Friday, March 27, 2015

New Blog on the Block


Have you heard?!?!?  There's a new blog on the block!  And, I have the privilege of being a part of it. I cannot wait to collaborate with this group of talented ladies!  Combined, we offer years of teaching and blogging experience.  Our expertise span all elementary grade levels, with interests in math, ELA, content areas, technology and much, much more.  Hopefully, CLASSROOM TESTED RESOURCES will be the one-stop blog for YOU!


In order to kick-off our blog, we would love for you to enter our giveaway.  Click on the picture below to be brought to our Rafflecopter.  Three lucky winners will each win a Teacher Swag Bag valued at $100!


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Thanks for listening to my rambles!

Monday, March 16, 2015

That's What Leprechauns Do part 2 (writing freebie)

Happy Monday!!!
Are you in need of a last minute St. Patrick's Day lesson that's aligned with CC writing standards? I've got the perfect one for your class!  If you were around on Saturday, I shared a vocabulary lesson to go along with Eve Bunting's book, That's What Leprechauns Do.  Since then, I found the story online at WatchKnowLearn.org or on YouTube.   This is a quick and easy way to spice up your lesson!  In addition, I created the writing activity below.


One of my favorite things to teach is writing!  I LOVE making organizers to help my kiddos put their thoughts onto paper.  I LOVE, LOVE modeling the writing process.  And, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing the progress my students make throughout a whole quarter of instruction.  With this being said, I thought it would be fun if your students wrote a personal narrative after completing the vocabulary lesson.  What kid wouldn't want to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?!?!  If you think your class would enjoy this lesson, click on a picture below.  Let their imaginations run wild!  If you share your students' work on your blog; leave me a comment so I can see their creative ideas!





I hope I made tomorrow's lesson planning just a bit easier for you!

Thanks for listening to my rambles!

Saturday, March 14, 2015

That's What Leprechauns Do part 1 (vocabulary freebie)

I can't believe the snow is finally melting and the temperature is slowly rising!  Daylight Savings is one of my all time favorite days of the year.  I start looking forward to it in February.  St. Patrick's Day is only 3 days away and spring is only 6 days away!!  This makes me super happy!!

Since I'm still on maternity leave, I can't show you what is happening in my classroom.  So, about three weeks ago, I went to our local library to checkout a book for St. Patrick's Day.  I wanted to share some ideas with you and offer a holiday freebie.  Well, as my new life goes, I'm FINALLY getting around to writing a post and giving you something to use in your classroom.  At least I'm getting it out BEFORE St. Patrick's Day...that's a feat in itself.

When I went to the library, St. Patrick's Day books were slim pickens.  The librarian found two books by Eve Bunting (awesome:) and a few other random authors.  I decided to go with That's What Leprechauns Do, by Eve Bunting.  Have you ever read this book?  I've never heard of it, but will definitely use it with my class next year!  It's about three leprechauns who have one job to do...put the pot of gold under the rainbow.  Along the way, they get into mischief...because, that's what leprechauns do!  You'll have to read the book to find out if they accomplish their one and only duty.

As I was reading the book, I found a few vocabulary words that students might find difficult.  I'm not sure about your district but one of the newest "pushes" in our County is vocabulary.  After I preview a book to read to the class, I will often make vocabulary cards.  I have the tricky words as a set and then the definition for each word.  Before reading, I like to show them the word cards and put them up on the chalkboard.  My students LOVE when they hear me read one of the words...all too often, this causes a great flurry of hands in the air and some calling out..."Ooooh, Mrs. Coleman, there's that word!!" Once we finish the book, we go back in, find the words, and match the definition to each one.  We use context clues, picture clues, or a dictionary to help us.  We have several classroom dictionaries; which come in handy when students are working in partners or small groups.  But, when I need to write the definition before the lesson, I love the site WordSmyth.  Have you ever used this site?  The reason I like it so much is because it gives three levels of definitions...beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  I find this extremely helpful when I need to simplify the meaning of a word.  Make sure to check it out!  After you do, come back and let me know what you think.  After we find the words in the book and discuss their meaning, students need to choose one word and complete a follow up assignment.  They write their word, write the definition, use it in a new sentence, and illustrate it.  If you would like this activity, click on any of the pictures below.





Thanks for reading my rambles!  Stay tuned for another activity to go along with this book.

Happy Saturday!!


Tuesday, March 3, 2015

This is my first Currently linky with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade! I've always enjoyed reading others and now I get to post my own!


1. I am listening to the weather report on the news.  We are getting ice right now, rain tomorrow, and more snow on Thursday!  The meteorologist just said, "This may be the largest snowfall we've had all season."  Well, we just got about 10 inches recently.  I HOPE we don't get more than that!!

2.  I'm loving on my sick baby.  He's only 11 weeks old and he has his first cold.  It makes me so sad!!  He's congested and has a horrible cough.  The only good thing about it is that I get to have even MORE cuddle time with him.  Not that I ever need an excuse to cuddle. :)
 3. I'm thinking about Daylight Savings.  This is always the first sign of spring for me.  I feel like the weather starts to warm...just a little bit and it stays lighter outside!!!

4. I'm wanting a bowl of ice cream!!  The hubs and I have started a 21-day Fabulous & Fit challenge. It consists of working out and eating healthier.  This use to be the norm for us.  Then, I got pregnant and started eating ice cream about 4 nights/week.  Well, I'm not pregnant anymore but I continue eating ice cream at night.  I think I may have a bowl tonight....

5. I'm needing a new pair of workout gloves.  This came about today while napping with caring for the babe.  I was "resting my eyes" and our dog got ahold of one of my gloves.  By the time Mr. C got home, D ripped it to shreds.

6. During Spring Break, I'll be getting a Hot Stone massage and a manicure/pedicure.  I'm giving myself a day of pampering before I return to school from maternity leave.  What I don't wan to think about are the lesson plans I need to write...ugh!!!

Thanks for reading my rambles!  Have a great week!