Latitude and Longitude Chant

Hi everyone! I hope you are off to great beginning of the school year, or enjoying the last bit of your summer! We are up and running in room F1! Our first social studies concept we learn is latitude and longitude. I wanted to make something that would help them remember! I created a super short, easy chant for the students to learn! They LOVED it! If you teach latitude and longitude I hope you can find this useful in your classroom! 

Click here for the chant!

Something was funny at the end! :) Kids for you!

Happy chanting! 

5th Grade Math Units - Order of Operations

Hey hey everyone! I have had an idea for these math units to cover the individual concepts we cover in fifth grade math. I have finished up the first one, and it covers order of operations. I want to go over what will be included in these math units! All of these lessons and activities are explicitly explained in the unit in my TPT store!

ANCHOR CHART
I have included an anchor chart that can be shrunk to fit in student's math notebooks. It can also be printed to be hung up in your classroom for a reminder of the steps!

PRACTICE SHEETS

I have included some practice sheets for the students to use for extra practice. There are 3 forms (A, B, C) with 6 problems on each page. I have also made each one into a sheet of just 3 problems. I wanted to give options because sometimes we have time for 3 problems. I also did this because I know some students are overwhelmed with 6 problems, so they will be doing the same problems, just fewer!

EXIT TICKETS

I have also included 3 different exit tickets with 2 problems each. They just need to be cut in half. I love exit tickets to use as a check for understanding. I use them to group students for our intervention time for reteaching. I cannot get enough of exit tickets.

RETEACHING LESSON
I have included a lesson plan for reteaching! Order of operations can be a tricky skill, so there is a lesson and materials for a small group reteaching lesson.

Small Group Work with the steps of the order of operations.

 Guided practice to work on in a small group.

ERICHMENT
I wanted to include an enrichment opportunity to push those students who are getting the concept.

Part 1: Putting the correct operations to make the expression true!

Part 2: Putting the correct operations and parenthesis to make the expression true!

ACTIVITIES

I have included 3 different engaging activities for the students to practice the concept of order of operations. Once again, they are all explicitly explained in the pack, this is just a preview!

ASSESSMENT
Finally, I have included a short assessment you can give to your students, it covers the skill of order of operations.

Lucky you! Since you are still here, I have linked to a FREEBIE! I have given the assessment as a FREEBIE for you to use in your classroom!

GET YOUR FREEBIE HERE!

I hope this helps you understand the pack a little better and I hope this works well in your classroom! (Click the picture below to get this resource!)

What skills would you like me to do next? Leave your ideas in the comments below!

Happy summer!

It's been a while, okay its been a year...

Well, I totally, 100% admit that I neglected this blog over the past school year. I know I am preaching to the choir, but this year got busy. I am promising to get this blog back and functioning this summer! I have some great plans ahead. Happy summertime!

Morning Messages & Their Impact

As everyone is in the middle of their new school year, procedures and routines are in full swing. I want to bring you something that I treasure and believe is one of the most important parts of my classroom's day. Morning Messages.

I know many people use morning messages, but if you don't, or you just need new ideas as to why you should keep using them, you have found the right place! Morning messages are just what they say they are, messages that are put up in the morning as the students come into the classroom. People do morning messages in many different forms, some use chart paper, some use their chalk or white board, and some use their computer. I am one who uses their computer (well my promethean board). I have compiled a list of the amazing impacts morning messages can have on a classroom.

Stops the Repeating Questions

Repeating the answer to the same question a hundred times a day could go down as one of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher. Morning messages can be a solution to help minimize the number of questions you have throughout the day! On your morning message you can give the kids the daily schedule of whats going to happen in your classroom. They become informed and ready to face the day. It is also perfect for those days where you have  a convocation, picture day, or you have a two-hour delay and the schedule is weird. I have found that including that information in the morning message prepare the kids for the day (especially those friends who are schedule oriented), whether is be a normal or wonky day.

Encouraging Words 

One of my favorite parts of writing a morning message every day is including an inspirational quote. If you are anything like me, you love quotes. I am pretty sure this is the reason some kids leave my class loving quotes because I give them a new one to think about everyday! You can get your quotes from anywhere, but I have a few favorite sources. First one is 365 Days of Wonder, it is a book of Mr. Browne's precepts (if you have read Wonder you know who this is). It is a book full of 365 quotes, some famous, and some by kids. Another book is the Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome it also has some great quotes, and who doesn't love the Kid President?

I also have a large Google Doc that I made this summer of quotes from my notebooks, planners, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. On my Google Doc, I can go easily copy the quote, then paste it in my message. My trick is once you have copied the quote, change the font color in Google and you will never repeat or lose you spot in the list. Why not start your students' day out with a little inspiration?

Simple & Quick

As I said previously and what you can gather from the pictures, I type my messages and project them on my Promethean board. That being said, they are super quick and super easy to type up every morning. When I feel like I am rushed and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, a morning message will always be written because they take that little time to do! I know as teachers we have very full plates that are constantly being added to daily, but this is one that doesn't even take up a tiny part of the plate. My morning messages are all typed on Keynote (Apple's version of PowerPoint), and I use the same template everyday, so I just type what I want to say and its done!

Celebrate Your Students

Morning messages are a wonderful outlet to celebrate the successes of your students. It could have been something they did that was amazing yesterday, they could have won a game/activity, or helped out a friend. Nothing is better than seeing their faces when their names on up on the morning message!
 Another easy way to incorporate your students in the morning message is when birthdays roll around, post a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and some days will be completely changed! I am using Ron Clark's house system this year in my classroom and every Monday I update who the house leader is, and the kids love it! Any chance we have to celebrate our students we must do it, and what's easier than typing it up for all to see?

Fun for Clipart/Digital Paper Lovers 

If you are anything like my and have a slight obsession with digital papers and clipart, this is just another way to use all of those goodies you purchased on TPT! I love making new combinations and showing off new clipart, and I love using older clipart I forgot I had! You can get creative! I like to think of it as a blank canvas!

These are just a few reasons why I love using morning messages in my classroom!

My hope is that you give morning messages a try in your classroom if you don't already! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Where I've Been Lately...

Hi everyone! I find myself sitting on my couch after another long week, finally relaxing. I have not been by here lately because I don't feel like I have stopped. Everyone is busy and has a million and two things to do everyday, but this past month has felt like a whirlwind for me. Anyone else out there feel me? I am hoping I am not alone in this! There was the beginning of the school year, I moved, had to go to a wedding back home in Evansville, the beginning of school (oh wait, I already said that), but this year has been a little more crazy than my others. But, I have come out on the other side, and I have survived BTS 2016!

My long absence from the blog is over, and I have some really exciting content coming your way over the next couple of weeks!

I hope you have survived BTS 2016 and are off to a great school year!