Implementing Writing with NO Writing Block

I posted a few days ago about writing, and my lack of time this school year for it.  Yes, writing is integrated throughout our other subject areas, but this school year we will not have an official time set aside just for writing.

One thing is for sure, I am not going to let time stand in the way of free and fun writing in my classroom.

So, in my desperate attempt to infuse some extra time for students to hone their writing craft and free write about topics of their choice and genres of their choice I found Joey Udovich's amazing Interactive Writing Center.

Upon reading about the center on Joey's blog, and previewing it on TPT I fell in love and purchased it immediately.

I printed and laminated it for free at my local teacher center.  (Check to see if you have one in your county, you might be pleasantly surprised.)  To say this file is H-U-G-E is an understatement.  Joey has literately thought of it all.  It comes with teacher directions, photographs, word wall cards, examples of each writing topic, tips and cheat sheets for students, and printables, just to name a few.

Not wanting to overwhelm my students, I picked my 3 favorite writing genres:  a summary, a story, and a song.  I plan to introduce each writing genre during the first week (3 days) of school.  After the introduction, students will be free to choose which ever of the three writing genres they wish to work on.  I will add additional genres throughout the year.

When do I plan to use this writing center?  Hmmmm, morning work, emergency sub plans, as a finished early activity, or once in a while during AIS.  I also hope to be able to use it as one of our centers during guided reading, but that is still to be determined.

I posted this lovely sign on the center bulletin board in hopes that students will check their writing before deeming it complete.  You can download a FREE copy of this poster here.  Print on 11" x 17" paper for best results.

I purchased quite a few black egg crates from Walmart last year and had an extra one not in use so I threw it over in the writing center to assist with organization.

How will students organize their folders?

So what about student reflection, grading, and data?  I plan on setting aside time each week for students to select their best writing piece of the week.  They will spruce it up a little bit before submitting it. Here is how I plan to organize their writing pieces within their folder:

I plan on grading their chosen writing piece each weekend using a 4-point rubric similar to ones used to score their writing for their NYS ELA test.  I will use my noticings to form writing needs groups to meet with during AIS or when we work on writing about reading.

Will you still have a writing block this year?  If not, how do you plan on squeezing in writing?

Want to win some super sweet back-to-school writing utensils for your classroom?  Enter my BiC Back-to-School Giveaway before it is too late.  Only one day left!

Oh, and last but not least, some of the cute graphics that appear in this post are from the amazing Krista Wallden.  

She is hosting a week full of freebies, dollar deals, discounts, and giveaway!  Be sure to check it out.

3-D Snowflakes - Monday Made It

After 4 1/2 months of maternity leave I am finally returning to the classroom this Friday, Valentine's Day.

I have been busy working on some new decorations for my classroom.  I'm hoping to jazz it up a little for my return.

I'm going with a winter penguin theme when I return so I figured these 3D snowflakes would be perfect.

You can see directions on how to make them here.

Check out all the other Monday Made It's on Tara's Blog, 4th Grade Frolics

Happy Monday!

Setting Goals for a Productive School Year

Each year I have my fourth graders set goals.  We revisit and revise them frequently throughout the year.  This year, after inspiration from a Pinterest Pic from Teaching Idea Factory I decided to have students post their goals in the hallway.

I took photographs of each child making a thoughtful face.

They cut them out and pasted them to some colorful paper.  They wrote their goal for the school year on a thought bubble and glued that onto the paper as well.

This made a cute display for open house.  Do you have students set goals for the school year?

Give Me Five Classroom Display for Monday Made It

This week I decided to start working on my classroom posters and displays as well as classroom management and what tools I'd like to display in or around the classroom to assist with classroom management.

One of the many ways I get students attention throughout the school year is with the phrase, "Give Me 5."  I hold my hand up in the air and each finger represents something students should be doing to show me that they are actively listening to directions:

Body Still
Eyes Watching
Lips Zipped
Ears Listening
Brain Thinking

I decided to create a classroom display this year to hang in my room.  It will serve as a reminder for students or my expectations when I hold my hand up or say, "Give Me 5."



Want a copy?  You can download my Give Me 5 Classroom Display here in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Check out all the other Monday Made It's at Tara's Blog: 4th Grade Frolics!

Happy Monday!

Back 2 School Link-Up: Favorite Back 2 School Products

Yippee...it's finally Sunday and you know what that means!  It's finally time for me to present you my first linky party focusing on a new Back 2 School topic each week, for 5 weeks.  This week's theme is:  Favorite Back to School Products from TPT.

Here are my favorite back to school products that you can find here at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store:


1 - Pinterest- Back to School Craftivity

Students create a personal laptop with a keyboard, mouse, and Pinterest page displayed on the screen. The Pinterest page can be a personal profile about themselves that they can share with the class. Students can also create one about a friend.

2 - Would you Rather Writing Prompts

This pack includes 15 writing prompts.  For your convenience, two versions of the Would You Rather writing prompts are included.   You can copy the journal pages for each student in your class. Students will read the Would You Rather prompt at the top of their page, circle which they would rather do, illustrate their thoughts, and then defend their thoughts at the bottom. Students should write a detailed explanation of why they would rather do it.  With the other version, you can copy the journal cut-out prompts. There are 5 of the same journal cut-out prompt on each page. Copy enough so that you have one for each student, cut them out, and have students glue them into their journals and then respond.

3 - Back to School Math Problem Solving Pages

This pack contains 15 back to school themed problem solving pages.  Each page contains 1 math word problem with plenty of workspace for students to show multiple ways to solve the problem, a place to write the answer, and an explanation for how they arrived at their answer.

There are 3 problem pages for each topic:
- Estimating Sums
- Estimating Differences
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Mixed Word Problems / 2-Step Problems

I love using these worksheets for morning work, partner work, and math discussions.

I have a problem solving pack created for each month of the year so I decided to bundle all 12.  Want all 12?  Save can save 30% by purchasing my Problem Solving Mega Pack!  You can grab the whole bundle here at a discounted rate.

As a special back to school bonus, I'm offering all my problem solving packs at an additional 10% off, including the Mega pack!  Snag them now, they will only be on sale today (7/14) and tomorrow (7/15).


4 - Here is a little freebie for ya!  Download my Back to School Goal Setting pack at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store for FREE!

This packet contains graphic organizers and worksheets to assist in goal setting as a quick and easy back to school activity.

Included are:

- Hopes and Dreams Rainbow Worksheet
- Goal Planning Worksheet
- Soccer "Goal" Book Cover
- Soccer "Goal" Book Page (make multiple copies to create your book)
- Revisiting Goals Worksheet

These worksheets and organizers will be a wonderful addition to supplement your back to school curriculum.

Soooo . . . .

What are you waiting for?  Grab the image above and link-up below with your favorite back to school products.  These products can be yours or someone else’s (just be sure to give credit where credit is due). They can be paid or free. Anything that is related to our Back 2 School theme will work fine.

I will leave the link open for the full week so that you can link-up at your leisure.  Be sure to stop back next Sunday for more Back 2 School fun!  Next week's theme is:  1st Day Activities, Games, & Routines.  Happy Blogging!

Tried it Tuesday - Fractions on a Number Line

Today I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday.


We have just finished up our fractions unit (based on the Common Core Standards) and I have lots to share with you.

Today I wanted to share how we kicked off our unit on fractions.  We started with fractions on a number line (3rd grade standard:  3.NF.A.2).  Although I teach 4th grade, last year students didn't receive much exposure with fractions on a number line so I definitely wanted to start with bridging this gab. 

I passed out fraction cards to students and they created a human number line.  We organized the cards from least to greatest and talked about which fractions were equivalent.

My students loved the fraction pictures on each card.  It definitaly made the sorting process a lot easier and erased the common misconception that the larger the denominator the greater the fraction.

I made a little worksheet to go along with it for some independent practice.  Then students used a cute little board game to review the concept during math centers.

You can download my Fractions on a Number Line Pack in  my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Check out some of the other neat things teachers have tried for Tried it Tuesday!

Five for Friday

Hey bloggy buddies!  I am so so so very sorry that I have been M.I.A these last few weeks.  I disappeared in February when I decided to take a much needed vacation with my hubby to Florida.  It was my first time and we had to visit a million different places.  St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Orlando, and Universal Studios!  We had a blast and it was definitely a life changing experience. 

However, when I returned, I felt even more bogged down with school work than ever.  Although I had spent some much needed me time basking in the sun and crossing items off my bucket list, I had completely neglected my classroom over February Break.  Usually I pop into my classroom like 100 times.  So between trying to get caught up, cleaned up, and prepared for our upcoming state tests, I haven't had anytime to blog and create.  But, I'm back...and I've been gone for way too long.  I promise to never leave you for that long ever again.

This April Break my schedule is wide open.  I plan on finishing up some of my many TPT products that I've started over the last few weeks but not completed.  I plan on posting about some of the awesome happenings from my classroom that I have neglected to tell you about his month.  I also plan on scheduling some posts for the future so that when life continues to be crazy over the next few weeks, you will not be left in the dark.

So, I thought I'd kick off my return post with Five for Friday!  Here are five random things from my week!

1.  If students finish work early they can grab a peep on a stick.  They use these writing prompts to write stories, articles, and poems.  At the end of each day I select a few students to read their writing and to pick a treat from our bucket.

2.  I have a new favorite book:

 What If You Had Animal Teeth?  is so stinkin' cute.  It is more of a primary reader but my 4th graders loved it.  I thought it would be an open door to our animal adaptation unit coming up.

3. We also used the book for an adorable short response that we displayed in the hallway.  You can grab the templates to make this display to at First Grade Wow.

4.  Today my family helped install our first dishwasher.  Hallelujah!  I will hand wash dishes no more!

5.  Last but not least, Teaching Blog Addict is celebrating their 2 year birthday with a fabulous birthday bash on April 5th.  Stop by next Friday to get access to loads of freebies!

Well, that's all for now folks.  Check back soon for more posts.  I promise I will be much more present over the next few weeks.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Character Traits

This past week we used an amazing book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, to learn about character traits.

This book is about a 14-year-old boy, named William, who builds a windmill in his drought-ravaged village in Africa bringing electricity and running water.  William is truly a hero that students can relate to.  William shows that no matter how young you are, with creativity, determination, and hard work, you can save your world!

While reading, students recorded character traits to describe William and we paused to record them at the beginning of the story, in the middle, and at the end.  Here is what our chart looked like when we were done...compliments of my student scribe.

Afterwards, students selected the 4 best character traits to describe William and then defended their reasoning for selecting the character traits with evidence from the text.

Students published their writing in a fun windmill display for all to see.

I organized all the graphic organizers, worksheets and templates that I used in this mini-literature pack for the book, available at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I also included a few extended response worksheets for students to practice writing about reading in preparation for state testing.

Check out the book!  It's the perfect addition to your Black History Month read alouds!