Show Up and Do the Work

At one time in my career, I loved getting creative and sharing every single idea I had.  It was not only a hobby, it was a passion of mine.  I spent countless hours shopping for classroom décor and searching the latest and greatest teaching strategies.  I would put my own personal spin on these strategies and reflect on them daily.  But then it happened.  I hit a mental brick wall and had the wind completely taken from my sails.  All of a sudden I felt defeated in every attempt to be the teacher I knew I should be.   As a teacher who is having difficulties, it is so easy and tempting to place the blame of these difficulties on a non-supportive administration, teacher cliques, and self-absorbed colleagues.  Oh the stories I could tell and I'm sure every other teacher has stories to match!  Maybe one day I will write a post where we can all share our war stories.  But for now, I have to turn this around and I know it starts with me.  Hurt feelings and the struggle to be treated fairly/equally should never change the way a teacher prepares for their students.  There will always be someone in your life trying to break you.  Accept this, have a plan to deflect them, and move on.  However, never let them keep you from doing what feels right in your heart.  Be open to their ideas but stand up for what you believe in even if you're not in the majority.  Keep a positive attitude, a smile on your face,  and your eyes on the prize - - - those impressionable students!  They are the reason I'm there in the first place. 

New Year - New Attitude

I'm starting this new school year off with a positive attitude.  I am positive that...

• All students are smart in their own way. It is up to me to figure out those ways.
• My students deserve a well-planned and engaging lesson.  It keeps them busy and on task.
• Hard work, mine and my students' will pay off in the end.

Best wishes to all educators out there.  I hope your school year is a success! 

Looking Back...Interactive Science Notebooks

A five-subject spiral bound notebook has been a fabulous choice for my classes.  Composition books are great but each year I have students that run out of room.  They then change to a different notebook and it isn't nearly as organized as the first.  

Table of Contents - Keeping it simple! 

Foldables - My students favorite way to add content to their notebooks.  

Illustrate the notes - Even students who aren't artistic appreciate a quick pic as a reference.  

Fold those handouts/worksheets - In an attempt to keep as much information on a page as possible, students were allowed to fold their handouts and glue them in.  

Diagrams, Charts, Organizers, and Everything Else...

New Technology Posters

Trying out a new poster system for BYOD.  Hopefully I will use this more than what I had last year.

Slight grammatical error in this one!  Oops!  I'll white out the "s."

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....School Time!

I am only making a few minor changes to the classroom decor this year.  Overall I have been satisfied with the look of my classroom.

I love the pre-made awnings I found at a local teacher store.  In the past, I have tried to figure out a way to make one but never had the time or energy to make it happen.  So when I stumbled upon these items I had to snatch them up!  They are a little flimsy so be sure to place them in an area where students won't be tempted to mess with them.

The entry to my classroom has looked the same for about two years now.  I decided to move the framed quotes to a small table.  In their place I hung four white boards.  My plan is to use these as homework reminders for each of my four classes.

The assignment section of the white board looked so messy last year.  So this year I am trying to organize it a little better.  

Other pics....

More to come! 

Preparing for a new school year...

It seems that every summer I spend a lot of time shopping various Dollar Tree stores and other places looking for classroom decorations and other ideas.  This summer isn't much different other than the late start I've had.  I'm also spending some time reflecting on last school year and analyzing the good and the bad points.  This has led me to think more of strategies and ideas for "growing" my students instead of wondering which decorating technique I want to use.  One thing I want to improve is being able to keep parents in the know.  I have on average over 100 students.  Calling every parent on a weekly basis is not what I want to do!  Alternatives to that will include class texts and keeping my classroom web page up to date!  So with this new focus of mine I want to ask for some advice.  As a parent what would you want to see on your child's teacher's web page?

The ongoing list -
1.   Contact info
2.  Class schedule
3.  Learning goals
4.  Resources for study
5.  Classroom pics
6.  Assignments

What other suggestions do you have?

Holiday Competitions

Just a peak of our holiday competitions....

1.  We were given the challenge to decorate a box to house the food/cans for our school's food drive.  We definitely got creative on this one.  The oven doors open to be the collection bin for the cans.

2.  Our competition for Toys for Tots toy drive was to decorate our classroom door to represent the holiday season.  We chose "Santa's Christmas Castle" as our door theme.  Our door only received an honorable mention but we came in second to another fabulous door!

Classroom Technology Usage Sign

In preparation of BYOD/BYOT this school year I decided to put a spin on a usage sign. I decided to make the sign in colors which suit my classroom decor.  Although it printed a little darker than I anticipated, I was still pleased with the final product,

I made indicators in the shapes of arrows and pointers.  As the lesson progresses I will move the indicator to specified section.  

QR Code Enhanced Word Wall

Our county has finally adopted a BYOD policy!  With that good news, I plan to put that technology to use.  My first project will be to enhance my BAV word wall with QR codes that will direct students to a web page for further information.  I hope this works!

More to come soon!

ARC Customizable Notebook System by Staples

I've spent many years attempting to create my version of the perfect plan book. It is much more difficult than I ever anticipated.  Three-ring binders just don't work well for me.  I usually end up damaging the rings and losing papers.  It gets to the point that I just quit using it.  There has been a recent trend on TPT and TN of teachers creating their own teacher binder/planner/notebook pages.  I have looked at so many of them and most do not suit the needs of a middle school science teacher.  I'm sure other middle school science teachers have the same concerns.  So I was thrilled to learn of the ARC System made by Staples.  The notebooks are held together by a set of plastic discs instead of the typical three rings, or spiral binding.  Now this isn't the only system that utilizes discs.  Martha Stewart has her own line as well as other brands/stores.  There just happens to be a Staples store in my hometown.  With this system, I feel like I can completely customize my very own notebook.  I have already started putting my notebook/planner together and I am pleased with what I've started.  Will there be changes?  Yes!  The beauty of this system is that changes are allowed and are simple to do.  This will definitely be a year-long project for me as I am constantly finding new material to add.  I've created some pages myself while other resources have come from the amazing teacher authors from TPT and TB.  Take a look at some of the pictures I have of the hole-puncher and notebook.

The "System" begins with the hole puncher...

Cost:  $44

The Notebook... 

This notebook costs around $10.  There are several styles and sizes from which to choose and those prices will vary.  

These are the pages that come in the ARC notebook.  Refill packs are available or you can create your own.  Just use the hole-puncher and place the pages around the discs.  

This is an example of how you can set up calendar pages.  I downloaded these for free from Marshall In The Middle on TPT.

Marshall In The Middle TPT Store

Password Pages - I know it isn't safe to write down your passwords.  But when you are forced to change your passwords every 60 days or so, and you can't reuse the password it becomes a task attempting to remember them all.  

These are pages I created for note-taking during content areas meetings.  At my school we have official content meeting once per week.  

Weekly planning pages - I like to use these to have a quick glance at my week.  Planning three weeks in advance becomes easier this way.  

Parent Contact Logs - Just a quick log for documenting all those contacts.  

NC Essential Standards for 8th Grade Science - A great way to have all your standards in one area.  

File Folders - ARC does have dividers available to purchase.  I decided to punch holes in some cute file folders I purchased for $1 at Wal-Mart.  

This is it for now.  I'll update the blog as I add more.  I have soooo many ideas and can't wait to put it all together.  

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Picture Frame Rules Display

I found a really cute picture frame which holds five photos.  The frame came from Ollie's and was only $5.99!  I decided to make 4x6 prints of my rules and displayed them in the frame.  When I'm able to get in my classroom I plan to embellish the frame with some brightly colored tissue-paper flowers.

Calling All Classroom Decorators!

Due to my classroom getting painted over the summer, I had to remove EVERYTHING off my classroom walls.  Now your normal teacher would be ecstatic.  I however experienced an abnormal amount of anxiety when given word to make my walls bare.  See, most people don't understand the time, patience, and hard work it takes to make a middle school science classroom...well, pretty.  Now I am starting over.  My classroom is a now blank canvas!  Of course I will be sticking with the zebra print, hot pink, blue, and lime green color scheme.  I just have too much stuff in those colors to start over. But I would LOVE input and ideas from other teachers.  What works for you? I would also LOVE to see photos of other classrooms.  Preferably not the ones we all see on Pinterest each day.  If you have any classroom photos you'd love to share send them to me at 

steffijacobs1@gmail.com 

I'll even showcase your photos on my blog!  Just be sure to include your name and any other information you'd like for me to include!  

Below are some of the crafty items I've purchased this summer.  

Trips to Dollar Tree, Michael's, Ollies, and Staples!  

Found the cutest frames at Michael's!  I plan to use them as table signs.  

Looking forward to seeing YOUR ideas!!! 

Meet the Teacher Night ~ Parent/Student Activity

Overview: 

Meet the teacher night is always so hectic!  I find myself constantly having to repeat information and then questioning if I covered everything with each individual parent. Sometimes the line to meet me ends up out the door and into the hallway.  If parents are as impatient standing around as I am then I'm sure they get more than frustrated!  So this year I have decided to have stations for parents to visit as they are waiting in line to meet me.  At these stations, parents will pick up components of a layered book, one section at a time.  The stations will zig-zag throughout the classroom.  This will give parents to take a tour of the room and will give them something to read or look over as they wait.  The last station will be set up for parents to complete their layered book using either ribbon and hole punchers or staples to hold it together.  My hope in creating this activity is that it will free up the conversation so that I may learn a bit more about the student and his/her family.

Station 1: At this station parents and students will pick up the cover/welcome component.  I will also have a list of instructions and a sign-in sheet.  

Station 2: At this station parents and students will pick up the teacher information component.  

Station 3:  At this station parents and students will pick up classroom supplies information.  I will also have all items on display.  Parents can be visual learners too! 

Station 4: This station provides parents and students with a list of classroom expectation.  

Station 5:  This station provides a list of topics students will be learning in 8th grade science.