I wish I may, I wish I might...

Lately, I have been doing a lot of "wishing" on Teachers Pay Teachers. My list keeps growing and growing. When I saw Classroom Confections Wish List Linky, I knew I just had to join in on the fun. I have linked the  most wishlisted item in my store to the linky. Go and check out all of the great products that others are wanting, too!

My friend over at The Peanut Gallery is hosting a One-Year Anniversary Giveaway. You do not want to miss the opportunity to win this prize pack! Head on over to the giveaway and enter to win. 

Teacher Toolbox Trio

I hope everyone's Saturday is off to a wonderful start. My day so far has consisted of eating, shopping, and now blogging. I think that is a pretty good day. :) 

I am joining Eberopolis and the Teacher Toolbox Trio Linky today. 

Here are the rules of the trio:
1. Share a product that you've made that you couldn't live without.
2. Share a product that you've purchased that you love.
3. Share something from your wish list that you're hoping to get for next year.

# 1 Something that I have made that I couldn't live without. This is a toss-up. I have two items that I have made that are a vital part of my classroom curriculum. I just cannot imagine class without them! The Write with Me Journal is a take-home journal the students use as an interactive writing tool with a parent or guardian. It reinforces writing in a fun, engaging way. The ELA Task Card Bundle is comprised of 12 task card sets that I use all year long. The students love them! The task card sets are aligned to the Common Core Standards. 

Write with Me Journal

ELA Task Card Bundle

#2 For this one, something that I have purchased and used that I absolutely L.O.V.E. would be clip art. I have many clip art artists that I use, but two of my all-time favorites are Glitter Meets Glue Designs and Graphics from the Pond. Both of these stores have clip art for anything you can think of. And if you happen to want something they don't have, then simply ask them, and they will design it for you. 

#3 One item on my wishlist is...Blair Turner's cute Teacher Binder. It  is so adorable, and I cannot wait to purchase it. She has several other designs in her store, but this is my favorite one! (I apologize for the blurry pic of it.) 

Teacher Binder Chalkboard Theme

I hope you will check out the linky. I am sure you will find some fabulous resources to use in your classroom!

Happy Saturday!

Rockin' Read Alouds

Who doesn't love a rockin', good book to read aloud to your students? As a language arts teacher, I love reading books aloud to my students. I think the students enjoy the read aloud time just as much as I do. Each summer, I look for new books to introduce into my classroom. I have more time to read books that I think my students will enjoy, create something to go along with the books, and then get ready to hook my readers with a captivating book. 

Generally, I teach three language arts classes per day. We always begin our day with our daily grammar practice to get their minds in ELA mode. As soon as we have completed this activity, we transition into our read aloud time. Here are some of my favorite read aloud books that I use in my classroom. 

1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

This is one of my all-time favorite books! Although it is a book that has been circulated throughout classrooms for a while now, it is still a book that students absolutely L.O.V.E.! I remember reading it as a middle school student, so I was more than excited to be able to use it as one of my first read aloud novels my first year as a classroom teacher. Now, 11 years later, I still love teaching it just as much as the first time. The students love the adventure and realness of the book. It portrays two social classes who do not get along too well, but as the book unfolds, they begin to realize how many things they actually have in common. The students can relate to this because of the cliques formed in school. If you have not used this book as a class read aloud, I would highly recommend it for sixth and/or seventh grades.  I have created a Novel Study for The Outsiders that I use in my classroom whenever I use this novel. 

2. Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter

This is an excellent picture book to read aloud to students in third and fourth grade. It fits in with a study on the American Civil War, so if you teach a Civil War Unit, incorporating this book adds so many dimensions. Originally a folk song sung by slaves, Follow the Drinking Gourd provided a map for those slaves wanting to escape to freedom. In this book, the author cites one family’s journey along the Underground Railroad, using illustrations to go along with the words of the folk song. Students love this book because it helps them understand the process easier.  Click HERE to be directed to a unit that goes along with this wonderful read aloud. 

3. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

In this short novel, students learn how investing money can pay off big in the long run. Gary Paulsen is a favorite author of many of my male students, so I love to use his work anytime I get the opportunity. This short novel can be used in any classroom when an Economics Unit on supply and demand is being taught. After reading the book, many students try to imagine what they could do to turn a little bit of income into a huge sum of money, based off of a simple summer job. I have created a Novel Study to use with this thrilling book. 

4. Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood

I read this novel last summer because I picked it up from our school book sale at the end of the year. Being a newly written novel, I was excited because I would get to share it with my students and it would be a fresh, new book that many had not read. It is set during the time of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. It draws on real-life events that create a novel about family, friendship, and making choices that are not always easy to make. My students loved reading this novel because I think they could envision some of the emotions Glory, the main character, had to go through the summer she turned 12. Click HERE for a novel unit to help you introduce this novel to your students. 

5. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Different. Weird. Out of the box. Suspenseful. Funny. Irrational. Triumphant. Love. These are all words that help describe my students’ thoughts about this novel. Being different does not have to be a bad thing. When Stargirl Carraway walks into Mica Area High School one day, their worlds would be changed forever. My students would laugh out loud at some of Stargirl’s antics. Other times, they would become so infuriated with some of the characters in the book. This is a book that brings out emotions in my students and helps them understand how sometimes being an outsider can be a truly scary thing. I created a PowerPoint Presentation to go along with this novel to access their comprehension as we were reading this novel.

These are by no means the only read aloud books that I use in my classroom. These are some of the read alouds that capture my students’ attentions and engage their minds. These novels lend themselves to great discussions and learning/teachable moments.

This summer, I am linking up with An Educator's Life. Mr. Hughes has provided a linky for anyone to share their favorite read aloud books. To be directed straight to the linky, click HERE. 

READ-ALOUD ROUND-UP BOOK SHARE

I hope you have a rockin' good time perusing some read aloud books to use in your classroom. 

Calling All Summer Book Club Readers

Summer is officially here for many teachers. Some blogging friends and I decided to have a summer book club to get in some professional development and to look for innovative ways to improve instruction in our classrooms. Mr. Hughes from An Educator's Life blog is our book club leader. He found this awesome book for us to read and study this summer. It is going to be super!

I hope that you will join us in this summer book club. We will read Teaching with the Common Core Standards (Grades 3-5), and a different blogger will lead the discussion each week. We will read a chapter per week and comment on the weekly host blogger's post with our thoughts and comments. It is not too late to grab the book and come read with us. Even if you decided you cannot buy the book and read it right now, we would LOVE for you to join in each week to read the discussions and comment if you have thoughts and ideas. 

Mr. Hughes will host the first chapter and the post will go live on June 10th. Please join us as we build blocks of understanding and really dive into Common Core Standards for grades 3-5. Come on, we need you! 

The following is our blog post schedule:

Chapter 1: June 10 by An Educator's Life

Chapter 2: June 17 by Teaching to Inspire in 5th

Chapter 3: June 24 by Right Down the Middle

Chapter 4: July 1 by Little Red Schoolhouse

Chapter 5: July 8 by Teaching to Inspire in 5th

Chapter 6: July 15 by An Educator's Life

Chapter 7: July 22 by 2 Brainy Apples

Chapter 8: July 29 by Little Red Schoolhouse

Chapter 9: August 5 by 2 Brainy Apples

Chapter 10: August 12 by Out of This World Literacy

If you are interested in joining us, leave a comment so we know who might be reading with us. 

Welcome June

June has arrived, and it is already H.O.T. in south Georgia! I have been out of school for a week now. It feels good to be able to sleep in, but that has not really happened yet because my body is still using its school-year alarm clock to wake me up every morning. I must figure out a way to fix this...soon! 

Oh' Boy 4th Grade Blog is hosting the monthly Currently Linky party. If you have not joined in this linky party, you need to head over there and see what it is all about. It is so much fun, and you get to meet a lot of new bloggers!

Welcome June! 

Listening: I am listening to complete silence. I am the only one awake in our house (didn't I just tell you my internal alarm is not on summer mode yet). The house is so quiet...no television turned on, footsteps running on the hardwood floors, someone going in and out of the house...stillness- I love it! It gives me time to collect my thoughts before the day really starts. 

Loving: Today is my daughter's fifth birthday. My how time has flown! She is such a blessing and we love watching her learn and grow every day. We are having a family birthday party for her this year. We started out with a party for her friends (she began planning it a year ago). I was all onboard with it, except the list of invites continued to grow. She wanted to invite her school friends (all 22 of them), her dance friends (all 9 of them), her twirling friends (all 6 of them), her church friends (all 6 of them), and even some of my middle school students that she sees in the mornings and afternoons coming in and out of my classroom. I decided I needed to take control...fast! She did not want to leave anyone out, so we made a compromise. We told her that we could not have a party that big this year and asked her if she would like to go on a trip instead. She quickly shouted "to the beach" and that was it. I booked us a place for last weekend, and we enjoyed every minute of it. I will save her BIG party for when she is a little older. That many five year old children running around in one place scares me! :)

Thinking: Week One of summer is gone for me. I have not completed anything on my summer to-do list. And if feels good, but I need to begin working on it next week if I am going to get anything checked off of it. 

Wanting: I would like the summer to slow down and go by at snail pace. It seems like every summer, time flies by too quickly. I want to enjoy every minute of it so I can re-charge my brain and focus for next school year. 

Needing: Omgoodness! My car is a disaster area. I am changing classrooms at school, so I packed up my classroom. There were some things that I didn't want to leave at school without them being locked in a cabinet, so where did I put them...in my car! I have to clean it out asap. It also needs a good washing. Maybe I will leave this post up on the computer and my husband can read it...hint, hint!

3 Vacy Essentials: 

1. Sunscreen- It is a must! Coat yourself down and reapply!

2. A good book- There is nothing like reading a good book on vacation. I read educational materials all school year, so I look forward to reading a good book on vacation. I still read ed books through the summer, but I make sure they are not read all summer. 

3. My camera- I take it with me everywhere I go! My daughter has started giving me that "put that camera down" look lately. Well, she will just have to endure because I love capturing moments! And she will appreciate it one day. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

Thank a Teacher

I am sure that if you are reading this there is a special teacher that comes to your mind who made an impact on your life. For me, that teacher was my fifth grade language arts teacher, Ms. Crew. She is the reason I am a teacher today; it was through her compassion and patience with our class, that made me want to teach. She worked hard everyday and treated everyone with fairness. She instilled a love for reading and learning in me, and I am truly grateful to have had her as a teacher.  Ms. Crew, thank you for making such a lasting impression on my life and for being an example of a fabulous teacher. 

In appreciation for teachers everywhere, Teachers Pay Teachers is hosting a site-wide sale. My TpT store will be 20% off on May 7th and May 8th. I hope you will stop by and check out the new resources I have added. I have several end-of-the-year resources that will keep your students engaged until the very last day of school. 

I have also just added a new resource that I think will be a life-saver to many teachers. It is called Write with Me Journal. It contains 36 journals to be used throughout the entire school year. It is designed to be used as a take-home journal where the students interact with a parent/guardian/family member to help write many of the journals. It is aligned with the Common Core Standards for grades four, five, and six. There is a journal log where the parent initials the completion of the journal entry. I love that it promotes writing in the home and gives the students and parents the opportunity to spend quality time together. If you teach language arts or have writing as part of your curriculum, make sure you check it out. 

All 14 All Things Upper Elementary collaborators will be hosting 20% off sales on Tuesday and Wednesday. On top of the the 20% off, if you enter the coupon code "TAD13" at checkout, you will take an additional 10% off your purchase. Now is the time to stock up on those items you have had your eye on for a while. I know my cart is full of great things, and I cannot wait to purchase them at these wonderful sale prices! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Happy Teaching and Happy Shopping!

May Currently

I love the beginning of each month because of Farley's Currently Link Up. It is always fun to read everyone else's thoughts and ideas. If you are a blogger and have not yet linked with Farley, I encourage you to give it a try!

Listening: This morning I am listening to the hum of my computer. I feel asleep too early last night to get my post published, so I am doing it this morning. I am not sure about all of you, but I have been so tired lately. I think it is because my mind has all of these thoughts running through it and I have so much to accomplish before we get out of school for the summer.

Loving: I am loving that we only have 17 more school days left. Although I have a lot to get finished, it is nice to know I will have a little break. 

Thinking: I seriously need to get my classroom ready to move. I am changing classrooms and changing grades next year. I am so excited! (There will be a post about this soon, but I am very much looking forward to the change!)

Wanting: I know this is not healthy, but I really want a chocolate-covered doughnut right about now. And I think I might just see what I can do about that on my way to school. 

Needing: Okay, who out there other than me, does not like to go to the grocery store? Any hands? I have always done the grocery shopping for our family. Just here recently, my husband has been going to get small things for me because I just do not like it, and I cannot stick to a grocery list for anything! But, I need to go because our cupboards are looking a little scarce! It is on my to-do list for this afternoon...I think I can, I think I can.

Summer Bucket List: I have so many things that I want to do this summer. We will take a trip to the mountains and a trip to the beach (probably several trips because we live so close). I tried to think of things that I really want to accomplish, so here it goes:

1. Stick to a morning exercise routine: I have found that if I do not exercise in the morning when I wake up, it will not happen. I plan to get up each day this summer and do some form of exercise. My clothes are getting a bit snug (probably because of the chocolate-covered doughnuts) and exercise always makes me feel better. 

2. Log volunteer hours with my daughter: I have always been one who loves to volunteer. My daughter will be turning five in a couple of weeks, and she has started to ask questions about helping others. Just last night she came to me and said she wanted to help those that don't have clothes get some. It melted my heart. I think this summer we will spend some time at our local Help Agency volunteering together. We also have several other organizations in our community where we can volunteer. I think it will be something wonderful to do together.