Vocabulary Transitions and Group Supplies {Tried it Tuesday}

Hello, blogging world! You know what really bugs me? When I give directions and before I even get half way through what I'm about to say I have kiddos who have tuned me out and are already doing what they THINK they are supposed to do.

Does that every happen to you?

Then I find myself repeating the same things over and over because Johnny wasn't listening the first time. Drives me up. the. wall.

Sunday was a night of discoveries for me. Thanks to Facebook I found a great new blogger to follow, Third Grade Thoughts.  Stephanie had written a great post about her word of the day vocabulary system and she included this amazing video.

I really hope you'll take the time to watch the video, but I'll give you the gist of it in case you're pressed for time. Basically, you say, "When you hear me say the word of the day you will put away our homework folders and take out your journals. {Word of the Day}"

The word of the day becomes your cue word for action, it allows them exposure throughout the day, and it forces students to listen to your instructions so they will be sure to hear "the" word.

I went right into the classroom Monday morning and implemented this amazing idea and, so far, I'm loving it!

The other thing bugging me in the classroom has been passing out scissors and glue to students. I have my kiddos sitting in groups of four and we have community supplies for scissors, glue, and crayons. In the past I've always handed out these items to students individually. 

This year I have not two, but three classes I see and the constant taking up and passing out of materials is getting to be a little too much for me. My kiddos just aren't good with transition times yet (see above), so I THINK I may have come up with a solution. 

I got 6 zipper pencil pouches and put 4 pairs of scissors and 4 glue sticks in each one. When I want to give out these supplies I only need to hand one pouch to each table and we are done. Additionally, I appointed one person at the table as the supply helper, so that person gives the glue and scissors out. I have never seen children fight over glue and scissors like these do! You wouldn't think I'd laid gold coins on their tables they way scramble for them!! 

So far, so good on this one, too. We are able to leave the pouches on the tables for each class, so that saves me time.  like that all the supplies are together but I still have the option of moving them off of the table when I want to. 

I'm linking these tried its up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper. 

Side note - the last thing bugging me is blogger!! The darn thing WILL NOT let me align all my text the left!! grr....

What has been bugging you in the classroom (or otherwise) lately?

Reusable Graphic Organizer and Word Walls {Workshop Wednesday}

Its Wednesday so that means time to link up with Jivey for another edition of Workshop Wednesday! I'm loving all the great Pinterest ideas I've been getting so far.

Since I've started blogging I've noticed that my Pinterest habits have changed. Blog reading has become my new Pinterest. I do still visit Pinterest to browse from time to time, but I seem to do most of my pinning from blog posts I'm reading. 

Speaking of that, the first pin I'm linking up today is from the fabulous Amy at Eclectic Educating. 

Source: eclecticeducating.com via Courtney on Pinterest

This great idea is a reusable graphic organizer of sorts. Students use sticky notes to add ideas to the organizer and move their ideas around as well. I think the misconceptions piece of this organizer is possibly my favorite because so many times kids do have misconceptions about a topic and this allows them to move their thoughts from what they know to a misconception. 

These folders are definitely on my list for the summer. I'm thinking of even starting out with just a few for small group use to begin with and then go from there. I like the simplicity of these folders and think they would be great to pull out in a pinch and they're reusable! 

Next up is the personal word wall. Does anyone else use these? 

Source: heidisongs.blogspot.ca via Courtney on Pinterest

Confession time: I have had a word wall in my classroom because I've read that I should have one and no matter what kind of strategy I use I just can't seem to get my students to utilize it like I want them to. I'm hoping creating an individual word wall will help motivate them to use it more. 

What great ideas have you been pinning lately? Head on over and link up to join in the fun! 

Tried it Tuesday {MobyMax}

It's Spring Break week, so I'm getting to link up extra early with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tried it Tuesday linky party! Yay!

I'd been hearing a lot of buzz about MobyMax so last week I decided to give it a try.

Like others had said, it was very easy to use. Setting up my class was quick and I had my students logged in and pretesting within a matter of minutes. I even did this part without watching all of the tutorial. I know...instructions first, but sometimes you just gotta jump in and get your feet wet first.

My favorite part about the whole program? IT READS TO THE STUDENTS!!! This is huge for me since I work in a collaborative classroom and have special ed students who need to be read to. It gives the kids a sense of independence they don't often get and it free me up to monitor and help other students. 

I was able to get all of my students tested in a window of about 40 minutes. The results seem to be pretty much in line with what I see daily in the classroom. 

I like the idea that someone else is generating the vocabulary words my students study. Not that I mind coming up with words to study, but sometimes I get stuck in a rut and I think its good for my kids to see material generated from other sources. 

I like that the practice is self-guided and generated by the program, but I also have the option to assign words and lessons if I want.

I'm thinking I'd like to have my students use this program during our vocabulary station and one day a week in the computer lab. 

Now I have some questions for MobyMax veteran users out there: 

1. Have your students made improvements? Do you think this is a worthwhile use of your time? 

2. When/how did you integrate the program into your classroom and how much time do you devote to it? 

I'd love to hear anything you have to share about the program. So far I like what I've seen but its always helpful hear from others who have some experience too!