I have been busy digitizing this week! I am hoping all this work will pay off and everything will work seamlessly once school starts! So far I have been able to take more of my staple classroom forms and find a way to make them accessible to my students on their computers. The one I would like to share today is my Daily Learning Log. I use this everyday as a way to ease my students into the day's agenda and gives me a chance to take roll, etc. I have them copy down the date and learning objective and then they close the day by copying dow the day's inspirational quote. It is all done through Google Slides and can easily be shared through Google Classroom or edited to suit your needs. Click here if interested and let me know what you think!

Summer is almost over.....aaahhhhhh!!!!!!! My district is launching a 1:1 program this year, which means every student will be assigned a laptop that they will also take home. I am gearing up to go almost entirely digital and with this, I am going to have to take many of my classroom staples digital. Being an AVID teacher I knew this would mean create a Cornell Notes Template that would allow my students to continue to take notes in all of their core classes and submit them through Google Classroom. I am really hoping that it will bridge the gap as we all acclimate to this new digital environment! For the template, click here. I also included in the description how Cornell Notes are used and why they work!

I have let this blog slip by the wayside, but I am happy to report that I am slowly emerging from underneath the "mom of three" rock and am finding more time to devote to myself and my career. I am slowly taking inventory of the near decade-worth of social studies resources that I have created and it feels great. The first resource that I would like to share are an adapted version of Cornell Notes. I wanted to teach my middle school students how to take effective and valuable notes, but they have always struggled at the beginning of the year. Q-notes give students a guiding question to help them focus on the content that is most important. The first set that I have pieced together covers Medieval Islam. The bundled set that covers the founding of Islam through the spread, can be found here.

Daily Learning Log

I use this daily learning log as bellwork. Students enter each day and use the first 2 minutes of class to copy down the daily learning objective. At the end of class, I then have them take it out and write down one thing they learned from the day's lesson. It also includes weekly closure questions to help students reflect on what they have learned throughout the week. You can find it here!

Medieval Islam PowerPoint

A comprehensive PowerPoint on the founding and eventual spread of the Islamic Empire. Begins with the rise of Islam, including Muhammad and his teachings and the 5 Pillars of Islam. Then explores how Islam spread as a both an empire and a religion and finally concludes with the lasting contributions of the Islamic Empire. PowerPoint has built in assignments within each of the three sections. A great way to introduce the main concepts and events of the Islamic Empire. This is mine master PowerPoint that I use throughout the entire unit. I usually have my students take Cornell Notes as I move through each section. It is very simple and easy for students at all levels to follow along. You can find it here!

Rome Unit Authentic Assessment

The Roman Newspaper Project is a fun and engaging project for students to demonstrate what they learned about the rise and fall of Rome. The project gives them a focus area, but also allows them to report on events that they found most interesting. Each year I use this project as an authentic assessment following the end of the Rome unit. I have structured the assignment handout as a sample for students to see what a completed project should like. With this project, I introduce all the elements and requirements to the class and then devote the rest of class to planning using the Roman Newspaper Planner. I provide them with the blank Newspaper Template for their final draft, but I also allow students to turn in their own creations. Students really enjoy this project, as it is focused on the content, yet still allows them some creative freedoms. You can find this project here....Enjoy!

Oldie, but a goodie!

I have used this ice breaker for years and my students really enjoy it. I give them time to explore and meet new classmates and then once they are done, I go through each category and let them share a little about themselves and their summer. Enjoy!

Let the planning begin!

With August just around the corner it is time to start planning! Each year I love to revisit what I did last year and find new ways of doing things, but before you can begin planning it is important to have a place to jot it all day and stay organized. Here is a very simple and straight-forward planning template that I love to use with post-its (it is made for the smaller ones). Using post-its allows you to easily make changes and move things around from day to day or even week to week.

More Freebies

I am going to try and really stay up-to-date with this blog, so I am starting by posting another freebie. I am revamping my content vocabulary this year and am going to give the Frayer model a shot. I have created my own version here. Enjoy!

Getting to Know you Facebook Activity

Here is my version of a getting to know you facebook worksheet. I am planning on using it the first week of school. Get your copy here. or the editable version here

Form Freebie

I am incorporating many of the amazing ideas that I have come across on Pinterest and this is one of them. It's a missing assignment form, which you have students turn in when they do not have an assignment. I thought it would make it much easier to keep track of those who did not do something versus those who are absent. So here it is!

Prepping, prepping and more prepping!

What a few couple of weeks!!! Our rooms were renovated over the summer, so I have been attempting to put my room back together, which has proven to be a lot more work than I was ready for!! The nice thing about starting from scratch is that I have been able to purge and organize. So far I have a color scheme going and I have made some updates for the better!! Here is what i had to work with....

And here is what I have done so far....

Lastly, my major project was taking old beat up bookcases and turning them into something I could live with...

There is still much to be done including finishing up my room, planning, and getting everything to repro on time! Gotta love the beginning of a new school year!

Teacher Toolbox

Thanks to the wonderful teacher over at Create-Teach-Share, I made my own teacher toolbox. I thought this would be a great way to stay organized throughout the year AND to keep track of what I am running low on. I'll quickly go through how I put mine together. First, I made my way to Home Depot and picked up one of these, for about 18 bucks.

I then waded through my scrapbook paper and found a couple of patterns that complimented each other. For the larger drawers, I cut those at 2" x 4" and the smaller drawers were 1.25" x 2". Next, I threw together a template of labels for the various drawers, printed them, and then simply glued them onto the scrapbook paper cutouts. Here is an idea of what the template looked like.

Oh, and here is the link to my template. Finally, here is my finished product. I can't wait to put it to use once I can get into my room!

Getting Organized!

August is almost upon us and I know that means summer is coming to an end :(. But it also means, that I need to start getting organized. The first thing I like to do is sit down and start mapping out what needs to be done and by when. I have created my own calendar that I keep in my teacher binder to map out lessons and just stay sane. Here is August and September, which I am getting ready to pull out this coming week.

First Printable......

So each year I contemplate how I am going to fill that first week. Am i going to do the same thing as last year? Am I going to try something new? Well, for a couple years now I have included "Getting to Know You!" My middle schoolers really enjoy it and it is a great ice breaker. Usually I give them about 20 minutes and someone ends up completing it and after everyone is settled I use the activity for students to get to know me! So here it is....Getting to Know You.

Welcome to The Middle School Abyss!

As I begin planning for the upcoming school year, I thought I would start this blog to share my thoughts and ideas with the blogosphere. I figured this blog could become a creative outlet for my new ideas and successes that I discover on my classroom adventures. Now I am not promising daily updates of amazing ideas, but hopefully you'll stumble along something that is helpful.