Poetry Tools Sheet

Read Like A Detective

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DIY inspirational classroom posters

I need to do this.... they look so awesome and I feel like as uncreative/artistic as I have become over the years (I used to be really quite the artist.... you don't use it, you lose it I guess) I could probably do this...

http://www.loveteachblog.com/ writes:

THIS IS SO EASY, Y'ALL. I can't stress that enough. All you need to do is:

1) Pick a quote you want to use. 

2) Sketch out the quote on a piece of watercolor paper in pencil.

3) Paint over it in watercolor.

4) Erase the pencil.

This one's a little hard to read, but it says, "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the world around you." Roald Dahl wins again.  For this one, I wrote the quote first in white crayon (which is a little scary because you can't see it at ALL), then just painted over with watercolor.

Writing Gives you SUPER POWERS!

Group Work Reminders

Blooming Butterfly

Neat presentation on World's 10 Most Dangerous Spiders

Saw this on facebook

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

Show Evidence in your Writing - Pintrest find - Free Download on TpT

Free at TPT: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Evidence-in-Writing-Poster-621507

Parts of a Reader

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Blooming Orange

The Blooming Orange

I've always been interested in new ways to view and think about Bloom's Taxonomy and the folks at Learning Today have created a poster worth sharing. To help teachers get thinking about ways to apply Bloom's higher-order thinking skills in the classroom, they've put a spin on the traditional hierarchy and  limited the number of verbs in each section to create The Blooming Orange.

They've popped Bloom's verbage into the segments of an orange and intentionally depicted it as a circle to illustrate the fact that often these skills do not occur in isolation, they often occur simultaneously. This Blooming Orange presents itself as a teacher-friendly tool for planning and possibly an easier way for everyone to think about Bloom's. Be sure to click on the link below to visit the Learning Today blog and print a copy of this poster to hang  in your classroom.

Via:Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners

PS - for new teachers and TTOCs these are some great buzz words to understand. I find educators often USE these things but don't necessarily know how to LABEL them. In interviews and professional conversations, a new teachers ability to understand and use these words will go a long way.