Five for Friday!

Happy Friday! I am linking up again with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. It's always a great way to reflect on my week in the classroom.

Let's get it started!

After watching a scope with Hope King using giant Jenga, I was inspired to make it possible in my classroom. I found 6 sets at Walmart for only $7 each, so I took the plunge. My boys and I colored the ends with Mr. Sketch markers, which was pretty easy. The game we played was rather simple, and I can think of many ways to adapt it for different content. I'm going to do a separate blog post about it later (when I have time!), but in the meantime, you can check out my Periscope below on how we used it in math. The kids LOVED it!

You can find the FREE answer sheets that I used HERE.

When we started using our new curriculum, I realized we were spending way to much time opening our desks and digging through them for supplies. (We have open-top desks.) So, I created supplies labels that I stick on the board each morning letting my students know which supplies they need to have out on their desks before we go to specials. That way, when we return, everyone is ready to learn because everything they need is sitting on their desks waiting for them. They have been SUCH a life-saver! While I have labels for lots of supplies, sometimes I don't have the specific label, and I just write it on the board next to the supplies. There is no question about what they need anymore. Love it!

You can check them out in my store by clicking HERE or on the picture below. There is a yellow set, red set, and black set. Twenty supply labels are included.

We've been learning all about winter and animal adaptations, and the kids wrote some fantastic paragraphs using their new knowledge. I thought it would be fun to have some nice paper to write their final copies on. The adorable snowman is from Creative Clips Snow Buddy set. Isn't it the cutest? You can download a free copy of the paper by clicking HERE. 

My students had to take an online district assessment at the beginning of the year, and it was a massive disaster. They had so much trouble typing and several ended up in tears. After that, I found a fun app they could use on our iPads to help with their keyboarding. It's called Typing Jr. and I'm pretty sure it was a free app. Words come out on little fish, and you have to type the word out before the shark reaches the fish. My kids love it. You can choose form 3 different levels. It's definitely worth checking out.

My very first year of teaching I bought these magnetic dry-erase sentence strips from Lakeshore. I definitely did not get my money out of them until this school year...6 years later! I've used them as empty number lines, for sequencing details, phonics chains, arrow method addition, and more! Today I used them to prewrite the suffix rules we had been learning about. That way, when the kids remembered the rule, I could quickly post it without having to stop and write. It's a great time saver.

Well...those were a few highlights from my week. I can't wait to see what next week holds for us! If you want to join the link-up, head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching by clcking on the button below!

Blessings!