Spelling Practice

This year we have adopted the Journeys program for our Reading and Language Arts curriculum.  The spelling included in this program has challenging lists of appropriate words that are great for fifth graders!  However, the accompanying activities are a little lacking.  I started a list of different activities that I have done in the past, but it was kind of “same old, same old,” so I went to Pinterest to find some new spelling ideas. 

One of my favorite finds was the Spelling Scribble.  You can see the pin here.  

 

I also found a great (free) list of ideas here.

After finding tons of new ideas to add to my own ideas, I decided to get to work creating.  I made five different spelling choice boards to use with my students.  The center square on every board is a mandatory “Definitions” assignment, but the kids get to choose two of the other eight squares to complete during the week.  I also added a rubric to the bottom of each page to make grading an easier process.  I put them in my Teachers Pay Teachers store today.  Thisis the link.

Classroom Reward Coupons

This year, I am starting The Homework Club in my room.  It is inspired by this post at Lessons with Laughter.  If the kids keep their magnets on the homework club board for the whole month, their reward is to choose from a variety of reward coupons. I made reward coupons for things like “Sit in the rocking chair for a lesson,” “Lunch with the teacher,” and “Skip morning work.”  

I actually came up with 25 different ideas for coupons.  I’ve posted them in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Classroom “Newsletter” – a.k.a. The Update

When I first started teaching, the classroom newsletter was a staple in my classroom.  Now, nine years later, I have transitioned to the digital age, and have found a wonderful replacement idea!  Instead of a weekly newsletter, parents get a weekly update email from me.  The update has three sections: curriculum, news, and upcoming events.

The Curriculum section details what we have been learning about in each subject.  It is also a place for me to mention upcoming tests or important due dates.  The news section has any information about our classroom or the school that is important to get to parents.  Some weeks, this is the biggest section of the Update!  The last section, Upcoming Events, is just a list of dates of upcoming events in our classroom and school.  This is where I list study trips, skating parties, and school programs.

I like the Update emails for a few reasons.  They are much easier to write than the old newsletters that I did (mostly because the formatting is simple – it’s just an email!).  I have also found that it increases parent communication.  They are much more likely to “reply” to an email than to write me a note about a printed newsletter.  I am especially loving the Update in the era of smartphones, because most of my parents get the Update immediately after I send it.  Sometimes I get replies within minutes!

How do you keep your parents up to date?

The Second Chance Pass

As the year begins in my classroom, there are TONS of procedures to go over, teach, and review.  One thing I hit hard is homework.  I really emphasize responsibility in getting homework done and turned in.  However, I explain that I understand that we all have “oh no!” moments, so in my classroom, I implement the Second Chance Pass.  

During the first week of school, students receive two Second Chance Passes.  The second chance pass has a place for their name, the assignment name, and the original due date.  It also has directions explaining that the pass must be turned in with the late assignment and that it can’t be used for long term projects, only daily assignments.  

I like the concept of the Second Chance Pass because it recognizes that we all make mistakes.  I’m putting it in my TpT store as a free item if you’d like to try it out in your room!

A Letter to the Teacher

I just finished my second day of school, and am absolutely exhausted!  I am sure that many of you are feeling the same way (unless – lucky you – it’s still summer vacation).

As I start the school year, getting to know the kids is my number one priority.  One of the things I do is have the parents write me a letter about their children to let me know more.  I send a note home in my first newsletter that says:

Your student and I will be spending quite a bit of time over the next few days getting to know each other and all of the new classmates.  However, since you know your child better than anyone, I am asking you to take a moment to write me a note about your child,

What are the things that you would like me to know about your child as we enter this school year?  What are your child’s interests?  What is your child’s attitude toward learning?  How would you describe your child’s character and personality?  Please add anything that you think may be helpful as we begin our yearlong journey together.

The letters I get back are amazing.  Parents give me so much more information about their children than I would ever be able to learn without their help!  I learn everything from food preferences to extra curricular activities to learning difficulties and strengths.  I’ve learned about home lives, medication histories, and even medical conditions – things I wouldn’t normally be privy to.  These letters are incredibly beneficial to me and so, I wanted to share the idea with you!

Monday Made It - August 12

It’s Monday again – my last official day of summer, even though we have open house tonight – and time for another Monday Made It with Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics.

This week, I made two projects. The first was inspired by this post at Lessons with Laughter. It’s a Homework Club board. I’ve seen several bloggers posting about Homework Club boards and I’m excited to start one in my own room. I followed my blue and green with stars theme for my board by painting the pan blue and adding some green ribbon. I don’t have pictures of these steps, but here’s the finished board.

 

For the magnets, I bought a collection of wooden stars from Jo-Ann’s and painted them green. 

I painted by hand, which was silly. I totally should have used spray paint! Then I added numbers with a silver sharpie, glued the magnets to the back, and clear coated the final product.

Project number two was a sign for my classroom door. I’m not 100% thrilled with how it turned out, but it’s cuter than having nothing there.

Saturday Summary 3

This week involved a lot of school time.  I spent four hours Monday working registration, an hour on Tuesday in a meeting with my team, and four hours Tuesday working registration (again).  I was also in and out of my classroom working on finishing touches before school starts on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, we still don’t have our finalized lists, so my project list still has plenty on it.  I guess that is what the teacher work day on Tuesday is for! (That and TONS of meetings of course).

On the Blog, this is what’s been happening:

Sunday: MyClassroom Library

Monday: MondayMade It – READ

Wednesday: MathRules

Thursday: StudentTeaching

Friday: TeacherBinder