More funny videos

I shared with you all the Monday Video Funny Countdown to AIMS awhile back. I have since had many requests for more videos and received some suggestions.... I decided to share. =)

From my sons:

Warning Totally not classroom appropriate but my teenage said is HAD to be included or else I would be known as a horrible mama forever and ever. So...

From Chickadee:

From A Day in First Grade:

So what are your favorite funny videos as these just don't make me laugh as much as the last set.

Prepping for THE TEST ~ Anchor Chart Raffle

Have you been counting down to testing day?

It is 10 calendar days or 6 school days (including today) until the big test! It is nerve racking for everyone as this is the first year that 35% of the teacher's review is based upon how our little angels do on THE TEST!

In addition to all of the prepping and review we are doing, we are stripping our walls of all of the materials we have covered it in over the course of the year. On the big day (well week) nothing can be there to aid our students.

If you are anything like my cooperating teachers, your walls are covered in anchor charts. Floor to ceiling, every available inch has been utilized. We refer to the things on the walls constantly!

So what does one do with all of those anchor charts? I was wondering the same thing! It seems such a waste to throw away all of our hard work!

Introducing the anchor chart raffle review!

Love LoVe LOVE this idea! Here is how it works... 

Step 1 - Remove Anchor Chart from wall

Step 2 - Every student in the class signs the back of it

Step 3 - Ask review questions about topic of anchor chart

Students raise hands when they know the answer. 

First person to raise their hand and answer correctly.... 

gets to take home the chart. 

Step 4 - Ask 3-4 more questions increasing in difficulty. 

Step 5 - Repeat with a different Anchor Chart. 

My students go batty over this! They love that they autograph the posters and I have received photos of bedrooms covered in anchor posters. My kiddos really do go home and hang up the posters on their walls! They talk to their parents about it and share how they are the expert on this topic. 

Do you see why I love it? 

A few tips... if you are raffling off multiple posters a day, pick a different "winner" each time. There are some students who process slower so if the first hand that went up got it wrong and a slow processor FINALLY raises their hand, call on them next so as they can win too. 

Make sure everyone gets at least one poster. We never raffle off more than 4 a day. This keeps the momentum going. PLUS we do not raffle them off in any order. It is completely random. This means that many of my students go home at night and are practicing on their own so that they can win the next day. 

When you do review, throw in a few questions from the anchor charts previously raffled off. This is a FUN review time for my students. We have even had competitions by table to see who can win the right to autograph the front side. 

Have I told you about how I use experts in the classroom? I need to go and look. One of my personal rules is that my experts on a topic cannot win their own anchor chart poster. This means that they have to become experts in other areas too!

What do you do with Anchor Charts at the end of the year? 

Guest: Buzzin' with Ms. B

What do you do on those days that have just been too long and you need to sit back and relax? For me, I go blog stalking and head off to some of my favorite sites for some much needed comic relief!

Chrissy is hilarious! I can relate to her daily adventures in third grade, the things her kids say and do crack me up! I love how her personality comes shining through in every post. So grab a glass of wine (Chrissy's favorite) or a Chocolate Monkey (mine) and curly up in your favorite spot and read... I promise! It will make you feel better.





This is Chrissy from Buzzing with Ms. B and I'm a guest blogger today! woooo fancy

I hope you're not too tired of hearing about test review. I'm going to try to make it entertaining for you. Just know that, with my kids, there is no such thing as a boring day. They are very quotable. I would kill for a boring day.


Right about now, if you're like me, you're either just about to take The Test or you've just finished The Test. Reviewing for The Test is a bear.  A bear?! my kids would shout. What bear?! 
That's how literal they are, which is why reviewing for The Test is a challenge. The day before The Test (Monday), I tried to plan several activities I thought would be easy and fun. I should have known better.
One activity I purchased from TPT was designed for K-2 so I thought it would be a breeze and more fun than rigorous. It was a Drawing Conclusions Jeopardy Game, and it looked cute and simple!  It should have been. Keep in mind, my kids got tangled in a kite on Kite Day, (You can click there for more details on that adventure) so needless to say, even a simple jeopardy game is full of surprises. 
One card included clues such as "An animal that swings through trees with its tail, lives in the jungle."Our answer: Squirrel!
Well, yeah! Of course squirrels live in the jungle and swing through the trees with their tails. 
Another: "A type of food that grows on a tree, blends in with carrots and pumpkins, and is tasty squeezed into juice for breakfast."
It must be...Watermelon!
Hmmm.... that's a fancy watermelon.
My favorite: "A kind of job: I make you sit in a special chair, use special tools like brushes and picks, and you see me when your teeth hurt."
I KNOW! THE TOOTH FAIRY!Wow. We should bring in the tooth fairy for career day, cause that sounds like an awesome job. 
Needless to say, we laughed and laughed and laughed and got very little review done during that time. But we did review a lot with the freebie I'm sharing with you today. 
We spent a lot of time this year working with a variety of texts in different genre. Students developed their skills over time, identifying different characteristics of the different genre as well as the author's purposes for writing each one. To review in a fun and simple way, I put together a sorting activity (I love sorting activities. They're simple, fun, and give you opportunities to talk about characteristics and differentiate between ideas). 
The first page of the freebie is a three-columned chart with spaces for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Students have to sort through the cards on the second page for the author's purpose of each one, and the characteristics. 

Grab the freebie at TPT! 

Also, in case you missed it, grab this sorting activity for problem solving keywords; part of my Problem Solving Activity Pack. Another great way to review.

Grab this sort at TPT!

And check me out at home:  Buzzing with Ms. B