What's the Story Behind the Logo? A Link-Up

I'm linking up with Art with Jenny K. for a very unique topic...The story behind the logo.

I really wish that I had a more interesting story to tell.  Bottom line...I love Bill Nye!  I tell my students that he is my hero and my boyfriend (and yes, my husband is well aware of this situation.  Unfortunately, Bill is not.)

I have been the science department head at my school for several years now and one summer during inservice I thought it would be great to get the entire science department to take goofy/nerdy science pictures to hang outside of their classrooms in the hallway.  We blew them up and created poster sized signs with our names and crazy pics.  This logo pic was one of the crazy pictures that was taken that day, but didn't make it to the final poster.  I tried finding some of the pics that were poster-worthy, but this was all I could find.  :(   My co-workers are likely to hunt me down and injure me over this!

I had the privilege of stalking meeting Bill Nye 2 years ago and listening to him speak (totally awesome!)  This really was the only time in my life that I thought I was acting like a total creeper, but luckily my friend knew about my obsession and was willing to do just about anything to help me.  

So, there you have it.  The story behind my logo.

An InLinkz Link-up

Uh Oh! Guess What Day It Is? Hump Day!

I'm very excited about a new vocabulary game I'm working on! It's called Hump Day Hedbanz and is inspired by this commercial:


Get your students excited about vocabulary review and bring your word walls to life. Keep your eyes out - it's coming soon!  You can really "sell this" to your students by incorporating it into your weekly or biweekly routine on Wednesdays.  As your students enter your classroom just say "Uh Oh! Guess what day it is?  Guess...what...day...it...is?  Hump Day!" 


The idea came about after several factors: 
1) My principal encouraged us as a campus to do a better job of bringing our word walls to life.  So many of the teachers on my campus have word walls posted (simply to comply with the expectations of administration), but when the principals do walk through's, they don't see the word walls being utilized.  In fact, many of the students don't realize the terms are even posted in the classroom.  

2) My 6 year old daughter received the game "Hedbanz" for Christmas.  It was fun for all family members of all ages.  It really makes you think and ask specific questions.  You really have to know everything about the object that is on your head that you are trying to guess (both for the guesser and the other players).   

3) I am always looking for a way to make science vocabulary acquisition more interesting for my students.  No matter what I do, it always seems to be like a boring chore I am forcing them to do.  Most of them simply go through the motions and if I ask them questions the next day, they can't tell me a darn thing about the vocabulary term.  Obviously, what I'm doing isn't doing the trick.  

4) Who doesn't love a game?!?  E-nuff said!



Enter to win your own free copy of Hump Day Hedbanz!
  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Knock Out Your Christmas Wish List with my 2 Day Sale! and a FREEBIE

I've had a horrible Christmas vacation (said no teacher ever!).  But in my case, it's seriously been the worst.  Three out of my four family members got the flu and I had it worse than any of them.  I'm just now starting to get my energy back and still fighting off a nasty cough.  Yay!  Just in time to get ready for going back to school next Monday.  Wonderful...

In case your holidays have been as dreary as mine, I have something that may cheer you up.  A 2 Day Sale!  Everything in my store is 15% off.

And the timing couldn't be more perfect because I just finished up my Daily Science Starters for Middle School series.  There are 4 products that address every single middle school TEKS to ensure your students will be prepared for the state standardized assessment - one question at a time.  They work great as warm-ups, task cards, station activities, and exit tickets!  Click on the images below to be taken directly to the product.

To get a better idea of what's included, check out the FREEBIE Sampler I added today.  It includes 3 questions from each of the 4 products.

I hope you had a merrier/healthier Christmas than my family.  And here's to a great 2015!

TPT is Having a Sale!

TPT is once again having its Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) sale!  And I am joining in!

Fill up your shopping cart, get all those items on your wishlist, and save money at the same time.  Just don't forget to enter "TPTCYBER" at checkout to save up to 28% on your total purchase.

Science Notebooking Made Easy - Tips and Tricks #1

I am always thinking of ways to make notebooking more efficient in my classroom.  This year my school changed to a new bell schedule which took away 5 minutes from my already short class periods.  I was amazed at the huge difference 5 minutes made in what my students were able to complete this year when compared to last year.

It's no secret... I LOVE Interactive Science Notebooks and use them almost daily in my classroom, but with the loss of class time I'm experiencing this year, there are a few negatives/cons that I've set out to tackle.  One of those little time wasters is throwing away trash.  It seems like a tiny thing, but when you've got 24 kiddos cutting out foldables and roaming around the classroom to throw away their trash, things begin to happen - bad things.  These crazy-hormonal, extremely social middle school kiddos somehow find a way to take the longest detour to the trashcan, just to swing by their friend and have a short conversation about the events of the previous weekend, etc...  Before you know it, you've lost all control and you're having to micro-manage and discipline all of the off-task students.

It's a simple fix... provide a Tidy Tub for each group.  These are small plastic tubs that I purchased at our local Dollar Store.  They fit perfectly on my lab tables, underneath the sink spouts.  When we are doing labs that require water or the sink drain, I simply remove them from the tables. but most of the time they are out of the way and super convenient.  I created colorful labels to match each tub (the tubs come in 4 bright colors: blue, pink, green, and purple).  I laminated the labels and hot glued them on the side of each tub.

So far the kids have loved them and I have noticed that less time is being wasted on the small task of throwing away trash.  When I notice that they are filling up, I will walk around the room while students are cutting or gluing in foldables and empty them into my larger trashcans.  Or if a student finishes early I will ask him/her to take care of emptying the Tidy Tubs.

One hurdle down....several more time wasters to tackle.  Stay tuned!

If you'd like a copy of my Tidy Tub labels, CLICK HERE and download them from GoogleDrive.

Setting Up Interactive Science Notebooks

I've had MANY requests and questions from customers and blog followers about how I set up my interactive science notebooks.  Although I know this is not fancy at all, I did a quick video on my iphone and uploaded it so that all those people heading back to school can see how I set them up before they start the new school year.  

Side Note: I apologize for my crazy camera holding skills.  I was just talking and filming with my iphone using one hand.  You may need to pop a few Dramamine's first!  

Some things I forgot to discuss in my video:

1. I ALWAYS make my own ISN each school year, so that it matches what the students have exactly.  I don't always take the notes that my students do, or complete the labs, booklets, handouts, foldables, etc... but I make sure that I glue them in on the correct pages.  I cannot stress how important it is to make sure that all notebooks are the same (you'll see why on #4 below).  I've even blown up the Table of Contents pages to a poster size so that I can laminate it and title each page, just like the students do.  This not only serves to keep everyone on the same page, but it is also helpful when a student misses class - they know where to go to find out what goes where.    
2. Giving students a chance to reflect on their learning is really one of the key components to interactive notebooks - one that a lot of teachers leave out, simply because I think they aren't really sure how to do it.  I've created 2 different products that would be great for this:  Admit and Exit Tickets and Admit and Exit Tickets Too!
3. Because I teach 8th grade (a tested year for the state), I have to not only teach the 8th grade content, but make sure that I review the content my students learned in both 6th and 7th grades (because a small amount of this material will show up on the test.)  A very easy way to implement this reviewing of previous concepts can be done with short daily warm-ups.  I am working on an entire series of daily warm-ups to cover all of the middle school content and I currently have 2 of the 4 products completed.  To check out the Daily Science Starters for Middle School CLICK HERE.  I created these to be glued into the ISN as flaps, so that an entire week of warm-ups could be glued onto one page of the notebook.    
4. How do I grade the interactive notebooks?  I've tried many different things over the years, but I've found what works best for me is an ISN Quiz at the end of each grading cycle.  Since everyone should have the same exact information on the exact same page, I create a short 10 question quiz that asks very detailed questions about material that I would expect to be in theri notebooks.  These are typically questions that couldn't be answered without the student looking directly at the notebook they created.  For example, a question might be "On page 33 of your notebook, what word is in the 6th blank that you filled in?"  This just checks to make sure that the right thing is glued on page 33, they were actively and correctly filling in their notes in class as I was teaching, and they carefully read and followed directions.  If they don't have the correct word as the answer, then I know they didn't do one of those 3 things correctly.    
5. I have a few rules that all students must follow: 
1. No staples in the notebook (glue only - scotch tape on occasion).  
2. No markers in the notebook.  I encourage students to use color (as it can help them organize information and ultimately help them learn), but only with colored pencils or crayons.
3. We number ALL of the pages in the top corner at the beginning of the year.  Therefore, students are NEVER allowed to tear pages out of their notebooks.  This will cause all of their page numbers to be messed up.  
4. If you run out of room on a page, continue your writing on a separate sheet of notebook paper or blank white printer paper and glue it to the bottom of the notebook page (to extend the page further).  This extension can be folded up and into the notebook so that it doesn't hang out.  Students many NEVER just continue onto another page in their notebooks.  This will cause them to be "off" from the rest of the class.  
6. Before setting up our notebooks, I explain why and how we use the notebooks with a PowerPoint.  To view this PowerPoint, download it HERE from GoogleDocs.  

Some links to things I discussed in the video or things I use in my notebooks:

• rubberbands to hold the notebook together: File Bands or 7" Rubberbands
• ISN Table of Contents: HERE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store
• To see all of my Interactive Notebook Products, CLICK HERE.
• 6" X 9" envelope I use for storage of small pieces of paper can be found HERE.
• To check out my FAVORITE glue bottle cap (perfect for these notebooks) check out my previous blog post HERE.

A few more examples of the types of things I put into the Notebooks:

Foldables and Mini Flip-Out books

 


Vocabulary Cards (term in the middle, definition on left flap, image on right flap)  Everything folds up nicely on one page allowing you to glue up to 8 terms on a page.

Card Sorts

Labs  Directions/Materials are glued on the right (INput) and data collected/conclusion questions are glued on the left (OUTput)

Don't be afraid to glue and fold multiple things on a page that are related.  Be creative!

Just in Time for Back To School

Just in time for you to include in your back to school plans and first science lessons...

Many teachers around the country spend the first part of the school year reviewing or teaching basic science skills.  If you're looking for a way to incorporate this content into Interactive Science Notebooks, this product is just what you need.  Having it affixed to the interactive notebook also allows students to refer back to these very important skills and concepts throughout the year as they are putting them to use during labs, activities, and investigations.

Click on the product image above to be taken directly to my store.

Now...back to planning.
  

The Surprise is Out!

I gave you a little tease the other day, but I figured it was about time to "let the cat out of the bag."  I still need to do a post about my amaze-balls trip to Vegas for the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference, but one of the big ideas in my head as I traveled home was that I needed to help find a voice for the middle school educator.  On the internet, there are a plethora of resources for elementary education (in fact, there's a ton, to put it mildly).  But why aren't there many resources for secondary teachers?  

In the middle grades, we deal with a strange bunch of kiddos.  Things geared towards K-4 are often too childish and would be considered completely irrelevant to the average middle schooler.  But at the same time, high school materials are too advanced or lack the aesthetic qualities that would excite or grab the attention of a middle schooler.  

I would love to see secondary teachers join together and start sharing their ideas and resources.  I will admit that for many years, I preferred to just close my door and teach my class the way I wanted to teach it.  I didn't need/want anyone's help and I certainly didn't want to just hand over the resources I had spent countless hours creating to my neighboring teachers.  I was very much an island and I liked it.

A few years ago, my school made a BIG move to collaborative planning.  The expectation is that every same subject, same grade level teacher is on the same page.  Which means we plan together daily, teach the same content, administer the same assessments, and share our ideas to come to a mutual agreement on what's best for ALL of our students.  I'm not gonna lie and tell you that things were hunky-dory at first - because they weren't!  But, with the right teacher pairing, collaborative planning can be amazing!

One of the best parts about collaborative planning is the sharing of ideas.  You may think you know it all and have THE BEST lesson for your students, but let's face it... students are changing and there are a lot of teachers out there who have innovative ideas.  So why not tap into this wealth of information?  Why spend all of your free time creating new lessons and activities for your students?  Chances are it's already been done and for a small fee (or in a lot of cases for FREE), it can be yours to use in your classroom.  Take back your nights and weekends, people!  

I am super excited to be joining up with some of the most amazing teacher bloggers and Teachers Pay Teachers sellers out there.  Our mission is to share ideas and resources specifically geared towards the middle grades.  If people ask what you do for a living and you get responses like "Oh, bless your heart", "I could never do that" or "Are you nuts?", then you might be a middle grades teacher and this new blog just might be for you.  Click on the image below to be taken directly to the new blog.

It's definitely in it's beginning stages, but there are some helpful posts on the way and lots of information and resources that you don't want to miss out on.  So, follow us on Bloglovin' and Facebook and start this collaborative journey with us.  I can't wait to hear your feedback and ideas.

If you have some topics you'd like to see covered in the future, please comment below.

A Surprise!!

It's a big one for all you middle grades teachers! Stay tuned....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Setting Up My Classroom: Student Grouping

Throughout the year, I do A LOT of student groupings because I think (depending on the activity) students learn best when they are able to TALK about their learning.  Sometimes I think learning would be most effective in partners, sometimes in small groups of 3-4, and sometimes alone.  Either way, I wanted to have a system in place that would take care of these groupings without wasting precious class time.  

I've been using a Clock Partner or Cell Pals system to group students with one other partner that is easily glued into the Interactive Science Notebook, along with other creative partnering arrangements, such as Periodic Partners and Famous Trios.  I've also had seat numbers at all of my lab tables to quickly give students new seating arrangements at the beginning of each grading period.  And I needed a system to help me do a better job of randomizing and calling on students in a different manner, rather than the typical "raise your hand and I will call on you" system, which really isn't a system at all.  Research has shown that teachers who use this method tend to call on the same student(s) over and over, while the "sleepers" never get called on.  I want ALL of my students to be engaged in each and every lesson and paying attention because they never know when I may call on them.  No more sleepers.  

I wanted to create something that would incorporate ALL of these needs that I have in my classroom (randomizing, grouping and assigning seats and/or jobs).  These seat labels come in 7 different colors (to coordinate with the primary colors I already use in my classroom to distinguish between class periods).  Each label has a color, number (1, 2, 3, 4), letter (A, B, C, D), and a seat number (1-28).  

My classroom is unique in that I have stationary lab tables with most tables seating up to 8 students. Not ideal, I know, but it's what I have to work with.

First you need to decide what your typical "large group" would consist of and how it is laid out.  For me, the largest group I typically use is 4 students (2 students on one side of the desk facing the other 2 students directly across from them).  This large group of 4 gets the same colored desk tag (To group the students in the large group, I can simply say "All oranges work together.  All greens work together.").  I use contact paper to attach these to the lab tables.  I try to put them in the location that I think will be least "messed with".  After all, they are middle school students and they will stab these with pencils and try to pull them up all year.  But with the exception of about 2 labels, they all stayed on the desk for the entire year this past school year.  

Within that group of 4, I can easily divide it into partners.  For example, I can say "A's work with B's" and "C's work with D's".  These are their shoulder partners.  Or if I want them to work with the person sitting directly across from them, I can say "A's work with C's" and "B's work with D's".

If we are conducting a lab investigation, I can assign each person to a specific job by saying "All A's collect lab equipment, all B's record data, all C's ...".

For randomizing, I can ask all "B's" or all "4's" to stand up and they can answer a question or share their response for a particular lab conclusion question.

When it's time to assign a new seating arrangement, I can just tell them a seat number (1-28), which is marked clearly at the bottom of each label.

I love that there are so many options available all in one label.  I can't wait to put this new system into effect this coming school year.

If you'd like a copy of these labels, you can grab it here from my TeachersPayTeachers store.  Even though I'm offering it for free, please still read over and follow my terms of use and copyright information.  And I'd love it if you left some feedback.

Thanks!

2014 TPT Conference - VEGAS BABY!

This one's gonna be short and sweet... I am typing with one hand and it's driving me nuts.  This lovely thing comes off tomorrow - just in time for the big Vegas Vacay!  I am so pumped.  (In case you're wondering, no-I did not beat my husband.  No, I did not fall down.  I actually chose to have this surgery.)  After years of playing the flute, scooping Baskin-Robbins ice cream (first job), crafting, and typing non-stop, my carpal tunnel was just out of control and needed to be fixed.

The bags are packed almost packed (who am I trying to kid), conference handouts printed, and the nerves are starting to kick in.  Yes, I am a little nervous...I don't think I've ever gone to a big conference like this all alone (my hubby is traveling with me, but won't be attending the conference).  I am just eager to learn some new things from amazing teacher sellers from around the US and come back home to put those new ideas into place.  I'll probably blog a little about the trip too, of course!

To share these great TPT vibes, I'll be throwing a sale in my store on the day of the conference, July 11th, so don't forget to drop by and fill up your virtual shopping cart.  Who knows?!  Maybe the boost in sales will make me feel less depressed about losing money in the casinos.  :)

Cricket Crunch Club

Last year I started a new tradition that ended up being a huge hit.  This year I'm doing it even bigger and better.  It's the Cricket Crunch Club!  After attending the NSTA Conference and getting my first taste of crickets, I was hooked and so excited to try out the recipe with my students.

And I should begin by saying that most of my students would classify me as a diva, girly girl - - so if I can cook and eat crickets, just about anyone can.  If you can put aside that you're putting a bug in your mouth, you'll see that they actually taste pretty good.  All but one person was pleasantly surprised with their taste last year.

Even my daughter who was a 2nd grader tried one (and then a few more...and loved them!)

To make it special I took a picture of each student who was willing to take the challenge, posing with their cricket right before they ate it (either alone or in a group).  The kids love coming up with creative poses - linking arms like married couples do with the cake tasting, balancing them on the tip of their tongue, etc...  I printed all of the pictures and glued them on the Cricket Crunch Club poster-board.  It is proudly displayed in my classroom and my current 8th graders have been eagerly awaiting their opportunity to join the club.  And now the time has come...I'm so excited.

During my conference, I walk around campus trying to find a teacher who is willing to join the club and have their picture added to the poster.  The principal, vice-principal and office staff joined the club.  I even had a few blogging buddies join the club.  Check out Miss Klohn's blog post from last year.  

If you're interested in trying this out with your classes, here's a step-by-step guide!

First, purchase enough crickets.  I've heard that American Cricket Ranch has great quality, but I get mine locally.  I always get extra in case a lot of staff members want to join.  You want the crickets to be full grown - the bigger the better!  :)  Also, freshness is very important, so get them immediately before you are ready to cook them.

Next, you will put the crickets in the refrigerator or freezer.  This slows them down and keeps them from hopping all over the pace.  Usually 10 minutes in the freezer or 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator is sufficient.  While they are cooling off, get a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil.  You also need to pre-heat the oven to 200.

The crickets I get usually come with some "bedding" and a potato piece, so I need to separate out all of that junk so that I only have crickets left.  I've found that the best way to do this is with a strainer that has larger holes (but not so large that the crickets fall through them).  I sift them over the grass in my yard.  If there are any obviously dead ones I pull them out at this time.  

The next step kills the crickets and serves to sterilize them (muy importante!)  You can rinse them while they are in the strainer or just toss them directly into the pot of boiling water, like I do.  Boil the crickets for 1 minute.  Quickly remove them and dry them on a paper towel.

Place the crickets on a baking pan lined with foil and spray with oil to prevent sticking.  Lightly drizzle some olive oil on the crickets and then season with garlic salt.

Bake the crickets for about 1 hour at 200 degrees.  If they aren't crispy after an hour, remove them, shake the pan to turn them on the pan, raise the oven temperature to 325 and return the crickets to the oven.  Bake at this temperature checking for crispiness in 5 minute intervals.  This year, I ended up baking mine at 325 for 15-20 minutes until I reached the desired crispiness.  Let them cool, then spread them out gently on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

I take them to school in a small bowl lined with paper towels (to keep them from breaking and to continue absorbing oil).

They are delicious!  I think they taste like toasted sunflower seeds.    

If you're looking for some ways to tie it into literature for children, try this book: Freaky Foods From Around the World.  In this bilingual story, Lucas' class is invited to lunch.  Abuela prepares recipes she encountered in her world travels.  The menu has cow's tongue, crickets, snails... The children learn to respect other cultures and expand their tastes!  Natural History information on animals used throughout the book and savory recipes are included, as well.  

Organize Your Desktop

My husband HATES that I keep so many icons on the desktop, but it is the easiest way for me to remember to complete the millions of ideas and tasks I have running through my head on a daily basis. Things were starting to get hard to find and VERY unorganized, so I created a cute background image to place all of the icons in "sections".  

If you're interested in doing the same, it's really easy.  Just open up PowerPoint and create a new document.  You may need to change the slide size, which can be done under the "design" tab at the top.  My PowerPoint page size was already set to "widescreen", which worked perfectly for my screen, but you could always measure your screen (yes, like with a ruler or tape measure) and create a custom page size.  

I first inserted a cute chevron digital paper image as my background.  Then I began placing various borders with colored boxes inside.  When you get everything the way you want, press Ctrl+a (which will select everything you've created on the page).  Then, right click and select "save as picture".  I saved the picture on my desktop so that it was easily accessible (and because this is OBVIOUSLY where I save almost everything!)  hee, hee!  And don't forget to save the PowerPoint, just in case you need to make some changes.  

Right click on the image (wherever you saved it) and choose "save as desktop background."  Now you are ready to start moving your icons into the appropriate locations!

Now, I just need to start completing these tasks and to-dos so that I can remove them from the desktop (and add some more!)

8 days to STAAR Success

First of all, I should be upfront in saying that I take way more than 8 days to review for the STAAR Test.  There are things that are ongoing throughout the year as well as things I do a few weeks before the test is administered.  But, if you are down to the wire and feeling the crunch, this would be one of the best ways to spend your time.

It's gonna kill a few trees, you are going to be walking around the room like a mad person helping struggling students, but it is the most thorough method of review I have found so far.   Each student is accountable for his/her own work.  They can't rely on a partner doing anything for them, so the student quickly realizes where he/she needs to focus and what needs a little more work before the test.

And this year, I've made each Category review packet even better.  I went through the TEKS with a fine-toothed comb and made sure that I included something from every single Readiness and Supporting standard.  So, NOTHING is left out.  And, I've labeled all of the TEKS.

Your students will definitely need some additional resources to help them out when they get stuck on a problem,but I'll discuss that a little later.  Here is how I've organized this review for my students this year.

I purchased a folder with pockets and brads for each student.  It is their STAAR folder.  They wrote their name and class period on the front and I added a color dot to each folder, since I have my classes organized by colors.  I have a special place to store them everyday for students who are leaving them in the classroom.  Inside the brads, I included the DynaNotes STAAR Review Guide.  It is like a Readers Digest for everything they need to know in each of the 4 Reporting Categories.  I have also included a list of the TEKS in each Reporting Category and how many questions will come from each category on the actual STAAR test.  I believe it's very important that you explain how the STAAR test is laid out and what is expected of them.  This is their "job", so they need to take it seriously and have all of the facts in order to be successful.

I created a STAAR review Calendar so that my students know "The Plan" for the next few weeks.  A lot of my students like to work ahead, which is totally fine by me.  So many of them are motivated to get a little bit ahead (either because they want to avoid having homework later on or because they just love science so much!  who knows?!?!)

From the beginning I explained that for 8 class days, they would be working on these packets.  Each day they are given a "goal" of how much to complete and if they don't meet that goal, they must take it home and finish meeting the goal before I see them the next day.   At the start of the next class, I walk around (while they are working) and check that each student met the goal.  If not, they have to call home right then and let their parents know that they are assigned to mandatory afterschool tutorials with me the following day until 5:00.  I have been amazed that out of all of my classes, only 3 students have had to do this!  I think that just shows how much they don't want to give up their afternoon and they know I mean business.  They also know from my heart-to-heart at the beginning of the review, that I think this could be the difference for several of them between passing and failing and that I KNOW if they take this 8 day review seriously, they will be successful.

Everyday my students come in and gather up their resources.  This is their STAAR folder, their Interactive Science Notebook (with flip-out periodic table and formula chart), a ScienceSaurus book and a textbook.  On the board, I have written specific page numbers in each of these resources for them to look at.  This keeps them from having to look through the entire book for an answer (maybe they only have to look through a chapter or two).  I DO NOT give my students answers EVER.  If they need help, I will either show them the page to look at or ask them multiple questions that will help lead them in the direction of the answer.  It is important to teach your students how to think and what that thought process should look and sound like.  It is equally important to teach them how to access their resources.
So, Day 1, we start the Category 1 packet.  This packet always takes my students WAYYY longer than the other packets, so almost everyone has some homework that first day.  I explain that they will only have 15-20 minutes the following class day to finish, and then we will start grading it.  The grading bled over into day 3 a little bit, but that was ok.  After grading on day 3, they started the Category 2 packet.  On day 4, they had 15-20 minutes to finish and then we started grading.  This pattern continues on for all 4 packets.  Some of the packets go much quicker for the students depending on their level of comfort with the topics.  It all ends up even in the end.  I always have the next packet ready to go in case I have early finishers who can get a head start on the next one.

After the 8 days, we will be going over the released test they took and correcting it.  We will also spend a few days in the computer lab, with each student working on their specific weaknesses.  I have set up many games and activities on my classroom blog for students to do.  Each activity has been aligned with a TEKS and the students will know what their weakest TEKS are by then.  I've gathered this data over the year with district curriculum based assessments and the released STAAR test they took.

I have provided links for most of the things I've mentioned in this post, so feel free to download and use them for your personal classroom.  I would appreciate any feedback or comments below!

Review Packets - one for each Reporting Category

TEKS Outline for STAAR Test

New Admit and Exit Tickets

If you are a follower and frequent reader of my blog, you probably know that I have been using Exit Tickets for a few years now.  I have several Exit Ticket products in my TpT store, but today I uploaded a NEW product that I am super-excited about.

After using the same admit and exit tickets in my classroom year after year, I was starting to get bored with the same format, day in and day out.  My campus wanted to put a greater emphasis on writing in the content areas, and as a science teacher, this was one of the easiest ways to not only incorporate writing, but to also give my students a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning (so that I could formatively assess them), and also give them more creativity and flexibility in how they did it.  I may be totally wrong on this one, but I think a lot of science teachers don't get to see what kind of creative writers their students are.  I hear the ELA teachers talking about the types of creative writing assignments they do with the kiddos, but this has never been something I was able to incorporate into what I was doing (with such a time crunch in preparing for the state standardized test, there is very little room for "extra stuff" like this - or at least that's how I felt).  

    

What I love about these admit and exit tickets is that they don’t require much additional work for the teacher.  Simply print and go!  And with 2 on a page, you are saving paper and ink.  Each ticket only takes 3-5 minutes at the beginning or end of a class to complete.  Occasionally, I will even send the ticket home with my students to complete for homework and use as an admit ticket the following day.  Because I use Interactive Science Notebooks on a daily basis in my classroom, I typically have my students attach these to a left side (output page) that is used for student reflections.  Or if it is a ticket that I want to re-visit the following day, I will have students leave the tickets in a special pocket folder by my door that I have designated for each class period.

As I mentioned, the student print-outs come 2-to-a-page, but I've also provided a teacher page for each ticket that explains how to to use it and some ideas for topics.  There are over 40 tickets and only 3 of them are science specific.  The others could be used for any content area and at almost grade level.  You can check it out in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, but here's a little sneak peak for you: