Freebie - Table of Contents for Interactive Notebooks

Hello, there!

This is just a quick post to share something I made last night for my kiddos and I thought I would share with all of you!

If your students are like mine, it takes them FOREVER to set up their Interactive Notebooks that first week of school. Maybe they are still on summer break, maybe they are perfectionists, maybe it is something else, but it drives me bananas that they cannot number from 1-160 in less than 5 minutes. I do not know why it is so hard. But, then again, there is a lot about middle schoolers that leaves me completely befuddled.

So, after several years of going through the agony that is setting up the table of contents page, I am ELIMINATING the worst part by printing out the table of contents page for them. I am going to print this two sheets to a page, front and back to get this all on one sheet of legal paper. As soon as I get to the copier at school, I will post a picture on my FB page to show you what I mean!

I hope that this will be helpful to you! You can find it for FREE in my TPT store!

Also, today is the LAST day for this fabulous giveaway! Even if you have entered before, you can still share this giveaway again to gain more entries! Good luck and stay tuned for the announcement of the winners on my blog tomorrow!

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Throwback Thursday - Homework

A lot of people have contacted me about how I do homework, so I am bringing back this post from a few months ago when I think I had about 10 people following my blog! I'll be sure to answer any questions you have :)

Originally posted on May 5, 2013:

Every year, my teaching team and I wrack our brains discussing what we will give for homework and how it will be graded. I do believe that students need practice outside of the classroom, but I don't like giving textbook homework--it's extremely monotonous. Besides, with textbook homework, the kids have a myriad of excuses: I left it in my locker, I was at my Dad's house last night and my book was at my Mom's house, I forgot the page number, etc. We have an online textbook that works *sometimes*, so I tell them not to rely on that. Also, we have about 60 more 6th graders this year than we have had since I started at my school...so not every student has one! Then, there is the other issue of who is really doing the homework??

Enter the solution: last summer we went to CAMT, the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching, since it was in Houston and it was close. We signed up for it in March...and it seemed like a great idea at the time...until the day came. We had to be at the convention center (a good 35-40 minutes away) by 8 AM for our first session! What were we thinking!? Well, I am glad we went! We sat in a session led by Brad Fulton who is an excellent speaker! He suggested we do this:

Homework is given on Monday and is due Friday. It can either be one assignment that will cover the material for the time period, or it can be shorter assignments for each night.

1. Students must show all work to receive credit, and if they turn it in Friday, no weekend homework. (Let me clarify, no extra homework is given to those that don't, they just have the weekend to complete it for a late grade).
2. On Thursday night, before it is due, I post just the answers to the homework so that they can check their answers and know if they need to make corrections.
3. On Tuesday of the following week, we give the students a homework quiz. We modified this a little bit from Brad's class.
1. We "grade" the homework ahead of time for a total of 40 points if work is completed and effort is there. No credit for just answers without any justification. 
2. The quiz itself is worth 60 points and here is how it is broken down:
1. 5 questions are questions from the homework
2. 5 questions are questions from the previous week's material (that if they completed the homework should not have a problem completing).
3. The rationale is, that if a kid is trying and does the homework, they will get a minimum of a 70, where if I actually took homework up each day for a grade, the grade would be much lower. Whereas, a kid who doesn't do homework at all, still has some way to get some points. (Hey, a 30 is better than a 0!)

Let me clarify a few things...I am a middle school teacher. I am not saying that this will work for everyone. And, 99% of the time, 99% of their kids do very well and turn in their homework. And, for those that never turned in homework before, now do. I do this with my 6th and 7th grade classes and will do it next year with 8th grade. Some of my 7th graders who I had last year were hit or miss with homework and it hurt their grades...this year, I don't have that problem. 

It also provides stability for parents. They know that each week homework is assigned and they know the expectation of when their child needs to turn it in. It eliminates the excuse of, "Well, Johnny told me he didn't have any homework..."

How do you handle homework in your class? Let me know what you think of this process and if you are willing to try it and want more information, I can help you get started!

Worst Part of August...

The worst part of having to go back to work in August is having to lug all of the things I "had to create" or "had to buy" over the summer when it is super hot outside. This weekend, I had a light bulb moment...normally I am bringing up shopping bag after shopping bag upstairs (I've always had a classroom upstairs) and I'm usually sweaty and gross by the time I get there. And, if you are like me, you won't want to work at all in your room once you are sweaty.

So, I decided to pack all of my stuff (posters and all!) in this:

That's right...I packed a suitcase. It is a genius idea! I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of it, and if I have seen it  before I have no idea where that was. However, I brought it home and am packing it again to bring back to school today. 

I seriously cannot believe that I didn't think I this in any of the past seven years! What is your trick to getting all of your stuff up to school?

Monday Made It!

I have a few things I whipped up on Sunday afternoon to share with you today! I am linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It linkup.

Before I could start making anything, I had to run a *few* errands! Knowing Monday would be my first day to get into my classroom to start setting up, I needed to get some of these...15 to be exact!

I know I could have found them cheaper somewhere else, but in the grand scheme of things, how much would I have really saved? Probably not enough to warrant me going shopping in this disgusting heat wave we seem to be having! Anyhow, I bought 15 so that each pair of students would have one. I plan to use these as my INB supply boxes. I am going to work on labeling this this week and be back with a post of what goes in them later!

Next up was Target. A friend of mine told me how inexpensive Five-Star Notebooks were at Target and I had to scoop some up. I bought 6, one for each class period so that each class has their own "model notebook." I had trouble keeping up with 3 last year, so I certainly hope I do a better job of keeping up with 6! If you are using these instead of composition books, run--do not walk--to Target. These babies are $1.89!

Also, at Walmart I picked up these deals. The index cards are neon (my fave!) for under $1 per pack. I know the white ones are on sale everywhere...but I love the colored ones! I also found post-it notes cheaper than the dollar store (not much...$0.97) but hey! Every cent counts! Plus, the colors were way brighter...and that makes me want to use more of them.

 I was going to get some plain magnet tape, because I am always putting it on the back of posters that I want to stay on the board, but I hate how it always curls. I found these packs of magnet strips that are pre-cut, and they come 18 in a pack for less than $1! $0.97 seemed to be the magic price at Walmart! I got 3 packs. I have no idea what I will use it for, but I like to be ready :)

Last but not least...my clothespins. I went looking in my craft room for my bag of clothespins the other night and couldn't find them ANYWHERE. Seriously, I know it is a mess in there...but it's like they had runaway from home. Had to buy a new bag. Why? Keep reading :)

HOME MADE IT:

I made this lotion in March and it went over so well with my mom and some friends that I had to make more! I love to use lotion, but hate when it is greasy...and this is perfect! It is light, but thick at the same time and feels so luxurious when you use it. And, it makes 24 ounces of lotion! I did not come up with this recipe on my own...I adapted it from this pin. I swapped the Vaseline for Coconut Oil because I thought it might be greasy...I never tried it, so it may work for you!

Here's what you need:

15 oz of baby lotion (any scent...any brand--mine is from the Dollar Tree)

Twin pack of Vitamin E skin care cream (only found at Walmart on the bottom shelf of the lotion aisle)

2/3 cup of coconut oil (any brand will do...mine is from Sprouts, but I have used from Whole Foods, too)

Pour all ingredients into a bowl and whip with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes making sure that all is incorporated and evenly blended. I periodically stop and scrape down the sides to be sure that there aren't any chunks of coconut oil floating around.

Then, I store it in airtight containers and pass it out to family and friends! I filled 3 of these today, and my mom was most appreciative of her lotion! In case you are wondering, I get these precious glass jars from Hobby Lobby in the glass section. They are normally $4, so just make sure you go when glass is 50% off, which is every other week!

 SCHOOL MADE IT:

I did make these supply labels to put on my storage containers at school. Well, I actually made them two weeks ago...but, I finally got around to printing and laminating! Like them? You can actually find them in my TPT store here

Also, I decorated my clothespins with some washi tape to go along with another project that will have to wait for next week's Monday Made It!

Aaaaaaand, I just realized how very long this post was! Sorry about that--if you made it to the end, you rock!

Back to School Goals!

I am a huge list maker. It literally won't get done if it isn't written down on 12 different sheets of paper. Also, confession time: when making a list of things that need to get done, I will sometimes always write down a task that I have recently created JUST so that I can cross it off the list! Is that horrible?? Sometimes I feel like this was written JUST FOR ME!

Gets me every time!

Anyhow...this list is REALLY a set of goals for this school year. I always start off the year with high hopes of things that I want to do, and then December rolls around as the first time I really get to reflect on the year so far. By then, my mental list is so far in the past I don't even remember what was on it. 

So, I am linking up with I Heart Recess for her Back to School Goals! This should help keep me accountable:

Personal: I want to be able to leave school by 4:30 each day. School ends for us at 3:55, and my contract time is up at 4:10 PM. However, that is usually the time I get back to my room after having hall duty. So, I feel like 20 minutes is enough time to get set up for the next morning and clean up any supplies that need to be cleaned up. We don't start school until 8:55 AM, and I usually get to school between 7 and 7:30 AM. That won't happen this year since I will live so close and won't have to beat traffic, but I will get grading done in the morning--fingers crossed!

Organization: I am going to a new school, and purged so much junk at the end of the year that I have no excuse to not be organized. I need to not let piles of papers and other things pile up on my desk. I need to file daily, etc. I can do it!

Planning: I had three preps last year, and a lot of my planning was done at home since there wasn't enough time to effectively plan during my planning period. I usually spent that time calling parents and grading. Or just venting to my teaching partner :-) THIS YEAR...I have one prep...and although it is brand new to me, it should be easy to plan at school during my planning period. I may have high hopes, and I don't mind bringing things home every once in a while, but I don't want it to become a regular thing.

Professional: Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those "the only things that matters is the state test and I only teach to the test" teachers. HOWEVER, in Texas, the only way kids can move on from 8th grade to high school is by passing. I am not changing the way I teach, but I do have a goal that 100% of my kiddos will pass. I will have as many tutorial sessions as I need to help them be as successful as possible.

Students: By the time students reach 8th grade, they usually either love or hate math. This can pose a challenge, because math is not a subject that you can master by just watching. You have to DO it. So, my goal is to get the students who "hate" it, to give it a chance, and to get the kids who "love" it, to keep on loving it!

Motto: Believe you can achieve--if students do that, they will be successful!

What are your goals for this year?!

Custom Plan Book Dividers!

I guess since I have done a few custom orders based on my original post here, I should let everyone know that I have started to make custom, personalized binder pages for a plan book! This is not a complete plan book...but a digital file for the dividers you would use to put together your own planner/teacher binder. There are tons available on Teachers pay Teachers, but I couldn't find one that suited me perfectly. So I made my own...and then a few more wanted some of their own!

Having just the dividers made for you allows you to still use whatever lesson plan format your school or district wants you to use or you can just use something that works for you! What works for me as a middle school math teacher may not work for a 2nd grade teacher who teaches all subjects! Everything about these is customizable from the papers to the fonts I use. I will even send you an editable version of the cover page so that you can change the year or the school name if you ever change schools or you want to use the same look for future years.

Check out my newest one:

This was obviously custom made for a lover of hot pink, black and white! If you like this or want something completely different, email me at livelovemathtpt@gmail.com and we can work something out :) Just to clarify, yours won't have the LiveLoveMath logo on it. 

This almost makes me wish I hadn't made mine so early in the summer! Almost...

July is Where ALL My Money Goes!

Seriously, I spend more money in July than I probably do in December! It doesn't matter that I just unpacked 20 boxes of just school supplies in my new classroom...there is always something new that I NEED. My husband is working on this...he thinks if he comes with me he can limit what I purchase. I want to state for the record that he was in tow for all purchases yesterday! (Disclaimer - he did not go into Hobby Lobby with me. His reasoning was that I take longer when he is with me but if he waits in the car, I seem to rush. Ha! We live in TX...so you can all see why his reasoning is silly. And of course Hobby Lobby is where I spent the most! I did, however, make sure to hurry so he wouldn't melt. I guess he was right. Darn it.)

Ok, the first stop of the day was at Office Max. They had glue sticks on sale for 25 cents (for a 4-pack) and I needed to pick up my labels for this project. I am still giddy over how it turned out!

Then, I went to Target to check out their dollar spot. I went to one further from my house the other day, and you never know if they have the same things. Boy am I glad I went! Look at these goodies!

I had been looking for a way to store my task cards, but the small coupon-sized organizers were too small for the ones that were 1/2 sheet sized. These are PERFECT! Only $1 each at Target.

Found these to go in my new toolbox! I think these flags would be great for INBs...I hope I can find more since these were the only two packages they had! Also, the sticky notes to the right? Those are made from brown craft paper! Amazing! I wanted to buy several...but remember, Hubs was there to keep me in line!

I am not sure why these are rotated...but you get the basic idea. They are magnets made from some of the best ecards. It is a great way for me to let some of my sarcasm out in my classroom!

I was about to walk to the register when I saw this set of 5 stamps for $3! They were self-inking which I love and a great way for me to reinforce good work in the classroom!

Then, I was off to Hobby Lobby. This whole summer, I said I wasn't going to get ner fabric for my bulletin board because I could reuse what I had from last year. This is what it looked like:

I LOVED it! However, my new bulletin board is 1/4 of the size, and I was worried the pattern would be too big. Then, it hit me! I had a gift card to Hob Lob and I could get a new pattern :) 

Isn't it wonderful!? I cannot wait to put it up! I couldn't just put up regular border either...I will be using tulle for the second year in a row. I wanted to steer away from pink...but that is the color that matched the best :)

And, finally, to add to my washi tape obsession...I had to get three new rolls! No idea what to do with these bad boys yet...but I'm excited to have them.

Can't wait to see what other deals I find this week!

My Teacher's Toolkit!

Last summer, I saw a bunch of pins on Pinterest of how to make a "teacher's toolbox". Every time I went to Home Depot and Lowe's, they were either cracked or sold out. I forgot about it throughout the school year, and vowed that this year I would find a better way to organize my school supplies in a way other than cramming them into my desk drawer...not as efficient as I'd hoped it would be!

So, last night, I went it search of my toolbox, and I found this at Home Depot: (click the picture to buy it!)

I love that it is gray! I was thinking I would have to spray paint it like some other people have, but that seemed like too much work with the constant rain the past few days. This matches my decor for this year...so I left it gray.

I went in search of the perfect labels for my toolbox. I saw PLENTY for sale and for free on TPT, but nothing that would match my room perfectly. I thought about just downloading some free ones and being done with it...but no, that would have been too easy :)

So, I sat down and went to work. Did I mention I started this at about 10:30 last night? Not that I go to bed super early, but I had no idea how long it would take! Glad it only took about 30 minutes for me to put these beauties together:

I sent them off to office max to be printed since it is seriously cheaper to print there when it is full color then at home, at least on my printer! They were ready this morning--and I was so excited!

The longest part was cutting them apart...I have never been so careful in my life! After using some double sided tape to attach them to the inside, I was left with this:

Oh. Em. Gee. I am in love!

I have put the labels in my TPT store and you can find them here. I included my labels, but also a set of blank editable labels just in case your needs are different than mine :-) In order to edit, all you need to do is insert a text box over the frame and type! 

If you decide to make one of your own, I would LOVE to see pictures!

 

Dollar Deals!

The title of this post may be a tad misleading because some items were actually under $1...but I am sure you won't complain :)

I set out to find some things for my classroom that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg...here is a sample of what I found:

I went to the dollar tree in search of post-its (well, the off brand kind). I prefer Post-It brand sticky notes, but I plan on using them as an exit ticket this year on a board like this and with teaching 160 kids...you can see how fast I will run out of post-its! I got 250 in a pack for $1...may not be the best deal, but it was the best one I found today after going to 4 stores!

I also got a big roll of double sided tape because, well, you just never know when you need double sided tape!

Lastly, the two boxy looking things in the back are locker organizers that have thick magnets on the back. I am going to use these to organize my dry erase markers for my white board as well as remotes to my document camera and projector...I am CONSTANTY misplacing those...so this should be handy!

I mostly use that blue painters tape to stick everything to my walls at school and it is a pain! It is great for posters, but I wanted a better solution to post my word wall this year. Since I will be changing the word wall every few units (there are so many vocabulary words and I have limited wall space), I wanted something easy. I used these glue dots last year and not only did they hold up well, but it was also extremely easy to remove with NO damage! I got these at Joann's with a 50% off coupon...but they also sell them at Hobby Lobby!

If you are like me, you scour the deals in the newspaper ads each week to get the best deals! I can always use some more handheld pencil sharpeners to go in my community supply boxes and scored these for $0.25 each! These were found at Office Depot, on sale through Saturday.

I LOVE the Target Dollar Spot. I frequent it weekly in the summer to see what kind of new goodies they have. I found two more magnetic locker organizers to put on my board. The pink one is all glitter, which I HAD to have, and the other one has a crown design. I am sure I won't have a problem finding a spot for these cute things!

Ok, I kind of lied...those clipper magnets are $3, not $1...but in my defense I didn't realize that until I got to the register, and they are just so cute. TECHNICALLY, they are $1.50 a piece...seriously, perspective is everything :)

I also found these stellar sticky notes that are supposed to be used for to do lists...but everyone knows that a list has way more than 4 things to do. I stood there thinking of what I could use these for since the hubs was with me and I feel like I have to justify ALL purchases. And then it hit me! I can use these in my interactive notebooks to have the students list out the steps to solve problems--like Order of Operations! 

1. Grouping Symbols

2. Exponents

3. Mult/Div

4. Add/Sub

I am super excited to use these!

This really has nothing to do with school... but I found this cute little box of tissues that I bought for my mama! The left side says "I love how we don't even need to say outloud that I'm your favorite child." and the right side says "You're one of my favorite parents." I thought it was cute so hopefully she will, too!

What kinds of deals are you guys finding??

My Classroom 2012-2013

If you are new to my blog, be sure to enter my HUGE giveaway happening here!

Better late than never, right? Ha! I spent the better part of last summer planning out the decor plan for my classroom. I spent more money than I care to admit at Hobby Lobby, and after all was said and done, took pictures of about 20% of the cutesy things in my room! I had every intention of posting this when I started this blog last summer, but life got in the way and I never got around to it. Now seems like the perfect opportunity to reflect on what I liked and didn't like about how I set up my classroom last year since I am moving campuses and will be able to start from scratch. Oh, how I love a clean slate!

First up, my bulletin board:

I am proud of this for several reasons. I had to hunt down this fabric in several locations because I couldn't find enough for one continuous piece! Also, for the first year, I stayed away from typical teacher border and bought tulle to frame my bulletin board! I was more difficult to get up, but it stayed. all. year! (In middle school, we don't change them multiple times.) Love the Audrey Hepburn quote as well...one of my favorites for sure! 

You can also see that I numbered my desks! I did that for several reasons, but one in particular was so that I could use these Order of Operations Seating Cards the first week of school! 

Next up, is something I don't really have a name for :)

At the top of the picture, I have my expectations. I like to keep my class rules short so that they look attainable!

In the middle, I have my 4 passes hanging. I got the rack from hobby lobby in the unfinished wood section and painted it pink (we have a theme going in my room!) and then made the passes by mod podging scrapbook paper to unfinished wood door hangers (again from Hob Lob). I used scrapbook papers that I already had lying around and letters that already had an adhesive backing. I am all for multipurpose. I put my name and room number on the back so that if they were lost, they could find their way home.

Sitting on the table I have 3 different trays for the 3 different classes I taught last year. In these trays I would place handouts (if there were any) for that day's lesson. Since we had 50 minutes per class, I didn't want to waste time passing things out. Students picked up on this procedure quickly and would pick up handouts from the trays before the bell rang. I instituted this in my room 2 years ago and will never go back to passing papers out again! The only exception are tests and quizzes.

 Close up of the passes

Over to the left of that "Command Station," I have file folders for make-up work. They are separated by class period, and I usually would have a student write the names of absent students on any handouts that were picked up that day. This put the absent student in charge of getting missed work and I didn't have to remember who was absent out of 160 kids!

Right above these folders is this beauty:

I have now blogged about this twice, and it is posted for free in my Teachers pay Teachers Store until July 15, 2013! Grab it while you can!

This idea was floating around the blogosphere and on Pinterest and I, too, had to have it! I used a $4 cookie sheet from Walmart, some 50% off ribbon from Hob Lob and some adhesive backed magnets! 

Each student was assigned a number and would move the magnet to the appropriate box when he/she left the room. This way, in case of an emergency, I could glance and see who was missing and where they were!

Having 3 preps, I knew it was going to be a challenge to stay organized! I needed to separate my chalkboard so that students would know exactly what they were doing in class, what assignments they had for homework, and anything upcoming that they needed to know such as quizzes, dates, projects, extra credit, etc. This was extremely useful!

Here's how I did it:

I made the letters from adhesive backed vinyl that was easily removable with a razor blade. They stayed put ALL year! I used my cricut to cut the letters. Hot pink, duh! Then, I got two colors/patterns of contrasting ribbon from Hobby Lobby. I used way more than I originally intended! If you do this, measure first! I didn't account for the two bordering columns on the far left and far right and had to make another trip. Also, wait for it to be 50% off...every other week!

Phew! glad I got this out before I start to think about next year's class! I guess I should get on that...I go back to work in 5 weeks :)