Visual Plans {9/28-10/2}

I’m excited to be back and linking up my plans with the fabulous DeeDee Wills.  It’s been crazy busy at school and at home (we have been busy with some remodeling- I will post some pics at the end of this post!) so it’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten my visual plans done and linked up!

 

ELA

Grammar:  We are finishing up Abstract Nouns this week!  Last week, we did our Abstract (noun) Art and they absolutely loved it.  I think that it really help them see that while they can’t touch, see, hear or smell abstract nouns we have symbols and images that represent some of them that we can see.  It really helped them understand the difference between concrete and abstract.

Click on the picture above to check it out in my store and grab it while it’s on sale!

Reading: We will be finishing up with main idea this week and beginning our framework 2 assessment at the end of the week.  My kiddos have been doing an amazing job with main idea and I attribute it to two things. 

First, we began our main idea unit by using Main Idea Bags.  They were a huge hit and an engaging and concrete way to introduce this difficult skill!  Make sure you grab my Main Idea Bags for FREE by clicking HERE!

Secondly, we teach finding the main idea by using a triangle shape.

 

I love the triangle for a few reasons….

1.  It helps them see how the supporting details (the biggest part of the triangle and the biggest part of the paragraph) hold up the main idea.

2.  The topic is the smallest part of the triangle because you should only need 1-3 words to state the topic.

3.  They can draw a triangle anywhere to use it to help find the main idea!

Writing:

We will continue to work on writing informative paragraphs using Color Coded Paragraphs.  Part of our framework assessment this week is a writing portion and they will have to write an informative paragraph.  They should have a great understanding of all of the parts of a paragraph and have had lots of practice with them thanks to this pack!

Math

Lessons:  This week we will be working on rounding and we will be doing a lot of work with one of my favorite purchases EVER.  Blair Turner’s amazing Interactive Notebook!  I can’t say enough about how amazing it is!

M.A.T.H. Centers:  I am in love with how math centers are going this year.  I was looking for something a little easier to manage and ended up making my own rotation board and it has been working great!

We will be using Addition Scoot (this is a FREEBIE!) and some other activities from my friend Mrs. 3rd Grade’s Math Centers!

Science

My kiddos love anything hands on and involving food so I am super excited to do our Layers Of The Earth s’mores this week.  Year after year it is a huge hit!

This should be a fun week in third grade!  I’ve put all of my products that I’m using this week on sale for today and tomorrow!  Head on over and check them out. 

Now, here are some of the remodel pictures I promised.  The backyard is finished, we are just waiting on the furniture and security doors to be delivered.  The house was painted and my master shower will get started in about two more weeks! 

 

We can’t wait for everything to be finished so the girls can bring friends back to the house after football games, my husband can have his basketball team over, and we can entertain friends! 

Fall In Love With Teaching….Grammar

Historically speaking, teaching grammar has been a horribly boring and worksheet driven task.  Interactive notebooks, cooperative learning strategies and Plickers have changed the game in my classroom this year.  I have fallen in love with teaching grammar this year.


We usually start learning a new skill by putting a foldable into our notebook.
We learn about and practice the skill on whiteboards using a Power Point that I make.  My kids are loving the Power Points.  I use their names in the sentences and try and match them up with Melonheadz Kidlette!  The anticipation as they wait for the next slide is so fun!





Seriously…..this Melonheadz cutie looks JUST like my Cianna!


Another practice activity that is an absolute favorite is Write the Room.  My kiddos love anything that involves getting up out of our desks so this was an instant hit.  I make some task cards and a cute little recording sheet.  Tape the task cards around the room and they are off to practice!





Hands down, my students favorite way to practice right now is Plickers.  If you haven’t checked out Plickers yet, click HERE to go to their website!  They are free and so easy to use.  I have the app on my phone and I pull up the questions on my laptop and project them on my screen.  I use the camera on my phone to scan and I can change the questions on the screen from my phone from anywhere in my room! 
 
Check out some of my favorite grammar products by clicking on the pictures below and just for this weekend and this fun blog hop you can grab them on sale!



 


Make sure that you enter our amazing Blog Hop Giveaway and then click on the graphic below to head to the next blog!






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What’s The Main Idea? {FREEBIE}

Teaching main idea and details is always a difficult thing to do.  This year, we moved our main idea framework up to teach it earlier in the year so that our kiddos had plenty of time throughout the rest of the year to practice.  We were looking for an engaging way to introduce this difficult concept that would help our students understand it more deeply.  We wanted to show them that to find the main idea, you need to connect the supporting details.  You need to figure out what the details have in common, what they are trying to tell you. 
To introduce this difficult skill this week we used Main Idea Bags.  This idea has been around for a while in lots of different formats.  We wanted to make it as hands on as possible for our kiddos and we wanted to make the response sheet that we were going to use match the vocabulary and questioning they would see again on their district framework assessment.
I filled 5 brown paper lunch sacks with items.  Each bag had a main idea and all of the items in each bag helped support that idea.  I pulled each item out in a specific order because I wanted the first detail or two to be details that could have a few different possibilities for main idea.  The last detail or two were details that strongly supported the one main idea. 
The bags were a HUGE hit!  In fact, they loved them so much that several kiddos wanted to take a paper sack home and make their own Main Idea Bag to present to the class.  So, I quickly typed up a letter explaining to parents what we were doing and sent them home with those who were interested. 
The next day several kiddos brought their bags back and presented them to the class.  I could not believe what a great job they did, I was so impressed!





I know that I am going to have more bags coming in this week because after the first round of presentations more kiddos asked for bags of their own.  Some of my students are on their second or third bag!  I love that they are reinforcing their learning at home in such an engaging and creative way and we get lots of practice throughout the week as the bags come in!
You can grab the recording sheet and parent letter for FREE by clicking the picture below!  I also included some ideas to get you started!

If you use it in your room I would love to see the ideas your kiddos come up with.  Post the pics on Insta and tag me @theblessedteacher so I can see!

2gether We Are Better {September}

 

 

I feel like I need a disclaimer before you read any further.... I should have taken these pictures weeks ago.  I should have taken them before I had a class full of third graders in here for 4 weeks!  But, I didn't, and that's okay.  This is #realtalk and #reallife people! 


Okay, here goes.....

 

Here it is…my home away from home.  It’s nothing too fancy, but I love it!

I can’t wait to check out everyone else’s classrooms!  be sure to head on over to Angie and Ashley’s blogs and check out the #2getherwearebetter link up!

Currently September

 

It’s hard to believe that we are a month into the school year, because I still feel like we are settling in to our schedule!  But it must be true because it’s time for another Currently with Farley!

Listening:  It’s quiet in my house.  Everyone is in bed….which is weird because I’m usually the first one in bed.  Tonight I blabbed with some of my bloggy besties and then I still had some stuff to finish up.  Totally worth it though!

Loving:  I’m usually in charge of packing school lunches…I have been for the last 10 years or so.  I’m not sure why, but it is my least favorite chore.  This week my husband volunteered to give me a vacation from lunch packing!  It’s the little things that make me happy!

Thinking:  The renovations are getting started in about a week!  I’m so excited.  The backyard is first, followed by the exterior paint, master bathroom and then finally my kitchen!!!  I am so excited!

Wanting: to see my friends Mrs. 3rd Grade, The Creative Classroom, and The Kinder Garden in “real” life.  Live and in person and not just on a computer screen.  Seriously.  My phone just beeped at me that I’m out of storage.  I’m pretty sure its from the 456 text messages in our group text!

Needing:  I need this long weekend.  I am planning on spending it organizing some things before the big house project starts, watching my girls dance at a football game and having dinner with some long time friends!  I can’t wait!

Goals:  I NEED to get back in the gym!  I NEED to organize my house, my closets are a mess and I really need to finish up some projects both for school and around the house!

I can’t wait to see what everyone else is Currently up to!