2012 Top Teacher Blog Swap & Hop!

Hello HoJo Fans!

I'm MJ from Teaching in Heels!

I'm excited to be posting here for HoJo for the Top Teachers' Blog Hop & Swap!

I'm an elementary school teacher out in Southern California.  I've been teaching for 3 years and have taught 5th, 3rd, and Title I for K-5.

The first question I'm always asked is if I really teach in heels.  I'll let you in on a little secret...not every day!  That would just be crazy, right?!?  Especially right now since I'm teaching full day summer school.  That means on my feet all day during these hot Los Angeles summer days.  It's cute sandals all the way for me!!

My favorite sandals for this summer are cute metallic sandals.  These cuties are from Target.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who can literally buy a new pair of sandals every time I visit Target.  They're so cute and seem to always be on sale!!

On of my favorite places to purchase sandals these days is through Sole Society.  They have such cute sandals!  I'm loving the tassels on this pair.

Right now I'm teaching 3rd and 4th graders in ELA and ELD.  I'm absolutely loving it!  Have you all been trained in GLAD?  It's the best!  Here's an example of the sentence patterning chart I'll be completing this upcoming week with my students.  

source

We've been learning about all sorts of creepy crawly insects, so we'll be using tarantula as our noun!  I love the little song that goes along with this chart.  It definitely helps to reinforce parts of speech, as well as creating fabulous sentence that translate to amazing writing pieces!

I've been blogging off and on since 2008.  That's forever!!  Although I'm new to the teaching side of blogging.  I also just opened my teacher store on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Here's a fun freebie for upper grade students to reinforce multiplying with decimals.

It's a scoot, which I absolutely love!!  I have students scooting a couple times a week :)  

Click here for the freebie!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy hopping around the blogosphere!

MJ @ Teaching in Heels

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I am so appreciative of MJ for "hopping" over here with the Top Teacher Blog Swap & Hop! The freebie is fabulous!

Please make sure to head over to my guest post at Treasures for Teaching! I'm giving away a freebie for K-2 teachers - but the freebie only lasts until 7/7/2012 ---- so act quickyly!

Also - make sure to check out any of the other fabulous blogs below because they are ALL participating in the blog hop/swap and I'm sure you'll get a BUNCH of great ideas and probably quite a few freebies along the way.

Boyle's Law - Proven by a Simple Marshmallow Experiment

This simple marshmallow activity can show air pressure at nearly any grade level! You can model it with younger students or have older students do it using more complex tools and more advanced terminology.

As you can see, the marshmallow on the left have been expanded while the ones on the right are being compressed. (Or turning "all wrinkly" as one of the 5th graders squealed!) The students loved creating this simple vacuum. I really thought our 5th graders would get bored with this in 2-3 minutes, but ten minutes later they were still going strong!



I also found these neat You Tube video from a middle or high school science lab. It would be appropriate to show to any age group. EXPANDING MARSHMALLOW!



This video gives a great explanation of what is happening! (Way better than I could via this blog!) Everyday Science: What Pressure Does



What cool science experiments are a must do in your classroom each year?
~HoJo~

Wedding Survival Kit

**Advance warning - this post has nothing to do with teaching!**

Many of my friends have gotten married over the years, and I'm not a huge fan of going out and buying gifts. I will often buy a gift card, but then I feel guilty because that is too impersonal. So I've had to think of something to spice this up!


What I've found to work great is to include a wedding survival kit! Most often, I give this at the bridal shower. It is almost always passed around from person to person with a lot of laughter involved!


Here's my most recent creation.

All I do is choose whichever sayings I think are fitting for the couple, find them (normally right in my house!), print the sayings out on some colored paper, and put them into some sort of bag. Done!


This one is especially boring as I didn't have much time. You could easily put a cute header on it that says "Wedding Survival Kit" and add some of your personal flair.



Here are some of the sayings I've used before.

• A crayon – to “color” all the days of your marriage bright and sunny
• An eraser – to remind you that every day you can start with a clean slate
• A rubber band – to remind you to always be flexible
• A candle – to help the glow of romance always be part of your love
• A paper clip – to help you hold it all together
• A safety pin – to help you pin-point your problems and solve them
• A piece of string – to help you tie-up those loose ends
• A button – to remind you that sometimes you need to “button your lip”
• A stick of gum – to help you stick together
• A penny – to give you extra “cents” to know which battles are worth fighting, and which are better ignored
• A toothpick – to always pick out the good in your mate
• Some tape – to repair what your husband “fixed”
• Some earplugs – for when he goes on and on after you buy something new and expensive

I hope this helps some of you out the next time you feel guilty for just getting a gift card.

~HoJo~

Summer Means More Products! And More FREEBIES! =)

I am loving summer! There is so much more time to create products for all of you! =)


Here are my two latest. Well, technically, I guess it's just one product. I made a for purchase item, but I wanted all of you to be able to get part of it for FREE too! =)


So - here's your freebie! Click on the picture below to go directly to TpT to download.

Here's the full product with numbers 0-12. You can purchase it by clicking on the picture below.

One more thing - I'd hate to just advertise about a for purchase product without giving some away! The first three people to comment below with their e-mail address will receive the full product for FREE! Ready, set, go!

~HoJo~

Finally! 6th Grade Common Core Reading Literature FREEBIES! And an Award Nomination!

Here you go! I had a special request over on my Facebook fan page to compile a list of 6th grade resources. So - here - finally - you have it! Sixth grade Reading literature activities to match the Common Core standards! (It doesn't hurt any that I'll be moving up to 6th grade this fall so I also had to find these for myself!) =)



Click the picture below to get your copy!

Not sure if I'm going to find the time to work on any math resources. If I can find the time, is that what you want next? Or would you rather see more reading resources??
~HoJo~

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If you're still reading this, would you be so kind as to head over and vote for me in the Really Good Stuff blog awards? (Pretty please!) I am in a bit of shock that I was nominated, let alone one of the five Grades 4-8 people chosen. Thanks for your help and support! Click on the picture below to vote!

Online Storytime by Barnes & Noble

How did I not know about this awesome resource for teachers?! Simply click on the picture below to be taken to Barnes and Noble's Online Storytime. Each month they highlight a different book. (June 2012 just happens to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar.) I can't wait to go back each month and see what they highlight next!

Alright readers, what other awesome websites have you been holding out on me??
~HoJo~

Guest Blogger for Kreative in Kinder!

I had the honor of guest blogging for Crystal over at Kreative in Kinder. She is such a sweetheart. I'd love for you to go and read it. It's all about my writing centers in Kindergarten. I showed examples of student work, and gave away four freebies! Yes, you read that correctly - four freebies!

Click on this picture to go see Crystal's blog post.

Just to give you a little sneak peak, these are two of the four freebies I provided on Crystal's blog. However, you'll have to head over there to see how/when I used them! (Plus you want to get the other two, right?!)

The first is a Write the Room worksheet.
Nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose well.

The second is a Known Words List freebie.
It is similar to something I used while teaching Reading Recovery.

Please take a moment to comment on Crystal's post when you get there. I'd love to hear what you think!

~HoJo~

Kindergarten Common Core Reading Literature Ideas

Finally! I have now done Common Core Reading Literature ideas for grades K-5. Phew!


I must admit, this one was again pretty hard to do. There are just so many Kindergarten standards that are extremely hands-on and done throughout the year. Those of you who teach Kinder can relate!


Regardless, I hope this helps make the transition to Common Core a little easier for you!


Click on the picture to get your free compiled list!

What do you think?
~HoJo~


(P.S. Dearest 6th grade teachers - You know I will be joining you this fall! So, yes, I will be posting about 6th grade Reading Literature activities in the near future. Stay tuned!)

Fishing for Ideas Summer Blog Hop - Magic Square Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who participated! This promotion is now over. However, you can still find some great blogs by looking through the linky party at the end of this post! (And my freebies listed below are still FREE!)


I told you a week ago that there was a summer event
going on that you wouldn't want to miss.

It's brought to you by this group!

So - here it is!

**Make sure to read all the way to the end! You get two freebies from me and I'm hosting a giveaway where EVERYONE gets one free product. Oh - did I mention my blogging buddies are also doing some special!**
This event is now over!!

I have been busy creating Magic Squares since the end of November 2011. Since then I have been able to offer two free Magic Squares in my TpT store, as well as 11 other Magic Squares ranging from $1.00-$4.00.

So here's my "Fishing for Ideas" deal. First of all, I am offering two freebies! (These are still available!)

Here they are:

K-2 Adding with 0 and 12 Magic Square FREEBIE
Click on the picture to get yours!

3-5 Multplying by 10, 11, 12 Magic Square FREEBIE
Click the picture to get yours!

Now for the really fun part! Everyone is going to get one, free Magic Square from my Teachers Pay Teachers store. The best part is - you get to choose which for purchase Magic Square you want. The form is located below! So choose the freebie you want, and make sure you include the correct e-mail address. Then please give me up to two weeks to e-mail the Magic Square you have chosen to your e-mail address. (It shouldn't take me two weeks, but I'm just saying that in case of technical difficulties...) You can look through all of my Magic Square products HERE!

There were 193 people who received a FREE Magic Square in this giveaway! All Magic Squares were sent out on 6/22/12 - so check your e-mail!! :) Thank you to all of you who entered. I would love for you to come back and tell me what you think!

 I would also appreciate you following me in at least one (or all!) ways. =)

Pinterest

Teachers Pay Teachers

here on my blog -->

Facebook

I would love to hear what you think of these Magic Squares!

~HoJo~

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Please make sure to check out all the other participants by checking out this linky party below!

Creating Letter Recognition Experts with a FREEBIE!

Those of you who have followed me for awhile know that I loved my year of Reading Recovery training and teaching. Whether or not you believe in the program, I believe that year of extensive training made me a better teacher!



One of the many things I learned along the way is how important letter recognition is! Students need to know that an uppercase "I" can look a lot like a lowercase "L". They also need to know how to differentiate between b, d, p, and q. Of course there are many more examples, but I think you get the idea...



So anyway, I created a letter maze to help young students recognize the many different ways letters can look!



This first one covers the vowels A, E, I, O, and U. Click the picture to go to TpT for your freebie!

If you love what you see, I hope you'll consider purchasing the entire 26 page unit on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you want to purchase it, click on the picture below.

However, the first five people to comment with their e-mail address below, will receive the entire 26 page packet for FREE!

Ready? On your marks, get set, GO! =)
~HoJo~

Kindergarten Common Core Reading Ideas

Here it is! I compiled a list of activities to use for grades 1st-5th with Common Core Reading Literature. Then Read Tennesee had this amazing list for grades K-3 that I've been highlighting, but I am FINALLY highlighting Kindergarten!


Click on the picture below to get media, teaching strategies, lesson and unit plans, activities/centers, and assessment ideas that are all FREE! There are more resources here than I ever could have hoped to compile!

Now folks, I have to ask what I asked the 1st grade people. Do you want me to compile a list of Kindergarten Reading Literature ideas? I did that for grades 1-5, and I still plan on doing it for 6th grade. However, I will not be doing it for Kindergarten unless it's something you truly want.

Please let me know if the comments below.

Thanks!

~HoJo~

1st Grade Common Core Reading Literature Ideas

So just yesterday I posted a website with a BUNCH of Common Core activities/ideas for first grade. You can access that post here. However, several of you asked that I compile a list of ideas and activities for first grade Reading Literature like I had for 2nd-5th grade. So here you go!


Click on the picture to get your free Google Docs download.

I have to admit - for whatever reason this list was actually harder to create. I hope you all enjoy! I'd love to hear how you plan on using this in the comments below! And - if you have more great 1st grade resources, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. =)

~HoJo~

Recycled Giveaway Winner AND an Upcoming Event

I hope no one minds that I'm posting twice in one day. I didn't think it would be fair to the winner of my giveaway if I didn't let everyone know who won!


So - here we go...


The winner of the giveaway is ------

Congratulations, Dawn! I just sent you an e-mail, so you have 48 hours to respond with your mailing address or I will have to choose a new winner.


Thanks to all of you who entered!

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Now about the upcoming event...


There is a group of bloggers who are getting together to give you a fun summer event.

Each blogger will be doing something special just for YOU - our great fans! So be ready to enter lots of giveaways, get a bunch of great freebies, and maybe even catch a sale or two!


You'll have to check back on June 14 to see what all the fuss is about! ;)


Happy Summer!
~HoJo~

1st Grade Common Core Reading Ideas

I was just about ready to compile a list of resources to use for 1st Grade Common Core Reading Literature like I've done for grades 2-5 when I saw this! Read Tennessee has media, teaching strategies, lesson and unit plans, activities/centers, and assessment ideas that are all FREE!


Here is the direct link to their freebies for ALL of their 1st Grade Common Core ELA standards. Just click on the picture.

So now I have a small dilemma on my hands... Is this enough material, or would you still like me to compile Reading Literature ideas and activities like I did for grades 2-5? I am willing to do that, but I don't want to if you feel this is already information overload and you have enough to use.

Please let me know what you think!
~HoJo~

Recycled Pop Can Flowers

Here's another non-teaching related post!


One of my main hobbies is scrapbooking. It is just a stress-reliever, and something I thoroughly love doing.


This is one of my more recent projects. A friend of mine made these for the 2011 holiday season and sold them for $7.00 each as pins/barrettes. They are super cute!


So here we go...


I started by taking the Stampin' Up! Flower Daisies #2 big shot.

I then cleaned out a pop can, cut it so it was flat, and ran it through the big shot.

You end up with three flowers.

Glue them together.

Add some type of brad or embellishment, and you're done! =)

After writing this mini tutorial, I found this one that is ten times better than mine. So - if you love this idea, but need more specifics - check it out!


What hobbies do you have that keep you sane?
~HoJo~

FREE Reading Journal to Hold Students Accountable

I often struggle with how to hold students accountable when they read. It would be nice to think that all students read for pleasure, but I realize that's not always the case. So - I have used this little reading journal.



If you are looking for a very basic reading journal to hold students accountable, this is for you! This simple sheet will ask students to record the date, book being read, and the number of pages. It allows you and the student to track readin habits!


Click on the picture to grab your freebie!

What other ways to you hold your students accountable for their reading?
~HoJo~

You Know It's Summer Vacation When...

Jeannie over at Kindergarten Lifestyle is hosting a linky party! The title of this post says it all - so here we go...

Click on any of the pictures above to go directly to Jeannie's post to see all of the other great posts!



Side note - make sure to stop by my Recycled Basic Addition Facts Giveaway for your chance to win 47 lids! All you have to do is leave one simple comment, and you'd have the perfect back-to-school center ready to go!

How do you know it's summer vacation?
~HoJo~

Project Fair - Science Fair, ABCs of the US, Biographies, Book Covers, and Poetry Books

One of the big things the 5th graders completed this year was a Project Fair. They did a poetry book, ABCs of United States History book, a biography summary on a person, a book cover of their all-time favorite book, and a science fair project.


These pictures are of their book covers. The students took their all-time favorite book and created a new cover for it. They had to include the author, illustrator (if applicable), publisher, author biography, and story summary. They created all of this on their own, and they turned out pretty darn cool!

This is what the crazy, filled up room looked like with science fair boards all over the place!

Here are a couple of the boards that I thought were particularly well done! These kiddos had some pretty clever science experiment ideas! Some looked at detergent and what worked better, others determined the melting point of chocolate (YUMMY!), one student looked at which flavor of bubble gum lasts the longest, and the list goes on and on...

Below are pictures of the ABCs of United States History books that the students created. (Later this summer I'll go into more detail about these, as I thought they are a pretty cool project!)

Here the students picked anybody they wanted to create a biography book report on. There were several different components to them, and the students did quite well.

The last part of the Project Fair was the poetry books the students worked on for most of the year. They wrote 25 original poems, illustrated each one, and decorated the cover. They also had to write the dedication page, table of contents, and about the author section. Many of them did a nice job, and they learned a great deal about poetry along the way!

The entire Project Fair was a HUGE undertaking for the 5th grade team and all of the students. However, the kiddos were SOOO proud the day their parents, families, and friends came to the school to see their items. They had worked hard and it all paid off!

Do you take on any huge projects like this one? What other activities would make a neat addition to our annual Project Fair?

~HoJo~