Interactive Notebooks ... IN LOVE!

     We have been note booking like CRAZY this week! I am really trying to incorporate interactive/thoughtful notebooks for each subject this year ... we will see how long I last! ha! So for this past week we have been decorating notebooks like nobody's business! I think they really turned out great!
{insert proud teacher dance}

Writer's notebooks - the kids take these home and use magazine clippings to decorate with things that they love/represent them as people. 

Thoughtful logs - the kids reading logs

Using the idea from Mrs. Bonger's at Life in 4b - check out the neat ELA framework they are using at her school!

Interactive Social Studies notebooks - decorating with reasons why we love the United States of America! 

Found this great idea at Second Grade with Mrs. Wade and used it as our SS cover :)

A couple more of my favorites :) 

Writing Journals

    I am a huge fan of writing and reading workshop, however, my district provides only a basel reading program (NOT COOL). This year, we have a new principal who is VERY supportive of me trying out a writing workshop and a reading workshop. Loads of research later, I have a random spread of ideas that I am attempting this year in my classroom concerning workshops. I am ALWAYS looking for mini lesson ideas!! I am incorporating a myriad of ideas from Lucy Caulkins, Ralph Fletcher, the Sisters (currently doing CAFE, thinking of starting the DAILY 5 next year) and many others into my instruction.
    For writing workshop we started this week by personalizing our writers notebooks and discussing that we are ALL writers. The students did a FANTASTIC job of making these special and completely theirs!
            here are a few of my favorites ...

Any ideas for good blogs or websites for lesson ideas, mini lessons, effective teachers, etc. 

LET ME KNOW :)