Labels, Labels Everywhere

This year I strategically made a plan for my classroom set-up & prep. Our faculty retreat is August 2 with our PD days beginning on August 5. Even though students don't return to the 13th, those PD days are booked up with team meetings, learning activities, & collaboration. Therefore my approach is to get ALL of my set-up completed PRIOR to our PD Days; any extra time I have during those days can be spent on the mental stuff (LESSON PLANNING). First, I focused on the cutesy stuff - curtains, pennats, bows, inspirational signs, etc. - basically all my favorite Pinterest ideas that I've been saving up since last school year. Now I'm working on the physical set-up: rearranging the desks, setting up computers, attaching labels, etc. Once I'm satisfied with the physical appearance I can *hopefully* have some quiet time to work on lesson planning, assembling data binders, & getting all of my back to school documents ready.

Labels

This year I accidently stumbled upon the idea of creating matching labels for almost EVERYTHING in the room ( I say "almost" because I just realized that my desk & calculator numbers are a different design). It began when I created some labels for my school supply bins. Once I attached them to the bins I started thinking about how cute they were & how they would look in different sizes (for other items in the room). Before I knew it, I extended my label theme to almost everything I could possibly put a label on.

 

   

 

These are our library baskets. We have library as a Related Arts class once a week, & our librarian asks that all books be returned first thing in the morning. Last year I just couldn't remember to send the books up to the library - perhaps it was because I didn't have a specific place designated for book collection. This year I spruced up some baskets from the Dollar Tree with ribbon & a larger version of my labels. Fingers crossed that these baskets do the trick!

 

Last year I picked up these 3 trays in the clearance section at Wal-Mart for practically nothing. I use them to help keep my papers organized during each class period. I typically chunk my lesson into multiple activities & used to have a hard time keeping all of the papers sorted. Now I just seperate them in the numbered trays.


I FINALLY got these saved & uploaded to TPT as a FREEBIE! Just click on either picture below to hop on over to my TPT store & download your free copy!

 

 

 

 

- Mrs. Wiggin -



Classroom Decor

Despite the fact that I've already published a post for today, I just have to take a moment to share the beginnings of my 2013-2014 classroom decor. I arrived at my classroom a little before noon with the mission of modge podging (is that a word?) the front of my filing cabinets. However I quickly discovered that I purchased the smaller size of scrapbook paper (8.5" x 11") when I should have just purchased the larger squares. Darn it. I didn't want to leave without some type of accomplishment, so I decided to work on my inspirational door signs. I have to claim that I am NOT the original creator of this idea. I found it on Pinterest & just typed the wording myself. Perhaps I'll add this to TPT soon as a FREEBIE? Keep your eyes peeled!

 

Sorry for the huge size - just wanted to make sure that you could read the actual words.

 

 

Next up I created my cork board display on the inside of my classroom door. This is something that took all of last year to dream up so along with being cute, I hope it's actually functional. Last year I started using the "pink slips" approach for students who didn't complete their homework. Basically they fill out a slip stating why they didn't complete the assignment & sign/date it. Last year I would tell students to just pile them on my desk. While I could easily keep all of the slips together, I couldn't always remember to check them the next day to see whether those students remembered to bring the assignment. Basically, I wanted somewhere to store the slips where I could see them & quickly track how late (number of days) the assignments were. My vision is for students to fill out the slip & pin it to the cork board using a ladybug pushpin (yes, I seriously have these). When they bring the assignment in (hopefully the next day) they can remove the slip & staple it to the assignment. 

 

 

 

Lastly, I finally hung the party lanterns that I snagged at Hobby Lobby. I knew that I had to be very cautious in hanging anything. I learned this the hard way during my first year of teaching after I tried to hang a windsock from the ceiling; that evening the AC kicked on & just as my windsock started swaying the motion-sensor security system went into panic mode. Luckily I was a newbie & they simply took down the windsock instead of calling me to come do it myself. I hung these beauties close enough to the wall so that they are actually brushing the wall. There isn't an AC vent nearby so hopefully this will keep them from swaying. If needed, I suppose I could easily place a piece of tape on the back of each lantern & stick it to the wall. So far they've been up for 6 hours & no phone call :) I hung them using skinny ribbon & attached a somewhat decent bow to each lantern for embellishment.

 

- Mrs. Wiggin -

 



 

Vacation....all I ever wanted!

Long time, no post...

My husband and I just returned from our summer travels. We spent a few days vacationing with my family at Isle of Palms in Charleston before embarking on our 1-year anniversary cruise (YAY). We spent 7 days cruising with Carnival to the Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, & Nassau. This was my second cruise & I highly recommend those ports - both Grand Turk & Half Moon Cay revolved around the beach. Seriously, where else can you walk off the boat & step directly onto the beach for FREE? We had a blast but as always, it's good to finally be home. Here's a quick glance into our adventures.

    

P.S. My husband had too much fun with the towel folding classes & left the family of swans as a surprise for our steward on the last day!

 

Sold!

I did leave out one tiny detail about our vacation...we accepted an offer on our house the day before leaving port. We've had our home on & off the market for the last few years & had just relisted it when we got the call. The only problem is that we're not exactly sure of our future plans. My husband is a contractor, so we've got several options as far as building or flipping a foreclosure. Fingers crossed that our plans include something with Internet access BEFORE school starts in August :)

 

Whole Brain Teaching Posters

Now that you've read through all my rambling, here's a FREEBIE for your classrooms. Can you believe that our local Wal-Mart already has the school supplies stocked? With that in mind here is a set of posters to go along with the Whole Brain Teaching approach.

 

 

 

These adorable posters feature a polka dot background/trim and fun font! The original set was designed for my red/black/white (ladybug) classroom, but I've also included the following color variations to match the theme of your classroom:

Orange/white
Aqua/white
Purple/white
Lime green/white
Blue/white
Gray/white

 

Still interested? Click on the image above to hop on over to my TPT store. Enjoy!

 

- Mrs. Wiggin -


 

Area of Parallelogram Task Cards

Another week of our precious summer vacation has flown by....ouch! Just reading that makes my heart ache. I'm  a summer junkie - all I need is a pool with a good float that I can rest on while reading my Nicholas Sparks novels. However,as much as I love the summer break, I must confess that I have a hard time staying out of "school mode." Speaking of school, I just wanted to take a moment to share my top TPT resource (it's a FREEBIE).

Area of Parallelogram Task Cards

I made these cards last year to address one of my TN SPIs  - 0506.4.1 Solve contextual problems that require the area of triangles and parallelograms. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that TNCORE dropped this SPI from our standards for the 2013-2014 school year....just my luck! Hopefully some of you other teachers out there will still have a use for this product - it's one of my favorites!

I spent most of last year "experimenting" with the way I structured my small-group math activities. I found that using task cards was an easy way to keep each group focused & working together. Plus, I could use the same set of cards to differentiate for all of my groups; instead of working on all 12 cards with each group, I just selected the most appropriate ones for each group.

My favorite thing about these cards is that they are sized to print each card on a full sheet of printer paper (so every student can easily see the information - no more yelling "I can't see!"). Once I started laminating the cards, I could even write directly on the card & erase it for the next group.

One last thing! How cute is this recording sheet? I also like to incorporate Gallery Walks into my lessons - the kiddos LOVE this activity! In this case, I like to use a recording sheet to help keep their work organized (and easier to assess).

Ready to grab this FREEBIE? Just click on any of the pictures above to hop on over to my TPT Store.

- Mrs. Wiggin -

Multiplying Multiples of 10 SCOOT Game

Ever heard of SCOOT? I've been playing this game with my kiddos ever since I discovered it 3 years ago. It quickly became a class favorite for both my 2nd graders & 5th graders. I begin by placing a task card on each student's desk. You want to keep these rather simple (think multiplication facts, fluency skills, etc.) so the game doesn't drag on. I prefer to create pre-made recording sheets for the students to use, but you can also have them just number a piece of paper if you're in a pinch. They begin by answering the task card placed in front of them. After a few minutes (or when everyone is finished with the first card) I usually say "1, 2, 3, SCOOT" and start the music. Students then walk around the room (think musical chairs) and when the music stops (I usually allow 15-20 seconds), they must sit down at a new desk and answer a new task card. You can repeat this process as few times as you wish or until the kiddos have answered every card. I've also played variations where students are not allowed to "wander" freely around the room; in this case I give specific directions as to where they must "scoot" next ("Scoot to the desk on your right each time..."). This works best when your desks are arranged in clusters or tables and you only want them to answer a small number of cards; this method is also great for differentiating the difficulty of the cards.

Now that you know how to play the game...

 

Here's a great resource that I just released on TPT! It's a set of 24 cards designed to provide practice in using basic facts and place value patterns to multiply whole numbers that are multiples of 10.



Think 120 x 30....Since you know that 12 x 3 = 36, you can simply count the number of zeros on both factors and place as many zeros on the product. Since 120 and 30 both have 1 zero, I need to place 2 zeros at the end of 36. The product of 120 x 30 must be 3,600.

Even though my CCSS 5th grade fluency standard is for students to "fluently multiply multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm," I emphasize the use of basic facts and place value patterns so that mental math is more accessible.

To provide extra practice with the Properties of Multiplication, I've created cards 1-12 to include 2 factors and cards 13-24 to include 3 factors. Answers may range from 0 to products in the millions.

Click on any of the pictures above to hop on over to my TPT Store!

- Mrs. Wiggin -

You Created a Blog?

Time to jump right in! Over the past year I've become increasingly obsessed with following several teaching blogs. Between the creative ideas and real-life pictures, how could I resist? Besides, those super cute backgrounds are like candy for my eyes! After months of stalking several of my favorite bloggers I started to think "How hard could it be?" and "...if they can do it, surely I can too." Subsequently, I am proud to announce my first blog - Dots and Decimals.

What's in a name?

I had the hardest time thinking of a catchy blog name. When you see pictures of my classroom (COMING SOON) you'll quickly agree that ladybugs and polka dots rock my world. I wanted something to reflect that, but also something to convey my love for teaching mathematics. Fingers crossed that I don't feel the urge to change the name every week.

Just a Taste

My school district is *thankfully* on summer vacation...this means that my daily schedule currently consists of laying by the pool, reading, & planning for next year. I can't help it! I hate to use the word obsessed, but I truly love teaching math and don't mind to spend hours looking for new ideas or tweaking the strategies that I already use. With that being said, it is quite difficult for me to stay away from my classroom during the summer months. Hopefully I can stop by the school tomorrow to take some pictures, but until then here is a sneak peak of the outside of my classroom. P.S. - I totally made this by hand, thus it has some imperfections :)

- Mrs. Wiggin -