School and the City

Once upon a time, when I first started teaching, I started building my classroom library.  I gathered books from retiring teachers and Goodwill. Throughout my career, I've grown my library by using Scholastic Book Club points, visiting Scholastic Warehouse sales, and shopping for specific series lots on eBay. The bins are from Dollar Tree, and they've held up well!  I must say - I'm super proud of my library!  My first school required me to have my library sorted by guided reading level. I get that! Students, in order to improve reading skills, should be reading books on or slightly above their instructional reading levels.  My library looked like this for six years... until now.  I noticed this year especially that my students rarely visited my classroom library unless I forced them to "book shop." They LOVE reading on Epic! where they can easily search and sort by categories.  Plus, as a grow as a teacher, I've learned that ...

I've taught economics every year that I've been a teacher. (See my second grade plans here .) This year, however, I'm teaching third grade, and the standards are much deeper than what I've covered in the past! First, and foremost... BOOKS I'm doing my best to keep my classroom a print-rich environment for my students. I'm trying to keep my personal spending down by using my local public library as a resource. At the start of each new unit, I fill my car (then my bookshelf) with related texts! Check out my economics finds: Nonfiction books are always valuable! These books are fictional, but related! I found a few books about entrepreneurs who created brands that are popular with kids. (If you use Epic! as a resource, there are a TON on there, like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates!) Lastly, my favorite find was What Does It Mean to be an Entrepreneur ? I'll be purchasing a copy for myself. LOVE IT. Now for our culminating project:...

I was very lucky to get a Donors Choose project funded recently. I titled my project "Diverse Books for Diverse Readers," which I totally copied from my friend Erin over at The Elementary Darling ! Erin created a list using suggestions from Vera, who has tons of suggestions over on her blog, The Tutu Teacher . Make sure to check out their posts, and see the list below of books I scored for my classroom! Paiute Princess: The Story of Sarah Winnemucca The Girl Who Could Dance in Outer Space: An Inspirational Tale About Mae Jemison (The Girls Who Could) Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe Going Places King for a Day Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker  The Water Princess I Got the Rhythm Beautiful Daniel Finds a Poem  Ron's Big Mission She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History It's Back To School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around The World I Am Enough A Piece of Home Hidden Figures:...

Maria Dismondy has done it again! Her newest release, The Fruit Salad Friend, is just as adorable and touching as the rest of her books. (Trust me - I own them all!) All of Maria's books aim to teach children lifelong lessons. This one in particular shows kids how to appropriately handle things that may go wrong in a friendship, and how to find "the recipe" for a lasting friendship. Maria Dismondy and Emily from Third and Hollywood have worked together to provide you with some amazing freebies that you can use along with this book! It's perfect for the beginning of the year or any time your students need a refresher lesson about how to problem solve and speak respectfully to each other. Click HERE to purchase the book on Amazon (affiliate link). Click HERE to download the FREE coloring pages. Click HERE to download the FREE printable reading guide. Happy reading!!

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 was inspired by Hope , Mary , and many others to finally host a classroom BOOK TASTING!  On Friday afternoons, I usually coteach a STEAM lesson with a coworker. However, during Read Across America week earlier this month, we decided to do a book tasting instead of STEAM.  I collected a wide variety of books to appeal to students with varied interests. I tried to stay away from series that many of them are already familiar with.  We set the scene with some cheap tablecloths, battery-powered candles, dim lighting, and Italian music.  Most of my materials, including the placemats and bookmarks, came from Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching .  I ended up making my own menu to make it really simple for my second graders. You can download it for free in my VIP Free Resource Library . Not yet a member? Join here .  Wanting to buy some decor for your book tasting? I spent less than $20 on {reusable} mat...

I DID IT! I survived the first week of second grade, again! It was actually probably my best first week yet! I spent lots of time at the end of the year preparing for back to school. Opening my Back to School box was such a relief, because so much work was already done! Of course, those are the perks of staying at the same school and teaching the same grade level in the same room. Life doesn't always work out that nicely. But as for this year, it was wonderful! We started off the year with First Year Jitters and "jitter juice." I know this is a popular first day activity, but I had never done with before. After researching "jitter juice" recipes, I ended up going with knock-off Sprite and rainbow sprinkles. Although I loved the sprinkles, next year I plan to add some color somehow, probably by mixing in a little punch. I continued to use First Day Jitters as a mentor text all week, because I am trying Jivey's mentor sentences this year Ano...