20+ Cool Plastic Bottle Recycling Projects For Kids

I love these, especially the penguins! Check out the link for more ideas and specifics!





Some great ideas here!


Source: http://notedlist.com/plastic-bottle-recycling-projects/

5-10 minutes of class... what activities can you do?

What to Do With That Awkward 5 or 10 Minutes of Class You Have Left

Read the entire article here: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/09/25/what-to-do-with-that-awkward-5-or-10-minutes-of-class-you-have-left

Create fun structured conversations. Give the whole class a sentence stem that they have to fill in themselves, and then make them go find at least 10 different partners to practice it with. The repetition of both speaking and listening will help cement it in their brains, and the not-sitting-in-their-chairs will make it fun. 

• "One thing I will remember to tell my future grandchildren about differential equations is _____"

• "I shall uphold the honor of my English teacher, Ms./Mr. _____ and never mix up 'you're' and 'your.' I will remember the difference by _____."

• "I'm going to go straight home and tell everyone on Facebook how the most important thing I learned about cells is ____."

• "If I made a modern-day movie about the Shakespeare play we read today, I would cast _____ as _______ because they are both ______."

Have students face off in Trashketball to decide which half of the class gets dismissed first. For Trashketball, first divide the class into two teams. Each team sends a representative to the front (or you can choose a representative). The representatives are then asked a review question. If the question is answered correctly, the representative's team earns two points. Then the representative has a chance to earn another two points for his/her team by shooting a ball made of trash (see the featured image) into the class trash can from a set distance. Then, a new set of representatives face off. Whichever team is in the lead when the bell rings gets dismissed first.

Read whole article here:
http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/09/25/what-to-do-with-that-awkward-5-or-10-minutes-of-class-you-have-left

Invigorate your classroom - strategies to energize

Every day presents a new opportunity, and that's why we're giving you five totally easy, totally doable tricks to invigorate learning (and to refresh your outlook) in your classroom today. Because an energized classroom drives results. And excited learners can accomplish big things. And because it's a long time until winter break ... not that we're counting down or anything. Here are our ideas:

1. Show them some classic snapshots.
   Project a series of classic photographs onto your whiteboard. (For example, these on American labor history and these on the former Soviet Union.) Ask your students to look and imagine what it would have felt like to be in that photo.
2. Redecorate.
   We know those Pinterest-worthy bulletin boards you made for back-to-school were just about perfect ... for back-to-school. But now that the school year is up and going, why not give your classroom walls a refresh? If you need some inspiration, check out these free printable posters from WeAreTeachers.
3. Get hands-on.
   This is an obvious one, but it's also an easy one to forget when the glitter glue hits the fan. Sometimes a simple hands-on experiment or activity is all it takes to bring some excitement back into your classroom. (Need hands-on ideas? Try these easy and funFoldables.)
4. Let them watch cartoons.
   What kid doesn't love Saturday morning cartoons? Expand on that by finding fun, short, entertaining cartoons (like these on essential reading skills) that enrich the teaching that you're doing.
5. Celebrate!
   Not every day can be Halloween or Valentine's Day (thank goodness!), but celebrating the "little" holidays with big learning can really make a lesson memorable. So check out McGraw-Hill Education's Get Inspired Board on Pinterest and get fun ideas to celebrate things like National STEM Day, Honey Bee Day and more with your students.
6. 
   

This blog series is sponsored by McGraw-Hill Education. Visitblog.mheonline.com for educational ideas, information, and free resources to inspire learning every day!



SOURCE - http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/09/25/5-simple-tricks-to-invigorate-learning-in-your-classroom-today

Hand Print Tree Ornaments

My friends and colleagues know my obsession with handprint art, so this idea looks amazing to me!

Presenting to Student Teachers: Perks of TTOCing

This week I am doing two presentations to student teacher groups. I love the energy and enthusiasm student teachers have coming out of their practicums, ready and eager to find jobs! The reality is, that many get hired, first, as a TTOC (Teacher-Teaching-On-Call) and my workshop looks at what life is like as a TTOC.

I also do workshops for the BCTF on Classroom Management for TTOCs, Work-Life Balance, Stress Management, Reality 101, and a few others. It is always a pleasure to present and today was no different!

Today's group had a lot of previous classroom experience as EAs or such and had some awesome ideas and knowledge to share. They just finished their SFU 405 practicum (Long practicum) and I spent the afternoon with them.

One part of my workshop looks at the benefits of being a TTOC.

We brainstormed some of the perks of being a TTOC and here are some of the things we came up with:

• Flexibility 
• Set schedule
• Variety (grades, subjects, areas)
• experiment with different instructional strategies
• develop professional connections, network
• no report cards
• minimal marking
• less "out of school day" work (prep, plan, mark, etc.)
• Gather ideas, resources, etc.
• try things out repeatedly

While teaching on call is often a stepping stone to contract teaching, many choose to teach on call because of the many perks it offers. Although sometimes unpredictable, many teachers enjoy the benefits of being a teacher-teaching-on-call.

What other perks are there to being a TTOC?

Pintrest in Action... Setting up the classroom

My good friend and colleague has been back at school all week setting up her Grade 4/5 classroom.

She is active on pintrest and used a lot of the pins she found over the summer to implement in her classroom.

Background:
Last year she changed the set-up of her class. She wanted to observe how students worked in different seating arrangements and how it changed when she set up sseating assignments vs. when students chose their own.

The Options:
She had tables lined up on each side of the classroom with bleachers at one end (and clipboards) as well as big comfy rugs in the middle. There is also a cloak room area to work in, the hallway and a table in a cubby area down the hall. Students often have the choice of where to work during work time.

This Year:
She has continued with the lay out of the classroom listed above and has implemented some awesome pintrest ideas. I wanted to share some of the photos...



On her desk to organize everything easily



Drop Zone - handing in work



Help Wanted and Job applications for class jobs



Clothespins with students names or numbers will be attached to this chart and be moved if needed throughout the day.



Each student has a number and they can move their magnet if they leave the room (Especially good in this class given the choices of where they may go work in and around the school)



No Name? No Problem! Clip up work here



Class volume

See similar: Voice O Meter



If they get too noisy she will add one of these letters up on the board. If they spell noise it becomes a 'no talking' time



Book Hospital, a tub to put damaged books into so they can be fixed



Clip boards (for workers on the bleachers) and school supplies



Dry Erase pens with "puff balls" attached to lids for easy erasing



Shelves she  bought to put tubs on, each student gets a tub to keep their supplies (since she doesn't have traditional desks with storage in them)



Shout Out Box, if you have something nice to say about someone, write it down and put it in the box



Her class library, full of all the books she has bought and some comfy chairs

She writes a blog here and recently did her masters exploring classroom design. I always love going to her class and have talked about her classroom design before.

I had to share these photos she posted of her class, because she is an amazing teacher and has some great ideas! Her students are very lucky to have such a caring teacher and a welcoming and innovative classroom!

For TTOCs:

Which of these could you implement as a TTOC? I like the "NOISE" letter idea for classroom management as well as the number magnets for leaving the room.

Check out this post with some more ideas: HERE

Cell Phones in Class?

I saw this on facebook, hilarious!

Pizza Box Folders

Source: shspana.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Student Strategies: More asking for help

I am always looking for strategies to use in classrooms that allow students to not get caught up on one question.

I often use a thumbs up if you get it, thumbs down if you don't and a 'so-so' hand if you are in between. If there are a lot of thumbs down I can explain again, in a different way, a small handful of thumbs down, I may bring the small group to the carpet, or my desk, or a work table to re-teach in a different way.

Another strategy I have used is pairing up the thumbs up with a thumbs down students to peer help. Often hearing it in a different way, seeing it done or trying it themself is enough to get them going. Nut not always. In cases where students are 'stuck' on a problem, they often stop... wait for teacher intervention/help.

In large classes, it is sometimes a challenge to get to everyone quickly, so I encourage them to skip the question and move on until I get to them.

This blog had a neat idea for students to ask for help during work time.This idea, can be added to that so that students have visually indicated where they are at and so that I can help students in need.

Write this on the board so everyone is clear on how it works.

The only supplies needed are some colored construction paper! This is a great way to gauge student’s progress during independent work. Students use cards to indicate whether they are good to go (green), struggling a bit (yellow) or stuck (red).

Student fold a piece of coloured paper on desk like this and put whichever colour on top to indicate i they need help.

This allows me to intervene early for students on yellow, and reteach on the spot for students on red. Additionally, if I see a whole lot of red cards at the start of the independent practice, then I can reteach to the whole class.

This idea reminds me of the 'red cup / green cup' strategy to ask for help that I blogged about last year.

What other ideas have you seen or tried?

Self-Starters.... Daily Activities...

I remember as a student teacher, my "short practicum" classroom was in a Middle School and the first 15 minutes of the day was "advisory" or "homeroom" It was a mixed class (grades 6, 7, 8) and a time to warm-up for the day and connect with students and staff that were not in your regular classes.

Some days there was computer lab time, some days was free play, some days was focussed activities.... What I loved about the teacher I worked with was that she had riddles on the board, every day... students had a focal point to think about when they arrived and later in the day she would discuss the riddle and see if anyone got the answer.

I found this on a website and thought I'd share it as a suggestion for doing something similar in classrooms you teach in as a TTOC:

Putting a worksheet on each student's desk, or an activity on the board before school starts, will get kids off to a great morning. This also helps prevent potential behavior problems as students come into class. To make it easier, have self-starters according to the following days:

Monday - "Monday Math" (ex: put 5 math review problems on the board)
Tuesday - "Talk It Over Tuesday" (ex: write some quotes on the board for kids to edit for punctuations, grammar, etc.)
Wednesday - "Wacky Word-Wall Wednesday" (ex: put 5 of the words from the word wall in sentences, in tongue twisters, etc.)
Thursday - "Think it Through Thursday" (ex: put a thought-provoking question on the board for students to respond to in their journals)
Friday - "Fun Friday" (ex: put afun crossword, wordsearch, coloring sheet, etc. on their desk to complete "just for fun."

I really love the idea of theme days, but if you are a Teacher-Teaching-On-Call you could potentially do the same activity multiple days since you are in multiple classrooms within a week.

I find riddles, one-minute mysteries, and word games (liike Boggle) work well.

this discussion forum  has more ideas for start of day activities

Value of a Journal

The past week I have really started to journal again. I had forgotten, or perhaps lost appreciation for the art.

As a teen, I used to write and journal daily. It helped me focus, express myself, sort my ideas and thoughts.

This week, I have used it to deal with my feelings around tragedy, my goals both professionally and personally, as a way to brainstorm and sort ideas to share with colleagues, and as a tool with students and my own daughter to express what is on their mind.

Students who use journals are actively engaged in their own learning and have the opportunity to clarify and reflect upon their thinking. When students write in journals, they can record such things as ideas and feelings, special words and expressions they have heard, interesting things that have happened to them or information about interesting people. Journal writing offers students opportunities to write without fear often associated with marking. Every journal entry is individualized.

Check out these strategies for using journals in the classroom

Here is another great resource with things to consider if you want to use journals in the classroom and ways to use them.

As a TTOC, having a writing prompt, journal or discussion point can be a great idea! Allow students to write then share (I always give the option to pass)

We use this strategy in our mentoring program for new teachers and TTOCs, we always start with a 5 minute quiet write and then allow the participants to share out or pass. It helps us as mentors see where the participants are at and guide our meeting, as well as gives everyone a chance to "vent" or let out their feelings.

I am learning to re-appreciate the value of writing and journals as I use it in my classroom, with my colleagues and for my own personal reflection.

Back to School... Get Your Bag of Tricks Ready

The first week of school for TTOCs can be slow. Often there are not a lot of calls to go in for work, but there are things you can do during that week to prepare for a busy school year.

One suggestion I give to TTOCs is to take this time to get your "Bag of Tricks" ready to go. A 'Bag of Tricks' is something I have with me when I go into any classroom. The items in there will have you prepared for (almost) any situation. Here are some items in my bag:

• Writing Utensils
• pens
• pencils
• overhead pens
• dry erase pens
• chalk
• Activities
• mad libs
• sudoku
• picture book
• playing cards
• dice
• Personal Items
• Lunch
• Running Shoes
• Tylenol
• Tissues
• Waterbottle
• Mints
• whistle
• Extras
• stamps or stickers
• small beanbag or ball
• prizes or rewards
• your card or contact info

I also like to have my camera or cell phone to snap photos of bulletin boards, classroom set-up, and such that I like.

What do you always bring with you?
Comment below with your ideas to share....

Love and Logic Approach to Classroom Management

Classroom Management is often a struggle for Teachers-Teaching-On-Call. Most classroom management workshops, books, and ideas focus on "developing a rapport over time" with students. TTOCs don't have time for that (or at least they don't have time to develop meaningful rapport, especially if it is a one day gig) but there are some things TTOCs can use to assist with classroom management.

Obviously choices is a big one, problem solving, choosing your battles, being respectful and being respected.... but I recently saw some cool strategies from Jim Fay's Book http://www.loveandlogic.com/

I discovered this information at The Sub Hub and wondered how some of these ideas could be used for TTOCs:

As a sub, one of the hardest parts of the job is classroom management. No matter who the student is, each one acts at least a little differently when a sub is in the room. The district I work for encourages the Love and Logic^® approach, a system that is all about using empathy and empowering students to take responsibility and solve their own problems

The Sub Hub Website had some great ideas, some I mentioned above, but one that I really liked was wording "rules" as if they are for you, the teacher, not them.

For example:

1.  I listen to one person at a time
2. I listen to students who raise their hands
3. I teach when there are no disruptions.

Another part I liked was how to deal with students who argue. I encountered this recently in my contract class and instead of engage in a power struggle I let the student know we could continue the discussion/debate after school, but not during class time. I really like this idea for next time:

Neutralizing Arguing. Anyone who has tried to argue and reason with an angry student knows how useless it is, so use the techniques of staying calm, “going brain dead,” using (and continuing to use) a one-liner like “I respect you too much to argue” or “I know it feels that way,” and if the arguing continues, responding with “I argue at 12:00 or 3:00 each day. Which would be best for you?”

I really love hearing new strategies to try in different classrooms. I wonder what strategies you have used that worked or that didn't work? Why? Why not?

You can read more about this idea on the website: http://www.loveandlogic.com/

Student Strategies: Asking for help

I saw this neat idea I wanted to share.

It's a flap, triangle desktop sign.

So a piece of paper is folded in THREE sections and then the ends taped together to make a triangle.

One side says: Make not of question and keep working.
Next side says: I'm Fine
Last side says: Please Help.

The idea is when the "Please Help" is facing up, so the teacher can see it, the "Make a note of your question and keep working" is facing the student.

This is a way for teacher's to visually see who needs help and not hold students up waiting for a teacher to get to them, which can take time in a large class.

Another strategy for similar situations, is to take a red cup and a creen cup and tape them together. (Or use them to stack inside of each other) The student can flip the red or green up if they need help or are working fine.

I like the idea of visual cues, because it allows students to continue working instead of having to hold up their hand and distract or stop them from continuing on.

Another method I saw in a friends class was a "Take a Number" bin. This way she could call numbers up and students could be helped individually, but not be standing at her desk waiting for their turn.

One of the great things about TOCing is learning new strategies from all the different classes I am in and teachers I meet. Also, getting to try new things with the classes I am in and students I teach.

What other strategies or ideas do you use in yoru classroom for students to ask for help?