This was a big helper today! Spring break is RIGHT around the corner (woohoo!) and the kids are getting pretty ancy around campus. We've been "putting out a few fires" as problems with bad attitudes and quarrels with peers arise. This quote is a good reminder to stay positive and enjoy the time  you have with the people around you... until you can get away for a week of fun in the sun ;)

This is just too good NOT to share. Class Dojo is spreading like wildfire on our campus, and for good reason! This online program tracks behavior and displays records for parents, teachers and students to see by using their own personal login! Each child gets an icon (our class has little monsters) and when you feel a student should be rewarded or redirected, all you have to do is go to your computer screen and click a button. We reward our students for being on task, participating, having a tidy area, etc. and when students hear the cute little chime of the class dojo, all eyes turn to the smart board to see who got the point. EVEN BETTER---- It is a free app! I can award or take away points from ANYWHERE, and it updates online so that even parents can monitor how their child is doing at school, while they are at home! The random option that is included is my favorite, because I can use it to choose a random student at anytime, to monitor as we walk in the hall, to catch on/off task while working, to call on to answer a question...and the best part is, students are so excited to get points, that that is all they need! We haven't even had to think of an award. Check it out for sure! Click on the picture below for more details and a student video!

We are starting Tall-Tales and Legends in our guided reading groups this week. I created this unit and pulled a couple elements from this packet to work on during my time with each group. This unit over all may be a little difficult for my students but I think it would be perfect for 2nd or 3rd grade. There are some creative writing elements and graphic organizers to help students really grasp the differences between tall-tales and legends.

My students CONSTANTLY come up to me with questions as they are working on activities. "Can I work on the floor? Can I work with a partner? Where do I put it when I'm done?" even after I have explained the answers to these questions to the class. I made this little chart system to hang at the front of the room so that students will be able to refer back to it and know exactly what to do.  I am offering it to you as a freebie, just in case you have the same problem I do! 

(I would laminate the pages and write the answer to the question on the blank framed sheets I have provided.)

Dr. Seuss would have been 109 tomorrow and we celebrate his birthday with "Read Across America day!" Invite Dr. Seuss into your classroom today by offering your students an opportunity to read Dr. Seuss books. Turn off the lights and dive into the world of Seuss through "flashlight reading". My students will be having a thrilling day with several activities I found from some wonderful blogs (which I linked below). I am excited for this afternoon when my students will create Dr. Seuss towns in their table groups out of legos, beans, pom poms and whatever else I can find in my junky storage closet :). The students will then describe their towns by revealing who lives in them and write a story about those townspeople. Just thought I would share in case you wanted to join in the Seuss fun!