Five for Friday: 2/20/2015

Woohoo!  Friday is finally here!  Why does it always seem like short school weeks feel longer than normal weeks?  Thankfully, Friday has arrived which means it is time for Five for Friday with Doodlebugs Teaching!

 We had a snowstorm on Sunday, more snow on Tuesday, another dusting late Wednesday night, and even more expected this Saturday.  I don't know about anyone else, but I am sick of snow!

We sent home our March calendars to our students today.  Thinking about March has me dreaming about springtime.  I can only hope that it is right around the corner!

I teach several different English classes, and our curriculum has us alternate between writing units and grammar units. {However, I try to add in lots of writing during the grammar units too.}  Anyway, my 6th grade English class is in the middle of writing research reports on historical places. 

We used library books to do research on note cards, wrote an outline, and are currently working on writing our rough drafts.  {This has to be my least favorite unit that I have to teach. Hopefully we will be done soon.}

On the other hand, my 3rd grade class just finished writing Compare/Contrast essays.  This is a unit that I always enjoy.  We have been reading Roald Dahl books recently so we wrote about characters from his stories.  Not only did they turn out great, but I feel like using information from books we have read made the writing process even easier.  {I am going to write more about our Compare and Contrast essays tomorrow so check back then to find out more!}

I don't know if all of you have heard, but Educents has decided to let teachers open storefronts similar to TeacherspayTeachers.  It is a completely new program they are rolling out soon. I have been busy setting up my store and uploading products for sale. If you haven't signed up for Educents yet, they are also offering a free $10 credit right now. {That's like $10 worth of free teaching products!!}  You can get your $10 coupon by clicking here: Educents coupon. 

Also feel free to stop by and check out my new storefront!

My friend Kristin over at My Carolina Classroom is having a huge giveaway for her blogiversary!!

 She is giving away over $180 worth of teaching products {including some TPT gift certificates}!  The giveaway is only open until Saturday, so don't forget to stop by and enter.  In fact, you may want to go there right now!

Throwback Thursday: Silly Stories

I am linking up with The Teacher's Desk 6 for Throwback Thursday. 

 In this post, I talk about one of my favorite writing lessons that I have done with my kiddos.  I thought I would take this opportunity to share it with you again today.

 

I used my new Silly Story Cards with my students today for the first time! 

 Each student got to choose one card from four different card types.  Each card has a different story element on it - main character, time, place, and problem.  The students then recorded their four story elements on the top of a recording page.  After that, the writing fun began.  Each story came out different because they all had different combinations of story elements to begin with.  

After we finished our stories {and yes, I wrote one too},  the students that wanted to were allowed to read them out loud to the class.  We had lots of fun giggling at the silly stories about things like farmers in outer space, cowboys on the beach, and talking dogs.

The kids had so much fun, but even more importantly, they spent about 20 - 30 minutes actually writing.  True, I didn't get everything taught that I had scheduled for today.  But it is worth it to put a few things off until tomorrow so that kids can have fun practicing such an important skill!

The great news is that you can win a copy of my Silly Story Cards to use in your own classroom.  Kristin over at My Carolina Classroom is having a huge giveaway right now.  My Silly Story pack is just one of the amazing products that you can win!  Head on over her blog to enter.

Sunday Scoop: 2/15/15

Here's my Sunday Scoop for this stormy winter day...

Have To Do...

1. We are planning on having church tonight which means the driveway will need to be shoveled before then.  And as much as I hate shoveling, I guess I probably should help out some.

2. I washed sheets and towels yesterday so today is the day to do the rest of our laundry.  At least, I don't have to worry about getting it all done.  Since we have two days off this week, I can finish it tomorrow if necessary.

3. My house is currently full of all the delicious chocolates I received from students and family.  I consider it my duty today to eat large amounts of it!   

Hope To Do...

1. I am really hoping that we are able to have church tonight.  I miss seeing my church family and hearing from God's Word when we can't be there.  I guess it will all depend on when it stops snowing and if the church parking lot gets cleared out.

2. I started reading blogs this morning on my phone, but it seemed like every blog had something I wanted to pin or download or add to my TPT wishlist.  It's harder to do those things on my phone so I am hoping to get a chance to read the blogs on my computer.  That way I can have access to all the amazing things that my teacher friends are sharing with me!

 Happy To Do...

We have a short break this week - Monday and Tuesday off.  Part of me thinks that we don't need a break because of all the snow days we have had recently, but I am certainly not going to complain.  I plan on spending the days working on new TPT products.  I like to do either a flash freebie or a giveaway for every new product so follow my Facebook page to make sure you don't miss those deals!

Sunday Scoop is a link up hosted by The Teaching Trio so make sure you stop by their blog to find out what some other hard-working teachers are up to today.

Five for Friday: Valentine's Party Edition

Well, it's Friday which means...{drumroll, please}...

another edition of Five for Friday with Doodlebugs Teaching!

And it's an exciting Five for Friday because tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Which means we have been doing fun Valentine's related things all week long!

We have been talking about doing Random Acts of Kindness for others this week.  {I stole the idea from Aimee over at Primarily Speaking.} To practice this, we made several things for other classes and secretly put them on their desks or in their lockers.

 

 Wednesday, we colored kindness signs to hang in our lobby. I forgot to take a picture, but you can trust me when I say they look adorable! Yesterday, we colored bookmarks for other elementary students.  I wrote student names on the back, and then we laminated and cut them out.

Today, we colored valentine notes for our high school students and teachers.  Both of these products were freebies as well that you can grab for your class by clicking on the links above.

My students liked the idea of giving something in secret.  We also brainstormed ways that we could do kind things for others around our school and homes.  They came up with some great ideas that I hope they will actually do!

 

We used this fun writing poster this morning to start our Valentine's Party Day.  This product is free on TPT {clicking on the picture will take you to it}, and you really could use it anytime as a friendship writing exercise.

  

They came out great so we hung them in the hallway outside our room for everyone to see.

 

 

We also made some cute little tic tac toe boards for my students to take home.  This was actually a spur of the moment idea this morning when I remembered that I had little foam hearts and extra pieces of foam leftover from another project.  It was simple, but the kids had fun making them and then playing with them too!

 

The last thing we did today was our Valentine's Day party.  The kids passed out their valentines to each other.  Then we all sat down to have some delicious goodies.  Thankfully we had some healthy foods along with all our junk food!

And now we are preparing for a fun-filled weekend.  My niece and nephew are sleeping over tonight, and we are supposed to get another huge snowstorm on Saturday night. {I am only looking forward to one of those.  Can you guess which one?}  Plus, we have Monday and Tuesday off for a little winter break.  I'm not sure we need it after all of our recent snow days, but I am not going to complain, that's for sure!

I hope you enjoy your Valentine weekend as much as I plan to enjoy mine!!