Your Dream Class Awaits
The Classroom Management Secret
by Michael Linsin
I recommend this book for any teacher or parent who would like some no nonsense and practical advice on how to get your students to rise to your expectations. Michael Linsin lays out a plan for your whole class management as well as addressing individual students and behaviors. He also has a blog that is chock full of good tips and lessons to have the dream class you always hoped you would have. The book progresses step-by-step through 45 time-tested strategies, showing you how to manage your classroom in a way that inspires students to want to behave. By the end of the book, you'll have the knowledge to free your classroom of misbehavior and disrespect, build easy rapport with your students, and teach with a spirit of joy and passion that you've always longed for.I also would recommend Dream Class . Another book by Michael Linsin. Easy to read with lots of great ideas and a true theme about how and why kids want to behave and learn.
Here is a link to his website.... smart classroom management
Stories to Start Out the School Year
The Story Blanket, will help you create the classroom climate at the beginning of the school year. I teach kindness every year and it is a focus during the start of school. The story is a great read aloud and will be a springboard for the many conversations that are necessary about the golden rule.
Not long after that, the postman is surprised to find a scarf wrapped around his mailbag. The grocer mysteriously receives a shawl to keep her warm. On the woodpile outside the school is a pair of mittens for the schoolmaster. Meanwhile, the story blanket is getting smaller and smaller. When the villagers discover Babba Zarrah s secret, they decide to give her a surprise of her own.
Click HERE to download a writing response page for students to complete after reading the book.
I am planning a short Science activity about questions and answers. Check back as I will post another first week of school activity. Also search for Each Kindness on my blog, another great story to share at the start of school.
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day.
Back to School
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| Greeting Card for 'Back to School' illustrated and created by Chris Q |
Hello Readers!
Hope you are enjoying your last days of summer vacation.
Some of you may already be busy in your classrooms....
wishing you the very best
school year ahead!
This year, I am going to try to post more often. I have a zillion things on my computer to share. I am always thinking and creating new pages and artwork for my classroom. I am thrilled with all the many things on line that teachers share...together, the possibilities are endless.
Please stop back to see how I am doing. I have been teaching for 20+ years and every year is different. I look forward to another school year of writing, teaching, learning and sharing.
This is a sign I made for my classroom doorway that reads:
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| Hall Sign for Classroom Management |
You may purchase my sign at TPT for only $1.00. This is a 1 page pdf that you may download, print and laminate. Post it next to your doorway to remind your class about your expectations when passing through the hallways.
Or just click HERE and you can download this sign for FREE! as a Thank you for visiting my blog. I will post more freebies soon!
If you wish, you may also purchase my "Back To School" greeting card!
In my spare time, (whenever I can find a single morning) I like to paint and illustrate. I have made over 1600 greeting cards! Yikes! and also lots of paintings. I keep trying to make that 'perfect' painting while still knowing that it is impossible. If you break the word impossible in just the right place...it reads 'I'm possible!"
It is important to:
do what you
love
what you do
My next post will be about a great book to read aloud to your class at the beginning of the school year.
Check back!
Using Post-Its During Reading
There is a website called Postit.com/teachers. You will find some great ideas to use your post-its. Here is one that worked for me.
Read and Find - Post It - Activity
Description:
Before the students arrive, place two post-its on each student's desk. One has a ? on it. The other has a ! on it. As they read the assigned text, they look for something they have a question about and something they learned. The question is writen on the post-it with the ? and the thing they learned is writen on the one with the ! I assigned reading on informational text, namely, rocks and minerals.
During reading, I encourage my students to think of something they have a question about and something they found interested about; something they learned. Students write statements on the post its. Next, the students stick the post-its on a large graphic organizer I have prelabled with questions I have, something I learned. This activity sets a purpose for reading and helps students to focus on the text.
During reading, I encourage my students to think of something they have a question about and something they found interested about; something they learned. Students write statements on the post its. Next, the students stick the post-its on a large graphic organizer I have prelabled with questions I have, something I learned. This activity sets a purpose for reading and helps students to focus on the text.
How it Works
Step 1: Create a class sized graphic organizer that relates to the text you have chosen.
Step 2: Pick two light colored post-its. On one color, print a ? in a corner. On the other color, print a ! in a corner. Place one of each color on each student's desk.
Step 3: Tell the students to read the assignment and find one thing they have a question about and write it on the post-it with the ? They should also find something they learned and write it on the post-it with the !
Step 4: Have the students put their post-its on the graphic organizer.
Step 5: Use the results as a way to guage the students' understanding of the text. Later, ask students to read on to find the answers to the questions.
Another great idea for post its during reading. Easy way to show
that our thinking changes when reading a chapter book.
(Credits to postit.com/teachers....thanks!)
Below is an example anchor chart used in a classroom that uses post-its
Another great idea for post its during reading. Easy way to show
that our thinking changes when reading a chapter book.
Extraordinary Poet and Illustrator
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| by Laura Purdie Salas Illustrated by Josee Bisaillon |
I love every poem in this book but here is the one I will read tomorrow to my third graders.
Top Secret
Describe your desires and they become mine.
I'm a treasure box where feelings can shine.
All thinkers need pages where dreams can take flight.
Reveal all
Your secrets, one entry per night.
So you might ask, how does this tie into my curriculum and all else I am doing. The page of "top secret" (the poem) is beautifully illustrated with butterflies skittering out from a book and across the page. In Science, we are studying life cycles. We are waiting for our butterflies to be born and our chicks to hatch. We also just started a unit on rocks and minerals...and another poem in this book will be perfect. It's called "Cliffhanger". We are also reading Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Sam Beaver, a character in that story always keeps a diary so I chose "Top Secret" to make a connection to our read aloud. And most important, "all thinkers need pages"!
So you might ask, how does this tie into my curriculum and all else I am doing. The page of "top secret" (the poem) is beautifully illustrated with butterflies skittering out from a book and across the page. In Science, we are studying life cycles. We are waiting for our butterflies to be born and our chicks to hatch. We also just started a unit on rocks and minerals...and another poem in this book will be perfect. It's called "Cliffhanger". We are also reading Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Sam Beaver, a character in that story always keeps a diary so I chose "Top Secret" to make a connection to our read aloud. And most important, "all thinkers need pages"!
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Hydrophobiac I swallow up dragons and cannons and wars. I don't fear old mansions with slow, creaking doors. I quite like the dark--- murky midnight's no threat The one thing I fear is the feeling of wet! When puddles attack me or raindrops are sprinkled, they leave me all soggy--- they turn me all wrinkled! |
Check back ...as one book leads to another!
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Another simple and beautiful lesson from Dr. Seuss! There is always something 'lucky' about you! Read Dr. Seuss' great book about the array of predicaments you're lucky you are not in. Like working in the cross your t's and dot your i's factory...now there is a job you are lucky you don't have. A very entertaining book by Dr. Seuss, enjoy! His rhyme and rhythm are fun to read and fun to listen to.
Click Below for DailyMotion.com. Video of Dr. Seuss' book and
Grab a reader response page for your kids....let them write about how lucky they are!
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| Dr. Seuss' Wonderful, Wonderful Art! He knew what life should be. Please share the genius of Dr. Seuss in your classroom! |
Mouse Adventures
by Dick King-Smith
This story is about achieving, even if you are small. Wolf is the smallest and least strong of the mice cubs...and he is looked down upon by others. He stays at home with his mum when all the others leave the nest. His mother named him Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She just happened to lift this wonderful name off of some sheet music. She liked the name and the name was bigger than mouse himself! Enter Mrs. Honeybee! Perhaps it was his name that gave him his unusual talent because Wolf discovers he can sing the music Mrs. Honeybee plays. Mum is nervous about Mrs. Honeybee because she is a cat...and so the adventure begins.
Another King-Smith critter to love. The family mouse hole is just behind the leg of a grand piano played twice a day by an elderly woman. The three central characters are nicely crafted in this sweet story. Budding young musicians will relate to Wolf's struggles to develop his talent and share it with his not-so-musical mother. Those who haven't discovered their talents will enjoy this small mouse as they have the other creatures King-Smith so lovingly creates.
Illustrations are engaging and are black-and-white and truly capture the warmth of the text.
This book will appeal to your young readers who are ready for chapter books....and it is an awesome read aloud! Wait to you hear Wolf singing everything from "Three Blind Mice" to Chopin, the Beatles and more...and all to Mrs. Honeybee's accompaniment. and oh, my! then an accident happens and leaves Mrs. honeybee in danger....it's up to Wolf to save her! Read the book! You will not be disappointed.
Listening to good books is enjoyable for kids!
Read to a Child, Today!
Reading Poetry
Emily Dickinson
Journey into the world of Emily Dickinson where the ordinary is filled with beauty and charm.
The poems in this collection are carefully chosen for children and they are beautifully illustrated by Chi Chung. A great book to teach visualization. I recommend this book to young and old. This poetry book has a wonderful introduction about Emily, her life and her writing. A must read for your student writers!
Reading and responding to poetry by classic poets gives your students literacy background and knowledge of the many different kinds of writing. Some of Emily's works can be dreary and about death but there are many you might choose to share with your students. This book captures her best for kids.
Poetry Idea: Use the response sheet below after reading a poem to your students. Have copies of the poem for their pockets. To practice fluency, have the children read the poem aloud 3x. I tell my students they can read the poem to Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, their pets, their goldfish, a stuffed animal...well, you get the idea. They write the name of the person to whom they read their poem and check..sign..and date. Have them bring back their response sheet the next day.
Reading and responding to poetry by classic poets gives your students literacy background and knowledge of the many different kinds of writing. Some of Emily's works can be dreary and about death but there are many you might choose to share with your students. This book captures her best for kids.
Poetry Idea: Use the response sheet below after reading a poem to your students. Have copies of the poem for their pockets. To practice fluency, have the children read the poem aloud 3x. I tell my students they can read the poem to Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, their pets, their goldfish, a stuffed animal...well, you get the idea. They write the name of the person to whom they read their poem and check..sign..and date. Have them bring back their response sheet the next day.
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Click HERE for your copy to print |
Each Kindness
Each Kindness
by Jacqueline WoodsonThis book is a great read aloud. It teaches the lesson that each day you have a chance to be kind ...if you don't take the opportunity you might miss out.
Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya. Maya is different--she wears hand-me-downs and plays with old-fashioned toys. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her. Eventually, Maya plays alone. Then, she stops coming to school. Chloe's heart sinks, and your's will too, as she stares at Maya's empty desk.
Chloe wants to make it right but Maya has moved away and she missed her chance. Chloe's teacher shows the children that kindness ripples out like a stone in a pool of water and even small acts of kindness can change the world. It's important, don't lose your chance to show kindness ...it's a do right now!
This is a great story...your students will listen, look and feel the author's message.
The illustrations by E.B. Lewis are extraordinary. They stir a wave of emotion in the reader.
Click here to get a writing response paper to go with the book.
Reading Response Journals -{for Elementary Students]
Writing Helps Clarify and
Confirm your Thinking
Read....Think....Write....Read...Think ....Write
Using Reading Response Journals in the Classroom is a great way to keep your kids reading and writing. I use them in my classroom to invite my students to write and record their personal reaction, questions and reflections about what they have read. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand and reading journals are a great way to improve both. Students may include information learned, new vocabulary words, and book reviews. Reading Response Journals are a way to address all the reading-writing levels in your room as they give students a prompt or question to write about their own book choice or independent reading.
Below is a sample selection from my packet of Reader Response Journal Questions and Writing Prompts. The set includes 14 pages and 28 questions/prompts; a reading response rubric, and labels for your journals. You can get your set HERE. Once you get your cards set they can be used over and over again. The questions and writing prompts are appropriate for all kinds of books and gives practice to rereading and finding evidence in the text to support asked questions about the reading.
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Download, print and laminate these reader response cards for your students reader response journals.
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| Labels for Reading Response Journals |
The Magic of Read Aloud
We are reading Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary...an old favorite! It is delightful and the children listen with attentive ears. Building on a good read aloud is easy. See below a packet of reading response, writing, language, vocabulary and math activities to go along with this book.
You can read this book as a read aloud...in my opinion, the best way! as Cleary writes with easy to read verse and each chapter builds to a frenzy. Your kids will ask you to read the next chapter and won't let you skip the read aloud. You know a book works when that happens. This book is also great to use in a reading group or independent reading. Lots of places to stop and share good writing. Children learn to write from the great authors they read. It's just a great book...an oldie but still captures the reader.
Enjoy the story and find reader response pages for this book HERE.
Have a wonderful October!
Home Reading Log
A Home Reading Log for your students....this reading log provides space for a short response to their reading, place to record the minutes, the date and a place for parent initials. I also have the kids keep a reading log at school used at independent reading time. This log is for their reading at home.
The middle section of the Home Reading Log reads:
The middle section of the Home Reading Log reads:
Brief Response - Just a note or two
Thoughts about your Reading - Character Description- Events - Problem- Self to Text Connection- Make a Prediction - What did you learn?
You can get your Home Reading Log HERE.
Thanks for visiting.
One Smart Cookie
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Start your school year with a fantastic book
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One Smart Cookie offers a fresh batch of words that encompasses everything you might say to a child, whether it's the first day of preschool or the last day of high school. Cookie-centric definitions range from wanting to know everything about cookies (curious) to thinking carefully about what kind of cookies to make for your friend (ponder). Reading this book at the start of the school year will start those valuable conversations about good character and the people we would like to be. This is one vocabulary list that will resonate well beyond the school years.
These are the vocabulary words you will find in this book:
prompt kindness humble
organized listening arrogant
unorganized procrastinate diligent
prepared persevere ponder
unprepared contribute daydream
compromise creative dishonesty
empathy curious integrity
inspire
Sweet illustrations throughtout the book as each page describes and 'shows' what each of these character traits are....
you can take a peek of the some inside pages here
a great book to begin the school year! You may want to post the words in your classroom and refer back to them each time the opportunity arises.
You can download free vocabulary words and motivation cards for your students to use with this book right HERE.
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| vocabulary word cards for teaching good attributes |
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| easy to read bold print display these words to refer back to when the teachable moment arises |
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| Print and handout to students How could you use these cards? |
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