TPT Sale for Cyber Monday

I love a good sale as much as the next person, but I have to admit that I seriously dislike the battle of Black Friday Black Thursday and Black Friday.  Fortunately for the commercial world, I'm a sucker for cheap prices, so despite my anxiety of getting trampled by a cart, I was still out there digging for the $1.97 DVDs at Walmart after my turkey meal.  I love the invention of Cyber Monday because you still get fabulous prices, but you can do it at home!  Heck, you don't even have to take a shower or get out of your PJS!  The internet knows how I like to spend my breaks.  To join in the fun, I'm teaming up with TPT to give you guys 28% off my TPT store!  This is the most that any seller can give off, so be sure to stop by your favorite sellers on Monday and Tuesday!  You won't be sorry!  I have three new products and one freebie posted today just in time for the sale!  Click HERE to check it out!

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I hope that you have had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and that you haven't cracked open your plan book yet for Monday! :)  Thanks for being such great followers (yeah, I know that there are currently only three! but a girl's gotta start somewhere)!


Math Vocabulary - Taboo!

Is it just me, or is it like torture for students to practice math vocabulary?  I have noticed that my little group this year really needs the help with math vocabulary because when the test pops up, they often ask, "Wait, what's a prime number again?" or "What does GCF stand for?"  AH!!!!!  So, to give them a little more practice in disguise, I saw an idea about creating a Taboo game for math.  Brilliant!  I don't remember who I saw the idea from originally (it was a few years ago), but the teacher designed it for a 7th/8th grade class.  I started a round with my 6th graders today, and they LOVED it!  I was so surprised how much they enjoyed it, and how much they actually knew!  This game is a keeper!


Want a copy for your 6th grade friends?  Check it out in my TPT store here!


Sub Plans

I know I'm not alone when I say I HATE SUB PLANS!  Not only do they take forever to compose, but so often I return to school seeing that my students are totally confused in math, or that absolutely nothing got done.  It drive me bonkers!  I recently discovered an app that I seriously cannot live without!  It's called Explain Everything, and it works a lot like any Kahn Academy video you watch, except you can customize it for your kids!  I was at a training this past week (I'm going to an Arts Leadership Academy training through BYU, and I am totally sold that the arts need to show up in class daily, but I'll talk more about that in a later post), so I missed two days of school.  It just about killed me because I don't like getting behind in math.  Our schedule is pretty tight as it is, and I was getting nervous.  I decided to try making a video on Explain Everything.  The day before I left, I pulled one of my students aside.  I told him that in the video I was going to ask him a question, and I needed him to answer it as I went.  It was magical!  My principal happened to walk in right as the video was starting with my sub, and she texted me to tell me that the kids were totally engaged (possibly a bit nervous that they, too, were going to get called on?)!  Not only that, they rocked their quiz the next day when I got back!



Another way I like to use this app is to create videos to post on my class blog.  This way kids have something to reference at home for homework or to catch up on work if they're absent.  Parents LOVE it because they can see how we are teaching concepts in class, so they feel like they are aware of what's going on in the classroom!  Always a plus!  The app connects with a YouTube account which makes it viewable by everyone on every device.  Here's one I used in class with my substitute: