Tales of a 6th Grade Teacher

Long Time No Blog?!

2011-08-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

I have been a little out of the blog world, as I am trying to get my room ready for my new 6th graders. A few of them have been coming through the halls as their parents are registering them for the new year. I have to be honest that I am excited and a little nervous, this will be my first year teaching general Science (I taught Special Education 6th grade Science for the last 2 years) and my first time teaching Advanced Content Science. I have been working hard in my room and I am trying to make it as comfortable as possible since I will be spending so much time there this year. I am going with "Be a Science Rock Star" as my theme and I am incorporating lots of bright colors and a bit of zebra print. I am going to post some before and after pictures. I am also going to post some pics on an awesome project I have seen on a few different blogs and on Pinterest (love it!). We officially go back to work on Monday and I am excited to see what the new year offers.

Happy Teaching!

Ms. Crain

Techie Tuesday!

2011-07-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

I am in love with technology! I love using it at home and in my classroom. And because I love it so much I am constantly trying to find new ways that I can create activities that connect with my curriculum. My district has a new response system that we are using and I am constantly looking for ways to use it for formative and summative assessments that may be different from the traditional multiple choice test. I am excited to really try out the homework feature this year, as a way to alleviate the mounds of papers that I am constantly carrying home to grade. I also want to implement this feature for notebook checks and other organization checkpoints. I am also in LOVE with my iPad. It was an amazing gift from my parents and I am totally looking forward to implementing more of it this year in my classroom. I am always curious about how others use technology in their classrooms and love to read about dynamic ways of teaching with it.

Ms. Crain

Bulletin Board Brain Storm

2011-07-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

So I received my room assignment today, that means its about time to move into high gear getting ready for the new school year. In preparation for that I have been working in print shop on some options for my bulletin board. I have also been actively looking at fabric I can use to make window curtains and possibly a storage curtain. When I came up with the idea for my bulletin board I was town between two background concepts I will post them both and hopefully in a future post you will see the winner displayed in my classroom :). It may come down to the people of FB (or the price of fabric :D). See and decide for yourself.

There aren't a lot of differences, but enough. On the second one, the fabric would actually be tie-dye. I plan on displaying student work on the board and hopefully changing it out for different units. I am getting more and more excited about this year.

Happy Planning,
Ms. Crain

I Like to Teach, because I Like to Learn!

2011-07-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Lookout Mountain (between Georgia and Tennessee). We visited Rock City

Lover's Leap

1000lb Balanced Rock

We also had the opportunity to visit Ruby Falls.

Ruby Falls~Breathtaking!

Inside the underground caverns

The experiencing was amazing! To understand that there are amazing formations like this and so close to where we can see the wonderful art the Earth creates. While my roommate and I walked through Rock City the temperature was drastically different and the formations that were there really felt like it was a city made of rock. Unfortunately, I forgot the battery for my camera, so I had to resort to a disposable camera that I need to take in and have developed and then I will upload some of the amazing and funny pictures. I think the most amazing part was how breathtaking the view was at the top of Lover's Leap.
After Rock City, we made our way over to Ruby Falls and traveled deep inside the earth looking at the different formations made from the deposition of sediments from cave water made of Limestone. Of course the end of the tour was the most spectacular, Ruby Falls itself, again those pictures need to be developed. I am really excited about implementing some of this in my lessons this year, it is easier to explain something to others if you have experienced it. Hopefully I will have some more On the Job Training!
Ms. Crain

A Song to Start the School Year!

2011-07-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy looking at ways to take popular songs and make them applicable to my classroom...this summer I have been hearing the Bruno Mars "Lazy Song" and thought it could be made into a great back to school song. I would like to record a music video and have it on my blog to start the year, but one thing I have not mastered is the art of singing :) I am going to post the lyrics here. Hopefully in a future post I will have the video :). Enjoy! Ms. Crain

Don’t Be Lazy Song

I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

You just wanna lay in your bed

Don’t know where the summer’s gone

But a new school year has just begun

And I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

You’re going to pick yourself up

Eat some ham and eggs

Brush your teeth, comb your hair

Hurry up, you need to get there

Learn about weight and mass

Write it all down so you can pass

Cause graduating is the plan

Oh,Oh

Yes I said it

We said it

We said it’s the plan

I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

You just wanna lay in your bed

Don’t know where the summer’s gone

But a new school year has just begun

And I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

School’s not that hard

Tomorrow it will get better, do a little math

Learn a little history, maybe some science

And you are going to learn to debate…

(Oh I love to debate)

Yeah

You learned new stuff, my mom’s so proud of me

You are going to be prepared for the CRCT

You’re starting to think Dickerson is pretty great!

Oh, Oh

Yes I said it

We Said it

We said it’s the plan

I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

You just wanna lay in your bed

Don’t know where the summer’s gone

But a new school year has just begun

And I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

Yeah you are learning about the countries of the world

And you haven’t gotten bored

No no no no no no no no no oh

You’re just learning all this new stuff

Middle School doesn’t seem so rough

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah-eah

I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

You just wanna lay in your bed

Don’t know where the summer’s gone

But a new school year has just begun

And I know you don’t feel like doing anything.

School’s not that hard

A little DIY to get the creative juices flowing

2011-07-22T05:25:00.000-07:00

So I am working on putting together things for my classroom and there are a few projects I would like to undertake. I decided to try a small one first. I teach Science, and getting the materials to and from students with as little mess and as little commotion as possible is important. I found these baskets on sale at target for .25 and bought 18, I only need 15 for partner labs so the extras are for if one breaks.I got them in a couple different colors, because they didn't have 15 of one color.


Black Small Caddy

I decided to use my awesome cricket to cut out owl shapes and then use those for my numbers. I wanted to have some funky patterns, as I am trying to change up the color schemes in my room.


Four different scrapbook paper patterns

I then used my AWESOME Cricut, if you don't have one it is a great investment for things like this as well as other projects in the classroom. I had gotten a new cartridge with a variety of owls so I looked at two different designs and settled on this one.


Here are them all lined up in a row.

Then came the numbers I was trying to decide on whether or not to use markers to just write the numbers and then I realized that I had extra scraps of solid colored scrapbook paper. So I decided to make the numbers using another Cricut cartridge.


Here is a view of all of them.

Now to attach them to the baskets. I went back and forth on how I wanted to attach them, and since I have settled on something different than I originally planned, I have not completed them yet. I am going have them laminated (hopefully a thicker laminate), punch holes in the lamination, and attach the owls to the holes in the basket using zip ties. This way if the owls are ruined it doesn't ruin the basket and if the basket is ruined I can still reuse the owls. Here is a picture of what it may look like.

Now on to my next project, the Boredom Bucket :)! I hope you enjoy.

Ms. Crain

A Bargain is like Music to my ears!

2011-07-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Preparing for a new year can be expensive and time consuming. I am constantly thinking of ways to engage my students, but also have them think critically about the content being presented. Part of the process of going into a new school year is having the supplies necessary for the whole year, without breaking the bank. I have been going on shopping trips every Sunday since the back to school sales began, and I think I have stocked up on necessary supplies, there are still a few things that I would like to pick up, but I am waiting on them to be a little more discounted.

These are from my last two shopping trips. I keep an inventory of everything purchased, and then re-inventory at the end of the year to know what to restock on. This year I am going from one class a day of 9 students to five classes of 26-32 students. For all the items pictured above, I have spent less than 100.00. Somethings will show up again as I show the cute things I am going to do with them and the purposes that will have in my classroom...Stay Tuned!

Ms. Crain

New School Year, New Beginning

2011-07-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year, the summer is coming to an end and everyone is preparing to return to school. I have always thought as the weeks leading up to school as exciting. There are so many new challenges to face and opportunities to be made. The best part of going back to school for teachers (sometimes) is the supply shopping and I have learned that you have to be a smart shopper! I also think that getting back to school is re-evaluating yourself and how you do things in your classroom. I am in the process of reinventing a few things this year, and I thought I would share them with all of you.

Ms. Crain