Thursday, September 24, 2015

A Fabulous Class this Year

          This is our third week of school.   I have to say that my teaching partners and I have a great group of kids to work with this year. They are eager to learn.   It is so exciting when children come into my room, sit down, get out their supplies, and are ready to work.  These children are ready for the challenge of 5th grade.  
       Here is are examples of my students' planners. 




 
I'm sorry that this one is sideways.

      Every child has the same planner supplied by our school. They write the assignments exactly as written on the assignment board.

     We have new students to our school. Some have come from Catholic schools while other students have come to us from public schools. The children from public schools usually have an extra challenge.  The students at St. Michael Catholic School still learn to write in cursive. They are expected to read and write cursive when the come into 5th. It is very difficult for children to read a teacher's handwriting when they don't know how to form the cursive letters themselves. 
     I have to congratulate the students who have taken the challenge to learn to write in cursive.  I tell my students, " I learn something new every day". 
     I have 30 great boys and girls in my homeroom and 58 others in the two other homerooms.  

   Hoping your year is as great as mine is going to be!

End of the Day Routine

    

           This afternoon my students came back to homeroom between  2:45 and 2:50.  The bus riders leave at 3:02 and the rest of the kiddos leave a few minutes after that.  My kids know that they have a good ten or more minutes to work on home and get themselves organized to go home.  
      It is great to see ten and eleven year olds working quietly and intently on homework.
      I asked who had used their time wisely?  One boy said, with a big smile, that he had.  He added that he really likes the time at the end of the day.  He doesn't have to rush to pack his backpack and organized his thoughts.  
    Other students had time to ask questions about homework assignments.  There is always a child that might have been out of the room and missed something.  We have students that go Speech during regular class for a few minutes.  Children are always leaving the room to use the bathroom, go to the office, or a resource room of some sort.  Clarification is a full time job of any teacher, especially at the end of the day.  
    My teaching partners and myself have our students write in their planners each day. This is the  first thing they do at the beginning of each class.  I walk around my room to check their planners.  At the beginning of he year, some students balk at writing in their planner.  Some kiddos think if they don't write an assignment, they don't have to do the work.   They might even pretend that their is no homework or try to convince their parents of this. 
 WRONG!  All assignments are completed on time!
      This is a huge learning curve for some.  Our 5th graders learn this lesson very quickly.  When our kiddos learn to write in their planner effectively, their grades go up, WAY UP!
      This is a wonderful example of a 5th grader's planner.   Of course the various colors of highlighter helps the student see each different class.  Each box has a little square highlighted.  When the student completes the assignment, they check it off. 



        These kids are well on their way to awesome study skills!

    Try to tweek your schedule to have some time at the end of the day so your students can get organized and breathe before the run out the door. 

    Please leave a comment if you have  a few minutes.  I'd love to read your thoughts or ideas.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

We Care for our World

       To celebrate the visit of Pope Francis to the United States this week,  I needed a flip chart.  My students enjoy making flip charts instead of working on "just a sheet of paper".
     The Pope's message to children is "to take care of our world".  We are the world's caretakers.  We can make our world a better place by doing many things. Be kind to others.  Recycle, Reduce, Reuse.  Keep our earth clean.
etc., etc., etc, ....
     Have the students brainstorm their ideas with their classmates. Then the students can write or draw or both in each box on the base sheet.






     The top sheet needs to be cut on the horizontal long line. Then each piece is cut to the half vertical lines to the dotted line. Glue is applied to the back of each flap.  I printed the top sheet in green, but it could be printed on plain white paper and decorated as each child wishes.  
   My kiddos went to work! 


    Here are some examples of the students' ideas.








     Rainbows always add a flair!





    This could be used as an Earth Day activity. 

Please leave a comment.  I enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas.