Five for Friday (on Saturday)

So glad it's the weekend!  It's been a long week and I think next week will be just as long.  I have lots of ieps, and meetings coming up, an observation and of course teaching!  I have some high maintenance students this year that have kept me on my on my toes.  Thank goodness for Starbucks for keeping me going!! Sometimes I wish I lived back east again just for the snow days and nice breaks.  I don't miss the snow though.

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday.  (I know it's Saturday)  I was so tired yesterday, I went to my parents for dinner and then came home and crashed.

1)  I've been implementing Class Dojo in my classroom, which I've really enjoyed and so have my students.  It's been working with some of my challenging students, but some of the students really care.  I've been avoiding taking away points for some of my groups students, because it seems to make them frustrated and give up, and some it's more an incentive.  I've had some really adhd students this year, and I've been trying to find some good incentives for them to help them really buy in.  I know one student who could go either way, is really buying into it and doing really well.   Does anyone else use Class Dojo.  If not, I really recommend the program.

2) Does anybody else use Write from the Beginning?  I've been looking at it and working on implementing with my resource students.  I loved the first parts that were really structured (circle map, flow map, but then when they started writing it was a little harder for some of my students.  It's a little more unstructured.  I used the colored pencils for the writing parts, and while I enjoy letting them use it, they get sidetracked wanting these nice sharpened colored pencils and taking forever for them to get through a story.  I'd love to find some resources, and or tips and tricks out there.  I was thinking of making it a little more structured and maybe build in points on Dojo to well written sentences.  Anyway, my observation will be during my writing class, which has some very lively, active kiddoes.  I would love to find some cool and fun for them, that uses Write from the Beginning.  So if you have anything, feel free to throw them my way.

3) I've been working on multiplication fluency with my students.  To do so I start out the lesson with some multiplication and division problems on the board, then reviewing it with the students.  This week I switched off and decided to do an all facts fluency check at the start of my class and then see how far they get.  Then they work on touch math packets, every other week we start a new times fact.  Right now we're working on times 7's and this program really teaches/reinforces skip counting which I love.   They also have the opportunity to work on division, fractions and unknown numbers.

4)  I've started using a new rotation system with my students in reading.  I use the Voyager Passport series and sometimes other programs that I add into it (Language Foundations an Orton-Gillingham based program, or one of the Linda Mood Bell programs that I was trained in).  Anyway, I took the students and grouped them according to their test scores, now I'm just fine tuning what they need to build up their skills.  I'll probably do the same with my writing groups, because I have some students that just need to build up their sentence fluency and adding ideas and information to their stories, and others that really need to build up the legibility of their writing.

5)  I'm really enjoying using my projector, not just for Class Dojo, but I'm finally able to show Brain Pop videos that my students really enjoy.  However, some of my students would rather look at the videos on my computer, instead of the screen.  I really can't wait until I get a projector installed, and document camera.  Hopefully, this should happen by the time I return from spring break.  Any suggestions on other places/sites where I can watch videos?

Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Happy Saturday!!