Snowball fight in 90 degree weather!

It is certainly not feeling like Fall in good old central VA. We have been hitting above the 90 mark all week. Today for a quick vocabulary review  we decided to cool off by having a fun "snowball fight" with the kids vocabulary words. It was a blizzard of post its and the 6th graders loved it. 

Each student was given a post it note and instructed to put their name on it. Next, they had to pick one of the four vocabulary words from their Article of the Week and either illustrate one of the words or describe it without using the actual vocabulary word.

Then we formed a circle, I counted down and BAM!

Snowball fight.

When it was over, they had to find the person whose snowball they had caught and guess what word it was.

It took about 5 minutes and was a great way to review our words!

Book Recommendation Lists

I have made it to the 3rd day of school! It's shaping up to be a great week. All  of my babies are as sweet as can be and I think, "think" most of them like to read! Whoop whoop.. yesterday we went over our Independent Reading expectations and created our first anchor chart about what IR time looks like.

I also let them peruse (love that word) our classroom library. The line to check out books was extremely long in all of my classes! I'm so excited that they were excited about books!

Today, we head to our school library where our fabulous librarians will introduce them to even more great books. Below is a book recommendation resource for you. I printed off lists of books to help students who are looking for just the right book. Also, there is a sheet below (thanks Lindsey) that they can use to add even more great books to the list!

Happy Thursday! 

P

____________Books 

	Synopsis
Title:
Author:
Recommended by:

	Synopsis
Title:
Author:
Recommended by:

	Synopsis
Title:
Author:
Recommended by:

Great Back to School Motivational Videos

The day they put a projector in my room was one of the highlights of my teaching career. Not really, but FINALLY, it's 2013 and my room "almost" looks like it's in the right century.  I don't show videos everyday but YouTube can definitely be a powerful motivational and educational tool. Below, I have listed a few great video clips to help our student's ease into the school year with a more positive attitude. Many thanks to my fellow coworkers for finding some of these! 

This video will certainly make you smile on the first day of school. Yes really it will! It's beyond adorable and you could literally reach in and squeeze their cheeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP9yEVqbfvM

There are a few bad words in this video (probably better for high schoolers) but you can't help but get excited when watching it (and have a tiny urge to be an engineering student at  GA Tech!)

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/21/if-this-video-of-a-freshman-giving-an-absolutely-epic-convocation-speech-doesnt-pump-you-up-check-your-pulse/

This is really a Honda Civic commercial but ignore that for a moment. It's also a fantastic message all students need to hear as they begin or continue on their journey through school. It also reminds me of how I used to drive my own little Honda Civic around while working full-time and going through college. Thanks Honda!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiH0hAO-U0&feature=youtu.be

Pay  it forward. Enough said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT-HBl2TVtI

:) P