This past month, I have had the wonderful opportunity to lead PD on our new math standards. Yes, you read that right.... Tennessee is changing their standards!
Part of presentation was talking about how we can bring literacy skills into our math instruction. We came up with a HUGE list!
1. Tradebooks - Using picture books to introduce new math topics. There are tons and tons that go with the K-2 math standards. Here a few of my favorites that I use with my kiddos:
2. Math Library Basket - Set up a math reading library in the classroom. Use a basket and fill it with trade books that go with the topic of the week. As you share some of your favorite tradebooks with your class, add them to the basket.
3. Word Problems - Have students write their own word problems or work in groups to write them. Share them with each other or the class. Read them aloud and look first for grammar mistakes, then solve them as you usually would. (This is one I use a lot in my classroom. The kids write at least 3 problems throughout the week and pick one or two to put up for us to look at. We identify any grammar mistakes and make sure that it ends with a good question. After that we solve it like we normally do. It doesn't take much time and is SO WORTH IT!)
4. Math Word Walls - Start the year off with a blank word wall. As you teach vocabulary/math topics add the word card(s) to the wall.
5. Making Lists - Have students write a list to explain how they solved a problem. Have them explain their thinking in their own words. Read them aloud and see if they got all the steps covered.
6. Journaling - Create a notebook for math journaling. Let kids use them as their interactive notebook and lesson reflection all in one. (I had one for each this past year, but I'm giving it a try this year! The teachers that have used only one say they loved it and it was so much easier to keep up with.)
Here are some of my journaling favorites:
What do you notice about your learning so far?
What did you find easy? What was more challenging?
How can you think through the problem?
What would you tell a friend about what we did today?
What makes someone a good problem solver?
What do you wonder about math?
Write a note to a friend that is absent today and tell them what we learned?
What do you think we are going to do tomorrow?
7. Student "Shows" - Let the students present their problem/solution to the class? Maybe let them pick a question from last night's homework or have them write one on their own. Giving them the shot to be teacher can really help bring writing and speaking/listening skills into your lessons.
TALK about MATH!
WRITE about MATH!
DISCUSS their ideas about MATH!
LET MATH BE FUN!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
Tracy
Summer can be such a great time for parents and their children. We all know that our children are ready for a break after a long school year, however we also want to make sure that they don't lose any of the skills that they have learned throughout the year.
That is what I love about our teepee reading corner! I choose a teepee, because my children are familiar with tents, but have never spent time in teepee.
Now if your house is like ours, this teepee could easily go from a peaceful sanctuary to a crazy house very easily. So it is important, that before you allow your child to enter the teepee you let them know the rules of the teepee. I kept mine very simple:
1. The teepee is for reading only.
2. Stuffed animals, books and story props are the only things allowed in the tepee.
3. Friends are welcome as long as they are reading.
4. Are bodies are calm in the teepee
5. NO FOOD allowed in the teepee.
Setting the rules before the entered the teepee really helped, but we also review them often.
Set Up Materials Needed
A teepee of course:) I purchased this teepee from amazon. For those of you that are crafty I found this link for a no-sew tepee on youtube-you may want to check it out: (teepee link).
Next, I purchased these cloth bins from Target. I thought they were the perfect size for book bins. If your book bins are too large, they will be unorganized in a week...or less. Check out these cute baskets from Amazon (here).
I also purchased soft blankets from the children's bedding section in Target. I wanted to have something new that was soft and cozy.
Quick Set-Up
Then I tucked the soft blanket over the top. I was worried that the kids would lay against the back of the teepee and tip it over, so the bean bag will act as a chair or pillow.
Book Area
First, print off the free labels below (find them here).
Laminate the labels for durability.
Add velcro to the center of the bins and to the back of the labels.
This will allow you to rotate the books and labels on a regular basis. I would recommend every two weeks.
Choose 6-8 topics that you think would really intrigue your child and get them hooked. Also, consider the books you have on hand. You may want to save certain themes until you get a chance to run to the library.
I have a two-year-old and a six-year-old. When I chose books for the farm bin, I kept both of them in mind. Blake is reading at around an E, so I made sure to include books at that level and just above. I also choose farm books that I knew an adult would have to read for extra cuddle time. I think it is important that my husband and I still read to him as well. You will notice quite a few board books as well for Miss Violet.
The bins and labels make the book area warm and inviting. I have noticed that kids take pride in this area and have done a great job keeping it tidy. After lots of modeling the two year old will even try to match the themes.
My kids love their reading buddies. If you are like our family you have a million stuffed animals. Put those animals to good use and have them join your book area. I choose animals that matched the book themes, and plan to rotate them when I rotate the books. You can also add story props to encourage your child to act out or role-play parts of the stories.
My kids have loved their teepee corner. I love to listen to my seven-year-old read book after book to my three-year-old. I have heard that a child only needs to read three books over the summer to maintain their current level, so I am certain that Blake will achieve this!
I'm sure as many of you are reading this, you are well into your summer vacation. Many of you may already be getting ready for the new school year that starts in 6 weeks. But my school year isn't over yet. Gasp. I teach in NYC and my last day is June 28th. That's right folks. June 28th. So is it any wonder that I have been completely useless for the past month?
Two weeks ago, I got dressed, did my hair and as I turned to leave the bathroom, realized I didn't put on my bra. (A teacher friend told me she did the same thing this morning.) I haven't been able to make dinner more than 3 nights a week. I skipped cleaning the house one weekend. And all I think about while sitting in my classroom on my 10:30 (yes 10:30) lunch period is sitting in a bar and drinking. Not fun drinking. Sitting by myself in a dark, dive bar and drinking. Because it's June 25th and I'm not done with school yet.
I'm sure quite a few of you are judging me right now. I don't care. I stopped apologizing for my complete lack of ability to do anything in June about 10 years ago. I become quite stupid in June and very lazy. It's hard to rouse myself to do anything and my favorite activity is sitting. I have to force myself to stay awake until 10:30 because I'd be asleep by 8:30 if I didn't.
If you remember my post from last month, I was going to do a series on Google Apps for Education. Woo-hoo! It was going to be great, and it still will be. Next month.
Normally I am a tightly strung, A-type personality, who wakes up in a panic because I forgot to do something. I plan out my lessons months in advance, choose books for the new school year in March, and plan out my field trips in the first week of September. Not having something done makes me nauseated. So why don't I care in June? Because I learned that is the only way I can survive the school year intact.
Take a breath, sit back and let the nothing happen. It helps that I have never cared what people think of me and that I'm normally super efficient. The few weeks that I do slack don't seem so bad because of the rest of the weeks where I'm productive. So while I'm off tonight having a few beers at a street festival instead of doing anything, I'll be perfectly happy.
Hi Friends! This is Gloria and Eryn from 2 Scoops of Kindergarten! Hopefully you are all enjoying your summer! The summer (besides relaxing) is the perfect time to reflect on what good things happened in your classroom in the past school year and what you would like to change. We want to share with all of you about something that went very well in our classroom and maybe can work for yours too. :)
One of the greatest accomplishments of last year was our multicultural PBL. (We call it our Passion Project - and you will see why.) We started out with the big question: How does the 21st Century Learner discover and understand cultures and traditions? This Passion Project ended up being so much more than learning about countries and traditions ... it became more about respecting how we are the same but how we are different. Since our classroom is made up of many families new to our country, we knew that this was a very important topic to embrace.
1. We surveyed our parents and grandparents to see who would like to come in and share stories, pictures, and artifacts with our students. Here is our survey we used. From their answers we were able to narrow the countries we were to focus on. We also decided to narrow our topics to be food, clothing, traditions, home/school and games/dance. The countries we researched were Mexico, Thailand, India, Germany, Greece, Poland and Serbia. *China also came in later but we did not do a Discovery Board on that country. *We also Skyped with a friend from England one day.
2. After each country was discussed we would write 2 facts about what we learned. Eventually we put all of their facts together and made it into a booklet.
3. Next we created groups of students (about 6 per country) to take their learning a little bit further and make Discovery Education Boards (with help from our tech staff) for their particular country. We researched countries using Discovery Education, and Pebble Go web sites. The school library, and our local library also had many books from these countries.
4. In a true PBL(project based learning) we also needed to share what we learned with an audience. So the project was shared with our families, grandparents, and staff with a video and demonstration of our learning from our Discovery Ed boards and fact information booklet. The class also sang a song Like Me and You (Raffi) and surprised their parents by singing hello in many different languages.(thanks to our music teacher)
5. Here is where our PBL changed after learning about all of our countries by reading stories, watching videos, writing facts. We read the book Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. The book is about 2 boys, one who lives in an American city and one who lives in India. They become pen pals and exchange letters and pictures. They learn they both are the same but different - and still they become best friends.
We also showed the brown and white egg experiment which you will see on our video.
tpt
As the book states, "How can my evaluator click all those boxes if I am not standing in front of the class teaching?", my journey begins with my evaluator. Three years ago I experienced for the first time a "ding" in my classroom evaluation. I passed out post-it notes at a very well timed place in my lesson. I purposely withheld my post-its because it was a key point in the lesson and I didn't want my teams of students moving ahead without a check-in by me. Great right, they were controlling the learning but I was controlling the pace. That meant "DING, NEEDS IMPROVEMENT!" I was told that the students were NOT in control of their learning and that I needed to be more student focused in the classroom! WHAT!! This about someone who was known for their differentiation! Known for their ability to let students work through Project Based Learning modules that were created with them? WHAT!
Needless to say, this spurred me into investigating the Student-Led Classroom. To my dismay, there isn't a lot of easy to find materials. I used what I could and worked in many strategies others found successful. Then, I came across this!
This summer I am embarking on REALLY changing my classroom and this is the book that is taking me there, FEARLESSLY and with FEAR all in the same moments. Let's jump into the first section, shall we!
Authors Christy Sutton and Kristin Westberry come from two different levels of teaching, one middle school teacher and one elementary teacher. So, that answers the first question many people would ask, "What grades does this work for?" They jump fearlessly into justifying through examples EXACTLY why this works-from their stories to student examples. Plus, it is a simple read that won't take you lots of time to get through! One of the key things to remember is if "I allowed myself to fail, I allowed students to fail, and that is a HUGE success!" This doesn't mean fail a paper, grade on a report card, etc. This means this is going to be a success/failure/success driven system where students and teachers work together to create it and celebrate together when it works. It is a system that means teachers and students go back to the drawing board when needed and create together a classroom that is joyful to be in and where self-paced learning beats the current system of "move it or loose it test scores!"
One of the key components of this system is to start with a class survey. Sutton and Westberry break it down nicely into a scale model. Then, from this survey, you can take the students input and develop systems within the classroom-both with curriculum and with behavior management-where students grow and learn with a self-motivation that is greater than any road map or curriculum guide out there! They also provide a picture of what it looks like that can actually be used in any classroom at any grade.
Ironically, this Section awakened many things I've done many moons ago but with the advent of high stakes testing, I put away. I put it away in fear of loosing kids to these tests and setting them up for failure. I've step away from best practice to teach the test-without thinking about the realities of how student led learning can FIX most of this, if done right! So, here's my plan of action so far!
1. Look at my district's roadmaps and make a decision about how to monitor the standards taught but also how to give kids the BEST mode to learn them in, which is self-pace to the mastery that should be attained!
2. Design classroom roadmaps for units in Math, Science and Social Studies that allow students to explore the topics and create their own outputs for learning-to the mastery level! This is actually the easiest for me to see! I've already done some of this in these areas, so I can just adjust the ideas to flow into self-paced modules with DEEPER extensions.
3. Design my surveys for student input for the beginning of the year. Design how I want Morning and Afternoon Meetings to look after I have input from these surveys.
4. Think about systems for schedules and tracking of learning goals that can be contained by the student. This doesn't mean I will design them. I just need a classroom tool that I know I will follow through with. That's the big thing for me-what I know I will do, not the kids. I have to manage myself so they will manage themselves!
5. Decide how Language Arts will look! There are so many components there! I have no idea how I will manage this part yet. This is my black hole!
There it is! That is the majority of my fear laid out right there! Big black holes too! Yet, one fear remains. (Who am I kidding-many fears remain! Good thing one of the sections is named "Let it Go!") The one fear is THAT kid ! THAT kid who will, no doubt, have every excuse for not doing anything. I've had THAT kid-who sets out to just, plain, be lazy! What do you do about THAT kid! So far, no answer-but I'm only on Section 1! The best thing is, there's some support out there too! One of the nice things about this text is they also offer a "support group" online!
Overall, this is a refreshing, easy read that can be practically applied to any level classroom-if you are willing! And, that's the key! If you are not open and willing, you will drop out (as one of our small group members did before we even started!) So, I offer you this...How willing are you to turn your teaching world upside-down, inside-out, and all the way around! If you are ready, go for it! I will be there with you!
Feel free to comment with your thoughts and ideas! Also, join me over at my blog, The Best Days, to read more about each section and my thoughts and ideas! I'll be posting all year with how things are going and truths that I have seen and learned! Can't wait to see you there!
For the Whole Series, start HERE!
Okay,
real talk. Are you “that” teacher? The one with the perfect classroom and the
beautiful and breathtaking bulletin boards? No? Not you, huh. Don't worry. You're in the right place.
Need a cool bulletin board idea? I have one. One word: Agamographs. They’re fun to make, even more fun to interact with, and they make AWESOME bulletin board materials. I’m going to show you how to make your own and help you rock that hallway wall.
Need a cool bulletin board idea? I have one. One word: Agamographs. They’re fun to make, even more fun to interact with, and they make AWESOME bulletin board materials. I’m going to show you how to make your own and help you rock that hallway wall.
The
BEST kind of bulletin boards are those that invite students to engage,
interact, and think. Am I right? It’s a great feeling when you catch students
interacting with a bulletin board in the hallway instead of just walking past.
I love designing bulletin boards and classroom décor that do more than just
hang there looking cute. We can’t all be Kylie Jenner. I jest. Please
forgive me, Kardashian fans.
Anyway.
With this in mind, I created a few Agamograph activities many years ago in my classroom. I wanted something fun for the end of the year, something that students would want to work on and show off to their friends. And you can make them too!
Anyway.
With this in mind, I created a few Agamograph activities many years ago in my classroom. I wanted something fun for the end of the year, something that students would want to work on and show off to their friends. And you can make them too!
What is an Agamograph?
An Agamograph is a piece of art that features two different
images. The images are spliced together and the artwork is folded accordion
style. This allows the viewer to see one image from the left angle and the
other image from the right. When you move from side to side, you see the
picture morph from one image to the next!
What I love most about Agamograph artwork is that it brings
life to a flat bulletin board and invites visitors to engage with it.
Once you display your Agamograph projects, you’ll begin catching visitors
moving back and forth to see the different images. Everyone seems to enjoy Agamograph displays!
Educational
Benefits of Using an Agamograph in the Classroom
In addition to providing students with a fun and engaging art
project, Agamographs can be used to compliment your lessons. For example, I
included Agamographs in my Space Unit to
provide a fun craft to go along with the activities. Agamographs also encourage
fine motor skills, following directions, and spatial reasoning. Agamographs are
the perfect brain break activity for the end of the day, holiday parties,
summer school, or any time your class needs a fun craft.
How
to Make Agamographs on Your Own
I put my Agamograph resources
on Teachers Pay Teachers to give teachers a quick and easy activity that would
bring life to their bulletin boards. But with a little bit of prep, you make
your own Agamograph project using any two images of your choice!
Choose two coloring pages that compliment something you are
working on in class for a fun review lesson. There are two ways to create an
Agamograph: digitally or the old fashioned way with paper. If you’re
comfortable going digital, you’ll need to copy and splice your images multiple
times to create one Agamograph image.
The old fashioned cut and paste version has more steps, but is totally doable. If I can do it, trust me, you can too! Just note that you’ll be using two uncolored pages to make your Agamograph. I only colored mine in beforehand because I thought it would make the photos prettier and easy to see.
The old fashioned cut and paste version has more steps, but is totally doable. If I can do it, trust me, you can too! Just note that you’ll be using two uncolored pages to make your Agamograph. I only colored mine in beforehand because I thought it would make the photos prettier and easy to see.
Here’s how you
do it:
1.
Cut each of your two images into strips from top to bottom. I would
suggest making the strips anywhere from 1 to 2 inches wide. The wider the
strips, the easier the craft, so keep that in mind when choosing your width for
your students.
Glue your strips onto a larger piece of paper, alternating the two images as
you go. Keep track of your two pictures and make sure to glue them in the
correct order, otherwise your Agamograph won’t work!
2. Scan or photocopy your spliced pictures as one image. If your scanner or photocopier cannot accommodate larger papers (mine doesn’t), you can take a photo of your Agamograph. I took these photos with my phone. It’s not fancy, but it works.
3. Scale your Agamograph image down to 8.5 by 11 if necessary. Mine was a funny size and yours probably will be too. I converted my photo to a JPEG and inserted it into PowerPoint with the slide size set to “Letter Paper.” You could also do it in Word or whatever you’re comfortable with. There are probably easier ways to do it (please share your techniques in the comments. I would love to learn new techniques), but I can confirm that my way does work.
4. Print it out to save as your master copy. Make as many copies as you need for your class and save that master copy for next year!
2. Scan or photocopy your spliced pictures as one image. If your scanner or photocopier cannot accommodate larger papers (mine doesn’t), you can take a photo of your Agamograph. I took these photos with my phone. It’s not fancy, but it works.
3. Scale your Agamograph image down to 8.5 by 11 if necessary. Mine was a funny size and yours probably will be too. I converted my photo to a JPEG and inserted it into PowerPoint with the slide size set to “Letter Paper.” You could also do it in Word or whatever you’re comfortable with. There are probably easier ways to do it (please share your techniques in the comments. I would love to learn new techniques), but I can confirm that my way does work.
4. Print it out to save as your master copy. Make as many copies as you need for your class and save that master copy for next year!
If you love the idea of creating Agamographs but the idea of
splicing images sounds like too much work, fear not. I’ve already
done the work for you. And my Agamographs are digital so they’ll look way neater than something made with iPhone photos and photocopied images (just
saying). All you have to do is print them out and hand them out to your
students.
Awesome bulletin board, check.
Awesome bulletin board, check.
I have a few different Agamograph resources available in my TPT store. Because my first set was so popular,
I am creating more to keep up with the demand! I just uploaded a brand new Space Unit that includes 11 Agamographs to compliment the rest of the
activities in the set. And then I uploaded a Life Cycles Agamograph set in the same week! Lots of caffeine was involved.
My first Agamograph set reins as my
all-time best seller so I’m working on a second set to provide my followers
with some fresh new ones! If you’re interested in Agamographs but aren’t sure
about it, you can download my Fall FREEBIE and
see if you like it. I’m also currently working on a second set of seasonal Agamographs so keep your eyes open for that one, coming soon!
Here's my Agamograph FREEBIE:
Here's my Agamograph FREEBIE:
All of my Agamograph sets include guidelines for the teacher
in addition to instructions and pictures for every Agamograph. So far, everyone
I know has loved doing Agamographs with their class. If you end up buying a set
or making your own, I would love to hear how it went!
Visit my blog at https://teachingexceptionalthinkers.com/ for more fun teaching ideas!
"I'm bored!"
I distinctly remember saying this a TON as a child and especially during the summer when my mom worked full time and my sister and I were at home alone. There were lots of rules about what we could do, where we could go, and who could come to our house, which made it seem utterly boring to hang out at home. This is when my sister and I would fight over the remote control, eat bowls upon bowls of ice cream, and talk to friends on AOL Instant Messenger.
So what can you do about this "tween" boredom that is a very real thing? I created a summer homework calendar that is something your child will actually enjoy doing this summer. Check it out and let me know what you think! Grab it free here:
Hi Everyone!
I know for many of you, it's summer break and the LAST thing you want to hear about is school. My summer break literally just started, so I know I'm in that boat too!
During my first year teaching Kindergarten, my morning was CRAZY! I didn't get to school any earlier than I needed to. I never planned anything for morning work the day or week before. I would get to school 15 minutes before kids started arriving, print a random worksheet, rush to the copier (which was ALWAYS packed of course), make 20 copies, and rush back to the room, just in time for the kids starting to come in to eat their breakfast. Then, I would have to help open their breakfast, make sure they weren't spilling their milk everywhere, and help the students unpack backpacks. Once students would start whatever morning work I found, they would start calling for me, asking for help and what to do. After they finished and turned in their work, then would come the "Now, what?" questions. Once 8:00 came around, we needed to get our day started. Half the students hadn't finished the work, so they had to put it in the unfinished work bin. It wasn't quite fair for the students who came in later, due to bus schedules or parents dropping them off late. I needed to find a solution. My mornings started out hectic and I quickly learned that this was not going to work.
While on Pinterest, I saw this idea to reuse worksheets like handwriting, and number practice with clear sheet protectors. Then, it clicked. I made a bunch of handwriting, number practice, sight word pages and put them in the clear sheet protectors. I put them in 3 prong folders, and set out dry erase markers. The next morning when the students came in, they were able to get right to work!
My idea has evolved into the Morning Work Binder. The Morning Work Binder has handwriting pages, sight word and phonics practice pages, number practice, sentence writing. I even added an Interactive Calendar Journal to help revamp my Calendar time.
Click on the picture to see the Interactive Calendar Journal on Teachers Pay Teachers:
To make the Morning Work Binder:
I use 1/2 inch binders and sheet protectors, rather than laminating. I always ask the parents to donate sheet protectors and I had bought a class set of 1/2 inch binders for this purpose. A few sheet protectors may have to be replaced throughout the year, but there is minimal upkeep involved. I did not print out every single page, but rather focused on handwriting, writing their name, sight words, and numbers for the beginning of the year. Halfway through, I added the hundreds chart, calendar, word families, and phonics pages. I also have additional "worksheets" that I would pull on some Fridays, or if we had extra time that morning to work.
Take a quick peek to see what it looks like:
If you have parent volunteers, this is a great job for them to do in the beginning of the year. Or this would be a great summer project for you!
How to implement it in your classroom:
First of all, strong classroom management and procedures go a LOOOOOOONG way when working through your day. In the beginning of the year, I have everything planned out to the minute and procedures to go along with every part of the day. So, when implementing your Morning Work Binder, you have to have a SOLID procedure. It will save a lot of time answering silly questions or students being off task.
Here is my morning procedure with the morning work binder.
1. Students come in, greet the teacher, and unpack their backpack.
2. Students take out their Morning Work Binder and look at the board to see which page they are working on. (I put it on the SMART Board, under the Doc Cam, or hang it on the whiteboard.)
3. Students get a black expo marker and start working.
4. When it it time to start the day, they will have a 1 minute clean up timer. They will clean up their binders, put them back where they belong and make sure they close up the marker caps tightly. Last, they will sit on the carpet.
We also establish these expectations:
-If they have questions about what to do, they "Ask 3, then me". There is always a student who can help them, before they ask me.
-If they finish, they either do the page again, for example the handwriting pages can be erased and worked on again. Or, they make work on a handwriting or numbers page. Sometimes I will write a "Must Do, Can Do" on the board.
*Must Do: Sight Word of the Day- the.
*Can Do: Handwriting Pages Lower Case f-j
How to teach your students to work on it independently:
It's Kindergarten and it will take time and patience until the students are able to work on it independently. Be patient and be flexible. I didn't start using it until about 2 weeks into the school year. I wanted the students to be "pro's" at their morning procedure. Adding the Morning Work was easy.
The first day I showed them the binder and explained why they would be working on it everyday. They were SO excited to use Expo markers and to get their own binder. We flipped through the pages and talked about what to do on each page briefly.
Every day, I would show them how to work on a new page during our Reading Whole Group time. We would work on it together a few times, answer any questions they had, and quickly go over the procedure. The next morning, they would do that same page from the day before. By this time, they were able to do it almost independently. This process took about 2 weeks, but after those two weeks, they were pros!
After using this for the past three years, my morning routine is structured and calm. I am able to take attendance, talk with my students, test weekly sight words, and do any last minute things before my day starts.
Click on the pictures below to see the Kindergarten and First Grade Morning Work Binders on Teachers Pay Teachers. It is on sale until Thursday June 22, so grab it now for $2 off!
I know for many of you, it's summer break and the LAST thing you want to hear about is school. My summer break literally just started, so I know I'm in that boat too!
During my first year teaching Kindergarten, my morning was CRAZY! I didn't get to school any earlier than I needed to. I never planned anything for morning work the day or week before. I would get to school 15 minutes before kids started arriving, print a random worksheet, rush to the copier (which was ALWAYS packed of course), make 20 copies, and rush back to the room, just in time for the kids starting to come in to eat their breakfast. Then, I would have to help open their breakfast, make sure they weren't spilling their milk everywhere, and help the students unpack backpacks. Once students would start whatever morning work I found, they would start calling for me, asking for help and what to do. After they finished and turned in their work, then would come the "Now, what?" questions. Once 8:00 came around, we needed to get our day started. Half the students hadn't finished the work, so they had to put it in the unfinished work bin. It wasn't quite fair for the students who came in later, due to bus schedules or parents dropping them off late. I needed to find a solution. My mornings started out hectic and I quickly learned that this was not going to work.
While on Pinterest, I saw this idea to reuse worksheets like handwriting, and number practice with clear sheet protectors. Then, it clicked. I made a bunch of handwriting, number practice, sight word pages and put them in the clear sheet protectors. I put them in 3 prong folders, and set out dry erase markers. The next morning when the students came in, they were able to get right to work!
My idea has evolved into the Morning Work Binder. The Morning Work Binder has handwriting pages, sight word and phonics practice pages, number practice, sentence writing. I even added an Interactive Calendar Journal to help revamp my Calendar time.
Click on the picture to see the Interactive Calendar Journal on Teachers Pay Teachers:
To make the Morning Work Binder:
I use 1/2 inch binders and sheet protectors, rather than laminating. I always ask the parents to donate sheet protectors and I had bought a class set of 1/2 inch binders for this purpose. A few sheet protectors may have to be replaced throughout the year, but there is minimal upkeep involved. I did not print out every single page, but rather focused on handwriting, writing their name, sight words, and numbers for the beginning of the year. Halfway through, I added the hundreds chart, calendar, word families, and phonics pages. I also have additional "worksheets" that I would pull on some Fridays, or if we had extra time that morning to work.
Take a quick peek to see what it looks like:
If you have parent volunteers, this is a great job for them to do in the beginning of the year. Or this would be a great summer project for you!
How to implement it in your classroom:
First of all, strong classroom management and procedures go a LOOOOOOONG way when working through your day. In the beginning of the year, I have everything planned out to the minute and procedures to go along with every part of the day. So, when implementing your Morning Work Binder, you have to have a SOLID procedure. It will save a lot of time answering silly questions or students being off task.
Here is my morning procedure with the morning work binder.
1. Students come in, greet the teacher, and unpack their backpack.
2. Students take out their Morning Work Binder and look at the board to see which page they are working on. (I put it on the SMART Board, under the Doc Cam, or hang it on the whiteboard.)
3. Students get a black expo marker and start working.
4. When it it time to start the day, they will have a 1 minute clean up timer. They will clean up their binders, put them back where they belong and make sure they close up the marker caps tightly. Last, they will sit on the carpet.
We also establish these expectations:
-If they have questions about what to do, they "Ask 3, then me". There is always a student who can help them, before they ask me.
-If they finish, they either do the page again, for example the handwriting pages can be erased and worked on again. Or, they make work on a handwriting or numbers page. Sometimes I will write a "Must Do, Can Do" on the board.
*Must Do: Sight Word of the Day- the.
*Can Do: Handwriting Pages Lower Case f-j
How to teach your students to work on it independently:
It's Kindergarten and it will take time and patience until the students are able to work on it independently. Be patient and be flexible. I didn't start using it until about 2 weeks into the school year. I wanted the students to be "pro's" at their morning procedure. Adding the Morning Work was easy.
The first day I showed them the binder and explained why they would be working on it everyday. They were SO excited to use Expo markers and to get their own binder. We flipped through the pages and talked about what to do on each page briefly.
Every day, I would show them how to work on a new page during our Reading Whole Group time. We would work on it together a few times, answer any questions they had, and quickly go over the procedure. The next morning, they would do that same page from the day before. By this time, they were able to do it almost independently. This process took about 2 weeks, but after those two weeks, they were pros!
After using this for the past three years, my morning routine is structured and calm. I am able to take attendance, talk with my students, test weekly sight words, and do any last minute things before my day starts.
Click on the pictures below to see the Kindergarten and First Grade Morning Work Binders on Teachers Pay Teachers. It is on sale until Thursday June 22, so grab it now for $2 off!
Thanks for stopping by!
