QR Codes, Book Choice, and a freebie

Last year, my students created QR codes to share their products with the class.  This year, I am hoping to continue this, but to also find other ways to use QR Codes into our classroom.

What is a QR code?  QR codes are the little boxes with black and white design that you sometimes find in advertisements or on products.  They can be read by a smartphone or other devices (like an Ipad) when you have a QR reader app.  (There are plenty of free QR reader apps.)

I have one outside my door of my classroom which directs parents to our class website.

My class's website

One of the ways I have decided to use them this year is to attach them to some of the books in my library so that kids can find out more about the book before they read the book.  The QR codes I created take the students to websites, book summaries, or a book trailer (FYI--some are from YouTube).

I am excited about trying this with my students this year, and I hope to continue to "grow" my number of codes.  I teach 3rd grade, and I tried to create codes for a wide range of books.  The one thing I haven't done yet is create any for non-fiction books.  I will have to work on that next!  :)

I use the site called QR Code Generator.  I find it very easy to use.  Just paste in the URL for the site that you want the device to go to.  For the document I am sharing today, I used my snipping tool to take a picture of the QR code and then I pasted it into a word document. 

If you would like to have a copy of the 17 codes I have created so far, you can either scan the QR code  or follow the link at the bottom of the post!  Leave me a comment to let me know if you have other ideas for how to use these codes or other QR codes in your room!

Enjoy...I think your students will!

QR code link to Google doc

OR.....link to Google Doc.

You still have time to join the Find your Voice Linky party for mentor texts to use when teaching voice.  C'mon...I know you can think of a picture book you use to cover this skill...

Happy Day and a freebie to celebrate!

I am in an especially happy mood today because I found out that a good friend will be working in my building next year!  I am so glad that we will have her and all of her awesome talent!

One way I have found to help struggling readers in my classroom is to have a joke each week.  I have it hung by the door so they can see it when they line up.  I have it set so that they lift the flap to see the punchline.  This is good practice reading, but it is also an important comprehension skill.  It makes the children think about WHY the joke is funny!  All of my students look forward to each week's new joke.

So, I put some new ones together tonight, and I wanted to share them with you!  Click on the image below to go to the document.  Each joke is set to print on one page, but then you can just cut them apart and display as you wish!

Lots of laughs!!

Everyday Math Workshop Freebie

So..........I ended last year using math workshop in my classroom.  I liked it, and my kiddos liked it, but as with anything new, it took a lot of work!  I am working this summer on being proactive and preparing my activities/games now so that I am not trying to find them during the year.  A colleague shared the following site recently, and it has some great resources for all grade levels!

We have updated to the Everyday Math "aligned to the Common Core," but it is the same old book with Common Core standards marked into each lesson.  It will take me a while to decide what to wean out and what to stress so that my classroom gets deep enough into Common Core.  Everyday Math naturally does much of the deep thinking, but I want to be sure to go deep enough into the standards.

Anyway, Chapter 1 is a lot of review, so we move pretty quickly, but I want some activities to go with it.  The first one I made is here.  If you are familiar with Everyday Math, you will recognize the number puzzles based on the 100s grid.  Each puzzle has three parts:  An answer key, the puzzle, and the number choices to use with the puzzles.  I am going to laminate the puzzle into a file folder, and laminate the numbers. Students can work to complete the puzzle then check their answers.  I have tried to make some different levels of puzzles to use.

You can click on this image to get the number puzzles.

Hope you can find a way to use this in your classroom.  Thanks!

Leap Day Fun and a freebie

As I have mentioned before, we are having an EXTRA day of fun in our classroom to recognize Leap Day. 

I have been putting together the finishing touches on our day, so I thought I would share.  If you would like the PDF file which includes the words for alphabetizing, the algebra problems (two pages--one is easier, one more challenging), and a matching game for words with the prefix ex-, you can access it below.

Also, I found this website with lots of good information for kids.  http://leapyearday.com/content/kids-page

Have a Happy Leap Day!  You don't get too many extra days--so ENJOY!



Student Feedback

I believe it is important to assess ourselves regularly. I try to do this in a variety of ways throughout the year. However, I also believe it is important to get feedback from others. I actually like the years when I get evaluated by my principal. That feedback is important to me, and I like to know what others see when they enter my room.

For many years, I have had my students evaluate me at the end of the year. We discuss how important it is to review ourselves and our performances in many areas. I point out to them that I evaluate them all year long. I also point out the importance of the evaluation being honest, but not mean. I allow them to complete the evaluation with anonymity, but I find that most sign the paper anyway.  I like the feedback I get from my students. I like knowing what they see in me, and I use this information to change some things I do the next year.


In recent years, I have begun having a parent feedback page, too. However, it has been mainly to review something new that I have implemented in the classroom like my webpage, or a new curriculum component.

What kind of evaluations do you have in a year? How do you use them to push yourselves to the next level?

Click below to get a copy of my student evaluation form.

A freebie for the end of my first week

I am having fun reading and learning about other's teaching through blogging. Today ends my first week as a blogger, and so I decided to share something to celebrate.

I provide SMARTBoard training for others in my district and area, and I have developed many lessons. I really love it, and I work hard to make my SMART docs user friendly and child-centered. If you click on the link below, it will take you to a SMARTBoard math review game for 3rd grade. It certainly could be used at other grades, and the content could be changed as wanted by the user. To open the document, you will need to have SMART Notebook 10 on your computer.

I hope you like it! If you do, share my blog with others!

SMARTBoard math review game