Five for Friday: Reading, Resting & Raiding?!

Thank goodness it's finally Friday! I haven't started teaching yet but I'm already feeling exhausted! Whew! Since it's Friday, I'm linking with Doodle Bugs Teaching for five for Friday! Here we go...

On Monday, I snuggled with both dogs and tried to finish one of the novels I started this summer. I'm so behind on my summer reading it's ridiculous. I think I have a longer list than when I started the summer...

Tuesday, Iggy didn't want to get up with the alarm so he put himself back to bed. He is not ready for school to start back. He's really not a morning puppy.

On Wednesday, I finally was able to get into my classroom! Yippppeee! I had to unpack and start throwing things together because our Open House is Tuesday.

Thursday, I spent most of my time organizing all my new nonfiction books and getting that part of my library set up. I went from two buckets of nonfiction to about 8-buckets of nonfiction... Thank you used book sales at the library! I also had to put up my new information text poster and  text feature mini-posters I ordered from Really Good Stuff. They are super cute and match my color scheme - win, win!

Today, I had a PD in the morning on creating a You Tube Channel and uploading your own videos to You Tube. Afterwards, I went back to work in my classroom for several more hours. My library books are all scanned in... or at least the ones that are going to be scanned in for now! I also jazzed up my library with a a cute sunglass wearing Yoda and QR code for how to create an Origami Yoda. Check out my Instagram! When I came home, Iggy had stolen both Squidward and Squidy (We're really creative in our house). The following is the aftermath of Iggy's squid raid...

Have a great weekend,

Hot Mess to Organized Choas?

Confession: I feel like a terrible blogger lately. I don't know how so many of you keep up with your blog during school! I feel like I've neglected my blog plus all the ones I follow. This summer I was great at reading, linking up, and leaving genuine comments but now... Oh boy! Bloglovin' informed me earlier that I have 33 entries to read. Yikes!... But I do have a sneak peek at what I've been up too and I promise to schedule some blog time later to read and comment! Let's keep this entry visual for my visual learners out there!

I didn't leave my room as disorganized as I had orginally thought, however, my counter space is essential for my new centers - so I had to get it cleared quick! Plus, I needed to expand my library.

Speaking of library... My biggest accomplishment over the past two days is my...

Here's the combo shot of the entire "library" area in my classroom...

I bought a display rack for the top of the book shelf but I still need to build it. Plus, I'm trying to see if my Read Box will work or if I can get some picture frame stands for some favorite books and authors. It's a work in progress but the books are out! That's a step in the right direction!

Lastly, I worked on the writing area in my room. Last year, it was in the spot of the Nonfiction book bins but it was too crowded and the students never ventured back there for writing references or supplies... this year... I took a different approach and moved it to the front of the room! I think it turned out quite well!  It has my whole class journals, revision checklists, editing wheels, and editing pens. I still need to create labels for most of the bins...

Here is a close up of the revision check-lists. I used a FREE editable chevron binder pack from TPT for the covers. I shrunk them down but you could do full sized versions. You can grab the freebie here from Write in the Middle's TPT store. The insides are Megan's  (I Teach What's Your Super Power?) fabulous revision posters also shrunk down! You can grab Megan's Revising Poster and Mini Poster set here from TeachingSuperPower TPT store. Can't wait for students to use these!

I have a little more work to do this week before the big reveal!

Wish me luck,

Guest Blogging!

Today, I'm a guest blogger on my wonderful friend and colleague Amy's blog, The Art of Teaching! I'm blogging about teaching Careers for the first time in Social Studies next year. I've found some great resources I can't wait to share :) Hop over and check out my guest appearance plus read her amazing blog!

Go on, what are you waiting for!

Lauching Writing Workshop: Mentor Texts!

Because I love finding writing mentor texts, I'm linking up with Amanda & Stacia at Collaboration Cuties for their weekly Mentor Text linky party! It's hard being a fifth grade teacher sometimes... there are so many wonderful writing mentor texts but often the younger grade level teachers snatch those up! Owl Moon, The Relatives Came, Fireflies, Amelia's Journal and The Dot... have all been gobbled up by fourth grade teachers. Ugh. I love my fourth grade teacher friends but save some good ones for us too! But, I was tired of rehashing fourth grade with my fifth graders! So, last year, I was on a mission to find new resources that would help with our heavy nonfiction writing curriculum and launch my workshop... hence, my {new} favorites for launching workshop.

I found Stuck last summer at a literacy workshop I attended. I instantly fell in love with the pictures and concept of the book! It's about a boy who gets his kite stuck in a tree. So, he tries everything he can think of to get his kite down but everything he tries seemingly gets the kite MORE stuck! Until... well, I can't ruin the ending for you!

I use this book to teach about writer's block. I let my students know that sometimes, you're just stumped or stuck and that's okay. It's all about how you deal with your problem. The boy in the book never gives up, although he does get frustrated, it's all about using your schema and strategies to help you solve your problem. After reading, my students brainstormed all the different strategies they use to help themselves get "unstuck" while writing. Love, love, love this book!

Not a Box was an Amazon recommendation for me. At first, I was like, really Amazon? You gotta do better than that! But alas, Amazon knows me better than I know myself. Before grabbing a copy, I checked it out from the public library! It's a super creative book. The rabbit in the story does everything he can to prove that the square is NOT A BOX. I kin this book to The Dot or Ish. There is also a sequel called Not a Stick. The rabbit comes up with clever rebuttals when ever someone asks "Why are you sitting in a box?" It's a short read that's great for teaching about creativity, imagination, or point of view. It's a good text to have handy for fiction or even non-fiction writing.

Don't forget to link up your favorites with Amanda & Stacia! 

How do you start your Writing Workshop? Any favorite must-have-in-my-cart-and-on-my-shelf titles?

An Apple A Day: Enrichment

Today, I'm linking up with Leigh from the Applicious Teacher to discuss enrichment! Enrichment is always something I've struggled with in my classroom. I differentiate all my lessons, create leveled book clubs, and often have different levels of homework or assignments, but when it comes to true enrichment, I often can't find the time to work into the already jammed-packed-overflowing-don't-have-a-second-to-waste curriculum. It's tough! After racking my brain, my enrichment solution was two fold...

First, I was never a big proponent of "extra credit." My first few years students would come to me or I'd get a parent email a few days before the end of the trimester asking about extra credit. I had the too bad, too sad attitude. But then I started really thinking - what if there was a way to earn extra credit BEFORE the end of the grading period or BEFORE grades started to tank... Hmmmm. My awesome teaching partner Michelle had already been doing something similar in her classroom with math. So, I jumped on the bandwagon!

I created what I dubbed "Brain Busters." These were enrichment activities I could never get to in class but students could work on when they finished their daily work. I laminated manilla folders and put a cute brain on the front and walla! These could be done at home or school and if completed they would receive an extra credit coupon.  The coupon entitles students to 5% extra credit on a quiz or homework and 3% extra credit on a test. They attach the coupon at the time of the assignment - not after they get a "bad" grade. The enrichment doesn't dramatically change anyone's grade - so it's still what the kiddos have earned - but it does allow for help if students have been struggling on a homework or quiz. Plus, the "extra credit" gives that added enrichment! It also cuts back on parent emails about extra credit since it's always available. Students can complete as many activities as they want but I don't change out the Brain Buster pockets more than 3 times a trimester. So about every 4 weeks there are new activities for both language arts & social studies.

I've found great enrichment sources at Scholastic's Teacher Express and Mindware. They have excellent already created materials that are ready to go and challenging! I mix it up but I have crossword puzzles, analogies, word winks, word ladders, etc. Anything to get the juices flowing & bulk up those critical thinking skills!

Here are some favorite titles: {click the books to get a better description}

Right now, Scholastic Teacher Express is holding a birthday sale! 50% off your entire order with the code BIRTHDAY50! Some of these books are worth checking out!

Since, the "Brain Busters" aren't mandatory... The second part of my enrichment plan, was adding in some content rich videos. These usually align better with social studies than with language arts but I find what I can for both. I don't try to dumb down the content for the kids. I want the videos to be meaning, engaging, but still age appropriate. National Geographic and the History Channel both have tons of short videos plus longer videos for further enrichment! I use the video America Before Columbus from National Geographic every year. It's a 90 minute video that chronicles life of Native Americans in North America before and after Spanish explorers.It has tons of EXTRAS and a glimpse at life in Europe which we don't really get into in 5th grade.

Here's an "after" clip about horses bringing brought to the United States.


What does enrichment look like in your classroom?