It's finally here! My automated center rotations wheel!

It's finally here! My center rotation wheel! And the best part - IT'S FREE!!!!


I hope you enjoy this little management tool. It has truly been a lifesaver for me!!

Click on the wheel to grab it from my store for free!! It has been such a lifesaver for me during centers! I hope it is as helpful for you too! 

Unfortunately, I currently cannot make any modifications to the wheel.

The wheel is set up to completely keep your centers on track – all you have to do is press play! You must first assign your students to one of the 6 color groups. I don’t group students based on abilities and/or levels. My center groups are heterogeneous. I evenly distribute the high, med, and low students in each group. I have found this method to be successful because students are able to get help from their peers within the groups versus the entire group struggling. When I pull my guided groups, the students I’m pulling are all spread out among the different centers. This is why I’m not listed on the wheel as a rotation. To add your students name into the wheel – simply click in the text box and replace the “Enter students names here” with your students’ names. If you change your students’ groups a lot, you may want to consider creating a poster with the names of students in each group and delete the text box from the wheel. 

Centers Management Tool

Friends I know I promised that I would be uploading my amazing...fantastic...automated centers rotation tool over the weekend. {did I mention how awesome it is!?!?!} However, my computer is not working with me tonight. Until then...please enjoy this little sneak peek {I mean teaser}.

Putting the finishing touches on my automated centers wheel- Serious life saver the past few years!!! Did I mention it'll be a #freebie in my store soon! #tpt #iteach3rd #teacherblogger #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #daily5 #centers #readingcenters #languagearts #iteachtoo

A photo posted by Sweetlifeof3rd (@sweetlifeof3rd) on Nov 8, 2015 at 7:44pm PST

Finally swimming above water....

Really....have I not posted since summer? I can't believe I have once again neglected my blog! I have good reason though! This year I decided to test out being superwoman...guess what...I'm not! I thought since I finally finished grad school, I could take on everything. Ha! Ha! Ha!   WHAT WAS I THINKING! So on top of my regular day job of teaching {and we all know that it's a piece of cake since I get out at 2:45 on the dot everyday!} - I decided to be PTA membership VP, ERTC {technology contact/support for our campus}, head up the computer lab, roll out our iPad check out system,  serve on: technology campus committee, parent involvement committee, and GT committee....oh and be a part in the Leadership PLC for our campus! Not even considering that I have 2 kids that both decided to do activities this year that consume every single day of the week, including weekends!{soccer, volleyball, flute lessons, Hispanic culture club, choir, soccer...and some more SOCCER} Sooooooo.....this is why I've been so backed up in posting!

But I think I've finally found a balance and schedule I can deal with and I'm BACK! And I'm coming back BIG! I created something that I have even blown myself away with...I know could I brag any more....but it has seriously changed my life. I'm not ready to reveal it just yet, but let me just say it has changed reading centers for me  for-ev-er {can you hear this in the sandlot voice like I do?} I have done a dry run of it already, but I want to make sure it is PERFECT before I share it with you! So come back and see me soon! It may just change your life too! ;) And I may even give a few away!

Tech Tip Thursday - Sumdog! Best Math Site!

I just realized it is Thursday (already!) Where are my days going?!?! I apologize for having 2 posts in one day, but I've missed a few tips and I need to catch up

Today's tech tip is the website Sumdog! I heard about it from a fellow blogger and I swear by it! Hands down the best math website! It's a math website that allows students to practice math concepts in fun game formats! To sign up and play the games is absolutely FREE....however they do have a reporting section that will give you details {reports} about how your students are doing {and what they are struggling with}. I'll be honest, I have only used the free features.

Teachers can sign up and then setup their class with individual logins for each student. I am always weary about entering my students' names into online programs. I only entered their first name and last initial. It generated passwords for each student. It's a very simple process and it's super easy to go back and add new students.  Students can play as guest, however I don't recommend this because they miss out on some of the features.

 The students are able to choose which concept they want to work on. The choices are place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, or algebra type equations. Then they can even choose which skill they want to focus on and level. I have tried to figure out how to set these particular skills so that students could only work on skills that I have set, however I haven't been able to figure it out. I can set up competitions and set the skill level there.  I'm hoping that this will be a feature they add in the future. I don't want my students to choose easy concepts, nor ones that they would struggle with.

Students then choose how they are going to play: against the computer, a random person, or a classmate. This is the best part of the site! The students get such a kick out of playing against each other and they can be playing the same game but working on different skills and levels. I even jump on a computer from time to time and challenge the kids...they really get a kick out of it.

Finally the students choose which game they want to play. There are some really fun ones! My favorite is junk pile. You have to answer questions and then pile up junk in the junkyard, but be careful or your pile could fall over.  There are about 20 games in all that keeps a variety of interest in mind.

As the kids play they not only compete against one another, but they are racking up points {coins}. The coins allow you to purchase different clothes and accessories to dress your character. They also have different animal levels. My kids really got into these rewards. My kids were so into this site that they would call each other so they could challenge one another from home. It was such a great way to get kids to memorize their facts {but in a fun way!} This website is one of the sites my kids during our Guided Math rotations.

More MATH - CGI

I'm currently attending a 3 day CGI {Cognitively Guided Instruction} training (with 2 additional days later in the year). I signed up for the training so that I had a better understanding of what my students were coming to me with... I had always thought that CGI was ONLY for the lower grades (our 1st/2nd grade use CGI) - After today, I'm realizing that I can easily apply this philosophy to my math instruction. The basis of CGI is that students are allowed to investigate and discover their own methods to solve problems. They extend their strategy database though the modeling of other students {not the teachers}. I'm not going to lie....as a 3rd grade teacher - this FREAKS me out! Problem solving is so crucial in 3rd grade and this is a HUGE adjustment to how I currently teach problem solving. This book will definitely take me out of my comfort zone. I am going to try it and see how it works in my classroom. On another note....our instructor is very knowledgeable and has so many wonderful math resources. You can see her teacher store and wonderful math activities! She has great center activities and they are very inexpensive - go check her out! Here is her website with more freebies and resources.

Along with the training, we're also doing a book study with the above book. I would love to bounce ideas off of anyone who has read or who implements CGI in their classroom - especially in the upper grades! Here are my thoughts & questions so far with the first few chapters of this book:

Chapter 1:

• Students don't naturally solve problems the way that we do. They follow the action of the problems, similar to a recipe to solve the problem. For example Alyssa has 5 erasers. How many more erasers does she need to have 11? We would solve this problem by subtracting 5 from 11. However kids would take the 5 and count up till they got to 11. 
• Kids already have a knowledge base for mathematics, we need to tap into this background knowledge.
• Students should be allowed to discover their own strategies to solve problems. They will learn different ways to solve by sharing with their peers. Teachers should not model and impose our thinking on the students.
• Children don't have to be taught specific strategies to solve particular problems.

My questions:

• Where should we start with upper students? The instruction videos show that you allow students to use manipulatives and it seems they start very small. Should we revert to the basics with older students as well?

Chapter 2: Here is a organizer that explains the different types of problems.

• Problems are classified based on the way children think about the problem.
• Addition/Subtraction are separated into result unknown (most common), change unknown, and start unknown (hardest type of problem). The problems all have an action that happens in the problem (something is added or taken away)
• Part-Part-Whole & Compare problems have no actions, and instead are based on relationships.
• Problems can be more challenging or rigorous by changing the wording to past tense or numbers within the problem that don't represent a set number of objects (such as weight)

My questions:

Should the structures of the different types of problems be explicitly taught to students? How would this be accomplished if the teacher shouldn't be modeling problems?

Tech Tip Thursday: Wonderopolis- Have you ever wondered?

 

I'm so excited to share today's tech tip with you! It's a website called Wonderopolis! It's a wonderful website that answers all of your wondering questions {PERFECT for our curious students}! Like....Why do you get goosebumps? or Why do skunks stink? A new wondering is presented every day and it has already answered hundreds more that are archived on their site. There are so many ways to use this site! The question of the day is posted on front page of the site, however there is a search button, as well as a categorized list of questions that are already answered {bottom right hand side of the page}!

I love the way the site guides children to find the answer to the stated question. It doesn't come right out and give them the answer {so important!!!} There is a video that introduces the topic to get the students thinking about the question & topic. Then there are a few short paragraphs that give the students background information and facts. Students must draw their own conclusions based on the information provided {Love it!} Wait..... it gets better! The site then provides activities that the students can try that are related to the question. These activities range from a small experiment to taking a virtual field trip. It also provides vocabulary that the students should be familiar with in regards to the topic. Finally, it gives the students an option to extend and explore with their "Still Wondering" section. As a teacher, I couldn't ask for a better set up for my students to explore!! Hands down one of the best exploration resources available - and it's FREE!!! It's not surprising that it's such a great resource considering who is behind it! Wonderopolis is created by National Center for Family Literacy, as well as Verizon Thinkfinity.  Along with their website, wonderopolis also has an app for both Apple & Android.

I found this site last year at a conference. I knew I had to do something with it besides just letting my students get on it every so often. It finally came to me the other day! I have been wanting to have an Einstein's club or Mastery club of some sort - but I didn't want my students just looking up basic facts, I wanted it to be meaningful to them {insert Wonderopolis}. I think activities like this are not only good for students who finish early, but it promotes autonomous learning and gives the students the power to be in charge of their learning through choices. I wanted to jazz my version up so I came up with the W.I.S.E. crew. Wondering, Investigating, Seeking, & Exploring  {perfect words to describe Wonderopolis!} I have it set up very similar to other mastery clubs. It's broken down by subjects {Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, & Misc.} with 15 questions in each section. I plan to have different levels of mastery based on the number of questions they complete. Each level will earn the students a different recognition {Hall of Fame}. They will also be listed on our class website. I'm not going to *require* the students to complete the tasks, but I'm going to encourage and recognize those who do. I will have it set up where students can complete these tasks at home and when they have finished all other work. I am beyond excited about this program! I've done all the had work for you - you can grab my program here!

Monday Made It - Frames, Craft Room, Clipart & Math Centers

Ahhhhh Monday - Time to link up with Tara over at Fourth Grade Frolics! I've been a busy, busy bee {I saved my favorite and best for last}! Who would have thought that Monday Made Its would lead to me opening a store?!?! {I'm having a blast making new items!} This week I have gotten so much done!!!!

I'm in Texas and it has been too hot to even go swimming {seriously it's sad when the pool feels more like a hot tub than a pool!} So my daughter and I decided this week to go on a scavenger hunt {& stay indoors!} - looking for things at thrift stores to repurpose. We had an absolute blast...and I'm blown away by her creativity {she's about to be 9}


Our first find was a really cool frame from Goodwill. It was just a simple black frame that had a few scratches here and there. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I've eyeballing these frames on pinterest where you can add wire/string and hang pictures from them. It was super simple! I primed it then spray painted it green. {The green wasn't as lime as I would have liked it to be....but it'll do} Then I used my stapler and stapled the wire going zig zag along the back. I wanted to add a little something extra so I attempted to add scrap fabric rosettes {leftover from my covered canvases} LOVE IT!!!! It fits perfect in the little reading corner of my craft room! Oh and I also made the covered clothespins with leftover scapbook paper from my magazine files! This project was super cheap! {you know I love cheap!} I got the frame for 6$, paint 4$, & wire 2$ total cost 12$!!!



Since I was working on my "reading corner" of the craft room, I decided to make one of those nifty "to do list" dry erase boards out of a picture frame. I got a giant frame {10 x 14} from Walmart. I just used leftover scrapbook paper from my magazine files & typed up a to do list check off sheet. Love it and can't wait to use it! The frame didn't have a stand in the back, so I used an old stand I had laying around. Total cost was 5$ for the frame...everything else I already had!





Ok....this is what I couldn't wait to share with ya'll. One of my goals this summer was to re-do my math centers. I've seen all of these cute acronyms like BUILD or TIME. I borrowed the idea of TIME because it went so well with the centers I want to have and made it my own!

As you know technology is very important to me! I wanted to make sure that there was a technology rotation in my centers. Here is what I came up with: T-Technology I-Independent Work M-Math Facts, E- Extra Review...and I added an R for Review with Teacher {Guided  Math} I cannot wait to use this setup!!!

I also did something I've never done before - I made clipart!!!! I could not find cute clipart for an alarm clock {I searched for hours I swear!} I finally got fed up and just made my own!! I have to say I'm pretty impressed with myself ;)

This post is already out of control, but I promise to post to soon to explain how I plan to use this set-up. If it's something you think you might like to use, you can get all the files  here! There a TON of resources included:

• Binder Cover (2 choices)
• Pocket Chart Header (2 choices)
• Pocket Chart Labels
• Center Bin Labels
• Can Do/ Must Do poster 
• Center Descriptions & Examples
• Center Planning Sheet
• Center Weekly Checklist

Daily 5 (or rather Daily 7) goodies to share....

I seriously can't believe it has been almost 2 months since my last post! This school year is C~R~A~Z~Y!!!! Or maybe it's just me that is crazy! Along with teaching...I'm taking 9 hours of grad school (which is kicking my butt!!), I will be teaching 2 technology classes a week to students after school, and I will begin tutoring 1 day a week after school....not to mention my poor family who is suffering without me most nights! So this is why I haven't posted in awhile (and I'm up at 3:30 in the morning) But I wanted to share good news about my daily 5 centers!

My daily 5 centers are working! Yea!!! Last year I could not get them to run smoothly for the life of me and ended up taking away the choice for students. This year it is running so smoothly...that it's kind of scary! I have to admit though - I don't have Daily 5, I have Daily 7. I love the original Daily 5, but my students needed a little bit more than those skills. (Yes I know the upper grades are only supposed to do 3 - but some of my kids come in so low that we really need all 5!) So let me explain how it all works! Along with the originals, I also have skill builders (cause/effect, sequence, main idea, summary, etc) and technology! My skill builders center is differentiated and has activities for students who are on level, below level and above level. Most of the activities that I have are from the Florida Reading Center (love it!!). I store all of the activities in that nifty cart I found over the summer! There is one weekly activity that everyone must complete, then they can choose a drawer that is labeled with their level (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars). It is working out quite nicely and it really is giving students that extra practice they need. For technology, I have several things going on here. I use our textbook adoptions (Treasures) website to assign the skills that we are using that week in centers. Once the students complete this skill they have many different options including spellingcity, learning.com, tumblebooks, and more. I eventually want to get to where the students use programs such as inspiration to create graphic organizers for the skills we are learning - we're getting there it just takes baby steps. All of my centers have a must do/can do poster. At the beginning of the week, I just write down what activity must be done, along with directions, and the activities they can do if they finish that task.

The reason I think centers is so successful this year is because I only allow 3 people at each center, except buddy reading (only 2) and technology (4). Since the students are so separated, I don't have as many off task and they are able to be very productive!! I have 3 small pocket charts (ones from Targets 1$ spot). Each pocket is a new rotation. Inside each pocket is a card with the centers name. The students each have 3 name cards. In the morning I post which groups I will be meeting with during each rotation. Throughout the morning/day, I call on students who are being productive to go choose their centers for the day. They just put their name next to the center they want , if they will be working with me they don't choose a center for that rotation. I couldn't let go of not holding the students accountable for the work that needed to be accomplished during centers. So I created a checklist. I based the checklist off the group I see the most. So the checklist would be attainable for even them, meaning the other groups should definitely be able to complete the requirements. I also assigned points to each activity so the students would have to make good choices when picking centers so that they could get everything they needed done. At the bottom i have the total points earned for that week, but I added a field for subtracting points and bonus points. I didn't want my students to finish the checklist in 2-3 days and be off task for the rest of the time!

So far it is working out nicely! I will try and post pics soon....but don't wait around for them ;) I hope your year is off to a great start! On another note...thank you to everyone who has given my blog an award!! You are too kind! I will go and post the awards soon!! Thank you again!

Math centers for the upper grades...

In the past, our 3rd grade team has always focused on the concept currently being taught for students to practice while we conduct guided math. Basically while we worked with a small group of students, the other kids would play games that focused on our current concept. It worked out, but I always felt like the kids weren't getting enough practice of the other skills. I want to revamp the way I do guided math. I am thinking I want to do centers of some sort. I also want to make sure that I make it that there are a variety of things the kids can do so we avoid them getting bored doing the same thing over and over. Here is what I was thinking:

• Skill builders - Work on any current and previously taught skills/concepts. I thought I could also incorporate creative ways to work on word problems since this is a big struggle for my kids.{still working on this!}

• Fluency {drills} - flashcards, memorizing facts, I want to start something where the kids master their addition/multiplication facts and we chart it on the wall. I found a great website that has timed tests! Unfortunately the kids usually come to us without any facts memorized and struggle to memorize multiplication facts.

• Computers - The kids will play computer games on current/previous skills.

• Games - Misc games on current and previously taught skills. I would have to continue to change these out and add to them.

So what do you think? I like that there are only 4 centers, because we usually will only have time for 1 station a day. I also like that I've broken them down into centers so they can be more manageable {it was a sort of free for all last year - craziness!!!!}. What do you do? How do you manage your centers with upper grades? How do you keep them fresh so kids don't get bored? I welcome ANY and ALL ideas!!!

Awesome finds....

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days! It was my baby girl's {8th} birthday and I have been shopping..shopping..and some more shopping! I {heart} back to school sales - I have been finding some amazing things for my classroom! Here are just a few {well a little more than a few!}.....



I found these at the dollar tree! They are different sized clocks that you can use a dry erase markers with. I plan to break them up and make centers {check back because I'll be sharing the centers I create!} I also found a synonym file folder game.



Another Dollar Tree find... this great spinner. I'm thinking about using this to call on students. {My students are in groups of 4-5 and each have an assigned number 1-5 to each group!} I would have to ignore 6-8 though! I also found this pointer - I got it just because the teacher store is right next door to DT and they were selling these things for 6$!!!!!!!!




More dollar tree finds {it was a great day!} I found these for my treasure box. I will use the balls for a grand prize week. My students last year went nuts for erasers! I was so excited to find these bright colored ones as well as skateboard erasers!






Ok last dollar tree find. I found these adorable tubs that match the colors in my room! {Love it} I thought about moving all of my math manipulatives into them. Of course I bought like 12 of them {I wanted more though!!!}

I found these at Target so I can make those cute paperclip bookmarks that I saw on pinterest {love pinterest!} I found the ribbon in the dollar spot! The giant paperclips are on the supplies aisle! I already started making these and they are so much fun! I plan to give them as gifts to my teammates.







I found these sticker gems at the Target 1$ spot. I got an awesome idea from Tara at 4th Grade Frolics to put jewels on students' papers when they use "sparkling" vocabulary or use creativity in their writing. {Love this idea!}







Another great Target 1$ spot find! More shaped erasers {ice cream, crayons and cute hand shapes - i love you, hang 10, thumbs up} These are for my treasure box! I also finally found the mini erasers! I found them awhile back and decided to wait, then went back and they were GONE!! I plan to use them with centers!






And my coolest find is this timer {Target 14.99}! Sure it just looks like a regular timer....but it's quite the opposite. This is a giant timer {hard to tell in the picture} it's 8.5 in by 8.5 in! The best part - it's magnetic! I plan to put it on my whiteboard!!

I didn't take a pic of it, but I also found a good size rug 7ft X 5ft - with giant polka dots {and my room colors} for only 15$!!! And guess where I found it?!?! At my grocery store of all places. They had a dorm section with all kinds of goodies!

I think that is enough goodies for now!! Stay tuned, I've been working on some great printables to label your crates {should post in the next few days!}

Summer Finds

School supplies are just beginning to show up on the shelves...but I've already found some pretty amazing finds! Here is my top 5 list of items that I have found so far this summer:

# 5 I found these adorable hanging pockets from IKEA. I was thinking of using them to store sticky notes, notepads, nurse passes, etc next to my desk. I got both the blue/green and red/orange sets.

#4 I couldn't leave my target 1$ spot finds off of my list. I went to eat lunch with my hubby last week and decided to stop at the Target by his work. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had their teacher stuff out early. I picked up some bookmarks, stickers, pocket charts, stamps, and some caddies to hold students supplies.


#3 I love baskets and pretty much anything that has to do with organizing. A few years ago I found these amazing, brightly colored baskets to hold all of my books in my library. A few of them have cracked....well I found these cute, colored baskets at Hobby Lobby. I also found matching magazine holders so that I can now display the kid's magazines I've been collecting all summer. I also love that they have holes so I can attach my library labels to them!

#2 I found this awesome colored rolling cart that can be found at Really Good Stuff normally 80$...but I found mine at Goodwill for only 15$!!!! I found it tucked away at the back of the store. After I found it I had several people following me to see if I would put it down. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for just yet - but I have wanted one for a really long time!

And......drum roll please........

My number #1
I was searching for misc things on craigslist. I came across the most amazing post! A teacher was leaving 3rd grade and moving on to teach middle school. I got these great center activities for reading comprehension and vocabulary from Lakeshore Learning. I also picked up a respond to reading center. All of these items total almost $400.....but I picked it all up for $55. What an amazing find! The activities are great to reinforce reading concepts!

Do you have any amazing summer finds? Head over to Ladybug Teacher Files and share your stash!