Low Prep Dinner for Busy Teachers

Spring-time can be a super-hectic time for teachers!  The fatigue of the school year can set in, leaving you with little energy or will to prepare a healthy meal.  I'm sharing one of my FAVORITE recipes for when I'm at my busiest and EVERYONE is excited to see this meal when the crew comes home!

Back in the day when I was shuffling between soccer games and watching my daughter cheer, a friend shared a recipe for roast beef that quickly became a staple in our household.

What made it so special?
I could come home from work, spend 15 minutes in the house prepping the meal, and LEAVE!  When I come home, it was done!  No watching the clock. Just done! Let me tell you, my family knows this aroma when they enter the house and are PUMPED!

Ingredients:

Eye Round Roast

Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degree
2. Line your baking pan with foil
3. Completely cover your roast in a even layer of Kitchen Bouquet
4. Bake in the oven 5 minutes per pound.  (I usually try to find a roast that is pretty close to exactly 2 or 3 lbs )  This makes a perfectly rare roast.  Adjust time to suit your taste.
5. When your timer goes off.  Turn off the oven, but....DO NOT open.  The radiant heat will cook the roast.
6. Run your errands, take a nap...WHATEVER
7. Two hours later, your roast is ready!  

Add a simple salad.  In a new pan, drizzle potato wedges with olive oil and rosemary and bake until lightly crisp.

Later in the week, use the leftovers by thinly slicing the the roast to have French Dip sandwiches to bring to the soccer field or baseball park with a bag of chips & baby carrots with ranch dip.  

Hope you enjoy one less meal to fuss over and avoid running through the Drive-Thru!

Teacher Tips for After Spring Break

Returning from Spring Break can be the BEST time to add a spark to your classroom routines!  What's more...it is also the perfect time to try out some techniques and routines that you might have been a little nervous to try!  Who better to try them out with than with the students you have already established a trusting environment!

These are my top tips that you should try with your students!

If you aren't already using Class Dojo with your students, after Spring Break is the perfect time to start.  Focus as a classroom on the behaviors you want to see most often, add them to your Positive Behavior list, and start catching your students in the act.  A two-to-three month commitment late in the school year is the perfect time to try out this interactive app.  

• Set a weekly goal of positive behaviors and reward your class with extra recess, Stinky Feet day, or a simple snack & short video on Friday
• Choose the Random Pick option to watch a "Secret Friend" in the hallway to add to the class total.  My students always clap for the Secret Friend and thank them!

Class Dojo too much of a commitment for you?  No worries!  One of  my favorite ways to quietly recognize on-task behavior, good choices, or ANY act of "Awesomeness" are giving my kids tiny tokens while I'm teaching.  Trust me, kids NOTICE when you pull out these goodies and just lay them on desks and give a silent pat on the back.  Be super-generous and watch how contagious positive behavior spreads throughout your room!  I use a variety of things I have collected like:

• Read Tara at 4th Grade Frolic's post about using Smuddles.  
• Dollar Spot erasers from Target
• Reward Phrases from Creative Teaching Press

Your Guided Math and Reading groups are probably pretty established by now.  Add a little pizzazz to the routine and try out some Flexible Seating options for one of your rotations.  Who knows?  You may decide you want to do more in the fall when school starts!!

• Scoop rockers make a great option to get out of desks to do some reading or independent work in a quiet location in the room.  As a 3rd grade teacher, I've never had centers in a specific "place" in the room, so this leaves the extra room available perfect for some choices on the floor.  I found mine at Walmart, but I have been told you can find them at Aldi's as well!  
• Standing Work Zone: Raise the legs of an unused table or a collection of desks in the building to create a place to plop center games and word work.  Let your "standers" have a spot to work, wiggle, and lean to their heart's content during one of your rotations!

When Spring Fever hits, why fight the battle when you can channel the energy productively! If GoNoodle didn't save your sanity this winter with its Inside Recess options, then you need to head over to check out the movement activities that range from the ever-calming Maximo to the goofy Koo Koo Kanga boys!  Create your own list of favorites and let your kids do the choosing.  Start one of these during your transition times and just WATCH you kiddoes clean up and join in no NO TIME!

One my of kids' favorite activities to spend 5-10minutes is simply having the chance to get our markers, colored pencils, or crayons and draw.  I have a collection of great ideas on my Pinterest Board that are Low (to zero) Prep and High Interest!  You can see it HERE.  These are perfect activities to follow up a round of standardized testing, too!  Very stress relieving!

• Find a You Tube Channel will calming classical music.  You might like THIS one!
• Guide a directed drawing, demonstrate a doodling technique, or simply give them a Squiggle that you start for them.  

Enjoy the last few weeks with your precious friends!

6 Free & Easy Classroom Rewards & a FREEBIE for You!

Hello friends!  I'm excited to pop in from 3rd Grade Pad and share with you my FAVORITE classroom rewards and WHY I use them!

I have many teacher friends who use a Classroom Economy quite successfully.  Students earn tokens that can be redeemed for books, pencils, treats, etc.  Parents are super supportive with donations, and the kids love it! I'm a pretty organized person and COULD do this, but the bookkeeping portion is not something that I wanted to add to my plate.  Additionally, I seem to have students who just aren't dazzled by "stuff.

So, whether you need a system to support your Class Dojo, Homework, Facts Mastery or AR, here are SIX Free Rewards that your kids will LOVE!

It is so simple to set up a PREMIUM spot in your classroom!  With the addition of Flexible Seating in so many classrooms, having a premium spot is sure to be a winner!  A few years ago, my parents gave me an "old school" desk that I really love!

I used to put it outside my door as a place to store books during morning drop-off time & a place for me to place items for my helpers to grab-and-go. Now it is placed in a prime location near my teaching station!  My VIP can see the Promethian board well, can advance slides for me, if needed, and can get extra "face" time with me!  Be sure to check out Rachel Lamb's post on Bloghoppin' with a great collection of images to inspire you!  I keep a calendar in the desk, and my kids make reservations for the date they want.  Beyond tomorrow...I just can't keep up!

If your teammates are agreeable, let your kids have a chance to eat lunch with one (or two) buddies from any class!  Let's face it, some of your kids' friends aren't in the same class.  Offering this special treat is not only easy....but easy to schedule, too!

All you need is an extra table in your lunchroom!  Or.....an extra seat in your class's designated area.  Our only requirement is to check-in with the other teacher to ask permission for "Susie" to sit with them for the day.

Classrooms today seem to range from 1:1 to 1 per classroom!  Whatever level of access you have, kids love even having 10 minutes of access to their favorite activities--whether it is coding, math games, or an adventure.

Letting my kids choose these coupons are a BIG hit with my boys, especially!  I designate certain times of day that kids can opt to redeem their Tech Time coupons so that I'm not asked to use their privilege at a time that I don't approve.  Knowing that up front makes it super simple to have this access.

Each year, I have kids who are into some sort of figurine--From Webkins to Lego Figures to Minecraft characters to the Beanie Boos.  Kids love bringing their treasures to school to display on their desk.

Don't we do the same thing? Heck, yes!  It's the perfect treat for some kids!  Now they have their chance!  I've never had an issue with kids on their special day--only when they've tried to sneak it in!

Nuff said.  I'll admit that I keep a pair of slippers in my cabinet for those days when my shoes just weren't in the cards to last all day.

Kids love walking in class in socks for the day--whether it is a special pair for the day or the random pair they put on when then got dressed.  The freedom of no shoes feels great!

This one is not completely free, but it a one-time investment that keeps going!  I purchased these containers early in the year and stuffed them with special things I have on hand--a smelly marker, a smelly pencil, fresh crayons, markers (they aren't in their supply lists so this is special), colored pencils.

Getting this bag for the day is awesome!  I like to pull this one out later in the year when their OWN supplies are getting worn and not so special anymore.  WARNING: You  might want to make a few of these--it's a popular choice in my room!

How do I manage it?  I use good old COUPONS!  

1. I choose one day a week. Period.  Students go to my binder of coupons and make their choices.
2. I write their name in Sharpie on the back.  I worried about possible theft which prompted being a bit proactive in identifying the owner.  Once they use their coupon, I check off their name to be reused once more.  They really get a kick in seeing who had the ticket last!  It also saves me time!  
3. I make a few sheets each, laminate them, and I am done for they year.  

I use these to manage our School-wide Reading Goals Management.  If you'd like to see more, click over to my blog to see it in action!

I've created a FREE SAMPLE of my top 6 coupons in an Ink-friendly format that is ready-to-go for you!  Just choose your favorite colored paper and you are ready to print!  Start TOMORROW!

Click the image below to grab your download!

Hope these ideas will help support WHATEVER system you have in place!

Paperless Collaboration Made Easy

Too busy for collaborating in "Real Time"?

Random emails and files arriving when you don't have TIME to manage them appropriately?

Have I got the tool for YOU!

Hi friends! It's Debbi from 3rd Grade Pad with a collaboration tip for you!

Juggling so many forms of communication is driving me batty!  We are standards-based, so we are constantly looking for ways to supplement our curriculum.  Additionally, we have become a team of 5 teachers, and our PE times are now split. Our common planning time has now gone POOF!  What's a busy team to do?  Using Livebinders has become a time-saving and efficient way to keep our common needs in one place.  You can store up to 100MB of files, websites videos for FREE…all in one simple spot.

Once you've created your account, you are ready to start!

If you are creating a place for your purchased multiple licenses for your team from TpT, you will want to create a private Livebinders.  Additionally, if you are using PDFs from your school curriculum, you should make sure those documents are private, as well. However, if you are creating a spot for lots of free sites and ideas, why not describe for the WORLD to use!


Livebinders will start you with THREE blank tabs to get you started.  You just need to rename them to your liking.  Need more…and you WILL… click on the "+Tab" button at the top.

Now that you have a Livebinder for all of our team's math,  create Tabs like Fractions, Multiplication, etc.

Inside the Tab I created for Fractions, I added a SUB TABs.  I wanted to add the URL for a cute anchor chart on Pinterest.  So, I clicked Website then dropped in the URL.  Done!  If I had a file that I created, I would click Upload and attach the file!

We have a Livebinders that contains the PDFs of our weekly tests from our curriculum.  I spent ONE  evening adding them to the binder for the YEAR, and we all benefit.  Pulling up from the URL allows you to print or save to your own computer from that screen.

I love that I can scroll up and down inside the tab to read the contents.  I can click very quickly between all the tabs to view what I need!.  No more sending & receiving files from my teammates that get buried in all of the other items I need.

Start your New Year off right and collaborate SMART!

Developing Point of View with Mentor Texts

Hi friends! It's Debbi again from 3rd Grade Pad! I love...just LOVE entering the 2nd grading period of the school year!  We start to really delve into books and have the BEST book talks!  I generally begin a standard using our basal reader then expose my children to as many mentor texts as I can.  I certainly have my favorites, but each year I happen upon a few new ones to share my my kids.

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff is such a CUTE story!  This a a GREAT text to not only support characters with different point of views, but it lends itself nicely to Persuasive Writing!  In this story,  Alex wants to have his friend's pet iguana after he moves away.  The story unfolds as Alex & his mom exchange letters to each other.  

Creating anchor charts together is a great way to model graphic organizers--like simple T-charts.  Hmm--do you see some comparing and contrasting going on???

Doreen Cronin's "Diary of a _____" series are great fun, as well! If your school has access to Tumblebooks, any 1:1 classroom can have a class set of Diary of a Fly and Diary of a Spider.  Perfect for some quick Lit Circles or Guided Reading! 

Devin Scillian's Memoirs of a  Goldfish and Memoirs of a Hamster bring in the point of view of house pets!  There is a great video available on You tube, too!  Great resource to use for your D5 centers to Listen to Reading.

Another favorite in our classroom is Stellaluna.  Story Online also have a read aloud for your children whole group or Listen to  Reading.

Image and Link to Amazon.com

The absolute ULTIMATE point of view mentor test is Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg.  This selection is also in our basal reader.  Lucky us!  I like to read it aloud without showing them the pictures.  Only after I have read the page do I display the picture.  Pretty quickly they see that there is no forest, mountains, or brown lake.  They get so excited trying to predict what the ants are describing! There's a pretty neat free resource online that you might like to use with this.  You can find it HERE.  All of your CCSS are linked up for you, too!

Need a collection of graphic organizers?  Here's another great link for you!  

Click the image to take you there!

Story and characters are labeled for you in a familiar organizer each time!  I plan to put these in a Reading Center, along with the books for my students to read during Read to Self.  I can't wait to see how they grasp the concept and OWN it over time!

You can find organizers for:

• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall
• The Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume (Boy! Did my kids have opinions about THAT one! Amazing point of views from a brother and sister.)
• The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
• Rotten Ritchie and the Ultimate Dare by Patricia Polacco
• The Sneeches, The Cat and the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss

I hope this collection of mentor texts will get you MORE than inspire to dig into and love exploring Point of View in your classroom!

Every Digital Classroom Should Use Popplet

Hi friends!  It's Debbi from 3rd Grade Pad and I'm back again for another tech tool to share!  But, let's me honest...

Well...Have I got the perfect starter tool for you!

In all honesty, I can only juggle about 3 tools at a time.  Any more than that, the kids forget how to use it (time wasting).  Symbaloo and Padlet are the biggies for me.  Once my kids are proficient in those, I can bring in something else.

It is available in both web-based and for iPads.  ANY classroom with digital access can benefit!
Ready to be convinced?  Here goes!

I promise you…there is nothing SIMPLER than Popplet!  Double tap anywhere and POP!  You have your first popple.  Tap on any of the settings below to create the popple of your choice.
See the little white circles? Simply press and drag to create an ATTACHED popple.
BAM!  Instant graphic organizer!

This graphic organizing tool can easily be used across the curriculum!

This week,  we located examples of text features.  They took pictures using their iPads and added text to label & explain the feature.  Talk about actively engaged!

What an amazing job!

One of my little buddies asked to make a popplet about our reading.  Can't you see kids working in groups making different presentations for the class to EXPLAIN what they researched??

Other ideas?
Retell a story in order
Main Idea & Details
Problem/Solution
Beginning/Middle/End


In math this week, we were working on place value.
How perfect it is to start with a number:

Would this make an AMAZING center activity!  No  copies..no laminating.  Roll three dice and GO!

• Create a base 10 model and snap a picture
• Write the number in expanded form
• Write the number in word form

This could also be used to show different parts to create wholes, different expressions to express a number--the number of digits will depend on your needs!

For science & social studies, students can respond in so many ways to show understanding!
Learning about animal groups?
Learning about types of rocks?
Name the group-the popples will describe the attributes

This is all fun, but it is important that the students are focused on the task.  I give my kids an easy rubric so that they stay on track.  Since this is one of those tasks that the parents DON'T see, I add two places to check off.  One is for the students--this is their promise to have double checked what is expected.

The right side is for me to do the final check.  Kids on iPads can take screen shots or you could check them off personally.  I like the chance to discuss and help them make improvements-clarify their thoughts.  When I can, that is!

Despite the fact little buddy has HORRIBLE handwriting…yes, I WILL be using some of Melissa's tips for this guy, but…He had done an AMAZING job!  Do you give your kids feedback when they do an amazing job?  I like to give them hearts.  Love hearing when they look over their papers and are excited when they earn a COVETED heart!

I'd sure love to hear how YOU use Popplet…or if you TRY it!