Compiled by Cathy-Dee Brand, St. Mary’s Elementary School, Ft. Vermilion School Division
| Classroom Management Tips | Beginning of the Year Ideas | Bulletin Board Ideas |
Many of the ideas submitted by other teachers are ideas they learned from the book "First Days of School" by Harry and Rosemary Wong.
It is an excellent resource for new and veteran teachers.
On these pages you will find ideas by first grade classroom teachers from around the world. Many of these ideas are more suited for the primary grades, but a number could easily be modified for the upper elementary grades as well.
I would suggest looking through them and highlighting the ones you find interesting. Make a binder to put these ideas as well as others you come across. Keep your year plans, unit plans and other forms in the binder as well. This way you always know where to look!
Throughout the year there are so many little things you can do to make your job easier and your classroom more manageable. These are just some of the ideas others have tried. They are not in any particular order.
When cleaning up, I play Go Go Stop. They think it's hilarious and when I say Stop!, they freeze in whatever position they were in. If I have time, I comment on a few of the weirder ones.
I learned this at a workshop. When you give a question that you want them to think about, tell them we're going to wait and if you blurt out an answer, you're taking the thinking away from everybody else. This gives a chance for the slow, methodical thinker who never gets a chance to answer questions to think. I mentally count between 12 and 15 while I let them think. Most of them have their hands up by that time. Sometimes I'll choose the one who doesn’t' have his hand up (it's always the same boy--he's a VERY methodical thinker and finds it difficult to tell what he is thinking.) I almost forgot, I also tell them that if they absolutely need to say it, that they can whisper it into their hands.
From time to time the "Clean Desk Fairy" visits and rewards the neat desks with candy or a small prize.
I use a home-school Communication Book made from a regular exercise book. A Ziploc bag is stapled to the inside back cover for any "loose" notices that need to go home (i.e. hot lunch forms), and parents can send things back to school in the bag (such as money for hot lunch). Everything else gets glued or written into this book so parents can be aware of any special days coming up, etc. Our weekly spelling words are glued in on Mondays. Parents can write questions to me or voice any concerns, and it's an easy way for me to stay in touch with the parents I never see. I keep one as well, and demonstrate to the students how/where to glue in a particular notice, and that way, I also have a record of every single thing that has gone home during the year. The students glue in or write the messages themselves, so parents have a good idea of their child's organizational abilities!!! I suggest they cover the book with Mac-Tac or something similar--some children keep their books neat all year long, while others are less careful and need the covers repaired occasionally. I check these books and send them home daily, and expect them to return the next day. The students learn that they have to be responsible for them—not their mom or dad. I get positive comments about using Communication Books every year.
I use the old "Give me Five" when I want the children to give me their attention while seated on the carpet: 1--on your bottom, legs crossed; 2--hands folded in your lap; 3--face the speaker; 4--eyes and ears open; 5--mouths closed. You teach, teach, teach in September, and a few weeks in, you only have to say "Give me five: 1,2,3,4,5", and they do!
I use the McCracken Spelling Through Phonics program, and as each new sound is introduced, I invite the students to: Bring an object to school that begins with the same sound as ___ and can fit in your hand". We share these objects first thing in the morning after we do our Chalkboard Story.
I shake everyone's hand at the door in the morning and at the end of the day. I expect eye contact and a polite response. When we do attendance, I have a different student read the names each week. The Attendance monitor calls out a name, the person called responds with Good morning/afternoon _________. The attendance monitor then wishes them a good morning/afternoon back. The principal walked in one morning and commented on how polite they were to each other. I've even caught some of them saying good morning instead of just hi to each other in the coat area.
For classroom management, I use the Magic 1 2 3 program. When a child has been asked to do something or not do a particular behaviour and do not immediately comply, I will start counting 1, 2, ... If I get to 3 , the child knows there will be some sort of a consequence. Rarely do I get past 2. When I have, the consequence is appropriate to the behaviour. For example a few minutes in a time out or perhaps the loss of recess or a particular fun activity that the rest of the children are doing. Once you have shown the children that you are consistent when doing the Magic 1 2 3 program, it works like a charm.
I also use puppets a lot in my class. I do the Jolly Phonics program using two wonderful life like puppets named Annie and Russell to tell the children a story when introducing the various sounds. The kids LOVE it when Annie and Russell visit and talk in the class and can recall all the little stories that go with the sounds they have introduced.
I find that the children pick up so much learning when things are done to or with music. I do a lot of phonemic awareness activities through songs. There are three books that I use all the time in my class entitled
Fall Phonemic Awareness Songs & Rhymes
Winter Phonemic Awareness Songs & Rhymes and
Spring Phonemic Awareness Songs & Rhymes
These books now come with a CD that contains the tunes to the suggested songs and rhymes. They are well worth the purchase. The publisher is Creative Teaching Press.
There is another reference book called Phonemic Awareness (Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills). I have found these references very helpful especially for the Working With Words section of the Four Blocks.
On a personal note I also use songs to teach phonemic awareness. The songs I use are called Fun Phonics. There is one for consonants, one for Short Vowels, one for Long vowels and one for blends and digraphs. Another program beginning to be used more in our division is Animated Literacy. This program also has songs to use with teaching phonetics.
I have a few tips that have always worked well with my classes. I have a classroom of 21 this year, 16 are busy boys. In order to get everyone lined up quietly and attentively, I ask all students to stand and push in their chairs. Then, I as a question, such as "If you know how to spell the word 'Yesterday', raise your hand. I tell them that I will select the person who is standing the straightest with a big smile. I select a person. He/she answers the question and lines up. If the word is spelled incorrectly, a friend can assist. The person who lines up turns around and selects another person who is standing quietly with a smiles and the next person selects and so on until all students are lines up quietly. This keeps everyone involved. If there is enough time, I ask if anyone has an idea for a "people" pattern. The student who has the idea selects the people to line up and the class guesses what the pattern is. For example, tie shoes, tie shoes, Velcro shoes, buckle shoes,... The students want to be the pattern creator, so they will stand by their desk very quietly to be selected.
I often do a chant with the students before leaving the classroom. I say, "Hey". The students say, "Ho". I say, "Are we ready to go?" They say, "Yes". We count backwards in Spanish from 10 to 0 and zip our lips saying, "Silencio". I often have a line leader and a line backer. The line leader will do motions in the line while walking and the rest of the line must copy. It keeps the students focused on the front of the line, and they enjoy it.
On a personal note – I also use a chant with the students – My chant is from a chant we learn at the beginning of the year. I go AB CDE, and the students repeat the letters. This has their attention because they are waiting for me to either say the next part of the chant or to give them information.
To assign seats on the rug, I type numbers 1-21. I laminate each number and tape them to the spots I would like the students to sit at. Before calling students to sit on the rug, I ask all to stand by their desks with chairs push in. I have a bag with math problems equaling the numbers 1-21. One problem per answer. Each student picks a problem out of the bag. When he/she knows the answer, he/she raises his/her hand and tells me. The student knows what number to sit on at the rug according to the answer he/she figured out. I make the problems more difficult as the weeks progress. Now, I have the students create the problems. They love this, and feel very smart when the problems are in the hundreds. It makes seating "fair". No one complains because everyday is different
Secret Walker, Secret Worker, Secret Reader, Secret Listener This has been the most effective single strategy I have ever used to get all students doing what they should be doing. When we are walking to library, lunch, art, whatever, I tell them I am picking a secret walker. I keep a Ziploc bag with student names written on little plastic discs (counters?). As students are lining up I draw one or two names from the bag - these are my secret walkers. The kids don't know who the secret walkers are so they all do their very best to follow the rules for walking. It is amazing. Usually one name is for going and the other for coming back. When we get to where we are going I tell them that my secret walker did great and will get a reward when we get back to the room. They still don't know who it was. Then on the way back I remind them again that I have a secret walker. When we get back to the room both secret walkers get a reward. Usually the reward is a sticker, piece of candy, something small. If the secret walker has not done well, I tell them that I'm very sorry the secret walker did not earn his/her reward, but perhaps next time. I don't usually tell the class when the secret walker doesn't earn the reward, but will try to pull that child aside at some time and tell him/her what behavior he/she needs to work on when in line. As the heading indicates I also choose secret workers, readers or listeners whenever I feel I need to reinforce behavior at these times.
I put the children's names on Popsicle sticks and whenever I need to choose a child I pull one out.
I also put the fun ways of spelling the word wall words (dribble and shoot, clap the letters, cheer for the word, opera, etc.) on Popsicle sticks and at the end of the day or whenever I need a quick filler, we pull one of those out and choose a word wall word to spell.
On the cubbies in the cloakroom, I put each child's name on twice—once where they can see it and once up high where I can see it.
I send a note home in about October requesting a box of Kleenex from each child. I open a new box when one is done.
For my reading groups, I put all the activities into coloured baskets so I call up the blue basket people.
When a child needs supplies, he takes a little dittoed list I have called Your Child Needs.... (it has pictures and words) and circles what he needs and puts it in his folder. He can borrow supplies from a center until he brings in the supplies.
Another thing I do that is a real timesaver is just check to see if a child has homework rather than checking for correctness. I was spending an hour each day checking work, most of which was correct. I ask the parents to check for correctness at the beginning of the year; their signature will indicate that they have checked the work. It did get overwhelming before I did this.
Using the chant "My hands are by my side, I'm standing straight and tall, I will not talk at all, I am ready for the hall."
Some of my best attention getters include:
clapping out a pattern, and having the kids clap it back to me (this works on a school-wide basis, too!). I also have a little bell, timer and use the lights, My favorite one, however, is to start singing a song they all know...they join right in, and when the song is done, they are all "with you!" So much more pleasant than trying to talk over them!
Countdown for quietness. It goes 5 shhhh, 4 shhhh, 3 shhhh, 2 shhhh, 1 shhhh, 0 shhhh and they are all ready to listen.
One tip I use is to write my name on my original worksheets in yellow highlighter. That way when you leave it in the copier the next person knows it's yours and places it in your mailbox...
The copier doesn't pick up the yellow unless you really have to darken the copy. The other idea is to make your master on light yellow paper if you have that luxury. I use the marker... resources are limited.
Another tip that I got from a teacher I subbed for was NYFF. I use these in my grade one room as we have about 25 drawers where the children can store their unfinished work. We call these NYFD - Not Yet Finished Drawer. When children are absent I place work inside. When the children have "free" time they must check their drawer first and do one thing (or sometimes I up it to two things or three things) before they explore their next station/centre. I have a lot of children who come in early and they "play" inside so some can do the work before classes even start and get caught up without too much hassle. We also have a lot of children with low attendance (that's another post). I try and clean these drawers/files out once a week but sometimes it's more like once every two weeks. It's easy to see who is using their time well and who is not. You can also tell who has been "out" a long time.
I have a finished box where the children place the completed work. If incomplete or if mistakes need corrections I return the work to the drawer and the children have to fix it and again place it in the "Finished Box". I usually don't return work more then once. A grade two teacher at the same school also started it with her students this year and she really likes it. She uses file folders which are easier if space is an issue. I date stamp everything. I've tried to leave the date stamp by the finished box to let the children use it but they keep stamping the counter so I take it away. I think I'll cover the counter with paper and leave it go for now. I hope to train the children earlier to stamp their own work (and not the counter) so I don't have to. I also try and get a helper to date stamp work if the children put their name and number on it. I often forget to do this but I keep trying. The children do copy the date for their Journal writing but that's usually it for the most part. A few will independently print the date if they have the time.
Similar to the above idea I have a table set up in my classroom – near my desk. On it I have a number of trays and this is where the student’s workbooks, etc., go. I have one box set up for work that is incomplete or for students who are absent. Every morning I check that box to see what work needs to be done and if someone has fallen quite a bit behind. This box is also handy when a parent calls after lunch and wants homework ready to pick up after school. I just grab the box pull out all the workbooks for that child and stick on yellow notes. Having the table also trains the students to put their work there every day unless I tell them otherwise. If I want to grab a group of books for marking, I know they will be on the table and not hidden in desks (usually).
Classroom management:
I teach in a highly transient school--there are many, many students who move out and in during the year. To help me keep track of supplies and other things, I assign each of my students a number. I use this constantly in my teaching. I issue supplies to students with their numbers on them--that way I don't have to re-label things every time a kid moves out or in. Also, I use the numbers for my record keeping in my roll book. After the first term I don't even need to write the names in my roll book any more because I know each child's number. It's also a very easy way to check and see if everyone is present in emergency situations/fire drills/field trips/etc. I just tell them to listen for their number instead of their name. Since I have the numbers memorized, it's easy for me to know who is missing and I don't have to worry about having my roll cards with me. I put the students' numbers on the end of Popsicle sticks and will draw the sticks out of a cup to choose people to answer questions, or for random drawings.
I use a card pull system for my negative discipline. When a child misbehaves, he or she pulls a colored card out of their envelope and puts it in a container on my desk. There is a consequence attached to each color.
Positives:
Super Stars: I have a copy of a star that says "super star" around it. The picture is about 1 inch square. I copy a bunch of those and when I catch a kid being good I hand them a Super Star. They write their name on the back and enter it in a drawing that I do weekly for prizes from a prize box.
Reward Board: I have a small white board that sits on the ledge of my chalkboard. When I catch a kid being good I have him/her write their name on the reward board. Then when I need someone to do something special, I choose from the names on the reward board. If the reward board gets too full, I send those kids out to recess a minute early or something. When the kids get a reward, they erase their name from the reward board.
Candy in a jar: To encourage my students at the beginning of the year to learn to work quietly during independent work/reading group time, I often have a jar and a bag of candies. When the kids are quiet, I drop candy into the jar. When the jar gets filled up, we have a party and get to eat the candy. (Don't choose a jar that's too big or it's too much candy.)
Magic Squares: You need some Creole Changeable markers for this one. I use a 100 space number chart for this. I choose 3 rewards the students would really like. One of the rewards is a whole-class reward and the other two are individual rewards. Each reward is given a symbol. I use the invisible changeable marker to write the symbols on the 100 chart. They don't show up, so you need to keep track of where you put things. When a child is caught being good he or she gets to use one of the colored changeable markers and color in a square. If a symbol is revealed the kid gets the corresponding reward. If you have one class-wide reward (I make it extra recess), the whole class gets really excited any time a kid gets to fill in a magic square. If the square doesn't reveal anything, there is no reward given.
Tens and Ones: This is an incentive I invented out of desperation at the end of the school year last year. I wrote the numbers 0-9 on both red and green cards. The red cards went into a box labeled "tens" and the green cards went into a box labeled "ones." I filled in a 100 space number chart beginning with 0 in the first spot and going up to 99. When a kid is caught being good, he/she would draw a number from each box and fill in the corresponding number on the chart. The kid would put the cards back in the box, so sometimes we get the same number more than once. When the entire chart is filled in, the whole class got to have a party.
I also number the students in ABC order. We use the student numbers in math like another post suggested. Also when someone wants to take a picture of someone in my room.....I just ask them to select a number between 1 and 22......and that's the lucky kid.
Another thing I do is make many sets of address labels and name labels to use on "praise" postcards sent home and to use in their books, workbooks, and journals.....sure saves a lot of time. With the sets of address labels I can readily see how many postcards I've sent to that parent.
One thing that worked really well is the "congratulations" idea. Since this word is too long for my active kids, I shortened it to "Bravo". I wrote each letter on a piece of construction paper and laminated it. Whenever my kids are working very quietly, I put one letter up on the board, without saying a word. When they are too noisy, I take one letter down. When all the letters are up, they earn a treat, usually 5 min. extra recess or recess in the garden- basketball court (where they are not allowed to go except during PE). It worked especially well this year with my ½ class: I made 2 sets of letters, one for 1st , one for 2nd and they really tried to be quieter than the other group!
One management tip I use as well as many others from this list based on past posts, is that I assign each of my students a number which is put on all papers. It is much easier to put papers in numerical order than alphabetical order. For me anyway. Not easier really--but faster. Also, I use the numbers when we line up, or when we just have a few minutes of down time. e.g. All even numbers between 1 and 10 line up; all odd numbers between 1 and 20 go wash hands; all numbers greater than 15 but less than 19 may go to centers; the sum of 5 and 3 line up; etc.
I usually study my student’s likes and dislikes. I watch over them during their break time and see what they like to play. Then as a reward for good behaviour, I will allow that group to play while the other groups watch. Of course, I told them that they could be in those shoes if they had behaved themselves. Towards the last 5 minutes of play, I will allow the all other groups to play together (let them feel what it is like to play during curriculum time). Of course, I will drill into them that next time they behave themselves, they will have more time added to play.
When the class is noisy, I will switch of all the fans and lights to get their attention. (It has worked all the time) When they realize that I am at the switchboard, they come to their senses.
For lower primary kids, I usually reward them with something tangible.
Give the students a chance to get "unwind" when they come in. Put a clock on the board with the hour and minute hands where they will be on the school clock when it is time for everyone to be in their desk and quiet. Or, set an alarm clock and when it goes off they need to be quiet and seated.
Give all students a # (preferably in ABC order) and all papers must have their name and # (I even put it on books, workbooks, pencil cases, etc. It helps them keep track of it. (Sometimes you can even use it for math – have all the odd #'s stand, sequence order of #'s, what # is missing, for the older grades, place value, adding, subt., etc.
Make sure students hold everything until after they are in their seats. Notes from home, lunch money, etc. tends to get "lost" because the students just throw them on your desk when they come in. This way you are not bombarded by all your students.
I have a special basket that is for work of students who are absent. The students who hand-out just put their workbooks, sheets in this basket,
I'd recommend a weekly newsletter and a parent meeting where you can share what is expected. This gets parents on your side immediately.
Strong Families, Strong Schools, a report that reflects 30 years of research on family involvement in education, stated the sad fact that "in many instances parents don't feel as if we welcome them in school."
How do you intend to: provide for absentees, I post assignments, explain assignments to groups, keep students working from one assignment to the other
For effective monitoring of work, how and when will you: make sure you get around to all students, not just the demanding ones look carefully enough at students work in progress to catch errors
How do you want students to turn in work: where to put it, how to pass papers in, how to keep track of whose work is or isn't turned in
SPELLING: I give the Spelling dictation tests. I'm big on parent communication and I always send home notes explaining my rules, procedures, etc. Friday we will be having our first Spelling test. I give the test in a dictation format to help the children with their auditory memory and to stress the importance of writing in complete, correct sentences. I take one point off for improper capitalization, punctuation, and for each word that is left out. This will be difficult for the class just at first, but soon they will become proficient and laugh about how it was in the beginning. Five points will be taken off for each incorrectly spelled word.
THINK POSITIVE: I type this on little colored shape pads and they put this in their assignment notebook or sometimes on their desks. We use this at the beginning of the school year to set the expectations for the mood of the classroom.
1. Today will be great!
2. I can handle more than I think I can.
3. I'll be satisfied with trying to do my best.
4. I will make someone happy today.
5. Life is great! I'll make the most of it.
A turn in sheet is made on the spreadsheet. It contains the list of student's names and a little box after it.
MATERIALS FORM: I keep this check off form handy and just fill it out if someone has run out of materials. We put it in the assignment notebook. It says: Dear Family, Your child needs the following school supplies as soon as possible. Thanks.
MATH/READING FORM: I use it to encourage parents to practice math facts. This is just a check list form I made with the spreadsheet that has two columns: Math and Reading and seven rows (for each day of the week.
DISCIPLINE REPORT: If I have a class that needs it, I'll send this home. I seem to have a natural talent for keeping kids in order. The last fourth grade class I had this was the discipline plan. You must behave in a way that you others can learn and that I can teach. Do the Right Thing. Some years, you have to have more structure. The discipline note form has a place for name, date, parent signature. It has three crayons that I colour for the behaviour: red: unsatisfactory Yellow: improvement needed Green: satisfactory My rules are on there.... just the major points USE GOOD WORK HABITS FOLLOW MY DIRECTIONS TREAT PEOPLE WITH RESPECT RESPECT YOURSELF
LIBRARY NOTES: One form is for lost library or classroom books. It has a picture of a kid and a book and says OVERDUE BOOK REMINDER. Parents, Please help________locate and return the following library books or materials. Thank you!______________Date Mrs. Ellis The other one is a note that I send home on the first day they go to the library. It goes into their assignment notebooks.
HOMEWORK NOTICE: I use turn in sheets to check off whether they have turned in a paper (it doesn't necessarily have to be graded yet) and each week, I send this home in the Thursday Folder so the parents can be informed. If it is not back on Monday, then too bad....so sad. It is made on a spreadsheet and has as many columns as there are subjects and about 5 rows. I just write in the missing assignment. It also has places for parent signature and date.
PARTY FORMS: I keep a folder so I can remember who is doing what. They sign up at the beginning of the Year Parent Meeting.
ASSIGNMENT NOTEBOOKS: You can purchase these or use a steno notebook. It is a good habit to get into. If used properly, parents can jot you notes in the assignment notebook and you can write back. Being organized helps students get the most out of their learning day. Struggling learners more than anyone can benefit from this procedure. I send a note home on the first day that I send them home:
Dear Family,
The children use this notebook to write their daily homework assignments. Parents are to look for this assignment notebook every night and sign on the next line which indicates that you have seen the assignment. If the notebook is not signed or left at home, the school will call the parents. The children will be expected to remember to bring them to school each day and take them home each evening. Tonight is the first night they have brought their books home. Please look it over, sign the notebook and make sure it gets back to school tomorrow.
SIGN: TO DISPLAY DURING ENROLMENT OR MEET & GREET ASSIGNMENTS
Each member of the Learning Team has a responsibility.
TEACHER: Writes assignments on the board. Assists students in making the writing of assignments a habit. Checks to make sure assignments are being recorded and parents are signing. Reminds students at the end of the day to put their notebooks in their school bag. Write to parent or student any relevant notes.
STUDENT: Writes the date and the assignment in each subject legibly. Completes all assignments. Has the assignment notebook at school each morning signed by the parent.
PARENT: Assists in making the writing of assignments a habit. Insists on seeing the assignment notebook each night, making sure the handwriting is legible. Checks to see that all assignments are completed. Signs the notebook each night whether there is homework or not. Write teacher any relevant notes. Helps student to remember to bring the assignment notebook to class each day.
BIRTHDAY: I put stickers in my plan book on each child's birthday. I assign summer birthdays a day in the year where there isn't much else going on. I notify the parents about that. I have a special box filled with stickers,poems, hats, pins, etc. Even a birthday crown. They can use any of that to decorate their desk for the day. We read them a poem and sing a song. Each child decorates a piece of paper for the Birthday Child. I have a standard cover ready that says Happy Birthday and I bind the papers into a book the child takes home on that day.
Rule: Must write at least 3 compliments. They love this.
I have a form that I send home at the beginning of the year to suggest that they purchase a library book in their child's name. We have special songs to celebrate birthdays and losing a tooth. I am going to use these poetry cubes for the poems that I read. (Make Poetry Cubes out of half gallon milk cartons by cutting the bottoms to size, covering them with patterned shelf paper, gluing on six different poems, and then covering them with clear Contac paper The birthday child gets to roll the cube and we'll read whichever poem is on top.
I give the summer birthday kids an assigned birthday as close to their 1/2 birthday as I come. We make a Birthday Book for each child. I pass out ditto paper and they make a sheet for the book. The pages are bound into a spiral book. I have a set of cards that the birthday child may pick to write about. His is the first page: These area printed on a birthday cake pattern, laminated.
describe an exciting birthday party if you could have any famous person as a guest at your birthday part, who would it be and why?
tell how you would decorate your home for a birthday part.
what age do you think it is best to be and why.
tell how you feel when you see your birthday cake.
write about the wish you'd make if you blew all your candles out. Tell why
tell about the best birthday you can remember.
describe what adults do at children's birthday parties.
tell about your favourite type of birthday cards
tell about some party games that you have enjoyed.
describe how you feel when you see pictures of yourself as a baby.
describe the best birthday present you have ever received.
tell about something that you are saving your birthday money to buy.
describe your fantasy cake.
what if while playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey, you accidentally stuck a guest.
tell about one new skill or privilege you have now that you are one year older.
NEWSLETTER: I send one home each week. It gives lists of Spanish words, things we've studied, little notes and announcements, and parent tips that I get off places on the internet. I use the Parent's Site on Scholastic.com to get many ideas and also Family.com
STUDENT OF THE WEEK: Each student writes an autobiography and fills out an interest inventory. We file these inside a sleeve protector in a three ring binder.
WHILE YOU WERE ABSENT: I used to have a hard time with this. I took little collared folders and made a Title: While You Were Absent and put band aids on it. Every time a person is absent, the leader of the day gets out one of the sheets and a folder and places it on the desk of the person who is absent. I then assign their seatmates to write down the assignments on the sheet and put any paper or notes that have been passed out during the day. This really did help things to have all the work on that person's desk when they returned.
I LOST A TOOTH: It doesn't happen very often, but it will crop up. When a kid loses a tooth, I have a little sticker that says, "I lost a tooth today", which I put on a tooth shaped note. I give them a tooth necklace (from Oriental Trading) and I send home this letter:
(I got it off the Colgate toothpaste site.)
Dear Maceo,
Hi! I'm the Tooth Fairy...and I watch over your baby teeth.
So, you've lost a baby tooth. That means you're growing up! It also means that now it's up to you to watch over your grown-up teeth. You need to take care of those new teeth coming in. They are yours for the rest of your life! Here are some of the tips I've learned, hopefully they'll help you too! Don't forget to brush your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. And visit my friend the dentist every year. That's really important! And my last advice is to limit your snacks. Healthy snacking is good...but don't snack all the time! Now, it's up to you. Good luck! If you follow my advice, you'll help to keep your teeth healthy and your smile shining bright!
Keep smiling!
Your friend the Tooth Fairy
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: Rules and consequences are posted. I have a discipline book that I have them write the date and what they did.
WHAT A WEEKEND: Each Monday the students write a summary of what they did over the weekend. We save them in a special file until the end of the year when we compile them into a book. It provides a special memory of the entire year.
NAME STICKS: I have large craft sticks painted with the names of each student. I use these sticks to draw names when there is a special job to be done. (It keeps from the same people getting to do everything all the time.) If I have something I don't want to keep or throw away either, I'll draw a name. Straws work well too.
Make sure that you have established your behaviour expectations. I stress things like polite listening when someone else is speaking (teacher or student), no put-downs, keep your hands to yourself, work without disturbing the children who sit close to you, etc.
I tell them that every time they break a well-established classroom or school rule that they will get a "strike". I have a laminated piece of chart paper on the front chalkboard (up quite high so I'm the only one who can reach it) and if a child gets a strike I put a tally mark beside their name. I use a washable overhead marker to do this. Before class starts every day I erase all the strikes from the previous day, so everyone begins each day with a clean slate.
The kids all know that "strike one" means "oops, you let your behaviour slip". If you get "strike two" it means "you need to be much more mindful of your behaviour". "Strike Three" means "there will be no "GREAT" badge for you today."
Five minutes before the dismissal bell I tell the children that when they are ready for home (tidy desk and cloakroom area) I will give them a "GREAT" badge. A "GREAT" badge is a lid from a frozen juice container. Inside the lid I glue a laminated circle of cardboard that says "GREAT". The kids take the badge home and tell their parents "I had a great day." When they collect 10 badges they bring them back to me and we trade for a small reward (10 jelly beans or gummy bears, a special sticker). Sometimes I try to work in a bit of evaluation before we trade. I ask them to count their badges (1 to 10, 10 to 1, or by 2's to 10), say the months of the year or days of the week. I keep the badges, they get the candy. Then they work on collecting their next ten badges.
Parents are sent a letter telling them to watch for a "GREAT" badge every day. If a child goes two or three days without a badge I call the parents to ask for their help to turn the behaviour around. The system works really well for me. If the line up is noisy or choosing time gets too rough I just say "Now where is that strike pen?...I think I might need it soon." It's amazing how quickly things are quiet and running smoothly again!
One of the things that I do to introduce and reinforce classroom rules and responsibilities is keep a JAR by my chair. JAR stands for Just Acting Right. In the JAR (which is just a plastic jar) I keep little slips of paper and on each slip is a scenario. Sometimes it is a class rule – Show what someone should look like while standing in line for lunch - or – Show me what you would do if someone hit you. Sometimes it is manners – Show what you would do if someone gives you a birthday treat - or - Show what you would do if you wanted to borrow someone’s pencil. The students pick one out of the JAR (I use it during transition times) and they act out the situation posed. It makes it a constant reinforcement of what we have done in the beginning of the year. I keep refilling the jar with things that come up during class (hitting, tattling, stealing, playing with everyone, indoor recess, writing time behavior, manners, etc.).
They use their "helping hands" to solve the problem themselves. "Helping hands" - 5 fingers - 1st strategy "Tell how you feel" 2nd - "Walk away" 3rd - "Ignore" 4th "Ask a friend for help" 5th - "Tell the teacher". Do not tell the teacher until you have tried to work it out using your "Helping hands".
To get everyone calmed down and quiet, or if I'm interrupted in the middle of a discussion/lesson and have to speak to another adult, I start the class playing the Silent Game. I chant "Silent game, silent game, one-two-three." Then I hold up my fingers in a silent count to ten. After everyone is silent, I point to a student, who then has to come up to my chair without making a sound. Any noise, and I send them back to their spot and choose someone else. If the person I point to doesn't make a sound, they get to sit on my chair, do a silent count to ten using their fingers, and choose the next person. The game continues in the same way. The children LOVE it, and always want to play. If it gets noisy (it rarely does), the game ends. Everyone tries really hard to keep it silent so they can all have a turn or get a second one. When they are all calm (or my interruption is taken care of), I raise my hand and am picked as the last player. I make a big show of being really quiet and tiptoeing to the front of the room, then start teaching in a very quiet voice or whisper. It works great! Some variations: have the students pick boy-girl-boy-girl; make a rule that you can only put up your hand to have a turn if you haven't played yet; you have to push in your chair (silently), or walk around your table two times, on your way to the front (if playing from their desks).
To encourage quiet work time, we try to "Beat the Creature". On the board I have a creature drawn with a head and five body parts (sometimes it looks like a big caterpillar). If the class is working particularly quietly, I sneak up to the board and erase a body part. If it's noisier than usual, I add a body part. I never tell them that I am adding/erasing a part, I let them figure it out. If all the body parts get erased and only the head is left (and it stays that way for the rest of the day), the class gets to choose a special activity to do the following day (or the next convenient day). Some activities that have been voted on in my class are the following: play centres time, extra computer time, extra gym time, painting or craft activities, outside play equipment time, bake a cake together and eat it, a walking field trip to the public library, a fun science experiment, and a games afternoon (where they bring puzzles and games from home to share). At the beginning of the year, the creature starts with four body parts. Later on, it starts with five, etc. I simply remind them once at the beginning of a work period that I expect them to try to beat the creature and not let the creature win (get longer).
To get to know the parents: I ask the parents to sign up for "mini-conferences" at the beginning of the school year. I have them come in during the second week of school for a ten minute meeting before or after school, with the purpose of meeting them formally and finding out any pertinent info. about their child. Because it's so early in the year, we don't discuss specifics relating to the students' academic progress. At this meeting, I give them a copy of the class rules (which the children help me create), explain my behaviour management and discipline procedures, washroom/drink rules, explain how they can help their child with our Spelling Program, tell them about our Home-School Communication Books, tell them how and when I can use parent helpers, and ask the parents about any allergies or concerns they may have about their child and school. I know it would be easier to just send home an info. packet, but I would rather spend the time to go over things briefly with them (and later, they can't say they didn't know, or that the notice didn't come home). I also get a good sense of the support the children have at home and the parental attitude toward school. I get almost every parent every year, although I stress that these meetings are optional (sometimes we do it over the phone if it's more convenient for the parent). When we have our Open House (Meet-the-Teacher Night)/Social, I don't have to get up in front of a large group of parents and explain my program--I can relax, I've done the work already, and the parents just stop in to chat and view their children's work.
To motivate student cooperation, behaviour and citizenship: Every student has a star card (4x5 piece of construction paper, or whatever) with their name on it. If they are caught doing a good deed, they are asked to choose a star sticker from the star container and put it on their card. Once they have ten stars, the star card goes on my desk. The student then receives a new star card (with the number 10 in the upper right corner, so I know they are on their second card), and they take home a certificate with their old star card attached. Stars are easy to get at first, and harder to come by later. One year, I had a student reach 118 stars. That's the record!
One of my favourite "tried and true" tips for a quick classroom clean-up is "Mystery Spot". I tell the students I've chosen a "mystery spot" (it might be a paper scrap on the floor, scissors not put away, chairs not pushed in, etc.) and tell them they may begin cleaning. Whoever finds the "mystery spot" earns 2 points on the Incentive Chart. You can use whatever reward you'd like. I can't believe how quickly and quietly they all clean up. The room looks great!
I love this tip I received from a teacher last year! Clean the chalk off your boards w/ a Puffs Plus tissue with lanolin. Takes off all the chalk. I never wash my boards because these tissues clean the boards so well. Try it. You'll love it!
The best tip I have received from this list is the bookshelf that you can make from vinyl rain gutters. Cut into 4 foot lengths, attach to wall with brackets that are sold with rain gutters. And concrete screws to hold the brackets.. I have 4 shelves on my wall, they hold about 25 books, all which are flat against the wall and can be seen, and the whole thing only sticks out about 5 inches!!!
LINING UP QUIETLY
Quiet, Quiet
Quiet as a mouse
So no one will know
That we're in their house.
We begin loud and then get soft.
I play "If you talk, I win" game with the kids. The deal is to walk to our destination without making a sound. If I talk, the kids win and vice versa. You'd be surprised how hard it is for me to keep quiet when other teachers want to talk as we pass by. Some teachers try to get me to talk much to the delight of the kids. We play this quite a bit at the beginning of the year (but not every time we're out in the hall.) There are no prizes but I keep a tally count score on the board. They absolutely love this game and beg to play it. It's really quite funny if you think about it. As the year progresses, we play less often but by then the kids are pretty used to being quiet. To get a straight line (something that is pretty much impossible for first graders on their own) I have the leader pick out a floor tile and have the rest of the class see if they can stay in the same square. This has a quieting effect on them also as they are usually so busy looking at the floor to stay in the correct tile row. Gee I love first grade!
I took this off of the list last year. My kids loved it, I added motions-
I'm giving myself a great big hug
I'm standing straight and tall
I'm looking right in front of me
and I won't talk at all!
My hands are hanging by my sides
I'm standing straight and tall,
My eyes are looking straight ahead--
I'm ready for the hall.
I'm giving myself a great big hug
I'm standing straight and tall
I'm looking straight ahead of me,
I'm silent and ready for the hall.
I don't think this has been mentioned lately. I'm sure I got this song from this list a while back, but it has been my favourite. I'm not really comfortable singing, but since it was a familiar tune it worked for me. You sing it as an echo after the kids are lined up in the room and just before going somewhere.
(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
T-Are we talking,
S-Are we talking,
T-In the hall?
S-In the hall?
T-No, we are not talking,
S- "
T-When we are out walking,
S- "
T-In the hall.
S- "
Just so the students don't tire of it, sometimes I say the words using various different rhythms or a rap type beat. They have to focus on how I'm saying it and not just repeat automatically. If I really need to further stress the quiet walking, then I tell them that if they are talking they will have to go to the end of the line to get more practice walking quietly. Of course I set the example by not talking myself and I reinforce their good work.
The first weeks of school are often very hectic for the new teacher as well as the experienced ones. These ideas may help you in organizing your first week so that you can have a great start to the school year. The ideas are not in any particular order.
Before school starts – take time to sit down in your classroom and visually map out the room. Try a few different set-ups. More than likely you will change things throughout the year until you find the set-up that suits your needs the best. A great idea is to take photos of your classroom before and after each change. Keep these handy each year to help you remember some of the things you have already tried as well as the neat displays you created all year long.
At the beginning of school I make labels with each child's name, about 15 sets. I use these for their books, journals, workbooks, crayons, etc. Also I make about 10 sets of labels with their names & addresses. I use these on motivational postcards. This helps me know the number sent to each student.
Every child is given a Magic Number (in alphabetical order). When we turn in tests, etc. I start with the highest number and all the tests are in order. And the students learn the magic numbers before I do!
For ordering lunch we have the students' names on magnets. They place their name under their order on the side of a file cabinet. Our students have a choice of three meats and two vegetables. I have their names on a spreadsheet check list because I have to turn in who orders what to the cafeteria... which can take a lot of time. If they forget what they ordered in the morning, they can look at the file cabinet. Last year I used the magnetic paper but it lost its "hold" by second semester. This year I put labels on some advertising magnets and so far they're holding.
Ideas to do during the Summer months before school starts.
Get the textbooks ahead of time, if possible and become familiar with the topics and skills to be covered.
Start a file system to keep worksheets and ideas you collect
Prepare writing forms and topics related to seasonal themes - at least 4 for each month
Collect at least 4 seasonal books for each month and have three or 4 activities prepared for each. Make some of them longer and some shorter.
A couple of pieces of advice from an 11year veteran: Laminate everything. I am still using some of the things I made in student teaching. Make liberal use of the school's die-dut machine in case your next school doesn't have one. Be sure to make letters in a variety of colors. Keep a copy of every worksheet, writing prompt, instructions for games, art projects, etc. File them where they can be found. I still use the file I started in student teaching and it has saved me repeatedly. Get a camera and take pictures of your bulletin boards, art projects, etc. If another teacher has something up that you like, ask for permission to take a picture. She'll certainly consider it a compliment.
One note of caution: While laminating and using the school’s resources is a great idea – make sure you are not over-doing it so that other teachers in the school never have access or supplies when they need it. I.E. The laminating film running out constantly.
In case any one is interested...Frank Schaffer put out a series called "Getting Ready to Teach" there is one for every grade level and they are full of "veteran" tips for new teachers
On the first day, there is a lot of time spent on procedures. Children know nothing, and we have to take care of lunch money, snacks, supplies, bus routes, etc. Each school may be different. After 3 or 4 days, I realize I am getting more academics done...but it is a slow process. I talk to the children about first grade and I reassure them that I will take care of them, and that they will see their parents after school.
Some ideas for the first week of school…
I have them make name cards and we use them for graphs....like number of syllables in their names, teacher last year, boys/girls. We write in journals...I use that as a fast assessment. I read them books about school (like Miss Nelson is Missing). We may do some patterning. We have them line up early for dismissal to get them in the right bus lines. As I go through the day, I mention some rules...like raising your hand. Later in the week you can discuss classroom rules as well as school rules. Any time I write a chart, I pay special attention to the concepts of print, and I don't write to much - they can't sit long. We take a tour of the school, and go out to play on the playground.
I teach basic sight words as a whole group, evaluate them constantly, and form my reading groups in early or mid October. If children have trouble, I send the words home and group them accordingly.
I think one mistake beginning teachers make at the beginning of the year is trying too hard to start into the meat of the curriculum. Instead, I think things go much more smooth if I spend a lot of time discussing rules and procedures in between short activities (the kids' attention span is so short at the beginning of the year!) If I try to start hitting academic stuff too hard, I tend to get frustrated because the kids don't yet understand the procedures of my classroom--how to get my attention, how to transition from floor to seats, levels of noisiness for different activities, etc. The main point of my lesson plans during the first week or two is more focused on teaching the procedure and setting a routine than worrying about academics.
For the first day of school: Many parents often bring their children in on the first day. I have each child and parent check in with me. The child finds crayons and a page to color while they wait for everyone else to get checked in. I know who has been checked in because I hand the child a nametag as they finish up with me. I have a clipboard with my students' names listed alphabetically by first name (easier to find since they tend to tell you the first name.) Next to the student's name I have a check list--I check off how they are to get home (including the bus number if possible), what they are doing for lunch (school or brought one from home), and then hand the parent(s) another clipboard with the conference schedule for my first round of conferences on it and ask them to sign up for a time using their child's name and listing a day time phone number with it.
On the first day of school I have a colour, cut and paste activity that keeps the kids busy while we are organizing their supplies, etc., I have an overhead on the wall that lets parents know which supplies go into their child’s desk and which go into the zip-lock bag at their desk. Some years I use bins for extra supplies but these are not as secure and then I have to watch that the kids do not borrow from others in the room. I don’t usually ask for volunteers ahead of time, instead I just grab a few parents as they come in and ask them if they wouldn’t mind staying for a few minutes to help any students who arrive alone. This frees me up to welcome the new students and to deal with those shy ones who do not want to come into the room.
First Day/Week
Greet each student/parent and get info for volunteer, bus #, aide time, refreshments, etc. via simple check off form. Have student names on desks, nametags ready, and a simple dot to dot, color sheet on desk with crayons and pencil. Try to get a handwriting of first and last name from each child ASAP. Begin forming small center groups and begin with circle time to begin forming class rules. Talk about basic classroom/school safety, and note on chart paper or board. Send notes on homework, expectations, etc. home with signature required. Friday is poetry day. Review rules, refine with students. Get Ready for Monday, Full Steam Ahead
For the first day of school some of us work in schools where we are unsure of who will end up in our classroom by the end of the day. What I do is have all my nametags handy, locker tags (if you have metal lockers you can stick the tags on with magnetic tape), etc., Then as each child arrives I can write out their names as they arrive. If I am pretty sure of who will be in my room I can have some tags already done and on desks. I always have at least 3 extra desks in my room for those new students who arrive unexpectedly. I also write their names first on the tags and then laminate them. If I write on top of laminated name cards the kids just seem to constantly erase their names.
I put together all the exercise books that I'll use that year, e.g. Journal, Language Arts, Math, etc. and make a kit of 5 extra sets for incoming students throughout the year.
At the beginning of the year, I take the children out to play for an hour every afternoon for a week and gradually wean them off until they are able to get through the afternoon without yawning.
I use wallpaper sample to make covers for the student's journals. I use the Ellison press to cut out shapes from the sample books. The children use these on cards for parents with the students' photos in the middle. The children use the pieces of wallpaper in collages. Use your imagination or give the children strips of the paper and challenge them to find a project to make with the material.
Use them as book covers, then write a story on the pages inside use it for collages, tape or glue textured wallpaper to a woodblock, then dip in paint and use it like a textured stamp, Put paper over top of textured wallpaper and rub with a pencil to get the texture. Use it as backgrounds for bulletin boards, or make papier-mâché with it, I have the recipe here somewhere. Make a quilt or mosaic out of it. You could punch holes in it with a hole punch, then glue the little punches on a paper to make a picture or design. If you want real creativity, put it in a blender with a small amount of water, and chop it up. Then put it on a screen, I used a small holed strainer, and squeeze or squash the water out. Put the paper shreddings in a cookie mold and let it dry (I use plastic cookie cutters and Jell-O molds in character shapes from the dollar store). When it is dry, you have a piece of stationary that you can write on, it molds to the indentations on the inside of the molds or cookie cutters, so it shows up when it is dry. Make sure you line the molds relatively thin, just cover the bottom of the mold or cookie cutter. You can add food coloring, tomatoes, or any bright color to the blender to add color, or you can put beads, string, etc in the mold before it dries, just remember to put beads in the mold before the goop so it shows when you take it out of the mold.
Ezra Jack Keates does lots with mixed media...
His stories often have wallpaper with small prints, used as dress patterns for his characters, or wall paper on the walls in the apartments. Small flowers on real wall paper, look like giant flowers on someone's wall in his books. It is fun to have the children look through the books he does and find what has been painted, what has been done as a resist and cut out or used as background (see Dreams), and what has been painted on his illustrations before they are photographed for publication...they could then try it themselves...
Since we are expected to begin instruction at 7:55 (and the principal comes to our end of the hall first), we begin with calendar activities in the following order: *put the day into our pocket chart holder for our calendar (they also have to guess the pattern - this month it's turkey, turkey, turkey, pumpkin . . .) and the number
*Write the date on the erasable section: Monday, November 23, 1998, ll-23-98 and the tally marks
*Money - how many ways to make 23 cents? I have a Velcro chart for this one with Velcro on the money, which is kept sorted in a pie tin.
*Odd/Even Chart
*Dress the weather bear or record the weather on a chart. I also record the temperature each morning on a bar graph. We put up each month and the students can easily see how the temperatures have changed over the course of the school year.
*Graph the weather - pocket chart for this too
*Place value, straws in clear cups reflecting the day of the year, also written behind the cups on an erasable place value chart so they can see the numbers, and another pattern for the day of the year going around the room reflecting the month.
*Incredible equations - a cut out piece of shower board hot glued to my chalkboard. We're doing a fact family for the 23rd tomorrow. They can do them by themselves now since we're doing them each day. We keep it pretty simple like 23-1=22, etc. And then we pass around 23 unifix cubes for the children to break apart and we add the two columns of blocks.
I pledge to show my respect by listening to others, using my hands for helping, caring about others feelings and being responsible for what I say and do.
Show and Tell
I have each child assigned to a day and they are the ONLY child and then I make themes for the year.. I started with collections, then a magic trick, then science experiment, then a craft I made (good for after Christmas), and cooking and maybe one other... the kids loved it. they got so good at speaking before their peers. they had about 5 to 10 minutes , a letter home to parents and a schedule of their dates for the year!!! skipped anyone's birthday as that day belonged to that child...
I do something each week called, Write, Read, Show and Tell. The children love to bring in something to share, but they must write 3 interesting facts( sentences) about what they bring. Ten they must read it to the class before they are able to show and tell about it. The kids love this time. Following W.R. S. and T., we test our memories by listing on the bd. in categories, who ( brought something), what ( did he/she bring in? where( did they get the thing? when( did they get it) Why( did they share it with us
Jobs for Students
attendance (this person takes the attendance card to the office)
book monitor/bookshelf sorter or librarians or library monitors
Boy bathroom monitor (reports any inappropriate behaviour)
Girl bathroom monitor
line leader
caboose
chair stacker
Coatroom/boot room monitors (makes sure hallways and entrance ways are tidy throughout the day)
computer monitor (turns computers on in the AM and off at the end of day)
custodian (at the end of the day, chooses 2 to help finish cleaning the room)
door/lights monitor
gardener (waters plants)
messenger
paper passers
peacemaker (students must take their non-violent disputes to this person before they report to me - usually they can work it out without my help)
Pencil Sharpener Captains
right hand man or girl (does whatever needs doing as the day
Student of the week
Teacher assistant
weather bear
Calendar/Date keeper
Lunch Helpers
Zookeeper/zoologist
I put up a palm tree on the hall wall and the words Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom look Who Is In My Room! I then have brown circles (coconuts) on the tree. The first day I take pictures of them and then cut them to fit on the coconuts. If you don’t want the picture idea just put their names on the coconuts. There is also a real cute Ellison punch out for a monkey that I have used on the tree. I think I got this idea off this list.
Owls with their names or pictures are cute too with Look Whoooo Is in Mrs. _____ Room!!
I often make a large puzzle out of 4-5 sheets of oak tag (24x36 I think) with enough pieces for each child to get one and a few extras for late arrivals or adult helpers. On the first day of school I have each child decorate their puzzle piece. We use the puzzle to learn classmates names for a few days then I put them all together on a bulletin board with the title " You Fit Right In !".
I've also cut out a large bubblegum machine shape and filled it with 4" circles with each child's name and picture. You could also hang a "fishnet" from a party store and put fish shapes with each child's name and picture with the title "What a Great Catch!"
One year I made a big pot with a rainbow coming out of it. Put gold circles to look like coins in the pot and wrote each child's name on a coin. Labeled it "Mrs. ________ treasures" Was fairly easy--you could save and put new gold coins on for a different year.
Another year I cut worm shapes out of wallpaper, and put a little face on each one and a child's name. Put a big book shape in the center of the door with a few corners missing and the bookworms all around. Labeled the book "Mrs. _______ bookworms"
Last year I made a wanted poster for each student with their name. In the middle I had a bigger wanted poster with the Wanted Kind, considerate, caring students etc
This is a really cute welcome back to school display that is easy. I made a big paintbrush using brown paper for the handle, black paper for the brush, and a little strip of aluminum foil for the part the attaches the brush to the handle. I used colored paper to add to the very tip of the bristles to make it look like it had been dipped in paint. Then I cut out a bunch of paint blobs (even the MOST artistically challenged can do this!) and wrote each child's name on a blob. The caption was "A Colorful Class." A white background and lots of bright colored paint blobs makes this really stand out. I think I will pull this one out again this year.
Fish theme: Cover your door with bright blue paper to represent water. Then use light blue paper to make "squiggles" that look like waves. Find a fish pattern and bright paper to make one with each students name on it. Title it something like: "Swim on into 1st grade", maybe even "Welcome to our school" (a school of fish).
You could also, "Leap into first grade" using frogs. Maybe even make some lily pads.
This idea came from a popcorn book. Make a popcorn theatre bag or see if the local theatre will give you one. (The book had a pattern.) Put it up on your door with pieces of construction paper popcorn with the student's names on them. Title it, "Pop on in!"
When I first started teaching, I had a box of bulletin board ideas. One I remember being relatively easy and appealing was making the door a maple tree. The door was the trunk, and I used large butcher block paper and made big leaves of assorted fall colors. I made them stand out
three-dimensional by placing tape on the back and puffing them in all directions. I placed children's names on them and used the title: EVERYTHING IS
F
a
l
l
i
n
g
INTO PLACE!
It was perfect for the fall months. In October, there were falling leaves and we put Halloween directions up on it. Bats, witches, ghosts, etc.
Make the title I SHINE out of aluminum foil letters. Cut squares of aluminum foil-one for each class member. They draw their self portrait on the foil with markers.
Place student names on lily pads and add a large frog to a board titled "I'm So 'Hoppy' You Are Here!"
This is one of my favorite ideas from Mailbox magazine. My room contains a clothesline with clothespins for hanging student work so this fits right in with this idea. Have students decorate a cutout shaped like a T-shirt. Display with the title "My New Class Suits Me To A "T"
For a slight variation title the board "It Was a "Tee-rific" Summer!" and have students decorate shirts with some of the things they did.
I have done two different things. One year I made an apple tree on the wall outside my door and put each kids name on an apple and made the heading "Look who dropped into room 214". Some apples were on the tree, others falling down, and still others in a basket under the tree.
The other thing I did was make big sunflowers. I wrote a different kid's name on each petal. I can’t remember the catchy phrase though, may have been "What a Sun-sational class!"
Make a large tree on the classroom wall. This tree may be made from flat brown paper, or wide crumpled butcher paper. - A "tree for all seasons" may, as the name suggests, be left up all year and may be decorated to suit the time of year. For the beginning of school in September, cut out large leaves from red, orange and yellow paper, print a name on each leaf and pin to the tree.
"Hats off to Mrs. Baker's class! " This sign was surrounded by a variety of hat shapes, each with a child's name.
Print each child's name on a star. "Welcome to my Bright Stars!"
For those Grade One teachers who have very large classes, here is a mild but effective protest! "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe....." Cut out a large boot, and have the children's names on girl and boy shapes around it. You could also have the children draw themselves in the first week and print their own names to put around the words and boot picture.
"I am special!" Each child draws and colours his/her own face on an inverted paper plate. Add crayoned paper strips or the correct colours of crepe paper for hair.
Printing the names on bright red apples and placing the apples on a tree or in a basket makes a colourful display.
Each year I try to pick an interesting opening theme and pick a way to have all the children's names up on our large bulletin board. (1996) was "Spiders". Each child was given the spider shape to decorate and which included their name. It was titled "Busy Workers in Div. 16". Another slogan I use is "Div. 16 Leaping Ahead" and the bulletin board is covered in frogs, or "Div. 16, We Give a Hoot" and the board is covered in owls."
Take a head photo of each child. Make a photocopy. Give each child their photocopied head and he/she can glue it to another paper. Then the child draws his body. Over the head a half circle umbrella shape is placed covering the child's head and stapled at the top. Lift the umbrella to see the child's face. Good for rainy climates! "See me! I am under my umbrella!"
Do a mini ice-cream theme the first few days. Each child can make a large cone shape out of brown construction paper with a different coloured scoop on top. They put their picture on the ice-cream scoop and their name on the cone. The title can read "Our Class Comes In (number of children) Flavours!"
You could have the children create different fantasy fish with crayon on a pre-cut shape, leaving a large circle area in the middle for their picture and name. All must be coloured facing the same direction (preferably noses to the right so the fish are traveling from left to right). They are then fastened to the bulletin board in a triangular fashion, so that you start with one fish on the right hand side, two fish behind him, the third row with 3 or 4 fish and so on. The title of the board reads "School's In!"
Create a large yellow school bus, with the children's heads (photos, photocopies or drawings) in the windows. The side of the bus could read "Mrs. Smith's Magic School Bus".
Print each student's name on a picture of a bear or teddy bear. Title: "Welcome to Our Bear-y Wonderful Class".
Create giant puzzle pieces in bright colours. Mount these on a black background and separate each piece slightly so the background shows. Each piece can have a child's picture and the name on it. The title can be: "We Fit Together Perfectly".
Some ideas I’ve used in the past
Make a tree and then a whole bunch of oranges. Each orange has a child’s name on it. The title is “Orange you glad to be in First Grade” We did a number of fruit related themes – some more suitable to older grades but could be modified as well.
Isn’t it “grape” to be in grade one.
A theme with apples and worms “So you wormed your way into 4th Grade”
