Items filtered by date: June 2011
Bright Ideas Behavior Motivator
My School Words Dictionary
ABCDetective Classroom Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunts: Back-To-School Tip #20
Punt With A Scavenger Hunt
One of the sayings I heard from the boys on the football team was, "When all else fails, punt!" You can do that quite successfully with a scavenger hunt for your Open House or the first day of school.
Sometimes teachers need a few quiet moments to get their sanity back and have their students doing something to keep them occupied, while they tackle that "paper mountain" of administrative duties on the first day of school.
Why not go on an alphabetical scavenger hunt? "Go exploring and you will see, things in our classroom from A to Z!"
These ideas come from my 28-page ABC Scavenger Hunt booklet. I'm posting the check list as a freebie through the 31st of July.
Here's how:
- Run off copies of my Alphabetical Scavenger Hunt. Click on the link to view/print it.
- Tell the students that they are going to be ABCDe-tectives!
- Handout a clipboard and yellow highlighter along with the ABC check list to each student.
- I've got adorable badges and magnifying glasses in the booklet to make this even more fun and "detective-like".
- Review the list with them so that they know what they are looking for.
- Even if they don't know how to read, they should be able to understand and find the picture next to the letter.
When they find an object on the list, they color in the small circle.
- When everyone is done, review the letters of the alphabet again.
- Ask students if they can think of anything else that they see in the room that starts with that letter, like p is for pencil, but there's also lots of pens, paper and pupils in the classroom too!
- Make the sound of each letter as you say the object that they found and call on a child to point to it.
- I have used this list to make 38- Read-Around-The-Room cards too.
- They can be put up for the scavenger hunt so they can locate the word as well as the object, or you can put them up later, or to save you time, have students put them up as they point to the object.
I always include a cover template for the word cards so that you can run off a set for students to cut, sequence and make into Itty Bitty booklets.
Children enjoy these "just-the-right-size" books.
26-upper and lowercase alphabet cards are also included as well as 38-picture cards.
These can be made into several different kinds of Itty Bitty Booklets or used in a Memory Match or "Find the Pairs" Game.
All the word cards are traceable for handwriting practice. My Y5's enjoy using a highlighter every chance they get.
- Sing the alphabet song and allow a child to hold a light-up laser to point to the letters on your ABC border.
- Graph the activity for a math extension.
When everyone is done, I pass out a certificate of praise for them to write their name on and take home. These are included in the ABC Scavenger Hunt packet that's only .99 cents.
Why not become a Gold Subscription Member and get my entire shopping cart for an entire year at no additional charge + our 40-70 page Apple Bytes newsletter packet each month!
Click on the links to check things out.
My ABC School-Words Dictionary booklet, goes perfectly with the scavenger hunt, as the pictures and words match!
It's a wonderful activity for students to transition to, after they complete their ABC scavenger hunt. The dictionary is something that they can work on at their own pace through out the month of September and makes a nice keepsake.
Students trace and then write the words for a nice fine motor skill and handwriting extension. Both upper and lowercase letters are shown for the perfect letter review as well! Click on the link above to check it out.
Be sure to pop back Friday when I'll tell you about my Open House Scavenger Hunt!
100 Days With Zero The Hero Stuff
171 pages. Wow! This unit has a little bit of everything that your students will enjoy working on, as they count up to their 100th day, celebrating along the way with Zero the Hero and Zippy.
Dishin' Up With Diane For August
A Back-To-School-Lunch Surprise:
This is for all the moms, who are like me, who have to make that first–day-of-school lunch special. I enjoyed tucking in little "I Love You!" or "Have a nice day!" notes or some sort of treat in my children's lunch bags when they were little. Here’s an adorable PBJ sandwich that was cut out from an apple cookie cutter! Too cute! The template for the sweet bag can be found at Family Fun! Click on the link.
Kelli’s Cherry Smash
My daughter brought this to our family potluck and it was a “smash” hit.
Kelli doesn’t claim to be a cook, so when something turns out it’s a big deal!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 ¼ cups DIET 7 Up
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 2 small boxes of SUGAR –FREE cherry Jell-O
Optional:
- Cool Whip
- Maraschino cherries
Directions:
- Follow the normal directions on the Jell-O box with the above ingredients.
- Add the 7-Up to the dissolved Jell-O
- Then add the pie filling.
- Blend and pour into a greased 8x8 glass dish.
- Chill in fridge ‘til set.
- Cut into squares
- Yummy dessert for summer.
- Can add a dollop of cool whip and a maraschino cherry to the top if you want a bit of pizzazz.
Back-To-School
First-Day Friendship Fruit Salad
Make this for the first day or during the first week of school when you are teaching your students about rules, manners, sharing etc.
Ingredients:
- Fresh fruit: My personal favorites:
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupe
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Watermelon
- Honey Dew Melon
- Grapes (red &/or green)
- How much is determined by the size of your class and how much you want to give them.
- I cut everything up into small bite-size squares and make sure everyone has at least one of everything.
- Children love fruit and this is a very healthy and refreshing snack for them.
- If this is not in your budget, have parents sign up at open house to bring an ingredient and explain what you'll be doing. They'll love the idea.
- Click on the link to view/print some notes. Friendship Fruit Salad
PLUS…
- Large bowl
- Large spoon
- Paper plates
- Plastic spoons
- And the star of the show: A very rotten apple. I simply buy one 2 months before school starts and let it sit out. If yours is not getting rotten enough, leave it in a Baggie in the sun.
Directions:
Here’s a little scenario of how you can bring home good behavior by making this Friendship Fruit Salad:
- Explain to the children that the fruit symbolizes all of the students.
- The bowl symbolizes the classroom.
- Add some fresh chunks of fruit.
- These are the well-behaved children.
- They follow the rules.
- Does anyone remember our rules?
- Call on children ‘til you have reviewed all of them.
- Toss in another kind of fruit.
- These are the children who share.
- Who knows how to share? Raise your hand if you are kind and are good at sharing.
- That’s wonderful.
- Toss in another kind of fruit.
- These are the children who say nice things and cooperate.
- Who does that?
- Toss in another kind of fruit.
- These are the children who have a positive attitude and try their best.
- Who’s going to do that?
- Sprinkle on the blueberries.
- This is the happiness we feel when everyone is nice, and obeys the rules so we can have fun, and play and learn.
Now pick up the rotten apple.- This is the student who does not obey the rules.
- This is the student who does not share.
- He doesn’t have any manners.
- She causes trouble and hurts others.
- Should we add it to our delicious salad?
- Why?
- Give students an opportunity to explain.
Summarize:- One rotten apple really can spoil the whole bunch.
- Should we throw this rotten apple away for good and promise not ever to be a rotten apple?
- Throw the apple away.
- Have children raise their left hand and put their right hand over their heart.
- “I promise not to have rotten apple behavior, because this class is filled with friendship and fun. Now it’s time for friendship fruit salad! Yum Yum!”
Fun Name Activities Back-To-School Tip #19
It's All In A Name...
Part of the excitement of the first day of school for teachers, as well as the children, is meeting all of the new students! I try to make learning everyone’s name fun. So I do several activities that involve names. There are several report card standards that the Y5’s have that revolve around their name: being able to recognize it as well as write it, so they’re not only learning each other’s names, they are practicing standards. Woo-hoo for a first day win-win!
Table Top:
- To help my little ones recognize & write their name, I have name cards on the tables for them to copy.
- I also have a “table top” skill sheet each day involving “finding” their name on something.
- I just designed this new balloon heart.
- Simply fill in your students’ names to make one.
- Click on the link to view/print a copy. Heart-Balloon Name Pattern page
Gather ‘Round:
Have students sit in a circle.
Decide on a fun “movement pattern” like clap twice, pat knees twice.
For older students you can add snap fingers twice too.
Say the following after the movement:
_______________(child's name) ______________ (child's name)
How do you do?
Who's that sitting next to you?
Child says name of person sitting beside them.
Count to 3 slowly and if they don’t know then that child says their name.
Artistic Treat:
- Apples are a big theme for us in September, so I just designed “You’re a smartie!” WELCOME apples.
- Run off my master on red construction paper.
- Make a template for the leaves and stems.
- Run the worms off on green construction paper.
- Cut everything out.
- Glue a Popsicle stick to the back of the worm.
- Write your students’ names with a black marker.
- Using an Exacto-knife, cut a slit in the top of the apple.
- Tape a pack of Smartie candies around the stick worm.
- Insert the worm in the slit in such a way so that the candy slides over the top of the apple, while the stick goes behind.
- Sprinkle them on the floor around the room and have them find them.
- To make it harder for older students, make puzzles out of the apples.
- After you finish making them, cut them in zig zag diagonals so that part of their name is missing. They will have a top-left, and a bottom-right apple piece.
- As with any candy treat that I give my students, I preface it with: “This is for you to take home.”
- To ease the disappointment a bit, I’ll have one Smartie candy as a reward for everyone when they find their apple.
- Click on the link to view/print the patterns. Smartie Name Apple
Word Find:
- I make word finds all through the year of our word wall words and special vocab words each month.
- This increases all sorts of skills and helps reinforce recognition of whatever words we are working on.
- Making a word find of your students' names is especially fun for them, and is something that can keep them occupied while you do that endless list of administrative chores that has to get done on the first day.
Pattern Please:
This is also a fun and easy “busy activity” while you’re doing those crazy little “have-to-get-done’s”, or assessing to see where children are at.
- Children write the letters of their name in the boxes and color the vowels their favorite color and the rest their second favorite color.
- A pattern emerges.
- When they are done they pick a partner.
- (You can use one of my many fun partner ideas from 2 previous articles)
- Students compare their interesting art.
- Collect and put up on the wall for a quick and pretty first-day hallway display!
- Click on the link to view/print the name pattern page.
I hope you got some name ideas to use for back-to-school.
Do you have a name tip that you’d like to share?
I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com
Easy Reader Booklet: I Like Recess
More Back To School Ideas: ABC's Of School Information Sheet
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Silly...) So everyone can keep smiling!
Our principal required that each teacher have a handbook for their classroom. I included mine in my Open House packet. Click on the link to view/print all of my handy handbooks.
When I first started teaching elementary, I was coming in as a high school teacher. It was difficult for me to “dream up" all of the handbooks and handouts that were required for the beginning of school.
That’s why I post them all on my website. I was grateful to Stephanie, a Y5 teacher, who lent me her handbook so I had a skeleton to start with!
Hopefully mine will jumpstart your brain and you can tweak them anyway you want; at least you're not reinventing the wheel and hopefully this will be a real time saver for you, especially if you are a beginning teacher.
I find all too often tho’ that parents are inundated with “paper mountain” from the school and have little time to read “everything”, so I made up this cute little ABC checklist to cover my main points and send it home with my students the first day of school. I feel that “short and sweet” is more apt to be read.
You can tweak mine to fit your needs. To help you do that, I’ve included one that has some of the information blank for you to type, cut and paste.
You can send this home the first day, tuck in your Welcome to school summer letter/packet, or your Open House packet.
Click on the link to view/print My ABC’s Of School Info Sheet
I hope this helps you get YOUR personal “paper mountain” of back-to-school “stuff” into a mole hill!
Happy Planning!
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"The really great man is the man who makes every man feel great." -G.K. Chesterton
123 Count Crayons With Me
