Winter Bulletin Board

A display for those snowy months was my most recent success.  I'm really not a great bulletin board teacher, in all honesty.  Usually my displays are mostly student work without much "cute factor" or vocabulary words and posters the kids can use as references.  But I've been inspired lately with the blanket of snow outside Budapest where my school sits.  So with pinterest's help, I think I've been more creatively successful.  You be the judge.

The kids wrote winter poetry.  I used a really simple method for guiding them in creating these poems.  Giving them strips of paper, I asked them to write different ideas on each strip:

What do you see when you go outside in winter?
What does the snow look like?
What do you do outside in winter?
What does it feel like?
And so on...

After they had several strips of paper with descriptions of winter, they arranged them in an order that made sense and sounded beautiful as a poem.  They could add strips or take away strips of paper to make it more poetic.

We typed the poems, revised (we're really working on revision a lot), and printed them.  In addition to the poems, the kids each made a snowflake and pasted a wintery photo I had taken in the center of their snowflakes.  The result is what you see above.

It's December now, but this bulletin board can stay up through January too.  Maybe even February if I push it!

Angry Verbs Bulletin Board

You've probably seen this on pinterest.com.  This is how I used the idea in my classroom:

Angry Verbs Lesson Plan

Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify the verb in a written sentence.

1. Verb Sort

To review nouns and verbs I gave the kids a stack of flashcards, which they had to separate into piles of nouns and verbs at their table groups (4 kids in each group).  Next we did a "Museum Tour" of their piles, in which one child from each group shared their verb lists aloud and the class discussed any changes to the pile if needed.

2. Verb Lists

The whole class together made a list of Happy Verbs (danced, sang, shouted, etc), a list of Sad Verbs (cry, frown, slump, etc), and finally a list of Angry Verbs (yell, fight, run, etc).  These were written on the white board for future reference.

3. Angry Verbs

I showed a trailer of the Angry Birds video game to transition from the Angry Verbs list to the creation of Angry Verb sentences.  Then we discussed and shared ideas aloud of sentences you could say using an angry verb.

4. Angry Birds

Finally the kids were given their own Angry Bird to write an Angry Verb Sentence upon.  After writing the sentence and highlighting the angry verb in the sentence, students were asked to color their Angry Bird.

5. Display

We hung the birds up for display, as you see in the first photo.  This bulletin board attracted the attention of every student who passed in the hallway the next day.  Popular!

My kids LOVED this lesson.  It was simple.  They learned their verbs.  And it made a great (and easy) display board.

Click here for the printable template of Angry Birds.

Boggle Bulletin Board

A great idea from another teacher's blog:

My kids love this!  I keep one "boggle board" up for two weeks maximum and give awards for participants: the longest word and the most words.  It's a great spelling activity for those free-time moments.  I had one little girl this year, who struggles with spelling, get the Most Words Award one week.  The whole class cheered and the smile on her freckled face was priceless.

Click here get all the print-outs to make this board for your classroom.

Kid stories to make you laugh and sigh

All teachers have their stories.  Here's a few great anecdotes from a co-worker of mine that I LOVE - the co-worker and the stories.

Great Christmas gift for your teacher
friends and family.
Find it here.

Or a gift to put in your own stocking.
Find it here.

You can also read his blog at: An American in Budapest

A Kid Story 2

Today I kept a kid in from recess to redraw his Halloween monster.  This Halloween activity involved creating a monster and writing a description to match.  The purpose being to pass our descriptions on to students in another class to see if they could draw the same monster by only seeing our descriptions.  Good practice in writing.  Good practice describing.  Good community building.  Good fun for Halloween.  Until... a boy in my class drew a monster with male and female body parts defecating.  He then proceeded to describe one of these parts as "booms", being that English is not his first language.  Oh... these kids just make me laugh.  Happy Halloween!

A Kid Story

While cleaning up at the end of Writer's Workshop last week, one of my shy little girls, H, came to me and said, "Ms. P, I love everything about school."  The big grin on her face told me I was doing something right with my Writer's Workshop this year.  H is loving writing.  Although I have only gotten her to read her writing aloud once during Share Time, she enthusiastically sits and writes and writes in her Think Pad.  She shows me ideas she's added.  She's into it.  I love moments like these.  Another plug for Janiel Wagstaff.  

A Teacher's Job Description

Counselor
Secretary
Activities Coordinator
Communications Expert
Diplomat
Mom
Dad
Curriculum Coordinator
Instructor
IT Guy
Author
The Boss
Pastor
Researcher
Sociologist
Administrator
Analyst
Negotiator
Team Builder
Judge
Actor
Inspirational Speaker
Coach

Why do we do this job?  Oh ya...  Kid lover.

Glass, Bug, Mud

I have a classroom filled with kids just learning English for the first time alongside kids who are reading English books at an eighth grade level while in grade 3.  It's a challenge.  But a fun one.  So I spend a lot of time differentiating my classroom instruction.  One tool I use is "Glass, Bug, Mud".  I didn't come up with this on my own of course.  I found the idea in an educational journal years ago while a student myself.  And I ran with it.

"Glass, Bug, Mud" is an assessment tool I use to help kids understand their progress as well as assess themselves.  If a child is "glass", it means he/she is clear as glass and understands a concept completely. It is mastered.  If a child is "bug", he/she can kind-of see through the window of the car, so they kind-of understand the concept, but need a little more practice or help.  A "mud" child cannot see through the window and needs a lot more help to understand a particular idea.

I start the year explaining the meaning of "glass, bug, mud" using the picture of a car window.  I ask the students to assess themselves in all areas of their lives by moving to different parts of the room.  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at cleaning your room?"  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at helping others?"  "Are you glass, bug, or mud at playing soccer?"  You get the idea.  The kids move to the "glass" place in the room if they are really good at it.  They move to the "bug" place if they're OK, and so forth.  At the end of several questions spanning all parts of their lives (only a few academic), we have a discussion about our talents being different, we're each unique, we each need help with something, and we are a team that can help each other try to be glass in all areas.  Kids really get it and buy into it quickly.

After that, I start putting little symbols on the corner of each of their papers to show them if they are glass, bug, or mud at that particular concept.  Students correct or have another mini-lesson with the teacher or peer teach till everyone has reached glass.  Half way through the year the children begin putting symbols on their work before I check it, to evaluate themselves and compare if I see their progress the same as they do.  Throughout this process the kids learn to self assess, monitor their own learning, and persevere until they understand a concept thoroughly.  By the end of the year I'm no longer putting glass or mud symbols on papers.  The kids do it all.  And they are spot on (for the most part).

I really like this tool because it teaches the children to monitor their own learning, become independent learners, and be responsible for their learning.

To learn more about differentiated instruction ideas and "glass, bug, mud", check out the article I wrote a few years ago in Phi Delta Kappan.

Classroom Management

Classroom management... the most important part of teaching in my opinion.  This is how I do it so I can actually teach something.

The Quiet Signal

Some people use a clapping signal, others the lights.  Whatever you use, the best way to make it work is to EXPECT it always and to wait for 100% attention before going on.  If I need to give instructions, I raise my hand, wait for EVERY single child to stop what they're doing, look at me, and raise their hands too.  And I expect ALL the kids to do it in 5 seconds or less.  Then I give instructions for the next thing.  What happens when they don't do it within the time limit?  We spend a lot of time practicing.  It doesn't take much to get them to WANT to do it within 5 seconds.  And after the first week of school, they're really quite good at it.  In my experience, the only way it will work is expecting kids to do it, exactly, every time.  Then they will.  It works!

Numbered Heads

This is a common collaborative teaching tool that I learned from Spencer Keagan my first year of teaching.  Put kids in groups (4 is the best if possible).  Give each child a number in the group.  1 2 3 4. You can then use it for everything!...  "Number 4's please collect the notebooks and turn them in for your group."  "Start with number 1 and go around the circle sharing your answer."  "Number 1's get the glue.  Number 2's get the paper.  Number 3's and 4's wait patiently."  You get the idea.  Click on the link above to get more ideas.

Two easy tools that make ALL the difference!

Room Prep

School started with me feeling partially prepared, as usual.  But regardless of the lack of feeling prepared, I think the classroom looked mostly ready.  Here is how school began this year...

Cover ugly cabinets

At the end of last year I had my kids "marble paint" paper to cover my cabinet doors.  After laminating them, they add a lot of color and cover up the plain wood.  I can also stick anything on them with ease. Always need more places to hang things!

A view of the room

I especially like the streamers.  My previous students colored flags of various nations on each triangle and I backed them with colored paper.  Strung them all together and they look really great, represent the many nations my students come from, and I don't have to decorate extra for International Day in September.

Chair pockets!

This was one of my summer projects - sew chair covers with pockets on them.  I made covers out of four different colors to differentiate my table groups.  It's working SO well thus far.  And they're super easy to make for anyone with a sewing machine.

A good extension activity

I like to have some kind of mystery research project on the wall.  To start out the year I decided to go with a "Math Mystery".  Can you figure out the number based on these daily clues?  I used Super Teacher Worksheets for this one.  Just press print and cut them out.  Easy!

Family Photos

The Tree

By now everyone has seen this sort of paper tree on the internet multiple times.  I added the kids faces and think I'll add student work (on circles) soon.  It's still warm and summery here in Budapest, but Fall will come.  When it does, the tree will have fall colors only.  And fallen leaves along the base of the wall.  Then in winter... snowflakes and snow colors.  Fun way to show the seasons.

Olympics Advice

I asked my previous years students to write words of advice for my incoming third graders.  "How to be a 3rd grade Olympian" turned into quite a cute board.  My old third graders, now fourth graders, enjoyed walking by and seeing their words and photos.  Easy first weeks of school board.

That's a good start I think!

Meeting "My Kids"

The first day comes.  They enter my room.  Some nervous.  Others dreading the start of school.  The little girls and one boy who enter enthusiastically, sit in the front, and love the teacher as soon as I say "welcome".  Everyone is on their best behavior for the first hour.  Then true colors start shining through.  The kid who can't keep a grip on his pencil and knocks the supply bin down twice in the first twenty minutes... just makes me smile, "Oh, he'll take some extra patience."  The little girl who knows very little English, but surprises me when she gets to work before I start typing on Google Translate.  She'll melt my heart all year as she learns English so fast.  There's the boy whose hair is spiked with gel and his shirt tucked in.  He sat in the front row and works diligently.  A little nerd and so stinkin' cute I love him instantly.  The kid with the English accent - always adorable for the American teacher.  The little girl who struggles in school, but begins working hard right away.  They're all here.

I call them "my kids".  They feel like that in some ways, as I spend 6 hours a day, five days a week with them.  Really they're just on loan.  Or entrusted.  As I work at a private international school, in a city where parents have several English-speaking options, I am honored that I get to teach these kids.  It's very humbling.  Especially when my students speak three languages fluently, translate for the adults around them, and still have respect for their native English-speaking teacher who speaks ONLY English.  Humbling.

But the best job in the world.  "My kids" for the next nine months.  

The First Day of School

It's here!  The first day of school.  Some of the things I'm doing this year...

Learning Names: To help the kids meet their classmates, I'm playing a very simple name game even my beginning English speakers can do.  I've taped a child's name under each chair in the classroom at random.  I'll take roll on Day 1 and practice pronouncing each name (some of my students' names have sounds my tongue is just not used to saying, so it takes some repetition).  After I've said each name and identified each child, I'll tell the kids to look under their chairs for a piece of paper.  They then look for the person whose name was under their chair and give them their name tag.  Simple.  Easy.  Gets the kids moving around.  And not too "in the spotlight" for my shy new ones.


School Tour: As I give my kids a tour of the school and introduce them to other teachers throughout the day, I'll take pictures of the places and people we see.  I'll later print all the pictures and during an afternoon lesson, the kids will label each picture with a word, sentence, or paragraph of what the picture is.  Then I'll bind it in a book for the kids' reference.  Our first published book of the year!


Welcome Back Sack: All the kids' notebooks and supplies for the year are packed in a paper bag (free in any U.S. grocery store and a few cents each in Europe).  Then I put this cute little note I got online on the front of the bag.  I pass out each bag and the kids open their "present".  Each bag has supplies with a child's name on it, so this becomes a Name Game again, as the children have to pass their sack to the person whose name is on the supplies inside.  We organize all the supplies they've received and the kids then know where everything goes.

Summer Reading

Order it from Scholastic or Amazon

I ordered several professional books at the end of last school year.  I read one this summer.  But it was so great!  Janiel Wagstaff gives some wonderful suggestions for Writer's Workshop.  Some of the ideas I've gleaned from her are:

1. The Think Pad - A notebook where kids write one word, a short response, or a whole story.  Used multiple times every day across subject areas.  Janiel says, "We write in them, and we diagram, chart, and draw right over the lines."

2. Running Topics List - Keep an on going list of writing ideas up on the wall as ideas present themselves throughout the day.  Kids can always use this list during Workshop to get started when they're stumped.  (Later kids can make individual lists of their own ideas in their Think Pads.)

3. Author's Chair - Every day she has a few students share some of their writing at the end of Writer's Workshop.  "I schedule students' Author's Chair time by the days of the week.  The first five students on my class list share on Mondays, the next five or six on Tuesday, and so on through Friday.  First, when their day of the week comes up, writers know they have the option to share or pass.  If they choose to share, their job is to be prepared."

4. Quick Jots - "These are quick moments to think, job down (one word, a few words, phrases, or sentences), question, list, brainstorm, web, respond, or note.  Anytime I want to ask a question, get an opinion, or check students' understand may be a good Think Pad time."

5. Don't edit at first. - Don't focus on conventions so much.  Get kids writing, enjoying writing, and willing to take risks in writing before correcting grammar.  And don't always correct everything.  Choose one or two skills to focus on and correct those.

This book is really practical.  Janiel gives details on how she runs her Writer's Workshop daily and progresses throughout the year.  Includes many ideas, differentiation, and ESL.  Very easy read, short, and completely useful.  None of that theory we all dread reading for "professional growth".  I'll definitely be putting some of her ideas into my Workshop this year.  Thanks Janiel Wagstaff!

Quotes for Kids

I like these quotes to hang in the classroom for a bit of inspiration...

And one more for teacher inspiration...

Setting Up My Classroom

It's August. Time to start thinking about a new school year.  Before planning lessons and inviting kids into my room, I always have to get myself organized and arranged.  Moving desks.  Decorating.  It can be the most time consuming part.  But it sure is fun!  Here are some ideas I've found that I plan to start with this year.

From Just Wild About Teaching:

For my class website homepage.  Great with the name of the class in the middle of the heart.

From Bulletin Board Ideas:

 I'll put this on the door of my classroom.

From The School Supply Addict:

Desk and shelf arrangement.  I love that each group has a shelf with all their supplies.  Great for my desks that have no storage.

From Mrs. Picasso's Art Room:

Tree wall.  I'll put student pictures and student work in the circles.  Goes really well with our plants unit in science that we start the year with.  I'll add this quote to it:

From Chapman's Chalkboard:

 Class family photos.  Framed on the shelf.  We are family.

From Woonideeen:

I'm going to make covers for the backs of my students' chairs, but with pockets instead of the picture.  I'll pin their name tags to their chair covers instead of their desks (laminated of course).  Will solve the problem of name tags always coming off and getting off tape muck at the end of the year.  And the kids can store their pencils and erasers in the pocket.

From Suppose (Quilt Boutique):

At the end of last year I had all my kids make flags of the world on paper triangles.  I'm going to add a colorful paper back and string them up around my classroom.  A lot of color and student work.  (The flags are great for an international classroom.)

From Two Tangled Teachers:

Students start the year with setting goals.  Write each goal on a balloon with the kids' pictures hanging from them.  This is a great way to post them up and keep everyone accountable to meet them.  The teacher included!

Other Pinterest ideas with no links:

 Turn my ugly avocado file cabinet into a magnetic bulletin board.  Becomes a good divider in the classroom as well.

Crates with cushions as chairs.  I'll put these in my reading corner.  Can be used individually, for group work, made into a bench or individual chairs.  Move around the room so easily.  Loads of uses!

Ok, that's a start.  More to come!