FREEBIES from an old PC:)

Oh.my.word.

If I don't get my Mac back soon, I may go "tech naked" until it's ready!
Have you heard anyone use that phrase?
It means to just completely detach yourself from technological devices for a certain amount of time.
Now, that's a bit extreme, but I just might pull a Britney Spears and lose all my hair while I lose my mind!
That sounds like a definite possibility!

I can still read my blogs and keep up with all of you on my iPad, but I'm not smart enough to use it to post on my own blog.
I'm just not.

So,
I have had to use my old PC for the last week to publish anything on my blog....
...and it takes FOREVER!

I used to LOVE my hp:)
It used to bring me such joy!

Now, it's 5 years old
really heavy and cumbersome
and    s   l   o   w .
Like tortoise-slow, or watching paint dry-slow,
or (insert your own appropriate metaphor) slow!
And for some odd reason, I CANNOT type on this thing!!
I am constantly back-spacing, and stopping to look at the keys and realigning my fingers, and screaming and yelling like a banshee!

Here is a sentence without any back-spacing or editing whatsoever:
I bet all of you would luke me to joist shut ip and tyalk about athe title, which invludes the freebies:)

See?
Aaargh!

Anyway, I was looking through some old files on this PC, which for some reason, I never moved over to my Mac, and I found a couple of goodies that I thought I could revive and utilize this year.

The first is a reading checklist that students can use to keep themselves accountable during Daily 5.
I really could have used this little tool last year!
It would be absolutely perfect for second or third graders, but will require a lot of modeling and practice with K-1 kiddos before they become proficient at completing it indepedently.

I adapted mine from Beth Newingham.
She has the original file on Scholastic's website here.

I simply modified her file (which is editable) to fit my needs, and you can as well.
I changed the tasks to say things that are more appropriate for my students' needs.
Tasks like: I allowed others to work by staying quiet and in one spot.
                  I read and discussed a book with a friend.
                  I "talked back" to my book today.
In Ms. Olson's room, when we talk back to books, we write or draw about them (think story maps) in our Reader's Response Journals.

I changed the title of her Checklist, because we don't use IDR...but maybe you do:)
I just called mine, "Reading Checklist", as I will be using it for both R2Self & R2Someone.

Lastly, I changed the amount of genres students can circle.
We will only be formally introducing firsties to: Realistic Fiction (RF), Fantasy (F), Traditional Literature (TL)....like fairy tales, fables,etc....Poetry (P), Informational Text (I), & Biographies (B).

If you've never heard of Beth Newingham, or seen her genre posters, click here.
I forgot about these, as well, and I will be using them this year, too!

Another crappy thing about using this old PC?
I don't have ANY of my adorable, wonderful, super-cute clipart!!!!!
I am lost, people.
Lost.

But I did manage to use Microsoft Clipart to its fullest (but still sad) potential when I made my Learning Styles Survey more visually appealing.
However, I can't figure out how to get a pic of it to show you.
Hmm.
Click on the pic below if you want to download a survey I will be giving my students, at least 2 times this year.

This survey will help me understand how my little ones like to work and learn.
I'm hoping the results will change a little as they are exposed to different modalities in my room.
Just another piece of info to have on each kiddo:)
You can never have too much data, right?

There are 2 versions of the survey in the download:
The first one (with visuals) is the one I will use during the 2nd week of school, just to get them used to testing procedures and expectations.

The second version is one I will give after we have used CGI for a good 9-12 weeks, so they have had lots of practice solving math problems in different ways.
There aren't any visuals on the second version, but the wording is pretty simple.

I hope you can use all the resources I've pointed you towards!
I will leave you with one last goodie that I found today:
I was looking for a cute math journal label, and found this FREE download from
Angeline Stewart at First Grade Scoop.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I've never stumbled across her blog before!
She has some really cute labels that can be printed on Avery sticker labels for math journals, Reader's Response, Writing Notebooks, and a couple of other things.
Go check them out here!
And check out her yummy blog full of delicious ideas by clicking on her button.
 

The end of summer is fastly approaching!!

I can hear the Target dollar spot calling my name:)