Pinterest is an explosion of wonderful ideas, and at times can be overwhelming. I decided to wade through my "For School" board and pick the...
Set the stage for a fantastic school year with these fun, foundational, and differentiated September library lessons!
Now that it's time for the kids to go back to school, why not use these free book covers.
Spending the first week of school teaching classroom expectations and procedures is essential for a successful year. Glue is a tricky school supply for many little learners and there definitely needs to be instruction dedicated to teaching learners how to use this tool.Glue BottlesWhen learners are not taught how to use their glue correctly things
No David by David Shannon is a classic book to read in kindergarten. Here are free No David activities, videos and book ideas listed all in one place.
The Pigeon has to go to school and he's not happy about it! In fact, he's worried. Help kids kick their first-day fears with these fun ideas!
I have updated this link with a freebie! Click here to get there. "No, David" is one of our favorite books to begin the year or use anytime we need a little review of what our classroom expectations are. One corner of our classroom is devoted to David and our school rules. We read the book several times then the students chose one rule they thought was especially important to them and they typed their rule during Computer Lab time. Then each student created a picture of David and they turned out AMAZING! We had so much fun with David this year that we decided to use iMovie to create a short video of David following the rules and showed the video to the entire school. How FUN! If you would like to view the video you can see it on my classroom webpage. The poster shown above was printed at Staples. I used PhotoShop to edit the title to fit our lesson and class.
A list of back to school must have picture books that are ready to help all students enjoy every moment in the classroom!
Oh, the first day of school! It's such a fun, but chaotic day. Most of my first days are a little bit of a blur. This is why I have to write very detailed lesson plans or I'll forget everything from that day. I always try to have the same activities for that first day
The Invisible String is used a lot for grief and loss - it's also an amazing book for end of the year counseling lessons!
5 easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
Oh my word? Have you ever spent hours at the end of the school year sorting through student work to put into memory books. Have you ever lost your mind trying to figure out who stole the binding machine to put together books while you so desperately need to begin yours. Were you that teacher who took the binding machine? Oh geez, this is stressing me out just hearing about this! If you hate putting memory books together, then I've got the solution for you! All you'll need are file folders with the prongs and a two hole punch. See the entire tutorial over at Easy Teaching Tools! Want your very own editable copy of the memory book cover? Head to Easy Teaching Tools to pick up several color options for FREE!
Learn how I use two engaging picture books - The Hundred Dresses and Mr. Peabody's Apples - to help create a positive class culture in my upper elementary classroom.
Back to School Night can be the first time you meet many of the parents in your class. It is important that you communicate all of the information the parents will need to help their child have a successful school year. Here are my top tips for planning an informative and stress free Back to School Night: Have a Sign In SheetHave parents sign in on a sheet as the enter the room. This will allow you to keep track of which student's parents were able to attend. Be sure to send home copies of the
I know I have said it before but...... Making Memories Month by Month is one of my favorite books published by Creative Teaching Press. T...
Transform the end of the school year into a celebration of growth and accomplishment with these fun ideas and activities!
Plus follow-up activities and a free printable list.
Our Kindergarten teachers approached me with a request for an art project for the back cover of their memory books. The kids have filled out pages in their memory books all year and they wanted a colorful back cover. I found a fun and easy way to make fingerprint art on the Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails blog. Then, we used a great end of year poem by Helen H. Moore. We started by dripping water in pans of … Read more... →
The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!
Alright, it's mid-July! I know you are thinking about back to school time. You can't go shopping without seeing school supplies on sale or displays of new shoes and clothing, and I know you are getting excited. It's a fun time of year, isn't it? But... it's also stressful. You have ten tons to
It's another week of teaching bible class to these precious three year olds! They sure loved this lesson of Samuel and the fun activities that went with it. ARRIVAL Just like every week, the first 10-15 minutes of class the children come in and play with toys that are laid out on the table. It is
Head back to school with The Kissing Hand book by Audrey Penn. Pair it with activities and crafts to go along with the theme of the book or even buy Chester
Looking for upper elementary first day of school read alouds and activities? This list of favorite picture books and the free activities that come with them will help you build an inclusive classroom community that values diversity. First week of lesson plans done!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
The BEST end of the year activities for the classroom and teachers. Plan the final days with arts & crafts, themed days, countdowns, gift and party ideas, games and outdoor activities, and more!
One of my favorite projects of the year is our End of the Year Memory Book. It's a special keepsake for students and parents that features photos, drawings, writing samples, and more. It's a project the class works on periodically throughout the year. I love it because it shows how much the kiddos change over the year. It gives parents a memento to remember the year by, rather than trying to save everything the child brings home. #guiltyofthat This is Ellee. She was in my very first class. She just started 10th grade! Her Mom sent me these pictures of her looking back on her Kindergarten Memory Book before school started last month. It made me so happy to know that she was reliving all of the fun we had in Kinder. Crazy to think 10 years has come and gone! You can see in the photos that Word Art was all the rage back in 2007. LOL. I've made some updates to my Kinder Memory Book since 2007, and I've also created a Preschool and 1st grade version. I have some tips for creating these Memory Books that will make them manageable. 1. If you have active parent volunteers, find a parent that will head up this project. My first year in the classroom, I had 26 kids in my morning class and 25 in the afternoon. 51 memory books! Thank goodness I had an amazing aide and some super parents that helped out. 2. Two options for binding the memory books... You can copy all of the pages you need and bind them over the summer/at the beginning of the year. However, I think it's better to wait to bind them until the END of the year. To keep it all organized, I have a file folder for each student. As we complete a memory book page, I file the completed page away in the child's folder. Then at the end of the year, all the pages are in order and ready to be bound. 3. Print extra copies for potential new students or for "Uh Oh" mistakes. 4. If you forget to take a photograph of a student for a certain page, they can draw a picture instead. The combination of photographs and illustrations will make it extra special. 5. You can send a page home for "homework" every now and then if you just don't have time to get to it in class. Be sure to tell your students how important these pages are so they come back in good condition. I would recommend sending them home in an envelope or file folder so they don't get ripped, folded, or destroyed on the way home. :) 6. I've included extra pages at the end for photographs. Students can personalize it, color it, add stickers, get autographs from friends, etc. The teacher can write a special note to the child in the back of the book as well. These Memory Books will work great for Homeschool Kiddos and for the crafty Mamas out there. Just print and use the pages you need. I'm thrilled to be making one with my preschooler.
Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.
This Jitter Juice recipe is perfect for the first day of school! Pair it with the fun back to school book, "First Day Jitters."
Start off the elementary school year with these special back to school lessons and activities that are fun and important for K-2 kids: Participate in community building activities, get to know each other with All About Me activities, and build friendship and empathy with students.
Everyone loves Before & After Pictures, right? So, here we go! These pictures are just what my room looked like at the very beginning of the year. At the end of this post, I’ll post som…
It's time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school.
Here's a fun way to get your students excited about the upcoming summer Olympics! After students plot points, write ordered pairs, and draw line segments, a picture of an Olympic medal will appear. The activity is offered in both first quadrant (only positive numbers) as well as in all four quadrants (positive and negative numbers). Happy Graphing!
*This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. By clicking on the links and making a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. 5 Read Alouds and STEM Challenges for Back to School Back-to-school STEM read alouds are a fun way to engage in STEM and maker learnin
Here are five things every teacher should do for a successful back to school year. In this post, I'll share the top five necessities.
Curriculum mapping is an essential skill for educators. Curriculum Mapping ensures a teacher teaches all the standards for the grade level by mapping out what…
Back To School Ideas & Advice For Teachers From A Kindergarten Teacher. Tons of ideas from organization, decoration, curriculum and more!
Pre-K books to read. Best Beginning of the Year Pre-K and Kindergarten books. Pre-K Books to read. Best back to school books for Pre-K and Kindergarten.
This post includes 5 back-to-school activities to establish procedures, build relationships, and set the tone for the rest of the year.
read aloud books for the first weeks of school
Find the latest teaching resources and ideas for the elementary and middle school classroom. Interactive notebooks, classroom management, and more
