Embark on a journey of self-discovery with your students using this comprehensive "Word of the Year" activity packet! Designed for students in grades 2-6, this resource guides them through selecting a personal word for the year, creating a self-portrait, writing a reflective letter to themselves, and engaging in final reflections. This activity is perfect for fostering self-awareness, goal setting, and personal growth at the beginning of the year or any time a reflective activity is needed. What’s Included: Ideas for Words of the Year: A list of suggested words to inspire students in their selection. Self-Reflection Page: Questions and prompts to guide students in choosing their word. Self-Portrait Activity: Instructions and templates for students to create a self-portrait that represents their chosen word. Letter to Self Template: A framework for students to write a letter to their future selves, incorporating their word of the year and their hopes or goals related to it. Final Reflections Page: Space for students to reflect on their experience at the end of the year or activity period. Ideas for Use: Tips and suggestions for effectively implementing this activity in your classroom. Skills Developed: Self-reflection and introspection. Creative expression through art and writing. Goal setting and personal development. Language and vocabulary expansion. Empathy and self-awareness. How to Use This Resource: Introduction: Begin with a class discussion about the significance of choosing a word for the year. Word Selection: Utilize the self-reflection page and ideas list to help students select their word. Artistic Expression: Have students create a self-portrait that visually represents their chosen word. Writing Component: Guide students in writing a thoughtful letter to their future selves. Reflection: At the end of the year or activity period, use the final reflections page to encourage students to think about their growth and experiences related to their word. Great For: New Year’s activities Character education Social-emotional learning (SEL) Art integration Journaling and creative writing Counselor guidance lesson Please Note: This resource is suitable for a variety of classroom settings and is easily adaptable to suit different age groups and learning needs. Feedback and Reviews: Your feedback is invaluable to us! Please leave a review to share how this activity worked in your classroom. More Personal Growth Resources: Explore other resources in our store for more personal growth and SEL activities! Keywords: Word of the Year, Self-Reflection, Personal Growth, Goal Setting, Art Activity, Self-Portrait, Writing, Elementary Education, Character Education. This listing provides a versatile and insightful resource that encourages personal growth and self-reflection in a creative and engaging way, making it an excellent tool for teachers looking to incorporate social-emotional learning into their curriculum. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED @INQUIRY LANE, LLC 2024
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
As more and more research comes out about the power of Growth Mindset and more and more people are leaning towards this line of thinking (heck, even my District is getting on board...they talked about it at a training I went to over the summer!), I figured that this would be as good a time as any to teach my students about their own brains and mindset. So I began my first week of school with a few lessons that really set a great tone for my students. To begin, I wanted something tangible and hands-on for my students to experience. So I searched online and found this lesson here. In a nutshell, I folded some paper in a crazy figure (that didn't actually look all crazy...until I tried to make it...go to the blog for exact instructions) and told the students they needed to recreate it. I had them get into groups of 7-8 students, put the figure in the middle and gave them each the exact same piece of paper I used. There were only two rules: They could not touch the folded paper and they could not have a second piece of paper. Most of the students got right to it. As they were working, I walked around with a clipboard and wrote down everything that I was hearing in the groups. At the beginning, I heard things like: This is easy. Look, we just fold it this way and then that. Let me get my scissors and we can all just cut it. Hmmm....I wonder how she did that. Can you just show me what you are doing? Then, as time went on and recreating the folded paper wasn't as easy as they thought, the narrative started to change. I started to hear: Wait, what? This isn't going to work. I can't get this. What did you do? Seriously, she had to use tape. How did she get that part? Let's only do one paper at a time in case we make a mistake. This was also the time when I started to see some kids just sit back and watch. They stopped trying altogether and just let everyone else experiment. I also noticed some kids taking charge completely and not letting others have opinions. Then, towards the end, I heard: This is impossible. I give up. I just can't do this. What on earth did she do? She used magic. After about 10 minutes of working, I called them all together again (no one was able to fold it correctly), I showed the students what they said. It was a bit eye-opening for them to see that some just quit so early on or that they declared the task impossible. Clearly it wasn't, as I had just folded the paper. They just wanted me to tell them the answer. This then lead into a nice discussion about the basic principles of growth mindset. That you have to keep going and trying. That your brain was meant to learn. So I passed out a quiz that I got from Angela Watson of the Cornerstone for Teachers. (she has a whole Growth Mindset pack that is really useful) They took the quiz, which asks questions about whether students think they can learn and grow or if they were just born that way. Then, we watched a video that Angela links from the Khan Academy about the fact that our brains were born to learn. We wrote down many ideas from the video, the biggest being that failure = growing. That REALLY stuck with them. I then asked the students to write down all of the words they could think of that pertained to their idea of what it means that "you were born to learn." The more important words, in their opinion, were to be larger than the less important words. Effectively, they were making a free form word cloud. I then took their picture as if they were screwing in a lightbulb, glued it onto the word cloud they created, and using tissue paper, they formed a "lightbulb" above their hand. All in all, this was a fabulous way to introduce the idea of growth mindset to my students. This entire process took two days to complete, but it was well worth it. The students continue to make connections to that first video from Khan Academy and refer to the idea of "failure = growing" still. I am also finding that there is just a much more positive tone in class because of it. I can't wait to continue on with future lessons. Have you delved into growth mindset? What are your experiences?
I was so eager to get back to my kids this week. Eager to hug them and talk to them and let them know I loved them. Coincidence or not, on Friday I pulled my kids together to talk community building and all things family. I have always been so big on building community in...
At the start of a new year, chances are some of your students are new to your school. Other students were not in the same class last year and everyone is new to your classroom. Let your students know that great things happen when they all cooperate and work together. During the first week of school, you should spend some time on team building activities. Here are a few ideas I found around the web: Adapted from this activity: http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Helium_Stick -Floating Hula Hoop, This activity sounds simple, but it’s great for communicating and working together. Divide the class into groups of 4 or 5. Have the group form a circle facing the center. Ask then to hold out their index finger. Place a hula hoop on their fingers. Their job is to lower the hula hoop to the ground without dropping it. They have a tendency to go up instead of down. It will take some communication to get the hoop to the ground. http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/hula-hoop-pass.html -Hula Hoop Pass, The object of this activity is to pass a hula hoop all the way around the circle. You can have kids stand in one large circle or divide the class into two circles. Students face the center and hold hands. Choose two people to open their hands and place the hula hoop there to start the activity. The kids have to move the hoop over their bodies and pass it on to the next person. Others can give encouragement and suggestions if the hula hoop gets stuck. Inspired from this video---https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILlp1i2WJcM -Balloon Caterpillar Race, Have students form 4 lines with 5 to 6 students in each line. Students should all be facing forward with the lead students behind a start line. Place an inflated balloon between each person. When you say go, the entire line must cross the finish line without dropping any balloons. If they drop a balloon they need to go back to the start and begin again. Another way to begin building a community is to brainstorm what it takes to be a positive classmate. Use a chart like this to brainstorm the characteristics of a positive team member. You can download a copy of the blank chart here. Since it is a pdf file you can print it poster size. I made mine 200% of the original. Then I glued the six pages together to make the poster for our class discussion. I also make a single page copy for every student so they can make their own chart along with you. Once the students understand what makes a positive classmate tell them the class will earn a reward for showing all these characteristics. Using the letters SPARKLE, which stands for Students who are Prepared, Attentive, Respectful, Responsible and Keep Learning every day! Put up one letter every time the whole class is following the guidelines for being a positive classmate. When they earn all 7 letters the class has earned a special reward. You can choose the reward or let the class brainstorm a possible list. You can download the letters here. For more ways to help your kids SPARKLE, check out the entire product in my TPT store.
Here's a great idea I spotted on Pinterest.... I tried this lesson with my middle school students and they had so much fun with it! I originally used a copy machine to enlarge students' fingerprints. It was cumbersome and time-consuming. But then I figured out a faster, easier, and better way! For detailed instructions with photos, tips, writing prompts, a student gallery, and fascinating fingerprint facts, check out my fun resource on TPT! My pdf also comes with 3 ready-to-use fingerprint enlargements in case you don't have time to take students' actual fingerprints. This can also be helpful for students who arrive late or miss the first day when you work on these. Optional... use colored pencils to lightly add some designs in the background before tracing over your writing with Sharpie. This will personalize your self-portrait even more!
How has your summer vacation been going? Mine has been both relaxing and busy at the same time. I have been working like a busy bee planning for my mid-August nuptials! If you follow me on Instagram, then you’re definitely up to date on all things wedding! I’ve also been making more of an effort...
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
A few summers ago, I was starting a new grade level (5th) in a new district and spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking for some fun ideas for my fresh start. I decided to dig deeper into classroom rights and responsibilities and logical consequences. I figured that 5th graders would value being part of the process of establishing our norms, and, honestly, I wanted their insight. I was new to 5th graders and how they worked! The process of creating these rights and responsibilities has been one of my favorite discussions with my class over the last couple of years. For students, thinking about what they want their rights to be is more powerful that just coming up with the standard class rules - be respectful, take turns, etc. Also, having this discussion at the beginning of the year gives me good insight about what the "personality" of my class is and what is important to them. I start the activity by giving students a definition of "right" and "responsibility" and we brainstorm a quick list of rights and responsibilities they can think of that they have in their life. I usually start with a few examples, like they have the right to go to lunch every day, and the responsibility to get up and get ready in the morning. This quick step provides the foundation for the rest of the activity. Next I have the students work with a partner to sort phrases into "rights" and "responsibilities" categories. Some are obvious, but others are natural discussion starters. Students innately assume they're supposed to glue the slips down, so I make sure they know to leave them unglued so they can change their minds if they want to. This is a great place to use a Kagan Structure like Rally Coach or Sage N Scribe (well, Sage N Sort, really!) to make sure that both partners are getting the chance to share their thinking. Then we come together as a class to make a class list of rights and responsibilities. Definitely set aside plenty of board space for this! :) This is where things always get interesting! There's always something that some students think is a right, while some think is a responsibility. I love hearing them explain their thoughts. (Meanwhile, I'm creating the slightly crazy lists/arrows you see in the picture above!) One thing that's been interesting to me is that every year there have been things that I added to the list intending them to be rights, but students strongly felt they were responsibilities, or vice versa. One of those this past year was "learn new things". I included it thinking students have the right to learn new things without classmates getting in the way of that. My class wholeheartedly believed that is was their responsibility to learn. Another one that has gone the opposite of what I expected was "ask for help", which I thought was a responsibility". Honestly, there's no right answer, and things can be on different lists from year to year. It's all about what each unique group of students thinks is important. You can see on the lists above that there are arrows and stars. The arrows just show which rights and responsibilities go together. The stars are the ones that we as a class decided were the most important. I mostly let the class choose, but if I had one or two that I really wanted on the list, I made sure those made it on there. I love this part because you get to see what awesome little people your students are. Both of the years that I've done this, my students have chosen "be different" and "have your own opinion" as two of our rights for the year. I just love that. Once we've come up with the rights and responsibilities that are important to us, we make posters to hang on the wall. I've always used two pieces of chart paper, but it would be really easy to flip the page sideways and just use one. Note: My school is a PBIS school, and we have the acronym SOAR for our schoolwide behavior expectations. Using sticky notes labeled "S", "O", "A", and "R", we matched the school norms to our responsibilities. You could easily do with with any acronym or anything else that many be in place schoolwide. The last thing I do is have students work on their own to connect the rights and responsibilities and put them in their own words. This will help them really think about what the rights and responsibilities are going to look like in the classroom. I have students keep these so that they can be referred to throughout the year. I use these rights and responsibilities along with logical consequences in my classroom, but the great thing is that they can fit into any classroom management system that you have! If you're interested in trying out rights and responsibilities with your class click {HERE} or on the picture below.
*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 6th 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 6th 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. 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 I hope this resource works for you! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or feedback. - Jessica
Managing students is a struggle all year long, no matter the atmosphere. Give students an inch and they just might take a mile. That is unless you set up clear expectations and procedures and follow through with those consistently.
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 giving clear, precise instructions and following them carefully. Here's how it works: You will need some geometrical diagrams, paper, and pencils. You can make your own diagrams or purchase the activity here. My version includes 20 diagram cards to allow you to tailor the activity or use it multiple times throughout the year. Idea #1 • Pair students up and place a few diagrams in an envelope or lay them face down between each pair of students. It is very important that they do not sneak a look at the diagrams! • One student will randomly choose a card, look at it while hiding the diagram from his/her partner, then give their partner instructions as he/she attempts to draw the figure. This should only take a few minutes. • When finished, the partners compare the resulting drawing to the original diagram. Encourage them to discuss what was clear and unclear about the instructions they were given. • Repeat the process with the students reversing roles. Idea #2 • Select a diagram. You, the teacher, give directions to the class for drawing the figure, then check the results. Idea #3 • Choose a diagram card and have students take turns giving instructions to the class. This activity is easily adaptable to many grade levels. Encourage older students to use appropriate geometry terms as they describe the figures. Younger students may use everyday language. I'd love to hear how you use this in your class!
Linking up for the last time with Ashley from Just Reed for her Ten Pin Linky. :( This makes me sad, I really loved this summer linky. This week's theme is Back to School Ideas & here are some of my favorite ideas. 1.) Check out this Classroom Job pack from Andrea Knight's Tpt store. I just love the idea of having applications & interview questions for classroom jobs & you can adapt her pack to younger students as well. Source: Andrea Knight 2.) What an ingenious idea. Having a color cup system as student tables to help them manage their voice levels. Check out Charity's video post about it. Source: The Organized Classroom Blog 3.) This is such a cute idea to have pictures of the students with the class rules as speech bubbles. Source: The Ins and Outs 4.) If I still taught Kinder I would definitely do this (maybe even 1st or 2nd). I sent my Kinders magic dust to help them not be nervous on the first day of school & this reminds me of that. Love! Love! Love! Source: A Cupcake for the Teacher 5.) I'm such a word game nerd that I would definitely do this bulletin board, if the space was available. I would have so much fun just figuring out where to put whose name. Source: Fine Craft Guild 6.) I love this Heart Map as a Getting-to-Know-You activity for older kids (2nd [maybe] & up) Source: The First Grade Parade 7.) And I love this one for the little guys (K&1st) Source: Miss Kindergarten 8.) When I saw this activity I thought it would be such a cute activity for the beginning of the year & the end of the year & see the kids answers & how they've changed. Source: Sailing into Second 9.) I'm really loving the idea of asking the students what they expect from me and the school year and themselves. Source: Mrs. Robinson's Classroom Blog I also like these options. Source: Confessions of a Teaching Junkie Source: Teaching and Learning Together 10.) Such a cute idea to see the reflection of summer in the sunglasses. Source: A Love 4 Teaching Don't forget to link up with Ashley & share your favorite Back-to-School ideas! Check out my Pinterest page for more ideas. And if you haven't checked out my Brights & Polka Dot classroom decor pack, check out my post & enter for your chance to win it before you can buy it, you have one more day to enter!!! I can't wait to see your favorite pins!!!
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
Share this growth mindset information with parents during the entire school year. Collaborate with parents by sending home one note each week!
Start building community from the beginning of the school year with this fun and engaging back to school activity, Friend Wanted Ads.
Check out this blog post with a ton of teaching tips and ideas for building classroom community at the beginning of the school year. Back to school ideas!
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
Make an impact in your classroom with this back to school print your own bulletin board kit The preview image shows the letters printed at full size on a 4' x6' bulletin board. Use the letters to create your own personal message to your students. Print them instantly on a laser or ink jet printer Includes 1 PDF file that includes all components of the display Each page of the files prints on a standard 8.5" - 11" sheet or smaller piece of paper which means no trips to your local print shop! These classroom decorations are designed with all ages in mind preschool, elementary & middle school Bold color, simple & modern design stands out Made in America Note: Every printer is configured different so the colors on screen may not print exactly as shown on your printer.
Introducing voice level procedures at the beginning of each school year is vital for maintaining an organized classroom environment. “Decibella” serves as an ideal narrative to educate students on varying voice levels suitable for different circumstances. This unit on voice levels features a read-aloud link, instructional lessons on classroom voice levels, engaging activities, and informative posters. Additionally, there's a synonym activity, and a 6-inch voice-themed craft, perfect for a creative back-to-school display. Establishing clear voice level guidelines and protocols during the first days of school is key to laying a strong foundation for a successful academic year. Included in this download: Decibella and Her 6-Inch Voice Read Aloud and Question Guide My Voice Level Book Classroom Voice Levels Posters and Activity Voice Level Sort Voice Level Synonym Activity My 6-Inch Voice Craft and Writing Voice Level Clip Chart (Optional)
This zentangle growth mindset project is one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the school year!
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.
Tips for Primary Teachers.
It's time for another Linky Party and this one is all about the 1st day of school. This will be my 12th year of teaching and
I really dislike icebreakers. They make me cringe. When I became a teacher, I swore I would spare my students the torture of icebreakers. That being said, I also realize how important it is to buil…
*A DIGITAL OPTION HAS BEEN INCLUDED FOR GOOGLE SLIDES/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]
I was so eager to get back to my kids this week. Eager to hug them and talk to them and let them know I loved them. Coincidence or not, on Friday I pulled my kids together to talk community building and all things family. I have always been so big on building community in...
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. This allows me to earn a small commission at no cost to you. First, let's examine the current system you have for students to turn in their assignments and how you check for missing work. Do you collect piles of work and tediously check through each one of them, mak
Our next step is the note itself. I asked the kids if there is anything we could do to make the note special at first glance. They decided that the
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
I wanted to share this great activity I have been doing for years at the very beginning of each year. It is a Self-Portrait activity where students get to draw themselves, compare themselves with another student, and present to the class. I love to tell students they are drawing “Selfies” because it makes it more […]
Help parents and students out this year by giving them all of the information they need in one neat place. This listing is for a syllabus that is 100% customizable once you download it! The syllabus is all set for customization. All you need to do is change the information! Since it is customizable, you can change the fonts, wording, categories, colors, pictures, and sections to suit your needs. It is 100% editable. Since this is a PowerPoint file, you will need the program (or one that can edit a .pptx file) in order to edit it. Once it's downloaded, it's yours to customize and use year after year. You may need to download some free fonts if you do not already have them, and all of that information is provided in your files. Love this? There's more! I have tons of things you can print or edit for your classroom. Check out the links below! Classroom Decor https://etsy.me/2vn804E First Day of School Posters https://etsy.me/2vn804E I can also create a custom syllabus for you! https://www.etsy.com/listing/634895183/custom-class-syllabus-infographic
