Hocus Pocus...Keep Them Focused!

We all know that teachers have magic powers.  From eyes in the back of our heads to super-sonic hearing, we are a talented bunch, I tell you!  But this time of year, spring fever has hit, and with the end of the year in sight, we all need a little extra magic to keep us going!  So, in the next few weeks, I’m joining with my favorite intermediate teachers to put a little extra magic in our lessons and keep students engaged.

Credit goes to these talented graphic & font artists: Krista Wallden, KG Fonts & CC Fonts.

We will be swapping resources that will be just what we need to keep our students engaged during the final weeks of school.  We want to share our finds with you in a fun way – a 2-part blog hop giveaway!

Today, we present Part 1, with each blogger introducing the resource they selected to keep their friends engaged and learning in our final weeks together.  Then, over the course of the next two weeks, we will be using these resources in our classrooms.  On Sunday, May 11, we’ll be back to report on how well these resources kept our students engaged!

As we wrap of the school year and prepare for the state assessment, I will be reviewing the standards that I have taught this year.  I am excited to incorporate Kelly's Spring Themed Graphic Organizers. I know the kids are really going to enjoy using these attractive organizers as they review.  It will certainly make a daunting task a little more fun and engaging.  :)

 

 

Now to the giveaway!  Here’s what you need to do:

Stop by each blog below to check out the resources being swapped.

Enter to win the resource that is featured at each blog in the raffle below (the same raffle is at each blog, so you can just add to your entries as you go!).

While you are at each blog, if you’re not a blog follower already, sign on to follow!  (You can earn bonus entries for following all blogs once you unlock the additional entries.)

One winner will receive the entire set of resources being featured by ALL collaborating bloggers!

Here’s the list of blogs to visit: 

Swap Stop A

Swap Stop B 

Swap Stop C 

Swap Stop D 

Swap Stop E 

Swap Stop F 

Swap Stop G 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Finally, don’t forget to stop back in two weeks!   On Sunday, May 11, we’ll all be back to share with you how the magic went in our classrooms!  Oh yeah, you might want to know that that there will be a SECOND GIVEAWAY, too!  Until then, enjoy the magic and happy teaching.  :)

Spring Break….Relaxing and Creating!

I have been on Spring Break this week and have enjoyed every minute of it.  I have been reading professional books and blogs about Daily 5.  I think I am going to dive into that next year.  I tried to implement it a few years ago, but we were in the process of adopting the Common Core Standards, and I really was overwhelmed.  After teaching the CCSS for three years now, I feel much more prepared for implementing it in my classroom.  
I am still in the planning stages, but one TpT product that I know that will be perfect for the Work on Writing rotation is Joey Udovich's Interactive Writing Center.  I bought it earlier this year and have used it with my kids.  They LOVE it!  They can work independently and a writing of their choice.  So, I am SUPER excited that I already have that in place and ready to go for next year!  If you have not seen this product, I HIGHLY recommend that you check it out!  It's adorable and effective!  What more can you ask for?  If you want to read more about it, you can check out her blog post here.  

If you are a 3rd-5th grade teacher that implements Daily 5 in your classroom, I would love to know what works for you.  Do you have any great products, like Joey's, that you have purchased or created that work well with Daily 5? Have you read a valuable blog post that you think does a great job explaining Daily 5?  Please leave your comments, ideas, etc. for all of the intermediate teachers out there that are implementing or just thinking about implementing Daily 5 in the classroom.  I know we would all appreciate it!  ;)  

Okay, if you have stayed with me, I have a freebie that I have created to share with you, as well.  I have been looking for ways to motivate my students to read books other than fiction (mostly realistic fiction).  Although, realistic fiction is great, I want them to branch out and read different genres.  In order to promote reading across the genres, I created a "challenge" of sorts to motivate them.  I plan to start this once we return from the break.  

Here is how it works:  

1)   Print the bookmarks on cardstock and laminate them. Give students the bookmarks and a copy of the reading log for tracking reading. 

2)   As students read books from the different genres, they should record their books and the genres on the reading log.

3)   Once a student has read a book from each genre listed on the bookmark, he/she will give the reading log to you.  If you use Accelerated Reader or similar program, you can verify if the student took the AR tests over the books. 

4)   Reward your students with the included certificate, and you may want to offer a prize of some sort.  I will probably offer a homework pass, candy, and a little something else, as well.  Also, I have included a header for a bulletin board and little tags. The students can put their names on the tag for the bulletin board. So, my students can join the "Reading Across the Genres" Wall of Fame.  Kids love to see their names on the wall.  

5)   Repeat over and over!  The file offers all pages (with the exception of

the reading log) in both color and black and white for your printing convenience.  

If you would like to download this freebie, visit my TpT store.  

Let me know your thoughts on Daily 5 (which I think will be more like Daily 3 in my classroom) and I would love feedback on the freebie!  

Happy Thursday!

Go Big Blue!!!! C-A-T-S…CATS! CATS! CATS!

The UK Wildcats are going to the Championship game and you score!  Click here to check it out! 

While you are visiting TpT, check out Krista Wallden's 10,000 followers giveaway!  Ten days of her favorite things.  

UK heading to the Championship game, free clipart from Krista Wallden, and I'm on Spring Break!  Does it get any better than that?