A printable Days of the Week chart serves as an effective visual aid for learners to easily grasp and remember the sequence of the days. Its clear layout and engaging design cater to educational needs, facilitating easier learning and recall.
Help students understand the importance of courage in the classroom. This post shares a wide variety of tools you can use to teach courage.
This week was Truth and Reconciliation Week in Canada. Although officially recognized over one week, these are conversations and teachings that should happen throughout the school year, not just one week, or one day. Reconciliation is about building relationships and respect, and that just cannot be reduced to a week. I wanted to share some of the activities, readings, and discussions I had with my Grade 5/6 class this year, mainly inspired by this resource, Every Child Matters. After reading the book Trudy's Rock Story, and discussing how Trudy uses rocks to relieve her anger and release her feelings, we decided that making our own Resilience Rocks could help us process some of our feelings about Canada's history, mainly anger and confusion, and by placing them back on the Earth, we could release some of the feelings and remember to act. Tuesday we started painting our rocks orange while I read the story, I am Not a Number. (We used acrylic paint - I would suggest spray paint - we had to do many many coats of acrylic paint, and them still seal them). We also watch a video from residential school survivor, Lillian Elias, and then used orange sticky notes to send her a message. Wednesday we sealed the rocks with an outdoor mod podge. We did this BEFORE they wrote on them, otherwise the sharpie marker would pull the paint off when we wrote. We read the story, When I was Eight, and wrote some more reflections on sticky notes. Thursday was Truth and Reconciliation Day and Orange Shirt Day. For art in the morning, we looked at beautiful examples of Indigenous Art and Artists - current and past. We worked on Canada Goose Drawings, inspired by Benjamin Chee Chee. We chose the Canada Goose because we liked how they inspired flight - and they may have to move or leave for a bit, but they always come back, stronger. I let the students use their laptops to look at different images while they drew their own. These turned out stunningly. Even mine - and I usually struggle with a stick figure. We had been talking about what message we wanted to share on Orange Shirt Day on our Resilience Rocks, and had brainstormed a long list over the week. Some students wanted to apologize, others wanted to send a word of support or strength, and some just wanted to share their beliefs that every child really does matter. We knew we would placing the rocks around our school yard and school community and we wanted to choose something that would inspire continuing to spread this message - that every child matters and why we need to understand why. In the afternoon we took a 2.15 km walk (for the 215 children found in Kamloops) and placed our Resilience Rocks around the school community. As we walked in our orange shirts, we were careful to spread them out around our route so we could share our messages with our small community. I told my students that if they were able, it would be nice to bring their grown-ups to where they placed their rocks earlier, and tell them about our learning and their reflections from the week. Our last day was spent working on the writing reflection, "If I was given a $1000 budget to plan an Orange Shirt Day event at my school, this is what I would do." Again, this was our week of Truth and Reconciliation activities in the classroom, but our conversations won't end at the end of the week. This acknowledgement and promise to learn the truth will continue throughout our whole year of curriculum. If you are looking to add more indigenous-themed books and authors to your classroom, HERE is a good place to get started. How were some ways you observed Truth and Reconciliation week at your school?
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
This is a cute little *freebie* coloring page that celebrated kindness in the classroom. There is a black and white outline copy for your students to color, as well as a color copy to display as an coloring goal example for your little ones that may need a little help coloring with more than one col...
This post originally appeared on the blog Mom2punkerdoo. I always love it when I can find a fantastic book that ties to exactly what I want to teach! The picture book, The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi i
Morning Meetings with a connection to Our Class is a Family and A Letter From Your Teacher, for year-long classroom community building.
Free inspirational posters and motivational quotes for teachers. Colorful posters for teachers with motivating quotes.
Classroom procedures review can be dull and boring. This post is loaded with fun and engaging games that will make students want to practice the all important classroom procedures. The more they practice them, the more smoothly your classroom will run.
Explore oliverdec's 2 photos on Flickr!
One thing that I never did much of until this year was focus on building a strong classroom community. I felt like I had good relationships with my students, but I realized I wasn’t very good at fostering my students’ relationships with their peers. How important that is! If students aren’t valuing and respecting each other, then it can be really hard to get much accomplished during the day. So this year, after learning more about Responsive Classroom and building classroom community, I decided to put that at the center of my planning. Allowing time for my students to interact with each other and encourage each other during class was a priority for me. I took some aspects of the Responsive Classroom approach and adapted them for my classroom. I also took some things I’ve seen or heard about from other teachers whom I admire and adapted those ideas for my classroom as well. NONE of the following ideas are my own brain child; I am pretty much the queen of taking others’ ideas and changing them to fit my needs. That being said, I wanted to share the different ways that I help build a strong classroom community in hopes that it will inspire you to do the same. I also HIGHLY recommend researching Responsive Classroom and their approach to building classroom community. It was super eye-opening for me! The only reason I am not 100% implementing Responsive Classroom is because it was just too much for me to possibly take on in one year. However, I think adding a few aspects at a time is enough to make a difference and still be manageable. Building Classroom Community Monday Meeting This is adapted from the Responsive Classroom’s Morning Meeting. Having a meeting EVERY morning was overwhelming to me and something I’m not sure I have the time for at this point; but I did feel a regular class meeting would be instrumental in building that strong classroom community. The Responsive Classroom approach has 4 different components to the meeting: greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message and is a daily 15-20 minute meeting to start the day. In my class, I do my meeting on Monday mornings. I create a short PowerPoint to go with it. First, I share a quick summary of my week and my favorite part, because I feel it is important for students to be included in our life outside of school. Second, I do a question of the week. This is sometimes an easy, get-to-know-you question that most students will answer. Other times it focuses on a trait or character quality I want to talk about – questions like “How can you persevere today?” or “Tell about a time when someone helped you.” I let as many students as want to answer. Third, I do a student share time. I have a schedule set and 5 students share each Monday. I have 20 students so each student gets to go about once per month. Lastly, I use this time for any important announcements for the week. It was important to me that students get the opportunity to stand up in front of their classmates, full attention on them, and talk about literally whatever they want. I have kids talk about something fun they did, or they bring in items for show and tell, or they tell about something they’re looking forward to. I don’t provide any guidelines for this time (other than keeping it under 2 minutes and 2nd grade appropriate). Students who are not speaking are to listen attentively, and we clap when the sharer is done. This is my students’ favorite part of the week! Quote of the Month On the first Monday of each month, I skip my question of the week and we talk about our Quote of the Month instead. I like to choose quotes that encourage a growth mindset or focus on another quality that I think is important. I choose the quote each month and display it on my letter board. Then, on the first Monday of the month, we talk about it during Monday Meeting. We read the quote together, I explain any words they may not know, and then I ask them what they think it means. I love hearing their ideas! Seriously, 2nd graders can be pretty insightful. After hearing their thoughts on the quote, I proceed to tell them what it means to me and what that means for our classroom. I refer to the quote often throughout the month but otherwise don’t do anything with it. I think it would be fun to once a month reward students who really showcased the qualities talked about in the quote, but I have not done that. This idea is adapted from the Keep the Quote trend. I only do once a month because it’s hard for me to keep up with it weekly, but Keep the Quote is another great alternative to this community building strategy. Table Points I love doing group work in my class, but unfortunately with the way our curriculum is set up, it doesn’t lend itself very well to doing group work often. So, I provide students opportunities to work together in a different way – table points. This is super casual. Each table has a number (1-5) and I keep a tally on a chart I made on my board. Anytime I think an entire table has done a great job working quietly, cleaning up, keeping their desk neat, working together well, etc. I give them a table point. Tables accumulate points throughout the week, and the table that has the most points at the end of the day Friday wins! The winning table gets to keep the VIP Caddy at their table the following week in place of their regular caddy. In the VIP Caddy I keep fun pencils, markers, pens, and pretty-colored dry erase markers. They LOVE it! I switch up their seating once per quarter so they have opportunities to work with different students. I love watching them help each other and encourage each other so they can earn table points. Closing Circle This is also taken from the Responsive Classroom. I try to end each day with a closing circle. My students absolutely love this time of day and are sad when we don’t get to do it (because of time). It takes only about 10 minutes! After cleaning up and getting ready to go, I have all students come to my gathering area and we sit in a circle. Then we go around the circle and answer a quick question (similar to our question of the day, but everyone gets to answer). This could be a simple “What was your favorite thing that happened today?” or a more thought-provoking “What challenged you today and what did you learn from it?” The point is, whatever the question, you are ending the day on a POSITIVE note. So, stay away from questions like, “What did you NOT like about today?” It can be hard to come up with questions to ask, so I created this FREE resource to help you out! Simply print, cut, and keep on a binder ring near your gathering area. Then, if you’re stuck, you can just grab these cards and find a question! These cards are available in my TpT store, or you can click the link below to download now. How do you build a strong classroom community? Share your ideas by commenting below!
Introducing students to challenging words through Word of the Week can help increase their confidence in reading, writing, & speaking.
It is important for middle school students to be practicing social-emotional learning throughout the year to help support them socially, behaviorally, academically, and in preparation for high school. Skills such as relationship building and self-management skills will help middle schoolers to cope with what can be a difficult time developmentally. Find below 20 different activities that you can use with your middle schoolers to support their social-emotional learning (SEL).
As crianças passam a maior parte do tempo na escola - e nós nos esforçamos para torná-la um lugar acolhedor e encorajador. Porém, o espaço mais esquecido em uma escola são os banheiros! Sim, isso mesmo, os banheiros! Com esta listagem você receberá um orçamento de decalque de vinil de sua escolha. Existem duas opções de tamanho. Tamanho: Pequeno: 20 cm de largura x 13 cm de altura Grande: 31 polegadas de largura x 20 polegadas de altura ***"Seja o melhor" é uma exceção, pois é um design vertical. Isso é: Pequeno: 13 polegadas de largura x 20 polegadas de altura Grande: 20 cm de largura x 31 cm de altura O tamanho pequeno é ótimo para cabines de banheiro normais e o tamanho grande cabe perfeitamente em cabines para deficientes físicos. Você também terá a opção de adicionar um pacote múltiplo de pontos coloridos para decorar ao redor da citação. O conjunto de pontos inclui 8 pontos - um de cada cor (conforme mostrado nas fotos). Esses decalques de vinil podem ser aplicados diretamente na porta ou espelho limpo. Eles são feitos de vinil durável, mas removível (mas não reutilizável). Com os devidos cuidados, é muito durável e dura muito tempo sem desbotar ou descolorir. ***PEDIDOS PERSONALIZADOS OU PEDIDOS EXTRA GRANDES ESTENDERÃO O ENVIO POR DATA UM POUCO APÓS OCORRER UMA CONVERSA ENTRE O VENDEDOR E O CLIENTE.***
20 middle school routines and procedures to keep your students on the right track and out of trouble. Set your classroom up for success!
Free inspirational posters and motivational quotes for teachers. Colorful posters for teachers with motivating quotes.
Teach your students about differentiation and students' needs in the classroom with the free and engaging glyph activity!
Are you wondering the best strategy for introducing readers' notebooks to your students?
*A DIGITAL OPTION HAS BEEN INCLUDED FOR GOOGLE SLIDES AND FORMS/GOOGLE CLASSROOM* Be sure to re-download! There are directions and links inside the pdf. Hello, ELA! This resource is a unique way to get your students warmed up at the beginning of your ELA block. Each month contains 4-5 weeks of ELA bell work, which will have a theme around the season, national holidays, or events associated with that particular month. The morning work is focused on ELA 8th Grade Common Core Standards. Each day has a thematic structure to cover language standards as well as enhance vocabulary and comprehension skills. Save money by purchasing the year long BUNDLE!ELA Daily Review 8th Grade {Growing Bundle} Each week follows a predictable and engaging structure: Meaningful Monday: Monday is focused on making meaning. Tasks will focus on synonyms, antonyms, vocabulary words, context clues, and making meaning in a short amount of text. Some tasks may require students to make meaning in the text (inference, message, adages, proverbs, etc.) or build vocabulary skills. Text Structure Tuesday: Tuesdays will have a paragraph that requires students to identify the text structure, signal words, main idea, author's perspective, or vocabulary, or any other question types related to the Craft and Structure standards. Wordy Wednesday: Wednesday is all about working with words. Tasks include working with shades of meaning, homophones, spelling, prefixes, suffixes, roots, and other word skills. Throwback Thursday:Thursday is all about grammar usage and conventions. Figurative Friday: Figurative Friday tasks include working with various types of figurative language including similes, metaphors, idioms, poems, alliteration, structures of poems and more! 🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5.I hope this resource works for you! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or feedback. -Jessica This ELA + Math Morning Work is available for the following grade levels: ELA + Math Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade ELA Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade ELA Weekly Assessments 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade Math Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade Let’s connect! The Literacy Loft Blog The Literacy Loft on Instagram The Literacy Loft on Pinterest The Literacy Loft on Facebook Email: [email protected]
When you're just starting to learn Albanian, it's important to build a strong foundation by learning some commonly used words. This will give you a good base
Do you need a hands-on, sensory lesson to teach about kind words? You will love this! Perfect for preschool, kindergarten, and even older kids! Also part of the Virtual Book Club for Kids!
Here’s a great little number of the day routine. Head over to my blog to read suggestions for use and to grab your freebie. Math Coach’s Corner You Might Also Like:Graphing Cards PackFree Visual Notetaking Printables to DownloadNumber Bonds TemplateK/1 Measurement Lesson Idea
While enjoying 2 weeks off from work, I am currently trying to get ahead by working on my Arctic Freeze Unit. The first week back, my kids will be MAP testing and we also have a field trip to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Peace Center. Also, I will need to begin testing so that I can enter grades for Report Cards. So... here are a few things I have added to my Arctic Freeze Packet: I created this to use as an assessment to see if my students can fluently add within 5. I also created this to assess my students to see if they can match rhyming pictures. This is a simple activity to see if students can color the hat pattern correctly. And lastly, the students will practice graphing by counting animals on an igloo and then coloring the graph according to how many animals were counted. You can see lots more from my Arctic Freeze Unit, by clicking here. I plan on adding even more to the Unit over the next few days!
Ready to start the year off with strong classroom management? Learn the top 10 must teach procedures for the first day of school!
Lesson Plans from first grade lesson plan template, image source: pinterest.com
Need some great ideas for greetings for morning meetings in your K-2 classroom? Try some of these engaging and creative "hello's"!
Find activities and tips on how to build a classroom community, so each student feels welcomed, loved, and comfortable coming to school.
So, are you itching for winter break to get here or what?!? I am drowning here, people! Between report cards, conferences (for my students and my own kids!), shopping, baking, parties, wrapping... DROWNING!Don't get me
Let me help you plan your first week of school lesson plans! I have many tips and tricks to share to make it easier for you!
One of the best things to do on the first day of school is plan cooperative learning activities where students can get to know one another.
Oh how I forget the beginning of the year wiggles, giggles, and total distraction at the carpet :) I made this poster to hang at my rug as a visual reminder for expected behavior. **updated 2023**
Check out these all about me activities designed for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students. These are great for the beginning of the year and creating a classroom community!
