Must-Own Books FREE eBook

WARNING: This post may cause money to fly out of your pocket. 

This is the FREE eBook of Must-Own Books as recommended by the fans and followers of Sub Hub. Do not take downloading and opening the file lightly. I guarantee you will be tempted to rush to your nearest bookstore or hop on Amazon to buy these books. These are not books to be checked out from the library or borrowed from a colleague. No! These are books every teacher and sub should OWN (according to experienced teachers and subs). These books have multiple lesson applications, have stood the test of time, and are loved by teachers and students alike. So, heed the warning above and proceed with caution.

See you later, I am off to Barnes and Noble... or maybe I can't even wait that long. To Amazon it is!

A New Year on the Horizon... And a Writing Freebie to Go with It!

With Christmas now behind me, I am looking ahead to the New Year. And, not that I am thinking about going back to school yet, but I remembered a cool writing activity I did last year with third graders and the year before with second graders. I see no reason the activity couldn't go as high or low as you'd like, as long as modifications are made to expectations and depth of writing. Even kinders could draw their resolutions if they don't yet have the writing skills.

The activity focuses on New Year's resolutions, but ties them into goals and what we know about the process of goal setting... that goals need to be realistic and measurable, you need to have strategies in mind to meet them, and you need to know who you can count on to help you meet them.. I can also see a tie-in with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the "resolutions" becoming "dreams" to go along with the "I Have a Dream" speech. So, although the activity has a New Year's focus, it could really be used the entire month of January.

The New Year's Resolution Writing download is free and includes the lesson plan, a graphic organizer, and instructions for a foldable to go with it.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

This being Christmas Eve, I have been reflecting on the past year and what I am hoping for on Christmas morning. While what I really want definitely won't be under the tree (a full-time teaching job), I have already received so many gifts this year. I had a nice, long-term subbing position in a good school. And I just found out I will have another long-term come April! That was a nice Christmas surprise. This one will be in second grade at a school I had three long-terms in last year.

But the most amazing gift so far is this blog and all the followers and fans I reach (and hopefully help a little). This was a dream I didn't even know I had. I was looking for something to do on days when I didn't sub, and on the urging of my little brother, I looked to blogging. I happened into an amazing group of other blogging teachers through a friend, and Sub Hub was born.

I have really been lamenting over the fact that I was "just a sub" for a few years now since I have been on an unsuccessful quest for a full-time job. But this past summer, I chose to look at things in a new light. By golly, I am NOT "just a sub"! I am sub in-demand who makes a difference in the classrooms I enter. And, judging by the number of fans Sub Hub has and the positive comments I get, I also make a difference through the blog. And let me tell you, that is the best gift I could ever get!

So, while it would be nice to open something sparkly or electronic on Christmas morning, I am thankful for the many wonderful gifts I already have: long-term sub positions, the Sub Hub blog, amazing fans and followers, a new group of online friends with common interests and challenges, and (of course) my family and other friends as well.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to each and every one of you! You mean more to me than you can ever know. So, while what I really want won't be under the tree tomorrow, I really can't complain at all. In fact, I am counting my gifts each and every one.

New Twist on the Quiet Game... Add Math Facts

Many teachers play The Quiet Game when they are in the hall and have to wait for some reason. As a sub, it happens to me fairly frequently because I am not familiar with the class schedule or how the clocks in the school run (in some schools every clock says a different time, and as a teacher you get used to knowing which ones to follow). Anyway, I got bored with the regular Quiet Game where everyone sits quietly and you choose a girl and a boy to start it off. They walk up and down the line and tap someone who is quiet. Then they switch places and the new student gets to choose... and so on. One day I had gotten to counselor with a third grade class a full 10 minutes early because I misread the schedule and did not want to waste that time. So we played The Multiplication Fact Quiet Game. It is played exactly like the regular Quiet Game, only instead of the student just tapping another, they give a quiet student a multiplication fact. If that students gets it right, then they switch. You could apply this using any operation depending on the level of the students. Voila! Quiet students in the hall who are practicing math facts! Win-win!

Filling Holiday Down Time with Snowman Stumper

The other day I found myself in a classroom during their holiday party with a little down time. They had a holiday memory game they were playing in pairs, and were quickly losing interest in that. A movie was scheduled to come on, but there were a couple of technical glitches causing a delay. I had to think fast before the room erupted in chaos (yep, it happens that fast). I had the students clean up and announced we would play Snowman Stumper (name made up off the top of my head because I love alliteration). I told the students it was just like Hangman, only I would draw a snowman as letters were not guessed. I thought of a word (snowman was my first; yea, I know, real creative). And I used the class set of popsicle sticks to choose students to guess letters. They guessed that one really fast since the name of the game was Snowman Stumper, but it served as a nice introduction as to how to play. I proceeded to play the game using additional holiday words such as reindeer, Santa, snow, Rudolph, Frosty, etc. We didn't get through too many rounds before the movie came on, but the students wanted to play again later. And the class was managed through a dicey time.

'Tis the Season... To Run Out of Supplies

I find that by this point in the school year, many students are running low on supplies. Whether it's because they ate them (yes, I had a first grader who did just that), dismantled them (yes, my third graders this year loved to take apart their pens), lost them, used notebooks as doodle journals, or honestly used up their supplies, they now need some more.

The first time I came to this realization, I was long-term subbing in a first grade classroom and student after student would tell me they didn't have a ___ anymore. I started writing notes to parents in students' folders letting them know what was needed, but that quickly became tedious. So I created a simple check-off form I could print and copy. As students were working, I polled them about what supplies they needed and checked off the form to send home. It was so much easier! So, whether you are long-term subbing or teaching full-time, download this Supplies Needed Form for free and make your life a little easier.

Make Your Own Melted Snowman Ornament

Here's a fun and easy Christmas craft you can do with your students as a gift for parents... a craft in the classroom... or just something fun to make with your own children. It's a melted snowman ornament made out of glue and small trinkets. I saw the idea on Pinterest and decided to try one myself. I think it worked pretty well. Here's what I did:

1. Squirt a large puddle of Elmer's glue on a piece of wax paper. Make sure it is sitting on a surface where you can leave it for a while since it will take a couple of days to dry.

2. Add in eyes, "carrot" nose, and mouth. I used small black buttons for the eyes and mouth and a piece of orange pipecleaner for the nose. You could also use beads, pom poms, or anything else small.

3. If you choose, you can loop a piece of string, yarn, or ribbon and anchor the ends into the glue puddle. I did not do this step and simple "drilled" a hole with a pair of scissors after the glue was dried.

4. Be patient and wait for the glue to dry. Depending on how large a glue puddle you made, it could take up to 2 days for it to be dry.

5. When it's dry, peel the wax paper off the back and hang on your tree.