We stared out our year by creating a family/ school connection by having parents write their hopes and dreams for their child on a ribbon and help their child weave it on our class loom. This loom will be displayed in our room all year as a reminder of the hopes and dreams for them from their parents. Our first week of school was spent figuring out how shcool works. We have many materials to explore that many kids have never used! We also have a lot of new friends who have never worked together before! Most of our new friends have never been in a school setting for a full day! Many have never been separated from their parents for a full day. All of these factors can lead to many problems that need solutions very quickly! Most of our time was spent getting to know each other and learning how to use the materials in our room. We have been reading stories that teach us about characteristics we need for our classroom to work such as respect for people, places (our room) and things (our materials), responsibility for taking care of our materials and putting them away, empathy for our new friends, being helpful, handling frustration (we don't always get what we want) and becoming problem solvers. We have been slowly introducing all of the areas in our room and practicing respecting and taking care of the materials in each area. If they do not respect the materials, they are not allowed to explore that area until they show me in other areas of the room that they can handle it. As teachers, we are observing and documenting what we notice. Who is not easily frustrated if they don't get their way? Who helps others in need? Who takes responsibility for helping clean up? We are also noticing interests to get ideas for future inquiries. It is amazing what the kids will start exploring based on the materials provided! Here are some examples of the learning happening purely through exploration. Below we see some friends who wanted to show us how they could create sound in different ways in the block area, which is in our science standards. This was completely on their own without teacher guidance. In the clay area, the child below was showing me that she could make heavy lines and light lines based on the pressure she applied! There was a lot of exploration of texture in the clay area, along with some creating! Below, a child didn't have enough clay to create the different textures. Her friends were not willing to give their clay up for her to use. She then came up with the idea of creating smaller pieces. Problem solving at its finest! Some explored Symetry in the loose parts area, again, no guidance from the teachers! They did this on their own! Some created self portraits. And some came up with different types of creations. I love the concentration and focus on their faces when they work in this area! A lot of documentation took place in this area and at our "Look Closer" table. They were practicing observational skills at the Look Closer table. I loved listening to what they had noticed! Many enjoyed exploring measurement! I thought it interesting that even though I had objects available for nonstandard measurement, every single child picked the real tools to explore with with! It proves that they prefer real tools rather than those "made for children." They enjoyed exploring sound through our xylophone. One child chose to try to make his own! He ran into some problems and it fell apart, but he told me that he will try again (Persistance!!!) We notices an awful lot of children exploring balance on their own! At the writing station, one friend was inspired to write a story using symbols. I was amazed that rather than copying the example, he created his own symbols to tell his stories! Of coarse we had to let him share his story with the class! Below they are incorporating writing into the book area. I never told them to, I just had some clipboards, paper and colors available for them there. Some wrote their own stories, some made their favorite parts of stories they read. They also explored materials in our literacy trays... and our math trays. All of this in just one week!! We have noticed that most of our new friends have been showing both respect and responsibility when it comes to using our materials for exploring! I have been very proud of how well they are learning to work together and get along! I know that we are going to have an amazing year!
In a self-paced classroom, each student is given an appropriate level of challenge and grows at a steady pace throughout the school year. Here's how it works.
Some days you just need a break from the monotony! Preparing for exams, transitioning to a new unit, days when half your students are gone for a basketball tour
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Looking for a printable coloring map of the seven continents? Then you are in the right place. We have custom designed just such a map ... Read more
I am incorporating many of the amazing ideas that I have come across on Pinterest and this is one of them. It's a missing assignment form, which you have students turn in when they do not have an assignment. I thought it would make it much easier to keep track of those who did not do something versus those who are absent. So here it is!
Get to know your students AND help them to understand themselves a little bit more with this personality test reflection. This activity will challenge students to be introspective as they think about their strengths and weaknesses, ability to work with others, approach to school/work, and more! In addition, this online test is great practice at reading, summarizing, evaluation, and reflecting upon information. HALF OFF SEPT. 13 ONLY! I love doing this activity at the start of a new year, because it helps students think about who they are and how they can have their best year yet! When you purchase this product, you will receive the following: -Teacher instructions -Visually appealing student handout (front-and-back sheet) -NEW 2020: Links to TWO digital versions of this activity: Google Slides AND Google Forms Thinking about purchasing this resource? It's included in this back-to-school bundle for a discounted price! For other back-to-school resources, like get-to-know-you speed dating, creative syllabus templates, and more, click HERE.
Most teachers struggle with students whose academic performance doesn't match their potential. When the usual approach doesn't work, try something different.
Evaluate important geography lessons with the help of these printable geography worksheets. These free geography worksheets collection gives your school student some geography practice with fun and quiz-style worksheet. The printable worksheets are available in the image list below, click to download it to your computer.
Grow a rainbow as a fun science experiment or STEM project and use the product as a fun decoration for springtime.
Supplement your child's learning through these Shapes Tracing Worksheets Free Printable! This set comes in PDF format so it's easy to download and print.
Browse Grade 1 Math Worksheets to improve number skills, addition and subtraction skills.
Hand therapist Josh Albarado, OTR/L shares his go-to hand therapy interventions with protocols, treatment ideas and resources in this guide
Virtual icebreakers are perfect for getting students introduced to one another. They help encourage students to get to know one another better.
When you're still technically in school, but the conditions just aren't great for teaching, what do you do to make the most of the time? Here are 30 ideas.
This telling time worksheet is great for kindergartners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders. The printable worksheet includes a clock face, an hour and minute hand, and hours 1-12 that can be cut out and pasted into the correct positions on the clock. The hour and minute hands can be fastened to the middle of the clock using a brass fastener, making this time telling worksheet versatile and perfect for a variety of telling time activities. Build a Clock Answer Key
OCEAN WAVE ART LESSON can be used for grade K-8. Large or small painting surface, acrylic or tempera paints. Perfect for in class or studio art lesson.
The red pen is mighty, but are you maximizing its impact? Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed what work is graded and what work isn't, and how to hold students accountable for implementing feedback. Teachers also shared their experiences with standards based grading, thoughts on students grading themselves, and tips for making grading easier. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.
Cooperative learning can be a powerful learning strategy, but only if it works well. These small changes can make group work more effective in your classroom.
This fun craft will teach your child a little bit about the human skeletal system and can be adapted to teach the biology of many different living animals.
Looking for awesome shapes worksheets for kindergarten and games to use in your classroom? This pack is filled with hands-on activities and no-prep worksheets to help children learn about and use shapes.
Spanisch-Bingo zum Thema Hobbys & Freizeit und zur Anwendung des Verbes gustar und dem damit einhergehenden Gebrauch der Pro
