Writing Topic Grid Sheets

Happy Friday, all!  First off, I can't believe I can finally say this, but we are DONE with state testing...woo hoo!  The kiddos have been such troopers, and I have to admit, even I'm glad to be putting my feet up :)

In any case, this is the time of year that I start my *tweaking* for next year.  Crazy?  Maybe, but I always feel like if I start now, all of the things that worked well or need fixing are fresh in my head!  One thing I've used this year that I've LOVED (read: will be using next year) are my Writing Topic Grid Sheets.

Like so many of you, I'm a big believer in daily writing.  But I was finding that assigning a daily writing journal prompt that the whole class had to respond to was totally stifling their creativity...to the point of boredom.  And as we all know, CHOICE is a huge motivator when it comes to students.  Hmmm...that's when I made these grids.  It's a month's worth of writing prompts, but the students choose the topic they respond to each day.  When they've used a prompt, they cross it off.

And as mentioned before, some of my *tweaking* involves giving these bad boys a facelift...you can grab my grid for the month of May over at my store! 

All of the monthly grids will be available next week, with a special year long bundle deal...yay!

Time to sign off...have a great weekend all!

{Pin It!} Cutie-Patootie Testing Treats

Hey all!  It's already getting late (well, that's coming from the mom of an almost 5 month old, hehe, so take it as you will), but I didn't want to head to bed without putting up this super quick post.

I'm sure I'm not alone here, but I LOVE me some Pinterest.  I started dabbling in it when it first came out, and had no idea how popular it would become...but with good reason.  I can honestly say that so many aspects of the teaching have been revolutionized by some ideas I've pinned.  With that said, I'll be including some of the "gems" I've found while perusing in posts called "Pint It!"

We just finished our first day of state testing here...only 5 more to go!  In any case, by the end of testing, I can see the exhaustion in my students' faces.  And as a little pick-me-up, I love to give them a little treat for doing a great job.

I've seen so many cute ideas for testing treats, but this one is great!  I love all of the different tags for all different sorts of treats.  You can check out the post and grab these cute tags from Ginger Snaps' blog here.

I'm sure my kiddos will ADORE these after our long week of math testing this week...hope your kiddos do, too!  

"Know It, Show It, or Blow It!"

Hey all!  Happy Thursday!  I can't believe how fast this week is flying by...

Although it's been a great week, it's been exhausting...and I don't just mean for me!  Here in NY, we're on the verge of beginning our state testing...eeek!  In 3rd grade, we test in both ELA and Math.  Even with teaching all the necessary skills throughout the year (and re-teaching, and teaching again), I'm finding the need to still "tweak" some of my kiddos' skills.

One thing that's consistent in my students' math work from year to year is the lack of showing...their...work.  Ugh.  It can be like pulling teeth at times!  So, in an attempt to get my point across, I came up with this little ditty:

Oh. my. gosh.  My students giggled.  I giggled.  So we said it again...we even made hand motions to go with it!  Once we pulled ourselves together enough to chat again, I explained that even if they KNOW an answer in their head, if they didn't SHOW their work, they would BLOW their chance at a correct answer.  And I'll tell you what...they rarely forget to show their work anymore :)

Wanna grab this poster for your classroom?  Especially because it's a FREEBIE?  Grab it here.  Hope your kiddos enjoy it as much as mine do!