Flash Birthday Sale!

Today is my birthday and I'm having a hard time accepting that this is my last year in my twenties. I seriously can't believe that I'm going to be 30 next year- I still feel like I'm 22! To make myself feel better about turning the big 2-9, I decided to have a sale at my TpT store =) Today and tomorrow, you can save 20% on ALL of my products! To visit my store, just click on the picture below. Enjoy!

My First Five for Friday!

I'm so excited to be participating for the first time in Doodle Bugs Teaching's Five for Friday! Here are my five things from this week:

1. At 4:10pm today, I officially went on Spring Break! Thank goodness! I think everyone at this point in the year needs a break. I absolutely can't wait to spend time with my little guy all week. Isn't he just adorable?

My little Grady

I'm planning on taking him to the library for storytime, to Buckeye Bounce (a bounce place for kids), and maybe to a pottery place to make something with his little handprints. I don't get to do all of these fun things with him during the week due to work so I can't wait to spend all my time with him!

2. Today my little sweetie pies surprised me with a birthday celebration! My birthday isn't until next Tuesday, but since it's over Spring Break they wanted to celebrate today. One of my students brought me beautiful flowers and a handmade little turtle- so cute!

We also had Birthday Cake Oreos- I'd never heard of these before and it's probably a good thing. They are delicious!

3. Today, we had our "Around the World" day in 2nd grade. It was so much fun! The kids rotate classrooms (there are 4 teachers) and each teacher teaches about a different country. The kids get a passport where they answer questions and color a picture of the country's flag. We also play music and try foods from that country. I taught about Italy so we enjoyed some homemade bruschetta!

You can check out the Around the World passport at my TpT store if you're interested!

4. On Wednesday of this week, we had a staff meeting about "rich math problems." A rich math problem is engaging, open-ended, and authentic. Kids can work in groups or with partners with any math tools that they'd like. The teacher's job is to facilitate thinking and conversation among the groups- not to lead them to the answer but to help them find their own way. I decided to do a rich math problem at the end of the day and it was FABULOUS! The question that I posed was:

"There are 52 cookies on 3 plates. When I take 14 cookies away from the first plate, there are still 7 left on the plate. The second plate has 12 cookies. How many cookies were on each of the 3 plates to begin with?"

I placed several different math tools and materials on the reading table and told my kids that they could use whatever they'd like. They worked in groups of 3 and 4 to try to figure out the answer. It was so interesting to see their problem solving strategies!

I put counters, unifix cubes, plates, cups, napkins, and scrap paper out for the kids to use

This group chose to use plates, cups, and counters to figure out the answer

This group used only cups and counters

This was such a great experience for the kids! I really tried to let the kids work amongst themselves and only help guide their thinking when necessary. The problem was pretty tricky but all 6 groups were able to come up with the correct answer. I will definitely be doing more rich math problems this year!



5. Yesterday in math, we went on our graphing scavenger hunt around the school. This was the first year we've done this and it was a huge success! You can learn more about it at my post {here}.

Okay, that's it! Whew... what a week =)

Making Graphing Practice FUN!

We had such a blast in math today! This week, we've been reviewing the different types of graphs and charts- tally charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, and line plots. I wanted to do something fun with my students today because each day this week we've been reviewing a different type of graph and it hasn't been all that exciting. To wrap up what we learned about graphs, we went on a scavenger hunt today around the school for different items. I told them that the custodians wanted to collect some safety data about our school and that we needed to help them out. We needed to find how many fire extinguishers, fire alarms, exit signs, and cameras there were in the hallways. So we grabbed our charts and pencils and headed into the hallway. The kids had so much fun looking for these items around the school. Each time we found an item, we marked it on the tally chart at the top of the page.

When we returned to the classroom, the kids took the data that we collected and turned it into a picture graph and a bar graph. They came up with their own symbol for the picture graph and decided what the scale would be on the bar graph. I left the graphs pretty basic so that they could fill in the title, scale/key, labels, etc. on their own.

I LOVE to see the kids get so excited about math! If you'd like to download a free copy of this activity, just click {here}. I hope your students enjoy this activity as much as mine did! Enjoy! =)

 



8 Tips for Getting a Donors Choose Project Funded

Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to have eight projects on DonorsChoose.org fully funded. I can't tell you how much these resources have transformed my classroom and teaching. If you aren't aware of DonorsChoose.org, it is a non-profit organization that allows classroom teachers to request materials for their students. After a project is posted, donors from all over the world can donate from $1 to any amount of their choosing. Some of the materials that my classroom has received include: a new listening center station, books on CD, reading pillows, a classroom carpet, math games, classroom laminator and laminating sheets, math manipulatives, magnetic letters and magnetic boards, and chapter books. It is absolutely amazing how willing people are to help and how generous they are.

Through my experiences posting and promoting classroom projects, I've learned different ways to help a project become fully funded. Now, there are many other teachers who have had a lot more projects funded (some have even had over 100 projects funded- wow!) so this is just my two-cents! =) Okay, here are my 8 tips for getting a Donors Choose project funded for your classroom:

1. Post classroom projects that are $400 and under

You will have the best chance at getting your project funded if it is under $400. If you need, for example, a new listening center, books on CD, and pillows for your students to sit on, you may want to consider posting the materials in separate projects. You could put the listening center and pillows together in one project and then request classroom pillows in another project. Now, there will be times when you would like to request a larger item for your classroom. Just know that teachers have the best success with smaller projects under $400.

2. Create a catchy title for your project

When donors are scrolling through classroom projects on the website, the first thing they will most likely see is your project request's title. Make it an interesting one that will grab their attention! Instead of a title like "We Need Magnetic Letters" consider a catchier title such as "Letters Here, Letters There, Magnetic Letters Everywhere!" Use alliteration, humor, or sing-songy titles to attract attention to your project.

3. Write a great opening paragraph

Along with your title, you will also want to make your opening paragraph interesting. Donors will see the first 2-3 sentences of your project request when browsing through projects. Just as we teach our students, you want to "hook" the reader and make them want to read on! Some ways to do this include asking a question or using an interesting quote that goes along with your project. For one of my projects, I requested math manipulatives and began with "When was the last time you used math? Chances are, you've used math sometime within the last hour. I want my students to be math problem solvers both in second grade and as they grow into adults."

4. Use an interesting picture on your homepage

Another thing that donors will see while searching through projects is your classroom photo. You want to use a picture that represents your classroom and students. Be careful not to post a close-up picture of your students' faces though. I like to take a picture of my students holding up the letters that spell "Thank You Donors!" This helps donors see that the materials go to a real classroom, with real students, and that we are thankful for their consideration.

5. Be the first donation to your classroom project

I've seen great success when I begin the donations by giving a small amount. This shows donors that you believe the materials are needed enough to donate yourself. Your donation doesn't have to be anything major- even a $5 donation will do! When leaving a comment on the donation page, I always write something like "I donated to this project because I believe my students are worth it! Plus, I know how much these materials will benefit my classroom."

6. Use automatic updates with Facebook

A great way to get your project out there is to connect your Donors Choose teacher account with Facebook. Each time you post a new project, get a donation, or complete a project, it will be automatically posted to your Facebook account. You can do this by going to your account, and turning on the automatic updates with Facebook (at the top of your account page).

7. Promote, promote, promote!

Don't be afraid to promote your project request. At first, I was very hesitant to share my project with my family, friends, and students' families. I still try to be cognisant of how often I promote my project- I don't want to drive anyone away by posting too much. But no one will know about your project if you don't get the word out there! I always send an email to my students' families when a project is first posted and include the link if they would like to make a donation. This makes it very easy for them. After the initial email, I don't send any more but I randomly include updates in my weekly classroom newsletter. I will let them know when we receive a new donation, how far away we are from reaching our goal, and tell them my excitement when a project is fully funded.

Some other ways that you can promote your project are: on your classroom blog (if you have one), through email to friends and family, and by encouraging others to share your project request with their own friends and family.

8. Don't give up!

If your first project doesn't get completely funded, don't give up! It takes a lot of hard work to get it funded but sometimes, it just doesn't happen. I have had a couple of projects that didn't get completed. It was definitely a bummer but I didn't give up. I waited a little bit and then posted another project. If a project has partial funding when it expires, donors who contributed have two choices. They can give the amount they donated to your classroom in the form of a gift card for your next project or can donate the money towards a different teacher's project.

I hope these tips have helped give you some ideas on how to get a project funded. Be sure to visit DonorsChoose.org and get a project posted. You won't regret it!