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!
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!
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