5 Easy Back to School Writing Prompts
Category: Holidays
5 Back to School Tips and Tricks
“The Black Box Experiment” – The First Day of School Activity
The first day of school will be here before we know it and I can’t wait! The first day of school can be tricky and if you don’t take care, you could have a rocky start. With that in mind, I’ve learned a few things to do on that first day that will get the students thinking! One of my favorite is the Black Box Experiment.
When I did my student teaching some years ago, my mentor and I planned our first day out completely. One thing he did was the black box experiment. When I began my 2nd year teaching, I did this experiment with my 2nd graders. I filled a regular pencil boxes (the same you can get at the store for about $1, even cheaper right before school starts) with everyday school items. Mostly just some things I found around the classroom. Then I closed it and wrapped it in black bulletin board paper.
On the first day of school during science time, I pulled out the boxes. I had made about 3 to 5 boxes (enough for each table). I didn’t tell the students what was in it. They had to use their senses to figure out what was in the box. It was a great experience for them and for me as well.
When I did it with my mentor, we simply had the students write about it. When I did it with my 2nd graders, I created a worksheet where they could draw what they thought was in the box and write down their reasons. At the end of the day, I used their drawings and posted them on my bulletin board.
The answers the students gave were funny while others were spot on (I think everyone knows the sound of a coin). You can gain some insight into their thinking as well as get a sample of their writing and drawing. I remember one student thought there were cards in the boxes. Another thought there was a toy elephant inside!
Through the school year, I made references to that experiment, especially for my struggling students (making the analogy that even though we don’t know something, eventually we will figure it out aka open the box). At the end of the year, we opened the boxes and the students were surprised at what it was. Some were happy while others were disappointed. Next time, I plan to put small 2nd grade promotion certificates and small prizes inside the boxes! If you’d like to try this experiment in your classroom, you can purchase this set in my TPT Store. It gives you more details and plans out the entire lesson from start to finish.
Have a happy first day of school! Don’t forget to check out other great first day activities!
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What Wikipedia can’t tell you about Homework Folders!
Homework, homework. HOMEWORK! What can I say. It’s what we as teachers use to assess students when they’re not at school. Sometimes it can be stressful. The better you manage it, the easier it will be for you! Here are some tips for getting the most out of your homework folder.
1.) Buy a sturdy poly-folder!
As teachers, I know you’re eyeballing those $0.17 (or even those $0.01) folders at the store. As tempting as it is to grab all of them some of them for your class, try getting more durable folders. Remember, these folders will be used all year long. Paper folders will tear about half way through the year (especially for those messy students). Grab those poly-folders which will last so much longer.
2.) Include a Money pouch!
My nephew’s teacher did this and I loved it! It’s great for younger students, especially K-2. Buy a zipper pouch to place inside the folder. Add a label or write “Money Pouch” on it. This pouch is used to transfer money to and from school. Great for lunch money, book fair money, or any time a student needs to bring money to school.
3.) Include a daily behavior chart!
When I taught 2nd grade, I used to send home weekly progress reports every week. It was hassle to print them out and place them in individual folders. Now I include a monthly calendar with a daily record of the student’s behavior. I use bingo daubers from the Dollar Tree to dauber the color the student is on. When my student helpers passes out homework, I daub folders during pack up. It’s great because most students are on blue and only a few are one other colors. Also, students are not allowed to put the folder away until I daub their chart and check to see if they have their homework.
4.) Include a Reading log!
Every student should read each night. I usually have students read one of their library books or one of their Bag-Books. If they have neither, I have them practice their sight words. Adding a reading log can help you and their parents keep track of the books they are reading (and which of your books a student has). *Bonus* – If you don’t think you need a money pouch, make it a reading pouch!
5.) Designate each side!
Most folders have two pockets. You can also purchase multi-pocket folders or create your own. Designate each side for certain papers. One side can be for homework and the other can be for take-home paper. You can label one side for Math and the other side for Reading. You can even glue an envelope on one side to hold sight words and flash cards.
6. Include a signature page!
Keep up with who’s viewing the folder. One year I had a parent who always signed their child’s homework every day. Having a parent or guardian sign the folder helps build the communication between school and home. You can even include a comment section to leave notes for parents or notes parents can write.
I hope these tips come in handy as your start your school year. Be on the lookout for those poly-folders as they tend to disappear the closer school starts. You can also pick up all the sheets featured in this post by clicking the image below:
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Springing into Learning Blog Hop
I’m so excited to join Elementary Antics for a spring time blog hop! Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. Flowers are blooming, the weather is warmer, and the clear blue skies are beautiful.
When spring comes around, it’s one of the best time for students to learn about plants. During my student teaching, I did a fun plants unit. Students learned about plants.
I had students decorate Styrofoam cups to look like vases. Then they got to choose what flower they wanted to grow. Later, they would take them home and give them to their moms for Mother’s day. =)
Most of them grew slowly. There was one that grew very well. So much so that the vine wrapped around my desk.
Here’s a wonderful freebie to use with your older students. Task cards are a big hit, but not one has time to print and cut them out. These digital task cut the work in half. All you have to do is print the recording sheet.
All you need is a tablet or iPad. You could even use your interactive board and play as a whole class. You can get this freebie here, but only for a limited time!
Don’t forget to check out these other wonderful teacher bloggers for more ideas and freebies!
Thanksgiving Blog Hop 2015
The Classroom clique proudly presents our Thanksgiving hop! Jump from blog to blog and gather some wonderful Thanksgiving traditions, recipes, and freebies.
I have so much to be thankful for! Over this past year has been a real struggle for me. Doing TPT full time, helping my sister take care of her 3 beautiful children, and managing my seizures has made me strong and so thankful for every thing I have. I thank my family, especially my mother who was always there for me. My friends who still put up with me and antics. My friends in the Classroom Clique. Lastly, I thank my followers. You guys keep me running and motivated, especially through the exciting moments and the toughs moments. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
As is tradition in our house, I do the baking. It’s mostly desserts. A few years ago, I challenged myself to make an apple pie from scratch (minus the pie dough). I have to say it was the most delicious pie we ever had. It was gone the next day. The recipe is very simple. I found it online at Pilsbury.com for Perfect Apple Pie. I added some a little powder sugar and apple juice to the filling to sweeten up the Granny Smith apples I used.
I figured out how to do the Lattice topping for the pie crust. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I used eggs whites as a glaze for the top and covered the edges with foil (to stop the burnt edges).
It came out beautifully and served with vanilla ice cream, it was the best dessert I had ever made.
Each year at Thanksgiving I make a new dessert so my sister asked me to make peach pie. I’m up for the challenge! =)
I don’t have many Thanksgiving games in my store, but I made new a freebie just for this blog hop. Moreover, it’s a forever freebie!
In this game, students use dry erase boards to write the lower case letter that matches the capital letter.
This game covers all 26 letters of the alphabet. It’s a perfect game to review to check for understanding.
Students are given the capital letter and on their dry-erase boards, write the lowercase letter. Great for the entire class or in small groups. Students can also practice individually on the iPad.
You can grab this game here:
Thank you for stopping by. Be sure to stop by other teacher bloggers for more recipes, traditions, and freebies!