Tag Archives : #backtoschool


Great stories for the transition back to school: K-2!

Tried and true stories for the transition back to school: K-2

Looking for some tried, tested and true picture books to help K-2 students through the back to school transition? Read about others who have been there, felt the anxiety and managed it! Here are the the stories I return to year after year! Between familiar characters, upbeat rhymes or their  comfort factor, they make a great mix.

To read more about these stories, and for the link to a free supplement to accompany The Kissing Hand, please click here!

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August 2019 Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s August Teacher Talk Time…..Hopefully those of you who are back to school this month are off to a great beginning with the best classes
ever. 
 We have so many great tips and ideas for you from awesome educators. Be sure to take a look at what everyone has to say.

If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher
entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….
The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.
 If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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 Is Summer Vacation Over Already?
Someone posted on Facebook that August is like Sunday for teachers! We’re elated when the weekend comes around, and love Saturday, it’s one of our fun days, but then the dreaded Sunday comes, you have to correct papers, do lesson plans, and go to bed at a reasonable hour, you know the routine.  Then there’s the month of August, it just seems to zooooom by and before you know it your summer vacation is like a dream gone by.  But you do Love teaching, it’s your calling. Read on for some first day teaching tips.
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How Morning Meeting Can Become a Sacred Space
By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

 Adding new practices to make Morning Meeting a peaceful and calm transition to your teaching and learning day.

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 5 Meaningful No-Prep Activities for the First Week of School
By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools 

If you’re frantically planning for your first day or week of school, here are five tried & true activities (not busy work!) to keep your students engaged while you get to observe and learn more about them. And be sure to download all the FREEBIES!

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 Developing Powerful, Enthusiastic Readers

 Every teacher wants a classroom filled with powerful and enthusiastic readers. This is a terrific goal for the new school year…and it can be accomplished with
this design.
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 Free Video to Teach Prepositional Phrases
By Charlene Tess of Charlene Tess

 Here’s a FREE video to teach prepositional phrases.

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 Developing and Writing Effective Lesson Plans for Math
By Vicky Rauch of Scipi

 We often hear of research based strategies and how to use them in our classrooms. Having worked at two colleges in the past ten years, I have discovered that some who are doing this research have never been in a classroom or taught anyone under the age of 18! (Sad but True) 

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  Using Math Centers in the Upper Elementary Classroom
By Kris McWilliams of Mistakes Allow Things to Happen

 Thinking about adding Math Centers to your classroom math block? This article will help you take steps to implement a plan in an upper elementary school classroom.

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 Ease New School Year Teacher Anxiety
 By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching

 Tips to ease Teachers’ back to school anxiety.

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 Math Games: Observing Your Students Makes Back-to-School a Breeze!
By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs 

 Want to know an easy peasy way to really get to know your kiddos at the beginning of the year? Play some math games with them and sit back and watch. This is one teacher’s approach to collecting student data.

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Recommended Reading Board
By Erik Arndt of Insights to English

Create a wall display of books (or better yet: series of books) that your students should consider reading. Make sure to have a variety of formats and genres so that there’s something for everyone!
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 This is the Time to Start Your Year Off Right With an Amazing Close Reading Lesson
By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR’s Classroom

 This is the time to start your year off right with an amazing close reading
lesson. As the school year starts, this is the best time to start with
close reading.

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Be sure to click the links and mosey on over to all the fabulous blog posts submitted by our members. Lots of tips on back to school activities, mathematics, reading and so much more.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Why Back to School Anxiety is such a big deal, and what to prioritize to get through it!


MATH LESSON – “Number 1 – 20, The Bundle”

By Sue Kayobie

Pre-K – 1st Grade


Number 1 – 20, The Bundle

This packet is designed to offer a fun, engaging and educational way to work on number recognition and counting skills during your school year. 


Here is the individual product:
Number 1 – 20 Count & Dab
Number 1 – 20 Find & Count
Number 1 – 20 Read & Trace

If you like this Product, you might like these products too. :
Number 0 – 20 Writing Practice
Number 0 – 20 Trace & Color
Number 0 – 20 Color & Sort
Number 1 – 20 Count & Match

Follow my TPT store for notifications, sale, and freebies.

Sue Kayobie’s TPT Store

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Thank You!


Sue


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – “August Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies”

By Sue Kayobie

Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Inside you will find:
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice BW version.
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice color version.

In this pack, your early writer will learn how to trace the words, trace the whole sentence and they have to copy the sentence. It’s fun and perfect for your early writer. These activities work well for fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

August Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies

 Here is the preview of this product.

Follow my TPT store for notifications, sale, and freebies.

Sue Kayobie’s TPT Store

Sue Kayobie’s Pinterest

Sue Kayobie’s Instagram

Thank You!


Sue


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – ” July Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies”

By Sue Kayobie

Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Inside you will find:
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice BW version.
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice color version.

In this pack, your early writer will learn how to trace the words, trace the whole sentence and they have to copy the sentence. It’s fun and perfect for your early writer. These activities work well for fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

July Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies

 Here is the preview of this product.

Follow my TPT store for notifications, sale, and freebies.

Sue Kayobie’s TPT Store

Sue Kayobie’s Pinterest

Sue Kayobie’s Instagram


Thank You!

Sue


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – “CVC Matching Practice Free Samples”

By Sue Kayobie

Kindergarten, 1st Grade


This product includes color and BW (black and white) short vowel CVC Matching Practice. Your students will need to read the CVC words and match them with the right pictures. This is also great for your students that still need to work on their motor skills. 

I hope this will be fun activities for your students as they learn CVC Words.

The CVC Words included in this pack are :

*Short A: ab, ad, ag, am, an, ap, ar, at, ax.

*Short E: eb, ed, eg, em, en, et.

*Short I: ib, id, ig, im, in, ip, it, ix.

*Short O: ob, od, og, om, op, ot, ox.

*Short U: ub, ud, ug, um,un, up, us, ut, ux.

CVC Matching Practice Free Samples

Here is the preview of the product.

Follow my TPT store for notifications, sale, and freebies.

Sue Kayobie’s TPT Store

Sue Kayobie’s Pinterest

Sue Kayobie’s Instagram


Thank You!

Sue


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-“Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 3”

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 3

 

by Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This 3 pages of Alphabet Fine Motor Skill Set 3 are perfect for preschool and kindergarteners working on fine motor skills!

Practice makes perfect, this set is a continuation of the previous sets. It will encourage your students to practice more on their handwriting, and they will have to trace the pictures.

These Alphabet Fine Motor Skill activities work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 3

 

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 3

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

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FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-“Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2”

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

 

by Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This 3 pages of Alphabet Fine Motor Skill Set 2 are perfect for preschool and kindergarteners working on fine motor skills!

This set encourages students to focus on their alphabet handwriting, to start drawing a different type of lines – the first step in pencil control and enhances both motor planning and fine motor skills.

These Alphabet Fine Motor Skill activities work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

 

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

Pinterest


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-“Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1”

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

 

by Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This 3 pages of Alphabet Fine Motor Skill Set 1are perfect for preschool and kindergarteners working on fine motor skills!
This set encourages students to trace the word, and trace the line to the matching picture. On this set, I also include the pages with and without tracing lines. You can choose which one that suits your students.

These Alphabet Fine Motor Skill activities work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

 

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

Pinterest


FREE MATH LESSON-“Number 1 – 20 Writing Practice Set 2 Free Samples”

Number 1 – 20 Writing Practice Set 2 Free Samples

By Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

This Writing Practice Set 2 is another product for your students who are struggling with their handwriting. It will teach your little learner to learn the first step of numbers. They will learn how to trace the number and the word number.

These Number 1 – 20 Writing Practice Set 2 work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Number 1 – 20 Writing Practice Set 2 Free Samples

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Number 1 – 20 Writing Practice set 2

 

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

Pinterest


FREE MATH LESSON-“Number 1 – 20 Count & Dab Free Samples”

Number 1 – 20 Count & Dab Free Samples

By Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This packet is designed to offer a fun, engaging and educational way to work on number recognition and counting skills during your school year.

This packet work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Number 1 – 20 Count & Dab Free Samples

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Number 1 – 20 Count & Dab

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Number 1 – 20, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

Pinterest


Visual Schedules in kindergarten and primary classrooms – the benefits!

The benefits of using a visual schedule in kindergarten and early primary classrooms | That Fun Reading Teacher.com

Photo credit: Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_luislouro’>luislouro / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Do you use a visual schedule in your classroom? As a special education teacher working in many kindergarten and primary classes, I’ve seen how beneficial they are for the whole class!

The origin of visual schedules

In special education, we had been putting picture symbol schedules in place for our students with autism for years, as they provide

  • an overview of the student’s day, in parts or as a whole, so the student has an idea of what to expect (this helps prevent anxiety)
  • a means of communication for students who struggle with oral language and / or auditory processing (they can point at the pictures to help get their message across, follow the pictures to understand what they might have missed verbally)
  • structure and increased independence, allowing students to manage transitions with less support
  • the flexibility of making changes to only the necessary parts of the schedule without having to change the entire day.
  • a sense of understanding how their day works, and counts down as blocks of time wrap up, helps kids feel a sense of accomplishment, more safe and in control of their emotions

The shift to whole class schedules

Our consultants began recommending visual schedules for more groups of students as time went on – students struggling with anxiety, managing behavior, transitions.  I began to notice that a few classroom teachers had just stopped using the individual student schedules (too cumbersome with multiple students with schedules in the class) and gone to a classroom one instead – and the effect was amazing.

Students checked in on that schedule all day. As time passed, a card was moved or taken down. If plans changed, the teacher simply switched out the card, and the kids understood and accepted it. The morning schedule was discussed at the carpet in the morning, and the process repeated in the afternoon.

Why it’s becoming the new normal

How many times have you heard this lately?

Kindergarten is a social communication program.

Do you agree? My very first class was a kindergarten class, in 1996, and the catch phrase at that time was ‘We’re teaching them how to play the game of school’. 

There are so many children in our classes now that struggle with social-communication, anxiety, self-regulation, learning disabilities, being in an overcrowded classroom, among other things.  And teachers have more to manage than ever before.

Consider that:

  • students regularly referring to the schedule throughout the day are prepared for transitions and managing themselves with greater independence
  • the visual schedule takes on the role of a ‘first-then’ board, as students are able to see things they are looking forward to coming up (for example, homesick students can see blocks of time disappearing as it gets closer to home time; students who dislike pencil / paper tasks can look forward to recess etc.)
  • students take pride in showing a visitor to the class that he or she can read, and knows what’s happening next
  • it is easy for a substitute teacher to step in with an already established structure in place (and it can be left prepared for the next day without having to write an explanation!)
  • With my Reading Recovery background, I can’t help but love the fact that this is just another way to drive home ‘reading the pictures’ for meaning first!
  • it can be used as a tool for teaching ‘time’ (some teachers add clocks beside each item) and sequencing events in order
  • The visual schedule makes a nice link to learning centres / centres

Have you tried using a visual schedule in your classroom? How has it been going for you?

Best wishes with your littles,

Ida Mae

If you are looking for a visual schedule and center / centre cards set, please check out mine below. The cards fit nicely into a pocket chart, can be used with adhesive magnets on the back, or simply pinned to a bulletin board. I’ve included months, days and Troll-themed editable name cards as well. Click the image to take you to my store to see the preview!

Are there cards you would like to see added to the schedule?

If so, please click the ‘ask a question’ tab in my TpT store, or email me at thatfunreadingteacher@gmail.com to suggest it for an update!

 

Related:

Back to School posts, resources, links and more! | That Fun Reading Teacher.com

The Dealing With Feelings Series

 


English/Language Arts Complete Curriculum Bundle- Grades 7-9; CCSS Aligned

This English/Language Arts Massive Curriculum Bundle includes 14 large teaching units. Many of these units are unit bundles themselves pushing the number of units up to 20 complete teaching units!

 

Every lesson is CCSS Aligned; these CCSS Standards are outlined within each of the individual units (links below).

All units are digital for applications in a 1:1 Google Drive classroom if you wish. PDF, Word, PowerPoint applications are also included for easy printing.

Each unit has detailed lesson plans to support your instruction, and a pacing guide/outline is provided as well. See the Preview for a sneak peek at a basic version of this pacing guide! Each unit is described below, and a link is provided to the original unit/lessons.

Save nearly $28.00 with this bundle!

1. Close Reading Strategies:
Teach your students how to use close reading strategies to improve reading comprehension and written analysis. This gradual release method will encourage your students to completely rethink how they view themselves as readers.
Close Reading Strategies (Text Annotation to Support Reading Comprehension)

2. Plot Elements Game!
The plot/literary elements game activity fosters a shared writing experience for students in the creation of a fun, creative, and often hilarious story.
Students then analyze this story for its flawed plot elements based on their understanding of literary elements.
Plot/Literary Elements GAME!

3. Summarizing Fiction
Teach your students how to create a concise and objective summary of a fiction text with this simple, easy, step-by-step method. Students will be able to effectively condense a complete summary into three sentences. Students will be able to identify the protagonist, the character motivation, the conflict, rising action, and the resolution in these three sentences! This step-by-step method will make this process easy for your students.
Summarizing Fiction Lesson, Guided and Collaborative Practice, and Assessment!

 

 

4. Summarizing Nonfiction
Teach your students how to create a concise summary of nonfiction texts that are free from personal judgements or opinions with this simple, easy, step-by-step method. Students will be able to effectively condense any nonfiction text into a few short sentences that fully encompass the main ideas of any nonfiction article/text. Students will also learn to how to effectively annotate the text and create marginal notes to manage the often challenging world of nonfiction reading.
Summarizing Nonfiction Lesson, Graphic Organizers, 12 Differentiated Texts, CCSS

5. In-Text Citation (Parenthetical Citation)
This unit includes a Google Slides/PowerPoint presentation to teach the MLA 8th Edition rules for in-text citation (parenthetical citation), an MLA trouble-shooting guide for students, a digital and printable interactive notebook, quality examples from real literature, Bell Ringer practice, and a unique summative assessment.
In-Text Citation Lesson, Practice, and Assessment

 

6. Suspense and “The Monkey’s Paw”
Introduce your students to suspense techniques and plot development within the ultra suspenseful story, “The Monkey’s Paw”! This iconic short story will leave your students on the edge of their seats as they read to discover what will happen with these three terrible wishes.
“The Monkey’s Paw” Complete Short Story Bundle with The Suspense Unit Bundle!

7. Literary Analysis:
Literary Analysis Made Easy!
Teach your students this easy step-by-step process for developing a rich, insightful, and well supported literary analysis. Breaking down this challenging process for students allows for further depth in each key area of a quality response!
Literary Analysis Made Easy

 

9. Tone and Mood:
This complete unit bundle will teach your students how to understand the complex topic of tone and mood in literature!
1. Lesson on Tone and Mood
2. Lesson on Connotation/Denotation
3. Tone and Mood Exploration through music, video games, film, art, literature, photography, and memes!
4. Tone and Mood Mini-Lesson
5. Tone and Mood Notes
6. Tone and Mood Project- over 8 choices for summative assessments!
7. Bell Ringer Activities- for each day of the unit!
Tone and Mood in Literature

10. “Cemetery Path” Short Story Unit Bundle
The ultimate short story bundle! “Cemetery Path” by Leonard Q. Ross is an excellent, scary, thrilling short story to engage your learners.
This complete pack meets 6 CCSS standards, and contains 9 specific lessons in reading, writing, and speaking.
Short Story Unit Bundle – “Cemetery Path” with Tone and Mood

11. Analyzing Rhetoric Unit Bundle:
Ethos, Pathos Logos Unit
Logical Fallacies Unit
Analyzing Rhetoric Unit
Rhetoric Bell Ringers
Rhetorical Analysis Unit Bundle

12. Writing the Argument Essay:
Teach your students how to write that argument essay with this complete unit bundle!
Writing the Argument Essay Complete Unit Bundle + Student Interactive Notebook

13. Grammar and Sentence Structure Complete Unit Bundle
This complete unit bundle includes everything you need to teach sentence structure and comma placement to your students. Each unit will support students in creating:
-compound sentences
-complex sentences
-a variety of introductory phrases to vary sentence beginnings
– appositives to vary sentence structure, create interest, create explanations, and a strong writer’s voice.
– bell ringer practice with all sentence structures to provide support all year long
– nine beautiful classroom posters with mentor sentences to support student understanding while creating a visual display.
– extensive mentor sentence examples pulled from quality literature sources!
Grammar- Complete Sentence Structure Unit Bundle – Understanding Commas!

14. 6 Word Memoir
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a NOVEL in 6 words.
His response?
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
6 incredibly powerful words that seem to tell an entire story. This is the challenge I pose to my students within the last few weeks of the school year. Write your own memoir in six incredibly powerful, carefully chosen words.
6 Word Memoir Lesson and Assessment

Follow my store by clicking on the link at the top of the page for updates, announcements, and fun freebies! You can also find me on PinterestFacebook, and my blog- Teach BeTween the Lines!


Free Back to School Literacy Lessons K-2

Hello my friends! Have you started to think about Back to School yet? (Has anyone ever really stopped?)

It’s an exciting time of year, and I always find it easier to sleep when I at least have the first few days planned out – and that involves getting to know my students. I like to find out who they are as people, how they feel about various aspects of school, get a glimpse of their skills, and most importantly – know how they’ll be getting home from school!

Disclaimer: This activity is by no means a guaranteed method of validating a child’s transportation arrangements for one day or the entire school year, but does make a nice introduction to a graphing activity.

 

I wanted to share this ten page Back to School literacy sampler with you, so you will have a window into some of the products I use with my K-2 students at the beginning of the year.

What else is in the BTS sampler?

 

I do not want to ruin the surprise, but I will tell you that this sampler could lead you to more free samples…especially if you like Sight-Word PreEmergent (Level aa) or Emergent (Level A and B) readers with sentence puzzles and fun follow ups. 

Ok, getting carried away now. Almost told you about the crazy fun game I’m making. But I didn’t! 

I will leave you with this thought, however. Start collecting smart phone boxes.

Enjoy summer for as long as you can!

Take care,

Ida Mae, aka


HUGE BUNDLED SAVINGS!!!!

A year’s worth of assessments, homework, and activities for 5th grade. All the activities are standard based. There’s a huge variety to choose from allowing you to cater to your students’ needs…or use in different grades for review or advanced learners

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/5th-Grade-Math-Morning-Work-Homework-Class-Work-and-Tests-2746696

 


September Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

septrember-teacher-talk

It’s September Teacher Talk Time…..Hopefully everyone is off to a great school year with the best classes ever.  We have so many great tips and ideas for you from awesome educators. Be sure to take a look at what everyone has to say.

 If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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Remembering 9/11

I remember September 11 as if it were yesterday. I woke up to a spectacular morning, not a cloud in the deep blue sky. The day was simply perfect.

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My Class Won’t Stop Talking!

By Retta London of rainbow City Learning

A few tips on how to handle the chattiest class ever! 

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Creating Welcome Signs for Open House

It’s Back to School time! Open house is coming soon, therefore, I wanted to share with you two ‘Welcome Sign In’ Signs I created this year. The purpose of my sign is for parents and guardians to see it, feel welcome, and as a reminder for them to please sign in on the sign in sheet I will lay out.

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Back to School Math Riddles

By Sara Snyder of Snyder Classroom

The beginning of the year can be hard for students as they adjust back into the routine an rigors of school. I am always trying to find ways to make math fun and approachable in my classroom. These math riddles are just the thing to help students practice the skills that they need to refresh, but also add a bit of fun to the computation too!

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In Defense of the “Lazy” Teacher

By Kerry Tracy of Kerry Tracy

Has any profession been so profoundly misunderstood as teaching? 

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How to Set Up Visual Supports for Whole Group Instruction

By Thia Triggs of Print Path

This tutorial will help you make your own visual supports for positive behaviors.

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The 12 Days of Back to School

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

“On the twelfth day of back to school, my principal gave to me twelve students learning, eleven cutters cutting, ten songs for singing, nine clocks ticking, eight kids-a-thinking, seven books for reading, six games for playing, five packs of pens, four bulletin boards, three supply bins, two oversized rugs, one cluttered classroom and a mixed-up set of TEs.” Celebrate the Back to School season with “The 12 Days of Back to School” blog series! Read about my tips, tricks, and strategies to get ready for the new school year.  

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Reducing Pencil Issues in the Classroom

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Here’s a great blog post and video tutorial to help you reduce wasted time in your classroom by eliminating pencil issues.

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Rethinking Reading Logs for young readers

Rethinking Reading Logs for young readers

I have spent most of my career teaching little people, and a good part of that time parenting little people, too. One topic of great discussion (well beyond kindergarten and grade one) was that of the Reading Log.

As a first grade teacher, I had mixed feelings about sending them home. It’s fairly easy to figure out early on what will become of one’s students’ reading logs throughout the year. As parents, we all have the best intentions. Teachers know that. Many of us fill both roles.

Life gets busy, especially that in-between school and bed time when you have to make and clean up dinner between driving kids everywhere ensure they’re somewhat clean, and maybe even do some homework. I believe that most parents do read with, or to, their kids. Writing it down (especially when we’re exhausted and feeling like we’re being policed?) Well, that’s a whole other story.

How many evenings did I spend at the end of each month, sitting at my kitchen table with a selection of different colored pens, filling in my kids’ reading logs? We absolutely read each night, probably for too long, but we sure didn’t break the spell to keep track of it all!

It is because I valued passing on the love of reading that, in the case of traditional Reading Logs, our kids learned from me that I was okay with dishonesty (under very specific circumstances). Yep, they learned that the magic of reading trumped honesty. GULP.

The Parent / Teacher Connection:

When I was teaching Reading Recovery, between my training and the variety of students I had, I began to really understand the difference between passive and active learners, and the connection between our roles as parents and teachers. Have you heard the phrase ‘Never do for a child what he can do for himself’? I’m a believer.

There was a very definite link between how quickly my students that were more independent with getting ready for recess or home, for example, and using the strategies I was teaching them, were progressing through the program. Those who simply shrugged when I asked them a question, or stood daydreaming in the hall, expecting someone to come and zip up their jackets were the ones who seemed to struggle the most. They were also the ones who left their reading bags at home, waited to be directed for every step of the same structured lesson we had each day. Some of my students did not have bedtime stories because they ‘didn’t have time’. (That did not surprise me with the amount of time it took to travel down a short hallway!)

I have ‘rejigged’ the reading log for the little people, with the purpose of parents and teachers focusing on maintaining the natural enthusiasm and building responsibility for their learning in our little people! Have a look:


Th 2 Reading Log bw cover

This is the front

cover, with space

for the student’s

portrait and

name. Copy onto

colored paper

or let them color

it themselves! 


Th 3 Reading Logs

This is the first

inside page of

the Reading

Log, with the

legend and a

note for parents

explaining how

it all works! 


Th 4 10 June Reading Log

Students draw in &

submit reading

log with a page

completed monthly.

after discussing  

the 3 boxes at 

bottom at home.


strips - Copy

This is a later addition

to Reading Logs –

rejigged, for anyone

wishing to add extra

strips for additional

tracking (weekly?)

Simply return to your

My Purchases page &

download an update!


Th1 Familiar Reading explained! Free handout for parents and volunteers by ThatFunReadingTeacher

While this is not part of

Reading Logs – rejigged

it is the ideal info sheet

(& freebie) to include

with it or in your

familiar reading bags! 


It is my hope, that by focusing on each child as an individual ‘Superstar’ Reader (front cover), who has an important job to do in bringing his or her special Reading Folder or bag home regularly (hopefully with a library book to listen to, and/or some familiar reading), and returning it to school, it help foster a sense of pride in being a big kid who ‘reads’.

It is also my hope that our earliest little readers and their parents find reading stories at bedtime something they look forward to each night, and that stories accompany them elsewhere in their lives!

Below, please find the links to the free one month trial version and the full versions of Reading Logs – rejigged! If you like this idea, please pass it on!

I would love to hear your thoughts on reading logs, this new one, and alternatives you use.

Best wishes to all of you as we embark on another school year!



 FULL PRODUCT
RL fr sample FREE SAMPLE

The full product comes with all 12 months, plus additional months  for August, October,

November, December and April to keep options open regardless of country or religion!
Reading Log preview.png - Copy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Related:

First Grade and Kindergarten Literacy Bundle


Follow That Fun Reading Teacher’s board Kindergarten Literacy Fun on Pinterest.

 

2015 TpT Store Prof pic circle

http://thatfunreadingteacher.com/

ThatFunReadingTeacher@gmail.com

Click the symbol above to access my TpT Store! 😉

 


Reading Logs for young readers? Here’s an alternative!

Rethinking Reading Logs for young readers

I have spent most of my career teaching little people, and a good part of that time parenting little people, too. One topic of great discussion (well beyond kindergarten and grade one) was that of the Reading Log.

As a first grade teacher, I had mixed feelings about sending them home. It’s fairly easy to figure out early on what will become of one’s students’ reading logs throughout the year. As parents, we all have the best intentions. Teachers know that. Many of us fill both roles.

Life gets busy, especially that in-between school and bed time when you have to make and clean up dinner between driving kids everywhere ensure they’re somewhat clean, and maybe even do some homework. I believe that most parents do read with, or to, their kids. Writing it down (especially when we’re exhausted and feeling like we’re being policed?) Well, that’s a whole other story.

How many evenings did I spend at the end of each month, sitting at my kitchen table with a selection of different colored pens, filling in my kids’ reading logs? We absolutely read each night, probably for too long, but we sure didn’t break the spell to keep track of it all!

It is because I valued passing on the love of reading that, in the case of traditional Reading Logs, our kids learned from me that I was okay with dishonesty (under very specific circumstances). Yep, they learned that the magic of reading trumped honesty. GULP.

The Parent / Teacher Connection:

When I was teaching Reading Recovery, between my training and the variety of students I had, I began to really understand the difference between passive and active learners, and the connection between our roles as parents and teachers. Have you heard the phrase ‘Never do for a child what he can do for himself’? I’m a believer.

There was a very definite link between how quickly my students that were more independent with getting ready for recess or home, for example, and using the strategies I was teaching them, were progressing through the program. Those who simply shrugged when I asked them a question, or stood daydreaming in the hall, expecting someone to come and zip up their jackets were the ones who seemed to struggle the most. They were also the ones who left their reading bags at home, waited to be directed for every step of the same structured lesson we had each day. Some of my students did not have bedtime stories because they ‘didn’t have time’. (That did not surprise me with the amount of time it took to travel down a short hallway!)

I have ‘rejigged’ the reading log for the little people, with the purpose of parents and teachers focusing on maintaining the natural enthusiasm and building responsibility for their learning in our little people! Have a look:


Th 2 Reading Log bw cover

This is the front

cover, with space

for the student’s

portrait and

name. Copy onto

colored paper

or let them color

it themselves! 


Th 3 Reading Logs

This is the first

inside page of

the Reading

Log, with the

legend and a

note for parents

explaining how

it all works! 


Th 4 10 June Reading Log

Students draw in &

submit reading

log with a page

completed monthly.

after discussing  

the 3 boxes at 

bottom at home.


strips - Copy

This is a later addition

to Reading Logs –

rejigged, for anyone

wishing to add extra

strips for additional

tracking (weekly?)

Simply return to your

My Purchases page &

download an update!


Th1 Familiar Reading explained! Free handout for parents and volunteers by ThatFunReadingTeacher

While this is not part of

Reading Logs – rejigged

it is the ideal info sheet

(& freebie) to include

with it or in your

familiar reading bags! 


It is my hope, that by focusing on each child as an individual ‘Superstar’ Reader (front cover), who has an important job to do in bringing his or her special Reading Folder or bag home regularly (hopefully with a library book to listen to, and/or some familiar reading), and returning it to school, it help foster a sense of pride in being a big kid who ‘reads’.

It is also my hope that our earliest little readers and their parents find reading stories at bedtime something they look forward to each night, and that stories accompany them elsewhere in their lives!

Below, please find the links to the free one month trial version and the full versions of Reading Logs – rejigged! If you like this idea, please pass it on!

I would love to hear your thoughts on reading logs, this new one, and alternatives you use.

Best wishes to all of you as we embark on another school year!



 FULL PRODUCT
RL fr sample FREE SAMPLE

The full product comes with all 12 months, plus additional months  for August, October,

November, December and April to keep options open regardless of country or religion!
Reading Log preview.png - Copy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Related:

First Grade and Kindergarten Literacy Bundle


Follow That Fun Reading Teacher’s board Kindergarten Literacy Fun on Pinterest.

 

2015 TpT Store Prof pic circle

http://thatfunreadingteacher.com/

ThatFunReadingTeacher@gmail.com

Click the symbol above to access my TpT Store! 😉

 


Benefits of a personal alphabet book – a lesson from my Reading Recovery days

The benefits of a personal alphabet book - lessons learned from my Reading Recovery days. A blog post by That Fun Reading Teacher.

 

Why go to the trouble of creating a personal Alphabet Book for your students, instead of having everyone in the class work through each letter together? It sounds like a lot to manage, but creating links to a child’s life early in literacy learning is worth the confidence and gains they make later.

When I taught Reading Recovery to grade one students early in the school year, creating a personal alphabet book was one of the first things we did together when we started lessons. It wasn’t until seven years in to my teaching career that I understood the benefits of a personal alphabet book, and I have Dr. Marie Clay and my Reading Recovery teacher leaders to thank for that.

In Literacy Lessons Part Two, Dr. Clay explains:

The alphabet book is merely a record of what is known with spaces for what is ‘yet to be learned’  That gives the child a sense of the size of the task and a feeling of control over his own progress.  It also provides a location to return to when a troublesome letter, still being confused, turns up. (p37)

She explains that children do not generally learn to identify letters by name or sound in alphabetical order and that identifying a letter by name or sound is equally useful for a child early on, as it is most effective to teach both name and sound together.

 

When children have one word for each letter that he or she knows for sure makes that letter sound, they use it as an anchor, a concrete example to hold all other words against for comparison.

When they have their own sound alphabet that they have created from the words most meaningful to them, the words that pop into their minds with the initial letter sounds and that association gives them confidence that they know that particular sound.  It gives them the confidence to ‘spit’ that sound out when they see an unknown word on a page when they are reading, or put down that first letter when attempting to write a word they have never attempted before.

The personal alphabet book is the ultimate, at-a-glance reference guide. It is meaningful to each child, because that child constructed it from people and things that are meaningful to them already. The connections are already in place.

The key to the effectiveness of a personalized alphabet book is in its construction.  It must be done slowly but with enthusiasm, following the child’s lead, reviewed often and used as reference.

Years ago, we spent hours cutting up old coloring books and worksheets to use as images for our students’ alphabet books. This led to the creation of a kit as a time-saver! Try it free in the BTS Sampler, linked below!

Ready to create a personal alphabet book? Here’s how.

Related:

The Complete Alphabet Book Kit #BTS Big Bundle by That Fun Reader Teacher

Free Back to School Sampler by That Fun Reading Teacher How to create a personal alphabet book - a post by That Fun Reading Teacher.

Best wishes for Back to School, everyone!

I.M. That Fun Reading Teacher!


 2015 TpT Store Prof pic circle


Starting a Reading Buddies program in your classroom? Some tips and a freebie!

 

Starting a #ReadingBuddies program in your classroom- Some tips and a freebie to get you started!

 

Thinking about starting a Reading Buddies program in your classroom this year? Here are some tips and tools to get things rolling!

Consider putting School-wide Reading Buddies on a staff meeting agenda.

Discuss the benefits for all students with your divisional leads and administration, and even if the seed of the idea is planted to be reassessed next year, it will give you a sense of who might be open to a pairing for this year.

Take age into consideration.

An age / grade difference of 2-3 years between buddies puts a clear boundary between who the big buddies and little buddies are.

Approach a colleague about pairing classes…

…and be realistic about whether your schedules will work! Casual conversation over lunch can often accomplish this, but it seems like our time is less our own these days! I have created this free letter and form to simplify the process:

Reading Buddies teacher letter free 

Build Reading Buddy time into your timetable.

When ‘it’s official’ everyone knows what to expect, when. Perhaps it is alternate week familiar reading, word-work, or math skills review through games, part of character education or religious education for forty minutes. While  may Reading Buddies may not appear in on the timetable your principal has to hand in to the school board, it’s important that the kids have this special time to look forward to. It could even happen over lunch!

Define expectations to both classes.

This is accomplished best if done as individual classes, as the expectations differ for the age groups in some ways. Review general expectations when they are brought together for the first few times, and provide visual reminders. Reading Buddies time can quickly look like recess if sixty kids are unsure of what the rules are, half the kids, ‘read the book already’ and have decided to hang out with someone else!

Talk to your partner class’ teacher about general and specific expectations.

I wrote general expectations in a storybook lesson format for my students, explaining to the bigger buddies (third graders) ‘This is what I am reading to your little buddies‘ (kindergarters). One of my valued TpT customers reads her class the story, then posts the pages on a bulletin board! I love that!

Here are some ideas for general expectations from my Reading Buddies Starter pack:

Student expectations defined in That Fun Reading Teacher's Reading Buddies Starter Pack

What are some expectations that you find important to put in place during Reading Buddies time?

Best wishes to all you!

    I.M. at 

2015 TpT Store Prof pic circle

Related: 

The benefits of a Reading Buddies program and not just the little buddies! by That Fun Reading Teacher Reading Buddies

#BTS Big Bundle by That Fun Reader Teacher Rethinking Reading Logs for young students by That Fun Reading Teacher


August Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s August Teacher Talk Time…..Hopefully many of you are still enjoying your summer

vacation. Some of you are back to school already, while others are getting your classrooms ready for an exciting new school year. We have so many great tips and ideas for you from awesome educators. Be sure to take a look at what everyone has to say.

If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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Teaching Tolerance During this Election Season

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I don’t know about you, but this was the first political convention I’ve followed with interest and a great degree of concern. We need to embrace our diversity, to look for the good in each other, and notice the positive things we see happening every day.


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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Some tips for bringing respect back to your classroom.

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Setting Up Your Classroom With Style

This time of year I love to find new ideas to make my classroom functional, yet cute. The way I figure it, I spend more awake hours in my classroom than any other room in my house. So, why not make it visually appealing! Here are some ideas that are functional, yet adorable at the same time.

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5 Teacher Must-haves for Back to School: Working on a Budget

My top five must haves for the classroom teacher!

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Back-to-School Ice Breaker

Do you hate ice breakers? Me too. That’s why I created something a little different for grade 4 – 8 to enjoy!


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Using Productive Struggle to Promote a Growth Mindset

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

“Using Productive Struggle to Promote a Growth Mindset” is the second part of my Summer PD with The Routty Math Teacher blog series. In this four-part series, I define productive struggle, advocate for its purpose and usefulness in the classroom, illustrate how it is reflected in a teacher’s instructional decisions, offer a list of expectations for both students and teachers during productive struggle, provide an opportunity to see productive struggle in action via a Teaching Channel video, and connect productive struggle with growth mindsets. 


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 It’s Back to School Time! Have fun with the Marshmallow Tower Project!

By Mary Moore of Moore Resources

I will be implementing a project the first week of school, “The Marshmallow Tower Project”, shared with me at a Teaching Summit in June. Materials needed are: A box of….


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Using Handwriting Without Tears to Teach Printing

By Thia Triggs of Print Path

Most every Occupational Therapist that I have ever met loves the Handwriting Without Tears© [HWT] program to teach handwriting. But not every OT, and many teachers and school districts do not use this program. Why not? I would like to discuss what I have observed about advantages and disadvantages of using HWT. 


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Tips For Teaching The Presidential Election

By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching 

Tips for teachers to use while teaching about the Presidential Election.


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What Happens When a Classroom Theme Drives Instruction?

By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

When teachers talk about themes, they’re usually talking about classroom decor. But could they be missing out on some real instructional power? Let your themes drive your instruction for the entire school year!

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Be sure to enter TBOTEMC’s Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $100 gift

certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers. Please remember to enter one of our names and Tpt store on the referral section of the registration form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop on over to visit the blogs from other teachers in our cooperative.


Teaching Tolerance During this Election Season

I don’t know aVote imagebout you, but this was the first political convention I’ve followed with interest and a great degree of concern.  We need to embrace our diversity, to look for the good in each other, and notice the positive things we see happening every day.  I was appalled by what I saw occur during the Republican convention. It was shocking to witness such divisiveness, hate, pessimism and fear mongering. Everything was dark and ominous.  Our country wasn’t built on that. It was built on faith, optimism, a genuine caring for each other and working together for the greater good. That is the American way!  We teach our children to be compassionate, to respect each other no matter their race, or religion, and to find something positive in everything and everyone. How can we expect them to believe us when they see a bully running for president, an individual who has no respect for women, disabled people, minority groups, immigrants, even experienced judges, let alone heroic veterans and those in the military who have dedicated their lives to serving our country and protecting our freedom.

What if this irresponsible, inexperienced, bigoted person, whose only accomplishment is enriching himself while cheating and taking advantage of others less powerful, were to become leader of the free world? Will he stop and erode all the hard fought progress made by honest, hard working champions for our way of life?

So how do you respond when a young person asks, “Why is this bully running for president, I’m afraid of him,” or “Why doesn’t he like Mexicans, is he going to send us back to Mexico? We have to let our kids know that just because he has succeeded at something, doesn’t mean he’s someone to follow or vote for.  That freedom of speech is part of our constitution and the law of the land allowing anyone to exercise it freely. Sadly, has taken advantage of this.

Let your kids know that anger is a normal emotion, sometimes we all feel this way. The main goal is to allow one  to express his/her feelings and not to keep them bottled up inside.  We need to let them know that sometimes people say hurtful things when they are frightened, unhappy, immature, and jealous of those who have been successful in their lives. Bullies often feel threatened by the accomplishments of others so they lash out.

one

  1. Parents and/or teachers should ask questions and listen to what the kids have to say.

Here are some tips.

  • Ask what they think about the presidential nominees
  • Who are the candidates?
  • What kind of people are the candidates?
  • What are some of the things they’ve been talking about?
  • Who would you vote for and why?

two

  1. Express how you feel and give clear reasons why. This will help children learn coping skills when they feel unhappy, angry and fearful. These actions will aid them in understanding that they have choices, are connected and empowered.
  • This is an opportunity to hold a discussion about differencesof opinion, how to debate respectfully, and how to fight for a cause. Create various scenarios that they can role play.
  • Use historical events to help make sense out of what is happening today. Spend classroom time talking about current events on a daily basis. Do not try to sway their opinion with your own.
  • Parents should also join in with a statement of how they feel about the election.
  • They could do the following with their children, view anti-racial speeches. attend a rally, write a letter to the candidate, take their child to vote with them.

 three

  1. Last, but not least, allow the children to speak freely about anything that is on their mind. Be honest and sincere when answering their questions.

The way influential adults act and talk about women, immigrants and each other is important. It is the basis for how our kids view the government, society and relationships.  If this negativity continues, it will change our world for the worse and we don’t want to go to a place that we will never be able to return from. As adults, it is our responsibility to say what is on our mind, to let our voices be heard by voting, and to be role models for our charges.
I have strong feelings this election season, and I hope that I haven’t offended anyone with this post.  Thanks for reading….

Deann

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/healthy_kids/How-do-you-talk-to-your-kids-about-Trump.html

http://time.com/4263213/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-donald-trump/

http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/how-to-talk-with-your-kids-about-donald-trump-20160415

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Back to School Binder for classroom activities and decoration.

Collages1-001

 

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Please visit Socrates Lantern’s Social Media Sites





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Be sure to enter TBOTEMC’s Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers. Please remember to enter my name Deann Marin and my Tpt store Socrates Lantern on the referral section of the registration form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This is part of our August Teacher Talk, so head on over to the other posts to see the tips/ideas from all of our educators.

August Teacher Talk.007


The benefits of Reading Buddy Programs

The benefits of a Reading Buddies program by That Fun Reading Teacher
[/Image credit: gelpi / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Just typing the term Reading Buddies brings a smile to my face.

When I was teaching kindergarten and first grade, my students always had Reading Buddies (older students from a partner class). The older buddies usually came weekly to read with my students and do a fun activity.

Having a Reading Buddy program in my classroom is one of the things I missed when I was teaching Reading Recovery. When I became a special education teacher (providing literacy support to students up to the third grade), I set up buddy reading between some of my third grade students and snacking Kindergarten students. Half of them were interested when I first suggested bringing their ‘most practiced’ books to kindergarten, weekly, during recess. After the first month, click here to continue reading…


                               The Reading Buddies Starter Pack

                        


Back to School – Number Counting Posters

It might be “Christmas in July” but it’s “BACK TO SCHOOL” in August!  Here’s a photo of my boxwood bushes done up with lights during the past holiday season.christmas in july freebieWell, it’s not Christmas yet but I do have a FREEBIE for you.  Read on.

I’ve just finished a GIANT file of numeral and number counting posters.  The posters have mosaic backgrounds.  I purchased these papers from Bev’s Learning Hut and I couldn’t be more pleased with how beautiful they turned out!  Best of all, mosaic designs have been in existence for a long time and they NEVER go out of style!

There are a total of SEVEN sets of colors in the priced file.  I’m offering one set as a FREEBIE.  (Merry Christmas in July!)  The colors included in the larger file are red, blue, green, pink, orange, purple, and light blue.  You’re getting the red set with blue fish!

Each set of posters includes numerals zero through twenty.  There are colorful fish displayed on the posters to match each numeral shown.  The children can practice counting skills by counting the fish on any given poster.  If you display the posters at the children’s eye level on your classroom wall, they can practice counting during their spare time.

Each numeral is approximately 7 centimeters tall.  The numeral font that I used is a ideal for modeling correct numeral formation.  The numeral “4” is formed with straight lines.  The line on the numeral “9” is straight so that is does not appear like an upside down “6”.

I have created these poster with simplicity in mind so that educators can use them to focus on a few of the related Common Core Math Standards for kindergarten.  Those are:

1.  Writing numerals 0 to 20.

2.  Reading numbers 0 to 20.

3.  Counting up to 20 objects (with numbers 0 to 10 in scattered formation) and naming the corresponding number.

You will need colored ink to print the posters.  I recommend printing them with white cardstock paper.  If you’d like, laminate them for long lasting use.

The slide show below shows some of the posters from the large file.  You might notice that I was able to print without a white edge around my pages.  The mosaic backgrounds are very attractive when there is NO WHITE BORDER.  Plus, printing without the white edge means that you won’t spend any time trimming.  I’ve included a tutorial on how to print without the white border.  You can also view this blog post to see picture directions:  Borderless Printing Tips for Teachers.

Click the FIRST image to view the posters at my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.  Click the SECOND image to get the FREE, 0 to 20 number posters with the red mosaic style.number-postersnumber-counting-postersI hope that you are enjoying your summer break!  School will be coming soon!

Copyright 2016 Molly McMahon, Lessons by Molly

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Getting Through Parents’ Night – Sharing is Caring Teacher Blogging Collaborative

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

Do you ever find yourself losing sleep over parent night?

These seasoned educators from our Sharing is Caring Teacher Blogging Collaborative have some great tips for you.

Read what they have to say about the subject.

**********************************************************

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Make the most of your Back-to-School event. Organize your presentation, make sure you’ve given the essential information,

and make families feel comfortable and welcomed on your campus.

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By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

A few tips to help you relax about your Parents’ Night presentation. You’ve got this!

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By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I’d like to share what my partner and I have done to make parent night fun for everyone, including ourselves,

since neither of us likes to get up in front of an audience, other than our classroom, lol! 

Six Tips for Making Parent’s Night a Piece of Cake

By Marypat Mahoney of Just Add Students

Six tips to help you make the most out of Parent’s Night.

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Please visit the blogs from our Sharing is Caring Teacher Blogging Collaborative, you’ll be happy you did.

sharing is caring

                                     RCL


Not Another Parent Night!

 

Socrates LanternHeader Graphic small

 

Are you thinking, Oh No!!! Another parent night, what am I going to do? Do you stay up worrying the night before?, or feel butterflies in your stomach? Are you self conscious about getting up and speaking in front of parents? Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone.

My teaching partner and I came up with a way to make parent night fun for everyone, including ourselves, since neither of us likes to get up in front of an audience, other than our classroom, lol!

It happened one afternoon, after the kids had gone home.  We wanted to do something different for parent night.  Suddenly, the phrase, “Actions speak louder than words,” came into my head, and I had an Ah ha! moment. Why not show parents what our program is like instead of telling them.  That’s  how our Parent Night Video Program began.

We prepared for the  taping by making sure we got the go ahead from the principal as well ICS_MS_lockersas all the teachers who work with our students. Next we let our classes in on it, and they just loved the idea.

When the appointed day arrived, we were at the front door, camcorder in hand, to tape them as soon as they got off the bus. We were  greeted with waves and hellos as they entered the building and proceeded to their homerooms.

Mostly, we recorded  the kids, but we also wanted to show our teaching style so the parents could get to know us a little, We would go back and forth between rooms creating a short video of both. This can be tricky because the kids are alone for a few minutes just about every period. It’s amazing how much you learn about yourself and your charges when you watch yourself teach. We always made sure that we captured each child doing something, we never wanted anyone to feel left out, or for any parent to say, “I didn’t see my Sally.”

After period one which was either history or science, we’d escort them to Unified Arts, taping while walking. Some of them would be sewing, others would be doing woodwork, art, or metal shop. Again we would go back and forth between classes doing our filming. Parents loved to see them in action, we’d hear “oohs and ahs,” as they saw their little ones using power equipment, or sewing machines, and cleaning up after themselves. They were in amazed at the types of things the kids did, especially in metal/wood-shop, without losing fingers or limbs.

Unified Arts were over, we would then tape either English or Math classes  continuing to make sure that everyone was included.

At the finish of a busy morning,  we would switch classes and get ready to go to lunch. which is a real trip. We filmed them going through the lunch line and showed the cafeteria staff serving their food. Watching their child eat, and what they threw away was eye opening for many parents.

Back to class to continue taping either math, English, world history or science classes.  As the day drew to a close, you could still see us taping the children while in homeroom study period. and as their buses were being announced over the loudspeaker.  Our ending statement says it all, “The last bus has been called, the room is empty, and quiet and sometimes we like it like that.” We always get chuckles from the parents because they can relate.

Our final step, before parent night, was to send notes home letting them know that they will be viewing a  presentation of, A Day in the Life of their Child. Then we did some edits.

During the day of parent night, the class gets to see the end production, We give them popcorn or some type or snack and enjoy the movie together. We can now laugh at ourselves and congratulate the students for a job well done.

Parent night finally arrived and our production was ready for viewing. We introduced it and told them that the video will probably answer every question that they might have and it usually does. Jokingly we called ourselves Marin & Filipek DeMille after the Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille and the parents cparents clappinghuckled over that. The ice had been broken and we’re ready to begin.

Of course, there were times when the unexpected happened, like the video player doesn’t work, or we can’t find the TV that we signed up for. We’re all human, and these things occur. We took it in our stride and the parents were understanding. Eventually, we got everything up and running and all were happy.

The best part is to watch the reactions of the parents as they watch their kiddos in action. They marvel at how busy they are and how
much work is done throughout the day. They’ve never seen how their child behaves in school and they just love this. Better still, they realize what a difficult job we, as teachers have trying to tame these middle school children.

 

 

 

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Please be sure to read the tips from these veteran teachers who are members of our Sharing is Caring Teacher Blogging Collaborative.

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5 Tips for New Teachers and Everyone Else

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

 

Teaching Tips

As veteran teachers, we all remember what it was like when we walked into our first classroom. So, in this week’s blog hop, from Sharing is Caring Teacher Collaborative, we’ve decided to share some tips with you.

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By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

5 “tried and true” teaching tips for new teachers. All that I wished someone had told me in the beginning!

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By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Tips for new teachers and great reminder for the rest of us targets advice for survival in the classroom. Veteran teachers discuss their hard-earned expertise on making it through the early years of teaching.

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By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Five things I wish I could tell to my new teacher self when I started my career.

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By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

One of the first things that I learned in college was to be nice to the custodian. He or she is your best friend.

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We hope the information that we’ve shared has helped. Please leave feedback and follow us so that you receive updates. 

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Don’t Go Back to School Without…

By Deann Marin at The Best of  Teacher Entrepreneurs

 

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Offering for Educators, Comprehensive Teaching Aides. If you’d like to see what else I have to offer please visit my store

 

 

As much as I love seeing those smiling faces each year, I always get a bit sad when the summer ends and I have to go back to work. I get so spoiled, getting up in the morning and doing whatever I want. No alarm clock to wake me up, no set schedule, I can stay up late, go out and party during the week, no rules, no lesson plans, no prep. It’s so easy to get used to that. Don’t you agree. This summer I’ve decided to make life a little easier for myself and teachers out there by putting together a few items that will just make your job so much easier.

 

 

Here are a few lessons that I’ve included in my “Getting to Know You,” Back to School Bundle. Something that you shouldn’t go back to school without. You’ll love my chevron apples for the names of your students, if they’re little you can pin the little apples on each child to help you remember their names.

Collages1-001You might want to place the larger chevron apples on the bulletin board, under a tree.Collage 2Once my homeroom gets settled and we’ve  taken care of those tedious little tasks, like  filling out forms and schedules it’s time for  some ice breakers, we need to get to know  each other. I play “Getting to Know You,”  from Rogers and Hammerstein’s, The King  and I.  Next we discuss the meaning of the  song and how it relates to the first day of  school.

  1. Play the song, “Getting to Know You,” from The King  and I. A YouTube Link and lyrics are included.
  2. Talk about the song and ask them how they get to know someone.
  3. Pass out Getting to Know You cards and have each child pick one. They will answer the question about themselves. The Teacher should also pick a card. and answer it, that will help them to get to know you. too.
  4. Want to make sure they are listening, you could have the class repeat something  that they learned  about each other.

  Example for younger children

Teacher answers 1st question, Rachel is the 1st student, she repeats teacher’s question and answers it, then Rachel has her their turn to  answer the question.. Josh is next he repeats Rachel’s question and  answers it, he then answers his own question.. You continue this way till everyone has had  their turn.

Example For or older children

Begin the same way as you would for younger children. When Josh has his turn, he has to repeat teacher’s Rachel’s question and answer, before he answers his own question. As game continues,  each child has more and more to remember. At the end, you should try it.

Oh,

One more thing, as if this isn’t enough, they have to say each other’s names and then say the question and answer before they can read and answer their question.  If this is too difficult, just have them repeat all the names of the students before them. Another tip for remembering names is to keep your seating chart in front of you. It’s a great ally until you know all of their names.

For me, the next task at hand is opening lockers which is a very challenging activity. I’m sure to have one or two sixth graders in tears. There is an image of a locker with directions on how to open them, you can make a copy for each child.

Homework Options you can use all of the worksheets or just a few. it’s up to you.

  1. Have students answer questions about themselves in complete sentences and make sure they use correct grammar.
  2. For younger children, I’ve included 4 all about me pages They are to answer questions about themselves and  color in the picture of a boy or girl and make the eyes and hair the same colors as their own. Two pages are in color and two pages are black and white.
  3. There are 7 writing prompts to help you begin to assess the writing skills of your class.  A grading rubric has been included for your convenience.
  4. Family tree, I’ve included 8 trees depending on the size of each child’s family. Before you pass out  the  trees ask them how many people are in  their family and give them the one with the correct amount of ovals. They can  include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, if they like. They are to  either draw the family member’s picture in the  oval, or use a photo., then write name of the person in the box underneath the picture.
  1. As a bonus, I’ve included a Back to School Crossword  Puzzle with an answer sheet.

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Another bundle that has earned the name Don’t Go Back To School Without, is my Behavior Modification Bundle which will make your life much easier. It has everything that you could possibly need to help achieve the type of behavior that is optimal for learning.

Here are some of the lessons that I’ve included.

  1. Daily Point Sheet2015-06-06

This was used for special education classes. It can also be used for any grade. Fill in the subject, activity or time, at the end of the period put a smiley face, sticker or check mark in the box if the goal was met. You could also give each task a number equivalent, that way if they child pays attention for some of the time, he could still earn credit for being on task part of the time. That way he/she will not give up. You could make each category worth 5 points, or what ever you think is appropriate for your class. Included is a blank form for you to fill in yourself with your own goals and subjects.

2.  Time or Subject Card Instructions

This was used with special education classes. Tape card/paper to each desk. When child behaves appropriately, attach a colored star (it can be handmade), sticker, check mark, or whatever you’d like.  Do this every 15-20 minutes. At end of day add it up and child earns a pre-determined reward for a certain number of stars.

  1. Daily Behavior Form for Primary Grades

Just like a traffic light. Green means go, orange means caution, and red means stop. Circle the appropriate colored oval. Green is for good behavior, Orange is for caution, not the best choice, and red means poor decision.

  1. Weekly Behavior Chart for Teacher and Child to Fill Out

It is so important for children to learn that they need to be responsible

for their own actions, that’s why this worksheet is useful. Very simple circle the number that corresponds with behavior. 5 is great, 1 is poor. The child may fill out his/hers, the teacher may fill it out, or both the child and teacher can fill it out. There is a spot for comments as well as signatures from the teacher and the parent.

Weekly Behavior Chart

Before you introduce this chart to the class, you should discuss the desired behaviors, the highest amount of points they can earn for each subject/activity or time period, and the amount of points needed by the end of the week for their desired reward.

For example, you may decide the children can earn up to 10 points, you can give them less, depending on their behavior. Each chart has a place for their name at the top, a section for subjects/times, and a place to put the points earned for that particular activity. At the bottom the child will write how many points they need for the particular reward that they would like. You have 6 activities each day, they can get 10 points for each. They can earn 60 points per day and 420 by the end of the week.You will have to decide ahead of time how many points each reward is worth. Discuss rewards with the class and see what they would like.

One Free Homework could be worth at least 375 points

Computer time 275 points

Board games  325 points

Chewing gum in class 400 points

Movie 400 points

  1. Class Reward Chart

I’ve included two class reward charts for you to keep track of the rewards used. There is room to write the names of the students, I’ve left a blank space, next to points for you to fill it in yourself. That way, the class will know how many points everything is worth and they won’t have to bother you about it. When the child uses his/her reward, put the date. That’s it.

7.  Problem Solving Worksheet

I’ve already mentioned how important it is for children to learn responsibility for their actions. Two worksheets are included that address this. The first one can be used with younger children. The child is to write about a problem that has occurred between himself/herself and another child. Not only focusing on the negative but the positive, they are asked how they could have handled the situation better, and what they have learned from it.  The second worksheet is for older students, they are asked to tell their side of the story, and how they could have handled it better. These worksheets are given to all children involved in the incident. If the child has an issue with another adult, they can use this for that also.

  1. Incident Report

As a final recourse, this form is for the teacher to fill out. It should be kept as part of the student’s record and may be copied to give to the principal and sent home to the parent.

  1. Happy Grams

So many times the only notes that are sent home are negative, that’s why I’ve created Happy Grams for any type of good behavior. I’ve included a few letters for different subject areas and good behavior, plus a blank one for you to fill in.

  1. Detention Notices to Parents

Last of all, there are 5 types of detention notices if you want to keep a child after school as a consequence for their actions. This will give you some time to speak with the child and find out what is going on. That way the child will know that you care, you are taking the time to talk. Sometimes just one detention is all it takes.
If you’d like to have the worksheets that go with the rest of these activities please visit my Tpt Store.

I hope that this post has helped to make the beginning of your school year a bit easier.

Best of luck to you..
Deann

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Don’t Start the School Year Without Taking a Look at these Great Blog Posts from my Fellow Teacher Collaborators.

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Back to School and Fall Graphic Organizers: Kindergarten and Primary – and a SURPRISE ONE DAY SALE!

 


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Hello my friends. Are you fans of graphic organizers? Since I have started teaching Special Education, I have become one, particularly of repeating the three-frame format regularly to encourage sequential thinking and organization in our youngest students. It helps them understand, make predictions and retell the stories they hear and read, and plan out those they create.

I say create, and not write, because some of our students do not write, in a conventional way. When focusing on beginning, middle and end; first, next, finally; list creation or anything else that a three-frame organizer can accommodate (and really, the possibilities are wide open, which you will see in the post I wrote here demonstrating some options for the free Earth Day 3-frame graphic organizer).

Regardless of age, motor skills, or writing ability, this format allows space for drawing, stamping, pasting pictures, using stickers, and large invented spelling with the teacher’s translation below!

I have created a bundle of over 20 3-frame graphic organizers for Back-to-School and Fall. The following are the pages contained within it:


Th1 Fall BTS org cover

Available at TpT

Th 3 Summer Memories Th 6 1st day of school

Th2 All About Me Th 5 Best Things About School Th 8 Goals

Th 4 BTS Th 7 blank starting school Th 9 Apples Frame

Th 11 Fall animals Th 12 Fall Th 13 Pumpkins

Th 10 Leaves border Th4 I am thankful for Th 16 Thanksgiving for my family

Th 19 Halloween Th 17 My Halloween Costume Th3 Halloween Night

Th 20 Remembrance Day Th 21 Veteran's Day Lesson & freebie!Earth day freebie.png

I also wanted to let you know that TpT has just announced a one-day surprise Site-wide sale for Wednesday August 19th! I have marked everything in my store down by 20%, and with TpT’s discount (use PROMO code MORE15), that’s 28% savings! I am bundling more items for even more value to you!


Related:


Kind 1st gr Lit Bundle Sq Th1 TFRT BTS & F Special Cover original-1994028-1

Th Dos & don'ts of motivating young children to write Follow That Fun Reading Teacher’s board Graphic Organizers on Pinterest.

Best wishes to you for the rest of your summer, and to those of you returning to school already!


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