Back to School Night Freebie!

Back to School Night, Meet the Teacher Night, Curriculum Night, Open House ... whatever your school calls it, it's all part of a new beginning, with a new group of families.  Very exciting, but often very stressful, too - for you AND for them!

With so much information to cover in a very short time, anything you can do to communicate more easily with your new families is a GOOD THING. These families are in information overload, and anything in print has a better chance of being retained and used.

This free Back to School Night download for first and second grade will give your students' families ten easy-to-implement ideas for working (and playing!) with their children at home.

Just include this list in your Meet the Teacher Night packet to give your students' families some easy ideas to support their children and in turn support YOU! 

There are two levels included in your download: Level 1 is No Fluff, just the basics, Level 2 has a few more details included as explanation with each suggestion.  

You'll find that this list has other uses throughout the school year:

Keep a stack of these handy for whenever you get that eleventh hour call for work to send home. You know, five minutes before the dismissal bell.  Pop the list right into a folder with whatever else you can grab, and now families have been reminded of lots of learning options. And you've saved yourself the time and aggravation of writing a long note home.

It's also handy to have this list to tuck into the folder of a child heading off for a week's vacation during school time. Let's face it. How much work does your average child return to you after a week in Disneyworld? Teachers' own children being the exception, of course! ;)

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Looking for more Back to School ideas? Here are a few I think you'll like!!

A Back to School Season Filled with QUESTIONS!

For many of you, the start of this new school year this may be like no other,  a back to school season filled with new questions not only about what each new day will bring (and each new spin of the pandemic wheel), but also about where to start your teaching. 

Exactly what did most of your new students actually learn and retain from last year?

Who was in school for face-to-face learning every day?

Who bounced back and forth from in-school to virtual?

Who got a lot of family support during Zoom lessons?

Who never logged in to even one Zoom session?

How much time can you devote to review before you plunge into this year's curriculum? What will happen if you don't give your students the time they deserve to get them closer to where you'd like them to be?

What do your students most need, in regard to confidence, community, and curriculum? How will you find the balance between all three of these?

So. Many. Tough. Questions.

I am NOT a fan of looking at this school year from a "learning loss" or "learning gap" point of view. It's been a tough time for everyone, but keeping a positive attitude is key. I think most teachers would agree that...

1.  Putting more pressure on kids to learn more quickly is one of the least effective teaching strategies imaginable. It's only fair to give them time to SUCCEED!

 

2.  There will be gaps ... academic, social emotional, behavioral, etc ... in pretty much every classroom.  We have a lot of experience with students coming to us at differing levels and we've always adjusted our teaching to that, and done it well.

Nonetheless, its likely to be an interesting year. It's a good thing you got so good at pivoting last year... but wait, good teachers have ALWAYS been experts at pivoting, reacting to unexpected change within the course of a year... a week... a lesson... sometimes, a sentence, right?!?

Don't panic, because you are a pro. You've got this.

What are some lessons that you can plan right now that will address your new students' academic and social-emotional needs, while also giving you a good look at their academic status?

Here are just a few easy-to-implement ideas that will help you incorporate informal assessment and review into your getting-to-know-you and building class community lessons during the first weeks of school.

* Give careful thought to the read-alouds you choose, so you can get more mileage from them! What kind of mileage? Just a few thoughts here, applicable across the grade levels.        

        

        * Stories that encourage stopping and listening to your students' predictions AND the thinking that             led them to the predictions. Discussions during the course of a read-aloud are a great way to see

            whether your students have the vocabulary and understanding to use a variety of grade-               appropriate comprehension strategies.

        *  Read-alouds that rhyme will give you some insight as to who's able to supply a rhyme for a               given word.  Can they do it, or will you need to work on building phonemic awareness?

        *  Books that deal with classroom behavior.  They are a great way to start discussions that will be              extra important when some of your newbies have never experiences in-class expectations.                       Think about topics like building classroom community, resolving differences, using classroom               materials responsibly, respect, and responsibility.

* Build some new twists into your usual getting-to-know-you activities. If one of your activities is to have your students complete a page where they illustrate their favorite sport, book, food, etc., try turning it into an interview activity. Pair your students and have them use the page to interview each other, write up the info, and then do a short oral presentation to introduce their new classmate to the class. It's a great way to get lots of information about your students that goes waaaay beyond their favorites!

* Play math games that are designed for the end of the previous grade level. When they're playing, take the opportunity to listen in on the conversations. You'll learn so much about your students' math and their social skills, too! A quick search here on TpT yielded over 13,000 results for end of year math review! Here's a Quick Tip: narrow the results easily by going to the left column on the TpT page and clicking on the grade level you need.

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Here are a few of my resources at TpT that you might find helpful as you embark on this year's Great Adventure!

For K-2, build classroom community and review data collection and analysis with Class Graphs: Learning About Each Other with Tallying and Graphing Activities.

For second grade, have some fun practice reviewing important onset/rime skills with this Back to School "I Have... Who Has...?" game.

First grade teachers, if you're looking for a fun way to review kindergarten math and you want a resource that you can be certain that your students definitely did not use last year, you may be interested in the new set of math riddles just posted in my TpT store on 7/24/21.  Your new first graders will love the challenge of solving these riddles. Plus, there's the confidence-building bonus of using topics that are familiar to them. This year more than ever, most children may need that boost of confidence. 

Fourth grade teachers, you'll review loads of third grade math skills with these math riddles. Great for whole class review, or put them in a math center!

Happy Teaching!

Build Community with Student Names - In Class or Remotely!

There's a very real urgency about building a classroom community at back to school time. To move forward into teaching and learning, there have to be some early bonds of mutual respect and understanding. 

One very basic way that students show each other (and you!) respect is by using each others' names in speaking to each other. Have you had students who referred to classmates as "that boy" or "the girl over there"? Or a child who called you "Teacher" for... umm, way too long?

What do you do to help your students learn each others' names? And what new techniques will you try in view of the unique challenges that 2020 brings?

Here's a project that I loved doing with my first grade literacy intervention class for many years. It helped them remember each others' names and thereby build classroom community.  As they made these and using the finished products, it also...

* Gave them practice in writing their own names

* Developed letter-sound match as they wrote the name of a classmate

* Practiced letter formation as they wrote

* Practiced one-to-one matching and return sweep as they used pointers to read the finished display

* Built control of early sight words (I, here is, am, and my, etc.) with frequent rereading

* Helped them see themselves as readers and writers

* Built pride in their writing when the display was taken down and made into one of the first of our many class books.

Can you think of more benefits? I'll bet you can!

The description and download of this free resource will give you a variety of writing templates in addition to tips for doing the project with your students!

I've been thinking about so many of you who are or will be teaching your students online this year.  It may be even more of a challenge to build community via Zoom ...it's novel, it's fun, but it's definitely harder to keep students focused! And learning lots of new names definitely takes focused attention.

Is there a way that you could adapt this project to use in distance teaching?

For ideas, I turned to my newsletter subscribers, who had some great ideas for using this project when teaching remotely. Here are two of their suggestions.

From Amy K:  "How about if you put it on a Google Slide and we could copy and paste pics we take on Google meet and make an online class book?"

Do you know that it's actually pretty easy to put any page onto a Google slide? Just use your snipping tool to create a JPEG and pop it right into the slide.  Here's what my handy little snipping tool looks like on my screen.

From Sandra C:   "I think this would work into Grade 3, too. Just add a line ... he likes to/she likes to... or we like to ... together. Or make it an interactive question and response activity - where the children have their photos set in 2s and the first person asks a question of the second person ... who will respond online remotely? Maybe allowing for space for the 2nd student to add a photo of him/her doing the activity..."

I love the interactive aspect of this idea. Maybe brainstorming a list of questions together in your Zoom meeting could help get the ball rolling on this.

Thanks for your help, Amy and Sandra!

I hope this little back to school project will be an early start on building respect and classroom community, as well as early reading skills!

Building a Home - School Connection with Learning Games

Are you thinking about ways to build a connection with your class families this year?  With this crazy mix of teaching formats that schools will be using, you may need to be resourceful to develop a home-school connection with families that you might never get the chance to meet in real life. 

Just one more challenge for teachers to face... and conquer!... in this new school year!

Do you send games home for families to practice skills with their children? Games are a non-threatening enjoyable way for families to come together and support children's learning while they have fun together!

Here's a little freebie that might help you as you work on building open communication and a mutually supportive relationship with your students' families.

Click here to download these letters at my TpT store.

This resource includes tips for parents about playing games together. For your convenience, the download is provided in both Spanish and English, and has both portrait and landscape orientations in each language. 

One of the most important tips in the letter is "please let the teacher know if your child has a problem with a skill".  Without the usual ability to be constantly watching and making informed decisions, changing the course of instruction for individuals or even the whole class as needed, teachers will be depending more than ever on information from families! Open that avenue of communication!

Each letter is a separate JPEG, to make it easier to either send home digitally or post on your password-protected classroom website.

And if by chance your school is holding in-person Meet the Teacher or Back to School Night events, these make great hand-outs!

The directions are just a bit specific to my easy prep one-page games, which I have soooooo many of in my TpT store, but you can really use them with almost any game that you send home.  Click here to see my one-page games!  

Would you like to sample some free one-page games?  Here's Johnny Appleseed's Subtraction  and Pirate Addition Doubles Strategy Games, both of which are great for the upcoming September "events", Johnny Appleseed Day and Talk Like a Pirate Day.  You can simply send the link to your class families, or you can easily create a JPEG by using your snipping tool to take a "picture" of the page and send the game to them that way.

What will you be trying this year to increase communication with your students' families?

 

Back to School Giveaway!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Whether you're adding the finishing touches to your classroom as the Big Day approaches or your school year is already moving full steam ahead, there are certain little touches that we as teachers always appreciate.

You know the kinds of things I mean ...

... bulletin boards with none of last year's staples still stuck in them, class lists that won't change (as if that ever happens!), finding the just-right folders at the just-right price... and, of course, quality pencils with a pencil sharpener that really works!

Would you like to win this Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener, along with a set of Ticonderoga pencils?

We all know that Ticonderoga pencils are The.Best. The lead is centered, the point lasts, and there's no cute but annoying glittery stuff on the outside so the pencil is not half eaten up each time you sharpen.

And the Classroom Friendly Sharpener? Oh, my, this is a GOOD one! If you haven't heard about this efficient and QUIET (seriously!) sharpener, check it out here! {This is a referral link. If you choose to buy a sharpener via the Classroom Friendly Supplies site, I'll receive a small commission which will not add to your price.}

And just for the little extra boost you deserve at this time of year, would you also like the resource of your choice from my Teachers Pay Teachers store?

Well, then, let's have a quick Back to School Giveaway!

Entering this one is easy-peasy ... nothing to follow. Just head over to my store and let me know with your entry which resource you'd choose. That's it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seven Reasons to Use Math Games ... and a Freebie, Too!!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

You can find so many great activities on Pinterest and at TPT for the first weeks of school, emphasizing community building, establishing and practicing classroom rules, and setting the tone for your learning environment. 

But chances are you already have a great tool for this - partner math games! Think games like roll and cover, four in a row, and bump - you've already got a few, right? 

Have you considered including partner math games as a part of your back to school activities?

Here's a quick rundown on the great value of time spent on partner games at the beginning of school.

You've spent the time with your students creating, discussing, and modeling the rules. Now's the time to practice them!

 Review your rules briefly before you send your partners off to play partner games. Then, after the games, gather the class together and go through the rules again one by one. 

Have your students decide on an overall rating of how they think they did with your class rules ( a range of happy faces or not so good/okay/very good work well as ratings for K-1s). You could even chart the results for a few days to look for improvement.

Partner games encourage one-to-one conversation, to get to know new classmates up close and personal. Consider tossing out a quick "getting to know you" question before partners begin their games ... "Ask your partner what their favorite playground game is", "Find out your partner's favorite color", etc.  

Build relationships even more by switching partners frequently!

Other benefits of the conversations that happen when your students play partner math games:

* Talking about their math thinking, and hearing how their partner may think the same ... or                differently!

* Actively using math vocabulary

Using polite words, taking turns, knowing how to be a good winner and a good loser - there will be lots of opportunities to reinforce these critical social skills when your students play partner games.

Game time is a great time for informal observation of your students' skills.  At back to school time, choosing games that use skills from the previous grade level will give you a quick overview of who and what needs reviewing. Just jot some quick notes for yourself as you cruise the room!

Game time may also give you a few moments to sneak in some one-on-one assessments. Uninterrupted time for assessment early in the year? Wow, that's a bonus!!

The first few weeks of your math curriculum are likely to be very heavy on review. Choose the topics of your games carefully ... your students may well surprise you with how much they've already mastered so you can move quickly through some of those early lessons!

Let your students see right from the beginning that your classroom is a place where learning will be fun, but also a place where academics are the number one priority!  Playing games will remind your students that there are many ways to learn, and that learning is fun!



Could you use a few more partner math games to keep the fun in learning and in teaching in your classroom? Here are two free games that are single-page-no-cards-to-print-or-cut. Got to love easy prep, especially when your poor hands are sore from all that laminating and cutting you've been doing late into the night! These games are samples from a kindergarten set of 20 partner math games - that means they'll be perfect to use for your first graders as back to school math (or for K teachers to use all year!).  Click here or on the picture to get your two free games.

Click here or on the cover below to see the whole set at my TpT store! It includes more easy-prep one page games for ...
 
   * sequence of numbers
   * addition
   * subtraction
   * mixed addition and subtraction
   * sums of five
   * sums of ten
   * teen numbers
   * geometry

Happy Teaching!

It's a Back-to-School Linky Party!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Don't you love when your students come in all sparkly and shiny on the first day of school? They're sparkling on the inside and out! New sneakers, new haircuts, new backpacks ... they love to show us their back-to-school best, and we love to see it, too!


There are soooooo many amazing, creative, got-to-have-it resources out for the start of school this year, so I thought it would be fun to collect a bunch of them in one spot! Fun for buyers, and fun for resource creators, too ... this is the place to show off your back-to-school best!

                           Thanks to From the Pond for the adorable font and TeacherScrapbook for the cute kids graphic!



I'd love to see your best new year resources for kindergarten through second grade, both paid and free! Please indicate your priced items by placing a $ after the title. Thanks for sharing!


Happy Teaching!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

 



Bonus Goodies for the Back to School Sale!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

I guess you don't really need me to tell you that the Back to School Sale at Teachers Pay Teachers is tomorrow and Tuesday. That news has been pretty thoroughly covered by blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, ...

If you're a regular here at Primary Inspiration, you know that for the past few big sales I've put together a little newsletter for you. Well, here's the latest edition!

Here's a sneak peek at what's inside...

I hope you'll head over to my TPT store to download your copy, because what you can't see here is the special thank you treat I've included for followers ... a card game set for your classroom  I'll never tell!  ;)

Everything in my store including already discounted bundles will be on sale! 28% off on Monday and Tuesday.

No code at TPT for Wednesday, but my store will still be 20% off.
I have a special place in my heart for procrastinators.
There's a reason my mom used to call me Last Minute Linda.


Enjoy the sale, remember to use that special code BTS14 at checkout to get your extra discount.

Happy Teaching!

Writing Freebie for Back to School

Hi, Teaching Friends!

Are you busy preparing center activities for fall?  Here's a little freebie to add to your collection! If a student ( or 2, or 3, ...) is stumped for a story idea, have them spin the story clock spinner to help get started. Need an additional boost? Pair a student with a partner, have them sit knees to knees, spin the clock, and share ideas in a brief conversation. Chances are that your reluctant writer will be ready now with an idea about his new crayons, or the playground, or what's in his lunchbox.

The story clock is also a fun way to choose a topic for a shared writing mini-lesson, or for whenever you might be creating a Morning Message together.

Just download, add a spinner, and it's ready to go!

Click here to download your story clock!

Happy Teaching!

"New Friends" Back to School Freebie

Do you work with your students to fill your classroom walls as they learn, rather than having your charts, posters, etc. already displayed when your class first arrives? Then this is a project you'll love!

 Today I'd like to share a project that has lots of learning opportunities for you and your students!

• Build classroom community by helping your students get to know each other's names quickly AND match names to faces
• Practice writing their own names and those of friends, and then read the names
• Practice early reading strategies like one-to-one match, directionality, return sweep,  monitoring with known words, and fluency.
• Practice reading early sight words
• Fill an empty bulletin board easily in the first week of school.  Plus, when you take the display down, you'll have a ready-to-go class book.  We all know how many times class books are read and reread are when they're filled with students' pictures and names!

Lots of time is spent on student names in the first weeks of the primary grades, and we all know that there are so many clever, cute, and worthy name-related activities to do ... just look at Pinterest!
This activity/display is also centered on students' names, but it puts them in the context of simple, repetitive sentences to strengthen your students' control of early sight words.

There's a little bit of pre-organization involved, just to make sure that each child's name is feature on two different writing templates, and that the correct students are paired for your photos. The free download has suggestions to help you organize this.

Here are the writing templates you'll receive.

"New Friends" will be a classroom display that's a big hit on Back to School Night and also as a component of your Read the Room center activities.  Just offer a choice of cute pointers and they're off!!

Four different grade-specific display headers are included. When you take the display down, use the header as the cover for an instant class book!

The "New Friends" project is posted as a freebie at my TpT store. Click here or on the picture below to get it!

Happy Teaching!

Free T-Shirt Class Book

Don't you just love making class books?  No books in your classroom library will ever be as popular with your students as the ones they've worked on together to write and illustrate. (well, at least until they fall in love with Mo Willems' books ...)

Starting to build a collection of class books right from the first week of school has several advantages.

* You're getting an early start on building a classroom community. Your students will get to know one another and you will learn more about them, too, from their likes and dislikes to their handwriting and spelling strengths and needs!

* As your students contribute to a whole class project, they will see that you give equal value and importance to each of their contributions, bolstering the confidence of the less secure little ones.

* Class books can help you quickly build a collection of books that will be readable for every student in your class.

* Reading class books is a great way to introduce buddy reading procedures. Because the text will be very familiar to both of the readers, neither will feel at a disadvantage, and your teaching focus can shift to appropriate student behaviors for buddy reading.

The earliest class books can be built on common experiences, such as responses to a read-aloud:
" I see a ____________  ______________ looking at me" is a favorite we've probably all done.
How about the experiences your students bring from ouside the classroom? Families, homes, and personal favorites are all the basis for many class book ideas.

There are a number of ways to bind your class projects into books. I used to think that laminating every page was kind of wasteful. but I changed my mind.  These books will get lots of use and need to last all year! Once laminated, one of the most durable ways to bind is with a binder (like a GBC) and plastic combs. Pages can also be holepunched and then secured with looseleaf rings, chicken rings, or even with string or pipecleaners. Another idea is to use portfolio folders, widely available at ridiculously low prices for back to school. Cut the cover page to size and tape on the front, holepunch
each student page, and simply put them in the folder as if you were assembling a report.

After you've assembled a large enough collection, you may want to start sending books home with a different child each night to read to their families. I staple a page inside the back cover for  parents to write a short comment. The kids all get to bask in the praise! :)

Here's a free book to help you get started on your first class book project.

If you're looking for more books for your class to make together, I hope that you'll consider this collection of five back to school class books at my TPT store. Each book includes a cover, student template (printable in color ot grayscale), and a related data collection activity.

                                     

Happy Teaching!