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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Workshop Wednesday and My Celebration Giveaway!!!

My kids go to daycare one time a week over the summer and today was the day this week.  I went to school with high hopes of accomplishing a lot more than I actually did.  This seems to happen to me a lot!  Either I am a really slow worker or I set too high of goals for myself.  
Who am I kidding?  
I met two friends for lunch and I should have known better because it turned into an almost 3 hour lunch!  Hey, but that girlfriend therapy was MUCH needed! :)
Then, I had to lifeguard tonight so it is a good thing that I made my button for my giveaway last night:)  Hint, Hint!

First, I am linking up with one of my BBB's, Jivey for her Workshop Wednesday!  She will be posting every Wednesday in July but the same linky will be open all month.  Keep checking back to stay current with any new entries!  The topic is TOOLS FOR WORKSHOPS!

I would like to share a couple tools I developed to use with Daily 5 this year.  It was my first year trying Daily 5 (well, Daily 4).  My ELA group was only in my room for 80 minutes each day (we switch students for ELA only and group them by ability).  Anyway, I LOVE, LOVE the concept of Daily 5 and how it changed the way I organize my instruction.  After training all the students in Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read with Someone, and Word Work, they were finally ready after a good six weeks to move into "free choice" and have all four activities occurring simultaneously.  Whew!!  Training took a long time but it WAS worth it!

My main problem with "free choice" was letting go and not controlling how many of each activity they were completing each day or week.  Most days I had time for only two D4 rotations and sometimes only one.  I found that there were some students always "avoiding" certain activities.  However, I could really see the benefits of free choice and the willingness of students to work hard so I didn't want to take it away.  I worked on this problem by creating this tracking chart.  My students fill out a chart like this when choosing their centers.  Get a modified version of this chart here in an editable format.  I couldn't figure out how to get three on a page in google docs.
They write down the date, task, and rate "how they did" at the center at the daily check-in. I use a 3 star rating system where one star=Wasted a lot of Time, two stars=Worked Most of Time (they get two stars if they had to leave their area even once or bothered someone else, etc) and three stars=worked the whole time.  I kept a little chart with this visual of the "stars" and what they meant on the wall.  I allowed time at check ins after each center to complete the 3 star rating and had students share (not tattle) if someone was off task near them and they noticed they were giving themselves three stars (we show star ratings by a raise of hands).  I also kept a simple chart on my board and anytime a student gave themselves two stars or one star (never had one star this year...thank goodness!), I recorded it next to their name on the chart.  This is how one student had free choice taken away from him.  There were too many 2's on the chart by his name!  

I also created this handout (get it here from google docs in an editable format) and students were required to complete certain activities within a quarter.  As new activities were added, I had students take out their charts and add to the list (continued on the back).  It was inspired from the amazing Tonya at Tonya's Treats for Teachers in her post here.  At check ins after a center, students were directed to also update this chart and they could add a note if they needed to go back to that task to finish it.

If you use a Daily 5 approach, I recommend that you try free choice and have something like this to hold them accountable and keep track of their choices.  For example, when we did our quick checks before starting a rotation, I would ask, "How many students would like to read to someone?"  It never failed that the SAME three or four students would ALWAYS want to read to someone!  Of course, I couldn't remember how many times they actually had read to someone recently because many times I told those few students to pick another center.  However, if I wanted to check how many times they had completed a certain center recently, I could just look over their shoulder at their tracking chart!  It was easy to see if they were avoiding, say, Work on Writing (offered everyday according to my tracking chart!).  If they did not keep track on their tracking chart, they could lose the privilege of free choice (this didn't happen last year).  

So, those were some quick tips but I would have liked to have them when I started out in the fall!  Maybe it is something you can use or keep in your arsenal.:)  I might be back later this month to add some more ideas for Tools for Workshop (writing, reading, or math!).

Next...I realized about a month ago that my birthday (it was yesterday...Happy Birthday to me!) and my ONE YEAR Blogiversary are exactly one week apart!  My Blogiversary is July 9th!  Is it weird that I am much more excited about my Blogiversary than my birthday?  Haha!  
I knew I wanted to celebrate with a giveaway that was a thank you from me to you!!!  
Through this blog, I have met so many amazing teachers!  
I am so grateful for all the people who have given me support, offered suggestions, answered questions, and just taken the time to comment on aspects of my professional and personal life!  
It really means so much that I know there is a network of amazing teachers that I can turn to for advice at any time.  
Thank you for the role that YOU have played on my amazing journey of constant change and growth as a teacher!!  I am always "flipping" my classroom and tweaking ideas to what works for me.  I couldn't do that without the inspiration provided by all of you!!!

As a small token of my appreciation, I am having a giveaway that will end on July 11th.  
One lucky follower will win a $50 Gift Card to either TPT or Amazon (your choice!!). Wahoo!!!
Kudos for the Giveaway Button:
The chevron background was made by the super talented Megan at I Teach. What's Your Superpower
The birthday clipart was made by one of my favorite places to buy clipart, KPM Doodles.

I also am going to try and add some flash freebies to my Facebook page for fans only with some items from my little TPT store:)  Stay tuned for that one...it may have to wait until the weekend.  
My daughter (6 years old) is in our huge county parade tomorrow (think 3 hours long)!  She will be cheerleading for the first time in public and she is super excited!  Wish us luck that it doesn't pour (the hardest downpour you can imagine!) like last year:)
Reminder: Tried It Tuesday will be back Tuesday, July 9th for the only link up for July.  I will leave the linky open the rest of the month so you can link up any time the rest of the month!

Enter the Giveaway HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

107 comments:

  1. Happy birthday!! And Happy Blog-birthday! Thank you for the freebie editable Daily 5 check in. I love that you have the students keep track. I'm totally going to use this :) You are the best Holly!!

    Tina
    Crofts' Classroom

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  2. Congrats! I also wanted to let you know that your TpT link in the rafflecopter doesn't go to your page, just the general TpT page. I don't know if you wanted it that way or not...

    Diane

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  3. Congratulations & Happy Birthday! I also live in NY - Central NY. dbednarsk@yahoo.com

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  4. Congrats! Happy Birthday!

    I need to send my kids to daycare one day a week so I can get stuff done, great idea! :)

    Jess

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  5. Congrats and Happy Birthday!! I'm loving this link up party idea!

    http://beyondthegradebook.blogspot.com

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  6. Congrats and Happy Birthday! I love all your tpt goodies and your posts. You are an inspiration to us! Thanks.

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  7. Hi Holly,
    Happy Birthday and Blogiversary- two very exciting days! :)
    Aylin
    Learning to the Core

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  8. Happy Birthday! Hope you had a great day! Thank you for sharing your ideas. I love reading your post. I have the Notebook Know How book also I have not started to read it yet. At the moment I am reading Whole Brain Teaching. Have a great 4th of July.

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  9. I also use a tracking sheet to hold the children accountable for their weekly Daily 5/Cafe jobs. I do have the odd student who has a really hard time keeping track and I need to help him ensure that he has tracked his activities. How do you help those students? Use a peer? Daily check-ins? Suggestions?

    Happy Birthday!
    Lisa
    Grade 4 Buzz

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  10. Happy Birthday and Blogiversary! Love your Daily 5 (4) stuff...great ideas! I have tried for the last couple of years to implement it, but I never really get the hang of it :(. I'm not giving up and will now add these tools so maybe it will help :)!

    THANKS!
    Laura

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  11. You are so awesome! Thank you for all the opportunities to win and for inspiring a first year teacher :) You ROCK!

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  12. Happy Birthday and Blogiversary! And thanks for the Daily 5 tips. Trying to get that started up myself, so I hope this helps! :)

    Hannah

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  13. Love your daily 5 accountability stuff! Can't wait to modify for my second graders! :) PS: Happy Birthday!! :)

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  14. Happy Birthday, Holly! Happy Early Blogiversary! You are awesome!

    Kristin
    Teachntex

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  15. I'm loving the freebies and the info on Daily 5!! I'm definitely looking to do more of this in the upcoming year. Thank you! Happy Birthday! :)
    Jivey
    ideas by jivey
    Follow me on Facebook!

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  16. I love the completion chart and really need that for accountability.

    Happy Birthday! You are so generous!

    Hope it's sunny for that sweet cheerleader!
    Jane
    Learning in the Little Apple

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  17. Happy Birthday and Blog-iversary! Love your materials! I start student teaching in 4th grade in August, and love your insights and experiences with the Daily 5! :)

    Julie D.

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  18. Happy Birthday and Blogiversary! Thanks for the tips, and the generous giveaway!

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  19. Happy Birthday and Blogiversary! What a fun double celebration! :)

    Tessa

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  20. Happy birthday to you and your blog! What a great way to celebrate!
    marciahoj@gmail.com
    Learning in Bliss

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  21. Happy Birthday!
    -Melissa

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  22. Happy birthday and happy blogiversary!! I'm looking to revamp my Daily 5 checklist and I really like how you have yours laid out. Thanks for sharing them! Enjoy your 4th.:)

    Kristin
    iTeach 1:1

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  23. Happy birthday!! Happy blogiversary too! Wow, what an amazing giveaway. I went to my school today and did manage to work, but I had my kids with me, so no three hour lunch!! I drove away thinking of more things to do, hate that feeling. Thanks for all the great info on how your run your Daily 5/4 and the freebies. I really need to work on giving students more choice, thanks for the reminder.

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  24. Happy birthday and blog birthday! Great milestones. :-) I am moving to 3rd grade next year, and I'm wondering if I will have to change how I run my Daily 5. I hope that they will be as independent as the 4th graders, so I'm going to just go with it unless it backfires on me! LOL Thanks for the great post and awesome giveaway!

    Nichole
    Craft of Teaching

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  25. Congrats and Happy Bday! I love the way you are teaching the kiddos to be responsible with their time! Two of my best teaching buds moved to other buildings this year, so we have been doing a lot of lunch dates. I can't believe how the hours just fly by! We usually start getting the hint that it's time to go when the waitress stops filling our water glasses and totally avoids our table!

    Lizzy from *The Teacher Chick*

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  26. Happy Birthday and congratulations. Keep the great post coming. I would love to know more about how to implement the Daily 5.

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  27. Happy Birthday and congratulations! I love reading your blog!

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  28. What an awesome giveaway!! Congratulations :)

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  29. Happy Blog Birthday!! So excited to found your awesome blog and all your great info on Daily Five...can't wait to read it more closely and put it into use!! Thanks so much for sharing your Daily Five knowledge AND for the wonderful giveaway opportunity!! :)

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  30. Congratulations and happy birthday! I need to work something out this year to keep track of what my kids are doing...they seemed to all avoid work on writing like the plague and were instead all attracted to word work.

    Jessica
    Literacy Spark

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  31. Happy Birthday Holly! I entered your giveaway but I didn't click the share part yet. I don't have time to post today, but will share and post about it soon! :) Good luck to your daughter and I definitely be linking up on Tuesday since I tried to do it without you this past week. ;)
    ~Brandee
    Creating Lifelong Learners

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  32. Happy Birthday!!!! I will be linking up this Tuesday!

    Rosie
    Rosie's Rambles

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  33. Happy Birthday! Thank you for the generous giveaway!
    jbsothornton@comcast.net

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  34. Congrats! I agree, giving up control is HARD but it can be rewarding:-)

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  35. Congratulations! =) I love your blog!

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  36. I did not allow free choice this year because I was worried about the same thing...steering clear of activities they did not like. I am excited to try your charts this year. Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your blog...I just found it through Bloglovin and have spent many hours going back and reading :)

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  37. Happy Bday ....wendy 1stgradefireworks@gmail.com

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  38. Happy belated birthday and anniversary of your blog! One great thing about the google reader/bloglovin' situation is that I found your blog and I am now a faithful reader. I love your posts and am excited to see what pieces from the Daily 5 that I can incorporate in the fall in my classroom. Keep up the great work!!!

    :) Nicole
    Tadpole Tidbits
    www.mrscorbitt.blogspot.com

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  39. Congrats! I am hoping to implement the Daily 5 in my 4th grade classroom this year, so I'm loving all the great ideas from this post. Thanks so much for sharing and the great freebies!
    Courtney
    Polka Dot Lesson Plans

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  40. We would love to have you join another bloglovin blog hop and enter an awesome laminator giveaway!
    A Teacher Without a Class

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  41. Congratulations! I've been following you for a long time--thanks for continuing to put out great stuff!

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  42. Happy Birthday and early anniversary on your blog. I use a modified version of Daily 4 in my classroom, too. A tracking sheet is a wonderful way to hold everyone accountable. I will need to do that this year. Thank you for sharing the freebies.

    Foreman Teaches

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  43. Great giveaway! Sure hope I am a winner....like everybody else!

    kellybrown28021@gmail.com

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  44. Happy birthday and blogiversary! Thanks so much for the Daily 5 resources -- they'll be very helpful at the start of the year. The second go-around is always so much easier than the first!

    Thanks for such a great giveaway!
    Alison
    Eberopolis: Teaching Reading & Writing with Technology

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  45. Really like how your students do a check in with themselves... Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

    Sarah @ Hoots N Hollers

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  46. I'm so glad I found your blog. I've been running into it listed on other sites and finally made my way over. So glad I did. I'm also teaching Fourth this year and am already thinking of ways to use your products in my room. Thanks for sharing!

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  47. Happy birthday and Blogiversary!

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  48. Happy birthday and blogiversary! So glad that we've been able to become blogging friends!

    Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late

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  49. Happy birthday and blogiversary! Thanks for hosting such a fantastic giveaway!

    Amy
    Eclectic Educating

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  50. Happy belated birthday! I'd be more excited about a blogiversary too! (my fingers are crossed!)

    I love what you are posting about Daily 4. I need to look into this more for next year. Maybe I can twist your arm to break it down for me a little more? ;O)

    Love ya girl!
    Amanda
    Collaboration Cuties

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  51. Happy birthday & blogiversary! I am a new follower and am very excited to look through your TPT store. :c)
    Thanks for the chance to win a gift card!
    Happy 4th of July!
    ~Amanda

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  52. I'm new to your teachers pay teachers and blog and love it!

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  53. Happy birthday!!! Thanks for the awesome giveaway :)

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  54. Happy Birthday and Blogiversary!

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  55. Happy Birthday! Thank you for an awesome giveaway.

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  56. Happy Birthday and Happy Blogiversary! Time for celebrations! I love the accountability of your D4 time. I pinned it for next year! Hope you had a great 4th and I'm so glad that you take the time to blog and share YOUR great ideas with all of us! :)

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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  57. Happy birthday, Holly! Hope you ate lots of cake! :)
    Great giveaway - pick me! pick me! I could do some serious damage with $50 at either Amazon or TpT! It will be hard for me to choose :) (once I win, of course!)

    ~Jessica
    Joy in the Journey

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  58. Thanks for the Daily 5 trackers! Unfortunately I can't do Daily 5 in my classroom but I love the program!!

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  59. Happy EVERYTHING day! All the awesome giveaways are making this the summer of FUN! Thanks for this. Hope you have an awesome weekend!
    Sidney
    Teachingisagift

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  60. Happy,happy birthday and congratulations!!

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  61. Happy birthday and blogiversary!!! Thanks for the great opportunity to celebrate with you!!! :)
    Lisa
    Learning Is Something To Treasure

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  62. Happy Birthday and blogiversary!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win something great!

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  63. Happy birthday! Thanks for celebrating with a great giveaway! :)

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  64. Congrats on your blog anniversary! :) Great giveaway! Hope you enjoy your birthday and summer vaca.

    Mandy
    Caffeine and Lesson Plans

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  65. Congratulations on the blog success!!

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  66. Happy birthday and blogiversary!! Thank you for celebrating with us!

    Ashley
    arclark2012@gmail.com

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  67. I love finding 4th grade blogs. Thanks for your wonderful ideas about Daily 4. I like the free choice option.

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  68. So glad I found your blog. Happy birthday!!

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  69. I love your tracking sheet idea! Happy Birthday AND Blogiversary!

    Lori
    Life in Room 24

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  70. Happy Birthday to you! Today is my birthday!! I LOVE your giveaway!! All of my fingers are crossed ~ which makes it very difficult to type by the way...... :o)

    Cindy
    ccfirstteacher@gmail.com

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  71. Found this giveaway through your technology post :) I love your QR code links...my little rockstars will do any kind of practice if it involves a QR code.

    Amanda
    Rock Stars At Work

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  72. Happy Happy Birthday and Blogiversary. What a great giveaway to celebrate 2 awesome things :) Thanks for the chance to win a great prize. I hope your birthday and year of blogging have been/were phenomenal :)

    Heidi
    My (Not So) Elementary Life
    mynotsoelementarylife@yahoo.com

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  73. Happy birthday & blogiversary, this is a fabulous giveaway. You're so generous for this! Thank you.

    Stephanie
    PolkaDotPalace

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  74. Congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas!! Here's to many more blogiversaries to come!!!!

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  75. Happy Blogiversary! Thank you for the Daily 5 tracker sheets! I am always on the lookout for ways to hold my students more accountable for their own learning. Can't wait to go stock up on some of your TPT items for next year.

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  76. Happy blog birthday and actual birthday! Thanks for hosting such an awesome giveaway!

    Amy @ The Littlest Superheroes

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  77. Congratulations and happy birthday!! Awesome giveaway!!! I have my fingers crossed!!!!

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  78. Happy birthday & blogiversary! I am interested in D5/4...but would want to take charge too much, so I love your tracking/self-scoring sheet!

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  79. Thanks for sharing about how you use Daily 5 in your room. I have a longer language block this year and I want to try to play around with daily 5 a bit.
    How do you like your phone? In love yet?

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  80. Thank you for a great giveaway!!!

    Brooke
    brooklynkate09@hotmail.com

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  81. So glad I found your blog! I can't wait to get more awesome ideas from you! Thanks for the giveaway as well!

    Elizabeth
    mrsepleasant@gmail.com

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  82. Double "Happy"'s to you! Thanks for sharing your Daily 5 resources.

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  84. Happy birthday and blog birthday! I'm going to check out Tried it Tuesday this week. I'm new to blogging, so I'm excited to read everyone's posts.
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  85. Happy Birthday and blog anniversary!!! I just started blogging and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I am also a fourth grade teacher so I'm so thankful to have found your blog.
    Allison~http://livelovelearninfourthgrade.blogspot.com/

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  86. Happy blog celebration. What a great giveaway opportunity.

    Denise

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  87. Congrats on your blog anniversary!

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  88. HAppy birthday, what a great way to celebrate! I love your blog!

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  89. Happy birthday and happy blog anniversary. Just found your blog. Love the giveaway.

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  90. Love your blog! So many awesome ideas!!

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  91. Congratulations on both your birthday and your successful blog. I found you by another blog and am so glad I did. I love your blog and am going to see how many new people I can meet by this give-away. Even if I don't win anything, I always find wonderful new people and other free items. Thanks for sharing

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  92. I'm a little late, but the party's still going strong!! Happy Birthday my sweet friend! What an amazing prize!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  93. Happy Birthday! Thanks for the give away!

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  94. Happy Birthday, congrats and Thanks!!! :)

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