Find out why teachers should be using icebreaker activities for small groups all year long and not just at the beginning of the school year.
Are you getting ready to plan your first day of school but not sure where to start? Here are 10 free first day activities to help!
Check out these 5 ESL Speaking Activities that can be adapted for different grade and proficiency levels to get your English learners talking
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!
As we embark on a new academic journey, there’s no better time than the start of the school year to introduce and master the art of implementing stations in your classroom.
The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!
Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar" by Yansook Choi. We stopped at several points in the story to predict, make connections, infer, and ask questions. At one point, we paused in the story so that students could journal about the name they wrote down on the sticky note earlier: - Did they choose their own name? Or another? - Why? - If you chose another name, where did you hear that name before? Day 2 At the end of Day 1, students were given homework. (Stick around to the bottom of this post for a chance to get your own copy of this sheet.) I make it very clear, that while names all have meanings, your family may not have chosen your name for that reason. They might not know the meaning, and you can choose to look it up with your family if you wish. I also focus a lot on nicknames and your own feelings about your name. While I've never taught a student in foster care, or one who was adopted, I do think it's important to mention that this could be a touchy task in those situations, so be sure to know your students first, and modify as needed. Students use the homework task, and the journal write from the previous day, to write "The Story of their Name". Some possible options to include are: - who you are named after - the meaning of your name - a name you'd rather have - your feelings toward your name - nicknames you may have - the person (or people) who chose your name - how your name was chosen This piece of writing is then self, peer, and teacher edited, and a "good" copy is made. Day 3 I found this excellent step-by-step self-portrait from "Art Projects for Kids". I modified the task so that instead of drawing the left or right side of their face, they would draw the top half. Students find that folding their page into quadrants as she suggests is very helpful. Under the document camera I demonstrate each step, and students copy, adapting to their own facial features. Each student gets a mirror to look in to help them personalize. The final pieces are put on a bulletin board for display. Students also coloured in a bubble letter version of their names to complete the display. (I used the font KG Red Hands Outline for this.) Day 4 Once we've completed the task, the last job is to reflect on our work. I pulled some elements from our Arts Education curriculum (very relevant regardless of where you teach) for students to self-assess on. I've used the proficiency scale language our school has moved to for all reporting. A few students found it helpful to complete their reflection while looking at the finished product on their bulletin board, but most didn't need this. Want a copy of both my homework and reflection pages? Follow the image or button below to grab your copy. Take Me to the Free Download Pin this post.
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.
I am a list-maker. BIG TIME. This is a list for teachers of eight things that should be on their to-do list at the beginning of the year.
It's the beginning of the year, and you have a whole new class that is sitting in front of you. You don't know them besides the information you got on the student information card. You know the first few weeks are getting to know them. Both personally and academically. You also know the first few
Need tips for how to plan your Meet the Teacher night? This post provides editable templates, a parent letter, and other ideas!
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.
Plus follow-up activities and a free printable list.
Find out why teachers should be using icebreaker activities for small groups all year long and not just at the beginning of the school year.
By the end of the school year, we have our classrooms running like well-oiled machines. The students know what to do, when to do it, and what to expect from
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
A David Goes to School Printable that is perfect for the beginning of the school year in the Pre-K, Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.
This is a great sheet and activity to use with middle and high school students to help them get to know one another while you learning about them! :) The activity portion of this includes current famous people, shows, and trends to help engage students as they are matching up into pairs! This set includes: -A secondary appropriate "About Me" sheet (#mylife) -An interview sheet for the partner activity (#interview) -Directions for use -2 Lists for having students get into pairs effortlessly
Pre-K & Preschool activities for the first days of school. Find more Beginning of School Activities for Pre-K In the beginning of the year, we spend a
Start your year on the right note by having students create their own Doodle Tent! Build relationships & connect with your students in a meaningful way!
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
These are my favorite 50 free short art activities I have used over the past 20 years when I just need a quick and simple art activity.
Inside: Icebreakers for Spanish classrooms the first week of school. Building community the first couple of days in school is important. Icebreakers can be a fun way to get to know each other a little and even introduce a bit of Spanish! They're especially fun for returning students. Note: As a semi-introvert, most icebreakers terrify me.
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.
I am a list-maker. BIG TIME. This is a list for teachers of eight things that should be on their to-do list at the beginning of the year.
These super fun Back to School Science Stations and First Week of School Science Experiments are perfect for your beginning of school year science activities. They are a great way to celebrate the first week of the school year while introducing academic activities your students will love. Your upper elementary students already love science stations, so why not add some back to school science experiments to those science stations!
What should we do on the first day of school? Teach? Get to know students? Go over procedures? Planning the first day can be stressful. I’ve always been told the first day sets the tone, so …
Whether you are a seasoned pro or new to teaching with STEM, these first-week activities for STEM are sure to be a hit in your classroom.
You MUST READ these 10 Time Saving Tips for Teachers! They will help you save time, be a master at classroom organization, and rock your class management! You won't want to miss the FREE resources.
Pencil Names - Name Building Practice Printable comes with eight editable pages, containing two pencils. Each pencil has pieces for two letter names up to nine letter names. Getting Pencil Names - Name Building Practice Printable
Teach students to use They Say, I Say summary and response essay writing to join academic conversation. These questions will help students be successful…
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.
Learn more about my top 10 books for the beginning of the year in Kindergarten. These read-alouds all teach important concepts...
Are you looking for tips and tricks for working with partners in the classroom classroom? Read on to learn all the hacks!
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.
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
Transform the end of the school year into a celebration of growth and accomplishment with these fun ideas and activities!
Fun and engaging ideas to get to know your students at the beginning of the school year. Build a strong classroom community with these free resources.
