Educational resources for elementary students. Helping teachers, parents, and students become active thinkers and future leaders. We encourage giggles, grins, hugs, & high fives!
Take a picture walk. Cover the words. Make them use the visual cues in the story. Frontload any vocabulary that may change thinking, distort comprehension, or unfamiliar to them. During Reading Workshop, have them make predictions PRIOR to reading. AFTER reading, check their predictions.
I LOVE this! After reading..then what? DO SOMETHING! Reread it for NEW information. Retell it to yourself or a friend. We use our 3 fingers retell. I love this part…DIGEST IT! Just as a good meal…when you are finished, appreciate it. Think about it. ENJOY IT!
You are NEVER done! When you finish…read more! My kiddos love to stack ALL of their books on the left..as they finish reading a book…place it in a pile on their right. Keep reading! Their goal is to read more every day! STAMINA! Reading MATS are used to make goals. Our goals are to read MORE! Reading Worshop takes time. Make the time for it!
We want kids to quit using their fingers to read. Good readers use their EYES! “SCOOP” up words (phrases) with your eyes. When reading, put 3-4 words together and read the phrases! GREAT time to teach prepositions & prepositional phrases!
Always,always…reread! You will see more, read more, and understand more when you reread a story. Read it to a partner, a parent, a friend. The same book can sound new when you are reading it the second or third time!
After they figure out which “friend” is going to be a problem in THIER group…
points don’t count.
I used to use “CLIP CHARTS”.
Great kids move up.
Those who need more “attention” moved down.
I had a great visual
of the “cans” and the “cannots”.
Not for me.
And so began ..
MY 3 STEPS to MY SANITY!
1. CLASS DOJO
2. GOLDEN TICKETS
3. BRAG TAGS
These 3 management strategies work for me.
If they help YOU…JUMP ON IN!
#1
CLASS DOJO!
* I am NOT receiving ANYTHING from DOJO…
I JUST LOVE IT!
Class DOJO has allowed me
to connect with
students
and PARENTS
quickly and effectively!
Isn’t that the point of classroom management?
To effectively
“manage” a situation
and correct it,
or support it,
immediately?
YES!
Dojo is an online program where each student has an avatar. They gain or lose points as they follow the positive or negative
attributes that YOU set up.
I had a BIG problem with tardies.
8-10 kids tardy…daily.
One of my positive attributes is
ATTENDANCE ON TIME.
Every student gets a point for being in their seat,
ready to work when the bell rings!
I am down to 2 tardies..average..daily.
FOR me? Success!!!
Dojo also sends an automatic email to parents on FRIDAY, detailing their child’s points for the week!
INSTANT PARENT NOTIFICATIONS
..and I didn’t have to do ANYTHING! 🙂
AND…
After parents have signed up for texts
THAT IS THE HARD PART…GETTING THEM TO SIGN UP
(I AM RELENTLESS…I BUG THEM OVER & OVER)
I can text them at a moments notice.
AND I DO!
I also do class messages and send pictures.
I am just learning DOJO, too.
#lifelessons #newtechtolearn
#2 Golden Tickets
THIS IS MY “GO TO” PROGRAM!
IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM!
Simple.
Run a copy of Tickets on YELLOW OR GOLD PAPER.
CUT UP into tickets.
Keep in a box.
Kids earn them for ANY positive interaction, action, or reaction.
Help a friend? TICKET!
Pick up the floor? Ticket!
Say kind words? Ticket!
A friend helped YOU? Give them a TICKET!
And so MY STUDENTS start looking
and listening
for ways to give positive feedback
tickets,
to each other.
They have to tell their classmate what
they SAW or HEARD
that earned their ticket!
SO engaging!
After they get their ticket,
they write their name on the back.
No…sticky fingers.
Twice a week we COUNT tickets.
If they have 10
they can choose
their reward!
I am NOT spending ANY $$$$$$
on rewards!
NO need to!
Here are there rewards…
Reward CHOICES:
Tech Time …15 minutes on the ipads!
They can choose whatever app they want!
Friendly Lunch..ALL TIME FAVORITE:
I purchased 8 plastic placemats – 4 sets of 2
They choose 1 friend to give a placemat to, and they sit next to each other at lunch in the cafeteria, and eat lunch with their placemat and their friend. AFTER lunch, they sanitize the placemat, and put it in the office so I can pick them up after lunch.
ROYALTY for A DAY..
Students can choose to WEAR A CROWN, and be KING____ or QUEEN _____ for a day. The crowns? BULLETIN BOARD borders I have
used, scrounged, saved, begged for from others,
on hand. Measure, staple, VOILA..instant CROWN!
Wear it, take it home. I DO staple a golden ticket to the front. EVERYONE will ask WHY DID YOU GET THE CROWN?
They can explain about GOLDEN TICKETS.
Teacher chair:
They get one of my BIG SQUISHY chairs at their desk for a day. They will spin, moved, be tall, and LOVE their BIG chair.
SWIP SWAP:
Change desks with a partner FOR A DAY!
Use their books & stuff and THEY use YOURS!
Must clean each others desk
( put things back better than they were
when YOU got there..)
at the end of the day.
FREE Homework PASS!
NO homework for 1 night!
I write a note and put it in the HW folder so parent’s know.
FLUFFY FRIEND:
They can bring a stuffed animal to school for 1 day.
Sits on their desk, works in teh classroom, cannot go outside.
If kids don’t have one..they can choose 1 of mine.
LINE Jumper:
First graders LOVE to “cut in line”. The LINE JUMPER can cut in line ANYWHERE they want, for 1day. They MUST tell the person behind them…”Excuse me, I am a LINE JUMPER!”
This is the entry into a world where ALL students are flowers in the classroom garden. Each is unique, colorful, and needs it’s own nurturing to THRIVE! How to create a classroom environment where each student with different needs and abilities will blossom. When we create our classroom bouquet, we have grown a RAINBOW from the seeds we have planted.
Beautiful Garden of Mixed Flowers
One time per week, I will post a TIP, a TRICK, and/or a HACK to help YOU, the teacher, nurture our students into thriving blossoms of learning! My hope is that through support, trials & tribulations, and time-saving tips, YOU may grow YOUR RAINBOW!
RAINBOW of flowers. From: How to grow a rainbow in your classroom. 1stgradefireworks
For some this may the first time they have ever been given the WHOLE responsibility of a JOB!
(Think HELICOPTER PARENTS).
For some, it is a responsibility they take on JOYFULLY!
For others, they embrace the position, but NOT the RESPONSIBILITY!
Practice..practice…practice.
And so, to help nurture the independence of each of my little “seedlings”,
I CHOOSE DAILY Helpers. I know, some classrooms have weekly helpers, some permanent helpers, but for ME? I choose them daily. In my class of 24, each student SHOULD be each of our helpers by the end of the month. I say SHOULD. I make no promises. We are in a continuous state of growing!
WHAT HELPERS DO I NEED?
If you go to pinterest there are thousands of samples of
Helper ( JOB ) Cards are a way for students to take RESPONSIBILITY
AND
HELP THE TEACHER! 🙂
Here is HOW I USE THEM!
Each morning our bell rings at 8:20 AM.
We are working at 8:21.
My students put HW folders in the basket,
backpacks & jackets on the shelves,
and get ready for chromebooks.
(Don’t be tardy…you will miss computer time)
While they are “waiting patiently”..Ie: staring through my back, grinning quietly, hoping I call their name…
I take name cards ( nothing FANCY…3 X 5 cards with THEIR NAME ON IT 🙂 )
and
change the helpers in a small pocket chart at the front of my room.
I know..BAD PICTURE…I swear the POCKET CHART is right there! 🙂
My pocket chart came from the $1 section at Target. Nothing FANCY!
MY JOBS are:
Line Leader
Door Holder
Messenger
Clean Up Crew (2 students)
Ball Handlers ( 2 for recess)
Tech Teachers ( 4 students )
They change daily.
They biggest change I have made is..
YOU MUST BE
“ON TIME AND IN YOUR SEAT” – To be a HELPER!
WOW…no more tardies!
EVERYONE WANTS TO BE A HELPER!
AND after JANUARY… They can choose their job!
(I wait until January because I want to make sure they ALL know EXACTLY what the job is, and may have had a chance to be that “special” helper once before. I want them to see it in action, before they have CHOICE!)
Allow the little ones to be a PART of the classroom!
They LOVE IT!
I hope YOU check out the blogs and pins online to find the HELPERS that fit YOUR classroom and YOUR style! If you need a SPECIAL order HELPERS CARDS SET, email me. I do special orders, too!
1stgradefireworks@gmail.com
Whatever JOBS you choose…let them take RESPONSIBILITY! Don’t do it for them!
NO HELICOPTER TEACHERS! Even when YOUR OCD kicks in!
( I know..I cringe at that word.)
Kids want to SPELL perfectly…every time!
My fear is…students who STOP writing a wonderful story,
because they can’t remember HOW to spell a word.
Just one word.
And then..they stop writing! UGH!
They ask themselves,
“What does it start with?”
Oh..I dunno…so where do they look?
What do they do?
Ask a friend…look on your word list…check the word wall…ASK THE TEACHER!
NO!!! I want INDEPENDENT readers & writers!
Those DREADED words…
“HOW DO YOU SPELL…????”
Ugh! What to do FIRST?
We have gone over letter sounds, word families, vocabulary, picture prompts, word walls, word lists, dictionaries, pictionaries, and so on..and so on.
And still they ask. “How do you SPELL???”
So what is a teacher to do?? Then what?
PINTEREST!
( The place where ALL questions CAN be answered!)
And so I search…
Spelling Practice
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5911043239308984/
Spelling Practice from Samantha Almaguer FREE!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515802963551850222/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/42784265188753752/
SO MANY SPELLING CHOICES!
So many Spelling WORD LISTS!
( And don’t EVEN get me started on WORD WORK!)
Balanced Literacy Word Work
And so…what’s a teacher to do?
Head to YOUTUBE! Here is a great video from Angie @ Center Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhkKImvI4g
Still, no answers! AND SO? What to do? What to do?
Create MY OWN!
My district has adopted a curriculum.
I have 18 boxes waiting for me to unpack!
My PD for this new curriculum is 5 days before I have students!
I probably won’t have time to REALLY dig into the program.
Surface teaching for a few weeks!
BUT…
My kiddos are ready… BEFORE I AM!
And so..
I create!
Bookmarks for Sight Word PRACTICE
Here are a few of my newest
SPELLING creations!
The spelling word lists in this program can be used anywhere, anytime, with ANY program!
Homeschools, interventions, homework, practice pages!
Here is KINDERGARTEN
Here is FIRST GRADE
And Grade 2
All of the lists are printed in black and white.
SAVES ON COLORED INK!
( I print mine on colored paper!)
I print one copy of SPELLING word list for the student’s desk.
A little tape on top..and voila!
Instant word wall for writing!
(NO MORE …HOW DO YOU SPELL…)
The other word list I send home for homework each MONDAY!
They have to read & practice each night.
Spelling tests on FRIDAY!
I give “rewards” for 80% correct or higher!
I don’t expect perfection…just effort in their work.
I add these word lists to SPELLING CITY on our computers.
(If you don’t have SPELLING CITY….GET IT!) 🙂
They practice EVERY DAY!
They also must use the week’s spelling words in their journals.
They read their journals to a partner.
WOW!
Spelling, reading, writing, word lists, & homework!
I think we’ve got this!
I have also added BLENDING LINES for READING FLUENCY PRACTICE!
Blending Lines for Reading FluencyBLENDING LINES….View Preview VIDEO Here
I hope you can use my new SPELLING Packets!
This may help, too!
For more thoughts and talk for November, please visit these great posts. Like what you see, and want to join us? Before posting your link, please email RETTA at retta.london@gmail.com.
Leave me a comment !!!
Good Luck!
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