I've been busy! :)

This past week I went to school everyday at around 8am. Worked, worked, worked, & worked yet it still seems I haven't done a thing! Thanks to my student teacher [whom I ABSOLUTELY ADORE] we did get a LOT done. THANKS APRIL! :)

One of the things we accomplished is the curtain that cover my new, massive book shelf system. Here, take a look:

I think it looks very SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!!! :))) I haven't put anything else on the shelves yet...those items will be placed once the rest of the room is complete.

This week I HAVE TO get the rest of it all DONE! School starts for me on the 6th...mettings and all, then the kids on the 8th. So I will try to post many more pics in the coming days!

Check back often! Happy decorating!

WINDOWS...

This time around I have 2 sets of windows to cover...I mean decorate! I love using plastic table skirts that have the sticky tape... 1 fits perfectly across the length of one set of windows. I have used the lime green skirts for the past 5 years...I love the glow it casts across the room! This is what I'm talking about:

Well this year I plan to add a little science fun to it! I will hang a yellow pennant banner like this one:

and use these letters to spell out the science words observe, predict, explore, present, & infer [if you click the picture you can download this]:

Each letter will be placed on one pennant and they will be draped, by word, across the green windows. This will blend so well with the the other yellow "Caution" tape accent decor I will be using.

Now, just to get in there and hang this. Will def post pictures when it's done since it is soooo SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

My BIG Room....Phase 1: The Initial Walk-In

Ok....I am starting a series of posts showcasing my PROGRESS as far as getting my room ready is concerned....FUN STUFF!


Phase 1: The Initial Walk-In


When I walked into my GREAT BIG ROOM I was all giddy like the feelings of both Christmas morning and driving a brand new car off the lot all in one! Boy, am I a kid at heart!!! I felt like Julie Andrews on the hill in Austria twirling around singing, "The room will come alive, with pretty fabric and paper"... LOL!

Well, here is view 1 of my GREAT BIG ROOM {looking into last year's side}....

And here is view 2: {Looking into my NEW side}

Can't you see why I was all giddy and twirling and singing?!?!?! I can just picture all of my Sci Labs and students with all this room learning and growing!!!

If you recall from an earlier post {found below somewhere}, I created a floor plan of exactly how I am setting it up. I CAN NOT WAIT! I am still looking for a few more pieces to fit my plan, but this DIVA always finds what she needs!

Ok....be on the lookout for phase 2....The Hauling-In ....it's sure to be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Junior Scientist...

For the past few years I had a "Scientist of the Week" that would really be my glorified helper. But after reading about the traveling scientist used in lower grades, I decided to mature it a little bit for use in my 6th grade class.  Thus was born my Junior Scientist.

I do teach 5 different classes throughout the day so I'll have 5 different Junior Scientists. The title will be held by those randomly-chosen students for the duration of the testing topic....which is roughly 6 days. They will each receive a bag that includes goggles, gloves, a pen, a lab notebook, science experiment books [no more than 2], and a suggested experiment....materials and all. The bag, lab book, and pen that I created and purchased for each are from my favorite site Vistaprint ....they look like this:

They will take these home and on day 6, which is dubbed "Test Review Day", the Junior Scientists will return the bags and contents. They will also have no more than 10 minutes to present their experiment to their class. This in turn will result in an extra grade. I am hoping that this small, quick experiment will encourage family time at home. My fingers are crossed!

Inside the log book cover will be these guidelines:

And this is my version of the letter kzoteacher shared on my favorite teacher site.... it will go home with the Junior Scientists when chosen:

Thank you back2learn, 1956BD, and others from my favorite teacher site for mentioning this and directing me to sites discussing this! This new addition to my classroom is definitely SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Binder Covers

After seeing all of the cute binder covers and what not on Pinterest and TPT, I tried my mouse at making some. I have the one I originally made a few years ago using Thistlegirl graphics that I customized for my lesson plans, grade books, and other binders....I do really like it:

I just had to redesign it a bit to keep up with the cute ones I seem to see everywhere. This is one I've come up with so far:

So....off I go to play with Power Point and the cute graphics and backgrounds I have. What a SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED way to spend a Sunday morning!

CLASS WEBSITE...

Finally, at last, I have my new website up and running! For the past few years I had to use the website provided to me by my district. But since they decided to no longer use that server and change to WEBPAMS [sp?] I will no longer have one provided by them....so I am on my own. Years before I had a site through TeacherWeb....it was great! This time around, however, I found a new place to host my site....MOONFRUIT. After playing around with it and learning how to do everything I want to do for now, I learned that I still have a LOT to learn! But none-the-less, I do LOVE my new class site. here is a snapshot....if you click it you will be taken there....

Some of the information I did find years ago on the net.....if I am using some of your stuff, PLEASE LET ME KNOW....I'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU CREDIT!!! :))))

I really considered creating a blog but I needed to make sure it would open at school since my district has a strict STRICT filtering policy! No....I can't get on this one there at school. Kinda nuts! Well....if it's for the safety of our kids, then so be it!

So, I hope you like my class website. I certainly think it's SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED! If you have any comments or suggestions, let me know! I love feedback...ALL KINDS! Ta ta for now!

Scientifically Speaking...

One of my centers [or Sci Labs as I will call them] this year is called "Scientifically Speaking." In the past I used this title for my word wall and in conjunction with it told my students that when they speak in class they need to be as "Scientifically Specific" as possible meaning they had to use as many of the words/phrases found on the wall as possible.

I am hoping to add some fun activities that relate to the CCSS standards in this Sci Lab. One of my first activities will have my 6th graders use the element boxes as found on the periodic table to spell out a word/phrase from the word wall. Kind of like this:

They will then have to write the real definition and then their own definition of the word as if they were explaining it to another student who has no clue as to the meaning of the word/phrase. And quite possibly write a sentence using the word and/or draw a picture. Since I've never had them do anything like this before [centers are VERY NEW to me!] I hope they kinda come out as works of art to hang all over....my school is big on hanging student work EVERYWHERE! I'll definitely be sure to post pictures and a description of how it works after we try it! If you've done something like this, let me know how it went please! 


I'm so excited about this....I just know it will be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!!! 

A BLOG AWARD!

For little ol' me from Vicky Hunt and her SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED blog Keep Calm & Imagine__Then Get Excited & Make Things! Thank you so much Vicky!

Here are the requirements for accepting this FABULOUS award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH VICKY!

2. Include a link to their site.....see above!

3. Include the award image on your blog..... [which I certainly placed right there over to the right -->]:

4. Include 7 random facts about yourself:

*1. I love summer...mainly because I have time to do school work on my own time [weird, I know!].

*2. I am gearing myself up to bring my daughter to Florida for the Fall semester where she will be participating in the Disney College Program....don't know how I will survive 6 months with her being so far away from me!

*3. I live in the heart of Swamp People & Cajun Justice and I no where near sound like the people on those shows or believe half the things they say we all do down here!

*4. I have been walking and eating right for the past 6 months and have lost 60 pounds!

*5. My 13 year old son can stay up all hours of the night and I fall asleep no later than 8:30pm....no joke!

*6. I know how to cook a mean crawfish stew that my wonderful husband loves!

*7. Pinpointing random facts about myself was really hard to do!

 5. Nominate 15 other blogs for the award....[HARD TO FIND!]

Tips & Tricks Teaching

Ms. Jones Junction

LAK Airways
Doyle-ScienceTeach
Peace, Love & Teaching
Addicted to Teaching
CAFFEINATED CONCLUSIONS
***WILL ADD MORE AS I FIND THEM!***

6. When nominating, be sure to include a link to their site! See above...

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

 I'm leaving a comment on the most recent post on each of the 15 blogs!

CONGRATULATIONS...YOU'RE ALL SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Process Skills & The Scientific Method....

I stumbled upon an oldie but goodie so I made it a freebie! When I first started teaching 6th Grade Science QUITE a few years ago, I created a power point of Science Process Skills & the Scientific Method....mainly to print out and hang on my walls...LOL!

This year, however, I am incorporating them more into my centers [YES, I will post about centers soon!] So I just wanted to share. Here is a preview:

If you want to use it just click it, download it, personalize it if you want....it's FREE & SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

CAUTION!

Ok...here is a freebie. I created some caution posters a few years ago because I couldn't find any that I liked. I hope you like them! I plan to update these and add a few more. I will post them near my "Lab" center. Here's a little taste....

Go ahead and check them out....they are SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED, after all!

Welcoming Students...

I know this is the time of the year when teachers, new and seasoned, begin to look for inspiration for their welcome power points. I'm going to share mine with hopes it can help someone somewhere. Even though I have an Activboard in my room, I will still use this power point... I absolutely LOVE IT! Yes, I know I can import it...maybe I will. But for now, this is it. Sometimes this Science Diva likes not having to reinvent the wheel. :)

Here it is....click it, download it, use it if you like. The font in the yellow titles is called Forgotten World [downloaded from www.dafont.com]. The main picture on the title slide...the one with the Thistlegirl scientist...is a picture of the banner I have hanging over my door...it is not editable. I did tweak this power point for this year somewhat...I added a newer team building activity [SAVE FRED & SF FLOW MAP] [THANK YOU SUSAN TEACHER from PROTEACHER] to the end...but I still have a few minor things to change. None-the-less it is SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED! :) Have fun!

REWARDS!

Please note that the following post is just my opinion only!

I am a firm believer in rewarding my students....behaviorally & academically. I love rewarding students who always follow rules and procedures, students who FINALLY do something correct for the first time then make a habit out of it, students who make A+s, and students who finally make a D after having made Fs for so long. I guess you can say that I reward achievements: individually and whole class. I love to celebrate, period! 

This year, I have a few incentives in mind. here is a breakdown:

Academically for individual students I plan to use the cards I posted a few days ago [Drops of Science Success]. Every student will receive a card. Every test, quiz, and interactive Science notebook check will earn them punches. A = 3, B = 2, and C =1. For every 10-12 punches, they will choose a prize. Prizes will range from small items like cool pens/pencils, erasers, and school supply-type items to bigger items if they "bank" their punches. The bigger items will be for things like earbuds, snack shop tickets, etc. 

Academically for classes I plan to use class thermometers as seen here: [not my room...found on the net....THANK YOU Mrs. Potter...click on the pic and it will take you to her blog!].

The way this works is I will add up a class' test scores [percentages] then shade up to the correct mark on the thermometer. I will do this for each class. At every 5,000 points reached, that particular class earns a reward [popcorn, nachos, cupcakes, etc... food ALWAYS works!]. This way, each class earns a reward for reaching the goal. The kicker is the first class to reach each 5,000 point increment wins an added bonus [drinks or something else that goes with the reward]. This allows each student to contribute even if it is a small percentage! I am hoping to encourage study buddies!

You can download my version of the thermometers here. If you want to edit them, download this one...it's free!

Also academically, I have a few other things up my sleeve. I created Facebook Like stamps/stickers to immediately reward students for various reasons.

Also I created stickers and stamps to reward students who have awesome ISN response pages. My friend Toni came up with and shared with me a H.O.T. ticket to reward higher order thinking and sharing of ideas. They will receive this randomly and redeem it for a prize. Mine looks like this:

As far as behavior is concerned, we are a PBiS school, so I have to follow our PBiS plan. Our plan rewards students with a Cougar Cash Card. If they receive no conduct marks in class, they receive my stamp on their card for that period. I do, however, reward good behavior with little things...sugar free candy, healthy snacks. etc...

Well, this is just some of what I am doing in my room this year as far as rewards are concerned. I'm sure I will post my reflections on how they are working out as the year progresses.

Go ahead and use these ideas if you like! They are, after all, SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

The Teacher's Toolbox....

Thanks to this pin on Pinterest, two good friends/coworkers and I, along with many, many summer-pinning teachers, took a rather dull, garage-oriented tool organizer and created a FABULOUS toolbox to use in our classrooms!  I know I am safe in estimating MANY teachers because when I went to purchase my tool box from Home Depot, there were NONE on the shelves! A floor guy had to pull some down from the tip top shelf for me to buy 2. When one of my friends went to buy hers, there was only one left!  The remaining boxes that were there when I bought mine were sold within DAYS! Glad I bought two....another friend couldn't find any...anywhere in our town! Here is what I bought:

So, we got together yesterday and had a little "decorate our toolboxes" party. We had a GREAT time! I contemplated painting mine but didn't want the hassle. The gray actually looks good with the colors I chose! Here is how mine came out:

Here is all three of ours together:

Didn't they come out great?!?

A great BIG SHOUT OUT goes to the first one of us FABULOUS teachers that created this and pinned it for us all! If you read my blog please know that I really appreciate your idea and THANK YOU for giving me a cool project to make with my girls! This is truly SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED! Heck....I think I might make another one for my student teacher...if I can find some! How awesome would that be?!?

UPS, USPS, & FedEx...Oh My!

Well....it's about that time of year again! Time to really step up my game and get ready for the new school year. Despite all the planning that has been taking place here, there, & everywhere, I still have LOADS to do to get ready. Last year I listed everything on here and scratched off as I went. I think my list is just a little too long this time around. Let's just say I don't want to overwhelm myself....LOL! You'll understand why by the end of this post.

At the end of last school year I was bestowed.... bequeathed.... given the adjoining room! Now, my classroom was new to me last year...I had been in a corner room for the 5 years previous and we all know "Nobody puts baby in a corner." LOL! So this past school year was HEAVEN I tell you! Not because the room was bigger but  because it was "NEW" and oriented differently. But now, I don't know what to call it! What's better than HEAVEN? I guess my new bigger room will be! There is a partitioned wall between  both rooms so I have plans to open it up and EXPAND! Below is a schematic of how I want to arrange it. [You can make your own floor plan of your room at www.floorplanner.com...it's actually 3D & free!]

Anyway, what you can't see is all the centers I have planned [which WILL be a post all it's own...soon...I PROMISE!] So here is where the relevancy of the USPS, UPS, & FedEx come in.... I am patiently awaiting  the many things I ordered to decorate and beautify this MASSIVE room! I will definitely post pictures once I  get in there and have it all done. But boy, isn't waiting the hardest part????? LOL!

Ok....go ahead and check out www.floorplanner.com. You know you want to especially since it's SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Drops of Science Success...

I really want to boost learning...well really my students' DESIRE to learn...so I created in Vistaprint [with a little help and inspiration from Pinterest...again!] a "Drops of Science Success" reward punch card. This card will reward students that make a C or higher on unit tests, quizzes, or ISN checks. 3 punches for each A, 2 punches for each B, and 1 punch for each C. What makes this a reward is for every 12 punches they earn, they get to choose from a list of reward options....which I really need to finalize! :) I do know that home-made gourmet cupcakes WILL be on that list! I wonder if my daughter will leave me her secret recipe when she goes off to Disney for a semester?!? Hmmmm....

Anyway...WHY reward a C you ask? Well....everybody has to start somewhere! I want students who have been so used to making Ds or Fs to WANT to earn a C....and we all know what results from that! Hopefully they will thirst for that B or even that A and try to do as best if not better than their best to earn those grades. My fingers are crossed!

Well....go ahead and use this idea if you like. I posted a picture of card I made above and by no means do I hold any kind of claim on it. I also created one called "Road to Science Success" that has a highway in the background [Yes...Vistaprint, too!]. Anyway you look at them, you know they are SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

ISN...Interactive Science Notebooks!

Well....my good friend and coworker Toni Polkey and I have really been working a lot this summer coming up with what we hope is a FABULOUS system for using the ISN...Interactive Science Notebook for me and ISSN....Interactive Social Studies Notebook for her. After scouring the internet....reading blogs, pinning ideas, and streamlining the various power points, flip charts, and SMART resources we found....we finally have a system that, when we both implement it in each of our classes, is sure to bring some organizational serenity to our 150+ 6th graders...and us, too!


We really had a time with deciphering the whole RIGHT BRIAN/LEFT BRAIN theory. Some teachers use the notebooks OPPOSITE of what the theory says. So, after researching Roger Sperry and other psychological explanations we decided to go with what was outlined here: 

How Right-Brain vs. Left-Brain Thinking Impacts Learning. 

Our notebooks will focus on the LEFT side being the teacher or LEARNING side and the RIGHT side being the student or REFLECTION side. Of course, the REFLECTION side will be all student created...I really can't wait to see what they do! Toni and I are both SUPER DUPER excited about doing this! 

This POWER POINT outlines how they will use it in my Science class. 

Go ahead and check it out....after all it is SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!


PS....Toni and I realized that she is more LEFT BRAIN and I am more RIGHT BRAIN...Guess we make up a WHOLE BRAIN when we THINK together! :)