Top 5 Pins of the Week: non-fiction notes, place value slider, pyramid dioramas, rekenreks and lapbooks!

Happy Monday! It is back to school for us here in Sydney this week, but we have had an extra day's reprieve with a long weekend public holiday. Time for some inspiration to get us back into the mood for school!

5. Non-Fiction Notes

Get it here!

What better way to start our countdown than with a freebie?! Jessica Heeren has created a fabulously free two-page graphic organiser to help students organise their thoughts while reading non-fiction texts. If you decide to download this fantastic freebie, be sure to leave a rating and a short feedback comment to show Jessica some love! Thanks Jessica!

4. Place Value Slider

See it here!

Suzie over at the 'Suzie's Home Education Ideas' blog has devised a terrific place value manipulative to help students to understand place value. The best part about it is that Suzie has made it available as a free download! Included in the download is everything you see in the picture, as well as a three-digit version. Thanks Suzie!

3. Pyramid Dioramas

See it here!

What is a pyramid diorama? It is an innovative way for students to present information and show their learning. Jimmie Lanley has written all about them here and has included lots of pictures, templates and instructions, as well as a video tutorial to make it super easy for all of us to get in on the action. Thanks Jimmie!

2. DIY Rekenreks

Ever heard of rekenreks? Me neither, until I stumbled across this blog post via Pinterest! Rekenreks are a fantastic tool that can help students to have a greater concept of five and ten. They were originally developed by a Dutch mathematician, and the name loosely translates as 'calculation rack'. Donna Boucher, over at the Math Coach's Corner blog has developed an easy, inexpensive way to make your own rekenrek and has written a step-by-step tutorial on how to make them, using lots of detailed pictures. She has also kindly provided a link to a comprehensive free booklet on using rekenreks in the classroom. I'm super-keen to try rekenreks out in the classroom now and am so pleased to have another tool in the tool kit for Maths. Thanks Donna!

1. How to Make a Lapbook

Maybe you're already familiar with lapbooks, but I'd never even heard of them until a few weeks ago! If, like me, you're a newbie to lapbooks, this great little video will both introduce them and show you how to make them. Lapbooks are a great way to organise information and would be a fantastic study-helper for students. What a terrific idea! 

Be sure to check out the Little Green Pinterest page for more inspiring ideas!

For those heading back to school this week after holidays, all the best for the new term! For everyone else, keep on keeping on! 

Pins of the Week: being a great classmate, differentiation, tackling poverty, retelling ribbons, mental maths and a fun freebie!

Welcome to another week! It is our last week of term, here in Sydney, so energy is a little low. Never fear, inspiration is here once again from Pinterest! Here we go!

Great Classmate Anchor Chart

Source

This terrific 'beginning of the year' anchor chart is a great way to get your students thinking about how they can be a better classmate. It would also be a great discussion point mid-way through they year, when they are forgetting some of these basic manners and skills!

Differentiation Poster

Get your free download here!

This handy little poster, which is free to download, will have you differentiating your lessons like a pro in no time! It is a fantastic reminder of the different strengths our students bring to the classroom, and a great prompt for ways in which to tap into these strengths. In the same blog post, there are some other great differentiation resources and ideas to get you inspired, so be sure to stop by!

How Poverty Affects Classroom Engagement

Read the article here.

Poverty. It is something we don't like to talk about in relation to our classrooms, but research shows that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds consistently under-perform at school. Is there anything to be done? This excellent article gives some sound and practical advice about how classroom teachers and schools can begin to tackle the issues surrounding students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in our schools. Seriously inspiring!

Retelling Ribbon

Read about the retelling ribbon here!

Looking for a way to help your students structure their retelling of stories? Look no further! Andrea from 'Pencils, Glue and Tying Shoes' has devised a fabulous system to help her students that is both tactile and visual. Don't let the creepy blurring-out of the student's face in the photo put you off! Check out the post to read all about how Andrea implemented her retelling ribbons.

Mental Maths

Learn more about the benefits of teaching mental maths here.

I've long been a Mental Maths fan, but if you're not sure about what all the fuss is about, you must read this post on the Teaching In The Early Years blog. When kids have a number of strategies at their disposal, their skills across all strands of Maths skyrocket! Be sure to check out the post for more information.

A Fun Freebie

Get your freebie here!

I'm a big fan of owls, and these cute little owls will appeal to your kids too! One of my favourite TPT sellers, Michael Friermood, has put together four charming little bookmarks and, best of all, they are absolutely free! As Michael says, "Get 'em while they're hoot"!

I hope you are feeling inspired and ready to tackle the rest of your week. Be sure to pop back tomorrow for YouTube Tuesday!

Teachers Pay Teachers Sale!

If you are a Teachers Pay Teachers seller or regular customer, I'm sure you know all about the sale that is happening today and tomorrow (USA time, so Aussies will need to wait a few hours for the sale to kick in). Now, I know I only have one item for sale, as all my other items are freebies, but I thought I'd join in anyway! Why not?!

Thanks to The 3AM Teacher for this gorgeous sale banner! Be sure to visit her store too!

So, this is how it works:

1. Go to my store on Teachers Pay Teachers and click on my 'Numbers to Ten Posters'.
2. You will see that it is already 20% off. Do a little happy dance.
3. Excitedly click 'add to cart'.
4. Go to your cart and enter the promo code 'BTS13' at the checkout. This will entitle you to the full 28% discount instead of just the 20% discount. Do another little happy dance, then purchase away!

Don't forget the promo code at the checkout!

These babies could be yours at 28% off!

Just in case you are reading this a day too late for the 28% off sale, never fear, my shop is on sale for one extra day, so you can still get 20% off. Hooray!

Happy shopping!

Freebie Friday - Y-Chart Graphic Organiser

Woohoo! Friday is upon us once again, and round these parts that means another fabulous freebie!

Today, your freebie is a Y-Chart, which you can access here.

Download your free pack here.

The pack is the second in my series of graphic organisers and contains more than just the black and white Y-Chart for you to print and copy. It also contains a sample to show you how the chart can be used...

You could jointly construct a chart like this on the first day of school to set expectations.

...and also contains some ideas for use in a number of subject areas.

These are just a few ideas - Y-Charts are useful in most subject areas!

You can download your free Y-Chart pack from my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here.

Enjoy your weekend!