Graphs Galore! And a SALE!

I created this activity to use this week during centers.  I'm using it to reinforce graphing concepts and skills.  It covers line plots, bar graphs, and pictographs.  Each graph can be printed and laminated, while the student pages (two per page) can be printed for students to record their answers on.

Click the picture below to download the center.

And to celebrate Labor Day, let's have a SALE!!! Head over to my TpT store or Teachers Notebook store to get 20% off all of my products! The sale will run from Sept. 1st - 6th. Enjoy your 3-day weekend!

Counting Money Center

I created this activity to help my students practice counting money as well as making change less than $20.  I'm using it this week in my Math centers.  Click the picture below to get your copy.

Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

Here is an activity I created to help my students review parts of speech.  Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs are reviewed in this activity.  The kids can create "Silly Sentences" using the cards when they finish sorting them. 

Click the picture to download:

Parts of Speech Book Hunt FREEBIE!

I created this activity to help my students review parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns).  I'm posting a center tomorrow evening that can be used with this activity.

Click the picture below to download the Book Hunt!

Sentence Sort Activity - Complete/Incomplete Sentences

I created this activity to help my kids practice types of sentences:  complete vs. incomplete.  The kids read the sentences and then sort them accordingly.  We needed to review this concept before we started discussing simple and compound sentences. 

Click the picture to download.

Happy Friday, Y'all!

I'm so thankful it's Friday!  :)  I wish I had a freebie to post today, but I've been super busy.  I'm trying to pull a few things together and will hopefully post them Sunday.

But I do have to spotlight some awesome activities I've been using in my room!  These activities were created by other teacher bloggers and I feel I MUST share them with everyone else. 

1.  Place Value Card Sort - Ashleigh at Education Journey created these and my kids go nuts over this activity! 

2.  Place Value Mystery Pictures - Mrs. Carroll at The First Grade Parade created these adorable activities!

3.  Monster Problem Solving - Michelle at Creative Classroom created this fabulous activity!  Great for higher level thinking!

And these are only a few!  I'm amazed each day to get on blogger and see the awesome resources and ideas being churned out by such fabulous people!!! 

Three for Thursday!

I'm loving all of these cute ideas for Blog Hoppin's linky party!  Today is so fun and easy:

1.  My favorite font:

2.  My favorite blog:

3.  My favorite online resource:

Descriptive Words/Writing Freebie!

I've been working with my kids, trying to get them use more flavorful and spicier words.  We want to kick "happy" and other boring words to the curb!

I have an activity from Scholastic called "Buckets of Fun" where the kids write 2-3 descriptive words relating to certain topics.  Well, my kids were coming up with 8-10 words for each topic!  It was pure madness trying to get everything to fit.  So I took the activity and made it where the kids had more room to write and weren't rescricted by 2-3 lines.  :)

Click the picture below to snag your own copy!

It's raining FREEBIES!

Holy Moly!!!  It's raining FREEBIES from the Lesson Cloud!  Make sure you check it out!  There are tons of things there now and tons more to come later on today! 

Descriptive Writing

One of the coolest things about my new school is the Literacy class for Specials.  I think it's fantastic that the kids take their writing journals to this Specials class and the teacher helps them with literacy and writing!  This helps reinforce SO many of the things I'm trying to teach them.  Plus, she tells them so many cute sayings to help them remember to "spice up" their writing. 

One of the things she told them last week was, "Don't write a blue door sentence."  Of course, I was stumped.  Huh???  Blue door???  Then she explained...when you write a sentence like "I see the blue door," it's boring.  But when you use descriptive words, you can turn that boring sentence into a masterpiece!  "I can only imagine what intriguing discovery will be behind the mysterious sky blue door."  See?!  I loved it!  And my kids even say to each other in class, "You better change that blue door sentence!" 

Here's a lesson I did with my kids to show them just how much pizazz and spice you can add to your stories:

My kids even told me they wanted to go to sleep during my story on the left, but that they couldn't wait to hear what was next in my story on the right.  :)  I'm posting a descriptive word freebie tomorrow to go with this lesson.  Now, off to Curriculum Night 'til 8pm!

Meet the Teacher Monday!

Blog Hoppin' is having a super cute linky party!  I definitely had to join in the fun!  So here's a little bit more about me:

My name is Dana.  I'm the 3rd grade teacher behind the scenes at 3rd Grade Gridiron.  This is me and the hubby Dave at a friend's birthday party. 

I teach in Gwinnett County about 20 minutes north of Atlanta.  This is my eighth year teaching.  I taught 1st grade for six years and this is my second year in 3rd.  I moved to a new school over the summer.  I'm anxious and excited to get into a new groove, meet more teaching buddies, and settle in with the new group of kiddos. 

Some of my favorite things:  football, vino, spending time with my family, friends and doggie, and traveling. 

Some of my not-so-favorite things:  smacking, bad drivers, and getting up at 5:45 every morning.

My teaching things that I couldn't live without:  my laptop, my Ladibug, a laminator, colored cardstock, Sharpies, tons of children's books from Scholastic and yard sales, and lots of baskets and bins to organize my stuff!

Enough about me...it's YOUR turn!  :)  Link up by clicking on the Blog Hoppin' button!

Back-to-School MEGA Giveaway!

The OC Blog is hosting a back-to-school mega giveaway!  I have a few of my own products that are up for grabs...

3rd Grade Gridiron Giveaway Items

There are 40 different sponsors in this giveway!  Click on the OC Blog button to check out the entire list of sponsors, products, and details!  Winners will be chosen Saturday, August 27th!

Writing FREEBIE!

Our Writing AKS in 3rd calls for us to write personal narratives and fantasy narratives.  Personal narratives - easy.  The kids just discuss experiences they've had, telling their own stories.  But when I first saw fantasy narratives, I was taken back.  But after a little thinking, I pulled out the book Peter Pan.  The kids in Peter Pan could definitely be real, but the adventure they go on is a complete fantasy.  We discussed how the kids flew (not in a plane) to Neverland.  The kids didn't have parents or rules in Neverland.  My students were able to make several connections because of this!  Here's a graphic organizer I gave them to get their thoughts out and organized.  It's yours...for free! 

I'm off to the lake for the weekend with the hubby and some friends.  I'm excited to have a little get-away and R&R.  :)  Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!  See y'all Monday!

Breakfast Anyone?!

How do you know if your students want breakfast each morning?  I'm not a fan of hugging a clipboard for 30 minutes each morning and greeting each student with "Good morning, _______ !  Do you want breakfast?"  That's just not my style.  I've always used the following method:

Students come in, unpack, and then "move their name" if they want breakfast. 

My old school had two breakfast choices, but my new school only has one (unless a student has a medical/religious reason to eat something different).  By 8:40-8:45 each morning, I look at the names and can quickly take note of who wants breakfast.  Then I send the checklist off with my two breakfast helpers and viola!  A less stressful breakfast!  :) 

Click the collage to snag the cards I use.  I print them on colorful cardstock, laminate them, and then attach magnets to the back of each card. 

Here's a pic of how I use them.

Enjoy!

ABC's About Me! - Getting to Know You Freebie!

My kids are really loving all the getting-to-know-you activities!  So I plan on doing this one with them.

Click the pic to snag one that the kids can fill out.

"I'm a Survivor" Linky Party!

Michelle at Kinder Fun is having a linky party about surviving the first day of school!  Too cute of an idea!  Personally, I've survived SEVEN days of school.  We started last Monday and we are well on track to nailing down our routines and expectations! 

Here's the scoop to my survival story:

1.  What do you wear on the 1st day of school?  My cutest summer dress or an adorable top with capris!  And my shoes...comfortable sandles!  Lord knows it's been a while since I've stood up and walked around all day!

2.  What do you have to have to survive that day?  Great plans, coffee, and Diet Dr. Pepper! 

3.  What is the funniest or unexpected thing to happen to you on the 1st day of school?  Last year (my 7th year of teaching) I took my kids to the wrong Specials.  From that day on, it was an excellent example of how teachers make mistakes too!  :)  Gotta love those teachable moments!

Head over to Kinder Fun and link up with your Survival Story!

Need K-2 Literacy/Math Centers?

Check out Pocketful of Centers!  Their centers are so cute!  And they're perfect for the K-2 classroom.  Looking at their stuff reminds me of why I always loved working with my first graders!

The OC Blog: Brand new look, same awesome resources!

Have you seen The OC Blog's spiffy new look?!  Click below to check it out!

Excellent Math Resources!

Mel at Plug-n-Plan has an excellent math resource that can help build a solid foundation for addition and subtraction facts.  Click her button below to find out more!

Good Morning Mrs. Rubie is cranking out some awesome multiplication freebies! Click below to head over to her blog and snag this freebie!

LAKESHORE GIVEAWAY!

Abby at Third Grade Bookworm is having an amazing giveaway (sponsored by Lakeshore)!  Click her button below to get the scoop:

Huge News! and Back to School - Buddy Building FREEBIES!

HUGE NEWS!  I'm going to be a part of an amazing opportunity!!!  The girls at Me and My Gang have created a K-3 Lounge and I'm going to be contributing to their 3rd grade section.  I'm super excited to have the chance to collaborate with them and share my ideas with everyone!  Stay tuned for more posts from myself and the other bloggers.  Here's where you can find us:




Now, the freebie: 

One of my new colleagues shared an adorable activity called "Find a Friend." The students had 10 statements and had to walk around the room getting their classmates to sign their papers saying they matched the statements. It was a great activity to get the kids up and moving and talking to each other on the first day of school.

My kids loved this activity so much, they wanted me to get more! Well, I have no idea where the original came from. So I've created two activities titled "Buddy Building." You can snag them below...for FREE!

Hope your kids enjoy these as much as my students did.  Have a great weekend!  I'm rooting on the Falcons at our first preseason game!  RISE UP!   :)

More great resources - Democracy

I'm loving all these online resources!  I found some great videos/activities on Brain Pop for "Roots of our Democracy!" 

Click below to go to the videos/activities:

Branches of Government

Democracy

Athens

Voting

School Box also has a couple bulletin board sets that are amazing!

Awesome map skills resource!!!

I'm teaching map skills this week.  I used this BrainPop video:

While searching for more resources online, I came across this gem:

I felt like I hit the jackpot!!!  If you teach map skills, it's definitely worth checking out!  Thanks, Pete!  :)

Update with pics

Phew!  The second day of school is complete!  Here are pics of my completed Heart Map and the Reader's Workshop expectations we came up with:

I'm working on some activities to post later in the week.  Fingers crossed I can finish them by Friday!  :)

Back to School - Reader's Workshop

Reader's Workshop is a critical component to classroom instruction.  Helping children become successful readers can be a catalyst to further learning and educational opportunies.  Having said this, I believe it is extremely important to set guidelines and expectations for Reader's Workshop.  And I'm not just talking about for the kids.  It's for the teacher as well. 

I plan on discussing this with my students.  I want to hear what they think they should be doing, as well as what I'm supposed to be doing.  After hearing their ideas, I'm going to discuss some of my own thoughts.  I will record these expectations on a T-chart to be displayed in the room.  Like classroom rules, everyone should be held accountable for these expectations.  It takes the entire class working as a team to create a successful work environment.

What are some of the expectations you would include?

Heart Map FREEBIE!

While planning for the first week of school, I created this heart map for my students to write down a few seed ideas for their writing journals (and we'll glue it in when they're done).  I've used a heart map before, but I wanted to add lines to it.  I want the kids to add a few ideas during the first week of school.  But I also want them to leave some of the boxes blank to fill in during the rest of the year. 

Click the heart map picture to download it...for FREE! 

Clip Chart...HELP!

Marisa at iDream.iPlan.iTeach has an awesome question:

If you're using this clip chart for behavior management, how do you plan on using it to formulate the students' behavior grades?

I have the same exact question!  I made my own chart, got it laminated, and now it's hanging up looking all cute in my classroom.  But I need to get a better idea of how I'm going to use this for a grade. 

What do you think?  What would you do?  Please help us BOTH out and click on her blog button to share your thoughts.  Thanks in advance!  :)



Open House!

My school is about to have Open House at 2pm!  I'm very excited, but at the same time a little nervous.  Here's a pic of my room so far:

Papers are out and I'm ready for parents and kids!  :)

I don't have much on the walls yet because I got it laminated before going on vacation and haven't had time to cut it out this week.  That's my project today and tomorrow.  You can't see it in the picture, but my book nook is on the left.  To the right, I have several small shelves lining the wall under my bulletin board.  There are several baskets of games and manipulatives.  I also have my Daily 5 book baskets on part of the shelves. 

For those of you who have preplanning/open house this week, good luck! 

Great speaker with awesome ideas!

Our county had a guest speaker come and speak with our cluster's elementary school educators.  His name is Dr. Dan Mulligan.  He was fabulous!  From his intro speech to his easy yet effective activities, I was impressed.  :)  He pushes for higher level thinking and giving students more opportunities to figure things out on their own rather than being told things by the teacher.  Here's a link to his website:

http://www.e4ae.com/index.php

Here's a link to some of his resources I found online:

http://www.russell.k12.va.us/itrt/Dan%20Mulligan/Dan_Mulligan.htm

I LOVE the Triangle Trivia and the questioning!  If you get a chance, check him out.  Hopefully your school system will have the opportunity to invite him to speak to you!

Helloooooo Monday!

Geez!  Monday came in with a bang!  It was my first day of preplanning at my new school.  It feels good to have met all of my team members and a few other colleagues.  :)  I also got my new laptop!!!  So I'm extremely sorry I'm not posting any resources or ideas tonight...I'm making sure everything is off the "old" laptop and on the "new" one.  I need to make sure my features such as Cute PDF are in place as well.  I should be back in blogging business tomorrow!  Good luck to everyone who's already back at school!  And for those of you who aren't, enjoy these last days of freedom!  Hehe!