Online

Most of the schools I have taught at in the last decade have computer labs that enable the whole class to be online at the same time. My students REALLY look forward to computer time; it's the highlight of the week! I allow the kids time to just play. They know great sites for games, such as Fun Brain, Math Games, Yahoo Kids, Safe Kid Games and Club Penguin. There are dozens more. I of course monitor the students to make sure they don't stray into inappropriate territory, but I try to interfere little with their gaming, as it engages, entertains and relaxes them.

In order to play (there's always a catch, right?) they must accomplish some tasks first. At the beginning of the year simply signing on is difficult for a number of my learning disabled students. Once that can be done with ease I give keyboarding challenges to each individual student. For some it might be to type their name and phone number into a word document. For others it might be name, number and address. For more advanced, name number, address and description of their housing. Spelling practice, for words and sentences, is great practice. Later in the year there are research projects centered on the science fair, book reports, personal naratives and fictional writing assignments that are modified for each students learning abilities.

If there is no lab, students can rotate time at the comuters in class. I always have each child do the 'hard' work first (for no more than 15 minutes) and then they get to play. If the children know the parameters of their assignments ahead of Computer Class and feel prepared, there isn't much sulking or balking. The class dynamic helps those who may be struggling, as do mentor students (great activity for Big Buddy class helpers!).

Stretch It.

Dogs bite.

Birds sing.

We write.

These are complete two word sentences, with subjects and predicates. In order to help my students develop their writing skills, I present the class with a sample two, three or four word sentence, and then challenge them to add on descriptors to make the sentence more interesting.

Some dogs bite a lot.

Birds sing pretty songs in the morning.

We write longer and longer sentences in class and add adverbs and adjectives in order to develop an interesting mental picture with our words for our readers.

This model has served me well. It is like a game, and has been well received by various age and ability groups. I can construct a list of choices (such as articles and pronouns) to jump start the writing. Or the class might brainstorm verbs together - even acting them out before writing them on the board. We might draw pictures of places or events in order to lead the descriptive writing. Students can work individually, and using a Thesaurus can help. Pairing students or allowing table groups to work on sentences together is fun. There are numbers of ways to build on this writing task so that it is accessible to all and refreshing each time we tackle the Sentence Stretch Challenge.

This works.

Try it.

Holi-Daze

Holidays. A loaded word.

I have worked on campuses that do celebrate holidays and campuses that don't celebrate holidays. I have put Christmas trees in the classroom, held Easter Egg hunts on the playground, and directed Thanksgiving plays on the auditorium stage - all bound to traditional Christian beliefs. Then again, I have participated in harvest celebrations and run booths for spring flings and decorated for winter festivals that were non-secular and strictly seasonal get-togethers for the school.

I have to say the latter works better for me and my personal beliefs. I enjoy hosting and participating in events that encourage families to meet on campus for the pure purpose of meeting and mingling. There is no emphasis on gifts, religions, belief systems or past practices. Just kids and their parents and families, coming to classrooms, enjoying the students' class projects or art work, maybe some music, and the staff's cooking. Kids still are involved in decorating, baking or dressing up, but there's less chance of offending or alienating families. Having worked my entire career at schools that served a low-income population, I feel it is less stress on the families. And less stress for me, if truth be told. There, I said it. Holidays are too hard to coordinate into curriculum, and teaching is my main focus - way above the bunnies and the skeletons. You may call me 'Ms. Scrooge'.

Scrappy Stuff

Collages are a great and inexpensive way to help students communicate and express their thoughts. I use collage projects across the board of subjects -  for math, science, social studies and language lessons. Materials are accessible and cheap, skill sets required are minimal, and results are tangible and creative.

Recent projects in my class include collages of domesticated vs. wild animals and arid vs. riparian land for science lessons, and historic vs. present state images for social studies. Students also create collages for non-fiction book reports. Last year for a math project the students made collages of a favorite meal, then accessed newspaper ads to price the meals and set a budget, before going to the neighborhood grocery store to 'shop' the meal on  field trip.

Collages are a great way for students who struggle with writing to express themselves. My students make a collage of their inner-life at the beginning of the year, cutting out pictures of what they deem as important goals and values. They can share this as a means of getting to know one another.

For many of my students collages offer an opportunity to interpret and analyze lessons while they hone fine motor skills in the process of selecting and cutting out pictures. I provide a diverse selection of magazines from local public libraries, which range in price from a quarter to FREE! I set time limits, because the class can get so engrossed going through the magazines HOURS can pass! When the pictures are chosen, trimmed, glued on construction paper and labeled, great class discussions can follow, further helping the class synthetize and evaluate their work.

First Day Jitters

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg is a delightful children's book. I start out each school year with this read-aloud story, no matter what grade I teach. It reminds students of all ages that they are NOT the only one to be nervous about starting school. Whether it's a new class or a whole new school, EVERYONE is likely to feel fear, dread, trepidation - and to get a case of the 'jitters'.

My dad had reoccurring nightmares, even into his 70's, about arriving on campus confused as to where his classes were, stumped by locker combos, and hopelessly underdressed (as in no pants!). To the best of my knowledge these were real memories (with the exception of sans-pants) replayed over and over again due to their intense nature. Horrid to think we can be so scarred by something as common place as 'School: Day One'. But there you have it. I imagine that all of us have similar recollections of stresses and struggles assimilating to a new campus, teacher, grade or classroom.

How to alleviate such nerve-wracking emotions at the beginning of the year has been a goal of mine since I began teaching. When I read Julie Danneberg's story to the class they are reminded that even teachers are nervous on the first day. It's a natural feeling, and it can be quickly calmed.

I meet the kids at the bus drop off on Day One. I put a big sign around my neck with my name on it. I go to the cafeteria, too, and hang out while they eat and mingle. I take everyone on a tour of the campus that morning, and we play a scavenger hunt game in the class to familiarize ourselves with the lay-out. We do a myriad of ice-breakers. Also, as soon as possible during the first week, we meet with our 'Little Buddy' class, so my intermediate aged students become mentors to early ed. students. Nothing seems to bring more empowerment to the 4th - 6th graders than being a Big Buddy to a little first grade student. My students help the younger kids at lunch and recess. They love being responsible and respected!

My goal on Day One is to have each child be able to report back to parents, when asked "How was school today, this quote:  "Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”  Dr. Suess