Pins of the Week: work on reading, mistakes, reward balls, hungry caterpillars and a treat for Mum!

Another week, another handful of inspired ideas. Here we go!

Work on Reading

Visit Mrs Clancy's blog here.

Do you have kids constantly at you during reading? Help them reflect on how they can do it on their own with Mrs Clancy's terrific chart! I love the use of post-it notes for the kids to choose their favourite technique!

Hooray for Mistakes!

Read the article here.

Yep, you read it right - hooray for mistakes! Our kids need to know that mistakes are the key to learning - a tough idea to sell in our culture of high-stakes testing. This article is seriously excellent!

Reward Balls

Visit the original blog post here.

Kids love to be rewarded, but it can be expensive and, let's face it, counterproductive to constantly reward them with bought goods. Enter this simple and effective reward system, which started its life as a home job allocation system over at the NieNie Dialogues blog and was somehow transformed by the magic of Pinterest! Write simple rewards on the balls and have your star students choose a ball. Too easy!

Fun with The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Visit the Nurture Store blog here.

Who doesn't love The Very Hungry Caterpillar? This great blog entry has some excellent ideas to accompany a unit of work on this excellent book, starting with that terrific salad, of course!

A Treat for Mum

See some examples of the photos here.

We've just had Father's Day here in Australia, and although I know Mother's Day is some time away, I just had to include this great idea for a gift. Over at the Soaring Through 2nd blog, this great backdrop was used for a beautiful photo to send home as a gift. Students posed in front of the backdrop with a small chalkboard in their hands telling why they love their mums. Melts your heart, doesn't it?!

I hope you've been as inspired by these pins as I was. Have a great week!

Pins of the Week: small space display, keys writing prompt, my favourite no, physical activity cube and fun bookmarks!

Ready for some inspiration? Excellent! Here we go!

Small Space Display

Click here for the source.

What a great way to display in a small space! This idea could be used for displaying information or student work. Love it!

Keys Writing Prompt

Click here for the source.

This is such a terrific writing prompt - write key-related story prompts (such as, "There was a 50/50 chance that this was the right key. I put it in the lock and hoped I'd picked the right one.") on tags; attach each one to a different key; place all keys into a large jar; have students pick a key and write a story to go with the prompt. The link takes you to a description of the activity and a long list of prompts you could use. The use of a physical key adds a tangible element to the task that would help students engage with the task.

My Favourite No!

Click here for the source.

This high school Mathematics teacher has come up with a great way to quickly assess where her students are at, give students opportunities to look for great mathematical work as well as find mistakes, and work through common issues - all in one task! The link will take you to a blog post at Math Coach's Corner that contains a video of this teacher in action. This technique could be used in other subject areas and with younger students as well, not just for high school Mathematics.

Physical Activity Cube

Click here for the source.

This fantastic idea comes from the Little Family Fun blog - make a cube with physical activities on each side. The cube can then be used to get kids moving, either in a PE lesson or in between activities. Kids will love the game aspect as well as the activities you choose to include, so it is a win-win situation!

Fun DIY Bookmarks

Click here for the source.

What a fun idea! Get your kids to pose for a photo as though they are hanging from a rope, then use the photo to make a bookmark! The link takes you to the Creative Family Moments blog, where you will find step by step instructions for how to make these bookmarks.

That's it for this week's pins. Please comment if you plan to use any of these ideas in your classroom and let me know how it goes!

Salvaged Saturday - Useful Box

Welcome to another Salvaged Saturday! This week, I'm letting you in on the joys of what I like to call my 'Useful Box'. I can't take credit for the name - that came from the good old days of Playschool (an Aussie children's TV show) - but it is a great way to salvage your 'rubbish' so your students can get creative!

So, what goes into my Useful Box? Boxes, paper, plastic containers, ribbons, biscuit tins and any other reclaimed bits and bobs I can find.

What doesn't go into my Useful Box? Cartons that have held dairy products or meat products and toilet rolls. Maybe I'm just being pedantic, but better to be safe than sorry!

Do you keep a Useful Box? What do your students use the items in your Useful Box for? What do you call your Useful Box?

Pins of the Week

Happy Monday everyone! Lots of Pinterest inspiration this week, so I'm excited to share some of the goodies I've found. All these and more can be found on my Pinterest boards.

Learn Haiku from the Master at Kid World Citizen

http://goo.gl/kkdkaT

I have only just discovered the Kid World Citizen website, and what a treasure trove it is! This particular pin takes you to a page about Basho, the great 17th Century Japanese poet, and provides ideas for some rich learning about the man and his work. Great stuff!

The KWL Chart Re-imagined!

http://goo.gl/hW4aBm

I've been a fan of the KWL Chart for a long time, but this free printable takes it to a whole new level. The link takes you to the Teachers Pay Teachers site of Rebekah Benson, where you can download and use this printable and more. Make sure you follow her store if you use her freebie - TPT manners people!

Emperor Penguin Life Cycle Poster... FOR FREE!

http://goo.gl/vkosoc

It doesn't get much better than this kids - a high quality free poster to print and use by Zina Diretsky at the National Science Foundation. Beautifully illustrated and full of great information!

Visual Timetable Reward System using a Pill Box!

http://goo.gl/QUkcHd

What a neat idea this is! The link takes you to a blog post where the idea is explained in full and you get to read about the teenage helper who came up with the system to use with an autistic student in her care. The basic idea is that you use an oversize pill box to store small treats (a couple of jelly beans or non-edible treats could be used); put a visual timetable label on each lid; then, as each task is completed, the student gets to open the lid and have the treat. Genius!

Story Stones

http://shop.craftingconnections.net/product/story-stones

What an imaginative way to provide a story prompt! The link takes you to the Crafting Connections website, where you can purchase a set of Story Stones, but you could also make your own if you are crafty.

Have you seen any great pins lately? Please share! And please share if you use any of the pins above in your own classroom!

Freebie Friday (sort of!) - Voting Sticks

Yes, yes. I know it isn't Friday anymore. No excuses - I just forgot to go online last night after work! Sorry!

Down to business then - your freebie this week is voting sticks from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

So, what are voting sticks? They are a great tool for allowing all students in your class to give a yes/no response, while avoiding any shouting out! All you need is the voting sticks freebie, a printer, paper, glue and some paddle pop sticks (craft sticks). They are super easy to make. Here is an example of what they look like made up:

And here are some ideas for how to use them in your classroom:

All these pages are part of your free download, so click here to pop over to my TPT store and download!

I'd love to hear how people use their voting sticks. I'd also like to hear about any strategies people use to manage sessions like these in their classroom.

Enjoy your freebie!

Pins of the Week

It may be late, but it is still Monday, so I still have time to share my pins of the week! All of these pins and more can be found on my Pinterest boards.

Early Finishers Chart

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43830194@N02/galleries/72157622645343312

I will definitely be making a chart like this sometime soon to banish all the 'Miss, what can I do now?' questions forever!

Fractured Fairy Tales

http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2013/07/fractured-fairy-tales-7-stories-you-thought-you-knew.html

This pin comes from a blog post about fractured fairy tales, and I can certainly vouch for several of these texts. Kids love a fractured fairy tale and they are a great example of appropriation. Kids can also have a go at fracturing a favourite tale.

Jelly Bean Maths

http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/2013/03/jelly-bean-math/

 Jelly beans and other colourful sweets make great motivators for maths activities... if you can stop your students from eating them all before you finish! This blog post has some good ideas for how to use sweets in maths.

Making Pom Poms on a Fork

http://vividplease.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/diy-how-to-make-tiny-pom-poms-with-fork.html

Well, who would have thought you could make a pom pom on a fork? Saves messing around with those silly cardboard circles! This pin comes from a 'how-to' tutorial. Not sure if I'll use these in the classroom, but let me know if you can think of a way to use them!

Silent Signals

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-silent-communication-signals

This pin leads to an interesting video on using silent signals with kids. Lots to think about here! Do you use silent signals with your class? I'd love to hear of any other signals you use successfully.

Well, that's about it for a Monday night. Time to hit the hay and recharge for a busy day tomorrow!