Making A "No Name Board" For Your Classroom and Your Sanity

     Hi Friends! Today I want to show you how to make a "No Name Board" for your classroom. What is it and why do you need one? Well, let me just tell you...
     So, a "No Name Board" is a place to put those papers that INEVITABLY get turned in NAMELESS... EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE SAID 7,985,453,213 TIMES "Don't forget to put your name on your paper." It is, essentially, a place to put those poor, nameless papers. And...for some reason, those NAMELESS papers that NO ONE would claim before...suddenly, magically, miraculously seem to reconnect with their owners once they have been "featured" on this "fancy-shmancy board".
     But, the why you need one of these boards in your life IMMEDIATELY may be the most important part in all of this...

TO SAVE YOUR SANITY!

     Because, here is the deal, you and I both know...it is going to happen. No matter how many times you say it, sing it, repeat it, chant it, dance it, and act it out together in cooperative groups...there WILL BE students who will turn in their papers without names on them... In the past this may or may not have been something that has made you tiptoe very close to the edge of your sanity. But NO MORE! I am here to save your sanity with the "CUTENESS FACTOR" of the "No Name Board".

     Now hear me out...I am a firm believer that 

FUNCTIONALITY + CUTENESS = HAPPINESS x INFINITY

EVERY SINGLE TIME!

     So, yes, there will always be papers without names on them. Yes, it is irritating. But now, when you go to hang them on the "No Name Board"...you will immediately stop and think to yourself, "Look how cute that "No Name Board" is! I am so glad I made that absolutely cute thing and I have it in my life!" Then you will forget all about being irritated that those few papers don't have names on them and you will go and drink a cup of coffee and celebrate your FANTASTIC self!

                           *To get yourself a coffee mug like this one, click on the picture above.*

Here is a video showing you the steps I went through to make my "No Name Board".

As promised in the video, here are the steps for making the "No Name Board" written out for you.

   
You can get all the supplies you see here from Hobby Lobby and Michaels, and if you don't want to go to both stores, I am sure you can find substitutions for any of these products in either store or even in your own home. (For instance, I already had the clothespins, paint, and both kinds of glue at home, just waiting to be used for a fun project!) *I just noticed I did forget to take a picture of the q-tips. Sorry...you also need a couple q-tips!

How To Make A "No Name Board":
1. Evenly space five clothespins at the bottom of the board. You want them to hang over the edge. Use a q-tip to apply the wood glue to the top portion of the clothespins (from the end to the metal piece) and then stick them onto the board. (The use of the q-tip is so that you don't get goopy wood glue all over everything...or maybe that is just something I do when I am crafting.) Let those dry for a few hours. (The bottle says 24 hours...I cannot wait that long when I am creating CUTENESS! But you can do what you want!)

2. Spray paint your board and clothespins black.(Don't forget to do the edges.) Let paint dry. (I would say something about watching paint dry here...but I won't.)

3. Now measure and cut the ribbon to edge the board with. Then use the Tacky Glue to glue the ribbon down with. (I don't use a q-tip for this glue, because it usually comes out of the bottle pretty controlled.)

4. Next, you are going to make your ribbon knots. Choose four ribbons for each clothespin. Cut the ribbons in half and set half aside. Once you have them in half, then holding them together, fold them in half, leaving about a  1 1/2" or 2" loop at the top. Tie the whole bundle in a knot. Do this for each clothespin. Using the Tacky Glue, glue the ribbons down by putting the glue onto the clothespin and then pressing down on the ribbons.

5. Last, you need to position your letters onto the board. This pack of letters only had one alphabet set in it, but we need two N's. Instead of buying two letter packs, I just used the Z turned on it's side to make the second N. (Take that- Company that made the letters but only sells one alphabet per pack!!! What can you spell with only one of each letter??!!!) Once you have your letters positioned how you want them, then glue them down using the Tacky Glue. Leave the board set out to dry. (Probably overnight this time.)

6. You can put whatever kind of hardware you need to on the back to hang it. I put thick strips of magnets on the back of mine and hang it on my whiteboard because we cannot hang things on the walls at my school. (It takes quite a few magnets to hold it up.)
   

This is what your final project will look like!

TOTAL CUTENESS...RIGHT!!???

In the video I told you we sing a song about putting our name on our paper in my class. It does work for the majority of the kids. If you would like a copy of it you can get it by clicking on the picture below.

   
     Oh, and here is a close-up picture of the big paper clips from Michaels that I used the extra ribbon on. I just tie the ribbon into knots at the top. I usually put three or four ribbons onto each paper clip. These make GREAT gifts for team members!

Send me pictures of your "No Name Boards" and your paperclip creations! I would LOVE to see them so I can get my HAPPINESS x INFINITY out of their FUNCTIONALITY + CUTENESS!
Thanks for stopping by!

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The Perfect Way To Practice Using Reading Strategies Simultaneously!

     Hi Friends! Today I want to share with you one of my favorite ways to practice reading strategies with my students. Now, first of all, let me start off by saying...I KNOW that the BEST way to practice using reading strategies is to ACTUALLY READ!!! And I am here to tell you, to be successful as a teacher of firsties, you MUST, MUST, MUST give those babies LOTS of time and opportunity to read independently so that they can practice what you are teaching them.
     However, I also know from doing this for A BAZILLION-TRILLION years (have you looked at my picture?) that firsties need "controlled practice" as well. By controlled practice, I mean things like guided reading, shared reading, conferencing, partner work, games etc. so that they can be held accountable for what they are doing, and so that you as the teacher can make some observations about what it is they need next as learners. This game I want to share with you today is one of those "controlled practice" situations that my students and I LOVE doing together!

     So I call this game The Super Sentence Showdown. (You may know it by another name. I read about it in a book many years ago and have just modified it to work with my students.) What I LOVE about it is that the kids have to use several reading strategies simultaneously to figure out the missing words in the sentence, and they have to use teamwork to do it. (So, a child who isn't quite "getting" the whole reading strategy thing yet, is getting to see other kids in action, and everyone is benefitting from listening to the way others problem solve and think!) In this game, students need to use prior knowledge of their world, prior knowledge of how language is commonly used, as well as teamwork and cooperation to form meaningful sentences. The goal is to improve reading abilities in students, particularly their ability to use prior knowledge, to monitor and to self correct while reading.

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     So this is how we play. I divide the class into two teams. I try to make the teams even in terms of ability..but that is a secret, so don't tell the kids! I then choose a Team Captain for each team. The Team Captain is going to be in charge of being the "spokesperson" for the group. (I do this to avoid someone on the team shouting out a word like "pizza" that has nothing to do with the sentence, causing the team to lose their turn, and then that someone having no one to play with at recess because they had no self control!) Now I need to be clear here...the Captain does not get to make all the decisions and do all the answering alone. So be careful to choose someone who isn't a control-freak, or you will spend the entire game taking care of that issue! The Captain needs to listen to the suggestions of the team, and then share those answers out.

     Each team gets 3 "free-letter cards" to be used at their discretion.(Free-letter cards are used during the game to reveal a letter in an unknown word. Only one free-letter card can be used during a turn.)

      

Now to start the game, I show the students a sentence I have prepared with all but one word missing. (NOTE: The length of the blanks match the length of the missing words. This is to remind students that when decoding unknown words while reading, the length of the word is a clue that can be used to help figure out the unknown word. (i.e. it would be silly to guess “dinosaur” for a word with only three letters.)  

                Next, I engage students in conversation about the one word revealed. (This is a step you will repeat at the beginning of each round.) The word revealed should always be a high-content word, so children can guess related words and topics that might be hidden in the sentence. For example, you would say, "We know this sentence has the word teacher in it. What other words might you expect to find in a sentence with the word teacher in it?" Students might offer suggestions such as class, students, school, lesson, etc. Remind students that this is the same thing we do when we get a new book to read. We get our mind ready to read by thinking about what the book might be about. 
            On their turn, each team will begin by selecting a number corresponding to the word they would like revealed. (Each team can only have one word revealed per turn.) Choosing a word to be revealed is a strategic decision. I gain a great deal of knowledge from listening in on the decision making of the students. I pay close attention to which students reread the sentence, which students make sensible predictions, and which students are able to use prior knowledge of how the English language works to guide their decision making. It is important to remind the team to work together to make a decision, but only the captain does the talking for the group.
              After I reveal the requested word, I remind the team of their three choices:
1. The team can now collaborate and make a guess at a missing word in the sentence. (i.e. "We think number one is "the".) Again, only the captain makes the request.
2. The team can use a free-letter card to assist with their guess of a missing word. (i.e. "We want to use a free-letter card for number two.")
3. The team can pass. (i.e. "We don't have a guess, so we want to pass our turn.")

     A team's turn continues until they guess incorrectly or they pass. Each time they guess correctly, they earn points toward their score.

SCORING:

2 POINTS- For every word guessed correctly without any letters being revealed.

1 POINT- For every word guessed correctly after a free-letter card was used on that word.

              (Regardless of which team used the free-letter card.)

10 POINTS- For guessing the entire sentence.

NOTE: WHEN ONLY ONE MISSING WORD REMAINS IN THE SENTENCE, IT IS NEVER REVEALED.

Here is an example of how a round may go:

The first team asks for word number three to be revealed, so the board now looks like this:

___ ___ important ___ ______ ______ ____ teacher _____ __________ .

Most students will now be able to guess that the word in the number-two spot is is. Some may suggest the, because it would be possible to say "the important __" in a sentence. They also will probably be able to guess that the number-seven word is the. If the team guesses correctly they will score two points per correct word, and the board will look like this:

___ is important ___ ______ ______ the teacher ______ __________.

Strategic players might now suggest using a free-letter card to get a hint at word number four. Supplied with a t, they will probably guess to, scoring one additional point. (There is no limit as to how many points a team can score in a round. Sometimes they get on a role and figure out the entire sentence. That is ok. Let the other team go first in the next round. Remember...We WANT them to be able to do this!)

   The game continues until the entire sentence is complete. The captain of the winning team reads the

entire sentence back to the group to win.

It is important to listen when the teacher is talking.

   The game moves quickly because with each turn a complete word is revealed, offering significant

clues to the players. I always encourage rereading as the main strategy for making good predictions in

this game. This reinforces for the students the importance to continually read for meaning.

     As the year goes on and students grow as readers, I make the sentences more complex and the

content richer. It is especially fun to include content we are learning in our science, health

and social studies lessons. I also encourage the students to suggest sentences themselves, either

original ones or ones lifted from the books they are reading.   
     If you would like to try playing Super Sentence Showdown with your students I have created some FREEBIES you can use to help keep the game organized and fun! Click on the picture below to pick up these FREEBIES!

     I have also created an entire set of 50 prepared sentences and projectable gameboard pages you can use for a NO PREP, cut and go version of the game. I like this, because I don't have to take the time to come up with the sentences for each round of play, and I don't have to take time to prepare the charts each time. I keep the sentences together on a ring, and then add the new ones the students suggest to the blank cards included. I have also included the directions  with the sentence cards, so if a question comes up, you can look right there in your stack of cards for the answer! You can click on any of the pictures below for the entire Super Sentence Showdown Game.

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Pencil Sharpener Love!

   Happy Summer Friends! I want to tell you about this FAB pencil sharpener that I am LOVING right now! I think it is going to change pencil sharpening for good in my classroom! It is from a cute little company called Classroom Friendly Supplies. (Now I have not research the size of this company, so I am using the term "little" loosely. They may very well be a HUGE- GINORMOUS company...but nonetheless, in my opinion, they are still "cute".)

     I have however, researched their pencil sharpeners, and I am in LOVE, for many reasons! First of all...THEY COME IN DIFFERENT COLORS PEOPLE!!!!! FOR REAL!!! LOOK!

     Is it just me, or did that picture just make your teacher heart do a little happy dance? But it isn't just about the color! This pencil sharpener is
1. lightweight
2. portable (or, you can secure it to make it stationary if you want to)
3. quiet
4. easy to use
and
5. KID FRIENDLY!
It also...holds the pencil still for you while you sharpen, and stops sharpening automatically when the pencil is sharp...perfect tip every time!

     Hello!? When was the last time you heard all those words used to describe A PENCIL SHARPENER?! But it is true! Another plus...You can purchase one that accommodates fat pencils too! (teacher heart happy dance again!)
Here's a video of me using this FAB sharpener. (Let's pretend that I purposely show the difficult decision making process we all must go through before sharpening a pencil... of figuring out which end to put in the sharpener...Kinda like a built in safety tip!)

Now this is one of my firsties using the sharpener for the first time. Pretty easy for the first try, don't you think? (And she is a tiny bugger too!)

So here is my plan...These sharpeners are super affordable, and I really hate the time wasted sharpening pencils. Yes, I know all about having it be someone's job...tried it...hated it. I know about having someone do it at the end of the day...tried it...hated it. I know about having them sharpen when they come in first thing. Tried it...Hated it.

I am going to purchase one sharpener for each table! (Multiple colors of course!) The sharpener fits perfectly into the table baskets. I will still designate sharpening friendly times (i.e. before morning meeting, restroom time, choice time, not while I or anyone else is speaking time, etc.), and I will still keep the electric sharpener for when "mass" sharpenings need done. What do you think? I think it can work.  

Oh, by the way, here is one more reason to love this "little" company called Classroom Friendly Supplies..... 

Peace Out!

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The Perfect Way To Build A Strong Classroom Community

     Welcome back friends! Thanks for stopping in! I can't wait to talk to you about one of my favorite classroom management techniques...Classroom Social Stories! My students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE classroom social stories! They cannot get enough of them, which is a win, win for me, because I get their full attention while I am teaching them all about the ins and outs of classroom behavior, manners, safety, and community!

    What are Social Stories anyway?

     For those of you who are new to social stories, let me bring you up to speed. Social Stories were originally developed in order to support individuals with autism. The idea was to provide a more personalized and tailored behavioral intervention to help them better cope with social situations.
Social stories are used to help teach students routines, expectations, and behavioral standards in an alternative way. Social stories present information in a story format with visual examples of behavior expectations to reinforce correct behavior and to help involve students in the learning process.

Who can benefit from Social Stories?

     So, who can benefit from the use of social stories? Well, often times, social stories are only used in Special Education classrooms or with Special Education students because this is the population they were originally geared toward. But the more I thought about the students who could benefit from this type of presentation of information, I thought, couldn't these social stories benefit EVERY child. Seriously...think about it...Social stories are PERFECT for...

• students on the autism spectrum
• students with ADHD/ADD
• students with anxiety disorders
• students with sensory issues
• students who lack social skills
• students who take longer to grasp things like routines and expectations

(I don't know about you, but that sounds like my entire class...including the teacher!)

     So, that is when I decided...EUREKA! this could be the secret ingredient I was looking for, to make all my classroom management wishes come true! I have created Classroom Social Stories to go along with the day-to-day situations and events that we face in our regular classroom. The best part is...they can't come back later and say, "I didn't know that rule." or "You never told me that." or "I never heard that before." AH HAH!!!! We know for sure you heard it before, because it is right here in this book! (That we have read as a class 600 times!- but I will get to that part!) Holding students accountable has never been easier!

     Ok, so let me tell you how we go about using our Classroom Social Stories in a way that helps everyone succeed. When I first introduce each story, I do it as a whole class read aloud. As we read we stop and discuss what is going on in the story and the pictures. (I am still old school, and prefer to hold the book to do the read aloud, but my social stories can also be projected onto the whiteboard or SmartBoard to be read as well.) After our first initial reading, we do many, many repeated readings of the book! The repeated readings are key here, because that is what helps the students A-understand the importance of the topic and B-retain what they have heard.
     I also print out extra copies of pages that are of particular importance to the concept being taught in the story so that we can use them as "behavioral focus cards" for individual students or even as an entire class.

     Above is an example of focus cards that I needed to pull out for my class this past year from the classroom social story Do I Really Need To Go To The Nurse? I had several students who were "frequent flyers" to the Nurse's office so I kept these focus cards out on the board to be discussed during morning meeting and as the individual needs arose.(i.e."Are you sure you need to go to the nurse? Do you have something that is hurting or bothering you like this boy in the picture?")
     If, after repeated readings as a whole class, a student or group of students is still struggling with the behavioral concept being taught, I provide those students with individual copies of the story (either full sized or reduced size), and encourage them to reread and review the story when a refresher of that particular social skill is needed. The rereading and review can be done any number of ways- independently, in a reading "skills" group, with an Aide, with a peer, with the Principal (Uh-Oh!), and even at home with the parents.

*As a side note here, my Principal has an entire basket full of my social stories in her office so that she can use them to read to little ones when they are sent in with social skill issues.

    We keep all our classroom social stories in baskets in our library so that the students can reread them at their leisure...AND DO THEY EVER! These are the most used baskets in my library!
   Once you have covered the skill being taught in the social story, you can even use the pages in a bulletin board display to refer back to as needed.
 

Now is the fun part! Let me tell you about the Classroom Social Stories we have in our classroom, and all the different situations they can cover!

     We get started using our social stories right from day one, because they are perfect for teaching back to school routines! These are the routines and social skills covered with our Back To School Classroom Social Stories:

     The students cannot wait to try to replicate the good behaviors they see the students in the books doing. Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Back To School Classroom Social Story Bundle.

   

   
Another great use for social stories in the classroom is to explain safety procedures in and around the classroom. Social stories are fantastic for explaining safety procedures! These are the safety procedures covered with our School Safety Classroom Social Stories:

   
     Safety drills can often be overwhelming and scary for little ones, but by teaching about the procedures through social stories, the students feel much more at ease and prepared. Especially because they are able to see the children in the stories going through the procedures first, so they are able to broaden their mindset about the upcoming situations. Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the School Safety Classroom Social Story Bundle.

 
      I have found social stories to be a great way to prepare students for special events! We all know that just the hint of a special event in the future can cause chaos in even the best behaved classrooms. So getting your students fully prepared for said events is an absolute must! These are the special events covered with our Special Event Classroom Social Stories:

   
     I don't know about you, but I want to give my students every opportunity to get these situations right...especially since many of them take place in front of other people...NO THANK YOU with the complete and total LUNATIC BEHAVIORS in public! Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Special Event Classroom Social Story Bundle.

     Social stories are also great for teaching students about making good choices! These are the classroom situations covered in our Good Choices Classroom Social Stories:

     There are so many situations our students encounter every day that come down to either making a good choice or making a bad choice...shouting out in class, getting up 1,000 times to get a tissue, getting frustrated with work instead of asking for help... Many times they make the bad choice because they don't know what the good choice options are. These social stories provide students with examples of ways to make good choices instead of bad. Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Good Choices Classroom Social Story Bundle.

     Another great use for social stories in the classroom is for teaching students about cooperation.Social stories are excellent for explaining to students about cooperation! These are the classroom situations covered in our Cooperation Classroom Social Stories:

     Many students coming to school today lack the social skills necessary to deal with much of the day to day business that takes place in the classroom. It is unfortunate, but it is true. Because of that, it is up to us as teachers to provide them with the tools they need to get along in social situations. Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Cooperation Classroom Social Story Bundle. 

Social stories can be a concrete way to teach students about getting along! So many times kids will say, "no one will play with me," and they have no idea what they are doing to in fact hinder the interaction with others. These are the classroom situations covered in our Getting Along Classroom Social Stories:

     Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Getting Along Classroom Social Story Bundle.

     I love using social stories in my classroom to motivate students to do better academically! Social stories are a great way to motivate students to use their best academic abilities! These are the classroom situations covered in our Academic Ability Classroom Social Stories:

When the students see kids in the story going through the same situations they are...it is like a light bulb goes off in their heads! Suddenly they have the strength and the will to try to do better. Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Academic Ability Classroom Social Story Bundle.

     This last group of social stories is a must for making kids with slight differences feel comfortable, safe, and included in the classroom. Social stories are excellent for explaining to students about differences! Over the years I have been blessed to have a diverse population of learners. Each group is unique, and I make it my purpose to make each group feel like they are the perfect group for me! Along with diversity comes a responsibility to foster understanding and acceptance of differences. These are the classroom situations covered in our Differences Classroom Social Stories:

Below are some example pages from a few of the social stories in the Differences Classroom Social Story Bundle.

     Now, you can get any of these social stories individually in my TPT store, or if you are like me, and have to have EVERY SINGLE ONE... you can get them ALL in THE MEGA Classroom Social Story Bundle! This bundle is a 20% off value and it is a GROWING bundle...so if you buy now...as more stories are added, you will get those stories too...FOR FREE!!!

     Do you think you are ready to try Classroom Social Stories? 

I am giving away A BUNDLE OF YOUR CHOICE to 3 lucky readers!

*(The Mega Bundle is excluded from this offer.)*

Follow the rules in the Rafflecopter to enter!

GOOD LUCK!

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