Guest Blogger- Pam from Moments to Teach

Hey guys! I'm Pam from Moments to Teach and I'm excited to be guest blogging for the first time. Kimberly said I could choose my own topic to blog about and I think this made it harder for me. I don't make choices very easily. However, I did come with a lesson that I'm eager to try with my firsties after we start back to school.

Every year, I end up having to teach my kids what my expectations are for their illustrations on their stories. It's one of those things that I forget to teach until I see the things they are producing. After a few reminders of what effort looks like, I find I get better results from them. This year, I'm going to be proactive and teach my expectations early in my writing instruction.

For this activity, I whipped up a few examples of how I would teach this lesson. Please be kind to my drawing abilities - I am no Picasso. I did get excited when I realized that I got to use my big box of crayons and that it came with the cutest crayon sharpener ever!

For this activity, I took the banner page that I created and went to town on how I would teach this to my kiddos. I am including a link to the banner page with this post. I will eventually be making it cute and uploading it to TPT, but you can use the not-so-cute version I've included to recreate my idea. Below you will find a picture with step by step instructions.

For this activity, I would demonstrate what a "good" drawing has by walking the students through good and bad examples. I would then display these for their reference. The object of this lesson is for them to create a banner that tells others about them using only pictures.

One - This picture has one color, a name, and a stick figure. Now, there is nothing wrong with stick figures - they can be very cute if done right - but where's the color and excitement? This child (me) did not put much time or effort into their drawing.

Two - The next drawing has a little color, but the student has not added any extra details. They have simply written their name and drawn themselves. I am not able to tell much about them.

Three - This student is beginning to add details about their life. From their picture, I know they have a dog. I also see different colors being used.

Four - This student has added a lot of color and detail to their picture! They have used the entire space by adding a background. They have also added two or three pictures in addition to their self portrait.

I would draw these in front of the students and we would critique them together. Then, I would give each student the page for themselves and have them complete a banner. I'm thinking this may be a good time to review expectations for using supplies as well.

The last step is my favorite - displaying it for all to enjoy! I cut pennants out of scrapbook paper and used them to add a little pizzazz to the display. You could also have students color the pennants that are included in the banner file if you'd like. Thanks again Kimberly for allowing me to be a guest blogger on your adorable blog!

3 comments freebie, guest blogger

Guest Blogger-Amanda from Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten

Hi everyone!  My name is Amanda and I blog over at Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten.  I am starting my 7th year of teaching and four of those years I have taught kindergarten.  It is by far my favorite grade to teach!

It is that time of year when we are all thinking about back to school.  At my school, we do something a little different for kindergarten at the beginning of the year.  When kindergarten students register and even start the year, they are not assigned a classroom teacher.  Yep, that's right not assigned a teacher.  Instead all the students are grouped together in one class.  We take the first few days to get to know the students, assess them, and take into account any other information that will help make the decision of which class the student will fit best in.

The first piece of information we use is a parent information sheet.  We send this home the week before school starts to all the parents who have registered their child.  We ask that parents bring the form on "Unpack your Backpack" Night.  The front side of the form is basic information like name, if the child goes by a nickname, and how they will be getting home from school.  The back side of the form asks questions like "Is your child right or left handed?" or "Can your child tie his/her shoes?".

If you click on the images below, you can download this information sheet for free.  :)

         

Once school starts, we assess the students on some basic skills like letters, sounds, numbers, colors, etc.  We are only able to do this with the help of our wonderful reading teacher.  She is amazing and helps us out the first two days.  We teach and she pulls students out one at a time to assess.  (I should also mention that during the first couple days our Speech Pathologist and ELL teacher come to screen students as well.)

After the assessments are done, the other kindergarten teacher and I sit down with all the information we have gathered and place students into the two classes.  We try to have the classes evenly matched with abilities, behaviors, and special needs.  One thing though is that we keep all the ELL kids in one class to help accommodate the ELL teacher's schedule.  This year all the ELL students will be in my classroom.  By the second week of school, each student is assigned a teacher and we send home a note explaining that.

This practice is common in our district, but I don't think many others do this.  How are kindergarten students placed in classes in your school?  I would love to hear!

3 comments freebie, guest blogger

Guest Blogger-Elizabeth from Kickin' it in Kindergarten

I love visitng other blogs! I'm so glad that Kimberly Ann reached out to me to guest blog for her while she is soakin' up some rays in Mexico! We all need a little R&R before it's time to head back to school. If you don't know me, this is Elizabeth from Kickin' it in Kindergarten. Kimberly Ann and I have become bloggy buds since I started blogging and she is just the best! 

When she asked me to guest blog, I thought about everything that I do going back to school. The biggest and (I think) the most important part of early Kindergarten is getting those little friends trained right! 

I know you know what I'm talking about...

It's utter chaos for the first few days. I am going to start writing to my August self from my April self for reassurance that it will get better. You just feel like a crazy person when they all get to your room untamed like tiny little crazy people. 

Last year was insane. I had kids running away, crawling on the floor, crying, peeing in pants...I still have nightmares (it got way better like it always does). 

Here is a book I like to read at the beginning of the year when we talk about our rules.
Have you read this one? I also like to use the language that is in the book about "today was a difficult today and tomorrow will be better."

Here is a reader response page you can complete after you read a book about rules. I didn't include, a "We Read" because possibly you have a better book that you like to read to introduce your classroom rules! I would love more suggestions and ideas.

Since it's the beginning of the year, I try not to stress them out with writing anything down. If they can illustrate it and explain what rule they illustrated, then I am happy. 

Maybe you have a class this year that needs to do this for each rule. I like to brainstorm different ideas with them of what following each rule looks like. I try not to focus on what it doesn't look like. Take the focus off the negative :)

What are your rules?
How do you ensure that you set clear expectations for your students?
I'd love to hear more ideas! 

1 comment freebie, guest blogger

Guest Blogger-Brittany from Lovely Literacy and More

Brittany here from Lovely Literacy and More. As you probably already know Kimberly Ann is soaking up the sun in Mexico. Can you say jealous?! There's almost nothing that I love more than soaking in the sun on the beach with a yummy drink in hand. Ahhh... I can almost feel the sand in my toes now. I'm picturing this as Kimberly Ann getting her groove on to a Mexican band. :)

The week while Kimberly Ann is enjoying Mexico I will be finishing up all the things on my back to school to do list. I don't know if I will be able to get into my classroom yet (though I hope so) since teachers don't officially go back until August 28th. Me & the hubs will be in Laredo, TX Aug. 13th-20th and I have orientation the 22nd & 23rd since it's my 1st year @ Millgrove so I need to get things ready before I head out of town. I don't know how y'all are but I need a solid 2 weeks at a bare minimum to get everything all set & ready to go for the first day of school.

Here is just a little peek at what my back to school checklist looks like right now and I know there is probably many things missing.

What are your top 3 must-do's on your back to school to do checklist?

I put together this Amigo Syllable Sort freebie for y'all since Kimberly Ann is in Mexico. I thought it was fitting.

I hope y'all are having a great summer for those of you who are still enjoying your summer break. For those of you who may already be in school or soon will be I hope you have a fantastic first week of school!

2 comments freebie, guest blogger