BANG! BANG!

Now that the school year is in full swing for my kids, we have been doing a lot of testing. I like to make sure my kiddos are prepared as much as possible, so we do a lot of reviewing. I try to find lots of ways to review with them and one of their favorites is BANG! It is quick, it is easy to make, it is versatile and it is FUN and ENGAGING! The best part is- all you need is an empty Pringles can ( the perfect excuse for a snack), BANG! can cover sheet and BANG! game cards. My games are all in one pack at my TPT store. Click on my BANG! game pic to get yours!

Guided Reading Rotations Made EASY!

My third grade team has 4 guided reading groups that we meet with 4 times a week. I meet with my groups on Tuesday- Friday. Each Monday I front load with a lot of whole group activities, so we don't meet on that day. I also share the centers that students will be working in that week on Mondays so I do not take up any whole group time explaining on Tuesdays before our rotations.

I wanted a way to have my guided reading groups leveled but then let my students work with students outside of their guided reading groups during the other rotations each day. My system is pretty simple and the kids caught on right away! We practiced one day the first week of school and then they were ready to do it "for real".

My third grade team has also jumped on board and I think they are seeing great results with management during reading. They used to have each group rotate as a whole and the entire group would do one center each day. This meant that 6 students would be at one center together. Management nightmare!

I have 4 different rotations (since I have to meet with 4 Guided Reading Groups). They are Guided Reading (with me), Read to Self, Seatwork and Centers. During the seatwork rotation students are practicing skills that we have been working on during whole group or guided reading. During the Centers rotation the students visit one center per day for a total of 4 centers each week. My centers change from week to week but include: technology, word work, listening, spelling, art, science, social studies, math. It really depends on what stories/genre we are working on and skills we are practicing.

Your Reading Rotation Cards should be posted in a centers chart. I leave all of my student cards where they are and just rotate the center cards each day. Be careful to make sure that you are spreading out your students so that they are not more than 2 students at a center per rotation.

Check out my rotation cards for free at my TPT store! Click on the pic of my center chart to snag your copy. Let me know what you think!

Organization is the key!

In my quest to become more organized and to have a fabulously attractive classroom, I have created some cute little labels for my filing cabinet. Head on over to TPT to grab your free copy. I have also created some cute little "locker fairy" cards (in the spirit of my new sports/team theme) to keep my kids organized. Click on the pics and head on over to TPT to grab your free copy of each!!

Hats Off to Team Work!

Here are some of the hats I have made for my totally terrific thirdies! Each table or "team" has their own color and I hand painted hats for each of my students. They have been wearing them everyday in class! How fun! My "teams" have all come up with their own creative names that sound much better than "The Blue Team", "The Green Team", etc. How does Go Green!, Mellow Yellow and Orange Crush grab you? What about The Big Red Machine (shout out to the Cincinnati Reds) and Blue Thunder? I love them all and they reflect the uniqueness of each of my groups!!

TOTALLY TERRIFIC TEAM THEME!

I am so thrilled with my new classroom theme for the 2011-2012 school year. My third graders are loving it too! Not only is my team theme colorful and fun- but it also goes great with alot of the beginning of the year activities we are doing. I love that I can incorporate my theme with so many of the things I do to build a great classroom climate. I plan on posting a few of the activities we have completed thus far in my next post but for now I am going to give you a glimpse into my room.

This is my sign that hangs above my room number in the hall. I just love it! I made it with supplies from Michael's and my Cricut.

Instead of a Star Student I opted for MVP of the week. This hangs in my hallway so everyone can see it as they walk by our room.

I will add more pics soon!!

I day down, 186 to go and a WINNER!!

Hey blogtastic friends! I had a terrific first day back with my tremendous thirdies! They truly are a great bunch!! I am quite exhausted after a full day and a trip to the ballpark for the ALS Awards banquet to celebrate a great walk in June. Now I am ready to crawl into bed- but alas, I remembered that I have a promise to keep to all you faithful followers. So here it goes! The winner of the Graphics Factory Membership is..... comment number 46- Debbie! Congratulations to Debbie! Her first day back to school with kids is not until September 6th. Debbie, I hope you can enjoy a little time fiddling around on the Graphics Factory website before then. Please email me with the following info so I can get you registered:
your email
a user name
a password (you will be able to change this after you logon the first time)
your address
Thanks!!
mcurrin@insightbb.com

100 % and Giveaway ends soon!!

Hey all you bloggie friends! I can't believe it! I had a terrific turn- out at Meet the Teacher Night last evening. 100%!! Not sure if I can remember the last time (if ever) that happened. I am hoping to post pictures of my completed room ASAP.
My first day of school with my adorable kiddos is tomorrow! That means that my Graphics Factory giveaway ends tonight! I will be announcing the winner sometime on Wednesdsay ( I hope!!)
Make sure to go to my Giveaway post for your chance to win!!