Room Tour #2!! (Daniel - Part Two)

Here is the second half of Daniel's room tour.

Here are Daniel's CRQ (constructed response question).
Sorry it's a little fuzzy...iPhone photo...you know.

Our former principal encouraged us to create expectations with our nuggets.

We created 3 different kinds...

Teacher Expectations for Kids...

Student Expectations for Teachers...

and Kids Expectations for Kids.

I tried this with my students my first two years of teaching, but they usually came up with stuff like, "Don't give us homework," "Don't talk too loudly," "Get a class pet."

The whole, "Get a class pet" think worked out great...not...it didn't last half the year.

I love that he added #4. Be flexible to his Guest Teacher Expectations.

I have had to have this talk with my nuggets many times.

Just because a guest teacher does something a different way doesn't mean they are wrong.

Welp, there you go!

I can't wait to share another room with you!

(Although, my friend Jesselle said, "I can walk into Daniel's room at any time...I want to know how you tie your scarves!"

So, it looks like I might be jumping on that bandwagon.

Have a great Thursday!

Laters!

Mrs. B

What I'm Loving Wednesday (2.27.13)

Happy Humpday, y'all!!

I'm loving that it's my pops' birthday today!

Happy birthday, pops!

(This picture is from my wedding...we were both bawling at this point.)

I'm loving that I have this handy dandy spot to let my iPad chill while I clean the bathroom.

I'm loving that we found Handsome Husband's doppelgänger on a beer bottle this weekend.

All he needs is a goatee.

For realz.

Weird.

I'm loving that I have great friends that I get to goof off with during meetings.

Ok...right before they start.

I'm a good student.

Here are the pins I'm loving this week:

Crochet clovers from here

Word game from here

Bwahahahahahahaha from here

Dresser from here

Vanities galore!

What are you loving this Wednesday??

Don't forget to check out all the great links here!

Laters!

Mrs. B

Room Tour #2! (Daniel - Part One)

I decided to split Daniel's room tour into two posts since there was so much good stuff hanging around.

This is a fifth grade room.

I'm a teensy weensy bit jealous of his bright yellow Keurig.

Seriously...not saying I would want yellow, but something other than silver would ROCK!

His mom made him this kick-butt cheeseburger pillow thing-a-ma-jig.

Each piece comes apart and his nuggets use them during reading time.

Uhh...he doesn't ever actually touch this...because...you know...(lice)...gag.

But it's still wicked cool!

I had something like this up in my room at the beginning of the year and am now thinking that I need to get it out again.

I LOVE the language of his compared to mine.

Not that mine's bad, but I just really like his wording.

Here's mine.

I also liked the language he used when describing voice levels.

Some Language Arts work.

I'll be back with more from Daniel's room on Thursday!

Laters!

Mrs. B

Writing in Complete Sentences

I work in a school with a high number of nuggets who live in poverty and speak English as a second language.

(47.2% White, 46.8% Hispanic, 3.9% Multiracial, 1.6% Black as well as 79.2% Free/Reduced lunch.)

We have worked very hard to help our nuggets learn to write and speak formally (Ruby Payne's work has played a large part in the language we use with them).

School-wide we have been working on teaching our students to write answers to questions in complete sentences.

We have spent time teaching lessons on how to analyze questions by circling the question word and identifying the words from the question that they are going to use in the answer.

 They then use words from the question in their answer.

Here is an example of a nugget's work.

H means high.

The criterion for this assignment were:

High:  Use words from the question, complete sentence (capital/period), and grammatically correct.

Medium:  Didn't do one of those things.

Low:  Struggled with all three.

The question I would ask my nuggets when I graded their work was "How could you make this a high?"

It enabled them to look at their work critically and problem solve how to improve their answer (which is important for their learning and application of the skill).

Here is an example of a nugget's answer on our weekly test.

(He received no help from me during.)

It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that my nuggets are able to apply what I'm teaching them.

We call these questions "Constructed Response Questions".

Here are pictures of the criterion for my nuggets that are displayed in my classroom.

We are now having them prove their answers using a picture, paragraph # or page # as well.

Last week we added the "Prove It" part.

Here are some examples of nugget work from this week.

These two had it all.

 This one doesn't have a capital at the beginning.

I am a wicked stickler about that.

At this point in the year, every second grader should know that they automatically put a capital at the beginning of a sentence.

This one doesn't have proof.

This one was difficult to read because of grammar errors.

This one had a complete sentence for the answer, but not for the proof.

So, there is some of the work we've been doing with answering in complete sentences.

I can't wait to see what else my nuggets have in store for me!

Laters!

Mrs. B

Sunday Social 2.24.13

This week's Sunday Social is all about middle school and high school.

There aren't any pictures this week because I didn't have time to go digging through my boxes. :(

Check out the other links here.

This Week's Questions:

1.  What was your biggest middle school fashion mistake?

Oh lordy.

I had THE WORST perm in 7th grade.

It was a total pyramid.

Even my bangs were permed.

They were this little curls at the front of my hairline that stuck up kind of funny.

And...I had braces...gag.

(I will seriously try to find that picture because words can't sum up just how bad it was.)

2.  Who were your best friends in high school?

My best friends were Jason, Ronnie, Nick, and Melissa.

I didn't have a ton of girlfriends (as you can tell from above) because I hated the drama that went along with them.

I was definitely a guys girl.

I loved hanging out, watching action movies and begin gross. :)

3.  What was a typical weekend like for you in high school?

Oh my...I don't remember!

I probably went to some kind of sporting event on Friday or Saturday or hung out with my boyfriend.

Church on Sundays!

4.  Did you have any boyfriends?  Tell us about that...

I had a boyfriend for most of high school.

James during freshman and part of sophomore year.

Ryan during sophomore and junior year.

Nick during senior year.

I probably had a few dates thrown in there, too.

5.  Did you have any secret codes with your friends?  Spill!

We didn't have any secret codes, but my friend Lindsey and I liked to write phonetically and get a giggle out of it.

We weren't allowed to talk during study hall but sat across from each other.

I perfected writing upside down during this time.

I can still do this and it comes in super handy for teaching.

(My handwriting's sometimes better upside down!)

6.  If you could relive one day/moment/experience from middle school or high school what would it be?

Gross!

None of it.

I HATED high school.

The thought of doing any of it again gives me a stomach ache.

I don't live in the past. :)

Next Week's Questions:

1.  What are 5 songs you'll listen to the rest of your life?

2.  What are 5 things on your bucket list?

3.  Who are 5 celebs you'd love to hang out with for a day?

4.  What are 5 things you always carry in your purse?

5.  What are 5 books on your reading list?

6.  Share the last 5 pictures on your phone.

How was your high school experience?

Any stories to share?

Have a great week!

Laters,

Mrs. B

High 5 for Friday! 2.22.13

What is it about a 4-day work week that makes it feel exponentially longer?

We even had a 2-hour delay today!

Here are my top 5 highlights of the week:

(check out all of the other link-ups here)

High-five 1:  I devoured some books last weekend!

I barely got to read this week but felt totally sated.

High-five 2:  Some nuggets and I worked on a puzzle today.

Neither of them STOPPED TALKING THE WHOLE TIME!

That's ok, though.

It's always nice to have time with my nuggets when I'm not trying to cram stuff into their brains.

High-five 3:  I discovered a flat tire after some time out with coworkers.

Luckily, my coworker Laura's son was available to help me.

Thanks Michael!

He took this time to nag me about my horrid taste in movies!

Booger.

High-five 4:  I started a custom order for a friend.

High-five 5:  Handsome Husband and I enjoyed our monthly double date with our friends Lindsay and Nate.

We went to one of my favorite restaurants.

I love knowing that Lindsay and I can chat while the boys talk about random facts.

How was your week??

Laters!

Mrs. B

Room Tour #1!! (Krista)

So, while sitting in a meeting in a co-worker's room I had a great idea for a blog series!

I'm going to tour the rooms of my school and take photos of the great ideas I see (with permission, of course!).

So, for my first room I visited my friend Krista's room.

I noticed these signs hanging up by her desk.

She uses them as a visual signal for her nuggets during work time.

I think I'm going to make these for my room since my nuggets DON'T KNOW WHAT SILENT AND QUIET WORK TIME ARE!!!!!!!!!!!  

(Uh, excuse me.  Rant over.  Eep!)

 This is such an important concept for children (and some adults!) to understand.

This is a great reminder for kids to see every day and for the teacher to reference during conflicts.

This is kind of an um-duh thing to have up in a classroom.

I don't have this up, but it would be especially helpful for the nuggets at the beginning of the year and if a guest teacher is in the room.

I don't have classroom jobs because the management of it was a lot to deal with last year.

This seems like an easy way to assign jobs.

"On Your Mark" is an easy way to make sure that nuggets are ready for the day and prepared to learn.

This is from the book Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov.

It's a FANTASTIC reference for teachers.

Thanks, Krista, for allowing me to invade your room and talk about some of your awesome ideas!

I can't wait to tour some more rooms!

Have you seen any great teaching ideas lately?

Laters,

Mrs. B

What I'm Loving Wednesday 2.20.13

I'm linking up with Jamie and all the other folks here to bring you

I'm loving that my sister-in-law supports my habit. :)

 I'm loving that I was a rebel and went through the 20-items-or-less line with 21 items.
I scored a TON of clearance valentines for next year.
(I sell boxes of valentines to my nuggets for 50 cents if their parents can't afford them...
I learned that from a good friend and mentor...thanks Carol!)

I'm loving that I spent the weekend crocheting while Handsome Husband was at the state wrestiling tournament.

I'm loving that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
My dad's breakfast is on the left, mine on the right.
Not the best, I know, but I was starving and running late.

 I'm loving that I read two book this weekend.
Go me!

I'm loving that I forgot to change into workout socks for spin class on Monday.

I'm loving that I made two scarves this weekend, too!

What are you loving on this Wednesday??

Laters, 

Mrs. B