Wednesday, September 27, 2017

No More "What's Due?" Manage the paper monster!



How do you manage your classroom work and objectives? I am sure if your classroom is anything in the form of a normal classroom you have a lot going on throughout the week. Things can start piling up if you do not have some kind of a system in place. Even if a majority of what you do is in Interactive Notebooks, Seesaw, etc you can still get bogged down with what needs to be checked. Well I have tried various different things over the years and finally have settled on my newest technique. I have tweaked it and have seen such good results. And I promise you even 1st graders can manage it! 

The To-Do board! 
I have posted in the past about my kids having the chance to earn Fun Friday. After they accomplish all of their goals for the week they can earn that extra time to just be a kid and have some fun. I mean we work so hard during the week! 

On my back wall I have two empty cabinet fronts (prime real estate ya know?). I made picture icons of the objectives they would typically be faced with throughout the week as well as icons for what to do with the assignments when complete. I mean who just craves hearing..."I'm done!" What do I do with this? Where do I put it?" Well I can tell you I do not haha...I really want to foster independence and problem solving skills within those 4 walls. 
(I would have offered the icons as a freebie but it is tailored to what we do specifically, you would need to take pictures for your own icons-sorry!) 

Now we had a lot rolling this week so it looks kind of overwhelming to the naked eye lol...but my little owls have been trained on this and can execute it pretty well now days.


I put any assignment we have started and needs to be finished by Friday on the left side. On the right side I put the picture icon for where or what they need to do with it so they do not have to ask. 

"Corner of desk"- this tells me non-verbally I am done and you can come check my work. Most of these assignments/work was done in their interactive notebooks or folders where we didn't have to have extra copies made and waste paper or bury them in worksheets. 

"File"- I have made a file system at the front of the room with all their numbers on a file folder. They can slip their finished work in their and on Thursday and Friday morning I will check it.


"Picture of Me" - they can hand deliver it or also put it out on desk so I can come snatch it at my convenience. I don't typically use this one often but will when it is something I want right away.

"Work folder"- everyone every week has to have this out before starting Fun Friday. I do have some try to slip through the cracks each week and "say" they are done ;) ya know what I mean Vern?

The numbers next to the assignment are the magic numbers for the kids whose items I have not checked or have turned in. Once it is done I get to erase it off the board. I can tell you they love seeing their number go away. This is also helpful for some of my friends who are still learning to read. They know their number by heart already and the picture icons are obviously super fast to see as well! 


Here are some up close looks:



I really can't tell you how efficient this has made our weeks, and I love being able to see them turn around without me having to really say anything and check the to-do board on their own and Get 'Er Done! 

 I hope it sparked your interest if you are looking to streamline paper/assignment management in your classroom! 

Have a BLESSED week!!!

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Book Bites Episode 2- Lost and Found



Guess what?! I have another full episode of Book Bites done! 

I also did a "Minisode" as well! You can catch that HERE! It was over the ADORABLE book, Nerdy Birdy Tweets. I also made the read loud version as well so you can still enjoy the book even if you don't have it yet! You can watch that HERE.

If you are just now discovering my little blog and have no idea what Book Bites is then head over to the overview HERE to get a background of this little venture. You can also view the overview video HERE

Now onto the main attraction: Episode 2! 
Lost and Found 
by: Oliver Jeffers

** The video will have more detailed information about all these ideas below- this is just a quick sneak peek**


Overview:
 Lost and Found is a simple tale about a boy and a penguin and their growing friendship.


Teaching points:
Connections, Inferences, Main Idea

Sticky notes:
Here are the suggested stopping points for this book- remember you may want to do every one all at once. These are front loaded so you decide when and how to use them.
Grab them HERE
When you get to the link the "supporting document" is what you want to click under the video. 

Other ideas to incorporate this text: (all of these ideas are described more fully in the video)
-Do a book talk before reading to kids-this would be a little personal story you have in connection to the book. For example, I might tell them about the time I found our rescue dog. He just happened upon us one day as an orphan and we thought we needed to adopt him out. However, we decided to keep him and we love him so much! This just helps to really personalize it and model that for the kids.
-After reading you may want to have an accountable talk circle: What does it mean to be lonely? How can we help others not feel lonely?
-Integrate into writing: How did the penguin end up at the boy's door? Create a "Found Penguin" poster, What would you take on your journey to return the penguin?

I will also use some short little acronyms in the stickys as well. You will decide when and where to actually stop reading and have your kids discuss so I give options.
T&T- turn and talk (incorporate Teach/Okay for Whole Brain)
TO-think out loud (more so for the teacher to do)

Access the full Episode 2  VIDEO 

Want just the read aloud? Go listen and watch HERE

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook to get notifications of when new Book Bites Episodes are happening! You can also access all of them on my YouTube channel!


Stay tuned for the next full episode or even "minisode" where I will feature another fun book!

Have a BLESSED Week!!