Yes, I'm Still Alive! What I've been up to and some test prep literacy centers.

Hello, world!

Sorry I have been completely AWOL lately. I've been a little busy surviving my first year of teaching!!

This teaching thing is no joke! There are so many "firsts" to take care of. Teaching everything for the first time, learning what I like and don't like, what works and doesn't work, what to do and what not to do...the list goes on and on.
Anywho, I've (obviously) had to take a step back from the blogging world to get used to all of the craziness that is teaching and still having a life (as much as possible, anyway). 

I am currently on Spring Break (woohoo!) so I am coming out of my crazy-teacher-cave to say hi and share a little bit of what I've been up to. 

It would take so many more posts to catch you up on all that my fourthies and I have done this year. There have been ups and there have been downs. There have been crying days and there have been proud days. So, I will save that all for a post at the end of the year with some advice for newbie teachers or even just a good laugh for more seasoned teachers. 

For a glimpse, however, you can check out my TPT store. Though I am not able at the time to create as many new products as I would like, I have been posting the products I create for my kiddos and my classroom throughout the year. 
Currently, I just posted something I have been working super hard on lately- my "Grammar is Great" Literacy Centers. A week after spring break, my fourthies are taking The Big Test. You know the one. To make our review week more hands-on, I worked up six centers for my kiddos and I to work on. These are cute sorting activities for everything from parts of speech to fragments and run-on's. 

So I am off to enjoy the last few days of my break and two more crazy months of school. And then I'll be back for good!
In the mean time, follow me on TPT and Pinterest, two of my favorite places :)

Much love,

TPT Back to School Sale 2013

Today and tomorrow my entire TPT store (along with many other sellers') is 20% off! And if you enter the promo code shown above, you can get an extra 8% off as well. Time to clean out that wish list you've had growing! Now quit reading and go shop! :)

The Big Classroom Reveal! Teacher Week '13 Day 2

Hello all! I'm back for Day 2 of Teacher Week '13 from Blog Hoppin. Today is the day I have been waiting for for so long! My big classroom reveal post! Ahhhhhhhh. Let's get to it :)

First of all, huge thank you to my sweet MIL for stopping by to take these pictures! Check out her blog here to see more of her photography.

My classroom door! And my cheezy face...haha. It says "Fly Into 4th" in case  you can't read it. 

My bulletin board. I plan on using the clothespins to display student work throughout the year. But for now, they're just holding some birds I made from scrapbook paper. They kind of look like chickens to me ;)

Another view of my bulletin board. This one shows off my Class Twitter. Read more about that project in this post.

View from the door (excuse me, my mom, and my sisters photo bombing haha). Her you can see my computer center, my desk (close up coming), my Happy Birthday wall above my desk, front bulletin board with Rules, anchor chart paper, and Quote of the Month, my smartboard, and the tissue paper pom poms labeled with table numbers.

A look at my classroom library. You can see my Book Bin Labels and larger Chevron Numbers that I used for my coat hooks. 

My Voice Levels Chart and part of my bulletin board :)

A little party above my desk area ;) Scored those lanterns for less than $2 on clearance at Target!

My Attendance bulletin board. Students move their clothespin up to make their lunch choice. I will display cafeteria menus in the empty space.

My Classroom Helpers area. I laminated the pieces so I can use a dry erase marker to change out names often.

My Synonym Swap and other synonyms for student reference. This wall will eventually be filled with anchor charts and other goodies. This is above my sink and cabinets in the back.

Daily Five board! Posters are from Hope King at Second Grade Shenanigans. The ones below them were in my room when I got here. If you recognize them, let me know so I can credit :) These are right above my guided reading table at the back of the room.

My "Pick Me" bucket for calling on students/tables. I used my Smaller Chevron Numbers glued on popsicle sticks.

The view from my desk. And more photo bombing. Haha. If you look closely, you can see my shelves at the back of the room with student drawers, textbooks, supplies, etc. The front wall has reference posters, cubbies, and backpack hooks.

My desk and computer area. Do you spy my teacher toolbox in the back? I love how bright and sunny it is over here :)

So there it is! My classroom :) I know it's not much. I've got a long way to go. I'm trying to leave lots of wall space for anchor charts and things we make as the year goes on. Maybe later in the year I will post some more pictures showing the room after it's been "broken in" by me and the kiddos! Haha. I will also have lots of changes to make as I find out what works and what doesn't, what I like and don't like, what's needed and what isn't...things like that. But overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out for my first year and I can't wait to meet my kiddos and make it my "home away from home" :)

Don't forget to link up your classroom digs over at Teacher Week '13. Tomorrow is Organizing for Instruction!

Teacher Week '13 - Let's Talk About Me Monday

Happy Teacher Week! I'm SO excited to be linking up with Blog Hoppin for this fun-filled week of linky parties!

This week is our first official week back to school! Today and tomorrow are filled with teacher evaluation training (blah) and the rest of the week is reserved for team meetings, working in our classrooms, and of course, Meet the Teacher day on Friday! So obviously, this is a bit of a very busy week for me. Hopefully I will make the linky party each day this week, but I will definitely be back tomorrow to share my Classroom Reveal! And I am bursting with excitement!!!! Anyway, back to Teacher Week...

Monday is Meet the Teacher day. So here are ten random (hopefully fun) facts about me :)

1. I'm Hannah Burns. I am a first year teacher starting my teaching journey in fourth grade literacy. My first first day of school is a week from today! :)

2. Meet my other half, Josh. We met as partners in a World Lit class in college at Southern Arkansas University. We just celebrated one year of marriage last month, and will officially be together for three years this October. He is a computer science major and works as a computer technician for a bank. He is my source for all things computer-y :)

3. We live in South Arkansas and have a cockier spaniel puppy named, Lewis. If you've read any of my posts, you know he is my dog baby. 

4. I started blogging this past year during my student teaching as a way to share about my Teachers Pay Teachers products. This summer, I've fallen in love with blogging, linky parties, giveaways, pinterest-ing, and new bloggy friends. I can't wait to document my journey here as a new teacher. I think it will be a great way to share ideas, get more ideas, and reflect on what works and what doesn't. 

5. When I'm not teaching or blogging, I love to curl up on my couch with a good book, TV show, or movie. I'm definitely an "indoors" kind of gal. I love Gossip Girl (guilty pleasure), Downton Abby, Gilmore Girls, and Friends. I have too many favorite books and movies to choose! But you can't go wrong with romantic comedies, Jane Austen, or Harry Potter.

6. I listen to a very strange, wide range of music. It changes all the time. Currently, I am enjoying the sounds of: Of Monsters and Men, Hillsong / Hillsong Live, Ellie Goulding, and Demi Lovato. 

7. I love shopping. Many of you know that I call it my favorite sport. It's true. There's nothing like that "just scored a great deal" feeling. I have millions of awesome clearance stories to share, if you're ever interested. My favorite stores? Target (with an extreme, frightening passion), Hobby Lobby, Dillards, Cotton On, Forever 21, and Old Navy. 

8. I'm a perfectionist and clinically OCD (meaning, I take pills for it...) Not trying to scare you away, just sharing! I made straight A's through most of high school and all four years of college. I've gotten a lot better in the last year, but some of my "bothers" include dirty dishes, routines, and being extremely hard on myself. 

9. My families are the best. I grew up with two sisters (one older, one younger) and parents that are both teachers. I love taking the hour drive to my hometown of Texarkana and hanging out with my parents, sisters, and brother-in-law. And Josh too, I guess ;) I have also been blessed with an amazing family of in-laws. I have already shared some about about my amazing MIL (check out her blog here), but I also have an awesome FIL and three sister-in-laws. I could not have asked for a better family to marry into.

10. Current goals/dreams of mine: Have an awesome, successful first year of teaching; Go to Hawaii (and maybe just stay there...); Stay dedicated/involved in blogging and TPT; Be healthier. 

So that's a little lot about me! Make sure you link up your own Meet the Teacher post here. I can't wait to read all about my bloggy friends!

If you're stopping by for the first time, click on the About and Connect tabs above to learn even more about me and find me on Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/everything else.

And make sure you come back tomorrow for (drumroll please) my classroom reveal!!! Finally! :)

 

Five For Friday - August 9th Linky Party

Happy Friday! I'm so glad Five For Friday is back from Doodle Bugs Teaching. I love this linky! Basically, you just share five random things from your week. So here are my five...

1. Today is my last day off before school officially starts! We had two days of professional development this past week, but we go back Monday for a full week's worth. Just 10 days until the first day of school! And only 7 days until I get to meet my kiddos! Can you tell I'm a little excited?? So to celebrate my last official day of summer vacation, I spent it being incredibly lazy. Slept in, watched excessive amounts of Gossip Girl (my guilty pleasure Netflix show, don't judge me), ate candy, and did some online (window) shopping. It was pretty perfect :)

Lewis enjoying a lazy afternoon with Mom.

I'm seriously crushing on this monogram phone case from Put A Case on Me!

2. Teacher Week 2013 Linky Party

Have you guys heard about the big linky party going on over at Blog Hoppin next week? I am so stoked! I'm planning my big classroom reveal for their Tuesday linky. My MIL took some adorable pictures this week and I am itching to share them!

3. And speaking of classroom pictures...here is the sneak peek I posted on my Facebook page last night. Excuse my dorky face...haha. What do you think? ;) 

4. Everyday Editing from Jeff Anderson. Have you guys read this book? We had a professional development meeting this week about it and I really liked what he had to say! One of his main points about teaching editing and grammar makes so much sense to me... Why do we spend so much time teaching our students grammar and editing by looking at incorrect sentences? Why do we spend so much time finding what's wrong with sentences instead of finding what's right? Anderson encourages inviting students to see what authors do correctly and then applying those same concepts to their own writing. I can't wait to read more from him and use this with my students. It was such a teaching "duh" moment for me. Don't you love those? ;)

5. And finally, a little inspiration for all of us that are heading back to school soon. 

Teach fabulous, my friends! :)

A Tale of Student Teaching - Linky Party

Hello all! If you've visited my blog before, you know that I'm a first year teacher. So when I saw this linky party over at The Polished Teacher about student teaching, I just had to join in. I loved student teaching, and since I just completed it, why not share? :)

I had an awesome student teaching experience. I was so so nervous going into it... What if my teacher was mean? What if I was horrible? What if I hated it? What if I got a bad evaluation? So many "what ifs". But after the first day, I knew I was going to love it. My teacher and I clicked immediately. She helped me so much. My principal, the other teachers, even the cafeteria workers and custodians- were all so nice and welcoming. My class was hilarious. So smart and fun. I wouldn't trade those months for anything. 

1. My favorite student teaching memory. 

Well, obviously, I couldn't choose just one. My last day was beyond perfect. My kids "surprised" me with an ice cream party and a basket of teacher goodies. They all wrote me the sweetest, cutest, most hilarious goodbye letters. I took them home, read them, and cried my eyes out. I still have all the gifts, notes, and pictures they drew me. Some of them are still up on my fridge. I could cry right now just thinking about how sweet and funny they were. They made going to "work" every day a joy. Truly.

2. My worst student teaching memory/learning experience.

This was hard. I definitely had days where I came home and crawled under the covers to hide from life (anybody else do this??) There were days that I was so frustrated and exhausted and just spent. The most stressful times for me were probably the three times that may professor came to observe me. I'm a perfectionist and I'm really hard on myself. I wanted everything to go perfectly and smoothly and magically come together into the most beautiful, well-planned lesson every time. This, of course, did not happen. We work with kids, duh. So while I loved my experience, those days were always crazy stressful.

3. My student teaching advice? Be a sponge. Soak up as much of your experience as you can. Love your kids. Go to everything. Make copies of stuff for your future classroom. Go visit other grade levels. Try new things. Make things for your kids. Teach lessons in your least favorite subjects. Work hard. Don't sit down. Ask questions. Don't get on your phone. Don't just sit there. Find something to do- whether it's grading papers, helping students, making copies, planning lessons, cleaning up, filing, anything. Make your teacher's life easier. Don't stress the small things. Enjoy truly being a "student" teacher. It goes by way too fast :)

Got some advice to share? Or just want to reminisce on your experience? Head over to The Polished Teacher and link up!

I'm off to work on posts for next week! Look for my big classroom reveal on Tuesday ;)

Monday Made It [August 5th] & A Classroom Sneak Peek!

Happy Monday everyone! I'm just stopping in for a quick linky for Monday Made It with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics. I have professional development meetings Wednesday, Thursday, and all of next week. So I am trying my best to relax (yeah right) and enjoy my last few days of vacation! So, naturally, I worked in my classroom today. Ha! But it's pretty much ready for kiddos! I'm so excited! Don't worry, I'll have a "classroom tour" post coming up soon. My awesome MIL is gonna help me out with some pictures :)

But anyway! Back to my Made It! I can't do anything "quick"... haha. 

Check out my Class Twitter that I made! My room has a bird theme, so it goes perfectly. It has three "profiles": 

Me, of course. Where I tweet messages about what's going on that day or anything, really. 

The 'Reminders' profile tweets messages about upcoming tests, projects, events, etc.

And finally the 'Special Guest' profile is reserved for the Student of the Month, someone that is super good, a student with a birthday, or other things like that. If chosen, they get to choose what message to share.

Our class twitter is made from laminated sheets of white copy paper (which makes it dry-erase!) and graphics/pictures modeled after the actual website that I just threw together in Word.

I have it stapled on the bulletin board outside my classroom, which you can see in this next picture. I plan on using the clothespins to display student work as the year goes on.

So what do you think? I can't wait to try this out with my students. If they like it, I may think of some other ways to "tweet" in the classroom :)

So that's your sneak peek of my classroom! A big reveal is coming soon. Make sure you go link up your Made It for the week here. Have a good week!