A Teaching Tip for Orientation or Back to School Night or Even the First Day of School!

A teaching tip for Orientation or Back to School Night

or Even the First Day of School!

I bring my kindergarten picture to school and show the kiddos what I looked like at their age.  I   hang it  in the classroom and during Writer's Workshop I talk about my stories and experiences in kindergarten.  Having pictures helps to tell a story.

Orientation or Back to School nights are coming up fast. Along with all the information, schedules and paper work collection,  I use this time as a photo  session opportunity. a series of pictures of the kids for art projects, writer's workshop and throughout the year.  The pictures are visuals that help to tell their story.
Family picture

 I use the photo as unit for All About Me, an art project during Valentine's Day, and Christmas Festival.

A picture of the kiddo standing and sitting at the table.
I crop the table picture as just a head shot and make it as a wallet size picture.  I run 3 pages of "wallet pictures of each kiddo".  I have a folder on my computer with one sheet of wallet pictures of each student so they are easily accessible.(27 wallet pictures are never enough) The standing picture I use often too, it's  also used for different projects throughout the year.

Birthday Picture

I'm always ready for the birthday with a picture on the cover of the special birthday book to go home and one for the portfolio.

Patriotic picture

I use this photo during February and November for special occasions,election, president's day
Veteran's day, etc.

I use a site called PicMonkey, it  is a free photo editor that  works in your browser to fix your photos and add beautiful filters and text.

Save yourself time during the school year and have pictures ready to use for your classroom projects.

Throw Back Thursday Cowboy Christmas

Throw Back Thursday
I have been working on Throw Back for the last two weeks.  It's my mom and dad's 60th wedding anniversary and I've worked on a Memory Book for their celebration. It's  very sweet and funny to listen and type all the information they have given me.  To say the least it has been one big throw back party.  I just hope the book will be here in time for the celebration!

Today I'm not doing anything about school for Throw Back Thursday, it's our family Christmas Card when I was in 2nd grade.

 It was the "time" when Cowboy shows were on TV, Sky King, My Friend Flicka, Gunsmoke, Fury, Bonanza, Rawhide, Wagon Train, and Roy Rogers just to name a few.  My mom ordered from JC Penney or Sears the Cowboy/Cowgirl outfits for our family Christmas Card.   I hated my Cowgirl outfit. My sister was able to get a Cowgirl skirt with fringe!  I had to wear COWBOY PANTS!
Mom wasn't able to get a skirt in my size.  I remember being so jealous of my sister.  Of  course my Mom pointed out I had the beautiful flowered shirt and also she had me watch The  Roy Rogers Show on TV so I could see Dale Evans (Roy's wife) wore cowboy pants too!  Ha, she wasn't fooling me, I wanted the skirt!

Well to say the least the Christmas Card picture was taken, but I will always remember those outfits!

Writers Workshop-Topic Picture and Word Cards

How can children become authors in Writer’s Workshop? 
It's important they think and write stories that they relate to, or have lifetime experiences. (Stories that are close to their heart.)

I found it was difficult for my kindergartners to come up with the stories.  I would model in a mini lesson with a story or topic, but there still needed to be another component to give the kiddos ideas. It needed to be a picture, a visual piece.  By having the picture topic cards visible in the classroom on a bulletin board or tag board for ideas, writing became much easier because it sparked those little brains visually.

I would point to the picture card, introduce the topic, and share my story with the kiddos.  The children sit together as partners, (writing buddies) knee to knee with good eye contact with each other.  They have turns sharing their own stories and ideas from the topic pictures,using a set of chimes as a signal.

 It’s important this starts as a teacher directed activity by modeling a story, interacting, and brainstorming with the kiddos on the topic.  We spend a great deal of time sharing our stories throughout the year in a large group and partners.  
Topic Picture Cards are a great way to encourage good language experiences and help them understand the concept of  stories that are close to their heart.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Teacher-Bin

Back to School is Right Around the Corner

School is right around the corner.  Teacher brains become preoccupied with thoughts of school and what needs to be done.  I always think I've left the classroom in good shape in the spring, and maybe there will not be so much work to do in August, WRONG!  Getting organized in the classroom takes so much time.  The custodian came into my room  after a summer weekend and seriously thought that there was a school break-in and my room was vandalized.

Prior to school starting in my school district there is  an all school open house, but kindergarten has kindergarten orientation a week before open house! The pressure is on, but no different than any other teacher!

My main  list looks like this...
Room clean-up and organization.
Moving furniture
Class lists
Schedules
Label the room with student names-cubby, tables, coat hooks,etc
School supply organization
Orientation organization- folders, letter, school supplies, Parent,teacher, student meeting
Open house organization
Student binders
Teacher Binders
Teaching Topic Binders
Bus schedules

 I feel like I can't stay on task to get it all done. I start working on one project and jump to organize another project.  It's crazy!  Well to say the least after all of this is done, it is the weekend before school starts and now I have lesson plans to do!

I created a zip file of August-September Lesson Plans with all the resources from my store to go with it.  The lesson plans don't include specials(gym, music,etc.) because it can vary from year to year and school to school. It's complete and would give you everything you need in a month of teaching. It's organized so you can plug everything into your own lesson plan template.  My plan has the daily plan and it also has a second page for materials preparation for the day. It includes morning jobs,tub work, morning meeting, books, readers workshop, math, writers workshop, and free play.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Teacher-Bin

Good Luck and Hop Back into a 
New School Year!

My First Reading Book

It's Throw Back Thursday on my Blog

Today I am writing about 1st grade.  I could hardly wait to start reading. My First Grade reading books were, Dick Jane, and Sally by Scott, Foresman and Company. I loved the characters in the book!
I especially loved Baby Sally and Puff the little Kitten.  I 
thought they were both so cute.  I also thought Tim the Teddy Bear was very funny.

 I was in a combination first and second grade classroom. There were about 10 first graders and about 15 second graders.  My teacher would alternate teaching between the two classes. While one class would work at their desk with seat work, she would be instructing the other class.

I could hardly wait to start reading!There were little brown wooden chairs placed in a circle at the back of the room and my teacher would call all the first graders over.  We had to sit on the chairs with our feet flat on the floor and our hands on our lap.
First we would go over the vocabulary(bowcabulary) words.  She had a pocket chart with the long words cards and a pointer stick to point to each word as we read them.  Finally we would get our books! We would practice reading our books aloud, each having a turn, around the circle of chairs.

It's fun to remember!

Pocket Chart Assessments

I 'm not all about testing and assessing kids.  Too much time in a day is being spent testing when I think good enrichment, books, and language are important.  I know assessment and testing is the current rage so that's what we do.  Don't get me wrong I know we still have to assess, but a one day "testing" is only a snapshot of the child for that day.  

One way I assess is using a pocket chart and cards. 

 I wanted to assess my kiddos in a "Blink of an Eye" and be consistent in the skill I am teaching over a duration of time.

Pocket Chart Cards

A Year Long Assessment

Before school starts I assign numbers to the kids according to alphabetical order of first or last names, do what's best for you.  (Example:1- Amy, 2- Beau)  I want the kids to know a number I've assigned them. The number order is important because I use it all year long for everything! 

 The kids pick up a wallet size picture of themselves and put their picture in the pocket chart according to their number.  

After the first month of school I start assessing other learning  skills. The kids continue to put their picture in the pocket chart, but now I have the assessing card in the chart. They have to take out the card and either write down an answer or tell me the answer.  (For example: shape cards) This is how I do it, the kids take the shape card out of the pocket chart and replace it with a picture card.  Now look at the card and identify the shapes on the card.  Come over to the teacher and say the names of the shapes on the card. With older kiddos they may even write the names of the shapes on paper.

It's a quick assessment can be done each day.   I don't keep track of the assessment in a record book, but I will jot down something I need to remember or want to note as an area of concern for a kiddo or a skill that I need to work on more in the classroom.

I put the cards in the pocket chart each morning.  It is one of the morning jobs the kiddos must do each day when they come to school. 

If the children need paper to write an answer, I have the kids write their “number” on a piece of paper, to  make sure everyone has done the assessment, and it is also where I may want to jot a comment.

I laminate some the cards because they are handled so much.  I keep the cards in a small file box. I put the cards in the pocket chart in random order because it is assessing the same skill.  I always have plenty of paper cut up to write the answers for the assessing cards.

The "Table of Contents" lists the skills I assess.

This is so quick and easy and gives a good understanding of each child. 

I have this product in my TPT store and it is also bundled in my August-September Lesson Plan Bundle.  If you are interested in a quick assessment for your kiddos check this out!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Teacher-Bin

Throw Back Thursday on my blog!

My sister told me on Facebook, Thursday is a Throw Back day!  I decided it was also going to be Throw Back Thursday on my blog too!  When I went to kindergarten, it was only a six week program, but I can remember it like yesterday. There were only 12 kids in my class, 9 boys and 3 girls.  Here is my kindergarten desk. It was bolted on a  rail with 4 or 5 other desks.  I sat in the front seat, so there was an empty seat on the front.  (I brought my little  desk to school and let my Special helper of the day sit and work on his/her projects and activities,  to say the least, it was popular!)

Now that I am thinking of kindergarten here are a few more memories of my kindergarten. We had coloring sheets of Nursery Rhymes and we made a book of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.  I can still smell the mimeographed sheets and the crayons.  We also did a Nursery Rhyme play. I was Old Mother Hubbard. I remember playing with clay and making  Humpty  Dumpty. 
Duck, Duck Gray Duck was the popular outside game.   There was nap time which I HATED!  I was never chosen to be the Wake-up Fairy because you had to be a  good napper to get that job.  I also invited one of the boys in the class to come over to my house and stay a night, so he got on the bus with me and went home.  He didn't get to stay a night.

Until next Throw Back Thursday, it was fun to remember!