Five For Friday!! and a FREEBIE

Hi Sweet Friends!

Hooray for Friday!!!  

We've slowly been getting back into a routine after spring break this week... at home and in my classroom. 

I couldn't wait to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for:

1. A little organization

I'm ashamed to admit this, but FINALLY something that I have wanted to do since September is finally finished.  It's only taken me 7 months.  Each group/table now has their own space to store their important things.  I love it!  Before I had a section of the classroom for their supply boxes, a tub for their writing journals, and one for their math journals, and so forth.  Now, all of these items are in one easy to find place. 

2. Jealous!!!

I had the opportunity to visit another school in our area this past week.  I LOVE to observe other classrooms.  Don't you just love to look at the classroom set up, posters on the walls, and the class libraries?  I DO!   We were there to observe a new reading series that our school district would like to adopt.  It wasn't the reading series that blew me away, it was the 1:1 ratio of IPADS to students in this third grade classroom.  I am so jealous!!!  My mind was going a million miles a minute thinking of all the "possibilities" and those students of mine who would benefit the most from this.  The ratio in my classroom is currently 1:25.  That is 1 Ipad for 25 students.    I love technology and watching this particular lesson in action with the Ipads for each student was AH-MAZING!  Oh the possibilities!!!
Do any of you have a 1:1 ratio of Ipads to students?  

3. S-P-R-I-N-G freebie

My little darlings whipped up these adorable spring acrostic poems.  You can download this for free by clicking on the picture below.

4. Math Baseball

My students love to play a game called Math baseball.  We use it when reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts. I choose two baseball teams and divide the students up accordingly.  Then one team is chosen to be up to "bat" and the other team is in the "outfield".  I am the pitcher and hold up fact cards.  All students have a white board and marker.   A team member from each team verse each other at the plate.  Whoever gets the fact first correct on their whiteboard either gets to go to first base if their team is up to "bat" or gets an out if their team is the one in the "outfield". 



5. Fun with Foldables and Lap books... I've been on a lap book kick lately with my students.  They LOVE them and so do I.  We've been working on a couple this week with our science and reading unit.  Take a peek! There are still many more things we need to add to the lap books. They've gotten so many compliments from other teachers about these fun and engaging lap books.

 This is our story elements  lap book for A Taste of Blackberries. You can find this in my " A Taste of Blackberries Literacy Unit aligned to the Common Core Standards".

This is our solar system lap book.  It is part of my "Solar System Mega Pack Unit aligned to the Common Core Standards".

Have a great weekend Friends!  Don't forget to check out the other "Five For Fridays" by clicking on Doodle Bugs For Teaching link at the top of this post.