“Giftedness is not what you do or how hard you work. It is who you are. You think differently. You experience life intensely. You care about injustice. You seek meaning. You appreciate and strive for the exquisite. You are painfully sensitive. You are extremely complex. You cherish integrity. Your truth-telling has gotten you in trouble. Should 98% of the population find you odd, seek the company of those who love you just the way you are. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are utterly fascinating. Trust yourself!”
I know, I know. You don't want to talk about it, you don't want to even think about it. . . but it's coming. So how to cope with the inevitable? Grab this FREE sampler for Back To School filled with tips, ideas and FREEBIES to help make the transition a little easier. All Canadian content just for you! Just click on the image above to download a copy from my TpT store.
While you are there, be sure to check out my newest product. A fully editable Powerpoint package for Back to School. Perfect for grades 4 to 6. Lots of ideas to help keep your students engaged while you deal with the challenges and joys of those first few days back. It's discounted for a limited time.
Well I survived the first week back! On day one I used my revised, editable Essential Questions activity and it went really well. I love the new look of the speech bubbles! The students loved that they could get up and move around, read the prompts, give their honest reply and read what other students had to say. I had these chart papers spread out around the room for the first two days...and then on the third day I consolidated them on an empty bulletin board. I want students to be able to continue to read them until we have new work to go on the boards. If you would like to grab your own copy to use just click on the image below.
On the second day we completed our first Currently for the year. If you read my blog, you will know I sometimes complete the template as part of Oh Boy in 4th Grade's monthly linky. I purchased her templates several years ago and started using them with my students. Students complete the template each month and after I read them myself, I post them on clipboards in the hallway outside my classroom. It is a very popular board, students from all over come to read what my students write each month. We all get to learn more about each other!
On Thursday and Friday, we put together our Back to School three dimensional apples. It was a great way to start the discussion about growth mindset. Students wrote their responses, and decorated and put together their apples over the two days. I spent most of Friday creating a large wall sized tree. I had seen the idea of making one with brown butcher paper, so with the help of a colleague, we have created the tree and branches. Next week, we will need to add some leaves and hang the apples. I will be sure to come back and share some pictures of the finished product. In the meantime, here are the apples...
What's next week look like? I am going to introduce my Back to School math task cards to my class. You can get your own copy of these Ontario curriculum aligned task cards by clicking on the image below.
I started using task cards for math several years ago, and I find the students are much more motivated to complete the questions when they are allowed to get up and move around. I ask students to start at random cards around the room and move about completing the problems. Students are allowed to use calculators and manipulatives to help them solve the problems. They often grab a clipboard to help them record and off they go! Students stop and talk to each other, they discuss and debate their answers and when they have completed the problems, they come to me to have them marked. Using task cards allows students to work at their own pace, and allows me to review and discuss errors or misconceptions with individual students. It is a great way to differentiate instruction. Those who are strong in math are able to demonstrate mastery quickly. I have additional tasks for these students to complete. Students who need more time or assistance can receive both. It's a win-win situation. As a teacher, I get to see student strengths and where students struggle. I am able to adapt my instruction to address their needs individually, in a small group or even through whole group instruction.
How was your first week? I would love to hear about all the awesome things you are doing in your classrooms!
People have been asking me what I recommend for the first day and first weeks of Back To School. I have been teaching junior students for 25 years now and have found a few things really work well.
Before school even starts, I send home a letter to my incoming class. I want them to know a little about me, and a lot about our upcoming year. I know the parents and the kids themselves really enjoy getting mail from me at the end of August. This idea has become so popular and I have had so many people ask me to share my letter that I have added it in my TpT store this year.
Click on image to get your own copy.
Start the day with a surprise! Each year I give out a Back to School Survival Kit to my students. I have been doing this long before there was Pinterest and TpT (Teachers Pay Teachers). This year I am making them with plastic, reusable water bottles from the dollar store, but in the beginning I used humble brown paper bags and fastened my note to the top.
Click on the image above to get your own copy of this EDITABLE file.
I also like to start the day off the way I expect each to start...so I have my Daily Math bell work copied and on the student desks. It is a great way to introduce them to this daily procedure. You can read more about how I use Daily Math by clicking HERE.
Click on image to find out how to buy your own copy.
After announcements and Daily Math, I have the students get up and out of their seats using my Back to School with Post Its activity. I put up the prompts up around the classroom and give each student 6 different coloured post its. I put them in small groups randomly and have them move from one prompt to the next. I give them a few minutes at each prompt to fill out a response (anonymously if they want) and then POST IT underneath the prompt.
If you are interested in doing this in your own classroom, you can grab a copy of my new, editable prompts by clicking on the image below.
Usually by this point it is recess so the kids go outside and I run to the washroom! After recess I like to introduce myself in greater depth and review my expectations for the year. I like to use a Powerpoint presentation that I insert a variety of teacher memes into. Most of my students have yet to be exposed to Powerpoint or memes, so they think it's new and novel.
This year I found this funny video online so I have added it to the end of my presentation. This should make the kids smile!
I have a packet of fun activities on each student desk. I want them to tell me a bit about themselves, and it gives me something for them to work on if I need a few minutes of time filled. You can find lots of great free ideas on TpT. I have created my packet from a variety of sources, and I tend to change it up each year based on feedback from previous years.
By now the French teacher is usually tapping her heels, waiting for me to finish my spiel. After that the kids go off to lunch and I go and try to fix or copy whatever I have forgotten to do before school.
After lunch, we review how to come into class and they start their first bell work for language arts. Last year I found that using the Nelson Communicating Skills workbooks the school purchases worked really well for after lunch bell work. I post the page number on my whiteboard BEFORE lunch, and they have their books out before we go to lunch. If you don't have workbooks such as these, you could use any daily grammar/or language program out there.
After we review our Communicating Skills answers and make sure our planners are filled out. I introduce my favourite art activity. I have written about it before here. This piece of art becomes a laminated desk mat which stays on the student desk all year. They usually take great pride in finishing it, as they know they will be looking at it all day, everyday.
Each student receives a large sheet of cartridge paper. Using a pencil, they make a border of 10 cm all around the page. This border will be filled with pictures of school supplies. I keep a large bin of different school supplies just for this project. I try to find interesting shapes for the students to trace. Using these found objects, students trace them around the outside border in pencil. I show them how to overlap the objects so that there are no overlapping lines. The more three dimensional the objects look, the better.
After students have traced as many objects as they can, the go back over them using a black, fine line marker. They also add as many line designs as they can at this point. I do not have them do the designs in pencil first as this will take too much time.
This does NOT get finished the first day! It usually takes an hour a day for the first week or so to finish this project. You can see the next step is to have students fill in the center of their desk mat. I allow them to put anything they want here, and this is where they are allowed to use COLOUR. Some students draw something to represent themselves, others bring in pictures of family from home. I allow them to be as creative as they want.
The very last step before I laminate them is to have students fill in all the white space in the border with tiny dots using their fine line marker. This technique can be ponderous, but the effect is amazing. Some students vary the size of the dots from one area to the next, some vary the number of dots and others just want it done! I rarely have a student who does NOT want to take their desk mat at the end of the year. Many tell me years later that they still have them on their desks at home.
Usually by this point in the first day, it is time to pack up and go home. I introduce my students to my last minute checklist which is posted on the cupboards in my classroom.
As you can see from the photos, I recently updated my checklist posters. I am going to print and post them again this year. If you are interested in seeing the new ones up close, or if you would like your own copy, click on the image below.
After many years, I am still excited to go back to school each September. I have learned that if I have a plan, and some fun things for the students to experience on the first day, nobody has the first day jitters!
Something about going back to school puts us all in SURVIVAL mode! I think the image pops up as MOST pinned on my Pinterest account is this one...
Each year, I make back to school survival kits for my new teachers I think might need a boost and for student teachers who will be working in my room.
This year, I remade the label for the Teacher Survival Kit and have included an editable version as well. This way, you can grab the label from my TpT store, shop for the materials listed on label pictured below, print off the label and make a great little gift for a teacher you know. You can make a Teacher Survival Kit inside any container you like. I keep my eyes open for things like the little paint can pictured above. You can grab these types of things at dollar and craft stores. I tend to keep a little stash on hand, so I am ready when I need to create one in a hurry.
Or you can use the editable label, create your own list, print it and attach it to the container of your choice. The editable label does include a funky font embedded in the file. Just be aware, you cannot change up the fonts like you see on the version above.
In case you haven't seen my earlier post about making survival kits, I use this nifty label making machine to print out the labels before I attach them. I love it and I found it at my local Walmart. It's called a Xyron Create A Sticker in case you want to run out and get one. I have used this machine to label EVERYTHING in my classroom.
Don't want to forget my students! I am known in my school for giving each student a Back to School Survival Kit each September. This year I have decided I will print off the cute labels I have made and place them with the necessary supplies inside a plastic reusable water bottle.
As the summer is coming to a close, I am going to start assembling my Back to School Student Survival kits. You can check them out here!
