January Anchors Away Linky!

I am so excited to be having my 2nd Anchors Away Linky Party! I hope that you will link up and share some of your favorite with us! 

This time I thought that I would take a different route. I am going to share some of my favorite anchor charts that I have found on Pinterest. To be honest, this is where I have found several of the ones that I have used in my classroom. 

Source: julieballew.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: lifein4b.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: kckindergartentimes.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: aroundthekampfire.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Anchors Away Linky Party!

I am absolutely obsessed with anchor charts! What about you? I just love making them, and I love how they engage my students in whatever we are learning. I also love that they can become an anchor for learning in the classroom by having a spot on one of your classroom walls. I have several up around my classroom (this will be a link for one of the months) and I love seeing my students referencing them while we are working on things during class time.

If you are interested in participating in the linky party, it is simple to join. You just have a few easy steps to follow. 

One. Save the Anchors Away image from above and include it in your post.

Two. Be sure and link back to my blog. You can do this by linking the image to http://missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com.

Three. Share some pictures of your favorite anchor charts that you have made this year.

Four. Come back to this post and link up your post for others to see. 

 Here are some of my favorites from this school year that we have made so far! 

 We made this anchor chart at the beginning of our Non-Fiction Unit of Study. This is one that my students also copied into their Interactive Notebooks. This chart has been a huge help throughout the unit! 

We also made these earlier in the year when we were discussing theme. I especially love these because this is something that we will be talking about all year. I love that my students have a place in the classroom where they can refer to these two charts. 

I cannot wait to see what anchor charts you have to share! Remember that this is also something that will become a monthly tradition. I think it will be great to share our anchor charts that we are creating each month! 

Anchors Away!

 Thanks to Tanja for designing the button for me!

 

I am so excited to be starting a monthly linky party that is going to be completely dedicated to anchor charts in the classroom! Even though I teach 6th grade, I just love anchor charts and so do my students. We start the year with blank walls in our classroom, and it is neat to anchor our learning to the walls with our anchor charts that we create as a class. 

I love seeing others anchor charts, so I thought why not have a monthly linky party where we can share some of our favorite charts from our classrooms. 

The linkup for December will go live on December 15th, so I hope you will join me for the fun! 

In the meantime, feel free to grab the button and blog about the linky party. All I ask is that you link back to my blog so people will know where to find the party on the 15th!

What We've Been Up To in Room 117

It is so hard to believe that yesterday started the beginning of the 3rd 6 weeks. Where has this year gone? I managed to somehow get everything graded and my grades posted before I had to be emailed by our Registrar. That is always a good feeling! :)

This week we started our new CSCOPE unit which is focusing on Expository Text. This is something I have never really taught a whole unit on, but I am loving it so far and so are my 6th graders. We started the unit by creating an anchor chart together that helped us understand just exactly what an expository text is and we also reviewed text features. 

This is something that we will be reviewing throughout the unit. I also plan on making some more with students to demonstrate the different organizational patterns of expository text. 

In my Pre AP class, we also started reading The Wednesday Wars on Monday and my kids are already loving it! When I read it this summer, I knew I had to read it with some of my classes. What are some of your favorite novels to read in your classroom? 

I have also had a huge response about the Anchor Chart Linky Party. Be on the lookout for it to debut on December 1st!

Anchors Away!

Some people might think I am crazy, but I just love anchor charts. I think it is the elementary teacher trapped in me. It is rare that we do not make at least three of them during the course of a week in my classroom. My goal is to start sharing my anchor charts with you all on a weekly basis, but we will see how that goes. 

Last week we were focusing on plot elements and we were using a story mountain to help us. I created this chart with them that we have since put up in our classroom as a reference for us to use throughout the year. 

I just love hearing my students talk about the different elements in a story now that they understand what they all are. 

Yesterday we started to talk about theme. My student had no idea what the word theme meant, but they quickly realized that all it really is is the message or lesson that the author is trying to teach us in a story. As soon as they realized that, we quickly became theme pros. :)

If I turned this into a weekly, or biweekly, linky party, is that something that you would be interested in participating in?

What We've Been Up To

I know...I am the world's worst blogger.

School has just been absolutely crazy! I am sure most of you can relate. The adjustment from having 60 kids to 105 has been insane, and the amount of grading is crazy. This year might make me move grade levels, well at least the thought of maybe only having 40 kids sounds appealing right now. 

Anyways, I just wanted to share a few of the things that we have been up to lately in room 117. During the first 6 weeks of school we covered Poetry and Non-Fiction. One of the things that we did was write some personal narratives. I had no idea how difficult this was going to be. My students either forgot how to write over the summer, or they have never really learned. It was pretty much like pulling teeth just to get them to write one page single spaced. By one page all I mean is the front!!! We did take some pretty cool notes in our Interactive Notebooks though. I made them on a large post it note to display in the room, and the kids copied them into their notebooks. I got a lot of my inspiration from some of the wonderful work of Jennifer Runde!

The leads anchor chart turned out to a huge help because so many of my friends were stumped on how to start their personal narrative. I can only hope that our next writing assignment will be a little easier for us to complete. 

I also wanted to share my new motto with you all. I don't remember where I originally found this, but it hits home with me. I have really been struggling with collaborative planning with my other 6th grade teacher, and this just reminded me why we are doing it. 

Wonderful

Today was absolutely wonderful. Maybe it was due to the fact that I did not have the nerves of a first year teacher, or possibly just because I knew how great this group of kids was going to be. If today is any sort of indication of what the school year is going to be like, I am going to be one happy teacher! 

One way you can tell that it is the first day of school is the amount of school supplies that occupy your room.

 The sad part is that I actually will end up with at least twice the amount of tissues that are pictured because at least half of my kids did not even bring their supplies today. Unfortunately, on my campus the ELA teachers are supposed to house the tissues for the entire grade level, but too bad I do not have anywhere to put all of them. You can bet I will be passing these out to the others rather quickly. 

After we got all of our housekeeping things take care of in my classroom, I knew that I wanted to do an activity that I saw earlier this summer over at Dandelions and Dragonflies. I think it was a big hit and I was able to learn a lot about my 6th graders. We did go through 600+ sticky notes today though. 

I am pretty sure this is going to be my go-to BTS activity from now on. 

How was your first day of school?

Reading/Writing Workshop Must Haves

I am so excited that Lindsay is having her first linky party! Lindsay is a fellow Texan who is moving from 5th to 3rd grade for this upcoming school year. 

For her first linky party, she is wanting us to share some of our Must-Haves for Reading and/or Writing Workshop. Even though I teach 6th grade, I absolutely love having time for Reading and Writing Workshop in my classroom. The problem is, I do not know any different and cannot imagine my classroom without it. :)

One. Lots of anchor charts. Here are a few of the ones that we made this past school year in my classroom.

Source: missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Two. Reading and Writing Notebooks. You can read more about mine here.

Three. A large classroom library that has lots of choices and varied materials for students to choose from. If you are a follower you know that my classroom is total chaos right now, otherwise I would have some new pictures of my updated classroom library for you. You will have to check back closer to the 27th to see them. :)

Four. An easel! I can now say I am the proud owner of this one. I cannot wait to use this with my kiddos to make anchor charts this coming school year.

What are your must have items for Reading and Writing Workshop? Go link up with Lindsay and share your favorites!

Context Clue Detectives

Today we turned into Context Clue Detectives in my classroom. We had done some things with context clues when we were reviewing for the STAAR test, but I wanted to revisit them today. 

I was so excited about the lesson turned out and I think it really clicked all the way with my 6th graders. I took an anchor chart that I pinned on Pinterest and changed it a bit to better fit the needs of my kiddos. 

Source: slide.com via Katie on Pinterest

Unfortunately, I did not think to get a picture of it and I am usually so good about that. After we completed the anchor chart and notes in our ISN (Interactive Student Notebooks) we did a few together before I let them work with a partner. They had fun working with their partners to try and solve the mystery of figuring out what the words meant. Some of my kids were so sweet while they were working with each other. 

I especially loved this last picture. I could not believe that I caught these two boys sitting in the same recliner together. They are always trying to be macho 6th graders, but deep down they are really so sweet! 

I also do not think I mentioned the results of my certification test that I took last Thursday. Well, I am glad to report that I passed. I am officially certified to teach everything PK-8th grade! This is a huge relief because it really makes me marketable when I decide to leave my current campus. 

Only 9.5 more days with my 6th graders!

A New View

I have shared on her several times now about how I have been displaced out of my regular classroom because of construction that they are starting on my building at school. It better be worth it come August because I am going to be going crazy if I cannot get in my room to get it all set up at least a week before we start in service. I spent quite a bit of time up there this past weekend getting it all packed up and getting my temporary room set up. When I left Sunday evening, here is what room 117 looked like. 

I also had no idea how much stuff was in my room already after just 1 year. The sad thing is that it will be even worse next year when I have math manipulatives too! The black cabinet is full of things too. 

Here is where I am for the next 11 days of school. The tables came from a resource math teacher, but I wish I could keep them. I am trying to convince my AP that he has to find me tables somewhere because I really want them. This room also has a couch, 2 big chairs, and 2 recliners. Luckily I have been able to use the comfy chairs as rewards which has worked great. It is crowded, but cozy. Unfortunately, that white board that is underneath the dual board is all the writing space I have in the entire classroom. :(

We also did some work/review with subject and predicate as well as simple and compound sentences last week. I love anchor charts and the kids do too. They copied them into their ISN (Interactive Student Notebook) and we referenced the notes during our activities that we did. Sorry about the one being a little blurry. 

Also, have you checked out the giveaway that Mor from A Teacher's Treasure is having in honor of 1000 followers? A few of my products are being given away in it. :)

Yeah for it almost being Wednesday and the half way mark!

Three on Thursday

So many random things to share about this evening. 

one. Our Grammar Boot Camp has been going great. I really did not teach as much grammar as I would have liked throughout the year, but we are making up for it now. Last week and this week we have been doing irregular verbs. We took some really great notes in our notebooks from the anchor charts that we made together. I really like how they turned out and we have been using these while we have been working. 

Tomorrow we are going to start working on simple, compound, and complex sentences. Luckily, I know they did compound sentences some in 5th grade, but who knows what they will remember. 

Two. I finally broke down and splurged on a laminator that is all mine! Luckily we can use the one at school without any stipulations, but it will be so nice to have one at home this summer. I had been researching them for a while, but I finally decided on the middle of the road Purple Cow laminator. 

Isn't it just great?!?!?! I also stocked up on laminating pouches, cardstock, and colored ink for my printer because I have all of my purchases from the Teacher Appreciation Sale on TpT. I got some great math things that I cannot wait to use tomorrow. 

Three. Tomorrow our soon to be 6th graders are coming for a campus tour. That means that the end of my first year is so close, but the next school year is also not that far away. I am excited because one of my mentor teachers moved up to 5th grade so I will get to see her tomorrow and several of the kids from the 4th grade class that I student taught in. I am really hoping that I will get to have several of them again next year! 

Hope you have a wonderful last day of the school week tomorrow! If you are in Texas, stay dry!

What are you learning?

Main Idea. That is what we are learning about in room 117 this week. Luckily, my 6th graders have been covering Main Idea for several years now, so we did a little review about it and took some notes in our Interactive Notebooks. I of course made them into Anchor Charts so I wanted to link them up with Ladybug's Teacher Files too for her Anchor Chart Linky Party. 

There is absolutely no way that I would be able to function in my classroom if it was not for large sticky notes and Sharpie Anchor Chart Markers! 

 If you have not see the story Desert Rose, you must check it out! My kids absolutely loved the story!

We also created a chart to help us remember the 5 steps that will help us to identify the Main Idea of a passage. After we finished all of our notes and our mentor text activity, students then worked with a partner to identify the main idea in 12 short paragraphs. I was so proud of how the students did! 

Tomorrow we are going to be presenting Power Points that students did for their Book Reports this past 6 weeks. I cannot wait to see how all of them finished up and I am also hoping to get some new book titles that I need to add to my classroom library.

I finally got to see The Hunger Games tonight and it so did not disappoint. I will be sporting my Team Peeta shirt to school tomorrow in honor of finally seeing the movie too. I am sure that my 6th graders will give me a hard time about it, but that's okay! The only thing I wish is that I could teach the novel at least to my Pre AP class, but they teach it in 10th grade here in my district. Such a bummer! 

The Teacher of the Year was announced today and it was not me, but I could not be happier for the person who won! The best part is that he is a 6th grade teacher too!

Last but not least, I am also sending out Good Luck wishes to all of the Texas teachers whose students will be taking STAAR tests this week! I know you have prepared them well and they are so going to be RockSTAARs!

Currently, Anchor Charts, and More!

Is it just me, or has this week been a crazy one? Maybe it is the whole Spring Break is almost here vibe that all of my kiddos currently have along with most of the teachers too.Here is what you've missed in the life of Miss Klohn in the past week. 

one. I survived middle school cheer tryouts. Did I mention that I am the cheer coach? :)

two. I had my midterms for grad school and failed one of them. Luckily, my professor made a mistake while grading it and I ended up getting a 70. I am just not a fan of having to memorize APA formatting when I have a resource book that I can use when writing my paper. 

three. I got asked to be in charge of Tadpole Camp which is like 6th grade orientation in August. This also means that I will be getting a contract for next school year! Yeah for getting to stay in my current position for another year.

four. I survived our incoming 6th grade parent orientation last night and it was so great to see many of the kids that I had when I student taught in 4th grade last year. Hopefully I will get to have several of them in class.

five. I am also presenting tomorrow at our faculty meeting about Class Dojo! I am obsessed with it and my kids love it too!

I am also so sick of TELPAS writing. We had to do 3 prompts and we got our last one finished today. Before we wrote, I did an example compare/contrast with them. I think it turned out pretty great. 

First we did a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast my co-teacher in my inclusion class and me. 

Then we wrote the essay together. 

I haven't read all of their essays yet, but hopefully they did a good job of completing the prompt. 

This is how I spent my evening today, cutting out lamination for 2 hours. I did some serious shopping and got some great literacy center games from Teachers Pay Teachers during the sale on Leap Day. We were out of laminator film at school last week, so I finally got to get it all laminated today. I cannot wait to play these games with my kiddos because I think they are going to love them. 

I also wanted to link up with Farley for her Currently March party! Go check it out and link up yourself too!

Several of you have also awarded me with some blog awards and I promise that post is coming sometime this week. I have a 7 a.m. faculty meeting tomorrow so I am hitting the sack!