I am back today for Week #2 of my Tuesday summer blog series called, "Getting Ahead of the Game." Each week I will give you a little project to help you be ready for August.
A KWL chart is a great way for students to learn more about a topic. Choose from 14 KWL chart templates for visual and engaging lessons.
A kindergarten blog that will share what goes on in our classroom.
One of the first rules of parent communication is documentation. Ideas and a free printable to make documenting and organizing parent communication easy!
I'm good at planning, and I really enjoy doing it. That's not bragging; that's self-awareness. It's one of my strengths, and I believe in working out of your strengths. I'm always thinking ahead and planning how best to meet the known challenges and events on my calendar. I like being prepared. So even if my
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.
Because learning is best when it's hands-on.
These forms include general strengths/concerns and academic strengths/concerns. I have found that it is a good starting point for my parent/teacher conferences. This form is a Word Document and EDITABLE. One form is in ENGLISH and one form is in SPANISH. This form was intended for my third grade st...
A teacher's blog by Kelly Hong.
Library bulletin boards can be a great way to show off your current programs, books, and ideas. We’ve gathered ideas to give you inspiration for your next bulletin board display!
I have been a departmentalized teacher for 5 years. It’s fabulous. I teach math and science. I am truly teaching to my strengths, but when I first started departmentalizing I struggled with organization. I was
School is back in session. Out of my four kiddos, three of them are back in school and my preschooler will start after Labor Day. He is being ridiculous because he misses his siblings, but
Back to School Activities that are great for an online classroom or inside a classroom.
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!
One of the most time-consuming things teachers deal with is student absences! I no longer worry about this because my students completely take care of it!
Perfect for getting older kids to know each other when the new school year begins.
We started a new Science unit on Trees! Ms. Arboe had us help her make a KWL Chart. We started our KWL chart by listing things we already...
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
So many ways to help learning stick!
The Fridge is a fun way to display student work on a classroom bulletin board. The download includes a PNG image for your virtual classroom.
KWL charts have been around since the early 80’s. Chances are you’ve used them either as a student or as a teacher, maybe both. I remember thinking the traditional chart with three columns were wonderful. I used them for so many of my science and social studies lessons and thought they really helped my students organize their thoughts and learning. They guided a lot of our informative research and writing. Well, it’s time to bring the KWL chart up-to-date. I’ve found several really interesting ways this chart has been adapted. Some are still simple and adaptable to many lessons, but others are more specific and may not fit with a wide range of activities. Here’s what I found--- Traditional KWL Let’s start with the oldie, but goodie. The three columns stand for What I Know, What I Want to Know and What I Learned. This is pretty straight forward and kids easily understand them. After only a little whole class practice, students are able to use this chart on their own. What I love about this chart is the versatility. It can be used for almost any lesson or activity. (Click on image to download this organizer.) With the traditional KWL chart, it's simple and easy to organize information for both literary and informative text Literary Text-- K: background knowledge Students list what they know about the topic, characters, or setting. Students can even list what they know about the genre. W: Want to find out. Students can make predictions of what they think will happen. Predictions can be added or adjusted as they continue to read. Questions they want to have answered as they read the story can also be written here. Then if the question is answered it can be moved over to the Learned column. L: Learned from the story. Students can write a summary of the story, or the lesson learned in the story. Their predictions can be checked and their questions can be answered. Informative Text, video or movie, science experiment -- K: Previous knowledge What knowledge do students already have about this topic. This could come from previous experiences, books they’ve read, movies or TV shows they’ve seen. It can also come from previous lessons or activities. W: Want to learn What do the students hope or want to learn about the topic. Questions are best for this column because they easily lead to searching for answers. L: Learned from the text Any facts and information that students learn from the text can be written in this column. The facts do not have to pertain to what they wrote in the W column. But, if they do answer one of the questions from the W column, it can be moved over to the L column as they write the answer. Thinking KWL Chart I really, really like this KWL chart. It values the knowledge that students already have about a topic but requires them to find evidence to support their ideas. Let’s face it, kids know a lot, but it isn’t always accurate. I also like the fluidity of this chart. Instead of writing on the chart, I like to have kids write on small sticky notes. These notes can then be moved from column to column as they read and research. Here’s how the three columns work; K: What I Think I Know- The first column is the biggest change from the traditional KWL chart. Kids can write down any facts, background knowledge or information they think they know about the topic. The emphasis, though, is that this “knowledge” may change once they begin researching or reading the text. Perhaps they write “bears hibernate” in the first column. But, from their research, they find out that they don’t truly hibernate. They go into a torpor or a deep sleep. Bears can be woken up quickly and easily from this torpor state, unlike hibernating animals. The note about bears hibernating can now be updated and moved to the last column- What I know I Learned column. W: What I want to Know- In this column students write notes about what they'd like to learn, or questions they have about the topic or story. As they read and research, they can update these notes with their new knowledge and move the note to the last column. L: What I know I learned- The last column is where all the notes from their research are collected. Only notes that have text-based evidence can be placed in this column. Notes from the first and second column are moved here as soon as they are proved by the research and reading. The next KWL chart comes from an article I read on the NSTA blog. It describes a KLEW chart. http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=51519 I like how this chart guides students through their research. The first column lists what students think they know, just like in my Thinking KWL chart. In the second column, they record what they are learning, followed by the third column which lists supporting evidence. The last column lists questions for future research. To read how a third-grade teacher used this in her science lesson you can read the full article here: Evidence Helps the KWL Get a KLEW.
The best "icebreaker" activity for high school students (who hate icebreaker activities). Get a jump start on creating a bond with your students.
Student information sheet, Girl information sheet, Daycare/Childcare, Elementary Template
10 Back to School Ice Breakers Your Students Will Love: Two Truths and a Lie, Would You Rather, My No Good, Very Bad Day, Fear Factor 4-Corner Activity, Marshmallow Challenge, Super Sleuths, What Would You Do?, Have You Ever?, Find Someone Who..., My Favorite Things.
The Perfect Storage Container Organization is music to a teacher’s soul. When things in our classroom have a designated home, students take better care of the resources, we know exactly where…
Transform your classroom with these easy, cheap decoration ideas! Decorating your classroom does not have to be expensive or difficult!
Download our classroom icebreakers printable and "go fishing" with your students as they ask and answer questions of one another.
