Bright Ideas Blog Hop- Awesome End of the Year Gift

I am so excited to be joining the Bright Ideas Blog Hop once again! I absolute love the hundreds of fun, easy and amazing ideas that all the contributing bloggers write about each month! 

We are gearing up for the end of the year and I always love giving my students a little gift from me. Usually I like giving them books to read over the summer but this year my team and I went another way....

I AM IN LOVE!

I am sure that some of you have heard of a Wordle. It is a very cool website that allows you to create a word cloud about any topic that you would like! It's a great instructional tool for students to develop main idea, summary, descriptive writing and so much more! 

This year, I am using Wordle to create a personalized gift for each of my students! Each Wordle can be printed in color or even as a photo and will create  a gift that will be treasured forever!

In class, the students wrote their name on a piece of notebook paper. Nothing to fancy....but just you wait! 

The kiddos went around the room and used adjectives to describe each of their friends in class. It really helps for the students to have a list of character traits. It gave my kiddos lots of ideas and made the variety of words used made for great wordles! 

Now that you have a list of words for each student, the fun really begins! 

All you have to do is go to Wordle.net and select  "create a wordle".

The text box will appear and you can begin typing there. The more often you write/repeat a word, the bigger the word will appear on the word cloud. Because this is going to be a gift for my sweet kiddos, I typed there name several times so that they appear larger.

 

Next click "go" right below the text box.

This will create a word cloud! Now you can definitely play with it and continue to click to get different versions of your word cloud until you find one that you want. 

Using a screen shot of the Wordle allowed me to print in color and also to use my local drug store to print as a picture!

Here is one last tip for using Wordle:

*Copy and paste your text for each student into a word document. This way you have the text, just in case you have to create a new Wordle for that student. The information you type is not saved so this could really be a life saver! 

*Don't forget to add the grade level, school names and even your name to remind students of their awesome school year! 

*I do not share my Worldes on the site. Many of the Wordles I have created for this project have private information, so I chose to not share.

Hope you enjoy making these sweet and unique gifts for your kiddos! Thanks for visiting the Bright Ideas Blog Hop! 

Booking Across the USA...Texas!

Howdy from the Great State of Texas! 

I am so excited to be participating for a second year with  Books Across the USA! It is so much fun to learn about the 50 states and I LOVED the amount of amazing activities that I was able to use with my students!

This year, I was able to read a great little book that would follows the travels of Charlie all through our region of the United States. It was full of awesome facts about each of the states and vivid, colorful  pictures that truly engaged the students. The best part...as a former primary teacher, the information was written well for the little ones! Not only is it informative for the little ones, but it as additional facts that really helped my older students learn interesting facts about each state! It is a wonderfully written book and I can't wait to finish purchasing the rest of the series!

As a fourth grade teacher in Texas, my entire year in social studies is dedicated to Texas history. Texas is an extremely unique state that has a very rich and detailed story and it has lead to some amazing discussions and debates in my classroom. I started the year by creating a graphic organizer for the state of Texas so the students could draw on their prior knowledge.

The kiddos take these graphics and write anything and everything that they might know about Texas! The best part is that as you go through the lessons, student's can add to their graphic organizer! It's a simple yet very effect tool in my classroom and a great way to introduce the state of Texas for your kiddos! 

Looking for another Texas activity? Check out my Books Across the USA post from last year! 

You will love it! 

Bright Ideas Blog Hop...Lowering Test Anxiety!

It's spring and for most of us that means we are about to move into what could be one of the most stressful times of the year. State testing season is upon us and more than anything, it is important to keep your classroom environment a positive one. Kiddos want to do there best but with some grades facing 3, maybe even 4 tests in a one month period, stress and anxiety levels can definitely hit an all time high!

This is my first year in a STAAR testing grade and it has been intense! I love teaching fourth grade and all that comes with it but won't deny the stress that comes with want my students to perform to their full potential. I know that if I am feeling it....they are too. 

Here are a few tips that I have picked up along the way this year that have helped lower testing anxiety: 

It All Begins with YOU!

Yes...you. What you feel they feel. It comes out even when you are really trying not to let anyone see it. Take care of yourself and find ways to relax. Use the data that you have collected to drive your instruction and to make the most efficient use of your time. Plan your lesson carefully and with precision so that you can guide your students learning. BREATHE.....and remember...your kids need you to be their role model. They need you to show them how to take the anxious energy that comes with state testing and channel it to meet and challenge even our own wildest expectations. 

 Make test prep FUN! 

We are having an absolute blast practicing all the skills that they have learned through fun themed weeks, games and competition! Camp Write Along was our week for review and test prep for the 2 day writing STAAR and I could literally see the stress melt away as they worked through the fun camp activities of the week. The focus was no longer "the test" but more about celebrating all the amazing things that we have learned this year to become amazing writers. 

Next week, we will be having Beach Retreat which will be our time to lounge and relax as we comb over all the awesome skills that they have mastered in math and reading. I CAN'T WAIT...and neither can the kids!

Everyone LOVES a little competition!

Rather than wasting away time running of worksheets for the kiddos to do, turn that review from boring to fabulous by playing games to engage the students! I have purchased and ABSOLUTELY love the templates that I have bought for games such as Family Feud, Jeopardy, Are You Smarter Than Your Teacher and so many other quiz shows! Talk about student engagement and instant fun!

Brain Breaks 

We all need them....yes....even you! Taking a moment to stretch, move, sing or dance is almost like a reset for any lesson you may be teaching. When I see my students starting to look as though they are reaching the maximum potential....we stop. We do something to get us moving and change our train of thought and then we are ready to hit the ground running once again. Read your kids. They will let you know when they are ready and it will greatly improve stress and anxiety in those last few days of test prep!

Show a Lot of LOVE!

This is when our kids really need us to step it up and show them just how much we love them! Affirmations of a job well done make a huge difference. Celebrate the successes....both BIG and SMALL! Make it a team effort where your class is a network of friends that will encourage and support each other. Start a class tradition (like a lucky charm or a special cheer) to foster an environment of support for your students. Bring in your administrators, parents and staff to show your students that they are AMAZING and that everyone around them truly believes they will work to their fullest potential and show there very best work.

               

I wish you all the very best and hope that each of you have a wonderfully "stress free" testing season! 

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For more bright ideas from 150 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

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Camp Write Along Day 1

You could feel the excitement in the hall as all my little campers waited to get in the classroom today! It was our first day of Camp Write Along and we had an ABSOLUTE blast! Camp Write Along is a week long themed week used to practice essential skills for editing, revising and writing before the STAAR test next week.

The STAAR test is the standardized test in Texas and fourth graders take a test in reading, writing and math.

The writing exam consists of approximately 28 editing and revising multiple choice questions and 2 written compositions. The students are expected to write an expository and a personal narrative composition. The writing test is given in two days. On each day, the students take an editing/revising test and write one composition...all in a four hour time frame.

Today began with our class roll call and weather forecast for our day. We went over camp rules and expectations and set up camp. Each student brought a sleeping bag and a flashlight. They rolled out their sleeping bags and settled in for the morning's first activity....trash can trail mix!

The students donated snack items to our trail mix and we poured everything in to a large (double bagged) plastic bag. Asked the students to talk about what they thought would make great writing. With just a few snacks, we knew that our trail mix - just like our writing- needed a little more variety to be really good! As we added more snacks, we discussed elements that would really bring our writing to the next level, like the use of similes, metaphors, idioms, onomatopoeia and adjectives. When all the ingredients were added, I took the bag and shook all the yumminess into one fabulous trail mix for the kiddos to share through out the week.

Once snack was made, it was time to get our camp colors! Every student received a navy blue bandanna to represent our camp. There are 4 teachers in my grade so we all have a different color and the kiddos loved wearing them to show their camp pride. As the week goes on, the students will receive pins as rewards for improvement in different writing skills. These pins will be giving at our end of the day camp ceremony to celebrate all our learning for the day!

Whew! That's a ton in such a short time...and I haven't even mentioned the lessons...

Along with a gallery walk and activotes flipchart activities to practice editing and revising (I will tell you more about these as the week goes on), we did a great motivational lesson to Everyone Needs a Rock. It's a wonderful little book about the importance choosing just the right rock as a keepsake.

With all the testing, we wanted to provided the kiddos with something that would serve as a good luck charm and worry stone all in one. Once I read the story about how to select the perfect rock, the room was silent as each student chose their very special keepsake. It was really very sweet! The rock will have a special place in our classroom the day of the test as a quiet reminder of all the fun days that we will have during Camp Write Along.

I have so much more to share! 

There are so many fun filled days ahead and I can't wait to blog all about them!  

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Camp Write Along

I teach fourth grade in Texas (my first year ever) and it's spring...so you know what that means....my  fourth grade kiddos will be taking the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) Writing Test in just a few days! They will be accountable for editing and revising and two written compositions. One will be an expository composition and the other will be narrative.We use the week before to have a ton of fun, while reviewing for the test, by creating 

Camp Write Along for our kiddos! 

        

        Our amazing parents decorated the hallway near our classrooms and did an AMAZING job! 

Don't you just love it?

It will be a week of exciting and fresh review activities, created just for the kids....and I can't wait! I spent time Friday transforming my room from a classroom to a camp site, complete with a tent and fire all ready to go! I will be sharing the week's events throughout the week so make sure to stop by and check it out!

I will be sharing tons of ideas as we go through the week so make sure to stop by and check it out!

What Blogging Means to Me

I am writing this because of a huge realization that I had tonight. Spring Break has finally afforded me enough time to go through and do a little spring cleaning here at Curls and a Smile. I was labeling my posts (to make them easier to find) and realized something that made me really kinda sad. I realized just how many of the posts I had written were promoting a resource, sale or giveaway. Now, please don't get me wrong, these are all fabulous but...... it was the pure inspiration of reading what amazing teachers all over the state, country and world were doing with their kiddos that started the dream of this little blog that you are reading right now. 

It wasn't the giveaways....
although those are nice sometimes. 

It wasn't the promotions...
even though I really do like to see new resources.

I started blogging with Curls and a Smile to share and collaborate with teachers and to develop my craft with others that also spent their free time reflecting on great teaching strategies that they had tried in their classrooms. I miss the great tips (no matter how little they were) and the neat new ways to teach the same skills that we are all asked to teach our students. I need to get back to that. Back to what makes all of this worthwhile and honestly, worth reading. 

So, I am going to change that and bring the JOY and HAPPINESS back into my blogging. I truly hope to get back to what I love most about this amazing community of teachers that we have- the loving spirit of sharing with each other to benefit all of our students. 

I hope you will stick with me as I breath new life into my sweet little blog that I just love and rededicate myself to what really brings us all together- great ideas and best practices!