Super Improver Wall!

I just want to say I love WBT. I am so glad that I can use it on a daily basis in my classroom. One of the really cool new things that I have started to incorporate in my classroom {drum roll please} SUPER IMPROVER WALL!!! AHHHH!!! Holy, Kleenex, Batman. I love it. I have had to modify it a few times but what new program doesn't need a few tweaks? My SIW is displayed on the projector.  I use PowerPoint to create the SIW. My room is about the size of 1 1/2 portables. I use my very valuable wall space to hang the anchor charts that are required. That is why my SIW is on my projector. It also was a lot easier and quicker to add the stars to the names. I didn't want to waste time adding it to the wall and carry a pen. It was a lot easier to have it on the ppt and then show the kids. {awesome idea: if you can freeze the projector on a certain view, then do it. Once you add the star, unfreeze the screen and watch the giggle in excitement of their newly added stars}
Let's start off with how it was the first 3 days and the last 2 days. The first 3 days were okay. The kids saw it and tried to get stars. They were really trying to keep up with the daily goal. I had it displayed on my board, however, the students were not able to see the goal because when the projector screen was done, they could not see the goal. So the students tried and we earned stars but I don't feel like it was as much as they could have earned. Then the unthinkable happened. Yes...something that became mind blowing. I put the goal...ready...ON THE SIW!!! It was like angels singing to me. I placed the goal on the top of the SIW so everyone in the classroom can see it. They walked in, read the goal, and quickly tried to achieve it. During every lesson, I update the goal. For example, today the students were working on a writing prompt. The time that is given is 60 minutes. The students however write for about 50 minutes and then are supposed to edit. At about 50 minutes they start to get restless. Which is why today's writing goal was: I can work silently on my writing prompt for the 60 minutes. (I also put the timer on the board so they can see how much time they had left --- online-stopwatch.com) I tried not to tell them what to NOT do. I didn't write: I can work silently on my prompt without talking for 60 minutes. I felt that the kids knew what silently meant so why should they see not to talk again? This is how I feel but you are more than welcome to adjust the goal to your liking. The goals are absolutely attainable by every child. They can be ese, ell, or gen ed, and they are all able to attain the goal. 
I also added a little more. I am not a teacher who likes the students in tables. I don't like the silly chit chat or anything else, HOWEVER, I placed my kids in tables yesterday. I know... I should't have but I felt like the kids need some thing new in the room. So, I created a slide on the same ppt that allows the students to see the table points. *again, don't waste marker space*. The kids loved it. They were competeing to get the table points. If you want the powerpoint, then please leave a comment so I can send it to you. This is probably my favorite thing I have created yet.

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Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!! I cannot believe it is 2013. It has been one of the busiest years of my life. Let's recap shall we?

1. I got my own apartment (okay with my boyfriend), but still MY OWN APARTMENT!!!

2. I got my first classroom {I guess this should be one}

3. I got a beautiful puppy and her name is Penelope. That's her in case you haven't seen her. She absolutely HATES when I glitter. If It is an arts & crafts day, I better remain on the table and not on the floor. {funny story...} the first day I tried to glitter with her, she walked up, hit the plate, glitter went everywhere, she had it ALL OVER, and then in walks Wesley. Good thing...he didn't care...bad thing...we had it all over her for about a week... oops!

4. I found Whole Brain Teaching, and started my first masters course.

Like I said...it's been a busy year.

Today is kind of going over what I wrote about last time. In case you need it click {here...}

Due to the fact that our school does FCAT Writes (we live in Florida), We have to track every single prompt and score it according to a calibration set found on FLDOE.org. It is very hard and time consuming, but our students will become better writes because of it. The district gave us conference notes to use so we can keep track of the writing. I, however, found it kind of hard to work with. It did not have a place for me to keep track of the prompt, or the score. How could I possibly know which prompt I was grading and the score? So, of course, I modified it to my own liking. {don't I always?} So my newest document is conference notes. I still use the FOSC Writing Conference Form so don't fret, however, I needed to make sure I had something concise. This form  has the students name, and then a blank. (look below). The blank after the name is to show me the score that the students got. Then I wrote the date and the prompt, so I know what I am referring to. Then I make sure I have my compliment and what I need to teach.

If you want this document, then {hopefully} you can click here and it will lead you to a website where you can download this. Your copy will be blank, but you will be able to edit it to your liking. I did insert this in the progress monitoring binder and when I need it...it is there! I hope this helps you keep track of the writing that your students do.

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Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary.

Data Binder

I have been asked recently about my data binder! Well...by the end of the year- it is FULL!! This is only the beginning therefore, it is kind of empty. I am very proud of my data binder because it is perfect.

This is the cover of my binder. If you know me, you will know that I LOVE polka dots, bling, and glitter! This is a great way to just store their information and then lock it away for 3 years.

This is one of the first things inside of the binder. Previously, I wrote about my IEP's and keeping track. If you missed it, it is located HERE. I then include the goals for each student so it is all at my fingertips.

In our district, we give Fall and Winter diagnostics. This is a reflection of Spring FCAT and FALL Diagnostics,

After every math test, my students will go onto ThinkCentral to enter their math test. If you use the GOMath! Series, then you most likely have access to ThinkCentral.com. I LOVE this website. After I review the tests, I can see where my students were weak or where they were strong. I then have ThinkCentral re-teach the material to them. Re-Teach Tracker is a great way for me to track if they have learned the material or not.

This is the Progress Monitoring that i use to track their grades. These is another way to see if I have re-taught or need to re-teach.

The picture above is the way that we track the students writing. We do Palm Beach Writes and the students write and we grade it based on the holistic scoring by the state of Florida.

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Holiday Season is upon us.

Can you believe next Thursday is Thanksgiving?

In our county, we are only open on Monday and Tuesday. Woohoo!!! However, that means it will be two days of craziness! On that note...let's move forward! Our students have just learned how to multiply 2 digit by 2 digits. This week we will be doing a lot of 2 digit by 2 digit and then 3 digit by 2 digit the following week. I decided that we are going to play lots of educational games this week. For math, I am going to write two digits on each plate. The kids will have the plate hung from their neck on a string. They will then have to find a partner to make a multiplication problem. Once they found a partner, they will multiply! It's called a multiply party! I hope to get pictures to show you!

Let's get started on a great week! I will be back on Wednesday!

Goal!!!!

I know in Palm Beach County, the teachers are evaluated on a system called Marzano's iObservation. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. One really AWESOME thing that I appreciate about this program is that it asks for teachers to create I Can statements for students EVERYDAY.At first, I found this very very very very time consuming. Then...I learned to adapt. I found out that I should keep the I can statements up on the board...but I should have something that will hold them accountable. I keep up the words "By the end of this lesson, i will be able to..." and then I put the goal for the day up in a different color. The students come in the morning, every morning, and fill in the goals. At the end of every block, they enter what they think they are. They also tell me how much they really paid attention. This goal chart has been fantastic in my classroom. I give it to the students on Monday, they file it on Friday. I am in a win-win situation. I use it during parent conferences- instructional reviews- and during Marzano observations. This is a PDF file and it has many questions and they work for many ages. I took some questions from someone else- and I cannot remember who so.... THANK YOU!! I hope that this document can help your students succeed. Here is the Link for it- and it's FREE!!!

IEP Mania

IEP MANIA! IEP MANIA! IEP MANIA! 

A lot of teachers always struggle with ways and things to keep track of IEP's. We learn so much when we are in college, and then they expect us to use every tool when we graduate? NOOO way! How can we keep track of SOOOOO many students? We are handed a HUGE packet (usually) the first week of school. Then we are expected to memorize the students needs? Uhm...does anyone else struggle with this? So I created my cheat sheet.

I hated reading those GIGANTIC packets of information for IEP's...so I created the IEP Goals & Accommodations. I made two documents. One was so that I had a complete list of all of my students and their goals for the year. I print this out on NEON pink and then I keep it out during the week so if my students are doing something, I can look to see if they are meeting their IEP Goals. This is a great way to do a quick glance. You will also notice that some students have things underlined. I also put in things that the students are capable of doing. This was mainly what was said about the students last year. If you want a copy for yourself... then POP OVER HERE!

 My second one is a way to track the progress of the students throughout the year. I use this so that when it is time to visit the IEP time, I can easily say...my students were or were not capable of this. I can say...yes! They met this goal, or noooooo :( they didn't meet this goal. If you want to have this one...he (yes, it is a he) will cost you $2.00 at my TpT store. I hope you all enjoy this and it works for you!


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