What I'm Loving Wednesday...

Anthropologie March 2012 catalog!
I want it all!

 
So I'm practically LOVING the entire Anthropologie March Catalogue!

                                                                       
What are you loving?

A few classroom pictures

A few weeks ago I blogged about teaching my 3rd graders "figurative language" I have to say it was the funniest time of year so far! We really had a ball..(ha ha) Here are some blurry  bulletin boards pics.

In our Everyday Math Program we are just finishing up our GEOMETRY UNIT

My class loved The Greedy Triangle story, then we made a lot of different triangles with straws and twist ties. ( rather messy, but fun)

I spent a lot of time this year on Authors Purpose!  I found WAY too many ideas on Pinterest.. My favorite was a PIE flip book.  I added it as a center, the students would browse the library, or their SS weekly newspaper and list the title of the story under the appropriate flap!

                                
With standardized tests approaching, I've been reading a lot of information about easing into test-prep .

I'm trying to not stress myself, my class or my parents OUT!  

I have been beginning to depend a lot on the internet! 

(it was a suggestion from a great article that I read)

 That said : Harness the Internet 

 Here are my go-to sites to help ease the load of constant grading, and reviewing concepts that some students are still struggling with! (all free)

• spellingcity.com VocabularySpellingCity is an educational website with25 different learning activities including spelling tests, vocabulary Flashcards, HangMouse (like Hangman), Unscramble, and crossword puzzles
• brainpopjr.com
• http://www.softschools.com/grades/3rd_grade/math/ games, quizes, printables
  
• JeopardyLabs: It takes a few minutes to create a Jeopardy board, and students can access the link later for more review.
• Scholastic's StudyJams:  This is an excellent site for reviewing math and science content.
• Internet4Classrooms: With this site you just type in the learning standard, and state and grade level specific activities are at your disposal. An excellent resource for both teaching content and reviewing it. 
• IXL: anyone can access the site for up to thirty minutes for free. Teachers can see how students are doing and how much time has been logged. 
• Punctuation Paintball: This is a fun version of the typical drill and kill grammar practice. Students get a sentence to correct, and after they select a convention, they use the paintball gun to splatter the word with the correction.

 I posted a part of the article (below)  By  Nell K Duke, Ron Ritchhart , On Standardized Test Preparation 
One of my test prep strategies was to
- ask the children to identify -what kind of question it was that they were answering??
 (main idea, sequence, inference, cause & effect, fact, opinion)  etc...
  but after reading this I had an "AHA" moment myself...
  (this might just be more accurate)
SO...I'm trying it out!

It Said: Cover All Kinds of Questions
To prepare students for the kinds of items they'll see on the test, we ask them a variety of questions about their reading. Our questions are meant to enhance comprehension and promote a range of interpretations -- literal, inferential, personal, and so on.

However, just asking the right kinds of questions isn't enough; it's important to explain them as well. Acclaimed educator Taffy Raphael suggests teaching these question-and-answer relationships that are common in standardized reading tests.

"Right There" Questions: The answer to these questions is right there in the passage. To find it, students recall information from or refer back to one place in the passage. Example: "Who gave John the dog?"

"Think and Search" Questions: Students can also find the answer to these questions by using their memories or looking back at the passage. However, the answer is usually in more than one place. Students need to assemble information for the answer. Example: "What was the same about every dog in the story?"

"Author and You" Questions: These questions are often the toughest because they can't be answered just by reading the passage. Students need to use what they already know, plus what they learn from the passage, to answer. Example: "How did John probably feel when he found the dog?"

Teaching Tip: You can build awareness of these questions by having students use different colored pens on practice tests. Students should circle.. 

• Right There questions in green. 
• Green means go directly to the passage to find the answer.
• Think and Search questions in yellow. 
• Yellow means use caution - look in more than one place to find the answer.
• Author and You questions in red. 
• Red means stop and think about what the passage says and what you already know before you answer.

READ the Article-
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/no-pain-high-gain
photos from google images
                        

Scholastic Video

Best Dressed

"Hollywood Glamour" 

Let's talk Oscars 2012 fashion, shall we, bloggers? 

The awards show where one-shoulder dresses,  glittering gowns, peplums, and Harry Winston jewels, ruled the red carpet. Check out my favorites, then tell me,    "who did you think was best dressed?'!

All photos are from INSTYLE.com RED CARPET arrivals.

Red Carpet Ready?

 I'm linking up with Kori from http://www.blondeepisodes.com/
                          I love being a part of her Fashion Friday Linky parties... 
_______________________________________________________________________
It comes  once a year —Oscar Sunday... 
Time to get your Oscar  red carpet fix on.
 I've gathered some of my favorite Oscar looks through the years— 
including Audrey Hepburn 
(style icon) — to get you ready. 
Here's to hoping that come Sunday, we'll have more great dresses to add to this list.

Oscar Sunday just 2 days away!



 Have you checked out the OSCAR DAILIES website? It's a must!!!
http://oscar.go.com/

PHOTO BY CHRIS PIZZELLO

Michelle Williams, a Best Actress nominee for "My Week with Marilyn," Beverly Hills, Calif., Monday, Feb. 6, 2012

           

These are just a few of my favorites, there are so many great fashion-able Oscar moments!

Which are your favorites??

 photos taken from marie claire.com, oscars dailies.com, pinterest, google images, celebbuzz.com

This is my favorite fashionable Oscar moment! Renee 2001 in a yellow Carolina Herrera dress totally unexpected, she ROCKED it that year!

oscar party anyone?

You Must Check out: howaboutorange.blogspot.com  
Jessica has once again created the most adorable
"Oscar bingo boards & ballots"
so fun and easy to print!
Especially cute if you are having some friends over for an 
OSCAR themed  party.

Here is Jessica's post, go to her blog for the print-ables! She is awesome 

(deserves an award just for making these)

Hosting an Oscars party on Feb. 26? I've made up 20 different Oscar bingo cards you can print out, along with a matching ballot for guessing the Academy Award winners. And like every year, a big disclaimer for the game: it might be possible to win ten minutes into the telecast, or maybe there won't be any winners at all. Who knows?

  Oscar Trivia:
2012 Oscar nominee trivia at PopSugar
Memorable moments from the Academy Awards on Oprah.com
This year's Oscar trivia from the Chicago Tribune

Saint Patricks Day Bingo

St. Patrick's   Day

Bingo Game 

The game board,number cards, and directions are from Kidsdomain.com

How to make it:

1. Print a page of St. Patrick's Day Lucky Bingo Cards
   
   If you experience printing problems: Try to use the 'shrink to fit' print option to get them to print on the page. Or try changing the font size to something smaller by going to the "View" menu in your browser and increase or decrease the font size. If that fails to help, you can print the page in 'landscape' mode and get two complete cards per page instead of four.
2. Now refresh your browser. The page now displays new random numbers!
3. Print the page again.
4. Be sure to print off enough playing cards for each child to have one.
5. If desired, cover with clear self-adhesive paper or laminate to be able to reuse the cards again next year.
6. Print a page of Bingo Numbers. HINT: Print off on card stock or glue to cardboard to give the numbers stability.
7. Cut the numbers apart on the lines.
8. Place the numbers in a bowl.
9. Give each child a bingo card and a handful of markers (see tips below).
10. Reach into the bowl, call out a number and the children place a marker on the number if it appears on their card.
11. Play the game just like regular bingo. Play for 5 in a row across, down, diagonally, or even play blackout by covering all the numbers on the card