The one nice thing about going back to day to day subbing is the opportunity to
Beg-Borrow-and Steal
some awesome new ideas.
I don't know about you but when I was in undergrad this phrase was one my professors used often.
We were encouraged to take every opportunity we could to observe and learn from other teachers.
We have a lot to learn from one another and we should take advantage of those opportunities.
Granted some of those ideas might not work for our teaching styles but it encourages us to start thinking about new activities, methods, decor, and organizational techniques we can use in our own classrooms.
This week I spent a lot of time in 2nd and 3rd grade. Students and teachers are working on cumulative projects, many of which include poetry or other writing samples to share and take home.
Starting the writing process off (especially when writing fiction can be tricky).
Check out this book I found in one classroom ...
What a great book to get the imagination flowing. This story is all about a little boy whose imagination runs wild and he imagines objects around him as adventurous things.
I also loved the pencils displayed in some classrooms sharing the writing process. Students move their close pins to show which part of the writing process they were working on for the day.
Check out this story that I read to a class when discussing different types of punctuation marks.
The story was followed up by a sentence sorting activity where students separated sentences based on their punctuation marks.
Starting the writing process off (especially when writing fiction can be tricky).
Check out this book I found in one classroom ...
I also loved the pencils displayed in some classrooms sharing the writing process. Students move their close pins to show which part of the writing process they were working on for the day.
Check out this story that I read to a class when discussing different types of punctuation marks.
The story was followed up by a sentence sorting activity where students separated sentences based on their punctuation marks.
What a fun story to read to students to engage their understanding of punctuation marks.
For the past month or so students have been given "Chapters" and worked through the writing process to display all they have learned this year in writing. Students had great stories and illustrations to accompany their work. Once finished the class held an Author's Tea where they showed their work to their families. A mini presentation introduced the project and was followed up with a slideshow of pictures capturing the year. What a great way to show student progress with parents!
Have you check out the Queen of the First Grade Jungle lately?!?
She does a Coffeehouse Poetry night for parents where students share their poetry from the year ...
How stinkin' cute!
What a great way to share your work in a small atmosphere with the people who mean the most.
What a great way to share your work in a small atmosphere with the people who mean the most.
In another room students chose 5 poems from various selections.
Shel Silverstein was always a big favorite of mine growing up!
Here are a few of his books to consider when looking into a poetry unit.
Another great book is Poems to Learn by Heart ... a GREAT selection of poems!
Shel Silverstein was always a big favorite of mine growing up!
Here are a few of his books to consider when looking into a poetry unit.
Another great book is Poems to Learn by Heart ... a GREAT selection of poems!
Students were to create a page for each poem that included illustrations.
They also included a response that shared why they chose the poem and what they thought it meant.
Each page was laminated and bound together.
Each page was laminated and bound together.
It was so fun to hear students share their selections!!!
What a great way to also practice skills of presentation and how to be a good audience.
Check out this Author's Chair ...
I can't wait to make one of my own.
This can be used in all grades.
This can be used in all grades.
I have read so much about students presenting information or written works from the year and I think this would just be the cutest addition to any room.
In addition to the great activities in writing I was also exposed to some great classroom culture.
Students are extremely self efficient in all that they are doing in the classroom and this allows substitutes to get a full understanding of classroom routines and procedures.
Check out these classroom rules displayed in a Kindergarten classroom!
Creating classroom culture is so important and I just thought this display by the classroom door was adorable!
In addition to the great activities in writing I was also exposed to some great classroom culture.
Students are extremely self efficient in all that they are doing in the classroom and this allows substitutes to get a full understanding of classroom routines and procedures.
Check out these classroom rules displayed in a Kindergarten classroom!
Creating classroom culture is so important and I just thought this display by the classroom door was adorable!
Students were also working on their sight words and together they created heart displays that shows words they all knew. This display encouraged students to know their words together they could display all the words they knew!
I was also exposed to a game called ZAP!
Students used Popsicle sticks with sight words on them, students were to read all of the sight words they pulled until they retrieved the word ZAP! Upon receiving the word ZAP the student reading the words would put them all back in the bucket and the next student would read the words. Of course you play with a partner so they could check your words and tell you whether or not you were saying the words correctly.
How about this game.....
Do you know it??
This was one game I was not familiar with and boy was it a struggle.
Upon further research into how the game is played I look forward to playing it again in the future.
For those of you who don't know, this is how you play ...
You can find a copy of the directions as well as game pieces here for FREE!
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