Cinderella Unit

I love doing a Cinderella Around the World unit to introduce our Social Studies units throughout the year.  We spend time reading stories from around the world, then talk about the countries they came from.  Here is a slide show of my introduction:


http://prezi.com/oqb1owuq7zct/cinderella-around-the-world/?auth_key=db5dd28c32b5ecfb64503c00fb7ceef315cbc312

 If you have never used a Prezi, it's the coolest thing ever.  My kids love the "zooming" technology.  You can click on a Cinderella story and it zooms in.  Then click on the outside of the picture and it zooms back out. 

Any ideas for Cinderella stories from Australia and South America? 

Power Towers

You've probably heard about power towers, and I just made my first set for Math.  Here is a great link to explain them Here

I made labels (since I love labels) to make it easier for me to make.  I used Avery 5164 labels which are the perfect size.  You can download my labels here. 

I hope that worked.  I haven't put files on here for so long, I think I forgot how!!  Let me know if they don't work.

Happy Beginning of School!

Frenzy

Wow.  So getting hired two weeks before school starts, in a new school district is tough enough.  Add in buying a house, moving by yourself with a 14 month old baby AND cleaning out a new classroom that had billions of years worth of junk in it, and I am exhausted. 

My room is coming together and I feel good about everything.

Husband will be moving down in a few weeks. 

Pictures soon!!

Good luck to everyone with Back To School!

Wahooo

Thanks for your positive thoughts, energy and prayers! I found a job today, and the best part is, that it is 3rd grade!!  I can't wait and I am so excited.  Yes, it's in a different district, and it's far away from where we live, but it pays better and the principal seems fantastic!  Now I can get back to planning for school (since it starts in two weeks) and I can FINALLY stop worrying about jobs. 

Yay!!1

It's Been A While

Soooooo sorry I haven't posted in forever.  It's summer break and it has been a whirlwind of activity.  I got laid off of my 3rd grade teaching job because of low enrollment!! (Private school...nothing I can do about it.) So I have been applying to every school/district that I can.  I started this blog because I love to share ideas (and because I am so inspired by everyone's blogs).  I hope I find a teaching job soon, but so far, nothing.  I will try to keep posting, but for now, I must find a job!!!  :) 

Happy Summer!

Summertime Sale

For the next 4 days, everything in my TPT store is 15% off!! 

Happy Summer Break!

Quotable Quotes

Around here, school is going strong until we get out on June 8th. It seems like this year is going on forever. I love my class, but I am really itching for summer to start! The kids have checked out,  so we are just trying to get by. We searched books and online sites for kids quotes. The students picked a quote that they really liked and wrote it in cursive on a piece of paper. Then they water colored away. I loved the quotes they picked!

Math Journals

Thinking about next year already? This is a math journal that I used this last trimester of school with my 3rd graders. It was very handy! You can buy it in my TPT store, and print it right out to use it. The story problem writing is for 2 digit numbers, which your kids may not be ready for yet. However, you can print out all 20 pages and put them in an order that works for you! (There are only 3 original pages, copied several times to make a math journal...FYI). We are so close to summer, that it seems strange to be putting this on now. But, I know how teacher love to plan ahead!!

Multiplication Cover All (Freebie)

This is a game I saw on another blog as I was blog surfing.  However, I don't remember which blog it was on and couldn't find it again! So, I made my own.  It's a freebie, so enjoy! Click on the picture to download.

Biography Programs

Our biography presentations are next week, so this week we designed our programs. Each child decorated his/her program by drawing the person they researched on the cover. Parents will love these when they come and watch the presentations!

Stuart Little Complete

My class has loved the Stuart Little packet!  Isn't it interesting to see what kids take away from books?  I love reading their writing and seeing their perspective.  There are some pictures below of their work and writing.  I put some examples of my high students, middle students and low students. Third grade is almost over, and the students have grown so much with writing this year.  I love to see the progress they make!  (Some, still have a ways to go, but I am proud of the success they have had in 3rd grade!)

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, my class makes posters about mom.  We read Because of Winn Dixie early in the year, and there is a part where Opal wants to learn 10 things about her mom.  After we read that part, we write 10 things we know about our moms.  We use those 10 things and put them on a poster with a portrait of our moms.  They always turn out so cute!  If you are interested in the Mom paper, you can download it here.

Exploring Double Digit Multiplication

Double digit multiplication is tough!  Teaching it to young minds who have barely conquered basic multiplication facts can be a daunting task, but this unit can help.  My students enjoy it because it breaks the problems down and some students even learn how to multiply larger numbers mentally! 

This is only for 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication...we all know it gets harder once you add more digits!  My third graders totally get this and it prepares them for larger numbers in 4th grade. 

You can buy this 9 page packet at my TPT store here. Especially today, because there is a 20% off coupon using code TAD11. 

Stuart Little

My students loved the Diary of a Pig work that we did for Charlotte's Web, that I decided to make a packet for Stuart Little.  Here are the preview shots!  I can't wait to try this with the kids. I think they will like it very much! You can buy the whole packet here.