Monday Made-It

You know what time it is... MONDAY MADE-IT!!  Haha!

Okay, so maybe I was a bit too excited that time.  But I finally put my printer to good use.  Might as well... I have a free month of HP Instant Ink!

So here we go...

This is the first time I've made contact cards, but I think I'm going to like it.  This will make sure there is no excuse This will make it easy for parents to find my contact information and get in touch when they need something!

I just picked up some Avery business cards and printed the information on them.  I made my little character using the Build a Teacher clipart set created by Melonheadz.  I still need to laminate them and put a magnet on the back.  To be honest, I don't even think I'm going to laminate... I don't want to cut them out again. Haha!  I figure the magnet on the back will make it easy, and I'll pass them out at Meet the Teacher night.  (The families that don't come to Meet the Teacher Night will just have to wait until the first day of school.)

Post cards.  I usually don't do this so early, but hey.. I had labels.  I have a printer.  Why not?

I will address them when I get my class list (so the night before school starts), and I'll put them in the mail before work on that first day.  Easy peasy; already done. ;)

These bookmarks aren't quite finished yet, either.  I will laminate these once I get back to school.  After they are laminated, I'll add a short stack of Post-It notes to the bottom there, and voila!

This Made-It was inspired by 4th Grade Frolics, and you can get the template from Joanne Miller's TPT Store {here}.

As you guys know, I'm not going to be teaching First Grade next year.  I'm moving on up. :)  Still not sure what grade level I'll be teaching, but I know it will be some form of 3rd, 4th, and/or 5th grade.  In any case, a traditional word wall just isn't going to do.  Instead, I decided to go with personal word walls.  (I'm a bit disappointed in my titling skills, though.  I literally *just* had the thought to make these "My Pocket Word Wall" notebooks, but they're all printed and labeled already.  Oh well.  I like them anyway.)

The first however-many pages are blank.  Students will use those pages to create their word study lists.  The last 26 pages each have a letter on them.  (I just used my old scrapbooking stickers.)

On these lettered pages, students will collect commonly misspelled words and words they have asked me to help spell for them.  Also, any words that are misspelled in their writing will go in this notebook.  It will be a very tailored word wall specifically for each student.

Lastly, I made folders for the different independent activities students will be doing.

Mastering Math Facts is a program for which I attended training several years ago.  The program is great if it's done correctly and with fidelity!  I just hadn't (until now) found a way that I like for students to keep track of their data.  

The program is copyrighted, so I won't share more of what's in the folder.  However, you can do a quick Google search of your own and find the information.  (I didn't tell you that! Ha!)

I also needed a way to individualize students' reading fluency.  AIMSweb is sort of a big deal in my district, so I need students practicing as much as they can.  

Obviously, without knowing my students' current abilities (let alone who my students are Lol!), I can't put the materials inside the folder yet.  However, I did find these tracking sheets and rubrics.  I will include them in the left pocket of the folder along with the week's fluency practice in the right pocket.

I don't know the original source, but you can get the tracking sheets {here}.

And finally, the Writing Portfolio.  My students will have a writer's notebook, so I didn't need anything elaborate as far as a portfolio goes.  However, they do need a place to keep their drafts and final copies ready for publishing.  Enter:  The folder.

The only thing left for me to do is add labels for "Works in Progress" and "Ready for Publishing" on each of the pockets.

For each of these folders (and the Personal Word Wall notebooks), I used the School Subject Kidlettes by Melonheadz.  Everything was printed on Avery labels.  I accidentally bought full-sheet labels because I wasn't paying attention, so this is what I used them for!  Then I went back for the half-sheet labels when I decided how I wanted to add the 6 + 1 Traits to the writing folder!

So there you have it.  I think I'll spend the rest of July outside!  Once August hits, I know it's all going to go by so fast!

What have you been up to?

And what are your plans for the rest of the month??

Take it easy, and enjoy the rest of summer!  We deserve it!

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

I just finished reading Mindset by Carol Dweck.

My principal bought this book last year for a group of teachers wanting to do a book study/PLC group.  That group unfortunately (or fortunately, if you think about how much time it would have taken) never took off.  But I took the time to read it now that I've got nothing but time.

It started out as a really slow read because it wasn't giving me much new information.  I had already taken a class two semesters ago on fixed versus growth mindset, and it was based a lot on Carol Dweck's research.  However, after the second chapter, all I wanted to do was finish the book.  Luckily, I had two 9-hour plane rides to get it all in. ;)

I definitely lucked out... The left is my flight to the Lower 48, and the right is my flight back home.

No neighbors for either trip!  Score!!

Red-eye flights for the win!

So anyway.  This book.

Guys.  There are so many great stories regarding people you will recognize!  Both fixed mindset and growth mindset.  People like Michael Jordan and Alex Rodriguez.  Or John McEnroe.  Also some stories regarding classrooms and students.  And about relationships.  It's just so much information on such a broad range of topics related to mindset and how having a fixed or growth mindset affects any given situation.

As I was reading, I was thinking about so many things.  My classroom, of course.  But then my Team Beachbody business.  And my personal relationships.  This was definitely something I needed to read at this time.  I've been on this personal development journey for a while now, and I am glad this was one of the books I brought home from my classroom.

At the end of the last chapter, Dr. Dweck gives you this diagram by Nigel Holmes.

She says to print it out and tape it to your bathroom mirror along with a few questions.  These questions are designed to get you into the growth mindset starting from the moment you go into the bathroom to brush your teeth in the morning.  It's a great idea!  Definitely something to spend some time developing.  Who wouldn't want to "reach ever-higher levels of achievement" and have higher self-esteem and a sense of free will?  

I have a couple more books regarding mindset in the classroom that I ordered last school year.  I plan to put them to use at the start of the school year.  Once I develop a plan, it may become a blog post later. Ha!  The books I ordered were Ready-to-Use Resources for Mindset in the Classroom and A Mindset for Learning.

I'm also going to start a list of picture books and other resources to help launch a growth mindset culture in my classroom from the beginning!  (If you're interested in seeing what's on my list, click [here].)

What do you think?  Do you have any resources that you've used regarding teaching a growth mindset?

Monday Made-It (on Tuesday)

Hi, all!!

I'm a little late this week, but I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics once again for the Monday Made-It!  (Definitely go through some of the other blogs that are linked up.  All of these teachers have amazing ideas!!)

I have to admit... I didn't actually "make" this.  I told you last week that I probably wouldn't do much because I was out of town.  It was a great week catching up with family and friends.

My niece and nephew with me

Now that I'm back home, I guess I should start thinking about what I need to do to ready myself for the year.

Earlier this summer, I decided that I am going to find a way to make parent conferences more student-centered.  I'm going to make student-led conference work this year!  So naturally, I started looking for things to put in a portfolio or something so students can have something to share with their families during these conferences.

I came across The Curriculum Corner and their student data binder.  I think it was originally intended for me to keep up with student data, but I'm absolutely using it for the students to do their own tracking!

I already have binders for each student.  Thankfully, The Curriculum Corner has provided an editable document, so I can type students' names on the cover page.

Then, I can choose the forms that I want to include.  I can also edit the existing forms to be able to label forms with assessments that I'm using or to create a graph for students to track their growth based on what we actually use in my classroom.

I love this form because students can begin the year by telling me what they are already good at.  The next page that I'm including is a sheet for goals so I know what they think they need to work on, but starting with the positive is going to help build that rapport with the students.

We use AIMSweb in my district for benchmark assessments.  I edited the original form to include one for R-CBM, then M-COMP, M-CAP, and Lexia (a reading program that my district pays for).

Students will also be able to monitor their own growth as we do progress monitoring activities.  

I have one of these charts for each of the assessments that have a goal sheet.

I also included a few different self-assessment pages to help students reflect on their journeys.

I'm pretty excited about having this all ready to go.  I don't plan on using sheet protectors in students' binders.  I just put these pages in sheet protectors so the pages don't have holes in them when I go to make copies. (Pardon my OCD.)

Well, that's it for me this week.  I'm looking forward to getting a little down time later to check out some others' blogs that have already linked up!

What are you working on to get ready for the new school year??

Monday Made-It

Here I am joining up with 4th Grade Frolics for the Monday Made-It.

Today, I wanted to share with you two items that I worked on over the last week.  My Reader's Notebook and my Writer's Notebook.

The Reader's Notebook is one of my favorite things to use with students.  It really gives them an outlet to "talk" to their books.  I teach them how to use Post-It notes to write notes in their books, then they use the notes to write in their notebooks.  There are a lot of resources out there regarding readers notebooks.  Founts & Pinnell got me started with this work, thanks to some trainings that I was a part of several years ago.  Aimee Buckner wrote about using notebooks in her classroom, and Notebook Connections is a great resource for getting started.  Also, if you haven't read The Book Whisperer, please stop whatever you are doing and go get yourself a copy!

When we start the school year, I give everyone a plain old composition notebook.  (I got some at Office Depot last week for $1.50/3-pack because they price-matched the Walmart ad for the colored ones priced at 50 cents each.)  The students' first homework assignment for reading is to find photos and images (I do let them use Google images.) that describe them as readers.  These images can be just about anything, as long as they describe the students as readers.

The first thing we do is cover the composition notebook.  Usually, I have them choose colored construction paper, but I might give the kids access to my scrapbook paper this year.  I have a bunch that I need to get rid of.  Once it's papered, they put the images on the front and back covers of the book.

My photos on the front are of my niece reading to my dog, my niece and nephew during their first trip to the library, my sister reading to me when I was a baby, and my Fourth Graders several years ago reading together.  Of course, I am always ordering books and visiting book stores.  On the back, I have the first library I visited, my Masters degree, some of the books I've read recently, and photos of James Patterson and Gary Paulsen because I like their books.

Students will decorate the notebook covers, and I will affix a label to the top corner with their name.  Once the notebooks are decorated, I will ask parent volunteers to help cover the notebooks with clear contact paper the way mine is.

Inside the notebook, there are four important parts...

Students need a place to keep up with the titles of the books they've read.  One copy of this page is stapled into the front cover of the notebook.  Students list the title and author.  Then, they make a note to show they either completed (date completed) or abandoned (just the letter A) the text.  The last column is reserved for labeling the book "easy," "just right," or "challenging."  As students read (or attempt and abandon) more and more  books, they will staple a new sheet on top of this sheet.  That way, all of the books they've read will be recorded in the notebook by the end of the year.

On the first page of the notebook, students glue the tally chart.  This tally chart will help students track books they complete to meet the requirements of the 40 Book Requirement for reading.  I used the same list found in The Book Whisperer, but I plan to keep record of students' interests as well as make sure the requirements fit the standards.  This year will be a sort of social experiment. ;)

At the bottom of this page, students will glue a chart that we will make together to describe how we choose "good fit" or "just right" books.  (We will make that chart together, so I don't have one yet.)

Stapled into the back cover of the notebook will be a wish list.  Just a list of books students want to read based on their own desires or the suggestions of their friends (or their teacher).  Again, as students' wish lists grow, they will staple pages on top of the previous pages.

As for the pages of the notebook, students will write their responses to reading, of course!  They will also glue anchor charts into the book starting at the back.  (I'm sure there will be more explanation on this in a later blog post once we get going.)

The Writer's Notebook won't take too much explanation.  The concept is the same.

Some resources to think about as you are getting started with your writing notebooks... Fountas & Pinnell's Guiding Readers and Writers, Aimee Buckner's Notebook Know-How, and let's face it... Just about anything by Ralph Fletcher, Lucy Calkins, and Ruth Culham.  (Another suggestion... If you haven't read The Writing Thief, what are you waiting for??)

Students will find photos or print images to decorate their notebooks.  Again, they will start with the construction paper or scrapbook paper, add their images and photos, then parents will (fingers crossed) help cover the notebooks with contact paper.

There are some authors out there that suggest waiting to give students the notebooks until they start questioning why you keep writing in yours. (I can't remember if that was Aimee Buckner or Lucy Calkins or Ruth Culham or who, but I read it somewhere.)  I don't do that with older kids.  In my opinion, they need to start writing as soon as possible, and they can't use a notebook that I just haven't given them because no one is questioning me.  I like the concept because it helps create ownership, but... ain't nobody got time for that!)

I blog, I Facebook, I text, I email, I write...

I didn't decorate both sides of this notebook for two reasons.  First, I didn't want students to feel like they have to have a ton of images.  Just a few would be fine.  Also, I just couldn't really think of much else that describes me as a writer. Ha!Ha!

Inside the notebook, students will use the writing strategies that we learn in class.  Anchor charts will again be glued into the notebook starting on the back page, and the writing practice will happen within the notebook daily.  

Well, that's it for now.  There probably won't be much happening for next week's Monday Made-It because I'll be visiting my family for the week.  I won't get back home until just after midnight on Sunday.  No time for making anything... Unless I can get something going with my niece and nephew this week.  Of course, that wouldn't be made for my classroom. ;)

What have you been making?  Go link up your post!