Just Hanging Out With Each Other in 3rd Grade

My 3rd grade team and I, thought it would be cute to have our students interview each other and create a short biography on their partner. They went through the entire writing process and published their writing by pasting it to their construction paper rendition of their partner. We hung them in the hall for Open House. What do you think?

Muy Bueno Landform Models

One of the teachers on my team did this project a few years ago and thought it might be a good way to assess our students understanding of landforms. Each student painted a thick, oval paper plate 1/2 blue and 1/2 green, and then made models of 9 different landforms out of modeling clay. We used gray, dark brown, light brown, red, royal blue, and green clay. Students cut the labels by folding and cutting index cards and then sticking them into each clay form. The flat green plate represented the flat plains, and the blue represented the ocean. I think they turned out great and the kids had SO much FUN making them!

Check Out Classroom Freebies!

I just joined as a contributor for a great new blog called Classroom Freebies! This Thursday and Friday will be our "GRAND OPENING." Drop by and grab as many freebies as your computer can hold!!

Great Gift Card Giveaway!

I know I am breaking the blogging rules, but I just had to tell you about a great giveaway that ends on this next Wednesday. Ashleigh over at Education Journey is giving away a $25 gift card to Amazon to celebrate getting through the first weeks of school. Go visit her to check it out!

A 2nd Versatile Blogger Award

I just can't believe it! I was super surprised when I got this award the first time, but now that I received it a second time, I'm just about speechless. Thank you so much Heather, from Mrs. Robinson's Classroom, for nominating me for this award. I am so grateful to all my fellow teacher bloggers for all the info, ideas, and inspiration I have received. I hope to pay it forward by posting 15 more blog sites. Like Heather said, it is so hard to pick just 15, but now I get the chance to pick 15 more. Following are the Award Rules:

*Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
*Share 7 things about yourself.
*Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

But first, 7 things about me (I promise I'll be brief this time)....

1. I love country music, especially George Straight
2. My favorite time of year is Christmas. I love to decorate my house and gather with family and friends.
3. I love Italian and Mexican food, and I love to eat out!
4. I love the San Antonio Spurs and wish I could afford season passes (not on a teacher's salary).
5. I love to shop for anything and everything.
6. I love to read. My classroom library is almost as big as our school library. I can never pass up a good book.
7. I love animals, especially puppies. My dog is little, so he will forever be a puppy.

AND .....here is the moment you've been waiting for, my 15 blog site picks:

The Shabby Chic Teacher

The Teacher's Chatter Box

3rd Grade Sprinkles

Sweet Blessings

Miss Toffee's Class

Third in Hollywood

The Kennedy Korral Blog~Third Grade

A Little Help for the Teacher

Fabulous in Fourth!

Ashleigh's Education Journey

Barrow's Hodgepodge

Down Under Teacher

Mrs. Randall's Learning Library

Just Julie Teaching Third Graders

A Day in the Life of a 2nd Grade Teacher

Go check them out!

I Made My Very Own Blog Signature for FREE!!!

I just made my own signature for my blog by following the directions on eHow and MyLive Signature. My Live Signature lets you create it and eHow tells you how to put it in your blog. The first two templates are free. You can either pick a script (like I did), or hand write you signature with the mouse or a pen, AND you can also pick the color. When you post, you will need to go to Edit Html to move it down first, otherwise it will be at the top of your post, but I feel that's a small inconvenience for it being free. If anyone figures out another way to make it automatically appear at the bottom, let me know. Happy Blogging:)

Summary Roller Coaster Freebie

I made this graphic organizer to help students be able to recognize and write a summary. I hope you find it useful.

Summary Roller Coaster Graphic Organizer Freebie

For more help with summaries visit my store at TpT or Teachers NB and check out my packet on the Summary Roller Coaster!