Student Engagement Resources…

Our Wish List was Granted….

I’m very excited to share some of the fabulous resources that my grade level received this year, as a result of our mini grant, being funded by The Burton Foundation.  When I applied for the mini grant, I had so much fun, putting together a “wish list”. 

This year our site has really been focusing on student engagement, so to fall inline with this, we “wish listed” and received several engagement type resources, check them out…..

5 Different Sets of Kagan “Structures” Posters

Mind Mats and Team Mats

Teacher’s Tool Box (Filled with Smart Cards)

Project Posters

Kagan is a publisher that I absolutely LOVE!  Their products are both teacher and student friendly.

Here is their link, incase you want to take a peek at what they have to offer....Kagan Publishers

Today is the Last Day to Join in Working 4 the Classroom’s 1^st Official Give Away Celebration!

Don’t miss out…Remember, you can share a posts and enter more that once!

The reason for the celebration:

I officially started blogging 1 month ago and 5 days ago when I began this give away, I was thrilled with these facts:

*Working 4 the Classroom had been visited over 32,000 times and had reached 100 fans on FB!!

BUT

Today my total visits have reached  almost 43,000+ And I have 148 Facebook Fans!!

I had decided, that with this give away, I wanted to share one of my favorite things...Starbucks!  So, two lucky people will receive a $10 Ecard!

I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!

Thank You Everyone!!!

Here are the details:   Enter to win, with the help of my "friend" Rafflecopter.  This can be done through this blog or the Working 4 the classroom Facebook Page.   I'd love it if you could share this celebration!
Good Luck! & Thanks!

“Flipping” for a Year End Review!

Explaining My Year End- Review Flip Books

What are your 'go to" resources for the end of the year, as you are attempting to review the entire year's content?  I wanted to effectively touch on each standard, without overwhelming my students, so I created these flip books, to help with this task.
      

I have had several requests to post more details about my year end, grade level, review flip books. Soooo, here it goes…..

After I folded and set up the flip book flaps, I literally used the old fashioned method of “cutting & pasting” with scissors and tape/glue.  I chose reinforcing, standards based, content, that in most cases, would provide more review information, than work.  
To create both books, I think I probably pulled from over 30 different resources.

I used my district’s focus standards, to prioritize and plan the content.  My goal was to provide a quick, focused review, using the flip books and then follow up with a targeted, hands-on and/or collaborative activity.    
For math, we used the flip book, and then students completed various math strips (see pictures), based on the data from the last benchmark (this helps to avoid wasting time and helps students to stay focused on meeting their personal goals).  They then follow our “Math Masters” process to check their work with a partner (see chart).  After that, they used various activities and or games to complete their review.

Math Review Support Pages (I cut them into strips and they only take what they need to focus on).

I have found this process very effective and motivating.  I don’t know about your yearly pacing schedule, but ours is brutal, and although we spiral throughout the year, it is nice to just take a chunk of time and let the students work with the standards in a fun, less pressured way.

Side Note:  For the typical, in class flip book, I generally just use plain white paper and have my students fold and assemble their own books.  The students then fill them in with the desired content, as instructed.

I created a set of directions and printable pages (it's a "rough" copy, not as nice as I'd like it to be, but it's a start) that may help you create your own flip books.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A BLANK COPY TO CREATE YOUR OWN FLIP BOOK!!

Since I had several requests to share pictures of the inside pages, here they are....

My Sample Math Flip Book Pictures:

My Sample ELA Flip Book Pictures:

Hope this helps!

Thanks for visiting Working 4 the Classroom!

It's a Balancing Act

From Flip Books to Task Cards…This is How We Do It!!

How many times, have you wanted to dump a scripted lesson from that oversized, spiral bound, teacher’s manual, for a little fun!  Well, that is the course I have opted to take for the next few weeks (fortunately, I’m in a district that allows us to take a little leeway in this area). 

Not only did I do some blogging over spring break, but I also spent several hours creating and assembling these 4^th grade Review Flip Books for ELA and Math.  The goal was to include a short, succinct review and practice lesson for each power & essential standard that we were mandated to cover this year.

After we complete our daily review, we will be following up with some hands on and/or collaborative activities from my absolute favorite resource books from Kagan.

 Balanced Literacy By Kagan (K-6 Resources) Check Them Out!

Students then use their most recent benchmark data, to decide on the type/sets of task cards they are going to work on.   

Here is the Pro Teacher Task Card List.

**You can download this extensive linked list from google docs, but you need to be a member of http://www.proteacher.net/ (it is a free site) to gain access to the links/files.

I almost feel like I’m running a three ring circus, but the “student buy-in” and their active engagement, is worth it!!

Here's the link to this FREEBIE!! At Your Seat Answer Sheets

DON"T  LEAVE WITHOUT SHARING…WHAT REVIEW STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES DO YOU USE IN YOUR CLASSROOM? HOW DO YOU BALANCE EVERYTHING? HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE AND INVOLVED?