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