The Quietest Sharpener on the Hall

Let me begin by saying I loathe pencil sharpeners. They are a necessary evil for a successful classroom but such a hassle. Sometimes they don't do a good job, other times kids stand in line to sharpen their pencil just to chat with their friends. Still other times they are unreliable. The motors die even though they have a "lifetime guarantee." And the noise! Yes, it's safe to say I loathe them.

Classroom Friendly Supplies asked me to review their new Popular Purple sharpener and I have to say I love this thing. I've been a fan of this company for several years because their sharpeners are such a game changer for pencil sharpening.

First, I love how cute they are. They come in fun colors to match your classroom decor. This is big for me because I like everything to match. What makes these sharpeners so amazing though is that they take it back to the basics. They have no motor to die like an electric sharpener but they are still very effective. In fact, every single pencil comes out perfect. And the sharpener stops sharpening when the pencil is ready to use, which eliminates my pet peeve of "social sharpening." Did I mention they are super quiet?

I have actually been using a Classroom Friendly sharpener for several years since I first tried one in my classroom in New Jersey. All of my coworkers end up being so jealous of how well they work that they purchase their own as well. At my previous school, we lobbied our PTO to purchase some for the entire upper school and the response was great. The kids love them, too, and they are easy to use.

Your sharpener will come will a hook to attach it to a shelf if you desire but I have found the picture hanging command hooks work better. You just pinch the clamps, pull the silver lever out, insert your pencil, and crank. You will tell when the pencil is ready because it will stop sharpening. In my classroom, I hire pencil technicians to be in charge of sharpening pencils and it is the most coveted job around. When I added the Popular Purple to my collection of sharpeners, they were just thrilled that someone else would get the new position of purple pencil technician. The purple is great, but really one is never enough. Luckily, they are also available in three packs. 

The night before the first day of school

Via The Teaching Blog Addict

Spring Fever

via Google Images

With Spring Break just around the corner, there is a major case of spring fever in our room. We have just this week left before our break and it is going to be crazy. That should really be Crazy with a capital C. Our grades are due tomorrow and we have spent the last several days giving a practice ACT Aspire test to our students. South Carolina's previous state assessment was not timed. This assessment is and it is a hard transition for us all. My littles are tested out and tired of sitting in rows and my own patience with this is hanging on by a thread. Isn't this time of year exhausting?

Do your students have a bad case of Spring Fever this year? How do you handle it? We are going to do our best to get through this coming week and then when we return from spring break, we will go back to the basics. We will re-emphasize our expectations for everything from work ethic in centers to homework to behavior. We all need a refresher every now and then, right?

Our big event of the coming week is our writing workshop publishing celebration. We have invited our administrators and the district superintendent to share our opinion writing pieces with us on Thursday and it is going to be awesome. Our school's reading coach has been team teaching this unit with me, which has been amazing, and we are using it to try to pitch Lucy Calkins' writing workshop to our school. What a great way to end our time together before Spring Break with an author's share!

Meet the Teacher Blogger

Today I am joining in with Stephanie of Falling into First for the Meet the Teacher Blogger linkup.

Hi all! My name is Elizabeth and I am a twenty something teacher living in Charlotte, North Carolina and teaching 3rd grade in a Title I South Carolina School. I've pretty much neglected this blog over the past school year but thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a comeback.

I am entering my 5th year of teaching. I have taught Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 5th (gifted and talented) grades. 3rd is my absolute favorite and I am so excited to be returning to this age group this year.

I have an amazing husband, Corey. Today is actually our second anniversary. Don't worry - I am not neglecting him and this special day to pay attention to my blog instead. He works in finance and has to travel often and is out of town today. We don't have any children yet - just one very spoiled dog, Riley.

I also write a life and style blog, A Carolina Mrs. and create and share resources on Teachers pay Teachers.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

I'm a lover of fashion, fitness, home decor, a hand written note on cute stationary, anything monogrammed, Starbucks lattes, owls, and my sweet students. 

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

I would love to be an interior designer. I used to have the most elaborate doll houses as a child. I would ask my mom to lay tile in them and sew curtains. My husband and I bought our first home last December and I am loving designing each room. 

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Compassionate. Loyal. Creative. 
 

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"No, thank you. I don't need another cup of coffee."

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Patrick Dempsey and Ryan Gosling.

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

 Lipstick, Lattes, and Lesson Plans. I mean...there's a reason I chose that name for my blog. ;)

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

To be able to blink and all the paperwork I need to do would magically disappear.

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

 I'm a terrible singer. I would probably choose something by Carrie Underwood. As if singing one of her songs would magically make my legs look like hers!

 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

I am kind of a combination of the two. I'm most productive between the hours of 8:00am until about 10 pm. I am usually in the car by 6:30 each morning and this is a daily struggle. 

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

My Watermelon or Seed packet for Personal Narrative Writing. I'm a huge Lucy Calkins fan and love using this resource to help my littles narrow down a small moment topic.

My Daily 5 rotation cards are also a huge seller. These fit perfectly in a pocket chart to let your class sign up for their Daily 5 activities. They are available in polka dot, chevron, and owl themed.

Visit Falling into First to join in on the fun. 

Watermelon or Seed? - Writing Personal Narratives

I love how Lucy Calkins explains choosing a small moment idea when writing personal narratives. If you are unfamiliar with her work, she compares a large event to a watermelon (like a weeklong trip to the beach) and smaller moments to the watermelon's seeds (like building a sandcastle with your sister). I think this is so helpful in making students understand the difference so they can hone in on those seed ideas to use in their writing. As we prepare to begin personal narratives, I've been thinking about how can I really cement this idea for them. I came up with a resource pack for personal narrative writing.

In this pack, I've made posters to help remind them of the difference and give age-appropriate examples of each. I also created a sorting activity to help assess if my students truly understand the difference and a graphic organizer for them to develop their own seed ideas. I think this will really help them gain a good grasp on the concept before I turn them loose to start writing their own small moment stories for our personal narrative study. If you'd like to grab the pack for yourself, you can find it here in my TpT store.

Welcoming a class of writers (and getting that first writing sample)

Earlier this week, as I began to prep for our first day of school this Wednesday, I couldn't help but think about how I should get that first writing sample of the year. 

I pulled out my "back to school" folder and sifted through all my ideas from years past but couldn't commit to anything. Then, I found myself asking, "how do I want to welcome my kiddos to my class this year?" It is my first year ever team teaching and I will be coming in contact with 55 students every day. While this is exciting, its also a big change from my close-knit classroom of 20 last year. I really want to make a personal connection with each and make them feel welcome on our very first day.

 

Then, the idea of a postcard hit me. I am planning to write a welcome post card to my students, telling them a little about me and our class and asking lots of questions. Then, to get that first writing sample, I will have my kiddos write a postcard back. 

The front of mine will be a kind of welcome to 5th grade image, but I'm going to ask them to decorate their own front in a way that describes them. I think it will be cute, possibly even a quick hall display, but also provide me the first piece of writing evidence in their portfolio.

I was feeling a little ambitious after creating the post cards for my class, so I made a front image for all grades 1-5. If you'd like to do this activity with your own littles, you can find this pack in my TpT store.

How do you plan to sample and assess writing at the start of the school year?

I want to write like that!

Writer's Workshop is probably my absolute favorite subject to teach. I love how my students truly "become" writers. It never ceases to amaze me when one of my boys who claimed to "hate" writing at the beginning of the year becomes totally lost and absorbed in writing a personal narrative or realistic fiction story. In my previous school, I was so, so blessed to have a huge library of mentor texts perfectly aligned to Lucy Calkins' units of study for Writer's Workshop. I cannot even begin to describe how much of an asset this was when teaching my students about the various elements of writing different genres. I'm sure many of you who are also teachers already know the importance of this.

This year, I have moved to a new school and am so excited to continue Writer's Workshop. I do not have a vast library of mentor texts at my fingertips and being in a high-poverty, Title 1 school, I feel that my students need them more than ever. They need to see high-quality examples of writing to model their own pieces after. They need to see powerful leads, details, and endings to help them write their own stories. I have put together a grant on Donor's Choose asking for mentor texts aligned to our writing units of study.  I chose books that I know will inspire my sweet kiddos and help encourage them in their own journey as writers.

Unfortunately, despite all my promoting via facebook, twitter, and email my grant is not getting the needed funding. Donating through Donor's Choose is a great opportunity for individuals and businesses because the donations are tax deductible (who doesn't love a tax write-off?!) and can be made in any amount - even just two or three dollars. Donations go to a great cause - what better way to invest a couple dollars than in our children? I'm asking all of you to help spread the word to anyone you know who might be willing or able to donate. It will help make the BEST year for our classroom.

Find our project here.