Tips and Tools for Back-to-School

I am so excited to join my PA blogger buddies in hosting Tips and Tools for Back-to-School. 

Where did the summer go?!  Some of us have been back already!  Others of us will begin very soon!  If you're like me, you might be stressing a bit.  So much prepping to do to get a primary classroom ready!  To help you with your back to school preparations, we each have a tip to share and a tool for you to use when you return to your classroom.

Establish your classroom management system right away! 

I have been teaching for over a decade now and over the years classroom management had always been something that I wanted to keep improving on!  Last year, I decided that I needed to go in a whole new direction.  I always did a stoplight approach, but I was getting nowhere as the same old kids were always moving their names.  Instead of catching kids doing the wrong thing, I decided to do the opposite.  I decided to catch them doing the RIGHT thing and rewarding them for their positive behavior :).

Since my students always tend to do best when there is a little bit of friendly competition, I decided to cluster desks together into pods and assign each group a color.  Groups work together to earn points for positive behavior.  Since I started this (mid-year last year), transition times have never been so good!  Can you say... less talking ;)!

Group Signs

My FREEBIE tool for you are the signs I use to label each pod of desks.  I label each group with a color.  Groups are usually 4-5 students large.  Depending on the size of your class, you may need to use all the colors provided or just some.

This is an example of a sign hung up in my classroom.  The pod of desks are not shown, but are below the sign.

To snag this FREEBIE, click on the link below.  Feel free to leave me some sweet feedback if you downloaded it.  I'd love to know who you are :)!

Classroom Management FREEBIE Sampler!

If your interested in learning more about my classroom management system, click on the link below!  This download includes a detailed description of the system, a place/way to record points earned, and also a variety of reward coupons for students to choose from!

Behavior Management Plan 101

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!  I hope that you enjoy the FREEBIE!  If you would like to be the first to know about new posts, giveaways, and blog hops, follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the image below

Abc123is4me on Bloglovin'

 Don't stop reading here!  We have more tips and tools for you.  

Just follow the link to visit my blogging buddy Angie at Rulin' the Roost. 

She's one of the top 3 sellers in PA so you know she must have something awesome to share with you!

Have fun hopping!,

PA Blogger Meetup 2014

Two posts from me in one day?  How can this be?!  LOL.  I'm just so excited because I was able to meet up with some fellow TpT sellers and bloggers in Hershey, PA today!  I love Hershey, PA!  Hershey has outlets and of of course, chocolate!  You can't go wrong visiting this town!

I was a little nervous at first making the hour and half ride to meet people I've never met before!  It was like that feeling you have when you go on a first date! LOL.  However, I am SO happy that I made the trip because I truly met some fantastic people!  They were SUPER nice and fun to learn from!  Here is a picture of us...

From left to right is Angie from Rulin' the Roost, Wendy from Readwithmeabc, me, Andrew from Mr First Grade, and his wife!  

Here's another picture of me and the lovely Wendy who took the time and effort to organize this meet up!

She even made us all these goodie bags!  How cute?!

Even though I was nervous about making the trip to Hershey, I'm SO glad I did.  I learned lots (especially about Instagram!) that I can't wait to put into practice.

Our next meet up won't be until next summer...  I wish we all lived closer :(.  Until then, I'm excited to keep in contact with them in the virtual world as well as other TpT sellers and bloggers that I meet along the way :).

Christmas in July Sale & A Giveaway!!

Hi All! Happy Christmas in July! Hop on over to my store, http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Abc123is4me, for my Christmas in July sale! 

Also, I'm excited to be a part of this awesome Giveaway! 

Enter here: http://agracefilledclassroom.blogspot.com/ . The top prize is a $30 TpT gift certificate! How awesome is that?! Good luck!

Back to School... Kind of!

Hi All!

It's been awhile since I last posted.  Where does the time go?!

My classroom has had its yearly summer "bath" the other week, so it has been ready for me to go in and do my thing!  Now, what teacher in their right mind would want to go into their classroom to set it up when they still have a month and a half of summer break?  Well, that's me! LOL

Before you think of me as a nerd, I have a good excuse!  I leave soon for a trip to Mexico with my boyfriend, and when I get back, I leave for a cruise to Alaska!  By the time I get back from all these trips, it will be back to school time, and I didn't want to be stressed to get the room done!

Anyhow, I'm blogging because every year I want to change up the layout of my room somehow. I've been in it for 11 school years, so it's nice to make changes!  I had no set plan going into my room the other day BUT then I saw it!  What is it?  A picture.  A picture from where?  A picture from Pinterest, of course!  As I was pinning some of my TpT products I came upon this picture of two filing cabinets put together to be used as a magnetic board.  Why have I never thought of that?  How awesome is that?  The big ugly filing cabinets have been put to use!  Below is not the picture I saw on Pinterest; it's my filing cabinets!

This is of course a work in progress!  The filing cabinets picture that I saw on Pinterest had a cute border around it.  I'm not sure I have enough room for that, but it's a possibility, of course!  When I get my classroom completely set up, I plan to post a few pics.  I love to see pictures of other classrooms, so I'd love to share mine!

If you're still on summer break- enjoy!  If you're not, I hope your year has began with a great start!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...

Researching With QR Codes

Want your students to research using QR codes?  Below is the hall display of my students latest QR researching project- Ocean Creatures Theme.  Have your students do the same! :)

In this blog, I am going to try to take you step by step on how to use my QR Research products in your classroom!  My goal is to help out those teachers who have iPads for student use but may not feel comfortable with using them... been there myself  ;-)!

I did not get iPads for my classroom until midyear.  One of the first things I fell in love with was what could be done with QR codes!  If you don't have a QR app downloaded yet, there are several free ones to choose from.  I went with QR Reader.

I decided that since the standards state my students must research and they must research digitally, why not use QR codes to help them do this?  Since animal classification is covered in science class,  I decided to go with an animal themed research project in order to make this possible.    There are many different themed animal research products that I've come up with, but decided to blog about my Ocean Creature theme since it's my best seller!  If you'd like to see all my QR themes, please click here: QR Research

All of my QR Research products take you step by step through the process, so no worries if you're a little nervous getting your students started on such a fun project!

So here we go!

First, I had my student pick the top three ocean creatures that they were most interested in researching (a signup sheet for students is included with each product).  From there I determined which animal they were going to research.

Now the real fun begins- researching!  Each animal comes with it's on graphic organizer sheet with two QR codes on top.  All students have to do is use their iPads to scan the QR codes.  The QR codes then take them to kid friendly websites that help them fill in their graphic organizers...

I gave students the option to work together during prewriting if they had the same animal...

Next, student used their graphic organizers to make a draft copy of their research paper.  You will need to set your expectations for them as far as number of paragraphs and/or how much detail they should include.  Draft copy themed paper is included in all my QR code products!  See picture below...

And of course, revising and editing comes next :)...

Final Copies!!!

Now, if you're nervous when it comes to technology, the next part might seem scary, but it's SO FUN!  If you notice on the first final copy picture above, there is a QR Code attached to the paper.  Students partnered up and videotaped themselves reading their final copy research papers.  My products suggest you use the Croakit! app to record their voices as they read.   Croakit! is an excellent app, but since then MailVu was brought to my attention. Mailvu allows them to create a video of themselves reading their reports- how fun!  No matter which app you choose, they are both FREE!  Helpful hint- If you can't find either app in the Apple Store, just touch "iPad Only" and change it to "iPhone Only".  No worries- both are there :).

Here's footage of them creating videos...

After students videotape themselves, Mailvu (or Croakit!) will send you a link to their video (or voice recoding).  You will then have to do some behind the scene work to get the QR codes made and printed off.  All of my QR code research products come with an informational sheet on how to do this :).

Still wondering if this is for your class?    

Use your iPad to scan the QR code below to watch one of my students presenting her report.  She was SO proud of all of her hard work!  

Also, check out all my QR research product reviews- both teacher and students around the country LOVE IT!  And, I'm sure you will, too! :)

If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me at the end of this blog post or click on my e-mail link above.  I'd love to help you out!

Happy Teaching!,

HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK!  YOU DESERVE IT!!

I'm so lucky to take part in this awesome giveaway!  All teachers from TpT participating donated one of their BEST selling items in order to make this happen!  

For an up-close look and description of the item I donated, please click here: 

 Mother's Day Gifts

I like to give a HUGE thanks to Amy from Teaching in Blue Jeans for organizing this!

A HUGE thank you also goes out to Michelle (from 3AM Teacher) and Marcy (from Simply Sprout Educate) for allowing Amy to use their images/clip art in her final image.

THANK YOU for stopping by!!

Before you go, I'd LOVE for you to follow my blog!!  You can also find links to my Facebook page (That's where I give away FREEBIES) and to my TpT store (All items 50% off for the first 48 hours) above in the flags!  If you have these pages too, let me know b/c I'd LOVE to follow you, too! :)

Click on the picture below to "hop" on over to the next blog!

Continue on The Best for the Best Teacher Appreciation Blog Hop by clicking the picture below.

It's That Time! GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I have been so lucky to have participated in three different Giveaways in the last week!  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to post about them as you know, life gets in the way!  I want to take a quick moment now before the school day begins to let you know of a Giveaway that I'm in that starts TODAY!  No matter what grade you teach, there is something for you!  Please check it out and thank you in advance for your support!

I am offering the Mother's Day product on the bottom right.  It includes two gifts that you can make with your class.  One is a cookbook and the other is a coupon book.  If your interested in seeing this product up close, please click here:  Mother's Day Gifts. 

If you are interested in participating in the Giveaway, please check it out here:  GIVEAWAY!

Thank you for your support!,