Running Records In My Pjs

Running Readers' Workshop has its challenges.  For me, one of those is meeting with each of my students everyday.  It unfortunately just doesn't happen.  Thanks to technology, I am able to check in with as many students as my heart desires from the comfort of my couch, while wearing my Pjs.  This is not a joke!  I am completely serious!
There are two tools that I use in my classroom to gather fluency and accuracy data on my students.

Raz-Kids:

This is the digital version of Reading A-Z.  I love it because it doesn't just end at providing each student their own leveled book room, but each book is read to the students.  Once students have listened to the story, they may practice reading it as many times as they choose.  Once students are ready they record their reading.  Finally, there are 5 comprehension questions for each story.
The recordings that my kiddos do are sent to my computer.  I then have the ability to listen to them on my time.
I also have the ability to send them assignments; the readings are then cold reads.

I created this running record form to track students' fluency skills.  We are starting our nonfiction unit this week, so I altered the form to meet our nonfiction criteria of main idea and details.

SeeSaw:
If you don't have a Raz-Kids account SeeSaw is an easy to use app that allows you to keep a record of everything for your kiddos.  One feature is the ability to take video.  Each week, my students choose one book from their "just right" ziplock and video themselves reading it.  Just like Raz-Kids, the video, in this case, gets sent to me.  I am then able to use the same forms to track running records for each of me students.

These two tools have been a game changer for me.  I love that I can knock out 5 running records from the comfort of my couch, after little man is in bed.  But even better is the fact that I have the time to be methodical in my teaching with each of my student's next steps.

How do you find the time to meet each of your student's needs during Readers' Workshop?  Do you have a favorite tech tool that you use to during Readers' Workshop?

Student Vacations...What Do You Do?

We don't have a fall or mid-winter break.  Boo Hoo!  Because of this, I feel like parents try and take full advantage of the long holiday weekends in November and January.  Each year, I have students that vacation with their families and end up missing several days of school.  It seems harsh to send classroom, but sending nothing seems crazy to me, too.
That's why I send a vacation journal.  I have several bags prepped and ready to go.  Each bag has a journal, pencils, eraser, sharpener, and colored pencils.

I also have a note on the inside of each journal explaining the purpose of the journal.

The journal is meant to be a way for the student to create learning opportunities, while recording memories.  I always allow kiddos to share their journal when they get back.  It is so fun to hear about their favorite part of each day.

Grab this journal cover and letter here or by clicking on the above picture.

What do you do for kiddos that are going to miss school days for vacations?

One Step Toward Solving The Chatties

I don't know what the deal is, but this year's class is CHATTY!  I am not joking, they love to talk.  It is hard to hold that against them; they are 6 and learning their social register.   But, I needed to curb their chattiness during group lessons, on the carpet.  I love the idea of SitSpots, but I can't justify another big purchase in my classroom.
I tested out a few ideas, and the bulk velcro from JoAnn Fabric and this amazing pen (Amazon link provided) have helped organize the talking a ton.

I used a small piece of the rough side and wrote each student's name on the back of it.  The rough velcro sticks perfectly to my classroom carpet. 

I assigned each kiddo a carpet spot and set the expectation that their back pockets are to remain on the their name spot at all times.  I made sure that each student was sitting next to their reading buddy, thus eliminating Pair Share troubles.  The velcro has made it so convenient to move kiddos around as need be.  

What do you do to help eliminate and organize your chatty kiddos?  

A Whole Lot of Mojo

I can't believe that we are already more than a month into the school year!  My new firsties are grooving through their routines and making this teacher very proud.  I have to say it is really great to be able to look back and see how much they have already grown.

September's Data

You are probably thinking, who is this crazy lady with a bunch of data this early in the school year?!?  My data is ClassDojo!   If are are not familiar with ClassDojo, you can check out my other posts here.
ClassDojo has not only allowed me to track positive and negative behaviors, but it has allowed me to communicate with parents.  ClassDojo has a messenger feature which allows for quick and effective communication with parents.  I love that I can not only send out messages to the whole class, but to individual parents.  With this feature, I have been able to share real time behavior information, pictures of kiddos working to document an awesome day, and so much more.  Recently, ClassDojo messenger allowed me to schedule all of my fall conferences.
Fall conferences are one of the most important meetings I will have with families each year.  Unfortunately, scheduling them is a pain in the booty!  With the ease of ClassDojo messenger, I was able to contact families quickly and find out if specific times worked verses having to send notes and reminders via "The Blackhole" AKA a student's backpack.

The messenger even lets me see who has viewed the message and when!  Too cool!!!

So, a quick story: The other day, one of my colleagues was frantically hustling back to their classroom after dropping their students off in their after school locations.  I asked what was going on, and they responded that they forgot to send home a student's behavior plan and needed to quickly locate it and get it to the family.  I understand that new ideas, gizmos, and concepts frighten and overwhelm some people, but sometimes embracing something new, like ClassDojo, can make your life easier.  If that colleague used ClassDojo to track just that one student's behavior and the messenger function to talk with parents, they wouldn't have been running frantically back to their classroom.  Just a thought!

Do you Dojo?  What do you love about it?  What struggles do you find with it?

I Wish I Would Have Known

I seriously wish that someone would have taught me the following two tricks 10 years ago...

1. Helping Hands

Forget the hassle of job charts; just the idea of their upkeep gives me anxiety.  Helping Hands is a quick and efficient way to have helpers in your classroom.  All you have to do is flip to the next two students each day.  This way students get to help more often through a variety of jobs.  My kiddos help with passing out papers and supplies, being line leader, pulling the lunch wagon, vacuuming the classroom, and taking out the recycling bin.  If only I would have known 10 years ago that managing classroom jobs could be streamlined and effective.

2. Clip Chart Add Ons

I have always used some sort of moving behavior chart, but a clip chart has been my go-to the last few years.  I love that as student behaviors move up and down so can their clips.  Three years ago, when I went back into the classroom, I made sure to send an email or Golden Note home, or make a positive phone call for students that made it to Outstanding.  I upped the ante this year with the "Clip Chart Hall of Fame."  When students make it to Outstanding they not only get a positive communication sent home, but they get to add a gem to their clip.  Once they have earned 5 gems their clip retires to the "Clip Chart Hall of Fame" and they receive a new clip.  This little change to our chart has created more excitement than I knew was possible.  Okay, maybe I knew that sparkly gems would bring excitement; just not when related to behavior.  Be sure to check back for updates on this new addition.

What do you wish you would have known when you first started teaching?

Setting Up GoNoodle Expectations

I am SOOOOO EXCITED for the first GoNoodle linky!  With one week before I am back to school, and two weeks before my kiddos arrive, my mind is racing with everything I need to get done.  One thing that I keep thinking about is how I am going to launch GoNoodle with my new class.  

I didn't start using GoNoodle until mid year with my last group, and they were already familiar with Brain Breaks, just not the amazing, fun, interactive, digital kind.  However, the excitement of Maximo, Koo Koo Kangaroo, and Airtime adventures made it easy grab my students' attention.  With their excitement in the palm of my hand there was still one more thing that had to take place...introducing GoNoodle Expectations.  These expectations allowed for quick and easy transitions, positive Dojo Points and an overall happy brain break.

I know that starting off with GoNoodle Expectations will be my first step this year.  The poster above serves as an easy checklist and reminder.  You can grab a copy of this poster by clicking on the image or here.
Students are assigned a GoNoodle spot for a couple of reasons.  This allows for quick transitions before and after brain breaks. These assigned spots also eliminate the need for students to stand way to close to each other, or side-by-side with their best buddy.
Teaching students to focus on them self gets the kiddos using each GoNoodle brain break correctly.  If students are worried about looking silly in front of their peers they are never going to experience the benefits of Wiggle It or Empire State.  By only worrying about their own actions they can reap the true benefits of GoNoodle.
The last two expectations are self explanatory, I hope anyway.
Once our expectations are in order, we will be GoNoodling up a storm.  Be sure to follow my blog for the latest on GoNoodle fun throughout the year.

What are your GoNoodle Expectations?  

Don't forget to check out all of the other great GoNoodle ideas in the first linky!

A Dojo of NoOdles

For the last several years, I have used ClassDojo in my classroom.  It started as a way for me to monitor and track classroom behaviors, but it has transformed into my data collection, parent communication, stick pulling, an incentive tool, all around a handy dandy everything.  Being that my iPad is glued to my side, in my classroom, documenting behaviors has been easy.  However, when GoNoOdle entered my life and my classroom I knew I needed some way to bridge it into my ClassDojo world...

ENTER....GoNoOdle points!

I of course had to use the dino icon for the positive points, being that DinoStomp is the greatest thing ever!!!

Every once in a while, I have a kiddo who stands there during a brain break and doesn't participate.  I fully understand that everyone does things in their own time, but ClassDojo allows me to document these moments.  This data allows me to communicate behaviors with parents and check for patterns in the student's behavior.
Speaking of communicating with parents, did you know that you can send messages through ClassDojo?  You can send out whole class or student specific messages.

You can also add comments to behaviors that students earn.

That is my comment down there on the bottom!

I also use ClassDojo to pick students to choose the GoNoOdle break that we will do.  ClassDojo has a random button that does what it says, it picks a random student.  It makes choosing brain breaks, calling on students, as easy a clicking a button.

I love being able to use these two tools together.

If you haven't signed up for ClassDojo or GoNoOdle yet do it now!  They are both free tools that have the ability to transform your classroom?

How do you use these tools?

Sparking Student Motivation with QR Codes

While many teacher have been using QR codes for awhile now, I was hesitant to jump on the bandwagon.  I was fearful that they wouldn't work, cause more of a problem than be helpful, and take away from the learning itself.  I don't know what changed my mind, but I am grateful for it.
QR codes have transformed both literacy and math centers in my classroom.

 Students use codes during their listening center.  Each code links to a different story that is read to them via YouTube with Safe Share.  I purchased these amazing book codes from Lawen Christianson.

 Students also use QR codes to self check some of their centers.  Here students worked on determining if numbers were in the correct order.  They recorded their answers and then checked their work using the QR codes.

Here is another literacy center where students used picture cards to determine which short vowel category each picture fit in.  They recorded each word in the proper group.  Last, they checked their answers using the short vowel QR code.

I am amazed by how engaged my kiddos are.  Of course there were a couple of hiccups, one of the iPads kept dropping off the WiFi, a couple students needed a bit more guidance, but overall the outcome has been AMAZING!  If you have the technology available, I highly recommend using QR codes in your classroom.

How do/would you use QR codes with your students?

Be sure to swing over to Head Over Heals for Teaching to see what other teachers are doing to Spark Student Motivation.

Don't forget to head over to Instagram for a chance to win my favorite things giveaway!

"I can write on the table?"

"You sure can!"
I loved the cheers I heard the first time I let my students write on their tables with dry erase markers.  Their motivation to accept and complete their task hit an all time high.  Check out how I "Sparked my students' motivation" with today's link up.

I first saw this idea flying around Pinterest and knew I needed to try it out.  Our first go at it was with one of our book searches/hunts.  My students do book searches regularly, typically while recording into their journals.  After learning a phonics skill or spelling pattern, I send my kiddos off to find those examples throughout their books.  Here is a book search while writing on our tables in action:

Students hunt through all of the books in their bookbags searching for the learned skill.

This activity is automatically differentiated since the books in each student's bookbag are "Just Right."  As students are hunting, I work my way through the class checking-in on findings and taking anecdotal notes.  I love taking a snapshot of a student's word list and discussing it with them during individual conferences or small group time.  

We also write on our desks to practice math skills.

Another time is during small group.  I find this so much easier to manage with the limited space I have.

I bet a bunch of you are wondering how well the marker wipes off.  My kiddos use old (but clean) socks to erase their work.  Then, at the end of the day we do a quick baby wipe or Lysol wipe and the tables are new again!

Do you let students write on their desks?  How do you Spark Motivation?

Transitions

I don't care how long I have been teaching, transitions are the most difficult part of the day.  I want my kiddos to have down time to rejuvenate their minds, but I also want them to stay on task.
I typically use music during transitions or a repeat after me.  My kiddos have come to enjoy Disney songs and cartoon theme songs as they move from one place and activity to the next.  However, there are times when I feel that I need to keep my kiddos focused on the specific learning taking place.  This is when I use my repeat after me.  These chants and phrases range from repeating directions, to vocabulary, ABCs, Zoo Phonics, counting, and PBIS reminders.  This technique is limitless, yet there are times when noise and voices are the last things we need.  It is at these times I quickly get my iPad and open up The Quiet Game.  This app is a digital version of an oldie.

Just like The Quiet Game we played as children, this app challenges the silence of those playing.  My kiddos love trying to set new records, and I love how quickly they transition from quiet to their necessary task.

What techniques/strategies do you use to transition your kiddos?

ClassDojo

Last fall, I was granted the use of an iPad for district research.  I was very excited for the learning that was about to take place with its use, but overwhelmed at them same time.  I decided to search on Pinterest for app recommendations.  Pinterest never fails, which is how I learned about ClassDojo.

ClassDojo is an interactive behavior tracking system.  It allows you to track and monitor student's individual behaviors as well as the whole class.

Once you add your class or classes to the site you are good to go.  I have found that starting each day's attendance on the website and then tracking through the app allows for the greatest usability.  I love the ability to apply my custom points to one, several, or all students.  An even better function is the random button.  This function helps you to switch up your participants and tracking (think of it as pulling sticks).

ClassDojo not only allows you to review the behaviors collected, but you can also share the data with parents and students.

Do you use ClassDojo?