First Art Lesson

I loved all the ideas on Pinterest for doing a lesson after reading The Dot. I did it K-5 and let my 4th and 5th grade use watercolors. The other grades used markers. They turned out very nicely, don't you think?!

Each grade level had a different colored frame. I posted a key under the display.

What lesson do you like to do for the first week?

My WBT Power Pics Wall is Up!

I am so excited to get my Power Pics Wall figured out for next year! I changed my previous "focus wall" to it. I will use magnetic clips OR as shown in the lower left picture, suction hooks. I have a whole bag somewhere in my classroom, but can't find them at the moment. I think hole-punching the cards and hanging them as needed will work out very nicely.

I have numbered the top of each section and have letters going down the middle. I will use that for both sections even if it will be backwards for the left side! This addition will be such a great tool in my classroom.

Some of you may be wondering just what is a power pic wall? I'm glad you asked! It is a strategy used in a Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) classroom. The pics are incorporated into lessons and then placed on the wall for reference. Each pic has a question, answer and gesture for key concepts in language arts and math.

This is an example for tally marks:

Question: What are tally marks:

Answer: Tally marks are marks in groups of five.

Gesture: Hold up four fingers on one hand and then cross them with one finger from the other hand, symbolizing four tally marks crossed by a fifth mark.

 I actually modified this gesture: when we answer, "Tally marks are" we hold up one finger for each of the last words and cross with our thumbs on the last word, "marks (1) in (2) groups (3) of (4) five (cross with thumb)."

I used this power pic once a day each week during calendar math (on Tally Mark Tuesdays)! I didn't get into many of the power pics last year, so this year I am excited about intentionally incorporating them into my lessons. They will fit in nicely with the common core standards we will be using next year.

Power Pics are very useful in getting students to think about the things they are learning. As they learn each power pic and revisit them often, it reinforces key skills and concepts. When you throw in the teach/ok strategy, students are given the opportunity to internalize the concept and explain it to others.

This is a free download on the WBT website! Hop on over there and check it out—along with other amazing strategies to help you get pumped about setting up your classroom, teaching standards and dealing with those challenging darlings!



President's Day

Here is a picture of our President's Day writing. It was inspired by several pics I saw on Pinterest. Enjoy!