Using the "Artistic Effects" Feature in PowerPoint & a Blogger Meet-Up!

There are tons of tutorials and guides out there to help bloggers learn new tips and tricks, and I'd like to show another one of them today. I recently found a way to help keep students' identities confidential using the "Artistic Effects" feature in PowerPoint.


I'm going to walk you through the process step-by-step. First, find the picture you'd like to use and insert it into PowerPoint. I'm going with this one of my cute cousin.

Next you will make sure the picture is highlighted and click on Format. From there find the Artistic Effects button.

Then start looking at the different options. This is Glass.

This is Plastic Wrap.

Next you click Print Screen. Open Paint. Paste the picture, crop, save, and you're good to go!


Here's the before and after photo. You still get to see her amazing facial expression, but yet she has her identity saved from everyone in the public knowing exactly what she looks like.

Questions? Comments? Let me know in the comments below. If you have any other ideas to alter your photos - because I've seen lots of great ones out there - let me know below!


Also - I want to share about an upcoming blogger meet-up! A bunch of teacher bloggers are going to be meeting in Vegas on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 6:30. We'd love for other educators to join us! If you are a blogger, fly out for a couple days. If you don't blog, but enjoy blog stalking reading, come out and meet a few of us! The last time this group got together I heard there were over 100 people. I'd love to meet some of you in person!


Click here or on the picture below to confirm your attendance via Facebook.

Will I be seeing YOU in Vegas??
~HoJo~

Reading "Musical" Chairs

Do your students read the same genre over and over? Have you tried to get them to read different types of books, but they just keep going back to the first one? Are you looking for a way to get them hooked on something new? Then this just might be the strategy for you!

This year I decided to try "Reading 'Musical' Chairs". (I know I've heard of other teachers doing this, but here I share my take on it with you.) Just like the game with music, you put a group of chairs - no matter how large or small - into a circle facing outward. But you will need just as many chairs as there are people, and you will not need any music. (Although you could easily add music and change with each new song or some other type of signal.)


Next have each student bring a book. The first time we did this I asked each student to bring in their favorite chapter book. We then sat in a chair (myself included), randomly opened our own book to any part we wanted, and read for a designated about of time - typically 5-7 minutes. At that point, I simply said "switch", we moved to the next book (going clockwise), randomly chose a page to start on, and continued reading.


It never ceased to amaze me how quiet my students were during this activity! They really got into the books. Sometimes when we would switch I would have to quiet someone from telling me all about the section they just read - but if that is my biggest problem, I can totally deal with it! :)


The next couple times we did this, I would have students choose books to bring to our circle in random ways. For example, I might ask them to bring a book they didn't think any of their classmates had read. Or another day I asked them to quickly choose a book from my library to read. And another time I told them to bring a classic or award winning book. This way I knew they were seeing different ones.


One of the reasons I feel this was so successful was because I always saved about five minutes of our time period to discuss the books as a group. This way students could reflect on what they had read, ask questions of one another, and just share their excitement about books in general. I know students chose new books to read from this experience. When I do this activity again this fall, I'm also going to have students write down the books they found interesting in their notebooks. This way they will always (hopefully!) have a couple "go to" books they can check out the next time they are wanting something new.


Here are a couple other modifications you could try, depending on your class make-up. I did this activity during my reading intervention time with some of my higher readers. But this could easily be done with a large group. You could either have one large circle, or you could split into several smaller circles based on ability, favorite genre, or anything else you could think of! Or one day you could choose the books for students to read. Once you give it a try, you'll see what works best for you and you'll want to keep going with it!


Do you have further ideas for this? I'd love to hear them, or any questions you may have, in the comments below.
~HoJo~

Owl Pellets!

One of the many science projects we did at the end of the year was to dissect owl pellets. While is was not an actual standard for my 6th graders, it was a fun activity and we incorporated some writing into it as well. 

If only you could see the looks on their faces when we first started this activity. They were freaking out! The teacher next door came over to see what all of the fuss was about - although he was laughing when he saw them!

If you're interested in doing this activity, you can choose a free owl pellet dissection sheet here at TpT. We simply used spoons and unused pencils (and eventually they all dug in with their hands) to dissect. However, tweezers, toothpicks, and gloves would probably be better choices.


If you want to order the owl pellets yourself, you can get a set of five or a set of 30 - depending on how many students you have. I had six of them, so we were able to work in small groups. 

             

There might be an odd smell in your room when you are working on these, so make sure to have some spray on hand. Also - if you have students with pet dander allergies they could flair up. One way to combat this is to have everyone wear face masks (which gives it a more "important" and scientific feel anyway!).

If you've done owl pellets in your classroom before, I'd love to hear how it went or any other suggestions you may have in the comments below!

~HoJo~

A Little Bit of This, and A Little Bit of That...

Now that school is done, I realized there are a few things I've been meaning to share with you and haven't gotten around to... So sit back, hold on tight, and read ahead to see some of miscellaneous thoughts from yours truly. There's some free ideas included, so make sure to make it through to the end...

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I was recently featured at Writing Pad Dad. If you'd like to learn a little more about me personally, check it out by clicking here or on the picture below.

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Also, I started a new venture. I will now be teaching classes online via Continuing Education for Teachers. If you need some continuing education hours, this is the perfect way to get them! You can still sign up for summer classes, or just look and see what myself and fellow educators will be teaching in the future. You can see the full list of courses offered here or by clicking on the picture below. 

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If your classroom is anything like mine, you'll have at least one student go on vacation at some point during the year. Yes, it can be a struggle to plan for a student being gone - but family vacations can be just as much {if not more!}  of a learning experience for children. This year I sent a travel journal with each of my students who went on vacation instead of asking them to do the writing assignments we had in class. They may have missed the standards we covered that time, but at least they were writing and I had several parents thank me for providing them with a wonderful keepsake of their trip! (No worries, they caught up on the standards when we covered them the next time!) There are a bunch of FREE options at Activity Village. Get them here or by clicking on the picture below. {This is just one of the forms. They have MANY to choose from!}

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I recently received a set of Reusable Dry Erase Pockets. I didn't get a chance to use them with my 6th graders before summer vacation, but I will be using them for summer school this year! I can't wait to tell you all about them! If you're interested in purchasing your own set, check out the link here or by clicking on the picture below. Make sure to check back this summer to see all of the different ways I'll be utilizing these!!

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Did I officially tell you that I am now also blogging over at Teaching Blog Roundup? There are a bunch of great bloggers who will "round up" some amazing posts for you each month! Our goal is to get one blogger each day of the month, and we still need a few more. If you're interested - leave me a comment below! If you're a blog reader you'll want to head over and check it out! We share awesome ideas, freebies, and teaching tips. I post on the 29th of each month, so make sure to check back regularly!!

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Finally, I want to showcase a great Pinterest board that I think every educator should follow! It's called Fabulous and FREE! You'll want to become a follower so you can see the many great freebies and ideas that are pinned their daily! There are a bunch of contributors and over 13,000 followers - so why don't you want to join?

And of course you should start following me if you don't already!

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Have I rambled on enough for you yet? ;) Summer is off to a great start for me, so I guess my thoughts are all over the place. I'll keep busy reading (more about book studies coming soon!), scrapbooking, teaching summer school, planning for going to departmentalizing this fall (more about that over the course of this summer as well!), and getting a little traveling in. I can't wait! Of course I'll also be doing some blogging and creating more products. What would you like to see me blog about this summer? Feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments below!

Happy summer!!
{And to those of you who aren't quite there yet - hang on!}

~HoJo~

End of Year Greatness! {Amazing FREE Resources & Ideas}

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WOW! If you are looking for the greatest end of year ideas to keep your students engaged, excited, and learning right up to the last minute - you really need to read ---

The Busy Educator Newsletter

***** END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR SPECIAL EDITION ****

Below are some of the posts that I feel are the most worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, the link above will provide you with a TON of amazing content - but I wanted to narrow it down for those of you with limited time. (The end of the year gets crazy!)

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	WISE GUYS TEACHING RESOURCES: Top 5 End of the School Year Activities for the Elementary Classroom Shared by Marjan Glavac wiseguystpt­.blogspot.com - Another end of the school year is rapidly approaching! We have came up with our top 5 end of the school year ideas and activities. We hope you can use some of these in your own classrooms! 1. End o... JD's Rockin' Readers: Teacher Appreciation Freebies Roundup Shared by Marjan Glavac jdsrockinreaders­.blogspot.com - 2.  When I was teaching in the "regular classroom," I would always have the students write a letter to their next year's teacher.  Even though they didn't know who their teacher was going to be, th... Ms. Fultz's Corner: End of the Year ABC Book Template Shared by Marjan Glavac msfultz­.blogspot.com - What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! Amber :) Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher Super cute! Love this idea! Ms. Smith Adventures of Ms. Smith I really appreciate it when you take time to leave ... Primary Inspiration: Class Books... on the playground! Shared by Marjan Glavac primaryinspiration­.blogspot.com - Hello, Teaching Friends! A playground break is awesome for the first days of school, when we're struggling to get everyone back into gear, including ourselves! I always have hopes of making those p... Keeping It Fresh in 6th Grade: Tip for Sub Days and Beyond... Shared by Marjan Glavac keepingitfreshin6thgrade­.blogspot.com - What a great tool, Shari! I can see my kids looking around, under tables and out the window, certain I was hiding somewhere! I'm glad to be a new follower-and SO GLAD to find another sixth grade te... Science for Kids: Rocket Fun! Shared by Marjan Glavac scienceforkidsblog­.blogspot.com - Do you know that right now, a mini-Noah's Ark is orbiting us at 357 miles above the Earth?! On board the space capsule are 15 geckos, 45 mice, 8 gerbils, snails, fish & some micro-organisms! A Russ... Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business: End of Year Celebration Freebie Shared by Marjan Glavac www­.mrsminersmonkeybusiness.com - End of Year Celebration Freebie What do you do for your end of year celebration?  I guest blogged over at Really Good Stuff's Teaching Blog and gave all of the details of my closing celebration...h... Welcome to The Schroeder Page!: Twister Review and Game Board Day! Shared by Marjan Glavac schroederpage­.blogspot.com - Friends~I don't know about you but I feel like I am on a sinking ship!  It is May and my budding third graders are off their rockers:)  I love them but man I am exhausted every night from keeping t... The Teacher Fairy: Goodbye ____________, Hello Summer! Shared by Marjan Glavac theteacherfairy­.blogspot.com - Since the end of the school year is approaching, this is an emergent reader about saying goodbye to everything at school and welcoming summer!  There are also 6 sheets that go along with the end of... Learning Specialist and Teacher Materials - Good Sensory Learning: 10 Strategies that Transform Passive Learners into Active Learners Shared by Marjan Glavac learningspecialistmaterials­.blogspot.com - I love this post! Thanks for sharing. I think our readers would love to hear a bit more about this...if you're interested in doing a guest post for us, let me know at sarah@easyreadsystem.com. It w... 2 Peas and a Dog: Calming the Chaos Shared by Marjan Glavac 2peasandadog­.blogspot.com - Thanks for including me in this great blog hop. I think we all need to add a new trick or two to our repertoire at this point in the year to keep the kiddos engaged and learning! Happy to be a part...

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What end of year tricks do you have to help keep your sanity?

~HoJo~

Celebrating Summer with a Mini Giveaway!

I know there are many schools out there that are no where near summer break - but I am DOONNNEEEE! The kiddos are gone. Inservice is done. And my room is cleaned out for the year! Don't get me wrong - I love my job, and I know I'll spend my fair share of time in the school over the summer, but I'm a pretty excited gal right now!



And - in case you're not done with school yet - I'm holding a little giveaway right here on my blog for you. You'll get this set of multiplication math centers for FREE! {They'll be great to use next year!}

Sorry, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade teachers! Last time I had enough lids built up - I did an addition giveaway. So it was only fair that this one be for the upper elementary people.

There are 55 multiplication facts included! **3x3 all the way through 12x12** I didn't include any multiplication of 0, 1, or 2 because I figure those are the easier ones. And I didn't double up on the facts - so you'll see 3x4, but not 4x3. As you can see, the multiplication problem is written on the top and the bottom holds the answer. Hopefully that makes sense, if not ask a question in the comments below!

Students love using these! The easiest thing to do is store them in some type of container, and let the group of students randomly pull one out. If they can state the right answer - they keep it. If not, it goes back into the container. The person with the most at the end "wins". {And I'm sure you are much more creative than me and can think up another 100 games these would work well for!}

The giveaway is pretty simple. Follow me here on the blog for an entry. Want more entries? Follow me on Pinterest, TpT, and/or Facebook. So you can earn four easy, peasy entries. (You can also sign up for my newsletter if you're interested - but that's not an additional entry, so don't feel obligated!)

The winner will be contacted by e-mail, but then you will need to provide me your mailing address so I can get these sent out to you. If that is a problem, please don't enter. And if I have not heard from you within 48 hours of e-mailing, I will select a new winner. And yes, I will gladly mail the item anywhere in the world - but know that it may take awhile to get to you if I have to ship it internationally. (I have family in France, so I'm used to shipping overseas.) Alright - I think that covers everything. Ready. Set. ENTER! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to tell your friends. Good luck!! =)

~HoJo~

Memorial Day Rhyming FREEBIE

I'm so excited to welcome Bex for her first guest blog appearance on HoJo's Teaching Adventures. She's got a fun Memorial Day rhyming freebie for you, so be sure to stick around!
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Hi everyone! I am Bex from Reading and Writing Redhead and I am super excited that Heather has let me stop by and do a little guest post for her! Thanks, Heather! I  do have a little freebie for you but let me tell you the background on it.

My students have been working hard on so many things all year! Vowel pairs, antonyms, fluency, the list goes on! Before I started achievement tests, I did some review with my students with some of the awesome games I have found from other teachers. I found out that some of my kids were still confused about rhymes, asking me questions like, "Does pot rhyme with pen?" I guess it's time to work on rhymes!

With that being said, Memorial Day is also coming up and we still have a full month of school left here in New England thanks to all of the snow and I wanted to do a few things centered around that holiday. I came up with a little rhyme activity with a Memorial Day theme to tie in to anything else you're doing for it. The cards can be used a couple ways. The students can place them face down and play Concentration-style. If they pick up two words that rhyme they keep them. They can also play  go-fish style in a small group. For example, each student could have  four cards and ask another child, "Do you have a word that rhymes with brave?"

Of course, for my class, my students need to practice more with  rhymes by working with word families or on other activities.  Do you have any strategies or activities you use to teach the skills of rhyming to your students? Please share!

So click on the picture below to get the freebie from Google Docs.  Feel free to also stop by and see me at my blog, Reading and Writing Redhead.Click on my button to head over to my blog. Thanks again, Heather!

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A huge thank you again to Bex for stopping by! Please show her some love by stopping by her blog or TpT store to follow her. Or head over to her blog and share some more rhyming ideas with her! :) Thanks, Bex!!