Tried It Tuesday: WBT Scoreboard

Hello again bloggy friends! It's hard to believe it's already the end of the year! While I know most of you are busy with end of the year shenanigans, I've been busy with teaching applications, revising my resume, and updating all my clearances. I'm working towards (fingers crossed) my first "real" teaching position next year as a first year teacher at some lucky school district.

Anyway, for today's Tried it Tuesday, I'm linking up again with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper.

One of the new strategies I've recently been using as a substitute is Whole Brain Teaching methods by Chris Biffle. Now for those of you who are familiar with WBT, I'm only dabbling in these techniques, and by no means, am I using it as effectively as I could in my own classroom. However, as a substitute, implementing some daily tricks like the The Scoreboard has helped with my traveling classroom management plan.

One of the reasons I started using WBT is the truth that "The longer we talk, the more students we lose." Students need 2 minutes of processing time for every 10 minutes of direct instruction. WBT creates a structured routine for this, where students can turn and talk about what they learned and activate their schema. With subbing, I try to implement this 10/2 ratio with my teaching, so that students, no matter what age, are always so busy being engaged in my lessons, they simply don't have time for poor behavior.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this already!

I just love using the scoreboard as a substitute! Here's how it works:

1. I printed the scoreboard from Whole Brain Teaching with Style (she has the cutest WBT blog). I laminated the paper, cut it out, and attached it to an old lanyard. So, this is a virtually free (sans the cost of printing) class management system. It's super easy to implement, too! I use an Expo to write, and carry it around all the time - to Special, Lunch, etc.

2. I give tally marks for positive AND negative behavior. This is a group reward system, not individual. The one thing I tell every class is that my students have a reputation to know how to work together as a team to make positive choices. So, aside from the system in place for their classroom, I motivate students by increasing the amount of teamwork in the classroom. Every time I enter a classroom, even if it is for part of the day, I give this two minute spiel. (Yes, spiel. Believe it or not, I need to take 30 seconds to explain what a spiel is too!)

3. When awarding points, they are working to make me (the teacher) happy. This is pretty fool proof, because if a group of students say, "Well we think that it was a good idea to...(insert poor behavior choice here)" I can easily argue, "Well, that doesn't make me happy." So maybe it's a little self-centered. But, it works.

4.Students can earn "happy" points for working well in groups, being on-task, getting compliments from adults, etc. Every time a "happy" point is earned, kiddos get a ONE second (yes, that's right, one) celebration. They clap their hands in a circle and exclaim, "Oh yeah!" The trick is: they WHOLE class needs to do this all together, synchronously. If even one student (there's one in every class) carries on his or her one-second celebration for too long, they earn a "sad" point.

5. "Sad" points can be any poor choices made by the class. For every "sad" point they earn, they do a one second groan and should shrug with a quick "Ugh." Now, the trick is, I use Chris Biffle's 3 Point Rule - don't let there be more than 3 points between the positive and negative points. I tell the students about this, too. I let them know that if they are higher than 3 "happy" points, then I will be looking for negative behaviors, no matter how small. And, if a class is 3 higher in "sad" points, I will be looking for even the smallest amount of positive behavior. This is when I can be really impressed by a student who is struggling with his or her behavior, and allow them to earn a point for the whole class. Even if just one student is sitting in his seat like asked, I point him out and give the class a point.

6. How do I reward the class as a substitute? I reward the smallest rewards for the class, because my students work hard for their progress. Kids typically work towards one extra minute of recess. Yes, you read that right, ONE minute of recess. As a substitute, it can't be anything costly, or anything that is too much prep, since I never know what to expect. Typically, I ask that my class is the first ones out to recess that day if they win on the positive side. If not, they owe their teacher one minute the next day. Sometimes this goes toward a one minute YouTube video, an extra minute of free time, or a one minute dance party via GoNoodle.

Catching Up & Sparking Student Motivation

Hello again lovely followers!

Let me start by catching you up on something...

I know I've been away from the bloggy world for a few weeks. Let me explain..
My time in fourth grade as a permanent substitute has come to an end, so I have debated whether or not I should continue to post on this blog. At first, I thought I should not - leave it as is, and utilize it like an online portfolio. However, I remembered why I started this blog in the first place...to inspire others just as I have been inspired. It is a better opportunity to continue to post my ideas. I'm still the building substitute for my district, and working with grades 3 - 5. I still continue to incorporate my creative ideas into my lessons as a substitute, so I will share those, along with other ideas I have to offer. So please, I ask that you have an open mind as you continue to read my blog posts. Thank you, to those of you who have supported me on my blogging adventure, and who have inspired me to keep blogging.

On that note, I'm linking up today with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching  to share an idea for Earth Day!

This time of year, I think we all need a little motivation. Maybe due to the state testing, or the change in the weather, or other reasons. But one thing's for sure - "it's THAT time of year." While there's plenty to celebrate in April (National Poetry month, autism awareness, Spring, Easter, etc.), I wanted to take some time to focus on one holiday, Earth Day. April 22nd marks Earth Day this year, and there's a ton of cute ideas out there on Pinterest, blogs, etc. to celebrate. However, I encourage you to try something new this year with a trending topic.

"Selfies." Yep, they're a trend. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, you name it. Social Media users everywhere are posting selfies, and chances are, if your students use social media, they are joining in this trend, too. Well, this year for Earth Day, NASA is making use of these pictures with the #GlobalSelfie initiative. With the constantly changing planet, NASA decided to create a more conducive image of earth, rather than just satellite mugshots. So, this year, people all over the world will be sending their respective selfies to NASA holding up a sign to show their location, and NASA will create a mosaic to combine these individual images to showcase our planet.

So, here's my idea to apply this in the classroom...

Have students take their own #GlobalSelfie, to create a classroom mosaic. You could join in the fun and use NASA's pdf  they provide users. This could be a lesson on latitude and longitude, and use Google Earth to find your exact classroom location. Or, you could have students write their promise to save the earth and "Go Green" and hold that sign in their selfie. 

 Depending on your district's technology available,  students can use laptops, iPads, etc. to take their selfie. Once it's taken, their picture could be uploaded onto Mosaically.com where you can choose a large image of the earth, and have students' pictures be the small images. 

This would make for a great classroom bulletin board display, or a grade wide display! What are you doing for Earth Day? 

Monday Made It (Early Bird)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!

Today I'm lucky enough to link up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It!

Warning: some of these are pretty random - but I'm playing catch-up from last week!

Pi Day Friday!! Our class celebrated Pi Day on Friday and I made this little "Pi Day Swag Tag" for a lucky winner! As part of their morning work, students were able to memorize the digits of pi for a competition at the end of the day. I had planned that the student who recited the most digits from memory would win bragging rights to this "Pi Day Swag Tag," but three of my kiddos successfully recited over 41 digits of Pi! How impressive! So I had to make more of these lovely tags for the winners tomorrow. 

Also, we read "Sir Comference and the Dragon of Pi" which is a cute little math adventure picture book to teach about Pi (not to be confused with pie). 

And, to top it off, we created a chain to show what the digits of Pi look line. ( Found the idea on Pinterest!) 

I finished making my #LiftPackage! It was my first teacher package exchange, and I had an absolutely fabulous time getting to know both of my partners. This month's theme was "Teachers Love Teaching" if you couldn't tell from the little writings I included. :o) If you haven't heard of LIFT packages, I'd definitely suggest signing up for the April/May package exchange. Basically, you are paired up with another teacher and you spend some time getting to know each other through blogging, instagram, email; then, you put together a little gift box to help "lift" their spirits.  It's a great way to network, meet fellow teachers, and be supportive of other teachers. Check out LIFT Packages here! 

Yep, that's right, those are lyrics! What happens when you spend time looking for a resource and you just can't find one good enough? You write your own song, of course! 

I spent a large chunk of time this weekend looking for more creative ways to remember capacity/measurement terms. I went through countless YouTube videos, anchor charts, and Pinterest finds. Nothing - okay, nothing that I found was up to par for me. So when I heard my ringtone, Pharrell Williams' "Happy" song, I thought it would make the perfect tune for a capacity song! I'm thinking my students are going to have fun making this music video this week - a great break from all the test prep we've been doing! Stay tuned for the mp3! Maybe educational song-writing will be in my future??

Hope you have a lucky day!!

Sparking Student Motivation: Social Studies Tour

Happy Saturday, friends!

Today I'm linking up for another Spark Student Motivation Saturday with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching!

If you read my last post here, I talked about my Social Studies is coming to life in my exploring the regions unit. So far, we have still been boarding our boat (I turn all the chairs and desks around each day before Social Studies into a "U" shape so that the room is our boat, and students provide me - the captain - with a ticket before they board).

On Friday, we visited Florida, where we made three important stops. First, on our riverboat, we traveled to the Everglades, to learn about the biodiversity present there. We watched a fabulous tour video to learn about how alligators and crocodiles are cohabitants together in the Everglades waters, and received a brochure to keep as a souvenir.

Then, we went upstream to Cape Canaveral to visit the JFK Nasa Space Center and take a tour to learn about the United States' exploration in space.

Don't I look great in an astronaut suit? ;o)

Then, we took a bus to Orlando to visit Disney World - what trip to Florida would be complete without a trip to Disney, right?

Students brought in their favorite Disney item as souvenirs so we took a gallery walk around the room to view all the different toys, movies, and items that students were able to share. It was a fabulous experience for students who have been there to share with those who have not visited there before.

We are continuing to explore the Southeast region of the United States this week by taking a trip to the Gulf of Mexico, where we will explore the effects of oil spills, to Jamestown, Virginia, the site of the first permanent English settlement in America, where we will explore an interactive online game called The Online Jamestown Adventure.

Students have been keeping a travel journal (with pictures, both hand-drawn, and actual photos I've taken) to include to describe their learning from each place. This interactive, authentic approach to learning has definitely gotten students excited about Social Studies unlike ever before.

Enjoy the rest of you weekend!

Oh the Places We'll Go!

Is it just me, or is Dr. Seuss week one of the most fun weeks of all time?

To kick off our Seuss-tivities, we read, "Oh the Places You'll Go" and examined it. At first, we listened to the rhythmic quality of the story, and the richness of the pictures. Then, we listened to the richness of the words and discussed the meaning behind the story. We dug deep, and talked about the theme of the story. We hit on one of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes, too...

(We used this quote to tie into Social Studies, too. See how - stay tuned - later in this post!) We talked about how our life choices take us places, literally and figuratively. We discussed what it means to "move mountains" and our dreams and aspirations. We investigated the journeys we see ourselves taking as we get older. As we looked through the images of this story, students pointed out how on one page, the character in the story has a unique hot air balloon that stands out from all the rest. 

I gave them a blank template of the drawing (I sketched it and recreated it on white paper, then copied it). They went off and created their unique balloon, without coloring in the face of the character. I used their school picture (our district provides sticker versions of the class photos, which were perfect for this) and glued the picture on top of the face, so they could soar to new heights in their own unique balloon. Next, they wrote a narrative based on what places they plan to go in the future. Some students created the story from the perspective of their future selves, while others told the story of the places they would travel to accomplish their dreams. This is our "rough draft" to prepare for the personal narratives we will be writing over the next few days. Our hallway display came out really nicely with their writing and hot air balloons. What do you think? 

Okay...maybe I went a little overboard drawing this poster, but it was sooo worth it!

Unfortunately, I can't show you the faces, but I promise they look really cute
put on those cartoon bodies!

We also tied in the "places" we can go in with Social Studies as we started our Regions of the United States Unit. Let me tell you - by far, this is my favorite subject to teach right now, and I am not a "Social Studies person." Now, I in no way can take credit for this idea, as I got it from a fabulous third grade teacher featured on Scholastic's webstite, Beth Newingham. In order to learn about the Southeast, we are taking a trip to (almost) all the states in that region to learn more about the culture, history, and places we can visit. For those of you who read my last post, I blogged about this in my March Currently. My "????" theme for March was sailor hats, Minnie Mouse ears, and Mardi Gras masks, and the question that those are the answer to is "What souvenirs will our class bring back from our trip to the Southeast Region this week?" 

Prior to our tour, we read about the Southeast. We discussed what states made up this area, the landforms that we could encounter, the climate, and the differences between the upper Southeast and lower Southeast region. After discussing the means of transportation most commonly used (historically) in the Southeast, we decided that the best way people could tour the area was by boat. So of course, we started our journey by sailing over the waters to the Southeast. Now, to make our learning a bit more authentic, I created tickets and used Beth Newingham's tour sheets so students could track their adventure throughout the unit. 

Starting on Tuesday, as the students were at art, I rearranged the room to create our boat. Using the kidney table as the bow (the front of our river boat). I aligned the desks so encompass the room, and create a "U" shape for our boat - all 24 of our chairs fit inside, in nice, neat rows. As students returned from art, I put on my captain's hat, and allowed gave them a ticket to enter the room. Students entered the boat from the stern (back of the boat) and walked along the starboard (right) side to their seat. After all students boarded, the person on the end counted the tickets, turned them into the captain, and invited their row to put on their (imaginary) life vests. We were ready to set sail along the Mississippi River to New Orleans on our Natchez Riverboat!

Captain "selfie" as we were about to set sail -
sailor hat, and all!

With our background knowledge in mind, we started our tour by venturing to New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate "Fat Tuesday," or Mardi Gras. We listened to the sounds of the water and watched a video of how the boat works, where we travel, and the history of New Orleans. Then, we discussed the importance of Carnival or Mardi Gras, then and now. We looked at the origins of Mardi Gras came from, and why it's celebrated. If you're interested in a little information booklet I made for my kiddos, it's available for just a dollar in my TpT Store! (Yep, my store is just like the Target Dollar spot!)

After learning about the traditions, including kings cake, doubloons, and masks, we created our own masks to celebrate Mardi Gras. 

After our Mardi Gras celebration, we listened to the four different styles of jazz that originated in New Orleans: Dixieland, Bluegrass, Delta Blues, and Cajun. After learning about what differentiates each musical style, we identified them based on their instrumental qualities. They listened to all four kinds of music and had to hold up a card to show which type of music they thought was playing. 

The second day, we sailed to Tennessee, to visit Memphis. We learned about how the blues originated from slaves singing about working on the cotton plantations. We also took a tour of Graceland, to discover how Memphis is the "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock n Roll."We learned (of course) about "the King" himself, Mr. Elvis Presley, and took a tour of his home in Graceland. We compared Elvis to popular music artists today. One of the things we found to be interesting, was the fact that Elvis purchased the large mansion for his family, since his parents were not very wealthy when he was growing up. Today, we talked about how an artist like Justin Timberlake might not be as apt to buy his family a mansion. Then, we made postcards to as souvenirs to detail about our trip. 

Today, we continued our riverboat tour as we sailed to Montgomery, Alabama and Natchez, Mississippi to discover the roots behind slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Both places are rich in African American history. We started in Natchez, where we visited a cotton plantation and learned about how cotton was a crop that changed the lives of many African Americans who were forced to work as slaves in the fields. Then, we learned about the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery. We learned about a very important six-year-old girl named Ruby Bridges, who was one of the first African Americans to attend an all white school in the 1960s. Then, took a walk in an African American's shoes during the 60's, and we made posters as our souvenirs to protest for equal rights. 

So far, this unit has been a fabulous way to spark motivation in Social Studies. Yesterday, one of my dear girls was absent; today when she came in, instantly three students said "You missed so much yesterday - we took the boat to Graceland and learned about Elvis and the Blues!" This put a smile on my face to know that this authentic learning is (hopefully) something that will stay with them as they learn about the regions of the United States. Tomorrow we visit Florida - oh the places we'll go in Florida - so stay tuned for more happy sailing!

Currently March

Happy March, everyone! Now we just need Spring to be here...I think it's late on arrival, but I have faith it's on its way!

One of my favorite bloggy things in the whole wide world, is the Currently linky party with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

So, without further adieu, my March Currently....

Listening: No, Dixieland is not my favorite type of music. But, I am getting ready to teach the regions this week, beginning with the Southeastern states; so, of course, that means we are celebrating our trip to Louisiana by listening to different types of New Orleans music on Tuesday!

Loving: Right now, it is my school's spring break. No, I'm not going anywhere warm, but I am taking advantage of home-cooked meals all week long, and having time to plan out my activities for the month!

Thinking: I can't believe our state's testing is at the end of this month! I've been making things to review and prepare my kiddos for the test.  This week, we started with a fraction frenzy. I told them we are totally doing math differently - they are taking a teaching role by working in groups and partners, and they decide what we do each day (to some extent, of course). Yes, I'm still giving quizzes, but it's all depending on how and what we do the day before. The first day of fractions, I told them they needed to prove they could show fractional parts. So they were off searching the room for objects they could use to trace. Then, they folded their paper until they made fractional parts.

In ELA our focus was on summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting within nonfiction text. We started by having a student-created anchor chart or two. (Okay, yes, that's my writing. But, they made the post-its)

While this is NOT what I do with my students, it's too funny not to share. It shows the state, administration, and teacher view of the state testing... I LOVE how it says, "the joy of learning" hahaha - no pressure!

How I actually feel about the standardized tests...

So no, I don't worry about how they score. I tell them to not worry about how they score either. I'd rather give them the confidence that they are familiar with all the material on the test, because they are prepared, and they can achieve well if they try. Yes, common core means that things are going to change, and things may be harder. But, we are ready to take on the challenge. Anyway, enough of my rant, and back to my currently.

Wanting: That's right. Call People magazine, it's official. Winter and I have ended our relationship. After the bipolar vortex, it's him, not me. I'm so through with the snow. While I love the whole, snow-globe look, I'm ready to retire my boots for some heels or flats.

Needing: I don't know what it's been about the past few days, but I've had a hard time keeping up. Maybe I'm planning too much, or maybe it's just that time of year. Either way, I've had more than my usual amount of coffee in the week, and I'm way over my limit. However, Starbucks shareholders should love me. You're welcome, I'm sure I've contributed a decent amount to your stock this week.

?????: Any idea what a sailor hat, Minnie Mouse ears, and Mardi Gras masks have in common? Leave me a comment with your guess, and find out later this week in my next post! :)

Well, back to planning I go! Wait until you see what our class is doing for Read Across America's celebration on Monday! Have a wonderful weekend, and hopefully avoid the snowstorm!

Five For Friday...on a Saturday

Happy Saturday friends!

Is it just me, or has all the snow days and delays really thrown off your teaching groove? I'm just getting back into the swing of things. So, beware, I'm updating two weeks into one big Five For Friday to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching today!

Our Valentine's Day Cardboard Box Challenge (inspired by Amanda from One Extra Degree) are finally finished on Valentine's Day. Oh boy, did they look SPECTACULAR! Take a peek at our final products...

Despicable Me minion with a lever to move the arms up and down. Hockey table with two hockey players that move side to side or up and down using a lever. A pinball machine using a lever and inclined plane. An owl (his name is Hoot Hoot) made from a laundry container using a hinge to open and close.

 For this project, they had to use a simple machine (an inclined plane, screw, wedge, lever, or pulley) and create a cardboard box containing a cavity to hold Valentine's treats.  Our goal was to use the design process from STEAM to brainstorm, build, test, and revise to create a successful box from recycled materials. 

This student created a basketball hoop that moves up and down using a pulley for an added challenge. 

This student made a locker using a hinge.

This student had an inclined plan inside of her flower garden for envelopes to slide down.

Basketball hoop using an inclined plane.

A merry go round using a pulley system.

A pinball machine using an inclined plane.

To celebrate Black History Month, and practice our writing from a new point of view, we researched a famous African American in history, and then created a diary for that person. It gave students a chance to see what it would be like to walk in someone else's shoes, and take on a new perspective of how difficult it was to overcome segregation.

Please ignore my poorly painted fingernails! :o)

We played a game on Friday to practice locating lines of longitude and latitude. Remember the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" game show? She was an international jewel thief! Well, I introduced the theme of the show to my students and created clues for certain countries on the map points of latitude and longitude. They had to correctly identify each point/country on the map with their team and check with me if it was correct before they could move on to the next clue. This was an engaging review for them, and allowed me to formatively assess students who were still having trouble with the hemispheres and coordinates. Also, it gave a great opportunity to show team work, since they had to work as a team to find Carmen Sandiego's location. My favorite part was one of my darlings said, "Miss S, if Carmen Sandiego is a jewel thief, why is she leaving clues behind for the police? She must be a stupid thief!" Truth. Sometimes, teachers don't create the best "real-world" problems for students. :o)

Our focus in ELA this week was working on identifying the types of context clues. I made the set of task cards and used them during our centers to play scoot. I think out of all the skills we teach fourth graders, being able to use and identify context clues is one of the most important skills for reading. It's a huge help for test-taking, and is something they will use for the rest of their life. Get a set of your own task cards in my little TpT shop - they're only a dollar! Enjoy a FREEBIE anchor chart, too! 

Yesterday was an interesting experience for me. Friday was "TA for a Day" at our district, where the high school group FEA (Future Educators of America) raises money for their scholarship funds by allowing teachers to purchase a teacher assistant for the day. I just think it is such a unique opportunity for both the students (in high school AND my fourth graders) and for the teacher. We get to collaborate in learning, which is a rare opportunity in many districts. Although I am only 22 years old, I realized that I was ready to show a leadership role, and wanted to help support the FEA, so I took on the responsibility of having a TA. Let me tell you, it was a fabulous experience all around. Miss Melanie was such a sweet girl, and the students seemed to really enjoy having her around for the day. While it was fun for us to have a guest in the room, I didn't want to make her do busy work all day (because let's face it, don't we ALL hate busy work?) and, I didn't want to say "Just walk around, observe, and hangout,"because how fun is that? (Been there, done that, and was never a comfortable experience just meandering around a classroom for five hours.) I did my best to make her feel welcomed, and a part of our day. As I look back on the day, while I started the day being nervous that, maybe I wasn't ready to be a leader, considering I'm fresh out of college myself; I ended the day feeling grateful and rewarded with the collaborative opportunity. Isn't the goal of education to inspire others? She helped my fourth graders understand how important certain concepts were (like how yes, Ms. S is right in telling you that you will ALWAYS use context clues forever and ever; or how you do learn to write more than five paragraphs in high school - shocker!) The experience inspired me to be more confident in my teaching, that no matter what age you are, you can be a role model; I know she was mutually inspired to remain in the field of psychology/education after our day together.

Phew! What a lot to catch up on! Well, I promise to give more updates and stay in touch this week - we have a lot of activities planned.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!