friend birthday party is tomorrow at a Little Diva Day Spa for girls ages 3-12. She is having seven little girlfriends join her for a couple hours of pampering fun with a fairy theme!! Here she is at the Memorial Day parade with her favorite present from Grandma (crutches for her doll!). My little buddy, Charlie, loved the parade and firetrucks too:) Wednesday was "K day" for "KITE DAY!" Our students are LOVING the ABC countdown calendar that I read about here at the amazing Amanda and Stacia's blog, Collaboration Cuties. It was the perfect day to fly a kite with a great breeze and some cloudy skies. I lost count of how many students told me that this was their first time EVER flying a kite! A student from my homeroom and ELA class won 2nd place in an essay contest for the county!! The American Legion sponsors an essay contest on the topic, "What the American Flag Means to Me." There were over 1,100 entries and representatives from the Legion made a special trip to our school to present our winner with his prize of $75 in front of his classmates! I videotaped the presentation as well as the student reading his essay to the entire 4th grade. I will give a copy of the video to his parents. Proud student moment right here! I FINALLY had my walkthrough observation on Thursday!! We had a formal observation back in the fall and the walkthrough is new this year. Good news? It's over and I have that weight lifted off my shoulders! Bad news? I now have to write a formal lesson plan and have all my artifacts ready for Monday. We have to keep 24 artifacts throughout the year (needed 12 at formal observation and 12 more after walkthrough) to address domains one and four of the Danielson Rubric evaluation system for teachers. They also cannot be just ANY artifacts. The artifacts must be one of the three "recommended artifacts" from our negotiated rubric. So, my principal walked in right before ELA was about to begin and we worked on our Book Clubs!! I think it went well (I hope!) and I had created these forms that the students already had. I will blog more about how Book Clubs went and the forms I created after the students finish their final meetings (June 11th). One thing is for sure about my book clubs...the learning is DEFINITELY student centered! Today we took the students on one of my favorite field trips! The 4th grade classes toured Chautauqua Institution (founded in 1874). This is the only one of the "Grand Hotels" with wood frames that have survived from the 1800's. This is a picture of the amphitheater where a bustle of activity takes place all day every day throughout the summer!! Although I still have three weeks of school left, I can't help but notice that many of my BBB's are on summer vacay! I was hoping you could complete a quick survey about how you would like to continue "Tried It Tuesday" over the summer (thanks for the idea Amanda and Stacia!). I am loving all the ideas linked up every week and am happy to continue the linky each week as long as there is interest! I just don't want to overwhelm anyone or make my normal link ups feels pressured to link up each week:) I know I will be blogging more over the summer but I don't know if that feeling is the norm. Please take the quick survey to give me an idea of how to proceed:) Thank you so much for your support! XXOO Loading...

Freebie Friday's printable is a set of lighthouse tags.

Establish an easy routine with these daily bell ringers for the English classroom. Each week day has a theme that is followed every week. Motivation Monday - quick-write Try it Tuesday - students correct errors in a sentence Wordy Wednesday - students use vocabulary word in frayer model Think about it Thursday - quick-write FriYAY - quick-write Each day is already completed for you. Just print each student the weekly recording sheet and display the slide when they come into class! This resource includes: -5 sets of 20 daily bell ringers (20 total weeks) -students recording sheet -answer key As I create more, I will upload them here. For customers who have already purchased, you will receive the new sets for free.

It's time to link up with my sweet friend Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for her informative Tried It Tuesday linky party! It's so great ...

In honor of my recent hair-chop (that I teased you with a hint of yesterday), I thought I’d do a repost of one of my most popular and most asked-for blogs ever. I had planned to update it with a “how I style my {short} curly hair” post. I even took all the pictures and...