Halloweenish Sub Plans

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and had a great day today (we're a little damp up here :)

Yesterday I was out in the afternoon for some additional math training (ehh, it was okay. I learned some new things, but I'm not all that enamored with my program).

So I needed sub plans-which I hate to write (who's with me?).

I couldn't have the sub do a 'normal' literacy lesson, because we are starting a new theme, and I need to teach the strategy/skill to kick it off.

I wanted something that they could mostly do independently, that would review skills, and was also kind of fun.

Impossible, you say?

Nope! (Thank goodness for TPT-made some last minute purchases!)

I came up with (bought, laminated and prepped) a set of 3 task card rotations that covered skills we've been learning about recently, could be done mostly independent, and were fun.

I set them all out on the table, like this:

I have two sets of task cards from Teaching With a Mountain View- her Halloween Inferences (which was perfect because that was our last reading skill that we learned) and her Context Clues to Infer Character Traits (which we learned last week!)

I also had Spooky Sentences, which was a freebie I got through a recent blog hop and can't find the owner (even after looking through TPT :( (They didn't put their name on their paper! ;) It was a 3rd grade set, but it was still appropriate for my kids.

They had fun with it!

So no-fuss sub plans-print out some task cards for different centers and away you go!

And of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without a costume!

Sweater: JCP

Pants: Kohls
Shoes: Target


Add in some ears, and I was a gray and white bunny!













...with a tail ;)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Workshop Wednesday: Content Writing

Happy Wednesday!

This week we are talking about writing in different content areas.

One of my favorite places to integrate writing is Social Studies (I love Social Studies...I majored in it in college! :)

I love having the kids write journal entries and letters from the time period we are learning about and from different perspectives.  Plus, the kids can be very creative when writing!

Another favorite of mine, is one I use when teaching explorers.

When I was in 5th grade and learning about explorers, our teacher divided us into groups and had us sail around the world, featuring all manner of sea monsters and horrible weather.

It was such a memorable experience that I decided to do the same with my kids!

My kids last year loved it! Every day, they had to write a log entry.

They log entry needs to be creative, and time period correct.

The better the log entry-the more spaces they get to move!

The kids came up with such creative entries, I thoroughly enjoyed reading them! Plus, it teaches them to work together in a group, and incorporate other ideas into their writing that they might not have normally thought of.

To read more about this, click here

Monday

Shirt/Pants: Kohls
Shoes: Target









Tuesday

Sweater: JCP

Pants: NY & Co
Shoes: TJ Maxx


What are some ways you incorporate writing into the other content areas?

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

A Peek At My Week

Another weekend gone by...why must they go by so quickly?

This week our Mentor Sentence book is




Since this is a wonky week (our Harvest Parade/Party on Thursday, Community Meeting on Friday-plus our Theme 3 Test on Monday and I'm out Wednesday afternoon for Math training), we're going to use this book for literacy as well.

We'll be doing the monster glyphs from Dandelions and Dragonflies

From last year's class-I can't wait to see what this year's look like!!

We're also going to continue working on our Abenaki Lapbooks-we still have three foldables to finish!

I going to do the first half of the next foldable with them-and then have them finish! (We read and highlighted together-should it should be easy).

Hopefully, they are getting better at finding the important information they need when the read-I've been doing a lot of modeling!

Thursday:

Sweater: JCP

Pants: LOFT Outlet
Tank: Target
Shoes: Amazon







Friday:

Sweater: Kohls

Jeans: JCP
Tank: Old Navy
Shoes: TJ Maxx


Have a great week!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Acai: Pantone Fall

Linking up with Literate & Stylish and the Modern Austen for their Pantone Fall color challenge.

Today's Color: Acai

Sweater: JCP

Tank: Old Navy
Pants: Kohls
Shoes: Target

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Carafe: Pantone Fall

Linking up with Literate & Stylish and the Modern Austen for their Pantone Fall color challenge.

Today's Color: Carafe

Sweater/Pants: JCP

Shoes: DSW
Tank: Old Navy

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Workshop Wednesday: Reading Tips and Tricks

Happy Wednesday!

Time for another Workshop Wednesday with Jivey!

Today is all about reading tips and tricks.

Tip: Use task cards for assignments! I make task cards that follow our program needs, so the kids use their sourcebooks for work.

It makes them more independent, and if they have a question I have them reread the task card.

Trick: Use Post-its and Post-It organizers (Joanne and Sarah have some very fun ones!).

The kids think they are getting away with something-they love using brightly colored stickies!  I even started making my own for my Guided Reading groups-a way for them to answer their questions about a book!

Tip: Don't be afraid to break out the picture books to teach the kids how to use a strategy. Yes, they are upper elementary, but they like picture books just as much as the little guys!

Trick (and Tip!): Make your own organizers! Bust out those cute fonts, borders and clipart. It makes the organizers more fun to do, and you are able to customize it so it best fits your needs and your students.

It might take a little longer at first, but it only takes me about 10-15 minutes to make one-time well spent!

Tip: Interactive Notebooks! Whether it's foldables you make on your own, Nicole Shelby's (picture below) or Erin's (Lovin' Lit) or a combination of everything, the kids love it!

We usually do them on day 4 or 5 (of our 10 day theme cycle), after we have talked about and practiced the skill a little, and the kids thoroughly enjoy it! Go ahead-it will be some of the best money that you have spent!

What are some of your tips and tricks for reading?

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Turbulence: Pantone Fall

Linking up with Literate & Stylish and the Modern Austen for their Pantone Fall color challenge.

Today's Color:Turbulence

Top: Maurices
Pants: NY & Co
Shoes: TJ Maxx

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Vivacious: Pantone Fall

Linking up with Literate & Stylish and the Modern Austen for their Pantone Fall color challenge.

Today's Color: Vivacious!

(It's brighter in real life :)

Top/Jeans: JCP
Shoes: Endless/Amazon
Tank: Target


Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

A Peek At My Week

Hello!

I'm joining with Jennifer again for her peek at my week linky.

 

We'll be learning a lot about the Abenaki, and making our Abenaki lapbooks.

This year though, I'm going to walk the student through the first few foldables-we'll read the (copy) of the book and highlight the important info-which we'll then transfer to the foldable.

I think by doing it this way, that they'll be more equipped to take notes later on. Doing a gradual release of responsibility!


We'll also start learning about Rocks and Minerals-we have our local nature center come and do the lessons-the kids should really enjoy it!

Wednesday's outfit

Sweater: Target

Pants: LOFT Outlet
Shoes: DSW









Thursday's outfit

Sweater/Pants: JCP
Shoes: DSW


Have a great Monday!!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Workshop Wednesday: Math Games

Happy Wednesday!

Time for another Workshop Wednesday with Jivey!

Today's topic is Math Games.

Now, I do have this that came with the pilot:


as well as a huge selection of manipulatives (although for some things I still don't have a class set-like thousands cubes).

Notice how the title of the kit is Grab and Go?

Yeah, not really. : /

It is more like plan it out, teach the kids, make the copies, then if you have time the kids can grab and go (oh, BUT! most of the games are partner games and there is only one copy for each game-whoops!)

So I haven't really got into it-I'm still struggling to fit a lesson into one day.

But I do want to share an awesome math game that I used last year.

The kids loved it, and I was able to differentiate. (and I loved it too!)

Plus, it's free! (and it's one of Jivey's! Get it here!)

It's her Make One Whole Decimals game.

These are the supplies you need.

Base 10 blocks, dice, game boards (I laminated mine for reuseablity) and vis-a-vis markers

Here is the fun, differentiation part-different dice!

I started with the regular 6 sided dice, then we moved to 12 sided dice, and then finally- 20 sided dice!

The kids LOVED this...especially as we moved up the difficulty of the dice! (Thanks Jivey!!!!)

So, if you are looking for a fun, decimal math game-this is it!

Plus, there are tons of other free math games on TPT.

I like this waaaaaaay better than the grab and go centers...maybe I can sneak it in somewhere! ;)

Tuesday's Outfit

Sweater: Kohls
Tank: Target
Pants: JCP
Shoes: Payless


Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Monday Made It/Peek at My Week

Happy Monday! (Something you don't hear very often-but I have the day off and got to sleep in-so it truly is a happy Monday!)

Time for Monday Made It!

One of the big things that I made (and finished!) was this blanket.

A closer look at the edge:

I have to say...I'm not in love it it. I liked it when I started, but about halfway through I lost my interest.

One of the only reasons why it's finished is because I only had 1/3 to go, and I refused to start my Super Secret Christmas Project with 4 UFOs (Unfinished Objects).

So as soon as I was done, it got folded up and put in the linen closet for when guests come over-unless I find it a forever home.

Speaking of my Super Secret Christmas Project...here's a sneak peek!

Haha! I zoomed like crazy on that shot-and then cropped it even smaller. :) There's a reason it's Super Secret!

I also made a new set of glitter clips to hold up my anchor charts.

This time in blue and green!

I also remade my Inferences anchor chart-which we'll be continuing to practice this week!

Click on the picture to take you to the post where I showed how I teach inferences!

In addition to making inferences, we still have two days of this:

Both Math! 5th grade has 4 days left-they have 2 additional days of writing!

Next year we'll be doing Smarter Balance-so we'll see what happens with that!

Look how complete they are! Do you think I had a good chunk of time to work on them? ;)

Friday's Outfit

Sweater/Jeans: JCP
Shoes: Target

So even though it was kind of warm on Friday-It was cold in the school! I definitely dressed for the in-school weather-since most of the time is spent in there! I can suffer outside for the 20 minutes I spent out there on recess duty..

Enjoy your day! (especially if you have it off!!)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn