Place Value Boot Camp

I love Amanda's Friday Flashback Linky! It's so much fun to get a glimpse into everyones wild weeks! It's also a great way to reflect on what we did and share what worked (and what didn't work goes into the vault!)

So I'm linky up this week to share about our Place Value Boot Camp!

I'm sure you have all heard of the wonderful Teacher Tipster. Well...his videos and I became bff during my week in bed with strep! This week we started Place Value. I knew I wanted my kids to really grasp this concept and after a week with a substitute I knew they would expect/need something big from me! SOO I used the Teacher Tipster's Place Value Boot Camp Idea and just ran with it! We recently became a 1:1 iPad classroom so I knew I wanted to incorporate that also. Here is what we did!

Miss Lane scared the you-know-what out of the kiddos by yelling, screaming and getting in their faces! (Later...one confessed that I sounded like a man. In retrospect, probably not the best lesson to teach after having strep!!  The students wore their "ARMY VESTS" to really get into it! (It's amazing what you can do with a free bag from the grocery store). Next, the students learned the Teacher Tipster song. THEY LOOOOOVED IT!  A table then came to "BOOT CAMP" and were assigned as "talls" or "smalls. The students "at base" had to deteremine what number the soldiers represented.  Once the students got the hang of counting talls and smalls, they took a picture on their iPads. We used the app SKITCH.  Once they took the picture of the soldiers, the used the shape feature to draw base ten blocks around the soldiers and wrote the number they represented in skitch. Then, they saved their work to their camera roll. Finally, they imported the picture into ASK 3 and created a screen cast to explain their thinking. The students loved this lesson and BEGGED to do it the next day!

I created an iMovie to hang in our hallway (I attached it to a QR Code) so visitors can see with their iPads the hard work! Our principal even sent the kiddos a video congratulating them on their hard work in boot camp!



The next day was a great field trip to see "Seussical the Musical!" The students loved seeing their favorite characters come to life and sing their favorite Seuss books!

For boot camp on Thursday, another first grade class and I paired up to put them on the Place Value Scavenger Hunt! I found this aweseom freebie at T.G.I.F! Thanks so much!! The students loved being up and moving and were so engaged in the activity. They also loved having a soldier to partner with from the other class!

Here are some pictures of the students hard at work in Boot Camp!

Here is a freebie for you to make your own solider vests!!

Ok, I'm off to run in a 5K this morning...YIKES!! Happy St. Patrick's Day Weekend!

Technology Tuesday: ASK 3 APP

I am so lucky to have been able to go to a 1:1 IPad classroom. The exciting news came in January and we rolled out our iPads mid-February! The first two weeks we still didn't have the ability to download apps, which worked out really well because we focused on procedures, procedures, and more procedures! Let me tell you that these 6 and 7 year olds can take care of iPads better than most adults!

Today I want to share with you my FAVORITE app as a teacher. It allows me to monitor and adjust and assess constantly!

ASK 3

This app allows teachers and students to communicate together through threaded, video conversations. It's a wonderful screen casting app that allows students to create, demonstrate, comment, and ask questions. 

We have used Ask 3 each day and here are some ways that we have used it!

• We began our "How To" writing unit last week so the students drew a picture of what they were teaching in "My Arts." 
• Next, the students uploaded their picture into Ask 3 and created a video explaining how to make something. In Ask 3, the students can use the screen cast and annotate over their pictures. They would draw arrows and explained their thinking. 
• Finally, they uploaded the video to our class and the other students watched their videos. The students then commented on their videos. 
• Students have these videos at their fingertips so if they forget to write a step they can just go back and re-watch their video!

Graphics by Ashley Hughes

Here are some other suggestions for Ask 3

• Have students take a picture of the most important part/favorite part, etc. of a book they are reading. Have students explain why this was important. Other students can go in and comment on their video to agree/disagree.
• Students can draw a picture of a word (example: jar when we were studying ar words) and the students can explain how to spell each word.
• Take a picture of a 100 chart and use the Ask 3 to show how to skip count by a certain number or how to find the difference between two numbers. Have students create their own Ask 3 screencast with a 100 chart. 
• Take a picture of a number line. Create a screencast that demonstrates a concept, and then end the screencast with a question for the students. Allow the students to watch the Ask 3 screen cast and then use the commenting feature to respond to each other's screencasts.
• Draw a picture for a math story using My Arts or Skitch. Insert the picture into Ask 3 and annotate over the picture and explain the number sentence that goes along with it. 
• Use the ipad to take a picture of something you read during Reader's Workshop. Insert the picture into Ask 3, and then record a summary of what you read. 
• Using My Arts or Skitch (or another white board app) draw a picture that summarizes a science or social studies concept. Insert the picture and record your thinking using Ask 3. 

We also had a lesson with our Title 1 Facilitator (who is the bomb.com) and she gave them sentence starters to make their responses and comments more deep and thoughtful. Here is a FREEBIE that you can use to help get your nuggets thinking more deeply. For the lesson, Mrs. Joseph put each sentence starter on a strip of paper and the students pulled on and used that to comment on a video of their choice. I laminated the strips so now they are in the writing center ready to be used whenever a student in commenting! 

Even if your classroom is not a 1:1 ratio, this is still a wonderful app to use if you have access to an iPad cart, small group of iPads or just one! Students can use this app in literature discussion groups, small groups or as a center!

Hope you are having a great Tuesday!

Student Data Collection & A Freebie!

Hello blogging world! I have been MIA since November! I have finally had some time to catch up (thanks to strep).
I wanted to share with you an idea that my amazing Title 1 Facilitator shared with me. She recently visited a school that was huge on DATA! With Common Core coming in full swing, students need to be more responsible for their learning.  The best way to do this is with Student Data Notebooks. I always struggled to find the most effective way to keep track of their data and I think I finally hit the jackpot! (FYI: My students have STRUGGLEDDDDD big time with analyzing data so my new unit will really help students grasp this important skill!!)

So here is how Super Star Student Data Collection will work in Miss Lane's room:

- At the end of each day, I have the last few minutes to wind down the day with our "Daily Data." This is where students graph their behavior, attendance, and Daily 5 choices.

- On Fridays we will have a larger time devoted to Data because on top of their Daily Data they will also graph their spelling test results, math fact test results, and complete their weekly reflections.

-Throughout the week during Reader's Workshop, the students will set their goals and graph the genre of the books they are reading.

-During ELA enrichment, students will graph their sight words. I have been using Sight Word Stars from Reagan Tunstall and the kids LOVE it!

-At the end of a math unit, when I have graded and analyzed their math tests, I will return them to the nuggest and they will graph their test score with the date.


We started our Data Collection on Friday and the kids really enjoyed it. We talked about how it's our own personal file and that what is in the file is only for each individual student. We don't look at other's charts at the doctors so we don't look at each others data! Life lessons 101! =)

I am so excited to use this tool in my classroom. This is really going to help with student responsiblity, parent communication, student-led conferences, and student goal setting.

Superstar Data Collection is a 43 page unit jam packed with graphs, goal setting sheets, and weekly reflection page. This unit has everything you need to track data for students attendance, behavior, reading level, sight words, math facts, and MORE!

If you are interested in data collection check out my new unit in my TPT shop or my Teacher's Notebook shop! The first two people to comment on the blog will get this unit for free! Make sure you leave your e-mail!

Here is a data collection freebie to help get you started! Just click on the picture to grab it from Google Drive. If you download it I ask that you please follow my blog and TPT shop!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Measure, Yeah, Measure!

We have finally finished up our Measurement Unit! The kiddos went crazy for measuring and after grading there tests last night, they really understood it! All the activities can be found in my Measure, Yeah, Measure Unit on TpT!

Here is a little peek into what my Measuring Maniacs have been up to! 

Monster Measurement! The kiddos loved using cubes to measure the length of the monsters. Before we started, they insisted that we name the monsters! Oh so creative! 

To end our Measurement Unit, we had a crazy visit from our new friend "Finchy!" He came to tell us that the "Measurement Maniac" stole all of his best friends. Finchy sent us on a scavenger hunt all around the building look for his friends. We finally found them and after we measured we got to enjoy his yummy gummy friends! 

Reading the first clue!

Finding the clues and determining how to solve the measurement riddle!

Measuring books the Measurement Maniac left at the library. 

If you like measurement as much as I do, you can purchase my Measure Yeah Measure Unit on TpT. 

Here's a sneak peek at what other goodies are in the unit!

I'm going to leave you today with our favorite measurement song. We had to play this atleast twice each day and the kiddos were so excited to get measuring! How would we teach without the Biebs?!?

November Currently

Happy Election Day! Is anyone else glued to the news like I am? We had the day off today and it was nice to have a random Tuesday off to be productive! I couldn't sleep in due to this awful cold I've been trying to kick so Nick and I perked up early and walked to the church up the street to cast our votes! Then I actually had time to fill out November's Currently with the one and only Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade! I love being "nosy rosy" (as I call my little nuggets) and reading about everyone else's exciting lives!

So I got an awesome coupon for buy 2 get 2 free Yankee Candles. I know they are crazzzy expensive but I just LOVE them so much. My new flavor is Autumn Wreath that is the perfect fall scent. I also stocked up on Peppermint flavor for our First Annual Christmas party and some others that are great just to have like Mandarin Cranberry!

I had a blast this weekend! It was full of some good old fashioned karaoke and watching my Tigers kick some Duke booty! I love a good Clemson win (plus it puts everyone in a MUCH better mood!!)

Hurricane Sandy did so much damage and one of my best friends grew up in New Jersey near the shore. Her house is ok, but the restaurant she grew up working in was destroyed. She had so many wonderful memories there and it's so sad to see the heartbreak for everyone in the northeast.

Well what I want is coming true! Nick and I are headed to the beach for a long, relaxing weekend. Our house has been what seems like a hotel on the weekends for our friends headed to the Clemon games and the week is filled with grad class, girl's nights, homework, and work! We are exhausted and need a weekend away to just catch up with each other before the craziness of the holidsays rolls in. We are hosting our first Thanksgiving at our house this year and I'm a bucket of nerves!

NEEDING to plan our holiday party! We are hosting our first annual Tacky Sweater Christmas Party! We even bought Rudy the cutest little ugly sweater. He HATES it but he looks so adorable in it! I'll have to post a pic later! I have found some great ideas on pinterest including some delicious cookies and beverages to make!

Finally, I'm a country music fanatic! The CMT's were great and I love live music. How cute was that little Hunter Hayes!

Time to get back to the election...I hope everyone could get out and vote today!

Friday Flashback on SUNDAY!

Well hello long lost friends! I think I am finally caught up on life! The house is organized, my classroom is organzied, my kiddos are in a routine, I finished all my parent conferences (shout out to my awesome parents who came on time for their appointment! yay!!), Rudy is almost trained and my favorite holiday is this month! Needless to say, I am a happy camper these days! Now it's time to catch you sweet peeps up on all the giggles that have been happening in Miss Lane's first grade classroom! I thought I would like up with Amanda over at Teaching Maddeness to rewind our crazy week!

First Up...Bat Research!

Between blogs and pinterest, I feel like bats have been all the rage lately. I did bat research for the first time last year and was amazed at how much my nuggets loved it. It engaged all my boys like nothing I've ever seen and even my sweet little girls loved learning about these interesting creatures! To get them excited we talked about how bats hibernate in caves and when researchers study bats they have to wear a head lamp inside the caves, so we made our own "headlamps" that the nuggets wore while we researched. Kids love hats, so anything we can turn into a hat, we do!

I smell a freebie! Well since you are probably over bats and well on your way to Election lessons, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving, you can file this in your "For Next Year" folder! We used this thinking map (pictured above) to create our sentences and then the kids published their writings in their "Going Batty" book. We even made adorable bats from their handprints and some googly eyes!



Next Up...Main Idea and Details

I love teaching reading. I could teach reading ALL DAY LONG. EVERYDAY. This week we were working on finding the main idea with supporting details. In reading groups, we read some great non-fiction books from Reading A-Z. If you don't have a subscription, I HIGHLY recommend it! (It's a little pricey, but well worth it!!!) This group was working on our table whiteboards (best 12.99 I have ever spent)! This kiddos LOVE thinking they are writing on the table and even though they do it every day the love it with their WHOLE hearts and act like they've never done it before each time!

Finally...PUMPKIN carving 101!!!

Our class decorated our class pumpkin as our favorite book character. We voted and our favorite was sweet Arthur! After our fall festival we decided that we wanted to carve Arthur's face out of our pumpkin. We explored our pumpkin, documented our steps in carving, and wrote "How to Carve a Pumpkin" flipbooks. Such fun! I loved seeing  their expressions as they explored the inside of our gooey pumpkin guts!

HALLOWEEN!

We spent our Halloween Wednesday dressed in our comfy jammies and rotating around classrooms with our kindergarten friends! The nuggets loved going back to see their "old" teachers and the little kindergarten friends loved coming and acting like first graders! The teachers partnered up and choose one book and one craftivity to go along with their book for the kiddos. We spent Halloween in Miss Lane's class reading Franklin's Halloween. (I love that book but after the 6th time reading it I was WORN out and had it memorized...I'm not sure how high school teachers do it!)

Warning: Ignore the falling letters and silly faces! It's pretty hard to get 16 kids to smile at the same time!

I hope everyone has a wonderful SHORT week and don't forget to VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!  If you need help deciding check out this amazing video from the sweet friends at Ron Clark Academy!!! 

I will be back tomorrow to show how we are going crazy with Measurement this week with my new unit Measure, Yeah, Measure!





SWAP and Currently!

Well I have been M.I.A. from this little bloggy project I started over the summer. Moving schools, going back to grad school, working with a completely different population has been crazy. Crazy in a great way though! I absolutely adore my new school and all the wonderful new friends I have made. I adore, I mean ADORE my new little nuggets! However, with so much going on, this little blog of mine has been neglected. I am trying to get back on track but by the time I get home all I want to do is SLEEP! 

Thankfully, Jessica Stanford from Mrs. Stanford's Class is doing another wonderful product SWAP! When I read about the first one I knew I had to get in on this! 

I was paired up with Brittany from Keeping Up With First Grade. (Love the blog name!!) I browsed through her awesome TpT Shop...STOP and go check it out NOW! She has some great writing printables and an adorable zebra themed organizational printables to help you organize all your teacher files! 

I found what I wanted the minute I saw it...Monthly Writing Prompt Cards! YES! We are in full swing with Daily 5 and these will work perfectly with Work on Writing! I am beyond excited to use these! I printed them out and let the kiddos get started with them this week! This was great for a few of my sweeties that say "Miss Lane I don't know what to write today..." Now instead of running through the usual list of ideas I can just point and say PICK A CARD, ANY CARD! She has these cards with Owls (if this was last year they would have been PERFECT for my camping theme) but I went with the crayons! They match any primary classroom!!!

This week some of the kiddos wrote from her cards about what they would get on Halloween instead of candy! It was hilarious! Some nuggets said they would rather get stuffed animals, some would rather get PIZZA and one adorable little one said he would rather get APPS for our iPad. Can't ya tell we use that thing all the time!!! 

Brittany was so sweet and I wanted my Super Sam Short A Pack. You can head on over to her blog to check out her review! I hope she liked it!

Now for a giveaway! If you like Brittany's Blog, TpT Store, my blog and TpT store enter below to win the Super Sam Short A Pack!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope everyone has a great day! Time to go cheer for my tigers! Nick and I scored some free tickets to the GA Tech game today (Thanks Hali)!