Monday Made It: Writing Toolkits

I have officially created my first "Monday Made It" project and I am joining my first linky party!!! Please forgive me if I goof since I am a newbie to the blogging world. Anywho, I have a ton of projects that I want to complete before the start of the new school year, but I have been dragging lately. Despite a slight case of the lazies, I managed to make these pencil cases for my students.

So, how did these pencil cases come about? My husband is a huge Crystal Light fan, and he buys the pouches that makes about two quarts.  The pouches come in the plastic containers shown above.  One day as I was about to throw this container in the trash when I thought of an idea.  Why not use them for pencil cases?  I tore off the Crystal Light wrapper, took a few measurements, and created the labels you see above.  Now, I will say that pencils are just a little too long for this case, but students love to sharpen pencils. I'm sure the pencils will be able to fit after a short trip to the pencil sharpener.  Highlighters and pens will definitely fit in this case.  I am so excited about using these cases this school year. I am thinking about changing up the labels just a bit though.  Hopefully, it will cut down on missing red pens and pencils littering the floors.  And at the rate my husband drinks Crystal Light, I am sure I will have enough of these little babies by the first day of school.  I hope!

Differentiation Using Technology

I had to complete my 6 hour GT update before the end of the school year, so I chose a course entitled "Differentiation in Technology K-5".  I am not a fan of online courses, but I really enjoyed this professional development and I am excited about using the new technology during the upcoming school year.  My favorites were Glogster, Prezi, and Padlet.

Glogster

Glogster was by far my favorite differentiation tool.  Glogster is basically a digital poster.  It can be used to introduce new content, and it can be also used as a student product.  I created a Glogster during the course that previewed reading vocabulary for the following week.  I envisioned students creating or responding to a Glogster about the upcoming week's vocabulary.  I could assess student's prior knowledge and plan for the next week's vocabulary instruction based upon their responses. My Glogster is below. Press the icon in the top right hand corner to view the Glogster full screen.



Prezi

Many of you may already know about Prezi.  I was first introduced to it at the beginning of this school year, however I had never used it until this course.  Prezi is much like a fancy Powerpoint.  The slides are contained on one page and they are presented in a unique way.  The Prezi below was created to differentiate the content being taught.  Students can use this Prezi to review root words, they can also create Prezis of their own. 



Padlet

Padlet, formerly known as Wallwisher, is another great differentiation tool. I know that I said Glogster was my favorite but Padlet definitely give it a run for its money.  Padlet allows you to design a wall and post to this wall using digital post its.  So, I created a Padlet to review adjectives and how we should use them when writing. 

Created with Padlet

That is it for "Differentiation Using Technology"! I was also introduced to several other tools including Animoto and Wordle.  I hope that you all enjoyed this post and are able to use these tools in the upcoming school year!

"Exploring Houston's Backyard" Field Trip

Last week, my students attended an AMAZING field trip. We went hiking in W.G. Jones State Park in Conroe, Texas.  The students hiked through the forest and stopped at three stations along the way.  The stations focused on Water, Wood, and Wildlife.  The students tested the Ph and oxygen levels of water samples from the creek, touched baby alligators and a snake, and learned how foresters find the age of a tree without cutting it down. It was very hot and humid in the forest, but we had a good time and it was an awesome experience for my students.  I have included pictures of our day hiking.

Sweetleaf Nature Trail

Students hiking!

Students testing water samples from a nearby creek.

Students were able to touch baby alligators and snakes.  They loved this part!

I have more pictures that I will add to this post later.  If your school is in or around Houston, I would definitely suggest looking into this field trip (Exploring Houston's Backyard).  We had a great time despite our exhaustion afterwards.

PEP TALK

This little boy is AWESOME!!!! I love this video because it is inspiring and quite hilarious too. I love when he says "Boring is easy. Anybody can be boring!"  Anybody can be a boring teacher but it takes an awesome individual to turn a lesson into something dynamic.  I want my students to be engaged and excited about learning. I want them to be awesome!  With that being said, I will be showing this video to my students on the last day of school this year, and I will also be showing it to my students on the first day of school next year.  LET'S BE AWESOME!!!!

MY FIRST BLOG POST!!!!

I am so excited about my blogging journey.  I decided that it was about time I started my own blog since I have visited so many awesome blogs by teachers.  It is my hope that my blog will serve as a fun and enjoyable resource for my fellow teachers, and give others insight into all of the hard work us teachers put in.  I am excited, full of ideas, and praying that I remain consistent in this journey (fingers crossed). Let the blogging begin!

Mrs. Taylor