Hall Pass Linky

I'm linking up with Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits for a really fun linky party...

Product:
     My favorite product is Differentiated Literacy Activities--The Little Match Girl {common core aligned} because I love reading aloud to my students. Back when Balanced Literacy was a new idea at my school, I would sit a plan each read aloud with the skills I wanted my students to practice. Through this planning, purposeful turn and talks around the texts were developed and executed in class. I love that they are having deep, meaningful conversations about the text. The Little Match Girl is one of my favorite stories (which you can find in book form if you want to show your students the pictures)--I never did show them the pictures because Hans Christian Andersen really does a poignant job at describing the match girl's disheartening life. The students feel bad for her and realize the symbolism within the text. It is a sad story and it makes you grateful for those special people who've touched your heart!
     Here's a few pictures:

  

Area:
     My meeting area is always my favorite place of the classroom--it is the hub! It's where I teach all my lessons, read aloud, and pretty much everything else! I am fortunate to have an Smart ELMO and a SmartBoard, which I use often :)

 

**Sorry about the messy pile of projects--today was our 100th day :)

Signal:
           To get my students' attention, I shut off the lights. They know that as soon as the lights start to go off, they freeze, stop talking, and look at me. It is instantaneous! I can redirect their behaviors, give new directions, and when I'm done, they go back to working :)

Sanity:
          My sanity saver is my para! Not only is she a good friend and great company, she also helps me a great deal in the room. She checks all the homework packets daily, staples and collates the plethora of papers that infiltrate my room on a daily basis, gets the students' communication folders ready to go each day, grades tests and quizzes, files, and anything else that can and does come up during the day! I am so fortunate to have her in my room :)

Link up with Reagan if you'd like a hall pass :)