School and the City

Third grade! Yay! I survived the first two weeks of third grade and finally have the time/energy to tell you a little bit about it. I won't be going into total detail, so please leave a comment if you have a question! The first read aloud for third grade was How to Be Cool in the Third Grade . It was great and opened up the opportunity for discussions about bullying, "being cool," and friendship. The kids loved it so much that they gave it a standing ovation when we finished it on Friday! On the first day, we read The Crayon Box That Talked . Then students completed this (very challenging) team building activity that required them to build a tower of cups without touching them. Afterwards, we discussed kind and respectful language and made an anchor chart called "Meaningful Conversations." (See below.) One of my favorite back to school books for teaching respect and responsibility for actions is called What If Everybody Did That? I find myself re...

I was moved to third grade this year, so I needed a fresh batch of read alouds.  After all, I have some former students in my class, and I didn't want to reread any chapter books to them! After thinking back on books I loved as a kid and asking other teachers for recommendations, I purchased the following books for my classroom: How to Be Cool in the Third Grade Judy Moody is in a Mood The One and Only Ivan Because of Winn Dixie The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane The Witches Those may last me through this semester, but I already have some great options lined up for the spring semester! The following books were recommended to me by other 3rd grade teachers that I totally trust. (A * denotes books I have read and completely approve of!) How to Eat Fried Worms* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy Lemonade Wars Lone Bean The Wild Robot Third Grade Angels Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing * Did I leave any of yo...

I am completely exhausted but my heart is so happy. I survived Meet the Teacher today and I got to squeeze all of my sweet kids from last year! As you may or may not know, I was moved (promoted?) to third grade, so I have a few of my students that were in my class last year. All of my other former students will be right nextdoor or across the hall, so I'll still get to see their sweet faces every day. Yay! They were a wonderful class and I miss them tons. Anyways... on to the sneak peek... When new students and parents first walked in, they saw my math about me chart , a photo area, and instructions on the board. (I also had fun music playing... #ambiance). The YAY balloon is from the Target Dollar Spot, but I found a similar one on Amazon, found here . Most students bring their supplies with them, so I have them sort them for me. My bins are labeled with my supply labels , free in my TPT store. SPOTTED: pencil nametags , expectation posters , and team jobs On ...