Items filtered by date: April 2012

Lights! Camera! Action!

If you want to grab a child’s attention make them the star.

There’s no better way to get kids learning than to immerse them in the activity.

Want them to be interested in shapes? Have them lie on the floor and make the shape and take a picture of it.

They will love looking at the posters featuring themselves.

Take it a step farther and put the photographs in this easy reader.

Use it as a read aloud, or make copies for each child to trace and write.

When everyone is done with their booklet, read as a whole group to practice concepts of print.

They’ll enjoy taking it home to reinforce the lessons with their families and continue to share this wonderful keepsake as they review and learn the various shapes.

Since different schools have also added additional shapes, I’ve also included those. (octagon, pentagon, hexagon & polygon) Simply add the pages you need.

Here’s how to take the photographs:

You’ll need plenty of room so move your desks/tables.

If you can get an adult helper that expedites things. They can pose the children while you take the shots.

The children in my sample pictures are posed facedown, so I could share this on the Internet.

By all means have your sweethearts smiling sunny side up, so everyone can see how adorable they look.

Lightly draw your shape on the carpet with chalk. Choose students to lie on the lines. Blot up the chalk with a damp sponge.

Draw the next shape and choose different children.

I stood on a ladder from the janitor’s closet, to take my pictures from an “aerial” view. You might not have to get that high.

You’ll need 6 children for the rectangle. The circle’s a bit tricky.  Have student’s hang onto each other’s feet so they stay rounded.

Your little ones really have a lot of fun with this activity and can’t wait for their turn, so if you have more kids than shapes, make sure you do some repeats so everyone gets a turn to be a star.

I’ve also used kid’s bodies for the following: numbers, and made a number book, hands on a large white clock to show times to the hour and half hour and then glued the photographs in a booklet called time.

Finally, I’ve also posed them to look like the number 100 for 100 Day.

I hope you enjoy making your body books! I know your kiddo’s will ask to read them over and over as the light bulbs go on and things take shape in their minds.

Click on the link to view/download Shaping Children Up! Class Shape Booklet

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Thanks for visiting! I hope you can drop in tomorrow for another teaching tip.

You Are My Sunshine!

Are you looking for a little note to tuck into your students' backpacks on the last day of school? 

One of my favorite clip art artists, Laura Strickland, just came out with some new sunshine artwork. 

Of course I was thinking: Now what can I do with this adorable little bit of sunshine?

A summer note home was just the perfect thing. Wouldn't you agree?

Enjoy; and if you're one of the lucky ones to already be enjoying vacation and soaking in those sweet golden rays,  well tuck it away for next year!

Click on the link to view/download the Summer Note Home

Behavior Bingo!

Bee-autiful Bee-havior Bingo, Is an incentive program to get students to model good behavior without constantly having to give a prize or something away.

It’s delayed gratification that helps teach patience and builds excitement.

Plus It’s a fun and easy way to reward students throughout the day on a daily basis.

The Bee-havior Bingo Board is perfect if you catch a child bee-ing good, completing a project 1^st, staying on task, when you know that’s difficult for them, helping another student out etc. all those little things that really don’t deserve a big reward, but behavior that truly needs to be noticed and reinforced.

A student is acknowledged and gets to go up and jot their name anywhere on the board.

At the end of the month the teacher draws as many letters and numbers as they deem appropriate.

The teacher calls out a letter and number, which match up to a student’s name.

Teachers/students decide what the rewards will be.

You can give certificates, classroom “bucks” that students can save and “buy” things from the classroom rewards store; students can get a trip to the treasure box, or get to choose a non prize type thing, like getting to be line leader, getting to be student helper, or get to eat lunch with the teacher etc.  I have a list of over 100 such activities if you like that sort of idea.

Click on the link to view/download 100+ Behavior Rewards.

Obviously the more times you are caught bee-ing wonderful, and get to write your name on the Bingo Board, the more likely you are to get a “bingo” and receive a prize.

I have a bingo board for each month.

You can mount these on an appropriate monthly color of construction paper, laminate them and have students use dry erase markers, so you can reuse them or simply run them off each year.

For sure laminate the BINGO letter and number cards.

I’ve also included mini- Buzzin’ By Happy Grams to send home with students who win the monthly Bingo Games.

I hope you enjoy this behavior modification technique.  I think your students will.

It’s easy to implement, simple to keep track of and fun for your kiddo’s.

Click on the link to view/download INDIVIDUAL Bee-autiful Bee-havior Bingo

The individual Bee-autiful Bee-havior Bingo goes well with the whole group 100-chart  Bee-autiful Bee-havior bingo.

Click on the link to view/download that packet.

Feel free to PIN anything you find helpful on my sight and thanks for visiting.

I hope you can come back tomorrow for another new idea!

17 pages. Individual Bee-autiful Bee-havior Bingo is an incentive for students to model good behavior. It's an easy and fun way to reward students every day through out the day, without having to give a tangible reward.

I’m A Te-rrific Student T-shirt Writing Prompt.

This is a really fun end-of-the-year activity, but could also be a wonderful way to get to know your students at the beginning of the year too!  Use as an icebreaker for the first week.

The hands in the photo are neon orange.  The feet are much larger, but I took the shot with Elliot upside down, so they look smaller, they are actually much bigger than the hands.  Because this artwork is so big, when I took the photo feet fist, the head looked shrunken. Oh my!

Anyway, you get the idea.  I know yours will turn out really cute and be a great keepsake that your students will enjoy making.

I've included 2 different headings on the shorts so you have that option to use at the end or beginning of the year.

The end of the year shorts say: My short shorts of what I want to do this summer, The one for the beginning of the school year says: My short shorts of what I did this summer.

Here’s how to make a “Creative Writing Craftivity Kid”:

Run off copies of the t-shirt and shorts on a variety of brightly colored construction paper. Students will fill in the writing prompts and cut the clothing shapes out.  Buy a few pair of wacky sunglasses at The Dollar Store in bright colors.  Have your students put a pair on and take a head shot of them.

Print the photo off in black and white and enlarge them on the copier. Students color the sunglasses in with a magic marker to compliment the color of their T-shirt or shorts.  Students trace their hand and foot on a folded sheet of bright or neon-colored construction paper.  By cutting on a folded piece of paper they will get a pair of hands and feet.

Children glue their hands to the cuffs of the T-shirt and their feet to the bottom of the shorts. These paper kids make an adorable wall display.  Run them under the ceiling, as a border in your hallway. 

For another writing extension, I’ve also included a T-shirt where students can list all the Te-riffic things they’ve learned during the year, jotting down the thing they feel they are the most terrific at.

Click on the link to view/download Te-riffic Student T-Shirt Writing Prompt

Feel free to PIN away on my site. I think sharing is so important.  

Do you have something that you do as an icebreaker that you could share with us? I'd enjoy hearing from you.  diane@teachwithme.com  You can also leave a comment here. If everyone adds to each other's bag of tricks how easy our lives become! Thanks in advance. 

7 pages. Perfect for either the beginning or end of the school year. A wonderful way to get to know your students. Terrific self-esteem builder too!