Idioms CAN be fun....

     Once Upon a Marigold, by Jean Ferris is one of my favorite books to read to sixth graders.  Ed, the troll, is the greatest character.  Not only is this a great read, but Ed makes learning figurative language fun.

    Ed is a very caring troll who, while in the woods, stumbles upon a boy who has run away.  He has wonderful advice, however, he tends to mix up his idioms....like "that cup of tea is definitely not down your alley," "I can see I'm beating my head against a dead horse," and "it was too late now to lock the barn door after the wolf in sheep's clothing was stolen."

    This story is basically a love story between a run away boy and a princess, but the humor makes it fitting for both boys and girls in the classroom.  Ed's blunders and mixed up idioms make for great lessons on figurative language and students have fun coming up with their own idioms for different situations.

   What books do YOU love using in your classroom?

First Day Plans

The first day of school......I don't care if you've been teaching for 30 years or if you are just stepping into the classroom, I think all teachers get first day jitters every year.

Personally, I love and hate the first day.  I love meeting the new kids.  I love their excitement about getting lockers.  I love the wonder that they have for what we are going to learn.  But I can't stand talking all day.  Yes, I want to do activities with the kids and hear what they have to say, but, inevitably, those first few days of school are the ones when I go home with a sore throat from talking most of the day.  There is no other way that I know of to get important procedures and messages out to my students than to tell them.

The purpose of this blog is to give some first day activities that engage students and take a little of the talking away from the teacher.  What ARE the important things we need to go over on the first few days of school?  Well, we should get to know each other, learn our schedule, find out where the important things in the room are located, learn the daily procedures, rules of the classroom, and "what happens if" type questions (including emergency procedures).  Don't forget that they may want to know what it is they are going to be learning, what field trips and fun things they'll be doing and how we will be grading them.  And all of this should be completed quickly and efficiently so that we can then get to actually teaching before the kids are tested.

Fair Isn't Always Equal

This was a very important phrase that I learned from Rick Wormli.  A great lesson that demonstrates this to the kids was shown to us by Pat Quinn, the RTI Guy.  This is a lesson I WILL be using on day one this year.

Each student will get a card numbered 1through however many students there are in the class.  Card # 1 will be called up to the front with their ailment.  When asked the problem, they'll read me their card that will say, "I have a cut on my finger."  I will then give them a bandaid for their finger.  Card #2 will come up and read, "I have a broken arm."  I will then give them a bandaid and send them back to their seat.  Card # 3 will come up and read, "I keep throwing up."  After listening to the "EEEWWWW"s, I will give them a bandaid and send them back to their seat.  This will continue until everyone is "treated" (with latex free bandaids, of course).

The question will be asked if I helped everyone.  Of course, I did not.  We'll discuss the fact that each student had different problems, and thus, different needs.  This will lead to a discussion about how this also happens in the classroom.  We will all be learning the same skills.  Some kids may get things quickly, others may need it broken down a different way, others may need to do something differently with it or use different tools to learn it.  We may not all be doing the exact same thing at the exact same time in class, but we are all working on learning the same skills.  What works for you may not work for the kid sitting next to you....and that is okay.  I need to help everyone in my class and can't do that by giving everyone the same thing.

Tour of the Classroom

This is a quick and easy activity that gets kids out of their seats.  I put different items in the room on index cards (stapler, homework trays, bathroom sign out...ect.).  Each student gets a card (if I have to give a card to partners, I can do that, too).  They are then told to find their item and stand by it.  Once everyone has found it (or thinks they have), we go around the room and answer (1)  What was on your card? (2) Where is it? and (3) What do you think we use it for?  Some are more obvious than others.

Important Information Bingo

Give students a blank BINGO board (or INFO! board) and write important topics on the board, such as, bathroom, homework, teacher is with a group, fire alarm, lock down, recess, absent, etc.  Let each student fill in their board with whichever topics in any spot they would like (with one "free" space).  Then shuffle up some premade index cards with the topics on the board and start picking them.  When they are picked, go over the information needed (like, "bathroom....if you need to use the bathroom while we are doing seat work, please just be sure no other boy is out or no other girl is out, and go.  If I'm in the middle of instruction, try to wait, but if you can't, please raise your hand.  Please do not go at the very beginning or end of class unless it is an emergency because that is when I may be giving instructions or important information.  If you are going to be sick, just go, please!").  Have students mark bathroom with a chip and continue.  You can have a prize for those with five in a row or blackout the board, but you'll obviously continue going over all procedures.  You can even have them clear their boards, shuffle up the cards again, and go through again, having students explain the procedure if it is one you've already explained.

Getting to Know You

Here is a great getting to know you activity from Carissa Peck:

mELTing Activities, Lessons and Ideas: Circle of Life - First Day Activity

What activities do YOU have that engage the students on the first day?  Share with us, please!

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

It is summer, so memories of summer's past sometimes come to mind.  One summer in particular was at the end of, what I think was, my seventh grade year.  I had a reading teacher that I loved.  She read to us every day and, well, it was reading....so what is not to love?  She also had great book recommendations.  At the end of the school year, she put her address on the board and told us all that we could write to her.

We wrote back and forth throughout the summer....and possibly even into my eighth grade year.  She asked about what I was reading and gave me more recommendations.

Now, I have had a few students that have written to me after receiving a "Thank you" card in the mail, but most send me emails.  Are there teachers out there anymore that write back and forth to their students?  With all of the warnings that we get that we should not get too close to our students, is letter writing crossing a line?

Summer Schedule....Not so much

I think that the hardest part about summer is that there is no set schedule.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer vacation, but I got into a routine over the school year.  Now, I COULD actually sleep a little later and COULD push the workout off for later in the day.  If the kids are still sleeping, then we aren't going to get moving for a little while and I could sit and enjoy my coffee on the front porch.

Keeping somewhat of a schedule is what is keeping my sanity.  I am still getting up anywhere between 5 and 6:30 am, getting my workout in, then getting some work done while eating breakfast and drinking my coffee.  After that, the day is mine to do as I wish....or to do the things I don't really want to do, but that have piled up from August - June and now NEED doing.  Cleaning the house and cleaning out the basement are on that list for me.

What are the things that you have put off and now have time to do for the summer?