Sunday, November 30, 2014

Increasing your students' thinking!

Happy Sunday, friends! I wanted to share with y'all my newest creation that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I made Bloom's Ladders for upper grades, but after a ton of emails, I created a lower version for my k-2 friends!
If you don't follow Life in Fifth Grade, you're probably thinking, " Umm, what are Bloom's Ladders?" Blooms Ladders are my way of increasing my students' thinking. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, I've created ladders which feature multiple tasks that students must complete in order to move onto the next level.
Since I teach fifth grade now, I have to work reeaallly hard to motivate my kids to simply care and want to do a good job. So I decided to treat these ladders as video games or apps. Students must complete each task on each level in order to "defeat" the level and move onto the next one.  




I just have my kids use their own paper to answer each task, but I've designed different options of answer sheets for this lower version. 


Another version of this "game" is How High Can You Go? This activity features one task for each level. Four sets are included focusing on different skills like character, plot, setting, and problem/solution.




Keeping track of which task you are on is super easy by using a paperclip! This provides a visual for the kids and lets them really see when they have defeated each level.



I've also included a copy of my Bloom's Taxonomy posters in the unit. I always like to display these posters so my kids can be in charge of their own thinking and really understand their level of thinking. We've done these so much, my kids will sometimes say, " Hey! That's a level 6 question, Ms. Leslie Ann!" We love HOTS problems! 

Click here to grab your copy or wishlist it for tomorrow's Cyber Monday SALE! Or you can try and win a copy over on the Facebook Page!



Monday, November 10, 2014

My Home Office

I'm sharing my home office over on my lifestyle/fashion blog Southern Belle Inspired. Come check it out where I do all my creating! :)
You can follow this blog here :) :)

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Organizing Cards

Hey y'all! If you're anything like me, you LOVE the Target Dollar Spot. Seriously, it gets me every time! I find myself getting things that I have no idea what I need them for, because I KNOW I'll find something. For example, I always grab several of these things (I don't even know what they're called. anyone?)

Turns out, whatever these things are called are perfect for organizing vocabulary cards! I divide mine up by units. I also use them to store my blooms ladders and task cards. 





I'm sharing my 5 favorite things about fall over on Southern Belle Inspired, plus a new site where you can get discounted gift cards to stores like Target and Michaels! Come check it out and follow me on Bloglovin'! :)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Catching Up and What's in my Bag?

Hi y'all! Today I wanted to play a little catch up and update y'all on what's going on in my classroom. 
We have been knee deep in novel studies. We finished up Frindle and we are now tackling Shiloh. For Frindle, I created this story board to introduce the novel, brainstorm and predict, and talk about facts and opinions. It also generated a lot of excitement about the book!




We're now on Shiloh. Last week, we divided into groups and created a character chart of either the protagonist or the antagonist. They had to list at least 10 events/things that happened with that character, plus at least 5 traits with evidence. They did WONDERFUL! I made it a little more interesting by picking a winning group in each class and they received treats :) 








I've been working hard on my lifestyle/fashion blog Southern Belle Inspired. I'm sharing what's in my bag and my favorite types of handbags. Come check it out and follow me on bloglovin'! :)

Monday, October 6, 2014

Room on the Broom and Nail Polish!

How's that for a random title! DWTS is coming on in a few minutes, y'all, so this is going to be a real quick post! :) I just wanted to share that my #1 best seller is now in season! Click here to grab this fun literary companion to the adorable picture book Room on the Broom
It's full of printables and patterns for a cute sequencing activity!

I'm also blogging on my lifestyle blog Southern Belle Inspired about my 10 fav fall nail polishes. Come check out my picks and share yours! :)

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

What I'm Loving

Hi friends! I'm been slacking here lately on sharing what's going on in my classroom and I'm sorry! I have lots to share and I promise I'm going to share it all with y'all this weekend! For now, you can hop over to my lifestyle blog, Southern Belle Inspired to see what I'm currently loving :)

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie craftivity and more apple activities!

Hi first grade friends! My concentration has been focused on my fifth graders here lately and I'm afraid I've neglected my first grade blog. I wanted to share with y'all an activity that I made last year for Johnny Appleseed Week features the adorable Amelia Bedelia :) My literary companion includes printables to go along with the book and the patterns for this adorable craft.


You can grab the unit here.

Don't forget about my Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed Math and Literacy Centers. They were a favorite of mine when I taught first grade!