When teaching the scientific method, it's important that you also teach the scientific process skills. Check out these science activities to help you get started and grab a freebie!
Introduction to the scientific method and a printable scientific method worksheet for kids.
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
STEM students use materials to design models of classroom rules. Works perfectly for regular classrooms or STEM labs. Perfect for the start of a school year!
Teaching the “skills of science” is of the utmost importance. I cannot stress this enough! Yes, the "content of science" is important, but the content cannot be taught to our students until the skills are taught to our students. Scientific method, metric measurement, scientific notation, prefixes and suffixes, significant figures, compare/contrast, problem solving, critical thinking, dimensional analysis, proper use of lab equipment, scientific writing ... these are the skills I am referring to. If the skills are taught properly at the beginning of the school year, your students will be equipped with the tools they need to be successful for the rest of the year. Science is more than the memorization of a long list of facts. Science is problem solving, analyzing, predicting and experimenting. Make the teaching of basic science skills a priority in your class. In a previous article, I talked about the importance of graphing skills. Today, I want to talk about the importance of being able to apply the scientific method. The key word here is...... apply. You may be thinking, "I teach the scientific method every year during the first week of school." Many teachers have their students write down the 5 or 6 steps to scientific method, define some keywords such as hypothesis, variable, and theory, re-state the 6 steps on a test, and .... DONE! Time to move on to the next topic. We can do better than that. Teaching our students how to apply the steps of the scientific method is not easy, and it takes up quite a bit of valuable class time. We have to create lessons that teach the application of the scientific method, not lessons that teach the memorization of the scientific method. At the beginning of the school year we should give assignments that: Reinforce graphing skills. Teach students to interpret and analyze graphs. Provide writing prompts to teach students how to design a controlled experiment. Teach students to identify the independent and dependent variables in an experiment. Teach students how to apply the scientific method to a particular scenario. Give students practice in scientific writing. Please get away from using only multiple choice, true and false, and matching questions. I try as much as possible to have my students WRITE. It is very time consuming to grade, but when students are asked "to design an experiment to show..." , you are teaching so many of the above skills. And you are not just teaching the scientific method. You are reinforcing critical thinking, problem solving, and best of all, good writing skills. If you are just beginning to develop lessons on the scientific method, download my FREE Scientific Method PowerPoint. This is a 26 slide PowerPoint presentation on the nature of science and the scientific method. The slides are colorful and visually appealing. Steps of the scientific method are covered, but more importantly, the lesson provides examples and practice problems illustrating the application of the scientific method. Analysis questions and answers are included. The download also includes 4 pages of notes for the teacher and a 5 page outline of the notes for the student. Now take your students to the lab and see how well they can apply what they have learned about the scientific method. My free "Can Your Students Write a Clear and Concise Procedure" is a great introduction into scientific writing. It's a fun activity that reveals to students the importance of accuracy and details when writing in science. Now you are ready to teaching students how to design and carry out a controlled experiment. Start with this classroom activity (Applying the Scientific Method and Scientific Writing) involving hypothetical situations. Forge ahead with a student-designed lab activity: The Scientific Method Lab. Students will plan and carryout the entire process from start to finish. Full disclosure ... This takes time and quite a bit of patience, but it is worth it. Your students will hone their problem solving and critical thinking skills as they complete these activities.
One of the most important things we can do at the beginning of the school year is practice classroom procedures- the less time we have to spend explaining and managing logistics throughout the year, the more time we have for music-making and the smoother our lessons will go in general. Part of creating a "safe space" classroom is making sure students feel confident that they know what to do in common lesson situations, and procedures are the foundation for that. Here are the most important procedures I make sure to make time to practice at the beginning of the year with my elementary general music students. Before we jump into the list, I want to make it clear that I do not cram in practice of all of these procedures in the first lesson, or even the first week, of the school year. But I do try to introduce them within the first 3 weeks or so. I found if I don't make the time to practice them within the first month, the first time we really encounter the procedure with a particular grade I forget they haven't practiced it and I get impatient when they don't know what to do, which invariably leads to problems. And I definitely do not tell students how to do these things, or even have a class discussion about them or have students model examples- I build the actual activities for which the procedures are needed into my lesson plans so that the students naturally have opportunities to practice them when the need arises. Contextualizing it helps students understand the importance and purpose so much better! If you want an example of how I do that in the first few lessons with each grade level, see my first day of music lesson plan blog post. 1. Entering and exiting the room Establishing how to enter and exit the room is probably the most important procedure for elementary music because we tend to have such short class periods, and the students spend so much of the rest of their day in one room with one teacher- coming into and leaving a room is not something they do all day like high schoolers and middle schoolers do! My procedure for leaving class has changed very little in my 16 years of teaching: we quickly review what we learned, line up in a very specific order on the line marked on the floor, give compliments, and walk into the hallway. Students know class is almost over when I give the silent signal for them to stand up and walk to the line, and they know exactly where and when to go. Keeping the end of class predictable and highly structured makes the transition out of music class so much smoother! Read all the details of my exit procedures in this post. Predictability at the beginning of class is key as well, but my procedures have shifted over the years as I've recognized that I need to build in time to address any "baggage" students come into my room with, whether it was an argument on the playground or a test right before class they think they bombed. I've also realized nobody can (or should) be expected to instantly switch into "music class mode" the minute they cross the threshold of my classroom- they need time to transition into the space, some more than others. I started doing student-led warmups at the beginning of class a few years ago and it has been magnificent. I get those going as soon as the first few students are walking in, and everyone knows they need to join in as they get to their seats. Read about the kinds of warmups I do, and how I've made them student-led to free me up for side conversations etc, in this post. 2. Standing, sitting, and sitting up This isn't always at the top of other teachers' lists but it is on mine- with all the singing, movement, and other transitions I have in my lessons we are rarely in one position for long, and it's important to me that students learn how to sit up properly in chairs for singing or playing wind instruments to give them proper breath support (one of the reasons I am a firm believer in using chairs rather than just sitting on the floor). I've established a silent hand signal for standing, sitting, and sitting up that we practice starting on the very first day- read about those in this post. 3. Redirection One of the most important procedures I go over with students at the beginning of the year is how to handle themselves when they feel themselves getting out of hand, they're upset and aren't quite ready to resolve the issue yet, or need to share something with me that I can't listen to right away when they need me to hear them. We talk about taking responsibility to take space themselves rather than waiting for me to intervene, and I show them a few different places they can go when they need to remove themselves from a situation. I also have sticky notes and a pencil in a corner where students can write notes to me if they need to tell me something and I either can't listen right away or they want to keep it confidential. And I also try to reinforce with everyone that if I'm asking a student to go sit in one of those spaces or take space away from the group, that's to give them the opportunity to resolve the situation before it escalates, not as a "punishment". 4. Instruments The most important expectation I establish with instruments is written on a giant poster on my wall: if you play before I say you'll make the instrument go away. We practice the importance of holding instruments in a way that they won't accidentally make sound when they are waiting to begin playing, and we also practice what happens when they do play out of turn- I make sure they see early on that if they make a mistake it's not a big deal, they put their instrument down for one turn and then they always get another chance to join and try again. Besides that though, I also believe it's important for instruments to be visible and available for students, and for them to learn how to safely and appropriately handle them early on. So we practice how to get instruments off the shelves and put them away, and how to hand out instruments or collect them from other students if they are assigned to that team job and we are using small instruments like egg shakers or rhythm sticks. 5. Movement I'm lucky enough to have 2 areas in my room: one where chairs are set up, and another with floor spots in a circle. The kindergartners sit on the floor most of the time, but for the older grades we practice how to safely move from one area to the other and back again. Seems self-evident but I learned very early in my teaching career that it definitely is not! 6. Writing I don't have desks or tables for each student in my room, so when it's time to write or color it is quite an ordeal without procedures in place. I have teams assigned to pass out and collect things, and we practice how to get everyone pencils and paper. For younger grades I just have them use their chairs as desks and sit on the floor to avoid more transitions and logistics, but for older students who tend to find that uncomfortable I have clipboards, lap desks, and some table space that we go over how they can get and use. I keep all of our supplies organized by color team to make it easier to keep track of everything- you can read about that in this post. 7. Bathroom/ tissues/ nurse To be honest this is the procedure I tend to forget to practice because I'd rather just have everyone stay in music and never have to use the bathroom, blow their nose, or visit the nurse! Of course life doesn't work that way so when I'm on my game, I make sure to show students where the tissues are in my room and where nearest bathroom is and (especially for younger grades) practice walking between the music room and the bathroom, and I tell them my one rule to not have more than one student in the bathroom/ at the tissues at a time (mostly because it's too much for my brain to keep track of, but also to avoid dilly dallying). I have tried to have students use whatever hand signals they have in their homerooms in the past to avoid confusing them, but I'm considering establishing a hand signal for bathroom and tissues this year and putting a poster up in the room for their reference, because I have had too many times when students are trying to signal something to me and I don't know what the signal means! :) Regardless, they're important to review so they don't become disruptions throughout the year. I know what you're thinking: what about emergency procedures? I honestly don't count that as a separate thing to practice for music class because we go over emergencies in general as a building and discuss various scenarios, including if students are in art, music, the cafeteria, the bathroom, etc. If we didn't do that as a building, I would certainly include that on my list as well! What else is on your list that didn't make mine? What are some ways you've found to help the procedures above go more smoothly in your room? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments!
Did you know that STEM activities are a great way to build classroom community and teamwork at the beginning of the year? Unfortunately, STEM challenges can tend to be used as a classroom competition where students and groups are competing against each other. While classroom comp
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
STEM challenges are the best way to begin building classroom community and teamwork at the beginning of the year. They are also a great way to introduce problem-solving skills and get students thinking creatively and outside the box. The best part is students LOVE them, and they don't eve
One of the most important things we can do at the beginning of the school year is practice classroom procedures- the less time we have to spend explaining and managing logistics throughout the year, the more time we have for music-making and the smoother our lessons will go in general. Part of creating a "safe space" classroom is making sure students feel confident that they know what to do in common lesson situations, and procedures are the foundation for that. Here are the most important procedures I make sure to make time to practice at the beginning of the year with my elementary general music students. Before we jump into the list, I want to make it clear that I do not cram in practice of all of these procedures in the first lesson, or even the first week, of the school year. But I do try to introduce them within the first 3 weeks or so. I found if I don't make the time to practice them within the first month, the first time we really encounter the procedure with a particular grade I forget they haven't practiced it and I get impatient when they don't know what to do, which invariably leads to problems. And I definitely do not tell students how to do these things, or even have a class discussion about them or have students model examples- I build the actual activities for which the procedures are needed into my lesson plans so that the students naturally have opportunities to practice them when the need arises. Contextualizing it helps students understand the importance and purpose so much better! If you want an example of how I do that in the first few lessons with each grade level, see my first day of music lesson plan blog post. 1. Entering and exiting the room Establishing how to enter and exit the room is probably the most important procedure for elementary music because we tend to have such short class periods, and the students spend so much of the rest of their day in one room with one teacher- coming into and leaving a room is not something they do all day like high schoolers and middle schoolers do! My procedure for leaving class has changed very little in my 16 years of teaching: we quickly review what we learned, line up in a very specific order on the line marked on the floor, give compliments, and walk into the hallway. Students know class is almost over when I give the silent signal for them to stand up and walk to the line, and they know exactly where and when to go. Keeping the end of class predictable and highly structured makes the transition out of music class so much smoother! Read all the details of my exit procedures in this post. Predictability at the beginning of class is key as well, but my procedures have shifted over the years as I've recognized that I need to build in time to address any "baggage" students come into my room with, whether it was an argument on the playground or a test right before class they think they bombed. I've also realized nobody can (or should) be expected to instantly switch into "music class mode" the minute they cross the threshold of my classroom- they need time to transition into the space, some more than others. I started doing student-led warmups at the beginning of class a few years ago and it has been magnificent. I get those going as soon as the first few students are walking in, and everyone knows they need to join in as they get to their seats. Read about the kinds of warmups I do, and how I've made them student-led to free me up for side conversations etc, in this post. 2. Standing, sitting, and sitting up This isn't always at the top of other teachers' lists but it is on mine- with all the singing, movement, and other transitions I have in my lessons we are rarely in one position for long, and it's important to me that students learn how to sit up properly in chairs for singing or playing wind instruments to give them proper breath support (one of the reasons I am a firm believer in using chairs rather than just sitting on the floor). I've established a silent hand signal for standing, sitting, and sitting up that we practice starting on the very first day- read about those in this post. 3. Redirection One of the most important procedures I go over with students at the beginning of the year is how to handle themselves when they feel themselves getting out of hand, they're upset and aren't quite ready to resolve the issue yet, or need to share something with me that I can't listen to right away when they need me to hear them. We talk about taking responsibility to take space themselves rather than waiting for me to intervene, and I show them a few different places they can go when they need to remove themselves from a situation. I also have sticky notes and a pencil in a corner where students can write notes to me if they need to tell me something and I either can't listen right away or they want to keep it confidential. And I also try to reinforce with everyone that if I'm asking a student to go sit in one of those spaces or take space away from the group, that's to give them the opportunity to resolve the situation before it escalates, not as a "punishment". 4. Instruments The most important expectation I establish with instruments is written on a giant poster on my wall: if you play before I say you'll make the instrument go away. We practice the importance of holding instruments in a way that they won't accidentally make sound when they are waiting to begin playing, and we also practice what happens when they do play out of turn- I make sure they see early on that if they make a mistake it's not a big deal, they put their instrument down for one turn and then they always get another chance to join and try again. Besides that though, I also believe it's important for instruments to be visible and available for students, and for them to learn how to safely and appropriately handle them early on. So we practice how to get instruments off the shelves and put them away, and how to hand out instruments or collect them from other students if they are assigned to that team job and we are using small instruments like egg shakers or rhythm sticks. 5. Movement I'm lucky enough to have 2 areas in my room: one where chairs are set up, and another with floor spots in a circle. The kindergartners sit on the floor most of the time, but for the older grades we practice how to safely move from one area to the other and back again. Seems self-evident but I learned very early in my teaching career that it definitely is not! 6. Writing I don't have desks or tables for each student in my room, so when it's time to write or color it is quite an ordeal without procedures in place. I have teams assigned to pass out and collect things, and we practice how to get everyone pencils and paper. For younger grades I just have them use their chairs as desks and sit on the floor to avoid more transitions and logistics, but for older students who tend to find that uncomfortable I have clipboards, lap desks, and some table space that we go over how they can get and use. I keep all of our supplies organized by color team to make it easier to keep track of everything- you can read about that in this post. 7. Bathroom/ tissues/ nurse To be honest this is the procedure I tend to forget to practice because I'd rather just have everyone stay in music and never have to use the bathroom, blow their nose, or visit the nurse! Of course life doesn't work that way so when I'm on my game, I make sure to show students where the tissues are in my room and where nearest bathroom is and (especially for younger grades) practice walking between the music room and the bathroom, and I tell them my one rule to not have more than one student in the bathroom/ at the tissues at a time (mostly because it's too much for my brain to keep track of, but also to avoid dilly dallying). I have tried to have students use whatever hand signals they have in their homerooms in the past to avoid confusing them, but I'm considering establishing a hand signal for bathroom and tissues this year and putting a poster up in the room for their reference, because I have had too many times when students are trying to signal something to me and I don't know what the signal means! :) Regardless, they're important to review so they don't become disruptions throughout the year. I know what you're thinking: what about emergency procedures? I honestly don't count that as a separate thing to practice for music class because we go over emergencies in general as a building and discuss various scenarios, including if students are in art, music, the cafeteria, the bathroom, etc. If we didn't do that as a building, I would certainly include that on my list as well! What else is on your list that didn't make mine? What are some ways you've found to help the procedures above go more smoothly in your room? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments!
There's a lot to do at the beginning of the school year and not the least of which is professional development. Here are some ideas!
It’s the beginning of the year, and chances are you are starting off teaching or reviewing the scientific method. If you’ve looked around on the internet for scientific method labs, you will notice that the majority are not biology related. Don’t get me wrong- building paper airplanes, measuring bubbles, and seeing how many water drops ... Read more
Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!
One of the best ways to stop attention seeking behavior is to share those expectations with your students and following these tips...
STEM challenges are the best way to begin building classroom community and teamwork at the beginning of the year. They are also a great way to introduce problem-solving skills and get students thinking creatively and outside the box. The best part is students LOVE them, and they don't eve
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
Check out these beginning of the year science activities to get you started! This post has lots of science ideas and a freebie to engage your students.
Tired of showing your students where to turn in their homework or sharpen their pencil? Here are 17 ways to review classroom procedures that won't make you tear your hair out! P.S. The kids love them too!
These tips & ideas for how to make students feel like they belong will help you build a positive and encouraging community in your classroom.
The first week of school generally consists of getting to know one another, in addition to discussion and practice of classroom procedures and routines. We also got our creative juices flowing by creating summer reflection writing pieces, squiggle stories, and "All About Me" mini-posters. Students are getting to know one another and me, and we are learning to work together to build a successful and positive classroom environment. On Wednesday, I wrote out six questions, all having to do with how to make our classroom and ourselves function to the highest level, on six pieces of chart paper. Students, in groups of three, spent two minutes at each chart, collaborating and responding to each question on a sticky note. After all groups visited each chart paper station, I hung all of the charts up and we discussed each answer and noticed some very interesting trends. Here's the finished product, which you can click on to enlarge: Inspired by Life in 4B To tie into the previous activity, I was inspired by my wonderful teammates, Mrs. Fadden and Ms. Mattox, to develop at class pledge with my students. We reviewed our responses to the above questions, and then we put all of the ideas together to form a cohesive paragraph that we have all agreed will help us to remember why we are here at school and what our common goal is. Below is the rough draft of our class pledge (which I will type up, make pretty, and have all of my students sign): Since we were able to develop a class goal (to achieve success in third grade), I also had each student determine an individual goal after reading the story Matthew's Dream by Leo Lionni. I displayed our "Hopes and Dreams" for third grade near the classroom door, so that we can refer to, and revisit, them throughout the year. Lots of students are interested in learning how to sharpen their cursive skills, multiplication and division skills. I was very impressed by the number of students ready to take on our 40 book challenge! More on that later! Here's our class display of our hopes and dreams for third grade: Lastly, I read a book called Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The premise is that everyone carries an invisible bucket everywhere they go. When your bucket is "filled" you feel happy.When your bucket is "empty" you feel sad or upset. People can fill buckets by lending a helping hand, smiling, being kind, including others in games, and more. People can empty buckets by teasing, being ungrateful, acting disrespectfully, and more. I encourage my students to recognize the actions of bucket-fillers by writing them quick note and sticking it in their bucket display. This helps make everyone feel good. When we feel good, we want others to feel good. Therefore, kindess is passed from person to person. This is our bucket-filling display, complete with ways we can fill buckets and ways we can empty buckets: I look forward to more of these types of meaningful activities that promote teamwork, kindness, and achievement with your child!
At the beginning of the year, it can be difficult to get a clear picture of how our students are performing in math. Use these math pre-assessments to help!
This is one of my favorite activities for beginning the school year! However, it can be used at any time to reinforce the importance of giv...
Check out these beginning of the year science activities to get you started! This post has lots of science ideas and a freebie to engage your students.
If you came to this site, you either purchased the time capsule activity and are looking for directions, or want ideas for your own time capsules. These are so much fun to do with students of all ages! Enjoy! This Time Capsule Activity is great to use at the
Tips for Primary Teachers.
Entering a brand-new classroom is nerve-wracking for most of our English speaking students. For our newcomer ELLs, it can be a very intense and scary experience. Providing them with a welcoming, thoughtful environment from the moment
The beginning of the school year means to-do lists a mile long. I want to share two ideas to show you how I increase my focus and get more done. When you have so much
Why I don't review the syllabus on the first day of class in high school and what I do instead. Fun first day of school activities and icebreakers!
Lab safety isn't boring with this fun and interactive around the room style, evaluate the lab employee's safety skills activity. This low prep, print, place and go resource is great way to start back to school by reviewing basic lab safety. Your secondary students will love moving around the room, r...
Hi There! Lisa here, from Growing Firsties & I'm going to share a little bit about Growth Mindset today, which is based on Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck's work. Heads up that I do have some Amazon Affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to use the links, I'll earn some "circle money" as my daughter calls coins. :-) Half of my affiliate proceeds are for paying it forward - each month I receive earnings I give to my local food pantry/outreach services organization. The other half is spent on books and items for my classroom. With a growth mindset, people believe that through effort and practice, they can develop and improve their talents and abilities. In a fixed mindset, people believe that their talents and abilities are fixed...and that it's talent (not effort) that creates success. Woah. Years ago, I first began to think about mindset in terms of working with struggling students...those students where the learning is hard. Students, who, if they don't have the mindset to keep trying, will give up. Then what will they learn? My thinking expanded as I witnessed students labelled as gifted hitting a struggle academically and not knowing how to handle the struggle when they are unfamiliar with the resilience and effort needed. Then I realized that mindset, resilience & perseverance are critical for all of us. Regardless of age. #helloIhatecardio #gottadoitanyways You may have seen this Growing Firsties post from a few years ago, containing this freebie download. Or maybe this post from last summer all about perseverance. I am blessed to work at an amazing school! Some talented colleagues ran a book study on Dweck's Mindset book this year and it was such fun to re-read and discuss mindset with like-minded teachers! I also added Mindsets in the Classroom (by Mary Cay Ricci) to my collection. We read aloud some great books and I expanded my collection beyond the wonderful texts from Peter H. Reynolds (Ish, The Dot, Going Places...) One of my teammates asked me if I had a printable for our work on mindset and that gave me the motivation to put my swirling thoughts to work....Here's a little peek at the inside... Scroll down to download this freebie! :) You might be interested in reading an article by the always eloquently-thought-provoking Alfie Kohn "The Perils of Growth Mindset" education. You can get to it {right here}. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, has written this EXCELLENT article...you'll definitely want to check it out! You can get to it {right here}. I have a Pinterest board called Mindset and I love pinning to it! You can check it out by clicking here or the screen shot below. You should really check out the Famous Failures video! It's amazing! We'd love to hear what you do to help build a growth mindset with your learners!
I'm the kind of person that likes to get ready for the next year before the end of this year. I know. You can call me crazy. It's ok. I understand. But it's the way I am. So what am I getting ready? Forms to send home during Meet and Greet: My Parent Survey (it's free!). I keep this in my communication folder. This is what I send home so that I can take pictures for my blog. I know it has my information on it, but if you need it for something else, then maybe you can use it as a template. Click HERE to download it. And I send this home so that I can show some movies that are apparently PG. Click HERE to download it. Click the picture below to get all these forms in my {TPT store} I'm also restocking my calendar bins for next year! Head over to {THIS} post to see how I organize all of my monthly calendar-type activities. I already have my calendar pieces done...but I'm getting ready all the pages that I want to use IN the calendar bundle. Check out my post on the calendar bundle HERE. Our monthly poetry covers are printed up for the year. Find out how I use poetry in the classroom and download the covers for free {HERE} I also have our monthly writing journal covers ready to go... the journals themselves aren't done yet, but hopefully I'll have a wonderful parent volunteer next year to do them for me. See how I use the journals and download the covers for free {HERE}. I've also sent my Spelling Journals to the Print Shop. I'm opting to use these this year instead of doing my phonics notebook, only because it's my first year in First grade AND at my new school, so I want to see what they can handle before I dive in full force! haha. But I used my Phonics Notebook this year and LOVED it...You can check that out HERE. I've also sent my Vocabulary Journals to our print shop (I like send things to the print shop because they copy off a whole class set, with a cover and back cover AND bind them with a spiral thingy.... to me, NOT having to do it is worth me paying for it! lol) Check out my vocabulary Journals HERE. I also have copied off all the writing pages and family notes for our Monthly Family Projects! IF I have enough time, I might even get frisky and run off all the templates for the crafts! I'm also getting ready our Memory Books for next year... as we're finishing up this year's Memory books! lol You can read more about them {HERE} There are "All About Me" pages for the beginning of the year and the end of the year, so you can see the difference between the 2 times of year. It's always so fun to see the changes! Then, there are monthly writing pages, so the students can write about what they learned that month. The kids have really been having fun with this. Check them out in my TpT store {HERE}. You can grab a FREEBIE from these memory books {HERE} I have also printed out and laminated my personal behavior charts that I use from Rachelle. You can read my post on how I use them {HERE}, although, I must say, I am thinking of changing the plan...again! haha! I've also printed up my name tags for next year - I love that I don't have to go on a hunt to buy them every year! They have everything I want on them! You can download them for free on {THIS} post. I've had my wonderful parent volunteer trace and cut out my jerseys for me. In the beginning of the year, the kids decorate their jersey with their number on it and I leave them up all year. Why do they have numbers? FOR SO MANY THINGS! I have a post on what I use numbers for {HERE}. And last but not least, I got all planned out for next year! I came across Traci's curriculum planner, and I knew it would be perfect for me since I don't use the district adopted series. I have my whole year planned out! This is such a beautiful sight. I wish I had this for this year as a first year 1st grade teacher. but now I won't be so "lost" next year - haha! Check it out on Traci's blog {HERE}! WHEW!! That's a lot! And I still have more on my list to do for next year! And, um, this year isn't even over yet - haha! Oh well. I will be thankful next year in the beginning of the year.
The Scientific Method! Again! I'm in such a science-y mood! By the time kiddos get to me in 6th grade they can repeat it and know all about it. #thestruggleisreal to make it awesome and exciting by the time they are in 6th grade. And doing something they will remember and LOVE is such a challenge. Scientific Method Fun is found with a few centers and one lab that we do. The LAB is called "Cat's in the BAG". MEOW! I use it to setup my expectations for how I want students to complete labs (the detail, organization, and descriptions I expect). I think the first year I called it Mystery Bag but it didn't have the same allure as "Cat's in the Bag!" so thus the title stuck. 6th graders like quirky. And I do too. The purpose of this lab is to get students to write detailed notes and describe things--science isn't just science--it's writing too! To make sure your students know what is expected and how detailed they need to be it's important to set the stage for that. ALSO we make connections to the scientific method! (bags can also be just plain jane lunch bags too!) First I label all of the bags #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 (I recommend no more than 8 otherwise things can get a little out of hand). I put one object in each bag and rolllllll it shut and then I got town stapling the bags sealed. I typically pick things that my students are familiar with and are around our classroom. Even the simplest objects can throw them for a loop! I set up stations around the room and have those numbered as well. Beginning with the kiddos I set up expectations for what I will be looking for (it is the beginning of the school year so brushing off those summer cobwebs is a struggle but it has to be done!). Sometimes I show past students examples of great labs or I make up my own (both good and bad). This is a really important part so they understand while yes, this lab is play, we are also doing science. It really sets the tone for the rest of the labs so I make sure I get it right the first time. When the draw a super cool picture of what they think is in the bag...I encourage them to show their work with their groups and discuss together. This gets them excited and it also makes it so I don't get chicken scratch and lame-o work (I don't ever tell them this but you know the feeling after you've prepped and kids are doing awesome things and then you get work that is like :\ why did we do allllllll of this???). So I try and help them solve my teacher pet peeve problem without telling them about my teacher pet peeve. WIN!WIN! We go over the lab rules. Students are to guess what's in the bag they can shake, touch and gently feel the bag to see what's in it (no shaking or doing anything crazy with the bag) then they have to discuss, draw and write a detailed description about what the think it is. Then do a final check of what is in the bag. The groups have to come up with a consensus as to what it is and fully fill out their lab sheets. Students go from station to station trying to get this figured out! The big reveal. We do the whole drum roll y'all. Make it exciting and meaningful right!?! Make it MAGICAL. We reveal and there is so much energy in the room from having correctly identified things in the bag, shock as to that really weird one was a staples, and its just all so FUN and SCIENTIFIC. I also have a prize if someone guesses them all correctly but it has never happened. Ha! Then comes the discussion and connection to the scientific method (specifically about making observations, taking notes, and not guessing--have an educated guess). And they get it but you have to make these connections or else the whole lab was just play. And then the scientific method BECOMES REAL and your expectations become concrete. They weren't just guessing what was in the bags. Some are close, some are way, off, and some are spot on. And that's exactly how science works isn't it? Much like the bags the answer to our questions is hidden and we have to question, research, develop an idea, experiment, look at the data, and put the facts together. Results? Data? Which side of the fence are you on? Or are you like me and use both?!? (where's the monkey emoji covering it's eyes when you need it?!?) ALSO...I have these so we can look at the parts of the scientific method. Their exit ticket for the lab is to have a completed lab sheet. We work on a lot of this together. The question? WHAT'S IN THE BAG?, etc. So they put on finishing touches, write a reflection (how does this apply to science/the scientific method/experiments?), and turn in the lab. and TA-DAA! It's a fun one one and a great lab for the beginning of the year. My students love this and they remember it. For some it's their favorite lab throughout the school year (over roasting starbursts and caramel popcorn scale models which is shocking to me ha! but I'm all about schnacks!). If you'd like it all in a handy dandy PDF shoot me an email @ [email protected] and I'll happily pass it along. ***(update) After receiving requests for this activity from teachers all over (seriously! Israel and Zambia included) and my inbox being completely flooded (I LOVE you all!) I have posted it in my tpt store here (and follow along too)! And it is totally FREE! Still feel free to email me for a pdf or to say hello! Follow me on TPT for more school awesomeness! >>HERE!<< >>>>>>>>>>>Wanting another fun scientific method activity? Click here!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Over and Out!
Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute Podcast :
The first lessons you teach set the tone for the rest of the year in the classroom! During the first week of school, your schedule should include a mix of teaching procedures and expectations as well as building a strong classroom community. Unfortunately, introducing procedures and practicing the
Backwards planning and curriculum mapping for school year success are an essential part of being organized and making your teacher life easier.
This water lab is a super fun way to introduce nonlinear functions in an algebra class. The math department at my school uses this lab as a way to start the school year in Algebra 2. The students love it, and by the end of the lab every student understands what it means to be an algebraic function!
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
Listening and following verbal or oral directions is an important skill that many students lack. You may relate to Charlie Brown's teacher after going over step-by-step directions. Students often hear the sound the teacher's voice is making, but fail to tune into the meaning of the words. When students aren't actively listening, they miss important information that can impact their academic AND behavior in the classroom. One way you can help your students practice active listening so they will follow directions is with a fun activity called Listen and Draw. Listen and Draw is a great activity to do with your class at the beginning of the year when you are teaching class procedures. Include these with your plans after breaks as a warmup plus a good reminder about practicing listening and following directions. Grab a free copy of FREE Listen & Draw - Following Directions Activity. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
Have you noticed your students are LISTENING to information now more than ever before? Podcasting is a new genre of literacy students will need to learn how to navigate and understand. Digital Media Literacy is here to stay! This complete guide to podcasting begins by immersing students in the genre of podcasting by listening and noticing what makes a podcast effective and impactful. Students begin to notice sound effects and ways the authors work to entertain, evoke emotion, inform, or persuade. The unit then moves into the "project" portion where students begin to outline, practice, and draft an outline to create their own podcast! You can use any recording software or website. This podcasting unit includes: •The Podcast Project Introduction •Brainstorm: What is Podcasting? •Podcasts to Study •Storytelling •Sound Study •Creating a Podcast from Start to Finish •Podcast Vocabulary Recording Sheet •Podcast Practice •Podcast Plan •Podcast Outline •Podcast Pitch •Graphics and Show Notes To see how we created mini-recording studios on a budget, visit my blog! www.alissamcdonald.com What people are saying about this podcasting project: "Thank you so much! My students loved listening to podcasts and creating their own." *************************************************************************************** For more POP CULTURE project-based learning, check out these PBL units: Shark Tank Business Plan Fixer Upper Classroom Library Makeover Thinking of creating and selling your own teaching resources? Be sure to check out my free Starter Kit for Selling Your Teaching Resources *************************************************************************************** Please consider leaving feedback for this product! It means so much to me, and it helps you earn FREE products! For every review you leave, you earn 1 credit point toward a future purchase. Go to "My Purchases" to leave a review & thank you in advance! If you hit the green FOLLOW ME button, you will get: -Updates when new products are released -All new products on sale for the first 24 hours! -Notifications when I have a sale Connect with me: Check out my blog for ideas & tips around 21st century literacy skills! Visit my Blog For all my latest teaching ideas, junk food recipes & mom stuff... Follow me on Pinterest If you want to see my crazy busy & fun life stuff, plus pictures of me eating French fries: Find me on Instagram Check out the AMAZING Facebook group for TpT Sellers & sign up for my free Starter Kit for selling your teaching resources! Facebook Group for TpT Sellers Questions? E-mail me at [email protected]
Ready to "cook up" a great first day of school? It's easy with this recipe for a successful start to the school year! PREP: ➤ Think about how you will set the tone for your classroom on the first day of school. ➤ Plan to keep students engaged and active. ➤ Prepare to build a positive rapport with students from the first instant that they become a part of the classroom community. INGREDIENTS: ➤ Warm-Up Activity ➤ Get-to-Know-You Activity ➤ Game that gets students out of their seats ➤ Get-to-Know-the-Teacher Activity ➤ Writing Prompt ➤ Extension Activity Once you've gathered your ingredients, you can get "cooking!" (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE RECIPE!) PROCEDURE: STEP 1: Begin with a warm-up activity. Place an activity on students' desks that they can complete independently. You might try a simple survey or poster. An All About Me poster is a quick way to learn about students. You can even gather them together for an awesome classroom display. Or, a survey is a wonderful way to collect information about students. You might include questions about where students like to sit, their favorite way to learn, and activities that they enjoy so that you can start connecting with students. Another awesome warm-up activity is an "All About You" name tag. Students answer questions about themselves while coloring in a name tag based on their responses. Then, students can place the name tag on their desks to help you learn your students' names. This activity is particularly awesome if you have multiple sets of students. You can collect the name tags and re-distribute them each day during each class while you learn names. Oh, and as a bonus, you can gather them together and leave them with substitute teachers throughout the year! If you'd like to check out ready-made Back to School Warm-Ups, just click here for the poster, here for the survey, and here for the name tags. STEP 2: Mix in a get-to-know-you activity. Give students a chance to share about themselves and learn about their classmates with an engaging get-to-know-you activity. One of my favorites is a doodle-inspired mini-book. Students transform a single sheet of paper into a doodley mini-book all about themselves. After students make the mini-book it's fun to hang them on a clothesline. Then, as students finish their work during the first days of school, you can encourage fast-finishers to grab a classmate's mini-book and learn about him or her. Check out the doodle mini-book HERE. Or, you could have students create this 3-D About Me Activity. Students create an infographic-style book about themselves. After answering some simple questions, they do a little cutting and gluing to create a 3-D "About Me" display. These are especially fun because students can set them on their desks and then everyone can tour around the classroom and learn about their peers. (These are awesome for Open House too!) Learn more HERE. STEP 3: Scatter in an activity that gets students moving. Since students crave opportunities to get up and out of their seats, plan to get your class moving on the first day of school. You might have students complete a scavenger hunt or even play a learning game that requires students to move around. I'm a huge fan of this simple get-to-know-you activity that gets students moving (and you can download it for FREE here.) First, students make paper airplanes. They write their name and 3 interview questions on the wings. Then, students line up shoulder-to-shoulder and launch the planes. Next, they pick up a classmate's plane, find him or her, and ask the interview questions. You can repeat the airplane launch as often as you'd like! Find everything you need to do this activity in this FREEBIE. If you'd like to combine movement and learning on the first day of school, then you and your students will love this Back to School Doodle Infographic. First students fill in the infographic with facts about school. There are 21 facts and you can hide them around the room to get students moving. Then, they put together the infographic to make a fun and doodle-y poster! Check it out HERE. STEP 4: Sprinkle in a chance for students to get-to-know-you (their teacher). On the first day of school, students are very curious about you. They want to learn about you, so you'll want to be sure to share about yourself. You can give a simple biography of yourself, or you might try these easy and engaging activities: Create a teacher interview question along with 4 or 5 prize cards for each student in your class. Then, tape the questions and the prize cards under students' seats before class begins. During class, explain to students that they all have something under their chairs. It might be a question and it might be a prize. If they get a prize card, have students keep it quiet. Then, call on students. They can either read a question for you to answer or reveal that they won a prize. If they won, you might give them a pencil, piece of candy, or a homework pass. You can find all my favorite questions HERE. Or, you might have students complete a "Teacher Guess" about you. First, they predict the answers to questions about you. Then, as you reveal the answers, they earn points for every correct prediction. It's a fun activity that students truly enjoy! You can check it out HERE. STEP 5: Add a fun writing prompt to your back to school activities. A writing prompt is a great way to gather a baseline for students' writing on the first day of school. You might give students a simple prompt about their summer or goals for the new school year. However, I love to add a fun creative writing prompt into the mix. For example, with this writing prompt students select a setting, character, problem, and 3 random objects. Then, they need to work them all into a story. It's fun, engaging, and a great way to see where your students are starting the school year. Find this writing prompt HERE or check out this collection of 10 creative writing activities. STEP 6: Top it off with a review of tomorrow's warm-up. Set students up for success during your next day of school by quickly reviewing what they will need to do when they arrive to class. If you're planning to have students work through warm-ups like these This or That ELA warm-ups where students choose to do the "this" or the "that" activity, then you might quickly review what will be waiting on their desks when they arrive. Taking the time to preview tomorrow's warm-up is a great way to set expectations for students! If you're looking for some daily warm-ups, you might want to check out these This or That ELA warm-ups or these This or That Writing warm-ups! STEP 7: Don't forget to have an extension activity just in case your lesson ends early. I love playing games like "Move If You..." which you can find for FREE HERE. While you may never get to the extension activity, it's a lifesaver if you need it! TIPS: When you're following this recipe for a great first day of school, you might want to: ➤ Greet students at the door and answer these questions for students right away: ➨ Where do I sit? ➨ Am I in the right classroom? ➨ What should I be doing right now? ➤ Also, be prepared to manage students' behavior on the first day of school. Ensure that you have a positive classroom management system in place and ready to use if you need it! Well, there you have it, my recipe for a great first day of school. Be sure to download all the ideas with links AND the FREE airplane activity HERE! CHECK THIS OUT! I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school. It's absolutely FREE! Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community. There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos! If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. If you'd like MORE free resources for your classroom, be sure to join the Brain Waves Instruction club!
