Monday Made It {Magnet Board, Frames & Planning Ideas}

     I am finally starting my list of things I want to make for my classroom so I am linking up today to Monday Made It with 4th Grade Frolics. My first little project was a magnet board to hang in my room. The white boards in my classroom aren't magnetic so I was excited to find this idea on Pinterest.

This is just a pizza pan from the dollar tree covered with scrapbook paper and duck tape around the edges.  I then had my dad drill me two holes in the top so I could put ribbon through it and hang it up!


    The next thing I did was simply paint some wooden frames with purple glitter paint.  These frames were on sale at Michael's for .79! They are light even that I will be able to tack them on my bulletin board and put book recommendations from my students in them.  The picture below is an idea of how the bulletin board will look when it's being used. I'm also going to have students actually write out why they recommend those books.  It will be like an extra credit bulletin board and each week three new students will get to hang up their book recommendations.

     I'm also starting to create my own lesson plan book.  One of the first pages on the inside will be a page I created based on the book Teach Like a Pirate.  It is just a sheet that gives me ideas for activities I can use in each lesson to help my students become more engaged.  I don't mind sharing this document, however it didn't show up as pretty when I imported into Google Drive.  If you would like to take a look anyway, you can find it here.   This will really help me as I start to Plan like a Pirate.  If you are getting a head start to lesson plans for next year, link up with me below.

       Also, don't forget to go visit 4th Grade Frolics to find out what everyone else is making!

Plan like a Pirate

    After reading Teach Like a Pirate I am on a mission to create more engaging lesson plans. I will admit that most of my lessons for studying ancient civilizations last year included brainpop videos and edhelper articles. Reading TLAP made me really question what I was thinking. Now I am on a mission to create engaging lesson plans and I would love to collaborate with other bloggers who want to do the same.  This is where Plan Like a Pirate comes in.  This linkup is not for a certain day but for whenever you create an engaging lesson you want to share with others.  It can be any grade or subject that you want to link up.

Get the code to place the linkup on your own blog.

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Teaching Special Learners

     As some of you know, I have my masters degree in Special Education.  My minor was in emotional/behavior disorders so that is what I focused on the most during my graduate program.  I learned many great strategies for managing behavior but not as much on learning disabilities.  My first year of teaching I taught sixth grade language arts & social studies in which I didn't really use my masters degree too much. This year I will be teaching the same grade and subject but will be having an inclusion class. The sad part is I feel like I have forgotten many of the strategies I learned about teaching students with disabilities.  So part of my goal this summer is to refresh my memory and be prepared with many strategies to use for teaching an inclusion class.

   Currently I'm reading the book Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess which is helping me learn how to engage all readers.  I believe this alone will be a huge help when working with students of multiple ability levels.  For anyone who hasn't read it yet, it is a must read for any teacher.  I've been reading it on my kindle and taking notes as a read that I can go back and review again later.

   Another thing I am doing is skimming back through my textbooks from college to review what I previously learned.  There is so much information in these books that I really question how I managed to complete my degree in a year.

    So fellow bloggers, what do you do in your classroom to help special learners?  If you teach an inclusion class, what are some strategies that you use?  Do you structure your classroom in a different way than a standard class?  What advice can you give me on co-teaching with a special education teacher?

Thanks for your help!

Jamie