Friday, April 24, 2015

Stop, Swap & Roll

I am so excited to be teaming up with Melissa for this Stop, Swap & Roll blog link up. Swapping products with fellow teacher bloggers is an excellent way to learn more about other teachers, students, and get a change to "try out" products for one another. 

I had the pleasure of linking up with Heather, of Mrs. Renz Class. She really helped me out with reviewing my product and even helping me with blog trouble shooting. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to meet a fellow veteran 4th grade teacher, whom I can learn a lot from. 

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Heather is wonderful. She sent me her latest figurative language interactive poetry notebook set. This set includes a variety of figurative language words, there meanings, and examples for each. My students were able to learn the use and meaning of alliteration, hyperbole, idiom, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, and simile. They also loved getting to cut out, color, and glue the sets in their reader's notebooks. 


Her set also included a PPT presentation that I was able to pull up on my smart board and go over with the students while they were working on their projects in their notebooks. Below you will get an inside look at my students working on this notebook set. 


Please excuse the layout of my room during this. We just finished our Georgia Milestones testing the day before. 


This product was very easy for my students to follow along with. They were able to work page by page as I was instructing them on the word, definition, and example.


They love anything where they have the chance to make something. At our school we have a high ELL population. This product really help to give my ELL students a concrete example of each word and its meaning. 


Also more than half of my class is EIP, this set was very user friendly for them to be able to work at their own pace and still be able to learn the challenging information presented to them. 


These are a few examples of the PowerPoint included that I used to teach the lesson. 



Last, but certainly not least, I let me students cut and glue their pages in anyway that they chose. They were also allow to draw a picture to show an example for each. Here is what I received:


Side note: my students didn't glue them in the flap style like the directions said to, but think they still used them effectively. 






Overall I think this project is an excellent resource for figurative language, which can be a challenging standard for students to learn. They loved having independence to work, cut, draw, and glue all while learning. Thank you Heather!!

Heather is also putting on sale all of her poetry items 20% off in her store this week. You can find them here:

Poetry Project, Poetry Unit, Poetry Reflection & Interacti

Poetry Forms or Poetry Expansion Pack ~ in Print & Go Format

I Am Poem ~ A Great Back to School Get to Know You Poetry

Poetry Reflection Form for Students & CCSS Reading Literac

Important Poem & Metaphor Poems – Demonstrate Content Mast

Figurative Language Cootie Catcher Set of 4 + PPT Slidesho

Also don't forget to hop on over to Mrs. Renz Class to check out my Real World Word Problems set. I will also be putting my entire math homework sets on sale 20% off. They are sold in sets of nine weeks at a time. You can find them here


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, April 6, 2015

April Monday Made It

I am linking up this raining evening in Georgia with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. I love, love, love this link up. I learn about all sorts of products whether educational or not. I get inspired to make my very own creations. My state testing starts on Wednesday, so this link up may not be as fancy as others due to lack or energy and time!


My first Monday Made It are my wedding programs that I finished last week. I created the design from my TPT skills and printed them on card stock paper. I folded and glued them last week. Now let me say that the first one I thought was adorable.....150 later I was muttering under my breath that I hoped to never look at them again. Here is a preview:




Next on my to do list from last week (my Spring Break) I wanted to make photo holders to flask a pallet I made last summer. I got the idea while shopping at Kohls and I noticed the price tag was $100. Yipes Stripes Fruit Stripe Gum!?!!?!? Who has $100 for something so simple.

Here is the pallet I made:

Here are the picture holders which are basically a piece of wood with hooks drilled into them.


Last but not least, I am working on finishing up centerpiece ideas for the tables at the wedding reception. I had a friend cut these beautiful black walnut tree slices for me yesterday. My new goals is to sand and put a polyurethane finish on them by June. I think I can, I think I can. 


Friday, April 3, 2015

Currently April

I am a little late posting my currently April by linking up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade. I love getting to read and catch up on what every one is up to each month. This month is going to be crazy busy for me and looks like a lot of other people. I am wrapping up my last day on spring break and I am anxiously waiting for next week to begin. We start our Georgia Milestones testing on Wednesday, so say a prayer because we will need it. State testing is one of the most grueling processes in teaching. Anyways back to currently take a look below to see what I am up to!


April's First Freebie Friday

Teaching Blog Addict Freebie Downloads

I am linking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday. I have recently put some of my new TPT products up and I currently have these amazing products for free because I want people to download these before they are turned into paid products.  I am sharing a few below:

These are for grades 3, 4 and 5 see standards below. Please don't forget to leave feedback!
Common Core: Social Studies: Productive Resources
Common Core: Numbers in Base Ten: Rounding

Common Core: Science: Fossils

Common Core: Social Studies: Spatial Patterns

4th Grade Funky Town's Schedule


Welcome to my first link up with Lucky Little Learners for a brand new monthly linky called #2getherwearebetter. I am a 4th grade teacher in a Title 1 school in Georgia.I have 28 students in my class below is what our crazy schedule looks like.  


8:10-8:25 During this time the bell rings for students to come into classes. I normally greet them every morning at the door. At this time, I can assess the kind of day we will have by the state of mind the kids are in. They come in and take out their morning work folders and get busy. During this time they also are suppose to finish any homework that their parent's couldn't help them with. We have morning television announcements on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we watch CNN student news on the Smartboard. I have created morning work products for my students and you can find them here:

Common Core: Language Arts: Morning Work Week 1-6
This is for week 1-6. There are other sets that are sold for the other weeks. Go check them out. 

8:25-10:00 During this time my challenge students leave and my EIP math groups. Both groups are pulled out for specialized instruction. At this time I teach from a new math curriculum called Engage NY. Our math coach found this curriculum and we began teaching in in late September. It is very rigorous for our students, but I like and the kids do too.

10:00-10:25 We have a program for literacy and it is very strict. During this time we do our reading mini lesson. I usually read a book for our read aloud and teach a mini lesson on the topic being covered for the week.

10:25-11:10 We complete our guided reading during this time. This year is different than years past. Each fourth grade teacher teaches homogeneous groups of leveled reading. For example I teach levels S,T,U,V which is the highest readers in fourth grade. This group is around 30 students. They read independently when I am not meeting with their groups. 

11:10-11:15 We switch our students back to their homeroom teacher and walk down to the lunch room.

11:15-11:35 Lunch

11:35-11:50 Recess. Normally I go out at 11:50 and if the weather is nice I give the students an extra five minutes. Luckily at our school teachers do not have lunch or recess duty.

11:50-12:00 We walk back to the classroom which is on the third floor which is quite a trek from the playground. 

12:00-12:15 We complete our grammar work or language arts standards.

12:15-12:45 During this time we complete what we call Buddy Study. Buddy Study is our leveled spelling groups that we teach. I teach the second grade principles to our fourth grade students. There is another blog post that details out Buddy Study. 

12:45-1:45 Writing time. We usually do a writing genre for each term. This year I taught informational first term, narrative second term, reader's response third term and fourth will be persuasive. Students write in their writer's notebooks.

1:50-2:40 Specials. Our specials are designed so that the students stay in the same special for an entire week before switching with the exception of PE each Wednesday.

2:40-3:30 I teach Social Studies to my students and another teacher's students. The teacher I switch students with teaches mine Science. If my kids go to Science for the day then we pack up early and students take their book bags with them. 

April Pick 3 Pinterest Party and Linky


I am linking up on this Good Friday with Pawsitively Teaching for the top 3 Pinterest picks. I love Pinterest and I have recreated a lot of the ideas I've seen and been extremely pleased. How were people even creative before Pinterest? Below you will find my top 3 picks enjoy!


RockCrok Recipes This just in: We've unlocked 6 "Consultant Only" Rockcrok recipes! Pin them, share them, and make them ASAP! Click here to see them all!

I just recently had a Pampered Chef bridal shower and I got a ton of amazing products. One of the products I received was this Rockcrok and I can't wait to use it. It is a product that can be used in the oven, on the stove, on the grill and even in the microwave. I'll have to update everyone after I use it!


You'll save so much money with homemade dryer sheets! #eco

I recently ran out of dryer sheets and I came across this on Pinterest recently. This is a genius idea of reusing little cloths instead of having dryer sheets lying around everywhere after you pull out all your fresh laundry.If you have dogs like me, I am constantly battling them for the dryer sheets that fall from the laundry while I am folding it on the couch. I am going to try this idea as soon as I find time to make it to Walmart (a place a dread going).  


Super cute and easy DIY bow picture frames... Perfect #Christmas gift idea!! #12days72ideas
I absolutely love this and I know my dad has extra barn wood at the farm. I am going to make this because first off its adorable, second it is dirt cheap, and third I get the pleasure of knowing that I created something. I also have a few extra engagement pictures laying around.