Monday Made It: August 4 Edition

August is here and that brings back to school madness!  I've spent the last few weeks getting things together at home so I could use my time wisely when I go into my class.  But, as always, no matter how much prep I do at home, it's always chaos when I return.  I thought it would be better this year because I didn't really have a lot to unpack, but judging by the pic below, that was not the case. After 14 years you would think I'd have it down to a science, but I don't.

I have a difficult time staying focused once I start the decorating/organizing phase.  I will work on one project or area until I get bored and then move to something else.  The result is a room that is a mess.

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for the August 4 edition of Monday Made It.  Time is ticking away on the August clock.

Our district uses Everyday Calendar Math.  Part of that program is a counting tape that you add to every day.  5th grade works with decimals.  Instead of hanging that tape at the top of the wall like I normally do and adding a post-it note each day, I used sentence strips and pre-wrote all of the numbers for all 180 days on post-its.  Then I laminated them.  I then covered them with post-it notes so now all we have to do is take a post-it note off of the strip.  The pic shows them partially covered with yellow sticky notes. I added purple ones to cover all of the numbers.  Now, there is no climbing, losing track of the days, or forgetting.  This will be in the hands of my students once routines are established.

I use exit tickets as a formative assessment at the end of many lessons.  Instead of having students place the notes on the edge of their desk and me taking them up, I wanted a central area where students put their note and it also doubled as a display of student work.  I used post-it notes and laminated the whole poster.  Next I numbered the post-it notes with a sharpie.  I'll now know which student doesn't turn in a sticky note.

I have to have a word wall up in my room that is a "living" document.  Normally I place this at the front of the room, but it is cumbersome with the Promethean board, so I moved it to the back.  I used paper plates and letters this year to add a little pop.

Next week will be my last week of Monday Made It as we go back to school on the 12th.  Hopefully, my room will be finished and I can show you the rest of the things that were made.  Everything is in progress right now! Can't wait to have my table back.

Head over to 4th Grade Frolics and see what everyone else made this week!