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Teacher Feature: The Simply Organized Teacher

Posted on May 23, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

One of my favorite things to do, if/when I get a moment alone in the car, is to listen to podcasts. A few months ago I found this awesome podcast called THE SIMPLY TEACH PODCAST. This podcast is done by Kelly who used to be a teacher in the classroom and she interviews amazing educators and shares organizational tips.

I wanted to add her to my teacher feature this month because she has some great ideas about packing up and cleaning out at the end of the year. She also has some amazing resources for rejuvenating over the summer and starting off the year right. Click the photo below for a link to the show notes from episode #43 –

If you want some one on one help in your classroom she offers coaching sessions along with other resources in her shop.

So, if you want something neat and teacher-y to listen to, go to iTunes or google podcasts and search for simply teach!

End of the Year Graffiti Wall

Posted on May 20, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

I had this idea to make huge posters for each of my classes and then have them decorate/design them using concepts we learned in science. The idea included using old magazines and markers to add to the posters.

Unfortunately, I was not able to make this a reality this year, but I wanted to share with any of you who may want to use it.

If your school has a poster maker you can use this to make a large poster for each class or even one for each student to reflect on the year.

Field Day 2019

Posted on May 17, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

Can I just say that I love field day at my school! It is exhausting and I am super tired when I get home – but we have a ton of fun.

We have houses at my school and we team up for field day with a partner house. So, all day field day we are on either the red or the blue team. Then we travel to stations together and compete in water events, volleyball, track and field, soccer and kickball. At the end of the day, the points are tallied up and we competed in relay races to determine the winner of field day!

This year was even better because my team – Moedige/Shauku WON!! 🙂 What are your field day traditions?

It’s Gonna be May! (a little late)

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

After a bought of sickness, I am back in my classroom. And I cannot believe that it is already MAY. I survived testing and jury duty and now there are only 17.5 days left including weekends!

I only have a few weeks left to share with my sixth graders. May is always a bit bittersweet for me. My students are moving on and I will have a brand new set of students next year! At this time of the year I try to finish strong, but I cannot help to look forward to things I want to do next year.

Lucky for me and the other teachers in the United States that around this time we have Teacher Appreciation Week! Tomorrow TpT will have its annual sale and I cannot wait to stock up on some goodies for next year!

Some of the Items on My Wishlist:

I already use the doodle notes from this teacher-author about the seasons. I think this would be great to use at the beginning of the year because it hits some key ideas that are a pinnacle of our learning throughout the year.

I purchased these a couple of years ago. I love using them to update my syllabus. If you don’t have a great template check these out!

One of my weaker lessons is talking about Gravity and Inertia. I would like to look at this set and see if it would add to what I already use.

My classroom has a cactus & succulent theme. I love these posters for my classroom. I am looking for some easy ways to spruce up the room without re-doing everything (which is what I have done every year I have taught!).

What kinds of stuff will you be shopping for?

Air Masses and Fronts Lesson

Posted on April 25, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

Air Masses and Fronts Check for Understanding

Air Masses and Fronts Reading

Sentence Stems for Writing in Science

Posted on April 24, 2019April 11, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

When it comes to writing in science, sometimes my students get confused or don’t know where to begin. I like to give them a tool to use in the beginning to help them form sentences. It is a simple page with sentence starters to help them form good/complete sentences.

Sentence Starters for Science

I introduce them to the starters and explain some of the terminologies. I then give them some simple practice questions to try. As the year progresses this is a tool they can use whenever we have a written assignment. It is nice because I don’t have to constantly formulate ideas and I can point them back to this as a tool.

What tools do you use for writing in science?

Teacher Feature: EzPz-Science

Posted on April 22, 2019April 11, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

Earlier in the year as I was looking on TeachersPayTeachers for scientific method resources, I came across EzPz-Science. She has some really cute stuff that later I found my self coming back to again and again.

On her main page she says that her goal is to increase student engagement with fun and creative lessons for middle school science. I personally think she is doing a phenomenal job.

The first resource that I ever used from her was a seek and find. It is a picture that contains key vocabulary words. Read more about them here in a blog post by EzPz Science!

Check out this freebie (a.k.a my first resource from her)

I really want to try out her seek and sorts as well. You can find all her amazing resources along with more information at https://ezpz-science.com/