Classroom Organization Update: Make-Up Work

My biggest challenge with staying organized is paperwork. Even though my students have laptops and we do much of our homework/classwork online, I still have several students whose laptops are "in the shop" or they have lost their privileges, so I must provide paper copies of the work we do. This includes copies of presentations, bell-ringers, MLA cheat sheets, etc. And students who are absent for online quizzes, tests, and journal prompts have to use the paper copy because our online program locks them out.

It gets to be overwhelming keeping it all straight.

I finally just started using my magnets (click HERE to see how I made all my classroom whiteboard magnets) on top of different stacks. But you all know what happens next: a student lifts the magnet to grab a copy and the rest of the papers fall to the floor. Some students had the foresight to set the magnet aside and hold the papers with the other hand, but—based on their furrowed brows—this was such an inconvenience.

I have stackable trays and paper organizers that I can put on my counters or a table. I've tried this method in the past and have found that I really don't like them. They take up a lot of room and don't have a prominent place for a label. I need a label that shouts to my students so loudly they don't have to ask me every. single. time.

Clearly, I'm doing this wrong.

Epic label FAIL on stackable trays.

So as I saw another stack of make-up work fall to the floor, I thought, I need a strap to hold those papers in. 

My first thought was to use a magnetic curtain rod (I use one for my daily bell-ringer signs* and I love it), but they are not close enough to the papers to keep them flat.

Love my magnetic curtain rod for my bell ringers, but knew it wouldn't work to hold make-up work handouts*.

Then I tried taking a folder and cutting it in half so the papers just go right in the pocket.

It was okay until...

That was okay, but they still flapped over, so students couldn't read the labels on the pocket.

Prototype #1 FAIL!

To combat the flapping, I folded a piece of paper lengthwise in threes and secured it with magnets on the sides to keep the handouts from flapping.

Prototype #2 FAIL!

It worked, but it looked like overkill. Like the folder pocket wasn't even necessary. And it wasn't. So I ditched that and just used the paper.

Finally! Third time's a charm.

How easy is that? And cheap.

Why did it take me three attempts to figure this out?? 

And I really like how "clean" and uncluttered it looks. Much better than the trays. What do you think?

I am making progress with my classroom disorganization problem, my friends. But I still have a long way to go. Thanks for following me on my journey to organizing my classroom!

*Bell ringer signs are found in my Bell Ringer Bundle. "Motivational Monday" quote signs are found in my bundle of Inspirational Quotes Classroom Posters.

Common Core Argument Writing

Implementing the Common Core State Standards doesn't have to be difficult, though many teachers may be intimidated by the language used. For instance, we used to categorize our writing prompts by "persuasive," "expository,"  and "narrative." The Common Core State Standards changes the wording to: "opinion," "informative/explanatory," and "narrative" for grades K-5 and "argument," "informative/explanatory," and "narrative" for grades 6-12. But that doesn't mean that the writing process or the types of prompts need to be changed.

Persuasive vs. Argument Writing

So what's the difference between persuasive writing and writing an argumentative paper? Both rely on the opinion of the writer. An argument, however, uses facts and data to support the opinion expressed. Students need to research to find evidence rather than rely on opinion alone to support their opinion (or "claim").

Research can be a daunting task, especially for middle school students. I created a student-friendly argument guide you can share with your classes.

In ninth grade, students are required to address the opposition's opinion, which is called the "counterclaim." My students struggled with this at first, but after explaining it and showing them examples, they grasped it and had no problem writing their essays.

I created two more detailed products to help you teach argument writing and practice the skills with your students.

My Argument Writing for Grades 6-12 pack includes the student guide, teacher's guidelines, handouts, and grading rubrics (all aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Argumentative Writing). It has over 60 pages of visually-stimulating and student-friendly graphics to explain each part of the essay process, including citations.

For high school teachers, I have an even more detailed guide that includes alignment with the PARCC guidelines for quarterly assessments.

You can purchase these resources, plus many more in my teacherspayteachers store. And the best part? You can get them on sale (30% off) Thursday and Friday! Use the promo code TPT3 at checkout!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Book Spine Poetry: Using the Titles of Books to Write Poetry

I love poetry and writing poems is one of my favorite activities to share with students. It's important to let them know that inspiration can be found anywhere...including on the spines of their favorite books.

Above is a shorter version of a poem about this winter created from the titles of books found in our classroom. Here's the full version:

Let it snow
Wintergirls

Snow bound, the long winter
Linger...forever

Misery

Delirium


If you have had a winter like ours (and chances are you have!), you may feel the same way!

Have your students try to come up with different combinations of titles to create a book spine poem. Even if the words don't quite fit, they can drop or add their own words to their creation and, presto! There's a new poem!

Poetry shouldn't be hard; it shouldn't be a chore. Allow your students to have fun with it and experiment. They'll remember poetry as a positive experience and won't be as reluctant to write later. My "Write Like a Poet" pack helps guide students through the process by looking at many famous poets and poems and their style before tackling the writing process. It's a fun unit your students will enjoy.

Game On! Look at me!

Throwing smoke point blank

Gold dust

More than this

Champion

Thirteen reasons why, looking for Alaska

And the mountains echoed the call of

the wild

Blood red road caught at sea

Let's pretend this never

happened

Speak

more than this

call it

courage

lessons learned

The eye

of minds

the valley

of amazement

gone girl

and the mountains

echoed

Another variation of the first poem...

Let it snow 

Wintergirls

Snow bound, the long winter

Linger...forever

Misery

Delirium

HUSH

Book Spine poems are just one of the many activities you'll find in my "Write Like a Poet" pack. It also covers free verse, sonnet, snapshot, acrostic, haiku & modern haiku, sonnets, chance, black-out (redacted), magnetic, online, and word cloud poems. In addition, it helps students create metaphors, similes, personification, and use onomatopoeia effectively in a poem. It is completely editable so you can customize the almost 200-page presentation and handouts to suit the needs of your students. (And this might be one of my all-time favorite lessons in my TpT store.) ENJOY!

The presentation is completely editable and includes numerous examples.

All handouts are editable!

Classroom Disorganization: Utilize Unused & Hidden Spaces for Storage

Just wanted to post my latest attempt at organizing my classroom. We kicked off our poetry unit this week (one of my favorites!). As I was digging through my very cluttered drawers looking for baggies for a new activity I shared with my students today, I realized I needed a better system for storing them than just shoving them in a drawer when we are finished. Some of the words slipped out and I am pretty sure there are many still stuck in the corners of the drawer.

As I was trying to find all the little word pieces, I came across some Command hooks our custodian scored from 3M this summer (they donate tons of supplies to all our local schools). I didn't want to hang them up on the wall because I figured it would actually make my room look even more cluttered. Then it hit me. Literally...I hit my head on the cupboard door I had left open. (I have a bad habit of leaving them open...just ask my husband.)

Voila—such a simple solution, but I can't believe how much drawer space it frees up. The best part: I won't have to dig through them anymore to pick up all the little word pieces that fell out of the baggies.

If you are curious about the activity I shared with my students today, I will be uploading it later this week—or tomorrow if we have a snow day—on my teacherspayteachers site. :) I wanted to try it out with my students first and I thought it went over really well. And since I was evaluated by my principal during the activity, I'll keep you posted on what he thought of it, too.

UPDATE - Evaluation was excellent and my activity, which has students evaluate an author's word choices by analyzing the syntax, is posted (click on image):

Please post ways that you use Command hooks (or any other methods you have for organization). I love to hear new ideas. (And I need the help!)

One last tip (though I'm not sure this helps with my organization, but I hate wasting paper!): I reuse the daily calendar pages as passes or notes for students. I have a little desk tote that Scholastic Book Clubs sent that I keep the ripped-off pages in. Then when I need to write a pass or a note, I use one of those instead.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Read more about my journey here: http://www.traceeorman.com/2014/01/classroom-dis-organization-organizing.html

and here: http://www.traceeorman.com/2014/03/classroom-organization-update-make-up.html

Classroom Dis-Organization: Organizing My Classroom One Step at a Time

It's no secret: my teacher's area in my classroom is a cluttered mess. No matter how many times I try to keep it straightened up, the stacks of books and piles of papers find their way back. It doesn't help that I have a hard time throwing things away. If I make too many copies of a handout there's no way I can pitch the extras. But I'm not the greatest (i.e. I'm probably the worst) about filing them back in a neatly organized cabinet or binder. Who am I kidding? There is no such thing as a "neatly organized cabinet or binder" in my classroom.

My method of organizing is stacking things in piles and dealing with the piles later. The problem with that is that "later" rarely comes. I have piles stacked in a corner from two school years ago waiting for "later."

One stack still waiting to be filed in my classroom.

They always say the first step is admitting you have a problem. So here I am. I have a problem.

Another stack waiting to be filed.

Ok, now you know my dirty little secret. (Which, by the way, isn't really a secret. I mean, all my students know and most of the staff members—especially the custodians—who have been in my room know, unless they happened to stop by when I shoved all my piles into my cabinets and drawers so my room "looked" clean. Then they may think I'm somewhat organized. Until they open a cabinet door looking for a game or costume to borrow and everything comes tumbling down upon them...)

I should have a "Beware of Falling Objects" sign on my closet door.

I'll save the pictures of what the inside of my file cabinets and drawers look like for another post. And you won't want to miss what the inside of my podium looks like, either. But for now, let me show you one small step I took to become better organized. Or, just plain organized.

Labels! (I know it's a teeny, tiny baby step. But it's still a step in the right direction! Besides, I have made bigger steps but I'm saving those for another post. Seriously. I have. Kind of.)

Labels for my drawers, cabinets, and "Class of..." labels for organizing my photos.

Before I decided to make some cute zebra-print labels, I used plain labels and wrote on them. They were functional. Just kind of ugly. Let's face it: if something looks cute or at least more appealing and uniform, it makes it easier to keep it organized, right? You can download these EDITABLE Zebra labels for your own classroom (or wherever) use. (I also have Chevron and Owls.)

So, that's the first step in my road to classroom organization recovery. Feel free to comment below with any tips for organization you may have. I'll continue to post about the steps I'm taking and maybe I can even utilize your tips! Next time, see how I tackled the mess on the counter behind my desk...

It's scary...I know.

Blogging PLN Challenge Accepted

Happy New Year, Friends! I can't believe it's been a month since I've blogged here, but that changes today. I was tagged by Mike Nitzel (@MikeNitzel) on Twitter and have accepted his blogging challenge. You can read Mike's answers and random facts HERE (they won't put you to sleep, contrary to what he thinks!). I could relate to many things Mike wrote because we live in the same area. Pretty cool, huh!? Anyway, hopefully I won't bore you to death with my answers...

Here are the rules of the challenge:

1) Acknowledge the nominating blogger (check!)

2) Share 11 random facts about yourself.

3) Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.

4) List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!

5) Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you).

Eleven random facts about me...

1. I'm from Iowa. (Insert your favorite Iowa joke here; I'm used to it.) 

2. Though I lived in Iowa for 22 years, I was born in Michigan. My dad was doing the sheet metal construction on the Pontiac Super Dome at the time, so that's where my parents lived temporarily for a year or so. They moved back to Iowa when I was seven months old.

3. I currently live on the other side of the river. (We Quad-Citians refer to the Mississippi River as just "the river," even though the Rock River is here, too. We call that "the Rock." Kind of confusing to visitors, I'm sure.) My husband and I have lived in a small town outside of the Quad Cities since 2001, where we both teach.

4. We have a 15-year-old son who is involved in sports and likes to drum. And is learning to drive. Which scares me to death. On the other hand, I do look forward to next fall when I can say, "Honey, could you run to the store and get..."

5. My favorite sport is baseball. I grew up going to all of my brother's games and was raised in an area that breeds baseball players (if you've seen the movie "The Final Season," then you've seen where I grew up).

6. I did many different things before I started teaching, including car sales. There's only so much you can do with a degree in English and Mass Communications/Journalism. Especially when the only newspaper hiring was for pro bono work. So back to school I went...

7. We have a nine-year-old Italian Greyhound named Sparky. He's our baby and is spoiled rotten. But he's pretty high maintenance, too. With our son being in high school sports, we feel pretty guilty leaving Sparky at home. Which is why he usually comes with us for football and baseball games. I did mention he's spoiled, right?

8. Wow...eleven random facts is harder than I thought. I can count this one, right?

9. I teach high school English. Lately I wonder why I wanted to torture myself with a career that guarantees I will always have an endless stack of papers to grade, pages to read, tests to write, lessons to plan. Then I remember the perks: sharing my love for reading and writing with dozens of teens each year. (It's too bad my love for reading doesn't include poorly-written essays. Then my job really would be a dream-come true!) 

10. You may have noticed that I have a second job besides high school English teacher. (I'm saying this sarcastically...) I started selling my teaching resources on TeachersPayTeachers in 2009. I never dreamed that teachers would even care about the activities I create for my students, let alone want them. I'm very humbled by the amount of teachers who have used my resources. Their comments and notes mean the world to me, even though I can't respond to all of them. 

11. Lately I've been considering writing full-time... More on that below.

Whew...that was hard! Now on to the specific questions from Mike...

1) Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi products, for sure. (Diet Mountain Dew is my choice. I know it's terrible for me. But I love it.)

2) List the items you would have on the menu for your "last meal". My favorite meal would have to include portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, steak, my mom's green beans (she cooks them in butter and garlic and I can never replicate them no matter what I do), and cheese cake. And a scoop of Whitey's ice cream. OK...now I am hungry...

3) If you were not an educator, what profession would you have liked to pursue and why? For my random facts I said I was considering writing full-time. That was always what I wanted to "be" when I was a kid, though finding a career as a "writer" is pretty tough, as I learned. I love journalism, but I really didn't want to be a reporter forever. Then I started to get into design and layout when I was a newspaper/yearbook advisor. (When I was in college we still did the "cut and paste" layout. And I mean literally cut and paste.) I loved it. It spilled over into my lessons and I could seriously see myself writing novel units and educational resources full-time.

4) What is the best leadership book you have ever read and why? Would it be awful for me to say I haven't read any "leadership" books? Does Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer count? ;)

5) What is your favorite movie and what about it makes it meaningful to you in some way? The English teacher in me absolutely loves "Dead Poets Society" and "The Freedom Writers." And the Stephen King fan in me loves "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me." And then there's so many baseball movies... 

6) What is the one place you would like to visit in the world that you haven't been to? Italy. My mom is Italian and has family there none of us have ever met. It would be amazing to meet them and see the country.

7) Who has had the biggest influence on your professional life? My husband, for sure. He is an amazing teacher (social studies) and coach (baseball, of course). He inspires me to be a better teacher.

8) Share your favorite joke. This is one of my favorite "jokes" of all time. I've had this picture taped to the window next to my classroom door for years. I put it up one year for some spring break/Easter humor, and it has stayed there. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

 
9) Who is a hero of yours and why? (Caveat--You cannot say your parents. spouse, partner, or kids.  That's just a cheap way to win brownie points!) Perhaps it is because we just completed To Kill a Mockingbird and have been talking about the Civil Rights Movement in class, but I think Mamie Till is an unsung hero. She had the strength to allow the world to see what happened to her son—to show the world what racism looks like. She had nothing to gain herself; what she did was for all humanity. The amount of people she affected is countless.  

10) What is one thing about yourself that most people would be surprised to learn? Most people are surprised to learn I was a sprinter in high school and went to state my junior and senior years. Let's just say I'm not much of a runner these days... 

11) Smooth or crunchy? Hmmm...I'm going to be difficult and say it depends. Or perhaps, both. 

If you made it this far, hallelujah! Now it's your turn!

I have to tag 11 fellow educators, so I've chosen:

1. Amy (@ScienceStuffAmy) Science Stuff 

2. Kristin (@sec_solutions) Secondary Solutions

3. Addie @ Teacher Talk

4. Tammy @ Juggling ELA

5. Britt @ The SuperHero Teacher

6. Ruth @ The Teacher Park

and anyone else who wants to participate! (I have to cut it short because my ride is waiting for me! I'll add to it soon.)

Here are my 11 questions (and I'm doing the same...borrowing from Mike's!):

1. Coke or Pepsi?

2. Favorite teaching tool?

3. What is the biggest change in education since you started teaching?

4. In ten years, I'll be...

5. Funniest thing said in your classroom?

6. If you were not an educator, what profession would you have liked to pursue and why?

7. What is the one place you would like to visit in the world that you haven't been to?

8. Who has had the biggest influence on your professional life?

9. Favorite book?

10. What is one thing about yourself that most people would be surprised to learn?

11. If you won the lottery, what would you do with your winnings?

And thanks, again, Mike, for tagging me. I needed a little push to get back into blogging. ;)

To Kill a Mockingjay (When Two Worlds Collide)

My students recently finished reading Harper Lee's classic (and my all-time favorite) novel To Kill a Mockingbird. We happened to finish the novel the day "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" movie was released. Perhaps it was in the spirit of excitement to see Suzanne Collins' novel Catching Fire played out on screen that I created this typo on my students' To Kill a Mockingbird short answer test.

Free Activity Download

http://thepottergames.com

I guess it was only a matter of time before my love for The Hunger Games collided with my love for To Kill a Mockingbird. But mashing up literary works can actually be quite fun...when it's done on purpose, of course. One of the greatest experiences I've had since reading The Hunger Games trilogy was being one of the writers and editors of The Potter Games, a fun choose-your-adventure mash-up of the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games trilogy. Students, fans, and bibliophiles can still visit the site today and play the original game or try any of the newer spin-offs. It's a great exercise for your students because it involves reading and critical thinking skills to actually become a victor of the Games.

I have a FREE download to accompany the website. It includes directions for your students to create their own literary mash-ups. Try this activity out when you have a few minutes left in class or want a fun pre-holiday interactive and technology-driven activity your students will love.

Common Core Skill: Literary Allusions
Of course, literary allusions are nothing new. In addition to creating their own mash-ups, students can try to identify examples of literary allusions in any piece of fiction or nonfiction. Identifying and explaining allusions is a Common Core skill your students should be practicing while reading (in grades 8-12).

For instance, To Kill a Mockingbird is chock full of literary allusions. The first chapter makes reference to the novel The Gray Ghost by Seckatary Hawkins and the Tom Swift books by Victor Appleton. Some allusions are used to enhance and clarify the time period, while others play a greater role. Stoner's Boy in The Gray Ghost becomes an important thematic link between the characters and the two main plots of the novel.

If you are looking for a resource to use while teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hunger Games, or other novels, you can find materials in my TeachersPayTeachers online store.