The End is Near...Resources for Continued Learning

Hello darlings!  I don't know about you, but I am always concerned with the learning loss that occurs between grade levels every summer.  Year after year, our new kiddos come to us reading at least one level lower than the previous year, and somehow that is normal and acceptable.  We work too hard with our kiddos for them to regress and not retain their learning!

Last year I decided to do something about it.  On the last day of school, my kiddos make themselves a Summer Camp Kit.  This kit includes multiplication games, a Reading Response Journal, and Writing Prompts with a Writing Journal.

Because my students are the ones making it, they take ownership and they don't just toss it as soon as they leave for summer!  I tell kiddos that if they bring it back completed the next year, they will earn a special treat from me.  While I would like to report that all of my kiddos brought it back last year, I was please that I did get 12 students who completed it.  I am going for a larger number this year.

I will also be starting a Summer Camp Success Wall in my room to hang up pics of the kiddos who completed it and allow them to sign the wall.  Hopefully this will be another motivator as well.

 Check it out here.

Included:
Detailed directions with pictures
Reading Journal with suggested activities and sentence starters
Writing Journal with optional prompts
Camp Workout Game: incorporation multiplication and physical activity
Hike the Hills Game: multiplication strategy game "spotting animals"
Spinner Game: includes 3 different multiplication/division game options

I did this on the last day of school with my kiddos.  The key to these activities is that students take ownership in creating the journals and games themselves.  Students simply color each page, cut out, and staple the journals together.  They also put together the spinner and the other games.  Once completed, they put each game or journal in its own sandwich bag and then place everything inside the suitcase.  We play the games in partners and start off one of the journal entries for reading and writing.   

I hope you check this out and find it useful.  I would love to give two lucky winners this resource for free.  Just tell me your favorite vacation spot and leave your email.  You may find this in your in box tomorrow!

End of the Year Ideas & Geometry Freebie

So I have been MIA for the past few weeks. It has been crazy on my end here lately. Between preparing for the wonderful MAP test (which we started yesterday) and some personal things, I have barely had enough time to myself. However, I couldn't neglect you guys any longer. You guys help me so the least I could do is try to share some insight that maybe one person (teacher, parent, reader) could use. :)

I don't know about you but we still have 4 1/2 weeks left until summer starts. Thanks to the many snow days we had! It seems so far away, yet I feel like I still have some much content to cover in Social Studies/Science and DRA's have be done as well. We will be busy, busy until the last day of school, as we have a lot planned. We had a 1/2 release day yesterday afternoon, a full day next week, a field trip the week after, Memorial Day off, 3rd grade carnival, and then it's camp week during the last week of school. So much fun stuff coming up. It gets to be my favorite time of the year!

 

Since I cannot seem to not think about it being the end of the year, I figured I would share my End of the Year Ideas that my kiddos loved last year. (Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics while doing these as I wasn't in the blogging sense then).

 These are Common Core aligned, which makes it more meaningful for the end of the year. Some of these ideas correlate with our camp week. However, they could be used, even though you don't do camp.








Friendly Letter Ideas



Memory Book



Order of Events (Chronological Order)

Tips for Next Year Brochure, End of the Year Charades, & Classroom Library Hunt

These ideas could be used if you have some free time or implemented within reading and writing. You can grab these ideas by clicking here. In addition to using my own ideas, I purchased Hope King's The Ultimate End of Year Writing Bundle to use as well. I plan on using this again this year as well.

Now, in midst of preparing for the MAP test, we just finished up with our geometry unit. We reviewed angles, triangles, solid shapes, plane shapes, congruent shapes, and many other topics within geometry. Unfortunately, our Singapore program doesn't have a lot of resources for all of these various topics. Therefore, I used a lot of outside resources. Unfortunately, I didn't use a lot of website resources, rather than Brainpop and BrainpopJr. These are my two top "go to" websites for any concept that I am reviewing/implementing.

Area and perimeter seems to create some confusion with my kiddos. Anytime my kiddos are trying to learn something that could be challenging, I try to think about implementing a song whenever I can. My teammates shared this song with me and thought it was great. My kiddos love it and it is a great way to remember the difference between perimeter and area.

You could also do the same tune with area as well with the following lyrics:

Area's inside, Area's inside,

Oh, Oh, don't you know,

Area's inside.

 

Multiply length by width, multiply length by width,

Oh, oh, don't you know,

Multiply length by width.



I created this Perimeter & Area Scoot-Tetris Style to use as a review. You can use it as a scoot, a read the room activity, or a center. Kiddos will look at each Tetris shape and determine its perimeter and area. To create a challenge, I didn't put the measurements for each side. Instead, I included a key that states how much each square is worth.

 

To thank you for stopping by, click on the link and download this for FREE! :)

What are some end of the year ideas you plan on implementing at the end of the year? I would love any feedback you may have.

Also, follow us on Bloglovin' to stay up-to-date with us! :)

Friday Freebie

Hello darlings!  What a crazy week!  I'm Linking up at three fun Friday themed linky parties.

    

1. The first crazy thing this week was when I had to tell my grade level that we have to move storage closets this year...  Not fun! You know how much work there is to do at the end of the year already...  In the process of looking at the overwhelming task ahead, one of my team mates noticed that his rubbermaid containers and my containers were missing.  Everyone we talked to had no idea what could have happened to them.  After sending a mass email to the staff asking if they witnessed an alien abduction or something, we got an email back from a coworker who said he had taken them to move his house over the weekend.  =)
 

2. We had our Publishing Party for our parents on Thursday.  Kiddos had written about who they were going to be in 20 years.  It was darling!  I had a class slideshow that I had created using smilebox.com and when I got to school the day of the party, it was blocked by our district's server!  Talk about freaking out!  My wonderfully amazing Tech Contact/Computer Teacher tried her best to get the tech people to unblock it.  After a lot of run around she was told to fill out a form...By this time, parents were already here for lunch.  Thank goodness I saw my principal in the hall!  I asked her if she had some sort of executive power and if she could do something.  Within ten minutes, the site was unblocked!  YAY principal! 

 

You can download the papers for free by clicking the picture!

3. Today was our Economics Carnival and it DIDN'T rain!  We were so worried!  It turned out great!  The only thing better is if we could have had food.  In past years we have had candy and fair type food, but now there is a food allergy policy... Does your school have that?

Kiddos LOVE the Economics Carnival!  When I brought them in to take the assessment after the carnival, they were SILENT!  They were so serious about doing a good job!

Get the entire unit here.

4. Our Teacher Appreciation is going to be the last week of school, but I just had to share this picture one of my teamies sent me.

 

I thought it was hilarious!  

5. Did you notice we have a new blog design?!!!???!!!  I a SUPER pumped!  I had to keep looking at it today.  It is so adorable   Thank you so much to Megan over at A Bird in the Hand Blog Designs!  She allows you to build the blog yourself (picking the elements you like) and then she puts it all together into cuteness! 

Camp Week Fun-End of the Year is HERE!

Well my friends,  our last day of school is tomorrow!  Yippy!  I've been busy finishing report cards, DRA folders, organizing, and packing.  Sorry I haven't posted in a while!

We were Camping in my third grade classroom.  It has been a blast!  Take a look!

Here the kiddos are opening Care Packages from parents.  As you can see in the background, we had to make a few tents out of desks and tablecloths. Normally, I have five or six small tents.

We made God's Eyes (Ojo de Dios)  with sticks that we collected on a nature walk.  You can also use craft sticks.  Click here for directions.

How many days of school do you have left?

End of the Year stuff...

Okay friends, I have 8 days of school left and I am feeling a little overwhelmed.  How about you?  There is so much to do and so little time...

Well, one thing to check off my list is my welcome letter for my new class.  We have to turn it in to the office next week so they can get them ready for mailing. (already, I know!)  Click to get a free copy to model after.  I know I always like to get ideas from other teachers of what they write.  I also include a letter to the parents called, "A Million Words or Less."  I found it online a few years ago.  Sorry, I don't know who from...

As I pack up my room, (actually, before state testing) I take all of my posters and anchor charts off my wall.  I don't believe in saving them for the next year because I feel it is powerful to create the charts with the kiddos.  I take a pic for my files and then I hold a raffle for my kiddos to choose anchors charts to take home.  They LOVE this!  Lots of my girls like to take them home to play school.  My boys like to take them as a poster or to make large paper airplanes. =)  No matter what, it is better than trashing them.

I hope the end of your year is as stress free as possible!

Amy