Whew! So glad to make it past the exhausting super fun February events! On to March… I haven’t even started thinking about St. Patrick’s Day yet and I think I’d better do it soon! One of my little cuties recently told me he can’t wait until that day where everything is green and there are sparkles everywhere. I’m thinking, huh? He then elaborates about his plans to catch the leprechaun and all the traps he will set in the classroom. I just had to ask him what he will do with the leprechaun if he catches it. He said “I just want to see what they’re all about!” Such high expectations for the holiday! I didn’t have the heart to tell him we usually just wear green and talk about who St. Patrick was. Ummm… sounds very boring next to his big plans! So, I may have to do some pinterest browsing and get some exciting ideas. 🙂 BTW, I’d love to hear any great ideas you have. Leave a comment and let me know if your plans are more developed than “wear green”. 🙂 Here’s a pin to get the inspiration started:
Every month I choose 2 names from the follower list. These 2 followers each get to choose any item from my TPT store. The winners are… Molly Wiard & Sarah (from the fabulousfirstgrade-sarah). Congratulations! Please email me with the name of the item you’d like. Please claim your prize by March 31st. If you want to increase your chances of winning exponentially (Statistics slipping out – it’s final week in the Statistics class I’m taking. Pray for me!) then check out my TPT store. If you leave a comment on a free or paid item then you are entered in the monthly drawing. Psst! I’ll let you in on a little secret…there were 19 #’s to choose from at TPT and 146 on my blog. I’ll let you figure out the probability. 🙂
To choose the winners, I just use a random number generator. They are free all over the internet. That started me thinking about our classroom name selection. I used to use the Popsicle stick in the can idea. If you’re looking for a more “techy” way to do it, there are lots of great tools. Here are a few of my favorites:
2 are free and online and I found a really great option for ipad/iphone. It’s .99 cents, but well worth it!
*The Random Name Selector by Primary Technology – I like that this one has sound effects and a timer. It could be projected so the students can see the list. I’m envisioning using it for teacher conferences (during writing workshop) so they know they are on the “list” and how much time they have to meet with me. It would also be great for my ipad rotations so I could get rid of the timer. We have 2 ipads and I currently set the timer for 6 minutes each rotation and then an extra minute (so they can wrap up what they were working on). I definitely want to try out this option.
Random Name Selector |
* The Random Name Generator by Super Teacher Tools is great if you want something super simple. Just type in a name list and it will randomly let you click through the list. The names appear on a chalkboard.
Random Name Generator |
* RandoMeister -This one is available on iPad/iPhone and is .99 cents in the app store. As soon as I saw some of the key features, I thought this app was designed by a teacher. Yep! You can tell. You can place your students into group, temporarily disable absent students AND restrict individual students from being placed into groups with each other! Love that last option! I just downloaded this app and am so excited to start using it. I love that I can have it on my phone so it can go with me anywhere in the classroom.
RandoMeister |
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
~Melissa
Mary Bauer says
I am also a Washington Blogger. It is nice to find you through Fifth in the Middle.
Carrie says
Awesome Ap Melissa! I use Who's Next, which is similar to this ap, but I'm going to try out your suggestion. Who's Next allows you to enter a photograph of the student as well. I really like that feature. Love your blog. Carriehttp://carrieschoenfelder.blogspot.com/
Carrie says
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melissa M says
Thanks for stopping by! I just checked out the WA state blogs yesterday and there were only 2 and now there are 5! I'm going to have to back and look at them all. 🙂 It's great to know there are some bloggers close by. It seems like most of them are in the south.
Ms. Richards says
I just found your blog through the Fifth in the Middle State's blog. I love finding other bloggers from Washington! I also love the idea of randomly picking 2 followers to give your products to. I think I'm going to have to borrow that idea.Krystyn Ms. Richards's Musingsmsrichardssmusings@gmail.com