Websites for classroom videos

I have recently been working on my short story unit and have come across several good websites that I wanted to share. The first is Watch Know Learn. The site has short useful videos from all over the web, not just YouTube. They can be downloaded and embedded into whiteboard presentations. My school has YouTube blocked and since you can't download the videos, I am often limited on what I can use. This site has a wide variety of subjects and even has a section dedicated to the Common Core. Check it out.

Time Fillers

Our school has a homeroom class at the end of the day. It is a full class period and I often find my kids are finished with their homework early. This can lead to trouble so I like to have fillers to keep the peace. On Fridays, I will show the week in review at flocabulary.com. This has a seven-dollar-a-month subscription fee but I use several of the videos and songs on the site.  The week in rap covers the top news stories for the week and a new one is available every Thursday. My kids remind me that we need to do the "Week in Rap".  The website can be found HERE They also offer a Free 30-day free trial!

Writing by Numbers

This is a fun creative writing assignment that I do with my seventh graders. Students pick four numbers in advance and then find out who their characters are the setting and the plot. Even my most reluctant learners are thinking, and excited about writing. Try it in small groups, or independently.  Students will be eager to share their final product so try to set aside some time for them to present their stories. Below is a copy of the student handout and a PowerPoint to display. Have fun, and let me know how it went.

Get directions and a student handout HERE.

Click HERE for a copy of the PowerPoint to display on your board.

The Kids Should See This!

Something a little different to get your kids writing. This is a very interesting website that has short educational videos.  They are science related but I think they would make good journal starters by having them write a response to what they just watched. They would also be a good filler for that class that has a few minuets left at the end. Just click the link below to take a peek.

The Kids Should See This

More Interactive Notebooks

Today I have just a few pictures of how some of my notebook activities are coming along.  So far with language arts, I have found that it is easier to just go page to page when you are reading a novel. Novels can go so fast that I had a few blank left-side pages. With mini-lessons, the left-side and right-side activities work the best. I guess it just depends on your preferences, and what resources you are using.
 
 I have purchased quality reading guides from TPT at great prices. Some of my pictures are not flipped up or do not show all of the pages in the book to not step on any toes.

This has definitely been a learning process! My kids suggested that I write the page number on my handouts before I copy them, then if the pages don't get glued in immediately, or they are absent, students can still figure out where to put them. Genius!!! I will be compiling a list of their suggestions at the end of the year. I think they will have a lot to teach us!

I teach 7th, 8th, and 9th ELA so the pics are a little random.

Flocabulary lesson. Kids really like this site. Check it out if you haven't already!

Road map to nonfiction book report activity.

For a Diary of Anne Frank activity, I used post-it notes. Prompt: imagine that Anne was not the only one who kept a Diary. Write a diary entry from the point of view of The different characters to the events that happened in the story. Event 1: Anne wakes up screaming (Mrs. Frank, Mr. Dussel)
Event 2: Mr. Van Daan is caught stealing food (Mrs. Frank, Mr. Frank). Event 3: Anne has a date in Peter's room (Peter, Mrs. Frank) Event 4. Mr. Dussel joins the group (Mr. Frank, Mr. Van Daan).

Characterization Activity

To Kill a Mockingbird reading guides. for these I temporarily stopped the "left side, right side"

and just went on to the next page.

Outsiders reading questions and Venn diagram.

To Kill a Mockingbird map activity.

Urban Myths and Legends activity

Awesome Facebook activity created by Tracee Orman! Kids loved it! Her templates are high quality and I highly recommend them.

Are We in Trouble?

We all occasionally have to miss a day of school due to illness, workshops, or personal matters. One of my pet peeves is when I come back and find out that my kids did not behave well for my substitute teacher.  Having substituted during my college years, I truly understand how very difficult that job is. I tried everything from work overload to threats to get my kids to behave themselves, and nothing seemed to work. I really can't tell you why kids go absolutely insane when they find out their teacher is away, but we all know they do.

For the last three years, I have offered a Reward Day to the best-behaved class and the winner is chosen by the substitute teacher.  I usually let them choose from one of the class games I have on the whiteboard such as The Noun Game, Scrabble, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, etc. What's great is I can actually slide in some review and they don't even realize it!

Since I started this practice of Reward Day, I have received many compliments on how "good my kids are" and  "what hard workers they are". Seriously, it's like a trip to Bizarro World! Try it! It really is great to come back to class and have the kids ask if they were the "best behaved" instead of "Are we in trouble?". 

Bust Out the Games and Have Some Fun!

I know that the entire school year is a busy time, but I always feel overwhelmed at the end of the year. Testing, purchase orders, field trips, grades, inventory, packing, collecting, and storing all have to be done before we close our classroom doors.

 We also have classes to teach, but after testing the kids tend to become whiny and don't want to work. With only a few weeks left, you are probably assigning projects and reports to keeping the kids on track. Me too. For me, it is also time to bust out the games and have some fun!

I am working on posting, creating, and updating some of my games and will be posting them here over the next few weeks. They will also be posted in my TPT store for free. I hope some of you can use them to trick those kids into doing a little end-of-year thinking.

BOGGLE - is similar to the original game and can be downloaded in my TPT store by clicking HERE

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The Noun Game- This is one of my kid's favorites! It is a flip-chart format that I use with my Promethean Board. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a fun and engaging game. I have written about this game before and you can find the full details in my October archives. To download it from my google drive click HERE.

Brain Games #1- This is a PowerPoint of twenty-five brain teasers of various levels and subject areas. My kids (who say they don't like to think) love these. I guess the jokes are on them! To download click HERE. 

Lets Play Scattergories
(Flipchart)

Wet and Water Punch Cards

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer break. I know I sure am. So much so that my blog has been very neglected. As I attempt to get back into the swing of things, I thought I would share a little classroom tip. 

This is a template for the punch cards I use in class.  I laminate the cards and put them on a ring to hang by my classroom door. When a student needs to go to the restroom they find their card and bring it to me to punch for them. This was a great way to keep track of and limit the number of times students leave the room. 


My students are allowed to leave five times per semester for the restroom or get water.  Since they have time between classes and are allowed to go to other classes this was more than enough passes. students who had unused punches got a piece of candy for each punch they did not use.  



This has five different colors and eight cards per page. It is in Word format so you can edit it for your particular needs. You can download it from my TPT store. Enjoy!

Punch Card Pass

Interactive Notebook Activities for Your Whiteboard

I love doing ISNs in my classroom!  However, sometimes I find myself explaining several times what I want on the left side due to multi-step directions. . This year I decided to create a PowerPoint of the various activities that I had into one PowerPoint so I could provide them with a visual.  This is a collection of fifty different activities to use in social studies or ELA. I am offering this as a  resource in my TPT store. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment and don't forget to follow me if you haven't already.

To download this product click HERE

 I also have a FREE document version and you can download it HERE

The Purge

I have been teaching for 17 years and like many of you who have been at it for years, I have collected numerous books, units, games, etc. My colleagues always tell me "You are so organized!" and in my head, I think to myself "if you only knew". The other day I was working in my room and realized that I am "neat", not necessarily organized.  I have all of my files color coded to match that grade's textbook (7th red, 8th green, 9th orange), I have set organization for classroom procedures, and of course, gone digital and rely heavily on my clouds.  Yet I still felt like I was looking for stuff all the time.

Then I realized I just had too much stuff that I don't use. We all go through our closets every year (or two) and purge our belongings. We hold yard sales, and donate things. Teachers, on the other hand, tend to find neat ways to hoard their stuff.  

So do schools in general. I am getting some much-needed, and very expensive, new textbooks. I asked what to do with my old ones and they want to box them up and store them. Why they are not on their way to the dumpster is beyond me.

I started with books, literature sets, and units that I no longer teach and set them on one side of my room in rows like a yard sale. I then went to the elementary librarian (I am in high school)  to announce that there were free books in my room at the end of their faculty meeting. Within one hour (no exaggeration) everything was whisked away. It was amazing! Someone mentioned eBay, and I will admit I have made some decent money there selling teaching units and Big Books, but I felt that route was too time-consuming. Plus, I feel better when I can help other people out rather than making a couple of dollars.

After that, I took a trash can over to my shelves and started checking out binders. I did not even open them. If I did not use them last year I pitched them. I freed up two more shelves! It was liberating!

Monday I am going through the filing cabinets, No extra copies. Nothing that I have not used in the last two years is going to stay! I have people asking me if I am retiring, others probably think I am gravely ill, but the truth is I am on a quest to truly get myself organized. We purge our homes, our bodies, and even our emotions. Why not our classrooms? Take a deep breath and let it go, literally.

Use Velcro Dots to Calm Students

Today I wanted to share a little tip to help calm those students that become distracted and squirmy during lessons. I buy Velcro dots and stick them to the upper right and left hand corners of students desks. The calming effect the students get from rubbing their fingers over the Velcro is amazing!

I recommend the black because they don't show dirt, and students are less tempted to write on them. My kids love them and will often ask for new ones if their's go missing. I promise that your kids will settle down and lessons will be more effective without all of the distractions.  Try it and let me know how it worked for you.

Welcome!

My name is Renee Miler and I am new to the blogging scene. I want a place to share some of the random things that take place in my life, and in my classroom. I also want to share some of the interesting sites, blogs, and people that I come across on the web. I have seen so many awesome blogs lately that I must admit I am a little bit intimidated.  However, most are geared toward the elementary classroom and this one will be more for those of us who are crazy enough to teach in the middle.

I am a retired teacher who taught at a small rural school in Missouri. I teach 7th grade and 8th grade. and Freshman language arts (no pressure there).  I really like teaching and I love my job. I must admit though that it seems that teachers have become the "bad guys" in the last few years both in the media and with lawmakers.  If you have tenure and have devoted your life to a school district, people assume you no longer work as hard, or you are unwilling to try new strategies in your classroom. I think this current mentality is what has prompted me to start this blog. 

I have changed the way I do things every year in my room. I am constantly on the lookout for some way to make my lessons more engaging for my kids.  I will be sharing some of my finds, and some of the things that I have learned over the years in weekly posts on this site.  Hopefully, you will be able to find some ideas to help you in your classroom as you pursue your career in the ever-changing world of education.

Liebster Award Part Two

I'm so excited to be nominated for another Liebster Award! As many of you know a Liebster Award is an award given to bloggers with less than 200 followers to recognize one another! This Liebster Award is from ibteachnulanguagearts.blogspot.com

Liebster Awards do come with a few guidelines (I don't really like to call them rules):

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you
2. Answer the questions that the person who nominated you asked
3. Share 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate some great blogs with less than 200 followers! (My favorite!)
5. Present 11 questions for your nominees to answer

Let's get to it!

1. What is your favorite sports team?

Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals. 

2. What is your perfect weekend?

The perfect weekend is spending time with my husband and daughter. It really doesn't matter what we're doing.

3. What is a must-have at your desk?

Something that is a must at my desk is a drink! Coffee in the morning, then water, and after lunch a Diet Dr. Pepper

4. What is your favorite professional book?

The Books Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, In the Middle by Nancie Atwell, and Teaching Reading in Middle School by Laura Robb Veryare good! Gosh, I could keep going. 

5. What would a utopian society be like to you?

I teach  The Giver by Lois Lowry every year. I do not want to be part of a Utopian society! 

6. Name three things you would bring to a deserted island?

After watching Naked and Afraid on the Discovery Channel, I've decided I would make sure I had clothes on and bring:

• A lighter (there's no way I'm going to figure out how to start a fire otherwise)
• A person who has survival skills (I have none so I need to bring an expert)
• A Tent

7. If you could mentor a first-year teacher, what would be the first thing you would tell him/her?

If you have questions, no matter how dumb you think they are, ASK!

8. What is your hobby?

Crafting and Blogging

9. What would you be if you weren't a teacher?

I would probably want to be an emergency dispatcher.

10. If you could move anywhere in the U.S. where would you move to? to

Florida

11. Who is your favorite president?

Obama! Best president ever!

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I am the least coordinated person on the planet
2. I loved science in high school
3. I am horrible at math (like really bad)
4. I've been to Australia and loved it!
5. I like taking long hot showers, they relax me
6. My favorite movies are mysteries, action, or set in the era of the Vikings.
7. My favorite actor is The Rock!
8. My favorite actress is Sandra Bullock
9. I love the movies Remember the Titians and the Sandlot and have seen them countless times. I have lines memorized. I'll quote them.
10. I love rollercoasters!!!
11. I love crafting anything!

My Nominees are:

Bootcampmom.com

Questions for My Nominees:

1. If you could go anywhere, where would it be? (This doesn't have to be a real place)
2. What's your favorite sport?
3. What's your guilty pleasure?
4. What's your favorite word?
5. What's your favorite part of starting the school year?
6. What's the worst thing about starting the school year?
7. Is the glass half empty or half full?
8. What advice would you give to teachers for starting the new school year?
9. What's the last book you read?
10. What is your favorite professional book?
11. What's your favorite flower?

Let's get to it!

Academic Vocabulary

I am working on converting some of my activities to the Common Core standards. Today I completed the first vocabulary activity that I will work on with my kids. This is only Part 1 and is over definitions.   These items are in my TPT Store or you can get them from My google drive below.

You can get a copy of this PowerePoint activity and the answer key  by clicking HERE.

This set uses the same words but students will need to use context clues to get the correct answer. To download this version click HERE

Free Plot Diagram Posters

Hello everyone! This girl is finally getting back to teacher mode. It's been a great and productive summer, but now it is time to think about the classroom and all the things that need to get done. I thought I would start by giving away a free gift to my fellow teachers.

Every Year I start with short stories and elements of a plot, genre, etc... One of the projects I assign is a plot diagram over an Accelerated reader book they have read. I have had this listed in my TPT store for $5.00 but am giving it away FREE to my followers. This activity includes student guide, teacher guide, and grading rubric!

Just click on the link below to get your free copy.
Free Plot Diagram Project

Here are some examples from my students:

This is really a great alternative to the traditional book report. If you use it let me know how it went and don't forget to follow me! 

In a Million Words or Less.....

This is a homework activity that I give my seventh-grade parents at the open house every year. It really helps me to connect with my kids right away. Parents seem to like it and often share valuable information. I always send a thank you note back to the parents that participate whether it be by snail mail or email! In it, I include their grade for completing the assignment, which is always an A! (I'm blonde, not stupid) I have updated and loaded this activity to my TPT store.  Just Download it and insert it in your information. This activity really gets my year off to a great start. I hope it does yours too.

You can download your copy here: In a Million Words or Less.....

Monthly Journaling Pages

My Freshmen are using monthly journaling pages, along with other activities I have received several responses about these so I am re-posting. 

 I simply give my kids the page and check for completeness at the end of the month. I used to give them a prompt every day and make them write it, date it, and write a half-page response. With these, I set no requirements, which threw them at first, but I simply explained that it was their journal and to do what they thought needed to be done. I could tell they thought I had lost my mind, and I wasn't sure how this would turn out. When I went to grade them I couldn't believe how much work my kids had put into their journal pages! Full pages of poetry, illustrations, recipes, stories, etc... Giving up control and letting them take over has been one of the best things I have ever done.

These make good activities for interactive notebooks. Next year I plan on having a "grab a snack and write Fridays." This will allow them to share some of the recipes they have found or shared. This should be fairly quick to do and can lead to other writing activities, i.e. writing critiques, responses, memories, etc...

                   

                    

         Here are the links to the other pages:

All Journal Pages Here